Real Madrid travel to Lyon’s Stade de Gerland on a revenge mission in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday.With last season’s final held at their Santiago Bernabeu home, Real were determined to win their 10th European crown in front of their own fans.But they came unstuck in the first knockout round, losing 2-1 on aggregate to French club Lyon, making it six consecutive seasons in which they have failed to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition. For a team that prides itself on a rich pedigree in continental competition, yet another disappointment – coupled with poor results on the domestic front – played a major part in the dismissal of coach Manuel Pelligrini.Jose Mourinho – who lifted the European Cup with Inter Milan inside the Bernabeu – was approached to take over soon after his side’s 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in May last year.The Portuguese, who also won the European Cup with Porto in 2004, has made an immediate impact on the domestic front with Real. They are right behind league leaders Barcelona in the hunt for the La Liga title and have reached the final of the Copa del Rey for the first time in six years.But the most important test of Mourinho’s credentials is likely to come in the Champions League, a tournament which club President Florentino Perez is determined to recapture.Real defeated Levante 2-0 at home on Saturday and have won four consecutive matches in all competitions. Lyon beat Nancy 4-0 on the same day and also dispatched local rivals St Etienne 4-1 the week before. Claude Puel’s side have recovered from a slow start to sit third in Ligue 1, four points behind leaders Lille.Lyon also boast an enviable record in the Champions League – they reached the semi-finals last season and have progressed to the knock-out stages every year since 2004.First-choice Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez is in doubt for the French side after picking up a hamstring problem.Former Lyon striker Karim Benzema may start up front for Real against his former club.
Italian football website Tuttomercato.com have reported that Manchester City are weighing up a bid for Roma’s French centre-back Philippe Mexès, but what is the Citizens’ recent obsession with recruiting defenders?
This summer they have already signed Hamburg’s German defender Jerome Boateng for a fee of around £10.3million. Last summer they were involved in a drawn out saga for Joleon Lescott for a reported £22million from Everton.
Aside from those two they have Nedum Onuoha, Micah Richards, Kolo Toure and Vincent Kompany on the books at Eastlands and all of them can play as a centre half.
Why do they need all these defender? Surely they must think that some of the above are not up to it, or are they just being foolish with their money?
Mexes, 28, is certainly a player who comes with a reputation and his Roma side narrowly missed out on the Serie A title after finishing just two points behind treble winning Inter Milan. However, this past season Mexes has not been a regular starter as Claudio Ranieri has preferred Juan and Nicolas Burdisso as a central defensive partnership.
The French defender also failed to make Raymond Domenech’s 23-man France squad for the World Cup in South Africa…maybe he was born under the wrong star sign, but more likely it had something to do with the fact Domenech had a falling out with the player.
Despite all that his club manager Ranieri believes that he is the best French defender and has been unlucky with injuries over the 2009/10 season:
“Mexes is a first-choice player in every way.
“Unfortunately, he’s missed some matches due to injury and not because of my decisions.
“For me he’s the best French central defender. But, at the moment, Juan and Burdisso are just above him.”
Mexes has been at Roma since 2004 and has insisted that he does not wish to leave. But it is doubtful whether he would resist a big money move to Manchester City. It could also be a good move for Roberto Mancini’s club as the mooted transfer fee is believed to be just over £8million, which could be a bargain.
However, with so many players on the Sky Blues’ books already the arrival of Boateng and perhaps another defender could mean that the likes of Onuoha and Richards may be deemed surplus to requirements.
A few seasons ago Richards (a target for Harry Redknapp’s Totteham) was built up as one of the best young defensive talents in the Premier League, but you could argue that his growth has been stunted at City and it could be good for him to leave the club as he is still only 21 years of age. Also, from talking to a few posters on the BBC’s 606 it would seem as if he has come under some stick from his own fans, who argue that the player it lazy and has been found out.
As for Mexes, if Mancini wants to bring the player to Eastlands he may face some stiff competition as Arsenal and Serie A’s AC Milan are also tracking the player and are rumoured to be interested in signing the player.
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Do the Manchester City fans think that Mexes would be a wise move? Do the club need a defensive clearout?
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Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers will be demanding his side remain focused for 90 minutes against Bolton at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday after they squandered a 2-0 lead at Wolves last week.
The Swans were seemingly home and dry after goals from Danny Graham and Joe Allen put them two up at Molineux only to see their lead slip as Wanderers scored twice late on to deny them a first away win of the season. Still it was their first point on the road and Rodgers will be happy with his sides performance despite their late surrender. Their passing mentality and penchant to probe is clearly working in their favour as they continue to perform above expectations averaging more passes than Manchester United with 513 per game. They’ve yet to lose at the Liberty Stadium since promotion and are yet to concede goal during that run. Everyone always says strong home form is the key to avoiding relegation and if Swansea can maintain their current run on home soil then they stand a good chance of being a Premier League team next season. One of the main positives in the past few weeks is that record signing Graham has finally found his shooting boots scoring three in as many games. He’ll be confident of increasing that tally against a beleaguered Bolton defence that has conceded a record 24 goals already this season.
It’s certainly been a testing season so far for the Trotters with thoughts of relegation creeping into the minds of supporters after seven defeats from nine and only two wins. Their victory away at Wigan two weeks ago was their first since the opening day but they fell back into old habits last Saturday losing 2-0 at home to Sunderland. In stark contrast to Swansea’s form on home soil Owen Coyle’s side can’t seem to buy a win at the Reebok Stadium with both of their victories coming on the road. It’s all a far cry from this time last year when they sat in eight place with fans daring to dream of European nights at the Reebok once again. Things have gone downhill since their FA Cup semi-final hammering at the hands of Stoke back in May. Coyle has failed to arrest the slide and their trip to Wales is unlikely to help with the Swans extremely hard to beat at the Liberty Stadium. However the history books do favour an away win in this fixture with Bolton unbeaten in their last nine meetings with Swansea last tasting victory 21 years ago. This will be the first time the pair have faced each other in the top flight and the Trotter faithful will be eager to see their side continue their good run the Welsh side and get their season up and running. They will have a small slither of insider knowledge which could work to their advantage as midfielder Darren Pratley left the Swans to sign for Bolton in the summer having spent five years at the club.
Key Players
Joe Allen – Whilst the likes of Scott Sinclair and Graham might take the plaudits it’s Allen who is making Swansea tick as of late. The Welshman has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water and his endless reserves of energy in central midfield and willingness to run his socks off have made him a key figure in Rodgers’ side. Bolton will do well to handle his powerful but intelligent running.
Gary Cahill – It’s been an odd season for the England defender who has failed to reach the heights of previous campaigns. Whilst he may just be a victim of his sides collective slump he’ll need to pick up quickly if he is to keep his place in Fabio Capello’s England squad prior to Euro 2012. Has a massive job on halting the Swan’s front line of Graham, Sinclair and Nathan Dyer.
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Joe Allen received praise from team mate Ashley Williams after scoring his first goal in the Barclays Premier League last weekend. Allen also covered more ground than any other Swansea player with 12.095km Scott Sinclair has been looking good with the ball at his feet for Swansea, and has completed more successful dribbles than any other player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index with 49, 15 more than the next ranked dribbler, Manchester United super star Luis Nani Bolton covered 99.238km in that game compared to Sunderland’s 106.959km, with Darren Pratley covering more ground than any other Bolton player in three out of his four starts this season. Ivan Klasnic remains Bolton’s top ranked player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index despite his early run of goals drying up. Klasnic has had ten attempts on target this season, 100% of all shots attempted, thought the striker hasn’t managed an attempt at goal in his last three appearances
Argentine club Independiente defeated Penarol of Uruguay 3-0 in their Copa Libertadores Group Eight match on Thursday.In a clash between seven-time competition winners Independiente and five-time champions Penarol, it was the Argentine hosts who came out comfortably on top at Estadio Libertadores de America in Buenos Aires.After a goalless opening 45 minutes, it was forward Facundo Parra who broke the deadlock just 60 seconds into the second half. Midfielder Cristian Pellerano made it 2-0 from a Nicolas Cabrera header on 70 minutes.Substitute Nestor Silvera capped off a comprehensive win when he struck five minutes from time.Independiente are joint top of Group Eight, alongside fellow Argentine club Godoy Cruz de Mendoza.In Group Three, Argentinos Juniors came from a goal down to win 3-1 at home to Mexican side America.Argentine attacking midfielder Daniel Montenegro struck against his countryman to put America 1-0 ahead 27 minutes in at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.But the hosts were level when Pavel Pardo fouled Santiago Salcedo inside the box moments before the half-time whistle. The Paraguayan centre-forward picked himself up to convert the spot-kick and make it 1-1 going into the break.Salcedo was on target again on 73 minutes, meeting a Gustavo Oberman corner to put Argentinos 2-1 ahead.Substitute Cristian Sanchez Prette, on loan from Romanian side Cluj, snatched a third to make it 3-1 in the 90th minute.Argentinos top Group Three with four points, ahead of America who are second with three points.Elsewhere, Columbians Atletico Junior came from a goal down to beat Gremio of Brazil 2-1.Borges had put the visitors in front just four minutes in Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez, but Giovanni Hernandez levelled for the hosts on 28 minutes.John Edwis Viafara struck the winner for Atletico 16 minutes from time.
Jose Mourinho is set to be appointed the new coach of Real Madrid after the Spanish club sacked Manuel Pellegrini on Wednesday evening.
Pellegrini, who had only been in the hot-seat at the Santiago Bernabeu for one year, was widely expected to be axed after failing to land any silverware at the end of a season of huge investment in the Madrid squad.
Real lost out to Barcelona in the race for the Spanish title and saw their hopes of a dream Champions League final success at their Bernabeu home ended by a last 16 defeat to Lyon.
Meanwhile, Mourinho guided Internazionale to a first European crown in over 40 years and also a domestic double.
The Portuguese coach was strongly linked with the Madrid job 12 months ago but opted to stay in Milan for a second season.
However, all that remains is for the former FC Porto and Chelsea boss to reach a contractual agreement with Inter before he can be confirmed as the new coach of Real.
"I am willing to recognise that I have committed some errors, (but) at this moment I am absolutely convinced the incorporation of Mourinho, who is one of the best coaches in the world, if not the best, is an opportunity Madrid, who fight permanently for excellence, couldn't let pass by," said club president Florentino Perez.
"There is nobody on the board who has given an opinion against the signing of Jose Mourinho.
"On the contrary, they are enthusiastic at being able to recruit one of the best coaches in the world."
Former president Perez returned to office at the Bernabeu last summer and immediately sanctioned a summer of big-spending which brought players of the calibre of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso to the club.
"The change of coach is always difficult, but we are convinced that after this first year and this first phase, now is the moment to give a new impulse to our project," he added.
"A year ago we there was a huge and unprecedented effort to configure and put together a squad capable of aspiring to the highest level.
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"We have advanced a lot, but we still have a lot of ground to cover.
"This club demands the maximum and is always in search of excellence.
"Winning and being leaders in Europe has always been the desire of our members and fans, and therefore, that's the objective of this board."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Sir Alex Ferguson is eyeing up a new set of Brazilian twins, with the talented Alex and Andre Santos interesting the Manchester United boss talkSPORT understands.
Ferguson has already bought and nurtured one set of twins from South America with Rafael and Fabio Da Silva going from promising youngsters to first team regulars in the space of two seasons.
History could now be set to repeat itself with the Santos twins – described as Flamengo’s answer to the Da Silva’s – who play for Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie.
Despite both signing four-year deals at the Dutch club earlier in the year Ferguson is adamant that he can persuade Alex and Andre, who play at right back and left back respectively, to join and has already sent United scouts over to Holland to cast an eye over the pair.
They will follow the twins progress over the course of this season as they try to break into the first team at Vitesse. Assessments will be made see whether the 19-year-olds have the talent and mentality to succeed and meet the high standards set at Old Trafford.
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Chelsea are also said to be interested in the Brazilians although with Ferguson’s success with the Da Silva twins United would have the advantage when it comes to securing their services.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has revealed that he will be given the full £36m received from Andy Carroll’s transfer to Liverpool. Consequently, Clean Sheets has decided to take a glance at some of the top players from around Europe that the Toon Army could get their hands on this summer.
Mamadou Sakhou – £15m
Sakho is widely tipped as an international star and perhaps the future captain of France after being praised at club level for his leadership qualities. He has even donned the armband at PSG, despite being just 20-years-old, becoming the youngest captain in the history of the Ligue 1 side.
Sercan Yildirim – £10m
The 20-year-old Bursapor striker is seen as the fastest rising star in the Super Lig. Yildirium featured at every under-age level for his nation, scoring goals for fun, and has already graduated to Guus Hiddink’s senior ranks.
Shinji Kagawa – £15m
Japan’s most exciting prospect, Kagawa is the complete package; an excellent finisher, incisive dribbler and possessing vision beyond his years. Expect most of the top teams in Europe to throw their hat into the ring when the transfer window opens again in the summer.
Salomon Kalou – £10m
Ivory Coast international Salomon Kalou has see his first team chances at Stamford Bridge shortened with the arrival of £50m-man Fernando Torres on the last day of the transfer window.
Newcastle would relish the opportunity to bring in the 25-year-old who has plenty of Premier League experience.
Javier Pastore – £30m
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The 21-year-old Argentine is the most hotly tipped player in Serie A following astonishing performances in which he has scored eight goals in 22 league appearances with just over half of the season gone.
He has also attracted the attention of Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona who are both said to be tracking the player.
Article courtesy of Steve Morris at the excellent NEW blog Clean Sheets All Round
England have beaten Italy 2-1 in their international friendly in Berne on Wednesday night.
Roy Hodgson rested a number of his more senior figures and introduced a raft of younger faces to the Three Lions’ squad for the exhibition match in Switzerland.
Daniele De Rossi put the Azzurri into the lead early on, before Phil Jagielka equalised for the home nation. Jermain Defoe popped up with ten minutes remaining to score the winner.
Hodgson confessed that he was happy with the win and hailed some of the new players.
“I’m pleased,” the England manager told Sky Sports.
“It was the type of game I sort of expected; two teams with a lot of changes looking to make a big impression ahead of the qualification campaign.
“I am happy with the way we responded to that challenge and the performance we gave.
“It’s the qualifiers that really count, but it’s nice to know we have a deeper squad of players than that we took to the Euros.
“In the Euros, especially towards the end and the second half against Italy where they dominated, we did have an excuse.
“We were a bit tired at that time. It wasn’t a typical performance from an England team, and not the way we want to play.
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Norwich have adapted well to life in the Premier League. They have now taken eight points from their opening six games and are up to ninth in the table. They have found particular success in the last two games by beating Bolton away and Sunderland at home. They have done so with a new look 4-5-1 formation.
Therefore, I decided it was a good time to review why the system works and the reasons Norwich should stick with it.
The system is not defensive
Whenever people think about 4-5-1 systems, they immediately believe them to be defensive in nature. It is an understandable assumption because in general, this system only includes one striker. However, a big part of what makes this system attacking or defensive is the personnel used.
In Norwich’s case there are three attacking midfield players in Anthony Pilkington, Elliott Bennett and Wes Hoolahan. Steve Morison plays the lone man up front and David Fox and Bradley Johnson gives the midfield that much-needed defensive stability and balance.
The system is not designed to contain teams, but is an attacking formation that suits Norwich’s strengths. When Norwich loses the ball enough bodies can get back quickly into that crucial midfield area to prevent the team becoming exposed.
Wes Hoolahan
The vast majority of Norwich fans will agree that Wes Hoolahan is club’s best player. However, in the early games of the season, the Irishman found himself in and out of the side. Hoolahan though has now started both of Norwich’s last two games and the new formation seems to get the best out of him.
Wide players/width
Last season Norwich played a narrow 4-4-2 Diamond formation with Wes Hoolahan being the main attacking threat. In the Championship, it worked because opposing players were not good enough defensively to stop Hoolahan. Furthermore, the opposing wide players were not good enough to exploit the weaknesses in the system.
The Premier League though features some of the best players in the world. Therefore, the opposition would be both capable of marking Hoolahan out of the game and also exploiting Norwich’s weaknesses. The adapted system offers more stability and also more attacking threat.
The opposition now also have to worry about Elliott Bennett and Anthony Pilkington in the wide midfield positions, and also the attacking runs of full-backs Marc Tierney and Kyle Naughton. The problem for opposing teams is they can’t afford to man mark Hoolahan, because this may in turn create space for Norwich’s other attacking players.
Goals from all areas
Most formations are overly reliant on strikers scoring the majority of the goals. However, the new system has the created two wins from as many games and four different goal-scorers so far. Lone striker Steve Morison is now also off the mark following his winning goal against Sunderland.
The success of using such a formation depends on attacking players getting into forward areas and supporting Steve Morison. Norwich has managed to do that superbly so far. The majority of the Norwich squad is unproven at Premier League level, so Norwich may well need to share out the goals amongst the team, rather than relying on one or two individuals; if this formation allows them to do this then so much the better.
Versatile system that can be changed late on in games
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The system can be changed late on in games in order to suit Norwich City. Hoolahan can be substituted for a second striker if the manager feels he needs it and/or a more defensive midfield player could come on for one of the wide players. However, Norwich has fewer options if one of the wide players is ineffective in the game, but one of the pacy strikers could probably occupy in a wide position if necessary.
Kyle Walker came into the spotlight most recently with a good goal for Aston Villa against Sheffield United in the FA Cup. Now Fabio Capello has mentioned his name when talking about potential right backs for his England squad.
It is exciting for England that Capello is willing to put less experienced lads like Walker, Gibbs and Henderson in the spot-light and consider young in-form players when compiling his squads. Walker’s attacking capabilities are what he has been praised for, and he looks to be creative and skilful.
Since Micah Richards is injured, Capello needs to decide who he should have in his squad as a second right back. Martin Kelly is a steady right back but he has not set the world on fire. He is competent defensively but not a modern day full back with pace and flair. That is not to say that he would not do a decent job in international football, but I don’t think he is the answer for England, I want to see England with quick full backs and playing with skill and energy. Walker is raw, but he has potential. In him and Kieran Gibbs we are presented with a genuine possibility of that. England’s forthcoming game against Denmark on 9 February could be a great opportunity to offer Walker a taste of international football, even if just for 20 minutes.
Walker’s career, so it seems, is set to take off in the future. He has not managed to break into Tottenham’s first team yet but, if this season goes well at Aston Villa he could do next year.
Meanwhile Alan Hutton has occupied the right back role in the majority of Tottenham’s games this year. It appears that Redknapp likes have a quick full back and so has chosen Hutton over Corluka. for me, Hutton is not great defensively, and for someone who is labelled as an attacking full back, his final ball often fails to flatter. Corluka is not as quick but he is not useless on the ball and had a good season last year. I think he has been unlucky not to play more this season.
But, with the fact that Harry likes a dynamic full back, coupled with the attacking abilities Walker has shown, I would not be surprised to see him playing more games next year in a white shirt. I have heard a Spurs fan call him a ‘new right-sided Gareth Bale’. While the extent of this may be debatable, Tottenham fans would be licking their lips in anticipation if it were true.
My only worry is that Walker may not be playing week in week out at Villa and early signs seem to suggest this might be the case. He has not even been in the squad for Villa’s last two games, which they have won (he has been struggling with a back injury). Houllier has gone with a back line of Clark, Collins, Dunne and Cuellar at right back. This is a solid but uninteresting defensive unit. With Agbonlahor, Young and Bent though, pace going forward does not seem to be his worry.
It is early days in Walker’s spell at Villa and his goal in the FA cup will have shown Houllier what kind of an option he can offer. Against Birmingham he had a swagger about him which is important for a youngster. A Spurs fan could still have preferred him to have gone back to QPR where he would play every game but Premier league exposure is the goal for him at the moment.
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He is still only 20 and he has done well at Sheffield United, and QPR. A good game in the FA cup, against a Championship side, does not prove that he is ready but it does prove that he has a lot of talent. I like the look of Walker and I would not be surprised if this time next year he is playing regularly in the Spurs first team. Only time will tell…
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