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FRIDAY 12 |
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O'Leary tight-lipped on Baros
Aston Villa manager David O'Leary is remaining tight-lipped
on the prospect of Liverpool striker Milan Baros moving to
Villa Park.
O'Leary had his knuckles rapped last season by the Football
Association for comments he made about wanting to sign the
then Southampton striker James Beattie.
On the eve of Villa's opening Premiership game of the season
at home to Bolton, O'Leary said: "I cannot speak about
Baros. Last season I was told by the FA not to speak about
any player at another club in regard to Aston Villa.
"Baros has not been on the bench in Liverpool's European
games with the papers saying he did not want to be tied down
to any situation."
Villa remain favourites to tempt Baros to Villa Park but in
the meantime they will open their Premiership programme with
a new striking partnership of Juan Pablo Angel and summer
signing Kevin Phillips.
(TEAMtalk)
Berger hoping Baros joins Villa
Patrik Berger has urged striker Milan Baros to move from
Liverpool to Aston Villa as the midlands club step up their
efforts to sign the Czech international.
Berger knows all about Baros' qualities from their time
together on Merseyside and at international level as Villa
manager David O'Leary searches for a replacement for Darius
Vassell after his switch to Manchester City.
He said: "I hope the move will happen and Milan will come to
Aston Villa.
"I know him well because he came to Liverpool when I was
there. I spent a year and a half with him and also watch all
the international games.
"There is no doubt he would be a big help for us. He is a
handful and will always score goals, he causes problems for
the opposition defenders so I hope he will come here."
(ITV Football)
Reds target extends deal
Liverpool target Daniel Alves has secured a Spanish passport
and has extended his contract with Sevilla in the process.
The Brazilian was granted citizenship by a court in Seville
and subsequently triggered a clause in his contract.
He is now tied to Sevilla for a further two years - until
June 2011 - although his wages and release clause remain
unchanged.
Alves, who joined Sevilla from Brazilian outfit Bahia, has
established himself as a key player for the Primera outfit
since his move in January 2003.
His displays caught the eye of Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez
who is keen to add a right-sided midfielder to his squad
before the transfer deadline at the end of the month.
However, Sevilla were not keen to lose the player following
the sale of compatriot Julio Baptista to Real Madrid.
(Sky Sports)
Alonso backing Morientes
Xabi Alonso has backed compatriat Fernando Morientes to come
good at Anfield.
Before Wednesday's game Morientes had only scored three
goals for Liverpool but after his brace against CSKA Sofia
Alonso is backing his fellow Spanish international to be one
of Europe's leading scorers.
"Always when you are at a big club and you are a striker, if
you do not score then you will have to accept that there
will be criticism," said Alonso. "But he has trained hard,
he was very focused for this game and we are all pleased for
him that he has scored important goals.
"He has been the top scorer in the Champions League in
previous seasons and I know it is now an ambition for him to
play well for Liverpool in the Champions League and help the
club to more success in Europe.
"He has also always scored many goals for Spain, so he has
that level of experience and certainly the goals he has
scored for Liverpool this week will be a big boost for him.
"He has scored goals wherever he has been, that is not in
doubt, so I now hope and believe that he will do the same
here."
(LFC Online)
Zenden says fans have yet to see his best
Bolo Zenden says Liverpool fans have yet to see the best of
the winger.
Despite missing the trip to Sofia with a slight injury,
Zenden will be available for Liverpool's first game of the
Premiership season, away at his old club Middlesbrough.
He said: "As a team, I think we have been improving with
each game but looking at my own form I would say there is
much more to come from me in the coming season. I've been
fairly pleased with how things have gone but with the hectic
schedule of games it hasn't been easy.
"Also, the tempo is never as high during pre-season and it's
only when the serious games begin that players really begin
to find their true form. I've been disappointed not to have
got on the scoresheet but I'm determined to put that right
as soon as possible.
"I haven't set myself any particular goalscoring targets and
I suppose it doesn't really matter who scores the goals so
long as the team is winning but I'd love to be more prolific
in front of goal once the season starts. You can't just rely
on the strikers to score, I'm well aware of that and my aim
is to chip in with a fair share of goals myself."
(LFC Online)
Villa ponder £6.5m Baros bid
Aston Villa are stepping up their efforts to sign
Liverpool striker Milan Baros and are prepared to offer
£6.5m for his services.
It is understood that Villa are prepared to compromise with
Liverpool in attempting to thrash out a fee for the Czech
international.
Villa initially insisted they would not pay more than £6m
for Baros while Liverpool refused to budge from an asking
price of £7m.
But the Midlands club are now believed to be read to pay
around £6.5m with manager David O'Leary desperate to
supplement a three-man strikeforce of Kevin Phillips, Juan
Pablo Angel and rookie Luke Moore.
(TEAMtalk)
Yanev to miss Liverpool trip
CSKA Sofia have lost midfielder Hristo Yanev for a month
with a thigh injury, ruling him out of their return UEFA
Champions League third qualifying round match against
Liverpool FC.
The 26-year-old tore a muscle in his right leg during the
3-1 first-leg defeat by the defending champions in Sofia on
Wednesday night. He was substituted at the end of the first
half and will not be fit for the trip to England on 23
August. Yanev will also miss Bulgaria's friendly against
Turkey next Wednesday.
(UEFA.com)
No Zenden grudge, says Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer insists there will be no hard feelings
against winger Boudewijn Zenden when he returns to
Middlesbrough with Liverpool on Saturday.
Dutch international Zenden left Boro on a free transfer in
the summer.
Boro keeper Schwarzer told BBC Sport: "Without a doubt I was
disappointed at Bolo moving to Liverpool.
"But there's no point to prove against him. We want to prove
we can mix it with the best and what better way than beating
the champions of Europe."
He added: "You are always disappointed when you lose quality
players and Bolo proved, especially last season, what a
quality player he is.
"He was by far the best player last season.
"You can debate whether he made the right move for as long
as you like.
"But at the end of the day when two parties can't come to an
agreement then they are obviously going to move on.
"And, when a team like Liverpool come along and make you an
offer, it is difficult to turn them down."
(BBC Sport Online) |
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THURSDAY 11 |
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Reds unable to recall Kirkland
West Bromwich Albion have revealed that Liverpool do not
have an option to recall on-loan keeper Chris Kirkland.
Jerzy Dudek is facing a long spell out of action due to the
injury he sustained in training and should anything happen
to Jose Reina or Scott Carson, it won't be possible to
recall Kirkland.
Kirkland was loaned out for the season by the manager in the
hope that he would be able to keep himself fit and free of
injury.
(Kop Talk)
Reds duo to make World Cup claims
Liverpool's Dietmar Hamann and Fernando Morientes will be
looking to enhance their chances of making the World Cup
after receiving international call-ups.
Midfielder Hamann, 31, has been named in the Germany squad
to face Holland on 17 August 17, having missed the last two
matches because of injury.
"I hope nothing happens and Didi stays fit," said manager
Jurgen Klinsmann.
Morientes, 29, has been recalled to the Spain squad for the
match with Uruguay, having not played since last year.
(BBC Sport Online)
Cisse blasts 'stupid racists'
Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse has vowed not to be ground
down by racists.
Cisse, who scored the opening goal, told the Liverpool Echo:
"It is hurtful when it happens. It began when I tried to
cross the ball they started to do all these monkey noises.
"It's a shame this happens but there are lots of stupid
people sometimes at these games and as a player you can't do
anything about it.
"You can say UEFA should take stronger action when it
happens but I'm not sure what they can do about it. You
can't really stop these kind of people doing this.
"Normally I don't have this kind of problem. This is the
first time anything like this has happened to me in any game
I've played.
"I'm a strong enough person to deal with this and I don't
let it affect me. I'm just sad we have to talk about these
issues rather than the football."
(Football 365)
Reds dominate Spain squad
Spain boss Luis Aragones has named his squad to face Uruguay
in a friendly next Wednesday, with Liverpool the club
providing most players for the 22-man selection.
It is the first time in the country's history that a foreign
side is the most highly-represented in a Spain squad with
four players, Jose Reina, Xabi Alonso, Luis Garcia and
Fernando Morientes, coming from The Reds.
The call from Aragones will be a particular boost for
Morientes who has not been selected since the friendly
against Venezuela last August - the coach's first game in
charge.
'El Moro' fired his national coach a timely reminder with a
brace in Liverpool's UEFA Champions League qualifier against
CSKA Sofia on Wednesday night and will now be hoping to add
to his international tally of 24 goals.
(Planet Football/Sky Sports)
Parry surprised at Gonzalez rejection
Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry says he is surprised
that the club's application for a work permit for Chile
starlet Mark Gonzalez was turned down and expressed his
frustration at the decision.
Gonzalez is currently injured but Liverpool wanted to sign
him on a year's loan from Albacete with a view to a
permanent deal.
Speaking to the official LFC magazine, Parry said: "Our
chase to sign Mark Gonzalez is over for the time being. We
were surprised when our application for a work permit was
turned down.
"It's a frustrating state of affairs because Rafael Benitez
was really looking forward to working with the player.
Gonzalez has been playing his football in Spain with
Albacete who were relegated at the end of the season. Rafa's
knowledge of the Spanish scene immediately encouraged him to
move for a man who would have been an important addition to
our squad.
"To secure a work permit you have to demonstrate that the
individual will make a significant contribution to the
development of the game in this country. It's slightly
illogical that a panel can sit and judge the capability of
someone in a negative way when a manager as thorough as
Rafael Benitez has clearly indicated that the player is
definitely going to play a part in a crucial season.
(LFC Official Website) |
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WEDNESDAY 10 |
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UEFA will report CSKA racism
Liverpool have been told by UEFA delegate Trygve Borno that
he will include in his report the incidents of racial abuse
suffered by Djibril Cisse in the Champions League clash
against CSKA Sofia.
The Norwegian delegate made a point of telling Liverpool
secretary Bryce Morrison that he was concerned enough by the
constant monkey noises from the CSKA fans that he will
report the Bulgarian club to UEFA.
And boss Rafael Benitez said after his side's 3-1 victory
had been marred by the abuse suffered by goalscorer Cisse:
"Always it is a pity to hear such things, but the UEFA
official has heard and it has gone in his report.
"The atmosphere in terms of support was good in the ground,
but the monkey noises are a pity. We must learn and not do
it because it is really bad for football. The UEFA officials
have done the report."
On a claim from a Bulgarian journalist that Cisse provoked
the crowd, Benitez said: "That is stupid. To score goals is
not to provoke the fans."
The Reds press officer Ian Cotton confirmed: "The UEFA
official has told our secretary Bryce Morrison that he has
heard the monkey noises and he will include that
in his report."
(Kop Talk)
Moores and Parry stay behind to conclude
transfer deals
Liverpool duo David Moores and Rick Parry are working late
at Anfield this evening while the squad and other club
officials are in Bulgaria.
It is unusual for the club's top brass not to be in
attendance when the Reds are in action but it's even more
unusual for chairman David Moores to be involved in transfer
negotiations which suggests a 'big fish' could be on the
way.
We'd certainly class Michael Owen as a 'big fish' but
whether or not he'll be signed will depend on Real Madrid's
willingness to strike a deal. We wouldn't be surprised to
see a couple of players brought in before the transfer
window closes and with Mr Moores getting involved we're
certainly more excited than we usually would be.
(Kop Talk)
Gerrard backs Morientes for more
Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard believes more is to come
from Fernando Morientes after the Spain striker scored twice
in the 3-1 win against CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria.
Gerrard told Sky Sports: "He's got ability, there's no
doubt, his all-round game was a lot better and there's a lot
more to come from him, definitely."
(ITV Football)
Rafa hails Fernando show
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was delighted to see Fernando
Morientes among the goals in the 3-1 win over CSKA Sofia.
Benitez believes Morientes will show his true worth this
season after a disappointing start to his Liverpool career
last term after arriving from Real Madrid in January.
"We're waiting to see him score goals in the Premiership,
but he had a very good game," said Benitez.
"We need to give him more crosses and we'll see the best of
him."
(Sky Sports)
Sofia so good for Reds
Liverpool virtually booked a place in the UEFA Champions
League with an impressive 3-1 win over CSKA Sofia in
Bulgaria on Wednesday night.
Goals from Fernando Morientes (2) and Djibril Cisse were
enough to give Liverpool a comfortable victory although they
were made to sweat after CSKA netted a goal right on the
stroke of half time.
(Planet Football/Sky Sports)
CSKA Sofia v Liverpool - confirmed team
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Warnock,
Garcia, Alonso, Gerrard, Riise, Cisse, Morientes.
SUBS: Carson, Baros, Hamann, Whitbread, Barragan, Sissoko.
(Kop Talk)
Hyypia agrees new Anfield deal
Sami Hyypia today revealed he has agreed a new
deal to extend his stay at Liverpool until 2008.
The Finnish defender will put pen to paper on his new
contract when he touches down in Liverpool on Thursday after
the Reds' Champions League qualifier in Bulgaria.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.tv in Sofia this morning, Hyypia
said: "Obviously I am very, very happy to agree a new
contract with Liverpool. We have been talking for a few
weeks and I had no hesitation in committing my future to
Rafael Benitez.
"Everybody wants to play for Liverpool Football Club at the
moment and it's an honour to say that I will be here for at
least another three years.
"This is the greatest football club in the world and after
Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann and Djimi
Traore all agreed new deals, I'm delighted to have done the
same.
"These are good times for Liverpool and I'd like to repay
the faith the supporters have shown in me by winning more
trophies."
(LFC Official Website)
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Thor Zakariassen
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