Guardiola: “Rubin Kazan’s victory wasn’t a matter of luck”

November 4, 2009

Barcelona will be confronted with ice cold conditions during their clash with Rubin Kazan, Tonight. Barca boss Pep Guardiola is impressed by the Russian champions, who beat the Champions League title holders two weeks ago (1-2).

“It’s a perfectly organised team that’s able to counter-attack very fast,” the Catalan coach said ahead of tonight’s game. “We have to attack carefully. They can be really patient and then suddenly launch an attack with several players. Their victory in the Camp Nou wasn’t a matter of luck.”

“I expect tonight’s game will be quite the same as two weeks ago,” added Guardiola, who thinks his squad must be able to deal with the ice cold conditions in Russia. “We want to reach high goals this year. Then you can’t avoid playing on frozen grounds or muddy fields. When it’s cold, it’s cold…”

The succesful manager admitted that Barcelona is charmed by Cristian Daniel Ansaldi, Rubin Kazan’s Argentine left full back. “We have been following him for a while now. But for now, we are very satisfied with our full backs Eric Abidal and Maxwell.”

Paul Haring

Tags: ansaldi, Argentine, barca, Barcelona, boss, camp nou, champions league, clash, coach, cold conditions, cristian daniel, Cristian Daniel Ansaldi, eric abidal, game, matter of luck, maxwell, Paul Haring, pep guardiola, rubin kazan, russia, russian champions, victory

United States capitalizes to beat Malawi 1-0 at U-17s

October 30, 2009

Alex Shinsky scored on a goalkeeping blunder in the 54th minute and the United States beat Malawi 1-0 on Thursday to revive its hopes of advancing at the Under-17 World Cup.

Shimsky’s right-footed volley from the middle of the area was directed into the midsection of Malawi keeper Cuthbert Seengwa, who let the ball slip through his arms – then between his legs – and dribble over the line.

The goal was a reward for dominant statistical performance, in which the United States forced 11 corners and conceded only two, and caught Malawi offside 18 times while being called for the offense only twice itself.

In a game postponed from Wednesday, Costa Rica allowed three first-half goals and fell 4-1 to Turkey in Enugu, a result that left it in last place in Group D with one point. Costa Rica and Turkey played 21 minutes – after being delayed for an hour and a half – before their originally scheduled match on Wednesday was abandoned. Thursday’s match was replayed in its entirety.

The United States had far more possession and chances, including a header by Nick Palodichuk in the fourth minute that Cuthbert knocked away with a reaction save in the fourth minute. U.S. goalkeeper Earl Edwards also was required, thwarting Maxwell Mwanyongo four minutes before halftime.

Cuthbert was far busier though, again reacting to block Marlon Duran’s shot after a deft back heel from Luis Heel just before the ball bounded to Shinsky for his winning shot.

In Enugu, Costa Rica permitted a goal by Omer Ali Sahiner in the third minute and never recovered. Muhammet Demir added his second in as many games in the 33rd and Engin Bekdemir put Turkey ahead 3-0 by the 42nd minute.

Jonathan Moya converted a minute before halftime from a rebound of a shot by Joel Campbell that hit the post to give Costa Rica some hope.

Demir knocked a curling effort off the underside of the crossbar in the 50th but Costa Rica was further buoyed by the ejection of Onur Karakabak in the 52nd with a second yellow card.

However, Gokay Iravul added the fourth in the 70th minute, and despite Ariel Soto’s header off the post in the final minutes, Costa Rica never threatened.

Costa Rica will finish on Saturday against Burkina Faso while the United States will look to advance on Sunday in its final game against the United Arab Emirates.

KANO, Nigeria

Source

Tags: Alex Shinsky, burkina faso, Costa Rica, crossbar, Cuthbert, demir, dribble, earl edwards, Goalkeeper, hour and a half, Joel Campbell, Kano, Luis Heel, Malawi, Marlon Duran, match, maxwell, Maxwell Mwanyongo, midsection, Nick Palodichuk, possession, rebound, statistical performance, Turkey, U.S, united arab emirates, United States, volley, winning shot, World Cup, yellow card

Chygrynskiy to seal Barca switch

August 30, 2009

Dmytro Chygrynskiy has arrived in Barcelona to undergo a medical ahead of completing his 25m euro (£22m) move to the Champions League winners.

The 22-year-old Shakhtar Donetsk defender has agreed a five-year contract and will be officially presented by the club on Monday.

Chygrynskiy played a

gainst Barcelona in a 1-0 European Super Cup loss Friday, his last game for the Ukrainian club.

He joins Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Maxwell in signing for the Catalan giants.

That pair both arrived from Inter Milan earlier in the summer, with boss Pep Guardiola keen to add to his squad despite winning La Liga title, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey last season.

Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: Barcelona, boss, champions league, copa del rey, giants, inter milan, last game, league winners, maxwell, Milan, pep, Rey, ukrainian club, zlatan ibrahimovic

Barcelona´s Guardiola upbeat about new season

August 7, 2009

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola expressed his confidence Thursday that his team, which thrashed US side Seattle 4-0, have maintained the form that brought them a unique treble last season.

“I am very satisfied. We have recovered the form of the last pre-season, with lots of chances in the first half and less shots but more control of the game in the second,” the club’s website quoted him as saying from Seattle.

But he said it was “still too early to draw conclusions”.

Argentine star Lionel Messi scored twice and youngsters Jeffren Suarez and Pedro Rodriguez also hit the net in the win over Seattle on Wednesday.

Barcelona beat holders Manchester United to win their third Champions League crown in May in Rome. The club also won the domestic league and cup last season, making them the first Spanish team to win the treble.

Since then, the club has only slightly changed its lineup.

Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived from Inter Milan last month on a five-year deal which involved Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o moving the other way and the Italian side receiving 46 million euros as well as Alexander Hleb on loan.

And Brazilian defender Sylvinho left to make way for his compatriot Maxwell.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: alexander hleb, Argentine, Barcelona, cameroon, champions league, compatriot, conclusions, inter milan, italian side, league crown, lionel messi, MADRID, Manchester, manchester united, maxwell, Milan, pedro rodriguez, pep, ROME, samuel eto, samuel eto o, season with lots, Seattle, spanish team, suarez, swede, U.S., youngsters, zlatan ibrahimovic

Ibrahimovic edges closer to Barca move

July 17, 2009

Forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks to be headed to Barcelona after Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti admitted he was in talks with the Spaniards about the Swede.

Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o could be heading in the opposite direction while Brazil full-back Maxwell and Belarus winger Alexander Hleb could also switch between the two.

“We’ve finalised a transfer for Maxwell and now we’re trying to do likewise for Hleb,” Moratti told Sky Sport 24.

“Obviously we spoke about other things because they were interested in knowing something about Ibrahimovic and talking about Eto’o — two players of the same level — to see if it would be possible to do something with these two players.”

Moratti also confirmed reports in both the Spanish and Italian press that the swap would include hefty compensation for the Italians.

“Eto’o is not worth as much as Ibrahimovic but there is a big offer there,” he added.

Spanish dailies AS and Marca, as well as Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, said the deal would be worth 40 million euros (56.5 million dollars) to Inter.

Spanish radio station Cadena SER added that the transfer could be nailed down in the coming 72 hours following talks on Thursday in Milan between Barca president Joan Laporta and Moratti.

Laporta told Spanish media late on Friday that he had reached an “agreement in principle” with Inter to sign Ibrahimovic and send Eto’o to the Italian side.

The deal depends on Barcelona reaching an agreement with Ibrahimovic and Inter reaching a deal with Eto’o over the terms of their contract, he added.

Laporta said any deal to loan Hleb to Barcelona would not be related to this deal. Barcelona is still interested in signing David Villa from Spanish side Valencia even if it succeeds in signing Ibrahimovic, he added.

Ibrahimovic, who has been with Inter since 2004, is considered one of the best strikers in European football but has hinted on several occasions that he was ready for a move to Spain from Italy while Barca have long made it clear they want to be shot of Eto’o.

Maxwell, meanwhile, fell out of favour with Inter boss Jose Mourinho last season and was replaced in the starting line-up by teenager Davide Santon.

That led to the Brazilian publically stating he wanted to leave, while Hleb failed to make an impact in Catalonia following a transfer from Arsenal a year ago.

ROME (AFP)

Tags: alexander hleb, barca, Barcelona, belarus, cadena ser, cameroon, dailies, DAVID VILLA, inter milan, italian press, italian side, Italy, joan laporta, jose mourinho, LA Liga, maxwell, Milan, move to spain, president massimo moratti, ROME, Samuel, samuel eto o, Serie A, Sky Sport, Spain, spaniards, spanish media, spanish radio station, spanish side, Valencia, winger, zlatan ibrahimovic

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, xavi

Mourinho laments Inter´s worst performance

January 19, 2009

ROME (AFP) – Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho described the 3-1 mauling at Atalanta as the defending champions’ worst performance of the season.

Inter were woeful in the opening 45 minutes as their hosts totally out-played them to turn around at the break with a 3-0 advantage courtesy of a brace from veteran Cristiano Doni and Sergio Floccari’s 10th league goal of the season.

The former Chelsea boss rung the chances and threw on forwards Adriano, Victor Obinna and Luis Figo to try to rescue the match, but had only Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s poke from a yard out in injury time to show for their efforts at the final whistle.

"That was our worst performance of the season, you could compare it with our match in Cyprus in the Champions League (a 3-3 draw at Anorthosis Famagusta)," said Mourinho.

"I can’t explain my team’s first half hour. When we lose I prefer to speak about how well the other team played but we played so badly in the first half that I prefer to say that we brought this result on ourselves.

"I will accept all the criticisms you want to direct at me. The press can use all the adjectives they want and I won’t complain.

"It was a disaster. Against Cagliari (a 1-1 home draw a week earlier) it was the first match back after the winter break which is never easy but we saw an emotional reaction (from Inter when they went 1-0 down) from a team that wanted it.

"But even someone who doesn’t know football could see that we didn’t have the aggression to win the ball or the desire to press, we didn’t have the right attitude.

"If the team didn’t manage to do that then the coach is at fault for not being able to make them do it. There were 30 minutes that you can’t explain in which we conceded stupid and ridiculous goals.

"One of my players (Maxwell) put the ball at the feet of Floccari, who had his back to goal but our defender (Ivan Cordoba) let him turn and shoot.

"The whole week we spoke about Doni and how he plays in a certain area and is good in the air, but he found space on his own between two defenders.

"The coach wasn’t able to make a 34-year-old centre-back with 15 years of experience understand that you can’t let a striker with his back to goal turn and shoot.

"My team played really badly but I’m the coach so it’s my fault."

However, Mourinho said he expected something positive to come out of this defeat, only Inter’s second of the season in the league and the first time in Serie A since May 13, 2007 in a 4-3 win over Lazio that they have conceded three goals.

"I like the difficult moments and a dreadful one such as this can be positive, it will serve to change something, mainly the right attitude which simply wasn’t there."

Inter have six points less than they did at the same stage a year ago under Mourinho’s predecessor Roberto Mancini, something which the Portuguese refused to talk about.

"All I can say is that every other team in Serie A would be delighted to be in the same position as us at the halfway point of the season."

Inter are top with a three-point lead over Juventus and six ahead of bitter city rivals AC Milan in third.

Written by: AFP

Tags: adjectives, AFP, aggression, atalanta, cagliari, champions league, CHELSEA, Cyprus, doni, emotional reaction, Famagusta, forwards, half hour, injury time, inter milan, ivan cordoba, jose mourinho, lazio, league goal, luis figo, maxwell, Milan, quot, roberto mancini, ROME, Sergio Floccari, Serie A, victor obinna, whistle, winter break, Zlatan

Inter battle to beat 10-man Genoa

January 14, 2009

ROME (AFP) – Inter Milan booked an Italian Cup quarter-final date with AS Roma on Tuesday but they made heavy weather of beating a Genoa side 3-1 after their opponents were reduced to 10 men in the 20th minute.

Inter – who have faced Roma in the last four Italian Cup finals with both sides winning it twice – progressed eventually thanks to extra-time goals by Argentinian midfielder Esteban Cambiasso – who was being watched by national coach Diego Maradona – and Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Unpredictable Brazilian striker Adriano had put Inter ahead with 15 minutes remaining but a mistake by Argentinian defender Walter Samuel let in Genoa’s captain Marco Rossi to level four minutes later.

Adriano had a curate’s egg of a match having originally won the penalty in the 20th minute that saw Genoa’s Giuseppe Biava sent-off – Adriano, though, had his penalty saved by the outstanding Genoa goalkeeper Alessio Scarpi.

Time and time again Scarpi saved his side, but eventually something had to give and the barrel-chested Adriano headed home from a cross by Maxwell in the 75th minute – only for Rossi to benefit from Samuel’s mistake minutes later.

However, Genoa’s resistance eventually wilted 10 minutes into extra-time as first Cambiasso turned in an Ibrahimovic shot that had been saved by Scarpi and then three minutes later Ibrahimovic wrapped it up.

Written by: AFP