Arsenal forward Robin van Persie has picked up a small groin injury whilst training with Netherlands ahead of their international friendly with England on Wednesday.
The Gunners’ marksman sat out his nation’s final training session before the game at Wembley as a precaution, after feeling pain in his groin.
Van Persie scored the second goal in Arsenal’s 5-2 win over Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday, but also felt a slight twinge in his groin after the game; he went on international duty with the understanding that if there were any further repercussions he would be rested.
Van Persie’s involvement against The Three Lions now looks unlikely, but his national boss Bert van Marwijk’s is more hopeful that his star attacker will feature against Stuart Pearce’s side.
“I am optimistic that he will play. We will have to wait and see but I don’t think it’s too serious,” the coach told The Guardian.
With Van Persie in rich goalscoring form and a catalyst for Arsenal’s revival this season, Arsene Wenger will be eager for the player to sit out the friendly if he is not 100% fit.
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Manchester United has one hand on the title after successfully beating Chelsea at Old Trafford.
It was a fantastic performance and Sir Alex Ferguson got the tactics spot on as United threatened to run riot in an extremely one sided first half. 2-0 certainly flattered the visitors who never got out of first gear and to be honest the game should have been out of sight, but United’s wastefulness always gave the Blues a half chance to get back into it. Even when Lampard’s strike gave Ancelotti’s men hope, United cranked it up and were able to see the game out with relative ease.
The win sees United close in on a record 19th title and Ferguson fulfil the agenda he set when he first took the reins at Old Trafford.
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So how do United fans feel about the performance today and what are the five things we learnt about the Red Devils this afternoon?
Last Saturday saw a clash between two teams who are changing the face of the Premier League: Manchester City and Chelsea. With the aid of Roman Abramovich’s millions Chelsea have won three Premier League titles and now Manchester City are looking to follow this model with the finances of owner Sheik Mansour. On Saturday Eastlands saw a victory for the future over the present as City triumphed 1-0 thanks to a solo goal from Argentina international Carlos Tevez. Not only did the match see the Premier League’s richest two clubs meet, but it also saw two of the most influential Italians in the game go head-to-head: Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Mancini. Here are Carlo and Roberto having a friendly meeting before kick-off, but what are the two Italians saying?
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Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he is set to put pen-to-paper on a new three-year deal with the club.
The Northern Irish coach has led The Swans from The Championship to the Premier League, and his side have been much applauded for their enterprising brand of football this season.
Rodgers has a long-term goal of stabilising the team in the top flight, and is ready to commit his future to the Welsh outfit.
“I spoke with the chairman today and we have agreed everything in principle, we just need to draft up the paperwork and be presented with it over the weekend, then it will be signed and done and that will be fantastic,” he told Sky Sports.
“It was clear to me I wanted to be here. There was very little to discuss and I will be proud to move forward with the project.
“Ultimately my job is to make Swansea a sustainable Premier League club, that’s the challenge.
“It looked a massive challenge to get promoted, but since then we have shown we can compete at this level. Although we are riding high and playing well, the objective is to stay in the league, that would be monumental and give the club more money to invest in the team.
“But the goal is firstly to make Swansea sustainable and you can obviously build from that,” he admitted.
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Tottenham’s bid for Champions League football took an almighty blow as they gave up a lead to draw 2-2 with West Bromwich Albion.Jermain Defoe’s goal on 67 minutes looked to have earned Spurs a vital victory in their battle for fourth place, but Cox’s spectacular strike 10 minutes from time salvaged a draw for Roy Hodgson’s men on Saturday.
West Brom took an early lead through Peter Odemwingie after just five minutes but Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko slotted home on 26 minutes to equalise.
Defoe’s strike on 67 minutes was his 100th English Premier League goal and 100th for Tottenham – but it was not enough for victory – meaning Manchester City have the advantage in the fight for fourth.
There were warning signs even before Odemwingie’s opener for Roy Hodgson’s side, with Jerome Thomas going close.
But Spurs were caught napping in the early stages and, when Carlos Vela found Odemwingie, the Albion striker turned Benoit Assou-Ekotto and curled a sublime effort past Heurelho Gomes.
Assou-Ekotto had to be replaced by Sandro following his clash with Odemwingie and that resulted in Gareth Bale, the newly crowned PFA Footballer of the Year, reverting to left-back.
Bale’s attacking prowess was not blunted as a result of the switch, and his surging runs down the left caused the visitors no end of problems.
Luka Modric and Pavlyuchenko both tested Scott Carson in the visiting goal, and Spurs got the breakthrough they deserved when Pavlyuchenko’s strike rifled into the back of the net.
The Russian should have doubled his tally just minutes later, but his wayward rebound from Rafael van der Vaart’s shot soared over.
West Brom started the second half in a similar vein to the first, and only a sprawling, desperate lunge from Gomes denied Odemwingie adding his second of the game with a strong header.
Odemwingie then flashed a stinging drive just past the post as Hodgson’s men exerted maximum pressure on the Londoners.
Tottenham lacked any real impetus going forward and Harry Redknapp’s response was to introduce Aaron Lennon for the disappointing Tom Huddlestone. Lennon’s pace posed problems for the visitors and it wasn’t long before Defoe had put Spurs in front.
Darting in from deep, Defoe raced towards the edge of the area and unleashed a fine drive past Carson for his Premier League century.
Not to be denied, Cox’s wonderful effort from 20 yards flew past Gomes and stunned White Hart Lane.
Harry Redknapp looked disconsolate on the touchline in the knowledge that his side are one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City, with the Eastlands crew holding a game in hand on Spurs.
The inclusion of Everton’s Spanish star Mikel Arteta in the England squad would certainly breed controversy. But beyond that controversy could be the shining star that England so desperately need. Consistent for Everton and overlooked by the Spanish hierarchy, the midfielder from San Sebastian has proved time and time again that he isn’t at Everton to make up the numbers, neither is he prepared to overlook playing International Football.
And the word ‘International football’ is most important; Arteta is already 28 and showing no signs of slowing down – with his impressive range of passing and fluency around the middle of the park, such attributes may offer the prowess required if England are to be successful in their new era.
If Capello did offer Arteta the opportunity to play for England, it would be a tough to turn down. The elevation from the domestic game to the international stage could provide the chance for the former Real Sociedad man to prove a point to many of his doubters in Spain. One thing is for sure, if he emulated his club form for England – they would certainly benefit.
However, if you asked the traditionalist, he would instantly dismiss his citing that if he was good enough his native country would have at least gave him a chance by now. Such a theory is perhaps contradicted by the respective nation’s performance at the World Cup. This proved that the two are poles apart.
Others may also ridicule the mere suggestion that Arteta should even be considered because he is not English but many other international teams have benefited from the ruling.
Portugal have had Brazilian-born Deco in their midfield for years whilst ‘Germany’s’ Lukas Podolski was in fact born in Poland. Former Arsenal striker Eduardo is a key member of Croatia’s side despite being born in Brazil. And it could also be argued that Spain would not have won the European Championship in 2004 without the Brazilian Marcos Senna – which begs the question does it really matter?
Why should we not utilise the qualities of a player who has proved himself in the Premier League and now qualifies to play for the country rather than reject the idea in a naïve exhibition of patriotism.
Steven Gerrard, the captain and a man who typifies the passionate manner in which many Englishmen play the game has also called for his selection.
He said: “I’d certainly love nothing better than to see Mikel Arteta available for England.”
“You want to play with the best players, and if it makes the England squad better, of course I’d like to see it.” Steven Gerrard told talkSPORT.
In my opinion, if he is deemed good enough to represent England then he should not be cruelly denied an opportunity he has arguably earned through his consistency on Merseyside and if Fabio Capello does decide to produce a surprise, it may well encourage another intriguing debate.
Click on image below to see the gallery of Mario Balotelli’s stunning girlfriend
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It is a well-known fact in the footballing world that fans know more about making their team successful than the man in the manager’s position. Every weekend millions gather around a pint or light up phone-ins and forums telling them how they should change their tactics, their formation and their line-up.
Thanks to the Football Manager video game series we have been able to put our dreams into practice, taking our team to world domination or guiding a club from non-league obscurity to greatness. The game is now incredibly realistic with so much to do and the triumphs that we have during our game time prove to us that we are capable of emulating Sir Alex Ferguson, Bill Shankly and Brian Clough and writing our name into football history.
We have all found a diamond player and produced match-winning performances through our immense knowledge. We are masters of the transfer market, able to spot a hot prospect. We know how to deal with the media and keep our players happy, something that others can only dream of and that’s why the power of the game should not be underestimated by chairmen.
When the unimpressive tenure of a manager comes to an end, rather than poaching somebody from another club or scouring the managerial merry-go-round, the game should be used to find the top candidate for the hotseat. There have been global competitions to find the next star player and offering them a contract so why not set up a worldwide competition to find the next ‘Special One’?
In 2006, 25-year-old Football Manager addict John Boileau tried to put this theory into practice when he applied to become the new manager of Middlesborough following the departure of Steve McClaren. In his CV he described his career on the game, showing his success with Nuneaton Borough and Rushden and Diamonds, who he had guided through all the divisions. He detailed his experience of managing in different countries, dealing with work permits and even offered to drive the team bus to away games, all of which would make him an outstanding candidate. His credentials were so impressive that he received an amazing reply from Steve Gibson. Although he wasn’t offered the job it should have been the start of something big and having seen the decline of ‘Boro since that time, Gibson has lived to regret not giving him the job.
For starters, employing a Football Manager legend would be a much cheaper option. The brilliant Boileau asked for a “reasonable” £80,000 starting rate to take over at the Riverside, by far the smallest wage in either of the top two divisions. It would free up huge sums of money that could be used in the transfer market or help balance the books while still being a great pay packet for somebody who was in a run-of-the-mill job just days before.
Picking a new boss from a group of people who had dedicated hours at a time to playing the game, beating people worldwide to show their skills and desire so that they can create a managerial legacy would guarantee that the incoming chief is be more passionate than an established manager that has had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus. If somebody has been offered the opportunity of living the dream then they will give everything to prove themself whereas many managers are just looking for their next job and don’t care who it is or how important the team is to their fans. They will wear their heart on their sleeve and be able to turn around a failing squad with their motivation and it is more likely to last long-term rather than be a quick fix.
Those who would get involved in a Football Manager selection process are also more likely to be fans of that club so they will bring the enthusiasm of their fellow supporters to the hotseat and will echo this in the dressing room. They will have put the footballing world to right over a pint in the pub with their friends and will have spent hours on the game going over their club with a fine-tooth comb to turn them from average to awesome. Unlike other contenders, a man on Football Manager can pick any club to manage so if they have experience of coaching your team to glory they can replicate that in real life and it shouldn’t be ignored.
They will bring fresh views to the role too, choosing different places to scout for players, who to bring in, how to play. Their ideas may never be considered by somebody who has never visited the virtual world of management but this outside view may pay dividends. Midfielder Sherman Cardenes is a god of the game, bagging goals and playing brilliantly. He holds a starring role in most success stories along with Febian Brandy, but no manager outside of South America has ever taken a chance with him. It is these ‘out-of-the-box’ moments that would see a new approach to the game and could make the difference.
Chairmen will say that they cannot take a risk by employing somebody that has developed ‘managerial skills’ by playing a computer game but the millions of us who have spent hours battling in front of the computer screen know that we have what it is to succeed. Offering wannabe managers the chance to put their hat in the ring by demonstrating their ability on Football Manager would be a brilliant idea. With the game now hugely developed we know how to negotiate contracts, hold team talks, deal with problem players and alter our tactics in the style. Given the chance, gamers could create the next fairytale rise through the league for their club. Don’t rule it out.
Fellow gamers, could we manage a side to greatness. Let me know your thoughts by commenting below or following me on Twitter @jrobbins1991.
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Woah! I thought this would be relatively easy, as I listed off all the fantastic goals scored in the Champions League over the last 18 years. Then a few mates started throwing in a few suggestions and then you start to remember all the goals over the years, from last season to the last decade.
I’ve seen so many fantastic goals trying to create a top ten short list that my eyes feel like they are going to fall out of my face, but at least I am hugely inspired for playing football later tonight. Anyway, I know that the following top ten is not going to please everyone, if you want to comment on what goals you think should’ve made the list, then feel free. However, just because it did not get into my list, does not mean I didn’t acknowledge it, I did but I wanted to try and keep this top ten as varied as possible.
What do I mean? Well, what makes a great goal? Is it the moment, like Steven Gerrard’s strike against Olympiakos for Liverpool (that nearly made the list) or the stage of the competition, like a last minute goal in the final (Sheringham and Solskjaer). Or, is it just a fantastic piece of skill and individual play, like Thierry Henry’s control and finish against Sparta (again, it nearly made the list).
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Taking it all into consideration, the following list hopefully has it all. From headers to over head kicks, to goals in the Final, to brilliant team work. Plus, the long range strike, whether from a set-piece or during play, sometimes they can get over hyped but there have been some sensational goals. I’m surprised myself that David Beckham’s free-kick against Barcelona in 1998 didn’t make it, or Hugo Almeida’s rocket of a free kick (thanks Joe), but personally I thought Juninho deserved to get in.
I did consider making an honourable mention list to those great goals that did not make the Top Ten, but it’d be too long. Players from the early nineties set the standard like Jari Litmanen for Ajax and Jean-Pierre Papin for Milan plus Gabriel Batistuta for Fiorentina, and to George Weah and Georgi Hagi…ok I’ll quit while I am ahead.
It was not just the big names in football that scored great goals, remember Arsenal’s left back, Sylvinho? He scored a great individual goal in the competition. Enough of my introduction, it’s time for you to check out my top ten Champions League goals of all time….and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for football chatter – @verbal_football
10 – Andy Cole for Man Utd vs Barcelona 1998 group stage – One of the goals that graced the one of the two 3-3 draws in the 1998/1999 games in the Champions League. This goal came at the Nou Camp and it showed excellent play by strike partners Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, which out of all the great goals in the competition I’ve seen, this was quite a rare and should be appreciated.
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9 – Rivaldo for Barcelona vs Manchester United 1998 group stage – Keeping with the same game, Rivaldo’s brilliant overhead kick has to be included. The United keeper, Peter Schmeichel wasn’t expecting it and the United defence didn’t react, a piece of brilliance by the Brazilian.
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8 – Dejan Savicevic for Milan vs Barcelona 1993/1994 Final – The audacious lob over the Barcelona keeper made it 3-0 to the underdogs AC Milan, managed by Fabio Capello. Perhaps I was persuaded for this goal to make the list for it came in the Final, but it’s definitely worthy for the main event.
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7 – Lionel Messi for Barcelona vs Man Utd 2008/2009 Final – Ok, not Lionel Messi’s best goal in the Champions League but considering that it was the Final and it was a header by the little Argentinean trequartista, when does Lionel Messi score headers? Plus, it was a pin-point cross from Xavi and Messi did fantastic to jump and direct the ball into the opposite corner of the goal.
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6 – Cristiano Ronaldo for Man Utd vs Porto 2009 knock out stages – Not scored in a final, like the previous two entries but Ronaldo’s thunderous shot from 40 yards deserves to be included. I was close to including his free-kick at Arsenal instead but there were questions over poor goal keeping being the reason. However, this goal against Porto for United was unstoppable.
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5 – Juninho free-kick for Lyon vs Real Madrid 2005/2006 group stage – There have been some fantastic free-kicks scored in the Champions League over the years but the Brazilian, Juninho for Lyon is one of the best. I particularly preferred this goal because of the angle, power, distance and the fact it beat a world class keeper like Iker Casillas.
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4 – Kaka for AC Milan vs Manchester United 2006/2007 semi-finals – Another Brazilian who makes the top ten. This goal by Kaka is a personal favourite because of the individualism involved. He had no right to score, with three United defenders surrounding him, but his skill, determination and composure made it and let Milan go on to win their 7th European Cup.
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3 – Mauro Bressan for Firoentina vs Barcelona (1999/2000) group stage – It had to be included, Trevor Sinclair set the standard for overhead kicks outside the area but the Italian, Mauro Bressan took it to a whole new level in the Champions League with this goal against Barcelona. Amazing.
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Continue to the NEXT PAGE for the rest of the Top TEN…
2 – Overmars goal for Barca vs Liverpool (2001/02) group stage – I’ve heard 25 to 30 passes, a through ball and a goal. Perhaps not as impressive as a strike from 30 yards but to me this is one of the best goals scored in the competition. The Barcelona team showed patience, composure and their passing ability in abundance before Overmars ran through to finish off the team move.
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1 – Zinedine Zidane goal for Real Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen (CL Final 2002) – It had to be! This goal is usually number 1 in these lists and I tried very hard to justify another goal making it to the number 1 spot but I simply couldn’t. Whilst Roberto Carlos’ cross is often criticised as a “miss-hit” in the build up to this goal, Zidane was able to repossession himself and volley into perfectly pass the keeper. Worthy of a final and to top this list of the best Champions League goals.
Bolton Wanderers striker Kevin Davies has said that he turned down the chance to play for Scotland at the end of last season.
Representatives of the Scottish Football Association contacted the former Chesterfield, Southampton and Blackburn Rovers star in April to see if he was keen to play for Craig Levein’s side.
Davies, who played three games for the England Under-21 team but has never earned a call to the senior squad, told the Bolton News:“I spoke to someone about it at the end of last season.
“They wanted to know if I had any Scottish relatives and, to be honest, I wasn’t too sure at the time, so I didn’t take it any further. You’d think with a name like Davies, I’m more likely to have Welsh blood in me.
“As far as I’m concerned I’m English, so I didn’t really take it on.
“It was all a bit tongue in cheek and we had a good laugh with the gaffer about it. I think he was keener than me. I enjoy my weekends too much at the minute to go playing international football as well.”
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Fondly known as the King of White Hart Lane, Glenn Hoddle needs little excuse to talk about his former club and with the North Londoners currently riding high in the Premier League, the Tottenham Legend was full of praise for his former employers. Hoddle believes that Spurs can mount a challenge for a title in what promises to be the most exciting Premier League in years.
“I really think they can. I’ve been saying for the last two seasons that Spurs have as strong a squad as anyone except now Manchester City. They’ve got depth that matches Arsenal, Chelsea and maybe even Man United. The fact they kept Modric, built on the side they had, and now have the likes of Defoe who can come off the bench and make an impact, that’s a wonderful asset to have.
“I genuinely feel this year there are up to six teams that will be battling it out – this will be the most exciting Premier League for some time. It may well be that with six games to go there are three or four in contention, for the title and Spurs can be one of those.
“They have the ability to do that, and the key for me is in their central defensive partnership. If Ledley King can stay fit and Dawson can get back quickly from his injury, that would be a huge boost.
“They’ve also got some good youngsters including Kyle Walker, there’s Gareth Bale coming back into form and Adebayor putting the ball in the net. It’s a lovely balance. They’ll be in the mix.
“City haven’t done it before and will hit a wobble, and the others up there have not been as consistent as in previous years.”
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For more insight from Glenn Hoddle and other leading managers plus exclusive Premier League highlights go to www.yahoo.co.uk/sport