Hosts Bayern Munich will play Barcelona in Wednesday’s Audi Cup final after both clubs survived penalty shootouts.Barcelona were largely under strength against Brazilian side Internacional, but did include the likes of Victor Valdes, Seydou Keita, Maxwell and Andres Iniesta.
They took the lead after 15 minutes when Thiago Alcantara finished off a swift passing move.
Internacional, the 2010 Copa Libertadores winners, equalised 10 minutes after the break.
Nei finished well after Leandro Damiao’s effort was deflected into his path.
Barcelona were ahead again seven minutes later though, Jonathan Dos Santos took advantage of some poor defending.
Damiao, who has been linked with both Barcelona and Spurs, did find the net five minutes before full-time, heading in after poor goalkeeping from Jose Manuel Pinto.
The match went to penalties, Barcelona prevailing 4-2 after Damiao ballooned his effort.
Bayern welcomed back former captain Mark van Bommel against Serie A champions Milan.
The Dutch midfielder joined the Italian side in January after making more than 100 appearances for Bayern.
It was van Bommel’s new side who took the lead inside the opening five minutes.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock with a cool finish past new signing Manuel Neuer.
Neuer then did well to keep the score at 1-0, coming out well to deny Antonio Cassano.
Bayern’s Mario Gomez went close on 24 minutes, but he failed to hit the target.
The hosts drew level on 33 minutes through a fantastic strike from Toni Kroos.
A host of changes saw the pace of the game drop in the second half.
Luiz Gustavo came closest to grabbing a winner with nine minutes remaining. It finished 1-1 and headed into a penalty shootout.
Milan youngster Alberto Paloschi was to be the villain, sending his spot-kick high into the German crowd.
Bastian Schweinsteiger stepped up to convert the winning penalty as Bayern took it 5-3 in the shootout.
Spurs bid for the use of the 2012 Olympic games stadium in Stratford has caused quite the stir since they announced that they were entering the race alongside West Ham. The latest controversy is that Spurs apparently plan to strip the stadium down and simply use the site to rebuild one of its own to fit their needs. This move is obviously a reaction to the numerous battles with their local council in their attempts to expand White Hart Lane in the past.
This honest and slightly tactless approach may be their undoing. LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) stated that after the completion of the Olympic Games that they wanted the stadium to remain one which practiced athletics. Jacques Rogge, the Chairman of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) stated this week that “we would favour a solution with a track legacy – that goes without saying” although he later added that “If a solution could be found for the track we would be happy, but don’t expect the IOC to intervene in an issue where we are not responsible.”
While Rogge acknowledges his preference and the IOC’s limitations in discussing the bids and the stadium‘s eventual new owners, the fact that his outburst came only a day or so after Spurs stated that they’d rip up and start again with the site cannot be underestimated and it therefore must represent a wider held belief within the worldwide athletics committee, LOCOG included.
West Ham have in principle agreed to keeping the track, and after all the cost and the distinct lack of opportunities around Upton Park to build a stadia of this magnitude, their stance is hardly surprising.
Spurs, however, have rather correctly estimated that the athletics track around the outside of the pitch will be an eyesore and that it will only decrease the spectacle for the 50,000 or so punters who have paid top crust for their seats. The current plan for the Olympic stadium means the site can house upto 80,000 fans, but 25,000 of these are temporary seating, so the actual site boasts a healthy capacity of 55,000. Spurs plan to increase this to 60,000 by taking out the running track.
However, this all brings us to the subject of the Olympic legacy. For anyone with even an inkling of knowledge about British athletics will testify to, its current home Crystal Palace has seen better days. I went there to watch an athletics meet about five years ago and while the atmosphere was great, it’s in no fit state to carry on being the home of British athletics.
To their credit, the Spurs bid does include a promise to redevelop Crystal Palace to make up for the lack of a running track at the Olympic Stadium and if they follow through on their promise, their bid, while controversial, isn’t as weak as first perceived by many. Without the legacy of redeveloping Crystal Palace, their latest moves what be tantamount to bid suicide, if such a term exits yet in the English language.
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On the other hand though, do the organisers in charge of the handover honestly think that having a 60,000 seated stadium for athletics is a viable financial option going beyond 2012?
The legacy issue is of paramount importance for both bidders, after all, the organisation that decides the eventual winner is called the Olympic Park Legacy Committee. The announcement is expected in March and both the bids have to be ready by the 20th this month.
The argument that a lot of people are now conscribing to is that a lot of taxpayers’ money has been spent on the stadium and therefore Spurs have no right to knock it down.
If MP for Tottenham David Lammy is to be believed however, the Spurs board’s current position masks their true intentions to ’repackage’ the Olympic stadium in a move that will grant them a significant cash inflow as they seek to sell the naming rights to their new home in a move very similar to that of current neighbours Arsenal and their current stadium, the Emirates. That particular deal struck up with the Emirates airline company in 2004 fetched a hugely profitable £100m over 15 years and its thought that Spurs could now command a similar deal with their stock rising by the year both on and off the pitch.
To my mind, if Spurs’ bid wins then they are well within their rights to do with the stadium as they wish. They haven’t been dishonest or played their cards too close to their chest. They’ve been a bit presumptuously arrogant perhaps, but after all is said and done, to most people, the Olympics is simply a circus that will roll through town, an enjoyable one, sure, but little more than that. The only way to maintain a stadium of that magnitude is as a football stadium. Of course, West Ham’s at present offers the best of both worlds.
West Ham’s bid looks to be the favourite now, and in my opinion, they’re the ones who should get it. This has nothing to do with the planned re-build that Spurs are proposing, but simply because West Ham have closer proximity to the site and therefore first option as it were.
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The winner of the Olympic stadium will boast some of the finest facilities in London coupled with a fantastic transport system. This will in itself be the true legacy, not the running track inside, despite any fantastic memories some may come to hold of it. Bricks and mortar do not make an atmosphere, the people do, and if there’s a running track between the pitch and the fans, the atmosphere will be as flat as a pancake.
It is an extremely difficult decision to face and to be honest I’m shocked that dispensing with the running track is even an option on the table in the first place. Surely for all the money spent on the stadium, the minimum requirement for any proposed bid should be to maintain the stadium, as it was built, running track included.
The blame in this instance does not lay at the feet of Spurs for daring to have the temerity to say what many football fans are thinking, but LOCOG for giving parameters too wide from which the bid can be decided, negotiated and built upon.
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Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has been rewarded for his side’s excellent season by being selected as the League Managers Association Manager of the Season.
The Tyneside club have had an excellent campaign, finishing fifth and exceeding expectations to challenge for a top four spot all the way up until the last day of the season.
Pardew admitted his delight at receiving the award, which he feels is a huge honour.
“It is an incredible honour. Coming from my fellow managers, this really is as good as it gets and has to be the highlight of my managerial career so far,” he confirmed.
“This award is not just for me. Everything we have achieved has been achieved as a result of an incredible team effort. The board, my coaching staff, backroom team, players and our magnificent supporters – they all play a crucial role and I thank every one of them.”
Newcastle will now feature in next season’s Europa League but may face a battle to hold onto some of their superstars once the transfer window reopens.
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Swansea made it to the Premiership, playing an array of beautiful one-touch passing, and glorious attacking football, but will sticking to this style prove a success for them in the top flight?
Stoke boss Tony Pulis recently said that the Swans should stick to their principles and their style of play, which is easy for him to say, when his Stoke team play in a totally different style and have managed to establish themselves in the top division.
On the one hand, it would be naive to think that Swansea could just change the way they play overnight. They have been very successful with their style of play in the last three years, and it is what has brought them to the top flight.
Swansea’s expansive style, and passing game left them with loads of time on the ball in the Championship, but pace is a priority in the Premier League and the players will find they dont have as much time on the ball at this level, something manager Brendan Rogers will have to tweak. Swansea’s one touch football is the same kind that saw West Bromwich Albion under Tony Mowbray, go straight back down to the Championship, and struggle last year under Roberto Di Matteo, before Roy Hodgson came in and focused on a more defensive style, which ultimately saw them stay up.
If Swansea play in a similar style to Blackpool and Hull before them, they could find themselves in a similar position: starting off well by surprising people, and winning over the neutrals, but ultimately heading straight back to the Championship. The Swan’s, will need to be careful not to be focused on style over substance. To stay up, they will need to be up for a battle, to grind out results when they most need it, something that Wolves have shown over the past few seasons.
Defence is a priority in the Premier League, and it was ultimately Blackpool’s downfall last season, so Swansea will need to focus in this area, particularly when they commit so many forward in attack. Most of all they need to address their dead ball play, where they concede many goals, something they will not be able to afford against the Stoke City’s and Bolton’s of the world.
There are also significant weaknesses in Swansea’s squad. They are well short on Premier league experience. Although we have seen before that this isn’t a necessity for survival; Reading managed to finish eighth in 2007 with an equally inexperienced squad.
Brendan Rogers has had a tight schedule to work on, being the last side to be promoted through the play-offs. To be fair to him he has tried to bring in some players with experience and a more combative edge like Marcos Senna, albeit unsuccessfully. He has made three signings, goalkeeper Jose Moreira, striker Danny Graham and defender Steven Caulker on loan from Tottenham.
It seems that rather than changing their style, and throwing cash around on expensive targets, Rogers has settled on buying players who fit into his current system. Latest target Wayne Routledge is an example of this, a player who would provide good competition alongside the pace and productivity of Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer on the wings. It still seems as if they would benefit from one or two with Premier League or other top league experience in the side though. Strength in depth is absolutely vital, as is the ability to be flexible at this level.
Norwich another of the promoted sides, also have a squad significantly lacking in Premier League experience, and will be reliant upon many of the players who have taken them from League one to the top division. There is a huge step between Championship and Premiership level, and we will have to wait and see whether these players can cut it.
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Ultimately Swansea fans will want to see good football, but there is a price to pay in this league for sticking to your identity completely. It’s all right playing beautiful football that impresses the neutrals and gets you plaudits, but Premier League survival is what must come first.
Let me know your thoughts on what the Premier League new boys need to do to stay up, comment below or follow me @LaurenRutter on Twitter.
It must have been presumed when both Kyle’s, Walker and Naughton, were shipped out of Tottenham on loan to the championship that at least one of them wouldn’t make it back. That probably both would follow in the footsteps of fellow young right back Chris Gunter, who was never able to shine at White Hart Lane. But both have been firs team regulars at their loan clubs, QPR and Leicester respectively, and have been integral parts of those teams. Their form suggesting there may be some sort of future for either of them at Tottenham.
Kyle Naughton at Leicester has been a defensive revelation for Sven Goran Eriksson’s team, aiding the team as it climbs the table away from relegation. Leicester City fans are clearly pleased with his addition to the team. It’s a testament to the player how well he has been received considering the rather leaky defence he is a part of. But he has added a capable attacking threat to Leicester right hand side as well as defensive shrewdness. His form has led to Sven preparing a £1.5million offer to make his stay at the midlands club permanent. This may push Naughton’s position to the front of Harry Redknapp’s mind as his from for the Foxes has suggested he should not be disregarded so easily. Certainly his passing ability, attacking impetus and pace suggest he would be able to hold his own in the Premier League.
Kyle Walker, who was bought in with Naughton from Sheffield United at the same time in summer 2009, has been on loan at Championship leaders QPR since September. Originally the loan agreement was only for a month but after impressing in west London manager Neil Warnock decided to extend it to January. Called in by Warnock to cover for the injured Bradley Orr, it is a sign of how well he has done that despite Orr returning to full fitness Warnock is again keen to extend Walker’s loan deal beyond its current date of 3rd January, this time to the end of the current season. His experience in the championship has been very different from Naughton’s fitting in to a tight defence that doesn’t concede many and is chasing promotion at the top of the table. With the return of Orr Walker has been asked to test his versatility by switching to left back, although it was not overly successful as Rangers went 2-0 down to promotion rivals Leeds.
This versatility could hold Walker in good stead at Tottenham though, as there is a high number of right backs. In contrast, Benoit Assou-Ekotto is the only specialist left back at the club. Certainly having Hutton, Corluka the option of putting Kaboul at right back along with the two Kyle’s would be too much to have within the squad. And if Walker was given time to see if he could develop as a capable left back in the championship, perhaps he could return to Spurs next season to push Ekotto for a first team place. As of the two of them Naughton seems the more likely to succeed as a right back as Spurs with his natural attacking instincts causing havoc in the championship. Either way it’s a great dilemma for Harry Redknapp to have and could well spell the end of Corluka’s time in north London if they were both to return in January.
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Tottenham are reportedly eyeing up a move for PSV Eindhoven attacker Ola Toivonen, according to The Daily Mail.
The north London outfit are eager to strengthen their options up front for next season, with Emmanuel Adebayor’s loan spell from Manchester City now finished.
Although it is believed that bringing the Togolese hitman back permanently is the White Hart Lane club’s first choice for next season, a move for Sweden international Toivonen may also be on the cards.
The 25-year-old has a solid goalscoring record at the Philips Stadion since moving from Malmo in 2009, and is adjudged as one of the Eredivisie’s top talents.
However, with Toivonen ready to step out for the Swedes this summer in Euro 2012, Harry Redknapp’s men may need to move quickly to capture the Scandinavian’s signature, as a raft of other European sides are keeping an eye on the PSV man.
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Mexico have been granted permission to replace five players omitted from their CONCACAF Gold Cup squad for failing doping tests.Mexico’s national team was thrown into disarray earlier this month when six players, including goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, were provisionally suspended for testing positive to the banned substance clenbuterol.
Defenders Francisco Rodriguez and Edgar Duenas and midfield duo Antonio Naelson and Christian Bermudez were also removed from the 23-man squad after positive tests.
A sixth player – Ricardo Osorio – had already been ruled out of the tournament due to a prior medical condition.
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) were adamant the players were innocent victims who had consumed the anabolic agent through contaminated meat, and requested permission from Gold Cup organisers to bolster their squad.
Organisers consulted with FIFA before granting that request on Monday.
“Based on the specific facts of this case, and on FIFA’s advice on the matter, the situation at hand is a case of force majeure as contemplated in the competition regulations,” a statement from CONCACAF read.
“Therefore the Mexican national team shall be permitted to replace the five separated players with up to five other players for the remainder of the competition.”
The FMF believes players inadvertently consumed meat containing clenbuterol during a training camp in Mexico in the lead-up to the Gold Cup.
Independent tests have cleared the five dropped players of doping, according to the federation.
“A laboratory at UCLA has informed us that (further) tests made on the five players were negative,” an FMF statement read.
The federation is awaiting test results on ‘B’ samples taken from the five players.
Mexico have gone undefeated through the Gold Cup thanks largely to the boot of Manchester United starlet Javier Hernandez, who has scored a tournament-best six goals in four games.
The reigning champions face Honduras in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
After a quite frankly pathetic showing at Wembley on Wednesday night against France, England have a lot of soul-searching to do. I was slightly aggrieved that England even pulled one goal back against a French side who, for much of the game looked as if they were playing a different sport. What was perhaps more disturbing was the amount of young faces in a side that were completely outclassed, and it left me wondering, was will become of England, not at the Euros in 2012, but at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014?
There is undoubted talent in the English ranks in the guise of players like Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll, and they need to be utilised effectively if England are going to succeed once the last of the ‘golden generation’ have hung up their international boots, as the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have most probably only got one more major tournament left in them. So now must surely be time to at least have one eye on our national side’s future?
If that is what the dreadful performance against France was all about, then I can just about stomach it, because after all, most great sides have to go through their teething stage, especially at international level, and through giving young players the experience on the biggest stage, Capello may well be doing the right thing. However, something tells me that wasn’t what was on his mind in the selection for the team last night.
The problem is; the future of England and the future of Capello are not bound together. He probably thinks of England’s future post-2012 about as much as England fans contemplate what Capello is going to do after his contract runs out, because even if England win Euro 2012, the most likely outcome is that Capello will still leave. The selection of youth at Wembley on Wednesday night was born more out of necessity than of a desire to give fledgling English talent a chance to gel together, and this is worrying.
After the debacle of South Africa, if we don’t begin to make provisions for life after Capello and after Euro 2012, the world cup in Brazil may go the same way… if we make it there.
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Chelsea have received a fitness boost ahead of their crucial Champions League fixture against Benfica on Wednesday night, with Didier Drogba, David Luiz and Raul Meireles all training with the team on Tuesday.
Drogba and Meireles missed the Blues’ 4-2 win over Aston Villa on Saturday through foot and knee injuries respectively, whilst Luiz was replaced in the victory.
However, all three appear to be back to fitness and ready for potential selection against the Portuguese outfit at Stamford Bridge.
The west London team go into the return fixture 1-0 up from the first leg, but Roberto Di Matteo knows that qualification to the semi-finals is by no means assured.
“It is a danger. This is half-time and we’re leading 1-0. But a 1-0 lead is basically nothing,” he stated at a pre-match press conference, covered by Sky Sports.
“Our players are aware of this, and we’ll have to go into this game with the right attitude, the same attitude as against Napoli.
“Nothing has been done yet. We’re aware of that. We need to go and qualify for the next round.
“I think there are a lot of clubs that would like to have so many games, to be involved in all these competitions.
“It’s very demanding for the players, but we’re in a good place. All the players are available, so that will help us.
“It might become an issue at some point. I don’t know.
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“Fortunately, we have a fully fit squad, which will help us in the run-in, to be able to play every player we have and give everybody a chance,” he concluded.
The summer months can be arduous times for football fans, as we have to endure June, July and most of August without our doses of domestic football action. However it does bring another exciting element of the beautiful game into play, the buzz of the transfer market. The window officially opens on the 1st of July, but that hasn’t stopped deals taking place already, with the big money moves for Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones grabbing the headlines. The rumour mill is in full swing and plenty of players are being linked with moves away from their clubs, in what promises to be another summer of big spending in the Premier League.
There are three high profile players rumoured to be linked with moves away from their clubs this summer and all three have emerged as potential targets for Premier League big boys Manchester United and Chelsea. Luka Modric, Wesley Sneijder and Samir Nasri have all refused to rule out moves away from their current employers this summer. This has led to suggestions the players could be tempted by the prospect of joining either the English Champions or runners up from last season. So I wonder if there is a chance of any of these transfers materialising.
Samir Nasri has one year remaining on his current contract with the Gunners and while he stalls over the signing of a new deal the rumours linking him to Man United and more recently Bayern Munich are intensifying. Arsene Wenger will be doing all he can to ensure he keeps hold of his creative playmaker for next season. It may take a hefty new contract and some words of wisdom for Mr Wenger to reassure Nasri that the Emirates is where he should be playing his football.
It was only last month that Patrice Evra went public with his plea to his fellow compatriot to join him at Old Trafford and since then there has been talk of United readying a £10 million pound bid for the former Marseille man. In a recent interview Nasri didn’t rule out the possibility of playing for another English club and with Man United in need of a player of Nasri’s ilk, could the Arsenal man be set for a move north? Personally I think Nasri will sign a new deal with Arsenal, but until he commits to the club the rumours will persist.
On the white side of North London Tottenham’s exquisite Croatian midfielder, Luka Modric, has all the attributes to be the perfect signing for Man United or Chelsea. With both clubs issuing their interest in the player Tottenham have moved quickly to reaffirm their stance that the midfielder is not for sale at any price. However, the guarantee of Champions League football and a huge jump in wages is likely to be a real temptation for Modric. Although he is happy at Spurs if the bids started to come in they could well unsettle the player and we all know Spurs have bowed down to the financial power of Man United in the past with Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov. I however think Tottenham will remain defiant in their bid to stave off the advances of Man United and Chelsea and would be surprised if Modric is not running out for Spurs in August.
The third big hitter linked to both United and Chelsea is Inter Milan’s Dutch master Wesley Sneijder. Out of the players in question I think Sneijder is the most likely to make a move to one of the big two this summer. He recently committed himself to Inter, but has since spoken out about the uncertainty of his future. Sneijder would represent an excellent signing for either of these big hitters, but a stumbling block could be his huge wages, reported to be in excess of £7.5 million a year. This may rule Man United out of the chase but I’m sure wouldn’t deter Chelsea should they look to sign the £30 million plus rated midfield man.
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Football being what it is means there is no way the potential transfers of either Nasri, Modric or Sneijder can be ruled out. No matter how adamant a manager may be his player isn’t leaving there is always likely to be a spanner in the works that can change the whole outlook. Although I think Nasri and Modric will remain in North London, when Chelsea and Manchester United are involved anything can happen. You can rest assured that the three players focused on in this article will get their fair share of column inches this summer. What do you think, will we see Nasri, Modric or Sneijder on the transfer merry-go-round this summer?