Tag Futebol

Netherlands youngster Eljero Elia could attract a lot of interest this summer if he impresses for his country during the World Cup in South Africa. His chances of playing will be increased should Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben not be fit for the tournament, or at least the early part of it.

There are many clubs who have been linked with the 23-year-old Hamburg winger including Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City (linked with just about everyone) and Juventus following an impressive season in the German Bundesliga. Elia scored five goals last term and is becoming a fan favourite at Hamburg since nailing down a regular spot in the first XI.

Despite the interest shown in him he insists that he does not want to leave Hamburg yet and insist he want to concentrate on the Oranje’s World Cup campaign.

“I will be playing for Hamburg next season. I am not finished at HSV by a long way,” said Elia, who added: “Being involved in the World Cup makes me the happiest person in the world,” he added: “I hope that I get to play in South Africa and then I will show the world what I am capable of.”

Despite his reluctance the rumours about him leaving still persist and clubs will continue to track the Hamburg star. I doubt whether he would be able to resist the chance to play for a Spurs or Liverpool side, why would any footballer worth his salt not want to play in the Champions League, or for one of the most famous clubs in football history? But he may be perturbed from a possible move if he is not confident of being first choice with a new club.

Breaking into the Tottenham line-up at the moment might prove to be difficult as they currently have Gareth Bale occupying the left-back spot. Bale impressed at the back end of last season, most notably against Chelsea when Tottenham won 2-1 at White Hart Lane. However, should Harry Redknapp acquire a talent like Elia he could move the Welshman into the left-back position, which would give the north London club a formidable attacking options down that particular flank.

As for Liverpool’s interest in the player, with the expected departures of Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera the club could do with re-strengthening their squad and may be able to raise funds with the aforementioned sales…even more so if they cash in on someone like Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres.

Of course we can only speculate about transfer rumours and many fans do not like to regard any rumour until they see a player putting pen to paper, or being photographed holding their club’s shirt. But Elia could be a fantastic acquisition for many European clubs as he has been billed as one of the hottest young properties in Dutch football. In 2009 he won the Johan Cruyff Award for Young Player of the Year in the Netherlands and is tipped as one to watch for the World Cup this summer, if he makes his name there then more clubs may join his current list of admirers.

For Elia, even though he insists that a move away is unthinkable his club finished outside the top six last season and won’t be playing any form of European football next season. Maybe the desire to play in a major league or European competition will prove too strong an urge for the player to snub.

Video showcasing Eljero Elia’s talents:

[youtube xL-6O94l308]

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Click here to follow me on Twitter: ajwilliams1987

Get the latest Liverpool news on Twitter

Get the latest Tottenham Hotspur news on Twitter

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has stated that he is confident that Brendan Rodgers will lead the club back to the Premier League top four.

The Anfield club have missed out on Champions League football for the last number of seasons, and Kenny Dalglish was sacked after poor domestic form last term.

However, the England international feels the Northern Irish boss has brought in a sense of excitement and that finishing in the top four is achievable.

“I do think we will get in the top four. I think we will get it. I am confident we will get it,” The Telegraph have Gerrard as saying.

“I am not being unrealistic. If we can play like we did in a lot of games last season, be clinical and take our chances, I think we will be high up in the table. I do.

“It has got to come. We are Liverpool. We can’t finish eighth. We have got to put that right. We have got to take the criticism for underperforming last year.

“We can’t be doing post-match interviews saying ‘we should have got the points or we were not clinical enough’. We have got to be clinical. We have got to get the points we should get,” he admitted.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

By Gareth McKnight

[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]

This week the Football FanCast Video Show takes a look at Joey Barton going into politics, Scott Carson being lost in translation and the worst footy fads of all time in this sideways look at football.

After another beating being handed out by Manchester United over their title rivals, Arsenal and Liverpool seem to be taking a different approach and seeing how much embarrassment each can cause. Fernando Torres forgot he was rubbish for a minute, then quickly remembered.

We give you an update on the ‘Owen Hargreaves how many minutes have I spent on the pitch’ totaliser, as well as pitching Wayne Rooney against Sergio Aguero. Then of course there’s the question of how long will it take Emmanuel Adebayor to win the Spurs faithful over, if he hasn’t done it already.

That’s not to mention the weekly Twitter Report, Caption Competition, TriviaCast and our 188BET giveaway, where you have the opportunity to watch your Premier League team play in style as a VIP; all on the Football FanCast Video Show presented by Anthony Richardson. Enjoy…

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

[ffcvideo file=’FFC_Week_3′]

Mick McCarthy is adamant his bottom-of-the-table Wolves side is a force to be reckoned with at home – even against Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s league-leading men travel to Molineux on Saturday and McCarthy believes his side poses a threat.

He said: “We’ve proved at home we can beat anyone and we keep everybody honest. Nobody turns up here and gets an easy ride and Manchester United will know that.”

“Sir Alex Ferguson always says this part of the season is the business end and Manchester United kick into gear. Well they did on Tuesday night (in the 3-1 win over Aston Villa) when they got off to a devastating start. “

“Ryan Giggs, Nani, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov are terrific. They’re worryingly good but they won’t worry me tomorrow.”

Defender Ronald Zubar’s error gifted a last-minute win to Bolton on Wednesday but McCarthy is sticking by his player.

He said: “I wanted to kill him on Wednesday night but he’s one of our players. He runs around and puts his shift in. Do you think he’s the only one who’s made a mistake? I don’t think so.”

“There’s only one bloke who never made a mistake and you know what happened to him. We’re all liable to make a mistake; you don’t cast him aside, you support him.”

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“I believe I will get the best out of him. He’s been terrific for us and I wouldn’t leave him out on the back of a mistake.”

Adlene Guedioura (broken leg), Stephen Hunt (calf), Michael Kightly and Michael Mancienne (both knee) are all missing for Wolves.

Chelsea are ready to conclude a deal to sign Eden Hazard’s younger brother, Thorgan.

The Blues have already completed a big-money deal to bring the Belgium international star to Stamford Bridge this summer, and are now closing in on his 19-year-old brother, who is also an attacking midfielder.

Thorgan currently plays for Lens, and the French club’s sporting director Antoine Sibierski has admitted that a deal is close to being finalised.

“It should be official tomorrow,” Sibierski told Lens’ official website, translated to English by Sky Sports.

“When I arrived there was no intention of letting him go and I met him very quickly after my arrival to show my confidence in him.

“He still had one year left and it was proposed he extended it but he told me eye to eye that did not interest him and he wanted to leave Lens.

“I realised 48 hours later why, when I learned Chelsea wanted him. I understand,” he concluded.

Meanwhile Lens coach Jean-Luis Garcia has confessed that the opportunity was too good for the player to turn down.

“He is a boy of 19, his elder brother signs for Chelsea and he is urged to do so by the same club, who won the Champions League.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“Congratulations to Thorgan. Unfortunately we cannot go against such an opportunity. Good luck to him,” the coach revealed.

By Gareth McKnight

[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]

Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes has confirmed that the newly promoted Premier League club are interested in signing David Beckham from LA Galaxy.

The veteran midfielder is out of contract at the MLS outfit in November, making him a free agent, and the Loftus Park side want to bring him back to London.

Fernandes, who recently took over the ownership of the club, confirmed that he would like to see Beckham at Rangers.

“I think having someone like David in the club would be great. Was always in my thoughts. Let’s see,” he stated on his Twitter page.

Fernandes is known to be a shrewd businessman, and his investment has already funded moves for Joey Barton, Anton Ferdinand and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

However, the Air Asia chairman also has links from within entertainment company AEG, who own LA Galaxy, and is using this to start the negotiation process.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The former Manchester United man has previously stated that he would not return to the Premier League unless it was to Old Trafford, but despite this may be intrigued by one last chance to play in the top flight in England before his career ends.

[divider]

Fancy watching the Champions in style – sign up to 188Bet for an experience of a lifetime below

Palmeiras moved fourth in Brazil’s Campeonato Paulista after they crushed Ituano 4-1 away from home on Thursday.

Striker Kleber netted a brace in the victory, opening the scoring in the 27th minute, before Welton equalised for the home side on the stroke of half time at the Estadio Barao de Serra Negra.

But it was all Palmeiras after the break, with Dinei putting the visitors ahead eight minutes after the restart before Kleber scored his second on the hour mark.

Tinga added an injury time goal to top off an emphatic victory.

Noroeste twice pegged back Botafogo on the road to force a 2-2 draw at the Estadio Santa Cruz.

Rodrigo Pontes got Botafogo on board in the 11th minute to give the hosts the lead.

But Ricardinho equalised for Noroeste in the 56th minute, before Moacir re-installed Botafogo’s lead 12 minutes later.

Not to be denied, Ze Carlos produced the point-snatching goal for Noroeste in the 74th minute to leave both sides on two points after two games.

Paulista’s trip to Gremio Prudente proved a fruitful one, as they walked away with all three points in a 2-1 victory at the Estadio Municipal Eduardo Jose Farah.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Hernane got the visitors off the ideal start with a 10th minute goal, but Rai restored parity seven minutes later to level things up at the break.

Rone Dias scored the winner for Paulista on 59 minutes, and the win leaves them in third place on the table, one of four unbeaten teams in the competition after two matches.

Observing illegal global betting markets virtually extinguish the structure of certain sports from the inside, as players are tempted into fixing certain outcomes, certainly does not sit comfortably with sports enthusiasts across the globe. After all, Sport is one of the most engaging, exhilarating pastimes in the world, in no small part down to its unpredictability and honesty. When accusations are surfaced of players accepting bribes to fix certain facets of matches, whilst gaining personal financial reward, goes against what the essence of Sport represents. In recent years, Cricket has been rife with illegal betting scandals, some players actually facing prison sentences for their respective part in the allegations. Match fixing in football on the continent has also been ubiquitous, not least in Italy where in May of this year, numerous Serie A stars were arrested after accusations of receiving money from betting syndicates.

Somewhat incredibly, the Premier League has sidestepped any stories of match fixing, or illegal betting from players, until now. The popularity of this nation’s domestic league has been uncompromising in its increase, with globalisation of the competition now at its peak. However, with such unwavering, Big Brother style media coverage of proceedings at all 20 clubs that are fortunate enough to compete in the Premiership, any hidden agenda was bound to be uncovered, reported and evaluated.

Former Southampton captain Claus Lundekvam revealed yesterday that he was one of many Premier League players who were involved in illegal betting scams. Speaking to press in his native Norway, he remarked that these match fixing scandals lasted for years.  This news will come as a huge blow to all governing bodies associated with the Premier League and English Football. Whilst the domestic game on our shores hardly prides itself on a clean cut image, it has continuously been commended for never entertaining such scandals that have disturbed many other European leagues. However, the announcements today suggest that these match fixing scams had been occurring under the nose of the PFA over a decade ago. Who is to know what subsequent scandals have transpired, especially as the prominence of illegal betting syndicates in other sports have only erupted in recent years.

Regulations will now be incredibly severe as the league attempts to distance itself from these accusations. The positive side of the story for the PFA is the period of time that has passed since the supposed betting scandals occurred.  If any other stories surface that are of more recent chronology, then questions will have to be answered as to why, with the PFA so stringent on other aspects of football, had they not acquired knowledge of any incidents of this calibre?

With UEFA acting so heatedly after Jack Wilshere jokingly posted tweets stating that he had put ‘a cheeky tenner’ on an Arsenal player to score last season, one would expect an almighty upheaval by the Premier League bigwigs to delve to the epicentre of this scandal.

While all fans of the Premier League will be saddened to hear news such as this, one couldn’t state that ‘surprised’ is a applicable word to define opinions on the scandal. With such a societally high standing a sport as Cricket becoming so defined by similar allegations in recent years, the negative coverage that Football receives at times was bound to uncover stories such as Lundekvam’s tale of match fixing; stories that are far less financially involved than other illegal betting scandals that have rocked the sporting world. Expect dire repercussions but don’t expect prison sentences.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]

The fact that Darren Bent has not even come close to signing for one of the league’s top teams is a mystery to me. This is no flash in the pan or one hit wonder we are talking about. Here is a player that has constantly reached double figures in the league season after season. So why exactly are the top managers not willing to snap up a proven goal scorer?

Arsenal would have been a perfect fit for Bent as they are a team that creates numerous chances during each game. However yet again Arsene Wenger takes another gamble on an unproven foreign import in the £10 million signing of Gervinho. Of course Van Persie will be a mainstay at the emirates for years to come but he is prone to injury and is unlikely to last a whole season.

So who is there to take the goal scoring burden? Bendtner? Chamakh? Even new boy Gervinho is not considered as an out and out striker. Arsenal are in need of someone to stick the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis and I see Darren Bent as an ideal solution.

However in the modern game we know it seems in vogue to have strikers that have more to their game than knowing where the goal is. Managers prefer a player that can build up play, by dropping back into midfield and adopt more of a playmaker role i.e. Wayne Rooney . Or even the workhorse type player, hell-bent on chasing every stray ball into the corner. Bent will give you neither of these attributes. But this is not to say the role of a simple goal poacher is any less important to a team and I think is actually a rare commodity to find in a player nowadays.

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]

An interesting aspect to bring up regarding a player’s goal scoring exploits is looking at the quality of the opposition the goals were scored against. When looking at Peter Crouch ’s impressive England goal ratio, the thing that stand out most is the majority were scored against so called smaller nations i.e. Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago etc. but this argument does not wash with Bent’s career goals, having scored against some of the best defences in the League of many occasions. Most recently scoring a brace against Arsenal at the end of last season.

Having finally secured his place in the England starting 11, I see Bent being vital to any hopes the nation has of being successful at Euro 2012. In my opinion he is the natural replacement for Michael Owen and the potential partnership with Rooney looks promising.

On a personal note and as an Aston Villa Fan it’s a great feeling to have a player in the team who is easily capable of scoring 20 goals a season. A feeling that I and many villa fans have not has since a young Dwight Yorke graced Villa Park. (And to a lesser extent Juan Pablo Angel) Unfortunately the cynic in me thinks that being English works against Darren. Fans want to see exciting flair players with exotic names on the team sheet. Maybe El Darren Bentino would be more of an exciting prospect.

By the way if Mr Wenger does happen to come across this article, please ignore these deluded ramblings of a mad man and keep your hands of our Darren!

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Written by Tim Baughan from This is Futbol

[ad_pod id=’footballfancast_article_mpu’ align=’none’]

Adelaide United set a new A-League record after thrashing a hapless North Queensland Fury 8-1 at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday.

Marcos Flores and Sergio van Dijk both netted hat-tricks in the rout, which saw the Reds become the first team in A-League history to score more than six goals in a match.

Flores opened the scoring on four minutes when van Dijk received the ball out wide from Iain Ramsay and whipped in a cross for the Argentine who outjumped his marker to head past Justin Pasfield.

After the opening goal the Fury outplayed the Reds and should have equalised through David Williams who missed when it seemed easier to score.

Just before the half hour Flores was involved again when, after a series of one-twos, he continued running and released Dodd with a delightful through ball.

The Reds skipper ran onto the pass from the top of the box curled his shot into the side net leaving Pasfield no chance to make it 2-0.

In the 37th minute the pair combined again for Flores’ second after some brilliant skill from Dodd.

Dodd baulked his defender before looking up and firing across a cut back for Flores to run on to and slam into the back of the net.

The Argentine’s superb vision and passing created United’s fourth five minutes later, again releasing Dodd down the right.

He muscled his way in front of his opponent and raced towards goal and cracked low and hard only for the Fury keeper to get down low and parry the shot.

Pasfield could only push the ball into the path of Ramsay who stormed in to smash the rebound into the net.

A minute after half-time van Dijk got on the score sheet after another wonderful build up out of defence.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

In the 67th minute, the league’s leading scorer got his 15th of the season after another sublime pass from Flores.

United replaced Francisco Usucar and Nigel Boogaard with Paul Reid and Robert Cornthwaite and the substitutions appeared to upset the tide with North Queensland grabbing a consolation through Panagiotis Nikas.

It mattered little when van Dijk completed the A-League record for most goals in a game by one team with his second-half hat-trick in the 83rd minute.

Flores’ third and United’s eighth equalled the league record for the most number of goals in a game (9).