The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Manchester City

  • Man City needs 10 years to match Barca and Real Madrid

    Man City needs 10 years to match Barca and Real Madrid

    Manchester City needs 10 years to match the levels of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Juventus, according to manager Pep Guardiola.

    The 46-year-old’s first season in charge at the Etihad Stadium ultimately ended in relative disappointment, with City finishing third in the Premier League and failing to win a trophy.

    Their Champions League campaign was ended in the last 16 by Monaco, ensuring that Guardiola missed out on reaching at least the semi-final stage for the first time as a head coach.

    City have set about revamping the squad to improve their chances of silverware in 2017-18, having spent a reported £76.5million on Bernardo Silva and Ederson amid links with a number of other possible signings, including Alexis Sanchez and Benjamin Mendy.

    Guardiola insists that he will not change his methods in England but he has warned City fans that it takes a decade to establish the kind of success enjoyed by Europe’s dominant sides.

    “I’m not going to change because I don’t know how to do things in another way,” he told L’Esportiu.

    “Here, just as it is everywhere, it’s 11 against 11 and in the same space. The difference is that the referee allows more and then the game is more balanced.

    “I hope to do quite well, as I did in the first season, because I’ve enjoyed it. There are some people who say it hasn’t gone well but the exception is what we have done until now.

    “Seven years as a professional head coach and six league titles, and with respect to the one that was lost, there is plenty to discuss.

    Always in the Champions League semi-finals. This year, we weren’t there, but not even Barca have reached the semi-finals every year.

    “City are a great team, they’ve been in the Champions League for five consecutive years, the only team in England to have done so, but to reach Barca, Real Madrid, Bayern, Juventus… it’s very tough. You need time, a decade.”

  • BREAKING NEWS: Chelsea sign former Man City goalkeeper Caballero

    BREAKING NEWS: Chelsea sign former Man City goalkeeper Caballero

     

    Premier League champions Chelsea have made their first signing ahead of the new season, bringing in former Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero on a free transfer.

    Caballero was one of five senior players allowed to leave City at the end of their contracts by Pep Guardiola, with Chelsea moving quickly to secure the 35-year-old on unspecified terms.

    He will provide cover for regular goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois following the sale of Asmir Begovic to Bournemouth.

    “I am very happy to join Chelsea, the champions of England,” said Caballero. “I am looking forward to meeting the guys and helping the club achieve more success in the coming season.”

    Caballero spent three seasons at Manchester City, performing heroics in the League Cup final in 2016, saving three penalties against Liverpool to secure the trophy for his side.

    The Argentinian battled with Claudio Bravo for the gloves last season and ended the campaign as City’s regular goalkeeper, with Chelsea’s technical director Michael Emenalo pleased to bring Caballero to Stamford Bridge.

    “We are very happy to have Willy on board,” Emenalo said. “He knows the Premier League and is tried and tested at the top of the game.

    “We have three experienced goalkeepers and we look forward to welcoming him to the club when the squad returns to pre-season training.”

  • Gomis mobbed at Ataturk airport in Istanbul

    Gomis mobbed at Ataturk airport in Istanbul

     

    Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis has agreed a permanent transfer to Turkish giants Galatasaray, the Welsh club confirmed on Wednesday.

    Gomis leaves Paul Clement’s side for a fee believed to be in the region of £2.5million after spending last season on loan in with Marseille.

    Swansea confirmed the transfer on their official Twitter account, wishing the striker good luck at his new club.

    The Premier League side released a statement titled: ‘Swansea City has agreed the transfer of striker Bafetimbi Gomis to Galatasaray for an undisclosed fee, subject to paperwork approval and international clearance.’

    Gomis was pictured smiling as he was mobbed by supporters of his new club upon his arrival at Istanbul’s Ataturk International airport.

    The forward had earlier taken to Instagram to post a collage of himself on an Istanbul-bound flight, while also showing his tickets from Lyon to the Turkish city.

    Galatasaray announced on their Twitter account on Tuesday night that official talks had began with Swansea to sign Gomis.

    Gomis, capped 12 times by France, had a limited impact during his time in south Wales after beginning his Swansea career as back-up to Wilfried Bony.

    After Bony’s departure to Manchester City in January 2015, Gomis established himself as Swansea’s main striker and scored 17 goals in 71 games.

    But he spent last season on loan at Ligue 1 club Marseille, where he scored 20 goals in 31 league games.

    Before leaving for Turkey, he posted a farewell to the club’s fans on Instagram, saying: ‘I had come with a very specific goal, to help the club qualify for Europe and score 20 goals, and this happened.

    ‘Today a page turns for me. I have made the choice to leave for a new experience, I leave with a heavy heart because I leave friends, brothers, a stadium, a city, a family, great men.’

    Swansea are set to replace Gomis by signing Chelsea’s England Under-21 striker Tammy Abraham on a season-long loan.

    Abraham spent last season at Bristol City – scoring 23 goals in the Championship – and Chelsea were keen for the 19-year-old to gain further loan experience in the Premier League.

    The deal should be formally completed following England U21’s departure from Euro 2017, where Abraham scored in normal time before missing a penalty in the semi-final shootout defeat to Germany.

    Swansea also hope to conclude the signing of Las Palmas midfielder Roque Mesa for £11.5million in the next 48 hours.

    The 28-year-old central midfielder had a pass completion rate of 91.4 per cent last season, the fourth highest in La Liga in the campaign just finished.

  • Neymar shows off new hairstyle at charity auction

    Neymar shows off new hairstyle at charity auction

     

    It has been all change off the pitch for Neymar in recent days, with the striker sporting a new hair-do after becoming newly single.

    The Barcelona superstar put in an appearance at a charity auction on Thursday night at the Neymar Jr. Institute in Sao Paulo.

    The auction was in order to raise money for the striker’s eponymous foundation, which aims to help children in need in his home country of Brazil.

    It was there that Neymar unveiled his new, longer hairstyle, which appeared to be more natural than his usual cuts.

    The curly black locks provided a striking contrast to his previous looks, which have included bleached blond efforts and mohicans.

    Among the other stars at the auction was Brazil team mate Dani Alves, whose future remains unclear amid continued interest from Manchester City and Chelsea.

    While at the event, Neymar told reporters that he has split from long term girlfriend, actress Bruna Marquezine.

    He said: ‘I do not like to talk about personal things, but yes, me and Bruna are separated. It’s a decision we have taken.

    ‘It was a decision of both parties. Bruna is a girl I admire a lot and I hope she is happy, not only professionally but in her personal life. Life goes on, because this is a part of it. We end as good friends.’

  • Juventus to release Alves from contract

    Juventus to release Alves from contract

    Italian giants Juventus confirmed on Thursday they would release right-back Dani Alves from the final year of his contract.

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is known to be interested in the 34-year-old, whom he knows from their time together at FC Barcelona.

    Juventus chief executive Beppe Marotta said Alves had “expressed a desire to try a new experience’’.

    Marotta said Juventus hoped to reach a “mutual termination’’ with Alves.

    He wished the Brazilian good luck for the future.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Alves has only been with Juve for a year, winning Serie A and reaching the UEFA Champions League final.

    Prior to that, he had spent eight seasons at FC Barcelona.

    The first four of those were under Guardiola, a period when the pair shared in two Champions League triumphs and won La Liga on three occasions.

    Manchester City do not have an experienced right-back after releasing out-of-contract duo Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna.

    Guardiola has been linked with Tottenham’s Kyle Walker as well as Alves, who he bought for FC Barcelona from Sevilla for £23m in 2008.

  • Wenger grabs full back Sead Kolasinac for free

    Wenger grabs full back Sead Kolasinac for free

    Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Schalke left-back Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer.

    The Bosnian previously attracted interest from top clubs in the Premier League and across Europe and was the subject of a failed bid from Chelsea in January. Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Juventus and AC Milan were also keenly monitoring the defender.

    But Arsene Wenger has been tracking the Bosnia and Herzegovina international for some time and the Gunners, after opening negotiations in April, staved off fierce competition to land their man on a five-year contract.

    Kolasinac was born in Germany, has a German passport and represented the country from under 18 to under 20 level before switching his allegiance to Bosnia. He can also play at centre-back or as a defensive midfielder.

    He joins a group of Arsenal left-backs currently including Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs, with the latter recently linked with a move away from the club.

    The defender is due to meet up with his new team-mates in July for the start of the club’s pre-season programme.

    Speaking for the first time as an Arsenal player, Kolasinac said: ‘It feels really good and I’m pleased to be here. I’m happy to have signed at Arsenal for five years and I’m really pleased.

    Arsenal has a huge tradition and I followed the club as a young boy, in the days of Jens Lehmann and Thierry Henry. Arsenal has always been a club that is well recognised in Europe and I’m pleased to be here.

    “Jens Lehmann played at Schalke too, which is where I’ve come from. As a young kid, I followed his career and I always thought he was a good goalkeeper. I’ve been able to meet him and looking back, he was a really good goalkeeper.

    “I think my main strength is my mentality. I’m a player who will try to help the team as well as I can. My strengths are my mentality. There are different positions but I think left back is where I feel most comfortable. I can play as part of a three at the back too or further forward. I’m really flexible.”

    Arsenal broke the news of their first summer signing with a creative social media post, as they tweeted a list of nine Gunners players signed by Wenger, with the first letter of each of their surnames ordered to spell out Kolasinac.

    They then posted a video of a 10th player, which turned out to be Kolasinac, with the newest Gunner greeting fans by saying: ‘That’s right, it’s me. Come on Arsenal.’

  • SWAN calls on state governments to encourage sports talents

    SWAN calls on state governments to encourage sports talents

    The President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Honour Sirawoo, has called on state governments to adopt policies that would discover sports talents to boost tourism and employment.

    Sirawo, made the call in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday when he led SWAN national officials on a courtesy visit to Kebbi Gov. Alhaji Atiku Bagudu.

    “Sports has gone beyond recreation and past time to the level of revenue earner and encourages tourism, if the states can tap the talent of their sportsmen and women,” Sirawoo said.

    He urged the governments to invest heavily in sports to facilitate the socio- economic development of the country.

    “If one should draw an instance from Christiano Ronaldo, a Real Madrid footballer, one can simply understand the impact of talent in a country.

    “Ronaldo was a secondary school drop out, but because of his talent, he now earns about 500,000 Pounds per week and another 600,000 Pounds as match bonus.

    “More so, in our local example, 19 year- old Kelechi  Iheanacho, who plays for Manchester City earns about 85,000 Pounds per week, which goes to show that sports brings economic prosperity to the people,”  he said.

    According to him, SWAN officials were in the state to mobilise the state government in its efforts to revive sports.

    He acknowledged the efforts of the government for improving agriculture and electricity supply.

    The president also explained that the association was created in 1964 with the aim of promoting and developing sports activities in the country.

    In his remarks, Gov. Bagudu, represented by Alhaji Babale Yauri, Secretary to the state Government, said that government would strive to revive sports.

    “The government is now committed to energizing the Ministry of Youth and Sports to explore talents that will represent and win laurels for the state in national and international competitions,” he said.

    He revealed that the government would rehabilitate facilities and provide modern sports facilities.

    “This is in furtherance of our governor’s commitment to the development of sports,” he said.

  • Gabriel Jesus: From street painter to £75,000 a week super star

    Gabriel Jesus: From street painter to £75,000 a week super star

     

    Gabriel Jesus may be living the high life after emerging as one of the most exciting young strikers in world football, but the Manchester City star’s humble beginnings are still fresh in the memory.

    Standing barefoot on a cobbled street in Sao Paulo, a 17-year-old Jesus was just another youngster dreaming of playing in the yellow shirt of Brazil. He was, like many, preparing for the World Cup to come to his homeland.

    In a series of photos posted on his social media account, the diminutive forward revealed he was helping to paint the streets of his neighbourhood in patriotic colours in preparation for the tournament just three years ago.

    He would have watched the World Cup play out on television with Brazil making their way to the semi-final before a crushing 7-1 defeat by Germany in Belo Horizonte.

    Little would he have guessed that he would be favourite to lead the line when the Selecao have another crack at winning their sixth World Cup in Russia just four years later.

    Indeed, so much has changed for Jesus in the time between these photos and the present day. Then, he was just a youth player for local professional side Palmeiras and earning the modest sum of just £3,500 a year.

    Soon after, his talents would be recognised and he would be thrust into the senior squad only for Manchester City’s South American scouting network to take notice and alert a certain Pep Guardiola.

    A £27million move to the Etihad was agreed in August 2016 with his move going through the following January. He signed a five-year deal with the Citizens worth £75,000 a week, although his mother recently revealed she still controls his wage and hands him pocket money each month.

    It was clear Manchester City had a major star on their hands when Jesus inspired Brazil to the first Olympic gold medal in their history, scoring three goals in six games to help to heal the damage caused by that devastating World Cup defeat.

  • Demichelis to retire at end of season

    Demichelis to retire at end of season

    Malaga defender Martin Demichelis announced on Monday he would retire at the end of the season.

    The 36-year-old left Manchester City last summer and joined Espanyol, before starting his second spell at Malaga in January.

    His final game, if selected, will be Sunday’s home match against Real Madrid, who could win La Liga.

    Demichelis, who also play in midfield, won 51 caps for Argentina and also played for River Plate and Bayern Munich.

    “Unfortunately this day comes to us all. I’ve been deliberating it for some time, as I have always been very worried about the end of a professional football career.

    “I am grateful to the profession, and in this case Malaga in particular, because they extended my career as a professional footballer,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Martin Demichelis played 106 times for Manchester City between 2013 and 2016.

  • Liverpool falter again

    Liverpool falter again

    Liverpool’s hopes of securing an English Premier League top-four spot suffered another blow on Sunday after a goalless draw against Southampton, following James Milner second-half penalty kick miss.

    It was a match the Anfield faithful will want to quickly forget after their team had 65 per cent of the possession.

    They also had eight shots on target, as against none by their opponents.

    Liverpool rarely tested visiting goalkeeper Fraser Forster even at that.

    Their best chance to score came in the 66th minute when they won a penalty kick after Southampton’s Jack Stephens was judged to have handled Lucas’ delivery.

    Milner, who had not missed from the spot in the league since November 2009, saw his effort saved by Forster who dived low to his right.

    Some seconds earlier, the England goalkeeper had approached the midfielder as he attempted to place the ball on the spot, and the tactic worked in the least.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the draw moves Liverpool up to third, above Manchester City who are on 70 point but have a game in hand.