Page 1 | 26 August 2012

MATCH.News

Page 2 | 26 August 2012

MATCH.News

The Athletic Bilbao midfielder has been widely linked with a move Bayern.

Martinez Hoping

T he Spain international has been linked with a switch to the Al-

lianz Arena throughout the summer as the Bavarians look to bolster their options in the centre of the park.

Bayern have announced their inten-tion to meet his €40 million buy-out clause, only to be left by frustrated by the Basque club’s approach, but the player is still hoping that a conclu-sion will be reached soon.

“I’m waiting and hoping for a fast decision,” he told Bild Am Sonntag.

“I cannot say much about the situa-tion. I am relaxed, exercising, keep-ing fit and I am waiting for a decision to be made. There is not much more that I can do.

“I have noticed that German newspa-pers are full of stuff about me and my life. It is madness. It is a great feeling that people in Germany are interested in me.”

Former Bayern midfielder Stefan Effenburg has expressed his reser-vations over the club paying such a

hefty fee for the 23-year-old, but the player is not worried about the criti-cism.

“It is completely normal for former star players to make comments about the club itself. That is not a problem and is completely fine. I understand it.”

Bayern Munich have already added the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri, Mario Mandzukic, Claudio Pizarro and Dante to their squad this summer. as they look to end their two-year.

Sir Alex Ferguson

Boss sees both sidesSir Alex Ferguson felt Manchester United gave a Jekyll and Hyde per-formance in registering a first win of the new Barclays Premier League campaign.

The boss was delighted with the way his players responded to going 0-1 down to Damien Duff’s early strike and swept into a comfortable 3-1 lead at half-time with the threat of more goals to come. But the second half was a let-down by comparison, especially after Fulham reduced the advantage when Matthew Briggs’ left-wing cross appeared to be knocked in by Nemanja Vidic. And had David De Gea not denied Bryan Ruiz deep into tense injury time, two points would have been dropped.

“I think we saw the two sides of Manchester United,” Sir Alex admit-ted on MUTV. “After cruise control, we made a terrible mistake for the second goal and it became a match. It should never have been a match, some of our football was fantastic.

Tottenham edge ahead of Manchester United in €19m race for Dembele

Sources have told Goal.com that the two Premier League big hit-ters have both made fresh enquiries for the Fulham midfielder in recent weeks. But the west Londoners remain confident they can hold on to their prize asset, whom they value between €15-19 million. Fulham are believed to have triggered an option to extend Dem-bele’s initial three-year contract by a further year, tying him to Craven Cottage to 2014. Nevertheless, there is a grow-ing expectation that Spurs will make a formal bid for the 25-year-old Belgian before Friday’s deadline after finally agreeing to sell Luka Modric to Real Madrid in a deal worth €42m. Tottenham want to bring in a replacement for the Croatian but

Andre Villas-Boas’ top target Joao Moutinho is deemed too expensive because of his €38m price tag. Spurs are close to securing Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Willian, but remain frustrated in their attempts to sign Leandro Damiao from Inter-nacional. Villas-Boas has cooled on Yann M’Vila because of his similar-ity in playing style to Sandro and Scott Parker, and is ready to sanction a move for Dembele, who has been converted into a central midfielder by Martin Jol with such success. However, the Belgium inter-national is also highly regarded by United, who have contacted Fulham to ask for their valuation of the player as Sir Alex Ferguson seeks a proven and relatively cheap answer to his long-running conundrum in the centre

of the park. Dembele would prefer to move to a team who will play in the Champions League next season, which gives United the upper hand should they meet Fulham’s valuation. Manchester City and Chelsea have cooled on Dembele, but Arsenal cannot be ruled out after registering their interest in the player at the end of last season. Fulham know they cannot compete on wages or status with the richest Premier League clubs, and accept they will struggle to hold on to the Belgian if they receive an attrac-tive offer. Speaking about Dembele after his outstanding display in Fulham’s 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford on Satur-day, Jol said: “He plays and he likes the club, so there’s no problem. You

have to pay a lot of money to get Dembele. There won’t be a lot of clubs putting that sort of money on the table, so I think we are fine.” The Belgian was a revelation for Fulham in the last few months of last season after Jol converted him from a deep-lying forward to a central midfielder. The Belgian was a revelation for Fulham in the last few months of last season after Jol converted him from a deep-lying forward to a central midfielder.

He has scored only seven goals in 74 appearances for Fulham, although regular observers believe he could be even more effective playing with higher quality players.

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MATCH.News

Liverpool Sign SahinLiverpool take Real star on loanSahin passed a medical at the Reds’

Melwood training ground before putting pen to paper on a move which will see him spend the rest of the cur-rent campaign at Anfield.

Arsenal were initially thought to be favourites to secure the services of Sahin and were in advanced nego-tiations, but interest from Arsene Wenger reportedly cooled to allow Liverpool to capture the Turkey inter-national’s signature.

“I am happy to be here and I am look-ing forward to playing for Liverpool,” he told the club’s official website.“It makes me proud to have joined such a big club like Liverpool.

“After the first conversation we had, I was left impressed by Brendan Rod-gers. He told me about how he wants to play football and what the goals are he wants to reach with Liverpool.

“I am looking forward to meeting the fans. I hope it will be a nice year with trophies.”

Sahin revealed Real Madrid team-mate and former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso played a significant role in persuading him to make the switch to

Anfield.

“When he heard Liverpool were inter-ested in me, he started telling me

about Liverpool,” he added. “He is still in love with Liverpool, I think!

“He was saying, ‘Go there, you will love it. The fans will take care of you and love you’ and things like that. He said Anfield is the best stadium in the world.

“Xabi won a lot of trophies here, and hopefully we can do that too.”

Sahin says he is relishing the prospect of playing for the Merseyside giants

- and particularly captain Steven Ger-rard, whom he greatly admires.

“Steven Gerrard is a huge name, not only in Liverpool but in world foot-ball,” he continued. “I am looking forward to playing with him - I’ve played against him once.

“There are many other players that I could name - I could start from number one to 25. I know them all, not personally, but I know how they play football and what the style of Liverpool is.

“I am looking forward to meeting them all. If I have to choose one name, it would be Steven Gerrard -

but it is not only Gerrard.”Former Dortmund ace Sahin will wear the No.4 shirt at Anfield.

“Xabi won a lot of trophies here, and hopefully we can do that too.”

Sahin says he is relishing the prospect of playing for the Merseyside giants - and particularly captain Steven Ger-rard, whom he greatly admires.“Steven Gerrard is a huge name, not only in Liverpool but in world foot-ball,” he continued. “I am looking forward to playing with him - I’ve played against him once.

“There are many other players that I could name - I could start from number one to 25. I know them all, not personally, but I know how they play football and what the style of Liverpool is.

“I am looking forward to meeting them all. If I have to choose one name, it would be Steven Gerrard - but it is not only Gerrard.”

Former Dortmund ace Sahin will wear the No.4 shirt at Anfield.

“Steven Gerrard is a huge name, not only in Liverpool but in world foot-ball,” he continued. “I am looking forward to playing with him - I’ve played against him once.

“There are many other players that I could name - I could start from num-ber one to 25. I know them all, not personally, but I know how they play football and what the style of Liver-pool is. football and what the style of Liverpool is.

The Turkey international, who has found first-team opportunities limited with the Spanish giants, has moved to Anfield for the rest of the campaign after passing a medical.

Modric Joins Real Madrid on five-year

M odric, speaking at a press conference in Madrid to an-

nounce his move, told a smattering of journalists: “I’m ready for everything. I’m going to work hard for the team, and hopefully my qualities can bring success to the team.“I am proud and honoured to be here. I have trained and worked hard since Euro 2012. After a couple of games, I hope to be at my top-level form.“I believe I have what it takes to play here. I’ve got everything I need and I want to enjoy football and to learn.“It’s an honour to play for Real Madrid. It’s the best and the world’s greatest football club.”

Real confirmed the transfer on their website after the Croatian playmaker passed a medical. “Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement for the transfer of the player Luka Modric, who will remain tied to the club for the next five sea-sons,” the statement read.The transfer is estimated to be around £35m, including add-ons. Modric becomes Real’s first signing of the close season.An earlier statement ahead of the medical included news of a partner-ship agreement for the two clubs to work together “in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commer.

Luka Modric has signed a five-year contract with Real Madrid after leaving Tottenham in a deal worth an estimated £35 million.

Luka Modric has signed a five-year contract with Real Madrid after leaving Tottenham in a deal worth an estimated £35 million.

One of the longest running transfer sagas of the summer has finally come to an end after Tottenham Hotspur announced that they have reached an agree-ment with Real Madrid to sell Luka Modric.

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MATCH.News

Michael Laudrup confirms Sinclair wants to leave SwanseaThe 23-year-old has been linked heavily with a £6 million move to Premier League champions Man-chester City in recent weeks, who have put in an offer for the former Chelsea player.

With only days left of the transfer window, Laudrup has admitted he is unsure of the forward’s future.

“There is a lot of interest in Scott.” he told reporters. “I really don’t know if he will be here after Friday but ev-erything is possible. It is possible he stays, it is possible he leaves.

“Last week after the game I said it was no problem bringing him into the squad. He did a good job, he came off the bench and he scored.

“There are a lot of things going on around Scott and I spoke with him and we decided it was better for everyone that he did not participate at all in the game.

“We know things can move fast in this game but we will wait until Monday to see where things stand. We know it could go on until Friday evening.

“If he is still here after that he will be in the squad next Saturday, if he is not, he is not.”

Swansea continued their perfect start to their second Premier League campaign with a 3-0 win over newly-promoted West Ham. Goals from

Angel Rangel, Danny Graham and new signing Michu propelling the Welsh club to the top of the Premier League table.

“To start with two wins is great. We know things will not always like that,” Laudrup told BBC Sport. “The fans always enjoy when you win but I think they have a style here that’s [already been] created and we just continued this season.”

Laudrup also hailed the performance of former West Ham midfielder Leon Britton, after an influential afternoon.

“He and his position is very, very important,” the former Denmark in-ternational said. “You always see the ones that scores the goals or saves the goals. The team is very important.

“One of the most important things, because we have a lot of small play-ers, is move the ball around and take good positions. Leon is very good at that.

“He always finds that position in front, not too close but not too far from the two centre-backs and Jona-than [de Guzman] and the other mid-fielders.”

The 23-year-old has been linked heavily with a £6 million move to Premier League champions Man-chester City in recent weeks, who have put in an offer for the former Chelsea player.

With only days left of the transfer window, Laudrup has admitted he is unsure of the forward’s future.

“There is a lot of interest in Scott.” he told reporters. “I really don’t know if he will be here after Friday but ev

erything is possible. It is possible he stays, it is possible he leaves.

“Last week after the game I said it was no problem bringing him into the squad. He did a good job, he came off the bench and he scored.

Manchester City need to move in the transfer market... and quickly.From the ecstasy of Sergio Ague-ro’s title-winning goal in May to the uneasy relief of saving four un-convincing points from their open-ing two Premier League fixtures, the champions’ rescue mis-sions have been typically made

in Manchester. Though now it is City, not United, who seemingly always score.

But in the spirit of doing things the hard way, Mancini needs another rabbit out of the hat. With four days of the transfer window

remaining, long-term target Edin-son Cavani looks set to follow the lead of his Serie A colleague Daniele De Rossi by remaining in Italy and signing a new contract at Napoli - €55 million [£43.5m] release clause included.

East Manchester, home to Ancoats Little Italy fol-lowing an influx of hundreds of, many Neapolitan, immigrants from the country in the 19th century, isn’t quite prov-ing the draw the City boss had obviously hoped. Roberto Mancini

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MATCH.News

Zenit St Petersburg signs Hulk from Porto and Axel Witsel from Benficav

“Luciano Spalletti’s table-topping side has raided Portugal for two of the league’s most sought-after players.”

The 26-year-old Hulk will wear the No. 29 shirt for Luciano Spalletti’s side, which currently sits top of the Russian Premier League after seven games. Hours after announcing a deal for the Brazilian, Zenit also con-firmed the signing of Belgian mid-fielder Witsel, who will take the No. 28 jersey. “It’s now official. Both play-ers had signed five-year deals,” Zenit spokesman Dmitry Tsimmerman was reported as saying by Rueters.

“We were trying to sign them before the Sept. 3 deadline for the Champions League so they can play for us in that competition as well as the Russian league.” Having cut his teeth in Japa-nese football with Kawasaki Fontale, Consadole Sapporo and Tokyo Verdy, Hulk moved to Os Dragoes in 2008 and helped the club to three league titles, three Tacas de Portugal and the UEFA Cup. He has won 13 Brazil caps since making his debut in 2009, and

was part of the Selecao’s Olympic team that claimed silver in London. Witsel, meanwhile, had been heavily linked with a summer move to Real Madrid, but the former Stan-dard Liege man, who has represented Belgium at every age group, has now made the move to Zenit. The St Petersburg club has been drawn against AC Milan, Ander-lecht and Malaga in the Champions League. “It’s now official. Both play-ers had signed five-year deals,” Zenit

spokesman Dmitry Tsimmerman said.A club source said Zenit had paid €40 million for each player.

RUMORSTransfer

The Sweden striker, 30, has signed a three-year deal with the French club after passing a medical on Wednes-day.

Ibrahimovic is the latest big name capture for PSG, who were bought by the wealthy Qatar Investment Authority in 2011.“I think they made something impossible possible. This is a very inter-esting project,” Ibrahimovic said.PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti has also signed AC Milan defender Thiago Silva, Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi and Pes-cara midfielder Marco Verratti for a total of £88m this summer.

Ibrahimovic, who has now cost a total of £133.2m in transfer fees during his career, added: “PSG have bought the best defender in the world, Thiago Silva.“Who doesn’t want to be here? This is the future. Finally I’m a PSG player. It’s a big step in my career. It’s a dream come true.“I don’t know much about the French league but they know who I am!”

Sporting director Leonardo insists Ibrahimovic will be PSG’s final signing of the summer.Ibrahimovic scored 33 times in 40 matches for AC Milan last season and also scored twice in three games for Sweden at Euro 2012.

Official: Lassana Diarra joins Anzhi on four-year dealThe Frenchman will continue his career with the ambitious Russian outfit after being told that his services were no longer needed in Spain, while Nikita Burmistov also arrives.

The midfielder initially appeared to be heading to Russia on a season-long loan, but the cash-rich outfit has now confirmed that he has joined on a permanent switch, along with forward Nikita Burmistov from Amkar Perm.

“The signings of these footballers totally correspond to the strategy of our club achieving top aims,” CEO Ayvaz Kaziakhmedov told the club’s official website. “We are confident that, together with Lassana and Ni-kita, the club will fight for the most prestigious titles.”

Anzhi was keen to add some more experience to the squad in order to fight for honors, and coach Guus Hiddink sees the France interna-tional as the ideal addition to his midfield.

The 27-year-old joined Madrid from Portsmouth in Jan. 2009 and quickly developed into an important first-team member at the Santiago Bern-abeu.

However, he has since lost his spot in the starting XI and was deemed surplus to requirements by head coach Jose Mourinho.

Diarra had also attracted the interest of AC Milan, but the Serie A side eventually opted to sign Nigel de Jong instead.

The midfielder initially appeared to be heading to Russia on a season-long loan, but the cash-rich outfit has now confirmed that he has joined on a permanent switch, along with forward Nikita Burmistov from Amkar Perm.

“The signings of these footballers totally correspond to the strategy of our club achieving top aims,” CEO Ayvaz Kaziakhmedov told the club’s official website. “We are confident that, together with Lassana and Ni-kita, the club will fight for the most prestigious titles.”

Anzhi was keen to add some more experience to the squad in order to fight for honors, and coach Guus Hiddink sees the France internation-al as the ideal addition to himThe 27-year-old joined Madrid from Portsmouth in Jan. 2009 and quickly developed into an important first-team member at the Santiago Bern-abeu.

‘I didn’t celebrate because I’m unhappy’ - Cristiano Ronaldo makes shock claim after Madrid win

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo made the shock claim that he was unhappy with the club after he refused to celebrate his 149th and

150th Los Blancos goals in the win over Granada on Sunday. The Portuguese was the catalyst behind his side’s first win of the new La Liga season but his lack of elation on the back of two land-mark strikes was the main talking point after the game, a storyline he expounded on after full time.

“I’m sad because of a professional issue and the club know why. That’s why I didn’t celebrate the goals, be-cause I’m not happy. The people [at the club] know why.” he told report-ers after the match.

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MATCH.News

The Selecao was unstoppable in Pernambuco, as the Santos wonderkid netted a triple to see off an extremely disappointing China side with help from Oscar, Hulk, Ramires and Lucas.

Neymar nets hat trick in crushing victoryThree goals for Neymar and

a masterful display from new Chelsea signing Oscar were the keys for Brazil, as it showed no mercy in destroying a demoralized China team 8-0 in Recife. The midfielder, Hulk, Ramires and Lucas Moura also found the net, while the Asian side’s misfortunes were com-pounded by Liu Jianye who put the ball past his own keeper in a second half to forget for the visitors. Stung on Friday by the boos and jeers received as it stuttered to vic-tory over South Africa, Brazil came out determined to make an early impact against a China team hit hard by injuries and other absences. Neymar should have handed his side the lead after just five minutes when he got on the end of Oscar’s cross, but with the goal at his mercy the Santos starlet hit the post.

The first 45 minutes were dominated by the men in yel-low, who burst forward at

almost every opportunity in the face of questionable defending from Jose Ca-macho’s charges. Hulk and Lucas both forced saves from Zeng Cheng, before midway through the half the Selecao finally found a way through. Ramires surged brilliantly from deep and, after playing a delightful one-two with Chelsea teammate Oscar, chipped past Cheng to

open the scoring and ease the pressure on the home side. The advantage was doubled a matter of sec-onds later. A well-placed low cross from Hulk, given a start in the place of Leandro Damiao after his goal against the Bafana, found Oscar with space in the area. The midfielder squared for Neymar, who could do little else but stroke the ball into the

net with no trouble. From that point onwards, it was merely a case of seeing how many Mano Menezes’ men could add to the tally. Oscar was denied a deserved goal of his own when a strike from point-blank range struck the underside of the bar, before Dede’s header rebounded off the post after the de-fender had connected with Dani Alves’ deep free kick

Khedira: Maybe Ronaldo just wanted the public to know

The Portuguese international scored two goals in last

Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Gran-ada, but surprisingly offered no celebration in the aftermath. In the post-match press conference, Ronaldo claimed he was “sad” and that the club knew why. The 25-year-old played the full 90 minutes in Germany’s 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands on Friday night, but he is refusing to get car-ried away with their positive start to World Cup qualification.“We are much too good to say we are already satisfied with the qualification. But talking about the finals in 2014 now would be totally wrong,” he told Kicker. “We will be in decisive matches again and we have to start working now on how to avoid failure in those. At club level Khedira has found renewed competition for a midfield birth following the arrival of Luka Modric, but he is confident he still has the full backing of manager Jose Mourinho.

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MATCH.News

Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini has admitted he is looking to leave the club next summer.The 24-year-old, who moved to Goodison Park from Belgian side Standard Liege in September 2008, has scored twice in three Premier League appearances for David Moyes’ side this season. Fel-laini signed a new five-year contract with Everton in November 2011 but the Belgium international insists this is likely to be his last season under Moyes.“I now begin my fifth season at Everton,” Fellaini told Belgian news-paper Het Nieuwsblad. “This will be one of my last. I’ve seen everything. In January or at the end of the season I will look for another club or league.”Earlier in September, Everton’s pro-posed loan move for Club Brugge midfielder Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe col-lapsed after FIFA refused to ratify the transfer.“It’s a pity that Vadis did not come to Everton,” Fellaini said. “He may come later on.” Everton mid-fielder Marouane Fellaini has admitted he is looking to leave the club next summer.The 24-year-old, who moved to Goodison Park from Belgian side Standard Liege in September 2008, has scored twice in three Premier League appearances for David Moyes’ side this season. Fellaini signed a new five-year contract with Everton in No-vember 2011 but the Belgium interna-

tional insists this is likely to be his last season under Moyes. “I now begin my fifth season at Everton,” Fellaini told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. “This will be one of my last. I’ve seen everything. In January or at the end of the season I will look for another club or league.” Earlier in September, Ever-ton’s proposed loan move for Club Brugge midfielder Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe collapsed after FIFA refused to ratify the transfer. “It’s a pity that Vadis did not come to Everton,” Fellaini said.

“He may come later on.” I will look for another club or league.” Earlier in September, Everton’s proposed loan move for Club Brugge midfielder Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe collapsed after FIFA refused to ratify the transfer. “It’s a pity that Vadis did not come to Everton,” Fellaini said. “He may come later on.” I will look for another club or league.” Earlier in September, Ever-ton’s proposed loan move for Club Brugge midfielder Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe collapsed after FIFA refused to ratify .

Barcelona to wear colors of Catalan flag next seasonBarcelona’s away kit for the 2013-2014 season will fea-ture the red and gold colours of the Catalan flag, accord-ing to regional newspaper Sport. Fans have waited 113 years to see the Bars of Aragon on the region’s most successful club and will finally get their wish next year. The jersey will feature the famous red and gold stripes in an attempt by the club’s directors to promote the team’s connection to the autonomous region and its people.According to Sport, Barca is “reinforcing the sporting and sentimental ties that the majority of the pop-ulation of the region share,” The current home and away jerseys already have had the colors of the Catalan flag on the back of the shirt since Joan Laporta’s regime took charge in 2003, but this

move goes a step further.arcelona’s away kit for the 2013-2014 season will fea-ture the red and gold colours of the Catalan flag, accord-ing to regional newspaper Sport. Fans have waited 113 years to see the Bars of Aragon on the region’s most successful club and will finally get their wish next year. The jersey will feature the famous red and gold stripes in an attempt by the club’s directors to promote the team’s connection to the autonomous region and its people.According to Sport, Barca is “reinforcing the sporting and sentimental ties that the majority of the pop-ulation of the region share,” The current home and away jerseys already have had the colors of the Catalan flag on the back of the shirt since Joan Laporta’s regime

took charge in 2003, but this move goes a step further. arcelona’s away kit for the 2013-2014 season will feature the red and gold colours of the Catalan flag, according

to regional newspaper Sport. Fans have waited 113 years to see the Bars of Aragon on the region’s most successful club and will finally get their wish next year. The jersey will

feature the famous red and gold stripes in an attempt by the club’s directors to promote the team’s connection to the autonomous region and its people.

Fellaini eyes Everton exitThe 24-year-old, who penned a new five-year contract with David Moyes’ side in November 2011. BPL

TABLE

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Clint Dempsey: Playing on 9/11 is specialIt’s something that is special because it showed that our country had a lot of character and was able to bounce back from that type of situation,” Dempsey said on Monday. “I think people draw strength on that and us as players, and us as a country, we always remember that. It’s impacted everyone’s life and everybody re-members where they were on that day.” Dempsey was just beginning his freshman year at Furman Univer-sity when the terrorist attacks shook the United States. The nation came together following the horrific events and Dempsey has been motivated to perform at the highest level for the U.S. national team ever since. “(You try to) use it as a posi-tive, as motivation to stay strong and to keep fighting,” he said. “And Like I said earlier, we’re excited about the challenge of Tuesday and I think ev-erybody is prepared to do everything they can to try and get this win.” A second match against a Jamaican team that shocked the U.S. when it defeated the CONCA-CAF giant 2-1 on Friday also carries plenty of weight on its own. The U.S. is currently tied for second alongside Guatemala in the Group A standings but can regain control of the group with a win over Jamaica. A loss would make for a very nervy final two matches of the semifinal round of qualifying. Only the top two teams from each group advance. With Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley both out of action

due to injuries, Dempsey will once again be asked to shoulder a large portion of the burden for the USA’s attack, but the newly signed Totten-ham midfielder says his time on the pitch Friday night has him ready to go for Tuesday’s contest. Dempsey’s fitness was put into question after he sat out of Ful-ham’s preseason and opening games of the Premier League season as he searched for a new club team, but he still managed to score the U.S. team’s only goal while playing a full 90 min-utes against the Reggae Boyz. “I feel better for the game actually,” he said. “It helped me a lot, gives me more confidence. It’s always good to get back on the score sheet. Also, it gets you a better level of fitness and you’re able to assess the speed of what it’s like playing in a game. So I think I benefited a lot from that.” It’s something that is special because it showed that our country had a lot of character and was able to bounce back from that type of situa-tion,” Dempsey said on Monday. “I think people draw strength on that and us as players, and us as a country, we always remember that. It’s im-pacted everyone’s life and everybody remembers where they were on that day.” Dempsey was just beginning his freshman year at Furman Univer-sity when the terrorist attacks shook the United States. The nation came together following the horrific events and Dempsey has been motivated to perform at the highest level for the

U.S. national team ever since. “(You try to) use it as a posi-tive, as motivation to stay strong and to keep fighting,” he said. “And Like I said earlier, we’re excited about the challenge of Tuesday and

I think everybody is prepared to do everything they can to try and get this win.”

Carlos Vela’s immediate future with El Tri hangs in the balance

It was Jan. 13, 2011. The set-

ting was the me-dia room at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento in Mexico City. Up against the wall, donning the stan-dard albeit figura-tive blindfold and a cigarette, was new Mexico manager Jose

Manuel de la Torre. Following two strong stints at Guadalajara and Toluca, two of the biggest winning franchis-es in Mexican soccer history, De la Torre was no stranger to press scrutiny. Four years in the Mexican Primera

had yielded three titles, and an im-peccable reputa-tion for effective, balanced football.The man nick-named “Chepo” revealed noth-ing. Dodging the questions artfully like a seasoned politician, De la Torre avoided falling into the

pits of unneces-sary pressure that his predecessors had seemingly invited. There would be no veiled promise to win the World Cup, like Hugo Sanchez did in 2006.

Carlos Vela

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I believe the shirt is mine to lose’ - Friedel warns Lloris he faces fight to be Tottenham No. 1

The 41-year-old goalkeeper has expressed his belief that he is Spurs’ first-choice shot-stopper, despite competition from the Frenchman who recently arrived from Lyon

The highly rated Frenchman ar-rived in north London for 15 million pounds on transfer deadline day but has yet to make an appearance for his new club.And Friedel’s inspired form in a recent 1-1 draw with Norwich City caused manager Andre Villas-Boas to declare that the veteran remained first choice, a position that the 41-year-old is unwilling to relinquish.“Right now I believe the shirt is mine to lose, I believe the manager came out and said that. If that’s the case

then great,” he told Sky Sports. “I will turn up every day and work as hard as I can. I will keep as fit as I possibly can, hopefully get selected to play and hopefully do as well as I can.”With Carlo Cudicini and Heurelho Gomes in reserve, Tottenham has four talented goalkeepers at the club but Friedel insists that he thrives on the challenge.“It’s great to have competition,” he added. “Hugo Lloris is France’s No. 1, he’s going to want to play, I’m go-

ing to want to play, and so are Carlo and Heurelho.”The American also ad-mits that he is fully aware that he arrived at the club as a temporary measure despite being top dog for now.“When I signed for Tot-tenham, I signed as a stop-gap while Tottenham looked for a long-term goalkeeper. Tottenham deserve a long-term goalkeeper,” he continued.

“I want to play, I’ve always wanted to play, I don’t sign contracts not to play.

“My agent said there was some in-terest from a number of clubs,” Cameron told reporters about his recent move to Stoke City in the English Premier League. “Once things picked up and a bid came in, I began thinking that this is real and is getting serious. It got really stressful and I was in limbo for almost two months. It was a difficult period trying to focused mentally. It was a learning experience that has opened my eyes to the business side of things.” Luckily for Cameron, that part of his career is over.His jump to the English top flight was not flawless. A long summer of waiting finally gave way to a move happening in early August, allowing the defender to join his new team and make his debut against Arsenal in Stoke’s second game of the season. The move has given Cameron the op-portunity to compete weekly in one of the top leagues in the world, where he knows there will be an adjustment period“I’m just in the transition stage and am trying to get everything settled over at Stoke. I think I have my routine down now and I’m enjoying my situation,” he said. “There is definitely a learning curve for sure. “Everything is a little bit quicker so you’re still adjusting.

Cazorla reveling in free Arsenal roleThe Spaniard has revealed that he is enjoying life in the Premier League following a summer move from Malaga and has thanked teammate Mikel Arteta for helping him adapt.

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has revealed he is enjoying life in the Premier League and has attributed his impressive start to the free role he has been granted.

The 15 million pound summer signing from Malaga has helped the Gunners avoid defeat in their first three league games and proved instrumental in the recent 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield, scoring and providing an assist.

Although the Spaniard admits there is pressure to live up to his hefty price tag, he has highlighted the freedom given to him by Arsene Wenger as crucial to his displays.

“They have paid an important amount of money for me and the role they’ve given me is the one I like,” he said in an interview with El Pais. “I love the style of the team. Wenger’s philosophy is to control the game and I like to be on the ball. Furthermore, the boss has put me in a position, second striker, with all

the freedom I want to have.“He told me to be at ease and that he’d play me where I could most help the team. It surprised me in preseason when he put me as the second striker. I’ve come to play on the wings with the freedom to move inside, but Wenger has immediately put me in this position. With Arteta, Diaby, Rosicky and Wilshere, who

is recovering from injury, we’re go-ing to have a lot of the ball.”

Cazorla went on to hail his compa-triot Mikel Arteta for helping him adapt to the English style of play so quickly.

“Arteta has advised me a lot, he told me football is much faster and less tactical than Spain. It’s more give and go,” he added. “Mikel [Arteta] has helped me to learn to see the game and said that if we play rap-idly with the ball we’re going to create a lot of danger and we’ll beat most teams.

“Wenger wants him [Arteta] now as a defensive pivot and he’s doing if very well. He gives real balance and he can win the ball back and play it out because with the ball he’s spectacular.”

“Song is a great signing for Barcelona, says Victor Munoz”

Former Barcelona star Victor Munoz feels Alex Song is a great addition for the Catalans, and is confident he is compatible with other midfield-ers such as Andres Iniesta, Xavi

and Cesc Fabregas. The Cameroon international joined the Blaugrana from Arsenal in the summer transfer window, and Munoz has little doubt that the powerful midfielder will be a success at the Camp Nou side.“Song is a great signing for Barce-lona. He will be very helpful this season,” Munoz told La Xarxa.He added, “He’s not like Busquets.

He is a different kind of player. He’s a very strong and physical player who tries to keep things simple.“He can set up players like Cesc, Xavi and Iniesta. He is compatible with these players.”Munoz made over 200 league ap-pearances for Barcelona between 1981 and 1988.

Geoff Cameron looking to settle in with new club Stoke

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Allegri: I took risks with injured players because we were fighting for the ScudettoAC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has admitted that he’s partially respon-sible for the Rossoneri’s injury problems last term.“The problems were in the final stages of last season. I made some mistakes, there’s no doubt about that,” Allegri told La Stampa. The 45-year-old has conceded that he took risks as Milan was fighting for the Serie A title, but feels he would not have been criticized for his decisions had the club won the Scudetto.“The more risks you take, the more you get injured players. But the objective was worth it. We were playing for the Scudet-to,” Allegri admitted. “If we had won the Scudetto last season, then no one would have discredited our work. Instead we finished as runners-up, and then people say that we’re destroying our players.“There’s only one solution when it comes to solving traumatic injuries: start playing board games instead.”Milan has collected three points from its opening two Serie A games. The club resumes match action at the weekend against Atalanta.

Martin RogersU.S. World Cup hopes jeopardized by a Jamaica squad riding a wave of national pride.

The United States men’s national team judges itself on international soccer’s roadmap by far tougher criteria than the semifinal round of World Cup qualifying from the CONCACAF region.Yet this tricky stage of the journey to Brazil in 2014 has fast become a major annoyance, one that Jamaica hopes to turn into a potential ca-tastrophe in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday night.The prospect of the little Caribbean nation striding into the Midwest and dancing home with a victory would have been unthinkable a week ago and may still be unlikely. But just as Jamaica punches well above its weight in track at the Olympics, its entertaining soccer team is also threatening to make some serious noise.Victory for the Reggae Boyz over the USA in Kingston on Friday was celebrated wildly in the island nation, where an air of jubilation persists following the exploits of Olympic champion Usain Bolt and others in London last month.Following the theory that confidence often means more than caliber in soccer, the Americans have some legitimate cause for concern heading into Tuesday’s clash at Columbus Crew Stadium. Jurgen Klinsmann’s

side must finish in the top two in its four-team group to move on to the next round of World Cup qualifica-tion. Currently the U.S. sits second, tied with Guatemala.This stage should have been a for-mality for the Americans, who on paper are by far the strongest squad in a group that also includes the tiny island nation of Antigua. As it is, they are in a dog fight with three games (two home, one away) still to play.Jamaica, a team that has not reached a World Cup since 1998, is playing some of the best soccer in the region

right now and legitimately believes it has a shot at causing what would be a huge upset on the road, Friday’s result notwithstanding. The value of the feel-good factor of Jamaica’s golden Olympic summer might be intangible, yet Jamaica head coach Theodore Whitmore is adamant it has played an important part in boosting the spirits of both his team and its supporters.“[The Olympics] was a great achievement and it motivates me as a coach,” Whitmore told the Ja-maica Star. “It should do the same for our players. I don’t think it could have come at a better time for us to be motivated going into the USA game.”Bolt’s heroics contributed to Ja-maica’s outstanding haul of 12 Olympic medals in London (four of each color) to put the country 21st in the medal table and 18th in the gold medal standings – all from a nation with a population of less than three million.“You can’t help be inspired by it,” said Nyron Nosworthy, who rep-resents Jamaica, having grown up in London with a Jamaican father. out there and emulate that, keep the good spirit going.”

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Bojan: Barcelona should have treated Ibrahimovic betterAC Milan forward Bojan Krkic has hit out at former club Barcelona, claiming it should have treated Zlatan Ibrahimovic better during his spell with the team.The Sweden international lasted only one season at Camp Nou between 2009-10, before he was shipped out to the Rossoneri on loan, but the 22-year-old striker is of the belief that the Blaugrana should have persisted with the former Ajax man for longer.“I think [Zlatan] Ibrahimov-ic deserved to have been re-ceived differently by Barce-lona,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “He is a great player with a big heart.”The Serbian-born goal-scorer also praised former bosses Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola, singling out the Dutchman for special

praise.“[Frank] Rijkaard had complete trust in me. It was a difficult year when he left, but he has a great personal-ity. I had a relationship with him that I haven’t had with anyone else,” he said. “For all he has won, I think [Pep] Guardiola is probably the best coach in the world.”He concluded the interview by hinting at an uneasy friendship with former teammate Lionel Messi.“We have a normal relation-ship, but since I’ve been here, he hasn’t called me,” Krkic revealed.AC Milan forward Bojan Krkic has hit out at former club Barcelona, claiming it should have treated Zlatan Ibrahimovic better during his spell with the team.The Sweden international lasted only one season at

AC Milan forward Bojan Krkic has hit out at former club Barcelona, claiming it should have treated Zlatan Ibrahimovic better during his spell with the team.

The Sweden international lasted only one season at Camp Nou between 2009-10, before he was shipped out to the Ros-soneri on loan, but the 22-year-old striker is of the belief that

the Blaugrana should have persisted with the former Ajax man for longer.“I think [Zla-tan] Ibrahimovic deserved to have been received differently by Barcelona.

Kompany unconcerned by Manchester City’s ‘difficult’ Champions League groupManchester City captain Vincent Kompany insists he is un-concerned by his side’s difficult Champions League group, in which they will face the champions of Germany, Spain and Holland.

“Games like this are why you are in the Champions League. I thought it couldn’t get more difficult than last year but there you go,” he told reporters.Roberto Mancini’s side face a tough task of escaping Group D to lift their maiden European Cup, having been drawn against Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund & Ajax.But, while the Belgian admits the group is harder than last year’s draw - in which City failed to progress ahead of Bay-ern Munich, Villarreal & Napoli - he claims he is relishing the upcoming ties.“It’s a great challenge. I think we are the sort of team which gets better as the challenges get even greater,” Kompany said. “It’s perfect for us. There won’t be any moments where we will be surprised. The motivation will be sky-high, the atmosphere great. I couldn’t think of a better way to play the Champions League.

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