Messi Becomes La
Liga’s All Time Top Goalscorer
Lionel Messi became the Spanish league’s all-time top scorer
with a hat-trick against Sevilla. Having failed to score in his last
three La Liga matches, the Argentine finally surpassed Telmo Zarra’s 251 goals
for Athletic Bilbao after converting a sublime free-kick to send him on his
way. While Jordi Alba’s own goal momentarily threatened to spoil Messi’s night,
Neymar made it 2-1 in the 49th minute. Ivan Rakitic then nodded in a header before
Messi’s record breaking strike sent the Nou Camp crowd into delirium. The match
eventually finished 5-1 to Barca on a historic night. Remarkably, the
27-year-old magician’s goal tally came in just 250 starts for the Spanish
giants. After the strike which took him past Zarra’s total, Messi’s team-mates
threw him into the air while the crowd at the Nou Camp roared with approval.
Neymar, the Brazilian superstar, bowed down to his teammate in admiration. The
Argentine is the Champions League’s joint highest goal scorer while he already
has four Ballon d’Or trophies to his name. Raul’s European record of 71 goals
tumbled last month after Messi scored twice in Barcelona’s 2-0 victory against
Ajax. “Messi is without doubt the best player I’ve seen as a player and a
coach,” said Barca manager Luis Enrique after the match.
Dynamos have for the
fourth year in succession won the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League title and can
therefore represent the country in the CAF Champions League next year. The
popular Harare side finished on 57 points from 30 games, a point ahead of
second-placed ZPC Kariba. Going into the last games of the 2014 season, Dynamos
were two points behind ZPC Kariba but a 2-0 win over How Mine, which was
coupled by ZPC Kariba¹s 3-2 loss at the hands of Caps United, saw the 1998 Caf
Champions League finalists win the title. This is also coach Kalisto Pasuwa’s
fourth title in a row – a new Zimbabwean record. Pasuwa said he would need to
buy more players should Dynamos decide to embark on the CAF Champions League
journey. However, club chairman Keni Mubaiwa said they are still to decide
whether to play in the tournament as they currently cannot afford such a
financially demanding assignment. Dynamos are the most successful Zimbabwean
club in the CAF Champions League after reaching the Final in 1998 and the
semi-finals 10 years later. They also reached the mini-league stage in 1999 and
2010. For winning the Zimbabwean League, Dynamos received US$100 000.
Milan coach Filippo
Inzaghi insists out-of-form striker Fernando Torres still has the club’s
backing after yet another ineffective display in his side’s 1-1 draw with
rivals Inter Milan. Milan took the lead on 23 minutes through a fine Jeremy
Menez finish, before Inter equalised through Nigerian international Joel Obi
early in the second half, with neither team able to find the winner as the
points were shared last night. Torres was replaced by Japanese international
Keisuke Honda with 17 minutes remaining after failing to trouble Inter
shot-stopper Samir Handanovic, yet coach Filippo Inzaghi is backing his new
recruit to fire soon. “I believe Torres will soon get back on the
scoresheet and I hope so, as we need his goals,” the Rossoneri boss said.
“I tried to improve the level of quality in attack with players like
[Keisuke] Honda, [Jeremy] Menez, [Stephan] El Shaarawy and [Giacomo]
Bonaventura to provide better service for him. I am trying to put the best team
out to get the best out of him. He does well in training, but not every game
goes the same way.” Inzaghi once again used the comparison to Argentina striker
Hernan Crespo, who also took a while to find his scoring form before shining in
the red and black of Milan. “Torres gives his all and I always use the
example of Hernan Crespo,” he said. “Carlo Ancelotti stuck with him when he
didn’t score for two months, then when he made the breakthrough he never
stopped scoring.” The result leaves Milan in seventh place on the Serie A
standings, while Inter remain ninth.
Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski wants to talk to manager
Arsene Wenger about his lack of game-time, saying he has no intention of
“sitting out his contract in the stands”. The Germany
international is yet to start a Premier League or Champions League game this
season – much to his obvious frustration. “I love London, I love the club
but I don’t like the situation,” Podolski said. “I’m not a buffoon
who sits out his contract in the stands. I have to try to talk to Arsene
Wenger. I want a fair chance.” Podolski penned a long-term deal with the
Gunners in April 2012 from Bundesliga side FC Koln.
League One side
Sheffield United have turned down their initial offer to allow convicted rapist
Ched Evans to train with the club. The striker was convicted of rape in
April 2012, but was released from prison last month having served half his
sentence. His club then released a statement on 11 November in which they
stated that at the request of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA),
Evans would be allowed to train with his former club. The announcement was
received with much debate, as four patrons from the club resigned while two of
the club’s main kit sponsors threatened to pull out. United have subsequently
retracted their offer to Evans, issuing a lengthy statement on their official
website:
Ebola-ravaged Guinea
overcame considerable odds to book an African Nations Cup finals place last
Wednesday but must still overcome difficult logistical arrangements and rampant
prejudice as they look ahead to the tournament in January. Guinea is one of
the African countries hit hardest by the ravages of the deadly hemorrhagic
fever, which has claimed more than 1 100 lives in Guinea alone. They have had
to overcome a ban on playing at home, moving their matches to a neutral venue
after the Confederation of African Football banned the hosting of international
matches in Guinea. Their clubs have also been pressured into not playing on the
continent for fear they may be infected, although the vast majority if the
squad are drawn from European-based clubs. The latest is Borussia
Monchengladbach’s Ibrahima Traore, who scored for Guinea in their decisive tie
against Uganda on Wednesday to secure qualification, who was threatened with
isolation from his Bundesliga team mates when he returned. “We have had to go
around in a very strange context,” coach Michel Dussuyer said in interviews
this week, “with health checks and fleeting glances.” Twice a day they had
their temperature checked in Morocco, which allowed them to play their ‘home’
games in Casablanca even though fears over the spread of Ebola have led to the
north African country losing the right to host the upcoming Nations Cup. There
have been some measures we’ve felt have been discriminatory and when you have
your temperature taken twice a day it can get annoying. But everything really
is in the attitude of people you meet and the strange responses we get.” But
the coach also thanked Morocco for allowing them to play their qualifiers in
Casablanca and Benin, where they held training camps. Guinea will also need
more help to finding a venue to be able to train for the two weeks in January,
before the Nations Cup kick off, when they are free to assemble all their
players. The search for a suitable venue for a training camp will begin
immediately.
Manchester United
have moved quickly to cover a social media error that had ruled out midfielder
Daley Blind for six months. The Dutch international was stretchered off in
the Oranje’s 6-0 drubbing of Latvia on Saturday, after which Manchester United
tweeted that their new signing would be out for the next six months. Yet the
extent of Blind’s injury seems to have been over-estimated, as Louis van Gaal
clarified the matter in a press conference on Thursday. “Blind is not
ready to play,” the Red Devils manager said. “He has now a brace on his knee,
10 days’ rest, then we have to make another scan and we can say more about his
injury. It’s not so bad as the doctors are thinking after the match, but it
shall be a long story, I believe, but not six months or something.”
Egypt and defending
champions Nigeria are the two big names who failed to qualify for the 2015
African Cup of Nations. The 16 participating teams have now been confirmed
as follows:
Hosts: Equatorial Guinea
Group A: Bafana Bafana (winners), Congo (runners-up)
Group B: Algeria, Mali
Group C: Gabon, Burkina Faso
Group D: Cameroon, Ivory Coast
Group E: Ghana, Guinea
Group F: Cape Verde, Zambia
Group G: Tunisia, Senegal
Bayern Munich
midfielder Xabi Alonso has described teammate Manuel Neuer as by far the best
goalkeeper he has ever played with. The German gloveman has been in stellar
form in recent years, guiding his club side to consecutive Bundesliga titles
while proving heroic in Germany’s victorious 2014 World Cup campaign. And new
club teammate Xabi Alonso, who has played alongside some of the world’s
greatest keepers including Spain’s number one Iker Casillas, believes Neuer is
by far the greatest goalkeeper he has ever played with. “I must say that
he is not only by far the best goalkeeper with whom I have ever played but also
as an 11th outfield player he is outstanding,” the 32-year-old said. Alonso
admits that Neuer, as well as versatile midfielder David Alaba, were the two
that have most impressed him at Bayern since his transfer window move from Real
Madrid at the start of the season. “Of course I already knew that he was
world class but, along with David Alaba, he has nevertheless surprised me in
Bavaria by how strong he really is,” the Spanish midfielder said.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers says Daniel Sturridge is as
“down as I’ve ever seen him” following news that the striker will be
out until the new year with a fresh thigh injury. The 25-year-old
injured his thigh in training on Tuesday and scans show a different problem to
the ones that have limited him to three games this season. “He’s a player
who doesn’t want to be out for this length of time. He wants to play
football,” said Rodgers. He’s just been extremely unfortunate.” Sturridge,
who scored 25 goals last season, suffered a thigh strain while with England in
September before picking up a calf strain in training in October. He had only
returned to full training last week before picking up his latest injury. “He’s
as down as I’ve ever seen him,” added Rodgers. “Now is the time for
him to go away and see what more we can do to get him on the pitch consistently
because he is a world class talent and he will only fulfil that if he is
playing games. He wants that more than anyone. Daniel has had up to nine
injuries on that same thigh over a period time, not just over the last six or
seven months. Rodgers criticised England’s handling of Sturridge after he was
originally ruled out for up to three weeks.
Philipp Lahm had successful surgery on a broken ankle and
will remain in hospital for a few more days. The club captain, who will be out
for about three months, sustained the injury last Tuesday in training. “His
ankle was fixed with a plate and a screw and he will remain in hospital for
some days,” the club said in a statement. “He will then need to protect the leg
for several weeks before starting his rehabilitation.” Bayern are already
without the injured midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martínez as well as
David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and the forward Claudio Pizarro. The substitute
goalkeepers Pepe Reina and Tom Starke are also sidelined.
Mikel Arteta says it
is “not fair” that Arsenal lost to Manchester United despite
dominating possession and restricting Louis van Gaal’s side to two shots on
target. The Gunners captain was at a loss to explain how they contrived to
lose 2-1 at the Emirates despite having 23 shots and 61% possession. “I’m
shocked,” said Arteta. “I think we played our best game this season
in terms of what we demand of ourselves – the quality in the way we attacked,
how we won the ball back, how consistent we were throughout, the amount of
chances we created. When you are in the box and you can’t manage to score in
that many situations, you can’t expect to win. It’s not fair for the players
and the fans. How can I explain the result? I can’t. I am shocked and
frustrated because we did not deserve this result considering the opposition we
were playing against.”