Month: September 2019

The Red Devils endured a hugely disappointing campaign, finishing sixth in the Premier League after their former manager was sacked in December

Ander Herrera believes Manchester United’s players are responsible for 75 per cent of the team’s failures this season and has defended Jose Mourinho, saying he “tried everything”.

The midfielder is set to depart Old Trafford following the expiry of his contract this summer, amidst transfer speculation linking him with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Herrera has insisted that Mourinho’s replacement, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is the right man to bring success back to the club, claiming the players are fully behind the Norwegian.

However, the 29-year-old says the Red Devils’ squad must shoulder the blame for their trophyless season and sixth-place Premier League finish. 

“We have to take responsibility,“ Herrera told the club’s official website. ”All of us. It’s not fair to blame others. When you have a bad season, 75 per cent is the responsibility of the players.

“It’s very easy when a manager is sacked to blame someone else, but it is the fault of every one of us.

“Every player in the dressing room has a responsibility for what has happened this season. We have done bad things.

“We have done some good things but, for Manchester United, it is not enough. Probably 14 teams, if they are sixth, they are happy, but Manchester United cannot be happy.”

Jose Mourinho was dismissed by the United hierarchy in December last year after a miserable start to the campaign, despite having won the Carabao Cup and the Europa League in his first season in charge. 

“If we are speaking about this last season, I have huge respect for Jose,” Herrera added. “He tried everything. The first season with him was quite successful.

“Then we were second and we had a lot of expectation for this season but it didn’t work. Not only because of him (but) because, I repeat, every player has responsibility.”

Solskjaer’s side ended the season with a 2-0 home defeat to relegated Cardiff City, with the manager admitting afterwards there is a “long and hard road ahead” to get the club back on track.

They eventually finished 32 points behind champions Manchester City, having ended the season without a win in five league games.

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The Dutchman has said the attacker wasn’t productive enough early in his career, but eventually he would become one of the world’s best

Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has explained how setting goals helped take a young Cristiano Ronaldo to the next level in his career. 

Ronaldo arrived at United in 2003 at age 18, and instantly became one of the club’s most exciting young talents. 

The Portuguese, however, took some time to develop into the deadly goal-scorer he would eventually become, as he would not hit double-digit league goals until the 2006-07 campaign. 

Meulensteen got the chance to work with Ronaldo in 2007, when he was named a first-team coach under manager Sir Alex Ferguson. 

The Dutchman explained that an early-season red card for Ronaldo in 2007-08 allowed him the chance to work closely with the young attacker. 

“Cristiano Ronaldo was someone I got to spend plenty of time with at the start of the 2007-08 season,” Meulensteen said in The Coaches’ Voice.

“A red card in the second game of the season meant he was banned for three games, which gave me the perfect opportunity to work on some things with him.”

Meulensteen saw plenty of potential in the Portuguese, but believed that he could improve his efficiency by encouraging him to set goals for himself. 

“I believed he was one of the best forwards at a very young age, but he wasn’t productive enough. We needed him to score more goals,” Meulensteen said. “I knew that was what he wanted too.

“My aim was to bring him from awareness to understanding. To recognise how he could get from where he was to where he wanted to be. That was about a few things off the pitch, but a lot of things on it.

“It was also about the value of setting aims and targets, and explaining to him that people who have a clear goal – and devise a strategy to get there – will be far more successful than those who say ‘I want that’, and then wait and hope for the best.

“He was very receptive to anything that he knew could bring him closer to what he wanted.”

Ronaldo would go on to score 31 Premier League goals in the 2007-08 season, earning himself a move to Real Madrid in 2009. 

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In the Spanish capital Ronaldo would become Madrid’s all-time top scorer, netting an incredible 451 times over nine seasons before moving to Juventus in 2018. 

As one of the three provinces of Northeast China, Jilin is both a grain producer and old industrial base. After 70 years of development, Jilin’s GDP is 168 times higher than it was in the early days of New China. See more of the magic land in 70 seconds.

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European football’s governing body claim to have done all they could to prevent a decision being taken by the Gunners not to involve the Armenian

UEFA claims to have received assurances regarding Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s safety from “the highest authorities” in Azerbaijan ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea in the Europa League final.

European football’s governing body did all they could to prevent the Gunners playmaker from being forced to miss a showpiece event.

The decision has, however, been taken for him not to make a trip to Baku on May 29.

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Arsenal have, after discussions with the player, opted to exclude the Armenia international from their travelling party.

That call has been made as a result of political tension between Mkhitaryan’s homeland and Azerbaijan, which has sparked concerns over his wellbeing.

UEFA insist that they had sought to clarify the matter prior to Arsenal making the long journey to Eurasia, but can understand why the Premier League outfit have ignored their advice.

A statement read: “Working alongside Arsenal FC, UEFA sought and received assurances regarding the player’s safety in Azerbaijan from the highest authorities in the country. 

“As a result of these guarantees, a comprehensive security plan was developed and given to the club. 

“While the club acknowledges the efforts that UEFA and the Azeri government have gone to in this matter, we respect the personal decision not to travel with the player.”

Arsenal had said in a statement of their own on the club’s official website: “We are very disappointed to announce that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be travelling with the squad for our Uefa Europa League final against Chelsea.

“We have thoroughly explored all the options for Micki to be part of the squad but after discussing this with Micki and his family we have collectively agreed he will not be in our travelling party.

“We have written to UEFA expressing our deep concerns about this situation. Micki has been a key player in our run to the final so this is a big loss for us from a team perspective.

“We’re also very sad that a player will miss out on a major European final in circumstances such as this, as it is something that comes along very rarely in a footballer’s career.

“Micki will continue to be part of our preparations until we depart for Baku at the weekend.”

While Arsenal will be without Mkhitaryan as they go in search of major silverware, Unai Emery is looking to claim a fourth Europa League success of his coaching career.

He will be disappointed to have seen an experienced figure ruled out of his plans, but the Gunners still boast plenty of attacking talent with which to try and trouble London neighbours Chelsea.

The AC Milan boss has put his touchline argument with Tiemoue Bakayoko firmly in the past, as his side continue their top-four challenge

AC Milan head coach Gennaro Gattuso said he does not mind if a player tells him to “go to hell” as he insisted the spat with Tiemoue Bakayoko is over.

The pair exchanged terse words on the touchline during the Rossoneri’s 2-1 win over Bologna on Monday, with Gattuso later claiming the Chelsea loanee had taken too long to get ready to come on as a substitute.

Bakayoko was restored to the starting line-up on Saturday, though, as Milan claimed a 1-0 win at Fiorentina that moved them back to within a point of Serie A’s top four.

Gattuso claimed he has no problem with strong words from his players, provided they perform well for the team.

“I put it all behind me the next day,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “I don’t mind if a player tells me to go to hell – the important thing is for him to show respect to his team-mates in the dressing room.

“I have to think about what is best for AC Milan. If the players need to swear at me for the good of the club, then I can deal with that.”

Milan’s victory at the Artemio Franchi was particularly important given Atalanta had beaten Genoa earlier to move into third place.

Gattuso is proud of his side’s position in the table after 36 matches, even though he is frustrated not to have a Champions League spot in their own hands.

“We’re a team with strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “We’ve wasted a lot of chances to stay in the top four. We need to mature, and we have many young players who have lost confidence in key moments.

“If someone said to us at the start of the season that we would be level with Roma and four points above Lazio, nobody would have believed us. But we could have done even better. We dropped too many points.”

Gattuso also denied suggestions of a poor relationship with Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella, the man he replaced in the dugout at San Siro.

“I never had a problem with Vincenzo,” he added. “We never argued. I admire him a lot and he left me a team that has opened my mind.

“We were Italy team-mates, we said hello before kick-off. Everything’s fine.”

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In Southwest China, the highlight of a festive meal is a combination plate of cold cuts and vegetables paired with an aromatic dipping sauce. In Dai dialect, the local language used in Yunnan province, this duo is called sa, which means raw food, or a cold dish dressed with sauce.

To the foodies of Yunnan, sa is versatile enough that it knows no boundaries. Readily available local ingredients can be paired in countless ways in the hands of regional chefs. The flavors and aromas of spices and produce collide and conjugate into sa, a testament of Yunnan’s heritage of consuming raw meat since ancient times. That being said, this dietary custom has evolved over the years to suit the palettes of modern diners.

The second season of Flavorful Origins, another masterpiece by Chinese food documentary director Chen Xiaoqing, the creator of A Bite of China, premiered Monday on Tencent.com.

The season, consisting of 10 episodes, will shine a spotlight on Southwest China’s Yunnan province, a region blessed with abundant sunlight, fresh produce and exotic spices.

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The decorated trainer feels that the current crop of Swiss stars are capable of causing an upset

Former Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld feels their “outstanding” young players give them a chance of glory at the Nations League Finals.

Switzerland face Portugal in the last four on Wednesday having topped their group thanks to results including a 5-2 home defeat of World Cup semi-finalists Belgium.

Former Bayern Munich boss Hitzfeld was head coach between 2008 and 2014, leading the country to two World Cups.

But the 70-year-old German believes the next generation of Swiss talent has taken the team to new levels under successor Vladimir Petkovic.

“Switzerland have outstanding young players. They have very good players with foreign roots who are all perfect football players,” Hitzfeld told Omnisport.

“They have a good set up with [Fabian] Schar, [Yann] Sommer, [Granit] Xhaka, [Haris] Seferovic, or [Xherdan] Shaqiri. And [Breel] Embolo is on his way. They have great talents. Switzerland can do a great job in the coming years.

“Now, against Portugal, the chances are 50-50. They have played against Portugal many times and won some games, lost sometimes. They know how to beat Portugal. With the potential that Switzerland currently possesses, a victory in Portugal is also possible.”

In the other semi-final, England will take on a Netherlands side who have shown some resurgent form under Ronald Koeman.

“I think you have to count England among the favourites, because they just pulled up outstanding players from the junior teams,” Hitzfeld added. “And the young players who play in the Premier League, despite the many foreigners, they are already very good.

“But that is also a disadvantage for the young English players, that so much money has flowed to England and you have signed only foreign top stars.  But if you make the step then you have a really strong team and are on your way back to the top of the world.”

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Dai Ling, an American, forged a tight bound with China thanks to an English edition of Chinese philosophical book Tao Te Ching.

Dai, a computer science graduate from Boston University, was given an English version of the masterpiece Tao Te Ching, or Dao De Jing, written by Chinese sage Lao Zi, founder of Taoism from the sixth century BC, by his philosophy history teacher. He instantly fell in love with Chinese philosophy and Chinese culture.

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In 2003, Dai came to China with the book and settled down in Qingdao city, East China’s Shandong province. He became a foreign teacher in a local university. But some years later, he quit the job and retreated to live in a small house deep in the mountain. There, he began devoting himself to the English translation of Tao Te Ching based on his own understanding of China and Qingdao.

Sometimes, Dai would visit Taoist priests in the Laoshan Mountain to discuss Taoism, and improve his translation.

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The man currently in interim charge of the Scottish champions is waiting to discover where he will be working next season

Neil Lennon remains unsure if he will still be in charge of Celtic next season, but he is expecting to fill a coaching role somewhere in 2019-20.

The Northern Irishman, who previously enjoyed four trophy-laden years in charge of the Hoops, returned to Parkhead in February when Brendan Rodgers left for Leicester.

He was handed a short-term deal through to the end of the season and charged with the task of completing a domestic treble.

Celtic have wrapped up an eighth successive Scottish Premiership title and can round their season off in style on Saturday when they take on Hearts in the Scottish Cup final.

That outing could prove to be Lennon’s last at the helm, amid links to the likes of Jose Mourinho and David Moyes, with the 47-year-old unable to speculate on his future beyond admitting that he intends to be working next season.

Lennon told BBC Sport: “I want to manage.

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“Take a holiday first and then have a look at things and see what’s there.

“I’ve really enjoyed the last three years being back in Scotland. I’ve had some great success both at Hibs and Celtic.

“I’ve enjoyed it immensely and it’s been really good for me so if it’s not to be Celtic then I’m hoping for a new challenge somewhere else.

“I would love it [if I stayed on at Celtic]. It’s a privileged position, I’ve done it before.”

Lennon claims the thinking of the Celtic board will not be swayed by the outcome of a cup final clash with Hearts, adding: “I’ve been told that already by the hierarchy and I’ve no reason not to believe that.”

A man who spent seven years with the Bhoys as a player believes he could not have done any more to put himself in contention for a full-time appointment.

He has faced criticism at times, but he considers that to have been unfair as he was working with somebody else’s team.

“It’s not my side, it’s Brendan’s and it’s not my style of play, it’s Brendan’s,” Lennon said.

“People saying, ‘well the performances aren’t the same’, well they are.

“If I had gone in there and changed things and it hadn’t worked, then I would’ve been making a huge mistake.

“It was important to get the players over the line, win the league. The training, everything, we kept the same. You’ve got to put the players first. It’s an important piece of the club’s history that they could achieve here.

“Going forward, the style of play I think can be a little bit different. Teams are starting to work out the way we play. We need to be more flexible in our style.

“I was a bit shocked that Brendan had left, just the timing of it, but it’s understandable because it’s a professional decision at the end of the day and he’s back in the Premier League with a great club that I know of.

“When the inevitable happened, then I was ready to ask the question of myself and thought, ‘yeah, I’m going to do this, I want to do this’.”

The Premier League champions are set to sit down with the Germany winger and his representatives in a bid to secure his long-term future

Manchester City are set to make a last-ditch attempt to extend Leroy Sane’s contract and ward off interest from Bayern Munich, Goal understands.

Sane’s current deal expires in 2021 and City have been trying to reach a new agreement for over a year, but a lack of progress has opened the door to Bayern and other suitors.

Bayern officials have confirmed their interest in bringing Sane to the Allianz Arena, although club president Uli Hoeness insists they will not pay more than €80 million (£71m/$90m) for any player. City are yet to receive any formal offers.

The Premier League champions would be willing to sell this summer, but only if the 23-year-old makes it known that he will not extend his contract, and if an offer of €100m (£88m/$112m) or more arrives.

City’s preferred option is to keep the Germany international at the Etihad Stadium, however, and they will hold talks with Sane’s representatives – his father and a UK-based agent – in the coming days.

There is now some hope at the club that they will finally be able to reach an agreement and secure the winger’s future.

However, previous negotiations have not been straightforward, with Sane’s mother seen to be determined to derail talks and force a move to Bayern.

Sources have even told Goal that they believe stories linking Bayern with an interest in Sane have been leaked to the German media.

Should the upcoming discussions break down it would pave the way for Sane to leave the club, which would see City move for Benfica youngster Joao Felix.

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City have laid the groundwork for a move for the 19-year-old forward, but would only push ahead with a formal offer if Sane were to move on.

Pep Guardiola has often been frustrated with Sane’s application in training and matches, but he has told his bosses that he wants to keep the former Schalke man as part of his squad for next season.

The Catalan says he tells his employers at the end of the season if there are any players who should be moved on, but he has stressed that Sane should be retained.