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Posts Tagged ‘belarus’

• Liverpool and Barcelona yet to agree on player’s valuation
• Barça offer €15m plus Hleb and Cáceres

Javier Mascherano took a step further towards a transfer to Barcelona with the Liverpool midfielder believed to have agreed personal terms with the La Liga champions. The two clubs, however, are some way apart in their valuation of the 26-year-old, with Barcelona offering €15m (£12.2m) plus Alexander Hleb and Martin Cáceres.

Despite the eagerness of Mascherano to leave Merseyside, where his wife and young family are believed to be unhappy, interest from other clubs had been tentative, with Barça’s sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, last week ruling out a move for the player, while Roy Hodgson had already publicly challenged Internazionale to meet Liverpool’s £25m asking price.

Whether Barcelona, who are believed to have debts of more than £350m, can up their offer is unclear, and much depends on how highly Hodgson rates Cáceres and Hleb.

Cáceres, the Uruguay international defender, spent last season on loan with Juventus after struggling at Camp Nou, while Hleb has proved even less of a success since joining from Arsenal in 2008. The Belarus midfielder was last month told he has no future under the Barça coach, Pep Guardiola, after spending last season on loan with VfB Stuttgart.

Meanwhile, the Liverpool goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri has completed his move to Serie A newcomers Cesena. The Brazilian was signed from Palmeiras in July 2008. However, he was only ever considered back-up to the first-choice José Reina and as a result made 10 appearances for the first team.

The arrival last week of Middlesbrough’s Brad Jones, who qualifies as a ‘home-grown’ player despite being an Australia international, signalled the end of Cavalieri’s Anfield career. Liverpool have confirmed Jones will now take over the No1 shirt vacated by the Brazilian.

LiverpoolBarcelonaTransfer windowJames Callowguardian.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David Beckham was Steve Bruce’s man of the match for England despite only coming on in the second half. Photograph: Phil Cole/Getty Images

Steve Bruce shares Fabio Capello’s puzzlement concerning Barack Obama’s recent receipt of the Nobel peace prize but vehemently disagrees with England’s coach about David Beckham. “I was also a bit surprised BarackObama won the Nobel peace prize, especially considering he’s sending hundreds of troops to Afghanistan to go to war,” he said. “But David Beckham certainly deserved the man of the match award. For me, and anyone who was there, he enlivened a dull old game with his presence. He came on, he lit up the game, which was, let’s be honest, dire for 50 minutes,” added Bruce, who raised eyebrows on Wednesday night when, one of his duties as an ITV pundit, analysing England’s game against Belarus was to nominate the night’s outstanding individual.

Ignoring the arguably more obvious claims of Gareth Barry and Peter Crouch, Bruce declared his former Manchester United team-mate Beckham to be man of the match on the basis of a cameo appearance as a second-half substitute.

On hearing the decision a stony-faced Capello said: “To get man of the match for 30 minutes was like Obama getting the Nobel peace prize after eight months as president [of the United States].” Bruce proved unrepentant today.

“I did what I had to do. Let’s face it, Mr Capello keeps on picking him. Mr Capello wouldn’t pick him if he wasn’t doing it.”

After not only amplifying his punditry appeal to the nation’s television producers but just possibly reminding Beckham that, should his mooted return to Milan fall through, there might just be a dressing-room peg for him at Sunderland, Bruce then turned his mind to plotting the defeat of Liverpool, who have lost three times in the league already this season. “I wouldn’t say we’d kill off their title hopes with a win but it would make it very difficult for them,” said Bruce whose team were unlucky to merely draw at Manchester United a fortnight ago. “Nowadays you can’t lose four or five games and still win the league but I just hope we can perform against Liverpool. I just hope that we can rise to the big expectations of almost 50,000 of our fans.”added Bruce, who today signed Bolo Zenden, a free agent after leaving Marseille. Zenden though may struggle to oust the newly slimline and thoroughly in-form Andy Reid.

“Andy’s lost 20lb and is properly showing off his fantastic ability,” said Bruce who indicated he would be willing to help end Reid’s exile from the Ireland squad by acting as mediator in conciliation talks between the midfielder and Giovanni Trapattoni.

“There’s obviously been a fallout,” said Bruce. “Whether it’s going to repair depends on the warring parties but I do believe there’s got to be an apology.”

If Sunderland’s manager can persuade Trapattoni and Reid to shake hands the Nobel peace prize will surely beckon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fitness of Steven Gerrard, above, and Fernando Torres is vital to Liverpool’s fortunes. Photograph: Tony O’Brien/Action Images

Liverpool are facing a critical week in their season with fitness doubts lingering over Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, as both leading talents remain plagued by injury problems sustained on international duty.

The Liverpool captain and the side’s leading goalscorer sat out training at Melwood today to add to Rafael Benítez’s concerns ahead of Saturday’stomorrow’s testing trip to Sunderland, a Champions League tie with the Group E leaders Lyon next Tuesday and Manchester United’s Premier League visit to Anfield on Sunday week. It is understood Gerrard and Torres were advised to rest their injuries, rather than risk aggravating them, but their inactivity continues to overshadow Liverpool’s preparations nevertheless.

Gerrard withdrew from England’s victory over Belarus with a groin problem and scans have confirmed slight damage to an area that hindered him last season. Torres was an unused substitute in Spain’s 5-2 win against Bosnia Herzegovina, with the coach Vicente del Bosque admitting he would not use the striker if an adductor injury suffered in training persisted.

Benítez’s preparations will also be disrupted by the late return from South America of Javier Mascherano and Lucas, with the Argentina captain and Brazilian midfielder not due back on Merseyside until tomorrow. The summer signing Sotirios Kyrgiakos provided another injury headache when he damaged a knee during Greece’s 2-1 defeat of Luxembourg. Initial reports claimed the central defender had suffered a cruciate ligament injury and would be out for four months. Liverpool officials, however, have since spoken to Kyrgiakos in Athens and are hopeful his injury is not as severe as first feared.

The Greek international has made only two appearances since his £1.5m arrival from AEK Athens but his absence would leave Liverpool light in defence, with Daniel Agger yet to appear for his club this season although he played in Denmark’s two World Cup qualifiers this week. Dirk Kuyt is continuing to receive treatment on an ankle injury suffered on international duty with Holland.

Liverpool said: “Sotirios Kyrgiakos will be examined by our medical staff when he returns to Liverpool later this evening. Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will not train with the rest of the squad today but will continue to receive treatment and will be assessed again tomorrow.”

Liverpool’s co-owner George Gillett, meanwhile, has denied that Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah is close to purchasing a stake in the Anfield club. The American has been in Saudi Arabia this week as part of Liverpool’s plans to sponsor football academies in the region and his own interest in extending his Nascar franchise. That has encouraged claims that Prince Faisal will become one of the new investors in Liverpool that Gillett and his co-owner, Tom Hicks, are under pressure from the banks to find, with the prince’s company, F6, promoting that prospect.

But Gillett said: “I can categorically deny that we have had any conversations along those lines. The purpose of my trip to the Middle East was to talk about Liverpool football academies and stock car racing.” He refused to rule out an investment from the prince completely, however. “We may discuss that at some point in the future.”