Thursday, April 2, 2009

Laporta: Valdes is world's best


Barcelona’s Joan Laporta has claimed that Victor Valdes is the best goalkeeper on the globe, bar none at this point.

Valdes has been linked with a move out of Barcelona due to contractual problems, mainly due to salary issues. 

However, Laporta has told the Spanish press that he has the "the best goalkeeper in the world" and will get "what he deserves" as far as his salary goes.

"I believe that he wants to continue and we will be fair with the amount we say so that we can arrive at an agreement," Laporta said in an interview.

Laporta went on to claim that being a Blaugrana goalkeeper is "more difficult than at any other team" as "he saves few shots but always has to be on form".

The president also commented about the possibility of signing Cesc Fabregas, and revealed that it is something he would look forward to.

"I would very much like to have Fabregas in a Barcelona shirt but the opinions of the coach is what makes the decisions. We know that he is a big player and that he would fit our style perfectly," added Laporta.

When queried if Fabregas' ‘arrival' would give La Blaugrana the best midfield in the world, Laporta declared that they already "have the best". 

"Everything can improve, but the coach decides on things like this. I am sure that he would adapt to the system," he said.

In a rather contradictory statement, when asked about the rumoured interest of Real Madrid in Fabregas, the president said that he sees him at his current club, and "not" another.

"He is a player who is at home and is comfortable with Arsenal, it would show a lack of respect towards Arsenal to speak about this," he concluded.

Grp 5: Turkey 1-2 Spain


European champions Spain bounced back from a half-time deficit to defeat Turkey in Istanbul to dominate Group Five.

Spain, who had beaten the same opponents 1-0 in Madrid on Saturday, had to do it the hard way after falling behind to Semih Senturk's 26th-minute tap-in but second-half goals from Liverpool duo Xabi Alonso and Albert Riera earned Vicente del Bosque's side the spoils.

The victory means Spain, who have a 100% record after six matches in qualifying, are now a massive 10 points above Turkey - who many felt would be their biggest challenger in the pool - and six clear of second-placed Bosnia-Herzegovina, who were 2-1 winners over Belgium tonight.

Aside from that, the win also extended Spain's current unbeaten run to 31 matches - equalling the national record set under Javier Clemente in the 1990s.

Turkey enjoyed the better start at the Bernabeu on Saturday but this time it was Spain who threatened first through Riera's dipping 25-yard thunderbolt in the 13th minute.

It looked destined for the back of the net but Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Demirel produced a brilliant save to keep it out, sticking out his right hand and somehow managing to divert the ball over the crossbar.

Demirel was then called into action again seven minutes later, although this time he had a much easier job of saving Fernando Torres' low shot.

Six minutes after that, though, Spain found themselves a goal down.

Tuncay Sanli got in behind the visitors' defence to collect a dinked Arda Turan pass, and although the Turkey number 10 was unable to get a shot in himself, he poked the ball away from Iker Casillas and gave team-mate Senturk an open goal in which to slot home.

That was the only the second goal Spain had conceded since the group stages of Euro 2008 last summer, and on the previous occasion they managed to fight back from an early deficit against Belgium in October to record a 2-1 win.

A similar feat looked unlikely tonight though as hosts Turkey created two decent openings to increase their advantage either side of half-time.

Both were created by good work by Senturk and both were wasted by Nihat Kahveci, who opted to go for power over precision on each occasion and succeeded only in smashing his shots well off-target.

Turkey were made to play for the Villarreal hitman's profligacy as Spain drew level on the hour mark through Alonso's penalty.

Demirel made a hash of dealing with Xavi's corner and Torres, standing at the far post, sent a header goalward that was blocked at point-blank range by Ibrahim Uzulmez's arm.

The referee immediately pointed to the spot and Alonso coolly sent Demirel the wrong way to level the scores up.

With their tails up, Spain continued to press forward in search of second goal and Torres almost broke clean through only to lose the ball due to a heavy touch.

The Liverpool man had looked out of sorts up front on his own but he almost put the Spanish ahead in the 73rd minute when he latched onto a Santi Cazorla pass before sending a rising shot towards the top corner, only to see Demirel tip the ball over.

Turkey were not without an attacking threat of their own though, and Tuncay brought a good save out of Casillas diving away to his right with 10 minutes remaining.

Then came the knockout punch from the visitors as Riera slotted home his side's winner a minute into stoppage time.

Substitute Dani Guiza, who plies his trade for Fenerbahce in Turkey, collected a long punt forward and eased past his marker before feeding a low ball across the face of goal where Riera, in acres of space, had the fairly simple task of side-footing past Demirel.

Del Bosque still wary of failure


Spain coach Vicente del Bosque insists the race to finish top of their World Cup qualifying group is still open.
The veteran coach believes qualification is not yet secure despite his all-conquering side boasting a 100% record from their six matches so far and a six-point lead over the rest of the field.

The European champions continued their remarkable run of success in Group Five with a comeback victory over Turkey in Istanbul last night, Albert Riera sealing a 2-1 win in injury-time.

That victory saw Spain stretch their unbeaten record to 31 matches and equal the national record set under Javier Clemente in the 1990s, and it also allowed them to maintain their stranglehold on their pool.

In second place are Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Euro 2008 semi-finalists Turkey, who were considered by many to be Spain's biggest threat in the pool, are now 10 points adrift in third after losing both matches in their double-header against Del Bosque's men.

With only four games remaining, Spain are holding all the aces in the race to reach the World Cup finals, but Del Bosque has warned his side that there is still work to be done.

"We have the threat of Bosnia, who are six points behind. The group remains open, there are still 12 points to play for," Del Bosque said.

Despite his reluctance to look too far ahead, Del Bosque was inevitably quizzed about his in-form side's chances of adding the World Cup crown to their Euro 2008 title if, as expected, they make it to South Africa next year.

He said: "We have to recognise that Spain are one of the best teams in the world. There is no difference between the players on the pitch and those who are on the bench. They change positions and you don't notice. They are truly great.

"With regards to the World Cup title we have to look at Brazil and Argentina, but Spain have the game and the luck you need to win the World Cup.

"We'll see if we can maintain this great level against these two teams."

Spain had beaten Turkey 1-0 at the Bernabeu on Saturday but they needed to do it the hard way to make it two wins from two in Istanbul after falling behind to Semih Senturk's 26th-minute opener.

The European champions fought back after the break though and Xabi Alonso levelled the scores up from the penalty spot before Riera slotted home Dani Guiza's pass in injury-time to secure the points.

Although they had it far from easy, Del Bosque felt his side were full value for the victory.

"I think that we were better and we deserved the victory. The important thing were the three points," he said.

"This reflects very positively on the players. They showed the desire to win the game.

"A draw was not bad, but the players have wanted to win. We are in good form and a great situation, and we need to take advantage of it."

Pires still targetting trophies


Robert Pires has set his sights on helping Villarreal win some silverware after penning a one-year contract extension.

The 35-year-old former France international and team-mate Javi Venta, 33, both signed 12-month extensions tying them to the Primera Liga outfit until June 30, 2010.

Pires, who joined Villarreal from Arsenal in 2006, was delighted with the agreement and admitted his aim now was to try to help the club end their long search for a first major honour.

"My big dream is to win a title with Villarreal," said Pires, who had won a host of medals prior to moving to Spain, including World Cup and European Championships success with France.

"This team has a lot of quality and I'm sure they can win something in the future."

Regarding his contract extension, the ex-Marseille winger added: "Everything was signed very quickly. I was never nervous and had a lot of confidence in the president (Fernando Roig) and the coach (Manuel Pellegrini).

"We came to an agreement and personally I'm very happy because it's what I wanted and Villarreal have given me a great opportunity to continue here.

"This is great for me because I'm already 35 and there are very few players who can have an opportunity like this.

"I feel fine physically. At the moment I've signed for another year and then we will see what happens."

Brown: Wenger not a good manager


Arsenal's FA Cup win at the Emirates Stadium led to Phil Brown accusing referee Mike Riley of bowing to crowd pressure.
Arsenal's late FA Cup win at the Emirates Stadium led to Hull boss Phil Brown accusing referee Mike Riley of bowing to crowd pressure.

Brown was also furious with Arsene Wenger as he felt the Gunners boss was attempting to get his players booked for time-wasting, and he believed William Gallas was offside when he struck the winner in the 2-1 victory.

Brown felt Riley "succumbed to local pressure" in the second half after his players were jeered for time-wasting.

"Mr Wenger decides to join in and the result is my goalkeeper getting booked in the second half," he said.

"I can't say what went on at half-time, I have no idea."

He added: "Arsene Wenger got my goalkeeper booked. You call that good management? He was complaining about time-wasting."

Hull had taken the lead through Nick Barmby in the 13th minute, then the former Tottenham midfielder had a strike chalked off for offside.

The visitors then soaked up pressure until Robin van Persie struck with 16 minutes remaining, then Gallas appeared fortunate not to be flagged for the winner.

"There is no excuse for the first goal, it was definitely a mistake by us, no excuse about the second goal it was definitely a mistake by the officials," Brown said.

"That is why we are out of the FA Cup. Ask Mr Riley how much that will cost to the city, I don't think he'd understand and I don't think he'd care."

Brown stopped short of saying his players had been cheated.

"I can't use that word, but that is the case," he said.

Wenger, contrary to television replays, felt Gallas was onside.

"It is not offside because the ball was deflected by the fist of the goalkeeper," the Frenchman said.

"(Johan) Djourou first, the goalkeeper after, then a foul on Gallas. We should have got two goals."

Wenger was upset with Boaz Myhill time-wasting in the second half.

"If I asked you if their goalkeeper wasted time I'm confident that you would say yes," Wenger said.

Hibbert targets Wembley comeback


Everton's Tony Hibbert is winning his battle to be fit for the FA Cup semi-final, while Tim Cahill could make a return.

Cahill damaged a calf muscle in the 3-1 win at home to Stoke last Saturday and did not appear in the second half of the match.

It had been believed the Australian would be unlikely to recover in time to play in the Saturday lunchtime match at Portsmouth.

But he is responding well to treatment and is now considered to have a chance of facing the relegation threatened south-coast side.

Hibbert has been out with a thigh strain since the February 28 home win over West Brom.

And although he has not set a date for his return, the trip to Wembley to face Manchester United on April 19 is now a possibility.

Hibbert has been concentrating on strengthening his calf muscle to reduce the chance of similar injuries in the future.

He said: "It's settled down a lot quicker than was first thought. I'm not going to push it yet, and we've got a game in mind for my return.

"It's just a waiting game now. I'm running which is good, and the injury has settled down an awful lot.

"I'm concentrating on working hard and building up the muscle more so in future I don't have the same problems again, although I haven't started kicking a ball yet.

"I hate watching matches when I'm injured. It's frustrating, and it's even worse because of the run we were having.

"I hate watching but it was just one of those situations you have to put up with, if you're a footballer you'll get injuries.

"And as far as the semi-final is concerned, that would be a massive game at Wembley and what an occasion to play in."

Everton have received 31,825 tickets for the Wembley semi-final, and they will go on sale from next Monday, March 23.

Season-ticket holders and executive members have priority, and Everton will allocate tickets based on match attendance history.

The club expect a few tickets to remain for general sale, but again attendance history will take priority.

Horton gets Brown support


Hull is mulling over an official FA complain over their allegation Cesc Fabregas spat at assistant manager Brian Horton.

Tigers boss Phil Brown claims to have witnessed Fabregas - who categorically denies the accusations - spitting in Horton's direction as they went down the tunnel following the Gunners' controversial 2-1 victory in Tuesday night's FA Cup quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium.

Neither referee Mike Riley nor any of the other match officials mentioned such an incident in their report, and so the FA have written to Hull asking for their version of events.

The League Managers' Association confirmed they had been contacted by Horton, saying in a statement: "As the incidents fall firmly within the jurisdiction of the Football Association, who are making their investigations in the prescribed manner, neither the LMA nor Brian Horton will be making any further comment at this time".

Until any such official notification is received, the FA cannot take the matter any further.

Brown, meanwhile, remains unrepentant in the ferocity of his criticism of Fabregas.

"The pictures in the national papers verify the aggression he was showing towards players and staff after the game," said Brown.

"I could go on but I am not one for crying over spilt milk.

"I then witnessed him going down the tunnel and turning around and spitting at my assistant manager's feet.

"Whichever way you want to look at it, he addressed that spitting incident at my assistant manager, who has managed probably 1,200 games in his career. Disgraceful act.

"I am not going to report it, I am not going tittle-tattling to the FA - if they want to investigate that is their decision, and if Brian Horton wants to take it further he will get the full support of Hull City."

Even though Fabregas - who is on the verge of a comeback after three months out with a knee injury - was not in the Arsenal playing squad on Tuesday and only came onto the pitch to celebrate at full-time, the FA still maintain disciplinary jurisdiction.

However, because the alleged incident was not during normal game time, it would not fall under the 'fast-track' system, so any investigation would seek submissions from all parties involved, as well as any potential television evidence - although if a confrontation occurred in the tunnel, there is unlikely to be any footage.

Aside from the post-match row, Brown was upset about Gunners boss Arsene Wenger attempting to get Hull players booked for time-wasting.

The visitors - who took the lead through Nick Barmby in the 13th minute before Robin van Persie levelled in the second half - were denied a replay and another chance to secure a Wembley semi-final date with Chelsea when William Gallas headed in a winner, despite looking offside.

Brown felt Riley "succumbed to local pressure" in the second half after his players were jeered by the home crowd.

Those comments could land the Hull manager in hot water with the FA, after implications his team had been cheated.