''Bayern Wanted To Destroy Us'' Says Watzke

The chief executive of the German giant team - Borussia Dortmund, Mr Hans- Joachim Watzke, told the German newspaper (De Bild), that the reigning European champions, Bayern wants to destroy his club.

''Bayern wanted to destroy us,'' the Dortmund chief executive said.

''They have helped themselves to our players, so we wouldn't be a danger,'' to the Baveria club.

''It was all done legitimately and we have to live with that,'' he said.

Borussia Dortmund lost their two best players to Bayern recently. Last year the highly talented Mario Gotze left the team for Bayern.

 And now the Polish international, who is their number one striker, Robert Ledwandowski, has signed a five year pre-contract to join Bayern at the end of this season when his Dortmund contract ends.

Luis Suarez of Liverpool

Dortmund has themselves to blame. If they really wanted to keep their top players and build a quality rival team to challenge Bayern, they could've done that. They could've done what other top teams do, simply be adamant that their player is not for sale, and remain unmoved.

It is the practice in the EPL etc. We saw in the summer last year how Liverpool held unto Luis Suarez, by saying that he has a long time contract with them and he is not for sale no matter the amount of money being offered, or ploy employed by anyone or team. It is now pay-off for Liverpool as they have been doing very well in the EPL.

Manchester United did the same thing with Wayne Rooney.
Teams can hold onto their players as long as there is no clause in the contracts that will force the team to sell.

It is understandable that Dortmund could not do much with Ledwandoski because his contract will end this season.
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Their dilemma with him was that as their top striker whose contract is ending with the season, if  they tried to sell him last summer or even this January, it may affect the club adversely, that is performance wise.

They may not win anything and worst of all is not qualifying for the lucrative Champions League next season after playing in the final last season. So they risk not selling and getting some money from the sell as long as they do well in this year's Champions League and qualify for the next. They have already qualified for the round of sixteen.

Mr Hans-Joachim Watzke said that his club will spend large amount of  money in the next transfer window to strengthen the team.

''We will be buying in the summer. That means previously we have only spent what we have earned on transfer,'' he said.

''Now we are going to invest and not with small sums. We definitely won't go into debt, we will stay on our course but our goal remains to be the second power in German football.''

Michael Essien Moves To AC Milan

The Chelsea midfielder and Ghana international, Michael Essien (31), has finally joined the Italian Serie A giant AC Milan.

The two clubs agreed on the deal last weekend and the Milan club will unveil their new player on Tuesday at the San Siro Stadium in Milan.

Essien is the first player that the new coach and former player of the club, Clarence Seedorf (37), has signed in order to strenghten his squad before the transfer window is closed on the 31st of January.

Michael Essien

The contract is for 17 months - till 2015. Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, said in the club website that they would 've prefered it, if Essien remain at the club, because he is a fantastic player.

''We would have been happy had he stayed, because he is a fantastic player for the team.''

''He's given everything for the club and a great chance arrived for his future,'' he said.

''I know he can continue to play at a high level and I wish him success and happiness in Italy and at the World Cup in Brazil,'' he added.

The inspirational midfielder joined Chelsea in 2005 for €30m from Lyon on a record signing for the club at the time.

Recently, Essien has not been playing at the highest level as he was doing before he got injured which took him out for quite a time. He has been struggling to be at his best again since he came back.

He was on loan last season at Real Madrid under Jose Mourinho. This current season he has played few matches. He needs more playing time.
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And being that this is the year of World Cup, he needs enough playing time in order to be part of Ghana team to the summer World Cup in Brasil.

Seedorf probably needs to sign one or two players more before the end of the month. The team he inherited are not doing very well on the Serie A league.

But it seem like the good fortune he enjoyed during his playing career, may overflow to his coaching career. When he took over less than two weeks ago, the club was at number twelve on the league table but now after he won few matches the club has climbed to number nine.

Clarence Seedorf, remains the only player who won Champions League four times with three different clubs - Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan.

The Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancoletti won it two times as a player and two times as a coach. I wish Michael Essien success with his new club.

''I Built This Team'' - Man City, Says Roberto Mancini

The former Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini (49), who is currently managing the Turkish giant Galatasaray, said that he built the team before he was sacked last year.

Since last summer when the Chilean born manager, Manuel Pellegrini took charge of the club, they have been winning so many of their matches, that the team is now targeting four titles this season.

Man City is in the race for the Premier League title, where they are currently in second position on the table to Arsenal. The club qualified for the second round of the Champions leangue, which they did not do before, under Mancini. It is also in the race for the FA Cup and Capital One Cup.

Roberto Mancini, said in a BBC interview, that it was the players he brought to the club, that are scoring the goals that has catapulted the team to their current top form.

He said, that he was happy that Man City is one of the best teams in the EPL.

Roberto Mancini

''I'm happy that Man City is one of the best teams in England, because I built this team,'' he said.

''The players that score the goals are players that I bought - Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Samir Nasri.''

He thinks that Mr Pellegrini is doing a good job, but added that what he is doing at the club was the same thing he and his crew did three years ago.
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''I think Pellegrini is doing a good job, but what is happening now at Man City, we did three years ago. It's the same,'' Mancini said.

''I'm very happy about what I did in Manchester, I love the Man City supporters and I had a fantastic experience.

''I did my job, I built a fantastic team, we played fantastic football and we didn't win last year only, because Man United bought Robin van Persie.

''He was the difference, if not I think that would have change the history in Manchester over the last three years. We played really good football and now they are continuing to do this.''

It was a big shock to the football community, when Manchester City sacked Roberto Mancini, a coach who won two titles for the club within three years. A club which has never won any trophy for over fifty years, before he took over the coaching of the club in 2009.

He is doing alright in his new club - Galatasaray. He qualified his new club to the second round of the Champions League. His star player Didier Drogba, will be facing his former club Chelsea and boss, Jose Mourinho, on the 26th of Febuary in a Champions League encounter.

Some European League Results (18/1/14 & 19/1/14)

Dutch Eredivisie

Twente          3  -  1     Heracles   
Heerenveen   2  -  2    JC Roda
RKC              1  -  1    Groningen
Zwolle           1  -  2    Vitesse
AZ                 3  -  0     NAC
Ajax               1  -  0     PSV
Cambuur        2  -  0    Go Ahead Eagles
Utrecht           2  -  5    Feyenoord
NEC               3  -  1    Ado Den Haag

EPL

Arsenal          2  -  0    Fulham
C. Palace       1  -  0    Stoke
Sunderland    2  -  2    Soton
Man City       4  -  2    Cardiff
West Ham     1  -  3    Newcastle
Norwich        1  -  0    Hull
Liverpool      2  -  2    Aston Villa
Swansea        1  -  3    Tottenham
Chelsea         3  -  1    Man United

French Ligue 1

St. Etienne      2  -  0   Lille
Sochaux          0  -  2   Montpellier
Rennes            0  -  0   Evian Thonon
Nice                2  -  0   Ajaccio
Bastia              1  -  0   Bordeaux
Lorient            2  -  0   Guingamp
Toulouse         0  -  2   Monaco
Reims              0  -  2   Lyon
PSG                 5  -  0   Nantes

Spanish La Liga

Malaga         0  -  0   Valencia
Espanyol      1  -  0   Celta de Vigo
Granada       0  -  0   Osasuna
Elche           2  -  0    Real Vallecano
Real Betis    0  -  5   Real Madrid
Getafe          2  -  2   Real Sociedad
Villarreal     2  -  0   Almere
Levante       1  -  1    Barcelona
A. Madrid   1  -  1    Sevilla

Italian Serie A

Juventus      4  -  2   Sampdoria
Roma          3  -  0   Livorno
Sassuolo     0  -  2   Torino
Genoa         1  -  0   Inter
Chievo        1  -  2   Parma
Catania       0  -  3   Fiorentina
Bologna      2  -  2   Napoli
Atalanta      1  -  0   Cagliari
Udinese      2  -  3   Lazio
Milan          1  -  0   Verona

Read also. africanfootie.blogspot.com

Clarence Seedorf To Coach AC Milan

Clarence Seedorf (37), the former AC Milan and Dutch international, who was untill today a player of Brazilian club FC Botafogo, announced his retirement from playing football, in order to take up the appointment of coaching his former club - AC Milan.

The coach of the club Massimiliano Allegri, was sacked Monday as a result of poor performances of the team, since the league began. The team is currently placed 11th on the Serie A table. The last straw that made the management to sack him, was lossing 4 - 3 on Sunday to Sassuolo, a team that is much lower than Milan.

Seedorf said, in a press conference on Tuesday at the Botafogo's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, ''Considering my relationship with the (Milan) president (Silvio Berlusconi), when he called me yesterday, I couldn't say no after 10 years spent there at (Milan).''

''I am retiring from football after 22 years. It has been a difficult night, but I am satisfied by what I've achieved in my career, and what I've done at Botafogo.

''My aim is to dream again. I wish Botafogo and my team-mates the best. The level has increased, thanks to everyone and I am certain that the club will be able to remain at a high level.''

''This experience in the last year and half, has made me grow a lot and will help me in my next step, which will be as Milan coach.''

Although Seedorf said in the conference that he is to take charge of the Milan giant, the club is yet to make an official announcement to that effect.
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The appointment of the Dutch inspirational midfielder, to take charge of AC Milan, is not the first time the club has appointed an inexperience coach, says the former player and coach of the club, who is currently the coach of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti.

''It's not the first time that Milan would make a choice like this one,'' Carlo Ancelotti said.

''It happened with Arrigo Sacchi and with Fabio Capello and in both occassions, things went very well.

''I know Clarence very well as he was one of my players and has always shown great personality.

''I believe that he has the knowledge and the capacity to do anything he wants in football.''

''He would face a new experience in a club he knows very well and this is important. I wish Milan and Seedorf the best of luck.''

Clarence Seedorf who had an amazing career as a player representated Netherlands 87 times. He is the only player to have won the Champoins League 4 times with 3 different clubs. He won it for the first time with Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998, AC Milan in 2003 and 2007.

Cristiano Ronaldo Wins A Second Ballon d'Or

Cristiano Ronaldo (28), the Real Madrid super goal merchant and Portuguese international striker, has just won the 2013 Fifa world footballer of the year award, for a second time in his illustrous career.

The award was voted on by national team coaches and captains. The winner of the Ballon d'Or 2013, Ronaldo received 1,365 points, the man who has dominated the award untill today, in the last four years, Lionel Messi of Barcelona was beaten to a second position with 1,205 points this time.

Frack Ribery, the play maker of the Bayern Munchen came third with a total points of 1,127.


Cristiano Ronaldo, won the award for the first time in 2008, when he was playing for the English giants, Manchester United.
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He was very emotional after his name was announced as the winner. He came to the podium with his little son. He may have felt stupendously wonderful, when the Fifa President Blatter handed him the trophy ball.

Ronaldo later said to the media, ''Being the winner made me happy, I felt very proud. To win such an award requires a lot of work. I hope to come back next year to win the third Ballon d'Or of my career.''

Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid

 

The award for the women's world player of the year, was won by the German national goalkeeper, Nadine Angerer.

While the coach of the year award went to the former Bayern Munchen coach, Jupp Heynckes, who led the club to a treble of Champions League, German League title and the Pokal Cup (FA Cup).

The award for the women coach of the year, was won by Silvia Neid, while the Puskas award was won by the PSG and Swedish national skipper, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the goal he scored against England in a friendly match.

Pele was honoured with the Fifa Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur. The great Pele was moved to emotion when the Fifa President Sepp Blatter, handed him the trophy. All in all, it was a wonderful gala night to remember especially the winners.

Homosexuality In Football Not A Problem?

The former Liverpool striker, Robbie Fowler (38), said that homosexual footballers coming out, is not a problem nowadays.

He said this, on the BBC Football Focus, in reference to the coming out this week of the former Aston Villa and German international midfielder, Thomas Hitzlsperger. The German who has retired from playing, announced to the media that he is gay.

Robbie Fowler, said that years ago it might have been a problem in the terraces. But he did not think that it would have been a problem in the dressing room in the past.

Robbie Fowler (celebrating a goal)

He believes that certainly it is not a problem now in the dressing room and terraces. That is not a big deal any more.
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''Years ago it probably would have been more of a problem on the terracess.

''I don't think it would have been in the dressing room, certainly it wouldn't be a problem in a dressing room now. I don't think it would be a problem on the terraces now,'' Fowler added.

Robbie Fowler, made his name at Liverpool, but he played for many other clubs in Britain such as Man City, Leeds United, Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers.

 During the twilight of his career, he moved to Australia where he played for North Queensland Fury and Perth Glory. He also played in the season of his career with Muangthong United of Thailand as a player and manager.

He played a total of 460 times in his career and scored 186 times. Fowler also played 26 times and scored 7 times for England.

Eusebio: The King Is Dead

Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, the man who put the Portuguese football in the world map, the football legend that was popularly known as ''The Black Panther'' and the man known in Portugal as simply ''The King'' died on Sunday of heart attack.

He has been having heart problems in the recent years and had a heart operation two or three years ago and was doing okay until the one of yeaterday.

The football legend, whose goal scoring record was phenominal was born in Mozambique, Africa. He was a highly skillful and talented teenager playing for a local team in Maputo called Sporting Lourenco da Marques, a club that had link with Sporting Lisbon.

Sporting Lisbon was about to sign him but Benfica got the wind of it and beat them to his signature. So when in the late 1960 he was brought to Lisbon, tension was very high, that Benfica feared that Sporting may kidnap him or harm him, so they hid the kid in the Algarve village, until the tension calmed down.

Eusebio da Silva Ferreira

In 1961, when he debut for Benfica, he showed the Portuguese people, why the two teams where at war for his signature. He scored a hat-trick in the match.

Eusebio had an amazing gift with the beautiful game. He was not only the greatest footballer in Portugal, but the first real football super star from Africa. He was among the greatest footballers in the world.

The President of the world football governing body (Fifa), Mr Joseph Sepp Blatter, wrote on twitter, ''Football has lost a legend. But Eusebio's place among the greats will never be taken away.''

He was the first football super-star of Portugal. His goal scoring ability was enhanced by his energetic speed, dribbling skills and tantalising finishes. He played 64 times for Portugal and scored 41 goals.

He scored 733 goals in 745 matches, an average of almost a goal per game. This is an amazing record. He led Benfica in 1962 in the European Cup final against the defending champion Real Madrid, which was dorminating European football for a while. Benfica won the game 5 - 3.

In the 15 years that Eusebio played for Benfica, he won 11 league titles and 5 Portuguese Cups. He was the European footballer of the year in 1965 and would of won back to back in 1966 but for the vote of a Portuguese journalist who voted for Bobby Charlton, so he lost 80 to 81 votes.
The Black Panther was also the highest goal scorer at the 1966 World Cup in England with 9 goals, four of which he scored against Korea.

"He was one of the finest players I ever had the privilege to play against,'' the former Manchester United and England player, Bobby Charlton, said.

''Not only that, he was a true sportsman. His goals record is incredible and stands the test of time,'' he added.

The President of Portugal, Anibal Cavaco Silva, said, ''Portugal has today lost one of it's most beloved sons, Eusebio da Silva Ferreira. The country mourns his death.''

Tribute to the legend continued. The man who is currently wearing the badge of Portugal's super-star, Cristiano Ronaldo wrote on the Facebook.
''Eusebio will always be eternal. Rest In Peace.'' He posted a picture he took with the great man.

The king himself seemed to regret one thing, and that was not being able to win the World Cup in 1966 after being so close to it. He said, in an interview in 2011, ''I was the best player in the world, top scorer in the world and Europe. I did everything, except win a World Cup.''

The Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, who knew Eusebio since he was a child said to the media of the legend footballer.
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''For you, Eusebio is one of the greatest footballers of the history of football, especially for the people from our generation and older than us. He's at this level. Eusebio, Charlton, Pele.''

''For Portugal he means more than that. No colour, no clubs, no political sides. For Portuguese people Eusebio is Eusebio and for sure you will get some images over the next couple of days and I think you will understand what Eusebio means for our country.''

''I know him since I was a kid. He played against my father (Felix). He played with my father in the national team. I met him when I was a kid. Our birthdays were separated by one day. His January 25, I'm January 26. Every year when I was a kid he was sending me a shirt, a ball, a boot,'' Mourinho concluded. Felix Mourinho, was the goalkeeper and team-mate of Eusebio in the Portuguese national team.

Eusebio was a complete gentle man. After his football career ended in 1979, he became the football ambassador for Benfica and Portugal. He had two daughters. May his soul rest in peace, amen.

Safet Susic: The Coach of Bosnia-Herzegovina

Success as a coach hasn’t always come easy for Safet Susic. After cutting his teeth at a number of club sides during a 15-year period, the 58-year-old took charge of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2009 and went on to see his team narrowly miss out on qualification for both the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and UEFA EURO 2012.
On 15 October last year, however, the young nation finally booked their place in a first major international tournament: a 1-0 victory over Lithuania sealing direct qualification for Brazil 2014.
And though nerves were made to jangle throughout their campaign, the Zmajevi nevertheless left a lasting positive impression. Finishing with the fourth best attack in European Zone qualifying, they exhibited an attractive brand of flowing football moulded in the image of Susic’s own playing style.
In an exclusive interview with FIFA.com, the former Yugoslavia international and legendary Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder spoke of his side’s strengths and ambitions with only a few months to go until the biggest footballing occasion in their history.
FIFA.com: Safet, Bosnia-Herzegovina are set to play in their first ever World Cup. What did you feel at the final whistle of the game against Lithuania?
Safet Susic: Above all a huge sense of relief! That struck me first because we’d aimed to finish top of our group to avoid the play-offs at all costs after being eliminated at that stage twice in the past. After the relief came a huge sense of joy!
You’ve been in charge of Bosnia for four years. Do you think your team has now reached its peak?
I don’t know. Even I couldn’t tell you how far we can go. We’ve been playing really well against smaller teams but so far haven’t beaten a big side like France, Portugal or Brazil. I think that to be a great team, you need to be able to field two sides. We have ten or so very good players, but the players on the bench aren’t at the same level. When we’re at full strength we can give anyone a run for their money, but that changes if we’re missing one or two players

I prefer my teams to score one more than the opposition. That’s my footballing philosophy.

Bosnia-Herzegovina coach Safet Susic on his side's attacking approach

 

Safet Susic

 

Your side is extremely adventurous, you often say that they don’t know how to stay back…
I like my team to attack, hold onto the ball and try to out-score the opposition. Sometimes we do neglect the defensive side of the game a little and concede goals, but we don’t have the resources to play any other way. We have some exceptional attackers, so we play to our strengths, but that will certainly pose us a few problems against bigger teams.All the same, this extremely attacking style of play was key to your qualification, as you scored 30 goals throughout the campaign...
We certainly scored a lot of goals. We’d already gained some important experience before the qualifiers as, when we were trailing, we’d often find a way to get back level. We kept this confidence going and we always believe we're capable of levelling the score and taking the lead, even when we've conceded. In our final qualifying matches, when we had to win, we practically played without a defensive midfielder…
Partial to going forward and easy on the eye, your team is certainly built in your own image. Could you tell us a little more about your footballing philosophy?
I really don’t know what coaches do if they prefer defensive football… Personally, I don’t like it and I don’t believe in that style of play. As I said before, I prefer my teams to score one more than the opposition. That’s my footballing philosophy, and for now at least it’s working quite well. But I know full well if our attackers have an off-day and we’re up against a great team, we could easily ship three or four goals.
Do you think that this attacking outlook can work on the big stage at the World Cup?
Definitely! The problem is our first match against Lionel Messi’s Argentina. They’ll be playing with two or three strikers and an extremely attacking midfield. On my part, I can swap an attacking midfielder for a defensive one, but I want to play both of my strikers, Vedad Ibisevic and Edin Dzeko, even though it’s risky!
Apart from Argentina, what do you think of the rest of Group F, with Iran and Nigeria also involved?
We certainly could’ve ended up in a more difficult group, so we can’t complain too much. There’s one huge side who will undoubtedly finish first, Nigeria who always get to the World Cup and Iran who are completely unknown to us but finished top in qualifying so are definitely a good team. What’s certain is that we’ll be playing for qualification in the second match against Nigeria

I don’t like to bore my players with epic speeches, especially as I know from experience that players don’t listen at all if you go on too long!

Susic on the benefits of being brief

What are Bosnia’s ambitions for Brazil?
There’s not one coach or team who will go to the World Cup saying “we're going there to see what happens”. The aim is to get through the first round. That’s what we want to do, but that doesn’t mean we’ll succeed.
Would you say that the pleasure of playing is comparable to that of watching your players in action?
You get the same pleasure, yes, but you suffer a little more when you’re on the touchline! (laughs) There’s so much pressure and when things go wrong it’s the coach who is responsible. But it’s ok, I have enough experience to know how to deal with it. When we lose a match, it’s not worth looking for excuses. It’s best to just avoid reading the papers, not speak about it too much and certainly avoid trying to justify it. In the end, things work out.
Do you model yourself on a particular coach or style of play? Who inspires you?
I don’t have a particular role model, but there are many coaches that I look up to and admire. Above all there’s Ivan Osim, who was my coach in the Yugoslavia team towards the end of my career. He was a former great and didn’t speak much. His pre-match team talks lasted ten minutes maximum and I’m the same. I don’t like to bore my players with epic speeches, especially as I know from experience that players don’t listen at all if you go on too long! (laughs) I also really like Vicente del Bosque, Arsene Wenger… but I’ve never tried to copy anyone.
Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

 

Source: fifa.com