Germany dominate Ballon d'Or list

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28 October 2014, 11:20

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Germany dominated the Fifa Player of the Year shortlist, with six nominees among the 23 candidates announced on Tuesday, while the 10-man coaching shortlist was full of anomalies and controversy.

Juergen Klinsmann was included among the coaches after leading United States to the last 16 of the World Cup but Jorge Luis Pinto and Jose Pekerman, who took Costa Rica and Colombia respectively to the quarterfinals, were overlooked.

Jorge Sampaoli, whose hugely entertaining Chile side knocked out defending champions Spain on their way to the last sixteen, and Vahid Halilhodzic, who took an inspirational Algeria to the knockout stages, were also ignored.

On the other hand, there was room for Bayern Munich's Pep Guardiola, even though his team's most important match of the year, a Champions League semifinal at home to Real Madrid, ended in a 4-0 defeat.

Almost inevitably, Chelsea's Jose Mourinho also sneaked in despite failing to land a trophy on his return to Stamford Bridge.

The players' list showed similar anomalies and appeared to be based more on European club football than Fifa's flagship tournament.

Manuel Neuer, Thomas Mueller, Toni Kroos, Mario Goetze, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger were six players from world champions Germany to be included and beaten finalists Argentina had three, Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and Javier Mascherano.

Last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo was duly named along with his Real Madrid teammates Gareth Bale (Wales) and James Rodriguez (Colombia).

Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure was the only African player short-listed, Neymar was Brazil's sole representative, and there were none at all from Concacaf region or Asia.

Notable absentees included United States goalkeeper Tim Howard and Costa Rica stopper Keylor Navas, both outstanding in Brazil, and Costa Rica defender Giancarlo Gonzalez, who many critics saw as one of the tournament's most influential players.

Fifa, who organise the award jointly with France Football, said the final three candidates for both awards, officially known as the Ballon d'Or, would be announced on 1 December with the award ceremony in Zurich on 12 January.

"The list of 23 male candidates has been drawn up by football experts from the Fifa Football Committee and by a group of experts from France Football," Fifa said.

"The list of 10 coaches has been drawn up by the committee for Women's Football and Fifa Women's World Cup and by the Fifa Football Committee, as well as by a group of experts from France Football."

Player of the Year shortlist: Mario Goetze (Germany) Toni Kroos (Germany) Philipp Lahm (Germany) Thomas Mueller (Germany) Manuel Neuer (Germany) Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) Angel Di Maria (Argentina) Javier Mascherano (Argentina) Lionel Messi (Argentina) Andres Iniesta (Spain) Sergio Ramos (Spain) Diego Costa (Spain) Karim Benzema (France) Paul Pogba (France) Gareth Bale (Wales) Eden Hazard (Belgium) Thibaut Courtois (Belgium) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) Neymar (Brazil) Arjen Robben (Netherlands) James Rodriguez (Colombia) Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)

Coach of the Year: Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid) Antonio Conte (Italy/Juventus FC) Pep Guardiola (Bayern Munich) Juergen Klinsmann (United States) Joachim Loew (Germany) Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City) Alejandro Sabella (Argentina) Diego Simeone (Argentina) Louis van Gaal (Netherlands)

Source : supersport[dot]com

Video: Leipzig stars celebrate goal with famous 'RKO' wrestling move

Wrestler Rany Orton's trademark 'RKO' move has taken the internet by storm recently and inspired this brilliant celebration from Leipzig's Daniel Frahn and Terrence Boyd after the former scored in a Bundesliga 2 game against VfL Bochum.

Source : talksport[dot]com

Fifa Ballon d'Or 2014: English football not included among nominees

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To find an English footballer in the 23-man shortlist for Fifa’s Ballon d’Or with bookies you needed to scroll down to the 100-1 shots. On the eve of publication, Cristiano Ronaldo was generally 5-1 on, while his old Manchester United mucker, Wayne Rooney, was out with the washing.

English football goes to ground when this list appears. Sticks its fingers in its ears and hibernates. The Premier League is hardly popping corks either. Last season, you had to roll down to Robin van Persie to find a player who draws his wages in England. And Van Persie polled 1.79 per cent of the votes in the great Ronaldo-Lionel Messi duopoly.

At the Zurich Kongresshaus where the game’s icons arrive in presidential convoys, Gareth Bale was the only British player to make the top 10. His vote was 1.32 per cent. After his Champions League final exploits we can expect a stronger showing from the heir to Ryan Giggs. But Roy Hodgson’s England haven't made any inroads.

Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling are potential future mid-market movers. Ahead of them, though, Ronaldo (28 per cent of the vote in 2013) and Messi (25 per cent) will not be fighting off rising stars from England. Neymar (Brazil), James Rodriguez (Colombia) and Eden Hazard (Belgium) will nibble away at the La Liga double act of Messi and Ronaldo. Yet only the giddiest Wembley regular would expect to see a run anytime soon from the core of Hodgson’s New England.

This year's list contains five Premier League players - but none is British. Paul Pogba, who left Manchester United for Juventus, joins the party.

Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ross Barkley and Jack Wilshere stand behind the weltmeisters of Germany. Manuel Neuer - the world’s best goalkeeper – Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller and the wonderful Philipp Lahm would rightly object if their achievement in becoming the first European nation to win a World Cup in the Americas were to be downgraded in favour of Premier League hype.

Equally resistant to English hoopla would be Arjen Robben and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – the next two players in the poll after Ronaldo and Messi. Not to mention Andres Iniesta.

A strong personal feeling is that after four successive Messi wins (2009-2012) Ronaldo is now out on his own, for his goals, power, authority and consistency. The bookmakers agree. Messi meanwhile is plugging his Barcelona team-mate, Neymar, as the next limo off the rank.

"He's going to get it, through his qualities, the way he is, I've no doubt that he can at some time win it," Messi says. "He has great potential, he's a player who has a lot of qualities and he can go as far as he wants. I'm lucky enough to rub shoulders with terrific players on the pitch and he's among them."

Perhaps the best way to illustrate English football’s power deficit is to compare last season’s Fifa FIFPro World XI and the PFA Premier League team of the year.

The World XI was: Manuel Neuer, Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, Sergio Ramos, Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribery, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The PFA side: Petr Cech (Chelsea), Seamus Coleman (Everton), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Luis Suarez (Liverpool), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool).

Though we hide from the shortlist we can never entirely disengage. The first Ballon d’Or winner, in 1956, was Stanley Matthews, who beat Alfredo Di Stefano and Raymond Kopa. The yearning is still there. Now, though, English football is a rank outsider: rich beyond dreams but nowhere near the VIP enclosure.

Source : telegraph[dot]co[dot]uk

Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj: 'Wearing Ryan Giggs' Number 11 Shirt is a Big Deal'

Adnan Januzaj has started the last two Premier League games (Getty)

Manchester United prodigy Adnan Januzaj has revealed the club asked him in the summer if he was ready to inherit the iconic number 11 shirt once Ryan Giggs decided to hang up his boots to become Louis van Gaal's assistant.

Despite many supporters urging the club to retire the shirt following Giggs' retirement, United decided to hand the honour of wearing the number 11 to Januzaj as a reward for his impressive breakthrough into the first team last season.

"I was really happy to get the number of such a legend and it was a really big deal for me," the United teenager said to Manchester United's official website.

"I went to the office and they asked me if I wanted the shirt. I wasn't going to say no! Straight away I said 'of course' and I didn't have to think about it. It was a 'yes' straight away."

The 19-year-old was one of the few bright spots in United's disappointing campaign under David Moyes, scoring four goals in 27 Premier League appearances to earn a place in the World Cup with the Belgium squad.

Even though he had a slow start to life under Van Gaal, Januazj is earning the confidence of the new manager, having started the last two Premier League games against West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea.

The United midfielder wants to respond to the manager's trust and to the "big responsibility" of wearing Giggs' number.

He said: "It feels different. Things have changed because it is a big responsibility to wear the number 11 shirt and having the number of a legend is really big. Ryan has helped me a lot and is like a godfather. He has told me to work hard on the training pitch and the rest is more personal. We talk about football a lot."

Januzaj also revealed Giggs is his favourite player of all time and is looking forward to emulate the ex-Wales international's career at Old Trafford.

"I learned a lot from him and the experience was great. He was such a good player to watch and is my favourite player of all time at United," he said.

"Could I imagine playing at 40? Of course, if I am still fit. You never lose your quality, that's something I learned from him."

Source : ibtimes[dot]co[dot]uk

Police must bring killers to book - KG

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27 October 2014, 19:51

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Bafana Bafana and Cardiff City player Kagisho Dikgacoi has urged South African police to swiftly arrest the killers of teammate Senzo Meyiwa.

"We cannot tolerate such behaviour [sic] which will go unpunished," Dikgacoi said in a statement issued by the SA Football Association.

Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain and goalkeeper Meyiwa, 27, was shot dead in Vosloorus, Gauteng, on Sunday.

"The police must work round the clock to bring his killers to book. This is just not on, we can't go on like this as a country."

Dikgacoi, who has 54 Bafana appearance to his name and plies his trade for the English championship side, was shocked when he heard the news.

"It is hard to believe he is really gone. Even now I find it difficult to think of him as the deceased.

"Why Senzo? When I got the news last night I called around from my place in England to South Africa and when it was even confirmed I still phoned more people because I could not believe it."

Fellow Bafana teammate Reneilwe Letsholonyane paid tribute to Meyiwa's ability.

"On the field we all know he did his job magnificently for his club and represented his country with pride," said Letsholonyane.

"Senzo was a very good goalkeeper and facing him in the Kaizer Chiefs-Orlando Pirates derby was always a challenge because he was very competitive."

Bafana and Doncaster Rovers midfielder Dean Furman said Meyiwa's leadership was outstanding.

"He was a lovely leader, outstanding person whose performance on the field was unbelievable, something we can all learn from him. He will sorely be missed," said Furman.

"This is just terrible news, very awful and it's hard to even think about anything else. When death strikes near you it sort of puts life into perspective."

Source : supersport[dot]com

Lambert: It will take time for Benteke to get back to his best

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has admitted it could take Christian Benteke another six games before he gets back to his best.

The Belgian striker has played in the Villans’ last two matches after returning from five months out with a ruptured achilles tendon.

His return is yet to yield any goals and Lambert has revealed it may be some time before he is hitting the back of the net regularly again.

“It may take half a dozen games for him to get back up to speed,” he said after Aston Villa’s 2-0 defeat to QPR. “There are signs he is coming back but there is still a long way to go.”

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Listen to the full interview with Paul Lambert here

Source : talksport[dot]com

Mauricio Pochettino targets Jay Rodriguez as questions emerge over Tottenham team selection

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Mauricio Pochettino will ask Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, to make a new move for the Southampton forward Jay Rodriguez in the January transfer window.

That could open the door for Andros Townsend, the England international, to leave White Hart Lane, with Southampton still interested in the winger and West Ham United watching his situation carefully.

Pochettino made Rodriguez one of his primary targets after being made head coach at Spurs and wanted to sign him in the summer, despite the 25-year-old’s cruciate ligament injury. Southampton refused to sell the £15  million-rated Rodriguez or Morgan Schneiderlin to Tottenham in the summer window, but that will not stop Pochettino having another go to link up again with Rodriguez.

Southampton have made an incredible start to the Premier League season without Rodriguez, who is aiming to return from injury in mid-November. Southampton have surged to second in the table without him and the fact that his contract will have 18 months to run in January may soften Southampton’s stance.

Tottenham were interested in signing Danny Welbeck on loan from Manchester United in August, but did not make a permanent bid because of Pochettino’s desire to try again for Rodriguez. In their opening nine Premier League games, Spurs have scored 11 goals – fewer than Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Hull City. Rodriguez scored 17 goals for Southampton last season before his injury.

Signing Rodriguez would push Townsend further down the Spurs pecking order after the winger was left out of the match-day squad for the defeat against Newcastle United. Spurs refused to sell Townsend to Southampton once the St Mary’s club would not do business on Rodriguez or Schneiderlin, but the Saints have maintained their interest.

West Ham United, who will look to offload Matt Jarvis in January, are also admirers of Townsend, who is desperate to play regular first-team football. Despite playing in the Europa League, he has largely been rotated with Aaron Lennon on the substitutes bench for Premier League games.

Pochettino’s early policy has led to a feeling that there are certain ‘untouchables’ among his squad who will be guaranteed a Premier League start, no matter how they are performing. Record signing Érik Lamela scored an incredible goal in the Europa League last week, but his performances have still not been at the top level.

Christian Eriksen has also endured a dip in form, but has retained his place. Striker Harry Kane scored a hat-trick against Asteras Tripolis, but did not start against Newcastle – a decision that confused a number of players in Pochettino’s squad.

Other than juggling between Premier League and Europa League campaigns, the Argentine Pochettino must also be careful of cliques developing in his squad – particularly among the Spanish-speaking players. It is understood that Spurs’ South Americans, together with Roberto Soldado, are still speaking Spanish to each other at the club’s Enfield training ground, despite the club’s best efforts to improve their English.

Younès Kaboul, the Tottenham captain, repeated a familiar message for the squad to show more mental strength following the 2-1 defeat against Newcastle, in which Spurs threw away the lead by conceding just six seconds into the second half.

“We have to be braver and more focused,” Kaboul said. “At this level there is no mercy. If you’re not focused, brave and ready, you pay the price. We should not concede goals like that. If the opponent scores an unbelievable goal, you can’t say anything, but from where it started [from the kick-off] and where it ended, it’s not acceptable. Do we need more character in the squad? Maybe, yes. When you concede a goal straight away coming back on the pitch, you need to reply immediately. You need to send a big sign that we’re here, and say: ‘OK, you scored early and we’re going to reply to you straight away.’

“Have I spoken to the players? It’s hard in the heat of the moment. Sometimes you can say some wrong stuff. It’s better that you analyse it first on the video clips and then talk.

“We need to be more consistent and regular and more mature on the pitch. It’s about knowing how to control the game, kill the game, knowing how to defend all together in certain phases of the game, and for us to be more confident also.”

Over recent years Levy has demanded that the club challenge for Champions League qualification, but Kaboul hinted that the players had already given up on that goal.

“Of course we want to, but the most important thing for us this season is to finish as high as we can,” he said. “We want to improve and we work very hard, trust me, and we want to improve at any point.”

Source : telegraph[dot]co[dot]uk