Archive for Luglio 16th, 2011
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Doni seals Reds deal
Liverpool have completed the signing of goalkeeper Alexander Doni from Roma.
Brazil international Doni, 31, arrives to provide competition for Pepe Reina and director of football Damien Comolli feels it will be of real benefit to the squad.
He told the club’s official website: “We are delighted to sign Doni. It’s a position we felt we had to strengthen because it will allow our young goalkeepers to go on loan and get some experience at some point during the season, which is crucial in their development.
“We are getting a very experienced goalkeeper who is used to handling the pressure of big games and international matches with Brazil. He had a very good end of last season with Roma, so we are very pleased.
“I spoke to Lucas about Doni and he was very complimentary about him as a person and as a goalkeeper, so I think it’s a great deal for us.
“He is suited to English football. He is big and good in the air and his distribution is quick as well. When you play for Roma for years and years, the pressure at that club in that city is tremendous, so the fact he can handle that shows he can take anything.”
He added: “When you come here and know you will be a number two behind Pepe, what’s important for us is the attitude and mentality off the pitch and in the changing room. He’s got to be supportive of the number one but also be aggressive enough to push the number one on a daily basis, and I think Doni represents all that.
“When we approached him the first time, obviously he wanted to be a number one somewhere but he said Liverpool Football Club is such a big club that if he wanted to come as a number two then he would come.”
Liverpool have not announced the details of the fee or contract length.
Doni, who holds an Italian passport, joined Roma in 2005 from Brazilians Juventude and spent six seasons with the Giallorossi, winning the Coppa Italia in 2007 and 2008.
The 31-year-old is Liverpool’s third summer signing following the capture of Jordan Henderson from Sunderland and Charlie Adam from Blackpool, while a fee has also been agreed for Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing.
Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com
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Rio laughs off the doubters
Rio Ferdinand says it is “ridiculous” that any team bar Manchester United could be considered title favourites this season.
United have dominated the Premier League over the last five years, with only Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea having interrupted their stranglehold on the competition in 2009-10, and last season’s triumph saw them overtake Liverpool’s 18 titles.
Even so, some have expressed doubts over United’s squad in light of their comprehensive Champions League defeat to Barcelona, but Ferdinand feels it is the result of rivals clutching at straws.
“It is ridiculous,” he said. “It makes me laugh. We have won the league four times out of five. Half of it is that people want someone else to win it.
“Before I came here, Manchester United used to win the league and I would think it would be nice from a fans’ point of view to see someone else putting up a challenge. Your heart rules your head sometimes. Not that it bothers me.
“There is a challenge every year. You have to rise to it. Each year we have risen to it and come through.
“We have won four out of the last five leagues. It has not been easy and it will be another tough season this year, but we are looking forward to it.”
He added: “It was a weird summer. We won a 19th league title, which was obviously fantastic, but we lost the Champions League final.
“When you dust yourself down and analyse everything, it was a successful season. If someone had said at the beginning we would reach the Champions League final and win the league, we would have accepted it and I am sure the media would have thought we had done quite well. That is how you have to look at it.”
The Champions League final was a re-run of the 2009 event in which United were beaten 2-0 despite entering the game as favourites, and Ferdinand says that was far tougher to take.
“The time before in Rome, I spent my whole summer moping around even though we had won the league,” he said. “I just think you have to savour moments like that. The 19th title was a big event. We should enjoy it.”
Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com
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Yaya expects title success
Yaya Toure has revealed Manchester City are expecting to win the Premier League title this season.
City have finally broken into the Champions League after finishing third last term, and they have already added Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic to the squad this summer with a big-name signing such as Sergio Aguero expected to follow.
Toure knows that things will be more demanding as they compete in Europe’s top club competition, but he believes City will win the title for the first time since 1967-68.
“The new season will be very, very hard and we need to improve, because this season the club will play in the Champions League,” he told the club’s official website.
“And we expect to stay in the top four of the Premier League and we expect to win the Premier League because now we are coming with more confidence, the players know each other better. I think this year will be fantastic for us.”
City will be boosted by the return of Yaya’s brother, Kolo, in September when he completes his six-month suspension after failing a drug test.
Yaya said: “Kolo’s well. He’s in New York with the family. We hope September will come quickly and we hope to help the club win something again next year.
“Now I think he’s more happy than anybody because he will come quickly back to the team, and for the team we need him because we know the Premier League is very hard and we need to have two or three players per position.”
Toure has also tipped 17-year-old Spanish teenager Denis Suarez, who signed from Celta Vigo earlier in the summer, to make an impact.
“He’s a midfield player with very, very good quality,” he said. “He’s young and he has an amazing ability to take the ball, like all the Spanish players, and I think it’s fantastic for the club.”
Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com
QPR boss Neil Warnock has revealed he is unlikely to be allowed more than £1.25 million in transfer funds this summer as he prepares for life in the Premier League.
QPR secured promotion after winning the Championship this season but, despite the club’s rich owners, there have been concerns over new signings.
Those concerns were eased this week when England striker Jay Bothroyd and former West Ham midfielder Kieron Dyer joined on free transfers, but Warnock believes DJ Campbell is likely to be the only player he buys.
“They’ve made it clear to me we’ve got to try and get value for money, don’t spend transfer fees,” he told talkSPORT. “They’ve agreed to pay £1.25 million for Campbell but I can’t see any other money changing hands, other than DJ Campbell, if I’m honest.
“I thought I’d have a few millions, if I’m honest. I was disappointed but it’s not the end of the world. It would have been nice to have money to spend but its just another one of those things in my managerial career where I have to show what I can do.”
He added: “I look at the players I’ve brought in, Bothroyd and Dyer, and if I can get three or four more players of that quality, I’ll be more than happy. I’m not despondent. I’d love money, every manager wants money. But it’s not all doom and gloom.”
Warnock could also lose inspirational midfielder Adel Taarabt after he expressed an interest in joining Paris St Germain.
“We don’t know whether he’s going to go or stay,” he added on Sky Sports News. “It’s up in the air at the moment.
“We’re quite optimistic either way. If we lost him it would be easier for me in some respects, the money would come in handy, but I don’t think we’ll spend any of it.
“With his family all in France, and his girlfriend there as well, there’s so many things to tempt you. He’s going to be at a top club, (on) massive money.
“[Co-owner Flavio Briatore] is going to make the final decision on what money he accepts. PSG are close to making an offer. Whether it’s enough for Flavio I don’t know, but he’ll be telling me as and when he either goes or if he’s definitely staying.”
Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com
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