Posts Tagged ‘World Cup’

Upson: Brought in by Tony Pulis to add quality and experience to the Stoke defence

Stoke City have completed the signing of free agent Matthew Upson on a two-year deal.

The 32-year-old has been without a club since his contract with West Ham expired this summer.

Upson becomes Potters boss Tony Pulis’ second defensive signing of the close season after Jonathan Woodgate, following the successful completion of his medical.

The England international, who has 21 caps, will now be in line to make his debut against Chelsea on Sunday in the televised game on Sky Sports HD1.

Upson started his career at Luton before moving to Arsenal where he was tipped as a long-term successor to Tony Adams.

Injuries and the longevity of the famed Gunners’ backline stunted his progress, before he moved to Birmingham, where he established himself as one of the best centre-halves in the country.

Pulis has again conducted a shrewd piece of business as he boosts his squad with another player of international class, who played at the 2010 World Cup.

Fantastic deal

“This is another fantastic deal for this football club when you consider the quality and experience of the lad and the fact that he is a free transfer,” he told the club’s official website.

“We know have strength in depth in our defence with both Matthew and Jonathan on board and we’ve managed to achieve that without a significant outlay on transfer fees, which is quite remarkable in today’s market of vastly inflated prices.

“Their experience of performing at the highest level will be a valuable asset to us because we have some good young defenders and a young goalkeeper.”

Upson, too, expressed his delight at the move and has bought into the philosophy of the club already.

“The manager has talked to me about the culture here, the discipline and the organisation and that is an environment which I am looking forward to working in,” he said.

Toshack: Has been appointed coach of Macedonia

Macedonia have confirmed Welshman John Toshack as the new coach of their national side.

Toshack, who was born in Wales to a Scottish father and a Welsh mother, will spearhead Macedonian’s bid to reach the 2014 World Cup.

The 63-year-old will come up against both Wales and Scotland during the qualifiers as Macedonia are also in Group A, along with Croatia, Serbia and Belgium.

The former Real Sociedad, Deportivo, Real Madrid and Swansea boss returns to international coaching after quitting Wales last September in the wake of their defeat to Montenegro.

Toschack’s first game in charge of Macedonia will be a Euro 2012 qualifier against Russia on 2nd September followed by a home game against Andorra four days later.

Belief

“The people were great, open and that gave me belief that we can work together to reach new heights for Macedonian football,” said Toshack.

“It will be hard to play against my Wales but right now, I have not thought about how I will be accepted by the Welsh fans.

“I am a professional and will do my utmost to turn things around in Macedonia.”

The president of Macedonia’s Football Association, Haralampie Hadzi-Risteski, told their official website: “We are delighted.

“John was happy with our offer and has shown so much desire to lead our small but proud nation.”

David Sheepshanks cannot wait for the new National Football Centre, St George’s Park, to open next year.

Sheepshanks, who is in charge of the 100million project at Burton, predicts it is on schedule to be finished by the end of next summer.

The former Football Association board member is conscious of stories of England players being bored and unhappy when placed into a purpose-built training environment such as that used at the 2010 World Cup.

But he is confident John Terry, Wayne Rooney and their colleagues will think differently after a taste of the new centre on the 330-acre site.

Sheepshanks said: “I think it will be an enormous benefit for England because they will be in a bespoke training environment.

“I’ve already met with a number of the England team and made a first presentation to them and a number have expressed a wish to come up here.

“They are very excited about it and recognise the benefits of having what I would call a training retreat among like-minded souls.

“This will be a training heaven in a way.

“We’ve got to make sure there is so much here for them that by the time they left they think, ‘I benefited from that, really enjoyed it, and look forward to coming back’.”

Confident

Sheepshanks is confident the project, which was first mooted a decade ago, will be finished on time and within budget.

A study of the leading national centres in Europe and Premier League clubs in this country was conducted to help with the project.

Sheepshanks said: “So far so good is the best way to explain it. Construction has been going on for seven months and we’ve got another year to go.

“We are scheduled to be finished at the end of next summer and it is a case of seeing is believing.

“A lot of the steelwork is complete, the hotel buildings are already three storeys high and we are very excited.

“So far we are on schedule and on budget and long may that continue.”

Sheepshanks added: “We spent a lot of time consulting other national centres around Europe – France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany, who have the five leading centres in Europe.

“We looked at our own phenomenal centres at Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Sunderland. There are many fine examples in this country.

“The result is a strong business plan based around a number of core planks.”

Sheepshanks believes the education of and an increase in the number of coaches via the national centre is the major ‘core plank’.

“This will be an education hub for English football.

“It will not only enhance the quality of coach education we can provide at all levels for the entire pyramid of football but also increase the quantity of coaches.

“It is not just quality, but quantity.

“I do believe this will have a long-term benefit. This is a genuine legacy programme.

“This will serve English football for decades to come. It is not a tap to turn on and off. It will be long term.”

Lievremont: Taking aggressive attitude to warm-up games

France coach Marc Lievremont says his side is ahead of schedule in their preparations for the upcoming World Cup.

Les Bleus endured a disappointing autumn campaign last year before experiencing mixed fortunes in the RBS Six Nations, which ended with a second-placed finish despite a shock defeat to Italy.

But Lievremont, who played in the 1999 World Cup final loss to Australia, says France have made promising progress during their training camp over the summer.

“Yes I am satisfied with the way training has been going, actually it is above my expectations,” Lievremont said.

“It is true we are not in the habit of this rhythm of work, to have the time to work, to develop the athletic qualities, cohesion, to exchange with the players over the strategy.

“I was nevertheless very careful as we had chosen a very ambitious preparatory programme.

Physical work

“Everything is going very well for the moment. What is interesting, is that the players have stuck to everything that we have proposed, even when we have urged them to increase the physical work despite their being a certain weariness and general fatigue.

“But they have already accrued the benefits.”

France will play two warm-up matches before the tournament proper in New Zealand – against Ireland in Bordeaux on August 13 before a return fixture against the same side in Dublin a week later.

Lievremont insists that his players will not be taking the tune-up games lightly and expects them to be full-blooded affairs.

He added: “The warm-up matches are more than just friendlies. They are the only two matches before the World Cup.

“We need to see if the players have the capacity to maintain the rhythm, if things are functioning alright, to see how we fare against counter attacks by a really good side, and to see the enthusiasm and aggressivity of the players.

“We are anticipating two really beautiful rugby matches while acknowledging that, up until the first pool matches, there are bound to be errors and not everything will be perfect.”

Denis Leamy: Ready for warm-up fixtures

Denis Leamy is sure Ireland will be ready for the World Cup as they prepare for their opening game against the United States on September 11.

They face Scotland in a warm-up game on Saturday and Munster number eight Leamy belives the five games ahead of the tournament for the Irish will be vital.

Four years ago the first-choice 22 were wrapped in cotton wool, with senior players left at home for the summer tour to Argentina and used sparingly in the two warm-up games.

What followed was a very poor showing in France as the Ireland failed to progress beyond the group stage.

Poor showing

“We prepared really well in 2007,” he said.

“We had a great pre-season and were in really great shape. We just weren’t battle-hardened enough in terms of matches.

“Before I’d played my first game in 2007, I’d been on the pitch for possibly 30 minutes.

“With the number of warm-up games we have, lads could have possibly three to four matches played this time.

“For me the big difference this year is that when the first ball is kicked against the USA, the boys will be battle-hardened and up to speed in match fitness.

“The pre-season training has been difficult, but getting match fit is completely different to anything else.

“We probably didn’t play too many warm-up games in 2007 out of concern for injury.

“Geordan Murphy didn’t make the 2003 World Cup because of an injury and it’s a difficult balance to strike. Injury is a risk.”

Leamy reckons further lessons have been learned from the month in France four years ago.

Declarations that Ireland want to win the World Cup have been placed off limits, while this time the team will also be moving around New Zealand.

In 2007 they were confined to one base camp at an isolated and uninspiring hotel in Bordeaux and cabin fever quickly set in.

“We’re better off moving on from 2007 because it was so disappointing,” said Leamy.

“There was a such a big build-up and it didn’t help that we openly stated we want to reach the semis and final.

“When that didn’t happen it was used as a stick to beat us with.

“This time it’s all about getting out of our pool. We can start to dream from there.

“It will help moving around this time – it will be nice to have a change in scenery.

“Being based in Bordeaux in that hotel for the duration was difficult.”

Fitness work

The arrival of Saturday’s trip to Edinburgh signals the end of the gruelling fitness training.

“The last few weeks have been very intense. It’s been pretty exhausting and any spare minute you have, you put up your feet, relax and take it easy,” said Leamy.

“You enjoy this time in a sick way. It’s a challenge and you have to try to get through the pain. Your muscles are aching and screeching at you to stop.

“It’s a good test of your mental strength and it’s satisfying when you come out the other end.

“It’s very tough. We’ve had some really tough sessions with guys spewing up their dinners and stuff like that.”

Capello: Believes qualifying for Brazil won’t be easy but says future is bright for Three Lions

England head coach Fabio Capello revealed it will not be an easy task for his successor to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil following Saturday’s draw in Rio de Janeiro.

The Three Lions were drawn against Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and San Marino in Group H and the Italian admitted the side must play every game ‘like a final’.

Capello will stand down as England boss at the end of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine with Harry Redknapp the odds-on favourite to take over the hot seat.

Not easy

“It is not an easy draw. You have to be really, really focused and play every game like a final – but that will be another manager’s job. I’m focused on my job now to qualify for the Euros,” admitted Capello.

“We know Montenegro very well and we have to play against them again. Poland are improving and will be really focused and will be tough opponents.

“With Ukraine I remember the game we lost against them in the last match during the qualification for South Africa.

“Moldova are not so strong and San Marino the same.”

Bright

Capello is adamant that the future is bright for England, with a crop of good young players emerging.

He added: “I am confident as we have some really interesting young players and the future will be them.

“Some young players will play more at Manchester United, some like (Kieran) Gibbs will play more games at Arsenal, (Jack) Wilshere is the future, and (Jordan) Henderson and (Andy) Carroll at Liverpool.”

Levein: Not happy with draw but believes his young squad are improving

Scotland manager Craig Levein admitted ‘there was a touch of the unknown’ in their qualifying group for the 2014 World Cup.

The Scots were paired with fellow home nation Wales, as well as Serbia, Croatia, Belgium and Macedonia in Group A – with only the top team qualifying automatically.

Levein will aim to take the Scots to their first World Cup since 1998.

And he told Sky Sports News: “I don’t know much about Croatia and in pot two I knew a fair bit about the other teams, but not so much about Serbia.

“I do know a little bit about Belgium because they’re improving and Macedonia, we’ve had recent experience with and I probably would have liked to have avoided Wales because it brings in that home international rivalry, which we could have done without.”

Encouraged

Levein admitted he has been ‘greatly encouraged’ by the recent performances of Scotland and he expects his side to be much stronger come the start of the qualifying campaign.

“We’re improving,” he added. “That’s the most important thing for me and I look at the group of players we have and the ages they are and I see them being together for the next four years at least and possibly six years.

“A lot of them had the best season of their career last campaign, so I’m greatly encouraged where we’re heading.

“I’ve got one important thing to do regarding the World Cup, which is the dates meeting. Other than that I’m really focused on the European Championship qualifying.

“We have to give everybody their due respect. And some of the dangers, if people don’t see a Holland or Spain or England coming out in Pot One, they assume they’re (Croatia) an easy team to play against without knowing the strengths of the opposition.

“We must try and establish what we believe would be the best dates to play teams at the upcoming fixtures meeting.”

And when asked his thoughts on the Home Nations clash against Wales, Levein added: “We’ve recently had good experiences of playing Wales when we beat them in Dublin recently.

“But, not so long ago we lost 3-0 to Wales. You know, so there’s a bit of a mixed bag there.”

Wenger: Believes goal-line techology will have been introduced by 2014

Fifa have informed Arsenal that they will not be allowed to experiment with goal-line technology during the Emirates Cup.

Football’s world governing body have been reluctant to trial such a system despite increasing calls for its introduction.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been among those to have expressed their support for match official aids, helping them to reach correct decisions.

He believes goal-line technology would be a big step in the right direction, given that there have been a number of high-profile cases of ‘goals’ not being awarded in recent years.

The Frenchman believed this year’s Emirates Cup, a friendly tournament which will include the New York Red Bulls, Boca Juniors and Paris St Germain, provided an ideal platform on which to experiment.

He has seen those calls fall on deaf ears, but claims Fifa do finally appear to be willing to consider the idea for future tournaments – with it possible that such technology could be used at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

First step

“You want it so you have a better chance to make the right decisions,” said Wenger.

“You know it could be a help for the referees. The more help they get, the more decisions they get right.

“If out of 100 decisions they get 95 right instead of 85, you have to use technology. And I would like to use it for more than goal-line decisions, but it’s a first step.”

Wenger added: “I think Fifa do not want to start to have a different set of rules for it here and there and I can understand that.

“But the good news is they are open to it and it looks like in the next World Cup we will have it.”