Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic talked about his condition on his return from injury and his relationship with Jose Mourinho.
Inter star Zlatan Ibrahimovic managed to get some playing minutes on his return from injury today in the first match of the Amsterdam Tournament against Sevilla. After the match, which finished goalless, he talked about his condition and his impression of coach Jose Mourinho.
"I felt good, I played without feeling pain," he said. "I am improving every day. I've been working to come back for over a week. Clearly I still lack the match rhythm, but it all went well, just like we hoped.
"Mourinho had asked me how I felt the last few days. He saw I did well during training and I told him I was ready to get back on the pitch. It was important to verify how the work was going and the result was positive.
"I'm very happy about the things Mourinho has said about me in this period, he has trust in me and I have faith in him too. I think he can still give me a lot to grow and I think I can give a lot to him and to Inter."
Mourinho announced today that the Swede will play 45 minutes of tomorrow's match against his former club Ajax, who are hosting the tournament.
"We will evalute in the next few hours how the knee is doing but I think there are no problems, so I hope to play tomorrow and also in Lisbon against Benfica in the last friendly," Ibra concluded.
Inter midfielder Amantino Mancini has hit out at his old club Roma and former coach Luciano Spalletti by suggesting he was not treated fairly in the Eternal city.
The Brazilian, who spent five seasons with the Giallorossi, moved to San Siro this summer after falling out with his old side.
Reports claimed that his poor relationship with Spalletti caused tension in the dressing room and ultimately, it led to his exit.
Mancini spoke about his days at Roma and he has revealed that everyone is treated more fairly at Inter.
“Roma is now in the past, Inter is my life now,” Mancini told La Repubblica.
“I can say that everything is different here both in terms of football and life.
“I have understood what football is all about in Milan and now I have to adapt to the Milanese lifestyle.
“Of course, I will never forget the five years I had at Roma. I always found myself well there during that time.
“All I will say is that here people are treated equally and in the same way, both from the coach and from the clubs directors.”
Mancini has enjoyed a good pre-season with the Nerazzurri and he is likely to be the first choice winger in Jose Mourinho’s favoured 4-3-3 formation.
I just saw Hope Solo and Lisa Chalupny, in a tentative moment, make the first big mistake as both were unable to thwart Leni Larsen Kaurin's header in thPublish Poste opening minutes.
A few minutes later, veteran Kate Markgraf could only look on as her under pressure backpass found a hustling Melissa Wiik latch onto the astray pass and lash the ball past a hapless Solo into the right hand corner of the net. Two down in the first five minutes. Could the US Women's team mount a stirring comeback against Norway? After all Norway has proven to be the team to beat after their sudden death victory over the US in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The US has claimed a number of victories since then but this is a US team minus its most potent offensive weapon, Abby Wambach.
It was not to be as the Norwegians sturdy as wood shut the US team down. NBC's crack reporting team was left chastened and questioning on camera. The US hopes to rebound against Japan.
Readmore »»USA beat Japan by a solitary goal from Stuart Holden. Japan have been seven times in the tournament and started as the favourites.Great upset by the USA.
Elsewhere - in the battle of the B's ( Brazil vs Belgium) Brazil beat a 9 man Belgium again by the solitary goal.
Lionel Messi scored for his country in their opening Olympic men's football match in a narrow 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast on Thursday.Scoring for your country has to beat scoring for your club.Messi also helped setting up the second goal.He was adamant about wanting to be part of the Olympics and Barcelona,despite winning an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport giving the club the right to stop him playing,lifted their ban at the 11th hour.Good for them and good for the game.
Milan club doctor Jean Pierre Meersseman has eaten a slice of humble pie by admitting there is no serious problem with Kaka. Hours earlier he revealed there was.
On Thursday morning Meersseman seemed to suggest that Kaka didn’t need a recent operation and he described it as being “unnecessary and damaging”.
The doctor has now changed his tune regarding the Brazilian as he tries to reassure everyone at the club.
“There really and truly is no alarm regarding Kaka,” said Meersseman.
“For now he just has to do some precise exercises with his knee.
“We will now have to plan his recovery as per usual when the new season begins.
“He will need just a little time to recover fully.”
Kaka underwent knee surgery in Brazil last month, and that was carried out by the Selecao’s medical staff.
It was this operation which caused Meersseman concern initially.
In a match that fell somewhat below expectations, Serbia and Australia drew 1-1 in the first match of Group A in Shanghai. Ruben Zadkovich shot Australia into the lead after 69 minutes, but Slobodan Rajkovic's header nine minutes later gave the Serbians a well-deserved point.
The early exchanges were uninspiring, with neither side holding on to possession particularly well. There were no chances until the 13th minute, when the lively Zoran Tosic was played in by Dusan Tadic following a corner; Tosic's eventual shot was deflected wide by an Australian defender.
Tosic was involved again on 37 minutes, when his long-range strike thundered off the crossbar. The Serbian attacker tried his luck from distance again in the final minute of the half, but Adam Federici saved well.
The game settled into a pattern in the second period, with Serbia piling on the pressure and Australia defending resolutely. For all their pressure, the Serbs failed to create any clear chances, and it was Australia who went ahead in the 69th minute, against the run of play. David Carney made his way cleverly down the left and crossed, and Ruben Zadkovich stabbed the ball in at the far post.
The game opened up, and Australia missed an excellent chance to secure the three points when substitute Billy Celeski struck the post following a vigorous right-wing move. Soon afterwards, however, Serbia equalised, when Rajkovic's header from a left-wing corner made the score 1-1.
Although Serbia continued to press for a win thereafter, they were unable to make the most of the half-chances that fell their way. The two sides emerged with one point apiece, and the general feeling among the spectators was that Serbia had provided the better entertainment.
First the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Wednesday that clubs were not obliged to release players for the event.
Argentina's Olympic Team coach Sergio Batista defied the court order and said ....
"The player is here and will remain with the team. He will start Thursday's game (against Ivory Coast in Shanghai) from the beginning and I'm sure he can be with us for the rest of the competition."
Darrron's goal in a recent friendly between Alex Ferguson and his son Darren Ferguson's teams
Some of the players who will be on Olympic duty.
* Arsenal: Alexandre Song (Cameroon)
* Aston Villa: Brad Guzan (USA)
* Blackburn: Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand)
* Chelsea: Saloman Kalou (Ivory Coast)
* Everton: Victor Anichebe (Nigeria)
* Fulham: Adrian Leijer (Australia)
* Liverpool: Javier Mascherano (Argentina), Ryan Babel (Holland)
* Manchester City: Jo (Brazil)
* Manchester United: Anderson (Brazil)
* Portsmouth: Franck Songo’o (Cameroon)
* West Brom: Gianni Zuiverloon (Holland)
FIFA is having yet another meeting to review all that has already been reviewed so that the London 2012 games may be spared of a similar club vs country messi - ness.
The Youtube video below shows a Blatter lookalike singing the song that fits in very well with the abovementioned meeting.
You have to imagine Blatter singing
..."A man's got a heart hasn't he,jokin apart hasn't he?
And though I'd be the first one to say that I wasn't a saint,
I'm finding it hard to be really as black as they paint.
I'm reviewing the situation
Can a fellow be a villain all his life?
All the trials and tribulations!
Better settle down and get myself a wife.
And a wife would cook and sew for me,
And come for me, and go for me,
The fingers, she will wag at me.
The money whe will take me.
A misery, she'll make from me....I think I'd better think it out again....! .."etc
Cristiano Ronaldo is more likely to go to Real Madrid now because Wesley Sneijder took a bad knock on his knee [ out for six months].This is the latest twist in the saga.....
In political parlance he is a flip flopper. The fans at the Emirates let him have it when he showed up to play Juve. The only thing that can get Ade back in favour would be to keep a low profile and repeat a 30 goal scoring season. In the end if that leads to meaningful silverware, then all can and will be forgiven.
Here is Arseblog's considerably more forceful take on Adebayor >>
Readmore »»It was the third place play-off of the Russian Railways Cup.Anelka hit four out of the 5 goals and the other one came from a Lampard free kick.It helped that AC Milan were missing key players such as Kaka, Pato, Inzaghi and Borriello.They went into half time 3 goals down and stayed down.Is this enough to make Kaka change his mind and move to Chelsea?There's a chap writing on ESPN that thinks so.
Adidas' latest effort at promoting soccer in USA.Website.Beckham conspicous by his absence. Website here...
Dream MLS from Jason Zada on Vimeo.
"I have never said that Ronaldo is a slave," he told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to Vietnam...........................!
Okay let's see.What will he deny next.
He will deny denying this.
It appears that the sky over Beijing has cleared up to some extent and there is some optimism that the Olympics will take place relatively pollution free. But athletes are not exactly rushing into China as yet.
The Australian Olympic Committee has decided not to force its athletes to compete if they are concerned about the pollution causing long term harm to their health. Athletes at risk are cyclists, endurance runners, and soccer players. Here is a more dire prediction.
Well, my take is the Olympics are for guts and glory. I still remember the heroics of Derek Redmond in the 1992 Olympics, tearing his hamstrings in the 400m, crumpling to the track in agony.
On the track, Redmond realizes his dream of an Olympic medal is gone. Tears run down his face. "All I could think was, 'I'm out of the Olympics -- again,'" he would say.
As the medical crew arrives with a stretcher, Redmond tells them, "No, there's no way I'm getting on that stretcher. I'm going to finish my race."
Then, in a moment that will live forever in the minds of millions, Redmond lifts himself to his feet, ever so slowly, and starts hobbling down the track. The other runners have finished the race, with Steve Lewis of the U.S. winning the contest in 44.50. Suddenly, everyone realizes that Redmond isn't dropping out of the race by hobbling off to the side of the track. No, he is actually continuing on one leg. He's going to attempt to hobble his way to the finish line. All by himself. All in the name of pride and heart.
Slowly, the crowd, in total disbelief, rises and begins to roar. The roar gets louder and louder. Through the searing pain, Redmond hears the cheers, but "I wasn't doing it for the crowd," he would later say. "I was doing it for me. Whether people thought I was an idiot or a hero, I wanted to finish the race. I'm the one who has to live with it."
I remember Redmond's father running onto the track and holding his son as he painfully limped along to the finish line. There was not a dry eye left in that stadium or in the millions on TV watching this extraordinary act of courage unfold. It was one of the purest moments in sporting history, one that brought home with stunning clarity, in an all too rare moment, what the Olympics stood for.
Some countries have more ideal conditions than others. None are perfect. China is trying to reduce its pollution in time for the Olympics and there is a chance that seeing more blue skies and its health benefits might have a sobering effect on its government, introducing environmental safeguards even as it continues its blistering pace of industrialization. I know Brazil and Argentina whine about the high altitude being detrimental to their players health every time they play Bolivia at La Paz. FIFA obligingly tried banning high altitude matches to make sure that none of their players suffered a breathless moment. But no player has suffered any adverse health even as both countries have gone onto win 7 World Cups.
So for those doubters, suck it up and remember Derek Redmond. Readmore »»
Bentley, an Arsenal product did not leave on the happiest of terms as he could not break into Arsenal's first team. He appears to have carried a grudge and joining Spurs seems to have loosened his lips.
On October 29th, Spurs visit the Emirates and as per Bentley he is relishing the encounter. "I just want to stick it up the Arsenal."
Well those are fighting words and I am sure Gunner fans will be waiting to give him a 21 gun salute. Bring it on, Bentley! Readmore »»
