Author: isport

Michel Salgado reckons that there is no lack of football talent in United Arab Emirates and the country is fully capable of producing world class players, but, for that, it’s necessary that the right kind of coaching structure is set up.

Salgado was in Dubai the other day launching a school level competition. He talked to the correspondents of the TV channels who were out there covering that event.

When asked if he thinks that there is enough football potential in this part of the world, the former Spanish international said, “Yes, I think so. But, having potential is not everything. The guidance is important too. A player needs to work under quality coaches from his teenage if he has to flourish at the highest level.”

“The affects of the professional league are already visible here. The youngsters are getting better and better and I have no doubt in my mind that some years down the line, UAE will become a very strong side.”

“It takes a bit of time. The professional leagues have been taking place in the European nations since a very long time, so, matching them straightaway is impossible. But, as time goes on, things will change and some world class footballers will come out of this country.”

Salgado is considered as a legend in Europe. He played professional football for about a couple of decades and had a lot of success. He called it a day a couple of years back at the age of 37.
Salgado who used to play at the right back position spent most parts of his career playing in the Spanish top flight. However, his career ended in England as he played his last professional match for the English Championship club Blackburn Rovers.

The manager of the Spain national football team, Vicente Del Bosque, has said that his players shouldn’t let the complacency creep in ahead of the World Cup finals which is going to start in a few months’ time.

Spain will go into that tournament as the defending champions. So, they will definitely be under a bit of pressure.

Spain’s performance in the big tournaments in the last few years has been absolutely fantastic. They have won 3 big competitions in the last 5 years and that’s why, there are so many people who are backing them to achieve the glory again in Brazil.

But, of late, a bit of deterioration has been seen in Spain’s game. In the final of the Confederations Cup which was played a few months back, they were up against Brazil and they were expected to defeat them, but, not only did they lose there, they lost quite badly. The margin of their defeat was 0-3 and that left many Spanish fans embarrassed.

According to Del Bosque, most of the players in this Spanish team have been around since quite a long time and they have achieved a considerable amount of success. So, they might have started lacking a bit of hunger and that’s something which is worrying him.

Talking to the reporters yesterday, the Spanish manager said, “The only thing that we need to make sure is that we don’t get complacent. We have to put the past achievements out of our system.”

“It will be a new World Cup, new campaign and we need to go there with high spirits.”
Spain has been slotted in Group B in the World Cup finals along with Netherlands, Australia and Chile. Their first match will be against Netherlands on 13th of June.

Former Real Madrid player Michel Salgado believes new signing Gareth Bale still needs tie to adapt to life in the Spanish capital.

The Welshman became the most expensive player in the world when he swapped the lily white of Premier League club for the famous whites of Real Madrid this summer for a reported fee of € 100 million and the former Blackburn Rovers player believes the pressure surrounding the price tag on Bale will have its effects on him but added that he is good enough to overcome that pressure and raise the bar he has set for himself with Spurs.

The Wales international has been limited to a few first team chances for the Madrid giants and his performances for Real Madrid in their 2-1 defeat at the hands of eternal rivals Barcelona last weekend came under immense scrutiny, especially when new Barcelona signing Neymar stole the show for the Catalan giants.

Several Madrid based papers criticized manager Carlo Ancelotti for persevering with Bale while their Catalan counterparts laughed off the club’s latest star signing by calling him irrelevant. But Michel Salgado believes this kind of criticism is harsh on the player.

Salgado, who played ten seasons for Real between 1999 and 2009, stated that the issue is very complicated. He mentioned that Madrid fans cannot expect the player to score more goals for the club than Cristiano Ronaldo because they paid a higher fee for him and categorically stated that it will never happen.

Michel Salgado faced Bale while he played for Rovers and he mentioned he had a tough time against him but he did say that Bale is a quality player, but given time, he will start repaying the huge fee Madrid paid for him and will no doubt become a key player in the future.

The absence of Fernando Torres and David Villa give the opportunity for new Manchester city signing Alvaro Negredo to impress Spain manager Vicente del Bosque in the recent friendly match against Ecuador.

The former Sevilla striker completed a £ 27 million move to the Etihad stadium, and he is expected to compete for a starting spot against the likes of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko. He has been one of the consistent goalscorers in Spanish football over the last few years, but he has been unable to get a regular place in the national team due to the low profile Sevilla.

He believes that playing for a big club like Manchester city will help him get on the national team more often than not. Spain won the match 2-0 in difficult circumstances after they have crossed the Atlantic. Negredo scored one of the goals with a beautiful touch. It was a difficult finish, but the 27-year-old has said that he had to go for it because otherwise the chance would have gone. Santi Cazorla created a goal for his compatriot. Del Bosque has been favouring a striker less formation for Spain in recent years, but Negredo showed the reasons for having the penalty box specialist.

“I saw the keeper was diving and it was the only way I could find to shoot. I have tried to make the most of the opportunity. The boss has given me minutes and I am pleased,” said Negredo. His finish also got the praise of the manager. “We expect a lot from Negredo and I like the way he moves in the area. Today he has been very good. Negredo finished with a small problem, nothing serious, and I hope he will be able to play for his club this weekend,” said Del Bosque.

The manager of the Spain national football team, Vicente Del Bosque, has not disclosed who will be the goalie for the World Champions in their opening Confederations Cup match against Uruguay on Sunday.

There are three goalkeepers in the Spanish squad for this competition. They are Iker Casillas, Victor Valdes and Pepe Reina.

Casillas has been the first choice goalkeeper for Spain in the last 5 years and he has performed brilliantly in big tournaments. But, he has been out of competitive football since the last 5 months. He had injured his hand playing for Real Madrid in the second half of the last season. Although, he got fit in March, but, Jose Mourinho didn’t give him any playing opportunities in the remaining part of the season and preferred Diego Lopez ahead of him.

So, Casillas is clearly short of match practice and that’s why, the experts are saying that he should not be included in the starting XI for the match against Uruguay.

When asked who will be the goalie for Spain in Sunday’s match, Bosque said, “I haven’t decided that yet. All the goalies in the squad are class acts. They play for big clubs and they are the first choice goalkeepers there. It’s hard to choose one out of them.”

When asked about Casillas having a tough last season, Bosque said, “Yes, he has struggled in the last few months, but, he is a tough guy and he won’t take too long to regain his form.”
Casillas had also talked to the reporters earlier in the day and when he was asked whether he thinks he will get a playing chance on Sunday, he had said, “I have no idea. It will be manager’s decision. Let’s see what he does. If he gives me a go, I will go out there and give my 100%.”

Dubai Sports City conducted its first-ever youth football tournament, and it has proven to be a major success as more than 400 children took part in it. They were broken up into 40 teams, and they comprised of kids ranging from eight years old to 16 years old.

The majority of the matches were conducted from the morning till the evening, but the finals were played under floodlights. The former Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado was one of the high profile names watching this event. The Spanish coaches Inaki Beni and Pablo Coira were also present at the event.

Salgado along with the coaches have brought presents and prizes to the participating teams. As a result of this huge success, it is expected that this tournament will become a regular fixture at the Academies Campus. The Spanish defender Salgado was impressed with the quality of football on display. He has praised the facilities at the Dubai Sports City Academies Campus by saying that it gave the children a huge buzz. He has said that the enthusiasm amongst the children looks extremely promising, and the future of UAE football can be built from this base.

Dubai is one of the hottest regions in the world, but the indoor artificial pitch at the Academies Campus allows football to be played even during the summer months. “The fact the children were able to take advantage of playing at such a great facility as the Dubai Sports City Academies Campus gave them a huge buzz – I saw that first-hand. In the past month the same pitches have been used by Russian top-flight side Anzhi Makhachkala and Swansea City, the English Premier League side that won the League Cup at Wembley,” said Salgado, who has now retired from playing professional football. His professional career saw him play for the likes of Real Madrid and Blackburn Rovers.

The manager of Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho, has said that he would like to be the manager of a Premier League Club after leaving Real Madrid.

Mourinho was the manager of Chelsea for three years between 2004 and 2007. Chelsea’s performance was brilliant under his guidance and the Blues went on to win two consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006.

After leaving Chelsea, Mourinho joined Inter Milan. His tenure over there was wonderful as well. In 2010, he guided Inter Milan to win the Italian Cup, Champions League and the Serie A title.
Mourinho left Internazionale in 2010 and joined Real Madrid. Under his guidance, Real Madrid won the La Liga title in the last season.

The amount of success that Mourinho has had over the years suggests that he is one of the best football managers going around at the moment.

But, the Real Madrid team hasn’t managed to perform that well in the ongoing La Liga so far and it is 18 points behind the arch rivals Barcelona in the points table. Also, there have been reports that a few Madrid players are not happy with Mourinho. His decision of dropping Iker Casillas recently has also been questioned by the experts.

According to a survey conducted recently, almost 75% of the members of Real Madrid think that Mourinho has brought negativity to the camp. All these things have put a question mark on Mourinho’s future at Madrid.

Mourinho is reported to be linked with Paris Saint Germain and a few English clubs as well.

When asked if he would want to return to England in future, Mourinho said, “Yes, I would like to do so. England is a great place to be a manager. I had great times with Chelsea a few years back. In England, the passion for the game is outstanding. You wouldn’t find that kind of passion anywhere else in the world.”

Real Madrid has defeated Atletico Madrid in a La Liga match played at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Real Madrid won the match by 2-0. This was the ninth victory for Real Madrid in the competition.
It was a high profile encounter and approx. 80,000 people were out there in the stadium to cheer for their favourite players. But, the match didn’t turn out to be a close one. It was a pretty one sided match and Real Madrid dominated for the most parts of the match.

Even after winning this match, Real Madrid is still at no. 3 in the points table. Real Madrid currently has 29 points in 14 matches.

Real Madrid earned a free kick in the 16th minute of the match and Ronaldo took the free kick. The great Portuguese rarely misses out on such opportunities and he delivers once again. It was a fabulous strike which flattened the Atletico goalkeeper. He put the dive in, but couldn’t manage to get a hand on the ball. The ball flew past him into the bottom corner and Real Madrid got ahead by 1-0. This was Ronaldo’s 13th goal in the League.

The lead of Real Madrid was doubled in the 21st minute of the second half. Cristiano Ronaldo set up the goal by giving Mesut Ozil a fabulous pass inside the penalty area. Ozil put the ball into the post with a half-volley from a distance of 12 yards.

In the post match press conference, the manager of Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho, hailed Ronaldo. Mourinho said, “It was another match winning performance by Ronaldo. He is a manager’s delight. He is such kind of a guy who lifts the spirit of the whole team.”
Real Madrid will play its next match against Ajax Amsterdam on Tuesday.

The former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has said that he would be delighted at the opportunity to manage an MLS team. The former Portsmouth and Tottenham manager is currently out of work after leaving Tottenham by mutual consent at the end of the season.

He has had an extraordinary spell with Tottenham over the last three seasons when he has managed to guide the team to the fourth place finish twice. Due to the fact that he is coming to the end of his managerial career, he has said that he will be open to the possibility of managing a MLS team. Harry Redknapp has been linked with the managerial job at the New York Red Bulls.

Due to the poor performances of the current manager Hans Backe, it is thought that the club will be open to the possibility of searching for a replacement. They have identified the former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp as the ideal candidate. So far, only players at the end of their careers have been moving to the MLS. If Harry Redknapp does sign up to manage New York red Bulls, then it would be the first time a major coach has joined an MLS team showing the improvement in the league.

“Out of respect, Harry wouldn’t express an interest in any position while someone else is currently in the job,” said a close source in an interview to a British tabloid. The New York Red Bulls currently have the star names in the form of the former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry and the former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill. It is also rumoured that they will be looking to sign the Brazilian midfielder Kaka in the January transfer window. It is expected that Harry Redknapp would be offered around £ 2 million per season in order to manage New York Red Bulls.

The Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean has said that the celebration by the winger Morten Gamst Pedersen after scoring in the 2-1 win over Leicester City is nothing but a bit of dressing room banter. The global advisor of the club, Shebby Singh, recently criticised Morten Gamst Pedersen by saying that he was like a pensioner. However, the Norwegian scored an important goal in the match against Leicester City to give Blackburn Rovers all three points. After scoring the goal, Morten Gamst Pedersen celebrated by working with a walking stick in reference to the comments made by the global advisor.

However, the manager Steve Kean has said that this celebration should not be taken in the wrong way, but it should be thought of as a dressing room banter. After the 2-1 defeat, the Leicester City manager Neil Warnock was extremely critical of his players and the way they should improve the finishing. As a result of this victory, Blackburn Rovers have now picked up seven points from the three matches the have played. As a result, they are now with the third position in the table and it looks like they will be up for a promotion challenge this season.

“It is a little bit tongue in cheek and dressing room banter. I don’t know where he got that from or if he pre-planned it with our kit man but it’s just a bit of tongue in cheek and it should be taken the way it’s meant to be. I felt at certain times when you have the quality we have in the side, if you have a Gomes or Pedersen with the technical ability they have, they can produce something special,” said the manager after the match. Blackburn will be facing Milton Keynes Dons in the league cup in the next match.