Three-time World Player of the Year Ronaldo is reportedly set to announce his retirement from professional football on Monday.
The 34-year-old has endured a disappointing campaign with Brazilian club Corinthians and was blamed by supporters for the team’s exit from the Copa Libertadores last week.
Fans have damaged players’ cars and thrown rocks at the team bus, with the violence leading another former Brazil international Roberto Carlos to announce his intention to walk away from the club.
Ronaldo insisted the unrest would not force him to quit, but he has also struggled for fitness this season and is yet to score a goal in 2011.
“It’s time,” Ronaldo was quoted as saying by newspaper Estado de S. Paulo.
“I can’t keep going. I wanted to continue but I can’t. I think about making a play but I can’t execute it.”
Corinthians have scheduled a press conference for Monday, where Ronaldo is expected to publicly confirm his retirement.
Voted the world player of the year in 1996, 1997 and 2002, Ronaldo scored 67 goals in 92 appearances for Brazil and won the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and Korea.
He netted both goals in a 2-0 win over Germany in the final and remains the leading scorer in World Cup history.
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Ronaldo also scored an extraordinary 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions for Barcelona in the 1996/97 season, before suffering the first of three serious knee injuries playing for Inter Milan in 1999.
A transfer to Real Madrid brought the only national league titles of his career in 2002/03 and 2006/07, but he never fully recaptured the devastating combination of pace, strength and skill that earned him the nickname ‘the phenomenon’ earlier in his career.
With the news that former managing director Christian Purslow has finally left the club after finishing his role as a special adviser to the new owners NESV, what legacy does the former Cambridge graduate leave behind him?
Well it’s fair to say that Purslow’s spell at the club coincided with a tumultuous period in Liverpool’s recent history. The problems off the field with former Chairmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks have been well documented, but thankfully Purslow’s reputation hasn’t been sullied by association with two of the worst Chairman’s in living memory.
During his time at the club Purslow was able to do a lot of good, despite the constraints and difficult conditions in which he worked under. He was instrumental in the club signing a hefty sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered Bank worth £80m over four years, a deal that by far eclipsed what the club were previously receiving from long-term sponsors Carlsberg. However, Purslow’s true day of triumph came in court on the 15th October last year, whereby Hicks and Gillett were finally ousted in favour of new ownership in the form of NESV.
Purslow, Ian Ayre and Martin Broughton will forever be immortalised in fans heart’s for going that extra mile in a bid to secure a change of ownership. The aforementioned trio out-voted the gruesome twosome of Hicks and Gillett in favour of NESV’s bid in the board room and lay the groundwork for their ousting.
The next step was most surprising, as Hicks and Gillett were said to have dismissed Ayre and Purslow for a breach of contract after voting against their continued ownership. It took a day in the High Court to finally put to bed the ownership issue and lift the cloud that had hung over Anfield while the deeply unpopular owners were in charge.
Purslow has also been at the forefront of the club’s continue growing presence in Asia. It is thought by many business experts that it is extremely difficult for a club to break the Asian market; Chelsea so far have struggled despite numerous attempts and pre-season tours to the area. But Liverpool were already a presence on the continent and credit must go to Purslow for trying to fully take advantage of the commercial gains and opportunities that could be achieved.
A major criticism of his predecessor in the role, Rick Parry, was that his dithering and indecisive nature had cost the club dearly in the long-haul as Man Utd leapfrogged them as the continent’s main Premier League attraction.
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Of course, it was not all smooth sailing for Purslow while at the club. He was instrumental in bringing Roy Hodgson to the club after dismissing Rafa Benitez at the end of last season.
On the surface, the move for Hodgson seemed to tick all of the boxes – he was an experienced hand on the tiller, capable of getting the best out of limited players and excellent at working with limited resources as he had just shown by leading Fulham to the Europa League final. He was forthright, likeable and honest.
However, Hodgson’s reign at the club was a complete and utter disaster. The man brought in to steady the ship did anything but, and it became clear that Hodgson and the club just weren’t a good fit as the manager struggled to shake-off the small-team mentality that he had garnered while at Fulham.
Purslow also had a fractious relationship with former boss Rafa Benitez and many fans even turned on him prior to his discovery of NESV’s interest, with many holding him responsible for the club’s failure to find any significant new investment.
To my knowledge at least, Purslow was responsible, along with Ian Ayre and to a lesser extent Martin Broughton, in an increased level of professionalism on behalf of the club in their commercial ventures. The club appears to be finally expanding as a global market presence, something which is long overdue considering the club’s fantastic history and Liverpool now seem in safe hands under NESV; something which Purslow must take great credit for that.
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He stepped down from his managing director role at the club shortly after NESV took full control of the club, but he initially stayed in a special advisor role on an ad hoc basis. New Liverpool Chairman Tom Werner had this to say of Purslow: “We will always be grateful to Christian for his vital contribution to the club during his time as managing director and latterly as a special adviser. He has played a fundamental role ins securing the future of the club and in the sale of LFC to new ownership.”
The club is now in undoubtedly better shape than when he first came to it, and you can’t ask for much more than that from a Managing Director. His spell at the club has been anything but easy at times, but his instrumental presence in securing the club new ownership and a huge sponsorship deal should ensure that his legacy will be viewed on favourably in the years to come.
Struggling Championship club Coventry City have sacked manager Aidy Boothroyd just 10 months after his appointment.The Sky Blues have won just one of their past 16 league affairs, most recently being beaten 1-0 by Hull City at home, and sit seven points above the relegation zone.City released a statement on the club website confirming an overhaul in the coaching ranks at the Ricoh Arena.”The board of Coventry City Football Club has today relieved Aidy Boothroyd of his first-team duties with immediate effect,” the statement read.”Assistant manager Martin Pert has also been relieved of his duties. First-team coach Steve Harrison and chief scout Andy Thorn will be placed in temporary charge of team affairs.””We would like to place on record our thanks to Aidy and Martin for their efforts.”Coventry are now on the hunt for their 10th manager in the past decade since the departure of Gordon Strachan in 2001.
Lyon leapt back to third on the Ligue 1 table with a 2-0 win at Sochaux on Saturday, while Saint-Etienne and Toulouse broke losing runs.Lyon, who were temporarily displaced from the Champions League places by Marseille on Friday, saw off the French champions’ challenge through goals to Lisandro Lopez and Miralem Pjanic.The result ensures the enthralling battle for the league title is set to continue with just one point separating the top four on the Ligue 1 table, while Paris Saint-Germain are also still in the running a further four points back.Lopez needed just 22 minutes to find his 12th goal of the season for Lyon on Saturday, the prolific Argentinean side-footing a neat finish past Sochaux goalkeeper Pierrick Cros after being played through by Bafetimbi Gomis’ clever back-heel.Pjanic doubled Lyon’s lead in the 63rd minute, the Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder powering a left-footed shot beyond Cros from Jeremy Pied’s pass. The win gives Lyon some welcome momentum ahead of their midweek Champions League trip to Spain to face Real Madrid, with the tie evenly poised at 1-1 after the first leg in France.Elsewhere, Saint-Etienne ended their four-game losing streak with a 2-0 win at home to lowly Brest, while Toulouse defeated Lens 1-0 to snap their own run of four straight losses.Bakary Sako put Saint-Etienne ahead from the penalty spot in the 35th minute, before Dimitri Payet ended a league goal drought stretching back to October with an 88th-minute strike.Paraguayan striker Federico Santander was the hero for Toulouse, finding the net in the 74th minute for his first league goal since late December.In other results, Lorient were held 3-3 at bottom-placed Arles, who fought back from a 3-1 deficit through goals to Yann Kermorgant (63) and Remy Cabella (80).Camel Meriem had put Arles up in the sixth minute, before Morgan Amalfitano (19), Sigamary Diarra (45) and Kevin Gameiro (52) piled on goals for the visitors.Nice triumphed 1-0 over Auxerre Eric Mouloungui’s 61st-minute winner, and Nancy defeated 10-man Caen 2-0 on goals to Landry N’Guemo (38) and Bakaye Traore (84).Caen’s Malines striker Sambou Yatabare was sent marching for a second caution in the 72nd minute.
The modern day footballer doesn’t want for much; they have expensive cars, travel all over the globe and earn vast amounts of money doing what they love. Having fame, glamour and superstardom is something most of us can only dream about. World Cup winning manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has been candidly shedding some light on his experience with some of the superstars of Chelsea in the Brazilian media. So I want to share my thoughts on how this may, or may not, have contributed towards Chelsea’s managerial turnover.
Scolari doesn’t have fond memories of his time at Chelsea, in fact he considered walking away from football altogether after he was relieved from his post in West London. Scolari exposed problems he faced in the dressing room with Didier Drogba and the untenable relationship between midfielders Michael Ballack and Deco. It appears that his ongoing feud with Drogba was one of the key ingredients that led to his untimely demise. This became apparent after Roman Abramovich’s refusal to sanction a swap deal for Inter Milan’s Adriano involving Drogba. The Russian owner had made it evident his loyalties lay with Drogba which was later supported by Scolari’s sacking. Abramovich also failed to back Scolari in his attempts to sign Robinho from Real Madrid, the flamboyant Brazilian went on to agree a deal with Manchester City.
I personally do not believe dressing room politics are the reason behind the high managerial turnover at Chelsea. I think the situation with Scolari was an isolated incident, Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink had no problems in working with and getting the best out of Didier Drogba. This doesn’t mean dressing room politics didn’t come into play during these managers’ residence at the Bridge, but I don’t think it has impacted on the coming and going of managers, with the exception of Scolari. It’s also worth mentioning that Scolari himself is no shrinking violet, in his time with Palmerias, Scolari had numerous run-ins with players. The stand out unsavoury incident from his time with Palmerias was when he attacked a reporter after being asked a question he judged to be offensive.
There are discrepancies at all football clubs, at every level, and I don’t see how the events that unveiled under Scolari’s management can be associated with Chelsea’s turnover of managers. Football is a results business and sure enough most managerial casualties fall as a consequence of failing to adhere to the expectations of the owners. Chelsea have one of the richest men in the world at the helm, and Abramovich expects Chelsea to be challenging for honours on all fronts, so if the team are falling short he will wield his axe.
Despite the views expressed so far, it doesn’t shy away from the fact Chelsea do have the likes of Ashley Cole and John Terry who seem to spend as much time on the front pages as the back. This of course transmits to the dressing room and with so many big egos in there it can lead to confrontation and power struggles. I firmly believe a good manager can get the best out of his players and this was proven by Mourinho, Hiddink and currently Ancelotti. There were no implications surrounding Mourinho’s and Hiddink’s departures from Chelsea and any dressing room politics, which further verifies the point.
In summary, Scolari was the wrong man for Chelsea and he failed in a high profile job. Rregardless of the situations he encountered, his seven month stint will be remembered as a blip in Chelsea’s history.
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Manchester United’s Luis Nani added two more assists at the weekend, to bring his total to 18 for the season; despite leading the Premier League’s assist charts this season, Nani was a controversial omission from the PFA Player of the Year shortlist. Why is Nani not getting the recognition his stats deserve?
During Nani’s early days he created more enemies than friends, with his tendency to fall over from the slightest of touches from an opponent; this is something the patriotic fans of the beautiful game resent. This stigma of Nani’s earlier performances is starting to subside but is still a trait in his game which isn’t totally eradicated. Nani is starting to mature and develop as a player and next season could be the young Portuguese international’s time to showcase his development.
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Playing for Manchester United, arguably the world’s biggest club, does create its fair share of headlines. Javier Hernandez has been lauded by pundits and fans alike; the agile Mexican has been a revelation at Old Trafford in his first season. Combine this with Ryan Giggs’ age-defying performances, Wayne Rooney’s continual ‘antics’ and Sir Alex Ferguson’s war of words with the FA and referees, which have overshadowed the winger’s influential appearances on the pitch, leaving not much room on the backpages.
In recent times, Manchester United have been blessed with very gifted wide players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs. Although Nani’s performances have been impressive when you consider his predecessors, who produced (and are still producing) sublime performances, does Nani really warrant such high plaudits? Noting the obvious similarities in Ronaldo and Nani’s play, both being Portuguese, skilful, pacey and good on the ball, it was inevitable that comparisons would be drawn at the beginning despite the fact that Ronaldo set an almost unattainable benchmark.
Overall, Nani without doubt is a class act and next season he could well be at the forefront of Ferguson’s reported rebuilding process.
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Bet on Nani to score and Manchester United to win against Chelsea tonight…
Mirror Football is reporting that Sunderland manager Steve Bruce looks keen to add Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd to his Premier League squad for next season. The 28 year old former Gunner is likely to be available on a free transfer in the summer due to his Cardiff contract coming to an end.
Bothroyd has been in good form this season contributing 18 goals and 8 assists in the nPower Championship. This sort of form even saw the Cardiff striker win a cap for England this season.
The report goes on to suggest that Sunderland are prepared to push the boat out to get their man and offer higher wages than any other interested party. Sunderland could be prepared to offer Bothroyd wages of up to £30,000 per week and want to have the deal secured quickly.
Steve Bruce needs to find more firepower to replace the goals that have been missed – since Darren Bent left the club in January. Danny Welbeck is due to return to Manchester United at the end of the season. But Michael Owen is another target on a free transfer; Bothroyd though is set to be Steve Bruce’s first summer capture.
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The battle for a Europa League spot for next season takes shape at Anfield on Sunday when Liverpool host Tottenham.Fifth place is the only spot on the English Premier League table on offer for the European second-tier competition, after Birmingham and Stoke wrapped up their ticket with a Carling Cup win and an FA Cup final appearance respectively.
Liverpool, fifth on 58 points, are warm favourites for the final European spot, ahead of Spurs in sixth on 56 points.
“I don’t know. We’ll just wait and see,” Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish said when quizzed on his side’s continental hopes earlier in the week.
“Nobody would ever have anticipated the run that the boys have been on since January, would they? It’s been unbelievable. Even if we don’t get fifth, they’ve been absolutely fantastic. For us, the position hasn’t been as important as the response of the players.”
“We’ll play every game to win it and, at the end, we’ll add up the points and see where we finish.”
But an away victory for Harry Redknapp’s men would significantly alter the equation to determine which side progresses to Europe, with Spurs to take a one-point lead on Dalglish’s side heading into the season’s final day.
In Liverpool’s favour is the fact the match is at Anfield, in addition to the fact that Dalglish signed for three years during the week – and a boost to their performance accordingly would not surprise, given the esteem the Reds legend is held in on Merseyside.
Liverpool have been in terrific form recently, having lost just two of their last 15 Premier League fixtures, winning four of their last five, in which they have scored 17 goals at an average of more than three per match.
On the other hand, Tottenham have been the polar opposite as they are clearly feeling the pinch after a long season.
Spurs have won just one of their last 13 matches in all competitions and have been limping towards the end of season for some time, with injuries to many of their first-team players not helping.
The likes of Jermaine Jenas, Gareth Bale, Tom Huddlestone, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Alan Hutton, Ledley King, Jonathan Woodgate and Wilson Palacios have all been sidelined at some period of time while Liverpool have also had their own injury concerns in recent times.
Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Martin Kelly and Milan Jovanovic are all on the Reds injury list at the current point in time, but Dalglish has turned the situation into a positive, using it as a chance to blood young players with future seasons in mind.
The reverse fixture between the two sides saw Tottenham win 2-1 thanks to Aaron Lennon’s stoppage-time winner, but any chance of a repeat is unlikely against a Liverpool side who have found form lately.
Barcelona’s Xavi insists his side will stay true to their attacking style when they take on Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.The Catalans head into the semi-final second-leg clash with a 2-0 lead courtesy of a brace from the inspirational Lionel Messi, but Xavi said as far as his side is concerned, the best form of defence will always be attack.
“They will need to go out and look for the game more,” the Spanish playmaker said.
“They’ve lived on a counter-attacking game and been ultra defensive, but we have to be prepared for them to play higher up the pitch tomorrow.”
“Whatever happens though, Barca will stay true to their own way of playing. Our game won’t change at all.”
“We always attack and never try and sit back and defend a lead – we don’t know any other way to play and our fans would never let us.”
Xavi said he was disappointed about the furore surrounding the first-leg meeting between the two sides, which resulted in Real defender Pepe being dismissed and their manager Jose Mourinho being sent to the stands for his protests.
Barcelona substitute goalkeeper Jose Pinto was also shown red for his involvement in a half-time fracas, but Xavi insists these incidents are water under the bridge and his sights are set firmly on Tuesday’s match.
“I’m not one to judge the behaviour of the Real Madrid manager,” Xavi said. “We try to talk about football, and it feels as if it isn’t talked about much.”
“There is a bit about Madrid’s strategy and Barcelona’s strategy, but we focus on things that don’t have any importance in football.”
“It makes me a little sad to talk about things that are outside of the game of football that we love so much. We try to do our best on the pitch and respect our opponents, and then play our game.”
“Madrid have their weapons and their manager, who is a controversial figure – not just now, but always.”
“We try to stay away from this. We would prefer that we all talk a bit more about football and not outside factors that reflect badly on the sport.”
Brazilian midfielder Denilson wants to leave Arsenal in the summer after what he says is the ‘worst season of my life’.The 23-year-old admits the lack of success at the Gunners is a major reason behind his decision.
“A footballer’s career is over very quickly so it is time for me to move on. This has been the worst season of my life,” Denilson told The Sun.
“I made up my mind eight months ago. But I haven’t said anything because I did not want to disrupt the team during the season.”
“I’ve been to see Arsene Wenger and told him how I felt and he agreed to let me go. I know some people will think I’m crazy. They are right. It is a great club, with a great organisation, a great manager and so many talented players. I need a fresh challenge and although I’m taking a big gamble, I’m ready to take that risk.”
“I am a footballer and I want to play every week because I want the chance to play for Brazil. Look at Lucas (Leiva) at Liverpool. He’s been playing regularly and he’s in the Brazil team. That’s where I want to be.”
“I would love to be able to do that at Arsenal but based on how things have gone this season, I think it’s time for a change. So I am flying home to Brazil on Sunday and I’m hoping I can make a fresh start in Spain or maybe Italy.”
Denilson arrived at Arsenal in 2006 from Sao Paulo but failed to win a trophy with the club, who lost the Carling Cup final to Birmingham before falling to finalists Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this year.
“I am so upset. I am a winner and I came here to win trophies but I’ve been here for five years and won nothing,” he said.
“There’s something missing at Arsenal but no-one knows what it is. Not the manager, not the players – nobody. Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool spend millions and millions on players.”
“But we are still the best footballing side in Britain, we play beautiful football. Only Barcelona do it better. But we don’t win trophies. That’s so frustrating, you can’t imagine how frustrating. Some people say we don’t succeed because we are too young and naive – but that’s no excuse.”
“That (losing the Carling Cup final) was the moment our season was ruined, it started a domino effect and no-one could stop it. I knew it was a massive moment, the point where it all started to go badly wrong and I think we all knew. I went home afterwards and just cried. I was very upset, very sad and I was ashamed.”