Category: News

BLATTER BACKS BRAZIL

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FIFA president Sepp Blatter has stated that he is confident that the stadiums will be ready in time for the World Cup 2014. FIFA has also confirmed that there will be no speeches by officials in the opening match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12. This has been done in order to prevent unnecessary protest from starting inside the stadium. During the Confederations cup, Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff gave a speech and he was booed off by the crowd due to allegations about corruption.

There has also been a lot of discontent amongst the Brazilian public that the government had spent a huge amount of money on unnecessary aspects like developing the stadium rather than improving the infrastructure, which is a major doubt on the nation. Due to the large amount of supporters who are expected to travel for this tournament, it has been suggested that Brazil’s infrastructure like road and air transported will not be able to handle the volume. Blatter, meanwhile, attempted to once again put an end to the rumours that the stadium may not be ready in time for the World Cup.

The Arena Corinthians, which will hold the opening match, is still undergoing construction and is not expected to be handed to FIFA until a few months later.

“Everything with the stadiums will work out. This is not my first World Cup. In the end, all the stadiums will be ready. Friends of Brazilian football, where is the respect and the fair play, please? We hope that the World Cup will play a part in calming down the social unrest that we experienced during the Confederations Cup,” said the FIFA president. Brazil is estimated to have spent more than £ 8 billion in improving all aspects across the country, but it has been mostly spent on stadiums.

BRAZIL CAN WIN IT

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Brazil did not do well in a World Cup when they last hosted it. It was in 1950 when the country last hosted the tournament, but they lost in the final to Uruguay in front of 200,000 supporters. That team has never been forgotten by the supporters, but manager Luiz Felipe Scolari says that it is time that the country learns to celebrate that 1950 team rather than degraded it. He also wants to use them as an inspiration to win this upcoming World Cup. Brazil are the current record holders after having won five World Cup titles in their history.

Scolari says that the 1950 team were the pioneers to what the successes achieved in the five decades that followed. Brazil will be going into the 2014 World Cup looking to lift the title for the first time since 2002. Rather than wilt under the pressure of the home supporters, Scolari is planning to do well with the 12th man behind them. Brazil is one of the most football crazy nations in the world. Their supporters always expect the best from the home team, which could work against them, but Scolari is aware of this challenge and he wants to provide them with the best.

“Before 1950 Brazil had never gotten to the final, they were the pioneers of the five titles we have won since then. Those players got there and made Brazilian history. We built our success on top of them. We are going to try and get back to the Maracana for the final and properly remember the team of the 50s because they were wonderful and fantastic and that’s how I’d like Brazilians to think about them. We will be playing with 12 players on the pitch,” said Scolari.

Brazil will be up against Mexico, Croatia, and Cameroon in the group stages.

PLAY AND YOU’RE IN

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Australian national team manager Ange Postecoglou says that the players looking to get into the national team squad for the World Cup 2014 should be playing at the highest level on a regular basis. Postecoglou was recently appointed as the national team manager after a poor run of results left Australia facing early exit from the World Cup even before the tournament started. Since the nation qualified for the 2006 World Cup, they have been regarded as one of the strongest from the oceanic group.

Postecoglou’s latest comments come as a warning for players like Lucas Neil and Tom Rogic. They have the option to secure a regular first-team football by moving away from their respective clubs. While Lucas Neil is one of the established stars of the national team, Rogic is someone who is seen as a player with bright future. The manager has said that the players should at least try and secure a loan move and play regularly.

The manager undoubtedly has a tough job on his hands since Australia have been grouped in one of the toughest groups at World Cup 2014. It features the likes of Spain and the Netherlands, while South American team Chile will also be hopeful due to the home advantage.

”There’s quite a few that are in that boat who have to make some really important decisions about their futures. have said all along, I really need players playing and fit around selection time. For Lucas and others in the group, there are some pretty big decisions to come. Whoever is playing well and in form I will have a look at, whether that’s the A-League, Europe, or Asia. ‘I will be looking at individual’s form, their fitness and how they are going,” said the former Brisbane Roar manager, who is regarded as one of the finest from Australia.

MESSI BACKS RONALDO

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Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has surprised everyone by saying that he feels happy that Cristiano Ronaldo has made it to the World Cup with his Portugal team. Real Madrid star Ronaldo is known to have an intense rivalry with Messi especially after he moved to Spanish football. However, there have been rumours that the pair have rivalry only in professional terms and it does not extend into their personal lives. Messi has tried to prove this by saying that he feels happy for Ronaldo not only making to the World Cup, but also to score so many goals like he has done in the last few years.

Ronaldo scored all the four goals in Portugal’s 4-2 win over Sweden on aggregate. This helped them reach the World Cup finals at the expense of Sweden. Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game in the first leg, while he scored a hat-trick in the second to complete the rout. Messi is currently injured after suffering a hamstring injury a few weeks ago. He is not set to return until the end of 2013, which could effectively sealed his challenge to retain the FIFA Ballon d’Or award end with Ronaldo lifting the trophy.

“I was very happy for him when he scored those goals. It’s just great when the best teams compete in Brazil, and Cristiano has had a great scoring rate for many years now. He plays at an outstanding level. I don’t know if this is Cristiano’s best moment, but he is always there, scoring goals in all the games and playing his part for his club and his country,” said Barcelona superstar Messi, who has been the best player over the last four years.

Messi is already 21 goals behind Ronaldo in 2013, which could be a massive factor in the voting for the Ballon d’Or awards.

KUYT IS OPTIMISTIC

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Former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt has said that his team Fenerbahce need to be extremely cautious ahead of the Champions league match against Salzburg. This is the return leg of the Champions league qualifying round, and Fenerbahce are very close to sealing a place in the final qualifying round. They are likely to face top quality opposition in the next round, but that does not mean that this third qualifying round will be easy according to Kuyt. He has said that he has been in this position before at Liverpool where the club have had to go through qualifying rounds in order to reach the group stages of the Champions league.

He says that the Champions league is one of the strongest competitions in the world, and all the teams taking part in it are extremely strong. Hence, he has urged against any complacency from the Turkish club ahead of the match. Kuyt has been playing for Fenerbahce moving to the club last season for € 1 million. Prior to that, he played for several years at Liverpool since arriving at Anfield in 2006. The Carling cup remains as one of the major trophies won by the Dutch striker, who is also capable of playing on the wings as well.

“We are all excited about the game but these type of matches are never easy. This is the Champions league and anything can happen, I have experienced similar situations many times whilst playing for Liverpool,” said the striker. “With the help of our supporters we aim to qualify for the next round. “Getting results in friendlies is completely different to playing in the Champions League, Salzburg have an advantage in this regard as the Austrian league is already underway,” said Fenerbahce manager Ersun Yanal ahead of the match with Salzburg.