Torres Returns To
Atletico
Fernando Torres will return to Atletico Madrid on loan until
the end of next season, the club have announced. AC Milan on the
weekend confirmed the permanent signing of Torres from Chelsea, but as expected
the out-of-sorts Spanish striker will not be staying at the San Siro. A
statement on Atleti’s official website reads: “Fernando Torres returns to
Atletico Madrid after an agreement was reached between our club and Milan as
the international striker will play on loan for the remainder of the season and
one more campaign.” Speculation had been rife that the deal could involve
Alessio Cerci going the other way. Torres launched his career at the Vicente
Calderon, netting 82 goals in 214 outings for Los Rojiblancos before moving on
to Liverpool, Chelsea and then Milan.
Liverpool goalkeeper
Simon Mignolet is determined to come back stronger for his club spell after being
benched in recent weeks. The Belgian gloveman was dropped from the Reds’
starting line-up ahead of their clash against Manchester United earlier this
month, and spent the next three matches watching from the dug-out. Yet an
injury to Brad Jones allowed the 26-year-old to come on and preserve his side’s
cleansheet in their Boxing Day 1-0 victory over Burnley, and could very well
start in Liverpool’s next League encounter on Monday evening. Mignolet revealed
how coach Brendan Rodgers spoke to him before he was dropped, but insists he
has learnt from his spell on the sidelines.”We spoke together and cleared
up a few things and I think that was a positive discussion,” the former
Sunderland keeper said. “I will not discuss what we spoke about, but it
was an honest meeting – why not? There is always a reason and discussion why,
and I am a guy who always tries to speak and be positive and work hard on my
game, and that is what I have done in this period with the goalie coach (John
Achterberg) and Jonesy. Sometimes you have to make something positive from a
negative thing like going out of the team, which I’ve tried to do. It is always
difficult at first but I am a 26-year-old goalkeeper and I know what I have to
work on, things in your game can still improve.”
Stoke boss Mark Hughes is hoping Bafana Bafana’s Afcon group
opponents Senegal go out early in the competition, such is the value of Mame
Biram Diouf to the Potters. Hughes could be without Diouf – who
scored both goals in Sunday’s 2-0 win over West Brom – for up to a month
depending on how the Teranga Lions fair at the CAF showpiece, which runs from
January 17 to February 8 in Equatorial Guinea. “[I am] a little bit
[frustrated],” Hughes said. “Because obviously he scored two today
and strikers can be a bit streaky. Once they get a goal they invariably get
them in the next two or three games. Hopefully that will be the case while he
is still with us. We are going to miss him, but hopefully they’ll get knocked
very quickly so he won’t miss many games.” Hughes initially deployed Diouf
out wide against the Baggies to accommodate Peter Crouch upfront. He later
moved Diouf into a central role to good effect.
Manchester United
boss Louis van Gaal felt his team exhibited fatigue in their goalless draw with
Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. United, who beat Newcastle 3-1
on Boxing Day, started well against Spurs but lost momentum after the interval.
Van Gaal believes playing two matches inside 48 hours detracted from the
spectacle at White Hart Lane. “When you play your best first half of the
season as Manchester United, at White Hart Lane, a top six club of the Premier
League and you play like that, create six to eight chances, open chances, you
have to finish that,” Van Gaal said. “If you don’t reward yourselves
then, normally the opponent wins. You could see also the difference in the
second half – it was not football any more, it was a struggle for life.
Tottenham won the second balls and that’s why they were more dominating than
Manchester in the second half. “You need also a little fortune. Tottenham
could score also in the second half. I’m happy that they didn’t. The Dutchman
added: “It’s scientifically proven that the body cannot recover within 48
hours. When you, as an FA, allow that to play matches, you see what it’s like. The
second half was much different from the first half. And not only for Manchester
United, also for Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea captain John Terry will soon receive a new contract
offer, according to club manager Jose Mourinho. The 34-year-old
defender’s existing deal expires in June. “It’s a formality,” Mourinho
said. “There are no doubts that he is going to get another contract. I
know that, he knows that. We in the club, in the board, we know that and I
think also you have to feel that. Without us confirming anything, you have to
feel that. He’s a very important player in the team so the next contract sooner
or later will come.” Terry is the Blues’ most successful skipper, having
led the Londoners to three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups
and a Champions League crown. He has been at Stamford Bridge since 1995, and
has amassed 645 appearances for the league leaders.
Senegalese frontman
Demba Ba has been omitted from his country’s preliminary squad that will do battle
at the African Cup of Nations against South Africa next month. The
29-year-old, now with Turkish side Besiktas, has scored 16 goals in 19
appearances for his club this season, yet was excluded from Senegal’s last two
Afcon qualifiers after being told by national coach Alain Giresse to rest an
ankle injury. Yet Ba claimed he was never injured. “The coach called and
said that I needed to rest and take care of my ankle. It feels strange to me as
I am completely fit and able to play football,” Ba said after his initial
omission. “If Alain Giresse wanted to include me, he would have done so as
he knows that my ankle is completely fine.” It seems the former Chelsea
and Newcastle striker has paid for his outburst as he was not named in a
provisional 28-man Senegalese squad that will feature in the African showpiece
in Equatorial Guinea next month. The Lions of Teranga will most likely be lead
upfront by Newcastle forward Papiss Cisse, who has scored eight goals in 12
matches for the Magpies this season.
Mario Balotelli faces
an even longer spell on the sidelines after coach Brendan Rodgers hinted that
the striker does not fit into Liverpool’s plans. The Reds have been
struggling this season and, while results have not been forthcoming, their play
has slightly improved since switching to a 3-4-3 formation. Balotelli has not
started a game since November 8, and Rodgers suggested the Italian might
continue to be frustrated. “We’re at our best when our game is aggressive. So
for us it was about trying to find the solution to get back that intensity and
tempo to our game, which is critical in terms of how we work,” Rodgers says. “That’s
key, that real aggressive pressure at the top end of the field. The players are
starting to adapt and performances will get better and better. We have seen
it’s not really his [Balotelli] game. Working with him for the period of time
he’s been here we have seen that he’s probably someone who’s better in and
around the box. That level of intensity and pressing isn’t part of his game.
But you try to get the best out of the players you have and the qualities they
have. So that’s something we will focus on. The most important thing is he is
now available and adds another player to the squad. If the team is going to
need him from the bench then it’s something he would have to become adjusted
to.
Former Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson admits he used
his infamous ‘Fergie Time’ as a ply while in charge of the Red Devils. The Scottish manager, who won 38 trophies in his illustrious 26-year career at Old
Trafford, says he would stand on the touchline and look at his watch as a ploy
to get into the minds of the match officials and his side’s opponents. “That’s
why I used to go to my watch,” the veteran explained to BT Sport. “I never
looked at my watch, I didn’t know how many minutes. It gets across to the
opponents and the referee, which is a little trick. The thing about the last
10-15 minutes of a game, particularly at Old Trafford, you’ve got 65,000 people
there. At half-time I always stress: don’t panic, be patient, wait. In the last
15 minutes you can do what you like. I’m a gambler, shove bodies up front, take
the gamble … it didn’t always work but a lot of times it did. If you’re in
that dressing room after the game and we’ve scored in the last minute, the
electricity is unbelievable, they’re jumping on top of each other,
hand-clapping, it’s a fantastic place to be.” Ferguson said he was just doing
his job of keeping the United faithful content. Most important thing is that
those fans are walking out of the stadium desperate to get down to the pub to
talk about, desperate to get home to tell their wife and their kids what
happened at Old Trafford in the last minute of the game,” he said. “And that’s
my job, to get them home happy.”
Liverpool manager
Brendan Rodgers has ordered for the pitch at their Anfield base to be relayed
as he feels it hinders their passing game. Rodgers believes the pitch at
Anfield is of a lower standard to the one at their Melwood training ground, and
wants the renovations to take place during the off season at the end of May
next year. “We will be getting a new pitch next summer to help the speed of our
game,” explained Rodgers. “It is an old pitch that has not been upgraded for
some years and it can be a disadvantage for us. It is difficult to play
one-touch football on it. It is nothing to do with the ground staff at the club
or at Melwood, who are outstanding, it is just because the pitch is old,” he
added. The Reds boss, though, will continue to play on the pitch as the process
of resurfacing it takes time and therefore cannot be done during the course of
the season. “We will do the best on it until the end of the season,” said the
former Swansea manager.
Bundesliga strugglers
Borussia Dortmund continue to support under-fire coach Jurgen Klopp despite the
club ending 2014 joint-bottom of the League standings. The German club, who
finished second to winners Bayern Munich in the title race last season, have
had a dismal first half of their 2014/15 season, losing ten of their 17 matches
– the most losses in the German League thus far by any club. Despite finishing
top of their Champions League group, they have not been able to convert their
impressive continental form onto the domestic front as they have amassed just
15 points from their 17 games and are a humiliating 30 points behind
pace-setters Bayern already. The Dortmund faithful have voiced their
displeasure with jeers and banners at recent matches, yet club chief executive
Hans-Joachim Watzke says criticism of coach Jurgen Klopp is “embarrassing” as
the club continues to back the 47-year-old German tactician. “There is
zero doubt over Klopp’s control. We are totally convinced by him,” Watzke
said. Watzke did however admit that the club will look to beef up their squad
in the upcoming January transfer window, with a fee already agreed for Salzburg
and Slovenian international midfielder Kevin Kampl. With an uphill battle in
the Bundesliga facing them in 2015, Dortmund will also have their work cut out
in the Champions League, where they have been drawn against Serie A champions
Juventus.
Barcelona midfielder
Xavi Hernandez has criticised Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo’s status as
the favourite to win the 2014 Ballon d’Or award. Ronaldo is widely tipped
to win the coveted FIFA World Player of the Year for the second successive year
after winning it in 2013. Last season, Ronaldo was instrumental in helping
Madrid lift their 10th UEFA Champions League title. However, Xavi has questioned
the Portuguese’s status, pointing out that Ronaldo failed to help his national
team to advance beyond the group stages of the World Cup in Brazil earlier this
year. “He didn’t do much in the World Cup, and in a World Cup year, the
season is defined by that,” said the Spanish international. The
34-year-old also revealed that his Real Madrid rival would not feature in his
top three for 2014. “[In first place I would have] Leo, second Philipp
Lahm, and third Javier Mascherano,” he added. Xavi then went on to rubbish
reports that Argentine stalwart Leo Messi has an attitude problem after he
refused to be substituted against La Liga side Eibar in October. “This
image of Messi is totally false,” he said. “I think it’s great that
people can talk and say what they want, but this is a lie. Messi never imposes
himself on the team. This squad agrees on everything.
Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was left
fuming after he finished in second place in a vote for Sweden’s top sports
person of all time. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter recently listed
their top 150 sports stars of all time, with tennis star Bjorn Borg finishing
it top sport. Ibrahimovic was aggrieved at being placed behind Borg, as he felt
he deserved much more than that. “Thank you, but to finish second is like
finishing last,” he said, after being congratulated. When asked to rank
himself, the Swedish national team captain emphasised his unrivalled status as
the greatest. “I would have been number one, two, three, four and five,
with due respect to the others,” said Ibrahimovic.
Xavi says it was a
late call from Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu which kept him at the
club and stopped a move to Major League Soccer. The 34-year-old Spanish
international looked set to join New York City, having told the Catalans of his
decision prior to the World Cup due to a lack of game-time under Tito Martino. But
Bartomeu’s call – and a subsequent one to new coach Luis Enrique – convinced
Xavi to prolong his career at the Nou Camp. “The decision was made. I was
going to New York. It was all done,” he told Sport. “A call from Bartomeu was
what changed everything. He called my agent and told him that he wanted me
here. Before I went to the World Cup I told them I thought my time at Barcelona
was over. I did not feel useful and thought it was not to be. After the World
Cup I received a call from Bartomeu and then talked to Luis Enrique. He told me
I’m going to be a very useful player, that if I prove it, I’ll play, that I’m
still competitive and they thought of me well, that we would have a good year. He
convinced me. It was decisive. I changed. We already had bags packed with my
wife to go to New York.” Xavi now says it was one of the best decisions he
has made. “I’m happy. I’m enjoying it. I would never have imagined it. I feel
useful, I feel competitive. There are days that I felt I played well, I had
good games and good performances and I think the team is going in the right
direction.”
Chelsea midfielder
Cesc Fabregas has implied former club Barcelona are a one-man team this season
given their reliance on Lionel Messi. Barca are through to the last-16 of
the Champions League as group winners, while they are only a point behind Real
Madrid in the La Liga standings, albeit having played an extra game. Fabregas,
however, feels Messi has shouldered much of the responsibility for the Catalans
progress in 2014/15. “This season Barca are Messi and 10 others,” he
told Radio Marca. “Messi has saved his team on many occasions.” When
asked if he would like the Argentinian to join him at the Blues, he said:
“I wish! Why not? I’d love that to happen. I’d be all for it. As a Barca
man, I believe that Messi deserves to retire there for all that he has given
the club. He is a legend that has changed Barca’s history. But, as his
team-mate and friend, without doubt I’d love to have Leo by my side.”