|
|
|
|
SATURDAY 12 |
|
|
Garcia on song in Spanish stroll
A hat-trick from Liverpool star Luis Garcia all but booked
Spain a place in next year's World Cup finals on Saturday
night.
Garcia's treble helped Spain record a 5-1 win over Slovakia
in their play-off, meaning only a disastrous defeat in
Wednesday's return leg will prevent Luis Aragones' men
reaching Germany 2006.
Garcia put Spain two up inside 18 minutes in Madrid but
Middlesbrough striker Szilard Nemeth pulled a goal back just
after the break.
However, the game swung back Spain's way when Marian Had was
sent off in the 64th minute for a second yellow card and
Fernando Torres scored from the resultant penalty.
Now up against 10 men, Garcia completed his hat-trick on 74
minutes before another Liverpool player, Fernando Morientes
- who had just replaced his Anfield team-mate - completed
the rout with 11 minutes remaining.
(Sky Sports)
Smicer the hero
Former Liverpool midfielder Vladimir Smicer was
the hero as the Czech Republic beat Norway 1-0 in their
play-off in Oslo.
The 32-year-old, who now plays his football in France with
Bordeaux, scored in the 31st minute in a match which marked
the return to international arena of Pavel Nedved.
The Juventus star has come out of national team retirement
in a bid to help his country reach the finals in Germany,
and the Czechs are now in a strong position going into the
home leg on Wednesday.
(Sky Sports)
Owen goal wins Argentina thriller
Michael Owen scored two dramatic late goals to
earn England victory in a pulsating friendly against
Argentina.
Owen nodded in an equaliser on 87 minutes from Steven
Gerrard's pinpoint cross and headed the winner from Joe
Cole's floated centre in injury time.
Hernan Crespo put Argentina ahead from Maxi Rodrigruez's
pull-back but the outstanding Wayne Rooney fired England
level from David Beckham's knock-down.
Walter Samuel's downward header made it 2-1 before Owen's
late intervention.
Until then it looked set to be a disappointing day for
England in Switzerland's packed Stade de Geneve.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's side impressed going forward but
always struggled to cope with Argentina's inventive attack.
(BBC Sport Online)
Simão Sabrosa hints at January exit
Benfica’s talismanic captain Simão Sabrosa has
reiterated his desire to move abroad.
In an interview given to Portuguese cable sports channel,
SporTV, Sabrosa admitted he is anxious to complete a switch
to a more competitive championship than Portugal’s Liga.
Without specifically naming a particular league or club,
everything points towards his aborted move to Liverpool
finally going ahead.
(Portugal.net) |
|
|
FRIDAY 11 |
|
|
Le Tallec on target for France against
England
Loaned out Liverpool youngster Anthony Le Tallec scored for
the France Under 21's against England in the UEFA European
Championship play-off first leg at White Hart Lane this
evening.
It was Le Tallec's 10th goal for the Under 21's and his 6th
consecutive Under 21 game in which he has scored.
Unfortunately though it wasn't to be enough as England
scored a later equaliser to make it 1-1.
(Kop Talk)
First team fixture changes
Liverpool have announced a number of fixture changes to
games being played in January and February next year.
Manchester United v Liverpool will now be played on
Sunday 22nd January 2006, kick-off 4pm.
Chelsea v Liverpool will now be played on Sunday 5th
February 2006, kick-off 4pm.
Wigan Athletic v Liverpool remains on Saturday 11th
February 2006 but will kick off at 12.45pm
Liverpool v Arsenal remains to be played on 14th
February 2006, kick off 8pm, but is still subject to both
clubs qualifying for the knock out stages of the UEFA
Champions League
Liverpool v Manchester City will now be played on
Sunday 26th February 2006, kick-off 12.15pm
(LFC Official Website)
Brondby cool on Agger Reds move
Danish club Brondby insist they have no plans to sell
talented defender Daniel Agger, who has been linked with a
move to European Champions Liverpool.
"We don't have any thoughts of selling Daniel Agger," a
Brondby spokesman told BBC Sport. "Though obviously every
player has his price."
Agger, 20, is a regular in the Denmark team and regarded as
one of the best young defenders in Europe.
Agger is currently recovering from a knee injury he suffered
in September.
The defender, who could cost Liverpool as much as £5m, has
previously attracted interest from Bayern Munich and
Everton.
His contract with Brondy has another year-and-a-half to run.
(BBC Sport Online)
Riise set for Liverpool deal
John Arne Riise has confirmed he expects Liverpool to offer
him a new deal in the not too distant future.
The Norway international has proven a consistent performer
for Liverpool since arriving at Anfield from Monaco,
establishing himself under first Gerard Houllier and now
Rafa Benitez.
With 18 months left on his current deal it is expected
Liverpool will soon be entering negotiations with the
versatile Scandinavian, who can operate in several different
positions.
Riise admits he is more than content on Merseyside and that
if and when Liverpool come calling, he will be happy to put
pen-to-paper.
''It's common that clubs want to talk when it is 18 months
left on a contract,'' Riise told VG.
''And I am happy to extend.''
(Sky Sports)
Winger deal confirmed
Both Liverpool Football Club and Hull City have confirmed
that winger Paul Anderson will be moving to Anfield in
January with Reds midfielder John Welsh going in the other
direction.
Liverpool FC have confirmed the deal and so too has Hull
chairman Adam Pearson who said: "We don't want to lose Paul,
but the fact is he wants to join Liverpool and will now do
so in January in a swap for John Welsh.
"The ideal scenario would be to keep Paul and sign John
permanently as well, but it's
not to be."
(Kop Talk)
Cisse: I'll be selfish over my future
Djibril Cisse has spoken of the selfish streak he hopes can
keep him at Liverpool.
The French striker's Anfield future has been the subject of
much speculation this season, with the 24-year-old hinting
he may even seek a move away from the European Champions in
the January transfer window.
"I don't want to quit Liverpool," said the striker. "I'm
really pleased to be here.
"I'm here for the next five years and if it's more, it's
more. I'm really happy to stay.
"I am happy with the number I've scored but I think I can
reach 20 goals. It's my job
to score."
(Sky Sports)
Benitez praises injured Carra
Rafa Benitez has paid tribute to Jamie Carragher's
resilience after revealing the defender has played through
the pain barrier for the last two months.
Carragher was given an injection on Wednesday night in a bid
to cure an ankle problem which has plagued him since the
away match at Tottenham on September 10.
The Reds stopper is expected to recover in time to face
Portsmouth next week, but he's missing for this weekend's
international friendly.
"Carra has had a problem for some time and now we are trying
to protect him," said Benitez.
"He is a brave player and he never wants to come off or miss
a game. The last thing we wanted was for him to play in a
friendly and risk us losing him for a long time.
"With rest he can prepare for our next games. He has the
character you want as a manager, which makes him so
important."
"I don't like talking too much about individuals, but he is
always at a good level, which means I always have confidence
in him," added Benitez.
(Liverpool Echo)
Riise to switch on City's lights
Liverpool star John Arne Riise will help with the switch-on
of the city's Christmas lights this year.
Riise will be joined by Britain's greatest Olympian Sir
Steven Redgrave and Everton midfielder Tim Cahill to turn
the lights on at 6pm on Sunday November 20 at
St Georges Plateau.
(LFC Official Website)
Hyypia promises Premiership rise
Sami Hyypia insists that Liverpool are now in form and
believes they will soon be moving up the Premiership table.
"The recent wins have obviously given us more confidence,"
said the Finnish defender.
"It was important to get those results under our belt going
into this international break and the players who are not
away are now working towards the next game.
"In Champions League it's been great and we're nearly
through to the next round but in the Premiership we'd have
liked to have done better and none of us can be satisfied
with the points tally we have at the minute.
"We are improving though and I'm pretty sure that we will
soon be catching up with the teams at the top of the table."
(LFC Online) |
|
|
THURSDAY 10 |
|
|
Benfica set Simao price
Benfica are ready to sell Simao Sabrosa to Liverpool,
providing the European champions meet their asking price.
Liverpool tried to land the Portugal international over the
summer and appeared to have struck a deal with Benfica.
A fee of £10 million had purportedly been agreed before
Benfica pulled the plug on the transfer, just before the
close of the transfer window.
It is understood that Benfica are now willing to accept €18
million (£12 million) for the winger and that could be
within Liverpool's reach.
The Portuguese giants are happy to settle for that amount,
as it will give them a profit on the €12 million (£8
million) they paid Barcelona four years ago.
(Sky Sports)
Reds want Croatian Becks
Liverpool's interest in Croatian star Dario Srna, likened to
David Beckham, has been confirmed.
The 23-year-old is widely considered one of the best young
right midfielders in Europe
A host of clubs are tracking him including German champions
Bayern Munich - although Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is
known to have been a keen admirer for sometime.
Benitez's interest even went as far as him making a bid for
Srna in August before the transfer deadline - but the
player's club Shakhtar Donetsk rebuffed the bid.
(Sky Sports)
Owen: Get off Crouch's back
Michael Owen has urged fans not to undermine Peter Crouch's
confidence any further by booing him in an England shirt.
Crouch, who has yet to score for either Liverpool or England
this season in 16 appearances, was mocked by some England
fans during last month's match against Austria.
"I don't think people quite understand what he brings to the
team. Not everyone is wrong, like Jamie Carragher, Didi
Hamann and Steven Gerrard, who I speak to on a regular
basis," he said.
"I've trained with him several times and played with him a
couple of times. He is a very good player. Maybe he's
lacking confidence and needs a good performance or a goal.
He's a lad that is maybe a bit affected.
"Some people get used to criticism and it's water off a
duck's back. But for him, joining the England team and
getting booed, I don't think it's going to help him, put it
that way.
"There'll be a lot of people who are surprised when he does
find the net and starts playing very well, but there are
just as many - me included - that won't be surprised in
the slightest."
(TEAMtalk)
Benitez keen to sign the right players
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez says he isn't prepared to
break the bank recruiting young talent with the wrong
mentality.
Even if the board gave him an open cheque book to sign who
he wanted, when he wanted, he insists that kind of approach
is the wrong one because he only wants players with the
right attitude at the club.
Rafa said: "You can be surprised when you speak about a
young player how much an agent talks about money. It's
unbelievable.
"With the best players, it's not about money. Some agents we
have spoken to about players have told us their player would
rather not go to Chelsea, but would prefer to join another
club."
(Kop Talk)
Reds to launch schools in USA
Liverpool Football Club are set to take America
by storm by establishing a coast-to-coast network of
high-profile soccer schools.
The European champions are about to make a big commitment to
the USA with the launch of no less than 30 academies -
spread across the country and aimed at attracting the very
best young talent on the other side of the Atlantic
The Reds will close a week, in which they have been linked
with one potential new American investor, by confirming the
new soccer schools programme with a press conference at
Melwood tomorrow.
But the ECHO can reveal that the new initiative, which it's
hoped will establish Liverpool as the biggest soccer club in
the USA, will be officially launched on December 1 - when
chief executive Rick Parry will travel to Memphis, the US
technical base for the programme, to promote the project.
(Liverpool Echo)
Cisse on target for France
Djibril Cisse was on target for France last night in a 3-2
victory over Costa Rica in a friendly match in Martinique.
Costa Rica ran into a shock 2-0 half time lead before France
rallied after the break to win the match.
Nicolas Anelka pulled one back before Cisse levelled the
scores after coming off the substitute's bench. Thuerry
Henry scored a late winner.
Cisse will remain with the French squad for this weekend's
high profile friendly against World Cup hosts Germany in the
Stade de France.
(LFC Official Website)
|
|
Thor Zakariassen
© |
|
