Former England manager Fabio Capello has said that Lionel Messi has not been helped with Argentina, considering the nation have lacked the quality when it comes to the midfield and defensive departments. The Barcelona star has been criticised for the failure to guide the nation to silverware during his career but Capello believes the problems are lying behind the attacker.
Speaking to Goal.com, Capello said that the current Argentina squad cannot match up with the World Cup winning side under Maradona, given they do not possess standout players in the backline and centre of the park, he said: “People talk about both, but Maradona’s Argentina were stronger and had more quality than Messi’s. He’s had good players in front of him, but in midfield and behind he has missed a defence, that’s the important problem. Messi is extraordinary. He lives thinking about playing and not about business, like for example Neymar does.”
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The modern-day football is dominated by two players: Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi. Two fierce rivals have gotten their hands on every possible accolade out there, and although their peak years should have long passed, they show no signs of slowing down.
But if we must make our pick, who would it be? The Portuguese magician Ronaldo or one-man-army Messi? (more…)
Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero has spoken about the circumstances which contributed towards his axe during the group stages of the World Cup last year. The 37-year-old was chosen as the country’s first-choice goalkeeper for the World Cup but a sub-standard performance in the 3-0 defeat to Croatia meant that he was dropped for debutant Franco Armani.
Speaking to ESPN, the veteran revealed that he has no questions to manager Jorge Sampaoli in the aftermath of the poor display against Croatia, he said: “Jorge (Sampaoli) called me to give me explanations but I told him that he didn’t have to explain. That I understood and that tomorrow (against Nigeria) we had to win to stay in the World Cup and that’s the only thing that was important. I was rooming with Franco (Armani) and I told him ‘he (Sampaoli) called me to tell me that tomorrow you’re playing, give it your all, rest well and everything will go well tomorrow, we are all with you. And that’s how it was.”
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England international Danny Rose has admitted that he could have parted ways with Tottenham Hotspur shortly after his participation at the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia. The left-sided defender had a tough 2017/18 season where he was plagued with multiple injuries and that dropped him down the pecking order with Ben Davies getting the nod for Spurs.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Rose acknowledged that he was considering his future with the north London side last summer and even made contact with one of his suitors before the move failed to materialise, he said: “I am enjoying my football now. After the World Cup there was talk of me moving on. I was speaking to another club which obviously Tottenham know about but it didn’t happen. I called the manager after the World Cup and he just said to me that I was welcome to stay but said I would have to get my head down. At the minute the manager is bringing me on at left midfield and central midfield. I still feel like a really valuable member of the team.”
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Arsenal’s Director of High Performance Darren Burgess has said that Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira have excelled to the training and fitness sessions with the club. Burgess joined the north London side from Port Adelaide in 2017 and he has since been in charge of the fitness, nutrition, and rehabilitation progress of the first-team squad.
In a report covered by Optus Sport, Burgess was complimentary about the workrate levels of Torreira and Xhaka in training and said that the central midfield duo like to take every session personally, he said: “I’ll tell you who I really like, the two central midfielders; Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka. I love the fact that Lucas Torreira, in every single drill, takes it personally if someone gets by him.
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Brazil international Gabriel Jesus has said that he made the right decision to join Manchester City shortly after the club’s 1-0 triumph over Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup semi-final. The younger striker has cut a frustrated figure on numerous occasions this term with Sergio Aguero preferred ahead of him, but he made the key difference at the weekend where he scored the winning strike in the fourth minute.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Jesus said that he is pleased to have made the decision to join the Citizens and he is hoping to guide the club to plenty of trophy success, he told: “When I decided to come to City I spoke with my family and my mum and I said I wanted to come here to win titles – to be champions. I looked at the players and the manager and said ‘This is my place’. I am glad I did, as I made a good decision. I’m so happy to be in the FA Cup final as we want the titles.Of course we want to win the Quadruple but we think just about the next game.”
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Former Brazil goalkeeper Dida has hailed the qualities of Alisson Becker and believes he is one of the strongest shot-stoppers in Europe’s top leagues at the moment. The 26-year-old made the switch from AS Roma during last summer’s transfer window and he has since been efficient between the sticks for the Reds with 16 clean sheets in the Premier League alone.
Speaking to The Liverpool Echo, Dida was pleased with the performances of Alisson since his Premier League move. He added that he was already aware of the player’s qualities from his youngster days and his compatriot can be regarded as one of the best goalkeepers working in Europe at present, he said: “I could see his qualities from the very beginning. He was very agile and quick to read the offensive schemes.
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Qatar can be helped out by Kuwait, UAE, and Oman when it comes to expanding the World Cup 2022 to 48 teams. FIFA are very keen on increasing the total number of teams from 32 to 48, and it would make the upcoming edition of the World Cup as the biggest in history. FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently claimed that the decision to increase the total teams will be taken shortly but the decision has been delayed due to the geopolitical tensions. Qatar’s relationship with the likes of Saudi Arabia have been completely cut off for the last two years and the latter may be one of the best choices for helping Qatar to expand the total World Cup teams.
However, it now appears that the likes of Oman and Kuwait are arriving to help the nation. Qatar has also been assisted by UAE, who have claimed that they would like to host some of the matches but everything remains in the hands of Qatar. If the geopolitical tensions continue to exist, it may become difficult for the likes of UAE to help out Qatar. The additional countries already have the infrastructure and the stadiums necessary for the World Cup matches, and they also happen to meet the FIFA requirements. This eliminates the need to construct new stadiums, which may be very difficult with only three years left for the tournament.
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Jose Mourinho has confirmed that he is unlikely to be stepping into the World Cup 2022 as a national team manager or as a pundit, as he is planning a swift return to club football management. The Portuguese recently was sacked from his role at Manchester United after just under three years.
He is once again on the lookout for a new job with the likes of Paris St Germain being interested in his services. The Portuguese was recently seen visiting Qatar in order to look at the various preparations going on for the World Cup 2022 – including the construction of several new stadiums. (more…)
Mexico have confirmed the appointment of Tata Martino as their new manager following the veteran’s success with Atlanta United in Major League Soccer. The former Barcelona star had a storybook season with Atlanta during the previous campaign where he guided them to MLS Cup success in just their second season in the top tier.
Speaking after joining El Tri, Martino revealed that he has committed to the nation for the next four years and the ambition is to reach the quarter-final of the World Cup with the country being knocked out at the round of 16 stage in the previous seven editions, he said: “I’m getting onboard with the objective of playing in the fifth match of the World Cup. But before that, I want to put in place a system of play and a clear idea. We won’t just magically arrive there. The spirit of the contract is that of the World Cup cycle of four years.”
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