..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Robben: I shouldn't be punished for being honest about diving

Arjen Robben believes that he has been "honest and fair" over his diving in Netherlands' game with Mexico and it is time to move on.

The 30-year-old was put under scrutiny after winning a decisive penalty in the Oranje's 2-1 second round win, particularly after he admitted that he had tried to earn a free kick despite feeling no contact in the first half of the encounter.

However, despite expressing regret for his dive, Robben was adamant he was fouled by Rafael Marquez for the penalty and feels that a line should now be drawn under the affair."I can only repeat what I said after the match," the Dutchman said in an interview with the Times of India.

"I really must apologise as in the first half I took a dive and I really shouldn't do that. That was a stupid thing to do but sometimes you're expecting to be struck, then they pull their leg away at the last minute and I went to the ground without a touch."But I was fouled by Marquez! You can see it on television. So the one at the end was a penalty.

"Everyone is allowed to have their opinion. I said it before the game, I also say it now that I will say what I think is honest and fair. Not everyone has to agree with me, they just need to respect whatever happened.

"I am an honest guy and said what I did was wrong. That should be the end of the story. Maybe sometimes you are punished for honesty but I always prefer to be honest!"

Netherlands now face Costa Rica in their quarter-final in Salvador on Saturday and Robben admits that he regrets the fact his comments have overshadowed his side's achievements."It is a shame there is so much discussion because we put on a great performance as a team," he acknowledged.

"That should be the main thing. Sometimes, you know, I like to be honest and I again apologise for this action in the first half but that is football. It had nothing to do with the result of the game."It was a lot of hard work and some work and some luck for us in the end to turn things around so late in the game against Mexico. It was a deserving win in the end and we are proud to reach the quarter-finals.

"Costa Rica are difficult opponents, otherwise they wouldn't have ended up in a quarter-final topping a group with Uruguay, Italy and England, and then beating Greece. It won't be easy for us."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Tottenham resist renewed Sandro bid from Napoli

Tottenham have dismissed fresh attempts from Napoli to sign Brazilian midfielder Sandro, Goal has learned.
The Serie A club were hopeful that upping their bid to €12 million would be enough to seal the deal but Spurs are holding firm.

Even so, Rafael Benitez's side are willing to match Sandro's current wages and believe that offering nearer to €15m would prove successful, although talks are now at an impasse.

Sandro appeared close to the exit door after receiving strong criticism from former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood last season.

The Brazilian then predicted Sherwood's departure at the start of May and insisted he was excited for a new beginning in north London.

Any particular move is complicated further by both clubs' interest in Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin.

Spurs have shown an interest in the 24-year-old France international, who is keen to quit the club, with Mauricio Pochettino already having swapped St Mary's for White Hart Lane to replace Sherwood.

But Napoli have already discussed personal terms with the player's agent and are willing to up his annual salary from €600,000 to nearly €1m.

Napoli have also been alerted by Moussa Sissoko's decision to leave Newcastle United this summer.

The Magpies sealed the signature of Siem de Jong on Tuesday evening and Napoli believe they could be content to recoup the fee paid for Sissoko to Toulouse in January 2013.

The Frenchman is keen to join a Champions League club and has privately made it known that he wants to move to a warmer climate than the north east of England.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Southampton launch €7.5m bid for Feyenoord striker Pelle

Southampton have launched a €7.5 million opening offer for Feyenoord striker Graziano Pelle, Goal understands.

New Saints boss Ronald Koeman is keen to raid the Dutch market this summer, with Pelle, his Feyenoord team-mate Lex Immers and Twente forward Dusan Tadic his three main targets.

A fee for Tadic has reportedly been agreedm but Southampton are already pressing ahead with their move for Pelle and have now opened talks with Feyenoord.

The Dutch club want at least €12m for Pelle and while the Saints' opening bid is short of that, talks are continuing and a deal is expected to be completed.

Pelle, who speaks fluent English, has scored 50 goals in his last two seasons in the Eredivisie. The 28-year-old Italian joined Feyenoord on loan from Parma in 2012 before making his stay permanent a year later.

Southampton are prioritising deals for Pelle and Tadic, who would be seen as like-for-like replacements for Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana, ahead of Immers.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Schneiderlin tells Southampton: I want to leave

France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is set to follow Mauricio Pochettino, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana out of Southampton this summer, Goal understands.

Schneiderlin has told the Saints he wants to leave the club and has been attracting plenty of interest, particularly from Arsenal and Napoli.

The Gunners have been monitoring the Frenchman's situation for some time and could now be tempted into making an official approach with news that he wants out of St Mary's.

However, Serie A club Napoli have already held talks with the 24-year-old's representatives and settled on a deal to raise his annual salary by €400,00, taking it to nearly €1 million plus bonuses.

Rafa Benitez's side also believe they are battling Tottenham for Schneiderlin's signature, and they would ironcially strengthen Spurs' need for a central midfielder if they are successful in their attempts to sign Sandro.

Schneiderlin could join up with former Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino should he decide to move to Spurs.

The Argentine boss moved to White Hart Lane at the end of May, sparking a firesale at the south-coast club.

Shaw completed his switch to Manchester United on Friday, while Lallana joined Liverpool.

Striker Jay Rodriguez, who had been tipped to make England's World Cup squad until damaging his medial knee ligament towards the end of the Premier League season, has also been linked with a move to Tottenham, while centre-back Dejan Lovren is said to be on Arsenal's radar.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Schneiderlin Arsenal joun wei​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Liverpool to stand firm on Suarez fee as Barcelona officials fly in for transfer talks


Liverpool will refuse to allow Luis Suarez to join Barcelona for less than the fee stipulated in his release clause, Goal understands.
The Merseysiders' American owners have vowed to play hardball with their prize asset for a second consecutive summer amid reports that a delegation from Camp Nou will meet Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre in London on Wednesday for an opening round of talks over the 27-year-old.

Barcelona are expected to table a substantial bid for Suarez even though he has been banned for four months by Fifa for biting Giorgio Chiellini.

Liverpool have not denied that a release fee was inserted in the new €280,000-a-week contract that Suarez signed last December.

The precise release clause, which can only be triggered by a non-English club, is unknown but sources anticipate it is between €71-84 million.

Any hope Barca might have had of landing Suarez for a cut-price fee due to his ban and tarnished image will be dashed by the stance of Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG).

Privately, FSG are said to be adamant that Suarez can only leave if the valuation of his release fee is met.

Should this figure not be matched, Liverpool plan to hold on to Suarez at least until January, even though he will miss the first two-and-a-half months of next season.

A repeat of a saga similar to last summer, when Suarez and his agent Pere Guardiola spent months trying to engineer a move to Arsenal, could now be in store as Liverpool refuse to grant their star player an easy exit.

Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta praised the striker for his ability and admitted that his goalscoring record is proof he is capable of playing for the club, statements which Liverpool will have been unimpressed by.

"Everyone knows that Luis is an excellent player, everyone knows last season he played in various positions in attack, but everyone also knows that he is a Liverpool player," the sporting director said.

"Regardless of whether the club signs him or not, his quality is unquestionable. He has shown a lot of quality with Uruguay and scored more than 30 goals with Liverpool, so he has the necessary quality to play for Barca."

Barcelona will sell Alexis Sanchez, possibly to one of his Premier League suitors, to free up space in their front line and on their wage bill for Suarez.

The Uruguayan's situation is also being monitored by the Catalan club's great rivals Real Madrid.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Howard breaks record for World Cup saves against Belgium

Tim Howard made 15 saves during USA's 2-1 extra-time defeat by Belgium in Salvador on Tuesday - a new World Cup record.

Howard kept the Belgians at bay for 98 minutes of the round of 16 clash at Arena Fonte Nova, making a number of impressive stops before he was finally beaten by Kevin de Bruyne in the second minute of extra-time.

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku doubled Belgium's lead on 105 minutes but the USA rallied and, after Julian Green volleyed past Thibaut Courtois on 107 minutes, spurned several good opportunities to equalise.
None of this, however, prevented Howard from recording a new highest number of saves in any single World Cup match since 1966, the first edition of the tournament which Opta has data for.

Meanwhile, Belgium's victory also ensured that all eight group winners progressed to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since the tournament assumed its modern format in 1998.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Congratulations Tim Howard!Howard nam patta

Methek FIFA 2014 purawatama GK's lage performance highlight wela thibbaHoward,Ochoa,Navas,Benaglio & Enyeama elatama perform kala

Specially Belgium Vs USA match 1ke Howard ge saves tikanam pattama patta

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Schurrle: World Cup pressure not a problem for Germany

Andre Schurrle has insisted that Germany can succeed at the World Cup this summer despite the huge pressure on the team.

Joachim Low’s men are one of the favourites to reign victorious at the tournament in Brazil and are on course to claim the title having reached the quarter-final stage.
However, the team's progression through competition has not been straightforward, with Low's side facing heavy criticism for their performance level in the 2-1 extra-time win over Algeria in the last 16.

But Schurrle – who scored the opening goal against the north Africans – says his compatriots do not feel weighed down by the expectations of their nation and are confident in their chances."When you come to a World Cup with Germany you are expected to win it," he told reporters.

"We don't come here just to take part. When you have this team with these players, everyone in our country and all around the world has big expectations of us."This is always the way. We have big ambitions and we have that feeling more than ever now that we are into the last eight."

Low has been boosted by the news that defender Mats Hummels looks likely to recover from flu in time for Germany’s quarter-final clash against France after the Borussia Dortmund man declared himself close to full fitness.

Hummels wrote on his Twitter account: "Almost back at 100 per cent."Germany are also hopeful of having Lukas Podolski available after he was sidelined against Algeria with a thigh problem.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United can challenge for titles with Van Gaal, says Carrick

Michael Carrick is confident Manchester United can challenge for the Premire League title next season and is eager to kick-off the Premier League season under new manager Louis van Gaal.

United will start the 2014-15 season with their second manager in the space of a year after David Moyes was sacked in April following the club's poor form that saw them finish seventh and miss out on European football.

The Old Trafford hierarchy ushered in experienced Dutchman Van Gaal at the end of the season, with the Eredivisie, La Liga, Bundesliga and Champions League-winning manager signing a three-year deal.

With their disappointing campaign in the past, Carrick is excited to work for Van Gaal, who will arrive at Old Trafford once his World Cup commitments with Netherlands have concluded.

"I'm looking forward to working with him. I'm looking forward to meeting him and getting cracking really," the 32-year-old told Sky Sports News.

"Looking back it was a disappointing campaign but we have got to learn from it – never stop learning – and take what we can.

"We have still certainly got enough quality in the squad anyway regardless of who is coming in this summer to be up there challenging again."

Van Gaal has been tasked with rebuilding the United squad and, while he is away in Brazil, the Premier League giants have wasted little time delving into the transfer market.

United signed long-term targets Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw for hefty sums as the club makes sweeping changes ahead of the new campaign.

And Carrick is particularly thrilled about the acquisition of Spanish midfielder Herrera from Athletic Bilbao, who the Englishman came up against during United's Europa League last-16 tie in 2012.

"I have played against him and he is a terrific player," he said.

"The more quality we have, the better, and he is certainly right up there. So I am sure he is looking forward to getting started and getting the first game under his belt and fitting in.

"We will certainly make him feel as welcome as we can."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United 2014/15 1kedi titles walata challenge karanna nam thawath squad 1ka strong karaganna one

Next season 1ke City,Chelsea,Arsenal & Liverpool 2013/14 season 1katath wada godak strong wenawa

So Chicharito ge future 1kath sure nahaneStriker kenek,Mid playersla & Defenders set 1kak one kohomath

nathuwanam baha​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

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[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United target William Carvalho will cost £37m

Manchester United have been told they can sign midfield target William Carvalho this summer - but he will cost them £37million.The Portugal international has a release clause in his contract at Sporting Lisbon and will leave if anyone triggers it.

Sky sources understand he is one of the targets United’s new boss Louis van Gaal is considering as he looks to add another midfielder after signing Ander Herrera from Athletic Bilbao last week.Sporting are prepared for a bid but have warned they will not allow the Portugal international to go on the cheap.

Director Augusto Ignacio told Sporting TV: “It’s not like the old days when players left Sporting at any price.“We are not concerned with William Carvalho because we have alternatives who will want to play as well.

“The termination clause ensures a great deal for Sporting. I am very pleased with the negotiations.”Carvalho, who played for his country at the World Cup, has been linked with a host of top European clubs this summer including Real Madrid and Juventus.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

£37?

William Carvalho ochchara watinawada?matanam hithenne thawath overpriced deal 1kak wage mekath
​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Summer Transfer Window 1ke Transfer wei kiyala hithana playersla ge short list 1kak

Luiz Suarez :- Barcelona
Alexis Sanchez :- Arsenal/Liverpool
Arturo Vidal :- Manchester United
R.Falcao :- Real Madrid
James Rodriguez :- Real Madrid/Barcelona
Toni Kroos :- Manchester United/Real Madrid/Chelsea
E.Mangala :- Manchester United/City/Chelsea
J.Martinez :- Arsenal
Mats Hummels :- Manchester United
Filipe Luis :- Chelsea
Khedira :- Chelsea/Arsenal
V.Valdes :- Monaco FC
Morgan Schneiderlin :- Arsenal
William Carvalho :- Manchester United
Angel Di Maria :- N/A
Mehdi Benatia :- City​

 

[1118lakmalkumara]

Congratulations Tim Howard!Howard nam patta

Methek FIFA 2014 purawatama GK's lage performance highlight wela thibbaHoward,Ochoa,Navas,Benaglio & Enyeama elatama perform kala

Specially Belgium Vs USA match 1ke Howard ge saves tikanam pattama patta

​

ow ban sirawata usa gk patta ban lesi wenne nae Argentina wata patta goal godak un gehewwe gk hoda nisa beruna

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Courtois ready to renew rivalry with Messi

Thibaut Courtois says he is looking forward to renewing his personal rivalry with Lionel Messi when Belgium meet Argentina in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

The goalkeeper faced the Barcelona attacker six times in the colours of Atletico Madrid last season and did not concede a single goal to the four-time Ballon d'Or winner.

As a result, facing Messi in the last eight of the World Cup holds no fear for Courtois.

"I know him well from Atletico's games against Barcelona, so it'll be nice to play against him for our countries," the 22-year-old told reporters in Salvador after helping his national team claim a dramatic 2-1 win over United States in the round of 16.

"Hopefully we can win, but we'll see. The good thing is that I don't have to watch videos of him because I know him so well.

"But even if you watch videos of him, he's so unpredictable that it's impossible to study him to know what he's going to do.

"As soon as he finds a way to shoot, he will shoot, so the only thing you can do as a goalkeeper is concentrate at all times.

"You can't think of anything else for one second because at that moment he will score."

Courtois' remarkable powers of concentration were very much in evidence at Arena Fonte Nova. Unlike his American counterpart, Tim Howard, the Chelsea-owned shot-stopper had been given very little to do during 90 scoreless minutes in Salvador.

However, he proved his class in the closing stages of extra-time after USA had brought the game back to 2-1, pulling off a fantastic close-range stop from Clint Dempsey that effectively earned his country a place in the quarter-finals.

"I think that maybe we started the second half of extra-time without enough pressure on the ball," Courtois mused.

"We let them play too easily and they had the quality to score a goal. Then they kept coming at us but I think I made a good save from Dempsey at the end.

"Maybe after we made it 2-0 we thought that the final 15 minutes would be easy. But I knew it would not be like this.

"It's a World Cup; it's always hard. And once they made it 2-1, it was very difficult. But we stayed strong and managed to win."

Belgium are now just three wins away from World Cup glory but Courtois, unsurprisingly, is not looking beyond Saturday's date with Messi in Brasilia.

"Winning this tournament would be incredible but we have to go step by step - and the next step is Argentina," he pointed out.

"So let's try to get by them first and then see what happens in the future. But it's going to be really hard to beat Argentina."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Hazard: Belgium must stop Messi to beat Argentina

Eden Hazard insists Belgium can beat Argentina in Brasilia this weekend but freely admits that their hopes hinge upon coming up with a way to nullify "the best player in the world" Lionel Messi.

The four-time Ballon d'Or winner has been in sensational form at World Cup 2014, carrying his country through the group stage with four goals in three games before teeing up Angel Di Maria for a 118th-minute winner in Tuesday's last-16 triumph over Switzerland.

Hazard confesses that he is not yet sure what Belgium are going to do to curb Messi's attacking threat, but he is adamant that Marc Wilmots' men have every chance of defeating the Albiceleste.

"I think that we are two good teams," he told reporters in Salvador after his side's 2-1 win over United States.

"I don't know how it will go but, for me, it's 50-50. They have Messi, [Gonzalo] Higuain and [Ezequiel] Lavezzi. But we have a lot of great defenders.

"We know that the best player in the world is in their team. [Their overall form] is good, but they have one very big player and he makes the difference in every game. If we can stop Messi, it'll be easier.

"I don't know how we can stop him. We won't be afraid, though.

"We'll watch some videos and just try to win because it's a big game for this generation of players. It's maybe the biggest game of my life.

"And I hope to continue this World Cup. We can make history."

Hazard's own form has been the subject of much debate, with the Chelsea attacker having failed to find the net in Brazil.

However, the 23-year-old was happy with his performance in the extra-time victory over USA at Arena Fonte Nova and insists that he is not feeling under any pressure to prove himself on the game's grandest stage.

"For me, individually, it was very good tonight [against the States]," he argued. "Creatively, I was good.

"But we all played well and I think we deserved to win.

"And I think the whole team is calm. We don't feel pressure and we play like we do in training. And this is why we're in the quarter-finals."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Kaka: Orlando City move not about money

New Orlando City signing Kaka has denied that his move to MLS was purely based on money.

The former Brazil international had his contract with Italian giants AC Milan terminated by mutual consent on Monday before the Florida-based outfit confirmed the signing of the 32-year-old a day later.

Kaka – who had one year left on his deal at the San Siro – became Orlando City's first designated player when he signed for the club.

And the Brazilian has now revealed that he turned down more lucrative offers elsewhere to help football grow as a sport in the United States.

"At the end of last season, I started to think about my future and whether I would go back to play in Brazil, [play in] the USA or stay at Milan," he said.

"It was difficult to leave Milan [but] my expectation is that soccer is going to become the number one sport in the USA.

"They pay me good [money] but I had another opportunity to earn more money. I always think about the project.

"I stayed in Milan for six years, I stayed in Madrid for four years, I played in Brazil for nine years so I always think about the good projects.

"They pay me good money but I could earn more elsewhere."

With the new MLS season set to begin in 2015, Kaka will first return to his boyhood side Sao Paulo on loan to maintain his fitness before starting the next chapter of his career in America.

The Brazil playmaker only re-joined Milan last summer after a four-year spell at Real Madrid but endured an unsuccessful campaign back in Serie A.

Kaka - who won league titles in Spain and Italy as well as the Champions League with Milan and the World Cup with Brazil - revealed that former Rossoneri team-mate David Beckham played a part in helping him to decide to move to the US.

"I think it is the right moment because I'm not too young but I'm not too old. I can still bring a lot to the league, which is getting better," Kaka said.

"I can say I'm studying the league. My brother [Digao] played here and David [Beckham] played. I spoke to him a lot.

"When I start to play, I'll figure out how I can improve the team."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Suarez ban 'barbaric', blasts Conmebol president

Luis Suarez's nine-month international football ban has been blasted as "barbaric" by the president of the South American Football Confederation.

The Uruguay international was handed the suspension by Fifa for biting Italy's Giorgio Chillieni during his side's World Cup group stage win in Natal, which saw Oscar Tabarez’s side qualify for the last 16 - where they were eventually eliminated by Colombia.

Suarez was also handed a four-month ban from all football-related activities – which will rule him out of Liverpool's first nine Premier League and three Champions League games next season should he stay at the club – and was ordered to pay a hefty fine.

The chief of Conmebol, Eugenio Figueredo, confirmed that Suarez will miss Uruguay's Copa America matches next year and some of the team's 2018 World Cup qualifying games, but stressed he is working to see the suspension reduced.

"Right now I'm defending Suarez 24 hours a day and, for now, the penalty is for official matches of the Uruguayan team, but not friendly matches or anything like that," Figueredo told Uruguay radio station, Sport 890.

"If the referee had seen something, he could not have acted on his own, but the 34 cameras that Fifa have detected what the three officials failed to detect.

"Suarez's punishment is barbaric. I hope that [the ban] is not for as many games. Already there are people working on reducing the ban.

"Our goal is to see that the ban is lowered and we are working on that."

Uruguay will be hoping to defend their Copa America title next year in Chile, and should la Celeste make it to the final of the tournament, Suarez would only miss two of his side's 2018 World Cup qualifiers.