La Liga
THIS IS FOR REAL! ZINEDINE ZIDANE STILL ON SHAKY GROUND AT REAL MADRID
Real Madrid have relaxed the pressure on Zinedine Zidane temporarily, with the next task to fix their dismal start in the Champions League.
Real’s 3-1 win over Barcelona in the Clasico on Saturday swerved a third consecutive defeat after losses to Cadiz in La Liga and Shakhtar Donetsk.
“There are always bad spells,” said Sergio Ramos. “Hopefully, this one has only lasted a week.”
But the effects of the 3-2 implosion against Shakhtar, who had 10 first-team players missing due to coronavirus infections, still linger, with Real sitting bottom of Group B in the Champions League.
A victory away to Borussia Monchengladbach today would limit the damage, especially after the Bundesliga outfit’s opening 2-2 draw with Serie A side Inter Milan which kept the group tight.
Zidane knows a convincing performance in Germany should suspend talk of a crisis and dispel doubts about his future, at least for now.
Even for Real, two defeats seemed ammunition for the uncertainty around their coach that followed. In the aftermath of their win at the Nou Camp, Spanish radio station Onda Cero said that former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino had been sounded out by the Spanish giants with a view towards potentially replacing Zidane.
Other reports in the Spanish press also discussed the Argentinian, who spent five years with the Premier League club before being sacked last year.
But Zidane has brushed off the speculation, saying: “I have always been critical of myself, it is what drives you to improve.
“After a loss, as a coach, most of the criticism comes at me and that’s normal.”
The quickness to question the Frenchman has become a regular feature of his tenure, even while the players sing his praises and the trophies have poured in.
It was only three months ago Real were winning their second La Liga title of his three full seasons in charge, to go with three triumphs in the Champions League and 11 trophies in total.
Success, though, has never been enough for Zidane, who began his second stint in March last year.
His reputation as a man-manager has always been a backhanded compliment, even if getting the best out of good players is surely the key to being the coach of a team like Real.
Inconsistency continues to plague his side. When they stormed to the title during the 11-game run-in last season, it was with no other distractions and a trophy in sight.
With a less immediate prize and against lesser opponents, the suspicion is those players Zidane trusts completely become unreliable.
“I have won many things with these players,” he said. “I will always be with them until the end.”
Zidane routinely sidesteps the issue of his future, which creates a nervousness after he resigned so unexpectedly after winning the Champions League in 2018.
That contributes to the sense of short-termism, an ageing team managed by a coach who seemingly refuses to look beyond the end of the week.
Anything but a win today and the cycle of instability begins again.
-AFP
Sunday’s LaLiga derby between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid was temporarily suspended in the 69th minute due to fans hurling objects onto the pitch after defender Eder Militao scored the opener for the visitors.
While Real players celebrated the goal in the 64th minute, Atletico ultras Fondo Sur, who are located in the south lower stands, threw objects towards visiting keeper Thibaut Courtois, who alerted the referee and he decided to halt the match.
Atletico captain Koke and defender Jose Maria Gimenez went to the south stand to calm the fans down but the referee ordered the players to go to the dressing rooms as the announcer warned that if the behaviour continued the game would be abandoned.
After a delay of over 20 minutes the players returned to the pitch and the game resumed.
-Reuters
Mounir Nasraoui, the father of Barcelona and Spain star winger Lamine Yamal, was stabbed late on Wednesday at a parking lot in the northeastern Spanish town of Mataro, La Vanguardia newspaper reported, citing official sources familiar with the matter.
Reuters was not able to independently confirm the report. The regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force and a spokesperson for the Mataro local government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to La Vanguardia report, Nasraoui was taken to the Can Ruti hospital in the nearby city of Badalona and his diagnosis was “serious”. It added that local and regional police had located several witnesses of the incident.
However, a later report by sports website Relevo, also citing official sources, said Nasraoui had been released from hospital and was back at his home.
Yamal, a soccer wonderkid who grew up in coastal Mataro – a working-class, multi-ethnic suburb of Barcelona – became the breakout star of the recent Euro 2024 held in Germany.
Spain won the tournament, helped in part by the 17-year-old scoring against France in the semifinal on July 9.
-Reuters
Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Jr is open to an offer of more than one billion euros from Saudi Arabia, sources close to the player told Reuters on Monday.
Vinicius, 24, was approached by Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) officials to inquire about his interest of moving to the Saudi Pro League (SPL) on a five-year contract worth around 200 million euros per season fixed, plus bonuses.
The package would also include a separate 10-year contract to become an ambassador for the 2034 World Cup, which is set to be held in the country, but those terms and financial numbers are yet to be discussed.
Although an official, formal offer has yet to be presented, Vinicius has not dismissed the move and gave permission to PIF to approach Real Madrid.
Despite being “happy and motivated” in the Spanish capital, Vinicius and his representatives believe that a lucrative offer like this needs to be studied carefully.
Another source close to the player said that Real have shown no interest in negotiating a transfer, highlighting the player’s one billion euro buy-out clause.
Real Madrid and PIF did not respond to requests for comment.
Obsessed to be taken seriously as a soccer force, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced a Sports Clubs Investment and Privatisation Project, with PIF taking ownership of 75% of the capital of the country’s four main clubs: Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
The biggest Saudi transfer came from the country’s most successful club, Al Hilal, who spent 90 million euros to buy forward Neymar from Paris St Germain.
With Karim Benzema at Al Ittihad and Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr, PIF tried to persuade France captain Kylian Mbappe to be the big name Al Ahli is still missing last year.
The forward, however, turned down Saudi’s lucrative offer and joined Real Madrid in June.
The proposal for Vinicius is understood to be similar to the Mbappe offer. The Brazilian would join Al Ahli, linking up with former Premier League players Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino.
Vinicius, who is under contract until 2027 after signing an extension in 2022, is a contender to win the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world after helping Real to a Champions League and LaLiga double last season.
-Reuters
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