Inter Milan manager Leonardo has reacted with disbelief at criticism directed at striker Samuel Eto’o.
Inter lost 1-0 at Juventus on Sunday, widening the gap between them and Serie A-leading city rivals AC Milan to eight points as a result.
Eto’o was the chief target of blame for the loss, but he was defended by his manager on Tuesday.
“I don’t know how someone can criticise Eto’o,” he said.
“It really takes some cheek. Eto’o has scored (24) goals this season. He sometimes might not time things right or have the space because he’s strictly marked, but it does not make sense to say that there is a problem with Eto’o.”
Leonardo and Inter are readying themselves for Wednesday’s trip to Fiorentina, who are undefeated in three games in February.
The Brazilian is under no illusions as to the task at hand.
“Well, we have played against many teams when they were in their best form: Napoli, Palermo and now we’ll be playing against Fiorentina,” Leonardo said.
“Maybe this is the destiny of a big team: to face teams in good form. I think that Fiorentina have started very well this year and have achieved a great win in the last match.”
“I think that our team has alternatives, but we’re a very compact side that has the ability to perform in the big matches.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Leonardo also touched on the retirement of former national teammate Ronaldo, and was liberal with his praise of the ex-Inter striker.
“I think that Messi is playing so well, but as far as I’m concerned – after Maradona and Pele, who are two untouchable myths in the football world – comes Ronaldo,” he said.
“It’s like losing a fortune, I don’t know how to say it. I think he will be among the best players: after Maradona and Pele, there will be Ronaldo.”
Tottenham’s Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes’ nervy performance against AC Milan last Wednesday has again set alarm bells ringing among much of the club’s faithful support once more. It’s difficult to question the undoubted improvements the ‘keeper has made to his game over the last year or so, but despite this improvement, will it be enough to ensure his prolonged stay between the sticks?
Gomes appears to be a goalkeeper capable of producing the sublime and the ridiculous only minutes apart. He’s as error-prone as they come in the Premier League, yet he’s a key player for Spurs and they miss his presence when he’s not in the side. Quite the contradiction.
It’s clear that good goalkeepers don’t grow on trees, sometimes you have to persevere with one until they’ve developed, matured and combined their promise with their performance. A goalkeeper’s peak years are thought to be between the ages of 32-36; and such is the nature and importance of a goalkeeper’s decision-making to the position, it is thought that as a goalkeeper matures, so will his decision-making.
It’s safe to say that Gomes at the age of 30 hasn’t quite reached this point or his peak just yet. He’s both eccentric and inconsistent. His main strengths lie in his reflexes and his ability to make himself big (not a tough ask I’ll grant you) in one on one situations.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
However, he can look particularly suspect when asked to rely on his decision-making ability as opposed to his instincts. He looks extremely susceptible to high balls into the box and his handling ability and communication skills can often be called into question.
It’s rare for a goalkeeper to have such big flaws yet still be capable of producing such outstanding performances while being integral to their own side. Being a goalkeeper is a tough ask in the modern day game, and with footballs being made lighter than ever before, it’s worth mentioning that this is not a game designed for goalkeeping excellence anymore – the movement that modern day balls have through the air must mean that it becomes difficult for ‘keepers to do anything with any real conviction nowadays.
I do retain a degree of sympathy for the goalkeeping fraternity. It’s a position where one’s errors are magnified tenfold in comparison to their saves. The do-or-die nature of the position means that they are often castigated for a player’s errors further up the pitch, yet despite all of this, Gomes does stick out as being particularly prone to errors of the game-changing variety.
There is no question that Gomes has his plus points though. He is a dominant and at times overwhelming physical presence. He is capable of keeping Spurs in a game almost single-handedly at times and due to his sheer size, he can reach things most other goalkeepers can only dream about.
Continue to the NEXT PAGE…
It’s also worth attaching some perspective to this too and a frame of reference – Gomes is not the first goalkeeper, nor will he be the last either to make high-profile errors. Pepe Reina, the best ‘keeper in the league to my knowledge, regularly delves into the depths of a Nick Hancock blooper reel and finds something to top even the most horrific of mistakes on those terrible compilation clips. The song ‘Reina drops keep fallin’ on my head’ will live long in the memory for most Everton fans.
The most important thing with a goalkeeper prone to the odd gaffe though, is that that they go onto atone for these errors with games where they become almost impossible to breach – Reina most certainly does this for Liverpool.
There is a school of thought that subscribes to the view that as long as a goalkeeper’s gaffes aren’t as regular as their match-winning performances, then they balance themselves out. The only time when this becomes an apparent problem is when the defence begins to lose trust in the man between the sticks and the lines of communication break down more often than not.
Petr Cech treads the line very carefully at Chelsea yet retains an influence that’s hard to match over his team mates and his presence is much-needed – I think that it’s safe to say the same for Gomes at White Hart Lane. Most Spurs fans accept that humiliating errors are just par for the course with Gomes now. He will make them in the future, in the most unfathomably awful ways imaginable I‘m sure, however the next minute he’ll make a game-defining save, and with that you get the balancing act of picking and sticking with a number one.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’left’]
A microcosm of Gomes’ Spurs career came this December in the away league game at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, where the Brazilian turned from villain to hero in a matter of moments. After letting a rasping drive all too easily pass him for Didier Drogba’s equaliser, Gomes then proceeded to give away a penalty, only to then save Drogba’s resulting injury time spot-kick and earn himself a shot at redemption and with it, Spurs a point in the process.
He is most certainly mad, sometimes bad, but often brilliant. Gomes retains the club’s number one jersey for now, but such indecisiveness will not serve Spurs well going forward as they hope to capitalise on a potentially bright period in their recent history with some silverware – something that I’m sure the player and his manager are acutely aware of.
Whether they place their trust in a player capable of destroying months of work in a moment of madness remains to be seen. With other areas of the team in more urgent need of strengthening if Spurs are to make this season’s Champions League appearance a regular occurrence as opposed to a brief soirée, Gomes is likely to retain his place in the starting eleven for the foreseeable future, at least going into next season.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola believes Getafe must not be taken lightly ahead of their visit to the Camp Nou on Saturday.Reigning Spanish champions Barca are clear at the top of the La Liga table, but saw their lead cut to five points over Real Madrid following a 1-1 draw away to Sevilla last Sunday.And Guardiola realises the importance of taking maximum points at home to mid-table Getafe in order to maintain their grip on first place. “It is one of those games that can cause you to lose the league,” Guardiola said.”Three points won’t win us the title, but if we don’t get them, things get much more difficult.” “We are entering the all or nothing stage of the season and we need to stay in shape and form for the final stage of the campaign.””A lot has happened this week and the game comes before a break in the fixture list.” Guardiola was referring to two incidents – the hospitalisation of key defender Eric Abidal and allegations of systematic doping within the club. Frenchman Abidal underwent surgery to remove a liver tumour on Thursday and is now expected to be sidelined for months. “As far as we know, the operation went very well and Abidal is developing correctly,” Guardiola said.”We must thank the doctors for their good work and hope people respect the privacy that his family has asked for.””Sports issues are secondary, what really matters is the person ? Abidal is a very likable man and has been with us for some time. We will try to be positive about the situation and hope it has the minimum possible effect.”Guardiola was also quizzed on the allegations made by broadcaster Cadena COPE, which published a story suggesting sources at Real Madrid believed both Valencia and Barca had been guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs in recent seasons.Both Valencia and Barca deny the allegations and have begun legal proceedings to sue Cadena COPE for defamation. “Ask Cadena COPE and (Real President) Florentino Perez,” Guardiola said.”When those two decide who is right, they’ll let you know ? the club (Barca) has done what is right and left things quite clear.” “An announcement was made and a claim has been presented, things couldn’t be more clear.”Barcelona drew Shakhtar Donetsk in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League on Friday, meaning they’ll face a tough trip to the Ukraine if they are to face either Real or English Premier League outfit Tottenham in the semi-finals.”We know (Shakhtar) well (having met in the 2008/09 Champions League), they know us well and they have the same manager as before,” Guardiola said.”They will continue playing basically the same, as will we. They are former UEFA Cup champions, they have competed in the Super Cup and games against them have been very close.””They have only lost against Arsenal in this year’s Champions League, and would be top of any theoretical league of results in Europe this year. They are very physical and have good players, plus an experienced coach. It is a handicap, but the draw throws these things out there. We will try to play our best against whichever team, and I hope to get through.”
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini does not regret bringing striker Mario Balotelli to England despite his recent bad behaviour.The Italy forward was recently left out by his national team after reportedly throwing a dart at a City youth team player.
This was far from Balotelli’s first offence as the 23-million-pound man has also received two red cards this season – one as City crashed out of the UEFA Europa League.
Balotelli was also left out by Mancini for City’s last game but the manager has drawn a line under the incident ahead of Monday’s game with Sunderland.
“He lost the national team for two games, which is not a good thing for a young player,” Mancini said.
“I think his behaviour will be better in the future. I do not regret bringing him here, Mario is a fantastic player.”
“At the moment everything Mario does will be massive. If Mario went to a restaurant and spoke with a woman, people would say he spoke to five.”
“He played 15 games at the start of the season and scored 10 goals. In the last two months he has shown he wants to change his behaviour.”
Inconsistent form has seen City fall away slightly after leading the pack but Mancini said they still have high aspirations.
“We want to try to get back to the top of the table,” he said.
“We have the same target as we did at the start of the season – to qualify for next season’s Champions League and get to a cup final.”
“I think we have a chance.”
And Mancini needed no prompting to recognise the strength of the Sunderland side his charges will come up against.
“Sunderland are a good team, they play nice football and have a good manager,” Mancini said.
“Steve Bruce knows the Premier League well and Asamoah Gyan is a fantastic player, as is Danny Welbeck.”
Manchester City will be without goalkeeper Shay Given (shoulder) and defenders Jerome Boateng (knee) and Micah Richards (hamstring) for the clash.
If planet Earth took a collection of its finest footballers to play against a Mars XI there would be few coaches who could select a team, apply the tactics or direct the globe’s talent better than Arsene Wenger. Although the Frenchman has once again invited criticism of his abilities for guiding his Arsenal side to a sixth consecutive trophy-less season, Wenger can boast 3 Premier League titles and 4 FA Cups on his list of honours. More remarkably, the former Monaco boss has overseen and influenced a colossal transition in Arsenal’s fabric by coercing the Gunners’ move to a modern 60,000 capacity stadium and implanting a tactical philosophy, an academy structure and economic principles which his eventual successor will struggle to alter.
The aesthetic quality of Arsenal’s football has never been in question, but the Gunners haven’t been able to supplement their form with silverware during a period when neighbours Spurs have won the League Cup and perpetual title rivals Manchester United have landed 3 Premier Leagues, 3 League Cups and a Champions League trophy. It is important to note that since the Premier League’s inauguration in 1992, Arsenal have spent £273million on transfers whereas Tottenham have expended £399million and Manchester United £430million during the same period.
Throughout the League’s 19 seasons the Gunners have recorded a net spend on transfers of £35million overall, which is less than Stoke, West Brom, Wolves, Everton, Birmingham, Fulham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham. The fact that eight out of the above 12 teams have endured a considerable portion of that period in England’s second tier, and some even further down the Football League ladder, speaks volumes. The continual pressure placed on Wenger to spend above his means is surely unfounded as Arsenal’s repeated presence in the Champions League and Premiership title race represents an astonishing return when balanced against the expenditure of ‘smaller’ clubs.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’right’]
Chelsea and Manchester United have expanded their trophy cabinets significantly since Arsenal last lifted the FA Cup in 2005, but the Stamford Bridge outfit have spent an average of £48million a season on players since 2003 whilst United’s total of £6million is largely reduced due to the £80million sale of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009. In that time Arsenal have actually made a net profit of £3million from transfer transactions and featured in a European Cup Final and two League Cup Finals in the past five years. Although Portsmouth, Birmingham and Tottenham have all secured silverware recently, this demonstrates a substantial amount of investment and fortune that Arsenal haven’t been afforded. With this in mind, shouldn’t Arsenal fans be satisfied with their manager’s efforts in establishing an esteemed club stature by exercising organic and economical methods whilst exhibiting some of the most stylish football of any team?
Of course this feat is widely respected but fans of any club expect a healthy level of progressive self-improvement. A number of Gunners fans have begun to accept Cesc Fabregas’ impending departure based on his apparent mental deterioration and the sizeable fee his sale would command. I don’t necessarily agree with this theory but I do believe Fabregas’ emergence as Arsenal’s talisman has logically coincided with Arsenal’s barren spell. The reason is, Wenger altered his tactical beliefs after 2005 in order to accommodate the Spaniard and in doing so abandoned the tactics that had previously proved so successful.
The 1998 Double-wining side contained a familiar back-four with two holding midfielders – Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira – two wingers – Ray Parlour and Marc Overmars – and a support and target striker – Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright/Nicolas Anelka. That team was replaced only by name in Arsenal’s 2004 Invincibles season as Gilberto Silva replaced Petit, Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires occupied the wings and Thierry Henry succeeded Ian Wright, contributing 39 goals in the process. The Invincibles side produced an FA Cup the following year but disintegrated rapidly, largely due to age, and Arsenal are still waiting to repeat the trophy-winning achievement.
The Arsenal class of 2011 are almost unrecognisable from Wenger’s tactical halcyon era as the Frenchman has sought to adapt his squad parallel to football’s developing form. The evidence resides in Arsenal’s squad-list which currently includes several offensive players with no fixed position – Tomas Rosicky, Samir Nasri, Theo Walcott, Andrey Arshavin, Abou Diaby and Aaron Ramsey. Their talents are unquestionable but I sincerely doubt that most of them would have found a place in Wenger’s previously successful system.
Arsene Wenger is a victim of his unrivalled intelligence and Arsenal fans’ expectations are always elevated as a result. His record is perhaps more extraordinary than say Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti or even Sir Alex Ferguson and it is vital to Arsenal’s future that Wenger retains his obduracy. Expensive signings never guarantee immediate dividends and Arsenal’s conductor simply needs to recall the system that best worked for him. Have faith, Arsenal fans’ unrelenting trust in Wenger must continue.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Tottenham’s hopes of Champions League success now hinges on them finishing in the top four this season. It is a mammoth task that faces Harry’s men, although Spurs are never known for making life easy for themselves.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Spurs blogs that includes the media looking to rain on Tottenham’s parade; seven likely casualties of Harry’s cull, while assessing Van Der Vaart’s contribution to the team.
We also look at the best Spurs articles around the web this week.
*
The Greatest Ever Premier League XI
Time for Spurs to rule with their head not their heart?
Caption Competition: New best buddies Harry and Jose!
Van der Part of the team?
The unlucky SEVEN casualties of Tottenham’s summer clearout
Media clearly looking for ways to rain on Tottenham’s parade
Is he the right signing for Tottenham Hotspur?
VIDEO: Rafael van der Vaart takes keepy ups to a new level
FIVE things the future holds for Tottenham
In light of outburst – shouldn’t fans have the right to express their opinion?
Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs do battle for £15m Serb
*Best of Web*
Fantasy football – Spurs Musings From Jimmy G2
We Came To Celebrate and Are Not Downhearted – Tottenham On My Mind
Do you think that’s wise, Spurs? – Martin Cloake Online
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Y word – Dear Mr Levy
The Lilywhite Cup – 20th May 2011 – Harry Hotspur[divider]Click on image below to see Carles’s latest lady
Inter will not be distracted by their impending Coppa Italia semi-final when they face Fiorentina on Sunday, according to coach Leonardo.The Coppa is Inter’s last chance of silverware this season after losing pace with AC Milan in the Serie A title race, and they will take a 1-0 advantage into the second leg of their semi against Roma on Wednesday.
But Leonardo said the match against Fiorentina at the weekend was his immediate concern, as his side look to secure second place in the league.
“Our targets have not yet been reached and so Fiorentina are just as important as Roma if we want to secure second place,” Leonardo said.
“We’ve had two whole weeks to work on training and I doubt we’ll have a problem facing two games in three days.”
The coach admitted it was disappointing not to be challenging for the title at this stage of the season, but defended his team’s performance.
“There is obviously bitterness that we weren’t able to leapfrog those in front of us in the table, but whoever wins deserves it,” Leonardo said.
“That is always the case. We battled, dealt with the problems we had and pushed on, but what we are now is a reality. We are a team.”
“Nobody is thinking about what could happen next season. We have a competitive squad capable of fighting on all fronts and that is what we did.”
“You can say what you want, but we’re second in Serie A, reached the Champions League quarter-finals and are challenging to win the Coppa Italia.”
The Brazilian confirmed Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder would be missing as well as Walter Samuel, and also took the opportunity to defended out-of-form striker Diego Milito.
“Sneijder will certainly not be there, while Walter Samuel has trained regularly and his condition is being evaluated day by day,” Leonardo said.
“Diego Milito had three thigh strains in a season, so it’s impossible for a player to give his best in those conditions.”
Tottenham look set to qualify for the Europa League after they moved into fifth spot at the expense of Liverpool after a 2-0 win at Anfield.Goals from midfield duo Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric gave the London club the win and, despite Harry Redknapp claiming the European tournament would be a hindrance next season, his team go into the last weekend of the campaign in pole position to seal their place in the competition.
The visitors dominated the first half and Liverpool really struggled to get a foothold in the game, despite home advantage and a win confirming their own place in the Europa League.
It was a scenario that seemed highly unlikely earlier in the season when the club was languishing in the relegation zone.
It took Tottenham only nine minutes to take the lead, with Van der Vaart bagging his 13th league goal of the season with a superb curling effort.
Modric’s corner was only half cleared by the Liverpool back line and the ball found the Dutchman on the edge of the area, who trapped the ball neatly before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the top corner of Pepe Reina’s goal.
Andy Carroll, restored to the starting line-up following a knee injury, wasted a glorious chance to draw Liverpool level, mistiming his header after a decent cross from defender Martin Skrtel.
Luis Suarez then bent a free-kick marginally over as the first half came to an end, and despite Tottenham’s lack of chances, their dominance in possession saw them deservedly lead at the break.
Liverpool’s hopes of hauling themselves back into game took a major blow just after the re-start following John Flanagan’s barge on Steven Pienaar in the penalty area.
The home players’ appeals that the offence occurred outside the box fell on deaf ears as referee Howard Webb awarded a penalty, and Modric sent his spot-kick right down the middle to double Tottenham’s lead.
Tottenham settled back into their keep-ball routine on the back of their two-goal cushion and were rarely troubled by the normally impressive Suarez and his strike-partner Dirk Kuyt.
The loss would not have been how manager Dalglish would have wanted to celebrate signing a three-year deal at the club earlier in the week.
However, he can still complete his remarkable turnaround in charge of Liverpool by getting them into the Europa League if results go their way at Aston Villa next weekend.
Celtic left-back Emilio Izaguirre could be on his way out of Celtic Park with Liverpool reportedly leading a queue of English clubs in the hunt for the player.
Signed from Honduran side Motagua last summer, the defender enjoyed a fantastic debut season winning both SPL Players’ Player and Player of the Year awards after 41 appearances.
Liverpool are reportedly searching for a new left-back with Newcastle’s Jose Enrique an option and Stephen Warnock linked with a return to the club. Paul Koncheseky looks set to be sold whilst the futures of Fabio Aurelio and and Emiliano Insua are more uncertain.
The 25-year old Honduran cost Celtic a reported £400,000 but Neil Lennon is keen to hold on to his star defender and bidding is likely to start at around £8 million.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa are all also rumoured to be interested to the player compared to Roberto Carlos by former Scotland boss Craig Brown.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
But, first, Izaguirre is set to return to Honduras to add to his 45 international caps in the Gold Cup.
Joe Cole’s disappointing Liverpool career could be about to come to an end, according to the Daily Mail.
Cole moved to Anfield on a free transfer from Chelsea last summer and signed a lucrative four year, £90,000 a week deal. Despite impressing manager Kenny Dalglish more recently, he has struggled for form and fitness since being sent off on his debut and has only made 9 starts for the club.
The England international looks set to be reunited with former West Ham manager Harry Redknapp at Tottenham for a fee in the region of £3 million. Liverpool’s new owners Fenway Sports Group are thought to be increasingly keen on removing Cole’s substantial salary from the wage bill as they look to invest in younger talent.
Cole hasn’t featured for England since the defeat against Germany at last summer’s World Cup but still has 56 caps to his name.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
His arrival at Spurs could pave the way for Luka Modric to move to Manchester United. The Croatian playmaker is seen as an ideal replacement for Paul Scholes who retired this summer. But, Modric is likely to command a transfer fee well in excess of £20 million.