Wednesday Football
23 April 2008
by Jerrad Peters
Steven Gerrard is in no rush to blame John Arne Riise for Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Champions’ League. Ahead through Dirk Kuyt’s 43rd-minute opener in the first leg of the semifinal, Liverpool looked destined to take a win to Stamford Bridge until the Norwegian’s horrifying gaffe in the fifth minute of added time in the second half. With Nicolas Anelka applying pressure in the box, Riise dove to clear Salomon Kalou’s cross over the goal and into the Kop. Instead, his attempt was shallow; and Chelsea were gifted an ill-deserved equalizer ahead of the return match next Wednesday.
23 April 2008
by Jerrad Peters
Steven Gerrard is in no rush to blame John Arne Riise for Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Champions’ League. Ahead through Dirk Kuyt’s 43rd-minute opener in the first leg of the semifinal, Liverpool looked destined to take a win to Stamford Bridge until the Norwegian’s horrifying gaffe in the fifth minute of added time in the second half. With Nicolas Anelka applying pressure in the box, Riise dove to clear Salomon Kalou’s cross over the goal and into the Kop. Instead, his attempt was shallow; and Chelsea were gifted an ill-deserved equalizer ahead of the return match next Wednesday.
Despite the disappointment, however, Gerrard refused to point a finger at his teammate. In his post-match comments, the captain stated, “We can’t point our fingers at John and we must make sure we get his head right because he has a big part still to play.” He continued, “It’s not about blame. It’s about sticking together. We win, lose, and draw together.”
Indeed, Gerrard admitted that Liverpool might have been 3-0 up by the latter stages. “We were the better team and created the better chances,” he said. “I don’t think Pepe (Reina) had anything to do apart from pick the ball out of the net at the end.”
Similarly, Rafael Benitez abstained from admonishing Riise and, instead, targeted match official Konrad Plautz. Incensed by the length of time added after the 90-minutes, the Liverpool manager remarked, “It’s difficult to understand because there were 94 or 95-minutes on the clock and I was surprised. Of course I am disappointed with the official’s performance. It’s not the first time this has happened to us and we are really disappointed.”
For what it’s worth, Plautz was in charge when Liverpool were defeated by Olympique Marseille at Anfield during the group phase.
Fred Rutten will take the reins at Schalke 04 ahead of next season. The 45-year-old Dutchman was unveiled as the club’s new manager, Wednesday, and succeeds the recently sacked Mirko Slomka. Currently at the helm of Eredivisie side Twente as manager and technical director, Rutten will remain in Enschede until assuming his duties at Veltins-Arena on 01 July.
For what it’s worth, Plautz was in charge when Liverpool were defeated by Olympique Marseille at Anfield during the group phase.
Fred Rutten will take the reins at Schalke 04 ahead of next season. The 45-year-old Dutchman was unveiled as the club’s new manager, Wednesday, and succeeds the recently sacked Mirko Slomka. Currently at the helm of Eredivisie side Twente as manager and technical director, Rutten will remain in Enschede until assuming his duties at Veltins-Arena on 01 July.
Caretaker managers Mike Bueskins and Youri Mulder will continue in their roles until the end of the season. Both have agreed to stay on staff as assistants to Rutten.
Slomka was relieved of his duties after Schalke’s loss to Barcelona in the Champions’ League was followed by a lopsided 5-1 loss to Werder Bremen. Rutten, despite his young age, spent four years at PSV Eindhoven under Guus Hiddink before moving to Twente, where he played for 13-seasons.
Slomka was relieved of his duties after Schalke’s loss to Barcelona in the Champions’ League was followed by a lopsided 5-1 loss to Werder Bremen. Rutten, despite his young age, spent four years at PSV Eindhoven under Guus Hiddink before moving to Twente, where he played for 13-seasons.
Martin O’Neill has tabbed Steve Sidwell as a possible replacement for Gareth Barry. The Aston Villa manager, seemingly resigned to losing the late-blooming Barry in the summertime, would be willing to spend upwards of 5M-pounds on Sidwell. The 25-year-old midfielder arrived at Chelsea via free transfer from Reading last summer and has struggled to find a place in manager Avram Grant’s 16-man squad.
Barry, meanwhile, is being courted by both Liverpool and Chelsea. O’Neill is willing to offer the 27-year-old a substantial hike on his current wage of 47,000-pounds per-week but admits that he faces an uphill battle to keep the England international at Villa Park.
“We will do our utmost to try to keep Gareth,” stated O’Neill. “Whether we can, I don’t know.”
Everton have targeted a pair of Russian-based players as their primary summer signings. Manager David Moyes was in Russia, last week, and watched a pair of matches. The reasons for his journey – Zenit St. Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin and CSKA midfielder Dudu.
Arshavin’s rise in prominence has coincided with Zenit’s superb run in the UEFA Cup this season. The St. Petersburg outfit will battle Bayern Munich in the first leg of their semifinal on Thursday. The 26-year-old attacker is also adept at playing the wide positions and has combined wonderfully with Pavel Pogrebnyak under manager Dick Advocaat.
Barry, meanwhile, is being courted by both Liverpool and Chelsea. O’Neill is willing to offer the 27-year-old a substantial hike on his current wage of 47,000-pounds per-week but admits that he faces an uphill battle to keep the England international at Villa Park.
“We will do our utmost to try to keep Gareth,” stated O’Neill. “Whether we can, I don’t know.”
Everton have targeted a pair of Russian-based players as their primary summer signings. Manager David Moyes was in Russia, last week, and watched a pair of matches. The reasons for his journey – Zenit St. Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin and CSKA midfielder Dudu.
Arshavin’s rise in prominence has coincided with Zenit’s superb run in the UEFA Cup this season. The St. Petersburg outfit will battle Bayern Munich in the first leg of their semifinal on Thursday. The 26-year-old attacker is also adept at playing the wide positions and has combined wonderfully with Pavel Pogrebnyak under manager Dick Advocaat.
Dudu, for his part, is a 25-year-old Brazilian midfielder. After playing his domestic football with Vitoria, he was a driving force behind Brazil’s win at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championships where he scored four goals in seven appearances. Before joining CSKA, he played briefly with Rennes in Ligue 1.
With Ledley King’s future in ever-increasing doubt, Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos will bolster his depth at defense over the summer. Atop his list is a pair of centre-backs: Daniel Diaz and Tal Ben Haim.
Diaz, currently with La Liga side Getafa, has been Michael Laudrup’s best defender at Coliseum Alfonso Perez since arriving from Boca Juniors in July. At 29-years-of-age, he would bring a much-needed dose of maturity to the Spurs backline. However, when Juventus made an inquiry as to his availability in January, Getafe chairman Angel Torres Sanches balked at the 6.5M-pound offer. Ramos would be prepared to offer only 3M-pounds. Additionally, Diaz is believed to have a 14M-pound buy-out clause in effect with Getafe.
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With Ledley King’s future in ever-increasing doubt, Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos will bolster his depth at defense over the summer. Atop his list is a pair of centre-backs: Daniel Diaz and Tal Ben Haim.
Diaz, currently with La Liga side Getafa, has been Michael Laudrup’s best defender at Coliseum Alfonso Perez since arriving from Boca Juniors in July. At 29-years-of-age, he would bring a much-needed dose of maturity to the Spurs backline. However, when Juventus made an inquiry as to his availability in January, Getafe chairman Angel Torres Sanches balked at the 6.5M-pound offer. Ramos would be prepared to offer only 3M-pounds. Additionally, Diaz is believed to have a 14M-pound buy-out clause in effect with Getafe.
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igning Ben Haim will surely be much easier for Ramos. The 26-year-old Israel international has been frozen-out at Chelsea under Avram Grant. And when he went public with his disdain for the manager last week, the former Bolton Wanderers stalwart all but booked his ticket out of town. He has made just 17-starts for the Blues since arriving from the Reebok; and Ramos would be able to attain his services for roughly 3M-pounds.
Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.
Jerrad Peters is a football journalist based in Winnipeg, Canada. His weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press is the largest of its kind in the country. A regular contributor to ESPN Soccernet, his work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.
Jerrad Peters is a football journalist based in Winnipeg, Canada. His weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press is the largest of its kind in the country. A regular contributor to ESPN Soccernet, his work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.
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