jose - soccer: season

Tampilkan postingan dengan label season. Tampilkan semua postingan

the citizen no longer interested in de rossi

⊆ 23.49 by Mo Hyo Se | ˜ 0 comments »

msn.foxsports.com

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini recently said on Italian TV that the club did not need Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi so it’s bizarre as to why they have suddenly been linked with one of the best current Barcelona midfielders in history. A bid of £60 million for Sergio Busquets is just around the corner if you believe the latest reports but a player of De Rossi’s style is much more what City need at the moment so it’s hard to understand the logic behind the reports.

City needs a Yaya Toure in their midfield who doesn’t bomb forward and attack. They have greatly missed Nigel De Jong this season and they should put all of their efforts into signing De Rossi because he is the sort of player the club needs. City don’t have a heavyweight midfielder who can sit in front of the back four and protect the central defenders. They may have done away with De Jong because they thought Vincent Kompany had such a good season last year, he doesn’t really need protecting.

However, if they stick an extra defensive barrier in the middle of the team then it makes it more difficult for opposition sides to mount pressure on their goal. Someone to race around the pitch, committing fouls for the good of the team, getting stuck in and taking yellow cards because City are exposed on the counter attack. Busquets is not the sort of player who will do this frequently because of the way he has been brought up to play his football at Barcelona. Yes, he has played predominantly in defensive positions but he is not bulky and physical enough to cope with the pace and the power of the Premier League.

Anyone who has watched a Barcelona game in the last two years will know that Busquets is one of the players who generally rolls around on the floor in apparent agony any time he gets slightly touched by an opposition player. He is a better alternative to some of the creative players in the City midfield but they might be buying him for the wrong reasons.

The only way the arrival of Busquets would work is if De Rossi joined at the same time as the Guardian reports suggest. However, this seems unlikely to happen considering Mancini’s recent comments and considering City had the chance to sign De Rossi and did not push the deal through. City need another body in midfield but it’s doubtful whether it will be either of the players mentioned above. (hereisthecity.com)

real madrid; poor record in germany

⊆ 18.40 by Mo Hyo Se | ˜ 0 comments »

(soccernet.espn.go.com)

Real Madrid have only won once in Germany, and that win came more than ten years ago. That stark statistic is what most concerns Jose Mourinho, ahead of Los Blancos’ Champions League visit to Borussia Dortmund tonight. You would be forgiven to think that The Special One would be vexed by injury concerns, with nary a first-choice defender to call on.

Dortmund also have been disappointing of late, and are finding a third consecutive Bundesliga title a very long shot, and so their form should not keep Real up at night. But even so, Real’s poor history in Germany and Dortmund’s undeniable talents have combined to give Mourinho something to think about.

Mourinho may have a word with his two German internationals, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira, in preparation for tonight’s intriguing tie at Signal Iduna Park. And Khedira will tell him that Real will have to play as well, if not better, than they did in the second-half against Manchester City, if they are to break their duck in Germany. (soccerladuma.co.za)

Los Blancos have won just once in 23 previous competitive fixtures in Germany. That's 16 losses, six draws and just the one victory on German soil - and that came 12 years ago thanks to a 3-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in 2000. That's a bad record for any side, but for a club such as Madrid, nine times European champions, it's a shocking one. Jose Mourinho and his men don't have to cast their minds back too far for the last loss in Germany, of course. It was one of only two losses in all competitive matches in the second half of last season and it was one that, in part, denied them a romantic Champions League final date with Mou's old club Chelsea and the crack at a tenth European crown. A 2-1 defeat in Munich against Bayern. As well as inflicting woe on Madrid in Bavaria, Bayern knocked Los Merengues out on penalties at the Bernabeu in the second leg. As if German teams having the upper hand on German soil wasn't enough.

So Los Blancos travel to Dortmund on Wednesday night not only looking for three crucial points in Group D that would edge them closer to qualification for the knock-out stages, but to make sure that poor record just gets that little bit more meaningless.

The task won't be an easy one, despite facing a Dortmund side that sit fourth in the Bundesliga and go into the game on the back of a weekend defeat. The steep banks of the Signal Iduna Park stadium will be intimidating for Los Blancos. Borussia has one of the best supports in Europe, let alone Germany, and they'll be well aware of the importance of Wednesday night's match, the illustrious visit of Europe's most successful team aside. They'll lift their team and they'll do their best to put Madrid off its stride. (soccernet.espn.go.com)

Super Sunday: Double Derby

⊆ 01.10 by Mo Hyo Se | ˜ 0 comments »

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech reckons Arsenal will be out of the title race if they lose to the Premier League leaders at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Arsenal have lost five league matches already this season, have slipped 10 points behind pacesetters Chelsea and Liverpool and are currently not even in the top four. Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger believes the London derby offers a chance for his side to kickstart their title challenge. "Ideally, I do not want to be 13 points behind Chelsea so let's make it seven on Sunday night," he said. "We know that direct confrontations with top teams become vital when you are in our position."

Champions Manchester United are also in action, knowing they can ill afford any slips at local rivals Manchester City. United, eight points behind Chelsea and Liverpool with a game in hand, were beaten home and away by City last season.

Tottenham Hotspur's resurgence under new manager Harry Redknapp will be tested when they host mid-table Everton at White Hart Lane looking to move clear of the relegation zone.

United have only won one of their lat three Premier League matches and Ferguson says they must start grinding out results even if they are not playing at their best. He added: "Results are important and we need to start grinding out results. Last season we had a period where we kept winning 1-0. "If that's the way we need to do it this season, then we need to start doing it very soon. Chelsea and Liverpool are out there at the moment, and it's about us getting back into the race."

United are currently eight points behind Chelsea and Liverpool with a game in hand. The Blues and Reds both dropped points last week only for United to do the same against Aston Villa. Ferguson will therefore hop United can improve on the 1-0 defeat they suffered to City in the corresponding fixture last season.