Morning all. Throughout January Soccerlens is going to be bringing you a daily round-up of the morning’s various goings-on. Be it juicy morsels of spurious transfer gossip or real, actual bona fide news, rest assured, we’ll have it covered.

Here’s this morning’s batch.

Mourinho pining for the Prem?…

A batch of interesting quotes have emanated from the Real Madrid camp, in which coach Jose Mourinho, just days after refusing to commit to Los Blancos past the summer, tells of his hankering for a return to the last bastion of the fair and the just – the English Premier League.

Of course, the quotes should be treated with a certain amount of trepidation (mis-quoting/translating), but here’s what Mou apparently told a press conference yesterday:

“I’ve decided to return to England. I have nothing prepared about my future – I just want to be happy in my work.

I have no preferences about Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea. I just want to rediscover the joy.

I’m not saying the Premier League is the most spectacular in the world but it is the best organised, with fair play and enormous respect for your opponent.”

Crikey.

Ajax issue deadline…

Ajax have given Liverpool until Saturday to come up with the goods vis-a-vis Luis Suarez before they pull the plug on the whole charade.

So far, Liverpool have had a maiden bid of £12.8 million turned down for the Uruguayan forward, though the Amsterdam club are refusing to budge on their £21 million valuation of the 24-year-old.

Ajax coach Frank de Boer told a press conference:

“We don’t want to lose him, Liverpool know what they have to pay and we are sticking to our guns. We want to know by January 29t. After that, nothing more will happen.”

There are now suggestions that the deal may be ‘put on ice’ until the summer.

Kon man…

Whilst we’re on the subject of Liverpool, it looks like the club are ready to jettison Paul Konchesky back from whence he came – with a loan move back to former club Fulham thought to be in the offing.

A couple of the nationals seem to reckon that Konchesky has already opened talks with the Cottagers (who, incidentally, are the only other club he’d be legible to play for having appeared for two teams already this season), with the Guardian adding that Liverpool may make an approach for Aston Villa left-back Steven Warnock as a direct replacement.

Luiz-ing the will to live…

Now, admittedly, the David Luiz-to-Chelsea saga is getting a little tedious as it runs into it’s third week, but it looks like the whole shebang may be about to reach it’s ‘thrilling’ conclusion – with the Sun reporting this morning that the entire ordeal is on the verge of fizzling out.

The red-top are carrying quotes from a fortuitously placed ‘Chelsea insider’, who reckons:

“The club made an improved offer and included Nemanja Matic in the hope they could finally clinch a deal, but Benfica said again that they weren’t interested, wanted much more, so it looks pretty bleak.”

Elsewhere, Benfica’s coach Jorge Jesus has told the waking world that several other clubs are also tailing Luiz, so make of that what you will.

The best of the rest…

• According to reports in Germany, Bundesliga side Wolfsburg have lodged a bid for Liverpool forward Milan Jovanovic, though the Serb has vowed to muscle his way back into the first-string at Anfield…

• Blackpool boss Ian Holloway has batted away rumours that he has put such a high valuation on midfielder Charlie Adam because a clause in his contract entitles him to a percentage of the final transfer fee…

• Two transfers went through yesterday. Firstly, Chelsea starlet Gael Kakuta joined Fulham on loan and, secondly, Swiss international Valon Behrami finally completed a permanent move from West Ham to Fiorentina…

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Morning all. Throughout January Soccerlens is going to be bringing you a daily round-up of the morning’s various goings-on. Be it juicy morsels of spurious transfer gossip or real, actual bona fide news, rest assured, we’ll have it covered.

Here’s this morning’s batch.

Chelsea quash ‘Atleti double swoop’ rumours…

Reports in the Spanish press yesterday were carrying quotes supposedly attributed to Miguel Angel Gil, in which Atletico Madrid’s majority shareholder claimed that Chelsea had made a €60 million double bid for striker Sergio Aguero and centre-back Diego Godin.

Sadly, as with the vast majority of articles that emanate from the Spanish press circles, it seems as though either Gil was fibbing or that the newspapers responsible were peddling their usual line in horse-cock and poppy-feathers – with a Chelsea spokesman later confirming that the club were unwilling to even acknowledge such ‘wild transfer speculation’.

So…that’s a ‘no’ then, is it?

Liverpool’s Suarez deal lurches on…

The Daily Telegraph seem fairly certain that Luis Suarez is set to hold talks with the Ajax board in an effort to persuade the Dutch club to ease up on their £30 million valuation of him – a meaty price tag that is undoubtedly impeding his vaunted move to Liverpool.

The Premier League club would apparently prefer not to breach the £20 million mark for the Uruguayan, though their opening bid of just £12.7 million was deemed laughably inadequate by the Ajax hierarchy.

In further Liverpool news, Blackpool have slapped a whacking great £12 million price tag on Charlie Adam‘s head, and with King Kenny and his associates not willing to go any higher than £5 million for the Scottish midfielder, it looks as though the staunchly recalcitrant Ian Holloway may be about to get his way after all.

Adebayor seals Bernabeu switch…

Emmanuel Adebayor‘s patchy Manchester City career was brought to a temporary end last night, when the Togolese target man finally completed his on/off loan switch to Real Madrid.

So said the Spanish giants:

“Real Madrid and Manchester City have reached a deal that will see Emmanuel Adebayor play on loan for the former club.

The player will remain at Real Madrid until the end of the current season, at which point the club hold a unilateral option to purchase the player.”

Adebayor is now due in Madrid today for a routine medical.

Babel-ing on…

Speaking of wayward forwards, Liverpool wastrel Ryan Babel has officially completed his move to Hoffenheim after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract, according to a statement posted yesterday evening on behalf of the German club.

The Reds accepted a £6 million bid for the Dutchman last week, but the deal appeared to be wavering until late on Monday when the player flew out to finalise contract details.

Just before ‘close of play’ yesterday, Hoffenheim’s posted the following update on their official website, www.achtzehn99.de:

“[Babel] signed on Tuesday a contract for two-and-a-half years until June 30th, 2013 (plus an option for another year).”

Bye bye Babs, you won’t be missed.

The best of the rest…

• Arsenal are hoping PSG centre-half Mamadou Sakho will be the man to solve their defensive woes, and are willing to go as high as £12 million to land the French international…

• Manchester United hope to open contract talks with Patrice Evra earlier than initially planned after learning that Real Madrid are keeping a keen eye on developments at Old Trafford…

• Sunderland are hoping to bring in Frederic Piquionne, Sulley Muntari and Stephane Sessegnon before the transfer window closes…

• Aston Villa are on the verge of flogging hopeless misfit Stephen Ireland to Newcastle and have sounded out Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas as his direct replacement…

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Morning all. Throughout January Soccerlens is going to be bringing you a daily round-up of the morning’s various goings-on. Be it juicy morsels of spurious transfer gossip or real, actual bona fide news, rest assured, we’ll have it covered.

Here’s this morning’s batch.

Drog days are over…

There’s a bit of a rip-snorter doing the rounds in this morning’s gossip columns, in which Chelsea’s misfiring heavyweight Didier Drogba is the latest name being linked with the vacant striker’s position over at Real Madrid.

Several sources (including the Times) are suggesting that Drogba may be one of the big-name casualties of Roman Abramovich‘s summer overhaul at Stamford Bridge anyway, with the Daily Mirror reporting that Real coach Jose Mourinho has caught wind of this and is now running the rule over a cheeky bid for his former talisman after balking at Emmanuel Adebayor‘s £15 million price tag.

Question is, would the Drog come any cheaper?

Comolli’s on the case…

The Sun seem to reckon that Liverpool’s chief football strategist Damien Comolli is flying out to Amsterdam as we speak to meet with Ajax striker Luis Suarez and his representatives and give them the ‘hard sell’ over a move to Anfield.

If everything goes to plan and Comolli justifies his contrived job title, then the red-top are prophesizing that a £20 million deal will finally be struck between the two parties before the week is out.

However, should negotiations fall through, there is also talk of a ‘plan B’ being on the cards, i.e. a £6 million bid for PSG forward Guillaume Hoarau.

Adam, but lost ‘im…

On the subject of Liverpool, it seems that the club are edging closer bit-by-bit to spiriting Charlie Adam away from Blackpool’s collective grasp, though the Seasiders have vowed to fight until the very end to keep hold of their influential midfielder.

The Mirror seem certain that Adam asked his manager Ian Holloway for permission to join King Kenny’s revolution before their game at Sunderland over the weekend, only to be talked out of handing in a written transfer request by the increasingly cantankerous Blackpool boss.

With Liverpool apparently ready to go as high as £5 million, this particular strand looks set to rumble on until the last few hours of the window.

Lass to the Lane, Roman to Real?…

Tottenham have been told that they will need to stump up £18 million if they hold any reasonable chance of landing French anchor Lassana Diarra from Real Madrid before the end of the month – with the Spanish giants reluctant to let the midfielder leave the club on loan.

However, there is talk of a short-term loan deal for Roman Pavlyuchenko potentially being thrown into the mix as ballast – which Spurs hope will knock Diarra’s asking price down by a couple of quid at the very least.

The best of the rest…

• AC Milan have completed the signing of Dutch left-back Urby Emanuelson from Ajax on a four-and-a-half-year deal…

• Arsenal have officially confirmed their interest in Southampton’s £10 million-rated wunderkind Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, though Arsene Wenger has vowed that he won’t pay over the odds for the prodigious forward…

• Chelsea are still hoping to sign David Luiz from Benfica, but are still haggling over Paulo Ferreira‘s value as they attempt to offset the Portuguese side’s weighty £26 million valuation…

• Sunderland are very close to wrapping up the £4 million signing of Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller, and may also make an audacious bid for Porto frontman Hulk as they look to restock their attacking options…

• In further Sunderland news, Inter midfielder Sulley Muntari is now all but certain to join the Black Cats on loan within the next few days…

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Morning all. Throughout January Soccerlens is going to be bringing you a daily round-up of the morning’s various goings-on. Be it juicy morsels of spurious transfer gossip or real, actual bona fide news, rest assured, we’ll have it covered.

Here’s this morning’s batch.

West Ham need Bendtner…like a hole in the head…

In a bid to steady the particularly tumultuous ship at Upton Park, it looks like the West Ham board are keen on bringing in a few level-headed, calming influences in the next few weeks, namely Arsenal’s ego-drenched, donkey-in-residence Nicklas Bendtner.

The Telegraph are reporting that the Hammers have enquired as to the stroppy Danish forward’s availability, only to find that he is indeed for sale, but only for 15 million of your English pounds.

Avoid, avoid, for God’s sake, avoid!

Samba football…

Chiefly due to Thomas Vermaelen‘s shimmering mirage of an Achilles injury, Arsenal have no defence. That is an indisputable fact, and a fact that is obviously not lost on the rumour-mongers of this fair isle.

With every new dawn comes a fresh wave of potential candidates that manager Arsene Wenger is apparently mulling over, with the express intent of plugging the gaping holes in his back-line, and this shrill winter’s morn is no different – though a little more prosaic.

According to the Daily Mirror, the ever prudent Wenger is lining up a cut-price deal for Blackburn’s towering man-mountain Chris Samba, after shirking at Bolton’s £16+ million valuation of Gary Cahill.

Samba is known to have been unsettled by Sam Allardyce‘s unceremonious dismissal at Ewood Park, and is thought to be looking to walk out on the club at the first available opportunity – though the Mirror seem to think that it may still cost Arsenal upwards of £10 million to successfully land the towering Frenchman.

Liverpool still on Suarez’s tail…

There are several conflicting reports in this morning’s press concerning Ajax forward Luis Suarez‘s prospective move to Liverpool, with suggestions of a ‘obscenely’ large offer being requested by the Dutch side sitting happily alongside talk of a cut-price deal being just around the corner.

TalkSPORT seem certain that the Reds have been put off by Ajax’s astronomical asking price and will now explore the possibility of signing Anderlecht starlet Romelu Lukaku, whilst several of the bigger papers think that Ryan Babel will duck a transfer to Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim (Liverpool formally accepted a bid yesterday afternoon) in the hope that he will be used as a makeweight in a swap deal for Suarez.

The short answer? No-one’s got a friggin’ clue what’s going on!

Prem pair in for Camoranesi…

Both Newcastle and Birmingham are thought to be vying for the signature of former Juventus midfielder, Mauro Camoranesi, after the World Cup-winner was informed that he is now deemed as ‘surplus to requirements’ at current club Stuttgart.

Stuttgart director Fredi Bobic has vowed to ‘not put anything in Camoranesi’s way’ in the be-ponytailed veteran’s bid to secure new employers, after the 34-year-old failed to settle convincingly during his short spell in Germany.

New contract for Giggs?…

Manchester United chief exec David Gill has revealed that he is planning to open contract renewal talks with 37-year-old Ryan Giggs at some point over the next few weeks.

Giggs, who is within spitting distance of completing a 20-year run in the first-team at Old Trafford, is approaching the end of his current deal at United, but Gill is keen to keep him at the club for another season:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he extends his contract for another season.

“That will be addressed in the next month or so. He has been playing well, keeps himself in great shape and is a wonderful advert for the modern footballer.”

The Welshman made his 600th league appearance for the United against Tottenham on Sunday, leading manager Sir Alex Ferguson to brand him an ‘incredible human being’.

The best of the rest…

• There were three transfers officially completed before the close of play yesterday. South African winger Steven Pienaar opted for Tottenham over Chelsea (£3 million), Aston Villa obliterated their transfer record to sign Darren Bent from Sunderland (£18 million, rising to £24 million), and Blackburn signed American midfielder Jermaine Jones on loan from Schalke.

• Middlesbrough defender (and supposed Liverpool and Arsenal target) David Wheater is expected to complete a £4 million switch to Bolton later today…

• From deep within their evil underground lair, Real Madrid have apparently targeted Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez and/or Robin van Persie as the three men they want to solve their current striking deficit.

• Fulham are hoping to announce the loan capture of minuscule Man City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips later this week.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Comments made to a Dutch newspaper by Liverpool’s Ryan Babel have sparked speculation that the surplus winger may be about to seal a loan move back to former club Ajax which would, in turn, essentially provide his parent club with the necessary leverage to complete a deal for the Amsterdam side’s toothsome striker, one Luis Suarez – who also doubles as a fine shot-stopper on his day.

Fresh from Twittering his way to a £10,000 fine from the FA, Babel is quoted as telling De Telegraaf:

“The transfer of Luis Suarez to Liverpool opens the door for me to go back to Ajax.

If Liverpool and Ajax, [possibly] in combination with Luis, can reach an agreement over me then I will surely come to the club.

For the chance to play [regularly], I am willing to settle for far less pay.

I know the club, know the style and played with a couple of players [whilst I was] at Amsterdam and with the Dutch national team.

For a player of my age it is important to be playing week in week out.”

With Liverpool increasingly desperate to recruit players with any semblance of goal-scoring prowess, Suarez seems to the perfect fit – having scored a schiesse-load of goals at an arse-end-of-the-Premier League/Championship level (i.e. the Eredivisie of the past several years) for most of his career.

On the other hand, Babel (contrary to what his dwindling mass of defendants would have you believe) strikes me as a ‘busted flush’ who will never intrinsically be any better than he is now.

It’s high-time for Liverpool to chalk off that particular £11-odd million as a ‘technical miscalculation’ and just move on.

However, before we get too far ahead ourselves, it’s worth also mentioning that Tottenham are believed to have made tentative enquiries regarding the potential acquisition of Suarez, having deployed a phalanx of scouts to monitor the Uruguayan over the course of the last couple on months.

No official word has been forthcoming from the Spurs’ camp, though several well-placed sources are claiming to have the inside track on an €18 million package being put together behind the scenes at White Hart Lane, with which the club hope to land the 23-year-old forward and his considerable services.

Suarez himself is also being tagged by all and sundry as ‘desperate’ to leave the Amsterdam Arena at the first available opportunity, after being miffed by the club’s apparent unwillingness to appeal against the seven-match ban he picked up in November for biting – yes, biting – PSV defender Otman Bakkal on his fleshy bits.

Oh, the plethora of unsubstantiated joys afforded to us by the transfer window.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

There’s a particular line of thinking which suggests that ‘everybody likes a dust-up’ once in a while, no more so than this decuplet of scrappers, snarlers, biters, scratchers and degenerate ne’er-do-wells.

Soccerlens presents: The top 10 fighting footballers (in no particular order…)

1. Luis Suarez:

In late November, Ajax forward Suarez was handed a weighty seven-match ban by the KNVB for leaving an imprint of his rather equine dentistry on PSV defender Otman Bakkal‘s clavicle fleshy when the two clubs met the week previous.

The Uruguayan scoundrel had already accepted a two-match suspension from Ajax after the club reviewed video footage of the incident, but the Dutch disciplinary authorities deemed the ‘unneccesarily violent’ incident to be serious enough to warrant additional sanctioning.

Suarez then blamed ‘tiredness’ for the assault.

2. Joey Barton:

Where to start? When not lashing out petulantly at Norwegian wingers, delivering ‘frenzied’ training-ground attacks to the backs of his teammates’ heads, doing time at her Majesties’ pleasure, stubbing cigars out in youth-team players’ eyes, grabbing his balls and calling opposing strikers ‘poofs’… etc… etc, Barton can be found (using CCTV) thrashing the living daylights out of teenagers in Liverpool city centre.

Will he ever clean up his act? Will he b*ll*cks.

Gobby git: Rijkaard spits in Voller's hair

3. Frank Rijkaard:

He’s a gobber, is our Frank. After 20 minutes of the second-round Italia ’90 game between Holland and Germany, the tousled Dutchman went in rather industriously on German striker Rudi Voller and the spat – if you’ll excuse the pun – escalated from there.

Having already seen an unsuccessful phlegm missile sail wide of the mark, Rijkaard took umbrage at Voller’s lunge at Dutch ‘keeper Hans van Breukelen and, after a heated confrontation which saw both players sent-off, let fly with a sneaky second globule that arched through the ether before nestling sweetly within Voller’s dense mullet.

4. Eric Cantona:

The Manchester United pseud karate-kicked a goading spectator in the face. What more needs to be said?

Defoe sinks his teeth into Mascherano's fleshy bits

5. Jermain Defoe:

Nurse, we have another biter. Having been unscrupulously felled by West Ham midfielder Javier Mascherano in 2006, Tottenham striker Defoe vented his frustration in the only way his tiny brain could fathom – by having a piqued nibble on the Argentine’s bicep.

After Mascherano have finished his ‘shark-attack’ charade, the Spurs hotshot was booked – but only for ‘aggressive behaviour’, leaving the FA powerless to administer any post-game discipline.

6. Roy Keane:

It was Keane’s relentless commitment that got him to the top, but it was his malevolent, distant and utterly myopic anger that constantly threatened to undermine him at every turn – perhaps the best example of which being his horrific, pre-meditated ‘revenge assault’ on Man City midfielder Alfe-Inge Haaland in 2001.

Back in 1997, Haaland (then of Leeds) spent an entire match trying to incite Keane into picking up a booking or two. In his attempts to trip the Norwegian, Keane caught his studs in the Elland Road turf and severed his cruciate ligament.

In his now-infamous autobiography, Keane remembers the incident with vivid intensity:

“I actually heard my cruciate ligament snap. The pain was instant and agonising. Haaland stood over me shouting, ‘Get up, stop faking it’. Few days passed when I didn’t think about Alfie Haaland.”

Four long years later, Keane saw his chance for revenge:

“Now he had the ball on the far touchline. Alfie was taking the p*ss. I’d waited long enough. I hit him hard….Take that. And don’t ever stand over me again sneering about fake injuries.

I didn’t wait for [David] Elleray to show the card. I turned and walked to the dressing room.”

If that’s not serial killer thinking, then I don’t know what is.

Bowyer and Dyer come to blows on the pitch

7. Lee Bowyer:

The seemingly reformed/matured Birmingham midfielder’s early-career rap sheet is chock full with a myriad of offences of varying magnitude.

Bowyer has tested positive for cannabis, been fined for throwing a chair in McDonald’s, fined for a ‘breach of club discipline’ whilst at Leeds, accused (and later acquitted) of grievous bodily harm relating to a fight with an Asian student, charged with affray and banned for six matches on two separate occasions but his crowning glory was to come in 2005.

With Newcastle already down to ten men and 3-0 down to Aston Villa in front of a baying home crowd, Bowyer attacked teammate Kieron Dyer in the middle of the St James’ pitch before the sparring pair were separated by team-mates.

Bowyer received one of the aforementioned ‘six week’ fines, then both players were forced to appear at a humiliating press conference in order to apologise to the Toon support.

8. David Navarro:

During Valencia’s knock-out Champions League tie with Inter Milan in 2007, unused substitute Navarro emerged during an on-pitch brawl brought on by Nicola Burdisso‘s swipe at Los Che defender Claudio Marchena – and swiftly belted the Argentinian centre-back in the face, breaking his nose in the process.

Cue a ‘Benny Hill-style’ chase down the tunnel.

Bellamy practises his swing after attacking Riise

9. Craig Bellamy:

Since 2000, lippy Welsh forward Bellamy has moved between eight different clubs, failing to convincingly settle at any – which should come as no surprise, considering he is one of the most fractious and intrinsically unlikeable characters to grace the modern game.

In 2007, during his 12-month stint at Liverpool, Bellamy was so irked by teammates John Aarne Riise’s refusal to partake in a round of pre-season karaoke, that the incensed striker took the logical step of bursting into the left-back’s hotel room in the middle of the night and setting about him with a golf club – an assault he then replicated whilst celebrating his goal against Barcelona in the very next game.

10. Diego Maradona:

Back in May of 1984, El Diego Loco (who was playing for Barcelona at the time) took it upon himself to exact justice on the entire Athletic Bilbao squad during the Spanish Cup final for the heinous injury he had sustained nearly six months earlier, thanks to Basque defender Andoni ‘The Butcher’ Goikoetxea – who shattered the diminutive Argentinian’s ankle with a vicious, pre-meditated foul during September of the previous year.

The fight really erupted when the irate Maradona swung his knee into the neck of Miguel Sola, leaving the Bilbao midfielder unconscious, which duly precipitated all manner of hellish scenes – which left the Bernabeu pitch smeared in blood.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Danny Blind………wasn’t he that Dutch bloke with the dodgy perm who brought down Paul Ince for the penalty at Euro 96?

It seems the current AFC Ajax Director of football is remembered more for his resemblance of a Harry Enfield sketch than his playing career.

A complete travesty if you ask me.

The team of the nineties was undoubtedly Ajax Amsterdam. The six year tenure of the then coach Luis Van Gaal, brought the most complete football team I had ever seen.

The Dutch masters boasted names such as Rijkaard, Davids, Litmanen, the De Boar twins, Kluviert, Overmars and played the game in text book fashion. The success of Ajax was most notable during the 1994/1995 season where they claimed the Dutch League Championship and European Cup, going unbeaten throughout in both competitions.

The Captain and lynchpin of this team? It was that bloke with the dodgy perm who brought down Paul Ince for the penalty at Euro 96.

Danny Blind began his professional football career with Sparta Rotterdam and made 165 appearances for the club over a seven year spell.

Following the 1985/1986 season, the then Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven managed to lure the unsettled and out of contract Ajax defender Ronald Koeman to the club. Koeman, an established International at the time. left a gapping hole in the Amsterdam clubs backline with the move.

This void was to be filled by the relatively unknown Sparta Rotterdam defender Danny Blind, much to the anger of the clubs star man and striking legend, Marco Van Basten.

Van Basten was aghast at why the then coach Johan Cruyff had replaced the impressive Koeman with an untried player at the highest level instead of splashing the cash on a big name.

Van Basten didn’t stick around long enough to eat his words as the following season he was signed by Italian giants AC Milan. Blind, signed by Cruyff would become a colossal at Ajax another four managers down the line under the leadership of Van Gaal.

Van Gaal saw in Blind what Cruyff discovered 5 years previous and the new Ajax chief built a side and a legacy around the stylish centre half.

Blind’s passing of a football and calm manner on the field typified the Dutch style. Van Gaal was to install this style in his Ajax team and with the young attacking powers breaking through, Blind became a solid foundation to accommodate the likes of Kluivert. Many trophies followed and many records were broken.

Ajax have since been unable to come anywhere near the success achieved under Van Gaal. Following the European cup success in 1995, Ajax began to decline with the bosman ruling and the eventual manager’s departure.

With a large number of their stars heading to Barcelona, where Van Gaal joined them after his contract in Amsterdam expired, Ajax where left with a shell of the great team that had worn the red and white over the previous six years.

Danny Blind remained at large though, picking up a further league title and two more KNVB cups, never donning the shirt of another team other than his Ajax.

When people look back to remember that great Ajax team of the nineties it is the names of Kluivert, Litmanen and Overmars that immediately spring to mind.

Most people overlook the captain, the man who is still the only Dutchman in history to win all five International club competitions recognised by UEFA and FIFA (European Cup, European Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Cup, Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup), a feat only achieved by four other professionals in the history of the game.

Danny Blind may have been an unknown left back playing for the modest Sparta Rotterdam until the mid eighties but John Cruyff, Ajax’s most famous name, gave him an opportunity and Blind took it, becoming another club legend in the process.

Perm or not this truly was a great footballer.

David Cockcroft is a contributor to soccerlens.com and editor of the blog site Silver Fox. (www.silverfox.blog.co.uk). You can follow David Cockcroft on Twitter.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

If reports on UEFA.com are to be believed then Barcelona may just have pulled off one of the bargains of the past few seasons yesterday evening, with the announcement that the Catalan club have struck a deal with PSV that will see highly-rated young midfielder Ibrahim Affelay move to Spain in January for the princely sum of €3 million.

The following statement appeared on fcbarcelona.es at close of play yesterday:

“PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona have reached an agreement on a deal to bring Ibrahim Afellay to Barca, subject to successfully settling personal terms between the player and the Catalan club over the coming weeks.

Until the deal is finally settled, Ibrahim Afellay wishes to concentrate on the upcoming important games for PSV.”

Afellay is yet to agree personal terms with Barca, but judging by the player’s positive reaction to the mutual agreement reached between the two clubs being reported today in various Spanish newspapers, a formal announcement of the transfer should only be a matter of time in coming.

El Mundo Deportivohave quoted Afellay as saying:

“Barcelona are fantastic, a great club and a great team. No player would say no to Barcelona.”

Whilst Sport, another Catalan-based newspaper, are running with the following:

 “I’ve never been to the Nou Camp, neither as a fan or as a player and it’s a dream for me to play there, I’m very eager to make my debut at the Nou Camp.

I really enjoy watching Barca on television. Everybody does because they play very attractive football and are very nice to watch.”

And, when asked what position he sees himself playing in Pep Guardiola’s well stocked team, the 24-year-old Dutchman said:

“The truth is that I don’t mind where I play, if it’s in the centre of the pitch, in attack or on the wing. I will play where the coach needs me.”

With the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Pedro Rodriguez to dispose, it’s more than likely that he will probably be getting firmly acquainted with the benches at the Camp Nou from the outset.

Afellay’s contract with PSV was due to expire at the end of the season and he publicly announced that he would not be willing to renew his deal at the Phillips Stadion last month (pricking up the ears of most of Europe’s elite in the process), after spending his entire career to date with PSV.

As such, the Dutch giants began to seek potential suitors with the express intent of recouping at least some small fraction of the market worth of a player they have succesfully nurtured from the age of 10 until the present day.

More to the point, does this mean that Barcawill finally stop publicly haranguing Arsenal into selling Cesc Fabregas? Personally, I somehow doubt it.

Also see: Ibrahim Afellay’s Other Half: Dorien Rose.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

If one needs further confirmation that Dutch football was slipping down the echelons of European football, look no further than this weekend’s shocking upset–PSV Eindhoven beat the once-giant Feyenoord 10-0.

Kelvin Leerdam received his marching orders soon after PSV had taken lead. Some resolute defending by the De club aan de Maas kept the score line at a respectable 2-0 as the two teams went in for halftime.

Whatever Fred Rutten, PSV’s coach, said during the half seemed to work, as his team literally took Feyenoord apart in the second period.

A hat-trick from Johnathan Reis was the pick of the ten strikes on goal, with the 21-year-old Brazilian going a long way toward repaying the club for their faith and patience over the last three troublesome years. So far this season, the youngster has been in stellar form. He has scored nine goals in just four games.

The shocking result, the biggest in the club’s illustrious history, was described as a “black page in our history” by struggling manager Mario Been and leaves the Rotterdammers mired in the relegation zone.

It would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Once upon a time there was a big three in Holland. Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord dominated the domestic game and produced world-class players by the truckload.

During the ’60s and ’70s, the Dutch game was at its peak with both Ajax and Feyenoord claiming European Cup glory on multiple occasions, while PSV won the UEFA Cup.

Dutch club football was formidable back then, but now they are viewed as a frontier post for European soccer. A place where young stars and South American starlets can hone their game before moving on to the big time in Spain, England, Italy, or Germany.

The last time that Feyenoord won the Dutch title was in 1999, and since then they have slipped down the pecking order in spectacular fashion.

Feyenoord won the Dutch title in ’61 and ’62, thus qualifying for the European Cup.

Such was their popularity that in 1963, when Feyenoord were drawn against the great Benfica side of Eusebio, Coluna, and Antonio Simoes, several hundred thousand Dutch fans came to the Port of Rotterdam to see them off as they began their ill-fated journey to Lisbon.

The first leg finished 0-0 in Holland, but Feyenoord found that Benfica were a different prospect at home. Eusebio led his side to a comfortable 3-1 victory.

That trip to Lisbon was a springboard for the club, and over the next ten years it won six Dutch League titles, a European Cup triumph in 1970, and a UEFA Cup triumph in 1974.

Dutch football of the early ’70s was dominated by the great Ajax side of Johan Cruyff, while PSV dominated in the late ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.

However, since the inception of the Champions League in 1992, Dutch football has had to endure a slow death.

Ajax rallied against the grain in the mid ’90s with two trips to Champions League finals, one for a victory. But the dam had already begun to leak, and Ajax’s triumphs were little more than a finger in one of the cracks.

Money and sponsorship has since drifted away from Dutch football and the old “Big Three.” Entrepreneurs have begun to financially support clubs like FC Twente and AZ Alkmaar as minimal investment returned Champions League football. All of a sudden the old elite of Dutch football are being squeezed from all directions as never before.

This “success” elsewhere has also had an effect on the youth setup of the big three, as now other clubs can offer similar levels of training without the pressure, stress, or angst of being rejected by a big club.

The Ajax system, so favoured through the years, is one of the most ruthless footballing academies in the world. During the ’90s, the club literally had their pick of the best players from the entire country.

The players were invited to trials, with a couple of hundred making it through to the youngest training level. Each year held cuts until, with around 16 players, the club had a sufficiently-sized squad to compete at that age level.

From there, maybe a single child would make it. In an exceptional year maybe two. The 1995 generation was the first time since the ’70s that the club literally produced the spine of a team in one generation.

PSV and Feyenoord employed similar systems and enjoyed similar levels of success. But that success has dwindled over the past ten years or so, as other clubs break their stranglehold on the game.

The end result is that Young Dutch footballers are now more evenly spread that at any time in the Eredivisie’s 55-year history. The current Netherlands U-21 side boasts players from nine different clubs, with Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord only contributing five players between them. In years gone by, the ratio would have been reversed.

This season has a long way to go just yet, and it is too soon to say whether Feyenoord will be relegated.

However, the early stats are poor. The Rotterdammers has only won two of ten games this year, and today’s result will do little for their already broken confidence.

If the club is to get out of this mess, it will have to live up to one of its nicknames: Die Slapende Reus, roughly translated as “The Sleeping Giants.”

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

When one looks to the Premier League to pick out the very best midfielders, a few names always come to the fore.

Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea) and Paul Scholes (Manchester United) are all phenomenal players with each and every one playing for one of the established powers of English football. However, with their latest signing, Rafael van der Vaart, Spurs now undoubtedly have a player who can match the very best, which begs the question; Can Spurs progress further with van der Vaart pulling the strings?

Manchester City are doing their level best to break into the top four and have invested over £325 million in new players over the last three years but have yet to sign a genuine world class talent. However, when Daniel Levy swooped for Rafael van der Vaart for just £8 million, from Real Madrid, there was little doubt that Spurs were bringing in a supreme talent to rival the very best the Premier League can offer.

The Dutch play-maker has always enjoyed a reputation as a player who likes, and knows how, to play the game.

When he made his debut as a 17-year-old for Ajax in 2000, it was apparent to even a blind-man that van der Vaart had a phenomenal skill-set. A maturity and coolness on the ball that belied his tender years, a gift for seeing a pass where others only see road-blocks and an eye for scoring goals marked him out as a player who could succeed at the highest levels of the game.

Co Adriaanse knew that he had a prodigy on his hands right from the start and moved the youngster into first team action as the support behind the striker the following season. Feeling it was the best position to reap the benefits from his young play-maker.

Following in the foot-steps of Jari Litmanen, who had redefined the role as Ajax’s No.10 in their 3-1-3-3 formation,  van der Vaart had huge boots to fill and the youngster did not disappoint. Weighing in with 60 goals in 140 games from midfield he caught the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

But they weren’t just interested in his excellent goal scoring record; his passing ability was what made his stand out from the ordinary. Laser like precision, super-human vision, and a range of passing that was simply incredible made him a player that was coveted by every major team.

Just when the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, and Manchester United were closing in, van der Vaart chose to go to the little fancied team of Hamburg in Germany for just £5 million.

It was something of a strange move to say the least, especially on current form. But Hamburg have always enjoyed a reputation as being something of a black sheep in German football. They have a deep history of playing expansive free-flowing football and are always one of the most entertaining teams in the Bundesliga.

In short, the move to Die Rothosen was an ideal one for van der Vaart, especially when you consider that he wanted to remain at a high level but may have wanted to avoid the kind of attention he was forced to endure during his final weeks at Ajax.

At Hamburg, he was simply brilliant, playing a pivotal role as the link between attack and midfield. He dictated the ebb and flow of every game he played in and predictably went on to garner the attention of every major European club again.

Playing from either the right or the centre van der Vaart scored 48 goals in 116 matches from midfield. Once again, the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona, and Real Madrid stood up and took notice of the player and it came as no surprise to see the prodigious midfielder join Madrid after three successful seasons in the Bundesliga.

His phenomenal last season with Hamburg and fantastic start to his Real Madrid career, scoring a career first hat-trick against Sporting Gijon, saw van der Vaart nominated for the Ballon D’Or in 2008 but he lost out to Cristiano Ronaldo who was at Manchester United at the time.

By the end of the 2008/09 season, Real Madrid was something of a mess with Juande Ramos at the helm. The ex-Spurs boss did not take much of a liking to van der Vaart’s style of play and primarily used him as an impact sub where his flexibility and technical prowess could be utilised in a number of positions, wide, inside, midfield, or attack.

Sensing that the Dutchman did not have much of a future at the Bernabeu, the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal began to make discreet overtures towards the player. He, however, made it very clear that his future lay in Spain.

The matter was complicated when Manuel Pellegrini refused to give him a squad number for the following season but transfers to Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, and Klass Jan Huntelaar left the door open for van der Vaart to claim the final 25th place in Madrid’s squad.

Despite being something of a bit part player in his final season van der Vaart’s skill shone through and it became an open secret that he was available for transfer at the start of the 2010/11 season.

Bayern Munich had been tracking the player for sometime, Liverpool’s financial trouble’s ruled them out as suitors completely, Chelsea had just signed Ramires and Yossi Benayoun and thus removed themselves from the equation, and United and Arsenal were looking elsewhere leaving the avenue wide open for Louis van Gaal to investigate.

Munich was always interested in the player but strangely, according to Madrid, never placed a bid for the player.

If they were interested the move to Bayern was scuppered when Spurs placed an 11th hour bid of £8 million for the play-maker and the rest is history.

The way van der Vaart came to the attention of Harry Redknapp and Daniel Levy, Tottenham’s Chief Executive, is a great story in itself. Levy is an incredibly astute man and communicates with everyone throughout the structure at Spurs.

He often asks people at Spurs for their opinions on players and who they would like to see at the club, using a wisdom of crowd’s type approach, and when van der Vaart’s name kept been mentioned he thought there might be something to his availability.

Harry Redknapp had already signalled the Dutchman out a few months earlier as a player the club should definitely go for if the finances were right, and at an £8 million transfer fee and just £9 million over a four year contract, van der Vaart may prove to be one of the bargains of the season.

There is little doubting his obvious talent and ability, and in him Spurs have a player to join the likes of Luka Modric, Ledley King (when available) and Gareth Bale as genuine match winners.

Van der Vaart gives Spurs something they thought they already had, but are now finding that certain players vision and skill is on another level completely.

He also brings a midfield goal-scoring ability that was otherwise lacking at Tottenham last season. Tom Huddlestone only scored four goals all season, Luka Modric and Aaron Lennon; just three a piece while Niko Kranjcar weighed in with a respectable six goals from 26 games.

His contemporaries in England are the supreme Cesc Fabregas, Steven Gerrard, and Frank Lampard. All three midfielders dominate and dictate the teams from which they come.

Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas is probably the most complete midfielder of all four players although the defensive side of his game needs a little work if he is to become a “complete” player. His passing ability, and reading of the game are a joy to watch and he is the link and lynch-pin behind everything that is good about Arsenal.

He has been an integral part of Arsene Wenger’s philosophy since he made his debut in 2003 and has amassed 51 goals in 272 games for the Gunners.

Steven Gerrard

Like Fabregas, Gerrard has been a one club man for his entire career. There is no doubting that the most productive period of Gerrard’s career was under Rafael Benitez.

Primarily utilised as an attacking midfielder who linked seamlessly with Fernando Torres over the last couple of seasons, Gerrard has developed an incredible knack for popping up and scoring vital and incredible goals likewise.

As a player he lacks the ability to dictate the flow of a game from central midfield, but when played in an advanced role it is hard to think of any player that does the job better. His record of 136 goals from 539 games is made all the better when you realise that the vast majority of those strikes have come in the last five years.

Frank Lampard

Lampard is something of a middle ground between Fabregas and Gerrard, but has an incredible record none-the-less. While he would also be recognised as a player who does his best work in the final third of the pitch, he has made a habit of defending too and is probably the most accomplished of the four in this area of the pitch.

He doesn’t have the same vision or creativity level as Fabregas, nor is he as dynamic as Gerrard, but he has an uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time, almost every time. His ability to read the game is superb and he has been vital to Chelsea’s fortunes since joining the Blues in 2001.

His overall club record reads as having played 670 games and scoring 197 goals, all from a midfield.

Comparisons

A simple look at all their records reads;

Fabregas Pld 272 Goals 51 (1:5.3 one goal every five games)

Gerrard Pld 539 Goals 136 (1:4)

Lampard Pld 670 Goals 197 (1:3.4)

Van der Vaart Pld 334 Goals 124 (1:2.7)

In short Spurs have signed a player who has the same, if not better, levels of vision as Cesc Fabregas and a phenomenal goal scoring record to boot. It is also worth noting that during his time at Real Madrid he also contributed by creating a goal-scoring chance at an average of every 31 minutes of play.

Given the phenomenal levels of play and creativity that Spurs’ fans have seen in just six games it is fair to say that they deserve to be optimistic of the clubs immediate future. However, the real proof will be in assessing van der Vaart’s contribution at the end of the season. If Redknapp can keep his players performance levels high whilst integrating him into his team then Spurs will have a real chance of breaking the top four once again.

To go further, Redknapp has to sign a world class striker and repair his ailing defence.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News