Goal Zone

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Paris Saint-Germain want Dani Alves

Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly interested in signing Barcelona defender Dani Alves.

The 30-year-old has long been regarded as one of the best right-backs in European football, but has suffered a dip in form in what has been a disappointing season for Barcelona.

According to L'Equipe, PSG will table an offer for the Brazilian at the end of the season, with the French side confident of agreeing terms with the full-back.

Alves has just one year remaining on his current deal and with no talks in the offing, his Spanish club could be prepared to sanction a move rather than losing him on a free next summer.

A number of Premier League clubs are also believed to be monitoring proceedings.

Sunderland's Vito Mannone: 'We're not safe from Premier League relegation yet'

Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone has insisted that the team still have plenty of work to do in order to secure Premier League survival.

The Black Cats boosted their hopes when they moved one place above the relegation zone following Sunday's 4-0 victory over Cardiff City.

Sunderland, who are only out of the bottom three on goal difference, have three games left to play before their season is over.

"We cannot assume that we have achieved anything," The Mirror quotes Mannone as saying. "Nothing has been done yet, we have just started the job.

"Before the Cardiff game, we had four games to go, and we talked about how they were four finals for us. We've only won one.

"There are still three more to go and they are every bit as important, if not even more. We have only won one battle. To win the war, you need to succeed in another few fights."

Sunderland's next fixture is away to Manchester United on Saturday.

Fabio da Silva vows to help Cardiff City return to Premier League if relegated

Cardiff City defender Fabio da Silva has vowed to "battle" it out in the Championship to get the club back in the Premier League should they be relegated.

The Bluebirds are in danger of suffering the drop following Sunday's 4-0 defeat to fellow struggling side Sunderland.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men are now at the bottom of the league table, three points from safety with two games left to play.

"I am definitely ready to fight if we go to the Championship," Wales Online quotes Fabio as saying. "I will fight to get us back up if that is the case.

"But we still have two games left and we still believe we can stay in the Premier League. If we do go down, I am ready to battle to get us back up. We can do that straight away, everyone at the club feels the same."

The Brazilian signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at Cardiff when he moved to Wales from Manchester United in January.

Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid Preview

Ten managers have come and none have succeeded in securing a 10th European Cup for Real Madrid since Zinedine Zidane won them the title in 2002. In the 12 years since Madrid have not even come close, yet a draw at Bayern Munich on Tuesday night would be enough for Carlo Ancelotti to lead the club into the final for the first time since that memorable night in Glasgow.

A decade or more of European malcontent has brewed at the Bernabéu. Thwarted three times in the Champions League semi-finals under José Mourinho, and once in the last four when Vicente del Bosque was at the helm, Madrid were knocked out of the competition in the round of 16 six years in succession between 2005 and 2010, Frustration compounded a volatile period when coaches came and went for the most part at the whim of a president who craved immediate results.

Del Bosque was sacked in the summer of 2003 just hours after masterminding a 29th La Liga title for Madrid, in an upstairs room of a hotel where his players were having a celebratory dinner. If that was ruthless, Jupp Heynckes was relieved of his duties days after delivering Madrid's seventh European crown in 1998.

Blink and you would have missed some. Carlos Queiroz, Fabio Capello, Vanderlei Luxemburgo and Manuel Pellegrini all lasted one season; others were not so lucky. José Antonio Camacho's second spell in charge spanned 115 days, a marked improvement on his first in 1998 that ended after three weeks and without a single match having been played.

Ancelotti has an excellent opportunity to move closer to ending the barren spell in Munich, although an old adversary of Real will have a major say before Madridistas can start booking tickets to Lisbon.

Much has been made of Pep Guardiola's first season in Germany, a campaign that has provided an imperious domestic title win and a switch in style to a more possession-based approach. Bayern trail Madrid after Karim Benzema's goal at the Bernabéu last week and Ancelotti believes that the second leg could play out in a similar fashion to the first, when Madrid sought to exploit opportunities on the counterattack.

"I don't think the tactics will change much," he said. "I don't think Bayern will be changing their tactics and we don't really need to do anything different." Ancelotti denied he had been approached by Manchester United about the managerial position at Old Trafford. "I am happy here, I would like to stay here a long time."

If so, then avoiding defeat in Munich and pipping Atlético to the Spanish title may be necessities, rather than luxuries. Time in the job at Real is rare yet the Italian has credit to his name after the victory over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.

Gareth Bale, who scored a wonderful winner in that game, is set to play on Tuesday, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, despite missing Saturday's 4-0 win over Osasuna through illness. Bale will return to the starting line-up for Real Madrid's most important game of the season as they seek to reach their first Champions League final in 12 years.

The world's most expensive player missed Saturday's 4-0 victory against Osasuna with flu, but manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed the Welshman is now fully-fit.

"I'm very happy because this season he has been really good," Ancelotti said of Bale. "Everyone is sure next season he will be better.

"But we're not in the final yet; we have to work very hard to get there. We weren't really that happy with the beginning of the match [first leg], we started in quite a timid way and to do that again would be very dangerous.

"These are two teams with different philosophies. Our players need space to move and we need to move the ball very quickly. Football is great for that reason, everyone has a different idea about how it should be played.

"I believe it's better to play fast, attacking football. We have to attack with our defenders."

Bale said: "When you come here you realise the expectations of everybody. No matter what competition we're in, we want to win it. Everybody feels a bit of nerves when it's such a big game, but it's positive nerves."

For Bayern, the task is ominous. No side have successfully defended the Champions League and only three teams have reached the final the season after winning it: Milan in 1995, Juventus in 1997 and Manchester United in 2009.

Guardiola is still on for a remarkable five trophies this season and has called on Franck Ribéry to play a key role, hoping the Frenchman can "play angry" as he did in the 5-2 victory over Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Madrid, though, are just one step from another final flourish.

Real have won their last four matches, scoring 11 in the process and conceding just once.

In contrast, Bayern are enduring their worst run of form this season, despite thrashing Werder Bremen 5-2 at the weekend.

Pep Guardiola's side have lost three out of their last six games; losing to Real, Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg this month.

After being rested at the weekend, their key trio of Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos and Arjen Robben will inevitably return to the starting line-up as Pep Guardiola aims to win his third Champions League title.

KICK-OFF: Tuesday, 7.45pm

PAST THREE MEETINGS...

Real Madrid 1 (Benzema) Bayern Munich 0, Champions League, semi-finals, April 2014

Real Madrid 2 (Ronaldo 2) Bayern Munich 1 (Robben), Champions League, semi-finals, April 2012 (Bayern win 3-1 on penalties)

Bayern Munich 2 (Ribery, Gomez) Real Madrid 1 (Ozil), Champions League, semi-finals, April 2012

STATS…

Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos all missed penalties in the shootout defeat to Bayern in 2012.

Madrid could be eliminated by German opposition for the third successive time in the semi-finals.

Ancelotti has never lost when managing against The Bavarians. In seven matches his side have won five and drawn two.

Bayern are aiming to become the first team to successfully defend the Champions League.

AC Milan (1995) and Juventus (1997) were losing finalists the season after winning European club football's biggest prize.

'We are all monkeys' - Neymar kicks off anti-racism campaign

The Brazil star was disgusted with the abuse Dani Alves received during Barcelona's victory over Villarreal and has used social media to voice his outrage

Barcelona attacker Neymar has vowed to fight racist abuse after team-mate Dani Alves had a banana thrown at him during the 3-2 win over Villarreal on Sunday.

The Brazilian full-back dealt with the incident in good humour, picking up the banana and eating it, but his compatriot took to Instagram to voice his disgust at the abuse.

"We are all equal, we are all monkeys, say no to racism," he wrote on the social media site, accompanied with the hashtag #weareallmonkeys.

"It's a shame that there's such prejudice in 2014. It's time for people to raise their voices. My way of expressing my support is to do what Dani Alves did.

"If you think so too, take a picture of yourself eating a banana and we will use what they have against us to our advantage."

Dani Alves eats banana on field of play in Villarreal win

Barcelona full-back Dani Alves produced a fine riposte to a racist taunt during Sunday night's 3-2 victory at Villarreal.

A banana was thrown at the Brazil international when he was about to take a right-wing corner but he responded by calmly picking up the piece of fruit and eating it, before swinging the ball into the box.

After the match, the 30-year-old Alves said: "We have suffered this in Spain for some time. You have to take it with a dose of humour.

"We aren't going to change things easily. If you don't give it importance, they don't achieve their objective."

Alves has taken a stand against racism in Spain on previous occasions during his illustrious career.

He described attempts to tackle the problem as a "lost war" after he was subjected to monkey chants from sections of the crowd during a Cup tie at Real Madrid last year.

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in breach of financial fair play rules

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are amongst the clubs to have breached UEFA's financial fair play rules, it has been revealed.

All of the clubs involved, of which there are understood to be less than 20, have been offered settlements from UEFA's club financial control board.

That offer, which would include sanctions for breaking the rules, will either be accepted by the clubs or negotiated as they look to come to terms on a less severe punishment.

It is not known what sanctions have been proposed to the clubs involved, although the threat of being excluded from European competition is not thought to have been used on this occasion.

Other potential punishments that could be imposed by UEFA include a reprimand, a fine and restrictions being placed on a club's squad for European competition next season.

If no agreement is reached between the two parties then the outstanding cases will go to an adjudicatory panel to be decided upon.

Sergio Ramos: Champions League win would be "dream come true"

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has said that a Champions League triumph would be a "dream come true" for him.

Madrid travel to Bayern Munich for the second leg of their semi-final tie on Tuesday with a 1-0 advantage, and the Spain international has talked up the significance that he places on the trophy.

Speaking to UEFA.com, he said: "For me, it is a dream to win the Champions League. I am very lucky to have won nearly every title at a professional level, but there is still the Champions League to win.

"In no way has it ever been an obsession or a special love, but when there is something missing from your CV, it grabs your attention. It means a bit more.

"It's not a constant obsession, but it would be a dream come true. To finally lift the trophy would be very satisfying."

Carlo Ancelotti's side are currently third in La Liga.

Steven Gerrard has been named the Liverpool Echo's Sports Personality of the Year

The Liverpool skipper scooped the award at a city centre ceremony on Monday evening, and the accolade was accepted on his behalf by Reds managing director Ian Ayre.

Ayre said: "Steven is a legend of Liverpool Football Club, and epitomises everything that is great about this football club.

"For one player to spend an entire career at the same club these days and to be from Liverpool, a local lad [who is] the captain of his country, it's a very rich and deserved award.

"Winning the league is of course the focus of everyone at the football, it's on Steven's mind, and we've got two weeks to focus and keep our eyes on the prize, and what will be, will be."

Gerrard has scored 13 goals for the Reds this term.

Ex-Chelsea midfielder Deco baffled by Jose Mourinho's decision to sell Juan Mata

Former Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder Deco has admitted that he doesn't understand why Jose Mourinho sold Juan Mata to Manchester United in January.

The Spaniard, who had a regular role on the substitutes' bench at Stamford Bridge under Mourinho, moved to Old Trafford for a club-record £37m.

With the Blues needing to score in Wednesday night's Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid, Deco believes that Mata would have been a good option.

"I don't know why Jose sold Mata in January because he is a good player," Deco told The Express. "Maybe now he could be important for Chelsea. I am sure Jose knows what he is doing, but Mata seemed to have started well for Chelsea."

The semi-final is currently all square between Chelsea and Atletico following last week's goalless draw at the Vicente Calderon.

Barcelona pay tribute at Tito Vilanova funeral

Barcelona figures past and present have paid tribute to Tito Vilanova at the former manager's funeral today.

The whole first-team squad was present at ceremony of Vilanova, who passed away at the age of 45 on Friday following a battle with throat cancer.

A number of former presidents, including Joan Laporta and Sandro Rosell, were also at the funeral alongside board members and Vilanova's wife and two children.

"Today we say goodbye to a very loved person. I promise you, he will always have a place in our hearts and we will never forget him," said current club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Vilanova guided Barcelona to a record-equalling haul of points as they won La Liga in his only season in charge, while he also assisted Pep Guardiola during the most decorated period in the club's history.

Gary Neville wants British manager at Manchester United

Gary Neville has urged Manchester United to give his former teammate Ryan Giggs time to prove himself as manager so that the club can continue their tradition of having a British coach at the helm.

Giggs has been appointed as interim boss following the sacking of David Moyes 10 months into his reign as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor, and United beat Norwich City 4-0 in his first game in charge on Saturday.

Nevertheless, outgoing Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal remains the hot favourite to take the Old Trafford vacancy in the summer, and, while admitting that the 62-year-old appears to be in the driving seat, Neville stressed that nothing is confirmed yet while lending his support to Giggs.

"He's an experienced hand. He's won trophies in different countries and managed the biggest clubs in Europe," he told Sky Sports News. "He's the favourite at the moment and we know nowadays, just through the weight of media speculation, sometimes, where jobs are going to go. I think at the moment it's pushing towards him.

"I would have liked to have seen Ryan have two or three games. He started well on Saturday, so let him have two or three more games to see whether he settles into the position and whether he can bed in and be given that role. I don't think there's any certainty wherever you go. There's the idea that Ryan hasn't got experience but he knows the club and there's the idea that Van Gaal has massive experience, but doesn't know the Premier League.

"At the end of the day the owners will do what they want to do. I suppose in some ways they want an experienced hand, but I personally would like to see a British manager be appointed because Manchester United have always appointed British managers. We'll wait and see."

United have never had a manager born outside of the United Kingdom.

Crystal Palace to offer Julian Speroni new deal

Crystal Palace are expected to open contract extension talks with long-serving goalkeeper Julian Speroni now that they have secured Premier League survival.

The 34-year-old has made 347 appearances for the club since arriving from Dundee in 2004, but his Selhurst Park deal expires at the end of the season.

Tony Pulis signed Wayne Hennessey from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £3m in January, but the Wales international is yet to play in the top flight due to the form of Speroni in Palace's climb from the bottom of the table to 11th place.

Newly-promoted Leicester City and Sunderland are apparently keeping tabs on the Argentine in case he becomes a free agent, but the Daily Mail understands that the Eagles are desperate to keep him and will table a formal contract offer within the next month.

Speroni has been an ever present in the Palace goal this season, with 12 clean sheets in 36 games.

Roberto Martinez: 'Everton need six or seven signings'

Roberto Martinez has admitted that Everton will need to add at least six players in the summer to manage the demands of playing in Europe next year.

The Toffees have fallen four points behind Arsenal in the race for the top-four, but are still guaranteed at least a top-six finish and Europa League football.

Martinez faces losing the loan stars that have helped him enjoy such a productive first campaign in charge at Goodison Park, with Romelu Lukaku, Gerard Deulofeu and Gareth Barry all scheduled to return to their parent clubs in June.

That would leave Everton's squad looking slightly light for a campaign in which they will be fighting on four fronts, and Martinez has revealed that their policy when the transfer window reopens will focus as much on quantity as quality as he looks to supplement a nucleus of "incredible" senior players.

"It's not about improving - it's about increasing," Martinez told reporters. "When you're playing in Europe you need to have another six or seven and that's the reality and we will do that - it's not an issue.

"Every summer is busy. We signed 10 players in the previous two windows and that's what you expect from window to window. I never worry about losing players. It's the opposite - I get excited about bringing new players in. You need fresh blood.

"We've got incredible senior players at this club. You've got Tim Howard, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Leon Osman, James McCarthy - those players hold the dressing room together. (But) we need fresh talent. Fresh additions help the team."

Only 22 different players have started for Everton in the top flight this term.

Brendan Rodgers: 'Champions League is Luis Suarez's reward'

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has claimed that Champions League football is Luis Suarez's reward for staying with the club.

The Uruguayan striker was pining for a move away from Anfield last summer, before eventually staying to sign a new contract in December.

Suarez, who won the PFA Player of the Year award on Sunday, will be playing in Europe's premier competition next season, after the Reds officially qualified for the tournament by beating Norwich City 3-2 on Easter Sunday.

Rodgers is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail: "I've watched Champions League football all my coaching life and I've been to matches this season, both here and in Europe, and I've thought that a player of Luis Suarez's ability has to be playing at this level.

"His loyalty in staying at Liverpool, to continue to fight for the club to get us there, is remarkable really. Hopefully he gets the rewards for that with those big European nights next season.

"I think it's a remarkable turnaround for a player who has been vilified – and some may see he brought it on himself – but it's great to see someone change and to be stood up there getting this award."

Suarez has scored 30 goals this season.