Its The Newfanzone World Soccer Report by Our Man Paul Ayorinde.
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News from Germany;
– Jurgen Klopp has acknowledged that Borussia Dortmund are in a “critical” situation ahead of Tuesday’s DFB-Pokal clash with St. Pauli. “The fear of not winning is certainly there. Sometimes we lack the necessary rest to perform. But we have to work. The preparation has been normal despite the critical situation that we’ve found ourselves in. We know the nature of this competition, that we’re out if we lose. A couple of the players are over-worked, but there are no new injuries.” Klopp Said
– Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury against Bayern Munich.
– Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola hailed his goalkeeper Manuel Neuer after escaping Borussia Monchengladbach with a 0-0 draw on Sunday. “In the first half we controlled the game very well. In the second half we were a little tired, we lost a bit of our organisation and had to play more on the counter-attack. I am very happy with our play and the point. Without Neuer they should have [scored] one or two goals.”
German Bundesliga Matchday 9 results;
Werder Bremen 0-1 Cologne
Augsburg 2-0 Freiburg
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Hannover 96
Eintracht Frankfurt 4-5 VfB Stuttgart
Hertha Berlin 3-0 Hamburger SV.
Hoffenheim 1-0 Paderborn
Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Schalke 04
Wolfsburg 3-0 Mainz 05
B.Monchengladbach 0-0 B.Munich
News from France;
– Marseille are resigned to losing Andre-Pierre Gignac, Ligue 1’s leading scorer, because they cannot afford to keep him. Marseille president Vincent Labrune told Journal du Dimanche Gignac’s departure was inevitable because the cub could not increase his reported 360,000 euro monthly salary. “It’s going to happen because employer contributions and taxes have gone through the roof in France. We would like to keep him, but it seems to me utopian to think that he will lower his salary to stay with us. His agent is right to say that, with his current displays, he is more likely to get better offers. But he loves the city and the club, so we’re going to talk.” Labrune Said
– Lyon right-back Christophe Jallet has refused to rule out the possibility of joining his former club PSG’s bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille. “Why not one day. When you play several years at PSG, it is always difficult to sign for Marseille. My name has often been mentioned in terms of Marseille, but the club has always had quality players in my position: Rod Fanni or Brice Dja Djédjé. If one day my destiny takes me to Marseille, it will be a pleasure.” He said
French Ligue 1 Matchday 11 results:
Toulouse 0-2 Lens
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Bordeaux
Bastia 1-3 Monaco
Caen 2-1 Lorient
Evian Thonon Gaillard 0-1 Nantes
Reims 1-0 Montpellier
Rennes 2-0 Lille
Guingamp 2-7 Nice
Saint Etienne 1-0 Metz
Lyon 1-0 Marseille
News from Italy;
– Radamel Falcao wanted to join Juventus before Manchester United sealed a loan move, according to
the club’s managing director Giuseppe Marotta. “We followed Falcao, but there has been no contact since he moved to Manchester United,we were very close to signing him and the striker preferred a move to Italy to wear Bianconeri colours. Then, however, a deal was done to send the forward to Manchester United, who can now buy the player permanently, though that deal is a little blurred.” He said
– Patrice Evra faces a month on the sidelines because of the thigh injury that ruled him out of Juventus’ 2-0 win over Palermo on Sunday.
– The agent and brother of Gonzalo Higuain has assured Napoli fans that the striker’s future lies at the San Paolo. “I’m delighted that Gonzalo scored yesterday but I’ve never been concerned about his goal drought, and neither was my brother,let’s say that he had a few chances to score
yesterday. Luckily, he tried his best and it went well. The rumours about Arsenal and Liverpool? Gonzalo has a contract with Napoli for five seasons so he’s an Azzurro player. But I must say that no representatives from either club have contacted me. Shortly before he arrived in Naples, I was in contact with Arsenal.” He said
– Giuseppe Rossi’s agent says that the Fiorentina striker is making good progress on his knee injury and hopes to see his client back by early February.“The news is positive. The staff who worked on [his knee] have found him to be in excellent condition, with the stability of his knee much improved. The recovery phase should, therefore, meet the initial estimate of five months. Things are going well, and I hope to see him back on the pitch between late January and early February” he said
– Inter Milan president Erick Thohir has said he will “see how the next two games go” as questions continue to surround the future of coach Walter Mazzarri despite a return to winning ways at the weekend. “I have faith in Mazzarri and in his work. Last year, we set the objective of qualifying for Europe and we succeeded. We need to be fair in analysing the issue of our coach. Let’s see how the next two games go — but changing your coach during a season is never a good solution. We want to give him another opportunity. There are lots of rumours about a new coach, but we aim for the best for Inter.”
– Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero has apologised for his remark about Inter Milan’s Indonesian owner Erick Thohir, after the resignation of the club’s honorary president Massimo Morratti. “I had told him: kick out that Filipino”,Ferrero had earlier been quoted as saying by the BBC. But he later corrected his statement by saying that he did not mean to disrespect Mr Thohir. “I was trying to praise Massimo Moratti and all he has given to Inter and Italian football for 20 years.”
Italian Serie A Matchday 8 results;
Empoli 0-4 Cagliari
Parma 1-3 Sassuolo
Sampdoria 0-0 Roma
ChievoVerona 1-2 Genoa
Juventus 2-0 Palermo
Udinese 2-0 Atalanta
Cesena 0-1 Inter Milan
Lazio 2-1 Torino
Napoli 6-2 Hellas Verona
AC Milan 1-1 Fiorentina
News from Spain;
– According to reports, Spain international Andres Iniesta will miss Barcelona’s next four matches after straining his right calf.
– Luka Modric admits Real Madrid feared losing Saturday’s La Liga encounter with Barcelona and falling seven points behind in the La Liga title race. “We felt the pressure early on in the game because of the importance of the Clasico. We feared losing the game and letting Barcelona go seven points clear in the title race,but Barcelona also showed in those opening 15 minutes that they will punish you even if you give them very little space. Barcelona are very strong, but they looked powerless because we were great.”
– Real Madrid Castilla coach Zinedine Zidane has received a three-month coaching ban from the Spanish Football Competition Committee for not having the proper qualifications to manage a team in one of the top divisions in Spain.
– Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu was surprised to be played at left-back in the El Clasico.
“I was surprised I played left back, but it is the coach who decides,” said the Frenchman.
Spanish BBVALiga Matchday 9 results;
Celta Vigo 3-0 Levante
Almeria 0-1 Athletic Bilbao
Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona
Valencia 3-1 Elche
Cordoba 1-1 Real Sociedad
Eibar 1-1 Granada
Malaga 4-0 Rayo Vallecano
Espanyol 0-0 Deportivo La Coruna
Sevilla 2-1 Villarreal
Getafe 0-1 Atletico Madrid
News from England;
– Sergio Aguero has been cleared to face Manchester United in Sunday’s derby as the Football Association ruled out taking disciplinary action against the Argentina international.
– Chelsea have appointed former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow as their new head of global commercial activities. “The club believes Mr Purslow has the vision and the leadership qualities to help us achieve these plans,” a short statement on the club’s official website.
– Daniel Sturridge’s chances of becoming a top European striker are being threatened by his injury problems, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said. “He won’t become a top European striker until he plays consistently. It doesn’t matter about potential — you have to play. When Daniel comes back into the team, you will see the confidence because of the movement and the dynamic. But he isn’t fit and he hasn’t been for a long time. We just have to work without him and,while we are doing that, stay up and around thetop end of the table.” He said
– Crystal Palace co-chairman Steve Parish has denied rumours that the club could soon be taken over by American billionaire Josh Harris. “There are always people who want to buy football clubs, sometimes people approach you and it gets out, sometimes people approach you and it doesn’t,but there is no imminent takeover. We are talking to a number of people on a number of fronts. I’ve always said that if somebody wanted to invest in the club and move it forward quicker than I or we can then we would entertain it. We look at all possibilities that are out there – and there are many – but people have been quite ahead of themselves on this one.” He said
– Former Burton Albion boss Gary Rowett has been appointed manager of Birmingham City.
BPL Matchday 9 results;
West Ham United 2-1 Manchester City
Liverpool 0-0 Hull City
Southampton 1-0 Stoke City
Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
West Brom 2-2 Crystal Palace
Swansea City 2-0 Leicester City
Burnley 1-3 Everton
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Newcastle Utd
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea
News from other parts of the world;
– The South African Premier Soccer League has postponed this weekend’s derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs following the death of Pirates goalkeeper and South Africa captain Senzo Meyiwa.
– CSKA Sofia coach Stoycho Mladenov says he has medical evidence to prove he was knocked unconscious by a snowball thrown by Levski Sofia fans after he was accused of “over-acting” during Saturday’s “Eternal derby.”
– According to reports, former managing director of Newcastle United, Derek Llambias, is likely to become the new chief executive of Glasgow Rangers.
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