Fantastic Fernando Torres

www.goal.com

By Wayne Veysey at Anfield

Nov 8, 2010 5:10:00 AM

Like all of the managerial brotherhood, Roy Hodgson rails firmly against the cult of the individual in a sport where the team ethic is prized highest.

But the Liverpool boss has also been around the block long enough to know that the best-laid plans are pretty much useless without heavy artillery to carry them out.

Hodgson has been waiting so long for Fernando Torres to regain the powers that once sent even the world’s most assured center-halves to the psychiatrist’s couch that they had almost taken on a mystical dimension.

He had been forced to defend his player by saying that he looked sharp in training, when all the evidence during match day was that the Spaniard was a fumbling, stumbling shadow of his instinctive former self. Whether it was through a shortage of fitness, interest or confidence, it did not reflect well on his manager.

The knife that had hovered around Hodgson’s back as Liverpool sunk into the bottom three and a Tom Hicks and George Gillett-inspired depression has edged away after a cathartic five-match run that began inauspiciously with a 0-0 draw in Napoli and followed with four consecutive victories. The last of these, against the Premier League champions, was, given the caliber of the opponent and the dynamism of Liverpool’s performance, easily the most impressive.

Torres played no part in the third of those wins, when one-man whirlwind Steven Gerrard provided the cake mixture, the icing and the cherry against Napoli at Anfield last Thursday.

But, while being way below his devastating best in the first two, the Spaniard had still scored the winner against Blackburn Rovers and teed up Maxi Rodriguez’s clincher against Bolton Wanderers with a clever back-heel.

Yet, even the president, chairman or secretary of the Torres fan club would be hard still scored the winner against Blackburn Rovers and teed up Maxi Rodriguez’s clincher against Bolton Wanderers with a clever back-heel.

Yet, even the president, chairman or secretary of the Torres fan club would be hard pushed to argue that it was the same ‘El Nino’ who had been taken into Kop hearts during his first three seasons at Anfield and defiantly clasped to its bosom yest any better endowed club had tried to seduce him away from his adopted home.At times this season, watching Torres has been excruciating. His first touch has resembled a misdirected five-yard pass, he has had the acceleration of a people carrier and, most damning of all, displayed an alarming unwillingness to chase back.

With the Spaniard barely deserving of a place in the team, Liverpool’s 4-2-3-1 system, with the striker as its apex, and which had been devised by Rafael Benitez to get the best out of him, looked unimaginably dreary and cautious.

Unable to rely on Torres’ brilliance, Hodgson, who has made his reputation as an astute organizer specializing in backs-against-the-wall defiance interspersed with occasional stardust, was making even Rafael Benitez look like an adrenaline junkie.

However, it was Hodgson’s tactics that were at the heart of comfortably Liverpool’s best performance of the season. Fit-again Dirk Kuyt was dragged in from the right flank to force John Obi Mikel out of his leisurely stride and provide some distraction to John Terry and Alex. Raul Meireles was deployed out wide to keep Ashley Cole busy, allowing Gerrard to form a central alliance with Lucas that was rich in energy, enterprise and enthusiasm.

Hodgson’s tactics provided the perfect springboard for what Liverpool worshipers hope will be a rebirth of their beloved ‘Nando’. In many ways, it was good old 4-4-2, or 4-4-1-1 if you’re being really picky, given that Kuyt’s starting position was 10 or 15 yards behind Torres.

Back to his best | Torres put his stumbling form behind him to score two brilliant goals

In the first half, it worked to perfection as Chelsea were blown away by the sheer pace and intensity of Liverpool’s play.

Invited to arch behind Terry and Ashley Cole by Kuyt’s superbly measured ball in the 11^thminute, Torres galloped away and lifted the ball precisely over Petr Cech and into the net. Thirty-three minutes later, he showed the variety in his repertoire by cutting swiftly inside Branislav Ivanovic and delivering a curling right-foot shot from the edge of the box beyond Cech’s grasp. Two opportunistic strikes of differing, but equal brilliance.

His Premier League record at Anfield now reads an incredible 44 goals in 47 appearances. In total, he has scored 76 goals in 129 appearances for the club. Even in this, a season that has begun so dismally for player and club, there have been four goals, each of them crucial, in 14 matches.

Credit to Hodgson for his willingness to tear up a well-thumbed tactical script and for coaxing a performance so solid that Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged afterwards how Liverpool had defended supremely as a team over 90 minutes and deserved to win. Finally, here was the hugely admired manager that Liverpool had enticed from west London in the summer.

Yet for all the inspiration of Gerrard, the leadership of Jamie Carragher and the selfless running of Lucas and Kuyt, Liverpool would not have chalked up three points without Torres rising to the occasion against one of his favorite opponents.

The Liverpool No.9 is a strike weapon with few equals. "One always hopes that playing at this level you have got that quality of front player," said Hodgson. You sense Torres will have to remain at his best for the Hodgson era to be remembered fondly by generations to come.

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Javier Hernandez For Manchester United

KOMPAS.com - Coach Manchester United (MU), judging, talent scout for his team contributed to the squad and club because thanks to them, MU can get good players without having to spend a high cost, with the origin of the Chilean striker, Javier Hernandez, as an example. Since the middle of last season, MU shaken an economic crisis caused by the debt burden. According to the news in the UK, the situation has resulted in a decrease in the purchasing power of the MU in the transfer market. Ferguson rejected the crisis has reduced spending budget. According to him, he still has the money around 60 million pounds or approximately USD 838 billion, the remaining sales of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, the end of the 2008-2009 season. Whether true or not, Ferguson insisted that obviously will not waste money on this transfer period. In fact, a number of MU players, particularly Wayne Rooney, Ferguson was asked to buy a top striker to boost the competitiveness of the team, which just finished in second place last season's Premier League. Ferguson then realized what he said to get signatures from Chivas Guadalajara Javier Hernandez with a price of seven million pounds or approximately USD 97 billion, before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Ferguson admitted lucky to get Hernandez before the World Cup. Section, Hernandez to look good and establish itself as the fastest player in this event and that means increasing the sale value. Ferguson also thanked his colleagues at the talent search "We are fortunate to identify it before the World Cup and finish the deal. If we wait until the tournament, he could make us pay two or three times. This is a great work of our talent department. They did an excellent job," said Ferguson. (MU) TOURS Editor: Tjatur

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10 fact of Joe Cole

VIVAnews - Got rumored to be moved to Arsenal, Chelsea and agile wing England, Joe Cole finally chose Liverpool as his new port.
Here are 10 interesting facts about Joe Cole as quoted by the Daily Star: 1. Joe began to seize the attention while still a child when it scored seven goals from eight junior British team of Spain in one match.
2. Manchester United had offered 10 million pound transfer when he was aged 16.
3. In 1999, Cole became the West Ham team that won the FA Youth Cup (with Michael Carrick, Manchester United midfielder now) by beating Coventry City 9-0 on aggregate in the final pass.
4. Cole's debut with the senior West Ham against Liverpool at Anfield in February 1999. At that time, the position 2-2 before he was replaced on 80 minutes by Gavin Holligan
5. Being the captain of West Ham at the age of 21, beginning in 2003, but he just moved to Chelsea in May. No other cause for the Hammers relegation despite reaching 42 points, the biggest points Raihan team in the era of the Premier League relegation
6. In the 2004/05 season, Cole scored the only goal in Chelsea's Premier League victory in two meetings with Liverpool. But, he could not prevent the Reds displacing Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final.
7. Cole is also a decisive victory in 2007 in the Champions League semi-final first leg of Liverpool. Yet again, Liverpool eliminated Chelsea.
8. During seven years at Chelsea, Cole won three Premier League trophy and two FA Cups.
9. Cole has 56 times for England at senior level and scored 10 touchdowns.
10. Cole married the former model and the contestants 'I'm A Celebrity', Carly Zucker on June 20, 2009. They already have one daughter, Ruby in March 2010 • VIVAnews

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Gaji Rooney Sangat Tinggi

MANCHESTER, KOMPAS.com - Manchester United (MU) berencana membuka pembicaraan dengan Wayne Rooney terkait perpanjangan kontraknya. MU juga bakal menempatkan Rooney menjadi pemain dengan gaji paling tinggi di Old Trafford.
Kontrak Rooney sebetulnya baru berakhir pada 2012 nanti dengan menerima gaji 90.000 poundsterling atau kurang lebih Rp 1,2 miliar) per pekan. Yang menjadi masalah bagi MU, penampilan Rooney impresif musim lalu membuat klub-klub lain seperti Real Madrid mulai mendekatinya. Begitu kepincutnya dengan Rooney, "El Real" mencoba merayunya dengan melibatkan mantan rekannya, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Tak ingin kehilangan mesin golnya, "Setan Merah" berusaha sekuat mungkin untuk mempertahankan pemain terbaik Liga Inggris musim lalu itu dengan berbagai cara termasuk mengikat Rooney lebih lama dan memperbesar gajinya.
Guardian memberitakan, meski terlilit utang besar-besaran, "The Red Devils" berencana untuk menempatkan Rooney sebagai pemain dengan gaji tertinggi di Manchester. Diperkirakan, Rooney akan mendapatkan gaji sebesar 130.000 ribu pounsterling atau lebih dari Rp 1,7 miliar per pekan.
Angka tersebut akan mengalahkan pemain lain yaitu Rio Ferdinand. Selain itu, gaji yang bakal diterima Rooney juga akan melebihi gaji yang pernah diterima Cristiano Ronaldo pada April 2007, yakni 120.000 poundsterling atau Rp 1,6 miliar per pekan.

C16-09
Editor: lhw

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MU Tawar Sneijder £25 Juta - Goal.com

MU Tawar Sneijder £25 Juta - Goal.com

Gelandang Inter dan timnas Belanda itu mendapat dukungan untuk melanjutkan karirnya di Manchester United.

Oleh M Yanuar F

11 Jul 2010 16:53:00

Goal.com

Spekulasi yang mengabarkan Wesley Sneijder akan hijrah ke Manchester United dari Inter setelah Piala Dunia 2010 berakhir juga mendapat perhatian khusus dari Arjen Robben.

Menanggapi kabar ini, Robben menilai Sneijder akan jauh lebih bersinar jika bisa hijrah ke Old Trafford. Robben juga merasa Sneijder adalah orang yang tepat menggantikan Paul Scholes, gelandang elegan United.

"Saya pribadi menilai ada peluang yang bagus dia akan bergabung dengan Manchester United," ujar Robben seperti dilansir Daily Star Sunday.

"Saya adalah pengagum berat Paul Scholes, dia adalah pemain terbaik di generasinya dan saya sejujurnya berpikir Sneijder adalah satu-satunya pemain di dunia yang mampu menggantikan perannya," tandasnya lagi.

Sejauh ini, spekulasi mengenai kepindahan Sneijder ke United masih berkembang dan belum ada kepastian tegas untuk kelanjutan rumor ini.

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Nemanja Vidic

Nemanja Vidic made a successful return on his first start in 2010 for United, turning in a commanding defensive display in the 3-0 win over West Ham.
The Serbian has been troubled by a nerve problem in his right leg, and hadn’t played since the win over Wigan at the end of December. But his towering performance on Tuesday was a welcome sight.

“It’s nice to be back,” he told MUTV. “I enjoyed playing again. It’s a long time since I last played, but I am happy first of all that we won the game, and also that I feel OK in terms of the injury. I feel well and that’s very important for me. I didn’t feel any reaction today. So I am very happy.

“When I finished last season, I thought this season would be even better, but I’ve had the injury and this year has been very frustrating. I missed pre-season and two months recently. I hope the injury is in the past and I’m looking forward to the next games.”

United were defensively sound with Vidic marshalling the back four, and the 28-year-old was pleased with the team’s clean sheet.

“It was 3-0 but we could maybe have scored more,” he added. “We played some good football. In the beginning it wasn’t an easy game.
two forwards and tried to score. They had some good chances, but we dealt with that and deserved the three points.”

The win puts United a point behind league leaders Chelsea, who play their game in hand against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. They could reclaim a four-point lead, but Vidic isn’t worried by the Blues’ advantage.

“We believe we can win the title,” he said. “Confidence is a big word, but we believe we can do it. They could be four points in front of us [with their game in hand] but they have to come to our ground [in April]. We can do it, especially with some big players back from injury. I think we will be good for the rest of the season.”
MU.com

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Zinedine Zidane Said

inedine Zidane, France’s World Cup hero in 1998, has backed the present version of les Bleus to qualify for the South Africa jamboree next summer by defeating the Republic of Ireland over two legs.

Raymond Domenech’s men have endured a tough qualifying campaign, but they showed real signs of life in the latter games. ‘ZZ’ believes that a tough task is in store for les Bleus, but he thinks that they will come good.

“This will be particularly difficult because it will be a fight there [in Ireland],” he explained to France Football after a charity match in Amiens on Tuesday evening. “We'll have to resist and after that there will be the Stade de France. But I’m confident.

“I am confident because there is a good team. So, we all need to be calm and get behind them.”

Zidane rolled the years back by executing a stunning 25-yard free kick in his game, and les Bleus could really use a player of his legendary talent against the Irish.

The French will be without talisman Franck Ribery for the two fixtures against the Boys in Green, while there are also big question marks over the fitness of Jeremy Toulalan and Abou Diaby, both of whom remain with the squad for the time being.

In 13 all-time matches against the Irish, France only have a slight edge, winning five and drawing four.


Robin Bairner, Goal.com

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Didier Drogba

As a team that is decorated with a galaxy of stars, a lot of expectations rest on Côte d'Ivoire as African nations eagerly anticipate their quest for maiden glory at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ next summer.

And the side's star players are not shy about their desire to be counted among the early tournament favourites. Côte d'Ivoire became the third African side to book their place at South Africa 2010 thanks to a goal by their inspirational captain Didier Drogba, whose sole strike was enough to send the Elephants to their second successive FIFA World Cup. FIFA.com caught-up with the Côte d'Ivoire captain following their FIFA World Cup qualification en route from Malawi in Blantyre.

FIFA.com: You scored the vital goal that took Côte d'Ivoire to the 2010 FIFA World Cup to cap what has been a flawless campaign. How does it feel to qualify for the first ever FIFA World Cup on African soil?
Didier Drogba: First of all, I want to say this is a collective effort. Everything we achieve, we do it as a team. That goal was important, not just for me, but for the rest of my team-mates. We are happy to be part of this World Cup, we are very proud to be here. We believe this is an opportunity for Africans to show what they can do to the rest of the world. This is a period whereby we all have to be proud of being Africans. We know that this World Cup will change a lot of stereotypes about Africa; it will educate people more about this beautiful continent.

A lot will be expected from you and the team at South Africa 2010.
People expect a lot from us now. We have been winning games, we are playing good football. From a personal point of view, I just want to do well and help the team achieve its goal. We don't play for individual glory, but for that of the team. At the World Cup, we won't only be representing people of Côte d'Ivoire, but also millions of African people. We are not there to add the numbers, we are coming to the World Cup to compete.

People say this is the best time for an African team to qualify for the semi-finals or even win the FIFA World Cup. Do you think Côte d'Ivoire can achieve that feat?
I have to say that this is going to be a big challenge, but we are really motivated for this one, it's a special project for us. We know it won't be easy. There are great teams like Brazil and Germany who have been winners of the World Cup in the past.

My friends and I want to make history in South Africa, we want to change the way people see Africa. This World Cup is a great honour for the African people. It is a huge honour for us African people to play at this World Cup, on African soil. Now what is left is for us to work together in making Africa proud. What is important is that we have to change the image of Africa, we have to show the rest of the world what Africa can do. We have capable teams like Ghana, Egypt, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire who have some of the top players in the world. Let's wait and see after next year and we will revisit that subject.

What about the hosts, South Africa?
When I started playing international football, South Africa was a very strong country in Africa. Like any other team, I think they are going through a rough patch. But we saw their performance at the [FIFA] Confederations Cup; they did very well during that competition.

Any Questions?

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