..::Football III::..

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Butragueno: Club World Cup will test Madrid

Emilio Butragueno has warned Real Madrid they will have to battle a hectic schedule towards the end of the year if they are to lift the Club World Cup.

The tie will take place on December 16, in between La Liga fixtures against Almeria and Sevilla and before the mid-season break takes effect in Spain and so Madrid will have five fixtures to contend in December with either the final or the third-place play-off also added into the mix.

However, Real legend Butragueno, now director of institutional relations at the Bernabeu, insists the club will take the competition seriously despite their other commitments.

"I think this is a fantastic competition. After many years we were able to win the Champions League. We are here to do our best and to make our fans happy," he said."If we come here without injuries and if we come here with our best players playing at a very good level, then I'm sure we'll have a good chance to win the competition.

"It's going to be a very tight schedule that month so for that reason we have to prepare very well for every game. We are going to play the last game in our Champions League group one week before coming here."And the last weekend before coming here we are going to play against Almeria. So yes, we're going to have a difficult period and we have to prepare properly.

"I hope that we are going to come here with our best players without any problems in terms of injuries, and be able to prepare for the competition in the proper way to win it."

As European champions, Carlo Ancelotti's side will begin their quest to win the title in Morocco at the semi-final stage, playing the winner of Cruz Azul and this year's AFC Champions League victors.

 

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Valdes agent dismisses Liverpool trial talk

Victor Valdes's agent has rejected reports that the goalkeeper has turned down a chance to train with Liverpool.

Goal reported last week the former Barcelona goalkeeper is in talks regarding a move to Anfield following the expiry of his contract at Camp Nou, with a medical scheduled in the near future to assess his fitness.

Valdes has been out of action since March with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, with reports suggesting Liverpool had insisted on a trial before committing, but the player's agent has dimissed such talk as "false".

"Liverpool have not offered us the chance to train with them for four days," Gines Carvajal told SPORT.

"And we have not rejected the offer, because it is false. That proposal was never made to us by Brendan Rodgers nor by Liverpool at any moment."

 

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Ronaldo: I didn't get Bento sacked

Cristiano Ronaldo has denied any suggestions that he influenced Paulo Bento's departure as Portugal coach.

Bento stepped down after Portugal opened their Euro 2016 qualification campaign with a shock 1-0 defeat to Albania, a result which followed a dismal World Cup campaign that saw them eliminated at the group stage.

Fernando Santos has since been named Bento's successor - a move Ronaldo hailed as a positive decision - but the Portugal captain was quick to label any talk that he had undermined Bento as a disappointment."I am not going to answer, it's not worth it," he said. "These situations should be put to one side.

"I prefer to stick with the positive things about the coaches that I've had over my career, from the start, with [Laszlo] Boloni, until now, with Carlo Ancelotti and Fernando Santos. "I've always had good lessons from my coaches and I've learned from them. In football there are cycles and that of Paulo Bento ended in sadness for us.

"Over the past 11 years decisions have been made over the head coach of the national team and they are always taken by the president, never a player or group of players.

"The talk otherwise makes me sad, I'm disappointed."

 

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Hodgson: It was a frustrating night for Rooney

Roy Hodgson has conceded Wayne Rooney was wasteful in front of goal for England despite netting the only goal in a 1-0 win over Estonia.

The captain curled home a free-kick 17 minutes from time at the A Le Coq Arena on Sunday in Tallinn to ensure England made it three wins out of three in Euro 2016 qualifying Group E.

Hodgson felt his group leaders made life difficult for themselves after failing to take what would have been a deserved first-half lead, but was relieved to see his side secure another three points.

"It was a good free-kick from Wayne, but it was a frustrating night for him," he told ITV.

"He had a lot of the ball and a lot of chances, I think he'd have been bit disappointed if he'd not have scored. But he scored the winner and we go away with three more points.

He added: "We played well in the first half, we played some excellent football without taking our chances and that meant that there was an air of frustration setting in and an air of pressure going out in the second half.

"Everyone was aware that when you have played well you have to take at least one chance. Luckily we did that in the second half and it's four wins in a row [in all fixtures] and five clean sheets [in a row]."

 

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Marcelo: I would like to play for Juventus

Real Madrid star Marcelo says he would like to play for Serie A giants Juventus one day.The left-back has made over 200 appearances for Madrid since joining the club from Fluminense in 2007, but is open to the idea of playing in Italy in the future and following in the footsteps of his childhood idol Lillian Thuram.

“Certainly not now but in the future I would like to wear the shirt of Juventus,” the Brazil international told Tuttosport.“Paul Pogba is a revelation and my idol is Lillian Thuram. I’m inspired by the best and he was always a quick and safe defender.

The 26-year-old also spoke of his affection Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, who he has formed a close connection with in the 15 months the pair have worked together at the Bernabeu.

“He’s like a father to me and he’s always very understanding with everyone.”

 

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Ronaldo: Ballon d'Or not giving me sleepless nights

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo says he does not have sleepless nights over whether he will win the upcoming Ballon d'Or.

The Portugal international won the accolade for the second time in January after four consecutive years where Barcelona star Lionel Messi had taken home the award and the long-list of nominations will be announced later this month."I'm not overly concerned with the Ballon d'Or," the two-time Champions League winner told reporters. "I do not lose sleep over it."

The Blancos attacker also denied that he had suffered another knee injury in his country's 2-1 friendly loss to France, after being seen applying ice to the area following his second-half substitution."It was merely a precaution," said the 29-year-old. "After the effort of playing it is better to apply ice. It's a completely normal situation."

The Seleccao captain also talked about his nation's upcoming European Championship qualifier away to Denmark on Tuesday."They are a very strong opponent playing at home, but I am confident of a good result," he added.

"This Portuguese group of players is fantastic. The team spirit is good, we are full of confidence. We're on the right track. This week has been very positive."

 

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European Championship Qualifying Group Stage Fixtures 2014.10.10

European Championship Qualifying Group Stage Fixtures 2014.10.10

Group A

Kazakhstan Vs Czech Republic

Iceland Vs Netherlands

Latvia Vs Turkey

Group B

Andorra Vs Israel

Bosnia Vs Belgium

Wales Vs Cyprus

Group H

Croatia Vs Azerbijan

Malta Vs Italy

Norway Vs Bulgaria​

 

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International Friendly Fixture 2014.10.13

International Friendly Fixture 2014.10.13

Oman Vs Uruguay​

 

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Morocco 3-0 Kenya: Hosts fire late in Marrakech

Late goals helped Morocco down Kenya 3-0 in their international friendly in Marrakech on Monday.

Badou Ezzaki's Morocco struggled to break down their guests and needed El Mehdi Karnass, Mbark Boussoufa and Mouhcine Iajour to net in the last 15 minutes to secure victory.Kenya bravely held out for 76 minutes at the Stade de Marrakech, before Karnass - in just his second international appearance - struck the opener for the hosts.

The defensive aspect of Adel Amrouche's men had been their focus but their goal was peppered in the dying stages - as Boussoufa converted from the spot four minutes from time, for his sixth goal for his country.

Iajour added a third in the 89th minute, as Morocco celebrated their third win in a row, and second in four days after a 4-0 win over Central African Republic.
It was Iajour's fifth goal in his ninth cap.

Kenya are without a win in six internationals, losing three of their past four.

 

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Latvia 1-1 Turkey: Pressure heaps on Terim

Turkey failed to ease the mounting pressure on coach Fatih Terim after being held to a fiery 1-1 draw in Latvia in Euro 2016 qualifying.

Turkey - who lost their opening Group A qualifiers to Iceland and the Czech Republic - were utterly dominant in the first half of this clash in Riga but failed to convert their advantage.

And although substitute Bilal Kisa gave them the lead with an outstanding 30-yard strike in the 47th minute, Valerijs Sabala levelled proceedings from the penalty spot.

Sabala's 54th-minute spot-kick proved enough to earn the hosts a point despite a late red card being shown to substitute Gints Freimanis in stoppage time.Turkey, who have not qualified for a major tournament since Euro 2008, remain bottom of the pool, while Latvia moved up to fourth.

Terim - in his third term as coach of Turkey - entered the match needing a result and must have wished Umut Bulut had brought his shooting boots after watching a frustrating first 45 minutes.Bulut was guilty of wasting a host of chances in the first half, with the outside of the post first denying him in the ninth minute.

The Galatasaray forward brought down a long ball superbly but after an excellent first touch, he could only prod the ball onto the woodwork when clean through.

Olcay Sahan was next to go close, forcing Aleksandrs Kolinko into a smart stop in the 18th minute, and less than 120 seconds later the Latvia goalkeeper rushed off his line to keep out Bulut.

Bulut then saw a near-post flick saved by Kolinko, while Arda Turan fizzed a 25-yard effort just wide four minutes before the break.

Turkey deserved to be in front and Kisa delighted the travelling fans with a wicked 30-yard strike on his left-foot that dipped and swerved over Kolinko just after play resumed.

Tempers frayed at regular intervals and Turan was booked in the 51st minute after a coming together with Latvia players.The hosts then drew level after Ozan Tufan clumsily felled Aleksejs Visnakovs in the penalty area, and Sabala slotted the spot-kick to the keeper's left.

Adem Buyuk went close to restoring Turkey's lead, while Turan headed just wide, and Latvia had a late chance of their own - Kaspars Dubra denied by debutant Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Babacan.

Freimanis was then given a second yellow card for kicking the ball away as both sides had to settle for a point.

 

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Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1 Belgium: Nainggolan rescues a point

Belgium were made to settle for a share of the spoils when they travelled to Zenica to face Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday.

Against the run of play, Edin Dzeko gave the hosts the lead but midfielder Radja Nainggolan drew the World Cup quarter-finalists level shortly after the break to secure a 1-1 draw.

Belgium began the brighter of the two teams, with Kevin De Bruyne almost crafting out a chance for Divock Origi, but the Liverpool loanee could not get the ball under control to get a shot away.

Eden Hazard was becoming increasingly influential in the early stages and he pulled the ball back to set up Steven Defour, who blasted a long-range effort just wide.
The Chelsea star went it alone on the following Belgium attack, bamboozling his marker on the left and firing away a shot from an awkward angle which Asmir Begovic saved well with his legs.

Then, the hosts had their best moments of the first half. First, Dzeko found space down the right and worked the ball back to Tino Susic, whose shot flew narrowly over.Next time, they went one better. Miralem Pjanic found some space in the left-hand side of the box and fed Dzeko , who finished brilliantly to send the home fans wild.In response, Hazard forced the ball across the face of goal to Romelu Lukaku, whose attempt to bundle the ball home was blocked and then Jan Vertonghen sent a free kick straight into the hands of Begovic.

The visitors began the second half with renewed vigour and eventually got the equaliser their play deserved. Toby Alderweireld made a promising dart down the right and found space before squaring it to Nainggolan . The Roma star's weak shot then squirmed through Begovic's arms and in.

Origi squandered a good chance to play in De Bruyne or Dries Mertens shortly after the goal and almost paid for it when Bosnia-Herzegovina surged up the other end and forced Vincent Kompany to desperately clear Pjanic's shot off the line.
Seconds later, the visitors had Thibaut Courtois to thank, with the Chelsea goalkeeper tipping a Dzeko header over the bar as the hosts finished more strongly.

It appeared as though we were in for a thrilling finale but the closest either side came to a winner in the final minutes was when Mertens sent an effort wide on the turn.

 

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Wales 2-1 Cyprus: Hosts hang on for victory despite King dismissal

Wales maintained their position at the top of Group E after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Cyprus in Cardiff, despite being reduced to 10-men after Andy King saw red.

David Cotterill broke the deadlock in the 13th minute for the home side having come on as an early substitute for the injured Simon Church at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Hal Robson-Kanu showed great composure in converting the second 10 minutes later, but Vincent Laban halved the deficit from a set-piece nine minutes before the break.

Having looked full of confidence at 2-0 up, Wales were given more cause for concern at the beginning of the second half when King was sent off for a reckless challenge on Konstantinos Makridis.

But Chris Coleman's men clung on to to make it seven points from a possible nine in Group B so far to remain top.

Coleman made two changes to the side that drew 0-0 with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday, with Robson-Kanu and George Williams coming in for Ben Davies and the injured Jonathan Williams, but a shoulder injury to Church prompted Cotterill's introduction in the sixth minute.

Gareth Bale tested Tassos Kissas with an early free-kick from 25 yards after being cynically felled by Marios Nikolaou, and routinely tried his luck from distance.

George Williams – making his full debut - showed good pace as he darted into the penalty area to force a corner, which eventually led to the home side's somewhat fortuitous 13th-minute opener.

The initial set-piece was cleared but the loose ball fell to Cotterill, who sent a cross into the box that evaded everybody, including Kissas who was in no-man's land.

Cotterill's second international goal appeared to give Wales added confidence and, after Cyprus had tried their luck through Pieros Sotiriou, Robson-Kanu capped an incisive attack to double the advantage.

A move that started at the heart of the Welsh defence ended with Robson-Kanu getting on the end of a neat Bale flick to coolly slot past Kissas.

However, a degree of complacency crept into Wales' play and they were punished when Wayne Hennessey – excellent on Friday – carelessly rushed off his line to punch a Laban free-kick, but failed to make a strong enough contact with the ball.

Bale saw a deflected free-kick tipped onto the crossbar just before the interval and Joe Ledley's header from the rebound was cleared off the line by Giorgios Merkis.

Just as they had in the first, Wales started the second half by losing a man.

This time it was a red card for King, who mis-timed a challenge on Makridis, raking his studs on the midfielder's Achilles to earn his marching orders.

The sending off disrupted the pace of the match, with chances few and far between for both sides thereafter, although Bale sent the ball crawling along the goalline from a tight angle on 70 minutes.

With Cyprus having dominated possession for much of the second half, Giorgos Efrem headed narrowly over five minutes from the end, but Wales did enough to hold on and remain one point clear at the top of the group.

 

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Malta 0-1 Italy: Pelle strikes as two see red

Italy kept up their 100 per cent start to Euro 2016 qualification by beating Malta 1-0 thanks to a Graziano Pelle effort.

The Southampton forward has hit the ground running since arriving in England, scoring five times in nine matches this season.And Pelle - one of four changes from Italy's 2-1 win over Azerbaijan, replacing Simone Zaza - kept up his scoring form in the Group H clash, netting a close-range finish midway through the first half.

Malta's chances were significantly harmed when captain Michael Mifsud was given a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Alessandro Florenzi in the 27th minute.

Italy coach Antonio Conte had urged his side to be more ruthless after toiling in their victory against Azerbaijan, but they were held back from further adding to their tally when Leonardo Bonucci was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity 17 minutes from time.The result leaves Italy with a maximum return of nine points from three matches, while Malta have now lost all of their games.

The 35-year-old Andrea Pirlo was rested by Conte, but Italy were more than capable of coping in his absence against a side ranked 155th in the world, 142 places below them.

The visitors began brightly, and Ciro Immobile fired an early warning with a sharp turn and shot just off target inside the first minute.Malta went close themselves on the quarter-hour mark, when Clayton Failla fizzed a low shot narrowly wide of the right-hand post after pouncing on a loose ball on the edge of the area.

Italy responded strongly and hit the woodwork twice in quick succession three minutes later.First, Pelle met Manuel Pasqual's cross with a powerful header that thudded back off the crossbar before being hacked away and then from the resulting corner Giorgio Chiellini nodded Pasqual's delivery against the upright.

Italy did take the lead in the 23rd minute, though, as another Pasqual corner caused chaos in the Malta penalty area.Bonucci's header was saved by Andrew Hogg but the loose ball found its way to Pelle, who tucked home from inside the six-yard box.

Things then went from bad to worse for Malta as Mifsud was dismissed for a studs-up challenge on Florenzi.

Antonio Candreva's mis-hit cross clipped the top of the bar in the opening minute of the second period, while Ryan Camilleri was perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty for a push on Immobile inside the box.Immobile then headed straight at Hogg from close range when he ought to have scored before the numbers were evened up when referee Ovidiu Hategan gave Bonucci his marching orders after he brought down Andre Schembri 40 yards from goal.

Italy replaced Pelle with Angelo Ogbonna in a bid to shore up their defence but it was another replacement, Sebastian Giovinco, who almost had a telling impact, striking the base of the post after racing clear.It mattered little, though, as Italy ensured they maintained their perfect start to qualifying.

 

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Iceland 2-0 Netherlands: Oranje crushed by Sigurdsson double

Netherlands lost their second match in qualification for Euro 2016, slipping to a 2-0 defeat in Iceland.


Gylfi Sigurdsson struck twice in the first half of Monday's Euro 2016 Group A qualifier in Reykjavik as Hiddink's men fell to a third defeat in four games since he retook the reins.

Iceland, who narrowly missed out on qualification for the recent World Cup, have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in recent times.And having opened their qualifying campaign with 3-0 victories over Turkey and Latvia, they secured one of their most famous wins in their history at Laugardalsvollur as Sigurdsson took his tally to four goals in his last three international appearances.

History was not on Iceland's side, given they had lost nine and drawn one of the previous two competitive meetings between the two nations.

But they ended their wait for a triumph over the Netherlands in spectacular fashion to ensure they top the group with a 100 per cent record after another superb performance, while Hiddink's side have only three points from as many qualifying matches.Both sides enjoyed the luxury of naming unchanged teams, having emerged triumphant in qualifying fixtures last week.The pattern of the game was quickly established as Iceland looked to sit back and counter their illustrious opponents.

The hosts' ability to adopt such an approach was aided greatly when they were gifted a 10th-minute opener.

Gregory van der Wiel was the culprit as he needlessly brought down Birkir Bjarnason in the area, paving the way for Sigurdsson to dispatch a powerful penalty into the corner of the net.The visitors continued to dominate possession, although clear-cut opportunities were not forthcoming.

Arjen Robben was at the heart of their finest work and he set up Robin Van Persie, but the striker was denied from a tight angle by the onrushing Hannes Halldorsson.

The visitors' best opening of the first half came soon after, Robben somehow heading wide after connecting with Daley Blind's pin-point cross.And they were rueing that even more in the 41st minute, when Sigurdsson capitalised on the Netherlands' failure to clear a corner by smashing a stunning volley into the roof of the net.

Hiddink wasted little time in introducing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who sparked a turnaround from the bench in the 3-1 win over Kazahkstan on Friday, at half-time in place of Wesley Sneijder.

Yet it was the home side who continued to look the most threatening, Bruno Martins Indi's brilliant last-ditch clearance turning away Birkir Mar Saevarsson's cross with Kolbeinn Sigthorsson lurking at the back post.

The Netherlands were still enjoying plenty of possession but, despite continuous probing, could not craft any real openings against a well organised Iceland side.
Iceland remained in control and could even have secured a third successive 3-0 success, when Jon Dadi Bodvarsson slid an effort narrowly wide but they celebrated on the pitch at full-time after claiming a major scalp.

 

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Bale: Wales hungry to qualify for Euro 2016

Wales star Gareth Bale said his team-mates are hungry to progress to Euro 2016, after a hard-earned qualifying win over Cyprus.

Chris Coleman's side sit top of Group B after David Cotterill and Hal Robson-Kanu goals helped them to a win in Cardiff.

Wales were 2-0 up inside 23 minutes, however Cyprus pulled one back before the interval through Vincent Laban - and the hosts ended up playing most of the second half with 10 men when Andy King was sent off.

Bale hailed Wales' hot start and said the mood in the camp was all positive - after they went unbeaten in their two qualifiers during the international break, having drawn 0-0 with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday.

"It was a great start from us again. We came out of the blocks firing, like we wanted to," Bale told Sky Sports."We got a good start to the game, obviously a little mistake off a set-piece, but I think you can see how much the lads want it.

"It's a different feeling in the camp now, everyone's really fighting for each other, the team spirit's amazing and the fans again were literally unbelievable."

Bale believes Wales' endeavour to continue to run with 10 men showed how desperate they are to reach a first major championship finals since the 1958 World Cup."I think you need a bit of luck sometimes. Obviously it didn't go for us today [with the dismissal], but I think we showed hard work," the Real Madrid star said.

"Since the sending off, we worked hard as a team. I think - again - we covered every blade of grass and showed how much we want it."Bale said the international break was a successful one for Chris Coleman's men, giving them plenty of confidence for their trip to Belgium in November.

"It's obviously a great place to be. I think the minimum from these two games was four points, we knew it was going to be a difficult game against Bosnia and a winnable one tonight," he said.

"I think when guys like [Fulham youngster George Williams] come in, they do a fantastic job. It's a big game against Belgium, and we'll go there full of confidence."

 

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Iceland loss not worthy of Netherlands, says Robben

Arjen Robben has admitted that Monday's 2-0 loss to Iceland was not a result worthy of the Netherlands national team.

Two goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson condemned Oranje to their second loss in just three Euro 2016 qualification games, following last month's reverse at the hands of Czech Republic.

The Bayern Munich star was left livid by the result and his side's performance and has urged them to go back to basics."This was not worthy of Oranje," he told NOS."But we did it all ourselves. We need to look at ourselves. We made things unnecessarily hard for ourselves.

"Now I have to be careful what I say because I'm so angry. We shouldn't point fingers at each other, but what happened tonight shouldn't at this level."If you play like this, you don't win games. It's just not going well. Besides the fact that we gave away two goals, we're also not where we want to be football-wise."In the first half, we created three chances we should have scored."

Netherlands sensationally beat Spain 5-1 in the World Cup in June but Robben believes they must put their heroics in Brazil behind them and focus."We must stop comparing. We have to stop looking back. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror. We've started over again.

"We must not think we are good because we're not good. We can be good, but we're not good.

"We're still not among the top countries in the world and we must fight hard for good results. It wasn't good enough. Euro 2016 is two years away and we want to be there. But a lot must happen."

 

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Van Persie defends Hiddink: He's a fantastic coach

Netherlands skipper Robin van Persie has defended under-fire coach Guus Hiddink, despite his side's 2-0 loss to Iceland on Monday.

Since the 67-year-old took the reins from Louis van Gaal this summer, he has lost three of his four matches in charge, including two Euro 2016 qualifiers.However, the Manchester United striker has rejected suggestions that the change of coach has had a negative impact on the team who came third at the World Cup earlier this year.

"That's not fair to Guus Hiddink and his staff," he told NOS."He's a fantastic coach. We worked hard to get here in as good shape as possible. Iceland were looking for our mistakes.

"We made too many errors in possession and weren't strong enough in duels.
"I still have hope. Nothing is decided yet, but there's a lot of work to do. We'll do anything. We don't give up."Van Persie also lamented his side's concession of a goal from a set piece, despite practising on defending corners and free kicks in the build-up to the game.

"This loss is very painful. We spoke about set plays a lot in the last few days and ball went in like that...

"In the last 15 minutes we tried some long balls but they didn't work out. Normally we could be dangerous like that, but tonight we weren't."

 

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'Old-fashioned' Hiddink is finished, says Ronald de Boer

Netherlands legend Ronald de Boer has claimed that coach Guus Hiddink is "done" after Oranje slipped to a 2-0 defeat to Iceland.

Two goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson were enough to give the minnows a shock victory over the World Cup semi-finalists, who have now lost three of their four games under the 67-year-old.

And De Boer, who represented his country at two World Cups and two European Championships, feels that Ronald Koeman should have replaced Louis van Gaal after the World Cup.

"I think Guus Hiddink doesn't really have a game plan in my eyes," he said as a pundit on Sky Sports."He doesn't show the guys 'this is the way we want to go'. I want to see, for example, running midfielders supporting Van Persie. I don't see any of this.

"There's plenty of games to play and change it around. But the pressure will be enormous now for Guus because there was criticism for his nomination beforehand.

"Koeman was ready to take over, he was really outspoken, he really wanted to take the job. With all due respect for Hiddink, he's 67 years old, I think he's done, in my eyes.

"Of course he has a great record. His ideas now are old-fashioned. With Koeman he showed with Feyenoord he can really shape [a team] and also he knows the mentality of those young boys, Guus is more of a people manager with an arm around them. But those guys need guidance."

De Boer also pointed out that many major national teams have been struggling in Euro 2016 qualification, citing Germany's loss to Poland as an example."You see Germany also struggling. When you have a good World Cup everyone expects you to walk over these kind of games but that's not the case.

"I've always said if you're five per cent less in giving everything then the gap is almost away. Normally when you give everything you're just a better team and you'll make the difference.

"But if you give five per cent, or even three percent, you'll struggle. And I think that's what's happening with this team."

 

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Conte: Italy should have attacked better

Italy coach Antonio Conte believes that his side's attack must improve after they limped past Malta with a 1-0 vicory.

Graziano Pelle's debut goal separated the two sides, who both had a man sent off, as the Azzurri dominated proceedings but could only net once.The former Juventus boss has claimed that they could have had more luck in front of goal but admits that their play in the final third needs to get better.

"The result was good. We should certainly have done more in attack, but we hit the woodwork four times," he told Rai Sport.

"We can do better but I am convinced that having nine points in the table should give us confidence."Leonardo Bonucci saw red as the visitors failed to put the match to bed and the 45-year-old feels they made things more complicated for themselves.

"The lads put the effort in, it was the second game in three days and some felt the fatigue."We won but could have been more consistent in goal and we complicated it with Bonucci's red card.

"We have to improve but these are four straight wins that ought to build our confidence and morale. Now we await our game against Croatia."

 

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'He's very honest with the media... that's interesting' - Ferguson runs the rule over Van Gaal

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admits he finds Louis van Gaal's honesty with the media "interesting", and has backed the Dutchman to succeed at Old Trafford.

Ferguson, who retired in May 2013, had a number of run-ins with the British press during his successful 27 years in charge of United, in which he won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and the Champions League twice.

Van Gaal has also had a chequered history with journalists, particularly in his first spell at Barcelona between 1997 and 2000, a time when he actually asked the Scot for advice on how to handle the scrutiny.

"I've always got on well with Louis," he told MUTV. "We met several times when he was with Barcelona. In 1998 we were in the [Champions League] group stage together and he asked me about dealing with the press. I had a few things about that!

"He had a different approach to the press at that time and my advice was don't read it and don't get upset about it. He has his own way. I think watching his press conferences are quite interesting, he's very, very honest in his press conferences, which is interesting."

Ferguson says he has spoken to Van Gaal on a couple of occasions since the Dutchman took the reigns at Old Trafford following the World Cup.

"There's no ongoing dialogue, he comes into my office sometimes after the game, to have a chat, it's not a matter of picking up the phone and phoning him," he added. "He's very capable, a strong personality, he knows where I am if he ever did need me but there's not been any need for him to phone me.

"Louis has made a lot of changes and, thinking about that, actually maybe he’s doing the right thing, to clear the decks and build his own team because he’s got the experience and coaching ability to do that. The way he’s approached it I think has been brilliant.

"He'd not got the results that were expected, but when I came to the club I didn't get the results. He's been through that a bit. There's no doubt in my mind he will sort it out."

David Moyes was the man hand-picked by Ferguson as his successor back in 2013, but the former Everton boss was sacked inside his first season in Manchester after a string of poor results and performances.

Ferguson did not discuss his countryman's short reign during a 30-minute interview with the club's in-house television channel, but did admit he was unhappy with some of the campaign's most defining matches.

"I got annoyed last year when we lost to Liverpool," he said. "I didn't enjoy that, losing to Liverpool and Manchester City, because they're our biggest rivals, they are the ones. They will always strive to defeat us, particularly Liverpool of course."

The 72-year-old also admitted he is wary of expressing too much emotion while watching the game from the stands at Old Trafford: "The way I've always been, I'm actually quite stoney-faced watching a game, I don't like to show emotion, unless we're scoring a goal. You're always concious that the cameras are on you, too. The press don't miss an opportunity to focus on you during a game."