Vieira set for Manchester City move

January 8, 2010


Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira confirmed on Thursday he is set to complete a dramatic return to English football by joining Manchester City.

The former Arsenal captain moved closer to the deal when he underwent a medical on Thursday, ahead of a agreement which it is reported will keep him at the Premier League club until the end of the 2010/2011 season.

“I wanted to go to the World Cup and I need match play,” Vieria told French sports channel Infosport of his decision to leave the Italian champions.

“It’s over, after a year at Turin and three and a half years at Milan,” he said. “I have aims and I can’t achieve them by staying at Inter where I’m not in favour with the coach.

“What’s important for me is to go to Manchester City, to show the coach (Roberto Mancini) that I’m the same as the time when he was at Inter. All that will help me to get into the France team.”

Vieira was reported to have flown into England on Thursday, having played his last match for Inter Milan – the club where City manager Roberto Mancini was previously in charge – against Chievo on Wednesday.

Barring any last minute problems, such as fitness test issues or personal terms, France great Vieira could be confirmed as a City player as early as later on Thursday, although City could hold over any announcement until Friday.

The 33-year-old midfielder would add defensive resilience to a City side often criticised for letting in too many goals under former boss Mark Hughes.

Vieira’s arrival would represent Mancini’s first signing since he replaced Hughes three weeks ago and be the latest high-profile purchase by City, who this week announced that a huge annual loss of 92.8 million pounds would be effectively wiped out by their wealthy Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour.

Vieira has had a shaky past three seasons at Inter Milan and, now on the fringes of the France team, he is desperate for first team football to boost his chances of featuring in Raymond Domenech’s squad for the World Cup finals in South Africa later this year.

Inter manager Jose Mourinho, who won the Premier League title with Chelsea, said on Wednesday he believed Vieira was about to return to England.

“He hasn’t said a word to anybody but he has mentioned the English Premier League,” Mourinho said.

Mancini was Vieira’s first coach at Inter after the player arrived in Milan following a season with Italian rivals Juventus.

LONDON (AFP)

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Inter Milan coach confirms Vieira exit

January 6, 2010


Patrick Vieira’s departure from Inter Milan was confirmed on Wednesday after coach Jose Mourinho said the French midfield veteran had played his “last game” for the Italian champions.

Vieira, who is being tipped to join Manchester City, was given a rare start for Inter because of several absences in midfield.

The Serie A champions beat Chievo 1-0 thanks to a Mario Balotelli goal in the 12th minute to stretch their lead over city rivals AC Milan to 11 points.

“Today we had a few problems but I have a team full of professionals who went out and did a remarkable job,” Mourinho told Sky Sport.

“I should have good words to say about everybody but the only person I want to talk about is Vieira, who has played his last match for us.

“He had an impeccable game. It was the perfect farewell to us, and I want to wish him all the best for his new career.”

Vieira, 33, has had a shaky past three seasons at Inter Milan and, now on the fringes of the France team, he is desperate for first team football to boost his chances of featuring in Raymond Domenech’s World Cup squad.

Reports this week suggested City have been in talks with Inter over signing Vieira, who has also had the rule run over him by former French champions Lyon.

Mourinho said he believes Vieira, who at the end of the match hugged several of his team-mates, was definitely returning to the English Premier League.

“He hasn’t said a word to anybody but he has mentioned the English Premier League,” added the Portuguese.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who coached Inter when Vieira first arrived following a year with Juventus, said on Monday he was interested in taking the former Arsenal midfielder on loan till the end of the season.

ROME (AFP)

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Eight out of 10 French give thumbs down to France team

November 23, 2009


France’s controversial qualification for the 2010 World Cup has hit a sour note with the French public, with over eight out of 10 people disapproving according to a poll televised on France 2.

France beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 on aggregate over two legs of a qualifying playoff last Wednesday however a blatant double handball by French captain Thierry Henry proved decisive in the team going to the World Cup.

In an online poll in which 1003 people representative of the country’s demographics were asked on November 20 and 21 several questions about the qualification, eight out of 10 said the team’s qualification was “undeserved”.

Even worse, 88 percent of those polled said that Henry “was wrong” to have controlled the ball with his hand, which led to France scoring the goal that tied the game in extra time and gave them an aggregate victory.

France coach Raymond Domenech, whose job has been in the balance several times in the past two years, was also given short shrift. Seventy-one percent of people “interested in football” said Domenech should be relieved of his duties.

After his double handball Henry passed to William Gallas, who levelled the scores at 1-1 at the Stade de France on Wednesday, thus sending the Republic crashing out.

Henry admitted the blatant error, but stopped short of calling it cheating. He, and the rest of the French delegation, blamed the referee, Sweden’s Martin Hansson, for not spotting the infraction.

PARIS (AFP)

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Bordeaux, Lyon look to restore French pride

November 20, 2009


League leaders Bordeaux and closest rivals Lyon will hope to restore French football’s battered reputation on Saturday, as league action returns to focus minds away from World Cup controversy.

Three days after Thierry Henry’s handball helped steer France past Ireland and into the World Cup finals, champions Bordeaux, who signed off before the international break with a 2-0 defeat at Lille, host a Valenciennes side who are the most prolific team in the division.

Philippe Montanier’s men have not lost since a 3-2 defeat at Nice on October 3 and have scored a league-high 23 goals in their 12 games to date.

“The France team will need a rest,” said a jocular Montanier, in reference to the mid-week exertions of Bordeaux’s French international midfielders Yoann Gourcuff and Alou Diarra.

“It’s understandable: Gourcuff and Diarra will need a rest on Saturday.”

Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc, whose side travel to Turin to face Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday, conceded that both players needed rest.

“Yoann Gourcuff came off with an adductor muscle problem,” he said.

“We will see what it is. For Alou, playing 120 minutes in those conditions is psychologically very difficult.”

Lyon, a point behind Bordeaux in second place, travel to Grenoble, who picked up their first point of the season in a 0-0 draw at Monaco last time out but are still 11 points adrift of safety at the foot of the table.

Third-placed Auxerre are the league’s in-form team and will look to extend their winning streak to seven matches when they welcome fourth-placed Monaco to the Stade l’Abbe-Deschamps in Saturday’s evening game.

Montpellier, promoted from Ligue 2 last season and riding high in sixth place, visit Lille on Sunday, while 10-time champions Saint-Etienne will hope to put further daylight between themselves and the relegation zone when they host fifth-placed Lorient.

The top flight’s biggest match was taking place on Friday when Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain were meeting in a re-arranged league fixture at the Stade Velodrome.

The original match was postponed at short notice on October 25 after an outbreak of swine flu at the Parisian club and Marseille midfielder Benoit Cheyrou says the ensuing wait has served only to motivate his side.

“It was a strange feeling to be told on the day of the game that it had been called off,” he said.

“But that’s just the way it was and we didn’t get to have our say in the matter. It just means we’ll be even more motivated for Friday.”

Marseille’s last league outing saw them snatch an incredible 5-5 draw at Lyon after coming back from 4-2 and then 5-4 down, and victory over PSG would take them to within three points of Bordeaux.

“It’s always a special game and we’re ready to do everything to take the three points,” said Cheyrou.

“It’s the first game of a big run for us as we’ll be playing every three days until Christmas.”

PSG are without suspended skipper Claude Makelele for the trip to the south coast, but swine flu victims Mamadou Sakho, Ludovic Giuly, Jeremy Clement and Loris Arnaud have all returned to full fitness.

Antoine Kombouare’s side are currently 13th in the table after a stuttering start to the season but victory on Friday night would move them level on 19 points with eighth-placed Marseille.

“We’re going to go there in the right frame of mind to play well,” said Sakho. “We know there are a lot of things that go on around a match like this, but we just have to concentrate on what happens on the pitch.”

Fixtures

Friday (2000GMT)

Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain

Saturday (1800GMT unless otherwise stated)

Bordeaux v Valenciennes, Grenoble v Lyon, Lens v Nancy, Rennes v Le Mans, Auxerre v Monaco (2000GMT)

Sunday (1600GMT unless otherwise stated)

Nice v Toulouse, Saint-Etienne v Lorient, Montpellier v Lille (2000GMT)

PARIS (AFP)

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10 good reasons to love Raymond Domenech

November 20, 2009


Overseeing qualification for the World Cup via a blatant handball is unlikely to do much for the popularity of French coach Raymond Domenech, either at home or abroad (his Wikipedia page is currently saying some very nasty things about him, but it will doubtless be put back to its less offensive version soon).

The 57-year-old former defender, whose name is booed at every match, has never made any effort to make himself popular, but here are 10 reasons (or nearly 10) why football fans may want to reconsider their view:

1. He has never won anything as a coach, a characteristic shared by most soccer fans, which makes him less intimidating than, say, Giovanni Trapattoni.

2. He was a workaholic defender with limited skills in his playing days, with makes a nice change in a country full of retired magicians.

3. He is more successful as a coach than the great Michel Platini, under the guidance of whom France failed to win a single match at Euro 92.

4. He convinced Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele to come out of retirement and guide France all the way to the 2006 World Cup final.

5. He made Yoann Gourcuff his playmaker when others doubted he even had a place in the starting line-up.

6. He made sure Loic Remy, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Bafetimbi Gomis became famous outside their regions.

7. He is an incurable romantic, asking his partner to marry him rather than apologising to the fans after France lost a World Cup final largely because of Zidane’s infamous headbutt.

8. He is not obsessed with television, being the only Frenchman not to have watched the replay of Wednesday’s controversial goal.

9. Most people don’t like him, so being a fan of Domenech is more original than liking Nelson Mandela, the Beatles or chocolate ice cream.

10. OK, that’s only nine. Anyone care to nominate a 10th?

PHOTO: France team coach Raymond Domenech (C) celebrates their win against Ireland in their World Cup qualifying playoff return leg match at the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis near Paris November 18, 2009. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

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World Cup playoff draw – your views

October 20, 2009


Draw for the European World Cup playoffs:

Republic of Ireland v France
Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Greece v Ukraine
Russia v Slovenia

Two-legged ties to be played on Nov 14 and 18.

Is that the sound of a World Cup playoff shock I hear? France, 2006 runners-up, will have to beat Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland over two legs to reach South Africa next year and that is no easy feat.

The Irish were unbeaten in qualifying and drew with world champions Italy twice while with Trapattoni as coach they have the wiliest of wily foxes, whatever you think of his English.

We talked a lot on this blog about the controversy over seedings but it would be hard to separate Greece and Ukraine on paper let alone on the field.

Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo struggled in qualifying and just scraped the playoffs so let’s not discount proud Bosnia yet. Is Guus Hiddink destined for another World Cup with Russia? Let us know what you think in the comments.

PHOTO: France team, Oct 14. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

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Henry rallies France for Faroes encounter

October 10, 2009


Thierry Henry has called on his France team-mates to produce a rousing performance in their last two World Cup qualifying matches, starting with the visit of minnows the Faroe Islands on Saturday.

Les Bleus have stumbled through their qualification campaign and appear destined for a place in the play-offs, but Henry says that there is still work to be done.

“If we don’t go to the World Cup, everyone will suffer from it,” the Barcelona forward told sport daily L’Equipe on Thursday.

“But it’s all down to us. It’s up to us to give people reason to believe in the team again.”

France trail Serbia by four points in European qualifying group seven and the Serbs can secure top spot and a place at the World Cup if they win at home to Romania on Saturday.

A brave performance earned France a 1-1 draw against Serbia in their last outing, after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had been sent off early in the first half, and Henry believes the nature of that display has given his side heart.

“I said that we needed a match to set a benchmark,” he said. “Even though we didn’t win, the match in Serbia might be it.

“The way the game unfolded made me realise that this team has a soul. We were looking for ourselves and I hope we’ve now found ourselves.”

Goals have been in short supply for the 1998 world champions in recent months, with just six scored in their last nine matches.

Injury has also robbed them of two of their most creative players, as Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has been sidelined by tendinitis and Bordeaux playmaker Yoann Gourcuff is out with a hamstring problem.

Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis was rewarded for his early-season form by being called up as Ribery’s replacement, but is unlikely to start.

Coach Raymond Domenech is rumoured to be considering jettisoning his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation in favour of a 4-4-2 with Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka and Toulouse forward Andre-Pierre Gignac leading the line.

Victory for France in Guingamp will secure second place and a berth in the play-offs ahead of third-placed Austria, who travel to Paris on Wednesday, but Domenech insists automatic qualification is not an unrealistic objective.

“All I’ve heard for weeks is ‘We’re going to be in the play-offs,’” he said. “But wait. Serbia aren’t guaranteed to beat Romania. We’ve got to score as many goals as possible to improve our goal difference and be able to say to ourselves that we tried our best.”

PARIS (AFP)

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Recovering Ribery may play, says Domenech

August 12, 2009


Franck Ribery, who missed Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga opener last weekend due to injury, could make an appearance for France in their World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands here on Wednesday.

France coach Raymond Domenech said on the eve of the Group Seven fixture that he was prepared to deploy the playmaker in some capacity even though Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal initially only allowed Ribery to make the trip on the condition that he wasn’t called to play.

“Franck is ready to play part of the game,” Domenech insisted here on Tuesday about the player who is recovering from a left knee problem.

The French boss added: “I had Van Gaal on the phone, we are in agreement that we have to return him (Ribery) in the best condition.

“He could play, if needed, for 15 to 20 minutes, like that he’ll get ready for Bayern’s match on Saturday, that’s part of our agreement, but we won’t necessarily ask him to play unless there’s a problem.”

Van Gaal had stated last Friday that Ribery would not be playing against the Faroe Islands, insisting that he was only allowing him to join up with the national squad “for a change of scenery”.

Switching to Thierry Henry Domenech said he had been aware for some time that the Barcelona striker may not be fit enough to join them for this trip to the North Atlantic island.

Henry was ruled out Monday with his club Barcelona revealing he was suffering from an Achilles problem.

“We’ve known for a few weeks that he wasn’t right but was continuing to play.. after talking to him we thought it wasn’t worth him coming to us to have his injury checked.

“It’s best that he rests, we’ll need him in September and October. I have confidence in ‘Titi’, the France team is his permanent dream.”

In Henry and regular captain Patrick Vieira’s absence the skipper’s armband will be worn by Arsenal’s William Gallas.

France need a win from Wednesday’s qualifier to close the gap with Group Seven leaders Serbia, who enjoy an eight-point cushion although the Serbs have played two more games.

“The three points are essential,” conceded Gallas.

TORSHAVN, Faroe Islands (AFP)

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Malouda rewarded with new contract

June 24, 2009


LONDON (AFP) – Chelsea’s French international midfielder Florent Malouda signed on Tuesday a four-year contract extension with the FA Cup winners.

The 29-year-old, who had two years remaining on his current contract, had been linked with a move to Italian Serie A giants AC Milan despite a generally hugely disappointing spell at Chelsea since joining for 13.5million pounds from French champions Lyon in 2007.

“I am staying. I have four years left on my contract,” commented Malouda, whose performances improved once Guus Hiddink replaced Luis Felipe Scolari at the club earlier this year.

“Every time the transfer window opens there are rumours and I hope in this one people will know what happened,” added Malouda, who was part of the France team that reached the 2006 World Cup final.

Malouda had been widely expected to move on after Chelsea were linked earlier this year with a move for Russia’s far more impressive attacking midfielder Yuri Zhirkov, who plays for CSKA Moscow.

But Malouda found his form under Hiddink and eventually started 31 games for the Blues last season, scoring nine goals.

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Bayern dismiss Chelsea´s reported bid for Ribery

May 29, 2009


BERLIN (AFP) – Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness said Friday that Chelsea’s reported 50-million-euro bid to sign Franck Ribery would not even be enough for one of the France star’s legs.

“For 50 millions euros, I don’t even pick up my telehone,” Hoeness told the Bild tabloid. “Because a figure like that doesn’t even give you rights, at best, to one of Ribery’s legs.

“For the moment, no club has made itself known to us,” he added.

Ribery has been recommended to Chelsea by AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, who is the favourite to take charge at Stamford Bridge once Guus Hiddink resumes his full-time role as Russia coach next month.

The Independent newspaper claimed on Thursday that Chelsea’s chief executive Peter Kenyon has sanctioned the offer for former Marseille star Ribery, which includes an annual net salary of 4.7 million pounds (5.5 million euros).

The transfer fee would be just short of the world record 46 million pounds (52.7 million euros) paid by Real Madrid for Ribery’s former France team-mate Zinedine Zidane.

However, Ribery is said to earn seven million euros a year in Germany and wants a salary closer to that before he agrees to move to west London.

He is likely to have other suitors, with Manchester United and Real Madrid both reported to be interested in signing him.

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