Friday, 29 August 08, 06:59 PM
Friday, 29 August 08, 06:59 PM
The Bianconeri will clash with the Spanish champions during their group stage in what promises to be one of the games of the tournament.
Zidane has spoken of both teams chances of success and he is leaning towards the Bernabeu side as he snubs the Old Lady which is not likely to go down too well with Juve fans who still have
affection for their hero.
“The game between those two is going to be very strong. I played in Turin and at Madrid, need I say more?” Zidane told La Stampa.
“I will watch the game with great attention but I will be supporting Real Madrid, even though I had a great time in Turin.
“Juventus are a great club with great history and they are one of the most prestigious. I am happy the club returned, it can only be a good thing for European football.
“I think the Bianconeri can have a good run, they have champion players and they are used to success but my favourite for the competition is Real, they will triumph in Rome.”
Zidane arrived in Turin in 1996 from Bordeaux. He spent five seasons at the Delle Alpi before making a world record £52m move to Real Madrid in 2001.
The French man fired Los Blancos to Champions League glory the following season. He was never able to win Europe’s most wanted trophy in Turin and he lost the final of the competition twice in
a row against Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Real in 1998.
Friday, 29 August 08, 06:59 PM
Though he may not have played even half an hour of Ligue 1 football with PSG, 20 year-old forward Boli has been strongly linked with a switch to the Spanish giants after developing a reputation as one to watch for the future.
The speculation was given further credence when the the player’s agent and uncle, Roger Boli, told l’Equipe, “This is not a rumour; it is concrete. He will sign for three years.”Friday, 29 August 08, 10:38 AM
Friday, 29 August 08, 10:37 AM
Zenit St Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin has all-but conceded he will not be joining Tottenham.
The talented schemer has been a long-term target for Spurs boss Juande Ramos but the North London club have failed to concur on a fee with their Russian counterparts.
Zenit have been steadfast in their £24million asking price; a figure which the Tottenham board have baulked at in turning their attention elsewhere.
Arshavin, who was dropped by Zenit for the recent league game against Krylya Sovetov Samara, is currently in Monaco preparing for Friday night's Super Cup clash with Manchester United.
The player has made no secret of his desire to move to the Premier League but is now ready to accept he is unlikely to join Spurs, who are set to announce the signing of Arshavin's international team-mate Roman Pavlyuchenko within the next 48 hours.
"I have a feeling we can put this story to bed," he told Sport Express.
"I think with the purchase of Pavlyuchenko the idea of Arshavin (moving) to London no longer exists.
When quizzed on whether he saw his future at Zenit, he replied: "It looks that way."
Arshavin's agent Dennis Lachter admits that Zenit's asking price for his client looks likely to prohibit his departure, with Valencia the only club who still hold a tangible interest.
"Villarreal have dropped out [of negotiations]," Lachter told Russian newspaper Sovetsky Sport. "That club are not going to buy Andrei.
"The only team who are interested in Arshavin at the moment is Valencia.
"However, the transfer will only go through if Real Madrid buy striker David Villa from Valencia."
Friday, 29 August 08, 10:36 AM
In a question and answer session in Marca, Los Merengues' president spelt opened up about the club's summer transfer activity and gave his side to all the reports and rumours.
Madrid were foiled in their quest to sign Ronaldo and then saw both Villa and Cazorla sign new contracts with Valencia and Villarreal respectively rather than join Madrid.
"I spoke to (Manchester United director) David Gill and he always said that the club did not want to sell (Ronaldo)," Calderón explained. "I asked him about it, obviously, because I thought we
could do something.
"It was the same with (Villarreal president) Fernando Roig when I asked about Santi Cazorla. He said no and that was that.
"With Cazorla, we could have signed him if we had wanted to, but we did not want to pay his buy-out clause five days before the transfer window closes.
"That was why we did not sign him, although Villarreal have seen things differently.
"In the case of Villa they offered him to us for €80m and he was never part of our plans for that amount. I do not understand why that turned out like that."
No Need for Kaká
Calderón then explained that he felt Madrid had the chance to finally sign Kaká, one of the player's he promised in his election mandate, but was told not to make a bid.
"It did not appear that Kaká's position needed strengthening, according to the coaches. I did not enter into it," he continued.
"I have to say that it was a possibility to sign Kaká this summer, but I was told that we did not need him now.
"He may have cost €100m, but I do not think that would have been the price. But those in charge told me not to look into it."
With Robinho's move to Chelsea a looking all set to go ahead earlier this week and now looking doubtful, Calderón explained that he feels the player should have remained calm.
"Personally, I think (saying he wanted to leave) was a mistake and that it was a problem with him. I think his representatives advised him badly and they confused him," the president
stated.
"But once it had been said it was my job to defend the interests of the club in the best way that I could.
"We did not consider selling him even if Cristiano had joined. Robinho was not going. It would not have been necessary to sell anyone."
Staying United
The Ronaldo saga dominated the summer at Madrid and Calderón has been keen to put his side of the story across after being accused of helping to unsettle the Manchester United star.
"I have said before that all this came down to a problem of communication more than anything else," he said.
"The media become involved and then we wanted to sort it out with the player and his club. But we became spectators and had no role to play in it all.
"We received the news that player wanted to come to Madrid, but as I said throughout it was down to Manchester United to say whether or not they would sell him.
"The player still has a contract with his club and there is nothing more that we can do. I am not thinking about next summer now because I do not know what could happen.
"We just do not know if he will end up playing here or not. I hope he can, but that is another matter.
"There was no call from Ronaldo saying he was not coming. I do not want to give the impression that we interfered in any way with all this, because we did not.
"The relationship between Manchester United and Real Madrid is magnificent still, although it did bother me that their manager made some comments, but we will remain friends.
"We were pleased to hear that Cristiano wanted to come to Madrid, but it is normal that all the great players would like to play here."
Friday, 29 August 08, 10:31 AM
Speaking to Marca the young Dutchman said, “The feeling amongst us is the same that it always has been. We form a team and he forms part of the team, for which the feeling is equal. What
Robinho does is up to him.”
“He does not have any reason to ask our pardon, it is a decision between him and the club,” he assured.
It has been widely speculated that Robinho would be joining Chelsea this summer but with the transfer window now drawing in any deal seems unlikely.
Even without the Robinho move it will have been a busy summer for the blancos, with Rafael Van Der Vaart the main signing for the club. The Holland international is the fifth Dutchman in the
team and Drenthe has nothing but praise for him, saying, “He is a very good player and he is going to fit in very well in the team. We do not lack anything more, I believe we form a good team,
prepared to compete and above all win.”
Drenthe has seen his chances at Real limited since joining last year and after returning from the Olympics with Holland he has had to catch up with the rest of the squad, a process which he
says is going well. “There is a change of temperature and time to which I have to adapt. The physios are helping me and I am feeling very good,” he said.
With Madrid having been drawn in a Champions League group with Juventus, Zenit St. Petersburg and BATE, Drenthe believes it will be tough, saying, “Everyone says that it is a good group, tough,
but one must expect that. With teams of that style what is guaranteed is that it will be a difficult group.”
Last seasons champions begin their title defence at the Riazor this Sunday, a venue they haven’t won at since 1991, and Drenthe says it will be hard.
“It is going to be a difficult game, not only because it is Depor but because it is the first game of the league. We want to win it and win it well because this the first one and we have an
obligation to win well,” he concluded.
Friday, 29 August 08, 10:24 AM
Friday, 29 August 08, 10:24 AM
Thursday, 28 August 08, 10:23 AM
Despite his team putting on a footballing show in front of the home fans to bag their 19th Trofeo Bernabéu, Schuster looked rather disinterested during the post match conference and offered no more than a few seconds to answer just one question.
When asked to give his assessment of the game against the Portuguese visitors, he gave a typically blatant and cynical response.
“The first half was without doubt the best. We took all our chances, scored five goals and we were passing the ball well. Our rivals also helped us a lot because they thought the game started at 11 o’clock,” he said, alluding to the fact that Sporting only really got going in the second half.
“It is one more trophy for us and it is a good way to start off the season this Sunday,” he added.
He was then asked to comment about the upcoming Champions League draw and the club’s failure to recruit either David Villa or Santi Cazorla. But he had the same reply for both questions.
“I have nothing to say. I am not thinking about the Champions League because it is not necessary to.
“I am tired now and I wish to go back home,” he concluded abruptly.
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