The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Real shift focus from Mourinho to players Posted: 04 Jan 2013 06:57 AM PST  Real Madrid seems to be moving away from the long-standing policy of only having Jose Mourinho or his assistant Aitor Karanka answering questions in set-piece news conferences. — AFP pic Captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, forward Cristiano Ronaldo and defenders Sergio Ramos and Alvaro Arbeloa all spoke to reporters after training this week, prompting the headline "Is the iron curtain falling?" in Marca sports daily today. It is a shift away from the long-standing policy of only having Mourinho or his assistant Aitor Karanka answering questions in set-piece news conferences, apart from those at least one player is obliged to give the day before Champions League matches. The lack of player news conferences contrasted sharply with their arch rivals Barcelona, who make team members available after nearly every training session. Real president Florentino Perez is seen as the architect of the change after he told journalists at last month's Christmas lunch that the club's media relations needed improvement. The construction magnate, who is up for re-election later this year, may also be concerned about the impact Mourinho's combative style is having on the club's image and is seeking to dilute his influence. Marketing experts told Reuters last month the Portuguese's repeated accusations of refereeing bias and several episodes of unsporting behaviour had been damaging to Real's traditional image of chivalry and being 'the club for all'. ANGRY REACTION Arbeloa played down the importance of the news conferences today, saying that he believed the Real fans knew the opinions of the players. "We have a lot of matches during the year and I think that in the mixed zones almost every day we have stopped to talk, if not one player then another," the Spain international said. "I believe that the Real fans know what their players think," he added. "The news conferences have been decisions taken by the club and I imagine with the agreement of the coach. We are delighted to come out here and answer your questions." A sign of how sensitive Real are about the issue was their angry reaction to a newspaper report this week that said it had commissioned a survey of members that included the question "do you think the coach's attitude is damaging to the club?" According to the report in As sports daily, members were also asked who should replace Mourinho if he left and were given a list of alternatives that included Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez, Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, Paris St Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti and Germany's Joachim Loew. "Real Madrid CF strongly denies having requested any survey of the opinions of the club's members about the coach or any member of the squad, or of any possible names of coaches or players who might join the club," Real said in a statement on their website yesterday. "Furthermore, it is most unlikely that any company would have access to the contact details that would be necessary to carry out a survey of the club's members, and so any sample would not be representative," the statement added. Things have not been going smoothly for Mourinho and his side on the pitch in recent weeks and they are third in La Liga after an erratic start to their title defence. With 17 matches played, they are seven points behind second-placed Atletico Madrid and 16 adrift of unbeaten leaders Barcelona ahead of Sunday's game at home to Real Sociedad. — Reuters |
| Mancini plays down latest clash with Balotelli Posted: 04 Jan 2013 05:11 AM PST  Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini Mancini played down the training ground incident with Mario Balotelli today, saying reaction to it had been overblown. — AFP pic Mancini was labelled "Madcini" in The Sun next to a photo of him grappling with Balotelli in training yesterday while most papers reached the conclusion that Balotelli's troubled time at the English champions was up. Yet Mancini played down the training ground incident today, saying reaction to it had been overblown. "Mario made a tackle on his teammate that I would prefer to see in a game and not against a teammate," Mancini told reporters. "I asked him to leave the pitch — he said no so I moved him off. "That's all that happened and it was nothing more than that." Last month Balotelli withdrew his appeal against disciplinary action taken against him by the Premier League champions, accepting a fine of two weeks' wages for a series of well-documented misdemeanours on and off the pitch last season. However, harmony still appears to be in short supply with Mancini again being asked whether the Italy international still has a future at the club. "Nothing has changed between Mario and me and my thoughts have not changed about him and these things happen from time to time," he said. "Will Mario have more chances? I will give him 100 chances as long as I can see him trying to improve and working hard for this football club." — Reuters |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan