Sunday, September 1, 2013

Gerrard urges Suarez: Join Barcelona, Bayern or Real Madrid... not Arsenal


Steven Gerrard has urged Luis Suarez to leave Liverpool when the times comes with "his head held high" and join one of Europe's elite sides but not a Premier League rival. Arsenal have seen two bids for the Uruguayan rejected - the latest being £40,000,001 in an attempt to trigger a supposed release clause - only for Arsene Wenger to recently admit defeat in the pursuit. And Gerrard is confident Suarez will now stay at Anfield for at least another season and he does not class any potential move to the Emirates Stadium as a step forward for the striker. LIVERPOOL LATEST 25/1 Luis Suarez is 25/1 with bet365 to be Premier League top scorer this season "Luis had a decision to make for himself and hopefully he will decide the best thing is to stay here for a little bit longer," Gerrard told The Guardian.
"I understand we're a little bit off the Champions League at the moment but it would be a shame to ruin the relationship he has got with the supporters to go to another English club. I saw what happened to Fernando Torres, I don't think he should make that type of move and that's the advice I gave to him."

Gerrard also thanked the Liverpool fans for continuing to back Suarez despite the former Ajax man making no secret of his desire to leave the club, and now hopes he will show some recognition to the supporters.

VICTOR MOSES HEADING TO LIVERPOOL

Super Eagles forward Victor Moses has reportedly completed his move from Stamford Bridge to join Merseyside club Liverpool. Chelsea FC and Liverpool according to reports have agreed to a £1m season-long loan deal for the Nigerian who seem to have fallen off the pecking order since Jose Mourinho’s return to the Bridge this summer. Moses, 22, is not seen as part of Jose Mourinho's plans and was not included in Chelsea's squad for the European Super Cup against Bayern Munich on Friday. The forward signed for Chelsea from Wigan Athletic for £10m a year ago.

this is one of the best


what do you say on this?...

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Guardiola proved he is a magnificent leader

Pep Guardiola displayed magnificent leadership qualities as Bayern Munich beat Chelsea to the Uefa Super Cup, according to sporting director Matthias Sammer. A dramatic match in Prague was eventually settled by Romelu Lukaku’s miss in the penalty shoot-out after an equaliser from Javi Martinez had levelled the score at 2-2 with the final kick of extra-time. 
 Sammer was thrilled to see his side get over the line when defeat had looked almost certain to seal the club’s first-ever Uefa Super Cup triumph and he paid tribute to Guardiola for delivering the silverware. He said: “Congratulations to Pep Guardiola! He was magnificent before the match and at half-time. He was a leader for his team and did a fantastic job.
 The win on penalties secured an element of revenge over Chelsea after their win over Bayern in the Champions League final in 2012 by the same method and Manuel Neuer believes it represents an important mental step. “Fortunately, we managed to win the penalty shoot-out this time. It was very important for psychological reasons,” said the goalkeeper. “The penalties before my save were superbly taken, ours included – I'd have been delighted to see the same thing in the Champions League final two years ago.” Talking about his save from Lukaku’s spot-kick, Neuer added: “What can you do as a goalkeeper? You simply try to react to the taker’s run up – and I chose to dive to the left." Bayern return to Bundesliga business after the international break with a home game against Hannover on September 14.

The best team clearly lost – Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has lamented his side’s 5-4 defeat to Bayern Munich on penalties in the European Super Cup. Franck Ribery cancelled out Fernando Torres's opener to take the game to extra time, before Javi Martinez did the same after Eden Hazard had give then Blues a lead for the second time and Ramires had been sent off. That left penalties to decide the winner, with Romelu Lukaku missing the decisive spot-kick after David Alaba, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribery and Xherdan Shaqiri all beat Petr Cech from 12 yards. “The best team clearly lost,” Mourinho said after the match. “The best team played with 10 men for a long, long period in the game. They played against the champions of Europe and they were the best team. “We only have reasons to be proud, to believe in the future. But I prefer just to say the best team lost and stay with it.” This was Chelsea's second Super Cup defeat in as many years, having lost 4-1 to Atletico Madrid a year ago.

Friday, August 30, 2013

AC Milan seal Matri deal

AC Milan have signed Juventus striker Alessandro Matri, the Rossoneri's official website has confirmed. Matri, 29, is believed to have signed on a four-year deal at San Siro, rejoining the side he played for as a youngster before having spells at Cagliari and Juventus, in a deal reportedly worth €11 million. "It's a great feeling to come back to where you played as a boy," Matri told the club's official website. " The striker fell down the pecking order at the Bianconeri, with other attackers Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez joining Antonio Conte's ranks earlier this summer. But, with Milan securing their place in the Champions League proper, having seen off the challenge of PSV, and Giampaolo Pazzini's return still to be confirmed, coach Massimiliano Allegri has bolstered his squad with the capture of the forward. Matri made 83 appearances for Juventus, scoring 29 goals. Meanwhile, Kevin-Prince Boateng has departed the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, completing a move to Bundesliga club Schalke on Friday.

Eto'o delighted with 'dream' Premier League move

Samuel Eto'o has dubbed his move to the Premier League as one of his "last dreams as a professional" after joining Chelsea. The 32-year-old has won La Liga, Serie A and the Champions League on three occasions as well as the FIFA Club World Cup and two African Cup of Nations titles with Cameroon over an illustrious career.But the four-time African Player of the Year is now relishing the chance of playing in England under Jose Mourinho, his former manager at Inter. "I've had a couple of opportunities to come to England before, including the first time Jose was here - but it didn't work out for one reason or another," Eto'o told Chelsea's official website.

Hoeness attacks Mourinho over 'unqualified comments'

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has hit out at allegedly "unqualified comments" made by Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho ahead of Friday's Super Cup showdown between the two sides. the Portuguese reacted angrily to a journalist stating that he had won just three of his 15 previous meetings with the Bavarians' new coach, Pep Guardiola telling his inquisitor, "Your statistics are wrong". Mourinho later conceded that perhaps it was he who had erred in terms of the head-to-head record but Hoeness was still less than impressed by the way in which the former Inter and Madrid trainer had responded to the line of questioning. "I do think that the match [against Chelsea] is about prestige," the World Cup winner is quoted as saying by Kicker. "Especially since Mourinho has, again, made some unqualified comments ahead of the match. "So, I think our coach will be fired up about this game." Hoeness has the utmost faith in Guardiola to bring home the trophy, but he did admit that he fears that fortune might once again favour Chelsea, who edged out Bayern on penalties in a dramatic 2012 Champions League final. "I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope he will win it," he admitted. "However, I'm not sure there won't be certain forces working against the Germans again." Bayern's eagerly-awaited meeting with Chelsea in Prague is scheduled to kick off at 20:45CET.

Bayern defeat still hurts, says Messi


Barcelona star Lionel Lionel Messi admitted last season's 7-0 aggregate Champions League semi-final defeat to Bayern Munich still hurts but is remaining upbeat after the group stage draw of this year's competition. The Blaugrana were drawn alongside AC Milan, Celtic and Ajax in Group H of the competition on Thursday as they bid to go one better than their last four exit in 2012-13. "Last season was good for the club, because we won the League against a team like Real Madrid," Messi told reporters. "It was a major title, but we lost in the Champions League badly against Bayern Munich. Anyway, you have to keep positive and hope to do great things this year." The 26-year-old also acknowledged the difficulty of facing Celtic and AC Milan again, having been beaten by both sides in Europe last season. "As always, we have been drawn into an even group," Messi told reporters. "The opponents are already known and difficult to play, as we expected. "Against Milan and Celtic we already played last year. With Ajax it is the first time, but we also know them. "As always, the club is required to win it all. And for that we are preparing, but each year is harder, because all teams reinforce and are getting stronger."