World Soccer News 19 April 2009
Ferguson labels Benitez as "arrogant" and "contemptuous"
War of words has intensified between Sir Alex Ferguson and Don Rafael Benitez in view of the decisive month in the Premier League
The master of the psychological warfare, Ferguson has launched a furious attack at Liverpool's coach hoping it will destabilize the Spaniard further after a heroic, but ultimately futile battle at Stamford Bridge in midweek
Manchester United manager accused Benitez of arrogance and contempt toward other Premier League managers, illustrating his claims with the way the Spaniard once qualified Everton and his dismissive attitude during a game against Blackburn
"Everton are a big club, not a small one, as Benitez arrogantly said," remarked Ferguson
"But arrogance is one thing You cannot forgive contempt, which is what he showed Sam Allardyce last weekend When Liverpool scored their second goal he signalled as if the game was finished I do not think Sam deserved that No Liverpool manager has ever behaved like that," concluded Ferguson
United's advantage over Liverpool is just one point, but the Red Devils also have a game in hand And Ferguson, the undisputed champion of unsettling rival coaches, provided they are naive enough to read the press and pay any attention at all to what the wily Scotsman has to say
UEFA throws out Pobeda for eight years
The Macedonian club FK Pobeda Prilep have been banned from UEFA's cup competitions for the next eight years because of a match-fixing scandal that took place in 2004
UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body also banned for life the club chairman Aleksandar Zabrcanec and the player Nikolce Zdravevski
The European soccer governing body has stated that Pobeda "breached the principles of integrity and sportsmanship under Article 5 of the UEFA disciplinary regulations by manipulating the outcome of a match"
The breach in question occured on the occasion of the Champions League preliminary round tie between Pobeda and Armenia's Pyunik Erevan
Charges were brought against the club due to reports of irregular betting patterns and statements from several witnesses
The decision was taken on Friday after a seven-hour-long meeting at UEFA's headquarters, during which Pobeda's representatives and a betting expert were heard
Red Star's player fears eviction over failure to pay the rent
Slovenia's midfielder Mirnes Sisic revealed that Red Star's systematic failure to pay players' wages have brought him to the verge of being evicted from his Belgrade apartment
Red Star, endebted for 22,3 million euros, are going through the most severe (in fact, the first) crisis in their illustrious history, which includes a European Cup and a World Club Cup wins in early nineties
"We give some money to our young teammates on a daily basis so that they can eat," claims Sisic
"The landlord came to me last week and told me I had to pay my outstanding rent or pack my things and leave If Red Star cannot afford to pay me what I owe for the rent, let alone the wages, then I'll have to go back to Slovenia and live with my parents"
The player of Bosnian-Moslem origins has even compared the top Serb club with the Titanic
"I cannot believe that a club with Red Star's status could have allowed this to happen It's like being on board of the Titanic"
Red Star used to be the Serb sporting flagship and enjoyed strong political support before the democracy (of sorts) and market principles came to the Balkans country at the start of the millennium
It seems that their city rivals Partizan have adapted much better to the new climate, as they are on the verge of winning another domestic League title in soccer, whereas in basketball, the other big Serb sport, their domination has been unquestioned for years
In fact, Red Star's directors fear the FA will not issue their licence for the next season on account of their huge debt In case the funds are not raised over the next couple of weeks, the club may well be declared bankrupt and go into administration, which according to the Serb legislation would entail their relegation to the Fourth division
Depressed Adriano temporarily retires
Brazil's international forward Adriano Leite has announced his temporary retirement from soccer until he feels well enough, according to the sports daily Lancenet
Inter Milan's player has been depressed and apathetic ever since his father died two years ago and has been a shadow of his former "imperial" self The alleged break-up with his girlfriend Joana may have added insult to injury, leaving Adriano incapable of handling the pressure of professional soccer in Italy, of all places
The robust centre-forward has even rejected the idea of joining a Brazilian team, which he did in the second half of 2008, when he played for Sao Paulo This time, his state of mind has reached new lows, leading him to quit soccer altogether, at least for a while
"I was not happy in Italy, and I am happy in Brazil, in the company of my friends and relatives," said Adriano in one of his rare appearances in the media
After the South American Qualifiers game held last April 1, Adriano didn't return to Italy, but instead returned to his family in Rio de Janeiro His coach at Inter, Jose Mourinho, apparently understands the turmoils Adriano is in
"I think that the fans should not be angry at him The most important thing now is for Adriano to be happy We may lose a soccer player, but not a person," said the Portuguese
Manchester United still tops Forbes rich list
The business magazine Forbes has published its new list of the most valuable soccer clubs in the world showing yet again the astounding domination of English soccer in the financial matters No less than nine English clubs have made the top-25, including Newcastle United (19th), which may well be relegated this season in spite of their estimated wealth of 217 million euros
Real Madrid, Bayern, Milan and Barcelona are the strongest rival for the English contingent, Barça being one of the most-revalorized club over the last year (by 22%) As far as the revalorization is concerned, no-one has made such progress as Manchester City, whose value has soared by 62%, notably thanks to the investments made by their new owners, sheikhs of Abu Dhabi
The 25 most valuable clubs
(in millions of euros)
1 Manchester United 1,423
2 Real Madrid 1,030
3 Arsenal 913
4 Bayern Múnich 845
5 Liverpool 768
6 AC Milan 753
7 Barcelona 730
8 Chelsea 609
9 Juventus 457
10 Schalke 04 388
11 Tottenham Hotspur 339
12 Olympique Lyon 322
13 AS Roma 290
14 Inter Milan 281
15 Hamburger SV 251
16 Borussia Dortmund 247
17 Manchester City 236
18 Werder Bremen 222
19 Newcastle United 217
20 VfB Stuttgart 201
21 Aston Villa 183
21 Olympique Marseille 183
23 Celtic 166
24 Everton 158
25 Glasgow Rangers 148
Becks keeps on attracting the most cash
The Forbes has also listed the best paid soccer players in 2008 and David Beckham suitably tops that list just as his former club Manchester United is perched on top of the clubs' rankings. Most of Becks' earnings came from endorsement deals, almost a third of 35 million euros.
Full ten million euros behind Beckham is his teammate at Milan, Ronaldinho, who also owes his earning power to his past soccer achievements. The world's top performer, Cristiano Ronaldo, lies far behind Beckham, but at 24 he can still hope for many, many more lucrative years, even when he's well past his prime, as his colleague's examples show.
Highest earning players
(in millions of euros)
1 David Beckham (LA Galaxy / Milan) 35
2 Ronaldinho (Milan) 25
3 Thierry Henry (Barcelona) 20
4 Kaka (Milan) 16
5 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) 14,5
6 Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 14
7 Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 14
8 Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 14
9 John Terry (Chelsea) 14
10 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 14
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