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Entertainment, Sports

FIFA Presidency: Michel Platini withdraws bid.

Suspended UEFA boss, Michel Platini has given up his bid to become the next FIFA President.
“I will not present myself for the presidency of FIFA. I am withdrawing my candidature. I no longer have the time nor the means to go to the voters, to meet people, to fight against the other candidates. In withdrawing, I am dedicating myself to my defence”  He told the Association Press yesterday
Platini and Sepp Blatter were suspended from all football-related activities following an ethics committee investigation. They were found guilty of breaches surrounding a £1.3m ($2m) “disloyal payment” made to Platini in 2011.
The 60-year-old added that his ban has made it impossible for him to campaign for votes.
“It is a question of the calendar, but not only that. How can you win an election when you are prevented from campaigning?”
The remaining contenders are Asian football head Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain, South African politician and tycoon Tokyo Sexwale, former FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin al Hussein of Jordan, UEFA general-secretary Gianni Infantino and Jerome Champagne , a former FIFA assistant general secretary from France. The new FIFA president will be revealed on February 26. 
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Entertainment, Sports

It's time for Ronaldo to know Zinedine is the boss – ex Real Madrid manager

Former Real Madrid boss, Vanderlei Luxemburgo is confident Zidane Zinedine will do well at the Santiago Bernabeu but warns that Cristiano Ronaldo shouldn’t prove obstructive to his success at the club.
He told Omnisport: “Zidane was a leader in the dressing room when he was a player, so Cristiano Ronaldo will have to understand that there will be a person with leadership and with great knowledge of football there. The dressing room belongs to the players up to a certain point. From then on it belongs to the coach. If Cristiano Ronaldo thinks he’s the coach it’s difficult. He has to understand he’s a player and not a coach. The coach is Zidane.

He continued, “If you can make those things clear it doesn’t matter if it’s Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi. Barcelona is giving a good example that Messi is just a player. He was a player with [Pep] Guardiola and is still a player with Luis Enrique. He’s a star but is still a player. That’s his limit.”

Luxemburgo who coached the club for 11 months in 2005 also added that Madrid president Florentino Perry should be allowed to preside over the affairs of the dressing room.
“If it was another president things would probably not have gone this wrong. Luis Enrique was questioned when he left Neymar on the bench. But he left him on the bench to adapt. At Real Madrid, if the coach leaves Ronaldo on the bench, Florentino Perez goes crazy.
“There’s a big difference between Real Madrid and Barcelona in that respect. The head coach at Barcelona is in charge. At Madrid, it’s not like that with Perez.”
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Entertainment, Sports

Suarez faces action over tunnel bust-up

Awww, to think that we were celebrating him turning a new leaf in Spain. Barcelona star, Luis Suarez may find himself in a little trouble following his bust-up with Espanyol players after a 4-1 Copa del Rey victory at the Nou Camp last night.

The visitors received 8 yellow cards, 2 red cards in the match. One of the players, Pape Diop was dismissed for insulting Suarez’s mum. Apparently still angry about the incident, after the game, the Uruguayan reportedly waited for their opponents at the tunnel and shouted. “I’m waiting for you, come here, you’re a waste of space”.

Below is a post-match report by referee report by Martinez Munuera.

“At the end of the game, once in the tunnel, Barça’s No.9, Suarez, Luis, while the Espanyol players were coming up the stairs, waited for them and shouted at them on various occasions. He said: ‘I’m waiting for you, come here! You’re a waste of space. It provoked a confrontation between players of both clubs and the present security guards had to get involved, as did coaches of both teams.”

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Entertainment, Sports

Madrid insane to appoint Zinedine Zidane – Hitzfeld

Madrid mad to appoint Zidane, says Hitzfeld

Former Bayern Munich coach, Ottmar Hitzfeld has described Real Madrid’s decision to appoint Zinedine Zidane as the club’s new manager as madness. Speaking in an interview with Swiss daily, Blick, Hitzfeld said the ex France international is only living off his illustrious name as a player.

“For him (Zidane) it is like winning the lottery jackpot. It is madness. Zidane has proved nothing as a coach and he is now in charge of the biggest stars in the world. It is an incredibly difficult task although I hope it goes well for him,” the 66 year-old said.
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Entertainment, Sports

Top 10 most valuable players in the world

Embedded image permalink
The CIES Football Observatory has unveiled it’s
list of the most valuable players in the world. Criteria included the
performances of the players and their clubs, as well as characteristics, like
age, position and contract situation.
Top 10 most valuable players in the world.
1.   
Lionel Messi
2.   
Neymar
3.   
Eden Hazard
4.   
Cristiano Ronaldo
5.   
Harry Kane
6.   
Raheem Sterling
7.   
Antoine Griezmann
8.   
Luis Suárez,
9.   
Alexis Sanchez

10.
Sergio Agüero 
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Entertainment, Sports

Rafael Benitez sacked as Real Madrid's coach.

Hiring and sacking coaches at will. Real Madrid have dismissed the club’s manager,  Rafael Benitez,  seven months after hiring him. The club’s B team coach,  Zinedine Zidane has replaced him.
Rafael Benítez’s competitive record as Real Madrid manager:
Games: 25
Won: 17
Drawn: 5
Lost: 3
Win rate: 68%
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Entertainment, Sports

Rafael Benitez claims there's a campaign against him and the club.

The ‘campaign’ talk, a familiar phrase in football. To cut the long story short, it is one of Jose Mourinho’ infamous phrases.
Real Madrid coach, Rafa Benitez believes there is a campaign against him, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and the club. Real who had a mind-blowing outing weeks back, walloping Rayo Vallecano 10-2 are two points off the top of La Liga.
Speaking at a news conference today ahead of Real’ clash with Real Sociedad, the ex Liverpool manager said
 “There is a campaign against (president) Florentino (Perez), Real Madrid and me.
“Everything is criticised that can be and where not it is manipulated which anyone can see. This is particularly clear if you look at the situation from the outside.”
“Everything is being magnified and I have a lot of experience coaching so I know to be distracted as little as possible.

“I have 24 players in the squad but when I leave out one player then it is made out that it is something personal and a load of speculation is built up. The team is a lot better than people think. My relationship with the players is infinitely better than what you read in the press. There is a communications department that keeps me informed. The team is doing some things well and others not so much.”
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Entertainment, Sports

Jose Mourinho paid for lack of motivation – Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti will “pay” for this statement. I can bet Mourinho has this recorded. Lol. Till he lands a new managerial role.
The Italian has said that he believes Chelsea’s failures this season have been due to a lack of motivation amongst the players. The new Bayern coach said the club’s former manager lost his job at Chelsea after failing to motivate his players.
He told Goal: “The most difficult job for a coach is keeping the squad motivated, because within a group, both one that is doing well and doing badly, there are always problems to resolve.

“When things are going well, there is a risk of relaxation; when things are going badly, obviously there is a loss of confidence. The coach must always keep a good balance in that sense, lifting the confidence levels particularly when things don’t seem to be working.
“It was a little bit of this that Mourinho paid for; the fact that the team had not started like last season, when they had a tremendous desire to do well after a bad year. This year it was exactly the opposite and he paid for the lack of motivation among the players.”

He added. “We’re always speaking of great teams. The important thing is to find a good player-coach relationship and to carry forward your ideas, managing to convince the players of the strength of your ideas. ”

“Imposing things on players is never good. It’s important to find in the group a belief in that which you are doing and to make sure it is accepted by all.”
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Entertainment, Sports, Weddings

Photos: Frank Lampard weds in London

Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard and Christine Bleakley exchanged vows
today after a four-year engagement. The ceremony took place at the St Paul’s Church in KnightsBridge, London. Their reception took place 
celebrate their wedding with a reception at The Arts Club, Mayfair. 
Lampard who plays football for New York City FC has two daughters from a previous relationship.  

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Entertainment, Sports

Obafemi Martins now an American citizen.

Seattle Sounders forward,  Obafemi Martins has joined the growing list of Nigerian footballers with dual citizenship. 
The Nigeria international Obafemi has been issued a Green Card. 
This was confirmed by the Major League Soccer (MLS) who listed the ex Inter Milan player as a home player during the roster update for all the 20 MLS teams. 
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