Never write off Ronaldo
With his slick-backed hair and hulking muscles, Gareth Bale had not only stolen the signature look of Cristiano Ronaldo in the lead-up to the UEFA Super Cup, he had robbed the Portuguese of the limelight. Returning to Cardiff, playing in a stadium just four miles south of where he first honed his 85-million-pound talent at Whitchurch High School, it was all about Bale's return to South Wales. The talk was of how Real Madrid's newly Herculean No. 11 could carry the burden of expectation. Real would no longer be all about Ronaldo, last seen unfit and unimpressive for Portugal at the World Cup. Only, they are still all about Ronaldo. Bale is certainly capable of taking on that mantle -- he showed as much last season with decisive interventions in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League final -- but for now, Ronaldo remains the main man. The Portuguese boasts frightening statistics aplenty and it is Sevilla who can justifiably be the most fearful. A match-winning brace in Cardiff extended Ronaldo's record to 18 goals in 12 games against the Andalusians -- he has scored more goals against them than any other side since moving to Spain. Ronaldo's role in clinching La Decima in Lisbon three months ago may have only been that of cake-icer, but La Segunda -- the admittedly less-illustrious-sounding second Super Cup triumph for Real Madrid -- was secured thanks to him. Bale was the provider for the opener, swinging his luminous left foot at the ball and finding Ronaldo, who in turn found a sliding fish. The Portuguese had looked a little rusty at the off, understandable after a long fitness battle that stretches back to April, but by the time the deadlock had broken, he had settled into the game -- performing an uproarious mid-air back-heel to nudge the ball to James Rodriguez and delight the Cardiff crowd. In the second half, Ronaldo cemented his place front and centre of the European stage he loves so much. Karim Benzema's neat pass left was controlled, before a left-foot shot thundered beyond the grasp of Beto -- Sevilla's Europa League final penalty shootout hero in Turin last May. It has been 12 long years since Real last graced the Super Cup. That 3-1 victory over Feyenoord preceded a La Liga title-winning campaign, and if Ronaldo continues in this vein, it is difficult to see Carlo Ancelotti & Co. being denied domestic honours this season. Exploring new Galacticos When the team sheets were dished out at the Cardiff City Stadium, they were greeted with head-scratching from the assembled media. The neutrals may have been salivating at the prospect of Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema, James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric all starting in the same XI, but surely the accommodation of more than 100 million euros of new talent would result in a potentially disastrous absence of balance? The midfield two of Modric and Kroos posed the biggest conundrum. The prospect of overlooking Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso this season seems reminiscent of the sale of Claude Makelele almost a decade ago, a decision that -- driven by Florentino Perez's obsession with Galacticos -- resulted in a sharp decline in Los Blancos' fortunes. Yes, Modric had some experience playing in such an attackingly adventurous formation when he partnered Ivan Rakitic in Croatia's midfield at the World Cup, but a tough-tackling general he is not, while Kroos had the security of Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger filling that brief alongside him at Bayern Munich last season. In Cardiff, both patiently patrolled but it was new boy Kroos who really caught the eye. Exerting poise and control on each occasion the ball was at his feet, the World Cup winner oozed confidence and threw himself into challenge after challenge -- although one second-half lunge resulted in a booking. There were crossfield balls and interceptions, but it was Kroos' meticulous passing that really made him a metronomic presence in the Real midfield. His positional discipline will face sterner tests against more-expansive opponents than Sevilla this season, but the early signs appear good for Real. Real's other big-money arrival was a little less prevalent and one feels it may take a little time to slot the precocious James into a position that best benefits the Colombian and his teammates. Consigned to the left for most of the game, it was difficult for James to wield any influence but there were glimpses of the sort of guile that saw him dazzle at the World Cup, notably a rasping shot that Beto superbly tipped away to deny him a debut goal. Sevilla stripped May's Europa League triumph must already seem an age ago for Sevilla. The departure of captain Ivan Rakitic has, as expected, left a hole in the team that seems impossible to fill. Sevilla's status as a selling club is a pragmatic position that has seen sporting director Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo commendably maintain success over a decade that has seen the Andalusians lose the likes of Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas and Alvaro Negredo. It is the long-term strategy but in the short term, it has a detrimental effect on the first team. Denis Suarez is an exuberant replacement for Rakitic but is too raw to step into the Croatian's boots. Even against Real's forward-thinking midfield, he was unable to find the spaces that Rakitic so often proved adept at floating between. In midfield, too, Sevilla lacked authority. Stephane Mbia was a buccaneering addition on loan last season and his energy levels were almost otherworldly in 120 minutes against Benfica in Turin three months ago. Grzegorz Krychowiak has been brought in from Reims in his stead to partner Daniel Carrico -- he was completely overrun by Real's glut of Galacticos but it was admittedly a baptism of fire -- two outstanding years in French football still bode well. Another player appears to be on his way, too. Left-back Alberto Moreno -- about whom Unai Emery stated in his pregame news conference "I expect him to play for us tomorrow" -- was nowhere to be seen in the XI or the substitutes bench. The claim that Emery had dropped him to avoid the prospect of a difficult night against Ronaldo and Bale forcing his price down provoked sniggers among many in Cardiff. In reality, it seems an 18-million-euro move to Liverpool already awaits, with the Spanish full-back tearful as he reappeared to embrace his teammates after the game.
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Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov believes the club's nine-year trophy drought could have been avoided had the Gunners not gone into debt to build the Emirates Stadium.
Arsene Wenger's men beat Hull in last season's FA Cup final to claim their first piece of silverware since winning the same competition in 2005 with a penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United. Arsenal played just one more season at their old Highbury home after that victory before moving to the Emirates in 2006 and are now starting to see the commercial benefits of the 60,000-seater stadium, with new revenue streams coming into force which have allowed them to be more aggressive in the transfer market. But Usmanov, whose Red & White Holdings group own just over 30 per cent of the club but are yet to be represented on the board, believes alternative financing of the new ground could have brought a fresh trophy to the internal roll of honour which runs around the stadium faster. "I think that Arsenal's planning was based on acquiring the new stadium, a decision taken by the previous owners," he told the Daily Telegraph. "The acquisition was financed with debt, which would be repaid through match-day revenues among other sources. "There is another way of doing it: when shareholders buy all of the assets and contribute them to the club. As a result, these debt-free assets may generate income for the club. "It is always up to the shareholders to choose which model to adopt. "The board and main shareholders chose the debt option at the time, which led to Arsenal going almost 10 years without winning a domestic title or the Champions League. "The first trophy only arrived in the 10th year. "As a result of this choice, they were selling players and were unable to buy top players. "These difficulties have now been overcome and the team is in a good state; the club's finances are in order and I believe that Arsene Wenger and the club's CEO (Ivan Gazidis) will manage them correctly." Usmanov has never been afraid to voice concerns over the direction of the club, and wrote an open letter in 2012 criticising what he saw as too prudent an approach within the self-sustaining business model. But with the Gunners spending big to acquire Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in the past two summers, the Uzbek billionaire believes Wenger's team can now challenge for more silverware "The club is very well placed to succeed," he said. "I think we begin a new era for Arsenal where we win trophies. That is most important for football. "In my opinion, in line with the existing rules, the club has the correct decision-making process in place, including their selection policy, especially now, when they have the means to buy the best players." Bundesliga - Henry: Forget Ronaldo and Messi, Mueller's the real hero Thierry Henry has paid tribute to Germany's World Cup winner Thomas Mueller insisting he is a better role model than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
As the Major League All-Star side prepare to face Bayern Munich and Mueller in a glamour friendly on Wednesday, Henry was also quick to heap praise on the France winger Franck Ribery for his contribution in recent years. Ribery was known to be unhappy last year when he was overlook for the Ballon d'or as Ronaldo collected it ahead of Messi. Perhaps he will take some solace in the words of World Cup winner Henry. Former Arsenal forward Henry said: "Stepovers, tricks, that's not the game "The game is what Thomas Mueller is doing. If I had a son right now, playing, I would say to him 'look at them, look at (Franck) Ribery, look at Muller.' What Ronaldo does, and Messi, they're just freaks. Don't try to copy those guys. You can copy from Ribery, you can copy from Thomas Mueller." "What he (Mueller) did at the World Cup, people don't talk about it," continued the former France international. "They don't talk about it, but they should talk about it. He plays the game the right way: he defends, he attacks, he controls the ball when he has to control it, he reverses when he has to reverse it. When he has to finish, he'll finish. "He doesn't do stepovers, but when he has to perform, he performs. He does what the game asks him to do." Are Arsenal going to continue their spending? Will Barcelona get another defender? Who wants Tom Cleverley? It's all here in Transfer Talk...
Short but sweet... O Jogo have an interesting line in their paper that suggests Arsenal are going back in for midfield enforcer William Carvalho from Sporting Lisbon. He's a fearsome prospect, capable of tackling two people on his own, and he's become a gossip column regular. It's curious, though, that O Jogo's website report on Arsenal's interest just about makes a full 140-character tweet. But what it lacks in detail, it makes up for in juiciness -- they say a 30 million-euro bid will be made before the end of the week. Arsenal could look to bring in defensive midfielder William Carvalho from Sporting by the end of the week. Praise be! It's finally happening! Eliaquim Mangala has been linked to Manchester City for well over a year and earlier this summer, pictures of the Porto defender in England emerged. Then came more leaks, this time of Mangala being interviewed by City's in-house web team. And yet still no transfer was announced. Time has ticked and tocked but finally, it appears official confirmation is on it's way (for seemingly the 233,343rd time). The Daily Mail say his 32 million-pound move to City will be completed this week. Hooray! Cuadrado's whopping price tag Barcelona have had a curious transfer window so far; Luis Suarez's headline-grabbing arrival aside, their tactics in the market have been questioned andJeremy Mathieu says he will silence the doubters over his arrival. Luis Enrique is eager to improve his side further but my oh my, it'll cost him.Marca reckon top target Juan Cuadrado's mooted move to the Nou Camp is in serious jeopardy because of Fiorentina's quite astronomical price tag of 50 million euros. Will Barca walk away from that deal now? No Boateng move Seems Barca didn't take too kindly being linked to Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng -- SPORT have the scoop on the Nou Camp giants denying any interest. Alves exit? To use transfer window parlance, Dani Alves is heading for "crunch talks" with Barcelona over his future. After gallivanting in Ibiza with Neymar and Paris Hilton, the Brazilian is back for preseason training on Tuesday and heading for a showdown with Enrique over his future. SPORT in Spain reckon the two Milan clubs are interested but they believe Alves fancies a switch to the Premier League. Now, which club could do with a marauding full-back that suits a high pressing system? Spurs to play the waiting game Southampton may be adamant Morgan Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguezwon't leave the club this summer but it's hard to take their word for it when so many have left already. Tottenham are the latest vulture eager to pick at the carcass, with the star duo in former manager Mauricio Pochettino's sights. The Evening Standard say Spurs are biding their time in the double pursuit. The report claims Spurs will carry on in the hunt for Schneiderlin but will shelve their bid for Rodriguez until January, which is nice of them. Everton's Clever move... Poor old Tom Cleverley. Once the player of the year for Watford and seemingly heading to the top during his bright formative days, he enjoyed a fine start to his Manchester United career in the 2011-12 season (incredibly, alongside Anderson who also impressed) before he started to regress. A desperately poor 2013-14 season -- not to forget a fan petition asking for his removal from the England squad -- made it a time to forget for Cleverley but all is not lost yet. He does have at least one admirer, Roberto Martinez, and the Everton manager could be about to give him a new lease of life. Martinez coached Cleverley during his days at Wigan and is said to be keen on an 8 million-pound move for him, according to The Daily Mail. Jack the lad's a Black Cat Jack Rodwell looked set for the top when he starred for Everton but a string of injuries and an ill-advised move to Manchester City later, his career is at a crossroads. There's still time, though. It seems his move to Sunderland is pretty much nailed on, with The Times saying he'll cost Gus Poyet around 8 million pounds. A move to suit everyone, we say. City get a fair amount of cash and Rodwell gets the chance to get back on track. The person conducting the medical is going to be working overtime, you'd expect. |
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