Montpellier eye miracle rise to Ligue 1 summit
March 6, 2010
Ligue 1 leaders and defending champions Bordeaux meet second-placed Montpellier on Sunday as the newly-promoted southern club eye an unlikely rise to the top of the French championship.
Both sides are level on 51 points although Bordeaux have two games in hand over Rene Girard’s men, who are back in France’s top flight for the first time in five years.
The Montpellier manager conceded his team are unlikely to steal Bordeaux’s league crown but warned his opposite number Laurent Blanc to expect a stern test when they meet at the Girondins’ Stade Chaban Delmas.
“Since the start of the season, I’ve said Bordeaux are my favourites to win the title and I think they will be champions,” said the 55-year-old manager, who spent eight years at the six-time league winners as a player.
“When you look at the two teams, one has a lot of experience with players used to playing in the Champions League, while we have a group of young players who still have a lot to learn.”
“But saying ‘It’s the taking part that counts’ is not really my thing…we will come to Bordeaux with the aim of taking first place.”
Girondins midfielder Gregory Sertic told his club’s official website that Bordeaux go into the match as clear favourites.
“We beat them in the first match (this season), why can’t we beat them in this game? We’ve got the strongest hand,” the 20-year-old said.
Fellow title challengers Lyon travel to relegation-threatened Boulogne aiming to continue their unbeaten league run in 2010.
Lyon’s assistant manager Patrick Collet stressed the clash with the 19th-placed side is “a big game.”
“It will be more difficult for us than both sets of supporters think,” he said.
A number of Lyon players have returned from midweek international duty and stars such Miralem Pjanic and Kim Kallstrom have just two days to train before the trip to northern France.
“There is always a physical and psychological fatigue (when returning from international games),” said Collet. “Boulogne will be anything but a formality.”
Crisis-hit Paris Saint-Germain, currently in 12th place, will travel to Lens as they look to bounce back from their 3-0 thrashing at the hands of long-time rivals Marseille last weekend.
The capital club’s image has been marred in recent weeks by a fresh wave of violence amongst factions of hardcore supporters and PSG officials are so worried about further trouble that they have cancelled travel for away fans.
Fourth-placed Marseille, meanwhile, take on ninth-placed Lorient at the Stade Velodrome but former Manchester United and Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze will miss the game with a cracked right fibula.
In the weekend’s other games, basement side Grenoble meet 18th-placed Le Mans, while fellow relegation strugglers Nice host Nancy.
Tenth-placed Rennes welcome seventh-placed Monaco, while Valenciennes travel to Auxerre.
Sochaux meet Toulouse on Saturday with both teams missing their star strikers. Sochaux’s US forward Charlie Davies is still recovering from a car crash, while French international Andre-Pierre Gignac has just returned to training after an abductor injury.
Fixtures
Saturday (1800GMT unless otherwise stated)
Auxerre v Valenciennes, Boulogne v Lyon, Lens v Paris Saint-Germain, Nice v Nancy, Rennes v Monaco, Sochaux v Toulouse, Saint-Etienne v Lille (2000GMT)
Sunday (1600GMT unless otherwise stated)
Grenoble v Le Mans, Marseille v Lorient, Bordeaux v Montpellier (2000GMT)
PARIS (AFP)
Tags: big game, Bordeaux, challengers, Charlie, delmas, formality, France, french championship, girondins, Grenoble, international games, laurent blanc, league crown, league winners, Lille, Lorient, Lyon, MADRID, Manchester, Mans, midfielder, Monaco, Montpellier, Nice, northern france, opposite number, PARIS, patrick collet, rene girard, Rennes, saint etienne, stern test, time league, top flight, Toulouse, two games, U.S.Related posts
Yeung’s Birmingham takeover confirmed
November 11, 2009
Hong Kong tycoon Carson Yeung’s takeover of Premier League club Birmingham has been rubber-stamped by the stock exchange.
Yeung took charge at St Andrews last month and Wednesday’s announcement that shares in the holding company have been taken off the stock market was a formality confirming Birmingham’s new status as a private business.
A statement from the City read: “In line with the notification of the company’s delisting that was made on 14 October 2009, the Company is delisted so that its shares are no longer admitted to trading on AIM.”
The statement also confirmed Yeung, Vico Hui and Michael Wiseman as the sole directors of the company and club boards.
Yeung has pledged to invest around 40 millon pounds to help boss Alex McLeish keep Birmingham, currently 15th in the table, in the English top-flight after last season’s promotion.
LONDON (AFP)
Tags: AFP, aim, alex mcleish, Birmingham, boss, carson yeung, CITY, delisting, formality, holding company, Hong Kong, london, michael wiseman, millon, premier league, private business, s promotion, st andrews, stock exchange, stock market, takeover, top flight, tycoonRelated posts
Adebayor set for City medical
July 18, 2009
Arsenal and Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor is expected to undergo a medical with Manchester City later on Saturday.
The 25-year-old has emerged as another transfer target for cash-rich City earlier this month and his proposed move to Eastlands is edging ever closer.
Manager Mark Hughes confirmed talks with the Gunners over the Togo international were ongoing at the press conference which saw Carlos Tevez unveiled.
With Roque Santa Cruz having also joined the ambitious North West outfit from Blackburn, Hughes will be overflowing with forward options for the new season.
Record signing Robinho and Wales international Craig Bellamy complete a quintet of frontmen who will be vying for a place in the starting XI.
Adebayor travelled to Manchester on Tuesday to attend a hearing which saw the formality of a work permit application go through without a hitch.
The 24-year-old, who joined the Gunners from Monaco in a £7million deal in January 2006, will now be examined by City’s medical staff with a fee of £25million reported to have been agreed between the two clubs.
Adebayor was omitted from Arsenal’s squad for Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Barnet.
By:
Tags: abhimanyu, arsenal, barnet, blackburn, carlos tevez, Craig, craig bellamy, emmanuel adebayor, English Premier League, formality, gunners, Manager Mark Hughes, Manchester, manchester city, Mark Hughes, medical staff, Monaco, North West, quintet, rajput, Robinho, roque santa cruz, santa cruz, target, Togo, Wales, work permit applicationRelated posts
Genoa chief confirms Crespo signing
May 29, 2009
ROME (AFP) – Genoa have completed the signing of Inter Milan forward Hernan Crespo, the club’s president Enrico Preziosi said on Friday.
Preziosi met with the 33-year-old Argentine’s agent Fernando Hidalgo in the afternoon and afterwards proclaimed Crespo as a Genoa player.
“It’s an important signing, we’re very happy. Crespo is a great player, a serious lad who we’ve been following for a long time,” said Preziosi.
Hidalgo said his client had also had an offer from Fiorentina but they only wanted to give him a one year deal.
“We have agreed on a two-year contract and that’s an important demonstration of confidence in Hernan,” he said.
Crespo had increasingly become a bit-part player for Inter this season as he found himself behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli and Adriano (until he left the club) in the striker pecking order.
Preziosi also claimed that the propsed signing of Inter’s Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma was only a signature away.
“The Quaresma question is very simple, there is an agreement between the two clubs, all we need is the player’s signature,” he told Radio Kiss Kiss.
“I don’t believe there will be any big problems but we’ll meet next week to resolve everything.”
Quaresma only joined Inter at the beginning of the season but was a complete flop and was loaned out to Chelsea in January.
However, he couldn’t force his way into their team either and has hardly played this season since joining from Porto for 19 million euros last August.
It is the second time a move to a big club has gone sour for the Portugal winger after he also struggled at Barcelona in 2003-04.
Another forward who has signed for the club is Atalanta’s Sergio Floccari, who has scored 12 times for the Bergamo based club this season.
“Floccari already signed last night. There’s just the formality of the exchange of contract with Atalanta but there’s no problems because the lad as already signed and everything’s ok,” added Preziosi.
Genoa came close to qualifying for next season’s Champions League this season but just missed out on a top four finish.
Tags: adriano, Argentine, atalanta, balotelli, Barcelona, bergamo, bit part, CHELSEA, demonstration, enrico preziosi, Fernando Hidalgo, fiorentina, formality, genoa, hidalgo, inter milan, lad, Mario Balotelli, Milan, pecking order, PORTO, ricardo quaresma, ROME, second time, Sergio Floccari, Serie A, winger, zlatan ibrahimovicRelated posts
Granero fires Getafe away from relegation zone
May 11, 2009
MADRID (AFP) – Getafe did their survival chances the world of good beating relegation rivals Osasuna 3-0 on Sunday to move three points clear of the drop zone.
Esteban Granero scored a brace and Kalu Uche added another as Michel savoured his first win in charge of Getafe and Osasuna now hover two points above the drop zone.
Michel and Osasuna coach Jose Antonio Camacho were good friends after playing together at Real Madrid in the 1980s but that friendship had to be put aside with both sides staring relegation in the face.
Another Real old boy Granero, who joined Getafe permanently from Real in the summer of 2008, decided a heated match in which both sides were reduced to ten men.
Granero converted a 25th minute penalty but the turning point in the match was his second goal shortly after time with goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez spilling his speculative shot.
Fortunately for Osasuna both Sporting Gijon and Recreativo Huelva also lost to stay below them in the standings.
Sporting lost 3-1 at Almeria and lie third from bottom, two points below Osasuna, while Recre fell to a 2-1 defeat against Deportivo La Coruna and are a point behind Sporting.
Depor are still in with a shout of a Champions League spot with the win taking them three points behind Valencia.
Numancia prop up the table after a 0-0 draw with Valladolid and are four points from safety with three games left.
Later on Sunday Barcelona have the chance to clinch their 19th league title with a home victory over Villarreal.
Real Madrid’s 3-0 defeat to Valencia means Barca maintain their seven-point cushion at the summit and the title looks a formality with just three points needed from the remaining four games.
A home win over Villarreal at Camp Nou would seal their first title after two years without any silverware and coach Pep Guardiola does not want to prolong the wait.
“I want to win the league right now, as soon as possible,” said Guardiola. “It’s time to start wrapping things up. The league title is the nicest because it?s the one that tells you who?s been the best.”
Real have certainly been second best this season and coach Juande Ramos, whose future looks increasingly bleak, cut a forlorn figure following the embarrassing Valencia defeat.
“We were a solid team up until the last two matches (6-2 against Barcelona and 3-0 at Valencia) We didn’t concede goals and we put together a good streak,” said Ramos. “There is no explanation for the number of goals we have conceded recently.”
Valencia’s surprise drubbing of Real puts pressure on Champions League rivals Villarreal who lie four points behind and need to become the first team to win at Camp Nou this season.
Atletico Madrid are also four points behind fourh-placed Valencia and have a tough match against in-form Espanyol on Sunday.
Espanyol have won five out of their last six games to surge out of the relegation zone, although they are still not safe, and hope to enhance their survival chances against an inconsistent Atletico side.
“This year we have dropped too many points at home,” said Atletico winger Simao. “We have to start winning home and away because it is the time to to start playing well and stop talking.”
Tags: almeria, Barcelona, camp nou, deportivo la coruna, drop zone, Esteban Granero, formality, four games, four points, getafe, Goalkeeper, guardiola, home victory, Jose Antonio, jose antonio camacho, LA Liga, MADRID, Michel, osasuna, pep guardiola, point cushion, real madrid, Recreativo, roberto fernandez, seven point, Simao, sporting gijon, survival chances, three games, uche, Valencia, valladolidRelated posts
Quick Report: Sporting Lisbon 0-5 Bayern Munich
February 26, 2009
Bayern Munich beat Sporting Lisbon 0-5 in their round of sixteen first leg clash, and are practically certain of a spot in the next round.
The opener came three minutes before the break Frenchman Franck Ribery received a pass from Derley and beat two defenders before sliding the ball through the legs of keeper Tiago.
Forward Miroslav Klose added a second on 57 minutes, converting a Massimo Oddo cross at the far post.
And not much later, the Germans had a chance to score their third as Lahm was fouled by Rochemback in the Portuguese penalty area. Ribery made no mistake from the spot, 0-3.
Italian striker Luca Toni added two more goals, in the 84th and 91st minutes, to hand Bayern a very convincing 0-5 victory
The return leg, to be played at Munich’s Allianz Arena, is now not much more than a formality.
Written by:
Tags: allianz, allianz arena, Bayern, bayern munich, clash, far post, formality, franck ribery, frenchman, germans, legs, Lisbon, Luca, luca toni, massimo oddo, miroslav klose, mistake, Munich, portuguese, return leg, rochemback, sporting lisbon, striker, three minutes, Toni, UEFA Champions LeagueRelated posts
West Ham striker Bellamy ´set to sign for Man City´
January 19, 2009
LONDON (AFP) – Wales striker Craig Bellamy is set to leave West Ham for big-spenders Manchester City, the Press Association reported on Monday.
The Hammers have accepted City’s bid of around 14 million pounds (15 million euros) for the 29-year-old and Bellamy was expected to complete a medical to clinch the deal.
The much-travelled Bellamy demanded a transfer to Tottenham on Friday after rejecting the offer of a new contract, but his club were unwilling to sell to their London rivals.
He was left out of the Hammers squad which defeated Fulham on Sunday, with manager Gianfranco Zola stating the player was "not in the right frame of mind".
City have already had three separate bids for Bellamy turned down, and it was thought he would have preferred to join Spurs.
But with the Hammers refusing to do business with their city rivals, it appears Bellamy has accepted the lure of Manchester.
City boss Mark Hughes knows Bellamy well, both with Wales and at Blackburn, and has never had a problem with the player’s fiery temperament.
It is not expected there will be any problem with the player’s medical, and personal terms should be a formality too, given the amount of money City have at their disposal.
Written by: AFP
Tags: AFP, amount of money, big spenders, blackburn, CITY, city boss, city rivals, craig bellamy, English Premier League, fiery temperament, formality, frame of mind, fulham, gianfranco zola, hammers, london, man city, Manchester, manchester city, Mark Hughes, money city, new contract, personal terms, striker, west ham, ZolaRelated posts
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