Mesut Ozil has insisted that he does not want to leave Real Madrid, despite Manchester United and Liverpool expressing an interest.
The German playmaker has been a long term transfer target for both clubs, and looked likely to make a move to the Premier League before joining Madrid two years previously.
Ozil has come under fire in recent weeks from coach Jose Mourinho, claiming that the German “lacks quality”, adding fuel to the fire regarding an impending transfer.
The midfielder has confirmed that he still will not be considering leaving the Bearnebau.
“When you play for Real Madrid, you cannot think of anything else,” he told the Mirror.
“I know nothing and I have no reason to leave.”
Ozil was dropped for the Champions League clash against Ajax, in which Madrid won 4-1, but was recalled to the starting line of the El Clasico against Barcelona which ended 2-2
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His performances earned rave reviews, but the German international claims he is not motivated by critics. He has certainly helped to quieten his critics, but finding a regular place in the starting line-up will be hard, considering Luka Modric is also waiting in the wings.
“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone, I do not play football to prove something to someone, but because I enjoy football,” he added.
Arsenal have confirmed the appointment of Unai Emery as the north London club’s new head coach, replacing the legendary Arsene Wenger after a 22-year reign.
The Spaniard made his name in his home country with Valencia and Sevilla, winning three consecutive Europa League titles with the latter outfit before taking the PSG job in summer 2016.
Emery ended his stint in the French capital with a domestic treble, but couldn’t bring the Champions League success the Ligue 1 giants so desperately crave.
The 46-year-old becomes part of a new structure at Arsenal, which also includes Sven Mislintat as chief scout and Raul Sanllehi as head of football relations.
That makes Emery’s job title – head coach rather than manager – somewhat telling, highlighting a breakaway from the virtually unilateral power Wenger yielded for the vast majority of his generation-spanning stint in charge of the Gunners.
Emery actually broke the news ahead of schedule, mistakenly posting an image on his personal website on Tuesday evening that read “Proud to be part of the Arsenal family”. That’s perhaps why his appointment has been confirmed on Wednesday morning.
Chief executive Ivan Gazidis told the club’s website; “Unai has an outstanding track record of success throughout his career, has developed some of the best young talent in Europe and plays an exciting, progressive style of football that fits Arsenal perfectly. His hard-working and passionate approach and his sense of values on and off the pitch make him the ideal person to take us forward.
“We conducted a confidential, wide-ranging and rigorous search involving extensive background references, data and video analysis, and personal meetings with all the candidates we shortlisted. All were interested in the position and we were unanimous in our choice of Unai to drive the next chapter of our history.”
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Do you think he’s a good appointment, Arsenal fans? Let us know by commenting below…
According to reports in the Daily Mail, Swansea City have made an enquiry to sign out of favour AC Milan striker Andre Silva having been rebuffed in an attempt to bring Atletico Madrid’s Kevin Gameiro to the Liberty Stadium.
New Swans boss Carlos Carvalhal is keen to bring in a new centre-forward before the January transfer window slams shut, with his team bottom of the table and four points from safety having only scored 14 goals in 23 Premier League matches this season.
Silva only joined AC Milan in a £32m deal from FC Porto last summer, but while he has impressed during their Europa League campaign he has struggled in Serie A, with French media outlet Le10Sport reporting in December that the 22-year-old has failed to live up to expectations since his move to the San Siro.
Meanwhile, Southampton are another team in danger of dropping into the Championship as they only lie one place and one point above the relegation zone following a disappointing campaign under Mauricio Pellegrino.
The Argentine boss will be desperate to boost his squad before January 31 – especially after losing out to Everton for top target Theo Walcott – and bringing Silva to St Mary’s could prove to be a shrewd move.
Here are three reasons Saints must hijack Swansea’s bid to sign the Portugal international…
They need a centre-forward
With Charlie Austin absent with a hamstring injury and expected to be sidelined for the foreseeable future, Southampton are missing a target man in their side with Shane Long and Manolo Gabbiadini struggling to make an impact in that role.
Bringing Andre Silva to St Mary’s would certainly go some way to solving that issue as the 6ft 1in striker has proven he can perform well in the centre-forward spot for FC Porto, AC Milan and Portugal, and he looks to be available this month.
Goals
Soccer Football – Europa League – AC Milan vs Rijeka – San Siro, Milan, Italy – September 28, 2017 AC Milan’s Andre Silva celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
While Silva is yet to score a Serie A goal for AC Milan – although the majority of his 12 appearances have come from the substitutes’ bench – he has netted eight times in 10 Europa League outings.
Having found the net 24 times in 58 games for previous club Porto and with 11 in 18 caps for Portugal, the 22-year-old is decent in the air and has shown that he can score on a regular basis if he is given opportunities.
Southampton need a striker that can score consistently in the absence of Austin, and Silva may fit the bill.
Point to prove
Considering his impressive goal record in the Europa League, Silva will certainly feel hard done by that he has often found himself behind Nikola Kalinic – and sometimes youngster Patrick Cutrone – in the pecking order in Serie A.
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If the 22-year-old does move on this month – either on loan or on a permanent basis – he will certainly have a point to prove to AC Milan, and he will want to get on the goal trail before the World Cup this summer.
That is something that could be vital for Southampton as they look to secure their Premier League status this season.
The 6th best team in the world according to FIFA’s rankings, Uruguay have been matched at the same price as England by many bookmakers to win the World Cup. After finishing fourth in the 2010 tournament in South Africa, many pundits believe the Uruguayans could once again prove to be tough opponents.
They needed a play-off victory over Jordan to get there, but Uruguay will be at the World Cup in Brazil, and will face England in their second match of Group D.
Brazil automatically qualified for the tournament as hosts, but if they had to qualify with the rest of South America, Uruguay would likely have failed to reach the finals. However, Oscar Tabarez just about lead them to the tournament and now England must face the unpredictable La Celeste.
With many of their top players scattered around the World’s top leagues, not many England fans, or Roy Hodgson, would have had a chance to see the nation play. But what they will have seen are the individual talents the country boasts.
Here are three that could threaten England’s hopes of success in Brazil.
Luis Suarez
What can be said about this forward that isn’t obvious to Roy Hodgson already? One of the deadliest strikers in world football, let alone the Premier League, Luis Suarez was probably the first thing Hodgson thought about when he saw England called out during the draw. After missing the first five games of the season through suspension, some fans wondered how the striker would come back into his Liverpool side, pondering whether he would be at full match fitness and sharpness. They couldn’t have imagined what has happened since.
The 26-year-old is the Premier League top scorer with 17 goals from just 11 appearances, including two hat-tricks. In the sharpest form of his life, Suarez has terrorised defences this season, be it English defenders or some of the world’s best. He has scored headers from 18 yards out, volleys from 40 yards, and dribbled his way past multiple defenders on his way to make himself one of the most feared forwards in world football.
Suarez was looking to leave the Reds during the summer for a team playing in the Champions League, and is likely he will want to move again should Liverpool fail to qualify for the elite European competition. With the chance to highlight his talent in Rio, and raise more interest in him, if that’s even possible, we could see Luis Suarez at his hungriest (no pun intended!)
Edinson Cavani
After scoring 78 Serie A goals in just three seasons with Napoli, Edinson Cavani was one of the most wanted strikers over the summer transfer window. Despite interest from Manchester City and Chelsea, the Uruguayan moved to PSG for over £50million, where he’s continued to find the back of the net. 11 goals in 14 Ligue 1 matches, as well as four from five in the Champions League, has proved that Cavani can score against any defence in any league.
Strong in the air and deadly with the ball at his feet, defenders can’t help but back off in fear. The forward is a match winner, and a man who can change the game from just a half chance. But one of the most worrying things for Roy Hodgson is his relationship with Suarez. One of the most feared strike partnerships in International football, the pair seem to interchange seamlessly, and have a great knowledge of how the other plays. In one blink, Hodgson may just see the pair run rings around his English defence.
One slip up, one poor pass or one goalkeeper fumble, that’s all it can take to let Cavani pounce and punish you. There’s a reason he was wanted by Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, and it’s because he knows how to finish. With a goal against Chelsea and three against Manchester City in the 2011/12 Champions League, Gary Cahill, Joe Hart and Joleon Lescott all know just how good he is.
Diego Godin
Football isn’t always about tricks and skills. Sometimes it’s about strong, old fashioned defending. Diego Godin is one of those players. An experienced head at the back for Uruguay, the 27-year-old is currently playing in the joint best defence in La Liga. Only Barcelona have conceded the same amount of goals as Godin’s Atletico Madrid, with both teams allowing just nine shots to hit the back of the net from 15 matches.
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A rock for Atletico over the last four seasons, Godin has been a crucial player for the Spanish side. His ability to read the play and intercept attacking passes has saved both his club and nation from conceding, as well as leading to a counter attack of their own. Wayne Rooney may still be looking for his first World Cup Finals goal when these two teams face each other, and an in-form Godin could keep the United forward waiting.
In an ageing Uruguay defence, Godin is one of the fastest defenders likely to go to the World Cup with manager Oscar Tabarez. The 27-year-old played in five of Uruguay’s six 2010 World Cup fixtures, as they finished in fourth place, narrowly losing their semi-final to Holland 3-2 after beating Ghana on penalties the round before. The Atletico defender will surely be keen to go one further this time out, and deny England from reaching the knockout stage.
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Paul Lambert was delighted after watching his Aston Villa side record their first win of the season thanks to goals from newcomers Matthew Lowton and Christian Benteke.
Right-back Lowton broke the deadlock with a 20-yard first-half volley from the edge of the box, and substitute Benteke wrapped up the points with two minutes left after being put clean through thanks in large part to a poor back header from Swansea defender Ashley Williams. Lambert told Sky Sports:
“I thought it was an exceptional performance. I thought we were absolutely brilliant from the off and I thought we thoroughly deserved to win the game. I know people’s euphoria, with a new manager coming in, but it’ll take time and this is just the start we wanted so we’ve done great. The young lads have done really well against an experienced Swansea side, but on the day I thought we were worthy of the result.”
The Scot was also pleased with the display of full-back Lowton and £7million striker Benteke, and will be hoping the pair can maintain their form heading into this weekend’s tough trip to St. Mary’s to face Southampton.
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Newcastle fans can’t believe the asking price for Islam Slimani, after reports claimed Leicester want at least £17.5million for the striker.
According to the Chronicle, Leicester City will demand “in excess of £17.5m” for the struggling Slimani this summer, which will likely rule Newcastle out of the chase.
The Algerian international, who has an impressive hit rate of 27 goals in 56 caps for his country, failed to impress on his loan spell with the Magpies.
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The towering striker moved to Tyneside in January, as Rafael Benitez tried desperately to add some goals to his side on a shoestring budget.
While the loan additions of Kenedy and Martin Dubravka were huge successes for the Magpies, Slimani barely played because of an on-going thigh injury, and failed to score in the four appearances he made towards the end of the season.
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Benitez is once again in dire need of some firepower up front, but the Chronicle report suggests that firepower won’t come from the Algerian, as the manager moves on to the next target on his long striker shortlist.
Fans are clearly in agreement that the Algerian is simply not worth that much, and some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Everton gaffer Sam Allardyce has made it clear Ross Barkley is available to the Premier League’s top clubs this month, claiming the Toffees are expecting offers to arrive before the end of the January transfer window.
The 24-year-old is one of the top talents at Goodison Park but hasn’t featured for the Merseysiders since his move to Chelsea collapsed during the final days of the summer window due to a long-term injury.
It seems Allardyce is already planning for life without the 22-cap England international but could the attacking midfielder still make one final outing for his boyhood club?
Everton travel to Anfield this weekend to take on local rivals Liverpool in the Third Round of the FA Cup, when we usually see Premier League managers make significant changes to their starting line-up following a hectic Christmas period.
And while it may seem wasteful to start a player who looks set to leave before the end of the month, an outing at Anfield could be just the ticket for reminding potential suitors of Barkley’s abilities.
So, should Barkley make a shock start against Liverpool on Friday night? Let us know by voting below…
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Jose Mourinho is undoubtedly one of the top managers around and arguably the best. Even though he finished this season without winning any trophies for Real Madrid, he has made an impact and triumphed with every team he has managed during his already illustrious career.
During his time at Porto, the ‘Special One’ won the Primeira Liga twice and the Portuguese Cup and Super Cup once. He also lifted the Europa League and the Champions League trophies with the Dragons.
With his current team Chelsea he has won the Premier League in two consecutive years, the League Cup twice and the FA Cup, as well as the Community Shield. In Italy he won the treble with Inter Milan (Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League) as well as the 2008 Italian Super Cup. Even before this year’s dry spell he managed to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup with Los Merengues.
Mourinho has travelled the world and succeeded everywhere but what’s missing for the successful coach?
Three days ago Mourinho told the Independent that the FA asked him to coach the England national team six years ago and he declined because he felt that the long periods of inactivity would distract him. Now, if Mou joined England that year he would have never had the glory he experienced at Italy and Spain. But what if he became England’s manager now? Wouldn’t the European Championship and more importantly the World Cup act as a huge goal for the 50-year-old manager?
England are currently a team that has been experiencing a dry spell for a long period of time, and the last big trophy they won was way back in 1966. The fans seem disappointed with their players and the team looks to have taken a permanent back seat to the giants of Spain, Germany and Brazil. If there is one coach in the world we know has slayed giants everywhere he has been, it’s Jose Mourinho. From the 2004 Porto underdog story all the way to dethroning Barcelona, Mourinho has done it all and has beaten them all. Why would the international level be any different?
Mourinho has also expressed interest in England’s young talent. He told the Independent that he was very “open-minded” about young players and added that English teams should push the young footballers more. He added that he would like to help the English youth football with his experience, once he learned more about it, and what a better way to do that and promote talented young players as England’s manager?
During his career, the Portuguese managed to mould the skills of talented youngsters such as Mario Balotelli at Inter Milan as well as Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema at Real Madrid. Therefore, the ‘Special One’ could easily work with the young rising stars of England’s national team such as Phil Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Rodwell.
One thing that could also lure more fans into England games is Mourinho’s playing style. The Chelsea coach has always been a fan of attacking football and most of his tactics are based on that game plan. Football fans around the world are all admirers of this sort of football as they want to see goals and chances being created at the opposing net.
England’s last game at the Euro 2012 against Italy featured the Three Lions’ game plan being anything but attractive, as Italy dominated possession by 63 per cent. Furthermore, Italy had a minimum of 59 successful passes, 31 shots (18 on target) and seven corners. England only had a minimum of 18 passes, eight shots, four on target and three corners. That is something that the Three Lions fans would rarely see with Mourinho.
The former Real Madrid coach made a very good point as he would indeed be experiencing a long period of inactivity where he would have to be content to just visit other teams’ practice and assess the players through other coaches’ training methods and would also have to watch every single match per week to monitor the talent. That way he could possibly lose his edge.
But let’s take Vicente Del Bosque, Spain’s manager, for example. The Furia Roja are arguably the best team in the world, after winning two European Championships in a row and the 2010 World Cup, with players such as Andres Iniesta, Juan Mata and David Silva. There is no way Del Bosque couldn’t get any credit for that success (except Euro 2008) as he is the one calling the shots at the team and he is the one working the systems. The Spaniard didn’t lack any glory beforehand as he won La Liga and the Champions League twice as well as the 2001 Spanish Super Cup and the 2002 UEFA Super Cup with Real Madrid.
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The same goes for Marcello Lippi, who has won the Serie A five times with Juventus as well as one Coppa Italia, four Italian Super Cups, one European Super Cup and one Champions League with La Vecchia Signora. When the Italian manager took over at Italy’s national team he managed to bring the country on the top of the mountain at the 2006 World Cup. Therefore, he as well didn’t lose his edge after picking a completely different schedule, so why would Mourinho suffer this sort of fate?
As said above, if Mou succeeded Steve McClaren in 2007 he would probably not have the fame he has right now, unless he won trophies with England. Truth is though that the World Cup and the Euro would work as great targets for Mourinho to get his rightful place in greatness a lot earlier than he will get it. That doesn’t mean he has nothing to win in the Premier League as he is back to a team that saw great success under his leadership and could bring the Blues back on top after three years. From then on, who knows…?
England under-21’s have beaten their equivalents from Azerbaijan 2-0 on Thursday night in Baku.
Goals from Liverpool’s Jonjo Shelvey and Tottenham’s Steven Caulker secured victory for the visitors, who are now five points clear at the top of their UEFA under-21 championships qualifying group.
With only a fixture against Norway left to play, Stuart Pearce has admitted that he is pleased with the progress made by his team.
“We are pleased to have won the match and hopefully that puts us in a situation that sees us in the play-offs,” The Guardian quotes Pearce as saying.
“We gave our best. We’ve played better, but this was my strongest team available.
“Whenever you play international football, there is an expectation on your team and we knew Norway were putting pressure on us to win the group with their game tonight, in Belgium.
“I think it was the game we expected it to be, a very tight game.
“Azerbaijan are an improving nation. The first two group games were difficult for them, coming to England and Belgium.
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“Since then, their results have been very, very good,” he concluded.
Rain put the brakes on but could not drown out Bangladesh’s chances of beating South Africa for the first time in a bilateral ODI series and recording a fourth successive series win at home
The Report by Firdose Moonda15-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details 1:19
Bangladesh’s fourth consecutive bilateral series win
Not reputation, not rankings, not even rain could stop Bangladesh from clinching a first bilateral series win over South Africa, and a fourth successive series triumph at home. Bangladesh dominated South Africa in every department, restricting them to a total of under 200 and then romping to the target themselves, with 13.5 overs to spare.On the way, Shakib al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza both picked up their 200th ODI wicket, Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar posted the best partnership for Bangladesh against South Africa – 154 – and Soumya scored the fastest fifty for a Bangladesh batsman against South Africa, off 41 balls. South Africa could only watch and wonder how Bangladesh seemed to be playing on a complete different surface to the slow, strangling one that had snared them earlier.South Africa’s top order struggled against the shrewd approach from Bangladesh’s bowlers, who collectively put in another disciplined performance. Only JP Duminy and David Miller had some measure of conditions, adding 63 runs for the fifth wicket. Duminy went on to a half-century but there were little resistance from anyone else, even the recognised batsmen.Quinton de Kock’s failure to find form extended to another innings as Mustafizur Rahman found his leg stump with a full delivery that angled in and evaded the batsman as he tried to play to mid-wicket.Shakib was introduced in the sixth over and immediately caused problems for South Africa’s most experienced pair. Neither Hashim Amla nor Faf du Plessis adjusted to the pitch of the ball, and when du Plessis attempted to counterattack, he was caught off a top edge.Four overs later, Shakib should have had Amla as well. Amla played a similar to du Plessis’, but Sabbir Rahman, who had to backpedal from mid-off to judge the catch, could not hold on. Shakib was not denied for too long, though. In his next over, Amla was caught behind to become Shakib’s 200th ODI wicket.Mahmudullah had Rilee Rossouw caught when he lost his balance trying to pull and South Africa were in trouble on 50 for 4 before Duminy and Miller dug in. Miller was more confident against spin and in his use of the sweep shot than he has been all series, and Duminy, realising the need to bat patiently, was happy to wait.That was just as well, because the wait lasted two hours and 55 minutes as rain interrupted South Africa’s innings after 23 overs with the score on 78 for 4. When play resumed, Miller continued in his role as aggressor and until he hit Mortaza in the air and Sabbir made up for his earlier drop with a diving catch at backward point to give the captain his 200th.Farhaan Behardien showed signs of the fight he displayed in the second match, but holed out off Shakib as South Africa looked to accelerate. Sabbir, stationed on the long-on boundary, caught the ball overhead, but seeing that the momentum would take him over the rope, threw it back in and then re-collected it once he was within the boundary. That left Duminy with the tailenders, who were unable to cope with the cutter from Mustafizur and the yorker from Rubel Hossain.South Africa lost four wickets for 19 runs to leave their bowlers with a tough task, especially as they did not have their premier pace pack to pull it off. They have previously successfully defended just three totals lower than this – 129, 140 and 149 – and not even Morne Morkel’s inclusion could help them add 170 to that list.Morkel bowled first change, behind Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada, but none of them could not find the right length or line to trouble Bangladesh. They were either too short or too full, and almost always too straight.Tamim delighted in riding the bounce to cut or lean into the on-drive, but Soumya held the early controls. He took three successive boundaries off Rabada, all on the leg side, to bring Bangladesh’s fifty in the eighth over, before Amla turned to spin. Neither Imran Tahir nor Duminy caused any problems, instead presenting opportunity for the openers to charge down the track.Soumya’s fifty came off from a leg-side ball from Morkel, eased to short fine leg, which only opened him up for more expansive strokeplay: The cover drive off Tahir, the hoick over mid-wicket for the only six of the innings, the pull, and the steer through the vacant slip cordon. Tamim, while being a spectator to all these, brought up his own fifty, off 70 balls, with a single.As the result became a foregone conclusion, Tamim did his best to get Soumya on strike in search of a century, but Soumya brought about his own downfall, chipping Tahir to short cover. Tamim, though, was on hand, along with Litton Das, to usher Bangladesh home and into the history books to conclude a limited-overs’ season to remember for a cricketing nation on the rise.