..::Football III::..

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'Lies, all lies!' - Messi lashes out at Barca mayhem reports

Lionel Messi insists has launched a scathing attack on "lies" suggesting he wants to leave Barcelona having fallen out with head coach Luis Enrique.

The Argentina superstar has been heavily linked with both Manchester City and Chelsea in the past week, with the Catalans in behind-the-scenes turmoil following the sacking of the club's sporting director, Carles Puyol's departure and early elections being called.

Messi and Enrique's relationship was believed to be broken beyond repair after the 27-year-old was benched against Real Sociedad - a match Barca lost 1-0 - and it is suspected that the forward was pushing for the coach to be dismissed.

But Messi has hit back at such claims, insisting that he has no "rivalry" with the former Roma boss, and lashed out at sections of the media for throwing "sh*t" at the Catalan club.

"I never demanded anything to stay, as I have no intention of leaving," he told Barca TV. "It is not good to look for rivalry between Luis Enrique and me, because there is none.

"We must be more united than ever. They should not throw sh*t at us. We just want to achieve things for the club.

"I never demanded anything to stay, as I have no intention of leaving.

"It is said that my father spoke with Man City, with Chelsea. It's all lies, it's all lies."

Messi scored once as Barca ran out 3-1 winners over Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday ahead of Monday's Ballon d'Or presentation when he is competing for the best player in the world prize with Cristiano Ronaldo and Manuel Neuer.

But Messi is relaxed heading into the ceremony - which takes place on January 12 - and has praised the respective seasons of his rivals.

"Whoever wins the Ballon d'Or will deserve it, whether it is Neuer or Cristiano, who had incredible year," he added.

 

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2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or Awards ada thiyenneC.Ronaldo,Messi & Neuer

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Schalke agree Nastasic deal with Manchester City

Schalke have agreed a deal with Manchester City for defender Matija Nastasic who will sign for the Bundesliga side on loan after completing a medical.

 

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Mata: Next time the ball will go in

Juan Mata has assured Manchester United fans that there will be no repeat of his profligate display during Sunday's shock 1-0 defeat to Southampton.

A solitary Dusan Tadic goal was enough to earn the Saints a first league victory at Old Trafford since 1988 as United found themselves undone by a combination of disciplined defending and wasted opportunities.

Mata was the primary culprit, firing wide when Fraser Forster parried the ball into his path and then blazing a shot from an inviting Daley Blind cross over the crossbar as United ramped up the pressure in the final minutes.

Writing in his weekly blog after the match, the Spaniard could not hide his frustration but remains confident that "next time it will be a different story".

"To be honest, I don't think we deserved to lose against Southampton," he insisted. "It was not the best game to watch. They were well positioned and defended very well so creating chances was difficult.

"And yet we were in control of the game. The first half was not very good; the game was quite slow, too tactical. But we kept the ball most of the time, trying to find spaces towards the goal.

"They scored after the break in one of the few chances they had, after a ball that rebounded on the post, and then we tried everything to tie the game. I think we deserved that goal.

"In the last 20 minutes we had chances. I had three myself but it seemed the ball just didn't want to go in. It would've been very important to make some of them because I believe we could have even won.

"I tried every possible way until the end but we just couldn’t make it. Next time it will be a different story, I'm sure."

 

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Ballon d'Or: Profiling the three contenders for the title of the world's best footballer in 2014

Football may be a team game, but managers need stars just as much as fans need heroes and on Monday night one of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Manuel Neuer will be awarded the prestigious FIFA Ballon d'Or.

In an unprecedented era of domination by two men, Ronaldo, last year’s winner, and four-time victor Messi have shared the award between them over the last six years, but for Bayern Munich and Germany star Neuer, it represents a rare appearance for a goalkeeper on the final shortlist.Who deserves the 2014 award the most? We assess the three candidates…

Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo in 2014:

Real Madrid: 51 games, 56 goals/Portugal: 9 games, 5 goals

Total: 60 games, 61 goals

Trophies won: Champions League, Spanish Cup, Super Cup, Club World Cup

Having broken Lionel Messi's stranglehold on the award in 2013, Cristiano Ronaldo is the red-hot favourite to make it back-to-back triumphs after another scintillating 12-month period in which the Portuguese has plundered a glut of goals. Since Messi broke the world goal-scoring record for a calendar year in 2012, the perception has been that the Argentine genius, in part due to injuries, has slightly dipped from the rarefied realm he was operating in for several seasons, whereas Ronaldo, fast approaching 30, has found a new peak.

It's now become so routine to see the Real Madrid star's scoring statistics as showing better than one goal in every game that it's actually no longer surprising. Such repeatedly astonishing feats should continue to be held in awe however, particularly when they contribute to the winning of football's biggest prizes. That was certainly the case in 2014 as Ronaldo, at the fifth attempt since arriving at the Bernabeu from Manchester United, finally got his hands on the Champions League trophy as a Real Madrid player. The Portuguese's penalty put the icing on Real's dramatic extra-time victory over city rivals Atletico and was certainly fitting given he contributed 17 goals during the course of Real’s run to a coveted 10th European title, a new competition record.

While injury kept him out of his side's Copa del Rey final triumph against arch rivals Barcelona, the lowpoint of Ronaldo's year ultimately came in Brazil at the World Cup when Portugal meekly bowed out in the group stage thanks in part to an opening game thumping by eventual champions Germany. Battling against an injured knee, the task of captaining a hardly-vintage Portuguese side to any achievement of note was always going to be a tall order, and anyway Ronaldo had more than done his bit to get them there in the first place with a hat-trick to turn the tide in their play-off match against Sweden the previous November.

In short, with more than 60 goals to his name along with an array of team and personal accolades in 2014, it proved another phenomenal year from a truly phenomenal player.

Lionel Messi

Messi in 2014:

Barcelona: 52 games, 50 goals/Argentina: 14 games, 8 goals

Total: 66 games, 58 goals

Trophies won: None

The most successful player in the history of the Ballon d'Or/World Player of the Year awards with four wins has incredibly been a fixture in the top three of the rankings for eight years now, which when you consider Messi is just 27, represents astonishing pre-eminence on the world scale.

While 2014 represented the first time in seven years that Messi didn't pick up any trophies with either Barcelona or Argentina, in many ways the year ticked a number of significant career boxes for the diminutive star personally. Having failed to find the net at the 2010 World Cup, Messi was Argentina's top scorer in Brazil with four goals en route to their final against Germany, although his subsequent failure to prove the match winner on the biggest stage of all still brought some criticism that he had ultimately underdelivered. The prestigious Golden Ball for the player of the tournament suggested otherwise, although football's humble superstar looked rather embarrassed himself to be singled out for praise in the wake of the Germans' impressive triumph.

Barcelona's barren 2014 will be remembered as a nearly year, the Catalans narrowly denied by Atletico Madrid in both league and Champions League and a Gareth Bale-inspired Real in the Copa del Rey final. The personal achievements kept coming for Messi though: the Argentine broke the all-time records for goals in La Liga and then the Champions League, the latter achieved just ahead of Ronaldo.

It appears unlikely that Messi, whose relationship with Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is currently at the centre of plenty of scrutiny, will pip his generational rival to another World Player of the Year title this time round, despite actually scoring only fractionally fewer goals than Ronaldo during the calendar year. What certainly shouldn't be overlooked is that his record of 58 strikes in 66 games for club and country in 2014 is by any historical scale, outstanding.

Manuel Neuer

Neuer in 2014:

Bayern Munich: 49 games, 26 clean sheets / Germany: 9 games, 5 clean sheets

Total: 58 games, 31 clean sheets

Trophies won: World Cup,Bundesliga, German Cup

It’s already fitting recognition of Manuel Neuer’s status in world football that he has overcome the perennial failure to acknowledge goalkeepers in such awards to earn his place on the final shortlist. While clean sheets and saves at the feet of onrushing strikers are invariably never going to be as ‘showbiz’ – or, if truth be told, memorable – as goals and mesmerising footwork, the performance of the man between the sticks routinely makes or breaks a team’s pursuit of success.

With that in mind, it is something of a disservice to the goalkeeping union that only one of their number, the legendary Lev Yashin, has ever been awarded the Ballon d'Or - and that was back in 1963. In fact, it’s nearly a decade since a ‘keeper even made the top three - Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon in 2006 - with one of Neuer’s illustrious predecessors at Bayern Munich and in the German national team, Oliver Kahn, the last goalkeeper to feature prominently in the pre-amalgamated FIFA award.

That Neuer has finally ended that wait is predominantly thanks to the 28-year-old's heroics at last summer's World Cup, when he conceded just four goals en route to Germany's first triumph on the world stage in a generation. After all, Neuer, widely regarded as the world's best stopper for a while now, was a pivotal part of Bayern’s run to Champions League glory and a domestic double in 2013, yet he finished just 23rd in that year's World Player of the Year vote.

As shown by the cases of Buffon and Kahn in 2006 and 2002 respectively, the unique platform provided by the World Cup certainly gives a greater chance for goalkeepers to emerge as the stars and Neuer, officially recognised as the best in his position at the tournament, certainly took his chance. The term 'sweeper keeper' is hardly a new phenomenon in football, but it's arguable that Germany's No 1 has taken it to a new athletic level, as his decisive bursts out of the penalty area in the tight last-16 tie with Algeria demonstrated.The odds suggest Neuer could split the Ronaldo/Messi duopoly of recent years in the Ballon d'Or voting, which in this era of two dominant players would be some achievement in itself.​

 

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Good Luck for C.Ronaldo,Messi & Neuer

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Messi kiyala thiyanawa Barcelona future 1ka uncertain kiyala.Anemanda
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Lionel Messi says future is uncertain, would like to finish career at Barcelona

Ballon d'Or candidate Lionel Messi on Monday fuelled speculation he would consider an exit from his troubled Barcelona club, just one day after saying he had "no intention" of leaving the Camp Nou for Chelsea or Manchester City."Well, I'm not sure what's going to happen if one day I'll go back to Newell's [Old Boys].

I'm not sure where I'll be next year. I've always said that I'd like to finish my career at Barcelona, play at Newell's, but as Cristiano just said, nobody knows what the future holds -- and much less so in the case of the football world, where everything can change overnight," Messi told reporters as his parting shot during a preliminary news conference for the Ballon d'Or.Messi seemed to be taking a lead from his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who had just said he is happy to stay at Real Madrid but doesn't know what the future holds. Ronaldo and Messi were accompanied fellow Ballon d'Or candidate Manuel Neuer at the conference.

The last week has brought fevered coverage in the Catalan press of an alleged breakdown in relationship between the blaugrana superstar and his first-year coach, with some outlets reporting that Messi had even given club president Josep Maria Bartomeu an ultimatum that Enrique had to go or Messi would leave.Later in the week, reports surfaced that the 27-year-old could even leave the club this summer, with Chelsea seen as his most likely destination.

Speaking after he had scored and assisted a Luis Suarez goal in a 3-1 win, the Argentine had denied rumours that he was looking to exit the club, telling Barca TV he was fed up with whoever was making such claims."It hurts because it comes from people who [supposedly] love Barcelona," said Messi. "It's people who want to hurt the club -- and this time it did not come from Madrid, like other times, it has come from here.

"I have heard lots of things being said about me before and now. They make it look like I am the one who is in charge here when I am just another player. I have never demanded anything to stay because I don't have any intention of going."I heard people say that my dad had spoken to Chelsea, to City. It's all lies."

 

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FIFA Ballon D'Or 2014 Pics

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Podolski should blame himself, not criticise Wenger – Matthaus

Germany legend Lothar Matthaus has reignited his war of words with Lukas Podolski and hit out at his compatriot’s criticism of Arsene Wenger.

The 29-year-old claimed that the Frenchman had shown him a lack of respect after completing a loan move to Inter, failing to say goodbye, though Wenger has denied that the pair separated on bad terms.

And Matthaus, who enraged Podolski after saying that he "tweets more than he plays", believes that the striker should not have hit out at Wenger and is still guilty of blaming others for a lack of game time and success in recent years.

"Podolski should finally look at himself and ask himself why he was not a success at big clubs, at Bayern Munich and now at Arsenal," Matthaus told Sport1.

"There have to be reasons for it and it is not always the coach who is to blame. He showed it again by hitting out against Arsene Wenger. You don't do stuff like that. His reaction on Twitter was again a reaction over nothing."

He added: "I have no problem with Podolski but, if he knew my career a little, he would know I won championships as a coach more often than he did as a player. That says a lot.

"If I was him, I'd focus on the stuff that matters. I hope he'll do that because he wants to prove a point to some people. He surely wants to play a part in the national team, too, and the competition in his position is fierce."

Podolski scored 19 goals in 60 appearances for Arsenal, though struggled to hold down a first-team spot, but started his first game for Inter in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Genoa.

 

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Berahino: I'm being unfairly criticised

West Brom forward Saido Berahino hit back at critics attempting to give him a bad name following a tumultuous week.

Berahino found himself in the headlines after he refused to celebrate any of his four goals during West Brom's 7-0 rout of Gateshead in the FA Cup, leading to reports that he could be angling for a move away from the club, with a number of Premier League rivals circling.

The highly sought-after 21-year-old was back smiling again on Saturday, with his 78th-minute goal giving West Brom a 1-0 win over Hull City at the Hawthorns and, after his celebration in front of the West Brom faithful, Berahino declared that he was trying to make a point to those questioning his character and enthusiasm.

"I don't understand why people were having a go at me for not celebrating. It is not in the rules that you've got to celebrate when you score," the striker told The Guardian.

"Loads of players don't celebrate when they score but I'm always the one getting blamed and picked out at West Brom. I just smile at it and keep my mouth shut."

Berahino's temperament has come into the spotlight in recent weeks, with former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy questioning the striker's attitude, but the England Under-21s international remarked: "I just think everyone now, because I'm almost a target out there, is trying to bring a bad name to me.

"They are always trying to write something about me; I don't understand why. I think the people who put me down, they don't know me first of all."

 

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Suarez: I have a spectacular relationship with Messi and Neymar

Luis Suarez has hailed his relationship with Lionel Messi and Neymar in the wake of Barcelona's 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday evening.

The Uruguay international scored one and set up another in his side's victory over Diego Simeone's men, with his fellow attackers both netting a goal each as well, and Suarez feels their partnership is proving to be extraordinary.

"The truth is that my relationship with Messi and Neymar is spectacular," the Uruguay international was quoted as saying on the official Barcelona website.

"We get along really well, both on and off the field, and the same goes for the rest of our teammates."

Suarez then went on to highlight the importance of Sunday's win in the race for the Liga title.

"A win like this against Atletico makes us stronger; it's good for our self-esteem. The most important things is that we won.

"We know that in these kinds of games we have to outrun the other team. We were great in the first half, and in the second they recovered a little, but in the end our hard work paid off."

Barcelona currently sit second in the league table, trailing leaders Real Madrid by one point, although the Santiago Bernabeu side have a game in hand.

 

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Koeman suggests Van Gaal tactics hampered Manchester United

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has suggested that Louis van Gaal's formation hampered Manchester United during the Saints' 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on Sunday

The Red Devils did not have a single shot on target - although Juan Mata did miss two gilt-edged chances - as the visitors picked up their first win on United turf since 1988 thanks to Dusan Tadic's second-half goal.

The hosts lined up with three central defenders, including returning midfielder Daley Blind, and struggled to create goalscoring opportunities for the most part, something which Koeman appears to have pinpointed and predicted.

"You know that they have difficulties to build up with three centre-backs," the Southampton boss told reporters of his old adversary's line-up.

"[In] the second half we pressed them better than the first. They have a lot of qualities from the midfield to the attack, fantastic players, so you need really good players to stop that."

Koeman then went on to insist that he was not surprised by his side's victory.

"We know we have a strong team and that was important at the end of December.

"We got a point against Chelsea and the three points against Arsenal. That makes belief in the players. It is what you need if you are not a big club: belief in the players, not afraid of the name or the stadium. We learned that.

"I am not surprised we won against United. We have organisation. We have 11 clean sheets in 21 games. If we keep the spirit and the organisation, we can keep in front in the table."

Eljero Elia, who joined the Saints on loan from Werder Bremen in December, made his debut on Sunday before making way for Tadic and Koeman was pleased with his contribution.

"You know he didn't play for a long time and he's not a player for 90 minutes," the manager observed. "He needs minutes to get the rhythm of the game. He was a good option for [the United game], he's a fast player who can play one against one.

"I think he did well for an hour. Little by little he will come back with his performance. I am sure he will be a good signing for us."

 

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Roma cannot afford Ibrahimovic, says Raiola

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's agent has laughed off suggestions that the experienced striker could leave Paris Saint-Germain for Roma.

A number of recent reports claimed that the Serie A outfit are closely monitoring the 33-year-old's situation at the Ligue 1 champions, but Raiola has made it clear that Roma lack the financial resources to lure Ibrahimovic back to Italy.

"Roma's alleged interest in Ibrahimovic? With all due respect, but they cannot afford Zlatan," Raiola told Radio Anch'Io Sport.

"Could Ibra return to Italy? We are taking things year by year with Ibra. It all depends on what he wants and on his strength.

"At the moment, he still has a contract with Paris Saint-Germain for one-and-a-half years and he's absolutely not for sale at any price."

Ibrahimovic has netted 13 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions for PSG this term.

The Parc des Princes side have been struggling to hit their best form in recent weeks and have dropped to fourth place in the Ligue 1 table following their 4-2 defeat versus Bastia at the weekend.

 

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Ribery: Bayern can win it all

Franck Ribery believes Bayern Munich have learned from their mistakes from 2013-14 and have what it takes to win the treble again this season.

The Bavarians won the Bundesliga title in record time last term, followed by the DFB Pokal, but a seeming drop of intensity and motivation cost them later on when they were eliminated by Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Ribery has insisted that they know where it all went wrong, though, and is confident they will not make the same errors this time around.

"It’ll be tough, but this team could win everything," the former France international was quoted as saying on the club's official website.

"There is always a lot of pressure at Bayern. We must always win. That's the way things are at Bayern. You always have to win titles," he continued to TZ.

"I think we have learned from what happened last year. We won the Bundesliga title quite early and a few players then got fewer game time and lost rhythm a bit. Maybe we took things a bit easier in training.

"If we win the title again at an early stage, we must keep going and maintain our rhythm. You cannot take things easy and then be back to your best when Real Madrid await. That's simply impossible. That happened last year, but we have learned from it."

Bayern are currently away on a training camp in Dubai as they prepare for their first Bundesliga game after the winter break against Wolfsburg on January 30.

 

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Nasri: I rejected Man Utd over Arsenal 'war'

Samir Nasri has revealed he came close to joining Manchester United from Arsenal in the summer of 2011.

The midfielder met with Sir Alex Ferguson in his native France to discuss a possible move, while City also monitored his availability.

But Nasri says he opted against moving to Old Trafford because he was asked to "go to war" with the Gunners in a bid to force through a move, and instead decided to join City after being barraged by phone calls from Roberto Mancini.

"We met with Sir Alex in Paris, in a hidden place, out of sight, so as not to fuel the rumours,” he told BeIn Sports.

"But there was one thing that was a problem; I was asked to go to war with Arsenal to be able to join. I could not see myself doing it, especially with Arsene Wenger.

"After Man City showed their interest. Mancini called me every day during the holidays. I then decided that they really wanted me."

Nasri has since won two Premier League titles and one League Cup at the Etihad Stadium.

 

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Wenger: Arsenal need a defender in January

Arsene Wenger admits that Arsenal are "short" in central defence after Mathieu Debuchy sustained a dislocated shoulder in the club's 3-0 win over Stoke on Sunday.

The Frenchman was carried off on a stretcher just 13 minutes into the game after crashing into the advertising boards at the Emirates Stadium.

As a result, Debuchy joins an ever-growing injury list in north London, with fellow defenders Kieran Gibbs and Calum Chambers also sidelined, and Wenger says that he may have to dip into the January transfer market in search of reinforcements.

"Not so much because we were in the market anyway," Wenger told the press when asked if Debuchy's injury would accelerate the club's transfer plans.

"[Nacho] Monreal and Debuchy can play centre-back but, if Gibbs is not here, Monreal cannot play centre-back and, if Debuchy is not here, he cannot play centre-back.

"This is a position where we are short."

Wenger also paid tribute to Alexis Sanchez after the Ch-ilean continued his fine form with two goals against the Potters.

"The better the team plays, the more Alexis is involved in the game because we attacked a lot," he added.

"We had a very offensive team today and he's confident. He's another, like Giroud, and we can be direct with him, you can run at people a bit more, so there's a good combination offensively."+*

 

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Alexis is like a Duracell battery - Oxlade-Chamberlain

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has likened Arsenal team-mate Alexis Sanchez to a Duracell battery because he never stops running.

Alexis produced an inspirational display to lead the Gunners to a 3-0 win over Stoke City on Sunday, setting up the opening goal for Laurent Koscielny before scoring twice himself.

The Chilean has netted 18 goals in all competitions this season but his tireless work rate has done just as much to endear him to Arsenal fans, and Oxlade-Chamberlain is full of praise for the former Barcelona star's attitude.

"Alexis absolutely loves it. He is like a Duracell battery - he just does not give in," the England midfielder told reporters.

"Whether it is a cup competition or times when you think maybe it could be a chance for him to come out and rest, he is the first one to say he wants to play and he always wants to be a part of it.

"I am sure if the boss wants to rest him, he would respect that as well, but his attitude and the way he approaches training, you wouldn't think he was tired and the way he is playing, you wouldn't take him out of the side either.

"Hopefully, he can keep his fitness and keep going, but the athlete that I see every day, I can't see him falling short anytime soon."