Monday, July 17, 2006
"Stamp on Carvalho was not deliberate, insists Rooney"
and I believe Him
England striker Wayne Rooney insists his stamp on Ricardo Carvalho during the World Cup quarter-final defeat to Portugal was not deliberate.
Rooney, 20, was dismissed after the challenge on the Chelsea centre-back and a subsequent confrontation with Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
England held on to a goalless draw against Portugal but went on to lose on penalties.
In his book serialised in the Mail on Sunday, Rooney said: 'In being forced back, I had trod on the player on the ground.
'It turned out to be Carvalho. And I was aware that my foot had landed between his legs, which, of course, is about the nastiest place to get hurt, but it was an accident.
'I couldn't believe that the ref, who was so near, hadn't realised that. Perhaps he was too near.'
Rooney added: 'I'll go to my grave and still maintain it was a complete accident. I hadn't intended to do it. I had my back to the player. I couldn't see him, or where I was putting my foot.
'If you think about it, if I'd done it deliberately, if it had been a definite stamp meant to harm him, the fella would still be in hospital to this day. But he was up on his feet in minutes, no worse for wear.'
Rooney insists Cristiano Ronaldo did not try to wind him up in the tunnel before England's World Cup quarter-final defeat to Portugal in Gelsenkirchen.
The Manchester United pair were pictured before the game, with suggestions Portugal winger Ronaldo was attempting to provoke Rooney into losing his temper when the match kicked off.
Rooney said: 'First of all, in the tunnel, we wished each other good luck in the game, hoped it went well, which is what you say to a team-mate. Okay, he wasn't in my team that day but you still wish a fellow professional a good game.
'Then he asked me if I'd heard where Quinton Fortune was going. I said no, did he know where he was going? Quinton's a friend and club-mate of both of us and he was reported to be leaving United.
'Neither us knew the latest. So that was it. We said good luck to each other, once more. And then the game began.'
Defeat to Portugal also marked the end of Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign as England manager, and Rooney enjoyed playing for the Swede despite never seeing him 'lose his temper or shout'.
He added: 'I felt a bit sad though that Sven was leaving. I think he was forced out by the press. They backed him into the corner. I always found him a very clever man and a good manager.
'They said he wasn't emotional enough and it's true I never saw him lose his temper or shout. But I think he was emotional, deep down. He did care. With him, it was always inside his body. I always liked his style, his calm manner.
'He did do his homework and prepared well, got his points across clearly. Most of all, he always trusted the players 100 per cent. I like a manager who does that, who doesn't treat us like kids.'
Jude
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Zidane poised for the ultimate farewell
Football's greatest artist bowing out by playing a World Cup final seems too wonderful to be true but Zinedine Zidane has set the scene for the perfect final curtain on Sunday.
Zidane will lead France into the title match against Italy in Berlin, the last game of a glittering career for club and country.
'He is one of the players who is worth the price of the ticket to see,' Italy midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, as scruffy as Zidane is elegant, said of the player he will try to stop from shining on the pitch of the Olympic stadium.
When the midfield maestro announced in April that he would retire after the finals, France coach Raymond Domenech said Zidane's finest hour may still come.
Few suggested then, however, that the man who scored two headed goals when les Bleus stunned Brazil 3-0 to lift the most coveted of all trophies for the first time in 1998, would sign off by playing a second World Cup final.
France had struggled to qualify and Zidane, who came out of international retirement last year to help France win a ticket to Germany, had looked rusty for months in sluggish performances for Real Madrid.
The gifted son of Algerian immigrants was past his prime, it seemed, and his first matches in the tournament confirmed the impression.
Two anonymous performances and as many yellow cards in two dismal draws meant he was suspended when France played Togo in their Group G decider.
Had France failed to reach the knockout stage, Zidane, who watched that match from the dressing room on his 34th birthday, would have left by the back door.
Instead France beat Togo 2-0 and the man his fans call Zizou returned for a second-round match against Spain, orchestrating play with calm authority and scoring a superb goal in added time in a 3-1 win that was the turning point in France's campaign.
'Retirement? I'm sorry to have to tell them (the Spaniards) that it won't be after this match,' Zidane said then. 'The adventure continues.'
Then came Brazil in a rematch of the 1998 final and Zidane was pure magic in a 1-0 win, rolling back the years and pulling out all his old tricks in one of the most magnificent displays of his entire career.
'Watching Zizou play must make others feel they should stop,' France midfielder Patrick Vieira said after that match.
'It also makes you wish he would carry on.'
Another age-defying performance in a 1-0 semi-final victory over Portugal in which he drove home the winning penalty followed, Zidane's 30th goal in his 107th appearance for France setting the stage for the ultimate farewell party.
'He means so much to the French people,' Domenech said of his captain in the build-up to the final curtain.
'He gives them something to cheer and he has done that now for 10 years. And we hope there is another day to come on Sunday.'
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Owen slams Sven's decision to play Rooney alone
Michael Owen believes Sven-Goran Eriksson's decision to play Wayne Rooney as a lone striker during last Saturday's World Cup clash with Portugal contributed to England's downfall.
Newcastle striker Owen has suggested Rooney's frustration at not getting enough support up front played a part in his eventual sending off for a foul on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho.
England battled on bravely to keep Portugal at bay during regulation play and extra-time but then went out on penalties.
In an interview to be shown during ITV1's World Cup final coverage, Owen said: 'You would suggest he's probably only got angry because of what's happened in the first hour of that game. It's a frustrating role to play.
'Wayne Rooney is one of the best strikers in the world and you're cutting one of his legs off if you're playing just one up front,' quotes The Sun.
Jude
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Another Italian Job
Italy have conceded just one goal en route to the final, but the Azzurri defenders are so much more than catenaccio kings. The one shot that has escaped the all-encompassing grasp of Gigi Buffon even came from one of his own team-mates - Cristian Zaccardo the guilty party against the United States.
But the back four have posed opponents myriad difficulties all over the pitch.
At the back, they have proved as immovable as their illustrious predecessors.
One can imagine Messrs Bergomi & Baresi looking on in admiration at Fabio Cannavaro, who put in another immense display against the Germans.
Small for a centre-half, the Italy skipper has been a giant in the knockout phase despite being deprived of his usual partner, Alessandro Nesta, and surpassed himself with an almost perfect display in snuffing out Miroslav Klose.
The unerring regularity with which the Juventus stopper popped up to nip German menace in the bud was quietly impressive, while his ability to play the ball out from the back - shunning the 'anywhere will do' mentality of many centre-halves - proved a vital starting point of many an Italian attack.
Who is the man motoring out of the back four to intercept a pass and feeding Pirlo for the final goal in the final minute of extra time? Yes, Cannavaro.
Nesta's replacement, Marco Materazzi, has also played his part.
It was his goal - after coming on for the injured Milan man - which unlocked the stalemate of the final group game against the Czech Republic, while he looked solid against Germany even if Lukas Podolski did get away from him to give Buffon the chance to extend himself.
GROSSO THE REVELATION
But the real stars of the show have been the two full-backs, Fabio Grosso and Gianluca Zambrotta.
Grosso could be the revelation of the World Cup.
At 28, the Palermo is a relative spring chicken in international football terms, but those who have seen his dynamic Serie A performances will be less surprised by the impact he has had in Germany.
A starter in five of the six games Italy have played so far, Grosso's impact in the opposing final third has been enormous both in terms of his own contribution and the fact his raids into 'enemy territory' have hindered opponents' own attacking ambitions.
It was his burst forward that provoked Lucas Neill's rash challenge and afforded Francesco Totti the chance to send Italy into the last eight at Australia's expense, while his cultured strike against the Germans will have left lesser-gifted offensive-minded players drooling.
WORLD'S BEST?
Gianluca Zambrotta is - arguably - the most complete full-back in the world. He is so good Lippi has him playing right-back, when he earns his weekly wage on the opposite flank.
You would never have known.
The Juventus man is a non-stop bundle of industry and invention, providing defensive solidity while also - like Grosso - giving Italy's generally width-starved side some desperately needed presence on the flanks and he even found the net against Ukraine.
His encounter with one of the other brilliant full-backs of the tournament, Germany's Philipp Lahm, was an intriguing battle.
Zambrotta - arguably - came out on top as Lahm's team-mate down the left, Tim Borowski, was taken off and Lahm's own ability to destroy teams coming in off that flank was significantly reduced.
he Italy quartet are a fearsome prospect for any side trying to find a way through - and with Buffon behind them in equally dominant form - if either France or Portugal finds the key to unlock the Azzurri rearguard, they will have earned their World Cup winners' medals.
Let sunday tell us
Jude
