Près de trois semaines après l’auto-proclamation de Juan Guaido à la présidence par intérim du Venezuela, c’est toujours Nicolas Maduro, soutenu par l’armée, qui occupe le palais présidentiel à Caracas. Une manifestation est organisée mardi 12 février par le camp Guaido, afin de maintenir la pression sur les militaires pour qu’ils désobéissent à Nicolas Maduro et laissent entrer l’aide humanitaire dans le pays.La tension s’est exportée sur la scène internationale : de nombreux États prennent parti, les uns reconnaissant Juan Guaido comme président légitime, les autres restant fidèles à Nicolas Maduro.Quel rôle jouent ces puissances étrangères dans ce face-à-face entre Maduro et son opposition au Venezuela ? Et quelles sont les clés d’une sortie de crise ? Franceinfo a interrogé Temir Porras, fin connaisseur de la politique vénézuélienne. Cet enseignant à Sciences-Po a été le conseiller en politique étrangère du président Hugo Chavez et directeur de cabinet de Nicolas Maduro.Franceinfo : Pouvez-vous nous expliquer d’où vient la crise politique actuelle au Venezuela ? Temir Porras : La polarisation au Venezuela n’a pas commencé la semaine dernière. La contestation de la légitimité de Maduro a démarré le jour où il a été élu, en 2013. Et ce jour là, il n’avait pas encore démontré toute l’étendue de son incompétence et de son autoritarisme. La dégradation des conditions économiques et sociales dans le pays lui a ensuite coûté sa défaite aux législatives de 2015.Une coalition d’opposition, composée notamment de fractions insurrectionnelles, a alors obtenu une majorité de deux tiers à l’Assemblée nationale. Cela a provoqué une crise de régime, car ces deux tiers donnaient des pouvoirs très larges à l’opposition conservatrice : elle pouvait changer la composition du tribunal suprême, destituer des ministres et même le vice-président de la République. Le tribunal suprême, qui est contrôlé par des alliés de Maduro, a dessaisi l’Assemblée nationale de ces pouvoirs. C’est ça le point de départ de la crise institutionnelle. Et en 2018, l’opposition a refusé de participer à l’élection présidentielle. Résultat : le vainqueur Nicolas Maduro a une légitimité légale, mais pas politique.Que vient faire Juan Guaido, le président de l’Assemblée nationale, dans cette crise ? Comment s’est-il retrouvé le principal opposant à Nicolas Maduro ? Juan Guaido est un député conservateur de Voluntad Popular, un parti minoritaire au sein de la coalition qui contrôle l’Assemblée nationale. Cette coalition a mis en place une présidence tournante : 2019 était l’année de Voluntad Popular. Comme les leaders du parti sont soit en prison, soit en exil, c’est Juan Guaido, élu d’un petit État à seulement 35 ans, qui s’est retrouvé à occuper la fonction de président de l’Assemblée en janvier.L’auto-proclamation de Juan Guaido s’inscrit dans la droite lignée de la tradition insurrectionnelle de Voluntad Popular. Mais dire que cette ligne de confrontation est le fruit d’un consensus de toutes les forces d’opposition au Venezuela est une absurdité. Ainsi, Henrique Capriles [considéré jusqu’à maintenant comme leader de l’opposition à Maduro] a dit qu’il n’était pas au courant que Juan Guaido allait s’auto-proclamer président par intérim. Mais comme il y a un énorme élan derrière lui, beaucoup de leaders de l’opposition vénézuélienne se taisent et attendent de voir comment la situation va évoluer.Pourquoi certains États ont-ils si rapidement reconnu Guaido comme “président par intérim” ?C’est le résultat d’une concertation entre la partie la plus à droite de l’opposition vénézuélienne et certains pays : les États-Unis et ceux appartenant au groupe de Lima, un groupe informel de gouvernements conservateurs d’Amérique latine auquel s’est aussi joint le Canada. En fait, tout part de l’élection contestée de Maduro en 2018 par une partie de l’opposition et par ces pays. N’ayant pas reconnu le résultat, ils ont décidé qu’à partir du 10 janvier 2019, date de l’investiture de Maduro, il y avait une usurpation de la présidence. C’est ce qui leur a permis de justifier toutes les actions suivantes, dont l’auto-proclamation de Juan Guaido.Quel regard portez-vous sur la reconnaissance accordée à Guaido par la France et d’autres pays européens ?La position des pays européens de donner un ultimatum de huit jours à Maduro pour organiser des élections présidentielles avant de reconnaître Juan Guaido est une position schizophrène et incompréhensible. J’ai essayé de comprendre pourquoi huit jours… Finalement, j’interprète cet ultimatum comme une simple posture pour se démarquer de l’administration Trump et apparaître plus “dialoguants”.Mais l’Union européenne se retrouve désormais dans une configuration un peu “baroque”. Comme il n’y avait pas de consensus, la chef de la diplomatie européenne a proposé de mettre sur pied un groupe de contact composé de huit pays européens [qui ont défendu l’ultimatum] et de pays latino-américains. La première réunion va avoir lieu le 7 février, à Montevideo. Le groupe de contact s’est donné 90 jours pour trouver une solution, ce qui me semble bien plus raisonnable que huit jours.Quel est le poids de la reconnaissance internationale dans le rapport de force entre Maduro et Guaido au Venezuela ?Celle des pays européens a un poids symbolique car même s’ils représentent une partie minoritaire du monde, ils ont tendance à se croire dotés d’une sorte d’autorité morale supérieure.En même temps, plus un pays européen mettra de la pression sur Nicolas Maduro, plus il sera perçu comme un néocolonialiste qui veut imposer sa loi. Même des progressistes, qui critiquent Maduro, vont percevoir la position des Européens comme une ingérence.Temir Porrasà franceinfoMais l’impact le plus important est financier. La reconnaissance de l’administration américaine a entraîné de nouvelles sanctions imposées au gouvernement de Maduro. Washington a ainsi annoncé le gel de sept milliards de dollars d’actifs pétroliers dans le but de les transférer à l’administration de Guaido.Les deux camps sont-ils susceptibles de résoudre ce conflit à la table des négociations ? Le gouvernement de Maduro a toujours dit être partisan du dialogue politique. Ça, on ne peut pas le nier. Néanmoins, pour l’opposition, ce vœu est une tactique pour gagner du temps à chaque fois qu’il est confronté à une crise. En face, le parti de Juan Guaido n’a jamais été partisan du dialogue. Il pense qu’il a affaire à un gouvernement qui représente le Mal, une vision teintée d’un anticommunisme suranné. De la même manière, vous avez dans des secteurs durs du chavisme des gens qui disent à propos de Guaido : “Nous avons affaire à une bande de fascistes qui veulent imposer une dictature de droite dans notre pays, donc tous les moyens sont bons pour résister à cette évolution”.Si aucune concertation n’a lieu, la perspective d’une guerre civile est-elle à craindre ? Oui, il y a un risque que cela dégénère. Si le but n’est pas la négociation mais l’escalade des tensions jusqu’à ce qu’on atteigne un point de rupture, notamment au sein de l’armée, alors on a tous les ingrédients pour une guerre civile.C’est pour ça que je trouve lamentable que des acteurs internationaux jouent avec le feu. Je trouve la position française irresponsable. Le choix qui a été de prendre parti pour la branche la plus extrême de l’opposition vénézuélienne pousse le pays à l’escalade. Temir Porrasà franceinfoLa seule chance pour éviter une guerre civile, c’est que les membres de la communauté internationale jouent un rôle constructif, plutôt que d’alimenter les polarisations et les tensions internes. Pourquoi les regards se tournent-ils vers l’armée ? Et soutient-elle toujours Nicolas Maduro ? Partout dans le monde, la soumission de l’armée au pouvoir civil est un ressort de pouvoir. C’est un postulat de la légitimité des institutions civiles dans n’importe quel pays, et Maduro peut aujourd’hui s’en targuer. A contrario, si vous avez une armée contre vous, il est extrêmement difficile de gouverner.Pour l’instant, l’auto-proclamation de Guaido et les réactions internationales n’ont pas entraîné de rupture au sein de l’institution militaire. C’est par définition une institution verticale, où l’autorité et la discipline priment. Au Venezuela, s’ajoute une particularité : l’armée est politisée, avec un biais chaviste qui s’explique par l’histoire du pays. Certes, il y a un mécontentement beaucoup plus élevé aujourd’hui à l’encontre de Nicolas Maduro, y compris au sein de l’armée. Mais penser que l’armée, qui a rendu au Venezuela son indépendance, va suivre les instructions du vice-président des États-Unis parce qu’il a mis une vidéo sur Twitter où il parle quelques mots d’espagnol, c’est de l’angélisme !Quelles sont, selon vous, les clés d’une sortie de cette crise ?Il y a certaines personnes qui disent “il suffirait que les militaires se soulèvent”. Mais qu’est-ce que ça veut dire pour la suite du fonctionnement démocratique au Venezuela ? Qu’est-ce qui garantit que les généraux ne vont pas vouloir rester au pouvoir à la place de Guaido ? Souhaiter que tout cela se règle par l’intervention des forces armées est très dangereux.Je ne vois pas d’autre issue vertueuse que celle de la négociation. Non pas seulement pour garantir le changement, mais aussi pour qu’il soit viable. En sortie de crise, il faut que la démocratie vénézuélienne refonctionne à peu près normalement, et que le gouvernement comme l’opposition puissent trouver leur place au sein des institutions. Pour cela, il faut que tous les acteurs prennent part aux négociations.

Lack of screening burnt the Commission

The Jeleva episode reflects a deeper need for reform of the EU institutions’ rules on conflicts of interest.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the events that led to Rumiana Jeleva’s withdrawal as Bulgaria’s nominee for the European Commission is that José Manuel Barroso, the Commission’s president, seemingly allowed Jeleva to enter her approval hearing with the European Parliament without having thoroughly screened her assets and business connections. 

After MEPs voiced concerns at her hearing that her undeclared business interests might create conflicts of interest, Barroso wrote to MEPs indicating that the Commission had not ascertained in advance whether Jeleva’s declaration that her statement of interests was “fully accurate and complete”. The reason, he said, was that the Commission “relies on the statements of the individual concerned, lacking any specific procedure of control in the Union law in this respect”.

This reference to EU law is odd: according to the 2005 framework agreement on Parliament-Commission relations, “the president of the Commission shall be fully responsible for identifying a conflict of interest which renders a member of the Commission unable to perform their duties”. The 2005 agreement implies that Barroso must ensure there is a serious, pro-active screening process.

Barroso was pressed on these responsibilities beforehand. The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) wrote to him in November asking how he would guarantee that new commissioners were fully independent and free of conflicts of interest. It has yet to receive a reply.

He was, presumably, also well aware of the concerns voiced by MEPs soon after Jeleva, a former MEP, was nominated in November.

It remains unclear whether Jeleva had any actual conflicts of interest. But even the most elementary screening would have revealed the problem that crippled her candidacy: her failure to declare to the Parliament, when a member of the assembly, that she had an active role in the company Global Consult in 2008-09.

Everything indicates the Commission took a hands-off approach beforehand and then improvised its response.

As the Jeleva episode highlights, asking commissioners-designate to sign a statement of “absence of conflicts of interest” is not enough. But her case also reflects broader, structural weaknesses in the way in which the Commission deals with potential conflicts of interest. Last May, a 118-page study published by the Parliament’s policy department for budgetary affairs argued that the code of conduct for commissioners needed tightening to avoid conflicts of interest. It also accused the Commission of “complacency, due to its failure to ensure a systematic review”. The current rules, the report concluded, create a “significant risk” of future scandals. It highlighted, among many other weaknesses, the absence of “a definition of the term ‘conflict of interest’”.

The report also emphasised the need for stricter rules for gifts and hospitality, and for improved transparency on and oversight of commissioners’ financial interests and potential conflicts of interest.

The Commission is promising action. Barroso says he will review the commissioners’ code of conduct; Algirdas Šemeta, the incoming anti-fraud commissioner, has promised to ensure his fellow commissioners comply with rules on transparency; and Maroš Šefc?ovic?, the commissioner designated to handle administrative matters, has promised to prevent former commissioners and high-level officials from going through the revolving door into positions as industry lobbyists.

But the Parliament too needs to act: the Jeleva episode demonstrates how sketchy and poorly enforced its rules on conflicts of interest remain. Like Jeleva’s, many MEPs’ declarations of financial interests are incomplete. The Parliament both fails to monitor and punish non-compliance.

The Commission and the Parliament’s soft approach on conflicts of interest allows undue influence in decision-making. It also undermines public trust. That has always been a problem, but it may be getting worse. In 2007, when asked by Eurobarometer, 66% said “there is corruption within the institutions of the European Union”; in November 2009, 76% agreed. It is in EU institutions’ own interest to define, identify and end conflicts of interest.

Olivier Hoedeman is a researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory

The EU needs biomass sustainability criteria

It is wrong and dangerous to assume that all biomass is carbon-neutral.

Faced with a tough but desperately needed decision, the European Commission is ducking the issue: in December, its directorate-general for energy and transport recommended that environmental safeguards for the use of biomass should not be established. 

DG Tren’s position – which might become EU policy in late January – is in direct contradiction with that of five member states (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland and the UK), the Commission’s own DG Environment and also the renewable energy directive.

It does, though, have the support of a group of biomass trade associations, who argue that any sustainability criteria for wood- or waste-based fuels should be non-binding. The European Forest Owners Association has even asserted that “the risks of using unsustainable biomass are low”.

On this and other occasions, they are, in effect, promoting the notion that any biomass is good biomass. That is nonsense. In terms of its impact on global warming, biomass can range from carbon-negative to carbon-positive. Moreover, this goodness or badness can be quantified, according to what, where, how (and even why) it is produced and consumed. This has been shown in numerous studies, affirmed by committees at the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and pointed out by a wide range of environmentalists, researchers around the world, and governments such as Canada’s and the US state of California’s.

Compulsory, hard-nosed sustainability criteria for biomass fuels would not only serve the environment, but would also be in the interests of the biomass industry and of the Commission.

Why are binding criteria so important? There are two principal reasons. One is that the biofuel medicine can be worse than the fossil-fuel disease. Knocking down forests to avoid pumping oil or gas is good only to the extent that we improve the net carbon balance while protecting natural habitats and human health. Many proposed biomass projects fail to do this.

Moreover, there is a compelling political and international dimension. One of the few successes of the UN’s climate-change talks in Copenhagen was the increasing acceptance of the REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) initiative. Can the REDD-supporting Commission really say out of one side of its mouth that protecting forests is mission-critical while, out of the other, say it is not? Critics would surely label this as cynical, protectionist and condescending.

The second reason is that plunging ahead blindly without sustainable criteria puts the reputation of biofuels at risk. DG Tren has surely not forgotten that transport biofuels, once the darlings of governments and NGOs, have since been demonised. As recently as late 2007, a UN special expert on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, called the practice of converting food crops into biofuel “a crime against humanity”. Debates over land-use changes and other negative effects of bioethanol and biodiesel almost caused the UK’s Renewable Fuels Agency to close before it even opened.

For biomass, some of the particulars are different (which is why separate criteria are needed), but the potential for public outrage and government/industry embarrassment is similar.

Without criteria, the chances of a biomass scandal become huge. Even non-experts can work out that, say, importing wood chips from South America is environmentally questionable, or that chopping down trees depletes carbon stocks. Many would reach the wrong conclusion – that any biomass is bad biomass.

It will be tough, both technically and politically, to develop criteria. This is apparent in the ongoing ISO/CEN deliberations and the development of criteria for transport biofuels. Moreover, after criteria-setting there will be another tough job: propagating the criteria into related rules and regulations (such as the EU’s emissions trading scheme and into various building certification schemes, which erroneously count all biomass/biofuel emissions as inherently carbon-neutral).

But doing this is in the public interest, and it is for such tough tasks that we appoint and elect public officials. Besides, without sustainability criteria, we run a serious risk of causing more environmental harm than good, while destroying the public’s fragile trust in this nascent industry and its regulators.

Eric Johnson is the editor of “Environmental Impact Assessment Review”, managing director of Atlantic Consulting, a member of CEN Technical Committee 383 and director of Green Cross, an NGO.

The days of Florentino Perez rushing to buy football’s biggest stars are all-but over – now, the transfer policy is very much focused on future greats

Not so long ago, the start of each summer transfer window was greeted with trepidation by Europe’s biggest clubs. The sun’s return would be accompanied by the opening of an enormous chequebook as Real Madrid scoured their rivals for the latest Galactico to add to their collection.

It did not matter if the unwilling sellers were AC Milan or Juventus, Manchester United or Liverpool; nobody was safe from the Merengues’ cash-laden talons. Not even arch-rivals Barcelona could resist, famously losing star Portuguese playmaker Luis Figo to the capital and greeting his next visit to Camp Nou by tossing a pig’s head at their former favourite.

Twenty years on from the start of Perez’s first term in office in 2000, the wily old impresario cuts as formidable a figure as ever in the Spanish capital. But while money for new talent continues to flow, the targets have changed.

The likes of Ronaldo (both Brazilian and Portuguese), David Beckham and Roberto Carlos are no longer the club’s transfer priority. Now, from Spain to Brazil and across the globe, potential Galactiquitos, or Baby Galacticos, are being watched with interest and snapped up with ever-increasing frequency.

The policy is not entirely novel. As long ago as 1996 Madrid swooped for teenage Argentine brothers Esteban and Nicolas Cambiasso, while Perez himself veered from his strict Galactico policy from 2005 onwards to sign promising Under-23 talents such as Sergio Ramos, Gonzalo Higuain, Fernando Gago and Robinho, among others.

It was not until the summer of 2013, however, that a real shift in the president’s thinking could truly be seen.

Madrid’s failure to sign then-Santos sensation Neymar rankled as an unforgivable oversight for a club that has always prided itself, from Di Stefano and Puskas in the 1950s to Cristiano Ronaldo almost six decades later, in harvesting football’s finest. Barcelona proved more thorough in their scouting, slicker in negotiations and perhaps more willing to accommodate the extravagant requests made from all parties involved in that notorious deal.

“We spoke, we saw what the transfer was coming to and we realised that it would have damaged our ecosystem,” Perez told Punta Pelota of the failed talks in 2013. Nevertheless, the president sent two envoys to Brazil at the 11th hour in a fruitless attempt to change the current Paris Saint-Germain man’s mind.

The Merengues’ transfer activity following their abortive attempt to sign Neymar shows eloquently Perez’s determination never to be caught out again. Alongside Gareth Bale arrived 21-year-old trio Casemiro, Isco and Dani Carvajal, while two years later Marco Asensio signed from Mallorca at the tender age of 19.

The last few seasons have seen Madrid focus almost exclusively on young talent. As well as Brazilian pair Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, both 18 when they moved, the likes of Martin Odegaard (16), Takefusa Kubo (18), Brahim Diaz (19), Andriy Lunin (19), Eder Militao (20) and Federico Valverde (18) have all joined the ranks at Santiago Bernabeu as the club combs the globe for the next big star.

The latest potential jewel in the Blanco crown arrived in January in the shape of Reinier, Vinicius’ former Flamengo team-mate who signed terms barely minutes after blowing out the candles on his 18th birthday cake.

Understandably, one of the biggest challenges teenage hopefuls from South America and elsewhere face is that of adapting to a new culture thousands of miles from home. “It is difficult, it goes from player to player, from person to person. Some will be able to adapt faster, others will not,” Rodrygo told Goal of his arrival after being named atop the NxGn 2020 list of the world’s best teenage footballers that included two other Madrid players – Reinier and Kubo – in the top 10.

“I think that when Vini arrived, he told me he was a little alone, because in the pre-season Marcelo and Casemiro weren’t there yet. He, then, was the only Brazilian. The beginning then turned out to be a little difficult. When I arrived, there were the five Brazilians here: me, Casemiro, Marcelo, Vinicius and Militao, so that helped me a lot.”

Rodrygo and Vinicius have both enjoyed exciting starts to life at Madrid, and with Reinier joining them, there is a growing hope that the Blancos can develop a Brazilian forward line  that would, albeit belatedly, make up for failing to secure Neymar.

“We have this dream of making history here at Real Madrid and also in the national team,” Rodrygo added. “We have a very good partnership, we met from Brazil, but because he is from Rio and I am from Sao Paulo, there was a certain distance and we just talked on the internet and via Whatsapp.

“Today we are together every day, our friendship strengthens more and more. We have a lot of things in common and we have dreams that we hope to realise up front.”

On Reinier he added: “I think they are wanting to set up a trio here or a Brazilian quartet up front. Let’s see.”

Ironically, as Reinier himself admitted upon signing, one of the biggest draw for the Galactiquitos are the blockbuster signings that preceded them.

reinier

“When I was very little I used to watch the Madrid Galactico games with my father,” the teenager told Marca. “I loved Madrid. And of course since then I have always loved them.” Even if many of the latest generation were barely able to walk when Zidane, Ronaldo and Co. were strutting their stuff, thanks to their parents, elder siblings and Youtube the Galactico legend remains intact, providing an unbeatable sales pitch for Madrid’s staff once a player has been identified and approached.

Such a policy, of course, is by its very nature far from foolproof. The example of Valverde – who was snapped up from Penarol at just 16 (although he stayed in Uruguay a further two years) and broke into the first team last season as almost the finished article – or Asensio – the author of a goal in the Champions League final in his debut season – are very much the exceptions to the rule.

More typical is the case of Odegaard, a full Norway international at 16 but who is only now, after almost four years farmed out on loan in Netherlands and Spain, considered as having a chance of breaking into the senior squad. Patience is vital for any youngster hoping for their big break.

“For young players, and for me right now, it is crucial to have game time. At Madrid I think it’s difficult to obtain,” Odegaard, who is currently enjoying an impressive campaign with Real Sociedad, signalled to TV2 in December. “There are a lot of great players there and competition is huge. It was obvious that the best thing I could do was ask for another loan.

“My goal is still to play with Real Madrid. That’s why I signed with them. For me, that is the place to be, I feel like I have improved in these last two years, I’m a better player, stronger and more mature.”

Time will only tell whether Odegaard, and indeed, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Reinier and the rest of Madrid’s young stable of prospects, will make the grade. Nothing can be taken for granted at one of the world’s strongest clubs, with proven internationals in almost every position.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, you can be certain that teams of scouts are leaving no stone unturned in the hope of finding the next big thing ready to make his impression on the Bernabeu. The names may change season by season, with some becoming Blanco legends and others moving on elsewhere, but the Baby Galacticos, Perez’s pet project for world domination not for one year but a whole decade, are here to stay.

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The Germany defender says he will respect the fine but he was disappointed to receive it after travelling to see his four-year-old son, Jermar

Jerome Boateng has expressed his sadness at being fined by Bayern Munich for breaking coronavirus lockdown guidelines on Monday.

The Germany defender left Munich to visit his four-year-old son, Jermar, who he says is ill – and he claims any father would have done the same.

Bavaria was the first German state to go into full lockdown, with people expected to stay at home unless strictly necessary.

A statement from Bayern said Boateng had “transgressed the guidelines issued by the club by being too far away from his home.

“These guidelines govern the behaviour of the FC Bayern players in the current situation in line with the Bavarian state government’s directives on restrictions on movement and the recommendations of the health authorities.

“FC Bayern believes the club has a responsibility to be a role model. As a consequence of this transgression, the club has decided to impose a fine on Boateng.

“The club will donate the money to Munich hospitals.”

Boateng admitted he was in the wrong, but said he found it sad that he was to be fined for wanting to be with his son.

“I know that it was certainly a mistake not to inform the club about my trip, but in the moment I only had my son in mind,” Boateng told Bild.

“He was not in good health. When a son calls his father, of course I will still go, no matter what time!

“For him I accept any punishment; after all, he is my son.

“I want to see the father who does not go in such a moment to be with his four-year-old son. If there is a punishment for it, then I respect it. I find it sad.”

Reports in Germany also claimed Boateng had been involved in a traffic accident while driving back from seeing his son.

Earlier in the week, Boateng had joined a number of his Bayern team-mates in donating a significant sum to local charities in both Munich and his home town of Berlin.

“In times like these it is important that we all help together,” Boateng said at the time.

“We footballers are often pushed into the role of role models, but role models for me these days are all those who go through their work in the difficult situation and make sure that life goes on as much as possible, like the volunteers at the tables.”

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The 19-year-old Spanish defender has made a big impression with his quality and intelligence after breaking into Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad

Playing in a defence under Pep Guardiola is not easy. Even the Manchester City manager has admitted that he asks a lot of his defenders.

His teams defend high up the pitch, often as far as 20 yards into the opponents’ half, exposing a huge space between them and the goalkeeper for attackers to run into. 

And it is not all about defending. Players are also expected to be comfortable and creative on the ball; prominent in starting and maintaining attacks.

It can be difficult for experienced players to acclimatise to the game plan, never mind rookies still learning the art of defending at the highest level, where the slightest mistake can be punished.

That is why Eric Garcia’s progress towards becoming a regular in Guardiola’s first team is so impressive.

Clever, composed and adept at anticipating danger, the Spaniard has all the traits that the City boss looks for in a centre-back. And the 19-year-old has an even bigger advantage in that he has been schooled in the Guardiola style from a young age and has an instinctive understanding in how to play in the system.

When Garcia first fell in love with football, Guardiola was in charge of the extraordinary Barcelona side that won two Champions Leagues, three La Liga titles and two Copa Del Rey trophies.

The centre-back’s knowledge was further enhanced by his time in Barca’s famed La Masia youth academy before his switch to City, where he quickly moved up to the first team to learn from the man himself.

“The players I most remember watching growing up are (Carles) Puyol, (Gerard) Pique and (Javier) Mascherano when Pep was there,” Garcia tells Goal after he was named on this year’s NxGn list for the best teenage footballers on the planet.

“I was playing for Barca and when I was only 10 or 12, they were the three defenders I learned most from watching.”

With his talent spotted at a young age, Garcia was tipped as a potential successor to Pique, with the 33-year-old ex-Manchester United centre-back now in the twilight of his career.

There are similarities in their games. Slim and only around six foot tall, Garcia cannot rely on physicality to deal with opposing attackers, instead using his intelligence and alertness to deal with danger, just as Pique has done at Camp Nou for more than a decade.

However, he is also mature and grounded away from the pitch, which is why Barca were so upset when he left in the summer of 2017. Garcia admits it was tough leaving the Spanish giants but he has no regrets about his decision.

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“When I was at Barca I had the offer to come here – to start with the Under-18s and then they had a mini-plan for my future. At the end, I could train with the first team if everything was going right,” he explains.

“It was a difficult decision for me to come here because I left my family, my friends, it’s a different country, a different language. But it’s going really well.

“I was lucky because I was in Barcelona and at Barcelona we played the same way. So, for me, it wasn’t like a big, big difference. Obviously, when [Pep] demands different things, it’s more or less the same.”

Garcia’s development at City has escalated quickly. In his first season, he was part of the U18s side narrowly beaten by his former club in the semi-finals of the UEFA Youth League.

The following summer, he made a huge impression on City’s pre-season tour to the United States where he shone in games against Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

A first-team debut then came four weeks before his 18th birthday in the Carabao Cup victory away to Leicester City, and he has now made 14 appearances for Guardiola’s side.

While he may have had more appearances if he had left to go elsewhere on loan, the City boss believes his young players with the most potential – Phil Foden, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Tommy Doyle – will learn more from training with City’s senior players.

Garcia, though, admits that when he first moved up to join the first team, he was not sure he was ready for the challenge.

“Well, the first day, no,” he admits. “It was different because watching them on TV and then being lucky to train with them, it was like a shock for me the first time seeing Kevin (De Bruyne) or Sergio (Aguero) or David (Silva).

“Players that you have been watching for many years on the TV, winning trophies – and then training with them, I was so lucky.

“Every day is like a game now because they are friends and probably the best strikers in the world. So, for me, it is something that is incredible, because I’m still young and to train with them is incredible.”

Guardiola has continued to push his young defender, admitting he was “not a nice guy” when he started him on the left-hand side of a central pairing in Premier League wins against Sheffield United and Everton. 

“I just need to keep training hard to show the manager that anytime he needs me, I’m ready for it,” Garcia adds. “Keep learning from them because they are the best players I could probably train with.”

City are set to strengthen their back line this summer after a serious injury to Aymeric Laporte exposed their lack of a replacement for former captain Vincent Kompany.

Garcia’s emergence, however, has helped to ease the absence of two key defenders this season, and the young Spaniard is set to play a significant part in City’s future, no matter who arrives in the transfer window.

The former Blues academy star tells his story of how he left the Londoners to take his own unique path to the international stage

Mukhtar Ali insists he has no regrets about leaving Chelsea even though some of his former Academy team-mates have now graduated to Frank Lampard’s first team.

Ali, who rejected Manchester City as a youngster, spent nine years at the Blues and was a key member of the side that won both the UEFA Youth League and the FA Youth Cup in 2016 alongside Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham.

However, despite breaking into Chelsea’s Under-23s, the defensive midfielder moved to Vitesse in the summer of 2017, after an initial six-month stint with the Eredivisie outfit.

Ali struggle to secure regular game time in Netherlands, though, so last August he joined Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia, whom the 22-year-old represents at international level.

Mason and Mount, meanwhile, are now starring for Chelsea after electing to return to the club following their respective loan spells elsewhere.

Ali, though, says he is not in the least bit jealous of his former colleagues.

“To see them in Chelsea’s starting line-up is a joy for everyone who was part of our youth team,” he tells Goal. “I never look at the situation now and think it should have been me, because I am very happy for them.

“I am still in contact with a lot of them and they deserve to be in the first team.

“Tammy has always been a guy who just wanted to score goals and you could see that from very young, wherever he is playing.

“He was very tall throughout the academy years, so he was physically superior to everyone in his team and the opposition. He was a very good player.

“Mason was a year younger than us but he played a lot with us in the youth team and you could see his quality straight away.

“You could pass the ball to him in any position and he would control it well. He could play under pressure, he was a good combination player and he was very, very smart.

“He has a very good shot as well, so you always wanted him in positions where he could have a go and get goals. When he came in for the Youth Cup and Youth League games, he was very good.”

However, the team-mate that impressed Ali most was Jay Dasilva, who is no longer at Chelsea, having joined Bristol City last summer.

“Jay was probably the most consistent player in the youth team,” he reveals. “The rest of the top players you might think of were maybe good one week and not as much the next. But Jay Dasilva was good in every single game.

“I just remember looking at him and thinking he will be a world-class left-back when he is older. He is very good.”

As for Ali, he’s happy with how his career is now progressing.

Before the Covid-19 crisis interrupted football seasons across the globe, he had been starting regularly for Al Nassr, who sat second in the Saudi Professional League.

Ali had also helped his country’s Under-23 qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, which have since been pushed back a year because of the pandemic.

Consequently, while things didn’t go according to plan in Netherlands, he now feels he made the right call in leaving England.

“If I stayed at Chelsea with the Under-23s, I thought I wouldn’t develop as quickly,” he explains. “I didn’t think I was ready for the first team, so I had to go down a different route.

“Saudi Arabia got in contact with me the year we won the Youth Cup. I was born there, so it was a natural decision to play for them, one made with my parents and my agent.

“At Vitesse, I wasn’t playing. I looked at my options and thought about my international career. The best option was to move to Saudi Arabia.

“Al Nassr got in contact and they were talking with Vitesse for some time. I don’t know why, but it got left until transfer deadline day.

“I was at Vitesse that day for hours and it only got finished with four minutes left of the window. But I was very happy.

“A lot of people might think I moved to Saudi Arabia for the money but that definitely wasn’t the reason.

“Al Nassr on the league last year and it is a big club. As a young player at Chelsea, I always challenged for trophies. I have that will to win and Al Nassr have the same mentality.

“It is a good league, too. It’s tough and there are a lot of players from Europe here. We have very good team and playing here can only help my international career. All the players who play for Saudi Arabia are here, so it makes sense for me to be here too.

“I’ve been doing well with the Under-23s and it will be amazing to be in Tokyo. It is a shame that it has been delayed, but it will be amazing when we get there to play against top players.

“So, I feel like I have achieved a lot already in this short time in Saudi Arabia. I definitely don’t want to stop here.”

The Belgium international reminisced about training with the England prodigy before his meteoric rise in Germany

Kevin De Bruyne has described Jadon Sancho’s rise as ‘crazy’, while remembering his time while the talented English attacker was developing at Manchester City.

The 20-year-old joined City’s academy from Watford but failed to make his debut for the Manchester club before deciding to move to Borussia Dortmund in 2017.

Sancho has since become one of the hottest properties in world football with Goal recently revealing Manchester United were leading Chelsea in the race for his signature.

Recalling his experience training with Sancho, De Bruyne praised his journey to stardom and joked about the £100 million-plus fee it’s likely going to take to sign the attacker.

“[Sancho] is crazy,” De Bruyne said in an Instagram live session with Belgium team-mates Romelu Lukaku and Axel Witsel.

“It’s weird, I trained a few times with him and he was gone – unbelievable.

“Sometimes it goes like this but it is good for him.

“Now if you want him you have to pay… I don’t want to know!”

Sancho made his debut for Dortmund in 2017 but exploded into the spotlight the following season, scoring 12 goals and getting 17 assists in 34 Bundesliga matches.

The England star continued his form during the current campaign, recording an impressive 17 goals and 19 assists across all competitions.

Sancho’s international team-mate Marcus Rashford hopes the flying winger will join him at Manchester United when the transfer window opens.

“It would be good [if Sancho joined],” Rashford said. “Sancho’s a great player and he’s like a new generation player.

“It’s definitely exciting to watch him become the player he’s becoming. Hopefully we can all play together, that would be good.

“He plays off the cuff, he’s creative and imaginative – these are the things you need to be world class.”

Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has said that even if Sancho wants to move on, the coronavirus crisis will not result in the Bundesliga side dropping their asking price for their star asset.

“I can clearly say that despite the existential crisis [for football] even the richest clubs don’t have to believe they can go bargain hunting at Dortmund,” Watzke told Bild.

“We must not sell anyone below value. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, we said that we prefer that Jadon stays with us. At the end of the day, however, you always have to respect what the player wants.”

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The teenager tested positive for coronavirus last month, but his symptoms were minor and has now recovered

Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi says is feeling “perfect” after recovering from the coronavirus.

Hudson-Odoi tested positive for the virus last month, one of the events alongside the diagnosis of Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta that led to the Premier League going into shutdown.

However, the 19-year-old only experienced minor symptoms.

“I am feeling perfect,” he told Chelsea’s official website. “I had the virus, which has cleared now. I fully feel good, I feel fit, so I am feeling back to myself so it is all good.

“I had it [the illness] three weeks ago now I think, on a Monday when I felt a bit hot and I was thinking, ‘this is a bit unusual, why do I feel this hot?’

“The next day I was feeling back to normal. I thought it was just a minor temperature thing, but obviously it wasn’t. I said to myself this wasn’t actually that bad, the symptoms, and I said to myself, ‘I feel good, I feel better.’

“Everything is happening so fast and I did not know this virus would be such a major thing and so big in the world and affect so many people.

“Everyone has to be careful and judge things how they go and hopefully the virus will go soon and everyone will be back to normal.”

As part of football’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Euro 2020 has been pushed back 12 months – something of a motivating factor for England international Hudson-Odoi, who has struggled for form and fitness at times this season.

“For me it is an opportunity to show again and keep pushing myself to the max to hopefully have an opportunity to go to the Euros,” he added

“The Euros is a massive thing and I have big belief in myself and hopefully I will be able to get into the team.

“I just want to make sure that I keep pushing myself every game and every minute, making sure that I keep trying to score goals and make assists and keep trying to help the team as much as possible to get what we want, which is a trophy at the end of the day.”

Ambiance bon enfant, buffets à profusion, et célébrités chapeautées: cette année, le traditionnel pince-fesses du 14 juillet à l’Elysée était peut-être un peu moins « people ». La garden-party a fait la part belle aux inconnus qui se sont distingués par leur action caritative ou d’aide aux victimes.

La présidence l’avait annoncé: restriction budgétaire oblige, il n’y avait pour ce cru 2009 que 5 000 invités au lieu des quelque 7 000 de l’an dernier. Il n’empêche. Dès le début de l’après-midi, la pelouse ensoleillée du parc de la présidence était noire de monde.
Parmi les personnalités présentes, on pouvait reconnaître l’animateur de science-fiction Grichka Bogdanoff, le philosophe André Glucksmann, le réalisateur Claude Lanzmann, le chanteur Didier Barbelivien, la baronne Philippinne de Rothschild, le « curé des loubards » Guy Gilbert et Orlando, le frère de Dalida…
On croisait aussi des vedettes du petit écran: Laurence Ferrari et son mari Renaud Capuçon, Christine Ockrent, et Jean-Luc Delarue. Et des politiques: Jean Tiberi, Patrick Balkany, Michel Charasse Jacques Toubon, le député socialiste Manuel Valls, l’ancien Premier ministre Michel Rocard et le président du groupe UMP à l’Assemblée Jean-François Copé.
Cachée derrière ses lunettes noires, on pouvait aussi deviner Nadine Morano, très star. Côté famille présidentielle, on apercevait les mamans Marisa et Dadu, les frères du président Guillaume et François, et le fils cadet, Jean.

Bollywood

Franc succès pour les victuailles installées de part et d’autre du vaste parc. Toutes les régions de France étaient représentées: l’Aquitaine et ses vins de pays, la région PACA avec ses salades d’olives noires, la Bretagne et ses cidres à l’ancienne ou encore les DOM-TOM et leurs fruits exotiques. Autre pôle d’attraction, on se bousculait autour des mets chamarrés aux couleurs de l’Inde, invitée d’honneur.

Nouveauté cette année, le secrétaire général de l’Elysée Claude Guéant a fait visiter mardi aux spectateurs de TF1 son bureau du palais présidentiel, d’où il dirige le « petit groupe d’une cinquantaine de personnes qui constitue l’état-major de l’Elysée ». Il a glissé au passage qu’il souhaitait « très vivement » que le Président se représente en 2012.

Un héros très discret

Nicolas Sarkozy n’a lui fait qu’une courte apparition, cinq minutes chrono, de 13h38 à 13h43 dans un périmètre limité au carré VIP. A ses côtés, l’expresse Carla Bruni avait troqué sa tenue en cachemire siglée Dior pour une robe de cocktail noire à plastron blanc. Mais la top model et musicienne s’est faite muette. La First Lady était déjà intervenue sur la première chaîne. Après avoir montré son intérieur élyséen et salué la beauté des roses du jardin, la belle Méditerranéenne avait parlé à demi-mot de son couple – « le bonheur est quelque chose qui apaise » -, de sa fondation caritative et salué une armée française « au service de la paix ».

Regardez le diaporama Carla et Nicolas se cajolent de la Concorde à l’Elysée

Le bain de foule, c’est François Fillon qui l’a effectué. Absent l’an dernier pour cause de sciatique, le Premier ministre s’est rattrapé en se mêlant aux invités, serrant de nombreuses mains, posant volontiers pour les photographes amateurs…

Le coût estimé de ce « modeste » raout: 1,9 million d’euros.

Mercredi 15 juillet 2009

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