Zlatan Ibrahimovic really, really wanted to irritate Pep Guardiola and he could think of no better way than this. It was time to make a statement; time to do the most “un-Barcelona” thing he could think of, something symbolic from which there would be no way back. So he did. “I jumped in my Enzo [Ferrari], put my foot down on the gas and parked up right in front of the door of the training facility,” he recalled in his autobiography. It was some statement, alright: I am Zlatan… and I am not you. Zlatan had remembered how Guardiola had…
Author: David Folami
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says that the club may dip into the January transfer market due to Danny Ings’ season-ending knee injury and Sadio Mane’s absence at the African Nations Cup in the New Year. “We watch the market all the time and of course we need to be prepared for different situations and one of them is injuries,” Klopp said. “The African Cup of Nations we already knew about so we don’t need to be influenced or surprised by that, but it could be a moment when we approach the market.” Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi give…
Former Manchester United manager David Moyes says that Jose Mourinho’s issues in the Old Trafford hotseat this season show how tough a job it is. Moyes was sacked after eight months in charge in 2013, having taken over from Sir Alex Ferguson, and Louis van Gaal did little better and left after two underwhelming seasons. But Mourinho’s record has been worse than either of his two predecessors and the current Sunderland boss believes it’s because of the pressure. “In some ways it does show that it maybe was not just down to Moyes,” Moyes was quoted as saying by The…
Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has urged Jose Mourinho to “hang in there” amid criticism over his start to life at Old Trafford. Mourinho has won just eight of 16 matches so far and has started off worse than either predecessors David Moyes or Louis van Gaal, but Cantona insists that he must be patient. “I understand your frustration,” Cantona said in his role as ‘Football Commissioner’ for Eurosport. “The Special One [Mourinho], the Swedish One [Zlatan Ibrahimovic], the expensive one [Paul Pogba], the one with the hair transplant [Wayne Rooney]! All these ones they don’t make a whole yet.…
Leonardo Bonucci could add to Juventus’s injury woes in defence after being forced off with a thigh injury in a 1-1 Champions League draw with Lyon in Turin. Juventus face Chievo away on Sunday but Bonucci, who did not train on Thursday, is set to join fellow defender Giorgio Chiellini on the sidelines. He is set for tests later Thursday although reports claim he is a “major doubt” for Sunday’s league game. Chiellini’s absence had forced Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri to adopt a flat back four on Wednesday with Patrice Evra and Dani Alves reverting from their usual wing-back roles.…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stressed he would have the “final say” over which players were bought and sold at Anfield after the Merseysiders announced on Friday their newly-created post of sporting director. Michael Edwards, who previously held backroom roles as Liverpool’s head of analytics, director of technical performance and technical director has the new role. Many British-born managers have been uneasy at having someone who sits between them and the chief executive in the hierarchy of a club, with Klopp’s Liverpool predecessor Brendan Rodgers a case in point. Rodgers was not comfortable with the transfer committee in operation during his…
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was adamant on Friday he had no cause for regret in failing to sign Romelu Lukaku, given he had a “complete player” at his disposal in rival striker Diego Costa. Brazil-born Spain international Costa tops the current Premier League scoring charts with eight goals, while Belgium’s Lukaku has found the back of the net seven times. The two forwards will be in direct opposition when Chelsea face Everton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Costa was not at his best last season and that led the Blues to consider re-signing Lukaku, a player they sold to Everton…
Embattled Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho launched a stirring defence of his misfiring Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Friday. The 35-year-old Swede has scored just once in 11 games after starting brilliantly for his new club — where he was reunited with Mourinho after they were together at Inter Milan — following a highly successful spell with Paris Saint Germain. Ibrahimovic, who made little impact in Thursday’s Europa League 2-1 defeat by Fenerbahce, except for grabbing an opponent’s throat, gets another chance to end his drought against Premier League strugglers Swansea on Sunday. United will hope so as they are…
Manchester United’s Spanish international midfielder Juan Mata said it is time for his team to play well rather than talk a good game, starting with Swansea on Sunday. The 28-year-old – United’s player of the month in a spell of poor results for them and manager Jose Mourinho including a 4-0 hammering by Chelsea – added the team needed to show character to arrest their dip in form. United go into the Swansea match on the back of Mourinho slamming their performance in the Europa League 2-1 defeat by Fenerbahce saying they played as if it was a “friendly”. “We…
Jurgen Klopp will hold talks with former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard after the 36-year-old midfielder appeared to announce his departure from the LA Galaxy at the end of the current Major League Soccer season. Gerrard’s comments are bound to fuel speculation that the highly popular Liverpudlian could return to play for the club he first represented 18 years ago and for whom he made over 500 appearances. Klopp has previously indicated that such a possibility would not be realistic for the veteran although, following Saturday’s 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion, the Liverpool manager declined to explain exactly what role…
Manchester United star Wayne Rooney took a swipe at former team-mate Michael Owen for expressing support for his club’s bitter rivals Liverpool. Owen has a foot in both camps after making his name during a glittering spell at Liverpool and also playing for United in the twilight of his career. But the 36-year-old, who played alongside Rooney for United and England, appeared to irrate his old colleague when he posted an encouraging message during Liverpool’s Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. “Come on Red Men. A win by two goals and it’s ‘top of the league’,” Owen…
Manchester City must maintain their intensity after Tuesday’s Champions League win over Barcelona, defender Nicolas Otamendi has warned. City can head into the international break on top of the Premier League if they beat newly promoted Middlesbrough at the Etihad on Saturday. Aitor Karanaka’s side have been beaten only once away from the Riverside this season and claimed a goalless draw against City’s title rivals Arsenal in their last game on their travels. City failed to win the past two Premier League games at the Etihad and Otamendi says they need to be at their best again to pick up…
“Ingolstadt are not representative of the kind of team typically propping up the table,” Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel said after his side’s 2-1 win at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League back in October. BVB were then held to a 3-3 draw against Markus Kauczinski’s men, possibly the result of a hangover following their success in Europe. Two weeks later, the Westphalians once again travel to the Bundesliga’s bottom-ranked side following more Champions League joy, as Wednesday’s 1-0 win at home to Sporting wrapped up qualification for the round of 16. BVB meet bogey team Hamburger SV on Saturday,…
Anthony Martial was “hurt” to lose his number to Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the superstar Swede joined Manchester United this summer, his advisor has confirmed. Martial was given the No. 9 shirt after moving from Monaco to Manchester in a record £36 million move for a teenager before the start of last season. The French forward appeared to live up to the price tag, becoming a regular starter and fan favourite for Louis van Gaal’s side over the course of the campaign. But he was forced to give up the number after Ibrahimovic joined the Old Trafford club in June. “I…
Swansea boss Bob Bradley aims to pile the pressure on “gracious” Jose Mourinho at the end of a troubled week for the Manchester United manager. Mourinho will watch United’s Premier League game at Swansea on Sunday in the stands after being given a one-game touchline ban. It has been a desperate week for Mourinho, who accepted two Football Association misconduct charges and then criticised his players following their timid 2-1 Europa League defeat to Fenerbahce on Thursday. But Bradley says he saw a different side of Mourinho when he was the manager of the United States national team between 2006…
Arsene Wenger says Mesut Ozil can only become an Arsenal legend if he commits his long-term future to the club in the same way Dennis Bergkamp did. Ozil, 28, has taken his game to another level this season by becoming a consistent goal scorer for the Gunners, and his partnership with Alexis Sanchez up front is a major reason why Arsenal are joint Premier League leaders going into Sunday’s North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur. And the Emirates fan favourite built his legacy further by scoring a spectacular 88th-minute winner against Ludogorets in the Champions League on Tuesday, a solo…
It was midnight when Manchester United’s glum squad walked through the car park beneath Fenerbahce’s stadium, toward their unmarked team coach for the night flight back to England. While the home players, jubilant after their 2-1 win, stopped to speak to journalists and friends by Fenerbahce’s yellow and blue team bus, the track-suited United players said nothing. They’re more reluctant to do so after a defeat and, given they have lost their last five European away games, they’ve become used to not talking. After one game last season, a usually media-friendly player said: “There’s nothing I can say which will…
Eden Hazard’s new role in Chelsea’s 3-4-3 system is making it easier for him to show his talent and shine in the “supersonic” intensity of Premier League football, according to head coach Antonio Conte. Chelsea lie fourth in the Premier League and have won each of their past four matches since Conte made the decision to switch to the new formation, in which Hazard has fewer defensive responsibilities, greater freedom to drift away from the left flank and more opportunity to link up with Diego Costa. The Belgian has responded by scoring five goals — more than his total for…
Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has denounced Manchester United for treating Bastian Schweinsteiger “like a leper” as the former Germany captain’s future at the club remains in doubt. The 32-year-old Schweinsteiger had been training either by himself or with the United reserves since Jose Mourinho took the reins at Old Trafford this summer. Though the former Bayern midfielder was recalled to first-team training sessions this week, Hoeness expressed his displeasure with the Portuguese manager’s treatment of his countryman at the Premier League club. “It is unbelievable what has happened to Schweinsteiger at Manchester United,” Hoeness told AZ. “To not…
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi lead the contenders on the 23-man shortlist for The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2016 award, with three members of Leicester City’s title-winning squad also in contention. Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante, who has since joined Chelsea, have been named on the shortlist in recognition of their roles in Leicester’s shock Premier League title success last season. Claudio Ranieri is also a leading contender for the top coach award. Top names on the list include Portugal captain Ronaldo — who enjoyed success in the Champions League and Euro 2016 this year — and Real…