Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Ronaldo named on Ballon d’Or shortlist
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named on the shortlist of three players for the Ballon d’Or award.
With there having been little down as to the identity of the final three on the list, comes as no surprise that the Real Madrid man is joined by Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery, and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Cristiano Ronaldo best in the world says Iker Casillas
Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has claimed that his club teammate Cristiano Ronaldo is the best in the world, and that he will lead Real to glory at the end of the season.
Ronaldo has scored 17 goals in 14 La Liga appearances this season, and is many people’s choice for the Ballon D’Or for his performances this calendar year.
And Iker Casillas would know better than most just how good the Portuguese star is, having played with and against some of the best players of his generation.
Casillas spoke highly, saying “There’s one player who’s ahead of everyone else, who’s in amazing form and who deserves all the praise. That player is Cristiano Ronaldo.”
“He shows it game after game. It’s good for Madrid because our hope is that, thanks to him, in a few months’ time we’ll be achieving our goals for this year.”
Casillas also spoke about his side’s chances of winning the treble, adding ”We need to keep going as we are right now and wait for the end of the season.”
“This is a young, ambitious team. Hopefully, we’ll win the European Cup – we’ve been waiting for it for 11 years – another league and, why not, the Cup.”source
Leonardo: PSG did all they could to sign Ronaldo
French champions PSG did everything possible within the laws of the game to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, according to the club’s former sporting director Leonardo.
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In an interview with Telefoot, the ex Milan and Inter coach also claimed the Paris-based side were close to securing the signature of French midfielder Paul Pogba, who is plying his trade at Juventus.
The Brazilian said that although the club failed to make either move materialise, he believes Carlo Ancelotti’s old side – who won their first league title in almost two decades under the Italian last season – have the best squad in Europe.
“Pogba is at the level to play for PSG, of course. We thought of him and thought he would be a great investment because he is one of the best midfielders in the world. We also thought of signing Ronaldo. I did everything within the written laws to try to get him to Paris but it was impossible to make him leave Real Madrid,” he said.
Leonardo added: “There is no other team that has the squad of the Paris Saint-Germain. No other team has such offensive force. The team is ready for now and for the future.”
The 44-year-old also waded into the Ballon d’Or debate, and suggested Franck Ribery should win it this year because the other main candidates – Ronaldo and Lionel Mess i- have already won the award.
“Ronaldo, Messi and Ribery are the type of players who make you dream. I prefer Ribery for theBallon d’Or, as it would be his first title. Ronaldo and Messi also merit it but they have already won,” he stated.
AC Milan join list of Fabio Coentrao admirers
Italian giants AC Milan have joined an ever growing list of admirers looking to secure the signing of Real Madrid’s Fabio Coentrao, it is believed.
According to Italian paper Corriere della Sera, Carlo Ancelotti’s former club could make a move for the left back as the seek to strengthen their defensive line. The 25-year-old has had limited first-team action at the Santiago Bernabeu this year, with Brazil left-back being preferred ahead of him.
The Portugal international has made just four La Liga appearances this term and has been linked with a move away from Los Blancos for some time. Last summer there were plenty of reports suggesting a switch back to his former club Benfica, while it was believed Chelsea were interested in signing him to provide competition for Ashley Cole.
And there was also a well documented loan switch to Manchester United on transfer deadline day that fell through at the 11th hour after Ancelotti could not find cover at left back. The collapse of the move to Old Trafford apparently left Coentrao in tears.
The defender made the move to the Spanish capital in 2011 in a 35 million euro deal. He has made a total of 67 appearances for the club, scoring one goal along the way.source
Madrid press report: Sami Khedira could return in April
Spanish sports daily As puts its focus today on yesterday’s Real Madrid players press conference to speak about the World Cup draw.
Angel di Maria, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas, Marcelo and Luka Modric gave their points of view about the tournament and had a gesture with injured team-mate Sami Khedira, posing with his shirt.
The Madrid paper claims “Khedira could make his return in April,” although he wasn’t expected to come back from his knee injury until next summer.
Speaking about the World Cup, Casillas said “we’ll try to make our people feel proud of us.” Marcelo claimed “Spain is the best team, they’re above the rest.” While Luka Modric, whose national team will face Brazil in the first round, stated “I wouldn’t underestimate Croatia, we always perform well.”
The other main Madrid sports daily, Marca, highlights in its front page Cristiano Ronaldo words: “At the moment I’m focussed in winning everything with Real Madrid, I’ll think about the World Cup later.”
The Portuguese will face Khedira’s Germany in the group stage, where he will also meet again with his friend Mesut Ozil.
Iker Casillas: Spain want to make World Cup history
Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has said he wants to make history with his Spain team mates and win back-to-back World Cups following the similar feat they achieved with the European Championships.
Spain became the first national side to win three major tournaments in a row, with their World Cup win in 2010 sandwiched between their successes at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. And now La Roja will head to Brazil looking to defend their title and continue their domination on the global stage.
Reacting to the group stage draw in which Spain were pitted against the Netherlands, the beaten finalists last time out, along with Chile and Australia, Casillas said the Spanish team know their job will be hard, but they are determined to win.
He told the official Real Madrid website: “We think that it will be difficult because, right now, for all of our teammates and the other teams the first objective is to qualify for the next round and then go as far as possible. All of the teams want to win and Spain are no exception.
“But after the last four years, we know that any rival that faces us will give 100% as they all want to beat us. We’re going there to defend the title we won in South Africa and try to make everybody in our country proud of the Spanish team.”
At just 32, Casillas still has plenty of years ahead of him as a footballer, but admitted the thought had crossed his mind that the World Cup in Brazil may be his last.
“Until June, we’ll see what happens and when the coach gives his list of 23 players, if you’re one of them, you can start to enjoy it and start training with your teammates as if it were your last World Cup. In the case of goalkeepers, we last longer than other players, but sometimes your head is more important than your body. There’s still a long time to go and a lot can happen,” he stated.
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