..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Filipe Luis: It was worth Simeone risking Costa

Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis believes that Diego Simeone made the right decision in starting Diego Costa in the Champions League final, which Real Madrid won 4-1 after extra-time.The striker had just returned from Belgrade having undergone revolutionary hamstring treatment involving horse placenta, making him a doubt for the squad at all.

Still, the Brazil-born Spain international was named in Simeone's starting XI before having to be replaced after just nine minutes with an injury, leading to questions about whether it was foolish to start an unfit player in such an important match.

"It wasn't a mistake," Filipe Luis, 28, told ESPN Brasil. "Diego Costa was feeling well and he suffered an injury in a different place. It had nothing to with how he was feeling before.

"He's out best player and having him on the pitch for two minutes was better than not having him at all."As for ultimately losing out on club football's most prestigious award following a spectacular campaign, the Atletico defender felt that his side just ran out of steam in the closing stages.

"It hurts," the left-back continued. "But we've had a very good season. We won La Liga and everyone wanted to lift the Champions League too, but Real Madrid played a great game.

"We didn't have the strength to fight back when it got to extra-time. They deserved it in the end, we can only congratulate them."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Costa yesterday match 1kata select unath 100% recover wela naha.So World Cup 1ka wenakota fully recover unoth hodai

Get well soon Costa!​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ancelotti 'loco' with happiness

Real Madrid’s Decima success left coach Carlo Ancelotti “loco with happiness”.
Madrid landed their 10th European Cup crown on Saturday after beating city rivals Atletico 4-1 in Lisbon.

The scoreline only told half the story, though, with Real trailing 1-0 deep into injury time at the end of the 90 minutes before Sergio Ramos nodded in a dramatic equaliser.Liga champions Atletico had nothing left in the extra period and goals from Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo saw Madrid ease to victory.

For Ancelotti, it also represented a personal landmark as he joined former Liverpool boss Bob Paisley as the only managers in history to have landed the European game’s biggest club prize on three occasions.The former AC Milan chief told Canal Plus afterwards: “We believed we could equalise. And in the end the game has gone well.

"Incredible. This is what we tried for since the start of the season. We have suffered, but we deserved it."I'm loco with happiness".

Paisley won his three with Liverpool in 1977, 1978 and 1981 while Ancelotti had already tasted success with Milan in 2003 and 2007.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ramos: My goal is for every Madridista

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has dedicated his vital goal in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid to all of the club's fans.

Carlo Ancelotti's side trailed the Spanish champions deep into second-half stoppage time, but Ramos drew his side level with a late header.

Madrid went on to claim their 10th Champions League title in extra-time thanks to goals from Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo but the former Sevilla defender does not care who takes the plaudits.

"It's my most important goal. It's amazingly satisfying that we keep fighting in the end for the fans," he is quoted as saying by AS.

"It is not my goal, it is for all Madridistas, my family and those who have supported us all the way. It's inexplicable how it feels.

"We have made history against an opponent. We provide the Champions League for all football lovers."

Skipper Iker Casillas embraced Ramos in the wake of his goal and the Andalusian revealed that the goalkeeper had an odd message of gratitude for him after his early mistake handed Atletico the lead.

"After I scored, he told me: 'You are the f***ing master," Ramos revealed.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Ugly' Varane gesture prompted Simeone fury - Gabi

Gabi has slammed Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane for prompting a vicious spat with Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone.

The Argentine entered the field of play deep into injury-time after Cristiano Ronaldo had put Carlo Ancelotti's side 4-1 up in the Champions League final.

He remonstrated with the young French defender before being sent to the stands and Gabi feels Varane was guilty of being a bad winner.

"You have to know how to win and he is still young," the Atletico midfielder told reporters. "He did an ugly gesture.

"We will keep working and hopefully this isn't our last title. This is football.

"After extra-time, they were justified winners, we had a year of competing like animals and that's the best we could do."

Diego Godin gave Atleti a first-half lead but Sergio Ramos equalised in second-half stoppage-time, before Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo secured Madrid's 10th top European title.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ronaldo overtakes Messi in all-time Champions League scoring rankings

Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo has overtaken Barcelona star Lionel Messi in the all-time Champions League goalscoring charts with his strike in Saturday's final in Lisbon.

The 29-year-old attacker, who dethroned the Argentine as the Ballon d'Or holder in January, netted the fourth from the penalty spot in Madrid's 4-1 victory in Lisbon.

Ronaldo's strike moves him to within three goals of former Madrid forward Raul, who netted 71 times in 144 Champions League appearances.

The Portugal international has a far superior ratio to the Spanish striker, though, having racked up his 68 goals in just 107 games and now looks set to surpass Raul's total next season.

However, it remains to be seen whether Ronaldo will claim the record before Messi. The Barcelona attacker has racked up his 67 goals in just 86 appearances.

In addition, all of Messi's strikes have come either in the group or knockout stages, whereas Ronaldo's haul is complemented by a strike from the qualifying rounds during his Manchester United days.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Congratzzzzzzzz C.Ronaldo!​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Suarez vows: I'll be ready for the World Cup

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has allayed fears he could miss the World Cup following knee surgery and insists he will be fit for this summer's tournament in Brazil.

The Liverpool hitman went under the knife to correct a meniscus injury on Thursday but the Uruguayan Football Association are confident "he is not ruled out".

Suarez posted a message on Twitter later that day to thank fans for their good-will messages, and on Saturday afternoon he reiterated his determination to turn out for his country in Brazil.

Uruaguy kick off their World Cup against Costa Rica on June 14, before playing England five days later and Italy five days after that.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Klopp: Dortmund will do everything to sign Immobile

Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Borussia Dortmund will pull out all the stops to sign Torino hotshot Ciro Immobile this summer.

The Italy international, who is co-owned by Juventus, has been heavily linked with a move to Signal Iduna Park after netting 22 goals in Serie A last season and the BVB boss has now admitted that the 24-year-old striker is one of his primary transfer targets.

"The forwards that I want cost more but they are also the best in circulation," Klopp is quoted as saying by Tuttosport. "We are willing to do everything to bring Immobile to us."

As for Immobile, he does not regret publicly expressing his desire to play Champions League football earlier in the week.

"I didn't want to blame anyway or to upset anyone, but I said what I felt in that moment," he told Sky Sport Italia.

"I have thanked the president [Urbano Cairo] and the fans, who have treated me as an important player.

"However, the ambitions I have are those that I stated in the press conference."

Immobile, who has been included in Italy's provisional World Cup squad, joined Torino from Genoa last year.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Lars Bender: My dream is broken

Germany midfielder Lars Bender has admitted that a childhood dream has been broken by his World Cup-ending injury.

The Bayer Leverkusen star was widely expected to be named in Joachim Low's final 23-man squad but picked up a thigh injury during training in the national team camp in South Tyrol.

Bender has spoken of his disappointment at missing out and says he will have to spend some time away from football to recover.

"It's a dream that has been broken," he told Bild.

"I need to process it first. I have to go for a rest. I've only just left the national team. I cannot tell you how I'll deal with it. I need a couple of days of rest and distance.

"I've been preparing myself and looking forward to it forever."

Bender's injury, along with that of his twin brother Sven, has fuelled speculation that Borussia Monchengladbach's Christoph Kramer could make the trip to Brazil.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Get well soon Lars Bender!​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Reus: Germany not among World Cup favourites due to heat

Marco Reus does not believe that Germany should be considered among the favourites to win World Cup 2014 because of the heat in Brazil.

Joachim Low's side reached the semi-finals in South Africa four years ago but the Borussia Dortmund attacker feels that the odds are stacked against Die Mannschaft going all the way this time around - despite their best efforts to acclimatise in the run-up to the tournament.

"First of all, I associate with Brazil with the World Cup and football - but also the heat, which will play a major role," Reus reasoned.

"We will prepare very well and are working hard to achieve the necessary strength and conditioning.

"But the favourites? It's the South Americans, due to the conditions, which will give them an advantage."

However, Reus has been buoyed by the news that both injury doubts Manuel Neuer (shoulder ligaments) and Philipp Lahm (bruised ankle) have been given the all-clear to play in Brazil.

"They have made a very positive impression [since joining up with the squad]," he revealed. "This is very important because they are very important players for us."

Germany have been drawn in Group G alongside Ghana, United States and Portugal.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ramos roars under the Lisbon lights as Casillas lifts La Decima - Champions League final in pictures

Goal takes a look back at the events that took place in Lisbon as the 2014 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid was decided by three goals from Los Blancos in extra-time.

The glittering prize was on display before kick-off with both teams keen to be crowned 'Kings of Europe'

Estadio da Luz was split down the middle with a game of football to decide the fate of a city's pride

Injury doubt ahead of the final, Diego Costa, had to be replaced after just nine minutes

Gareth Bale wormed a way into the box but then shot wide after doing all the hard work

On 36 minutes Juanfran chipped the ball into the area and Diego Godin looped a header over Iker Casillas

Godin wheeled away and it was 1-0 to Atletico Madrid with their first effort on target finding the net

Cristiano Ronaldo attempted to direct Real Madrid's traffic as they struggled to break down Atleti

In the second half, Gareth Bale got behind the Atletico defence again but scuffed his shot wide

Just when it looked like Atletico had their hands on the trophy, Sergio Ramos equalised in stoppage time

Ramos silenced the Atletico fans and sent Madrid supporters into raptures and the game in to extra-time

As the game went into extra-time, Atleti rallied around to gather that famous team spirit

Their hopes were shattered when Di Maria forced a save from Courtois which fell to the head of Bale

Upset Atletico coach Diego Simeone made his feelings known to the referee during the extra-time break

After 118 minutes, Marcelo was allowed to march forward and fire a shot past Courtois, 3-1 to Madrid

Never one to be left out, Ronaldo got on the scoresheet after earning and converting a penalty

Flying the flag, Gareth Bale became the first Welshman to score in a Champions League final

Iker Casillas lifted the trophy as Real Madrid completed La Decima - ten European Cup titles​

 

[rcccc]

Derby County 0-1 QPR: Last-gasp Zamora winner seals Premier League return

 

[rcccc]

Lars Bender: My dream is broken

Lars ,Sven denntama world cup miss una

 

[unicornx]

Thanks Wolvi for the wonderful post

...

Meanwhile Anti-Madrid fans in EK are just silent....Get up Haters its the 10th

​

 

[unicornx]

Gracious Ramos

​

 

[unicornx]

 

[unicornx]

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Republic of Ireland 1-2 Turkey: Ilhan Ozek and Camdal inflict defeat on O'Neill's men

Martin O'Neill's Republic of Ireland suffered defeat as Fatih Terim's Turkey won 2-1 at Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

The two sides produced a frenetic start in front of a sparse crowd at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and, although Ireland fell behind after just 17 minutes, O'Neill's men showed glimpses of what they were capable of.

Ahmet Ilhan Ozek broke the deadlock for the visitors, sending a bullet header beyond debutant Rob Elliot before the hosts took control, forcing Onur Kivrak into a string of impressive saves.

Turkey ultimately doubled their lead with 15 minutes to go, as Tarik Camdal found the roof of the net, but Jonathan Walters pulled one back a few moments later to ensure an intriguing finish.

Ireland made a lacklustre start and allowed Turkey two chances inside the first minute. Mevlut Erding tested Elliot from distance, before Ozek sent a flicked effort over the crossbar.

The tie's blistering start continued and Ireland appeared unlucky not to be awarded a fourth-minute penalty as Omer Toprak went unpunished after clumsily bringing down Shane Long inside the area.

Ireland were gradually growing in stature and Kivrak brilliantly saved a header from Long in the 14th minute, before John O'Shea's rebound was cleared off the line by Caner Erkin.

Turkey made the most of that let-off and took the lead three minutes later, as Ozek diverted Gokhan Gonul's right-wing cross into the bottom-right corner with a precise header.

Terim's side continued to look dangerous in attack, but susceptible at the back as the first half progressed.

The visitors' full-backs were continuously targeted by Ireland and Kivrak pulled off another fine stop to deny James McClean in the 36th minute, after Aiden McGeady had glided past Gonul to send in a cross.

Proceedings were significantly more disjointed after the break, with half-time seemingly affecting Ireland's free-flowing football from the first half.

Nevertheless, the Irish continued to be the brighter side going forward, with the visitors' only real threat proving to be Hakan Calhanoglu, but Elliot confidently plucked the Hamburg man's deliveries out of the air on more than one occasion.

Turkey thought they had put the match beyond any doubt in the 75th minute as Camdal received Oguzhan Ozyakup's clever reverse pass before blasting past Elliot, but Walters registered with an emphatic finish on the counter three minutes later.

Terim's Turkey held on to the narrow victory and they continue their preparations against Honduras and the United States in the next two weeks, while Ireland face tricky tests against Italy, Costa Rica and Portugal.