Van Bommel backs Toni exit

January 8, 2010

Bayern München captain Mark van Bommel has backed the Bavarian club’s decision to let Luca Toni leave.

The Italy international has joined Serie A club Roma on loan until the end of the season after falling out with Bayern coach Louis van Gaal.

And Van Bommel says his departure suits everybody concerned.

“Luca gave FC Bayern great service, but he made the right decision for himself and for us,” said Van Bommel from Bayern’s winter training camp in Dubai.

“It would have been difficult with such a player sat on the bench.”

Van Bommel insists the Bayern players could not be in a more positive frame of mind with a week to go before the start of the second half of the season.

“The atmosphere is very good,” he added.

“Everybody gets on with everybody else and there is no disturbing influence in there.

“If we stick together, then we can achieve a lot.”

Bayern have their sights on winning back the Bundesliga title this season and they can move to the top of the table for the first time in 20 months by defeating Hoffenheim next Friday.

Tags: atmosphere, bavarian club, Bayern, bayern münchen, bench, Bundesliga, captain mark, captain Mark van Bommel, coach, Dubai, frame of mind, Italy, louis van gaal, Mark van Bommel, next friday, right decision, second half, suits, Toni, training camp, Van Bommel, winter training

Hand of Henry goal makes strong case for video evidence

November 19, 2009

France’s decisive goal against Ireland in their World Cup play-off will only add further weight to the case for using a video ref, or extra goal-line officials, at least in the biggest matches.

The controversial extra-time strike from William Gallas took France through to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, while leaving the Irish barely able to contain a sense of frustration and injustice.

It was goal which should not have stood, as TV pictures made plain. French captain Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball, not once, but twice before crossing for Gallas to score from close range.

Once again, fans are wondering how a mistake of such magnitude, in such a high-stakes game, could be allowed to happen.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA chief Michel Platini both disagree with the use of video referees but their case would have been a hard one to make in front of Irish fans on Wednesday. Soccer’s top officials say a video referee will only slow down the game. True enough, but would it not be better to stop the game and get the right decision rather than continue and see a faulty decision stand?

Platini, for his part, has managed to push through the idea of an extra official behind both goals with an eye on spotting such infringements. Currently the idea is being piloted in UEFA’s second-tier Europa League, but it may now be time to take the brave decision to introduce this across the board.

If we see another “Hand of God” moment in South Africa, perhaps one that decides the final, will football’s reputation survive it?

TO: France’s team captain Thierry Henry reacts in their World Cup qualifying playoff return leg match against Ireland at the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis near Paris November 18, 2009. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Source

Tags: brave decision, close range, decisive goal, extra time, fifa president sepp blatter, goal line, hand of god, irish fans, michel platini, return leg, right decision, saint denis, stade de france, stakes game, team captain, tessier, thierry henry, time strike, video evidence, William Gallas

Celtic defender Kennedy forced to retire

November 13, 2009

Celtic defender John Kennedy retired from football on medical advice on Friday after losing his battle with a recurring knee injury.

Kennedy has struggled with knee problems since his Scotland debut against Romania in March 2004, when he suffered a serious ligament injury, following a challenge by Romanian striker Ionel Ganea, which kept him out for three years.

Several comeback attempts since then have failed and the 26-year-old, who made 45 appearances for Celtic after emerging from their youth academy, said: “It is with great regret that I have made this decision. However, given the medical advice which I received, this is the right decision.”

Hoops boss Tony Mowbray added: “It really is tragic that John’s career has been cut so short in this manner.”

GLASGOW (AFP)

Tags: attempts, boss, Glasgow, hoops, ionel ganea, John, john kennedy, knee injury, knee problems, ligament injury, medical advice, right decision, Romania, scotland, tony mowbray, youth academy

Mission accomplished for Germany´s Loew

October 11, 2009

It was mission accomplished for Germany coach Joachim Loew after his squad booked their place at the 2010 World Cup finals as the ten-man Germans sealed a 1-0 win over Russia in Moscow.

A first-half goal from striker Miroslav Klose was enough to give Germany an unassailable four-point lead at the top of Group Four and even the second-half dismissal of Jerome Boateng did not hamper the guests.

“I’m happy about the game, we spent the whole whole week preparing well and the result is very pleasing, of course,” said Loew.

“The team played with discipline and deserved to get the berth at the finals.”

Hamburg defender Boateng started his first international in the cauldron of Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, but a second booking earned him a red card with 20 minutes remaining as Germany finished with ten men.

Russia missed out on a penalty in the dying stages when replacement defender Arne Friedrich appeared to commit a foul on Russia captain Andrei Arshavin in the box, but the referee waved play on.

“I don’t know whether it was a penalty on Arshavin but anyway I think it was the right decision by the referee,” added Loew.

“The red card for Boateng was also justified.”

Klose, the top-scorer at the last World Cup, struck in the 34th-minute after Lukas Podolski and Mesut Oezil combined to unlock the Russian defence.

“We dealt well with the pressure here – it was not an easy place to play,” admitted Bayern Munich striker Klose.

“We used our chance, it was not a top-class game and the match was difficult in places, but Mesut Oezil and I are developing a good understanding.”

Russia play Azerbaijan in Baku while Germany host Finland in Hamburg in their last qualification game, but Guus Hiddink’s Russian side now face two-legged play-off matches if they are to reach South Africa.

“We cannot be happy with the result of course, but the team showed character in the second half,” said Hiddink.

“We were not good enough at finishing our chances or on the counter-attack.

“But we still have a chance to qualify for the finals in November’s play-off.”

Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler was the visitors’ hero with at least four world-class saves and looks set to travel to Africa as the number one choice ahead of Hanover’s Robert Enke.

“That was the most emotional match of my career,” admitted the 24-year-old Adler.

“The fact that the game went so well for me personally makes me very happy, but I only wanted to share in the victory.”

And Germany captain Michael Ballack, who brushed off a first-half ankle injury to lead his side to victory, said his side showed plenty of mental strength to leave Moscow’s Luzhinki Stadium with three points.

“We showed strong nerves and belived in ourselves with some disciplined play,” said the Chelsea star.

“We came here with a positive attitude and it showed in the way we played.”

Joachim Loew’s side safely saw out the game and leave Moscow with the three points.

“The team did well: we needed a bit of luck, but we have made sure of qualifying for the World Cup and you can’t ask for more,” beamed Loew.

MOSCOW (AFP)

Tags: arne friedrich, Baku, Bayern, berth, boateng, captain Andrei Arshavin, captain Michael Ballack, cauldron, class game, Finland, germans, Germany, good understanding, guus hiddink, Hamburg, Hanover, Jerome Boateng, joachim loew, Lukas Podolski, Luzhinki Stadium, luzhniki stadium, mesut, miroslav klose, Moscow, referee, rene adler, right decision, robert enke, russian defence, russian side, South Africa, top scorer, world cup finals

Martins aware of Owen threat

September 29, 2009

Obafemi Martins is hoping his former team-mate Michael Owen is not on song when Wolfsburg face Manchester United in their Champions League Group B game as matchday 2 continues.

Both strikers left Newcastle over the summer, with Owen joining the Red Devils and Martins opting to move to German champions Wolfsburg.

Their two new sides meet at Old Trafford on Wednesday, with both having made winning starts to the group phase.

Owen is likely to start the game on the bench and Martins is keen to ensure he is not given any chances to score if he features in the match.

“Owen is a dangerous player – he can score from anywhere in the box,” said Martins in The Sun.

“For me he is still a great player and I just hope he won’t be in form when we play against him in the Champions League.”

Martins has scored twice since joining Wolfsburg from Newcastle and the Nigerian is confident he made the right decision in leaving St James’ Park.

He added: “I was very happy when the move was completed because Wolfsburg are a team that is on the up with a good group of players.

“Plus, I didn’t really want to play in the Championship after experiencing the Premier League.

“In the last season I was injured and I had surgery. They did not do it right. Other players were injured as well and that’s why we really went down.

“For me we also didn’t try enough to avoid relegation.”

Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: abhimanyu, bench, champions league group, dangerous player, former team, german champions, group phase, james park, Manchester, manchester united, martins, matchday, michael owen, NEWCASTLE, old trafford, premier league, red devils, right decision, St James, st james park, strikers, team mate

Real count cost of galactico spending spree

September 20, 2009

Real Madrid on Sunday announced a record 422 million euro budget aligned to a net debt of 327 million euros after a summer spending spree on greats like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.

Real splashed out 250 million euros in total on Portugal’s Ronaldo (94million euros), Brazil’s Kaka (65m), France’s Karim Benzema (35m) and Xabi Alonso (30m).

Real president Florentino Perez told the club’s general assembly on Sunday that the debt mountain would be cut by some 200 million euros by June 2010 thanks to a 14 percent increase in revenue on last season.

“We’re going through a delicate moment with the world financial crisis but we had to make a big effort for the new arrivals of players, which explains the 327m debt,” Perez said.

He told the assembly that he “had not made the right decision” to quit the presidency in 2006 only to take over the reins again this year.

Real unveiled their figures at a time when UEFA President Michel Platini has announced a new “fair play” policy with regard to the financing of clubs aimed at preventing clubs taking on huge debts.

Perez revealed that the club’s wage bill represented 45 percent of its expenditure and announced modernisation projects for the Santiago-Bernabeu stadium as well as a theme park in Madrid.

Real’s arch rivals Barcelona have also announced a record budget totalling 400 million euros for this season.

Real play Xerez later on Sunday, a club lying bottom of the table with an annual budget of just nine million euros – less than the salaries of Ronaldo or Kaka.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: Alonso, arch rivals, Barcelona, brazil, delicate moment, fair play, financial crisis, France, general assembly, kaka, Karim Benzema, MADRID, madrid real, michel platini, policy with regard, portugal, President Michel Platini, real madrid, real play, record budget, reins, right decision, ronaldo, santiago bernabeu stadium, theme park

UEFA trials 5 officials as Europa League takes off

September 17, 2009

The group stage of the Europa League kicks off on Thursday, with the trialling of five on-pitch match officials providing the biggest talking point prior to the start of the tournament.

In the biggest change to the game since the introduction of the back-pass rule in 1992, two extra officials will patrol the area behind each goal on the lookout for penalty area transgressions such as diving and shirt-pulling.

UEFA president Michel Platini has pioneered the idea and says it will be escalated to next season’s Champions League and the 2012 European Championship if it proves effective.

“One day players will give up simulating because referees will see them,” said the former France international legend.

“For years players have cheated because the referees were not of a good enough quality.

“I am convinced, with the extra officials, that if you have referees close by it will prevent players from simulating and they will take the right decision.”

The Europa League replaces the UEFA Cup as the continent’s new second-tier cup competition, with an unprecedented 48 clubs set to contest the group phase. The top two teams from the 12 groups will go through to the knockout phase alongside the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.

Round-robin groups of four have replaced the UEFA Cup’s five-team groups, in a bid to streamline the re-branded tournament along the lines of its hugely popular sister competition.

Valencia, Villarreal, Roma, Lazio, Everton and Hamburg are among the favourites to make the final in Hamburg on May 12.

Valencia have been drawn alongside current Serie A leaders Genoa in Group B, a pool that also contains French side Lille and Slavia Prague of the Czech Republic.

Villarreal, meanwhile, will go into their Group G opener at home to Bulgarians Levski Sofia without midfield lynchpin Marcos Senna, who picked up a thigh injury while on international duty with Spain.

“This is the worst news we could have received,” said Villarreal coach Ernesto Valverde.

“It’s a problem for us as we have seven games in the space of 22 days and we need all of our players 100 percent fit. Marcos is very important for us and his absence will be felt.”

A knee ligament injury to Everton captain Phil Neville has given the Toffees defensive problems prior to the visit of AEK Athens in Group I.

The former England man had been pencilled in to replace suspended right-back Tony Hibbert, as new signing Jonny Heitinga is ineligible.

Claudio Ranieri takes Italian giants Roma to Switzerland’s FC Basel in his first European assignment after replacing the sacked Luciano Spalletti.

The ‘Giallorossi’ began life under Ranieri with a 2-1 league win at Siena on Sunday and the former Chelsea coach is now looking forward to continuing his predecessor’s exploits on the European stage.

“I cannot say my team will play as brilliantly as Spalletti’s side, but I think I can bring pragmatism,” Ranieri said.

“As an outsider I said Barcelona, Roma and Arsenal had been playing the best football in Europe in recent years. I was proud of Roma, especially for its image outside Italy where many people think that we only play Catenaccio. Spalletti did a tremendous job here.”

Shakhtar Donetsk, who beat Werder Bremen 2-1 in the last ever UEFA Cup final in Istanbul in May, travel to Belgium to face Club Brugge in Group J, with Bremen visiting Portugal’s Nacional in Group L.

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: arsenal, athens, Barcelona, Belgium, Bremen, brugge, captain Phil Neville, champions league group, CHELSEA, Claudio Ranieri, cup competition, England, ernesto valverde, Europe, France, france international, french side, group phase, group stage, Hamburg, I. The, Istanbul, L. PARIS, lazio, levski sofia, Lille, luciano spalletti, lynchpin, marcos senna, michel platini, portugal, PRAGUE, right decision, Roma, roma lazio, slavia, slavia prague, Sofia, Spain, Switzerland, thigh injury, Tony Hibbert, UEFA Cup, Valencia, valencia villarreal

Toure happy to leave leaderless Gunners

August 2, 2009

Defender Kolo Toure insisted Sunday he made the right decision in swapping Arsenal for Manchester City because his former club have lost too many big names.

The Ivorian believes the failure to replace a host of star players has made the club a less attractive proposition than Mark Hughes’ City.

The 28-year-old said: “I came to Man City because when you look at Arsenal you see all the great players have left the club and are now in the past.

“Look at what has happened there. Thierry Henry has gone, Patrick Vieira has gone, Ray Parlour has gone.

“These were the players that brought success to Arsenal and I believed it was right at this stage of my career to also move on.

“We lost too many leaders at Arsenal. When we were winning the league title the spirit was fantastic, we were like a band of brothers.”

Toure also defended City’s spending policy, which has seen them criticised in some quarters for distorting the market.

“The best teams are at the top only because they have the best players and to get those players you have to spend a lot of money,” he said.

“You can’t be successful in football without money. This is the football business. City have a project to build a big team and so it is natural it is going to cost money.”

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

Tags: arsenal, band of brothers, business city, Defender, England, failure, football business, gunners, ivorian, man city, Manchester, manchester city, manchester england, Mark Hughes, patrick vieira, quarters, ray parlour, right decision, spirit, star players, thierry henry

Barry has grand plans with City´s big spenders

June 11, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – Gareth Barry believes big-spending Manchester City are on the verge of mounting a serious challenge for the Premier League title.

England midfielder Barry completed a surprise 12 million pounds transfer to City from Aston Villa earlier this month in a deal which is likely to herald a close-season spree by the Eastlands clubs.

City boss Mark Hughes has been given a substantial warchest by the club’s Abu Dhabi-based owners and targets like Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz, Arsenal’s Kolo Toure and Valencia’s David Villa are high on their wanted list.

Hughes’ side only finished in mid-table this season but Barry, who spent 12 years at Villa, said: “You have seen the type of players Manchester City are able to attract, like Robinho.

“I think this club has got everything in place to achieve big things and challenge right at the top, to go from a mid-table team to a team challenging right at the top.”

Barry claimed it was City’s ambition that persuaded him to move to Eastlands, even though Liverpool were interested in signing him.

“The club put a price on me and Manchester City have come in and paid the money really early on,” he said at a press conference on Thursday.

“I spoke to the manager (Mark Hughes). I spent a bit of time thinking, spoke to friends and I am confident I have made the right decision.

“I felt very wanted here. The ambition was the main thing for me.”

Barry was close to a move to Liverpool last year after revealing his desire to play in the Champions League, but he insists he is not thinking about might have been.

“It’s completely out of my mind, worrying about Liverpool and what could have been. That’s all in the past,” he said.

“This season it’s a different situation. Manchester City have had a bid accepted for me and they made me feel wanted.”

Barry issued a letter to fans through a local newspaper after the move explaining his decision to leave Villa Park.

He added: “People made out I was sort of apologising for it. I don’t feel a need to apologise for leaving Aston Villa. I just stated my reasons. I had spent 12 years at the club and wanted to state my reasons.”

Tags: abu dhabi, ambition, apologising, city boss, different situation, Eastlands, England, English Premier League, Gareth Barry, kolo toure, Liverpool, london, manchester city, Mark Hughes, mid table, midfielder, premier league, right decision, roque santa cruz, s david, Toure, Valencia, verge, villa park, wanted list, warchest

Man Utd boss pessimistic on Fletcher final appeal

May 8, 2009

MANCHESTER (AFP) – Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that he does not expect the club?s appeal against Darren Fletcher?s Champions League Final suspension to succeed.

The Scotland international midfielder is poised to miss the Rome Final against Barcelona after collecting a red card in the midweek semi-final victory over Arsenal.

Replays showed that Fletcher had made an impressively legal challenge on Cesc Fabregas but Italian referee Roberto Rosetti awarded a penalty against United and a straight red card against the player.

Although UEFA have indicated that there are no grounds for United to appeal the decision, and automatic suspension, United have pushed ahead with their attempt to have the decision overturned, although the manager holds out little hope of success.

“That (appeal rule) seems to be a weakness with UEFA,” said Ferguson. “But we have written a compassionate letter to UEFA.

“We understand the system and honestly believe the referee made the right decision at the time. From his angle and from where I was, I thought it was a penalty myself.

“But from the replays it is obvious Darren managed to get his leg round and flick the ball away from Fabregas.

“We know Darren is an honest player. In fact, he is so honest, an old stager might have said, ?Go on and score,? given the position we were in. But Darren was still determined enough to try and do his job and prevent a goal.

“He?s quite a placid lad, he?s not an emotional boy, he accepts it although it?s disappointing for him, obviously. He takes great credit for the way he handled it all.

“But we?re not optimistic at all. We have to do it for Darren and in fairness to Darren. But, sometimes, in these situations when everything is addressed, you never know.”

United?s game at the Emirates Stadium was not the only semi-final marred by refereeing controversy this week, with the performance of Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo the talking point of Chelsea?s defeat by Barcelona on Wednesday.

Some of Chelsea’s players face disciplinary action after responding angrily towards the official at the end of their game and, while Ferguson refused to comment on the quality of the officiating, he could understand why the English club?s players responded in such an emotional fashion.

“I don?t want to get into that,” he said. “But football creates emotions, there is no doubt about that. It is an emotional game, we have seen that emotion in football matches time and time again. After it, you cool down and say, I?m sorry I did that. It happens.”

Ferguson had predicted a Chelsea victory prior to their semi-final, although he was ultimately far from surprised at the way events transpired at Stamford Bridge.

“Obviously, until three minutes into injury-time when Barcelona scored a goal, it looked as if Chelsea were there,” he said. “But that?s football, isn?t it?”

Meanwhile, the United manager has confirmed that his hopes of seeing England defender Wes Brown make a contribution to the first team over the final weeks of the season has been ended by the player?s foot injury.

Ferguson said: “He has had a little setback during the week and it?s knocked him back. The fact the season is coming towards the end makes it difficult for him but with Gary (Neville) back, we?re not bad.”