Monday Football

16 February 2009

by Jerrad Peters

 

Raul Madrid

 

It was vintage Raul. Off-balance, he redirected a Sergio Ramos cross past goalkeeper Inaki Lafuente after making a smart run into space. It was his 308^th goal for Real Madrid, surpassing Alfredo Di Stefano's longstanding record of 307 and serving as the match-winner against Sporting Gijon. The latter, Raul said afterwards, is more important than the record.

            "The thing I hope for is that these goals serve for something more than just to break records and that we can get ourselves closer to Barcelona in the table," he remarked. "It was an important day because we had the chance to cut the difference [with Barcelona]."

            Madrid's 4-0 win at El Molinon on Sunday moves them to within ten points of leaders Barcelona after the Blaugrana stumbled to a 2-2 draw at Real Betis on Saturday. Madrid have now won eight matches on the bounce and have outscored their opponents a combined 18-1 since losing to Barcelona at the Nou Camp on December 13. As Raul reflected, the latest win was perhaps the finest of the lot.

            "It was a great game which we dominated from start to finish," he said. "The whole team performed at a great level and were better than Sporting at every moment. The team have shown in the past few games that they are focused and they have faith that winning the league is still possible."

            Raul, for his part, has been integral to Madrid's turn-around. The 31-year-old has already scored 17 goals this term and is on pace to increase his goal haul for the third straight season since recording a career-low seven tallies in 2005-06. In a record-breaking career that has included six titles, three Champions' League crowns and 44 international goals for Spain, breaking Di Stefano's mark will ensure Raul a place among the all-time greats in Spanish football history.

            "I feel very good and I'm happy because I've been able to surpass Alfredo's record," he said, "and also score another goal."

 

Usmanov boosts Arsenal stake

 

Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov increased his interest in Arsenal Football Club to slightly more than 25 per cent on Monday. According to Stock Exchange rules, he has only to acquire a further 5 per cent before triggering a takeover bid.

            "We are pleased to have now secured over a quarter of the shares of Arsenal," read a statement released by Red & White Holdings, the corporate front for Usmanov's interest in the club. "We are committed, long-term investors and supporters of the club and are comfortable that we are now in a protected position. We also welcome the strengthening of the squad and look forward to a successful conclusion to the season."

            Usmanov initially bought into Arsenal in August 2007, acquiring David Dein's 14.65 per cent stake for 75 million pounds. He increased his interest to 23 per cent just two months later and bought a further one per cent in February of last year. He is now the club's largest stakeholder, ahead of Daniel Fiszman (24.11 per cent) and Stan Kroenke (12.4 per cent). Longtime shareholder Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith owns 15.9 per cent of the club but was ousted from the board of directors in December.

            While Usmanov is clearly intent on acquiring a majority stake in Arsenal, he faces a hostile board that has gone into "lockdown" to oppose him. Fiszman, Kroenke and a handful of minor shareholders have agreed to band together to prevent Usmanov from reaching the 30 per cent threshold. However, with Bracewell-Smith no longer on the board, her stake in the club is not part of that agreement. Usmanov is expected to make a bid for her shares.

            The board's managing director, Keith Edelman, announced the lockdown last February when he said, "We were always advised by [Red & White Holdings] that they would build their stake to 25 per cent," he said. "But we have a lockdown which makes us bulletproof."

            The board has reason to be wary of Usmanov. The 55-year-old—ranked the 18^th richest man in Russia by Forbes magazine in 2007—has a sponsorship deal with Dinamo Moscow through his Metalloinvest industrial company. And although he does not directly own a stake in the Moscow club, he sits on their board of directors in return for upwards of 4 million pounds in annual funding.

            Nevertheless, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis is open to engaging Usmanov in conciliatory talks.

            "[Usmanov] is a significant stakeholder and somebody all of us, including me, will want to meet with, understand better and get to know better," he said.

 

jerradpeters@gmail.com