BALLOTELLI TO DORTMUND BETTER BE A JOKE

Borussia Dortmund, like Atletico Madrid, is one of the few teams in Europe or that have had the privilege of housing“classic” strikers within their ranks; strikers that deliver both in tactical roles as well as important goals.


Lewandoski started out there during Jurgen Klopp’sreignas the Pole was not shy to show what he could do with his frame and his keen goal poaching sense. It wasn’t long before perennial bundesliga star-poachers him to Munich. That marriage has by the way yielded 77 goals in 96competitive matches over the course of 3 seasons.

The Borussen were however – after initially struggling to fill the hole left behind by the six foot one – able to landShaktarDonesk’sAubameyang. The Gabonese turned out to be another world class poacher in his own right and even topped this season’s bundesliga goal scoring chart with another former Borussia Dortmund player not too far behind in the second spot – Lewandoski. Continue reading BALLOTELLI TO DORTMUND BETTER BE A JOKE

CONTE: HAZARD’S INJURY NOT SERIOUS

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has revealed that the injury playmaker Eden Hazard sustained was not a serious one.


The Belgium international was sidelined in the clash with Sunderland in the Premier League. The forward did not travel with the club to the Stadium of Light for the game but he is expected to make a return when Chelsea continue their winning streak against Crystal Palace this weekend.

“I don’t think so,” Conte said when asked if the injury was one that was long term. Conte said Hazard could not just feature for the Sunderland clash after his injury in the 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion. Hazard played 79 minutes but had to be replaced by Branislav Ivanovic in the game played at Stamford Bridge.

Brazilian forward Willian is set to start in place for Hazard against Palace. Out-of-favour Cesc Fabregas played when Chelsea faced David Moyes’ men. The Spaniard replaced Nemanja Matic while Kurt Zouma returned to the squad after a long-term injury. Zouma did not feature but making the bench is a big boost for the player after many months out. Continue reading CONTE: HAZARD’S INJURY NOT SERIOUS

Hazard back in form

Eden Hazard has recovered his good form under Antonio Conte.


The Belgium international is back to his best, and this can be clearly seen on the pitch. Eden Hazard has been far from his good form last season where he enjoyed his poorest season in the Premier League. He was far from the player that was voted PFA Player of the Year.

However, it appears that the player has managed to recover under the Italian manager and seems to be playing better on the pitch. According to some pundits, this is mainly to the change of formation that has been carried out by the Italian manager.

Indeed, Eden Hazard is given more freedom in the new 3-4-3 formation that is favored by Antonio Conte. This means that the playmaker is free to play on the wings or more centrally where he can influence the play better. Eden Hazard is also more open to shooting on goals, and this has resulted in four goals this season. This is not bad especially when you know that the player only managed four goals for the whole of last campaign.
Continue reading Hazard back in form

Park Ji-sung speak about football

It has been 2 years since Park Ji-sung last played in a competitive game, but the midfielder looks as athletic as ever.


He is currently working as an ambassador for Manchester United. Although he is not participating on the pitch as before, this does not prevent Park Ji-sung from giving his opinion on football matters.

He said that South Korea had been handed a tough draw when it comes to the World Cup qualifiers. Indeed they have been drawn with a group comprising of Iran, China, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Syria. South Korea will be looking to participate in their 9th successive World Cup, but Park Ji-sung believes that this will be difficult.

He said that the other teams found in the group are among the best in Asian football and that the South Korea team will have to be at their best if they want to make it to the finals. He said that South Korea had already played against Iran and Uzbekistan in the past, and it was by no means an easy match. He said that this is not an easy group and that the South Korean team should be ready for a fight if they want to qualify.
Continue reading Park Ji-sung speak about football

EDEN HAZARD IMPRESSIVE AGAIN IN GAME AGAINST LIVERPOOL

Eden Hazard received lots of accolades due to his impressive performance against The Reds.


Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink also praised the “terrific” Hazard after his superb show in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool. The Belgian’s stunning solo effort put Chelsea ahead after 32 minutes, before Christian Benteke’s injury-time equalizer denied The Blues all three points. Hiddink says Hazard has improved his physical fitness in recent weeks, and said the midfielder has suffered with a stop-start season.

Hiddink told Sky Sports:

“He was terrific. He’s already some weeks growing also in his physically fitness, which is important for him and nature gives him a lot of skill.

“It’s a matter of being fit and fresh for him, and he’s showing that already in the last few weeks.

“Last year he had a beautiful year, and this year he had to suffer a lot regarding his injury, being back and then getting injured again, and that’s why we made a special programme for him.”

Hiddink says his team should have been home and dry in the second half, with Simon Mignolet denying his side on numerous occasions despite the consistent attacks from the Blues’ strikers. Continue reading EDEN HAZARD IMPRESSIVE AGAIN IN GAME AGAINST LIVERPOOL

EDEN HAZARD READY TO CONTINUE AT STAMFORD BRIDGE

Belgian left winger, Eden Hazard, is set to continue with his place at Stamford Bridge despite his disappointing season at Chelsea. They player won the won the prestigious PFA Young Player of the Year award in the 2013/2014 season with The Blues before going on to win the very coveted PFA Player of the Year award.

This season the Belgian rising star has experienced a shambolic season and it is testament to how far he has fallen that many Chelsea fans wouldn’t be too sad to see him leave Stamford Bridge. The player’s influence used to be very heavy in games and this helped them lift the English Premier League just last season. This season he doesn’t even have a Premier League goal to his name. He didn’t score in the UEFA Champions League as well until they were knocked out by PSG. So far, he has only two FA cup goals this season and they remain his total goals in all competitions this season for Chelsea.

The talented player signed from French club, LOSC Lille in 2012/2013 season played 5 years of impressive football at the French outfit before his 40 million Euros move to the Bridge. During the last summer, after his performance, Real Madrid and PSG were interested in signing the player but with his current run, they will surely think twice before going ahead with any deal. Continue reading EDEN HAZARD READY TO CONTINUE AT STAMFORD BRIDGE

Roy Hodgson is demanding more from Nathaniel Clyne

The €12.5 million summer signing of Liverpool, Nathaniel Clyne is struggling trying to find a consistent spot in the team of Roy Hodgson and the manager of the English national side said that he will not give Clyne a starting role in his team just because of a good season.

Roy Hodgson prefers using Phil Jones in the right-back position of England and Clyne was restricted to play only a few minutes in England’s latest 2016 Euro’s qualification which was played against Slovenia and ended with England claiming a 3-2 victory.

During England’s match against Slovenia, Phil Jones had to leave the pitch in the 2nd half after picking up an ankle injury and even with this injury, Nathaniel Clyne was not selected.

This decision to utilize Phil Jones is something that has caused debate in the world of football as Phil Jones has been going through a fairly underwhelming season at Old Trafford but he still manages to get selected ahead of other players who have been performing better in recent times.

Roy Hodgson expressed his support towards Manchester United’s Phil Jones as the veteran manager said: ‘’Phil Jones is a top-quality player. We have great faith in him and we are very happy with him. We think Nathaniel Clyne is a very good player but I would be disappointed if anyone thought that on the basis of a good season with their clubs they can walk in and demand a place’’ Continue reading Roy Hodgson is demanding more from Nathaniel Clyne

Steve Bruce deservedly signs a new 3 year- long contract with Hull City

Steve Bruce was assigned with the job of coaching Hull City on June of 2012 and in his first season in charge of the club; he managed to push the team to the Premier League after landing a promotion spot in the English Championship League.

Things got even better for Bruce as the manager was able to reach the finals of the FA Cup which was the first time that Hull City got so far in the history of the club but ultimately were knocked out after losing against Arsenal; nonetheless it was a very impressive feat for Hull City.

A few weeks ago, Steve Bruce was given the chance to extend his managerial stay at Hull City and the 54 year old English manager accepted it as he signed a new 3 year contract with Hull City as he will remain in charge of the team at least until 2018. Continue reading Steve Bruce deservedly signs a new 3 year- long contract with Hull City

José Mourinho says that the English culture of football will probably prevent the world

Chelsea boss José Mourinho says that the English culture of football will probably prevent the world from seeing the best of Eden Hazard.

The Chelsea winger managed to win the PFA and the football writers Player of the Year award. He has had a sensational campaign in which he has contributed almost 30 goals from 44 appearances in all competitions. Mourinho reckons thatHazard is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when it comes to the best player in the world. Messi and Ronaldo have both been scoring lots of goals in the last five years, but Mourinho reckons that this largely because of playing in Spain.

The Spanish league is largely dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona, who managed to win most matches during a season. It has not been so surprising to see these two teams achieve 100 points over the course of a campaign. Along the way, this domination has also helped Messi and Ronaldo achieve improbable figures when it comes to scoring. Mourinho reckons that it is almost impossible for Hazard reach the same levels when he is playing his football in the English league, which is far more tougher. The Belgian wizard has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich and Madrid in the last few weeks. Continue reading José Mourinho says that the English culture of football will probably prevent the world

José Mourinho says Eden needs more Protection

Chelsea boss José Mourinho says that star winger Eden Hazard should receive more protection from the officials after witnessing his player become the most fouled player in Champions League and Premier League so far.

Hazard is spoken of as someone who can reach great heights in the next few years. The 24-year-old was incessantly fouled in the recent Champions League match against Paris St Germain. There were an astonishing nine fouls on the Belgian international from six different players. Yet, only the duo of Gregory van der Wiel and Marco Verratti were booked by the referee.

Pointing out this aspect, Mourinho says that players likeHazard, who are extremely skilled, should be protected by the referee. Like in several matches, Hazard completed the 90 minutes of action. Chelsea, as a team, were kept relatively quiet on the attack in front and it was defender Branislav Ivanovic who popped up with the decisive away goal. Chelsea were pegged back by the goals from Edinson Cavani, but they will be the happier of the two ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge on March 12. Mourinho later admitted that Chelsea were lucky to get back with a draw after their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was forced to make several saves. Continue reading José Mourinho says Eden needs more Protection