Thursday, 28 July 2011

Latest footy news 28/07/2011



Sergio Aguero believes he can revolutionise modern football as he prepares to secure a move to Manchester City. 

The striker underwent a medical ahead of his proposed move to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday and later revealed his delight at joining the ambitious Premier League club.

City have yet to confirm the transfer but the imminent arrival of a player who has been likened to Argentine legend Diego Maradona has fuelled excitement among supporters.

Aguero does not aim to emulate Maradona, who is also his father-in-law, and has instead called himself the 'Che Guevara of modern soccer' as he plans to put on a show for fans.

"No one will ever be exactly like Maradona again but I really think that every so often there is a total revolution in football and someone needs to be the revolutionary who starts things off. That's me," the 23-year-old is quoted as saying in The Sun.
"Maradona made some 'noise' in his day and I want to roar a bit in my day - now!
"I like tricks, I like to dazzle, I like to be able to score a goal with one leg bent round the other so that you smack the ball into the net with your wrong foot.

"Dribbling and leaving your opponent on his backside is what life is for.
"If I achieve what I want to then I'll mark a distinct era in football. I'm the Che Guevara of modern soccer."

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Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez has been ruled out of the Community Shield after it was confirmed the Mexican will require two weeks to recover from mild concussion. 

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed the forward suffered the injury in training for United's 4-0 win over the MLS All-Stars.

Hernandez spent Wednesday evening in his hotel room in New Jersey after being released from hospital having been admitted following training 24 hours earlier.

Although medical staff found no major damage, Ferguson has confirmed the youngster will not play for a couple of weeks, even though he will continue to train and remain on tour.

That means Hernandez will be unavailable for the Community Shield meeting with derby rivals Manchester City at Wembley on 7th August.

"He got concussion in training and we dealt with that," said Ferguson. "We took him to hospital, he had a scan, it was all clear.


"He is back in the hotel. He is in his room and will be out for a couple of weeks.

"He would never have been available for Barcelona anyway because he has just come back from his break after the Gold Cup.

"He will travel with us, though. He is okay for that."

In Hernandez's absence, Dimitar Berbatov took the opportunity to shine, helping to create United's excellent opener before smashing home the third right after half-time.


Both fulfilled the Bulgarian's preferred criteria of 'beautiful goals' and helped break his duck for the tour.
In between, Park Ji-sung scored a fine goal to maintain his impressive recent form.



The South Korean then indicated he would be willing to sign the two-year contract extension Ferguson confirmed in Seattle last week had been offered, as he said: "Why not?

"I keep saying I want to stay here for more years to win things with Manchester United. Hopefully one day we will get together."

United's fourth straight victory on their five-match tour was completed by Danny Welbeck, to leave David Beckham empty-handed against his former club.

"When you don't put chances away against a team like Manchester United, they will capitalise," said the
ex-England skipper.

"I had many successful years playing under Sir Alex Ferguson. I wouldn't be where I am today without him.

"He gave me a chance when I was 16. I owe him a lot. To play against a team that is still managed by him is emotional."

Sky TV customers can sign up to MUTV today and get live and exclusive coverage of the game with Barcelona - click here to sign up to MUTV.

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Paul Scholes believes wantaway Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric would be a worthy signing at Manchester United. 

United chief David Gill has revealed United are looking to bring in one more new face this summer, with a creative midfielder strongly rumoured to be on their wishlist following Scholes' retirement at the end of last season.

Modric, Inter Milan ace Wesley Sneijder and Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri are the names that have been most heavily linked with a move to the Premier League champions.

And while Scholes feels any one of the three players would be a welcome addition at Old Trafford, the 36-year-old admits Croatia international Modric has particularly caught his eye.


"The ones who have been linked all look like they are capable of playing for United," he told Manchester Evening News.

"The three linked the most with United are all great top players. Of the three Modric, when we've played against him, has been the one I have been most impressed with.

"Whenever we played Tottenham, he was the one who stood out."

He added: "But there are no guarantees. You could sign Sneijder for £35-40m and it might not work out. He went to Real Madrid and it didn't quite work out for him there, so you just don't know."
The future of Modric remains uncertain, with Spurs maintaining he will not be sold at any price after refusing him a move to London rivals Chelsea.

While Scholes admires the 25-year-old, he insists finding a replacement for himself is not a necessity for United, pointing out that he has not been as prominent in Sir Alex Ferguson's team over recent years.

He added: "I don't think it is a big deal really replacing me because I haven't been the type of player people are talking about for the last four or five years.

"I haven't been scoring goals or been the main playmaker in the team for a while. I don't think I actually need replacing in that way at all.

"I wasn't the pulling the strings anymore, definitely in the last two years and probably even since I was 31-32. I haven't been as prominent in the side. I wasn't scoring the goals and I wasn't making the goals."


Scholes is adamant United will pose a major threat next season whether they bolster their midfield or not, and has confidence in the options already at manager Ferguson's disposal.

"The players already at the club have got the chance to go on and stake big claims," he added.

"I wouldn't have any worries going with the players already at the club. We have loads of talent who can play there. Ryan Giggs did it brilliantly last season, Darren Fletcher, Tom (Cleverley), Anderson, Michael (Carrick) and Ji-sung Park can play there.

"There are no concerns at all I think we are as good and probably better in that department than we have ever been."

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Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has confirmed he expects to finalise the signing of Charles N'Zogbia from Wigan next week. 

The French winger is due to fly back from a holiday to undergo a medical on Friday after Villa and Wigan reached agreement over a compromise £9.5million deal.

Villa do not anticipate any problems in that department with the 25-year-old poised to put pen-to-paper on a five-year contract after the weekend.

The Midlands outfit are currently in the Far East preparing for their Asia Trophy final against Chelsea in Hong Kong and McLeish expects things to be finalised upon their return.

The former Birmingham City boss commented: "We're arranging a medical for Charles and, pending that, he should be a Villa player next week."

N'Zogbia will become Villa's second signing of the summer after keeper Shay Given moved from Manchester City in a £3.5million deal.

He will provide service for striker Darren Bent to thrive on after the sale of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing to Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

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Chelsea have lodged an official complaint over abuse aimed at Yossi Benayoun in their match last week against a Malaysian XI. 

Malaysia as a country is a strong supporter of Palestine and does not recognise Israel.

Having reviewed the match, in which Benayoun's every touch was jeered, the club believe abuse directed at the Israel international was anti-Semitic in nature and have therefore complained to the Malaysian FA.


A statement read: "Notwithstanding most fans behaving appropriately on the night, we believe Yossi was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse by a number of supporters at the game.

"Such behaviour is offensive, totally unacceptable and has no place in football.

"The club did not make representations at the time as it was initially unclear as to the nature of the abuse Yossi received, as several players from both teams experienced similar treatment, sometimes louder and longer.

However, having taken time to consider the issue fully, it has become apparent that a formal complaint was necessary.

"Our stay in Malaysia was, on the whole, a very positive experience for all the team travelling on the pre-season tour. It is a shame, therefore, that the behaviour of a minority of supporters is also a memory we take away."

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