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Tag: cristiano ronaldo

  • 10 candidates for football’s 2018 best player award – FIFA

    The 2018 men’s world footballer of the year will be picked from a list of 10 players instead of from a list of 23 as in the past, global ruling body FIFA said on Wednesday.

    The players in question will be selected by a 13-strong panel that includes legends such as Brazil’s Ronaldo and Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus.

    National team captains and coaches, media and fans then elect the best player in a poll between July 23 and August 10. The winner will be crowned at The Best FIFA Football Awards on September 24 in London.

    Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have won the prestigious award – now called The Best FIFA Men’s Player and formerly known as FIFA World Player and Ballon d’Or – five times each over the past 10 years.

    Awards will also be given out for best women’s player, best men’s and women’s coach, best goalkeeper and best goal, and there is also a fair-play prize.

    Read Also:FIFA sanctions hosts Russia, three others, warns Egypt over Salah

    The Newsmen reports that in 2014, Argentina had three nominees in Angel Di Maria, Javier Mascherano and Lionel Messi, while their opponents in Sunday’s final, Germany, have four.

    Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos, Phillip Lahm and Thomas Muller are the players nominated from Joachim Low’s side.

    Colombia’s James Rodriguez, Brazil’s Neymar and Arjen Robben of Netherlands complete the 10-man shortlist.

    Fifa has also announced the nominees for the Golden Glove competition, awarded to the best goalkeeper at the World Cup.

    Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas, Germany’s Manuel Neuer and Argentina’s Sergio Romero will compete for the prize.

    Meanwhile, Netherlands’ Memphis Depay and Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane of France were nominated for the best young player at the tournament.

  • Top goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history

    It cannot be denied that the 2018 FIFA World Cup will continue to spring more surprises especially with Russia’s stunning 5-0 victory in a thrilling opener against Saudi Arabia last Thursday.

    Moreso, with another spectacular performance from Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo popularly known as the King of goals in a suspense-filled match against Spain, one can boldly say that the World Cup 2018 is here with a lot of dramatic actions that will leave a lasting impression in the minds of football lovers for centuries to come.

    Thus, Russia 2018 might leave us with another talent that will join the list of the Top Goalscorers in FIFA World Cup History considering its whole lot of actions so far.

    The Nation in its quest to provide answers to the copious questions bordering on the aforementioned name the Top Goal Scorers in FIFA World Cup History.

    Statistically, over 2,300 goals have been scored at the 20 editions of the FIFA World Cup final tournaments, excluding penalties converted during shoot-outs with the first goal scored by French player Lucien Laurent at the 1930 FIFA World Cup.

    Also, further report confirmed that over 1,200 footballers have scored goals at the World Cup, only 90 of which scored at least five goals.

    Read Also: Top ten African players in FIFA World Cup history

    To start with, Argentina’s Guillermo Stabile became the top goal scorer of the inaugural competition in 1930 with eight goals. Since then, only 22 players have scored more goals at all the games played at the World Cup than Stabile did throughout that tournament.

    Thereafter, Hungray’s Sandor Kocsis joined the race with 11 goals scored in 1954. At the next tournament, France’s Just Fontaine improved on this record with 13 goals in only six games, holds the record for the most goals scored at a single tournament.

    While Gerd Muller scored for West Germany in 1970 and broke the overall record when he clinched a record 16 goals across four consecutive tournaments between 2002 and 2014.

    On the contrary, the lowest scoring tournament’s top goalscorer was in 1962, when six players scored only four goals each.

    Further statistical breakdown shows that across the 20 previous editions of the World Cup, 29 different footballers have been awarded with the most tournament goals, and no single player has achieved this feat twice. These 29 top goalscorers played for 19 different nations, the most (five) for Brazil. Another five came from other American countries, and remaining 19 came from Europe.

    In summary, the top goalscorers in World Cup history are approximately 90 in total, representing 30 different nations, with 13 netting for Brazil, and another 14 for Germany. In sum, 60 of the above category came from Europe, 27 from South American, and three from Africa.

     

    Additional reports from Wikipedia

  • Ronaldo fans fuel Messi rivalry over penalty miss

     

    Lionel Messi has been in the spotlight Saturday following his penalty miss   for Argentina against Iceland in their opening World Cup 2018 group game.

    Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has scored his first goal at a World Cup as Argentina took the lead before Alfred Finnbogason equalised from close-range.

    However, after Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics last night against Spain from dead-ball situations, Messi was handed the chance to restore Argentina’s lead with a 64th-minute penalty.

    But, the Argentine superstar proved that even the best could miss and his effort was saved low down to the left by Iceland’s goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson.

    Given Messi’s almost superhuman abilities his penalty record in his career is quite surprising.

    He has taken 103 and scored 79 and missed 24 which gives Argentine a 23.33% miss rate, which also equates to a miss once every four penalties.

    Messi’s record going into the tournament been suspect recently too, as reported by the Metro, it was his fourth miss from his last seven attempts for club and country which is only a success rate of 57%.

    Messi has missed four of the last seven penalties that he has taken for Barcelona & Argentina combined (57%).

    Furthermore, the first penalty scored in the World Cup 2018 was by Ronaldo, and the first penalty missed was by Messi.

    And Ronaldo fans couldn’t help but highlight this on social media to put more fuel in the long-standing Messi vs Ronaldo debate.

  • Russia 2018: Messi misses penalty as Iceland hold Argentina

    Lionel Messi’s bid to win the FIFA World Cup got off to a nightmare start as he missed a penalty and his Argentina side was surprisingly held by debutants Iceland.

    Messi was looking to match the impact his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo has made on the tournament – a sensational hat-trick against Spain on Friday night.

    But instead of being the hero, Messi was the villain as his second-half spot-kick was easily saved by Hannes Halldorsson with the score at 1-1.

    The draw was no less than Iceland, who are the smallest nation ever to play in a World Cup finals, deserved.

    Their disciplined, defensive tactics frustrated an Argentina side who enjoyed the majority of possession and they also carried a threat going forward from the start, with Birkir Bjarnason scuffing a glorious early chance.

    Read Also: Russia 2018: Fans urge Eagles to redeem Africa’s image

    After surviving that scare, the thousands of Argentina fans who packed out the Spartak Stadium were dancing in the Moscow sunshine when Sergio Aguero put them ahead with a superb strike after 19 minutes.

    But Jorge Sampaoli’s side have a soft centre and their lead lasted only four minutes and 15 seconds, as Alfred Finnbogason equalised with his country’s first goal at a World Cup finals.

    Finnbogason had made a hash of a header seconds earlier but Argentina failed to clear and Willy Caballero could only palm Hordur Magnusson’s shot into the path of the striker, who gleefully turned it home.

    Messi’s missed penalty was Argentina’s only clear-cut chance in the second half, although Cristian Pavon’s bouncing cross drew a fine late save from Halldorsson.

  • Rename Champions League, C. Ronaldo tells UEFA

    Basking in the euphoria of Saturday’s Champions League victory, Cristiano Ronaldo has opined that the UEFA league competition should be made after him.

    The Real Madrid player maker said he has won Champions League trophy five times, and said he feels the UEFA league should be renamed possibly after him.

    He further suggested that the elite club competition should be called ‘CR7 Champions League’, after himself.

    Ronaldo added the fifth European Cup with the Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory against Liverpool and golden boot to his accolades after while the forward finished the competition as top scorer with 15 goals.

    ‘Who was the top-scorer once again?’ Ronaldo said.

    ‘The Champions League should change and be called the CR7 Champions League.

    ‘I have won five and I am the top goalscorer again, so I cannot be sad.’

    The win makes Ronaldo the joint-second most successful player in European Cup history, with his fifth title moving him on par with legends like Alfredo di Stefano and Paolo Maldini.

    Former Real Madrid winger Francisco Gento is the only player to have won more European Cups with six, though Ronaldo’s seventh golden boot in the competition is a record.

    His 15 goals this year have propelled him on to 120 goals in the competition, now 20 clear of Lionel Messi.

    But there are now doubts over whether the 33-year-old will be able to extend his goal tally, or claim a record-equaling sixth European Cup, after suggesting he could leave Real Madrid this summer.

    Following the match, Ronaldo told beIN Sports: ‘Now we have to enjoy this moment. In the next few days I will give an answer to the fans that have always been on my side.

    ‘It was very nice to be at Real Madrid, in the coming days I will talk about it more.’

    He later backtracked, claiming: ‘I shouldn’t have said what I said.’

  • Ronaldo’s shot in training injures cameraman

     

    There is no doubt that today UEFA Champions league is a serious business.  Neither Real Madrid gunning for their third back to back title nor Liverpool hoping to re-enact their winning ways and stop Real Madrid’s cruise control are taking it lightly.  You might consider it funny but it is certainly not funny.  During training ahead of the showdown Real

    Madrid forward and Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo fired a shot which landed on the face of a cameraman giving him a cut on the face that had to be stitched.

    It was not an intentional shot aimed at the cameraman but a shot that probably went slightly away from target. Ronaldo immediately apologised  and handed the cameraman his jacket to seal the apology if you like and say ‘Hope we remain friends.

    However the shot even if off target is a warning shot, an indication that there will be fireworks today.  The fireworks will not come only from Real Madrid but also from Liverpool who will be hoping that Mohammed Salah maintains his goal harvest. For lovers of the game it will be battle royal today and it is fair to say there will be no dull moment.

    When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. In this case, it is the pitch of the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev that will be literally ‘burnt’ for 90 or more minutes.  If training ahead of the final witnessed breath-taking shots and moves then you can only imagine what the real thing will be.  It might be better to avoid blinking!

  • ‘Ronaldo spends too much time on his bum’

    Liverpool should be able to cope with the threat from Cristiano Ronaldo because he is not operating at anywhere near the same level he was last year, claims Graeme Souness.

    Jurgen Klopp’s men will come up against a formidable Real Madrid side in Saturday’s Champions League showdown with Ronaldo once again looking to make the difference in a major final.

    The 33-year-old was insatiable in last season’s final, scoring twice in a 4-1 win over Juventus as Real Madrid became the first team to retain the trophy in the Champions League era.

    With a record 120 goals in the competition, Ronaldo stands out as the danger man, but Souness believes the Portuguese icon is in decline and says he now spends ‘too much time’ complaining and not enough time scoring.

    ‘He spends a lot of time on his bum now, complaining he’s been fouled, and plays the width of the box,’ Souness said.

    ‘He’s still capable of great things but, like Real, nowhere near where he was even 12 months ago.’

    Whatever Souness believes, Liverpool will certainly be expecting to face Ronaldo at his very best. Indeed, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has an unrivalled ability to turn up on the biggest occasions and has 15 goals in this season’s Champions League.

    That is five more than his nearest competitor, Roberto Firmino, meaning he is likely to finish as the competition’s top scorer for the seventh time in his career.

    With four goals in Champions League finals, Ronaldo also needs just one more to equal the all-time record held by Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano (5), giving him further motivation for Saturday’s match in Ukraine.

    Ronaldo has, however, struggled in La Liga. With 25 goals to show from his domestic campaign, 2017-18 stands as his joint worst return since moving to the Bernabeu from Manchester United in 2009.

     

     

  • Klopp praises Salah for keeping grounded

    Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has praised Mohamed Salah for keeping his feet on the ground during his record-breaking Premier League season.

    The 25-year-old Egypt international scored his 32nd league goal of the season asMohamed Salah wound up their campaign with a 4-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.

    Salah’s tally is a new record for a 38-game Premier League campaign, eclipsing the previous mark of 31 achieved by Luis Suarez, Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo.

    “The last few weeks were really difficult for him,” Klopp told Sky Sports.

    Read Also:  Salah: Breath of fresh air

    “Imagine everyone telling you how brilliant you are, or they give you an Oscar for this, an award for that, an award for getting out of car without having an accident.

    “Staying on track in a season like this, it’s really difficult, he’s still a young boy and I am really happy with how he dealt with it.”

    Salah has scored 44 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions this season, and will get the chance to add to that tally when Liverpool face Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 26.

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  • Ronald doles out N301million for engagement ring

     

    Cristiano Ronaldo is not one to shy away from flaunting it if he has got it.  The Real Madrid forward who is set to partake in another UEFA Champions league final after his team hit the final edging out Bayern Munich Tuesday, is equally set to walk his long time girl friend Georgina Rodriguez to the altar with actual date still under rap.

    The Portuguese forward in the mean time has reportedly doled out a whooping £615,000 (Six hundred and fifteen thousand pounds) about (N301million) for the engagement ring.

    Neither has officially confirmed that they’ve taken a big step forward in their relationship, having now been together quite some time as well as having had a child together.

    Rodriguez is regularly snapped on Instagram looking after Ronaldo’s children, and so the couple seems very tight and very much planning a long future together.

    According to The Sun, speculation was rife following a photo which appeared to show Rodriguez wearing an engagement ring, they’ve suggested that they’ve found the Cartier ring she was wearing and it may have cost the Portuguese superstar no less than a staggering £615,000.

    Her social media following went crazy after the short video was posted on Instagram stories, sparking huge rumours that the pair are planning to tie the knot at some stage.

    With Real Madrid booking their place in the Champions League final, coupled with his participation at the World Cup in

    Russia this summer, it remains to be seen whether or not Ronaldo is planning to take time out of his busy schedule and wed Rodriguez later this summer.

    Ronaldo has four kids with Cristiano Jr and his two one-year old twins Eva Maria and Mateo previously born to surrogate mothers. Georgina Rodriguez recently gave birth to their first daughter together.

    Ronaldo was once quoted as saying he would love to have seven kids and seven Ballon d’or trophies.

     

     

     

     

  • UCL: Bayern Face Real Madrid, Liverpool Draw AS Roma

    Bayern Munich will play against Real Madrid in the Semi-Finals of the UEFA Champions League, as Liverpool will lock horns with AS Roma.

    Real Madrid reached the last four with a last-gasp 4-3 aggregate victory over Juventus. They had won 3-0 in Turin in a match where Cristiano Ronaldo scored a wonder goal, and lost 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeau. Ronaldo again had the final word of the match, when he converted an injury-time penalty after Gianluigi Buffon was sent off for his furious reaction to referee Michael Oliver’s decision.

    Bayern Munich on their part only had to hold on to a goalless draw in the second leg against Sevilla, with a  2-1 first-leg away win enough to take them through.

    Liverpool, the last English side standing in the competition this season, face AS Roma after cruising past fellow Premier League rivals Manchester City with a 5-1 aggregate victory. The Reds won 3-0 at Anfield, and also secured a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

    AS Roma on their part secured an incredible away-goals comeback victory over Barcelona to get through, beating the Spanish giants 3-0 in Roma having lost the first leg 4-1 at Camp Nou.

    Bayern Munich host Real Madrid on 24th April and Liverpool entertain AS Roma a day after. The reverse fixtures take will take place with AS Roma hosting Liverpool on 1st May, and Real Madrid host Liverpool on 2nd May, 2018.

    The draw further revealed that the winner between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid will play “host” in the final at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kyiv on 26th May, 2018