Home » Archives for September 2012
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Roy Hodgson briefly interrupted his preparations for England's
first post-Euro 2012 game back at Wembley by looking back to that day
when as an 18-year-old living in south London he sat in the front room
of his house, watching history unfold on a black-and-white television.
Not
long out of school, 1966 for Hodgson was the year he gave up trying to
break into Crystal Palace's side and dropped into the non-league circuit
with Tonbridge Angels. Getting tickets for the World Cup final, he
remembered, felt impossible at the time but he talked of grilling George
Cohen about what it was like when they became friends in later years,
and he recalled the "incredible" feeling of the day. Any other memories?
Hodgson thought about it for a few seconds. "At the age of 65, I'm beginning to wonder if I was ever 18 …"
It
will, after all, be 48 years by the time England arrive at the next
tournament in Brazil — providing, that is, the team don't somehow make a
pig's ear of their qualifying group. Ukraine,
it barely needs saying, will be more robust opponents than Moldova were
at the Zimbru Stadium last Friday, but it would still constitute a
major surprise if Group H were to create any significant problems. It is
an obliging group, especially for a team in another of its rebuilding
phases.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah on Sunday, September 9, 2012
Rooney is currently sidelined after the studs of
Fulham's
Hugo Rodallega
left him with a deep thigh wound. It was an unsavoury incident and one
that the England international now claims could have caused him even
more trouble.
In an interview with national newspapers, Rooney said: "I was
quite lucky it didn't cut my muscle. I was told it was just one
millimetre away from severing an artery. It could have been a lot worse,
so thank God for that. I could have been in serious trouble."
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
1 Is Steve Bould the new George Graham?
Three
games and three clean sheets for Arsenal suggests that there is more of
a balance between defensive security and attacking innovation than
there has been for years. Colin Murray seems to find that the name
"Steve Bould" provokes a knee-jerk outburst of "near-post flick-on", but
to everyone else the elevation of the least decorated of Arsenal's
celebrated back four to a prominent first-team coaching role has been
credited with reviving meanness as a fundamental requirement of the
on-field strategy, rather than an agreeable asset. He may have
strengthened the defence without recourse to Graham's offside trap,
which wouldn't work in the age of active and inactive rulings, and
restored Per Mertesacker from a set of temporary traffic lights into an
assured presence at the heart of the defence, but Bould is no Graham –
certainly not the ultra-caution and midfield sterility of the Scot's
last years at Highbury. He hasn't got a decent touchline suit for a
start.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
And he refuses to rule out a sensational England reunion if Three Lions legend Owen returns to his best at the Britannia.
The pair scored 16 goals in 16 games in tandem for England and Crouch said: “If Michael stays fit he will score.
“If he’s playing regularly for Stoke and scoring in the Premier
League, I don’t see why he can’t force his way into the England set-up.
“Stoke’s profile is about to be raised just by the fact Michael is here and the gaffer has made a lot of shrewd summer signings.
“The future looks bright and, if we’re scoring regularly in the
Premier League for a successful team, why shouldn’t we be considered
again?”
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah on Saturday, September 8, 2012
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho believes Kaka can
still be a success with the club despite a troubled three years at the
Bernabeu.
Big things were expected of the Brazilian forward when
he made the switch from AC Milan in 2009, but injuries and loss of form
have left Kaka a peripheral player in the Madrid squad.
He was
linked with a return to Milan over the summer, a move which failed to
materialise, while the arrival of Luka Modric from Tottenham has further
reduced Kaka's chances of winning a place in the side.
Yet Mourinho insists the 30-year-old still has a part to play for La Liga's champions and should not give up hope.
"What has happened to Kaka has happened before to many great players," the Portuguese told AS.
"For
one reason or another they have failed to continue their career at a
new club when they could do fantastic things before moving.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
The fixture details have been confirmed for rugby league’s Alitalia European Cup which will be played this autumn.
Scotland, Ireland and England Knights will face each other with the
Scots playing in the nation’s capital for the first time thanks to
funding from the City of Edinburgh.
Saints currently have Mark Flanagan and Paul Clough in the Knights
squad, with Langtree Park-bound Jordan Turner also in the ranks.
Rugby League European Federation General Manger Danny Kazandjian
expects the Alitalia European Cup, which mirrors the matches to be
played by England, Wales and France in their Triangular
Tournament, to be highly competitive.
“The two Celtic nations are preparing for next year’s World Cup and
England Knights were looking for fixtures on consecutive weekends to
continue to build their structures and spirit,” he said.
“Alitalia have been and continue to be superb sponsors for this
competition.”
Originally it had been hoped that Italy would be participants but,
because of the precarious financial situation in the country at present,
they are concentrating their efforts on the European
Shield, where they top the table and play in Russia on Saturday.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Atletico Madrid president Enrique
Cerezo is confident Radamel Falcao will shun the advances of Premier
League clubs Chelsea and Manchester City.
The
striker has been heavily linked with a move to England while his father
Radamel Garcia also claimed his son dreams of playing for Real Madrid.
But Falcao, who scored a hat-trick against Chelsea in last week's UEFA Super Cup, took to Twitter to deny the reports.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah on Friday, September 7, 2012
Digest the numbers from the Barclays
Premier League teams in action last weekend and the fears voiced by Roy
Hodgson as he embarked on the Road to Rio come with a little extra
resonance.
Of 209
players who started for the 19 Premier League teams in action –
including Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup – only 66, that’s slightly more
than 30 per cent, were available to the England manager, who assembled
his squad this week to prepare for the opening World Cup 2014 qualifier
in Moldova on Friday.
‘There
will be quite a few times I have to select players this year who won’t
be in their team,’ said Hodgson, last month. ‘That’s a risk but it’s the
nature of the Premier League.’
Stat's amazing: Only 66 England players started last weekend in the Premier League
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Manchester United's Shinji Kagawa cut a forlorn figure after being
substituted at halftime during Japan's 1-0 friendly victory over the
United Arab Emirates, having made little impact on the game.
After enjoying an impressive start to his United career, triggering
'Kagawa-mania' across Japan, the forward failed to mask his
disappointment after Thursday's match.
"Of course I wanted to play
more minutes," the 23-year-old told reporters after Japan struggled in
their final warm-up for a home World Cup qualifier against Iraq on
Tuesday.
"I always want to score but the coach makes the
decisions. I'll have to look at my performance today," added Kagawa, who
sat at the end of the bench in the second half, barely talking.
"My body felt a little heavier than I expected, probably from the flight."
Kagawa
has been a instant hit at Old Trafford, earning praise from United
manager Alex Ferguson, who paid £15m for the former Borussia Dortmund
playmaker in June.
His transfer to one of the world's top clubs
elevated him to celebrity status, leading to him being mobbed by fans at
Sapporo airport before a friendly last month.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
If you are Steven Gerrard, captain of England, dumped in the middle
of Moldova, and required to speak about the prospects of your team in
the World Cup in Brazil in two years, what do you do? If you're not keen
on being carried away by men in white coats, you do pretty much what
Gerrard did on the eve of last night's qualifier.
You um and aah to the effect that notwithstanding a No 2 Fifa world
ranking – a fable beyond the power of Aesop, surely – England winning
the tournament and becoming the first European team to triumph in South
America is probably something of a long shot but that the team have
"every chance" of improving under the new manager, Roy Hodgson, and that
one reason to keep the faith is that "in football miracles do happen".
Unfortunately,
if this one occurs, the fishes and the loaves and the fountain of wine
at the Marriage of Cana are likely to take their place as merely
superior examples of meeting the challenge of supply and demand.
Yet
if Gerrard was simply doing his forlorn duty, this should hardly
dissipate the anger of all those still capable of being exercised by one
of the most appalling examples of waste and collective ineptitude in
the history of our national sport.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has revealed that
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has lost his respect. Berbatov was signed
by Ferguson for a record fee of €38 million from Tottenham Hotspurs in
the dying moments of 2008 summer transfer window.
The Bulgarin did enjoy his inital years of his United carrer. Since
the arrival of Javier Hernandez and return of Danny Welbeck to his top
form, Berbatov has been sidelined. Berbatov has been sent down the order
and Ferguson had made it clear to the Bulgarian that it will be hard
for the player to get regular first team action.
Speaking in a press conference in Bulgaria today, Berbatov has
criticized United boss for his treatment of him during his time at the
club.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is hoping to make a quick
return to League Football. The England International is expecting to
make a comeback by the end of this month.
Rooney was earlier sidelined for a month after he picked up an injury
against United's 3-2 victory over Fulham at Old Trafford. The England
International suffered a nasty-looking gash on his thigh from Hugo
Rodallega's challenge. However the later reports suggested that Rooney
could miss two months of football.
The 26-year-old is positive about his recovery and is looking to make a quick return but cautious of rushing back before time.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Celhsea are reportedly confident of reaching an agreement with Ashley Cole in their ongoing contract talks with the England star.
It has been claimed that Cole, 31, has been offered a one-year
extension to his current deal, which expires next summer, and was ready
to walk away for nothing.
Which big name stars could be on the move this summer? Find out with the latest Rumor Redux.
But sources with knowledge of the negotiations were bemused by such
suggestions amid what were said to be perfectly amicable talks, which
began this summer.
It is understood that while Chelsea are more reluctant to offer long
contracts to players in the thirties, each case is judged on its merits
and Cole is viewed as someone with the potential to perform at the
highest level for several more years.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Clint Dempsey doesn't like how he was represented by Fulham, particularly boss Martin Jol, as his summer-long transfer saga played out.
"Everyone
has the right to their own opinion, but I put in some good work there,
put in a good five-and-a-half years, and I'm happy with the job that I
did there," the American midfielder said. "I think that you can't really
question my heart. I put everything into every game and that's what
I've always done my whole career. I'll look back at my time [at Fulham]
with no regrets."
After months of being linked to a move
elsewhere in the English Premier League and constant rumors regarding
his relationship with Jol, Dempsey finally ended up with Tottenham in
the hours leading to the transfer deadline. He had been working out
alone with a Fulham trainer prior to making his exit.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
England start their qualification campaign to reach the World Cup in Brazil on Friday night with the captain, Steven Gerrard,
urging his players to retain faith in their quality and reminding them
that, should they reach the finals, "miracles do happen".
Roy Hodgson will name an experienced lineup for the national side's opening Group H fixture against Moldova,
who are ranked 141 in the world, with Michael Carrick expected to make a
first competitive appearance since October 2009 alongside Frank Lampard
and Gerrard. The Liverpool midfielder acknowledged that, while England
must be considered outsiders to become the first European side to claim a
World Cup on South American soil, he can see reasons for optimism
should the team qualify for the finals.
"When I speak I'm
realistic and honest: at the moment, we're not one of the favourites to
win the World Cup," Gerrard said. "But that doesn't mean you stop
believing or stop working hard to try and improve and learn from the
mistakes you've made at previous tournaments. This team has every chance
to improve and get better over the next few years, with players coming
through and other players who boast experience in the squad. We have to
have that faith and keep believing. Miracles do happen in football.
That's been proved.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
The Premier League
is considering the introduction of rules to control escalating player
wages before the huge influx of cash from the next television deals in
2013-16. Potential rules presented to the clubs by the chief executive,
Richard Scudamore, at a meeting in London on Thursday include a salary
cap or a form of Uefa's financial fair play rules.
Some clubs feel
strongly that the new TV deal, with £3bn already secured from the UK
rights, should not be swallowed up by a new wave of pay inflation. But
any rule change requires 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs to agree and
it is not clear whether sufficient clubs will be in favour of
strengthening financial regulations.
Manchester United and
Arsenal, both of whom made profits in 2010-11, are understood to favour
rules similar to Uefa's, which require clubs to move towards breaking
even financially, not making losses. On Thursday Arsène Wenger supported
that view, the Arsenal manager saying: "You should just get the
resources you generate, that will determine the real size of the club."
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
There has been uproar on Merseyside this week as the knives were sharpened for owner John Henry.
A 2-0 home defeat by Arsenal, coming just two days after the transfer
window closed with no replacement for Andy Carroll, has left many
questioning whether Henry and his advisors are imposing their own will
on team affairs, rather than leaving it to manager Brendan Rodgers.
Currently anchored in the bottom three, with just one point from
their three games and a squad lacking in strikers, these are worrying
times at Anfield.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah on Thursday, September 6, 2012
Episode 1
Andre Villas-Boas has replaced Harry Redknapp at Tottenham Hotspur
Download the Official Podcast of the Barclays Premier League - Episode 1
episode1-1213.MP3
In this special Preview of the Season,
Dave Farrar is joined by two special guests – former Arsenal defender
Nigel Winterburn and Tottenham and Liverpool defender John Scales.
Together they take a detailed look ahead to the coming Barclays
Premier League season and discuss what’s been a busy summer of transfer
activity.
We hear from Roberto Mancini, Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Petr Cech as well from the new managerial recruits of Andre Villas-Boas, Brendan Rodgers, Paul Lambert, Steve Clarke and Chris Hughton.
We speak exclusively to newly promoted West Ham manager Sam Allardyce as he makes a return to the top flight.
And continuing our Fan of the Week section from last season, we talk to a Manchester United fan in Hyderabad in India who was the most recent Barclays Home Winner.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Lionel Messi struck a late brace to give Barcelona a 2-1 win over 10-man Osasuna on Sunday that took them to the top of the Spanish Liga table.
Barca
appeared set for their first defeat under coach Tito Vilanova, who was
sent from the dug-out for complaining to the referee midway through the
second half, before Messi came to the rescue.
Osasuna was the
scene of a Barca defeat last season that helped to turn the title race
against them and they went behind this time after a 17th-minute goal
from Joseba Llorente.
After the visitors missed a hatful of
opportunities, the game appeared to be going against them, until Messi
rose to the occasion with strikes after 75 and 80 minutes.
Osasuna's
Francisco Punal was red-carded by the referee for protesting about the
Argentine's first strike, as he felt he was offside.
Victory provisionally took Barcelona top of the early-season standings, above Rayo Vallecano on goal difference.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Childhood friends now playing for arch foes, Real Madrid's Iker Casillas and Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez won a top Spanish award Wednesday for rising above team rivalry.
Casillas,
31-year-old goalkeeper for Real Madrid and Spain, and Xavi, the
32-year-old Barcelona midfielder, were awarded the prestigious Prince of
Asturias 2012 prize for sports.
The jury, meeting in Oviedo,
northern Spain, said the pair "symbolise the values of friendship and
comradeship beyond the great rivalry of their respective teams."
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah on Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Darren Fletcher has been included in Manchester United's Premier
League squad as he pushes to return from a chronic bowel condition.
Scotland midfielder Fletcher, 28, has
not played for United since November
last year.
Aston Villa have selected Stiliyan Petrov, who was diagnosed with acute leukaemia in March
Clubs were required to submit 25-man squads to the Premier League on 4 September.
Players under the age of 21 are eligible over and above the limit of 25 players.
Stoke's squad will be confirmed at a later date as they are currently considering an application to register
new signing Michael Owen.
Fletcher has also been included in Manchester United's squad for the Champions League.
Kolo Toure have been omitted from Manchester City's
Champions League squad and Chelsea have left Florent Malouda out of
theirs.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Gary Cahill has admitted the England team have received warnings about “really
bad” conditions at Chisinau’s Zimbru Stadium where they will start their
2014 World Cup qualifying campaign against Moldova on Friday.
england have not played in Moldova since 1996, when David Beckham made his debut in
a 3-0 win, and the players have already been told that the playing surface
back then was well below the usual Premier
League standard.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
ENGLAND is to scale new heights in
an effort to make up ground on Australia and New Zealand in time for the
2013 Rugby League World Cup.
Coach Steve McNamara will take a 24-man squad on a 10-day
high-altitude training camp to South Africa next month in preparation
for the clashes with the Kangaroos and Kiwis, as well as the autumn
triangular tournament involving Wales and France.
The squad,
comprising members of the elite training squad and the NRL-based
internationals, will leave the UK on October 10, four days after the UK
Super League Grand Final, and set up camp at the acclaimed North-West
University Training Centre at Potchefstroom.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
LONDON (AP) -England defender Ryan Bertrand signed a new five-year
contract with Chelsea on Wednesday, four months after rising to
prominence for the European champion at the end of last season.
The 23-year-old Bertrand finally lived up to his promise at the
English Premier League giants last season, and was rewarded with a
starting spot in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich on the
left of midfield - despite typically being the understudy to Ashley
Cole at left back.
He was then selected by Britain for the Olympic football tournament
this summer and was picked by manager Roy Hodgson in his last two
England squads.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Mario Balotelli will discover next week whether he will be fit for Manchester
City’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid later this month after
undergoing eye surgery in Italy.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
England are ‘a way off’ from success and will not win the World Cup in Brazil, claimed Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton.
And the Old Trafford legend – who is top scorer for United (249) and England (49) – blamed the Premier League’s influx of foreign players for damaging the national team’s strength and quality.
The 1966 World Cup winner dismissed Roy Hodgson’s chances of leading the nation to success in two years’ time – despite them being favourite to top Group H.
Hodgson takes the Three Lions to Moldova this Friday, without injured Andy Carroll, Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney, to begin their first of four World Cup qualifiers this year.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
SYDNEY FC have held off a bold
last-minute bid from English giants Liverpool to secure the prized
signature of superstar Alessandro Del Piero.
In the biggest and most expensive signing in the Australian soccer
history, the Sky Blues were delighted Del Piero snubbed Liverpool to
take up their two-year deal, understood to be worth $2million per
season, and be the face of the game.
The club's chief executive
Tony Pignata flew to Turin on the weekend to ensure the deal - which
will earn the World Cup winner more than $70,000 a week - was completed.
Posted by
faric lisbriyansyah
Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, has decided against
approaching Michael Owen about a return to his spiritual home of
Anfield, despite the club's desperate need of striking reinforcements
after a disastrous conclusion to the transfer window.
The prospect of a free agent being brought in has not been excluded
from Liverpool's thinking, though a return for Owen would be dependent
on the club receiving a highly incentivised pay-as-you-play proposal
which would limit their exposure if fitness problems rendered him unable
to play.
Liverpool, who as of yesterday afternoon had not had
contact from Owen, would be unlikely to match the imaginative £10,000 to
£15,000-a-week deal Manchester United struck with the 32-year-old.
Though Owen is looking for a club commutable from his North Wales home
and still holds Liverpool in huge affection, the £30,000-a-week,
two-year offer from Stoke City looks far more likely.
and his agent Emil Dantchev to fly to Italy on transfer deadline day, but it then emerged that rivals Juventus
