Showing posts with label Manchester City F.C.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manchester City F.C.. Show all posts

Monday, 24 October 2016

The Long Road to Eden for Mourinho


Looks like the long road to Eden for Jose Mourinho and that return to Stanford Bridge proved that much work needs to be done with The Reds. . Raising the question as to whether the Manchester United board will suffer while The Special One seeks to rediscover whatever made him great in 2005. Or lose patience not unlike Chelsea did when Mourinho returned last season from Real Madrid with little positive to contribute and eventually losing his job. The expensive and much touted moved to Manchester United was wrong from the start and a few months in to the season still looks a poor fit. With Antonio Conte proving the more astute manager on the day, winning by four gals and reviving Eden hazard from the dark place that he was under when manged by Mourinho. Who was keen to sell him at one point in his last stint at Chelsea. 

On Sunday, the Belgian international lived up to his surname and was nothing but a hazard for Mourinho, who on the side line looked almost a beaten man from the start and just hoping for the best. His team devoid of ideas and again a Paul Pogba who is playing like someone worth a quarter of the £89m transfer fee. Yet only months ago he was the main power with Juventus- the club he played at during four seasons. Ironically two of this were for Antonio Conte and were season that saw Pogba win the Biaconero with two Serie A in 2012–13 and 2013–14 and a Supercoppa Italiana. This season the trophy cupboard looks bleak and Pogba only half the player he was during EURO 2016. Indeed, Conte’s Chelsea looked like they had that proverbial extra man as they ran riot at Stamford Bridge scoring twice in the first half without reply. Then in the second succumbing to a Hazard goal and then Kate the latest recruit arriving from Leicester City. 

Antonio Conte
"I am delighted for the performance because we played very well with good intensity, good positions and we moved the ball very quickly and created many chances to score goals," he said.

"This is the third game we haven't conceded a goal and that is very important. This type of game, against a very strong team like Manchester United, increases our confidence about our work.

"We are working very hard, I see my players every day with the right commitment and work rate and they deserve this type of win and performance.

"When you work very hard it's important to win because then you trust the work."

"I asked my players to start the game strongly and to show our desire to win the game, not just to our fans but to our opponent," he added.

"We scored after 30 seconds. The most important thing is that we continued to play and to try to score the second goal, it happened and I'm very happy.

"Now we must continue because this is the right way but for me United is in the past.

"We must concentrate on Wednesday when we have another tough game against West Ham and it's important to recover and prepare for that game." 


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Friday, 13 May 2016

PSG Say Merci to Legend Ibrahimovic


Paris St-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has indicated he will leave the French champions this summer. The 34-year-old's contract expires at the end of the season.

On Friday, Ibrahimovic - who has been linked with a move to LA Galaxy - posted on social media: "My last game tomorrow at Parc des Princes. I came like a king, left like a legend."

PSG host Nantes on Saturday, before ending their season by facing Marseille in the French Cup final on 21 May.

Shortly after his tweet, the club posted an image of their top scorer this season along with the message "merci Zlatan."

Ibrahimovic, who will captain Sweden at the European Championship this summer, joined PSG from AC Milan for a reported £15.7m in 2012.

He has since scored 152 goals in 178 appearances for PSG and was top scorer in Ligue 1 in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

The former Barcelona striker is the top goalscorer in France again this season - 15 ahead of Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette.

PSG won the Ligue 1 title with two months to spare and are 28 points clear with one game remaining.

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Ibrahimovic, who has won league titles with six different clubs.


Monday, 9 May 2016

Barcelona Hit Five Past Neighbours

Getty Images
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title by thrashing local rivals Espanyol 5-0 on Sunday as Atletico Madrid dropped out of the race after losing 2-1 at Levante and Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-2.

Barca top the standings on 88 points, Real moved into second on 87 and Atletico have 85 with one game remaining.

Barca went ahead in the eighth minute when Lionel Messi curled a 22-yard free kick into the top corner with a magnificent finish.

Luis Suarez stretched the hosts’ lead with two goals in the second half before Rafinha and Neymar completed the rout.

Atletico took the lead at Levante in the first minute through Fernando Torres, but the relegated home side fought back, equalising through Victor Casadesus before Giuseppe Rossi grabbed the winner in stoppage time.

Real were without goalkeeper Keylor Navas, defender Dani Carvajal, midfielder Luka Modric and winger Gareth Bale through injury, but went ahead thanks to a thunderous low finish from Cristiano Ronaldo in the 26th minute.

Karim Benzema scored the second before the break but Rodrigo Moreno, who was later sent off, pulled one back for Valencia after half-time.

Ronaldo added his second a few minutes later before Andre Gomes scored a sumptuous consolation goal for Valencia.


Sunday, 8 May 2016

Bad Kompany News for Belgium

Kompany injured in Madrid - Getty Images
Belgium suffered a blow on Saturday when skipper Vincent Kompany was ruled out of the EURO 2016 tournament with his latest in a series of muscular injuries.

"I'll miss the Euros. To me that's very sad news," the 30-year-old Manchester City captain wrote on his Facebook page.

"So I could be standing here, feeling sorry for myself. I could fear for my career, as others may do. I could give up...That is not me."

Kompany has been dogged by a series of injuries for most of the season and the defender limped out of the Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday after just 10 minutes with a groin problem.

In Kompany's absence, it is expected that Chelsea's Eden Hazard is likely to captain Belgium at Euro 2016 which starts in France on June 10.

Belgium coach Marc Wilmots will also have a further defensive headache for the tournament as Barcelona centre-back Thomas Vermaelen is also injury prone and features little for the Spanish giants.

Recently, Belgian newspaper Le Soir calculated that in his 13-year career, Kompany has spent 1,045 days in hospital, highlighting his reputation as a player of brittle build.

At Manchester City, he has won the Premier League title on two occasions - in 2012 and 2014.

Kompany has suffered five different injuries this season, appearing in only 22 of City's 57 matches.

"So I remain calm and positive. I will continue to follow my path and I will do so with more conviction than ever," the 70-capped player wrote on Facebook.

"I trust my friends and teammates to do well and do us proud at the next European Championships in France. I am now officially their most fervent supporter and I will be there to support them.

"Written from my hospital bed. Never giving up."


Wednesday, 13 April 2016

Atletico Madrid v Barcelona - Preview

Atleti
Simeone and Atletico - Getty Images
Fernando Torres is adamant he was wrongly sent off in the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona. The Atlético Madrid striker is suspended from Wednesday’s second leg following his dismissal in the 35th minute at the Camp Nou for a double booking, shortly after giving his side the lead.

Barcelona took advantage of having an extra man, Luis Suárez’s second-half double setting up a 2-1 win that Atlético must overturn without Torres at the Vicente Calderón.

“I’m convinced the second yellow card was not a card, I felt a mix of impotence and frustration,” Torres told the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser on Tuesday, when describing his foul on the midfielder Sergio Busquets.

“When I see it again I see a slip-up. It’s not a kick nor a late tackle. The only argument is that it was an action that could have been avoided. My ambition to make it 2-0 ended up harming the team.

“I’m certain that with 11 players we would have won. The following days after the game were difficult. It took two days to get over what happened. The moments after the sending off were the worst of my career. I just wanted to be alone.”

Torres has two months left on his loan contract with Atlético, his boyhood club for whom he played between 2001 and 2007 until moving to Liverpool. He later played for Chelsea and Milan before returning to Atlético on loan from Milan in January 2015.

Although he did not give details on where his immediate future lay, the 32-year-old said he wanted to emulate the former Deportivo La Coruña veteran Juan Carlos Valerón and the Roma captain, Francesco Totti, by extending his stay with Atlético. “I would love to be the Valerón or Totti of Atléti but today more than ever is not the time to talk about that,” he said.

Diego Simeone
Being Atlético means being tenacious, competitive, never giving up and overcoming difficulties. We know there are better teams than us. But we know we can compete against Barcelona.

We try to improve what we are doing [against Barça] game after game. We will try to find an angle and see if we can get at them and win.

The excitement and enthusiasm around this match is fantastic, but I don't think the Barcelona players will be surprised by the atmosphere because they are used to it.

Koke is a very important player for us. He has great vision. The team has had a freshness and an energy about it of late, and that's down to having a player like him in midfield.

Luis Enrique
We are treating this like any quarter-final – I don't feel it's the biggest match of our season. We have a small advantage and we will try to win here too to make sure of the result. This team was made for matches like this. Yes, it's always difficult against Atlético, but it's all about doing things well, which is what we try to do every match. We'll need to play really well.

There is always room for improvement. It's not fair to think that victories or defeats are because of two or three players. I'm just as guilty for any defeats because I am the coach. I'm very happy with Arda Turan's performances and Gerard Piqué is fine.

Tomorrow will be difficult like any UEFA Champions League tie, particularly so against Atlético since they know us so well. There is no doubt we are going to compete. We love to see the Vicente Calderón full but if there's any team able to play in this atmosphere it is Barça. I hope we can see a great spectacle.



Tuesday, 5 April 2016

Cremona Case Hangs Over Chelsea Conte

Conte
Antonio Conte
Prosecutors involved in Antonio Conte's match-fixing case in Cremona have called for the Italy boss to be hit with a six-month prison sentence.

The news casts something of a shadow over Monday's rather more positive announcement regarding the 46-year-old, after it was confirmed that he will take over at Chelsea next season.

However, Conte is currently embroiled in an ongoing case regarding his failure to report an attempt from Siena players to allegedly fix a match against Albino Leffe in May 2011 during his time in charge there in 2011. 

Although he denies any wrongdoing Cremona prosecutor Roberto Di Martino has asked for a six-month suspended prison sentence as well as for Conte to be fined €8,000.

A ruling in the case is not expected to arrive until mid-May, when Conte's attentions will be turning towards Euro 2016 with Italy.The investigation had originally also included another game involving Siena from May 2011 against Novara, which ended in a 2-2 draw, but that has since been removed from the inquiry.

At Chelsea Conte will earn £6.5million per season at Chelsea after signing a three-year contract but he will be only the fifth best paid boss in the Barclays Premier League.

Jose Mourinho was on £13.2m while at Chelsea and Pep Guardiola will earn £15m per year when he joins Manchester City.


Wednesday, 30 March 2016

Demichelis Charged by FA


Martin Demichelis has been charged by the Football Association over alleged betting offences.

The Argentine, 35, is accused of committing 12 breaches relating to matches between 22 and 28 January 2016.

Demichelis has until 17:00 BST on 5 April to respond to the charge.

However, there is no suggestion that the charge relates to any of the 25 league and cup games in which he has featured for City this season.

New rules that came into force for the 2014-15 season mean players and coaches are prevented from betting on any worldwide footballing activity.

The FA has the power to fine or suspend any person found guilty of a rule breach.

"It is alleged the player committed 12 breaches of FA Rule E8 concerning football matches between 22 January 2016 and 28 January 2016. He has until 5pm on 5 April 2016 to respond to the charge," said an FA statement:

Rule E8 states: "A Participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on - (i) the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, a football match or competition; or (ii) any other matter concerning or related to football anywhere in the world, including, for example and without limitation, the transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or disciplinary matters."
There is no suggestion that Demichelis was involved in match fixing nor that he bet on games in which he was involved.

Demichelis is not the first professional football player to have been charged by the FA over betting offenses.

Newcastle and England winger Andros Townsend was fined £18,000 ($26,000) and banned for four months in 2013 -- a punishment which prevented him from playing at the European Under-21 Championship.

Dan Gosling, the Bournemouth midfielder, was fined £30,000 ($43,000) after breaching the rules in March 2014 while at former club Newcastle.

The misconduct charge is the latest blow for Demichelis, whose performances and that of his fellow teammates have dipped in recent weeks, with City falling out of contention in the Premier League title race after losing a number of crucial fixtures over the past couple of months.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini, who announced he will leave the club at the end of the season last month, has presided over defeats to rivals Tottenham, Leicester and Manchester United with his team 15 points off the pace and now fighting to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Pep Guardiola, currently at Bayern Munich, will replace Pellegrini at the end of the campaign -- an announcement that was made on February 1.


Wednesday, 23 March 2016

Belgium Friendly Switched to Portugal


Belgium's friendly against Portugal next week has been switched from Brussels to Leiria in Portugal after Tuesday's attacks which killed more than 30 people in the Belgian capital.

Belgium had cancelled next week's friendly against Portugal in Brussels after Tuesday's attacks in the city, which killed more than 30 people. The Belgian Football Association says the city's authorities asked for Tuesday's match to be called off for "security reasons and precaution".

The national team cancelled a training session in the immediate aftermath of the suicide and bomb attacks.

Captain Vincent Kompany was "horrified and revolted" by the incidents.

"I wish for Brussels to act with dignity. We are all hurting, yet we must reject hate and its preachers. As hard as it may be," he wrote on Twitter

Next week's match, due to be played at the King Baudouin Stadium, is the second Belgium friendly in succession that has not gone ahead as scheduled.

In November, their match against Spain in Brussels was called off following the Paris atrocities, which killed 130 people.

Netherlands' match against France in Amsterdam - 108 miles away from Brussels - will go ahead as planned on Friday.