Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka has sung the praises of in-form striker Karim Benzema.
Benzema’s goal in Wednesday’s Copa del Rey first-leg clash with Sevilla handed his side a 1-0 lead to take into next week’s second leg at the Bernabeu.
After struggling to cement a place in the starting line-up for much of the season, the 23-year-old Frenchman is starting to have an impact for Jose Mourinho’s side, also scoring the winner in their last La Liga match – a 1-0 win over Mallorca.
“Karim looked good from the start, and when the manager has spoken about him it has spurred him on,” Karanka said.
“Karim scored and went over to the manager, so I think that shows the affection that we have for him. We’ve said a thousand times that he is an important player.”
“A first leg is always difficult. It’s a game that could have been 0-2 or 0-3 -or maybe 1-1 with the chance that they had at the end. It’s a good result, but not definitive by any means.”
“I think that the fans in the Bernabeu will be supportive next Wednesday. It’s a positive result, but it’s not over by any means.”
Sevilla boss Gregorio Manzano, meanwhile, thinks his side were unlucky to lose the tie and believes Luis Fabiano’s shot was over the line before it was cleared by Real defender Raul Albiol.
Although replays were inconclusive, Manzano is adamant Fabiano should have been credited with the goal.
“In my view, football-wise my team were unlucky to lose,” Manzano said.
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“I think that we made a great effort and had a great attitude, and we fought back well when we conceded a goal against a great team like Real Madrid.”
“However much it will be debated tonight and tomorrow, it was a goal. It’s a difficult move that was hard for the linesman to judge, but we had a similar situation at home against Almeria, and that was a goal. “
“There is still a second leg to play, and we have to think that we can play the same in Madrid as we did here.”
Everton boss David Moyes is considering making a move for former Wigan forward Hugo Rodallega according to The Daily Mail.
The cash-strapped Merseysiders are eager to push on by bolstering their squad this summer, but do not have an abundance of money to spend due to financial constraints.
The Colombia international’s contract with the Latics has expired, with the South American leaving the DW Stadium and now available on a free transfer.
Meanwhile, Toffees legend Trevor Steven ha stated that the side need to get off to a good start next season, and the fact that January signing Nikica Jelavic has settled in at Goodison Park should aid this.
“Every team changes their squad in some shape or fashion, whether players are coming out of contract, whether they choose to leave, or whether management wishes that they move on to get someone else in, because you need to freshen it,” he told the club’s official website.
“But the beauty of this season was being able to go into the transfer market last January and spend a considerable amount of money on Jelavic, which was a bargain – he was probably a good 40 per discount on what he might have been had the situation at Rangers not been what it was. So that was an intelligent purchase,” he admitted.
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Universidad Cesar Vallejo were not able to make home advantage count in the first round of the Copa Sudamericana.The Peruvian side had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their tie against Colombia’s Santa Fe on Tuesday.
Cesar Vallejo controlled the early stages, with Uruguyan forward Mario Leguizamon giving them a fourth minute lead – an advantage they would hold until half time.
But Oscar Rodas salvaged a draw for the visitors with the equaliser on 52 minutes, giving them the advantage heading into the second leg in Bogota on August 28.
In Tuesday’s other first round tie, Uruguayan side Bella Vista could only muster a 1-1 draw at home against Universidad Catolica.
The hosts went ahead on 24 minutes through an Ignacio Nicolini penalty, but Pablo Calandria’s goal for the Universidad side 12 minutes later ensured the Chilean side have the upper hand ahead of the return leg in Santiago on August 17.
Liverpool will attempt to arrest their three-match winless slide on a trip to Wolverhampton on Saturday.
The Reds are yet to taste victory under new manager Kenny Dalglish, though they came from behind to snatch a point in last Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Everton.
The solitary point was not enough to keep Liverpool from slipping to 13th on the English Premier League table, however, and with the drop zone just four points away Dalglish will be keen for his side to inflict further pain on battered Wolverhampton.
Wolves found themselves back in the relegation zone following a 4-3 loss at Manchester City, though the visitors showed tremendous spirit to claw back from a 4-1 deficit with 24 minutes to play.
Mick McCarthy’s side have won three of their past four at home, including a 1-0 victory over reeling Chelsea earlier this month, and will go into Saturday’s match in a confident mood after thumping Doncaster Rovers 5-0 in Tuesday’s FA Cup replay.
Wolves also defeated Liverpool 1-0 when the two sides met at Anfield over the holiday period, prior to Roy Hodgson’s departure from the embattled club.
Liverpool will be without Steven Gerrard due to suspension, while defender Jamie Carragher is recovering from shoulder surgery and Joe Cole is still in doubt with an ongoing ankle injury.
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McCarthy will be unable to call on left-back George Elokobi due to a red card picked up in Wolves’ initial FA Cup draw at Doncaster.
Joey Craddock and Karl Henry got through 90 minutes against Doncaster and should line up at the Molineux on Saturday.
Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse has admitted that he is happy at the club and has no intention of leaving this summer.
The Senegal international caused quite a stir in the second half of the season after moving to Tyneside in the January transfer window, and scored 13 goals in 14 games for Alan Pardew’s men.
Due to exceptional form in front of goal Cisse has been linked with an instant move to a bigger club, with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Real Madrid all thought to be keen to sign the African marksman.
However, Cisse has revealed that he has no intention of leaving the Sports Direct Arena, and will look to fire Newcastle into a Champions League qualifying berth next term.
“I am very happy in Newcastle and I want to stay there for many years. I am looking forward to next season,” he told The Sun.
“We were close to a Champions League position so next season hopefully we will qualify for that and everyone will taste the Champions League.”
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Emmanuel Adebayor, Tottenham Hotspur striker. Those very words may stick in some Spurs fans throat, but it is a possibility that may very well become fact over the next few weeks. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed he is extremely interested in the former Arsenal frontman, who is currently looking for a new club. But should Spurs fans remain so angry towards Togo international, in light of his proposed move, and should many be against such a signing?
Adebayor was recently left out of Manchester City’s tour of America and has been forced to train with their youth team, after returning from his holidays. Suddenly unwanted in Manchester, he spent the second-half of last season on loan at Real Madrid after seemingly falling out with City boss Roberto Mancini, and has made no secret of his desire to make that loan move permanent, issuing several ‘come and get me’ pleas to the Spanish giants. Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho is said to be interested in making a deal happen, but Real are reluctant, having their cash tied up in chasing several other targets. This leaves Tottenham his most likely destination at this present moment, if Spurs chairman Daniel Levy can thrash out a suitable loan deal with City, which would leave some fans in an unhappy situation. But should they forget the players past and cross the divide?
Regardless of what many may think about Adebayor the man, Adebayor the player is a proven goalscorer in the Premier League, and a proven handful when he is on his game. With Peter Crouch out of favour, Adebayor is seen as his perfect replacement and an upgrade with a better all-around game. This is what manager Harry Redknapp no doubt sees and, as we all know, when it comes to crossing divides and leaving loyalties to one side, Redknapp is a man who’s been there, scene it and done it! He could prove one of the ‘buys’ of the season, if a cheaper loan deal can be worked out.
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Of course, Adebayor was a hate figure at Tottenham during his 4-year stint with bitter rivals Arsenal, scoring eight times in nine north London derbies. Although he moved on, two goals during a Champions League match against Spurs, whilst on loan at Madrid did nothing to suppress any lingering anger felt towards the former Gunner. But surprisingly, any anger from Spurs fans felt towards Adebayor may well be out-weighed when measured in comparison against what Arsenal fans feel. Once hailed at the Emirates, he is now firmly a villain in those parts, due to his acrimonious departure, seemingly in search of the new wealth which Manchester City had acquired. His goal against Arsenal during his first game against his old club, along with his now infamous celebration in taunting their fans, cemented his place as their new hate figure, possibly even surpassing any current Tottenham player. Various flashpoints and nasty incidents on the pitch, most notably against Robin van Persie, only served to enhance the hatred. Can you imagine the scenes of delirium, and equal anguish, if Adebayor was to perform his goalscoring antics against Arsenal, in a Tottenham jersey?
So, Spurs fans, who was it who said ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’?
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August 1989. The Eastern Bloc was crumbling, the Voyager space craft had just passed Neptune, the second attempt to stage another Woodstock was rubbish, the Sega Genesis has just been released in North American and the 1989/90 football league season was about to kick off and usher in a new decade in football. The 90s. Chelsea had just been promoted and Arsenal were Champions, beginning the new campaign away at Manchester United, which – rather fittingly – is where we lay our scene.
This short shorted, dodgy haired retro-tastic video goes behind the scenes at United during the opening few games of 89/90, a seminal time for not just the club but English football as a whole. The last season of the 80s was also the last Liverpool would enjoy as the dominant force, whilst the horrors of the Hillsborough tragedy four months earlier were about to change English Stadia forever. The BBC had lost the rights to screen live games to iTV due in part to a substantial rise in value which had threatened to force a breakaway, which in turn would buoy Greg Dyke – then of ITN – to hold a meeting between the “Big Five” to propose this new – Premier – league, at the end of the season. Unfortunately for Dyke, one of the five was about to be bought by an as yet untitled and apprenticeless Alan Sugar, who was busy hawking dishes to a certain fledgling Satellite channel.
At United, plain old Mr. Alex Ferguson had yet to win a sausage and would face very real concern over his job, finally earning himself a reprieve through a successful FA Cup run and his first trophy for the club.
And it all started here, in 1989, before prawn sandwiches, before all-seaters, before Sir Alex, before Murdoch, before Sky, before the Carling Cup, before the Worthington Cup, before the Coca Cola Cup, before the FA Cup sponsored by E.ON, before anything was sponsored by E.ON, before E.ON, before Pop Star wives, before texting, before ringtones, before the crazy frog, before Cantona, before Henry, before Twitter, before Blatter, before Soccer Am, before Fantasy Football, before Andy Gray had any final thoughts, before Richard Keys had shaved his hairy hands, before we knew Richard Keys had hairy hands, before everything. This was football, but not as you know it.
Things to look out for.
-Terrible Music.
-Painfully staged conversations.
-Brian Kidd’s “kiddies”
-Miss Manchester United
-Awful, awful music.
-Shaun Goater championing G&G
-Bobby Charlton when he still had hair to comb over.
-Fergie’s Floplings
-Mike Phelan with hair. Just not on his head.
-Clayton Blackmore’s state of the art games console.
-Appalling music.
Part One
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As Martin O’Neill prepares for a busy summer revamping his squad, the first transformation at Sunderland sees away fans moving to the highest point in the Stadium of Light.
It’s a change the club feels will give them better support next season. Having home fans behind both goals will create a better atmosphere and help improve results but what difference will it make to the team?
O’Neill has been tasked with establishing Sunderland in the top 6. While this may be premature given the players at his disposal, the Northern Irishman told the Sunderland Echo that he’s confident it can be achieved.
“I believe that it certainly has the potential to challenge for a place in the top six, simply because of its size.
“We got 40,000 people here for the Bolton Wanderers game recently, which was a game on which nothing was really riding. So, with backing like that, you know you’re a club that can be a top-six club”
Many view Sunderland as a team on the up. They have a large stadium, excellent facilities, passionate support and strong financial backing but after so many false dawns why should fans view a change in seating plan as a sign of things to come?
O’Neill isn’t naive enough to think moving a few fans will mark a sudden surge in results but it’s something that many of Europe’s biggest teams already implement so at least it’s another step on Sunderland’s road to competing at the highest level. Away fans influence matches when sitting in large numbers behind the goal and can be a menacing proposition to deal with. Manchester United already use a similar seating plan as do rivals Newcastle United and both clubs have a reputation for creating a passionate atmosphere that silences away support.
It seems like an excellent idea and considering there are no rules on where to sit fans, why should Sunderland offer their opponents an advantage that others don’t reciprocate? O’Neill told the Daily Mail that he agrees with the changes.
“First of all, it’s behind the goal, it’s important because if you get a big crowd at some of the games, they can take up the whole end, so it’s intimidating for your own goalkeeper having to face that.
“At Sunderland, we’ve got a really great pocket of support in the corner but you want your fans at both ends. I don’t know who will be affected by it, and I apologise if it is people who have been there for some time, but to have both ends full of our supporters will be brilliant.”
While a new look may not be the decisive factor in Sunderland’s progression, O’Neill’s comments still vindicate the changes as being positive. The only negative is a few home fans being relocated but club officials expected some resistance so they gave supporters the option to voice their concerns before a decision was made. Chairman Ellis Short has big plans for Sunderland so will be hoping the new changes encourage locals to return rather than distance any current ticket holders.
The Stadium of Light is an intimidating arena when full but lately it’s struggled to reach capacity. Only the Tyne-Wear derby and matches against the league’s top sides create enough attention to sell extra tickets and this is something that must change if the club is to progress. With an entire stand currently allocated for a select number of away fans the ground has been left visibly empty, especially when television cameras focus on goal mouth action at the visiting end. Moving the empty seats somewhere else will not increase attendances but having both ends full of passionate support is something that will create a much better feel around the stadium.
Results on the pitch will still decide whether the club achieves success but given the current economic climate it’s important for teams to make their brand more appealing and persuade stay away fans to return. Short is furthering the strides made by former chairman Niall Quinn who was vocal in his attempts to reignite local support. Quinn told the Sunderland Echo:
“The number of fans not coming to the games, the number of fans who are choosing instead to watch it in the pubs, is having a massive effect on our attendances”
Clearly there is cause for concern. Sunderland have a long way to go if they’re to reach their potential so the possibility of better support could lead to improved performances and subsequently even bigger attendances. While a change of seating plan doesn’t guarantee improvement on the pitch, at least the club is showing some initiative and any improvements that help put more money into the team are vital if they’re to progress.
Sunderland may not have a squad capable of challenging for Europe just yet but they’re building a solid foundation for the future. Whether or not their league aspirations are realistic, visiting teams will certainly not relish a trip to the Stadium of Light next season.
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Are Sunderland doing the right thing? Would you be happy if your team followed suit? Can Sunderland challenge for Europe next season?
Let me know your views and opinions by following me on twitter – Tweet me @Alex_Churcher
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has conceded that last season was the toughest of his career.Wenger’s side had once again looked to challenge for honours for a significant part of last term, only to lose in the Carling Cup final, which in turn became a catalyst for a poor end to the season, resulting in the club’s sixth trophy-less campaign.
The north Londoners were eliminated from the Champions League and FA Cup by Barcelona and Manchester United respectively following the 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City at Wembley.
Speaking ahead of his side’s friendly with Hangzhou Greentown, the 61-year-old said: “The last part of it [the season] was certainly the toughest [of his career] because emotionally it was very difficult because we were on a low. You could see that the last three or four weeks were very difficult.”
“It was because I took full responsibility for what happened.”
“I knew at some stage that it was lost and I had so much hope for the team, because through November and December, you could feel that the team had really taken off and could win everything. And it was so close.”
However, the Frenchman believes that a further year of maturation for his side’s young players, and also a return from injury from a number of key figures, will pay dividends when the new campaign gets underway next month.
“I believe we are perfectly good enough. What we did last year, considering the age of the squad and the problems we had with injuries, was a credit to the team and we have a good opportunity now to show that we have the quality,” Wenger said.
“If you are a winner, you say: ‘We were very close last year, let’s do it this year’. You come back.”
“I believe that the real destiny of this team is now there. They know as well as I know that we were very, very close last season.”
“We intend to show everybody that we can do it. We are a young team and we can only be better. It demands the strength of character that the champions have. That’s what we want to show.”
Manchester United are thought to be the latest club to have joined the chase for Real Madrid defender Pepe.
In order to sign the Portuguese ace, United will have to beat Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City and German side Bayern Munich who are all rumoured to be keen on the defender.
Despite claiming a few weeks ago that he was happy at the Bernabeu, contract extension talks between Pepe and Real Madrid are believed to have stalled over the wage demands of the player. Pepe is currently among the smallest earners at Real Madrid and is on about €1.8 million a year.
Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are all looking for defensive reinforcements in January and the 6ft 2in Portuguese centre-back’s strong style of play would fit nicely in the Premier League.
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The 27 year-old defender started his career at Maritimo before moving to FC Porto in 2004. It was in Porto where Pepe made a name for himself playing under Dutch coach Co Adriaanse and guided them to two consecutive league titles. Pepe’s improved reputation resulted in a big money move to Real Madrid where he has been since 2007.