Posts Tagged ‘Real Madrid’
David Beckham
Posted on: December 21, 2008
David Beckham revealed that he has missed playing football “at the highest level” after being presented as an AC Milan player ahead of his three-month loan deal from the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Beckham, 33, has negotiated a move to the Serie A giants in a bid to remain match fit and stay in the thoughts of England manager Fabio Capello.
His move to LA Galaxy from Real Madrid last year was perceived at the time as a step backwards to a league that has still to establish itself on the world stage, and the former England captain admitted that a move to Milan represented a move back into the mainstream.
“Moving to America was a big step for me because there was a lot of people who were criticizing the move, but I still believe it was a move where I wanted to challenge myself and I was able to challenge myself in different ways,” Beckham told a packed press conference in Milan.
“But I have always said that I would always miss playing at the highest level. I’m not saying that in America they won’t get to the highest level — it will take time and it will happen. But with five months off during the season I personally can’t do that.
“I needed to be able to be playing top-flight football to keep myself fit, to keep myself in contention for other things that are going on.”
Beckham, who began the press conference by addressing the assembled media with a few words in Italian, will be in the stands to watch his new team take on Udinese.
He will then join them at a training camp in Dubai and could make his debut when the Serie A season resumes with a trip to Roma on January 11.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder added: “I’m really happy to be here, it is a great honor. I hope to add to the team, I hope to give everything that I’ve always given in my career.
“To be able to have the chance to play for another one of the biggest clubs in the world, I’ve played for the biggest club in England, the biggest club in Spain and now I’m going to be playing for the biggest club in Italy, is amazing.
“I’ve been very lucky in my career to have done that, and I’m just going to enjoy it because I think to be given this opportunity is incredible.” added Beckham.
Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo has the potential to become as great a player as Pele or Diego Maradona, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said on Saturday.
“The expectations are always so high with Cristiano because of his rise in the last two or three years since we got him as a young kid,” Ferguson told a news conference on the eve of his side’s Club World Cup final against Ecuador’s LDU.
“He scored 42 goals last season — his goal-scoring is the one area which for a wide player Cristiano is absolutely superb. “Pele scored in a World Cup final as a 17-year-old and Maradona played for his country at 17. Cristiano was 18 so the signs are the same.”
Ferguson’s lavish praise comes during the latest war of words between United and Spanish giants Real Madrid over the future of the Ballon d’Or winner. “His ability with two feet is tremendous,” purred Ferguson. “You would never associate it with a Portuguese winger but he is absolutely magnificent in the air. “He’s 23 now and still a very young lad but there’s a lot of things in his favour to go on and prove himself as a legend.”
Ronaldo was among the scorers in United’s 5-3 win over Japan’s Gamba Osaka in Thursday’s Club World Cup semi-final but was overshadowed by two goals from substitute Wayne Rooney.
Same desire:
“Cristiano still has to recapture his goal-scoring form of last season but he still has the same desire to have the ball all the time,” said Ferguson. “Very few wingers can have such an influence on a game as Cristiano.” Ferguson has warned his players against complacency in Sunday’s final against LDU in Yokohama, when United will bid to become the tournament’s first British winners.
“They’re not short of good players,” he said. “They’re resilient and powerful. But we have players who can express themselves and paint their own picture on the field.” Despite the punishing effects of jet leg on his players, Ferguson dismissed concerns his side could struggle when they return to England to play Stoke City away on Dec. 26.
“At the end of Thursday’s game there were signs of tiredness,” he said. “We let the game get very loose. The players will be physically better tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll recover in time to get a result at Stoke. When we came here in 1999 (and won the old Intercontinental Cup), three days later we beat Everton 5-1 so who’s to say?”
English Football: Manchester
Posted on: August 6, 2008
English football team Manchester United’s starstriker, Wayne Rooney, will likely miss the opening match of the English Premier League, England’s top-level football league.
The 22-year-old Rooney, who also plays for English National Team, contracted a mystery illness on United’s pre-season tour of Africa.
“It’s a virus he picked up in Nigeria and it’s not a nice one. He’s not been back in training yet.”
The striker position, also known as forward in some countries, is the closest offensive position to the opponent’s goal and is more likely score goals than other position. Rooney played in 43 matches last season, scoring 18 goals with seven assists.
With absence of Rooney at striker, Argentine Carlos Tévez is the only fit veteran striker available for United. Portuguese striker Nani is suspended, while Anderson is playing for Brazil in the Olympics. Fraizer Campbell and Frenchman Louis Saha, both largely untested in the Premier League, remain two options, as does the signing of an outside player.
Ferguson also said Tuesday that Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo will be staying at Manchester United, and not transferring to Real Madrid, as has been reported, both in the media and on blogs this summer.
“The matter is closed now,” Ferguson said Tuesday. “He is a Manchester United player — it’s finished. He’ll be playing here next season believe me. It’s finished.”
Whether or not Ronaldo does indeed stay at United, he will have to remain on the sidelines until an ankle injury heals.
The winger position, a type of midfielder, is the middle position in relation to the opponent’s goal, behind strikers, but ahead of defenders. Wingers typically play toward the left and right sides of the pitch. Ronaldo score 42 goals in 48 appearances last season, the most of any United player.
United has two more friendlies this pre-season, facing Juventus and Portsmouth on August 6 and August 10. Manchester United, 2008 winners of both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.
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