Thursday 10 August 2017

BRAZIL COACH CLAIMS NEYMAR NOW ON THE SAME LEVEL WITH MESSI,RONALDO IN BALLON D'OR

  Neymar can become as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and battle with the pair for the Ballon d'Or, believes Brazil coach Tite. The former Barcelona forward has been named in Brazil's squad to face Ecuador and Colombia, even though they have already sealed World Cup qualification, with Neymar's new Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Dani Alves, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos also included. A desire to step out of Messi's shadow has been widely cited as one of Neymar's primary reasons to make his world-record move from Camp Nou to PSG for €222million. And Tite has backed Brazil's star player to develop into a regular contender for the Ballon d'Or, an honour he is yet to win having been third behind Ronaldo and winner Messi in 2015. "There are three players fighting for that position: Cristiano, Messi and Neymar," said Tite. "Cristiano and Messi are from a different generation – and Neymar will get there. That will depend on his performances, not on whether he plays with Messi. "The essence is that he likes to play football. The important thing is that he is well and adapted in his new club. Values ​​and money do not change anything. He went to another club, as he said, to seek new perspectives." PSG's typical formation is similar to what Neymar is used to at Barcelona and this will help the 25-year-old to settle in at his new club, added the national team coach. "The tactical formation used by Paris is very similar to that of Barcelona, ​​it's 4-3-3," Tite said. "PSG use two forwards with a pivot, so it has the same design. "It only changes the characteristics of the players who will play next to Neymar."



Tuesday 1 August 2017

ROHR PRAISES IWOBI.

Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has said that his players need to accelerate their pre-season form to the level Alex Iwobi has attained before the big World Cup qualifying clash with the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on September 1 in Uyo, prbxselfnetwork reports. Reacting to Iwobi’s super goal for Arsenal against Benfica in the Emirate Cup on Saturday, Rohr urged all his players to raise their game during the pre-season to get the nod to play against Cameroon next month. “I want all my players have to up their game during this pre-season to merit an invitation for the World Cup clash with Cameroon. The season starts on August 11 in Europe and there won’t be enough time to assess the players based on league form,” Rohr told a Nigeria Football Federation official who does not want to be named. “I will have to rely mainly on the pre-season form to select players who will feature against Cameroon. So I expect my players to be firing at full cylinder ahead of the season to get a call-up. I have been monitoring the pre-season of clubs with Nigerian players and this is with a view to picking in form players.”



El classico miami!!BARCELONA BEAT REAL MADRID TO WIN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONS CUP

Barcelona have won the International Champions ! Cup, after beating Real Madrid 3-2 in a thrilling El Clasico on Saturday night. The US edition of the pre-season tournament went to Ernesto Valverde’s men, thanks to goals from Lionel Mess, Ivan Rakitic and Gerard Pique in Miami. Rakitic and Messi netted inside the first seven minutes to put the Catalans 2-0 at the Hard Rock Stadium. Mateo Kovacic reduced the deficit shortly after and Marco Asensio equalized nine minutes before half-time. Defender Gerard Pique restored Barca’s lead in the 50th minute, as Barca beat Manchester City to the ICC trophy, while Madrid ended the tournament without a victory.