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Today in Football: Of Lions, Knights & Flamengoes

Written by: admin on 4th March 2010

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Despite mouth-watering encounters such as Germany vs. Argentina and France vs. Spain, all curious eyes are firmly fixed on the clash between Fabio Capello’s England side and the African Champions Egypt in Wembley. The Footballing world is anxious to know whether the squad can put up all it’s off field distractions aside and perform to the best of their abilities. Asked in an interview whether or not he would take a U-turn on Terry’s sacking, Capello replied “I think no. I think the next captain will be Rio (Ferdinand). For Wednesday, the captain will be Steven Gerrard.” The Italian clearly wanted to put things straight before England fight their ‘real battles’ on the pitch.

The Glazers had taken on ridiculous loans to complete their takeover of Manchester United. The Club as a result have plunged into debts of up to $716.5 million. Red Knights, a group of City bankers, lawyers and life long United supporters have confirmed that they are considering a $1 Billion take over bid of the World’s most valuable football club. The Red Knights have the support of Manchester United Supporter’s Trust (MUST), UK’s largest supporters trust. A spokesperson for the Glazers told BBC sport that the club was not up for sale. But the current owners are being pressurized through vocal campaigning by the above mentioned trust. The ‘Green and Gold’ campaign has seen supporters carry the colors of ‘Newton Heath’, which was renamed as Manchester United in 1902. Plots such as boycotting club merchandise and not renewing season tickets have are being formulated to hurt the Glazers in their pockets. The takeover bid can only be successful once the Glazers accept the proposal and hence, bleeding the Glazer wallets could tilt the Pan Balance in their favour.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter held informal talks with his hockey counterpart Leandro Negre about following the sport’s example of scrapping the offside rule. The rule was abolished in hockey in 1998 and has since made the game more entertaining and exciting. Blatter was reportedly very keen on how the game of hockey was affected by this ruling.

In a candid interview with Corriero Dello Sport Cristiano Ronaldo was asked to give his opinion on the top 3 footballers in the world. The Portuguese starlet baffled everyone by not including FIFA player of year and Pichichi (scoring award in La Liga) favourite Lionel Messi. His top 3 included Kaka, Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba.

The Real Madrid forward was more than optimistic about his club’s chances in the league. He said, “I’m sure that we’ll win the league.” Later adding that the advantage held by leaders Barcelona would be cancelled once they come visit the Santiago Bernabeu.

Chelsea midfielder Deco has revealed that he hoped to return to his native Brazil this summer to be closer to his family. The Portuguese International has had just 10 premier league starts under Carlo Ancelotti and hopes he will be given the go ahead by The Blues at the end of the season to search for a new club. In an interview to the Sun, Deco said, “I want to go back to Brazil. I still have a couple of good years of high-level football in me but I want to be near my kids.” Brazilian Champions Flamengo are reportedly interested in signing the 32-year old playmaker.

One of Europe’s hottest properties, Spanish striker David Villa has been linked with a summer move to Spanish and European Champions Barcelona this summer. The Valencia attacker is in scintillating form this season, moving forward from where he left of last season. A bid rumoured to be around 50 million Euros could be placed in front of Los Che who wouldn’t mind offloading the striker considering their financial problems.

Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi has been linked with a move Juventus this summer. The German is one of the most consistent goal scorers in the German Bundesliga and his retirement from International football could make him a very promising asset for any team.

Argentine Angel Di Maria has been linked with a summer move to English Champions Manchester United. The Argentine winger been backed by national coach and football legend Diego Maradona to make it big in Europe. Benfica could have to contend with a 20 million euro bid for the 22-year old.

File Photograph Copyright: Alfonso Jimenez

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