Melbourne Victory say their interest in Harry Kewell is ‘very real’ as speculation continues to rage on which club the Socceroo will join.Kewell has left Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray, with Victory said to be rivalling fellow A-League clubs Newcastle Jets and Sydney FC in their bid to bring the 32-year-old back to Australia.
While the MLS, English Premier League and clubs in the Middle East have also been touted as a potential destinations for the former Leeds United and Liverpool forward, Melbourne Victory chief executive officer Richard Wilson confirmed the club’s interest to theworldgame.com.au on Friday.
The report linked the Victory with a package involving a wage plus image rights, a percentage of profits from new memberships sold and a share of gate takings and new sponsorship deals. It is claimed the Jets deal includes a salary of up to AU$2 million a season.
“Our interest in Harry Kewell is very real and on-going,” Wilson said.
“We can’t say too much right now, other than to say we are very keen.”
“Harry’s value to the A-League and Australian football in general would be fantastic. It would be as good as anything that has ever happened in the competition and probably better.”
Wilson said ‘sometimes you are not in control of deadlines’, intimating that he was unsure of when Kewell and manager Bernie Mandic would make a decision on a new club.
So it seems Roberto Mancini wants to replace Manchester City’s mercurial Argentinian with a fellow countryman. The Italian has earmarked Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Agüero as the man he wants to step into the soon to be vacated shoes of captain and talismanic goal scorer Carlos Tevez. According to The Sun, City are in advanced talks with Atletico over a £35 million pound deal for the 23 year old.
Mancini sees him as the ideal successor to Tevez who looks likely to leave Eastland’s once and for all after months of grumbling about his future at the club. Off the field we had it all from Tevez last season with the player slapping a transfer request in, considering early retirement and falling out with a number of executives at the club.
But in his two years on the field he’s proved to be simply invaluable during the clubs rise up the Premier League. His commitment and intensity on the pitch coupled with him consistently finding the back of the net and boasting record better than any City forward over the last 10 years. Sadly though it looks like Tevez won’t be wearing the famous light blue next season and Mancini want’s Agüero as City’s new idol.
But, if he does finally leave Atletico and take up residence in the blue half of Manchester will he be able to replace his fellow countryman? It would be foolish of Mancini to expect him to replicate what Tevez offers to City not just in attack but also all over the field. The pressure on the club to win trophies and perform at the high end of the Premier League is 100 times more intense than it was five years ago.
Only in the last two years have City finally started to show some sort of progress and that coincided with Tevez’s arrival at the club. Everyone knew how good he was at neighbours United but he has taken things to a whole new level at City, which culminated in winning the FA Cup last season and qualification to the Champions League.
Tevez plays like a bulldog. His stocky physique is perfect for the high paced rough and tumble Premier League. His ability to barge people off and hold up the ball despite his diminutive five foot eight height is remarkable. Agüero is a similar size but not as well built as Tevez. Then there’s his insatiable nature to chase down and be a nuisance to defenders which is something City fans haven’t seen since the days of the Wasp himself Paul Dickov. Can you see Agüero chasing lost causes and make defenders run scared?
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When it comes down to technical ability Agüero probably edges it. His light footedness on the ball and ability to glide past defenders without breaking a sweat is a joy to watch at times. He has a footballing brain that so many of us dream of possessing. Then again you do get around thirty minutes on the ball in Spain to decide what you want to do. It would be risky to bring Agüero in and expect him to adapt to his new surroundings and pace of the Premier League whilst also replacing Tevez. The pressure on his shoulders could turn him into another expensive City striking flop.
Impatient City fans have already seen the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy, Jo, Felipe Caicedo and even Edin Dzeko sign for big money and perform at a standard well below where the club aspires to be. However for a player who made his debut at 15 for Independiente before making the move to Atletico aged 18, pressure would be something he’s used too. But playing in the Premier League with fans screaming at you every week and expectations exceedingly high it can be a daunting prospect even for the most experience of players.
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There is no doubting Agüero’s abilities as a footballer in La Liga but coming to the Premier League and trying to fill the boots of Tevez will be a tough task if it does transpire. At 23 he does have time on his side but in the burdensome environment that is England’s top division time is a luxury that might not be afforded.
Andre Villas-Boas has been named the seventh Chelsea manager in only the last eight years and whilst his appointment may have come as a surprise to some, the 33-year old has brought an air of optimism and excitement to Stamford Bridge that already appears to have Chelsea fans itching for the season to get underway. Ashley Cole yesterday insisted that, with the addition of more new faces at the club, he sees no good reason as to why his side could not compete strongly on all fronts, and confidently claimed that even the treble was on the cards at Chelsea for the first time in the clubs history. It seems then, that while Cole’s comments may seem somewhat unrealistic for a club that have just failed to pick up any silverware for the first time in three years, this air of optimism and confidence is being felt not only by the fans, but by everyone involved with the club.
We must remember however, that this kind of optimism and excitement has been evident before at Chelsea, and although the likes of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti were able to fulfil their promises of success and silverware during their reigns, those managers who were not so successful put their reputation on the line, and ultimately faced public humiliation in joining the Abramovich firing line. Whilst Mourinho was able to leave Chelsea with his reputation intact and go on to lead Inter Milan to an historic treble, it seems his successors at Stamford Bridge have been far less fortunate or successful in the jobs they have landed, or have remained out of a job since leaving the club altogether.
Avram Grant took over from Mourinho in 2007, and despite guiding the club to their first ever Champions League final, he was given his marching orders by Abramovich after less than a year in charge. Since leaving Chelsea, Grant was appointed at Portsmouth and later West Ham, both of whom he was unable to keep in the Premier League. Although Grant’s CV may not be full of the trophies and honours that one would expect of a Chelsea manager, he was still considered to be the ‘right man for the job’ after Mourinho’s departure. Nowadays however, he seems to be considered only for clubs fighting for survival, rather than those fighting for silverware.
After Grant’s sacking, Abramovich opted to bring in Luiz Felipe Scolari. Here was a manager with a vast amount of honours to his name, including a World Cup with the Brazilian national side. After 8 months at Chelsea however, Abramovich called an end to the Scolari reign, and the initial buzz and excitement that had surrounded his appointment had quickly diminished, as Chelsea fans came to recognize what was now a recurring chain of events at their club. Scolari went on to manage in the Uzbek League before returning to Palmeiras, the Brazilian side he had left nearly 10 years earlier. Whilst he may not like to admit it, this can surely only be seen as a step back Scolari’s managerial career, and one that he will ultimately hold the Chelsea hierarchy to be responsible for.
Most recently of course, we saw the departure of Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea. After completing a domestic double at the club for the first time in its history, an inconsistent second season saw his side finish only second in the league and without a trophy to boast. Defeat on the last day of the season saw Ancelotti facing the inevitability of losing his job, and despite being linked with positions at both Aston Villa and QPR, Carlo has opted to take time away from coaching, at least for the time being.
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Abramovich’s appointment of Villas-Boas is certainly a brave one. However, it seems that Villas-Boas’ decision to take on such a role may in fact be even braver. Abramovich knows that should his dream of Champions League glory not be fulfilled sooner rather than later, then there are others who he can bring in to have another go. For Villas-Boas, failure at Chelsea may ruin the name and reputation that he has built himself as a manager in Portugal. His CV, although relatively short, does speak for itself, and his appointment is certainly an exciting prospect for any football fan, not just those in West London. Whilst there are those who are worried that Abramovich may be taking a risk with Villas-Boas, one cannot help but fear that Villas-Boas has taken an even bigger risk with his career by taking charge at Chelsea football club.
Paraguay will play Venezuela in the Copa America semi-finals after a rousing penalty shootout victory over Brazil in Buenos Aires on Sunday.Both regular time and extra time finished 0-0 after eight-time Copa winners Brazil squandered a succession of gilt-edged chances, and they were made to pay in the shootout, missing their first four spot-kicks as they went down 2-0.
Host nation Argentina suffered a similar fate on Saturday, losing their quarter-final against Uruguay on penalties, meaning that for just the second time in Copa America history, neither one of the powerhouses will feature in the semi-finals.
Paraguay failed to get a single shot on target in the 120 minutes, and can thank goalkeeper Justo Villar for pulling off a number of excellent saves to keep his side level.
Villar was called into action to make a point-blank save from Lucio in the 33rd minute after the defender latched onto Andre Santos’ free kick, and the goalkeeper was again busy in the second half as he denied Paulo Henrique Ganso and Pato in quick succession.
Substitute Fred looked as though he had finally made the breakthrough after his looping header beat Villar, but Edgar Barreto was on hand to clear the ball off the line with his head.
Brazil continued to pound the Paraguayan defence in extra time to no avail, and both sides were reduced to 10 men when Paraguay defender Antolin Alcaraz and Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva were sent off late in the match.
In the shootout, Elano, Andres Santos and Fred all fired their penalties wide while Villar saved from Thiago Silva, with Cristian Riveros scoring the winning spot kick for Paraguay to set up a semi-final against Venezuela, who triumphed 2-1 over Chile.
Chile were favourites heading into the match, but that counted for little when Oswaldo Vizcarrondo put Venezuela ahead on 34 minutes after flicking home Juan Arango’s free kick with his head.
Chile improved after the interval, and striker Humberto Suazo had them level on 70 mintues; his shot on the turn beating Venezuelan goalkeeper Renny Vega before going in off the crossbar.
All three previous quarter-finals at this year’s tournament had gone to extra time, and it looked like this game would go the same way until Gabriel Cichero scored the winner for Venezuela with nine minutes remaining.
Chile keeper Claudio Bravo failed to deal with a swerving free kick from Arango, only managing to parry the ball into the path of Cichero, who duly stabbed the ball home from close range.
Both sides finished with 10 men after Chile’s Gary Medel and Venezuela’s Tomas Rincon were both sent off in the final seven minutes, but it did little to change the outcome of the match.
Argentina Football Association President Julio Grondona has confirmed Alejandro Sabella will take over as the country’s national team coach.AFA general secretary Jose Luis Meiszner last week revealed former Estudiantes boss Sabella was the organisation’s first choice to succeed Sergio Batista, who was sacked after Argentina’s dismal Copa America showing last month.
Grondona has validated his colleague’s comments, but said there would no formal unveiling, with Sabella’s appointment now common knowledge.
“The details are being finalised but Sabella has already been presented (in the media) and will be coach from here … until the World Cup in Brazil, contingent on Argentina qualifying for the tournament,” Grondona said, referring to the FIFA showcase in 2014.
Sabella, 56, had been expected to take over United Arab Emirates team Al-Jazira, having signed an agreement to coach the United Arab Emirates Pro-League club back on June 11.
But he failed to arrive in the country on schedule, opting instead to take up the opportunity to lead his national team.
After a playing career that included spells at River Plate, Sheffield United, Leeds United and Estudiantes, Sabella served regularly as an assistant coach to Daniel Passarella, head coach of Argentina between 1994 and 1998.
Passarella and Sabella also worked together with Uruguay, Parma, Corinthians of Brazil and Mexican side Monterrey.
Sabella then led Estudiantes to Copa Libertadores glory in 2009 and the Argentine Apertura title a year later, before resigning in February 2011.
He made four appearances as a player for the Argentina national team.
Arsenal have been the busiest team on transfer deadline day, signing Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos and Yossi Benayoun before the window closed.
Arsene Wenger had spoken of his desire to strengthen his squad, especially following the 8-2 humbling by Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend, and has spent big to bring new faces to the Emirates.
Spaniard Arteta has joined from Everton in a £10 million deal, and will go some way to plugging the hole left by countryman Cesc Fabregas. The Telegraph has stated that the former Rangers midfielder has taken a dramatic wage cut, from £75,000-a-week to £55,000-a-week, to secure a move to The Gunners, and David Moyes could not stand in his way.
“Mikel indicated to me he wished to join Arsenal. I am very disappointed to lose him but the prospect of Champions League football was something I was not able to offer him,” the Goodison Park boss admitted.
As expected, defensive duo Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos have moved to North London to steady the side’s backline, with the Germany international costing £9 million and the Brazilian £6.2 million; both completed medicals on Tuesday and officially signed on Wednesday.
Finally, Benayoun has joined Wenger’s men on a one-year loan deal from rivals Chelsea. The Israel international has had an injury plagued time at Stamford Bridge and was forced down the pecking order by The Blues’ signature of Juan Mata; he will hope to get more first team action in North London.
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Newcastle made their best start to a season for 17 years with first half goals from Demba Ba and Jonas Gutierrez giving them a 2-1 win against Wolves at Molineux.
Alan Pardew’s men have yet to taste defeat in the current campaign and are now sitting pretty in third place after their hard fought victory in the Midlands. Ba carried on where he left off last week against Blackburn scoring the opener before a superb solo strike from Gutierrez gave the Magpies some breathing space. A late charge from the home side saw Steven Fletcher pull one back before a penalty shout was tuned down and Kevin Doyle had a legitimate goal disallowed in stoppage time. Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy had some harsh words for referee Mark Halsey at the final whistle whilst those in away dugout breathed a huge sigh of relief after the late drama. A side built on a relatively small budget is oozing confidence at the moment and it was unthinkable eight weeks ago to think they’d be just four points off the Premier League summit. Credit must fall at the feet of Pardew who has made his team hard to break down and also breathed new life into a clutch of strikers written off before a ball had even been kicked.
Tim Krul has also seen his stock rise after a series of commanding displays in goal and he showed why he is so highly rated making a series of superb saves in the opening exchanges. Firstly he dived low to keep out Jamie O’Hara’s free kick before twice denying Doyle. He then pulled off a miraculous double save from Fletcher and Adam Hammill as the home side dominated early on. Those saves proved crucial as the visitors finally got into their groove and took the lead through Ba. He and Leon Best are clearly benefiting from the faith shown in them by Pardew and the Senegalese striker was again on target after hitting a hat trick at St James’ Park last week. he took just 17 minutes to find the net heading in Yohan Cabaye’s corner from the left. With a mix of deadly pace and power in attack it was no surprise when they doubled their lead through Gutierrez seven minutes before half time. The Argentine isn’t renowned for scoring goals and he’ll remember this one for a while surging past four challenges before slotting past Wayne Hennessey to celebrate the new contract he signed just days prior in style.
Wolves were then denied a penalty just minutes later with Steven Taylor’s foul on O’Hara deemed to have taken place just outside the area with McCarthy furious on the touchline. The second half didn’t contain much excitement until Fletcher nodded in the hosts consolation before Doyle had his effort chalked off in controversial circumstances. Hammill’s deep cross was headed back across by Matt Jarvis into the path of Doyle who planted the ball past Krul. The Wolves players spun away to celebrate only to see their joy turn to despair with the assistant referee raised his flag after judging that Hammill’s cross had incorrectly gone out of play. It proved to be decisive as the Magpies held on to keep their impressive run going and leave the home side staring at a fourth consecutive defeat.
Get over to Goaldash and check your numbers to see what you might have won!
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Arsenal’s injury woes continue as they will be without Aaron Ramsey for their Champions League group game against German side Borussia Dortmund.
The Emirates outfit take on the Bundesliga champions at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday, and are stretched in midfield.
Wenger already has to do without Jack Wilshere, who will be sidelined for a number of months with an ankle injury, and Abou Diaby; the latest blow is difficult to take.
“Ramsey has been influential during our season but this is an opportunity to show we have a big squad. This is a good opportunity for us to create positive vibes. We need that. Every team, no matter how good it is, needs this,” he told The Daily Mail.
“I feel once we get our injured players back we can compete. Let’s get Wilshere back because he has played a big part in the quality of our game. His qualities are very difficult to find. I believe that we can be competitive. But the next two months will tell,” he stated.
With Germany international attacking midfielder Mario Gotze a key man for Jurgen Klopp’s team, added responsibility will be placed on Emmanuel Frimpong and Alex Song to shackle the 19-year-old.
Dortmund have a host of young, exciting players in their ranks and Wenger knows the home side will provide tricky opposition for The Gunners.
“I have a lot of respect for the team. They play very fast, very offence very similar to Arsenal. Dortmund have very good technical qualities, they are well organised,” he concluded.
Arsenal got back to winning ways with an edgy 1-0 victory over Swansea at the weekend, and will look to build momentum by avoiding defeat in their first European fixture of the season.
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Manchester City have fined striker Carlos Tevez four weeks wages and given him a written warning after investigating Roberto Mancini’s claims that the attacker refused to come off the bench against Bayern Munich back in September.
The South American maintains his innocence, but the Etihad Stadium outfit have sided with their Italian coach and believe the forward to be guilty of improper conduct and breach of contract.
The club have also handed down a two-week suspension to the ex-Boca Juniors goalscorer, which has already been served in the wake of the controversy.
“Manchester City football club can confirm that a disciplinary hearing has been concluded in relation to a charge of misconduct by Carlos Tevez,” a statement on the official website reads.
“The charge relates to events during the Champions League match against Bayern Munich on 27th September 2011.
“Following a detailed investigation and associated hearing, a disciplinary panel has upheld the charge of misconduct. Five separate breaches of contract formed the basis of the decision by the panel.
“As a result Carlos Tevez has been fined four weeks’ wages and has been suspended for a period of two weeks (deemed to have already been served). He has received a written warning as to his future conduct.
“Carlos Tevez has been informed in writing of the decision of the disciplinary panel, and the Club has written to the Professional Footballers Association for ratification of the fine,” it concluded.
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The news is not unexpected, and will be another motivation for the player to leave the current Premier League leaders come the January transfer window.
Manchester United moved back to the top of Group C of the Champions League with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Otelul Galati on Wednesday night.
An early goal from Antonio Valencia had the Old Trafford faithful hoping that the floodgates would open, but they had to wait until the 87th minute for a second, when Wayne Rooney’s shot took a deflection off Cristian Sarghi to seal the victory.
After the game Sir Alex Ferguson spoke of the importance of getting three points against the Romanians.
“Winning was important. The opposition were very aggressive, they defended well, pressed us everywhere and made it difficult for us,” he told Sky Sports.
“The win makes it more comfortable for us at the top of the group and if we beat Benfica we win the group, it’s as simple as that. It should be a very good night.”
Ferguson started Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen in attack, but the English striker had to be replaced in the early exchanges with a new injury.
“It’s a blow for the lad. He’s done a thigh muscle and it’s a complete freak. I feel for him. It’s difficult to say how long-term it is,” the Scottish coach continued.
With the two fringe attackers starting up front, Rooney started in a central midfield role, and his manager was happy with the performance put in by the England star.
“I thought he was fantastic in central midfield. His awareness of people around him and choice of passing was really good. He did very well for us tonight.
“I think it’s a short-term thing at the moment. It’s difficult to say. The opposition played really well against us tonight but I’d be confident of playing him there (against bigger teams),” Ferguson concluded.
United received a boost in the other game in the pool, as Benfica dropped points by drawing 1-1 with Basel at the Estadio da Luz.
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Rodrigo Moreno put the Portuguese side into the lead after less than five minutes, but the Swiss visitors fought back and a goal from Benjamin Huggel in the second half meant the spoils were shared.
United host Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday, and will look to make up ground on cross-town rivals and current league leaders Manchester City.