Monthly Archives: June 2010

Drogba feeling the pressure

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Didier Drogba believes his side are under more pressure to succeed in the World Cup than England.

The 32-year-old picked up an injury in the Mighty Elephants’ warm-up game against Japan after a clash with Tulio. However, his presence is seen as essential to the Ivory Coast’s chances of progressing in the tournament from the ‘Group of Death’ that also includes Brazil, Portugal and North Korea (10/11 to qualify from Group G).

Drogba is seen as the leading light in what is being called the “Mighty Elephants’ Golden Generation” and says that people back home expect them to be able to compete with the top teams.

“The expectation back home is so high, higher than England,” he said.

“Most of our players play for big teams and have won things with big teams. But for the country we have won nothing.”

Ivory Coast go into the tournament with stars such as Solomon Kalou, the Toure brothers and Emmaunel Eboue, and after achieving so much as individuals, the players are now targeting the World Cup as their first chance of International silverware (Ivory Coast 50/1 to win the tournament).

Drogba also believes that the addition of Sven-Goran Eriksson as coach will be a deciding factor in whether or not the Ivory Coast have a successful campaign. Eriksson, who guided England to the quarter-finals in both 2002 and 2006, replaced Vahid Halilhodzic who was sacked in January after a disappointing African Cup of Nations and Drogba believes that the experienced Swede could be the difference between success and failure.

“Eriksson is one of the best managers on the market and has done a lot of good things with the England national team,” added Drogba in an interview on BBC World Service.

“He is a very good professional and with his experience I hope we can beat one or two big teams at the World Cup.

“He knows there is a lot of work to do, that’s why he started very quickly when he got the job.”

The Ivory Coast open their campaign on June 15 against Portugal in Port Elizabeth. They then meet Brazil in Johannesburg and face North Korea in their final group game in Durban.

Kolo Toure, who is set to deputise as skipper in Drogba’s absence, says he couldn’t agree more with the striker’s opinion.

“He’s a top-class manager, one of the best in the world. We have a big chance and a great manager. We might be considered outsiders but we can make it.”

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Robinho in shop window

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Manchester City star RobinhoRobinho (25/1 to be World Cup Top Goalscorer) has broken off from his World Cup focus to reveal he would be open to joining his former Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster at Besiktas.

The Brazilian star is in the shop window after falling out of favour at Manchester City in January and spending the rest of the season on loan at his former club Santos.

Robinho, who joined the Premier League club for £32.5million, has spoken of his desire to join Barcelona but the Catalan club appear to have cooled their interest.

Schuster, who coached Real Madrid from 2007 to 2008, took charge of the Turkish side on Thursday and confirmed his interest in taking Robinho to the club.

And Robinho, speaking to reporters at the Brazilian training base ahead of their opening Group G clash with North Korea (28/1 to win in 90 minutes) revealed he is open to moving to Turkey.

“If Schuster is there, I could go too,” he said.

Team-mate Luis Fabiano claims he is not concerned by his lack of recent goals going into Tuesday’s opening match (Brazil 1/11, Draw 8/1 in 90 minutes betting).

The Sevilla star has not found the back of the net for his country in eight matches – dating back to a World Cup qualifier against Argentina in September.

“I know it’s normal, I have to keep trying and the ball will eventually go in,” he said. “I can’t worry about it, it’s how it goes for strikers.”

Luis Fabiano was Brazil’s top scorer in last year’s Confederations Cup with five goals, but failed to register in warm-up matches against Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

“I brought a DVD with my goals,” he joked. “I keep watching it from time to time.”

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Parreira pinpoints France showdown

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South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira believes his side has what it takes to make it through to the last 16 of the World Cup (13/8 to qualify from Group A).

The Bafana Bafana opened their Group A campaign on Friday with an encouraging 1-1 draw against Mexico at Soccer City. After a disappointing first-half performance, left winger Siphiwe Tshabalala put the hosts ahead on the hour with a fearsome left-footed strike. The goal appeared to spur on the hosts and South Africa started to gain more of a foothold in the match.

However, the Mexicans hit back through a Rafael Marquez goal 12 minutes from time but the South Africans came agonisingly close to stealing it when Katlego Mphela’s (200-1 Top Goalscorer) strike struck the post in the final seconds.

Despite the disappointment of the draw, Parreira remained upbeat about his side’s chances of making it through to the last 16.

“We could easily have won the game, but all in all a draw was a fair result,” said Brazilian Parreira. “We are still in the competition. This group is very tough.”

Parreira, who is coaching at his sixth World Cup, including coaching his native Brazil to victory in 1994, says his team initially froze under the pressure of being hosts as they were totally outplayed by the Mexicans in the first half and struggled with the expectations of their nation.

However, he says he was pleased by how his side adapted to the situation and did well to fight back well to put in a creditable performance in the second coming close to making a winning start to their campaign.

“The opening game is always a lot of pressure and today was no different,” the Brazilian said.

“Most of our team are a home-based team, players who are not used to this big environment, and we tried hard to adapt to this ambience, but after 15 minutes we started playing our game, putting the ball on the ground.”

Parrerira says the draw puts the South Africans in an ideal position to qualify from their group which also includes former winners France and Uruguay. No host nation has ever failed to qualify from the group stages and the Bafana Bafana coach is confident his side will not be the first and has pinpointed the final group game against France as the key match that will hopefully see them qualify for the knockout stages.

He added: “This group will be decided in the last game against France.”

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Cole reveals World Cup focus

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England midfielder Joe Cole says he will put to one side issues surrounding his club future and concentrate fully on World Cup duty over the next month (England 3/1 – to be top European team).

Chelsea announced on Wednesday that Cole would be leaving Stamford Bridge during the summer, but the player says his future in his agent’s hands.

He is looking forward to the World Cup, and says: “That’s all that is in my mind now.”

Cole added: “I’ve worked hard to be here and I’m leaving all the rest of it to my agent… It’s been going on for a while, but that is a story for another day. Right now, I am just happy to be here. And if I play it will be fantastic.”

The midfielder failed to hold down a regular place for Chelsea, England’s double-winning club champions and cup-holders, during an injury-hit season (13/8 Chelsea – Premier League outright 2010-11).

He underwent surgery on a knee last year and after months of recovery work found it difficult to regain a starting position for Chelsea. But he said he never accepted that his international future was bleak.

“No, I never feared my England days were over,” he told reporters. “I am very confident in my ability, but it was tough for the manager to pick me when I wasn’t playing regularly, rightly or wrongly, at club level.

“Yes, for this tournament I knew I might not make it, but not that it (international career) was over. Now, there is a chance I could be playing against America and for me that is fantastic.

“Now I am back to my best and want to show it at this World Cup and play better than I did at the last one.”

Cole said England coach Fabio Capello, in contrast to his predecessors, kept the players on their toes with his training, selection and discipline.

“The great thing with this squad now, which is different to the whole of my England career, is that you don’t know who this manager is going to pick,” he said.

“This is good and, in my experience, from club level, I’ve always found when that is the case, and players are not picked on reputation, but on form, fitness and temperament, these are the things that get a better team ethic and the team gels together.”

He added: “Fabio Capello is the best manager I have worked with for England.

“I put him alongside (Jose) Mourinho as one of the two best managers I have worked with. He has an aura.

“He knows his way round a football pitch, his tactical knowledge goes without saying and his preparation is spot-on. You don’t want to let him down.”

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Ghana’s players have differing expectations

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Ghana and Fulham defender John PantsilGhana’s players have differing expectations of their side going into the World Cup, but right-back John Pantsil said a semi-final place was within their grasp (Ghana 22/1 to be eliminated in semi-finals).

The Fulham defender told the BBC: “An African country can lift the cup.

“In Germany in 2006 we reached the last 16 but now, with Africa hosting and a stronger squad, I have full confidence of us being in the semi-finals.

“It is a big chance for Africa to achieve,” he added.

Ghana reached the second phase in the 2006 World Cup before being knocked out by Brazil.

“Our group is very tricky but we have to focus on doing better than before,” Pantsil said.

“We are not lacking in any area. We have a good first 11 and a good bench so that will help the team progress to a better level than 2006,” he added.

Pantsil is also looking forward to having the full support of not only his home country Ghana, but the rest of the continent, too.

“All the African countries will get great support from South Africa. African fans will not support one country but will support Africa,” Pantsil said. “In Africa we love football.”

Fellow defender John Mensah, however, has warned against those who think African nations have a World Cup advantage because the tournament is being held in the continent.

Mensah says that Ghana must determine their own fate.

“I’m glad to play in it as it’s the first time the World Cup has come to Africa,” the Lyon defender told The Journal .

“But just because it’s in Africa doesn’t mean an African team is going to win it.

“We don’t need to think that because it’s in Africa we’ll have things our own way. We need to determine that ourselves.”

Sulley Muntari believes his compatriots can reach the World Cup semi-finals despite the absence of injured Michael Essien.

“After what we did in 2006 (when the Africans reached the second phase), expectations are sky-high and we will try to satisfy our supporters by giving it our absolute best shot,” said the Inter Milan star.

Muntari is coming back from injury but still hopes to play a big part in his country’s campaign as they go up against Germany, Serbia and Australia in Group D.

“We want to get out of our group and get to the semi-finals or even further,” said Muntari.

“Germany are the group favourites and so it will doubtless come down to Serbia — we don’t know quite what to expect against them, but we know they are a good team.

“Our goal is to produce good football,” said Muntari, who is coming back from a thigh injury but expects to be fit to feature against the Serbs on Sunday.

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Lippi points to Italian charisma

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Italy coach Marcello Lippi insists he has no problem with pundits dismissing his side ahead of the World Cup (Italy 2/5 to win Group F).

The Italians are seventh-favourites going into the tournament, but that doesn’t worry the 62-year-old.

“Italy has never been amongst the favourites, I don’t remember a World Cup where we’ve been favourites,” Lippi said. “The favourites are rightly Brazil and Spain, but you also have to add other strong teams to the mix.”

“I’ve said it many times before, there’s Brazil, Spain and then five or six other teams, such as England, Holland, Germany, Italy and France, that don’t go just to do well, they go to win and want to win,”  he added.

“Sometimes they manage it and we’ve won it four times. But a World Cup is special, it’s not always technical ability that decides who wins, there are other things,” he added.

The World Cup-winning coach insisted that the Italy team are not an aged and creaking side, as some pundits believe.

“We’re not the oldest team here, there are three or four teams that are older than us,” said the coach.

“We’ve got a good mix, we have nine players from 2006, that’s less than 50 percent,” he said. “But I’ve never seen another team that’s won the last World Cup to turn up with 23 different players the next time. We’ve got old players but age doesn’t mean broken down, it means experience, charisma.”

Lippi also defended his decision to keep AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo in his 23-man squad despite the fact he is suffering from a calf strain.

Pirlo will not be fit before Italy’s third group game but despite bringing along a 24th player, in Cagliari’s Andrea Cossu, Lippi is unwilling to let his playmaker go.

“He’s here because the team doctors said he will be ready by the third game,” said Lippi.

“Over the last few days I have been recovering and I feel less pain,” Pirlo told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“The situation is encouraging as the lesion has started to heal. I have faith, even though the return will be defined step by step.”

Meanwhile, Mauro Camoranesi resumed training on Thursday for the first time since his knee injury.

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Forlan could earn his Spurs

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Reported suitors Tottenham have been offered encouragement in their bid to sign Uruguay striker Diego Forlan from Atletico Madrid to strengthen their squad for a crack at next season’s Champions League and Premier League (Spurs 50/1 – Premier League Outright 2010/2011).

White Hart Lane chief Harry Redknapp has transformed Spurs from relegation candidates to a top-four outfit since he was drafted in to replace Juande Ramos in October 2008.

At the time Ramos had managed to win just two points from the opening eight games of the 2008/09 Premier League season but Redknapp guided the north Londoners to an eighth-placed finish before a four-place improvement last time around.

Spurs will be in the Champions League for the first time next term and although they can boast England World Cup strikers Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe in their ranks, the futures of Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane and Russia star Roman Pavlyuchenko are far from secure.

Keane ended last season on loan at Celtic and is wanted back at Parkhead by new Bhoys chief Neil Lennon while Pavlyuchenko, despite hitting some good form towards the end of the 2009/10 season, looks set to move on in search of first-team football.

So Redknapp will need to do some wheeling and dealing in the transfer market which has led to links with former Manchester United forward Forlan who was part of Atletico’s Europa League-winning squad last season.

However, Los Rojiblancos only finished ninth in La Liga last season so cannot offer Forlan Champions League football and, at the age of 31, the South American predator is unlikely to want to spend any time away from Europe’s top table.

Forlan famously took 27 games to break his goalscoring duck for Manchester United after joining the Red Devils in January 2002, but he insists he has not been put off trying his luck in the Premier League at some point in the future.

The former Villarreal star said: “If there is an offer and it’s good for Atletico and good for me I would be really happy to go back to England. But it will have to be good.

“If a big chance to return to England came up, I would have to look at it. I loved my time in English football – the people, the fans, the football, everything.

“I wasn’t sad the way it ended at United to be honest. I was really happy during my time there and thank the people at United for how they treated me.

“During my period there I learnt a lot of things and had a good relationship with everyone. The reason I left was because I didn’t have the chance to play as regularly as I wanted.”

Forlan and Uruguay kick off their World Cup campaign against France on Friday (Forlan 33/1 – To Score A Hat-Trick).

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Donovan plots England upset

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USA's Landon DonovanMidfield ace Landon Donovan says USA go into Saturday’s opening Group C fixture with England believing they can produce something “special” (USA 13/2 England 4/9 draw 16/5 – match betting).

The US are the underdogs in Rustenburg, but Donovan says the squad takes great self-belief into the tournament based on their success at last year’s Confederations Cup, played in South Africa.

America finished runners up in that tournament, having beaten Euro 2008 winners Spain en route (4/6 USA – Group C To Qualify).

Donovan said: “2009 was helpful in that it gives us the belief that we can do something here. Aside from that, that is the past, and so our job now is to focus on the present.

“But we know we have the ability to be special and now the focus is on bringing that out of us every time we play.

“However, we also have to be aware of the the bigger picture in that this is just one of three games which are all equally important.

“We can win on Saturday and not advance to the next round still and we can lose this game and still go through.”

Donovan added: “Last year (in the Confederations Cup) we thought we were out after two games. Then we played well against Egypt and it changed everything. We have to keep the big picture in mind.

“I understand what this game means but there is more to it and we have to be ready to react no matter what happens on Saturday.”

Meanwhile, USA coach Bob Bradley has confirmed that Jozy Altidore will be available for the clash with England.

The striker missed a warm-up game against Australia over the weekend as he recovered from an ankle problem.

However, Bradley said: “The injury cost him a couple of days (training) but, from the start, we knew it was very minor.

“The fact he is back in regular training means he is available for whatever role we choose on Saturday.”

Bradley is also optimistic that key defender Oguchi Onyewu will be able to complete 90 minutes against England if called upon.

Onyewu has just returned to fitness after suffering a patellar tendon injury seven months ago and did not complete any of USA’s three warm-up games.

But Bradley said: “The fitness programme that we have put our players through for the World Cup means all 23 players are ready to play 90 minutes on Saturday if asked.

“It is a credit to our staff and the players because they have worked incredibly hard.”

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Rio reeling from injury hell

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England captain Rio Ferdinand has said the injury which put him out of the World Cup in South Africa was a complete accident (England 3/1 to be Europe’s top team).

Ferdinand, who has been replaced by Steven Gerrard as England skipper, is to return to England after the team’s opening Group C encounter with USA on Saturday (4/9 England 16/5 draw 13/2 USA – match betting).

The incident which ended his World Cup dreams happened at England’s Bafokeng Sports Centre base, during a challenge with striker Emile Heskey.

“It was a complete freak, an accident,” said Ferdinand.

“The ball came in from one of the lads to Emile, I’d gone to try and tackle him from behind – he didn’t actually see me coming – we both went off balance and Emile’s weight went down on my knee.

“It’s no fault of his at all. It’s just a freak accident that could happen at any given time and it had no connection to any previous injuries I’ve had.”

The central defender said he knew even before the scan that he would be forced to miss the tournament.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to play in the World Cup even before I got the scan (result) – I was just waiting to get it confirmed,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.

“It’s disappointing, but I’ve come to terms with it now.

“The first night was quite a pretty long night, going over what could’ve been and to not be able to represent your country in the World Cup.

“I was going over scenarios in my head of what could’ve been.

“Leading out your country into a major tournament is the stuff of dreams and it’s taken from under your feet.

“It was a long evening thinking about stuff like that.

“But after that I’ve thought to myself I’ve got to get on with it. There’s a lot more people worse off than I am.

“I’m not dying and it’s not like I’ll never be able to play football again.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to come back, do some good rehab and I’ll be fit and that’s what I’m concentrating on now.”

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Neill eyes Germany result

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Australia captain Lucas Neill says a draw with Germany in their opening World Cup match would be an acceptable result (Germany 1 /2, Australia 6/1, draw 3/1).

The Socceroos star admitted the Germans were a better side overall, and said: “A draw would be a fantastic result. Germany are a superior team to Australia.”

Neill added: “Clearly they are favourites and we have the underdogs tag.

“Their record suggests they are the most consistent team in world football, and the pressure is on them to win.

“Nobody in the world, apart from our team, expects us to beat them.”

The game will be important to Australia’s chances of progressing from Group D in South Africa, says Neil.

“If we draw it means other results can go for us and against us and we’ve still got everything in our own hands,” he said.

“If we manage to win, we will shock the world.”

Midfielder Mark Bresciano was quick to agree with his captain.

“Yes, yes, I would definitely take it (a draw),” he said. “Germany are a very hard team to beat so a draw would be a massive result for us.

“It would be a very positive start, knowing we would then have two games to go (against Ghana and Serbia) to try to scrape a win.

“Getting any result, apart from a loss, would be good.”

Australia coach Pim Verbeek now has to choose his best side to face the Germans, and he may well have a fully-fit squad to choose from.

Tim Cahill appears to be over the effects of a neck injury, and Brett Emerton is expected to be fully fit despite a troublesome calf.

Verbeek now has to choose his striking options, whether to give Galatasaray star Harry Kewell the nod or go with Josh Kennedy.

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