..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Van der Sar: Eriksen can be a star at Spurs

Christian Eriksen could be a great addition at Tottenham Hotspur, according to Ajax legend Edwin van der Sar.

The 21-year-old is due to seal a transfer from the Amsterdam ArenA to the north London outfit in the coming days, ending a five-year association with the club.
And while Van der Sar will be sad to see him go, he believes Eriksen has the qualities necessary to be a success at White Hart Lane.

“He's a very good player and I would be sorry if he were to leave us,” said the Ajax marketing director. “He has great quality, is two-footed, is very quick, gives you a lot of pace on the ball and his corners and free-kicks are very good, so I'm sure if he went to Tottenham he would be a great player there.”

Van der Sar was speaking in Monaco at the Champions League draw event after Ajax were given a tough draw in Group H alongside Barcelona, AC Milan and Celtic. But the former goalkeeper, who won the 1995 competition with the club, said that he is far from worried about the task ahead.

“I'm not worried at all, I'm looking forward to it. They're going to be great stadiums to play in. [Director of football] Marc Overmars and I have fond memories of Milan from the experiences we had as players.”The 42-year-old also won the competition with Manchester United in 2008, making the winning save from Nicolas Anelka in the penalty shoot-out. And he believes his former club have what it takes to overcome the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson to thrive under new manager David Moyes.

“It's new for Man United,” he continued. “They haven't been in this position for 26 or 27 years, but then there was also their first Premier League game without Sir Alex, then their first home game.

“There are going to be comparisons every time, but they have experience in the squad with the players, who are all still there of course. It will be different training, maybe their approach is more technical when playing in Europe but I don't think it will be a problem for Man United.”

 

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Martino: It's better for Messi to miss training then play well

Gerardo Martino insists it is better for Lionel Messi to skip training sessions if it means he can give his all on the pitch for Barcelona.

The Argentina star missed a session on Friday ahead of Barca's weekend meeting with Valencia, having picked up a thigh injury during the first leg of the Supercopa de Espana against Atletico Madrid, but his compatriot feels the rest will benefit his side's chances at the Mestalla on Sunday.

"When he has a niggle we need to take care. So he didn’t train yesterday and today he was fine. Tomorrow he’ll be good. It’s better to be able to play a match then spend an hour training," Martino said at a press conference.

The Blaugrana have struggled in attack since their opening day 7-0 rout of Levante, with just two goals scored in their last three fixtures, and Martino concedes there is a lack of sharpness in his forward line at present.

"We’re lacking freshness. We’re not conceding goals and teams aren’t making chances against us, though [Victor] Valdes made two cracking saves against Atletico and one against Malaga.

"We need to sort out the goal-scoring. With the potential we have up front I think we should be scoring, the key therefore is not giving any away."

Barca have an excellent record at the Mestalla in recent years but Martino has warned that they face no easy task against Valencia, paying particular tribute to Ever Banega.

"The stats show we haven’t lost there since 2006, but we’ve only won two," added the 50-year-old. "We need to play well and try to win. They’ll be up for it and they’ve got decent players who always try to attack.

"They played well against Malaga, better than against Espanyol, who won playing defensively. We’ll try and find our best form, to show what we’re capable of. It’s important to neutralise Banega, he’s a dangerous player who could hurt us."

Sunday's clash kicks off at 21:00CET.

 

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Garcia: Too late for Manchester United to buy De Rossi

Roma coach Rudi Garcia says that the Serie A side will resist Manchester United's interest in Daniele De Rossi.

The Red Devils have made overtures to the Giallorossi about the midfielder, who is understood to be available at a price of €11.7 million, but the Frenchman claims that a previously-agreed window to sell him has closed.

"De Rossi is a Roma legend and wants to play for Roma," Garcia told the press.

"We said that, after a certain point in the summer, he'd no longer be for sale.

"He is a man of his word. That date has passed and he will be with us for the entire season."

De Rossi's current contract runs until the summer of 2017 - he is currently one of the Italian top flight's highest earners, with a net salary of €6m a year.

Roma have already sold Erik Lamela and Pablo Osvaldo to Premier League clubs Tottenham and Southampton this summer for fees worth up to €35m and €20m, respectively.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United walata thawa 1ka deal 1kak wath nahaMoyes ga parakkuwa thamai me okkotama mula

Dan anthimata boruwata dagalanawa.......ath late wadiAnemanda mona weida kiyala thawa dawas 2kai thiyenne & Wenger th thama silence

Common Moyes & Wenger do something!

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United prepare to meet Ander Herrera’s £31m buy-out clause

Manchester United are set to meet Ander Herrera’s £31m release clause in order to seal a move for the midfielder before the transfer window shuts.Boss David Moyes has until 11pm on Monday to bolster his squad, having yet to make a significant signing since succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson earlier this summer.

After seeing a £21m bid for Herrera rejected earlier this week, Moyes is now prepared to meet the Spaniard’s buy-out clause, although Athletic Bilbao insist they are under no pressure to sell their star players.‘Our club is different, in that it is based on feeling,’ said club president Josu Urrutia.

‘Our objective is not to make money. We received the offer last night, and we communicated [to the club in question] that we do not negotiate for our players. If a player is to leave, first he has to inform us that he wants to go and then his release clause has to be met.’

Moyes remains confident of bringing in some new faces before Monday night’s deadline and sees Herrera as an alternative to Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas, who he failed to lure to Old Trafford earlier this summer.

Leighton Baines has not asked to quit Everton, insists Roberto Martinez
Manchester United are also believed to be ready to up their pursuit of Everton duo Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines, as well as Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Anthima dawas 2ke full try 1ka deela Herrera wath gatthoth hodai ithin.

 

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Van der Sar: Eriksen can be a star at Spurs

Christian Eriksen could be a great addition at Tottenham Hotspur, according to Ajax legend Edwin van der Sar.

The 21-year-old is due to seal a transfer from the Amsterdam ArenA to the north London outfit in the coming days, ending a five-year association with the club.
And while Van der Sar will be sad to see him go, he believes Eriksen has the qualities necessary to be a success at White Hart Lane.

“He's a very good player and I would be sorry if he were to leave us,” said the Ajax marketing director. “He has great quality, is two-footed, is very quick, gives you a lot of pace on the ball and his corners and free-kicks are very good, so I'm sure if he went to Tottenham he would be a great player there.”

Van der Sar was speaking in Monaco at the Champions League draw event after Ajax were given a tough draw in Group H alongside Barcelona, AC Milan and Celtic. But the former goalkeeper, who won the 1995 competition with the club, said that he is far from worried about the task ahead.

“I'm not worried at all, I'm looking forward to it. They're going to be great stadiums to play in. [Director of football] Marc Overmars and I have fond memories of Milan from the experiences we had as players.”The 42-year-old also won the competition with Manchester United in 2008, making the winning save from Nicolas Anelka in the penalty shoot-out. And he believes his former club have what it takes to overcome the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson to thrive under new manager David Moyes.

“It's new for Man United,” he continued. “They haven't been in this position for 26 or 27 years, but then there was also their first Premier League game without Sir Alex, then their first home game.

“There are going to be comparisons every time, but they have experience in the squad with the players, who are all still there of course. It will be different training, maybe their approach is more technical when playing in Europe but I don't think it will be a problem for Man United.”

Sirawta

 

[unicornx]

Kaka AC Milan rejoin wei samaharawita

A perfect replacement for KP

 

[unicornx]

The best team clearly lost – Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has lamented his side’s 5-4 defeat to Bayern Munich on penalties in the European Super Cup.

Franck Ribery cancelled out Fernando Torres's opener to take the game to extra time, before Javi Martinez did the same after Eden Hazard had give then Blues a lead for the second time and Ramires had been sent off.

That left penalties to decide the winner, with Romelu Lukaku missing the decisive spot-kick after David Alaba, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribery and Xherdan Shaqiri all beat Petr Cech from 12 yards.

“The best team clearly lost,” Mourinho said after the match. “The best team played with 10 men for a long, long period in the game. They played against the champions of Europe and they were the best team.

“We only have reasons to be proud, to believe in the future. But I prefer just to say the best team lost and stay with it.”

This was Chelsea's second Super Cup defeat in as many years, having lost 4-1 to Atletico Madrid a year ago.

Muunan mahama gal muusalayek... Acting nan hondatama karanawa...Hamogema anukampawa ganna anith team eka praise karnaawa. Madrid Man U defeat karapu weledi me yka qwa Best team lost kiala..Dan Munchen eka praise karanawa...

 

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Bayern Munich 2-2 Chelsea (5-4 on pens): Lukaku miss hands Guardiola's men the spoils

 

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Kondogbia completes Monaco move

Monaco have announced they have completed the signing of free agent Geoffrey Kondogbia after he chose to terminate his contract at Sevilla.

Kondogbia, 20, agreed a five-year deal with Claudio Ranieri's men on Friday after a week of speculation linking him with a move to Stade Louis II.

Sevilla released a statement on Tuesday stating that Kondogbia "was history at the club", with reports tipping Monaco to buy out his €20 million release clause.

Kondogbia helped the France Under-20 side win the World Cup this summer before going on to make his full international debut with the national team in August against Belgium.

The former Lens man had been linked with a number of top European clubs including Real Madrid, Juventus and Arsenal last season and in the summer, but the Ligue 1 side have won the race for the youngster's signature.

Kondogbia made 40 appearances last year for Sevilla, scoring one goal.

wenger ta ganna thbba player kenek

 

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Tottenham confirm Eriksen signing

patta sign ekak

 

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Bendtner part of my plans, says Wenger

Bendtner

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Guingamp: Ibrahimovic seals dramatic win after stoppage-time salvo

Two goals in second-half stoppage time from Adrien Rabiot and Zlatan Ibrahimovic handed Paris Saint-Germain a dramatic 2-0 win over Guingamp on Saturday.


The French champions appeared to be heading for a stalemate against their spirited opponents after 90 minutes of frustrating football for the home faithful, until the 18-year-old bundled home a rebound in injury time before the Swede settled matters just before the final whistle.

PSG boss Laurent Blanc named an unchanged side from last week's 2-1 win away to Nantes, with Mamadou Sakho not involved in the squad as rumours of a move to Liverpool build.

Visitors Guingamp were without veteran striker Cedric Faure due to a calf injury, while Gregory Cerdan was also not included.PSG came into the game looking for their first home win of the season and almost snatched the perfect start as Ibrahimovic curled a 25-yard free-kick onto the post just two minutes in.

It was to very much set the tone for the early exchanges, with the hosts dominating much of the possession in midfield, but they struggled to unlock a determined Guingamp defence. The visitors themselves were a threat on the break as Claudio Beauvue and Sadio Diallo both went close.

Ten minutes before the break, the hosts who created a flurry of chances, with Thiago Silva’s header being denied by Mamadou Samassa in the six-yard box.
Moments later it was the post to come to the visitors' rescue, with Thiago Silva once again foiled.

Samassa was then called into action as Thiago Motta released Cavani. The Uruguayan took the ball wide of the goalkeeper before finding Javier Pastore, but the 23-year-old recovered well to deny the Argentinian.PSG began brightly after the break, with Samassa coming to the rescue of his team again to parry away a low Cavani effort after a well-worked corner.

But the three-pronged attack of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Ibrahimovic and Cavani continued to be frustrated by a dogged Guingamp defence, with the Swede enduring a particularly difficult afternoon, skying an effort from 25 yards just after the hour mark.Lavezzi did not enjoy much luck either, getting on the end of a brilliant ball from Motta to race away from his man, before hitting a tame drive straight at the keeper.

PSG continued to knock on the door and nearly broke the deadlock in spectacular circumstances when Cavani sent a powerful effort narrowly wide on 67 minutes, before setting up Ibrahimovic just a minute later, with the Swede also off target.
And the champions were nearly made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal several minutes later when Mustapha Yatabare raced into the box, before shrugging off his man and firing wide.It looked as though the visitors would hold on for a draw, until a whipped free-kick was met by Alex, whose header was parried straight to substitute Rabiot, who applied a calm finish from close range.

And just two minutes later the win was sealed, when Ibrahimovic latched onto a long ball to round Samassa and roll the ball into an empty net.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Stoppage time 1ke goals 2kak

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Cardiff City 0-0 Everton: Toffees left fuming over penalty denial

Roberto Martinez drew his third league game in a row as Everton manager after his side slumped to a 0-0 draw at Cardiff City in the Premier League on Saturday.

In a game devoid of clear-cut opportunities, David Marshall made the game’s best save in the final seconds of the first-half, the 28-year-old reacting quickly to palm away a deflected header from Nikica Jelavic, with Cardiff also lucky to survive to good penalty claims.

Both Roberto Martinez and Malky Mackay named unchanged sides from their opening Premier League outings, as Fraizer Campbell continued up front for Cardiff and Ross Barkley lined up in support of Jelavic for the visitors.

Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines both started once again, despite continued reports linking the pair with moves to Manchester United.

Peter Whittingham had the first chance of the game as he sent an inswinging corner towards the front post and Tim Howard was forced to come through a crowd of players to claw the ball away.

Everton slowly came back into the game, however, and felt they should have had a penalty in the closing five minutes of the half.

Leighton Baines charged into the penalty area and was challenged by Gary Medel only for referee Anthony Taylor to award a goal kick.

And Marshall then kept his side in the half with an instinctive save from a Jelavic header in stoppage time.

The Croatia international met a Seamus Coleman cross strongly, only for the experienced goalkeeper to react brilliantly and deny the striker after his effort had taken a deflection off Ben Turner's arm, with further Everton penalty appeals falling on deaf ears.

The 28-year-old should have opened the scoring for the visitors seven minutes after the break, though he blazed over the crossbar after a neat through ball from Fellaini.

Martinez introduced Arouna Kone for Jelavic just after the hour and the Ivorian had a fantastic chance to win the game in the closing 10 minutes. He reacted quickly to volley a shot towards goal after a scramble in the penalty area, although Marshall saved well and Kone was flagged offside.

Baines and Fellaini combined on the edge of the penalty soon after but the full-back's right-foot shot skewed high and wide of goal as the game petered out into a dull draw - Martinez's third in three league games as Everton boss.

 

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Newcastle United 1-0 Fulham: Ben Arfa scorcher seals the points as Cabaye features

A Hatem Ben Arfa strike five minutes from time handed Newcastle United a 1-0 win over Fulhamat St James' Park on Saturday.

The winger's curled effort from the edge of the penalty box brought Newcastle their first victory of the season, and was a fitting reward for their efforts in a game they dominated.

Alan Pardew made a number of changes from the League Cup win over Morecambe in midweek, with Shola Ameobi keeping his place after scoring at the Globe Arena while captain Fabricio Coloccini returned.

Yohan Cabaye was also included in the hosts’ squad for the first time in 2013-14 having been previously excluded amid interest from Arsenal, while QPR loanee
Loic Remy joined him in the dugout.

For Fulham, Darren Bent made his first Premier League start for the club since his loan switch from Aston Villa while midweek goalscorer Adel Taarabt dropped to the bench.Newcastle began the brighter of the two teams, with skipper Coloccini seeing a header cleared from close range by John Arne Riise after four minutes.

But the game began to even out as time progressed, with Bent and Mathieu Debuchy having efforts on goal for the away and home sides respectively.
Alex Kacaniklic had a glorious chance to put the visitors ahead on the half-hour mark, when he latched on to a long ball from the back. However, he was unable to get clean contact and was dispossessed by the alert Debuchy.

Papiss Cisse then headed wide after a cross from Ben Arfa before the latter fired over in the last five minutes of the half, however, Fulham emerged unscathed to go in goalless at the break.It took until 61 minutes for the first chance of the second half, with Ben Arfa striking a dipping effort at David Stockdale before Ameobi glanced a header wide a minute later.

Riise hit back for Fulham after 66 minutes when he forced a save from Tim Krul with a free kick but Newcastle resumed control of the match in the aftermath.Substitute Yoan Gouffran subsequently failed to connect with a Ben Arfa cross with 79 minutes gone, as the hosts continued to apply plenty of pressure.

And with five minutes of normal time remaining, their constant creation of chances finally brought a goal, as Ben Arfa cut in from the right-hand side of the box to fire brilliantly home.

 

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Manchester City 2-0 Hull City Tigers: Negredo & Toure on target in unconvincing win

Manchester City secured a unconvincing 2-0 win over a resolute Hull City Tigers side with two second-half goals at the Etihad Stadium.


Alvaro Negredo – who was introduced at the break for Edin Dzeko – nodded in Pablo Zabaleta's cross in the 65th minute, before Yaya Toure struck a late free kick to give Manuel Pellegrini's men all three points.

Hull enjoyed the better of the first half, with Sone Aluko and Robert Koren going close, while Danny Graham had an effort ruled out for offside, but City did enough at Etihad Stadium to claim the win.Pellegrini dropped Javi Garcia and Gael Clichy from the side that lost 3-2 to Cardiff City, replacing the pair with the fit-again Matija Nastasic and Aleksandar Kolarov.

Hull City boss Steve Bruce made 11 changes to the side that scraped through the second round of the League Cup against Leyton Orient, while Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Quinn won a place on the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury.

One of the new inclusions, Nigeria international Aluko, almost gave Hull a shock lead in the seventh minute after a loose ball broke to him and he raced through the Manchester City defence.But with only goalkeeper Joe Hart to beat, Aluko scuffed his effort wide, failing to match his impressive run with a composed finish.

It was a warning sign for the hosts, and one they did not heed, as shortly after Dzeko tested Hull City goalkeeper Allan McGregor at the other end with a near-post header, the visitors went close again.

On this occasion Steve Bruce's men had the ball in the back of the net, but Graham's volley was correctly chalked off for offside.McGregor reacted well to tip Joleon Lescott's header over the bar soon after, before Koren was next to go close for Hull.However, the Slovenia international saw his 25-yard effort – that had Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart beaten – sail just wide.

The hosts slowed the tempo of the game down in the immediate aftermath, as the likes of David Silva and Toure helped them enjoy extended periods of possession.
But Hull dealt with every challenge they were presented with and went to the half-time break with their heads held high.

Frustrated by his team’s inability to find a breakthrough, Pellegrini brought on Negredo, and the Spaniard had a good chance just minutes after coming on.
He was unable to direct a header on target though, following an excellent Silva ball, while Graham fired over for Hull at the other end.Jesus Navas had an acrobatic attempt on goal fly wide soon after, but City finally broke the deadlock in the 65th minute.

Zabaleta was the provider, with his looping cross from the right finding Negredo, who headed the ball into the ground and across McGregor to open the scoring.
Lescott had a late chance to double City's lead before Toure scored an exquisite free kick to seal the result.

The Ivorian curled in a 20-yard effort which Ahmed Elmohamady could not keep out despite his desperate efforts on the line as City celebrated another home victory.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Kevin Prince-Boateng used to be a good guy, says Klopp

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp quipped that Kevin Prince-Boateng "was a good guy until this morning", following the midfielder's move to Schalke.

The Ghana international used to ply his trade for die Schwarzgelben, but appeared to put his loyalties aside by completing a switch to their local rivals from AC Milan on Saturday.

And Klopp has wasted no time to take a dig at the midfielder, who spent six months under his tutelage.

"I wrote him a text message: 'Why Schalke????????' I'm really surprised," the 46-year-old revealed to reporters.

"At 11.01 am I wrote that to Boateng, with eight question marks. Boateng was a good guy, until this morning.

"But I got no response. Do not be ashamed, it's ok [directed at the €10 million signing]."

Boateng, 26, spent the 2008-09 season on loan at Signal Iduna Park from Tottenham and immediately won over Klopp with his performances.

However, last season's Bundesliga runners-up could not work out a permanent deal with Spurs, with Boateng subsequently moving to Portsmouth.

The midfielder was handed his debut for Schalke during Saturday's 2-0 victory against Bayer Leverkusen.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Rooney a doubt for Liverpool clash with head injury

Wayne Rooney is a doubt for Manchester United's crunch clash with Liverpool after sustaining a head injury in training, Goal understands.

The forward left the club's Carrington base with a bandaged head after suffering the injury in training on Saturday morning.

Rooney is understood to have sustained a gash, leaving the Premier League champions waiting on a medical assessment of the striker ahead of their trip to Anfield on Sunday.

The striker, who has been subject to two bids from Chelsea this summer, spoke of his gratitude towards United's fans after he received a positive reaction away to Swansea and at home to the Blues during the sides' 0-0 draw on Monday.

And Moyes moved to praise the former Everton star on Friday, insisting he is "mentally in good shape" ahead of the trip to face Brendan Rodgers' men.

"I felt he played very well the other night [against Chelsea] and he's looking in good condition and is mentally in good shape too," Moyes told reporters.

"We'll do everything we possibly can to keep that going and need him to keep performing well. At the moment he's in good shape."

Stamford Bridge boss Jose Mourinho has since described Chelsea's pursuit of the striker as "finished" for all parties after he secured Samuel Eto'o on a free transfer on Thursday.