Kevin Boateng Joins Schalke 04

The Ghanaian born German Kevin-Prince Boateng (26), who plays for AC Milan has signed a four year contract with the German Club - Schalke 04.

After putting pen on paper for Schalke, the happy footballer said, that
"I'm happy to be back home in Germany, in the best league in the world"

Boateng was so happy with joining the club, that he said, in his twitter account, that sometimes you have to take your time, and wait for good things and opportunities, and that it was a perfect chance for him, as he already knew a couple of the staff.

Kevin-Prince Boateng

"Sometimes you have to wait for good things and opportunities. It was just perfect - this club with it's crazy fans, a young coach (Jens Keller), the sporting director, Horst Held... I knew already I wanted to come."

Read: africanfootie.blogspot.com

Kevin scored two goals, of the AC Milan's 3 - 0 win on Wednesday, against Dutch PSV, which qualified the club for the champions league. Despite playing in the match, he is still qualified to play for  Schalke in the CL, according to the Uefa rules, because the matches against PSV were preliminary play-off.

Boateng, who in 2011 announced that he was retiring from international football, has come out of his retirement to play for Ghana again. Infact he is listed among the players, to play against Zambia on the 6th of September, in the World Cup qualification decider match.

Chelsea Signs Samuel Etoo

The London club - Chelsea have signed the Anzhi Makhachkala and Cameroon international, Samuel Etoo (32), on a one year free transfer deal.

After joining the club, Etoo said, "It wasn't a hard decision. I saw the qualities Chelsea have, and I was very happy with Jose Mourinho before, so when the opportunity came I was very happy to take it."

"I am very happy to be here, but also anxious because I want to get playing as soon as possible," Samuel said.

Samuel Etoo

With the signing of Etoo, Mourinho probably will halt his pursuit of Manchester United's, Wayne Rooney (27), after he gave him 48 hours to make up his mind whether he wants to stay at United or join Chelsea.

Rooney said, that he wants to leave, but it seemed like he changed his mind, and was not ready to submit a transfer request, perhaps due to the love and support, he got on Monday at the Old Trafford, during the Premier League match, between United and Chelsea.

Samuel Etoo, is a world class striker, whose goal scoring record, can not be over emphasised, by any stretch of imagination, because it speaks for itself.

Read: africanfootie.blogspot.com

In 2011, Samuel left Inter Milan and join the Dagestan based Russian club, Anzhi and became the world's highest paid footballer at the time. He was earning approximately €200,000 per week.

He has won so many trophies, with different clubs and his national team, nicknamed the Indormitable Lions, where he is the captain, just like he was at Anzhi Makhachkala club.

Etoo has won three champions league titles, two with Barcelona in 2006 under Frank Rijkaard, in 2009 under Pep Gurdiola and one with Inter Milan in 2010 under coach Jose Mourinho. In 2003, he won the Spanish Cup - (Copa del Rey) with Real Mallorca.

He won La Liga with Barcelona in 2005, 2006, 2009 and also Copa del Rey the same year. He also won the Spanish Super Cup in 2006 and 2007.

At the Inter Milan, in 2009 he won Serie A, in 2010 and 2011 he won Copa Italia, in 2010 Italian Super Cup and also in 2010 FIFA World Club Cup.

He won at the international level, the African footballer of the year, four times, the African Cup of Nations, twice, and the Olympic gold medal in Sydney 2000.

Samuel Etoo, is a highly talented footballer, who has achieved in his career, what many gifted players can only dream about a quarter of. By joining Chelsea and reuniting with Jose Mourinho, he is likely to add more titles to his incredible honours. What do you think? Will he be a success at the Stamford Bridge? Use the comment button at the bottom of the article.

The 2013/14 Champions League Group Phase Drawn

The draw for the 2013/14 champions league group phase, has just been completed with group H, containing four former champions - Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax Amsterdam and Glasgow Celtic.

There are four English clubs and four German clubs, with one of each being drawn in a group. For example in group A, Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen. In group D, the defending champions Bayern Munchen and Manchester City.

Champions League Cup

Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

Also in group E, you have Chelsea and Schalke 04 together, while in group F, you have Arsenal and last season finalist Borussia Dortmund.

One thing that all the groups has in common, is that each group contain at least one former champion, except group H where all four were former champions. 

Group A  Man United, Shakhtar Donetsk, B. Leverkusen, R. Sociedad

Group  B  Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray, FC Kobenhaven

Group  C  Benfica, PSG, Olympiacos, Anderlecht

Group  D  Bayern Munchen, (D C), CSKA, Man City, Viktoria Plzen

Group  E  Chelsea, Schalke 04, FC Basel, Steaua Bucharest (Romania)

Group  F  Arsenal, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli

Group  G  Porto, Athletico Madrid, FC Zenit, Austria Vienna

Group  H  Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax Amsterdam, Glasgow Celtic

2013 FIFA Under-17 World Cup Draw

The draw for the 2013 FIFA Under-17 World Cup tournament, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from October 17th to November 8, was conducted on the 26th of August at the AL - Saqr conference suite of Fairmont Bab el Bahr hotel.

Many dignitaries attended the ceremony, among whom were the UAE minister of culture, youth and community development, H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan and Rafael Salguero, chairman of the organising committee for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, UAE 2013.

Read also:africanfootie.blogspot.com

FIFA U-17 World Cup

Sheikh Al Nahayan, who happens also to be the chairman of the local  organising committee, for the tournament addressed and welcomed, the audience to the ceremony. He said that the tournament, will be a unique experience, for both the players and football fanatics. He also said that, sports brings people together irrespective of their backgrounds, colours, shapes and sizes.

"This tournament will be one of a kind, for the players and for all football fanatics. It will be a unique and fun experience for everyone. The tournament will bring together people and has the power to unite people of all backgrounds of all colours, all races ... of all shapes and all sizes," he said.

Rafael Salguero, the chairman of the FIFA organising committee of the tournament, also welcomed the representatives of the 24 countries, that will be playing in the tournament and the general audience. He said, to the guests, "It's great to see you all here, and I wish you all a great evening and I hope to see stars out of this tournament, which will shine in the sky of football and enrich our game even more."

The two most successful countries in the history of the tournament, Brazil and Nigeria, will also participate in the mundial in October.
Both countries won the cup three times each and were also finalists three times each. Mexico which is the defending champion, has won it twice and Ghana has also won it twice. The rest of the winners only won it once.

In the drawing, the continental champions were seeded into six groups with each group containing four teams. They are as follows:

Group A (Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaima) UAE, Brazil, Hunduras, Slovakia.

Group B (A. D. Ras Al Khaima) Uruguay, New Zealand, I.Coast, Italy.

Group C (Fujairah, Sharjah) Croatia, Morocco, Panama, Uzbekistan.

Group D (Fujairah, Sharjah) Tunisia, Venezuela, Russia, Japan.

Group E (Dubai Al Ain) Canada, Austria, Iran, Argentina.

Group F (Dubai Al Ain) Mexico, Nigeria, Iraq, Sweden.

Mourinho Blames Moyes For Rooney Situation

Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea manager whose team will be playing against Manchester United tonight at the Old Trafford said that Wayne Rooney, situation at the club was caused by their manager, David Moyes.

Samuel Etoo

When asked by the media, if he was saying that David Moyes was to be blamed, for the Wayne Rooney saga at the Old Trafford, he replied without any equivocation, "of course."

He then reacted to the suggestion, that he may not be a popular man tonight, at Manchester during the match. Jose asked the reporter a rhtorical question.
He wanted to know, why the crowd would be against him. He said, that he was not the one who arrived at the club, and told Rooney, that he will be a second choice striker.

"Why? They are against me? Mourinho asked. "But I didn't say (to Rooney)
you will be a second choice for me. And they are against me?

"We are trying to get a player that the manager told 'you will be a second option.' We are not going for (Robin) van Persie.

"They don't have to be against me. If I say Ramires is a second option for me, and he plays when (Frank) Lampard is tired or injured, if somebody comes here, to get Ramires, nobody is upset."

The Portuguese Chelsea manager, aslo delved into the issue of players, leaving and coming into the club.

He said, "I told the players that I want a squad of 22 players. They are professionals. They want to stay. But they know that, if somebody's coming,
it will be hard because, normally, somebody has to leave."

The flamboyant manager said that, the decision on who will be leaving is not only his to make. "This is not about choosing one to leave. It's to agree a situation. If a player does not want to leave, the player does not want to leave."

Mourinho added that he was speaking hypothetically, of the three strikers he has at the moment. "But we are speaking hypothetically because may be we don't get another striker and may be we keep the three strikers we have."

It was reported in the media that the Brazilian player for the Russia's Anzhi Makhachkala, Willian, who has been the transfer target for Tottenham, has now decided to join Chelsea, after the club tendered a €37m for the midfielder. Chelsea is also preparing a third bid for Man United's Rooney.

It was reported that Mourinho is also planning to bring to Chelsea his former striker at Inter Milan, Samuel Etoo, who is a team-mate of Willian.
The Cameroon international has expressed his desire to play under his former manager, Mourinho, under whom he won his third champions league title. And he is hoping to win his fourth under him again.

Some European Weekend League Results

The Dutch Eredivisie
Heereveen  3 - 3  Ajax
Zwolle        2 - 0  Cambuur
Heracles     1 - 1  PSV
Den Haag   0 - 4  Roda JC
NEC           2 - 2  RKC
Go Ahead   3 - 3  Groningen
Feyenoord  3 - 1  NAC
Vitesse       1 - 0  Twente
Utrecht       2 - 0  AZ

German Bundesliga
Mainz             2 - 0  Wolfsburg
H. Berlin        1 - 0  Hamburg
Hoffenheim    3 - 3  Freiburg
Leverkusen     4 - 2  M'gladbach
Bayern            2 - 0  Nuremberg
Hannover        2 - 1  Schalke
Dortmund       1 - 0  Bremen
Braunschweig 0 - 2 Frankfurt
Augsburg        2 - 1 Stuttgart

 

Serie A (Italy)

Verona        2 - 1 AC Milan
Sampdoria  0 - 1  Juventus
Torino        2 - 0  Sassuolo
Parma         0 - 0  Chievo
Napoli        3 - 0  Bologna
Livorno      0 - 2  Roma
Lazio          2 - 1  Udinese
Cagliari      2 - 1  Atalanta
Inter Milan 2 - 0  Genoa

French Ligue 1
Nantes             1 - 2  PSG
Monaco           0 - 0  Toulouse
Valenciennes   0 - 1  Marseille
Montpellier      2 - 1  Sochaux
Lyon                0 - 1  Reims
Evian Thonon  1 - 2  Rennes
Guingamp        2 - 0  Lorient
Bordeaux         1 - 0  Bastia
Lille                 1 - 0  St Etienne
Ajaccio            0 - 0  Nice

English Premier League (EPL)
Fulham            1 - 3  Arsenal
Everton            0 - 0  West Brom
Hull City         1 - 0   Norwich
Newcastle        0 - 0  West Ham
Southampton   1 - 1   Sunderland
Stoke City        2 - 1   Crystal Palace
Aston Villa      0 - 1   Liverpool
Cardiff City     3 - 2   Man City
Tottenham       1 - 0   Swansea

Portuguese Premeira Liga
Olhanense   1 - 0   Pacos Ferreira
Academica  0 - 4   Sporting
Rio Ave      2 - 0   Vitotia Setubal
Nacional     1 - 1   Guimaraes
Benfica       2 - 1   Gil Vicente
Arouca       1 - 2    Estoril Praia
Porto          3 - 0    Maritimo

Spanish La Liga
Athletico Bilbao  2 - 0   Osasuna
Getafe                  2 - 2   Almeria
Elche                   1 - 1   Real Sociedad
Villarreal             2 - 1   Villadolid
Espanyol             3 - 1   Valencia
Athletico Madrid 5 - 0   Rayo Vallecano
Levante                0 - 0   Seville
Malaga                 0 - 1   Barcelona
Real Betis             1 - 2  Celta de Vigo

Samuel L. Jackson Loves Playing Golf

Samuel L. Jackson (64), the hollywood star loves to play golf so much that he had clause written in his movie contracts that he must be allowed to play the game of golf at least twice a week.

"They have to let me play at least twice a week. Generally they either move me onto a golf course or I join a club so I can play there," he told CNN.

He said in his movie database page that he is very passionate about golf as he is to acting. "To be frank, I am as passionate about golf as I am about acting."

Samuel L. Jackson

 

Jackson has not always like playing the game of golf, infact he would not leave the house with his friends to go and play golf. He did not have interest at the time in the game. So one day his friends tricked him and told him they were going out to somewhere else and brought him to a golf course, and he has been hooked to the game ever since.

Read: africanfootie.blogspot.com

"I had never played and they kept trying to get me to go out and I wouldn't.
They tricked me one day and told me they were going somewhere else and we ended up on a golf course," he said.

The first time Jackson played in St Andrews in Scotland, it was surprisingly with the world number one golfer, Tiger Wood, and for him it was a big deal. As a matter of fact, it will be a big deal to any amature golf player. Wood is massively gifted in the game, no doubt about that. Any true lover of the game, will like to know how it feels to play with Tiger.

"The first time I played St Andrews (in Scotland) I actually played with Tiger. That's kind of a big deal," Jackson said.

"The first time I met him I played with him at the Dunhill (championship) and I think his advice to me was 'follow me' and I actually did. I didn't hit the ball as far as he did but I kind of hit the same balls."

Samuel L. Jackson who was born in Washington has played with some other celebrities such Clint Eastwood, Don Cheadle and musician Kenny G.
He said that he played his favourite round of golf with Tiger Woods.

Some European Weekend League Results

These are some of the football league results in Europe this Weekend. You will note, that some of the major leagues or matches are not included here, either because their leagues have not yet started,
or some matches are yet to be played, example in Spain, three matches are yet to be played.
Without much ado, let me move on to the results.

The Dutch Eredivisie:
Cambuur 2 - 1  Groningen
PSV        3 -  0  Go Ahead Eagles
RKC       1 -  2  AZ  Alkmaar
NEC       1 -  5  PEC  Zwolle
Roda JC 1 -  1  Vitesse Arnhem
Ajax       2 -  1  Feyenoord
Heerenveen 2 - 4 Heracles
NAC      1  -  2  Ado Den Haag
Twente  6  - 0   Utrecht

Belgium Jupiler League
Mechelen 1 - 2 Club Bruges
AA Gent  2 - 1 Lierse
Cercle Bruges 2 - 0  KV Oostende
Charleroi  1 - 2 KV Kortrijk
Lokeren 3 - 1 Genk
Z. Waregem 2 - 0 Mons
S. Liege  1 - 0 OH Leuven
Waasland 0 - 3 Anderlecht

Read: africanfootie.blogspot.com

German Bundesliga
E. Frankfurt 0 - 1  Bayern
Hamburg    1 - 5  Hoffenheim
Freiburg     1 - 2  Mainz
Stuttgart     0 - 1  Leverkusen
Bremen      1 - 0  Augsburg
Wolfsburg 4 - 0  Schalke
M'glabach  3 - 0  Hannover 96
Nuremburg 2 - 2  Hertha Berlin
B. Dortmund 2 - 1 E. Braunschweig

French Ligue 1
Sochaux 1 - 3  Lyon
Marseille 2 - 0  Evian
Bastia      2 - 0  Valenciennes
Nice        2 - 1  Rennes
Riems     2 - 1  Lille
St Etienne 1 - 0 Guingamp
Toulouse 1 - 1  Bordeaux
PSG        1 - 1  Ajaccio
Lorient    2 - 1 Nantes
Monaco   4 - 1 Montpellier

Spanish La Liga
R. Sociedad 2 - 0 Getafe
Valladolid   1 - 2 Athletico Bilbao
Valencia      1 - 0  Malaga
Barcelona    7 - 0  Levent
Osasuna       1 - 2  Granada
R. Madrid    2 - 1  Real Betis
Sevilla         1 - 3  Athletico Madrid
R. Vallecano  -  -  Elche
Almeria          - -   Villarreal
Celta de Vigo -  -   Espanyol

Portuguese Premeira Liga       
Sporting     5 - 1  Arouca
Belenense   0 - 3  Rio Ave
Gil Vicente 2 - 0  Academica
Maritimo    2 - 1  Benfica
V. Setubal  1 -  3  Porto
Estoril Praia 3 - 1 Nacional
Guimaraes   2 -  0  Olhanse
Pacos Ferreira 0 - 2 Braga

Bartoli: The Wimbledon Champion Retires

Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon champion, shocked the tennis world, by announcing her retirement, from playing tennis with immdiate effect, in a press conference, after losing a match to Simone Halep, at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati USA.

Bartoli told the press that, "It's time for me to retire and to call it a career.
I feel it's time for me to walk away."

She said that the reason, why she decided to retire now, was because her achilles, shoulder, hip and lower back, hurt her continually, whenever she is playing a match.

Marion Bartoli

 

After winning Wimbledon, which has been her long time ambition, she said to the media, which was a good indication, that she was finding it difficult to continue. She said that the Wimbledon took everything she had to be able to win it. She played the match in pains.

"That was probably the last little bit of something that was left inside me."

"It's been tough decision to take. I 've been a tennis player for a long time and I had the chance to make my biggest dream a reality."

"You know, everyone will remember my Wimbledon title. No one will remember the last match I played here."

"I made my dream a reality and it will stay forever with me, but now my body just can't cope with everything," Marion said tearfully.

The chairman and chief executive of WTA, Stacey Allaster, paid tribute to Marion Bartoli. "She is an inspirational champion and a great ambassador for women's tennis, who has dedicated her life to the sport and given so much back to the game."

"I am so proud of her for who she is, her values and for fighting to realise her dream of winning Wimbledon," the chief excutive concluded.

 

I have always like the way she carry herself, her character and professionalism. She behaves like a lady, with dignity. One never hear of her being stubborn, or involved in the petiness you hear often in women tennis, or being involved in using enhancing substance. Or any kind of scandal.

 I wish her a happy retirement and success in whatever her next career is going to be, since she said in the interview, that she don't know yet, what she is going to do next.

The 2013/14 EPL Season Began Today

The 2013/14 football season of the English Premier League (EPL) began today with some winnings and some loses. Manchester United, under the new manager, David Moyes, recorded an emphatic win over Swansea City with 4 -1. Robin van Persie, the former Arsenal captain and Dutch international, scored twice for Man United.

Robin opened the account for United in the 34th minute of the first half, and two minutes later Danny Welbeck scored their second goal. In the second half, Van Persie struck again in the 72 minute to make it 3 - 0.

Robin van Persie  (goals) vs Swansea

 

Ten minutes later, in the 82 minute, Wilfred Bony, Swansea new signing, Ivorian international and last season Vitesse (Eredivisie) highest goal scorer, pulled one back. But Danny Welbeck, scored again for United in the 90th minute to increase the tally.

The biggest shock of the opening day, was Arsenal losing 3 - 1, at the Emirate stadium, to Aston Villa to the disenchantment of their fans. After the first half ended, Arsenal fans booed their players and manager. The fans were shouting to Arsene Wenger to sign new players and strengthen the team. While some were carrying signs, which says, "sign sign sign."

Read also:africanfootie.blogspot.com

After the match Arsene Wenger, was forced to apologize to the fans, about the team's defeat. One has to have compassion, for the long suffering Arsenal fans, who kept quiet, while the club is turned into feeder club to other big teams, who are more interested in winning trophies than Arsenal.

 They watched every season as their best players, were being sold to rival clubs, while no world class players are brought in to replace them.

The manager apologized to the fans, about the match and the humiliation they witnessed. He said that it hurts him, to disappoint people who love the club.

"What hurts me is to disappoint people who love the club," Wenger said.

"I'm here to make them happy and when I do not, I can only say sorry, come back and make them happy in the next game."

Liverpool and their manager, Brendan Rodgers, who fought hard to keep his goal merchant Luis Suarez, who wants to leave the club, won their opener against Stoke City 1 - 0. It also seem like Rodgers has won the battle to keep Suarez in the club, but only time will tell, there is still about two weeks to transfer window closing.

Norwich City played 2 - 2 draw with Everton. Sunderland lost by a lone goal against Fulham, while Southampton beat West Brom by a lone goal also. Cardiff City lost by 2 - 0 to West Ham United.

Tomorrow, Sunday, Chelsea will play against Hull City while Tottenham Hotspur will take on Crystal Palace, without Gareth Bale, the Real Madrid transfer target. On Monday Manchester City will play against Newcastle.

As I mentioned earlier on in this article, the biggest loser on the day was Arsenal, because they were expected to win Aston Villa, but the reverse was the case. Not many people expected Swansea to win Man United, the defending champion.

Mourinho:First Game Will Be Emotional

Jose Mourinho (50), the new Chelsea coach, in his second term with the club, said, that his first match of the EPL season on Sunday, against Hull City, at the Stamford Bridge dugout will be emotional for him.

"When I go to my stadium, my dugout, my people, I will have to control it a little bit," he said.

"I will feel something different for sure. On Sunday, I think the fans will focus on me and Roman (Abromavich, the owner), but then they have to forget us and focus on the team."

Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho, said that he can't wait to experience, "the salt and pepper of football," at the Stamford Bridge. He said that he will like, "to try and give joy to everyone."

Read:africanfootie.blogspot.com

According to the coach, the players will train on Saturday at the Stamford Bridge stadium, because he wants them to know where the dressing room is and the dugout.

"We train there tomorrow because I want them to know where the dressing room is, where the dugout is," he said.

 On the young Brazilian defender, David Luiz, who Barcelona wants to sign, the coach said, that Luiz was not going anywhere.

"He is a young player that signed a new contract last year, and when he did that, he was very happy to do it, so we want to keep him. A big club like Barcelona wants the best, but we are being honest, by saying there is no chance David is leaving.”

Jose Mourinho, first became Chelsea coach in 2004, after he won the champions league with Porto. After winning a couple of premier league titles, two FA titles and league, he left and joined Inter Milan, where he won a treble including his second champions league in 2010.

After that he moved to Real Madrid, where he won one league title and one copa del rey in three seasons before coming back to Chelsea a second time.

Sloane Stephens Defeats Sharapova

The American teenage tennis player, Sloane Stephens, (19), has defeated Maria Sharapova, (26), the women's world Nr 3 in the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati with 2 - 6, 7 - 6 (7 - 5), 6 - 3.

Sloane Stephens, the women's world Nr 15, had earlier in the year defeated the women's world Nr 1, Serena Williams, at the year's first grand slam, the Australia Open. And now she has added another top 3 player in her trail.

The match started very well for Maria Sharapova, that she took the first at
6 - 2, but the teenager, Sloane, fought back in the second set which turned out to be a thriller, but she won it at 7 - 6 (7 - 5).

Sloane Stephens

Well, it seemed like winning the second set gave her more confidence to even fight harder and challenge every ball return from Sharapova, which paid off for her as she won the third set as well, at 6 - 3.

After the match during the press conference Sharapova said, "I started the match off pretty well, but when you put yourself in a really good position, you can't let it go. That's what I did tonight."

"I didn't continue what I was doing well for the first set and a half, and that hurt me. I stopped being patient.

"I started making a lot of errors, especially of the first ball. Just errors that I shouldn't make." she said.

Sloane Stephens did not start the match on a good note, infact the first set was a bit rough for her but she was able to come back into the match in the second set. She said, "It definitely started out a little rough for me, but I'm glad I was able to turn it around, and start playing some good tennis, in the second and third sets."

''At the start of the second set, I was just going to start going for my shots, a little more and hope  they would just go in.

"I'm glad I started hitting and finding a rhythm. That kind of helped me out for the rest of the match," she added.

When asked about her double faulting in her first two match points, Sloane said, "I rarely double fault, so for me to double fault twice on both match points was a little flustering, but I was glad to get through it."

"I was like, I never double fault. I can't believe I just double faulted. But I was like, it's fine. Don't worry. It happens to everyone."

The very happy and relieved teenager said of her defeating the four time grand slam winner, Maria Sharapova, "Obviously when you are playing someone who's Nr 3 in the world, you know they are Nr 3 for a reason and they are going to be tough."

"You've got to go out and play your hardest. But when you think it, you're like, okay, I'm playing Sharapova. Like, you've got to get your mind right," she said.

It was very entertaining match. A thriller. It was very beautiful the manner the teenager rallied back in the second and third sets to win the match. This win will give her more confidence after she was defeated in the second round of Rogers Cup last week in Toronto. She is rising rapidly in the sport.

Is Etoo Joining Chelsea?

Samuel Fils Etoo (32), the Anzhi Makhachkala striker and Cameroon international may be leaving the ambitious and high spending Dagestan-Russia club with a couple of other stars of the club.  Etoo has just indicated that he would be interested in joining Chelsea to reunite with his former coach, the Portuguese Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho wants to add a world class striker to his team, but has set his sight on Manchester United's want-away striker and England international, Wayne Rooney (27). Chelsea's second bid of €35m was rejected with the club's stance being that Rooney is not for sale.

Though Jose Mourinho, has stated publicly, that he will not give up on chasing the signature of Rooney until the transfer window closes at the end of the month, indications are that he may be also discretly looking elsewhere as a back up plan, since the new season is starting this weekend.

Samuel Fils Etoo

It has been reported in the media, that he may be thinking of bringing Etoo Samuel, to the Stamford Bridge.

Etoo is quoted in the Daily Mirror, as having interest to play under Mourinho again, after their time together at Inter, where they won some trophies including a treble, among which was a champions' league cup.

"There is only one Jose Mourinho. I have played under a lot of great coaches - but there is no other character in the game like Jose."

"He is one of the best coaches in the world - and we had a lot of success together at Inter Milan. I would like to have the chance to play under him again - because it is never boring when Jose is around," he said.

The footballer continued, "Of course Chelsea are a great team - and when we have all the offers on the table then I will discuss with my agent and see what my next step is."

The Dagestan club, Anzhi, are very keen to allow some of their big stars to leave due to financial problems. It was reported in the media that the billionaire owner, Suleiman Kerimov, lost hundreds of millions of Euros in the stock market through Uralkali the Russian company that produces potash, in which he has the majority shares.

Following this situation, he ordered a sharp cut down on the club's budget. The president of the club, Remchukov, said in his twitter account that, "many of our expensive stars will leave Anzhi, while the club's budget will be decreased to €40m - €54m a year."

"We failed to clinch rapid success. Now Anzhi will develop it's academy to the medium-term plans of the club development," Remchukov said.

Samuel Etoo, who happened to be among the most expensive players in the world since he joined the club, earning a salary of €20m. No one is sure if Chealsea, will be ready to offer him the same salary or not. Samuel may also take a pay cut to join Chelsea, since the club owner, Roman Abramovich has toned down, his father christmas spending on the club.

Samuel Fils Etoo is undeniably, the most successful African footballer. He has won many league titles which included three champions' league and the African Cup of Nations trophies and two olympic golds. He is the only African player to have won the African footballer of the year award, three times. And at 32 years, he is still hungry for more glories.

Siem De Jong Has Collapsed Lung

Siem de Jong, the 24 year old captain of Ajax has just been diagnosed with a collapsed lung, according to the club website. He has been having persistent cough and tightness, so he went to the hospital for check up, where he was diagnosed with lung problem.

He will be staying in the hospital for some days, where he will receive treatment for his condition. Acoording to the club's site he will be away for about six weeks until he's completely recovered.

Siem de Jong of Ajax

That means that he will not be involved in the weekend match against Ajax's ache rival Feyenoord. Siem played in the first two Eredivisie matches of the season. Ajax won their first season opener against Roda JC with 3 - 0 but lost their second match last weekend 2 - 3 against AZ Alkemaar.

De Jong was born in Aigle Switzerland to a dutch parents, who came back to Netherlands when he was 6 years old. He has a younger brother, Luuk de Jong, who plays for a German club -
Monchenglabach. Siem plays in the senior national team (De oranje), while Luuk plays in the national under 21 team (De Jong Oranje). May the Lord help him to recover quickly, amen.

Serena Wins 8th Title of The Season

The women's world number one tennis player, Serena Williams, (31) cruised to title number 8 of the season in the Rogers Cup final, against the Romanian, Sorana Cirstea with 6 - 2, 6 - 0 in Toronto on Sunday.

In the first set without wasting time Serena shuttled to 3 - 1 up, which prompted Sorana to have an-court discussion with her coach, Darren Cahill, which seemed to have empowered the Romanian to fight harder.

Serena Williams with her Rogers Cup Win

 

When she began to serve, she showed some kind of determination to win her serviceand it paid off, as she won the game which brought the score to 2 - 3. Serena then won the first set with 6 - 2.

After that, the American top player took over again and never looked back. Williams did not give the younger woman any chance to come back into the match as she cruised to a 6 - 0 in the second set. Sorana Cirstea (23), had a very fantastic week up untill the final match.

After the match Serena said, "I know she's so capable of winning big matches. Among big names Sorana defeated were Li Na of China and Czech Republic Petra Kvitova, so Serena had them in mind and did not want to become one of her casualties in the tournament.

Serena Williams added, "And she's had so many big upsets this week. I didn't want to be another casualty."

This winning brought Serena's total title to 54, making her fifth behind Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport.

Williams is going to play next week in the Cincinnati tournament ahead of the last grand slam of the year - the US Open. With this 8th win of the year, she is more in a position to challenge for her 17th grand slam. There is no doubt that she has recovered from the shock of her early exit last month from the Wimbledon.

Federer And Nadal Jealous of Djokovic?

Srdjan Djokovic, the father of world number one tennis star, Novak Djokovic, told a Serbian Newspaper called Kurir that tennis star, Rafael Nadal and tennis legend, Roger Federer, are jealous of his son's success.

He implied in his assertions that Federer was not happy that his son, Novak was rapidly improving in the game, thereby a threat to the status of Roger.
He grudgingly acknowledged that Federer is the best tennis player in the history of the game.

Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon Final 2013

 

"Federer is perhaps still the best tennis player in history, but as a man he's the opposite,"' Djokovic Sr said.

Srdjan said that Roger realized that Novak was going to be his successor, so try to discharge him in anyway possible that he could.

"He attacked Novak at the Davis Cup in Geneva (in 2006), he realized that
he was his successor and was trying to discharge him in everyway.

Djokovic Sr added that his son's success is an amazing thing which federer could not understand, hence his jealousy.
"Novak's success is an amazing thing and something that Federer cannot understand," he said.

Mr Djokovic has some comments also for not only Rafeal Nadal but also for Andy Murray, although he had good words for Murray.

For Nadal he said, that he was best friends with Novak throughout the time he was dorminating him in courts, but their friendship changed as soon as Novak started winning him, their friendship ended. He said, this kind of attitude is not good sport at all.

"He was his best friend while he was winning. When things change, they were no longer friends. This is not sport," he said.

Srdjan Djokovic had no bad words for Andy Murray, probably because Andy and Novak has known each other a long time since their junior years.

Murray beat Novak in the 2012 US Open final and also in the 2013 Wimbledon Final which ended the 76 years waiting for a Briton to win the London grand slam again.

"I have never, not even for a second, felt jealousy from Andy's family. They cannot be best friends as they fight for the most important titles, and a lot of money, but they approach their rivalry in the correct way," he said.

Mr Djokovic did not expantiate on the manner of Federer's attack on Novak, whether it was verbal or physical.

Roger Federer is the world record holder of the most grand slams. He has so far won 17 grand slams, he is followed by Pete Sampras, with 13 and Rafeal Nadal has 12. Novak Djokovic, has 6 grand slams.

Suarez Tells Liverpool, "Let Me Go"

Luis Suarez of Liverpool

 

The want-away Uruguayan striker for Liverpool, Luis Suarez, (26), has called on his club to honour their agreement and let him leave the Anfield outfit. It is no secret that he wants to leave. Football fans already knew this since the time of confederation cup tournament in Brazil in June. Fans also knew that his club is very adamant that he is not for sale.

Suarez told the Guardian and Telegraph newspapers that Liverpool promised him last season that if they did not qualify for the champions’ league, he then can leave the club.

''I gave absolutely everything last season. Now all I want is for Liverpool to honour our agreement," he said.

He continued, "Last year I had the opportunity to move to a big European club and I stayed on the understanding that if we failed to qualify for the champions league the following season I'd be allowed to go."

Luis told the coach, Brendan Rodgers, that he wants to leave and join a club that is playing in the champions’ league. But the club is insisting that he is not for sale.

The player said, "I am 26, I need to be playing in the champions league. I feel I have done enough to be playing in the champions’ league at this of my career. Now there is an option for me to do that and I want to very much to take it."

While Liverpool has not played in the champions’ league in the last four years, Arsenal has been playing in the champions’ league every year for the last 17 years. Arsenal had two transfer bids for Luis rejected. Their last bid of €46m triggered the clause in the player's contract.

The clause stipulated that if any club wants to buy him and bid up to €46m, he must be informed of the bid by the club. The club then informed him of Arsenal interest, and he says he wants to leave, but the club is insisting that he is not for sale.

The manager, Rodgers, said that the club values Suarez at €64m and will not sell him anything less than €58m.

Luis Suarez, said, “I don´t feel betrayed but the club promised me something a year ago, just as I promised them that I would stay and try everything possible to get us into the champions league.”

Brendan Rodgers, said last month, “If Arsenal wants the player they have to produce the value for the player.”

Suarez is the highest goal scorer for Liverpool and it is understandable why they don´t want to sell him. His leaving will weaken the club more than him staying with his talents and baggage. But does he worth €64m as the club is claiming?

I think as good and talented as he is with all the troubles, associated with him, that he is worth between €30m to €46m. But you cannot fault Liverpool for wanting to use high price to scare away Arsenal knowing that the club don´t spend big amount of money on a player. And they also probably think if the club is going to lose their goal merchant, they want the buyer to pay through the nose. What do you think?

Rooney Not Injured?

The England coach, Roy Hodgson, named the Manchester United want-away striker, Wayne Rooney (27), in the squad to face Scotland in their upcoming friendly match.

David Moyes, the new Man United coach said recently that Wayne Rooney,
had a shoulder injury that's why he is not in the pre-season training of the team. He is now not training with the first team but with the reserve team.

Wayne Rooney in Action for England

He claimed that he has injury throughout this pre-season seem very strenge, first it was hamstring in Asia and now it is shoulder. But even if that is true, it seem like he has recovered and ready to play.

Wayne Rooney, said in his personal page in the Facebook, "Can't wait to join up with the England squad and hopefully play in a competitive match, they always are against Scotland."

He also gave a big thank you to Roy Hodgson for selecting him and having faith in him and supporting him. He appreciated the inclusion.
"Big thanks to Roy Hodgson for selecting me and showing his faith and support, appreciate it," he said.

The fracas with the transfer or no transfer has to be handled in amicable manner, and very soon so that everyone will move on.

Lebron James Says, "I Am Still Getting Better"

In His recent tour of Philippines, sponsored by Nike to boost his brand in the world, the basketball superstar, Lebron James, (28), said that he is getting better in his game.

"I am still getting better," he said. "I don't want to be the same player I was this past season, I want to come into this season a new, improved, better Lebron James.

The 2013 NBA Champions - Miami Heat

He finished by adding to his statement, "We 'll see what happens, man. But
I will come back a better player."

There is no doubt in my mind that he will get better as he said. He has improved many aspect of his game especially his three point throws. During his time with Cleveland his three pointers were very poor, but since he joined the Miami Heat, his three pointers has increased to the average of over 40 percent.

And it seem like he has been working hard during the off season to improve his game a lot. Like he said, we have to wait and see what will happen.

Fabregas Says He's Not Leaving Barcelona

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Barcelona midfielder and former Arsenal captain, Cesc Fabregas, being chased by Manchester United, said that he is always relaxed and going to stay in Barcelona. He said that the rumours of him wanting to leave was just "invented."

"I've always been very relaxed. I didn't need to clear anything up because in my mind, I was only going to continue with Barca," he said.



Cesc Fabregas 

He added, "I am very very very happy at Barcelona. I have not spoken with any club in the last two summers."

A spokesman for Man United, reacting to the Fabregas' statement on Thursday said, "We appreciate Cesc is a contracted player at Barcelona and completely respect everything Cesc has said today."

So now that Fabregas has come out and made a statement about his future, it's time for David Moyes to look somewhere else for a midfield mastro that he is looking for to replace the retired Paul Scholes.

MJ Is Not Your Son's Father

Pamela Smith, the woman who sued basketball legend, His Airness, Michael Jordan, over the paternity of her 17yrs, teenage son, has been ordered by the court to pay the cost of Jordan's legal fees.

Michael Jordan (His Airness)

The judge in the case ordered Miss Smith, to pay his legal fees totally €7,200 after the judge read the result of the DNA test as being negative, meaning that Michael Jordan, is not the father of her son.

It was also reported that Pamela made MJ take paternity test of the same boy in 2003 which was also negative, the court heard.

This second battle which she lost again, makes one wonder why Miss Smith, wants badly for Michael Jordan to be the father of her son, even though the test 10 years ago said he was not. What do you think?

Rooney Is Not For Sale

A second and much improved €35m transfer bid for Wayne Rooney (27), by Chelsea was immediately rejected by Manchester United. The First bid by the London club of €28m had already been rejected before this latest bid.

On Monday, a spokesman for Man United echoed the same position of the  new manager, David Moyes, that the player is not for sale. He said that the club received a new bid and rejected it.

"A bid was received yesterday and immediately rejected. Our position remains that he is not for sale."

Wayne Rooney for England - dreamstime.com

Wayne Rooney, who has been seeking to leave the club even during the time of Sir Alex Ferguson, was made more unhappy when David Moyes, said that the England international would be needed, as a back-up "if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie."

The above quote from the manager who already had a court battle with the player when Moyes was still in charge at Everton, the former club of Rooney, did not help the situation. (Moyes sued Rooney about the player's statement of him in his book).

The former Liverpool great and Scotish international Graeme Souness, said that Manchester United has backed themselves into a corner after what Moyes said about Rooney being a back-up for van Persie.

" Whether it was intentional or unwise words by David Moyes, if I'm Wayne Rooney I'm thinking hang on, I 'm the star of the show. He sees himself as now second fiddle to van Persie.

"He will be a very unhappy young man at that - his ego's been dented. Man United have put themselves in very difficult situation, but I don't think they can sell him to an English team," said Souness.

I think Grame Souness was correct about Moyes making a fragile situation even worse. I don't know what made Moyes to make such statement in the media knowing full well the condition of things as per Rooney and their history.

Wayne Rooney, wants to leave Manchester United, before David Moyes was appointed. It can be deduced that Moyes appointment awakened Rooney's desire to leave once again and the manager's comment, made him  more resolved to leave the club.

Though no other club apart from Chelsea tendered bids for the player, it may not remain so for long, another big club from inside or outside the EPL may decide to go for the player. May be then United will decide to sell, since the player is unhappy at the club.

 My thinking is that if Rooney hands in a transfer request and the club receive a higher bid they may be forced to sell him, since he has only two years remaining in his contract. They will cash in now, than keep an unhappy player till the end of his contract, then he will leave a free agent.
 Will he still be in the Man United line-up this season? What do you think?

Arsenal Playing Games Over Suarez?

The Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, said that Arsenal who has tendered two rejected transfer bids for his top striker, Luis Suarez (26), are ''playing game'' over the issue.

The North London club has submitted two bids, the last being a €46m, which triggered the clause in Suarez contract, that stipulated that the player must be notified if a club offers that amount for him.

Rodgers who is very keen to keep his star striker said, "I've always associated Arsenal as a club with class and so there was a wee bit of game there." He was reffering of course to the trigger clause.

The manager has been maintaining since this saga began that Suarez is not for sale. One can understand his position. The club's chances of qualifyiny for next year's champions league is dependent on the player staying.           

Brendan Rodgers, said that his club evaluation of Suarez is €63m. And that the club, will not sell Luis anything less than €57m, which his talent merits.
He equated Suarez with the best strikers in the world. He even said that he is in the same level as his national team-mate, Edison Carvani, who has since moved from Napoli to PSG for €64m.

Liverpool bought Luis Suarez, from Ajax Amsterdam in 2011 for €26m. He scored 30 goals for Liverpool last season. Luis told the coach that he wants to leave so that he can play in a team that plays consistently in the champions league. Arsenal has been a regular feature in the CL in the last 17 years while Liverpool has not appeared in CL in the last four years.

So far Suarez has not handed in a transfer request yet but many believes that he is likely to do that soon, as the transfer window or door will close at the end of this month.

Rodgers said that the club is in control of the situation and that he is extremely confident that Luis will be in the club next season.

"I'm extremely confident Luis will be here next season. We are in total control of the situation as a club and that's how it will remain," he said.

So many people including the captain, Steven Gerard, has appealed to him to stay so that they would have a chance of qualifying for Champions league this season.

I think that everything does not depend on Liverpool alone, since he has a clause in his contract. It also depends on the player and a willing buyer.So even if Liverpool says they don't want to sell him, if the player insist on leaving and there is a club willing to pay a fair amount, they will be obliged to sell or it will turn urgly.

If Liverpool refuse to sell him even when the real value of the player has been met, then the player may drag the club to Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), which will then decide the case. I suspect it will not be good for both the player and the club. What do you think? Do you think Luis Suarez will leave before the end of the transfer window?

Decision Lies With Fabregas

The new Barcelona coach, Gerardo Martino, said that he is confident Cesc Fabregas will stay at the Nou Camp and not leave to join Manchester United as the media has been speculating since last month.

The Argentine coach said that the decision is not only that of Barcelona management but also lies with Cesc Fabregas. He has to decide whether he wants to stay or leave.

''I would prefer him to stay with us and I dare say he will, but it's his decision," Martino said in the club official website.

The coach continued, "He is one of the best players in the squad. I think he will stay. But there's a part that he has to decide".

"Cesc will decide the situation, but it has not occured to me that I won't be able to count him,'' the coach said.

Manchester United, has focused their attention to bring Cesc to Old Trafford as they thought that he is not getting enough playing time in Barcelona, but the former coach Tito Villanova, said last month before he resigned due to illness, that he spoke to Fabregas about Man United interest to sign him and Cesc told him that he wants to stay at Barcelona.

It then ryhmes with what Arsene Wenger, said Fabregas told him, last month that the player said that he wants to stay with Barcelona.

 Wenger said that he is in contact with the player as Arsenal has €25m buy-back clause in his contract. Wenger said that Cesc told him that he wants to stay another season and fight for his position.

Manchester United under the new boss, David Moyes, wants to buy Cesc to bolster his mid-field. Their first bid of €25m was rejected with Barcelona saying that the player is not for sale. Then United increase their bid to €30m, which also was rejected with the same comment, not for sale. The media is speculating that Man United is preparing a €40m bid again.

Cesc Fabregas (26), the former Arsenal captain came in, in the second half of Barcelona's 8 - 0 demolition of Brazil's Santos on friday. Fabregas impact was felt as he came in and scored two goals. He also set up a goal for the youngster jean Marie Dougou.

I think that Fabregas will stay at Barcelona where he has a greater chance of winning the champions league than if he go to United. Man United is good but not as good as they were when they won their last champions league title in 2008. Ryan Giggs at almost 40 Years is likely to play his last season in this season. Paul Scholes, has retired, Rio Ferdinand, is 34 years and so on and so fort.

Fabregas will stay if for no other reason, to prove that he did not make mistake when he left Arsenal. To come to the EPL now after just two years without being established firmly in the first team will be like coming back with his tail between his legs. People may then say that he could not cut it over there as he thought he could. Anyway that is what I think, what do you think? You can use the comment button to post your reaction.

Steven Gerard Says Suarez Should Not Go To Arsenal

Steven Gerard (33), the captain of Liverpool, is the latest player to to voice his opinion, on the possibility of Luis Suarez (26), transfering to Arsenal. Gerard wants the Uruguayan striker, to stay at Anfield and help the club, fight for champion league qualification next season.

Steven does not want their top striker to join Arsenal as he see's the North London club as their competitor for the fourth slot of champions league.

Speaking in an interview he gave to the Independent Newspaper, he said,
"It's difficult every season to finish in the top four positions because of the power of the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Man United have got at the moment."

"The likes of us, Tottenham and Arsenal are fighting to sneak into the other place that's available."

 

The England international acknowledged that a lot is dependent on what Suarez decides to do in the coming weeks. He believes that if the club lose him it will become difficult to achieve the aim but it will be even more difficult if he goes to Arsenal.

"Where we sit actually right now, it all depends on what decision Luis
Suarez makes in the next few weeks. If we lose him then the challenge becomes even more difficult. It's that simple.

"If he goes to Arsenal, it obviously makes our season that little bit more difficult."

Gerard believes that if Suarez joins Arsenal, then Arsenal will become even more stronger and since the London club is Liverpool's competitor for a position to play in champions league Suarez should stay.

"It strengthens them an awful lot and they are our rivals for a top-four position. From the club's point of view it doesn't make sense at all , no matter how much money is put on the table.''

The captain said that Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale are the joint third best players in the world after Messi and Ronaldo. They both are the hottest properties out there at the moment.

"Alongside Gareth Bale, Luis is the third best player in the world after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Luis and Bale are the two hottest properties out there at the moment."

Steven does not want Suarez to leave for Arsenal but says he will understand it if he is leaving for Real Madrid or Barcelona because those are the clubs that players from Spain and South America longs to play for.