Sports

Entertainment, Sports

Marcelo Bielsa criticised by Marseille after surprise resignation

Marseille have heavily criticised Marcelo Bielsa over his surprise resignation after the club’s Ligue 1 defeat to Caen. The club accused Bielsa of trying to holding them prisoner and putting his own personal interest above those of the institution.
‎
The club said: “The board of Olympique de Marseille did everything to offer the club a coach who was up to that responsibility. But under no circumstances can OM be held prisoner to the demands of someone who places their personal interests well above those of the institution.

“Marseille is imbued with unique values and possesses a sufficiently rich history to refuse to subject itself to the law of a single man.”

L’Equipe reported on Monday Bielsa had been irritated during a meeting on Wednesday evening by the attempts of CEO Philippe Perez and lawyer Igor Levin, who had been mandated by OM owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, to tinker with the deal he had settled upon some weeks earlier.
The agreement, which ran to 2017, would have increased Bielsa’s contract by 25 percent. Bielsa reportedly criticised Perez and Louis-Dreyfus when he explained himself briefly to the Marseille squad early on Sunday morning.
In a letter to club president Vicent Labrune that Bielsa made available to Argentine media, the coach said:
 “After a series of meetings we reached an agreement on terms to extend the contract for 2016-17.

Over these past few months I have been working and thinking that everything was cleared up and all that remained was for it to be stamped.”

Bielsa said he made the letter public “because I feel it is necessary to explain my position in the exact same way I am going to explain it to you. Last Wednesday I was called in to meet with the CEO [Perez] and attorney Igor Levin [Louis-Dreyfus’ legal representative] and they informed me that they would like to adjust some points of the agreement we had previously reached. It was after this meeting that I reached my decision and I am explaining it and it is definite.

“I don’t know if you had approved or ignored it, but I know that I rejected important offers to continue at Marseille because I was very interested in this project. But today I cannot accept this unstable situation brought on by the move to change the terms of the contract.‎

“So my position is that I will no longer continue working with you. Working together demands a little bit of trust and now we do not have that,” Bielsa said.‎

0 240
Entertainment, Sports

We don't miss Cech – Jose Mourinho

I’m certain he’s not on the same page with some Chelsea fans. They don’t miss who? Jose Mourinho has said that their ex skipper, Petr Cech isn’t missed in Stamford Bridge because ‎they have equally better goalkeepers.

He was quoted by the British media thus, “We don’t miss Petr. We’ve got a good keeper, the problem with Petr is not that we miss him because we have two excellent keepers. The problem with Petr is that an opponent is better than before. Thibaut and Asmir are two fantastic keepers. My club did very well by getting a keeper on time and not on the August 31,” Mourinho added.

0 265
Entertainment, Sports

Manchester City table £45M bid for De Bruyne

Manchester city have launched a £45M bid for Kevin De Bruyne despite Wolfsburg Sporting Director’s insistence that the winger is not for sale.

The offer comprises of £40m up front, with £5m of guaranteed add-ons, as Manuel Pellegrini’s side look to finally seal a deal for the Belgian international, whom they have tracked for the majority of the summer.
Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs insisted on August 1 that De Bruyne was “99.9%” certain to stay put but conceded that the club would listen to the offer
should City make their move.

De Bruyne, who has excelled with Wolfsburg following his £18m move from Chelsea in 2014, started and scored for Dieter Hecking’s side in Saturday’s German Cup clash against Stuttgarter Kickers.
That could be his final appearance in a Wolfsburg shirt, however, with City desperate to get the deal over the line as they look to add to the summer arrivals of Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph, Enes Unal, and Patrick Roberts.
0 264
Entertainment, Sports

Alexis Sanchez to return in 10 days

Arsenal star, Alexis Sanchez is set to make a return in 10 days according to manager Arsene Wenger.
Sanchez will miss Sunday’s Premier League opener against West Ham after he returned to training later than his Arsenal’s teammates following his involvement in this summer’s Copa America tournament.
“He came back in surprisingly good shape,” Wenger said about his attacking star who scored 16 Premier League goals in his debut season with Arsenal.

“Sunday [against West Ham] will certainly come too early, but in 10 days he should be OK.”

With Sanchez set to be available for Arsenal’s home game against Liverpool on Aug. 24 at the latest, Wenger could soon have all of his top names to select from after the updated status of Wilshere’s injury offered a boost to the injury-prone midfielder who has started just 48 Premier League games over the last four seasons.

Wenger also played down Wilshere’s injury and disclosed he should be back in action soon.
“Jack is down, but the good news yesterday helped him to cope with it,” he added.
“You can never get used that [injuries]. When you want to play football, you ever get used to your body letting you down.

“The positive thing in this injury is it is not a recurrence of one of his former injuries. As well, the positive news with Jack is the history doesn’t play a part when he comes back. He plays with the same confidence and desire as before, but of course it’s difficult.
“We have all been at that age where he wakes up in the morning and wants to wants to play football and it is mentally difficult to wake up and not be able to do that, it’s difficult.”
0 248
Entertainment, Sports

Alvaro Morata ruled out for a month

Serie A champions, Juventus have been hit with another injury blow as Alvaro Morata has been sidelined for a month owing calf injury. The Spain international had been set to start Saturday’s Supercoppa Italiana clash with Lazio in China but tore a calf muscle in training on Tuesday.
Consequently, Morata will now miss Juve’s Serie A opener against Udinese on August 23, as well as the trip to the Stadio Olimpico the following weekend to take on Scudetto rivals Roma.
“Alvaro Morata will be sidelined for up to 30 days after suffering a torn soleus muscle in his left calf,” read a statement released on Juve’s official website.
“Having departed the work-out early, the striker underwent tests today in Shanghai to reveal the full extent of the damage.”
The news of Morata’s injury is coming days after new signing, Sami Khedira was also sidelined for two months after picking up an hamstring injury.
0 278
Entertainment, Sports

Edin Dzeko a step closer to completing Roma move

Manchester city striker Edin Dzeko has moved a step closer to joining Italian club, Roma as he has flown to Italy to finalise things. Sources revealed that both clubs have agreed a fee for the switch and it is now subject to a medical and personal agreement.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini admitted during the club’s preseason tour of Australia that Dzeko could leave the club this summer. If Dzeko agrees personal terms and passes his medical he will become is the second City player to move to Serie A this summer after Stevan Jovetic joined Inter Milan on loan earlier this week.
Totti said last month he hopes Roma sign City striker Dzeko while Miralem Pjanic said his Bosnia and Herzegovina teammate “would come running” if given the opportunity to join the Giallorossi.
0 243
Entertainment, Sports

Wins over Arsenal are not special – Mourinho

Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho said in an interview that victories over Arsenal does not make him extremely happy or special. The manager made the statement ahead of their community shield clash tomorrow at the Wembley. When asked if he takes pride in his record against Wenger, Mourinho replied: “No. It doesn’t matter, Arsenal, the manager, whoever.
“I think [the Community Shield is] in between. It’s more than a friendly, like with Barcelona and PSG [friendlies], but it’s less than a league game. Different motivation. Who knows?” he said when questioned on Wenger’s ability to win. “I’ve never made a special thing about wins over Arsenal. I don’t explode with happiness when I beat them, and I won’t make drama when I lose.”

Mourinho and Wenger have a long-standing rivalry, with the Frenchman yet to beat his counterpart in 13 attempts, while the Blues manager described the 65-year-old as a “specialist in failure” 18 months ago.
0 334
Entertainment, Sports

Super Falcons, Dream travel for qualifiers

The Super Falcons and Nigeria U-23 team will leave the country on Thursday (today) to Bata, Equatorial Guinea and Pointe Noire, Congo respectively for their all-important  second leg encounters of their 2016 Rio Olympic qualifying fixtures.

Both teams are treading on slippery ground (having failed to win convincingly at home) as they face their opponents away on Sunday, August 2, after the Falcons played a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in Abuja, and the U-23 team managed a 2-1 win over Congo’s Red Devils in Port Harcourt.
According the Nigeria Football Federation official website, the Falcons are expected to arrive in Malabo at about 3A0 on Friday aboard CEIBA Airline, and then proceed to mainland Bata by 7am. They are scheduled to have their final training at the Stadium Nkoatoma de Bata on Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s clash.

The U-23 team, led by coach, Samson Siasia, would fly aboard Ethiopia Airline to Pointe Noire, and are expected to arrive just after noon.
FIFA has appointed Marximina Luzia Bernardo from Angola as referee for the Equatorial Guinea Nigeria match in Bata, with fellow Angolans Luisa Massanga Luhaco, Bimbi Francisco Jeremias and Tania Marisa Duarte as first assistant, second assistant, third assistant and fourth official respectively.
0 325
Entertainment, Sports

Mexico wins the gold cup

Mexico won a record seventh Gold Cup with a dominant win against first-time finalists Jamaica.
Jamaica were the first Caribbean team in the final, but were unable to produce an upset as El Tri won their third title from the last four cups. Andres Guardado volleyed the opener in front of almost 70,000 at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.
Jesus Corona and Oribe Peralta added goals before Darren Mattocks’s late consolation.
“We’re very happy,” Mexico manager Miguel Herrera said. “We dominated the ball. We got the rhythm we wanted and controlled the play. It’s a great satisfaction for all of us.”

The Gold Cup is the continental tournament for teams in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
0 266
Entertainment, Sports

Arsenal win the Emirates cup

Theo Walcott’s goal ensured Arsenal’s triumph over Wolfsburg and won Arsenal the Emirates cup for the first time in five years. Having hammered Lyon 6-0 24 hours earlier, Arsenal were favourites to win their own friendly competition.
Saturday’s man of the match Mesut Ozil was the only player retained against the Bundesliga runners-up as Arsene Wenger rotated his starting line-up ahead of next
weekend’s Community Shield meeting with Chelsea.
0 260
Open chat