Michel Salgado

Former Real Madrid player Michel Salgado has praised Cristiano Ronaldo for winning the Ballon d’Or four times.

He said that this is more impressive that he has managed to do this against a player of the quality of Lionel Messi.

He said that this is a proof of Ronaldo’s quality and that this is a legitimate title as different people have voted it. He said that it is never easy to win such a trophy and doing it against a player like Lionel Messi is impressive.

He believes that Cristiano Ronaldo has been the best player in the world over the course of last season and rightly deserve to win this title.

He said that the Portuguese international is a quality player and that he always gives his best whether on the pitch or on the training ground.

Michel Salgado said that he has not spent a lot of time with Cristiano Ronaldo, but he believes that he is a lot like Luis Figo. He said that he is an important player for his club and that just as Luis Figo he has a great winning mentality.

Michel Salgado has also commented on the present Real Madrid team and believes that it is better than the one he played in. He said that there are far more quality players in the Real Madrid team at the moment and that they do not rely on only one goalscorer.

He believes that there is far more consistency in the team at the moment and they should be favorite to win the title. However, he admitted that Barcelona also has a good team and that it would not easy to win the title.

But if Ronaldo remains in top form, he thinks that they could have a great chance of winning the title.

Former Real Madrid player Michel Salgado is set to continue the Premier Futsal poised to continue in the New Year, 2017.

The retired football star signed a three-year deal in 2016, joining the gradually growing list of top stars that have agreed to play in the first multi-national Futsal League.

Retired Manchester United star Paul Scholes already signed alongside former FC Porto and Barcelona player Anderson Lu’s de Souza popularly known as Deco. Global Futsal legend Alessandro Rosa Vieira fondly called Falcao had agreed as well. The inaugural tournament saw six teams play four games before the finals during the summer.

“Futsal is an extremely underrated sport. It has been the breeding ground for some of the biggest names in football the world over and I’m glad Premier Futsal in India is creating a platform that can showcase the sport and give it its due.

“I think the talent the league has managed to draw is fantastic with not just futsallers like Falcao but also career football players like Paul Scholes and Deco taking part. It’s almost nostalgic in a way to go up against these players again and I’m really looking forward to reliving the old days and reigniting those old rivalries, this time on the futsal court.”

Salgado was a part of the Madrid’s ‘Galacticos’ that included player-turned-manager Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Luis Figo, Raul and others. Salgado has won four La Liga titles, two Champions League trophies and one intercontinental cup. After spending a decade in Spain, Salgado moved to Blackburn Rovers where he spent three years in the Premier League.

The 2016 Premier Futsal saw layers from four continents and 21 countries. Each franchise had a marquee international player, seven international and five Indian players. Mumbai 5s won the 2016 edition with Angelott Caro being the highest goalscorer.

There appears to be something that always brings back soccer players to the pitch even after they have announced their desire to hang up their boots and retire.

The vast majority of football players that retire always come back to the world of football and even though they aren’t performing at a competitive level anymore, those retirees usually take up another job relating to the sport.

ZinedineZidane retired after the 2006 World Cup and came back to coach Real Madrid a few years later and this is the story of many well-known figures who either become a coach, a director of a club or something similar.

Michel Salgado opted to withdraw himself from competitive football back on 2011 and he stayed rather hidden and secluded from the world for a few years but Salgado decided to come out of retirement at the age of 40 as he joined the Futsal team Kochi 5s in an Indian competition.

Now that the Indian Futsal tournament has reached it’s end, Salgado has recently showed intentions of getting back to the world of football but as a club owner as he wants to buy Celta de Vigo.

Salgado has been attempting to outright buy Celta de Vigo as the club is currently going through a sale process with a Chinese consortium interested in buying the football club but the former Real Madrid player, Michel Salgado does not want to see the club switching hands to an entity outside of Spain and this is why he launched an offer but it’s believed that the transfer to the Chinese consortium is at the verge of being completed and that it was too late for Michel Salgado to do anything about it.

At the age of 40, Michel Salgado opted to put his football boots back on as he returned from retirement and perform in the first multi-national futsal league, Premier Futsal which managed to attract over 10 million viewers.

This event commenced on July 15 up until 24 of that same month and it had well-renowned football stars such as Ronaldinho, Paul Scholes, Michel Salgado, Ryan Giggs, HernanCrespo and Cafu, just to name a few of the popular figures.

Kochi and Mumbai 5s were the last 2 teams remaining and they had to face against each other in a game that had to be settled through a dramatic penalty session and it was Mumbai 5s that came out on top with the victory.

This was the inaugural season of the Premier Futsal tournament in India and it turned out to be a huge success with fans enjoying the event and having fun as they watched legends of the sport locking horns.

The tournament had a total of 79 goals being scored in 15 matches which is proof of just how fast paced and thrilling each match was, as it had an average of around 5 goals per game.

Michel Salgado performed for Kochi 5s and during the penalty session, he missed his kick and so did Ryan Giggs of the opposing team but even though Giggs failed to score his penalty, his team Mumbai 5s still managed to come out on top with the victory.

When the tournament reached it’s end, the organizers of the event had nothing but praise and also stated that the Premier Futsal will be back next season to have another competition filled with stars as the event organizers said: “It was a pleasure having these legends around! #PremierFutsal will be back next season.”

If you are looking at the latest news surrounding Salgado, this player would be joining the likes of players like Ronaldinho, Giggs and others like Crespo and Scholes who would be appearing in Premier Futsal.

These players would play the inaugural tournament, which will premiere in India this very month. For the tournament Falcao would be the sixth player of marquee category. Being a Brazilian legend in Futsal, he would be playing the inaugural match which will be held on July 15th in Chennai. Deco was also supposed to play, but this former Portugal and Barcelona star player has had to withdraw since he is injured.

There would be six franchises that would be playing the Premier Futsal. These franchises are not yet registered with FIFA or the Indian federation and each would represent or feature a marquee star. The franchises would represent regions like Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Bengaluru, Goa and Kolkata.

These would then be divided into two groups as they would play the finals which would reach Goa around July 23rd. The Co founder of Premier Futsal stated that, there had been several attempts to tarnish the image of the tournament and there have been several false allegations. However, braving all such oppositions, the tournament would be scheduled to start off on July 15th in the city of Chennai. The league would take place only in the two cities, first in Chennai and then in Goa. There would be six franchises playing. Players who are considered to be legends would be there to support the games. They will be arriving to support the teams within a few days. Futsal has been inaugurated this year and it is hoped that the league will expand in the coming years with more encouragement from the masses and the international playing arena.

Former Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado was named by Iker Casillas in his list of greatest players he has played with.

Salgado who turned 40 years started his career with Celta de Vigo before moving to Real Madrid in 1999 for 4.5 million Pounds. He later moved to Blackburn on free transfer in 2009 before moving on to end his career in 2013. The Right Back has regularly urged Los Blancos to victories despite leaving Santiago Bernabeu many years back.

Real Madrid legend, Iker Casillas, named the defender in his greatest club XI including a host of ‘Galacticos’ he played with. The Spain International goal keeper is currently at FC Porto after being sold by his home club last season but continues to show his love and support for his former club, Madrid.

Having made his debut for the Royal Whites in 1997, Iker Casillas failed to include himself on the list opting for Bodo Illgner. He justified the choice by saying:

“We were together there in my first year and he helped me greatly. He was an important member of the seventh European Cup-winning team.”

In defence, he started by picking Michel Salgado backing it up by saying:

“He gets up and down the line phenomenally and is a strong defensively too.”

At left-back, he picked the Brazilian Roberto Carlos and said; “Strong and powerful. He’s incredible.”

His two central defenders are Fernando Hierro and Sergio Ramos both of whom he said “have similar styles with different physiques. Very good with their heads.”

Casillas went for a three-man midfield and started by picking legendary Portuguese winger, Luis Figo. Casillas said, “I liked being with him and being his team-mate. He’s a great person.”

Casillas picked out Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane in the centre and picked Fernando Redondo to back him up.

In the strikeforce, he picked Ronaldo De Lima, Cristiano Ronaldo and fellow legend Raul.

Former Real Madrid player Michel Salgado believes that it was destiny that brought Zinedine Zidane to coach Real Madrid.

He believes that Zidane has everything needed to succeed at Real Madrid. He said that even he was playing, Zidane was a respected person and that he had the character needed to manage at the highest level. He said that every time Zidane entered the dressing room when he was a player, his teammates will always listen to him.

Salgado believes that it is wrong to criticize Zidane because of a lack of character. Although the former French player may appear to be shy, he has a winning mentality and attitude that will allow him to deal with players.

He said that Zidane already has the experience needed since he has been a top player. It is the same with Pep Guardiola he argued. Both players have had experienced as players, and they will both succeed as managers. He said that the Madrid fans are quite pleased with the appointment of Zidane, and so far he has been brought excellent results whether it is in Spain or in the Champions League.

For Salgado to make the transition from being a top player to a top manager, require that you learn how to deal with players and their egos. He said that Zinedine Zidane has the qualities needed to achieve this, and he is sure that he will succeed at the top level.

He has asked people to give Zidane some time before judging him and also take consideration that he has been appointed in the middle of the season. He said that he has inherited a struggling team and that it will take time for him to improve it.

Park Ji sung claims that inconsistency has been one of the main reasons for Manchester United not doing well in the 2015-16 campaign despite having spent vast sums of money in the summer.

United have not just spent in the last summer, but they have been trying to revamp their squad ever since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. The spending has gone up significantly in the last two summers. However, it has not yielded any growth for the club, as they continue to struggle for a top four finish. The form has showed a tendency to go up and down depending on the availability of players.

The South Korean midfielder says that the club needs to sort this out before thinking about the title. He has admitted that qualify for the Champions League remains a major priority for the club not just in terms of the prestige, but also when it comes to the revenues as well. United are in pole position to become the richest club in world football. They already have substantial revenues, which will now be boosted by the new television deal from the Premier League. At this point, they will want to remain in the Champions League in order to take advantage of this new contract.

“It’s not been a good season for United. Sometimes they’ve performed well, sometimes they’ve been off and that’s not good for the team overall. When we do well we need to keep up the momentum and continue to do well. Hopefully, we can see them perform better in the last few games. It’s not just one problem for any team when they play badly. It’s an overall factor. It includes the coaching staff, the manager and the players,” said the former midfielder, who is now the club’s ambassador for Asia.

Chelsea winger Pedro believes that his teammate Cesc Fabregas will be able to win over the Chelsea fans after he incurred their wrath following a string of poor performances.

The Spaniard played an influential role in the club reclaiming the title after five years last season. However, he has been undergoing poor form throughout 2015. This saw Chelsea make their worst start to a league season in recent memory. The club continue to struggle near the relegation zone even after the appointment of Guus Hiddink as the interim manager. Fabregas is not known for scoring goals, but he is best at creating them from midfield.

Of late, however, even his passing has not been up to the mark. Pedro says that all players go through a bad spell of form and he has backed the Spaniard to successfully recover from his problems. Even though Fabregas is yet to complete two years at Stamford Bridge, there are already rumours about the likes of Juventus coming in with an offer for him. Such rumours confirmed that all is not well in the Spaniard’s camp. Chelsea are only a couple of places above the relegation zone and the major disappointments this season have been Diego Costa, Fabregas and Eden Hazard.

“It was difficult for him but he can get through this.He is strong mentally and very competitive. Cesc is a top player, a very good character in the team, he is a winner and it’s good he plays for us.I understand why the fans are so upset. It’s normal when the team and coach are in this position,” said Pedro. Fabregas was heavily criticised for organising a campaign against former manager José Mourinho. However, the 28-year-old was one of the first to express his sympathies to the Portuguese when he was sacked from his role.

JurgenKlopp stepped down from coaching on June as he left Borussia Dortmund after having guided the German side to: 2 Bundesliga titles and a few other pieces of silverware along the way.

Ever since then, Klopp has remained without a formal job as he is a free agent but there are a number of clubs that are interested in appointing JurgenKlopp as their next manager. Klopp did something amazing with Borussia Dortmund as he turned the club into one of the best in the world, it was the only club that for a specific period of time that could compete against Bayern Munich’s reign and actually defeated them despite not having the same financial prowess compared to their rivals.

Klopp is being linked with Leicester City and Liverpool as those clubs are the ones that seem to be going a power struggle involving their respective managers and Klopp is being viewed as a potential problem solver to some of the issues that those clubs have been going through recently.
The retired footballer, Michael Ballack believes that JurgenKlopp will take charge of one in the Premier League as the former player is certain about all the abilities that Klopp has and his skills would benefit clubs in England.

Former captain of Germany, Ballack said: “There are several indications that suggest he will coach in England at some stage. There’s speculation about it in England and it would make sense also for him to go to England.He coached one of the best clubs in Germany; he’s an open coach who enjoys international acclaim for his successes and the way he coaches. And he speaks English.”

Besides Leicester City and Liverpool, another Premier League club which is having a fairly difficult time with their manager is Manchester City. The Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini failed on winning any trophies in the previous and this is a huge disappointment considering all the money that was spent in that squad, it was rumored that Pellegrini could be on his last legs at the Etihad Stadium and a possible replacement could be on the way.