Page 525

By -
0

There was a rest day at the World Cup on Friday with the last 16 matches starting this evening. Real Madrid’s left-back Marcelo should take his place in the Brazil team as the hosts face Chile. Colombia and Uruguay also play tonight.

The main Real Madrid stories this morning are related to transfers. Marca goes with the future of Sami Khedira on its front page, saying he is worth two players. That’s because if the German does leave the Santiago Bernabeu, Los Blancos would look to sign two midfielders in his place.

Khedira missed much of this season with a serious knee injury but made his comeback in time to help the team win the Champions League in Lisbon. With only 12 months left on his contract, the club is keen to sort out his future either way. The 26-year-old has been linked with a number of clubs including Arsenal and Chelsea. Meanwhile, Los Blancos have a long list of midfielders that are keen on such are Arturo Vidal, Marco Veratti and Paul Pogba.

Meanwhile AS goes with a potential arrival in Falcao. The former Atletico de Madrid, now with Monaco, has reportedly told his team mates in the Colombian side that he is waiting for an offer from Florentino Perez and is keen to sign for the club.

 

By -
0

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has said he expects France to be in for a tough match when they face Nigeria in the last 16 of the World Cup.

Les Bleus started the competition in blistering form, defeating Honduras and Switzerland, but took their foot off the pedal in the final game against Ecuador, drawing 0-0.

Benzema, who is playing in the World Cup for the first time having missed out in 2010, has so far scored three goals in the competition and carried on his good form he showed this season with Los Blancos.

Looking forward to the next game though, he said the African side would provide Didier Deschamps’ team with a tough test having pushed Argentina all the way earlier this week.

Speaking about the game against Ecuador, he said: “We have qualified, so one must be happy be that. It was a tough, tough match, and although we had a lot of success in front of goal in our previous games this time we came across a team who caused up problems on a physical level.

“Now we have to rest, recover and get 100 per cent ready for the knock-out match against Nigeria, who are a good, strong team, but we must do everything to win.”

By -
0

Legendary former goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert has back fellow custodian Iker Casillas after the Real Madrid man came in for heavy criticism following Spain’s early exit from the World Cup.

The 32-year-old shot stopper, who helped Los Blancos win the Copa del Rey and Champions League this season, played in Spain’s first two matches of the World Cup in Brazil, where they lost 5-1 to Holland and 2-0 to Chile. He was dropped to the bench as La Roja, winners of the competition four years ago, ran out 3-0 winners in a dead rubber against Australia.

Many pundits in Spain have called for Casillas to be replaced in the national side, but Chilavert – famous for his expertise in free kicks and penalty taking – backed the Los Blancos captain.

The ex-goalie, working in Brazil for RCN Radio Colombia, wrote an open letter in which he stated he considers Casillas as one of the greatest keepers of all time.

He wrote:”I would love him to read this letter so he knows how much people and ex-professionals like me value him. For me, Iker is still the best in the world and by far. I would also like to express my support for all the ‘La Roja’ players, who have given us so much football.”

He continued: “I’ve always thought you are an exceptional keeper, the best by far of our kind. […] Those who criticise you don’t have a clue about the game and what it means to have done what you have.”

By -
2

Real Madrid and Portugal talisman Cristiano Ronaldo has said his national team colleagues can hold their heads high despite exiting the World Cup at the first stage.

Portugal beat Ghana in their final group game on Thursday, but the 2-1 victory wasn’t enough as they missed out to the USA on goal difference. Paulo Bento’s side had lost their opening encounter against Germany 4-0 and followed that up with a 2-2 draw against the USA.

Ronaldo, who scored the winning goal against Ghana, had said earlier this week that Portugal hadn’t been good enough at the World Cup, adding that perhaps they should not be considered a great side but an average one.

However, following his country’s elimination, the Real Madrid man said that the players could be proud of the efforts in the match against the African nation.

“We created many opportunities but we could not finish them,” he told reporters.

“We knew we had to score three goals and were depending on the result of the Germany game and we couldn’t do that. We deserved more, but that’s football. We are leaving with our heads held high.”

Having helped Madrid win the Copa del Rey and Champions League, Ronaldo will now have a few weeks off to rest and recover.

By -
1
27062014

Marca and AS both lead with the Luis Suarez ban on their front pages today – with the Liverpool man banned for 9 international matches, and four months from football altogether after he bit Italian defender Chiellini while playing for Uruguay on Tuesday evening. It is the third time Suarez has bitten another player in his career.

It’s pretty quiet in terms of Real Madrid news this morning. AS paid a visit to Sao Paulo, where midfielder Casemiro is on holiday with his family. And the young Brazilian said he wants a first team slot next season.

The 22-year-old was in and out of the side last season covering for the likes of Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira. His best performance came in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund.

He told AS he will return to training in July with the intention of making one of the midfield positions his own. “I will return to Madrid on July 10th and try and win my place in the team. I’ve learned a lot from the more experienced players I’ve been surrounded by,” he stated.

Both Marca and AS reflect on the appointment of Zinedine Zidane as Real Madrid Castilla boss and say it is a perfect opportunity to prove his credentials. It also shows long-term planning by the club.

And finally, Jese Rodruiguez is spending five hours a day at Valdebebas to speed up his recovery from his knee injury, according to AS.

By -
0

Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric has said his fellow national teammates lacked in self-belief in the World Cup.

Croatia were knocked out at the group stage losing to Brazil and Mexico. An emphatic 4-0 was recorded over Cameroon sandwiched between the defeats, but it was not enough to qualify for the last 16.

It is the third consecutive World Cup in which Croatia have failed to progress beyond the group stage. The last time they did, in France 1998, the finished in third place.

Going into this year’s tournament, expectations had been high and they team was confident of getting out of the group. But Modric said when it came down to it, the players didn’t believe in themselves at the crucial parts in games.

“We are disappointed, but what can we do? Of course we were expecting to go to the next round,” the former Tottenham Hostpur man said.

And he continued: “You have to have belief in yourself to go far (in the tournament), but we didn’t show that on the pitch. I think we looked good in the first game against Brazil and in the second game (against Cameroon).  We had some good periods (against Mexico) but we weren’t good enough.”

By -
1

June 26th marks the first anniversary of Carlo Ancelotti’s arrival at Real Madrid. During his first 365 days as Los Blancos manager, the Italian has earned a spot in the Madridistas history books after a successful season in which he has conquered the long-awaited Decima and the Copa del Rey.

“A few years ago I told you, Carlo, that one day you would be my manager. That day has come. Millions of fans from all around the world are expecting the best from you. Welcome to your stadium,” Florentino Perez told him during his unveiling as Real’s boss. It was worth the wait, because Ancelotti brought calm back to the Santiago Bernabeu after three tense years with Jose Mourinho.

The cliques that existed within the first team squad during the Portuguese’ time in charge no longer existed from the off, and there was a visible improvement on the field of play too. The first title of the season arrived in April, when an impressive sprint from Gareth Bale gave Real the Copa del Rey with a 2-1 victory over Barcelona.

However, one more time, the main objective for Los Blancos in the season was conquering their tenth Champions League. Ancelotti was aware of it from the first day: “It is a big goal, for the club and for everyone. I’ve got the ambition and the sense of responsibility for doing this, so it is not a problem. Winning La Decima can be such a big motivation that it can help the team.”

Ancelotti didn’t fool anyone. Real Madrid managed to qualify for a Champions League final after a 12-year wait, defeating powerful teams such as Borussia Dortmund, their conquerers in the previous season, and Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich. Ancelotti showed his ambition again in Lisbon, where Madrid lifted the trophy after beating Atletico Madrid 4-1 in the final.

The only objection one can make about Ancelotti’s first year at the Santiago Bernabeu was the fact that the team threw away their great work in La Liga with a terrible final run, thus losing all hopes to win the title. Although to be fair, nobody can demand Ancelotti a treble when Real Madrid has never won one in their history. A Copa del Rey and a Champions League is a pretty good start.

By -
1

Spain’s World Cup experience in Brazil was a massive disappointment in the end with the 2010 champions being eliminated in the first round.

And it was a pretty traumatic time for Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas, who shipped five goals in the loss to Holland, and another two against Chile, before being dropped from the side as La Roja ended with a 3-0 win over Australia.

But among the doom and gloom surrounding recent events, by playing in two games Casillas became the Spanish player with the most ever appearances in World Cup finals.

His two games took him to 17 in total, one more than former goalkeeper Zubizarreta, and two ahead of Barcelona man Xavi, who has most likely made his last ever appearance in the Spain shirt following his country’s exit.

Casillas has featured in four World Cup tournaments – South Korea in 2002, Germany in 2006, and South Africa in 2010 before the current version in Brazil. In total, he was on the winning side eight times. He drew four matches and was on the losing team on five occasions.

In terms of the overall number of appearances made in World Cup finals, he still has some way to go. Casillas is four behind Diego Maradona, six away from legendary Italy defender Paolo Maldini, and eight short of Luther Matthäus who tops the list.

By -
0

Real Madrid trio Angel di Maria, Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane will all be continuing their participation in the World Cup after seeing their Argentina and France sides top their respective groups yesterday.

Di Maria put in an impressive performance against Nigeria in a highly entertaining game in which the South American side came out 3-2 winners, thanks to two more goals by Leo Messi.

From the very beginning the match was end-to-end stuff, and as good as the attacking was on the day, both defences showed plenty of signs of vulnerability. Argentina took the lead after just three minutes. Angel di Maria raced into the box and his effort came back off the post. Fortunately for Argentina, Leo Messi was in the in the right place to smash the ball home.

The celebrations had barely died down when Nigeria went up the other end and equalised. Michel Babatunde fed the ball to Musa, who curled home a brilliant effort. Right on the stroke of half time Messi put Argentina in front again, scoring a brilliant free kick.

Two minutes after the restart, Nigeria were level again. Musa played a one-two with Emmanuel Emenike and slotted in his second goal of the game – the first time a Nigerian had scored two goals in a match at the World Cup. They weren’t level for long though as Argentina defender Rojo sent the ball into the back of the net off his knee from a corner just three minutes later.

Elsewhere, Benzema played the whole match for France against Ecuador but couldn’t add to his tally as they played out a 0-0 draw. Varane, who had played in the two previous matches, came off the bench in the 60th minute to secure the clean sheet.

By -
0

International football dominates the headlines still with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal facing an uphill struggle to qualify for the last 16 of the World Cup tonight. And his country could be on a collision course with Real Madrid over the striker’s fitness. The national team doctor claimed yesterday that Ronaldo is in better shape now that when he was in Madrid, while the club is concerned over his ongoing knee problems.

In Real Madrid news, we start with AS’ story about the Champions League money banked by each club this season. UEFA made the figures public and the records show that the Decima – the club’s 10th Champions League win – earned Los Blancos 57.4 million euros.

Although they had to experience the pain of defeat in Lisbon, Atletico de Madrid will be happy to have banked 50 million euros for their efforts in the competition. The other two Spanish clubs involved, Barcelona and Real Sociedad, earned 41.9 million and 17.2 million respectively.

ZInedine Zidane’s appointment as boss of Real Madrid Castilla was confirmed yesterday and Raphael Varane, the France and Real central defender, was quick to praise his compatriot. He said it was good news for the young players hoping to make the break through at the top, and that Zindane will do a great job.

1...524525526...733Page 525 of 733

www.gambleaware.co.uk or www.gamcare.org.uk
Please gamble responsibly