Guardiola renews Barca contract for one year: report
January 20, 2010
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has renewed his contract with the European champions, which expires at the end of the season, for one year, the online edition of daily newspaper El Pais reported Wednesday.
“He and the club have reached an agreement to extend his contract, which was to expire in June, which includes a series of clauses which will allow the incoming president to negotiate terms,” it said.
Barcelona have not confirmed the report but the club has called a press conference for 1:30 pm (1230 GMT) which will be attended by Guardiola, Barcelona president Joan Laporta and sporting director Txiki Begiristain.
Guardiola has remained silent on what he wants to do and Spanish media have speculated that the 39-year-old may be waiting to see who will succeed Laporta as president after elections later this year before making a decision.
Laporta said on Monday the club were resigned to rivals trying to lure away Guardiola, who led Barca to an unprecedented six trophies in 2009.
Guardiola took over from Dutchman Frank Rijkaard in June 2008 after being promoted from his job as coach of Barcelona’s B side.
Under his guidance during the 2008-09 season the Catalan side won the Champions League, Spanish league, the Kings Cup, the Spanish Supercup and the European Supercup.
Last month Barcelona also won the Club World Cup final with a 2-1 win over Argentine side Estudiantes.
MADRID (AFP)
Tags: 1230 gmt, Argentine, argentine side, b side, Barcelona, champions league, clauses, club world cup, dutchman, european champions, frank rijkaard, incoming president, joan laporta, kings cup, MADRID, pep guardiola, rivals, spanish league, spanish media, trophies, txikiRelated posts
14/08/09: Transfer Rumors
August 14, 2009
‘Aston Villa target Wesley Sneijder says he does not want to leave Real Madrid and wants to stay at the Bernabeu and fight for his place.’ – Independent
‘Diomansy Kamara insists he will remain with Fulham despite being linked with a move to French champions Bordeaux.’ – Press Association
‘Everton have bid £8m for Newcastle central defender Steven Taylor in a move which could pave the way for Joleon Lescott to leave Goodison Park for Manchester City.’ – The Daily Star
‘Franck Ribery is believed to be keen to leave Bayern Munich which could encourage Chelsea and Manchester United to increase their efforts to sign the French winger.’ – Times
‘Aston Villa have moved to bolster their defence by putting in a £5m bid for Manchester City centre-back Richard Dunne.’ – Daily Express
‘Damien Duff could be another player to leave Newcastle as Wolves and Fulham battle it out for the left-sided midfielder.’ – Daily Mirror
‘Manchester United scouts were casting their eye over Argentine striker Sergio Aguero in his country’s 3-2 win over Russia on Wednesday.’ – The Sun
‘FC Barcelona have stepped up their mission for strengthening its defense with Emannuel Eboué of Arsenal and Gregory Grygera of Juventus being seen as potential signings’ – Secondo Sport
‘Galatasaray coach Frank Rijkaard has made Real Madrid’s Guti as one of his priorities with the midfielder declaring that he would prefer to stay with the los Merengues until the end of his contract in June 2011.’ – El Mundo
‘David Beckham has said that he is confident of a future return to Milan, after spending six months on loan last season from the Los Angeles Galaxy.’ – Gazzetta dello Sport
‘Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce has told chairman John Williams to provide the funds to sign former Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado.’ – Daily Mirror
‘Sunderland are planning a triple swoop for Pompey keeper David James and defender Sylvain Distin as well as Lucas Neill, who is out of contract at West Ham.’ – Daily Mirror
‘Bolton boss Gary Megson says the club took out an £8m escape clause in the contract of Gary Cahill when the defender recently signed a new contract.’ – Daily Mail
‘Middlesbrough striker Tuncay Sanli is set to join Fenerbahce on loan.’ – Daily Mirror
‘But Wolves and Everton are interested in the Turkey striker as well and could get him for about £6m.’ – Independent
‘Free agent Mark Viduka, who last played for Newcastle United, could make a Premier League comeback with Fulham.’ – Sky Sports
‘Daniel Moreira has agreed a two-year contract with Boulogne if he get’s released by Rennes.’ – L’Equipe
‘Saint-Etienne have agreed with Besiktas for the transfer of it’s Brazilian striker Bobo.’ – L’Equipe
‘PSG’s Jérôme Rothen has agreed with Blackburn for a three-year contract.’ – Le Parisien
‘Felipe Mattioni of Gremio could join Catalona giants FC Barcelona for a fee around € 3m.’ – RAC 1
Abhimanyu Rajput
Tags: aston villa, Barcelona, Bayern, bayern munich, bobo, Bordeaux, Boulogne, central defender, CHELSEA, Damien Duff, daniel moreira, David Beckham, diomansy kamara, Felipe Mattioni, franck ribery, frank rijkaard, fulham, Gary Cahill, gary megson, Goodison Park, grygera, john williams, Los Angeles, Lucas Neill, MADRID, Manchester, manchester city, manchester city centre, mark viduka, merengues, Michel Salgado, Milan, NEWCASTLE, newcastle central, premier league, Rennes, richard dunne, russia, saint etienne, Sam, sam allardyce, Sergio Aguero, Sky Sports, steven taylor, Sunderland, Turkey, Wesley Sneijder, west ham, wolvesRelated posts
Fulham qualify, Roma, Galatasaray swamp rivals in Europa League
August 7, 2009
English Premier League Fulham reached the Europa League play-off round on Thursday where they were joined by free-scoring Roma and Galatasary.
Andrew Johnson scored twice to add to Dickson Etuhu’s opener as Fulham saw off Vetra of Lithuania 3-0 for a 6-0 aggregate win in their third qualifying round, second leg clash at Craven Cottage.
“We were good value for our three goals as we were in the first leg,” said Fulham coach Roy Hodgson.
“I am pleased with our attitude, pleased with the quality of our play and pleased with our passing.”
Galatasary of Turkey, coached by former Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard, crushed Israel’s Maccabi Netanya 6-1 for a 10-1 aggregate with Congo striker Shabani Nonda grabbing a hat-trick.
Veteran striker Francesco Totti, who scored twice in the first leg, also claimed a hat-trick as AS Roma beat AA Gent 7-1 in Belgium for a 10-2 aggregate.
Dejan Lekic was another hat-trick star as 1991 European champions Red Star Belgrade overturned a 2-0 first leg deficit to beat Georgia’s Dinamo Tbilisi 5-2 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.
Lekic completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute, just when 1981 Cup Winners Cup champions Dinamo were in sight of an away goals victory.
In a fiercely-contested tie, where the Georgians had led 4-1 on aggregate at one stage, both sides finished with 10 men.
Scotland suffered a double dose of misery.
Mark McGhee’s Aberdeen, humiliated 5-1 at home by Sigma Olomouc in the first leg, slumped to a 3-0 defeat in the return tie in the Czech Republic for an embarrassing 8-1 aggregate exit.
Tomas Janotka, Marek Kascak, with a penalty, and Michal Hubnik scored the goals in the first half.
Steaua Bucharest, the 1986 European champions, defeated Motherwell 3-1 for a 6-1 aggregate win.
“We had two clear-penalty shouts and were disappointed not to get the second goal. The belief would have come from that,” said Motherwell manager Jim Gannon.
“I knew the second goal would be critical. If we got it, the mood and atmosphere in the stadium would change in our favour. But, if they got it, it would have been the opposite.”
There will be no European adventure this season for 37-year-old former Celtic, Manchester United and Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson whose Helsingborgs side lost on penalties to Sarajevo.
Larsson was forced to miss Thursday’s tie after breaking a kneecap in the first leg in Sweden.
The 35 third qualifying round winners go into Friday’s play-off draw where they will be joined by the 15 losers from the Champions League final qualifiers as well as 26 other leading sides which include the likes of Everton, Aston Villa, Werder Bremen, Valencia, Lazio and Ajax.
The winners of the 38 play-off ties will be joined by the losers of the 10 Champions League play-offs in the group stages of the tournament.
PARIS (AFP)
Tags: aa gent, Aberdeen, Ajax, andrew johnson, Barcelona, Belgium, Belgrade, Bremen, bucharest, craven cottage, cup winners cup, czech republic, Dickson Etuhu, English Premier League, european champions, francesco totti, frank rijkaard, fulham, Galatasary, Georgia, Henrik Larsson, israel, jim gannon, lazio, Lithuania, maccabi netanya, Manchester, Marek Kascak, mark mcghee, PARIS, red star belgrade, return tie, Roma, roy hodgson, Sarajevo, scotland, shabani, sigma olomouc, Sweden, tbilisi, Tomas Janotka, Turkey, United, Valencia, veteran striker, vetraRelated posts
Fulham qualify, Roma, Galatasaray swamp rivals in Europa League
August 7, 2009
English Premier League Fulham reached the Europa League play-off round on Thursday where they were joined by free-scoring Roma and Galatasary.
Andrew Johnson scored twice to add to Dickson Etuhu’s opener as Fulham saw off Vetra of Lithuania 3-0 for a 6-0 aggregate win in their third qualifying round, second leg clash at Craven Cottage.
“We were good value for our three goals as we were in the first leg,” said Fulham coach Roy Hodgson.
“I am pleased with our attitude, pleased with the quality of our play and pleased with our passing.”
Galatasary of Turkey, coached by former Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard, crushed Israel’s Maccabi Netanya 6-1 for a 10-1 aggregate with Congo striker Shabani Nonda grabbing a hat-trick.
Veteran striker Francesco Totti, who scored twice in the first leg, also claimed a hat-trick as AS Roma beat AA Gent 7-1 in Belgium for a 10-2 aggregate.
Dejan Lekic was another hat-trick star as 1991 European champions Red Star Belgrade overturned a 2-0 first leg deficit to beat Georgia’s Dinamo Tbilisi 5-2 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.
Lekic completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute, just when 1981 Cup Winners Cup champions Dinamo were in sight of an away goals victory.
In a fiercely-contested tie, where the Georgians had led 4-1 on aggregate at one stage, both sides finished with 10 men.
Scotland suffered a double dose of misery.
Mark McGhee’s Aberdeen, humiliated 5-1 at home by Sigma Olomouc in the first leg, slumped to a 3-0 defeat in the return tie in the Czech Republic for an embarrassing 8-1 aggregate exit.
Tomas Janotka, Marek Kascak, with a penalty, and Michal Hubnik scored the goals in the first half.
Steaua Bucharest, the 1986 European champions, defeated Motherwell 3-1 for a 6-1 aggregate win.
“We had two clear-penalty shouts and were disappointed not to get the second goal. The belief would have come from that,” said Motherwell manager Jim Gannon.
“I knew the second goal would be critical. If we got it, the mood and atmosphere in the stadium would change in our favour. But, if they got it, it would have been the opposite.”
There will be no European adventure this season for 37-year-old former Celtic, Manchester United and Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson whose Helsingborgs side lost on penalties to Sarajevo.
Larsson was forced to miss Thursday’s tie after breaking a kneecap in the first leg in Sweden.
The 35 third qualifying round winners go into Friday’s play-off draw where they will be joined by the 15 losers from the Champions League final qualifiers as well as 26 other leading sides which include the likes of Everton, Aston Villa, Werder Bremen, Valencia, Lazio and Ajax.
The winners of the 38 play-off ties will be joined by the losers of the 10 Champions League play-offs in the group stages of the tournament.
PARIS (AFP)
Tags: aa gent, Aberdeen, Ajax, Barcelona, Belgium, Belgrade, bucharest, craven cottage, cup winners cup, Dickson Etuhu, dinamo tbilisi, English Premier League, european champions, francesco totti, frank rijkaard, fulham, Galatasary, Henrik Larsson, jim gannon, lazio, maccabi netanya, Manchester, Marek Kascak, mark mcghee, PARIS, red star belgrade, return tie, roy hodgson, shabani, sigma olomouc, Sweden, United, veteran striker, vetraRelated posts
Guardiola wants Eto´o to leave Barca
July 20, 2009
Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola admitted Monday that it would be better if Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, who is linked to a move to Inter Milan, were to leave the Spanish club.
“I fully understand that peole ask why. He is a wonderful player. Everyone knows there are no ‘football’ reasons. So why? It is a question of feeling,” Guardiola told a news conference as Barcelona resumed training.
“I feel that it is the best for the team, for the club, but I don’t dare say that it is best for Samuel. I am very grateful to Samuel, not for this year but for the five years he has spent here.
“The coach’s job is not to change the personality of players but it is my job to decide who to work with. It’s my responsibility and I think we need to change something.”
Eto’o is currently negotiating with Inter Milan as part of a proposed deal that would see him join the club while the Italian side’s Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic would move to Barcelona.
According to Spanish press reports the deal amounting to around 45 million euros plus Eto’o for Ibrahimovic has been agreed with the Cameroon striker’s wage demands in Italy the only matter still to be ironed out.
“At the moment Eto’o is a Barcelona player, we will see how the situation will play out,” said Guardiola.
When Guardiola took over from Frank Rijkaard last year he made it clear that he wanted Eto’o along with Ronaldinho and Deco to leave, reportedly because of problems that the African striker had caused in the dressing room.
Ronaldinho was sold to AC Milan, Deco went to Chelsea but Eto’o stayed at the club because Barcelona did not receive any convincing offers for him.
The 28-year-old, who joined the Catalan side in 2004, has a year left in his contract with Barcelona. He was the club’s top scorer in the Spanish league last season, with 30 goals.
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP)
Tags: ac milan, Barcelona, barcelona spain, cameroon, catalan side, CHELSEA, dressing room, frank rijkaard, inter milan, italian side, Italy, josep guardiola, Milan, news conference, ronaldinho, samuel eto, samuel eto o, Spain, spanish club, spanish league, spanish press, striker, top scorer, wage demands, zlatan ibrahimovicRelated posts
Barca´s Eto´o gets extra week of holidays
July 16, 2009
Barcelona have given their Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, whose future at the club is uncertain, an extra week of holidays to buy time to negotiate his departure, Spanish media reported Thursday.
The club resume training on Monday but the player will only join up with the team on July 27 along with the six Spanish internationals who took part in the Confederations Cup — Xavi, Gerard Pique, Sergi Busquets, Carles Puyol and Dani Alves — as well as Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.
Coach Josep Guardiola no longer wants Eto’o in his team and the move is an attempt by the European and Spanish champions to “buy time” to offload the striker who has one year left on his contract, daily La Vanguardia reported.
Guardiola wants to replace the 28-year-old with another striker such as Valencia’s David Villa or Atletico Madrid’s Diego Forlan, it added.
When he took over as Barcelona coach from Frank Rijkaard last year, he made it clear that he wanted Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Deco to leave, reportedly because of problems that the striker had caused in the dressing room.
Ronaldinho was sold to AC Milan, Deco went to Chelsea but Eto’o stayed at the club because Barcelona did not receive any convincing offers for him — and history risks repeating itself.
Barcelona reportedly wanted Eto’o, who scored in the Champions League final win over Manchester United, to accept an offer from Manchester City but the player refused and the English club eventually gave up on recruiting him.
Spanish media have indicated wage demands of some ten million euros (14 million dollars) a year were frightening off top clubs.
Barcelona’s efforts to recruit Villa have hit a roadblock over money with financially-troubled Valencia refusing to sell the player for less than 50 million euros while the Spanish champions are offering 42 million euros.
The 27-year-old, who has made it clear that he wants to leave Valencia, has offered to pay the difference out of his own pocket, several Spanish newspapers reported Thursday.
Meanwhile, Pablo Forlan, the father of Uruguayan international Diego Forlan has said that his son would like the chance to play at Barcelona.
“Diego is at Atletico, very happy there because he has been treated wonderfully, but without a doubt playing in a team like Barca would interest any player,” he told COM radio.
But Atletico president Enrique Cerezo has refused to let the top scorer in the Spanish league last season go.
Barcelona announced Wednesday that it had singed Brazilian left-back Maxwell from Italian side Inter Milan for 4.5 million euros, its first recruitment of this current period.
MADRID (AFP)
Tags: ac milan, Andres Iniesta, atletico madrid, Barcelona, cameroon, carles puyol, CHELSEA, clubs barcelona, DAVID VILLA, deco, Diego, diego forlan, enrique cerezo, frank rijkaard, josep guardiola, LA Liga, la vanguardia, lionel messi, MADRID, manchester city, maxwell, Pablo Forlan, roadblock, ronaldinho, samuel eto, samuel eto o, sergi, spanish champions, spanish media, spanish newspapers, top clubs, wage demands, xaviRelated posts
Lyon´s Keita signs for Galatasaray
July 2, 2009
LYON, France (AFP) – Lyon announced on Thursday they have agreed terms with Turkish giants Galatasaray for the transfer of Ivory Coast striker Kader Keita.
The deal leading to a three-year contract for the 27-year-old goal-scorer in Istanbul is expected to be completed later in the day.
Keita joined Lyon from Lille in June 2007 along with midfielder Mathieu Bodmer for a total transfer fee of 24million euros.
He failed to make his mark on the team under coaches Alain Perrin and then last season Claude Puel as Lyon lost the French title they had won for seven straight years.
Galatasary are currently rebuilding under former Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard.
Tags: Alain Perrin, Barcelona, claude puel, coach frank, France, frank rijkaard, french title, Galatasary, giants, goal scorer, Istanbul, Ivory Coast, kader, Ligue 1, Lille, Lyon, lyon france, mathieu bodmer, signs, striker, Turkcell Süper LigRelated posts
Kaka deal highlights Serie A decline
June 10, 2009
The departure of Kaka from AC Milan to Real Madrid marks the end of the Italian era in European football. Not only can Italian clubs not attract the best players in the world to play in Serie A but now, when they unearth a talent like Kaka, they can’t stop them from leaving.
Italians used to describe their Serie A as ‘il campionato piu bello del mondo’ , the most beautiful championship in the world. It was not just because Italians love nothing more than talking themselves up — Serie A was the first league in the world to sign up top foreign stars, bringing in international talent at a time when the English league, for example, stretched no further than Scotland in search of players.
Beginning in the late 1950’s when the likes of Brazilian Jose Altafini (AC Milan) and Welshman John Charles (Juventus) were among the top performers, Serie A prided itself on being the league that had the money to bring in the best in the world.
After the 1966 World Cup, where Italy was humiliated by North Korea, foreigners were banned as part of an attempt to strengthen the domestic talent base and the national team, but when the rule was relaxed in 1980, the top clubs began importing talent again and before long Italy had become the first league to truly take on global status.
Frenchman Michel Platini at Juventus led the new wave and then the biggest name of all, Diego Maradona almost single-handedly led Napoli to titles in 1987 and 1990. The great Milan sides of Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello were built around foreign stars — the Dutch trio of Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten helped transform Serie A from a league dominated by cautious and defensive teams into a showcase for the world’s best talent.
Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus and Andreas Brehme helped Inter to the title in 1989, and by the nineties, any player in the world who could be considered a match-winner was being snapped up by an Italian team.
Just ten years ago, the top teams in Serie A included players such as Ronaldo at Inter, George Weah and a young Andriy Shevchenko at Milan, Gabriel Batistuta at Fiorentina, Hernan Crespo, Pavel Nedved and Juan Sebastian Veron (all at their peak) at Lazio and the best of his generation, Zinedine Zidane at Juventus. It was the departure of the latter to Real Madrid in 2001 that suggested Spain was beginning to replace Italy as the place where the world’s best could get paid best.
Since then though, England’s Premier League, flush with television cash, has begun gobbling up players that in the past would have headed to Serie A. In the 1990’s the likes of Fernando Torres, Michael Ballack, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Didier Drogba would have almost certainly been Serie A players. Real and Barcelona in Spain and Bayern Munich in Germany have also proven stronger in the transfer market that Italy’s top teams. It would have once been unthinkable that Italian World Cup hero such as Luca Toni would choose to play in the Bundesliga rather than in Milan or Turin.
A week after Milan captain Paolo Maldini, who played with or against all those great talents from the late eighties onwards, finally hung up his boots, Kaka leaves Milan for a fee of around 68 million euros and Adriano Galliani, who runs Milan on behalf of tycoon and prime minister Silvio Berlusconi conceded the golden era of Serie A was now over: “Ten years ago Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could have played in Italy but now no one even considers it,” he said.
That is the painful truth for Italian fans — it is not so much that Italian clubs cannot compete with Real’s occasional obscene bouts of cash-throwing that hurts but that Italian clubs are no longer even considered as likely destinations for the world’s best or most promising.
Berlusconi talked up Ronaldinho as the man who will now be the standard-bearer for Milan but the impression is that he moved to Italy after his best years, served with Barcelona, were over.
Money is the main reason for Italy’s relegation from Europe’s elite — Milan, Inter and Juventus no longer have the resources to compete with England and Spain’s top clubs. Italian clubs ignored marketing and merchandising as they presumed their wealthy owners — the Berlusconi, Moratti and Agnelli families — would take care of everything. Moratti still finds the cash but Milan and Juve now operate in the world of budgets rather than blockbuster transfer deals.
With the lack of foreign quality and top wages, Serie A has lost the sheen of glamour that once led fans from all over the world to tune in and watch. The days when Ronaldo and Zidane were face to face in an Inter-Juve match, with a supporting cast of quality Italians and exciting foreign players, is over. Does anyone watch Serie A on satellite or cable anymore?
The proof that this really is the end of an era is the way that the Italian media and fans have just shrugged their shoulders at the departure of Kaka. They know they cannot turn down offers of that size — offers their own teams used to make every summer.
KAKA: Kaka attends Brazilian training at Arruda stadium in Recife, northeastern Brazil, June 8, 2009. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
ZIDANE: Zinedine Zidane shows his Juventus shirt at a news conference announcing his move to Turin, July 3, 1996. REUTERS/Claudio Papi
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Tags: A. In, ac milan, andreas brehme, arrigo sacchi, Barcelona, Bayern, captain Paolo Maldini, carlos tevez, diego maradona, dutch trio, England, Europe, fabio capello, Fernando Torres, frank rijkaard, Gabriel Batistuta, George Weah, Germany, global status, italian clubs, italian team, italians, Italy, John Charles, Jose, juan sebastian veron, juve, juventus, kaka, LA Liga, lazio, Lionel, lothar matthaeus, MADRID, marco van basten, Michael Ballack, michel platini, Milan, napoli, North Korea, Pavel Nedved, premier league, real madrid, ronaldo, ruud gullit, scotland, Serie A, silvio berlusconi, Spain, Toni, top clubs, turin, welshman, ZidaneRelated posts
Galatasaray New Boss, Rijkaard
June 6, 2009
Rijkard and Ahmet Turgut backwards in 2003 when he was the railcar of Barca….
Galatasaray ordained land theoretical administrator Frank Rijkaard as their newborn coach.
The edifice expressed on its website on weekday that they united with past metropolis railcar Rijkaard to change Bulent Korkmaz, according to the report.
Rijkaard is due to come in Istanbul, Turkey on weekday and clew a 2-year-contract with the edifice at a start at 8:00 p.m.local instance (GMT 1700).
Rijkaard, dropped on Sept 30, 1962 in Amsterdam, is a land football Manager and past player. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real city and Milan, and represented his domestic lateral 73 times, scoring 10 goals.
Rijkaard’s work occupation began when he was ordained trainer of the Holland domestic sport aggroup in 1998. He had previously served as an supporter coach, along with Johan Neeskens and Ronald Koeman low the managerial term of Guus Hiddink.
During the 2001-02 season, he became trainer of metropolis Rotterdam, and then he was ordained trainer of metropolis for the 2003-04 season.
I hit followed Rijkaard backwards in 2003 when he came to United States with metropolis for a cordial matches.
At that instance he was the railcar of Turkic International Keeper Rustu Recber who was
transfered to Barcelona.
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futbol, soccer, fussball, football, gol, goal, springy scores, canl, live, puan durumu, puan cetveli, standings, results
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It´s Hooray Henry as he wins Champions League at last
May 28, 2009
ROME (AFP) – France football great Thierry Henry at last added the Champions League to his medals cabinet here on Wednesday and made it a full house of major football titles.
The 31-year-old – who won the World Cup and Euro titles with France – had tasted final defeat with Arsenal when they lost 2-1 to ironically Barcelona in 2006.
But that record was set straight here on Wednesday as Barcelona deservedly beat holders Manchester United 2-0 with goals by Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi, who outshone his United counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo.
Henry too could have all but wrapped the match up soon after half-time with Barca leading 1-0 when he produced a mesmerising piece of individual skill only to be thwarted by Edwin van der Sar.
However, that faded into insignificance for Henry as he soaked up what it meant to win the greatest trophy in European club football.
“Finally I have won it!” said the former Monaco and Juventus striker, who after a miserable first season at Barca under Frank Rijkaard has been rejuvenated under Pep Guardiola.
“I have been waiting for so long for this.
“The last five minutes were the longest in my life. I know we were 2-0 up but we were playing the best team in the world (referring to the world club championship United won earlier this year).
“We didn’t start well and Man Utd dominated for 10 minutes but then we got our passing game together and we ran the game.
“It’s a double celebration as it is my daughter’s birthday.”
For his outstanding team-mate Andres Iniesta – whose last-gasp goal had secured their place in the final at the expense of last year’s finalists Chelsea – it was hard to get a word out of him.
“I am speechless,” gasped the Euro 2008-winning star.
“The Cup is so beautiful. It’s the perfect ending to a spectacular season.”
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson accepted defeat with good grace.
“We started the game brightly but the goal was a killer,” said the 67-year-old Scot, who looked to have had a good omen when one of his horses Last Three Minutes won a race earlier on Wednesday.
“However, they are a better team than us. We conceded two bad goals. Our defence has been good all season but those were two shoddy goals to lose.”
Ferguson, who has nevertheless guided United to the title and to the League Cup this season as well as the World Club Championship, paid special tribute to not Messi but to Iniesta and man of the match Xavi Hernandez.
“Xavi and Iniesta can keep the ball so well that you get the impression they have had it all night.
“That makes it really difficult for us.”
However, Ferguson said that his side would bounce back from a match they had barely ever been competitive in.
“The team has done well this season, it;s their 66th match so fatigue does play a part. And they have showed great resilience. But they have to accept that they will have to be better at this level next season. That is the lesson to be learnt.”
United England central defender Rio Ferdinand accepted that none of the team had really shown their true form – especially true of him and central efensive partner Nemanja Vidic, both badly caught out for the diminutive Messi’s goal when he headed home unopposed.
“Credit to Barcelona, they deserved it as they were the best side. Obviously it is very disappointing for us,” said Ferdinand, who was only cleared fit on the eve of the match.
“None of us played well tonight, it was a collective failure.
“We did create chances but they scored off their first chance and congratulations to them, they were the better team.
“With the Messi goal we could have done better certainly but special moments decide matches and they got the goals.”
Tags: alex ferguson, Andres Iniesta, Barcelona, CHELSEA, club football, double celebration, edwin van, Edwin van der, England, Ferdinand, Ferguson, football titles, France, france football, frank rijkaard, gasp goal, good grace, good omen, Henry, last gasp, lionel messi, Manchester, Monaco, passing game, pep guardiola, Rio, ROME, ronaldo, samuel eto, samuel eto o, Scot, sir alex ferguson, spectacular season, team mate, thierry henry, UEFA Champions League, world club championshipRelated posts
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