Rabu, 09 Juli 2008

Arsenal 'offer Adebayor to Milan'




AC Milan claim Arsenal are ready to sell Emmanuel Adebayor, a month after insisting he was not available.

The Gunners told Milan on 13 June that the striker, 24, was not for sale.

But Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani revealed the Gunners have since written to the Italian club to say they have changed their position.

Galliani told Italian TV station Antenna 3: "I have a letter from Arsenal that says 'we will consider a deal if it still interests you'."

However, the clubs still need to agree a fee, with Milan unwilling to meet Arsenal's £36m valuation of the Togo international.

Galliani says he has spoken to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger about a deal but that they are "divided" on the player's value.

Milan said in June that Adebayor was their "sole transfer target" of the summer, although they later said they could not afford him.

After selling Alberto Gilardino to Fiorentina and with Ronaldo out of action because of a serious knee injury, Milan have made signing a striker their top priority, although Barcelona also covet Adebayor, who scored 30 goals in 48 games last season.

"If Adebayor decides to leave, Milan definitely want him but it is clear that if an offer arrives from Barcelona it would be difficult for him to say no," Galliani added.

Crouch agrees terms with Pompey




Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has agreed personal terms with Portsmouth and will complete his move upon passing a medical within the next 48 hours.

It is believed the 27-year-old England international striker will cost Portsmouth about £11m.

Crouch is set to link up with Pompey again six years after leaving, and will work with boss Harry Redknapp for the third time in his career.

"Crouch is a terrific player, top class," Redknapp told BBC Radio Solent.

The Liverpool striker was also praised for his contribution to the Merseyside club by Reds manager Rafael Benitez.

"He is a good professional and we would have wanted him to stay," he said.

"We offered him a new contract. But sometimes you have to understand the player. He wanted to play a lot more."

The Spaniard added: "With Fernando Torres now first choice, that [playing more] was always going to be difficult.

"I can understand Peter's situation. But he did very well for this club and we always supported him when people doubted the decision to bring him to Anfield."

Crouch will team up with Jermain Defoe in a new-look Portsmouth attack next season.

Liverpool are expected to initially receive in the region of £9m for Crouch, who joined the club from Southampton in July 2005 but only started nine Premier League games last term.

Benitez initially said he would consider offers for Crouch in the region of £15m but has been forced to scale back his demands for a player with only a year left on his current contract.

Crouch has scored 40 goals in 135 appearances for Liverpool but has struggled to hold down a regular first-team place in recent times.

He was relegated behind Torres, who scored 33 goals for the Reds after signing from Atletico Madrid last summer.

However, he was a popular figure with Liverpool fans and still managed to net 11 goals as he was mainly used as a substitute by Benitez.

Crouch started his career as a trainee at Tottenham before moves to QPR, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Norwich - where he had a spell on loan - Southampton and Liverpool.

Rabu, 02 Juli 2008

Liverpool increase bid for Barry




Liverpool hope to pair Barry (left) in midfield with Steven Gerrard


Liverpool have made an increased offer of around £15m for Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry.

BBC Sport understands the new bid does not include any potential extra payments that would take the deal nearer to Villa's £18m valuation.

Liverpool are now waiting for Villa's response to their renewed bid.

Villa boss Martin O'Neill has said Barry, 27, will be granted his wish to join Liverpool - but only when his asking price is met.

Liverpool hope to finally resolve a protracted and increasingly acrimonious saga, but O'Neill is furious at how the Anfield club's interest in Barry became public.

Barry is scheduled to return to pre-season training with Villa on Thursday and is expected to confirm his desire to move to Liverpool.

O'Neill has been firm in his stance on the proposed move, saying: "If Liverpool meet our valuation, he will have his express wish to leave Villa Park granted."

Barry, 27, criticised Villa for not trying hard enough to keep him but O'Neill insists they want him to stay.

The player signalled his intention to move when he complained on Sunday about Villa's lack of urgency in speaking to him.
606: DEBATE
If they want him its £18M....END OF STORY!
andylochead08


"There's no going back, it's time for me to move on," he said.

"I'm desperate to play Champions League football and that's why I have to leave Villa.

"Villa kept saying they wanted me to stay but I have not heard from the manager for weeks.

"It's seven weeks now since the season finished but while the gaffer's found time to be a pundit at Euro 2008, he hasn't found the time to speak to me.

"Have Villa offered me anything to try to persuade me my future is at Villa Park, not Anfield? Not a thing."

But O'Neill has hit back to vehemently deny Barry's claim.

"The chairman and I were surprised at Gareth's comments," he said.

"Contrary to what he said, we desperately wanted to keep him - and he knows that."

Barry captained England for the first time and scored his first international goal during the recent friendly against Trinidad and Tobago.

Liverpool are keen to partner Barry in midfield with his England colleague Steven Gerrard.

Exclusive: Inter Milan say £7m Frank Lampard deal is done



Frank Lampard




Inter Milan last night claimed to have struck a £7m deal for Frank Lampard.

The Italian giants say they have reached agreement with Lampard and Chelsea for the midfielder.

It comes just 24 hours after the Blues signed Portugal star Deco, 31, from Barcelona in a £7.9m deal.

Lampard, 30, has been offered a four-year deal worth £24m in total - and the chance to play abroad and link up again with Jose Mourinho at Inter has proved difficult to resist.

Club president Massimo Moratti has yet to announce Lampard's capture publicly.

But privately Inter say the deal is done and that the England star will be unveiled at the San Siro once he returns from holiday in Sicily at the end of this week.

New Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari wants to follow up the Deco deal with a £10m move for Real Madrid's Robinho, according to the Brazilian superstar's agent Vagner Ribeiro.

"It is true that Chelsea are interested in signing Robinho," said Ribeiro.

"They have been for some time, and that interest has become much stronger since Scolari took over as their new manager.

"I have met with Chelsea's sporting director Frank Arnesen in London and he confirmed to me that they want the player for next season.

"Neither Robinho nor myself like that Real are prepared to use him as part of an exchange in their bid to sign Cristiano Ronaldo.

"We do not understand this attitude and we want them to begin to value Robinho - because they are not at the moment.

"Robinho is as good, if not better than Ronaldo. The only difference is that Ronaldo reached the Champions League Final and Robinho did not.

"Robinho's priority is to stay with Real, but he cannot be in a place where he is not valued and for the time being he is not. I'm not talking about money.

"I refer to the fact that he is being undervalued in comparison to Ronaldo."

10 Things you need to know about Man United target Falcao



Falcao


Chances are you won’t have heard much about Manchester United target Falcao, but he’s certainly big news in his native South America. Here’s your essential need to know…

1) Radamel Falcao García Zárate was born 10 February 1986 in Santa Marta, Magdalena, Columbia.

2) He plays for legendary Argentinian club side River Plate as a centre forward and helped them to the Argentinian League title in 2008.

3) He has earned himself the nickname El Tigre, but is usually know by his middle name, Falcao.

4) He started football at Fair Play, a footballing school in Columbia. He then joined the youth team at Club Deportivo Los Millonarios. He was discovered by River Plate at 15, when playing for the Colombian Under-17 side.

5) Before signing a professional contract with River Plate, Falcao had embarked on a journalism degree at Buenos Aires university. Could come in handy should he have to face the British press.

6) Falcao is nothing if not prolific. He scored two goals on his debut for River Plate's first team, racked up seven in his first seven starts, and to date has scored an awesome 38 goals in just 58 appearances.

7) He missed most of the 2005 season due to a serious knee injury and struggled to regain fitness in 2006 and 2007. Last year, he hit form with a vengeance, becoming River Plate's top scorer with 19 goals from 35 starts in all competitions. And here he is scoring one, and then celebrating with what looks suspiciously like a piece of bread in his mouth:


8) He is named after ex-Brazilian and Roma midfielder, Falcão, widely regarded as one of the best players in Roma's history.

9) His father Radamel García played for Columbia, a feat which Falcao has since repeated, with seven starts and two goals.

10) He is a religious man, and leads the church groups 'Locos Por Jesus' and 'Atletas de Cristo'. Christ knows what he’ll make of England,then...

Duo to snub Premier League





Euro 2008 heroes David Silva and David Villa appear set to snub moves to the Premier League after reiterating their happiness at Valencia.

The pair played key roles in Spain's Euro 2008 triumph - Villa finished the tournament as top scorer, while Silva impressed with his performances on the wing for Spain.

Both players have been linked with moves to Liverpool, but hit-man Villa - who is also reportedly wanted by Chelsea - says he is not looking to change clubs this summer.

"I've always felt the affection of the fans and it is something that fills me with pride," said Villa in AS.

"I am happy with my current contract and I am very happy in Valencia."

Silva is equally content at the Mestalla, saying: "I am happy in Valencia and with my current contract, and now I think of just going to relax and enjoy this great success.

"You will have to ask the club. I am very comfortable here, as is my family, and the team is very competitive."

Valencia president Agustin Morera has again stressed his commitment to keeping the duo, insisting he could have sold both Villa and Silva.

Morera said: "Our desire is to keep both Villa and Silva. If we had wanted to we could have sold them because we have offers on the table.

"Our interest is for them to stay - that is our dream and to make a great team."

Premier League - Chelsea step up Robinho bid




Chelsea have stepped up the pace in their efforts to sign Real Madrid forward Robinho before the start of the season.


Vagner Ribeiro, the Brazil star's agent, has admitted to holding talks with Chelsea officials and reports in Spain suggest the Premier League club are ready to splash out 35million euros to bring Robinho to Stamford Bridge.

"It's true that Chelsea are interested in signing Robinho," Ribeiro told Spanish sports daily AS.

"They have been after him for a while and there has been much more contact since (Felipe) Scolari became the new Chelsea coach.

"I met with (Frank) Arnesen in London and he confirmed to me that Chelsea wanted my player for next season."

Ribeiro also claimed Real are undervaluing Robinho and not treating him as he deserves.

The Primera Liga champions are reportedly keen to offload the player to free up some cash to buy Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ribeiro insists his client is as good as, if not better than, the Manchester United star.

"Neither Robinho nor I like the fact that Real Madrid can use him as part exchange in their bid to sign Cristiano Ronaldo," he continued.

"We don't like this attitude and we want Madrid to start valuing Robinho because at the moment they're not.

"Robinho is as good a player as Cristiano Ronaldo or better. The difference is that Cristiano Ronaldo reached the Champions League final and Robinho didn't. But if Robinho had won such a title he would be at the same level as Cristiano."

Robinho played an important role in Madrid's league success last season - scoring 11 goals in 32 games - and enjoyed his best campaign since joining the club in 2005.

Ribeiro claims the 24-year-old is not keen to leave the Bernabeu but that he would seriously consider doing so if Madrid continue to undervalue him.

"Robinho's priority is to continue at Real Madrid," he added. "But he cannot stay in a place in which they don't recognise his talent and at the moment Real Madrid are not doing that and I'm not talking about money.

"I'm referring to the fact that they are undervaluing him in comparison to Cristiano Ronaldo."

Euro 2008 - Spain best team in world - FIFA




Newly crowned European champions Spain have climbed to the top of latest world rankings published by world football's governing body FIFA.
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Euro 2008 by numbers
Jim White: Justice is done



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Euro 2008 by numbers
Jim White: Justice is done



It is the first time since the introduction of the rankings in 1992 that Spain, who were rated fourth last month, have been listed as the world's best team.

The ranking system is based on international results over the past four years with more points awarded for wins in major tournaments.

Germany, losers of Sunday's Euro 2008 final, climbed two places to third position behind Italy, who rose one spot despite going out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage.

Former leaders Argentina saw their nine-month spell at the top of the rankings come to an end, tumbling down to sixth place after a disappointing month that included two draws in World Cup qualifying against Ecuador and Brazil.

The 2004 European champions Greece suffered an even bigger drop, from eighth to 18th, after losing the points gained from their shock title win and suffering a group stage exit from this year's event.

Russia's surprise run to the semi-finals has seen them surge 13 places to 11th, their best ranking in more than ten years.

After failing even to qualify for the tournament, England dropped six places to 15th, their lowest position since 2001, a single place ahead of Scotland.

FIFA RANKINGS (previous position in brackets):

1. (4) Spain

2. (3) Italy

3. (5) Germany

4. (2) Brazil

5. (10) Netherlands

6. (1) Argentina

7. (15) Croatia

8. (6) Czech Republic

9. (11) Portugal

10. (7) France

11. (24) Russia

12. (12) Romania

13. (13) Cameroon

14. (20) Turkey

15. (9) England

16. (17) Scotland

17. (18) Bulgaria

18. (8) Greece

19. (14) Mexico

20 (16) Ghana
Reuters

Selasa, 01 Juli 2008

Timnas Jerman Dapat Sambutan Meriah





BERLIN - Meski gagal meraih trofi Euro 2008, namun kepulangan Timnas Jerman dari Austria - Swiss tetap disambut meriah para fansnya. Tak kurang sekira 100 ribu fans lengkap dengan kostum serta bendera Jerman menyambut kedatangan Michael Ballack dkk di Berlin.

Upacara penyambutan ini sendiri digelar di depan gerbang Brandenburg di Berlin. Tempat bersejarah ini juga dijadikan tempat nonton bareng sekira 600 ribu suporter Jerman di laga final.

Seperti diketahui, Jerman harus mengakui kehebatan Spanyol di babak final yang digelar di Stadion Ernst Happel, Senin (30/6/2008) dinihari, setelah takluk 0-1 lewat gol tunggal Fernando Torres.

Meski cukup senang dengan penyambutan meriah dari para fans, namun rona kekecewan tetap terpancar di wajah kapten tim Michael Ballack. Dalam pernyataannya, Ballack mengaku kecewa gagal membawa Jerman menakklukan Spanyol di final.

"Saya sangat kecewa kami gagal membawa pulang trofi Euro ke Jerman. Kami kecewa gagal memaksimalkan kerja keras kami selama berminggu-minggu termasuk babak kualifikasi, dan akhirnya kalah di laga final," papar Ballack seperti dilansir AP, Selasa (1/7/2008).

Meski memendam kekecewaan yang mendalam, namun acara ini sempat membuat para punggawa Jerman melupakan sejenak pahitnya gagal di final. Umumnya, para fans ini bangga atas pencapaian tim kesayangannya di Euro 2008.

Para fans ini bahkan menghibur para punggawa Der Panzer dengan mengatakan "kami akan terus mendukungmu di Piala Dunia 2010," lewat tulisan-tulisan di bentangan kain putih.

Pelatih Jerman Joachim Loew pun tak ketinggalan memberikan sambutannya pada acara tersebut. Dalam sambutannya, Loew mangatakan,"Jerman akan kembali di Piala Dunia 2010 dan membalas kekalahan dari Spanyol."

Xavi Lengkapi Kejayaan Spanyol




VIENNA - Menyajikan penampilan yang menawan sepanjang kompetisi Euro 2008, tak heran jika akhirnya UEFA memilih gelandang Spanyol Xavi Hernandez terpilih sebagai pemain terbaik dalam turnamen empat tahunan tersebut.

Tak hanya itu, penghargaan terhadap Timnas Spanyol juga diberikan UEFA dengan mencantumkan sembilan pemain Spanyol dalam daftar tim terbaik Euro 2008.

"Kami memilih Xavi karena dialah yang memberikan Spanyol irama permainan. Dia juga pemain yang berbahaya di setiap posisi, pemberi bola dan ketika melakukan penetrasi pertahanan lawan," kata Direktur Teknik UEFA Andy Roxburgh seperti dilansir Associated Press, Selasa (1/7/2008).

Dalam pemilihan pemain terbaik ini, sembilan juri yang melakukan pemilihan tidak menyertakan pemain yang negaranya sudah tersisih di babak penyisihan seperti Prancis, Rumania, Ceko dll.

Terpilihnya Xavi sebagai pemain terbaik Euro 2008 ini semakin melengkapi gelar bagi Tim Matador, selain, mendapatkan gelar juara dan top skor.

Dalam Euro 2008 itu, Xavi yang kini bermain untuk Barcelona mencetak satu gol. Terpilihnya Xavi sebagai pemain terbaik juga mengagetkan, mengingat sebelumnya nama pemain yang kini berusia 28 tahun itu jarang disebut.

Terpilihnya Xavi juga menyingkirkan sejumlah nama beken lainnya seperti Cristiano Ronaldo, David Villa, Marcos Senna dan Michael Ballack.