..::Football III::..

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Chelsea star Salah excused from military service

Chelsea star Mohamed Salah will not have to return to Egypt to do military service, Goal understands.

Reports earlier this week had suggested that the winger would be forced to go back to his homeland to serve in the armed forces, after his place in an education program was rescinded, meaning he could not travel abroad.

But kingfut.com reported that the country's prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab then intervened personally in the matter, holding a meeting with his minister for higher education and national team coach Shawky Gharib in which he described the ruling as "threatening" the future of Egyptian football.

And Goal understands that Salah has now been given confirmation that he is no longer obligated to return home to do military service, which traditionally ranges from 12 months to three years.

On Monday, Salah travelled with the rest of the Chelsea squad to a pre-season training camp in Austria, and the club consider the matter settled.

Salah moved to Stamford Bridge from Basel for €14 million in January and scored two goals in 10 Premier League appearances for the Blues, netting in home wins against Arsenal and Stoke City.

 

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Puyol: No defence for Suarez bite

Former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has acknowledged that "there is no justification" for Luis Suarez's bite on Giorgio Chiellini during this summer's World Cup - but argued that such things can happen when players lose their heads.

Suarez was hit with a nine-game international ban and also suspended from all football-related activity for four months for sinking his teeth into Chiellini's shoulder during Uruguay's Group D clash with Italy in Natal on June 24.

Despite the striker's actions, Barcelona still opted to sign the 27-year-old from Liverpool for a reported €88 million - a move that Puyol is fully supportive of, given the South American's incredible talent.

"There is no justification for what Suarez did, but things like that occur when you lose your head – it can happen," the former Spain international told Fifa's official website.

"At any rate, he has apologised for it. He’s a great footballer, extremely competitive and scores a great deal.

"I think he can bring a lot to an attack that’s already brimming with quality. With Luis, we can be even stronger."

Of course, Puyol's retirement at the end of last season has left Barca with other issues to address at the other end of the field.

The 36-year-old freely admits that the Catalans have repeatedly failed to strengthen their back four in recent seasons but argues that it is particularly difficult for the Blaugrana to find suitable reinforcements given their propensity for playing a high defensive line.

"For some time now Barca have been looking for centre-backs," he mused. "Then again, so has half of Europe, so it’s not easy – even less so for us, given our style of play.

"To represent Barcelona, it’s not enough to possess technique and the ability to come out with the ball, you also need to have pace, as we defend so far from our goal.

"When you look over your shoulder and realise just how far out you are, you feel dizzy sometimes!"

 

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AC Milan open door to Balotelli exit

AC Milan are keen to sell Mario Balotelli this summer and would accept a €20 million offer for the controversial striker, Goal understands.

The Rossoneri will take part in the International Champions Cup, which kicks off on July 24, and are eager to put a move in place for the striker before the squad meets up for the pre-season tournament.

The former Manchester City striker, who is currently on holiday in New York, is understood to favour a return to the Premier League with Arsenal.

Goal revealed Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had arranged to meet with Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola during the World Cup for talks over a move for the striker.

But, after signing Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona for €40m, Wenger has since ruled out signing another forward this summer.

"Up front we don't need any more," the French coach said. "It's not especially for numbers.

"We need a goalkeeper for sure and, after that, it depends on how our midfielders get through without injuries until the start of the season. Maybe at centre-back we'll still bring one in."

Milan president Silvio Berlusconi reportedly claimed the club missed out on a €35m deal to sell Balotelli to an unnamed Premier League club because of the striker's disappointing World Cup showing.

 

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James volley versus Uruguay voted best goal of the World Cup

James Rodriguez's first strike in Colombia's 2-0 World Cup win over Uruguay has been voted goal of the tournament, ahead of Robin van Persie's headed equaliser for Netherlands in their 5-1 win over Spain.

The Monaco star - who is expected to complete his €88 million move to Real Madrid this week - controlled a looped header from Juan Cuadrado with his chest before turning and volleying home via the underside of the crossbar from 20 yards out to give Jose Pekerman's men the lead after 28 minutes of play.

James doubled his tally with a tap-in from close range after the break to help Colombia to a quarter-final meeting with Brazil, which they would eventually lose 2-1.

The 23-year-old was one of the undisputed stars of the tournament and netted six goals in five games to scoop up the Golden Boot award ahead of Germany forward Thomas Muller.

James becomes the third successive South American winner of the goal of the World Cup award, which is organised by Fifa's official website, with Argentina’s Maxi Rodriguez having triumphed in 2006 and Diego Forlan collecting the trophy four years later.

 

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Tottenham edge ahead of Arsenal in race for Schneiderlin

Tottenham have stolen a march on Arsenal in the race to sign Morgan Schneiderlin, with the Southampton midfielder swayed by the "great future" the north Londoners have ahead of them under Mauricio Pochettino.

Arsenal opened discussions over a deal to sign Schneiderlin last week but north London rivals Spurs are also in talks to sign the 24-year-old and believe they are favourites for his signature.

The £18 (€22.7) million-rated France international is emerging as Tottenham's leading target for the summer transfer window as Pochettino looks to improve his squad ahead of the new season and the clubs have been in discussions for several weeks.

Pochettino left the Saints to become Tottenham’s new head coach in May and the pair’s close relationship is key to the deal for Schneiderlin, who has three years remaining on his contract but has told Southampton he wants to leave.

Schneiderlin has spoken glowingly of his improvement under Pochettino and believes re-uniting with the Argentine would be a better career move than moving to Arsenal.

"I think a manager like that is good for every club," Schneiderlin told Goal. "With the quality Tottenham have, Mauricio Pochettino will get the best out of each player.

"He came in and made Southampton play and now Tottenham have a great future.

"He improved me very much. He improved the whole squad and improved me as a player. He's a great coach and good man and it's a shame Southampton lost him."

Tottenham expect to free up room in the squad for Schneiderlin by selling either Etienne Capoue or Sandro.

Capoue has struggled to settle since arriving for €11m last summer from Toulouse, while Sandro has been a target for Napoli but the clubs have been some way apart in their valuation of the Brazilian midfielder.

Spurs are set to announce Ben Davies as their first signing of the summer after the Swansea left-back completed a medical ahead of a £10m switch, with Gyfli Sigurdsson set to move to the Welsh club.

The north London club are also in talks to sign Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm as back-up to Hugo Lloris but have dropped their interest in striker Wilfried Bony.

Bony and Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku are admired at White Hart Lane but a lack of interest in Roberto Soldado means the club are unlikely to spend €25m-plus on a new striker.

Tottenham spent €140m on new signings last season, when Gareth Bale left for a world record €100m, and Pochettino does not expect the club to make many signings before the transfer window closes.

"There will not be many signings," he said during Tottenham's pre-season tour in the United States on Friday.

"We have a very good and big squad. Last summer the club made a big effort during the window and I believe in these players. We are always looking to improve but we don't expect big change."

 

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'Anderson could have been as good as Neymar'

Former Brazil international Tostao believes that Manchester United midfielder Anderson could have been as good as Neymar if he had better adapted to the Premier League.

The 26-year-old was signed from Porto in 2007 but has struggled to secure a regular place at United, appearing over 20 times in a single Premier League season just once in seven years at Old Trafford.

Tostao, who scored 32 goals in 54 games for Brazil, says that Anderson has only himself to blame for failing to develop at United, arguing that the midfielder fails to deliver in key matches.

"When [Brazilians] move to the Premier League, I think they become more disciplined, get to know the importance of the collective game and develop the tactical part," Tostao told FourFourTwo. "The point is to learn all this without losing technique. If they cannot do this, it's their fault.

"Anderson is a classic case. If you remember him as a young player, he was pretty much like Neymar but, after playing there, he became predictable.

"But he's the only one to blame for this. It's not down to the Premier League.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is not Brazilian but can be seen as a player who grew up tactically and developed his technique in England.

"Anderson was skilful but didn't have great technique, the ability to apply his skills in a big game. It was the same with Robinho - he could do everything with the ball and seemed exceptional but then when his team needed him he would disappear.

"Neymar is different. He dribbles, does millions of enjoyable things but then carries the expectations of a nation and a team like the big names of the past."

Anderson spent the second half of last season on loan at Fiorentina, playing just seven times in Serie A.

 

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Anderson hariyanne nahahama season 1kakama wage flop​

 

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Balotelli does not live in reality, says Prandelli

Former Italy coach Cesare Prandelli believes AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli lives in his own world "far away from reality" - though he insists he is not a bad person.

Balotelli netted the winner in Italy's 2-1 World Cup win over England, but failed to make an impact in the defeats against Costa Rica and Uruguay and was heavily criticised for those performances as the Azzurri crashed out of the group stage.

"Balotelli is a good guy, really. He is not a bad person," Prandelli told Corriere della Sera.

"But he lives in a dimension that is far away from reality.

"That doesn't say anything, though. He is only 24 years old and has the possibility to build on this experience."

Prandelli then went on to stress that Italy's biggest problem is that clubs care about their own interests more than those of the national team, whereas world champions Germany benefit from an entirely different mindset.

"When Germany were in trouble, they asked themselves the question which team was the most important. Their answer was Germany and not Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund," he continued.

"In Italy only 38 per cent of the players are Italian. Juventus have six foreigners in their starting XI. I have told the clubs to focus on their youth players, but if even those teams are full of foreign players...

"The most important team in Italy is not Juventus, Roma, Inter or AC Milan, but it's the national team. That's the only way to get ready for major tournaments."

The newly-appointed Galatasaray boss acknowledged that he was ultimately responsible for Italy's poor World Cup campaign, however.

"The project simply didn't work in Brazil. We tried to play in a certain way, but we did not succeed," he added.

"We should have caused Costa Rica problems with our strategy, but we were unable to do so. This was the responsibility of the technical staff and we failed. Period. That's my responsibility."

 

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Casemiro: My time with Real Madrid was unforgettable

Casemiro has described his time at Real Madrid as "unforgettable" after completing a move to Porto from the European champions.

The Brazilian midfielder signed a one-year loan deal with Porto last week after 18 months at Madrid and he has stressed that playing for the Spanish giants has been a life-changing experience since his move from Sao Paulo.

"When I left Sao Paulo to come to Madrid I understood what it means to wear the Real Madrid colours and I knew that I had arrived at the club that would change my life," the 22-year-old said in an open letter on the official Madrid website.

"I have experienced unforgettable and historic moments like the Decima, the coveted 10th Champions League title and a thrilling Copa del Rey. And of course, my unforgettable debut with the first team in an official game as an academy player.

"I have felt loved and supported by the chairman, the board of directors, my team-mates, all the coaches and management teams I have worked with, all the club staff and, of course, the magnificent fans.

"Everyone has taught me a lot about the values of Real Madrid, which will go with me forever in my professional career and life in general."

Porto have an option to purchase the 22-year-old at the end of the season, but Real Madrid retain an option to buy back Casemiro in future if the Portuguese club opt to make him a permanent signing.

 

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Manchester United to launch new €54m Vidal bid

Manchester United are ready to launch a new €54 million bid for Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal this week.

The Old Trafford club are increasingly confident of landing the Chilean World Cup star and are looking to make progress in their move for the 27-year-old in the coming days.

Louis van Gaal, who officially took charge at United on Wednesday, is a big fan of Vidal, having tried to sign him while in charge of Bayern Munich in 2011, and has approved a move for the midfielder.

The Dutchman encouraged the pursuit of Vidal earlier in July, despite the club being told that a move could cost them €56m plus Nani.

United have monitored the situation regarding Vidal closely during a turbulent summer at Juventus, which has seen Antonio Conte leave the Serie A champions amid talk of unhappiness regarding the club's transfer policy.

Juventus have signed forward Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid and are set to complete a move for Roberto Pereyra, while suggestions that Vidal could be sold grow louder in Italy.

Vidal, who is currently resting in Chile following the World Cup, has recently conceded that his future in Turin looks uncertain.

"I don't feel like my time at Juventus is over, although I can't say more right now," he told a Chilean radio station. "When I'm back from Chile, I'll talk to my executives and we'll see what will happen."

Juve director Pavel Nedved, meanwhile, says that the club are reluctant to sell both Vidal and Paul Pogba but admits that a big-money bid could force them to part ways with the Chilean.

"Our strategy is clear; we want to keep all our best players, including Vidal and Pogba," he told Tuttosport. "We don't want to sell anyone, especially Vidal.

"Certainly, if there were a high bid for them, we'd have to think about it but we don't want to sell our champions.

"We want to be competitive in the Champions League and the only sales to be players who are not part of our plans."

Publicly, United have aimed to manage expectations regarding signings but Vidal has emerged as their No.1 target and chief executive Ed Wooward has confirmed that the club are still in the market for players this summer.

"We've been working with Louis over several weeks with regards to targets and we're continuing to move forward on some of those targets," Woodward told MUTV.

He added: "We are willing to invest. There is no fixed budget. Financially we are extremely strong and funds are available. Louis is assessing what's going on and there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes, so watch this space."

 

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We have to impress Van Gaal - Rooney

Wayne Rooney accepts that he and his Manchester United team-mates are under the microscope this summer and must impress new manager Louis van Gaal in pre-season.

The Dutchman agreed to join the Red Devils before the World Cup - where he led the Netherlands to a third-place finish - and officially took charge on Wednesday.

With the squad currently in Los Angeles on their pre-season tour of the United States, Rooney says that they must take every opportunity to make an impact.

He told The Sun: "We all have to go out and show what we can do. We have to show him every day in training what different qualities we have got as players and a team.

"Everyone wants to impress the new manager so that is what we are all aiming to do."

United take on LA Galaxy in the early hours of Thursday morning in Van Gaal's first game in charge and Rooney, who is also vying with the likes of Robin van Persie for the captaincy, is looking forward to getting going.

"We will try to put what we are doing in training into the games," he added.

"Obviously, we have a manager with new ideas so we have to try to train well and make sure we are listening to what he wants to do and take that on to the pitch. We have to show him what we can do.

"I've only had one session but the preparation has been really good. I'm just looking forward to getting more sessions in before our first game."

 

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Negredo to miss start of Premier League season with fractured foot

Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo has revealed that he has fractured his foot and believes that he will be out of action for "the next few months".

The 28-year-old suffered the injury during City's 2-1 win over Hearts on Friday and is now set to miss the start of the Premier League season.

The Spaniard wrote on his Instagram page: "I want to let you know that its going to be hard for the next few months, I fractured my fifth metatarsal and will be out a few months. I will be back stronger than ever."

After scoring 23 goals in all competitions last season, Negredo had been linked with a return to Spain this summer but, earlier in July, the forward insisted that he will remain with the Premier League champions.

"I don't want to leave City," said Negredo.

"I'm very happy and very settled here. I had a difficult end to the season and that's why there has been a lot of talking but I've been very happy here from the first day I arrived."

 

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Get well soon Negredo!​

 

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Wolfsburg: Rodriguez will not join Manchester United

Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs has made it clear that Switzerland international Ricardo Rodriguez is not for sale at any price amid rumours that Manchester United have made an enquiry for the left-back.

With Patrice Evra expected to leave for Juventus, United are believed to be in the market for another defender battle Luke Shaw for a place in the starting line-up and Rodriguez is rumoured to be on their radar.

Reports from Germany suggested that the Premier League side have already contacted the full-back's agent Roger Wittmann to ask about his availability, but Allofs has ruled out a potential transfer.

"That will have been a brief conversation," the Wolfsburg director told Kicker when asked about the meeting between Wittman and United.

"Ricardo is not going anywhere."

Rodriguez joined Wolfsburg from FC Zurich in January 2012 and has since developed into a key player at the Bundesliga outfit.

The 22-year-old, who was one of Switzerland's top performers in their run to the last 16 of the World Cup in Brazil, has a contract with Wolfsburg until the summer of 2016.

 

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R.Rodriguez wa gana puluwan nam patta!​

 

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Hamsik: Napoli as strong as Juventus and Roma

Marek Hamsik is confident Napoli have what it takes to challenge Juventus and Roma for the Serie A title in 2014-15, insisting they are "not inferior" as a team.

Rafa Benitez's men had to settle for third spot in the table last term as Juventus romped to a third-straight Scudetto crown, despite significant pressure from Roma in the first half of the season.

However, Hamsik has stressed that they should be aiming for success in all competitions they take part in in the new season as they look to defend their Coppa Italia crown and progress further in the Champions League.

"Napoli should always be aiming high. We want to win the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia and go far in the Champions League," Hamsik said at a press conference.

"The team is ready to give its all. We are no worse than Jvuentus and Roma. They did some extraordinary things last season, while we lacked some consistency. But we're not inferior to them.

"I really want to win the Serie A title. It would be amazing for the city and for us. We need a perfect season to achieve it, though. We are strong and can aim high.

"Juventus are always the favourites and then there's Roma, Inter and AC Milan. It will be a competitive competition again."

Napoli last won the Scudetto in 1989-90, when Diego Maradona and Careca guided them to their second ever league title with 16 and 10 goals respectively.

 

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Arsenal don't need another forward, says Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says that fans should not expect him to sign another centre forward this summer.

Having already secured the signature of Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona – though he may field the Chilean on the right flank while Theo Walcott remains injured – the Gunners boss believes that he is well stocked in the final third.

Olivier Giroud remains at the club while Yaya Sanogo is in reserve and Costa Rica international Joel Campbell could be integrated into the first team after time out on loan.

"Up front we don't need any more," Wenger told the press. "It's not especially for numbers.

"We need a goalkeeper for sure and, after that, it depends on how our midfielders get through without injuries until the start of the season. Maybe at centre-back we'll still bring one in."

Wenger is understood to be close to a deal to sign keeper David Ospina from Nice, while he has also made a preliminary approach for Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin and right-back Javi Manquillo is expected to join on loan.

With Manchester United set to up their bid for captain Thomas Vermaelen, an extra defender would also be on his shopping list if a deal is agreed for the Belgian.

 

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Giroud & SanchezPodolskith innawane​

 

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Sammer hints at more Bayern signings amid Reus rumours

Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer has suggested that the reigning Bundesliga champions could make more summer signings amid reports that they are monitoring Borussia Dortmund attacker Marco Reus.

The Bavarians have already brought in Robert Lewandowski, Sebastian Rode and Juan Bernat this summer, but head coach Pep Guardiola is keen to add some more firepower to his attack and he is rumoured to have earmarked the 25-year-old Reus as the perfect signing.

Sammer stopped short of identifying any targets but admitted the Bundesliga champions would continue to look at the market in order to avoid any risk of star players becoming tired after their World Cup exploits.

"The transfer window will remain open for a few more weeks," Sammer was quoted as saying by TZ.

"We have to deal with this fact wisely. Maybe we won't do anything, but perhaps we will make some more signings...

"We already have a certain amount of players at our availability at the moment, but let's not forget that we did not win the Bundesliga title after the 2006 and 2010 World Cups."

Reus has a contract with Dortmund until the summer of 2017, but has a limited fee release clause believed to be at €35 million.

However, BVB will be desperate to hold on their star attacker after previously losing Mario Gotze and Lewandowski to their arch rivals.

The German champions have also been linked with a move for Colombia international Juan Cuadrado, currently under contract with Fiorentina.

 

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Bayern la Reus wath gatthoth Bundesliga wala yanne 1 sided contest 1kak​