The NewFanzone World Soccer Report is a compilation of Top European and Global Football News Spanning League Fixtures, Results, News and Titbits.
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News from Germany:
– Bayern Munich have not been in contact with Wolfsburg star Kevin de Bruyne, according to the midfielder’s official representative. “There is absolutely no contact with Bayern. We are not talking to other clubs. The situation at Wolfsburg is perfect for Kevin.” de Bruyne agent said
– According to reports in Germany,Schalke are the front-runners to sign out-of-favour Manchester City defender Matija Nastasic in January.
– Bayer Leverkusen have extended winger Karim Bellarabi’s contract with the club until June 2017.
-Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer has rejected claims that Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are individuals who don’t work hard enough for the team. “There’s one thing I want to say about Arjen, and it also applies to Franck Ribery; both are often accused of not working hard enough for the team. That’s utter nonsense when you see how team-oriented both of them are. They’re both world-class players who’ve retained their individuality and inventiveness but are fully integrated members of the team. And they’re both exemplary, in training and the way they look after their bodies. I can only advise every young player to watch them as they go about their daily work and learn from them.” Sammer said
News from France:
– According to reports in France, Bordeaux lead the chase to sign Arsenal striker Yaya Sanogo on loan for the remainder of the 2014/15 season.
– Paris Saint-Germain forward Ezequiel Lavezzi has failed to report for training ahead of the French champions friendly against Inter Milan tomorrow.
– Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew will return to training with French giants Marseille on Monday afternoon after their seven-day break.
News from Italy;
– According to reports,Genoa are looking to close the deal for Galatasaray’s Goran Pandev within the next 24 hours.
– Newly-appointed Gianfranco Zola says he’ll bring his ‘Premier League experience’ to Cagliari so he can have the team ‘show their value’. “This place and this club are special to me, it gives me great sorrow to see the team in trouble,but at the same time I am happy about being here because I want to lend a hand and continue the work that Zeman began. He was a Coach with expertise and great preparation. I hope that my work can show the value of this team. The premises to do something important are there, but it will require everyone’s cooperation. The team is excellent at attacking, it must now improve in defending. Every player must build himself his own pedestal, I’m only going to give playing time to those who deserve it. I hope my experience in the Premier League will help to improve things here at Cagliari. I’ve been chosen to continue the project that was started here, my football philosophy is attacking.” Zola said
– Mauro Icardi has invited Mario Balotelli to join Inter Milan. “If he comes here, we’d be delighted to welcome him,he’s a fantastic forward.”
– Alessio Cerci thanks Atletico Madrid’s fans and says he cannot wait to complete formalities on his move to Milan. The former Torino forward is set to end a miserable six months in Spain to return to Italy, as part of an 18-month loan swap that sees Fernando Torres move in the opposite direction.
Ahead of the deal’s completion, the 27-year-old has taken to Twitter to express both gratitude and optimism. “Thank you very much to all the fans of @Atleti for the love and for all the moments spent together! A greeting and a strong hug,” wrote Cerci in Spanish, before switching to Italian. “I cannot wait to be in Milan for the medical visit and to sign…fingers crossed and forza @acmilan!”
– According to reports in Italy,initial bid from Parma and Premier League club Burnley for AC Milan striker Giampaolo Pazzini have been rejected
– Fernando Torres says that he left Milan because he was not ‘a key player’ for them, but now ‘there is no better place’ than Atletico Madrid.
“The transfer to Milan was a new challenge for me. They showed me that they needed me, that they wanted to use me as a key player. But after a few months the situation changed. The Coach decided to make use of different players and I didn’t find what I was looking for when I left England. If you’re looking for something and you don’t find it, you’ve got to keep looking. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Milan, who allowed me to leave. I thought I was important for Milan, but things went differently. Now, there is no better place than Atletico.” Torres said
News from Spain:
– The Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) will tomorrow announce the final decision on Barcelona’s two-window transfer ban, and the verdict will determine whether the Catalan club can sign any new players before January 2016.
– Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke has welcomed the return of Fernando Torres to his boyhood club. And Koke believes the return of the club legend can help them in their bid to retain the Spanish title.
‘It is very exciting for us to have Torres back. This is still a player that can be one of the best strikers in the world when he is playing regularly. This is not a player we are signing at 35 or 36 – at 30 he is still at his peak – and Europe knows that when he is playing at his best that he is unstoppable. We want to defend our La Liga title. Real Madrid and Barcelona are playing well, but it is our dream to retain it – and we have to believe that is possible. It is signing players like Fernando that have won the World Cup and Champions League – that will go a long way to helping us achieve that goal.’ Koke said
– Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed claims Arsenal have agreed a deal for Sami Khedira as “rumours” and said the Germany international will remain at the club until at least June 30.
– Isco has admitted Real Madrid face a difficult start to the New Year ahead of clashes with Valencia and Atletico Madrid in January. “It will be a very difficult start to 2015 for us. We are still confident ahead of January and hopefully we can produce the same form and go beyond 22 wins.” He said
– Fabio Capello believes Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeoneis the man who can finally turn Fernando Torres’ form around.
“Torres has got it all, but has lost his way a bit and is struggling to score goals. He has lost the confidence he had at Liverpool and during his first stint at Atletico. Simeone is going to make Torres come good. It is not only to do with systems: it is a confidence thing. Torres has become a bit subdued but is going to rediscover what he has lost thanks to Cholo, who is going to reinvigorate him.”Capello said
News from England:
– Fernando Torres says he will always view his time with Chelsea as a success as it allowed him to secure the silverware that had eluded him during his time with Atletico Madrid and Liverpool. 30-year-old has no regrets over the switch.
“Chelsea gave me what I was looking for when I left Liverpool: trophies,i will always see [my time there] as a success because they gave me what I always wanted. It gave me all the trophies I have with clubs and I was lucky enough to also win trophies with Spain. Now I hope to win them with Atletico.” He said
– Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that his Manchester Cityside can catch league leaders Chelsea, despite throwing away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Burnley. “Of course it’s a chance to have two points more but we finished the first round with 43 points – a good amount,just because you play at home you shouldn’t be sure you are going to get the points. I think we have all the second round [to play] and we will be the best team.” He said
– Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes referee Anthony Taylor had “a bad day at the office” in Sunday’s draw at Southampton but said it was time to draw a line under the matter. “The referee didn’t have the best game of his life and I don’t think he will sleep that well tonight. He had an awful game.We’re all human and a bad day at the office can happen to anyone. That’s it. Let’s not talk more about it — we have to talk about football.” Fabregas said
– Alexis Sanchez has rejected talk that he has been Arsenal’s star so far this season, insisting he is “just another player”. “Being ‘the star’ is all relative, I don’t agree,we have a squad with lots of great players, world-class ones, World Cup winners with Germany and others who play for England or France. In this group I’m just another player. I’ve been lucky to start well but you don’t give the book a title until you’ve finished writing it.” Sanchez said
– Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino plans to hold discussions over potential new signings when the transfer window opens on New year’s day. “We are happy with our squad, I think when the first of January arrives we will start to talk with the club,” He said
– Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger remains fully confident of a top-four finish in the Premier League this season. “We have done it for 17 years, so we are entitled to the belief that we can do it. t’s all to do because, when you look at the league, everyone is fighting very hard for it. “Southampton, Tottenham, Manchester United, so many teams who can fight for these positions. I have always had that belief [that a top-four finish is possible] but it’s far from done. We just want to win the next game and be consistent in our performances. We were just caught by Liverpool [2-2] in the last minute and [on Sunday] we won away from home. If you look at our recent results, we look to be more stable. We have a big game in front of us now against Southampton with nobody coming back. The players who played [on Sunday] have given their all and now we need to recover and prepare for the Southampton game.” Wenger said
BPL Matchday 19 results;
Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Manchester United
Southampton 1-1 Chelsea
Aston Villa 0-0 Sunderland
Hull City 0-1 Leicester City
Manchester City 2-2 Burnley
Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Crystal Palace
Stoke City 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
West Ham United 1-2 Arsenal
Newcastle 3-2 Everton
Liverpool 4-1 Swansea
News from other partS of the world:
– Kolo Toure has been included in the Cote d’Ivoire squad for the final time after Herve Renard announced his 23-man list for the Africa Cup of Nations.
– Mexican club Cruz Azul have completed the signing of Roque Santa Cruz from Spanish La Liga side Malaga for an undisclosed fee
– Ghana’s Black Stars will commence their first training session under the watchful eyes of their new Head Coach Avram Grant at the Accra Sports stadium in preparation for the 2015 AFCON some of the players scheduled to commence training in Accra are Asamoah Gyan,Andre and Jordan Ayew,Agyeman Badu, the entire squad will meet up in Spain for closed camping before proceeding to Equatorial Guinea for AFCON 2015.
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