Advocaat Replaces
Poyet At Sunderland
Sunderland have appointed Dick Advocaat as their new manager
until the end of the season. The former Netherlands coach takes over
a day after the sacking of Gus Poyet with the Black Cats one point above the
Premier League relegation zone. Poyet was sacked after a run of just one
victory in 12 league games, which left Sunderland 17th in the Premier League
and one point above the relegation zone. They were thrashed 4-0 at home by
relegation rivals Aston Villa in Poyet’s last game and Advocaat’s reign will
get under way with a game at West Ham on Saturday. “Sunderland is a big
club and I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead,” said the
Dutchman. “We must now concentrate on Saturday as a priority.” Advocaat
has been out of work since resigning as Serbia coach in November. His previous
clubs include Rangers, PSV Eindhoven and Zenit St Petersburg, while the
Dutchman has also managed six national teams, including Belgium and South
Korea. Advocaat has won domestic league titles in Netherlands, Scotland and
Russia.
Liverpool legend
Jamie Carragher has told SkySports he would not pick Steven Gerrard for the
club’s huge Premier League clash against Manchester United. Gerrard made
his return from injury in the 1-0 win over Swansea City, playing the final 26
minutes, with Jordan Henderson hitting the winner four minutes after his
introduction. Carragher says that despite the match being Gerrard’s final match
at Anfield against Manchester United, he would stick with the midfield which
started at the Liberty Stadium. Asked if he would start Gerrard, he said:
“No. The team’s playing well. They’ve been on a great run while he’s been
out. Unfortunately if you go out the team, and they continue on a great run
it’s hard to get back for him. It’s unfortunate for him but the players here
are playing too well, you can’t leave them out.” It was not the only
controversial decision in Carragher’s ideal team to face Manchester United, also
omitting striker Daniel Sturridge. Carragher’s preferred XI was as follows:
Mignolet, Sakho, Skrtel, Emre Can, Moreno, Allen, Henderson, Markovic, Lallana,
Coutinho, Sterling. For Liverpool the game is more of a must not lose, than
must win, as a loss would put them six points behind their rivals in the race
to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League. If they draw,
they are still in touch, and with United still to face Chelsea and Manchester
City, there is time for them to slip up; and it is this scenario which could
have affected his cautious recommendation to leave Sturridge on the bench.
Paris Saint-Germain
striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has apologised after calling France a s**t country. The
Sweden international was on target twice, yet ended on the losing side as PSG
lost 3-2 to rivals Bordeaux in their Ligue 1 match-up on Sunday. The match was
marred by a number of controversial referee decisions by match official Lionel
Jeffredo, to whom Zlatan was caught hurling abuse towards after the game,
calling him a “fu**in as**le”. The 33-year-old then slammed the officiating,
saying, “In 15 years I’ve never seen a [good] referee in this s**t
country. It doesn’t even deserve PSG. You’re not playing with amateurs.” The
well-travelled frontman has since apologised for his remarks, saying he did not
mean to offend anyone in France. “Regarding my comments after tonight’s
game: they were not against France or the French people,” he said. “I spoke
about football. I lost the game, I accept that, but I can’t accept when the
referee doesn’t follow the rules. It’s not the first time, and I’m sick of it. My
sincere apologies if anyone was offended, or took it the wrong way.” Ibrahimovic,
who has just come off a two-match Ligue 1 suspension while also receiving a red
card in PSG’s midweek Champions league draw against Chelsea, now faces further
punishment and possible ban, should the French League decide to act on the
matter.
Liverpool coach
Brendan Rodgers has his sights set on second place in this year’s Premier
League title chase. The Reds secured their fifth straight league victory in
a 1-0 win over Swansea City on Monday night thanks to a second half ricocheted
effort from midfielder Jordan Henderson, as they remain in fifth place in the
EPL table but just four points adrift of second-placed Manchester City. And although a top four position remains the
ambition of all English clubs, Brendan Rodgers says he is aiming for more.
“Our aim is to finish as high as we can, not just to finish fourth,”
the Liverpool coach told Sky Sports. “We go three points behind Arsenal,
and obviously with Manchester City losing at the weekend it gives us an
opportunity there for that, to push on.” Liverpool are now unbeaten in
their last 13 league matches, having won 10 of those fixtures, and kept their
sixth consecutive clean sheet in last night’s win – a record dating back to
1972. “
Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have finally revealed
their much-anticipated starting line-ups ahead of the all-star charity match on
March 29. Confirmed guest participants include Luis Suarez, Fernando
Torres, Pepe Reina, Dirk Kuyt, Xabi Alonso and Thierry Henry. Gerrard
unsurprisingly picked his old pals Henry, Torres and Suarez while former Reds
defender Carragher opted for the more physical presences of Kuyt, Didier Drogba
and Craig Bellamy.
Gerrard’s Charity XI: Jones, Riise, John Terry, Warnock;
Babel, Alonso, Gerrard, Nolan; Suarez, Torres, Henry.
Carragher’s Charity XI: Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Kelly,
Noone, Meireles, Shelvey, Bellamy, Luis Garcia, Drogba, Kuyt.
Marouane Fellaini
says Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney gave an inspiring speech before the
club’s 3-0 victory over Tottenham on Sunday. The Red Devils, who moved five
points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool, dispatched Spurs via first-half goals
from Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Rooney at Old Trafford. “It
was a very important speech,” Fellaini told the BBC. United manager Louis
van Gaal added: “I was aware of [the speech]. The players know this game
was of massive importance so I think a captain has to do something to help the
players or help the manager or help the club. I was very pleased. I was not in
the meeting because the captain has his own privileges.”
Jose Mourinho has hit
out at media criticism targeted against him, insisting he is the best coach in
Europe. Chelsea were knocked out of this year’s Champions League to French
outfit Paris Saint-Germain, and with all the media attention focused on their
decorated coach, the Portuguese manager has hit back, saying he is a cut above
the rest of his counter-parts. “People are too worried about me,” he told
reporters. “They don’t know what my happiness is. My happiness, first of all,
is when I compare myself with the others. I see just a few that are with me in
terms of success. “And the others I see a huge difference, a huge distance,
with all the respect that they deserve, this is not a fight with them, I have
lots of respect for all of them. But in the Premier League, who is European
champion? Me and Van Gaal. Right? In the Premier League, how many won the
Premier League twice or more than twice? Mr Wenger and myself. How many won
every competition in this country? Community Shield, Capital One Cup, FA Cup,
Premier League. How many? How many?” Mourinho continued to compare his CV with
his fellow coaches, believing he is the best before waving off the recent
criticism published in the media. “You go to Europe, how many won seven league
titles? How many won two Champions Leagues? Ancelotti wins three, Van Gaal two
and Pep [Guardiola] has two. I am not content with that, but you are too
worried about myself. What makes me feel special is that I am above all of
this. You think I care with some b******t I read? Do you think I care? I don’t
care.”
Manchester City star
Yaya Toure has named his current dream team, which includes five Spanish
players and no Premier League stars. The Ivorian skipper, who led the
Elephants to Afcon glory earlier this year, revealed his preferred starting 11
to his club’s official website, choosing a host of former teammates at previous
club Barcelona, while excluding himself from his own starting line-up.
Yaya Toure’s Dream XI (3-5-2):
Iker Casillas – Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Matts Hummels –
Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Dani Alves, James
Rodriguez – Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi
Germany coach Joachim Low has extended his contract with the
World Cup winners until 2018. The 55-year-old, who was appointed in
2006, has won the faith of the German Football Association (DFB), who have
chosen to stick with the Fifa World Coach of the Year despite Germany’s
stuttering form after their success in Brazil. Die Mannschaft have won just
seven points from their four Euro 2016 qualifying matches, yet Low has still
been backed for further success with a new contract that ends after the 2018
World Cup in Russia.
Striker Carlos Tevez
says Argentina have “unfinished business” in the Copa America. The losing
2014 World Cup finalists last won the continental showpiece in 1993, with Tevez
being on the losing side in both the 2004 and 2007 Final, and the Juventus
forward, who has been included in the national squad for their upcoming
friendlies against El Salvador and Ecuador, says his side are out to claim to
avenge their recent failures. “It’s definitely something that still pains the
current generation of players,” he told Fifa.com. “We all know that winning a
trophy with the national team would be a fantastic way to round things off. It’s
something that has eluded us for years, so it’s definitely unfinished business.
The latest edition of the Copa America isn’t far away and we’ll have to prepare
as well as we can to produce our very best.”
Jose Mourinho has questioned the support of some Chelsea fans
this season, but it has been left to his son to really put the boot in. Jose
Mourinho Jr., a youth-team goalkeeper with Fulham, was not happy with what he
heard from the Stamford Bridge faithful on Sunday afternoon. The younger
Mourinho was particularly annoyed at criticism of Chelsea midfielder Cesc
Fabregas, who has been singled out by some supporters as being particularly
off-colour lately. Mourinho Jr. posted a picture of Fabregas on his Instagram page
with the following message: Why is everyone hating and blaming Fabregas for
Sunday’s performance… It was a team effort. Fabregas might have not played as
well as most expected but at least he kept fighting… Showed a lot of
character, I’ve seen bad Chelsea fans but Sunday was the worse I’ve ever seen,
Fans booing Cesc not singing at all, I completely agree with the chant
“Mourinho’s right, you’re fans are s—e” Our fans are a disgrace!!!!
Feisty words from young Mourinho. We wonder if he’ll make a good manager some
day. It now appears Mourinho Jr.’s Instagram page has been taken down but not
before screenshots of his message were taken and shared.
Former Manchester
United midfielder Paul Scholes says Chelsea are fooling themselves if they
think they are a great team. The Blues are still reeling from their UEFA
Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain, who progressed on away goals
last Wednesday night, despite having had Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent off in the
first half. Scholes was scathing of Chelsea and their manager Jose Mourinho,
saying they have a long way to be considered among the best in Europe. “In the
build-up to the first leg against Paris Saint-Germain last month, Jose Mourinho
said that his Chelsea side could already be considered ‘a great team’, a remark
that struck me at the time as premature, to say the least,” Scholes wrote
in the Evening Standard. “Great teams do not play away in Europe and
create just one goalscoring chance in the course of a game, as Chelsea did in
Paris. And great teams certainly do not fail to beat opponents reduced to 10
men at home, as Chelsea did on Wednesday. Even down to 10 men, PSG carried on
creating chances, like the one in the second half that ended with Edinson
Cavani hitting the post. That’s what the top teams do, even away from home.
Chelsea’s failure to create chances in Paris, and then again this week, shows
how far they have to go to be considered among the very best in Europe.”
Real Madrid star
Cristiano Ronaldo has overtaken pop singer Shakira as the most ‘liked’ person
on Facebook. The Ballon d’Or holder, who surpassed 100 million Facebook
likes in October, currently has over 107 million fans on the website, 16,000
more fans than Shakira. Barcelona ace Lionel Messi is the second-most popular
footballer on Facebook, with 78 million likes. Retired footballer David Beckham
has just over 52 million fans on Facebook, with Neymar fast approaching a
similar figure.