Lowly Cesena came back from two goals down to stun 10-man Juventus 2-2 and steal a point at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi in Serie A on Saturday.Juventus travelled to Cesena on the back of a three-match losing run, and they looked to have put that behind them as Alessandro Matri scored a first-half brace.But a penalty to Luis Antonio Jimenez in the shadows of half-time gave their relegation-threatened opponents reason to believe, and Juve’s worst fears were realised in the 80th minute as Marco Parolo nabbed a deserved equaliser.The result is a further blow for Juve boss Luigi Delneri, who is under increasing pressure to keep his job following a poor run of results for the proud Italian club.Matri, on loan from Cagliari until the end of the season, was in threatening form early and had already seen a goal ruled out for offside before his 19th-minute opener.The Italian striker applied to the finishing touch to a magnificent link-up move with Alessandro Del Piero, threading his shot from a tight angle to put Juve up 1-0.Cesena should have equalised near the half hour through Emanuele Giaccherini, who missed an easy follow-up to his original shot with Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon beaten and the goal his mercy.The seesawing momentum swung back the way of Juventus as Matri picked up his second in the 35th minute, finishing where Giaccherini could not after Del Piero’s shot struck the crossbar.But Cesena had pulled one back six minutes later through Jimenez, who converted from the spot after Buffon was punished for tripping up Parolo, and two minutes later Juve defender Marco Motta received his marching order after picking up a second caution.Cesena came out after the break looking lively and dominated the second half, though Buffon repelled their initial attacks with a number of fine saves.But Parolo would not be denied, smashing in a half-volley after Jimenez’s free kick fell invitingly at his feet 20 minutes from time to heap further pain on Juventus.Juve remain seventh on the table for the time being, though they could fall as far as ninth once the weekend’s round is completed.Cesena move a point clear of the relegation zone in 17th place, though they will fall into the drop zone if Lecce can pull out something special at home to Bologna on Sunday.
If I’m being honest, the 2010 World Cup, the event billed as football’s biggest showpiece, has been somewhat of a disappointment. Low on goals, low on quality, low on drama, Africa’s first World Cup has certainly failed to live up to expectations thus far. Whilst one would be spoilt for choice when asked to select the tournament’s most underwhelming game, one would be hard pressed to look beyond France’s opening Group A clash with Uruguay last Friday.
Emblematic of the tournament as a whole, the opening day’s drab 0-0 affair with Uruguay painted Les Bleus as a shadow of their former selves. Devoid of the inspiration of the French sides of 1998, 2000 and 2006, the performance of Raymond Domenech’s side alluded to a team in turmoil, begging the question, what exactly is wrong with France?
France skipper Patrice Evra blamed his side’s dismal showing against Uruguay on the horns used by fans at the World Cup, claiming that “[my team-mates and I] can’t sleep at night because of the vuvuzelas. People start playing them from 6am. We can’t hear one another out on the pitch because of them.”
Even the most ardent French supporter would fail to believe that their side’s problems are entirely attributable to the use of vuvuzelas. Since the contentious nature of their qualification for the World Cup, French football has been shrouded in controversy and confusion. The team travelled to South Africa amidst a backdrop of unrest, disharmony and mediocrity. The apparent rot that has set in amongst Les Bleus can be traced back as far as the summer of 2008. At the last European Championship finals, France suffered the ignominy of finishing bottom of their group, with just one point and one goal scored. Determined to swiftly banish the memory of their abject display in Austria & Switzerland, France were unable to top their qualifying group for World Cup 2010, finishing a point behind group winners Serbia.
As such, finishing second led to their now infamous two-legged play-off clash with the Republic of Ireland, whereby the ‘handiwork’ of Thierry Henry created the tie’s decisive goal. Despite securing qualification for the World Cup, many were unhappy by the way in which France won the tie, with former World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit explaining to The Sun that, “the feeling among the French public is one of embarrassment.” More recently, French football was rocked by the news that national team players Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou had slept with the same underage prostitute. Despite the fact that full investigations into the matter have been postponed until the end of the World Cup, there is no doubt that the revelations would have had a negative impact upon the squad.
Although unrest and cliques within national team camps are commonplace, the level of press coverage claiming divisions within the French squad suggests that all is not well amongst Domenech’s charges. Eschewing the initial omissions of the likes of Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri, Domenech’s decision to leave out Chelsea’s Players’ Player of the Year Florent Malouda from the side’s starting line-up to face Uruguay was baffling. Although Malouda has since expressed surprise at being left out, reports have suggested that his omission stemmed from a bust-up between the pair, with Domenech thought to have expressed displeasure at Malouda’s “over-zealous” attitude in training. Malouda’s usually outspoken compatriot William Gallas allegedly refused to speak to the media throughout the entire duration of the World Cup due to anger at being overlooked for the French captaincy.
Patrice Evra has sought to quell such speculation; speaking of rumours of unrest, the Manchester United man stated, ‘‘That’s bull. That’s not true. The mood is good.”
Aside from issues off the field, it is clear to see that France have problems on the field. The absence of Real Madrid anchorman Lassana Diarra has led to an enforced formation switch from 4-2-3-1 (France’s preferred system throughout the qualifying campaign) to the more attacking 4-3-3 (the formation that was debuted in France’s friendly against Costa Rica on May 26). Whilst the change in system indicates a new found proclivity for attacking play, altering the formation so close to the start of tournament failed to provide the players with the chance to sufficiently adapt; unconvincing draws against Tunisia and (latterly) Uruguay, as well as a defeat to China would suggest that this is the case.
France’s lack of cohesion against Uruguay was symptomatic of the fact that many of the players are not yet accustomed to the new system. Former French international Jean-Pierre Papin, highly critical of Domenech, highlighted the inadequacies of Nicolas Anelka as a lone frontman, stating “Nicolas Anelka is not a striker. You need a player who is astute in front of goal. I would play Djibril Cisse or even Andre-Pierre Gignac.” The lack of fluidity and creativity in France’s midfield meant that the intelligent Anelka was starved of service, and forced to play deep and wide, thus meaning that France spent long stretches of the game without a recognised centre-forward to trouble Uruguay’s defence.
Most bookmakers currently rank France as eighth in the list of favourites to win the World Cup outright, a staggering fact when considering the international success the nation have enjoyed over the last 12 years. Unfortunately, their display against Uruguay did little to suggest that the bookmakers have gotten it wrong.
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Former Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit has urged the Stamford Bridge club to try once-more to sign Luka Modric from Tottenham come the January transfer window.
Andre Villas Boas’ men had at least three bids for the Croatian midfielder rejected by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy over the summer, with a deadline day offer of £40 million knocked back by the White Hart Lane outfit.
Despite this, and Modric’s willingness to continue to play for Harry Redknapp’s team despite the speculation, the Dutch coach feels another attempt should be made to pry the playmaker away from Spurs come the new year.
“The player Chelsea still need, for me, is Modric,” Gullit told Mirror Football.
“They have great players all around the pitch but he has something Chelsea doesn’t have at the moment. He is creative and dominates the passing game in the midfield – he could be like Xavi or Iniesta are to Barcelona.
“I was surprised Tottenham didn’t accept £40m because they are known to sell their best players for good offers. I think Chelsea will try to sign Modric again in January and maybe this time they will get him,” he concluded.
Harry Redknapp has previously stated that Modric is pivotal in Spurs’ development as a team, and the North London side are reportedly set to offer the Eastern European a pay rise to keep his suitors at bay.
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Manchester United travel to the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday for a Champions League round-of-16 tie against French champions Marseille.United have an impressive recent pedigree in European competition. They won the tournament in 2008 and reached the final the following season before losing to Barcelona.In 2010, United dispatched Italian giants AC Milan to set-up a quarter-final with Bayern Munich. They appeared to be cruising towards a fourth successive semi-final berth before losing Wayne Rooney to an ankle injury. Strikes from Arjen Robben and Ivica Olic helped Bayern dump United out 4-4 on the away goals and without Rooney they stumbled to second place in the English Premier League behind Chelsea.They lead the league table by four points ahead of Arsenal this season and have only lost twice in all competitions. Marseille captured the French league championship for the first time in 18 years under coach Didier Deschamps last year and are three points behind Ligue 1 leaders Lille this season.They have won five of their last six in all competitions, are unbeaten at home in 12 matches and could prove a difficult prospect for a United team who were less than convincing in their 1-0 win over non-league Crawley Town in the FA Cup on Saturday.Marseille will be without midfielder Mathieu Valbuena, who has been sidelined since January, leaving Benoit Cheyrou and Lucho Gonzalez as the key men in the middle of the pitch. Striker Andre-Pierre Gignac is also out after picking up a groin strain, forcing Deschamps to sweat on the fitness of forwards Luc Remy and Brandao. United have a number of long-term absentees still on the sidelines, including midfielders Park Ji-Sung, Antonio Valencia and Owen Hargreaves. And the news got worse on Tuesday with Ryan Giggs and centre-back Rio Ferdinand among seven players ruled out of the trip. With fellow defender Jonny Evans also out, Chris Smalling will be expected to deputize alongside Nemanja Vidic.
Werder Bremen have denied receiving any offers for Germany World Cup star Mesut Ozil.
The 21-year-old playmaker has been one of the standout performers in Germany's impressive march to the semi-finals in South Africa.
Spanish giants Barcelona and several Premier League clubs, including Chelsea and Manchester City, are reported to be interested in signing the former under-21 international.
However, manager Klaus Allofs has denied reports that the Bundesliga club have already started to fend off official interest from suitors.
"Mesut had appeared in the focus of clubs before the World Cup had kicked off," he said."Now he is playing a fantastic World Cup campaign, this is definitely increasing interest.
"But when it comes down to concrete bids, nothing has been done. We want him to stay on and actually there is no news. There are no indications he does not want to see out his contract at our club."
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Ozil has scored one goal in five World Cup appearances for Germany in South Africa.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Chelsea are set to rival Arsenal and Fulham for the signature of Brighton star Lewis Dunk, the Metro understands, after the 19-year-old defender has established himself in Gus Poyet’s side.
Dunk, a product of the Seagulls’ academy, has impressed for Poyet’s side after the Uruguayan was forced into playing the teenager due a host of injuries to key defenders, including Adam El- Abd and Tommy Elphick.
A string of eye-catching performances alongside captain Gordan Greer in the heart of defence have seen his stock rise considerably after Brighton’s strong start to the season.
With a reputation as a tough, no-nonsense defender Dunk has proved to be unfazed by the physicality of the Championship and has attracted admiring glances from the Premier League.
Arsenal and Fulham have already sent scouts to the Amex Stadium to watch the defender in action during last week’s Carling Cup defeat to Liverpool. Chelsea, who have followed Dunk’s progress through the ranks, had representatives watching him in Friday’s draw against Leeds.
Despite his emergence as a first team regular on the South Coast and Poyet’s eagerness to build a team capable of a promotion push it’s thought a bid of £5 million would be enough to see him leave the club, with further scouting trips expected from all the interested parties.
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Claudio Ranieri is adamant he will not resign from Roma despite protests calling for the coach’s removal on Saturday.About 200 fans had to be dispersed by police after they hurled fireworks and flares into Roma’s training ground on Saturday morning, angered by the Serie A club’s run of poor form.Roma were defeated 3-2 at home by Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League on Wednesday, and sit a lowly eighth in the Italian league following back-to-back losses.But Ranieri is determined to ride out Roma’s latest slump and remain at the club he supported as a child.”Relax, I’m not going anywhere. I will not abandon the ship,” Ranieri said ahead of Roma’s trip to Genoa on Sunday.”I won’t leave mid-season. It is a difficult situation, so as a native Roman I feel twice as bad, but I don’t like to give in. I have always faced challenges head-on and will continue to do so.”American consortium Di Benedetto are believed to be close to purchasing the cash-strapped club from Rosella Sensi, and reports from Italy have suggested the potential new owners may be planning to oust Ranieri from the position he has held since 2009.But the 59-year-old believes he may be in line for a contract extension should the American group take over at the Stadio Olimpico.”The Sensi family is selling up, while there is a new buyer who still has to complete the process. I received positive messages that they want to renew my contract, but we cannot rush these things,” Ranieri said.”You have to consider the situation when I arrived, as there was no money and I knew it was an extremely difficult situation.””I could’ve easily walked away last season, knowing the next term would be tough. However, that would’ve been like betraying myself.””The fans want to see a team that gives everything on the field. They are focusing on tomorrow’s game against Genoa and want results.””They couldn’t care less about club plans and strategies for the future.”
Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Japan; Premier League clubs are touring the Far East with an increasing regularity. Arsenal are currently in the middle of a tour that has seen them play against a Malaysia 11, and will pit them against Kitchee FC in Hong Kong and Manchester City in an exhibition match in Beijing. Both Manchester clubs are also on tours to the surrounding area.
The benefits of these tours are obvious, but they’re also obviously financial. Every club recognises that if they want to compete on the field they also need to compete off it. Basically, that means doing whatever your competitors do. So, if Man Utd build up a following in the Far East then Arsenal, City and the rest have to do so too.
In terms of merchandise, the markets in the UK are already saturated. Every football fan in this country is already spending vast sums of money on their club through shirt sales and ever-increasing ticket prices, but we only make up a fraction of the fan base of our clubs.
The potential for the growth of supporters abroad is almost limitless. It is an opportunity that cannot be missed. But is it actually beneficial at all in footballing terms?
Teams currently on tours to the US face a similar problem in terms of the quality of opposition their facing, although it could be possible to play another European team out there like Chelsea and PSG did. Can mangers really claim that these matches are preparing their team well for the current season? Is facing a Malaysia 11 or a Hong Kong 11or a Shanghai Shenhua side with no Drogba or Anelka really productive preparation for a season of football in the Premier and Champions League?
At least the teams in America have the luxury of being largely anonymous. They might receive a small amount of attention but they won’t be hounded everywhere they go as they would in parts of Asia.
Chelsea’s team were photographed training in Central Park, it would be near enough impossible to do that in Beijing or Kuala Lumpur. That too is an issue. A pre-season tour should be a relaxing affair where the players are free from the press and the distractions in England, free to focus on the season ahead and how they will perform as a team. How are these teams supposed to focus when they are constantly being paraded in public, singing shirts and photos from the moment they step off the plane to the moment they leave.
Rather than being a relaxing but concentrated training programme for the season ahead it seems like an exhausting PR exercise with some matches thrown in as an afterthought. Yes, these tours do not make up the entirety of the clubs’ pre-seasons but it is an unwelcome distraction nonetheless.
The players say they enjoy it, and I’m sure they do. Who wouldn’t want a holiday abroad with your friends? But that’s not the point. Pre season shouldn’t be enjoyable. It should be a gruelling physical challenge as players force themselves back in to fitness and the mentality needed for 10 months of solid competition.
Until last year teams like Arsenal had never ever been on such tours. The furthest Wenger ever took them was Austria, he always slated the prospect of travelling so far. There must have been a reason for that.
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Like I said, once one English team starts to go on these tours, everyone has to. It is not just the Champions League clubs that do these tours either; as well as Chelsea teams like Spurs, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Stoke are also on tours in America too. As productive as it was for Stoke getting beaten 2-1 by Columbus Crew on their tour you can’t help but wonder what they’re hoping to get out of all this?
Building these relationships abroad is important, but fans aren’t going to decide to support your club just because you came on a tour. It might sound shallow but by-and-large foreign fans will support the teams that are successful. Therefore, wouldn’t everyone be far better off by ensuring that a meticulous, strenuous pre-season was carried out elsewhere – free from media hassle and against good opposition.
After watching Rob Earnshaw squander an absolute sitter for Wales against England, I want to discuss the psychology of missing an open goal. I don’t want to pile any more misery on Earnshaw. You can only feel a horrible gut-wrenching sympathy with the Cardiff City lad. Whatever has occupied him since that miss – shopping, driving or trying to drown his sorrows in a bar – he’ll have been reliving that moment approximately once every 10 seconds.
I missed a couple of shockers myself, all forwards do, so I know it’s the worst feeling in the world. But to understand what it is that makes a professional striker miss one of the most high-profile and glaring opportunities of his career, you have to know what it is that makes a goal-scorer tick. Goal-scoring is a gift given by whichever God you believe in. It cannot be taught, which is what tends to make managers so distrustful of my breed. They know there is nothing they can do to influence us. No, it is all about instinct and nerve.
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Personally, I spent every moment of my football career riddled with self-doubt – except for the 90 minutes a week when I was out on the pitch. I know plenty of footballers who have been exactly the opposite. Cocky as hell when they’re not playing, always talking a good game and never playing one. Off the pitch, I was a typical young bloke who didn’t want to take any responsibility for anything. On the field of play, I was a different person entirely.
I knew it was my responsibility to score goals and I made damned sure I scored them. When they talk about a sportsman being ‘in the zone’ I understand what they mean. It’s not quite as extreme as being a sniper, who’s able to get his target into a viewfinder and pull the trigger in the knowledge that he’ll be taking his victim out. But you need the same sort of mindset, the same coldness. You must have no feeling, you must pick your spot and, more often than not, pass the ball into the net.
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There are many strikers who have all the talent in the world, who are outstanding in training, but could not hit a barn door in front of 100,000 people. Missing an open goal is usually caused by a moment of fear or panic. It’s about flinching under pressure, rather than holding your nerve. I can watch certain players go clear on goal, one-on-one with the keeper as the crowd rise to their feet, and I just know they are going to miss. There are a few, such as Wayne Rooney, who have simply ‘got it’ – that coldness, that nervelessness that I remember in myself and you know more often than not, they’ll snap up a chance.
Missing an open goal is not the worst offence a striker can be guilty of. Every time you arrive in the box and sniff out those chances you are taking a risk – you are gambling on being a hero or looking an absolute prat. There are a hell of a lot of so-called goalscorers who simply aren’t brave enough to take those gambles often enough. And while he’ll never be the greatest striker in the world, Earnshaw cannot be accused of being one of those.
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish blamed a draining week of international friendlies for the Reds’ 1-1 draw against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles put the hosts ahead in the 24th minute with his fifth goal from the past six league games, but the Reds tired at Anfield and conceded an equaliser to Wigan defender Steve Gohouri after the hour.
Dalglish said his side were robbed of their finishing touch by the residual effects of the midweek friendlies, which saw Liverpool’s four-match winning streak come to an end.
“We started well enough, we pushed forward and scored a goal,” Dalglish said.
“(But) you could tell that Wednesday night took a lot out of them. There was just that little bit of an edge missing.”
“If that edge had been there I think the final pass would have been there, and there were three or four occasions in the first half when we would have been in.”
“The sharpness was just missing a wee bit, which is understandable.”
“We are disappointed not to have taken three points, and with a bit of luck we might have done. I think Wigan, though, might have felt a wee bit aggrieved if they had left here without a point.”
“Luis (Suarez) hit the post twice, their goal is offside, but these things happen. We have to dust ourselves down and get on with it. It’s not been that damaging.”
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez praised his side for responding so emphatically following Meireles’ opener, and said the Latics left Merseyside with a deserved point.
“You come to Anfield and you go 1-0 down after playing well, that’s difficult,” Martinez said.
“The performance was really pleasing first half and the goal probably came against the run of play, and it’s a fantastic strike.”
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“But I felt we had long spells of possession in the first half and grew into the game.”
“We didn’t show that belief that you need to show to hurt a team like Liverpool. I just felt that at half-time with that score-line and that feeling, I felt we could have done a little bit better, but we didn’t play badly.”
“I thought the reaction (in the second half) was great. We had good composure, we are a young group.”
“I felt we deserved a point. Coming to Anfield at this time, if you’re not at your best you’re not going to get anything, so the players deserve huge credit.”