Glasgow warning for Keane from O’Dea
February 12, 2010
Celtic’s Darren O’Dea has warned new teammate Robbie Keane of the dangers of going out in Glasgow after a man reportedly threatened to kneecap the defender.
O’Dea became involved in a row with a man who accused him of chatting up his girlfriend while the player was celebrating his 23rd birthday last week.
He feels that Keane, who has joined Celtic on loan from Tottenham until the end of the season, could face similar problems if he is not careful.
“It’s disappointing, but it’s one of those things,” said O’Dea, who is hoping to return from a hamstring injury in time for Saturday’s Premier League game at Aberdeen,” he told the Daily Mail..
“It’s part and parcel of living in Glasgow. I’ll be a lot more careful in future or I just won’t go out.
“I’m a professional footballer and some people like to pick fights with us. I don’t usually go out that much anyway, so I’ll just have to stay in more.
“Other players get targeted by people and that’s what it’s like. That’s the problem when you only have two big clubs like Celtic and Rangers in one city.”
O’Dea added: “It’s not the first time it has happened and it won’t be the last. Robbie has joined us now and he’ll have to get used to it, too.
“Glasgow is a tough place to live and there are certain parts of the city you just don’t go.”
GLASGOW (AFP)
Tags: Aberdeen, celtic, daily mail, Darren O'Dea, dea, girlfriend, Glasgow, going out in glasgow, kneecap, premier league, professional footballer, rangers, Robbie, Robbie Keane, teammate, tottenhamRelated posts
Time to back Babbel, says Heldt
October 30, 2009
Stuttgart director of sport Horst Heldt has called on everybody to club together to help under-fire coach Markus Babbel lead them out of a crisis.
Babbel’s position as coach of the Swabians was confirmed on Wednesday despite defeat by Greuther Furth in the DFB-Pokal, but only a positive result against Bayern Munich on Saturday can save him from further castigation.
And after showing his and the board’s full backing for Babbel, Heldt has called on the whole club to get behind him.
“We can only get out of this crisis together,” he said. “We now need a community and that does not only mean on the field, but off it also.
“We need our fans to help us out of this difficult situation.”
Babbel would probably have preferred anybody but Bayern as opponents, but Heldt said the “name of the opponent doesn’t matter one bit” and that the “important thing is that the team does all it can to win again”.
Bayern appear to have left their own crisis behind them and have moved up to within four points of the joint league leaders Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen.
However, trouble is always brewing at Bayern and this time it comes in the shape of central defender Martin Demichelis who has criticised coach Louis van Gaal in an interview with the Bild newspaper.
“I am not the only player who has been out for a long time, yet I have to fight for my place back in the team. That makes me angry and bitter,” he said.
“I am fit and am doing everything to help this team and I would have expected the same kind of support that other players who were making a comeback received.”
Demichelis was referring to Mark van Bommel and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who walked straight back into the team after injury whereas he has had to sit on the bench in the last few games.
But he has vowed to knuckle down and prove Van Gaal he is wrong to leave him out.
“I have loved and defended this shirt for seven years and it is like my second skin,” he added. “But I also know that a professional footballer cannot rest on his laurels so I will fight to the death.”
Demichelis will be given his chance in next week’s Champions League tie against Bordeaux, when Daniel van Buyten will be suspended, but Van Gaal is unlikely to make any changes to his side this weekend.
Abhimanyu Rajput
Tags: Bastian Schweinsteiger, bayer, Bayern, bayern munich, bild newspaper, Bordeaux, castigation, central defender, Daniel van Buyten, dfb pokal, furth, Hamburg, Horst Heldt, laurels, league leaders, louis van gaal, Mark van Bommel, markus babbel, martin demichelis, professional footballer, second skin, seven years, stuttgart, swabians, Van GaalRelated posts
Spurs´ Bentley apologises after drink-driving charge
August 13, 2009
Tottenham and England midfielder David Bentley made a public apology on Thursday after he was charged with drink driving.
The 24-year-old was arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning after crashing his car.
In a statement on the Spurs website, Bentley wrote: “I should like to apologise to my club and the supporters for my actions which led to my car accident last night and my subsequent charge.
“It was wholly unacceptable and I fully appreciate that as a professional footballer I have a duty to behave in a reputable and responsible manner.
“I am thankful that nobody was injured in the accident. This has been a wake-up call for me both personally and professionally.”
A Hertfordshire Police spokeswoman said: “A member of the public called just after 3am to report a single vehicle road traffic collision. A man was arrested at the scene and taken to Hatfield Police Station.
“This morning (Thursday) David Bentley, 24, has been charged with an offence to appear in a few weeks.
“He has been charged with a drink driving offence and has been released on bail to return to St Albans Magistrates’ Court on August 28.”
LONDON (AFP)
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Gerrard accused of hitting man ´like a boxer´
July 21, 2009
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard lashed out at a man “with the style and speed of a professional boxer” after losing his cool in a bar brawl, a court heard Tuesday.
The 29-year-old England midfielder is accused of being part of a group that injured businessman Marcus McGee, 34, at the Lounge Inn nightclub in Southport near Liverpool, northwest England, in December last year.
Gerrard was celebrating Liverpool’s 5-1 win at Newcastle United at the time. He denies the charge of affray. An initial charge of assault was dropped at a court hearing in March.
The row erupted after Gerrard asked McGee for a card controlling the CD player, saying: “Give me that, lad,” the court heard.
“Mr. McGee took offence at his attitude and the expression ‘lad’ and he refused. Not many people on Merseyside, or indeed anywhere else, would refuse a request from Steven Gerrard but Mr. McGee did,” said prosecutor David Turner.
Gerrard was left fuming by the exchange, and six minutes later came back over to Mr. McGee, swearing and squaring up to him “in the sort of hostile confrontation that is often seen between professional footballers.”
“Steven Gerrard had clearly lost his cool: he was angry with Marcus McGee,” said Turner.
Gerrard’s friends came over to help, and one of them, John Doran, pushed McGee away and “could not resist following through with his right elbow into Mr McGee’s face”, said Turner.
“We say at this stage Gerrard totally lost it.
“Within seconds, Steven Gerrard joined in the attack with a succession of well aimed uppercut punches delivered with the style and speed of a professional boxer rather than a professional footballer.”
Turner said the key question was whether Gerrard was acting in self-defence.
“Steven Gerrard is a world class footballer. He has the honour to be captain of Liverpool FC and to play for England. He is a star. He is Liverpool born and bred and here on Merseyside is a hero,” he said.
“We do not say that Mr. Gerrard is normally an arrogant man, we don’t say that he is a bully.
“What we do say is that that night he just lost his self control and joined in an attack which should never have taken place. He let himself down.”
Gerrard is facing trial alone, after five co-defendants admitted affray, and one admitted a lesser charge of threatening behaviour.
LIVERPOOL, England (AFP)
Tags: arrogant man, bar brawl, captain steven, captain Steven Gerrard, court hearing, david turner, initial charge, John Doran, Liverpool, liverpool fc, marcus mcgee, Merseyside, Mr. Gerrard, Mr. McGee, NEWCASTLE, newcastle united, northwest england, old england, professional footballer, professional footballers, self defence, six minutes, Steven Gerrard, uppercutRelated posts
Park makes history, but United off song in Rome
May 28, 2009
ROME (AFP) – South Korea’s Park Ji-Sung became the first Asian footballer to contest a Champions League final on Wednesday, but was powerless to prevent his Manchester United side going down 2-0 to Barcelona.
The 28-year-old made history by starting on the right wing with Wayne Rooney on the other flank and United star Cristiano Ronaldo as the lone striker, but was switched to the left flank just before half-time with Barcelona 1-0 ahead.
He worked tirelessly against Barcelona captain Carles Puyol, who gave his South Korean opponent few chances while Samuel Eto’o put the Spanish ahead on 10 minutes.
Park made way for Dimitar Berbatov in the 66th minute just before Argentina’s Lionel Messi scored Barcelona’s decisive second.
With the p;layer having a reputation for covering every blade of grass and a tireless engine, United coach Sir Alex Ferguson had earlier said the decision to leave Park out of last year’s Moscow final had not been easy.
“There was a terrible disappointment that we didn’t include him in last years squad,” admitted the 67-year-old Scot.
“He has something which even (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi don’t.
“He works tirelessly, he doesn’t need the ball – he has fantastic awareness of space and timing and gets into the right place at the right time.”
Park’s appearance in a Champions League final is sure to send his profile into orbit back home, despite United’s defeat.
While his compatriot Cha Bum-Kun won the UEFA Cup with Eintracht Frankfurt in 1980 and then with Bayer Leverkusen in 1988, Park is the first Asian footballer to play at the top-tier of European domestic football.
His every move is scrutinised in his native South Korea and he is mobbed on the streets of Seoul where he is a pin-up, yet is able to walk through Manchester’s streets relatively unbothered.
Even his team-mates know very little about the shy Korean whose father took a job in a butchers shop after Park declared at an early age he wanted to be a professional footballer so his son had the right nutrition to fulfil his dream.
Despite all the meat he could eat, Park’s diminutive frame hindered his ambition until he earned a place at the Myung Ji University in Seoul.
After playing for his country at Sydney’s 2000 Olympic Games, he was instrumental in helping South Korea reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2002.
Dutch coach Guus Hiddink masterminded the success and took Park to Holland’s PSV Eindhoven where he recovered after struggling initally to catch Sir Alex’s attention and earn a £4 million (6.4m US dollars) move to United in 2005.
Almost four years on, no one is questioning United?s motives behind buying Park, whose arrival compensated for the loss of Beckham to Real Madrid in 2003.
Since their launch in February 2006, United have sold 380,000 credit and debit cards in Britain, which compares with a staggering 1.2 million in South Korea.
With Park in their ranks, United are laughing all the way to the bank, despite the glum faces from Manchester fans in Rome on Wednesday.
Tags: alex ferguson, Argentina, Barcelona, bayer leverkusen, berbatov, blade of grass, Britain, carles puyol, compatriot, cristiano ronaldo, domestic football, eintracht frankfurt, FRANKFURT, Holland, ji sung, left flank, Lionel, lionel messi, MADRID, Manchester, Moscow, park ji sung, professional footballer, right place at the right time, ROME, ronaldo, samuel eto, samuel eto o, Scot, seoul, Sir Alex, sir alex ferguson, south korea, Sung, SYDNEY, team mates, time park, UEFA Champions League, wayne rooneyRelated posts
Miguel Torres’s Refreshing View on Women
May 13, 2009
Miguel Torres believes beauty comes from within…Now there’s something you wouldn’t expect a ‘baller to say.
The Real Madrid player is probably the only professional footballer in the world, who doesn’t think looks are the most important quality in a WAG.
We bet he still only dates models!
Torres said: ‘There are women who don’t have the bodies to be models, but I think they are absolutely beautiful. I don’t care how one dresses or what their measurements are. I like their personality, behavior…
‘A girl can be the perfect size and shape, but it won’t mean a thing if she can’t put two words together. Beauty also comes from within…
He added: ‘When I meet the right girl I will do whatever it takes to hold onto her.’
Ah I know he is so cheesy, but Torres you can hold on to me anyday…The money will more than make up for the cheesy lines!!
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Tags: baller, cheesy lines, dresses, MADRID, measurements, miguel torres, models, money, perfect size, personality behavior, professional footballer, real madrid player, refreshing view, right girl, shape, wag, WAGS, WomenRelated posts
Spurs captain sorry for night club incident
May 11, 2009
LONDON (AFP) – England and Tottenham Hotspur star Ledley King on Sunday apologised for a night club incident which led to him being questioned over an alleged assault.
In a statement on the club’s website, the 28-year-old defender said: “I sincerely regret that a night out with friends went too far.”
Referring to the Premier League club’s manager Harry Redknapp, he went on: “I have apologised to Harry and I fully appreciate that, as a professional footballer, I have a duty to behave in a responsible manner.
“I am assisting the police with their enquiries. Anyone who knows me, knows that much of what has been suggested is totally out of character.
“I am keen to resolve this as soon as possible and concentrate on my football. I shall be putting my all into ensuring I give of my best for the remaining fixtures.”
King was reportedly held after a man was attacked in the early hours outside a club in Soho, central London. The alleged incident came hours after Tottenham drew 0-0 with Everton in the Premiership.
Asked about the incident, a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: “A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of ABH (actual bodily harm) following an allegation of assault made by a man in his 20s.”
The arrest came after patrolling police officers were flagged down by members of the public at around 2:30 am (0130 GMT) Sunday, she added.
Police later said he had been bailed to return to speak to police at an unspecified later date. Tottenham Hotspur said it was “aware of an incident involving Ledley King” but declined to make a further comment.
Tags: actual bodily harm, allegation, alleged assault, apologised, central london, England, English Premier League, everton, GMT, Harry, Harry Redknapp, Hotspur, ledley king, london, night club, police officers, premier league, premiership, professional footballer, responsible manner, scotland, scotland yard, soho central, spokeswoman, spurs, suspicion, tottenham, tottenham hotspurRelated posts
Ashley Cole’s word of advice on autobiographies
January 30, 2009
Chelsea are back up to second in the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s glamour clash at Liverpool, but life as a professional footballer is not always so rosy – especially if you write a book.
England and Chelsea defender Ashley Cole recently warned players not to release an autobiography if they are already enduring a bit of a rough treatment from the press and/or supporters.
“I think in the case of the book, I’ve probably done it out of frustration but it made everything 10 times worse,” Cole told the BBC.
The 28-year-old released “My Defence” in 2006 in response to the criticism he received for his conduct in his much publicised transfer from London rivals Arsenal to Chelsea.
Cole was close to crashing his car in shock when told that Arsenal would only offer him a weekly wage of £55,000 and accused the club of lacking ambition in their attempts to keep him.
Media reports have said the book sold only 4,000 copies while it didn’t go down well with one half of north London — he described his former Arsenal team mates as ‘lazy.’
It is easy to see why Cole feels he has been given an even tougher time following the book. He has hardly done himself any favours.
Why does anyone feel they have the right to release an autobiography at such a young age anyway?
PHOTO: Chelsea’s Ashley Cole reacts during their Champions League second leg quarter-final match against Valencia at the Mestalla, April 10, 2007. REUTERS/Victor Fraile
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Tags: ambition, ashley cole, attempts, autobiography, champions league, clash, English Premier League, final match, frustration, glamour, Liverpool, mestalla, north London, premier league, professional footballer, reuters, rivals, rough treatment, rsquo, team mates, word of adviceRelated posts
Pfannenstiel – globetrotting German goalie with 24 clubs
January 27, 2009
BERLIN (AFP) – Never mind Kaka or Zinedine Zidane. When it comes to record transfers, the man with a suitcase permanently at the ready is Lutz Pfannenstiel, a globetrotting German who’s just signed for his 24th club.
After Malaysia, Canada, Australia and Albania – to name but a few – Pfannenstiel recently headed for Norway, where last week he signed a contract as player-coach of Oslo-based third-division club Mangerud Star.
The career of the 35-year-old goalkeeper certainly doesn’t compare to that of the world’s most expensive player, France’s Zidane, who moved from Juventus to Real Madrid for 75 million euros in 2001.
But he has probably seen more of the world as well as experiencing at first hand the game’s underbelly.
It has also given him, in place of a bulging trophy haul, a unique title – he is the first professional footballer to have played on the six continents defined by world governing body FIFA, which classes North and South America separately.
"It’s not something that I planned. It’s all been completely by chance, but I’m proud of the record," said the keeper.
However Pfannenstiel (which translates as ‘panhandle’) got very close to never leaving Germany, or even his native Bavaria at the start of his career.
In his youth, he was capped by his country at various age levels, but at 20 he found himself at a third division club.
He prompted interest from the Bayern Munich, but never made it beyond their reserve team. So Pfannenstiel packed his bags and started his footballing odyssey. His first stop was Penang in Malaysia.
Then followed 23 transfers in 15 years, featuring well-known clubs, such as Wimbledon and Nottingham Forest in England, then the Orlando Pirates in South Africa, before stops in Malta, New Zealand and Brazil.
During his travels, the ‘Phileas Fogg of football’ has found himself penniless in Armenia, faced a brush with death in 2002, following a serious collision with an opponent in England’s seventh tier, and spent three and a half months behind bars after being suspected of corruption in Singapore.
If he hasn’t quite amassed the riches of Kaka or Zidane, Pfannenstiel still has causes close to his heart, like the fight against climate change.
In 2009 he hopes to organise a charity match of football legends in Antarctica, the only ‘continent’ missing from his list of conquests.
Written by: AFP
Tags: Albania, Antarctica, Australia, Bayern, bayern munich, berlin, body fifa, brazil, Bundesliga, Canada, canada australia, England, France, Germany, globetrotting, Goalkeeper, juventus, lutz pfannenstiel, MADRID, Malaysia, Malta, Munich, New Zealand, Norway, Nottingham, nottingham forest, orlando pirates, penang, phileas fogg, player coach, professional footballer, real madrid, SINGAPORE, six continents, South Africa, South America, spent three, underbelly, wimbledon, world governing body, zinedine zidaneRelated posts
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