Valencia boss Gary Neville says he is “committed” to the Spanish club and is not using them as a stepping stone to the Manchester United or England roles. The 40-year-old, who was appointed at the Mestalla on 2 December, is also assistant to England coach Roy Hodgson, and played 602 games for United. “Me being England or Manchester United manager in six months – I can assure you it’s not going to happen,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “It’s nonsense. Honestly, nonsense.” Neville has overseen five matches as Valencia boss, beating third-tier Barakaldo in the Copa del Rey, securing draws…
Author: David Folami
Chelsea are set to recall Christian Atsu from his loan spell at Bournemouth, sources have told Theinfostride. Atsu is poised to become the second Chelsea player to return to the club after a disappointing loan stint away from Stamford Bridge, with Patrick Bamford also due to cut short his spell with Crystal Palace. Ghana international Atsu joined Bournemouth on a season-long loan in the summer and the winger was expected to play a big role in Bournemouth’s first ever campaign in the top flight, but he has not featured in the Premier League this season. The 23-year-old made just two…
As the figurehead of the team that won pretty much everything in 2015, it was always going to take something special to eclipse Lionel Messi. You may disagree, but I say step forward, Loretta Lynch. Decades of newspaper exposes shook FIFA but never toppled it. Internal investigations drew predictably benign conclusions and kept the details of their findings to themselves. But FIFA had no answer to the U.S. attorney general. “They were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest,” she said as she threw down scores of criminal charges. “Instead they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hailed Mesut Ozil as the “complete athlete” and praised the German’s new-found leadership qualities. Ozil’s outstanding form has been the catalyst to the Gunners’ climb to the top of the Premier League table heading into 2016 as they go in search of a first title in 12 years. The 27-year-old club-record signing has been immaculate in recent weeks and has already notched up 16 assists in the league this season. The latest came in Monday’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth, with Ozil then adding the second goal himself after neat interplay with Olivier Giroud. With the…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hit back at Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce, who called him “a soft German” after the Merseysiders’ 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light. Klopp believed Sunderland’s Jeremain Lens should have been sent off rather than booked for a wild challenge on Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho. And he told a news conference ahead of his side’s visit to West Ham: “The Hammers: maybe it’s more my second name than ‘soft’. “It’s absolutely not a problem. A lot of people have said worse things about me, so it’s not a problem. ‘Soft German’ — I think that’s…
Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo said that he isn’t bothered by those who criticise him for being overconfident. “There are people who hate me, who say I’m vain, or arrogant, or this or that,” Ronaldo said in an interview to be published in Sunday’s El Mundo newspaper in Spain. “That’s part of my success. I was born to be the best. That’s the way I am, and if all my achievements in football are down to that, then I wouldn’t change a thing. I go to bed every night with a clear conscience and sleep perfectly well.” Ronaldo on Wednesday…
Manuel Pellegrini suggested Manchester City will not make any signings in the January transfer window as he declared they already have a “complete squad.” Pellegrini shrugged off speculation that City will move for Real Madrid midfielder Isco, a player he managed at Malaga and tried to sign when he was appointed at the Etihad Stadium in 2013. Although City were active in the last January transfer window, bringing in striker Wilfried Bony at the start of 2015, his club were English football’s biggest spenders last summer, paying out more than £150 million as Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Fabian Delph…
Louis van Gaal has praised his Manchester United players for a “fantastic” response under intense pressure during their 0-0 draw with Chelsea. And the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager believes the former Premier League champions’ fans are the best at any club he has coached — despite polls showing the vast majority wanted him to be sacked. While there were banners calling for Van Gaal’s removal at Old Trafford on Monday, the crowd got behind his team as they ended a four-game losing run with a committed performance against the defending champions, which reduced calls for his own…
Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United had a very good 2015 until December, and is targeting the Premier League title in 2016. After a run of four defeats in five games, United are sixth in the Premier League and have been knocked out of the Champions League. But Van Gaal believes much of the calendar year has been a success, with United achieving his first target by finishing fourth last season to secure a return to the Champions League. He was happy with their start to the current campaign before a run of eight games without a win left them…
Lionel Messi scored on his 500th Barcelona appearance as the European champions moved back to the top of the table with a 4-0 win over Real Betis as La Liga returned from a curtailed winter break on Wednesday. Atletico Madrid remain level on points with Barca thanks to two goals in the final two minutes from Angel Correa and Antoine Griezmann to emerge 2-0 victors at Rayo Vallecano. And Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and missed a penalty as Real Madrid eased the pressure on under-fire coach Rafael Benitez with a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad to stay two points behind…
There will be a few ‘hiccups’ as Arsenal bid to lift the Premier League title for the first time since 2004 but the squad is strong enough to pull through any situation, midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has said. The Gunners were quick to respond to Saturday’s embarrassing 4-0 league loss to Southampton by easily dispatching relegation-threatened Bournemouth on Monday, thanks to goals from Gabriel and in-form Mesut Ozil. The win meant Arsene Wenger’s men moved to the top of the table, a point ahead of Leicester City, who host fourth-placed Manchester City on Tuesday. “We’re in a strong position now, it’s…
Manager Arsene Wenger has rejected doubts about Arsenal’s title credentials, saying statistics back him up about the Premier League leaders on New Year’s day. Monday’s comfortable 2-0 win over Bournemouth ensured the Gunners end the year on top of the table, above Leicester City on goal difference. Arsenal have ended the year on top of the Premier League table on three previous occasions in the last 14 years but they could not go on to win the title in any of those seasons. “It shows you that we have a good chance as the statistics show you that eight of…
Southampton could be in the market for a striker in the January transfer window if injuries persist but are unlikely to bring in any other reinforcements, manager Ronald Koeman said on Thursday. “I’m not a manager that I’m in a panic because we have now the 12th position in the table,” Koeman, whose side beat leaders Arsenal 4-0 last Saturday and then lost 2-1 at West Ham United on Monday, said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Norwich City. “We know our players, we know our qualities and if there is something to do in business it’s about how recovered (Graziano)…
Four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi has warned Barcelona’s rivals that the European champions are determined to match their five-trophy haul from 2015 in the coming year. Messi scored on his 500th appearance for the club as Barca rounded off the year in style with a 4-0 win over Real Betis to move back to the top of La Liga on Wednesday. The Catalans lead Atletico Madrid on goal difference and Real Madrid by two points as well as having a game in hand on their rivals from the Spanish capital. And having won the Champions League, La…
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is still not satisfied despite winning five trophies in 2015 and is aiming to do even better next year. The Catalan side have been rampant in attack and a 4-0 victory over Real Betis on Wednesday set a new Spanish record of 180 goals in a calendar year and lifted Barca back to the top of the La Liga standings. They followed their treble success last season by lifting the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup, their only defeat coming in the domestic Super Cup by Athletic Bilbao to stop them matching the six…
<img src="http://www.theinfostride’s under-performing stars to pull together to ease the heat on Van Gaal, but even the loyalists have now turned against the Dutchman. Brendan Rodgers to Old Trafford, anyone? Van Gaal has come under increasing pressure and faced the wrath of discontented fans amid a dismal run of results and some insipid performances at Old Trafford. United’s 2-1 loss to Norwich in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday was their third successive defeat in a sequence which also saw them eliminated from the Champions League. And Van Gaal has now lost 16 of the 71 games he has taken…
Arsenal defender Gabriel insists that he and Diego Costa are “good friends” despite clashing earlier in the season. Gabriel and Costa clashed during Arsenal’s defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in September, with the Brazilian sent off for kicking out at the Blues striker on the stroke of half-time. Costa had goaded Gabriel into reacting after pushing his Gunners team-mate Laurent Koscielny to the ground, but Gabriel insists that he and Costa get along well. “When we are on the pitch we are different people,” Gabriel said. “Diego is a different person and so am I. When we clash there…
David Silva says he and his Manchester City team-mates are “very happy” with manager Manuel Pellegrini. Pep Guardiola is again being heavily linked with City after announcing that he is to leave Bayern Munich when his contract expires at the end of the season. Pellegrini, who himself has been linked with Chelsea, insisted last week such talk did not bother him and Silva claims the players will not be affected. The Spaniard said: “We are all very happy with Manuel and it is not something we look at. We look at the day today and not what is going to…
Mesut Ozil believes the main reason he has 13 Premier League assists to his name this season is down to the improved nature of Arsenal’s finishing. Ozil has at least six more assists than his nearest challenger this campaign, and has emerged as Arsenal’s most important player as they look to challenge on three fronts for trophies. Rather than an improvement in his own game however, Ozil feels the improved finishing of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott is the main reason for such an impressive return. “Our forwards now convert my assists. You have to put the numbers into perspective,”…
Asamoah Gyan is better than both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to fellow Ghanaian Yahaya Mohammed. Gyan currently stars in the Chinese Super League for Shanghai SIPG, but international team-mate Mohammed has questioned why the 30-year-old does not receive the same recognition as Messi or Ronaldo. “What Asamoah Gyan is doing here in Ghana is far better than that of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi,” he said. “But sadly we don’t respect him because he is a Ghanaian.” “I shall always rate Asamoah Gyan ahead of the two because if Gyan had been a European, he would have been…