Ferguson: ‘Everyone thinks Nani is fantastic’

February 2, 2010

Reports suggested that Sir Alex Ferguson was fed up with Nani and that the Portuguese international was set to leave Manchester United during the winter break. However, the 23-year-old winger stayed at United and silenced his critics with an excellent performance against Arsenal.

Nani played a part in two of United’s goals as United closed the gap on the leaders Chelsea to a single point. Ferguson believes the former Sporting Lisbon player is now coming of age, presenting a welcome selection dilemma in competition with Antonio Valencia.

“Nani has settled down now and is getting maturity,” Ferguson said on MUTV. “He has been pretty immature since he came to the club, but you are seeing the development now.

“He is a shy boy and you hope games like at Arsenal will give him the confidence to know he is a United player.

“We are all delighted with him. It is amazing when you talk to the players, they all think he is fantastic and want him to play.

“We are getting consistency from him now. It gives me a massive decision now between Nani and Valencia.”

Tags: alex ferguson, Antonio Valencia, arsenal, CHELSEA, coming of age, consistency, dilemma, Ferguson, games, gap, Manchester, manchester united, maturity, nani, portuguese, shy boy, single point, sir alex ferguson, sporting lisbon, winger

Fergie hits out at Wenger over Fletcher criticism

January 30, 2010

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Arsene Wenger “has let himself” down over comments the Arsenal manager has made about Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher.

Ferguson described Fletcher as one of the best players in the world on Wednesday after his commanding performance helped United squeeze past Manchester City into the League Cup final after a dramatic 3-1 semi-final second leg win at Old Trafford.

But while the United manager is clearly a huge fan of Fletcher, Wenger is most certainly not.

After losing 2-1 to United at Old Trafford earlier this season, Wenger – angered by Fletcher’s fiesty tackling – claimed he was little more than a bully who played “anti-football”.

Ferguson has taken exception to that opinion and has questioned whether Wenger even believes it himself.

“I think that’s where Arsene lets himself down,” Ferguson said. “Everyone knows that Darren Fletcher is not a dirty player, not a physical player, not built that way, but he can win the ball because his timing and energy to get to the ball is fantastic.

“You can’t call that a fault. That’s a great part of the game, being able to tackle properly and he does tackle properly.

“It’s disappointing. I don’t think Arsene really believes that.”

United visit the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to face Wenger’s side with the race for the Premier League title as tense as ever.

United are currently in second position with 50 points with Arsenal just a single point and place behind them. As a result, Ferguson knows he will need his big players to put in a performance and he is backing Fletcher to come out on top.

“He’s competitive and there’s not many players who run off the ball as well as him,” he added.

“His movement, energy and commitment in every game is wonderful to see.

“There’s not been many big games that he has not played in over the last couple of years and it had maybe taken a while for the fans and press to appreciate what the boy has.

“And there is little you can do about that because he is not stylish player by any means, he is ungainly and gangly but he is a fantastic player.”

Ferguson has recently been employing a single striker in his formation, with Wayne Rooney being tasked to fill that position.

Before this season began, concerns were raised as to whether Rooney could play as an out and out forward but 21 goals so far this season, including five in the last two, has comprehensively answered that question.

And Ferguson is now backing the 24-year-old to continue to prove that he is one of the most influential players in European football.

“There are periods where players hit great form,” Ferguson added “Wayne has hit that great form now. He wasn’t playing as well as that a few months ago.

“His form has increased. I thought Wednesday was an indication of the improvement from Wayne. In the last few weeks he has come on great.”

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

Tags: alex ferguson, arsenal, big games, bully, darren fletcher, emirates, Emirates Stadium, England, Ferguson, game, Manchester, manchester city, manchester united, midfielder, old trafford, premier league, single point, sir alex ferguson, squeeze, tense, Wayne, wayne rooney, Wenger

Mourinho insists Group F wide open

October 21, 2009

Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho claimed there are no favourites in his team’s Champions League group after a 2-2 home draw against Dynamo Kyiv left the Italian champions bottom of the pile.

All four teams in Group F are separated by just a single point though with Barcelona, Rubin Kazan and Kyiv all on four points and Inter on three after three games.

What also makes the group stand out is that it is the only one of the eight Champions League groups to include four teams who are champions of their country.

“There’s no favourite. We have the chance to qualify. With three teams on four points and one on three, eight or nine points should be enough to qualify,” said Mourinho.

“I didn’t expect us to have only three points after three games, of course I expected more but the difference between a draw and a win is minimal.

“This group is very difficult but we already knew it would be. There’s four teams who are champions of their country and if you compare it with other groups it’s clear that other teams have been more fortunate whereas we four teams have been unlucky, but that’s the way it is and we’ll fight to the end.”

The group picture could have looked very different if Barcelona had won at home to debutants Rubin but the Russian champions’ stunning 2-1 win at the Camp Nou has left everything in the balance.

Mourinho was asked if it would have been better for Barca to win, allowing them to run away with the group while leaving Inter’s rivals for second place with fewer points.

But the former Chelsea boss explained that if reigning champions Barca were to qualify in advance it would make their last game, away to Dynamo, meaningless for them, making it easier for the Ukrainians to get a result.

“The equality in this group is a positive thing. The Rubin result is good because it leaves everything open,” said Mourinho.

“It means that when we get to the last match we won’t know who has qualified so when Barca play Dynamo at the end it will be a decisive game for them too.

“Every match is one where every result is possible. We have three draws and of course this one is the worst because the first was against Barcelona and the second was away, but it’s difficult for everyone.”

The draw means Inter have won only two of 11 Champions League games under Mourinho, continuing the club’s dismal trend in Europe’s premier competition despite their dominance at home.

But the Portuguese said it was too early to suggest his team has a psychological block when playing in Europe.

“Wait a little while, we’re only halfway through, there’s three more games and we’ll talk after them. I think my team will qualify,” he said.

Kyiv twice took the lead through Taras Mikhalik and a Lucio own goal but Inter pegged them back through Dejan Stankovic and Walter Samuel.

Even so, with two home games and only one away match left, Dynamo coach Valeri Gazzaev insisted they were in with a good chance of progressing.

“It’s a good thing to be playing two more games at home. It’s a very difficult group, Inter and Barca are great teams,” he said.

“We can do it but there’s still everything left to do. Rubin and ourselves have shown ambition but we have young players who still need more experience.

“We played well today but it’s difficult to be thrust straight into such a hard group.”

MILAN, Italy (AFP)

Tags: barca, Barcelona, camp nou, champions league group, CHELSEA, debutants, decisive game, dynamo, equality, Europe, four points, inter milan, italian champions, Italy, jose mourinho, last game, last match, Milan, rivals, rubin kazan, russian champions, single point, Taras Mikhalik, three games, ukrainians, walter samuel

Maradona heads to Europe, ducks crunch meeting

September 14, 2009

Under-fire Argentina coach Diego Maradona has travelled to Europe, thereby avoiding a crucial meeting on the poor performances of the national side, his personal doctor said on Monday.

“He left yesterday (Sunday) for a spa in Italy,” Alfredo Cahen told AFP.

“In order to respect his privacy, I cannot reveal the name of the town.”

Reports from other media sources claimed that Maradona was actually in Spain.

Maradona, 48, has seen two-time world champions Argentina slip to fifth in the South American qualifying standings for the 2010 World Cup, a place below the automatic qualification slots, after four defeats in their last five games.

His flight to Europe means the former hero of the national side will avoid a meeting scheduled to take place here on Monday involving Argentina general manager Carlos Bilardo and Julio Grondona, president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and vice-president of world governing body FIFA.

According to Argentine press reports, Grondona intended to ask Maradona to delegate more responsibility to Bilardo, who was the coach of Argentina in 1986 when Maradona captained the side to World Cup glory in Mexico.

Cahen underlined that Maradona’s trip to Europe “was planned a month ago to give him some exercise and a bit of rest for a week”.

“He’s not being hospitalised,” Cahen added. “He did some tests 10 or 12 days ago and the results were fine.”

Argentine daily La Nacion reported that Maradona had checked into a spa that he knows well in Merano, north-eastern Italy.

The sojourn had reportedly been booked in advance in expectation of positive results in Argentina’s last few matches.

Bilardo rallied to Maradona’s defence on Friday, declaring that only the arrival of “Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary” could justify his sacking.

Argentina host already-eliminated Peru on October 10 before travelling to neighbours Uruguay, who trail the ‘Albiceleste’ by a single point, four days later.

BUENOS AIRES (AFP)

Tags: albiceleste, Alfredo Cahen, Argentina, Argentine, argentine football, automatic qualification, body fifa, BUENOS AIRES, carlos bilardo, diego maradona, Europe, five games, flight to europe, football association, Jesus Christ, julio grondona, la nacion, Mary, media sources, Mexico, north-eastern Italy, personal doctor, peru, poor performances, single point, Spain, time world champions, uruguay, virgin mary, world cup glory, world governing body

Gomez hands Germany injury worry, Oezil to start

September 6, 2009

Striker Mario Gomez handed Germany a World Cup qualifying headache on Sunday when he pulled up with a knee injury while highly-rated winger Mesut Oezil was confirmed as a starter for Wednesday’s clash with Azerbaijan.

Gomez and 20-year-old Werder Bremen player Oezil both scored in Saturday’s 2-0 friendly win over South Africa.

Coach Joachim Loew used the speed of Oezil and fellow 20-year-old winger Marko Marin to exploit space down the flanks for lone striker Gomez against South Africa.

“My team did well both in terms of result and performance,” said Loew, who criticised his team last month when they struggled to a 2-0 win over Azerbaijan in Baku in the first Group Four meeting between the two countries.

“That was a clear improvement in relation to our last few games, we were more fluid on the ball. We have been together for a week now and you could see the benefits of the extra training.

“There are still a few things which don’t fit into the way we play.

“There is still some room for improvement in defence, Arne Friedrich and Heiko Westermann put in good claims for their centre-back places. Our structure has improved greatly.”

Oezil put in the most eye-catching performance of the night having been handed his first start for Germany and Loew singled him out for praise before adding the youngster will start against Azerbaijan.

“Mesut Oezil brought a lot of creativity and was technically excellent, he has a good eye and can produce some dangerous situations for us,” said the coach.

“He played very well in attack, but he still has things to learn on tracking back, but I am very happy with his performance. I assume he will start against Azerbaijan.”

In front of his home crowd, Leverkusen goalkeeper Rene Adler gave a good account of himself, but his rival Robert Enke will be in Germany’s number one shirt for Wednesday’s qualifier in Hanover.

Germany lead Group Four by a single point and face their most important game of the qualification campaign so far when they take on Russia in Moscow on October 10.

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: arne friedrich, Baku, berlin, Bremen, dangerous situations, flanks, Germany, Goalkeeper, good eye, Hanover, hanover germany, heiko, Heiko Westermann, home crowd, joachim loew, knee injury, lead group, Marin, mario gomez, mesut, Moscow, rene adler, robert enke, russia, single point, South Africa, south africa coach, space down, werder bremen, winger, youngster

Bradley looks to get US back on track

September 4, 2009

After losing its last two full international games, both against Mexico, US head coach Bob Bradley wants his squad fit physically and mentally for its World Cup qualifier tomorrow night against El Salvador in Sandy, Utah.

There is no shame in losing to the Mexicans at home in a confederation final and an away World Cup qualifying match, however, the Stars and Stripes know that they have raised their own bar of expectations.

Bradley, for one, is delighted that he has more time to prepare the team for the Salvadorans than he had for El Tri.

“In a single fixture date, you don’t have time in the camp to assess the sharpness and fitness,” stated the former MetroStars and Chivas USA chief. “The only thing you do when they arrive is to prepare them in terms of recovery and travel to play, and of course tactics.”

“When you look back on the Mexico game, it’s a difficult game to fully assess in all those ways because of the conditions.”

With an all-time record of 0-1-19 against Mexico in Mexico City, the conditions have never been in the USA’s favor.

Despite being on the losing end of a 2-1 scoreline at Estadio Azteca last month, Bradley looked for positives, as well as at the future.

“You look at the pluses and like any game you look at things that could have been better,” he commented. “When you have a double fixture date and the days of training, certainly in terms of seeing where guys stand, it’s a better situation.”

The situation Bradley’s team currently finds itself is clear for all to see. After going unbeaten (2-1-0) in its opening three final-round games, the US has lost two of its last three (1-0-2). As a result, with 10 points, it occupies third place — the last automatic qualifying spot for South Africa — behind Honduras on goal difference and ahead of fourth-place Mexico by a single point.

While the US has been perfect at home in qualifying, it has struggled away. A 2-2 tie at El Salvador earlier this year revealed some frailties in a game that saw the Americans battle back late from two goals down to earn a point.

Jozy Altidore and Frankie Hejduk each scored during a sparkling 11-minute burst, canceling out goals from Eliseo Quintanilla and Christian Castillo.

“There were parts to the game that we felt should have been better,” said Bradley. “We were certainly pleased at the end, given the challenge of being down two goals on the road, to fight back.”

“We were attacking because they had a lot of people back, and their first goal came on a counter-type situation where we didn’t react well enough as a team. So we’ll look at those things, and yet we believe that the improvement in the group over time is a big part of things.”

With five points from six qualifying games, El Salvador finds itself in fifth place, just ahead of last-place Trinidad & Tobago on goal difference. The Cuscatlecos are 2-1-5 in away qualifying games; all five of the losses were by the same 1-0 score.

This is a must-win situation for El Salvador, a team looking to maintain a reasonable hope of capturing one of CONCACAF’s three automatic places in South Africa. That fact is not lost on Bradley.

“I think that their starting points are the same,” Bradley surmised. “It’s a group of players that’s been together. I think they are well coached and organized. We saw even in a home game that they had a real game plan on how they wanted to play us, and I think that’s one of their strengths in all of their games. So we expect that.”

At home against El Salvador, the US is unbeaten in 12 games (10-2-0). The visitors have failed to score in their last five meetings, all defeats.

Past results in football mean very little. El Salvador will hope that cliche remains true at the Rio Tinto Stadium.

Bob Bradley, though, feels otherwise.

“I think the group is ready for this final stretch of qualifying. Playing at home is always something that means a lot to all of us, so I expect a great effort and a great result.”

Source

Tags: bob bradley, chivas usa, el tri, frailties, goal difference, head coach bob, international games, metrostars, mexicans, mexico city, mexico game, pluses, salvadorans, sandy utah, scoreline, sharpness, single point, stars and stripes, time record, world cup qualifier

Schweinsteiger, Klose on song for Germany

August 12, 2009

Germany opened a four-point gap at the top of their World Cup qualifying group after goals by Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose sealed Germany’s 2-0 win at minnows Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

Joachim Loew’s side remain unbeaten and are favourites to claim the group four’s single guaranteed place for the finals in South Africa, but the matter is likely to be decided when they face main rivals Russia in Moscow on October 14.

Bayern Munich midfielder Schweinsteiger opened the scoring after just 12 minutes when he received the ball just outside the penalty area and rifled his shot home from 30 metres.

Germany were rarely tested and they doubled their lead just after the break when Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez smashed a shot at the Azerbaijan goalkeeper Farhad Veliyev and Klose headed the rebound into the empty net.

It made up for his first-half miss when the Bayern Munich stalwart drove his header over the bar with an empty net at his mercy.

Azerbaijan, coached by ex-Germany boss Bertie Vogts, had precious few chances to score in the second-half as the German defence, led by Bayern’s Philipp Lahm, closed down their opponents’ attack.

Russia have the chance to close the gap back to a single point when they face minnows Liechtenstein in St Peterburg on September 5.

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AFP)

Tags: attack russia, baku azerbaijan, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern, bayern munich, german defence, joachim loew, klose, Liechtenstein, mario gomez, midfielder, miroslav klose, Moscow, Munich, philipp lahm, point gap, russia, schweinsteiger, single point, South Africa, st peterburg, stalwart, striker, vogts, world cup qualifying group

Vassell moves to Turkish club

July 23, 2009

Former Manchester City striker Darius Vassell has completed his free transfer to Turkish Super Lig outfit Ankaragucu on a two-year deal after his release by the Eastlands club.

Vassell, 29, has signed up until 2011 with the Ankara-based outfit, who avoided relegation by a single point as they finished 13th in the Turkish top flight last season.

The former England and Aston Villa striker had been without a club since being released by City at the end of last season but was given a rousing reception by around 3,000 Ankaragucu fans when he arrived in the Turkish capital for transfer talks earlier this month.

“I do not want to talk too much,” Vassell said at a press conference confirming his arrival. “I want to play football. Ankaragucu is working hard for success.”

By: Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: ankara, ankaragucu, Aston, aston villa, darius vassell, England, manchester city, rajput, rousing reception, single point, striker, top flight, turkish capital, turkish club

Panathainaikos dominate in Greek play-offs

May 18, 2009

Panathinaikos maintain their perfect record in the Greek Champions League play-offs, while AEK Athens remain close by.

‘Pana’ hosted AE Larisa, who had already lost their first two games and again failed to convince in their third. Dimitris Salgipidis put the home side ahead after ten minutes and Giorgos Karagounis made it 2-0 in the 25th.

Tumer Metin got one back for Larisa in minute 54 but Ante Rukavina netted a third for Panathinaikos 20 minutes later.

AEK Athens won 0-1 at PAOK, who in turn dropped their first points of the play-offs. Ismael Blanco scored the winning goal on 40 minutes.

But the Athens outfit will be without Nikos Georgeas and Perparim Hetemaj for their second game, as both were sent off in this match.

With three of six matches played, Panathinaikos lead with nine points followed by AEK with eight. PAOK have six and Larisa are still without a single point.

Written by: Jonathan Roorda

Tags: aek athens, ante rukavina, athens, Blanco, champions league, dimitris, Georgeas, Giorgos, Hetemaj, jonathan, Jonathan Roorda, Larisa, match, Panathainaikos, panathinaikos, play offs, roorda, Salgipidis, second game, single point, Super League, tumer metin, two games

Hiddink – We´ve blown opportunity to catch United

March 22, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – Guus Hiddink admits Chelsea might have spurned their best opportunity of overhauling Manchester United in the Premier League title race.

The west Londoners could have slashed United’s advantage at the top of the table to a single point after Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were surprisingly beaten 2-0 at Fulham on Saturday, their second defeat in as many matches.

But Chelsea failed to capitalise as they slumped to a 1-0 loss at rivals Tottenham, leaving their hopes of restoring the title to Stamford Bridge after a three-year absence in tatters.

Instead, it is Liverpool who now appear to have the best chance of making United sweat as the run-in gains pace over the coming weeks.

"We lost a huge opportunity, knowing that United were losing, it was a great chance to really change things," Hiddink said. "These are the typical days in a tough league. They are key moments. If Manchester United lose, we have to strike but we didn’t do that.

"There’s not just pressure on United but also ourselves and Liverpool. When you’re chasing you have to win your games but to lose the goal as we did in the 10 minutes after half-time, with so many professionals and internationals, is bad for us."

Hiddink could barely contain his annoyance with his side, who were inexplicably lacklustre at White Hart Lane.

The Dutchman, who is in charge on an interim basis until the end of May, when he will return to manage the Russian national side permanently, was especially irritated by their sloppy start to the second half.

Chelsea, having been distinctly second best before the interval, compounded their woes with some flaky defending which allowed Aaron Lennon to exploit space on the right wing. The England international’s cross was met first time by Luka Modric, whose excellent low shot found the bottom corner.

Falling behind knocked the stuffing out of the visitors and it was not until the last 15 minutes that Chelsea finally generated some meaningful attacking momentum. But Heurelho Gomes made fine saves from headers by Alex and John Terry and Spurs deservedly held on for a famous victory.

Hiddink will have plenty to ponder as he leaves England for the first time since his appointment at Stamford Bridge. He is due to travel first to Amsterdam, to visit his elderly father, and then on to Moscow where he will begin planning for the World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein.

But the former PSV Eindhoven manager refused to accept that Chelsea were distracted by his impending international commitments.

"We missed this opportunity due to our start in the second half," Hiddink complained. "We talked about that at half time. We knew they would come at us from the start and we emphasised that but it was very sloppy defence for their goal.

"Sometimes, there are circumstances where you can’t always look for the best solution when the ball is in a dangerous part of the pitch: we have to just clear instead. We must learn from that."

Hiddink’s dark mood was in stark contrast to that of Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, whose side are suddenly eying a belated charge for seventh place, a finish which will guarantee Europa League football next season.

Redknapp could barely disguise his disdain for the UEFA Cup when he took control at White Hart Lane this season, and regularly complained that the extra fixtures placed too great a burden on his squad.

But he has attributed that attitude to Spurs’ other commitments, rather than contempt for the competition itself.

"It wasn’t that I disrespected the UEFA Cup – we were in a relegation battle and the League Cup final," he said. "I had to prioritise. If we had been in the top half we would have gone for it.

"We’ll go for it again this season so let’s push on and try and get seventh. We need to start looking upwards as a club – our recent form demands that because it’s been terrific."

Written by: AFP