Here’s the Newfanzone World Soccer Report by Our Man Paul Ayorinde
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News from Germany;
– Bayer Leverkusen’s Karim Bellarabi has been called up to the German national team for the first time for this month’s double-header against Poland and Republic of Ireland. “Karim Bellarabi has earned his chance at his club with some excellent performances,” Germany head coach Joachim Löw said
– Jurgen Klopp is hoping that Borussia Dortmund can replicate their Champions League form in the Bundesliga and make amends for last weekend’s derby defeat to Schalke by beating Hamburg on Saturday. “The Bundesliga is the most important competition for us, but I, too, have noticed that we have as many points from two games in the Champions League as six Bundesliga games. We also haven’t conceded in the Champions League. We must show a positive reaction against Hamburg. We want to eradicate the derby defeat.” Klopp said
– Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola is confident his team are working their way towards their best form – specifically in an effort to sharpen their attack. “I am very satisfied with my team, the result was important [versus CSKA Moscow]. At a club like Bayern you have to win every game. The way we perform on the pitch is getting better. So I am very satisfied with our training, everything is fine. We are just waiting for the injured players to return” He said.
German Bundesliga Matchday 7 fixtures:
Bayern Munich V Hannover 96
Borussia Dortmund V Hamburger SV
Bayer Leverkusen V Paderborn
Hoffenheim V Schalke 04
Werder Bremen V Frieburg
Eintracht Frankfurt V FC Cologne
Wolfsburg V Augsburg
Borussia Monchengladbach V Mainz 05
News from France;
– Lille coach Rene Girard hailed Vincent Enyeama as a world-class goalkeeper after the Nigerian’s heroics in Thursday’s Europa League draw at Wolfsburg. “Vincent Enyeama did what he had to do; I would say that Enyeama was his usual self. He was there when he had to be. That is the characteristic of goalkeepers of a high level and he is definitely of a very high level.” Girard said
– Dortmund President Reinhard Rauball believes that Paris Saint-Germain should have been excluded from the Champions League this season. “Financial Fair Play is not a simple rule. I am convinced; PSG should eventually be excluded from European competitions. FFP is a test for the UEFA President Michel Platini. He started it, the road shouldn’t stop. The facts speak for him…” He said.
French Ligue 1 Matchday 9 fixtures:
Caen V Marseille
Bastia V Marseille
Evian Thonon Gaillard V Metz
Nice V Montpellier
Rennes V RC Lens
Saint Etienne V Toulouse
Guingamp V Nantes
Lyon V Lille
Paris Saint-Germain V Monaco
News from Italy;
– Leonardo Bonucci says that Juventus are intent on exploiting Roma’s “weak points” in Sunday’s Serie A showdown in Turin. “Roma’s ball possession is their strong point and with Gervinho they manage to break the rhythm of the game, however, for all the great qualities that the Giallorossi have, like any squad, they lack something. They have their weak points and we will have to try to take advantage of those. We have stopped them before.” He said
– Rudi Garcia admits facing Juventus will be a big test, but calls for balance and asserts that his Roma will demonstrate their strength also. “It is a big test, even if it is only on the sixth round of the season; there are still a lot of points up for grabs. It is too early to make a final judgement. We know that this is a top team but I think that we are going to demonstrate that we also are.” He said
– Fiorentina have confirmed that Micah Richards has suffered a thigh strain that will keep him out of action for 10 days. The English defender was forced off towards the first half of last night’s Europa League win at Dinamo Minsk.
– Pippo Inzaghi has named a 23-man Milan squad to face Chievo tomorrow evening and includes Jeremy Menez. The Frenchman was a doubt this week after suffering with an inflamed tendon,but Inzaghi indicated in today’s Press conference that he would likely be fine.
– Francesco Totti has revealed that it is not yet certain that he will sign a contract extension with Roma. “Will I sign for another year? So they say, but until I sign [nothing is certain].” He said
– Fredy Guarin has apologised for giving an Inter fan a “dirty look” during Thursday night’s Europa League win over Qarabag at the Giuseppe Meazza. “I want to say sorry to one of the fans who told me to wake up, I gave him a pretty dirty look, but it was just in the heat of the moment” He said.
Italian Serie A Matchday 6 fixtures:
Hellas Verona V Cagliari
AC Milan V Chievo Verona
Empoli V Palermo
Lazio V Sassuolo
Parma V Genoa
Sampdoria V Atalanta
Udinese V Cesena
Juventus V Roma
Fiorentina V Inter Milan
Napoli V Torino
News from Spain;
– Atletico Madrid captain Gabi says he followed the orders of his club president over a suspect payment raised at the investigation into potential match-fixing in a crucial 2011 La Liga fixture. The midfielder, who was a Real Zaragoza player at the time, received an €85,000 credit into his bank account from Real Zaragoza, but returned the payment to president Agapito Iglesias later the same day. “I did what Agapito asked me,” he told state prosecutors, explaining that he assumed the payment had something to do with regular club business.
– Barcelona superstar, Lionel Messi is to go on trial on a charge of tax evasion after a magistrate on Friday dismissed his appeal against being named in the case.
– Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is not surprised by Diego Costa’s inclusion in the Spain squad despite worries over the striker’s fitness. “My reaction to the news is no reaction because it’s something I could imagine. It’s not a surprise,If he can play three in a week I think it’s too much, but he’s going to do that.” He said.
Spanish BBVALiga Matchday 7 fixtures
Valencia V Atletico Madrid
Rayo Vallecano V Barcelona
Eibar V Levante
Almeria V Elche
Malaga V Granada
Sevilla V Deportivo La Coruna
Celta Vigo V Villarreal
Espanyol V Real Sociedad
Real Madrid V Athletic Bilbao
News from England;
– Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has signed a new “long-term” contract at the club
– Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes his former player Cesc Fabregas deserves a respectful welcome from Gunners supporters when he lines up against them for the first time in Chelsea colours at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. “He deserves a respectful welcome [from Arsenal fans]. Everyone respects Cesc here. I want him to get the welcome he deserves,” Wenger said
– Jose Mourinho says he does not feel the need to apologise to Arsene Wenger for the notorious “specialist in failure” comment from last February, saying he would rather forget the incident. “I didn’t get an apology. I don’t apologise. My feeling about it is, to [get] over it… to forget it and to move forward without thinking about what happened, you don’t need to apologise. It was a consequence of something. It wasn’t a deliberate first option to say something. It was a consequence of something.” He said
– Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has suggested that Juan Mata will replace suspended captain Wayne Rooney against Everton on Sunday, but remained silent over who would take the armband. “In [Rooney’s] position Juan Mata has played very well, I have to choose. I will miss Wayne because he is the captain of the team but Mata can also play very well.” He said
– Harry Redknapp does not agree with criticism levelled at defender Rio Ferdinand following a mixed start to his time at QPR.
– Swansea City are hopeful of increasing the capacity at their home ground the Liberty Stadium, As such, chairman Huw Jenkins confirmed at a fans’ forum on Thursday that planning permission had been submitted to increase that to 32,000.
– Manuel Pellegrini is unconcerned by the five-point gap between his Manchester City side and Premier League pace-setters Chelsea. “We are just starting in the league and it is not good to be five points behind Chelsea, but at the moment we have one more point than this time last year, when Arsenal were six points ahead of us. The important thing is to continue playing in the way we did against Hull.” He said
– Arsene Wenger wants Arsenal to avenge their “horrendous” 6-0 defeat to Chelsea when the two sides clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. “Chelsea was a horrendous day last season. We have an opportunity to put that right and I’m confident we can take it,” He said.
English Premier League Matchday 7 fixtures:
Hull City V Crystal Palace
Sunderland V Stoke City
Liverpool V West Bromwich Albion
Swansea City V Newcastle United
Leicester City V Burnley
Aston Villa V Manchester City
Manchester United V Everton
Chelsea V Arsenal
Tottenham V Southampton
West Ham United V Queens Park Rangers
News from other part of the World;
– Sporting Lisbon president Bruno de Carvalho says that his club were under “big pressure” from third-party owners to sell Marcos Rojo to Manchester United this summer. “We did not want Rojo to leave. He was an important player for us,the pressure was so big, they [the third-party owners] started to speak to the clubs and come here to the meetings.” He said
– Kaka has been called up by coach Dunga for Brazil’s next two friendly games against Argentina and Japan.
– UEFA has ordered CSKA Moscow to play their next three European home games behind closed doors and banned the Russian club’s supporters from attending their remaining away group fixtures in the Champions League. The European governing body found the club’s fans guilty on Friday of racist behaviour and crowd disturbance, fining the club €200,000 as well.
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