Archive for Marzo 3rd, 2011
Fernando Torres is confident of ending his goal drought for Chelsea and insists it was always going to take him time to settle in at his new club.
Torres was afforded few chances in his latest game for Chelsea, although the defending champions beat Premier League leaders Manchester United, and the striker has now gone 315 minutes without a goal for the Blues since his £50 million move from Liverpool.
The Spaniard missed a hatful of openings in previous games against Fulham and FC Copenhagen, but despite his problems, the 26-year-old is confident the goals will flow once he adjusts to his new team’s style of play.
“It’s important to understand the style of football your team is playing, how you are involved in the system and everything,” Torres told Chelsea magazine. “This always takes some time. But, I think, once you get it, everything becomes much easier. The important thing is to have different options in the way you play.”
Torres was given free reign as a lone striker at Anfield but has yet to be indulged on that front by Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, who has played him with a partner or in a three-man attack.
Torres said: “If you want to be a top player, you have to be able to play in all these situations and I’m sure here at Chelsea I will play in different positions sometimes. I’m ready for this because I want to play where the manager asks me to – I know the competition is high here.”
The striker also insisted he never doubted he would be a success at Chelsea when he decided to leave Liverpool.
“I think when you make a decision this important you must be sure you can do it, otherwise it’s not worth moving to a club like Chelsea,” he said. “You have to have confidence in yourself and you have to work harder than everyone else because you are the new player to arrive at the club.
“I have confidence in myself, I have confidence in this team and I have tried to become involved in everything this team is doing from the first day.”
Revealing that first day was “similar to starting at school”, he added: “You are always, not worried, but a bit shy when you arrive on the first day and you want to do many things – go here, go there, train well, meet everyone.
“But, here, the atmosphere was very good, they have made it very easy for me. For me, of course, it’s very important to find a house or an apartment and bring my family to live here with me now. It’s tough in the beginning when you are in a hotel and then you just go to the training ground.
“You haven’t got a car or anything – you cannot live a normal life – so, obviously, it’s different to what you’re used to. Hopefully, I can find somewhere as soon as possible and I can start living here.”
Meanwhile, Petr Cech says Chelsea’s belief has been strengthened by their victory over Manchester United.
“It is a very important win and it was our only hope of retaining at least some chance of winning the title,” he said. “There are still 33 points in play, so it may happen. But it all depends on Manchester and whether they will feel the effects of this defeat. They still have it in their own hands and 12 points is a good lead. We have to keep winning.
“We were in a terrific mood. After all, beating Manchester United always makes one happy. They are our traditional rivals in the title race and the win is very valuable.”
Chelsea play United again in May and Cech added: “We are yet to play at Old Trafford and if we could succeed there, it would take us even closer to United.”
Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com
CONCACAF secretary general Chuck Blazer is pushing for an extra World Cup slot for his confederation as FIFA’s executive committee meets to decide the make up of the Brazil 2014 tournament.
Football’s power brokers are in Zurich for a two-day meeting that will see the distribution of the 32 places for the 2014 World Cup decided.
The process is likely to be overshadowed however by political wranglings – specifically over whether current FIFA president Sepp Blatter is to face a challenge to his position from Asian federation supremo Mohammed Bin Hammam in May.
That situation could influence the outcome of bargaining over the World Cup slots – especially as FIFA powerbroker Jack Warner, the head of the CONCACAF federation of countries from north and central America and the Caribbean, is demanding an extra spot for his member states.
That would take them up to four guaranteed slots. Currently CONCACAF have three places plus a possibility of a fourth via a play-off against a South American country.
Chuck Blazer, the USA’s FIFA executive member and secretary general of CONCACAF, said the confederation’s 40 national associations – one fifth of FIFA’s total – deserved more representation in the World Cup.
Blazer told Press Association Sport: “From both a sporting and political perspective we believe we warrant the extra half-place.
“Politically, we have the number of countries to warrant it and our countries’ performances in the World Cup have demonstrated that we deserve it.”
The 2014 hosts Brazil will have an automatic slot, so South America should be happy with the 4.5 berths it had in 2010.
Asia also have 4.5 slots currently – the fifth team plays off against the leading country from the Oceania federation.
Europe’s 13 places are unlikely to be challenged, especially with three of 2010 semi-finalists coming from that continent, but Africa’s five slots could be vulnerable with only Ghana making any sort of showing at last year’s finals.
Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com
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