Trong khi Bundesliga đang rục rịch lăn bóng trở lại thì Philippe Coutinho đang có nguy cơ nghỉ hết mùa vì chấn thương.
Tiền đạo của Bayern Munich đã phải giải phẫu chấn thương cổ chân và có thể sẽ ngồi ngoài gần hai tháng. Bundesliga là giải đấu đầu tiên trong top 5 châu Âu trở lại thi đấu ngay trong tuần thứ hai của tháng Năm.
Coutinho đang chơi cho Bayern theo dạng cho mượn từ Barcelona đến hết mùa 2019/20. Mới đây thì Hùm Xám cho hay Coutinho không thể góp mặt trong trận đấu đụng độ Hertha Berlin, ngay khi giải đấu trở lại.
Coutinho là ca chấn thương vừa phải trải qua phẫu thuật, theo tính toán thì ngày trở lại sẽ là hai tuần nữa. Tuy vậy, tờ Mundo Deportivo thì cầu thủ người Brazil có nguy cơ nghỉ gần hai tháng. Mà nếu như vậy thì Bundesliga có thể đã hoàn tất.
Nếu đủ thể lực, Coutinho may ra có thể tham gia vòng tứ kết Champions League cùng Bayern khi mà đội bóng này đã vào vòng tám đội mạnh nhất. Ngoài ra thì Coutinho cũng có thể dự trận cuối mùa ở Bundesliga, vì giải đấu dự định sẽ kết thúc vào tháng Sáu hoặc Bảy là muộn nhất.
Có một vấn đề là hợp đồng cho mượn của Coutinho với Bayern sẽ hết vào tháng Sáu, và đại dịch Covid-19 đã khiến cho giải đấu phải ngưng trệ từ giữa tháng Ba đến nay mới có thể trở lại.
Bayern không có ý định kích hoạt điều khoản mua đứt Coutinho với giá 120 triệu euro, và Barca chắc chắn phải đón ‘người thừa’ trở về Camp Nou.
PETARUNG Amerika Syarikat Henry Cejudo berjaya mengekalkan kejuaraan bantamweight yang disandangnya selepas menewaskan Dominick Cruz dalam aksi UFC 249, di Florida pada Ahad.
Cejudo menundukkan rakan senegaranya itu menerusi ‘Technical Knockout’ (TKO) pada minit 4:58 pusingan kedua.
Cruz diasak dengan serangan lutut pada 15 minit terakhir pusingan tersebut, sebelum rebah dan dihujani beberapa siri tumbukan oleh Cejudo.
Ia sekali gus memaksa pengadil Keith Peterson mencelah dan memberhentikan perlawanan, dan mengisyiharkan Cejudo sebagai pemenang.
Dalam pada itu menerusi temu bual dengan Joe Rogan selepas perlawanan, Cejudo turut mengumumkan persaraannya dari sukan seni bela diri campuran (MMA).
Cejudo, yang juga juara flyweight UFC meraih kejuaraan keduanya pada Jun tahun lalu selepas menewaskan Marlon Moraes melalui TKO pusingan ketiga dalam aksi UFC 238.
Berusia 33 tahun, dia kini bersara dengan rekod 16 kemenangan, dan dua kekalahan.
Manchester United will reportedly face competition from Newcastle if they want to land Odion Ighalo on a permanent deal this summer, as the Magpies’ prospective new owners eye the Nigerian as a potential marquee signing.
Ighalo arrived at Old Trafford on loan on January deadline day, and despite the signing raising more than a few eyebrows, the 30-year-old has quickly made himself a cult hero with four goals in eight appearances.
He is yet to get off the mark in the Premier League after a handful of substitute appearances, but has found the net in each of his three starts in the Europa League and FA Cup, and he has already been touted to earn himself a permanent move back to England when the summer transfer window reopens.
Sky Sports, however, report that it won’t be easy if they are to pry him away on a permanent basis – since Newcastle, set to be armed with a £150m transfer kitty if their Saudi-based takeover comes to fruition, have entered the fray.
Oghalo is to return to Shanghai for pre-season training with Shanghai Shenua ahead of the Chinese Super League getting underway in July, and it’s believed the Chinese club will only sanction a prolonged stay in England if any interested party meets his £20m release clause.
Speaking last month (as per Sky) on speculation that United had offered him a new deal, Oghalo said: “There is no offer on the table yet.
“Because the season is still on and I’m yet to finish my loan deal. I don’t just take decisions alone in my life. I have a principle and I have a guideline for everything I do. I always pray to God to direct me.
“You don’t just rush and do things: ‘I’m going here, I’m going here’. I have to sit down and finish the season well, sit down with my agent, see what’s on the ground: A, B, C, D, is on the ground. Okay we have to pick.”
When Juventus completed the free signing of Paris Saint-Germain star Adrien Rabiot, the entire football world collectively nodded its head, safe in the knowledge that nobody could pull off these coups quite like the Old Lady.
A young, exciting and promising midfielder, pinched from one of the biggest clubs in Europe – for absolutely nothing? They’ve done it again.
The young Frenchman was now rubbing shoulders with the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Fabio Cannavaro, Kingsley Coman, Dani Alves, Aaron Ramsey and many more who have all made the move to Turin without the pressures of a transfer fee weighing heavy on their shoulders.
It’s safe to say, he’s in elite company.
But just because he has followed in the footsteps of these giants, it doesn’t mean he can fill their boots. In fact, many in Turin are questioning if he’s worthy of even cleaning their studs. Less than a year into life at the Allianz Stadium, whispers are suggesting that Rabiot’s time in Serie A may already be up, with the likes of Manchester United and Everton eyeing a move for the out-of-favour Frenchman.
If Juventus had any sense, they’d be driving him to the airport in person.
Although some may label I Bianconeri’s signing of Rabiot as ‘classic Juve’, it was actually far from their normal business manoeuvre. When pursuing their potential free transfer signings in previous years, the Serie A giants targeted experienced players whose time at their then-current club was coming to a natural end.
The likes of Alves, Sami Khedira, and Fernando Llorente were proven stars, who had experience playing at the highest level, and their track record was reason enough to take the plunge.
Juve also looked to hoover up any young talent which wasn’t being given a fair crack of the whip at club level, and their relatively low risk strategy reaped massive rewards, turning the likes of Pogba and Coman into huge profit after they established themselves in top-flight football.
AC Milan v Juventus – Coppa Italia: Semi Final
Rabiot, on the other hand, fell somewhere in between those two criteria. At 24 years old, he was not a teenage prodigy begging for a crack at the big time, nor was he an experienced head looking for a new challenge.
Instead, the midfielder was simply a figure of misery in his surroundings, and his disruptive presence around the team was too much for even PSG, who banished him to train with the reserves for the final six months of his contract.
This treatment led to Rabiot’s mother (and agent) describing her son as a ‘prisoner’ in Paris, which all-but sealed his fate with the Ligue 1 champions. That’s the same mother who is reportedly pushing for her child to leave Juventus for the Premier League this summer, you’ll be shocked to discover.
And that wasn’t even the first example of such worrying character flaws. Rabiot publicly lashed out at France national team coach Didier Deschamps, after he was left out of the World Cup 2018 squad, and he subsequently refused to be named as a standby in case of injury.
He’d also endured conflict with former coach Thomas Tuchel over his attitude. A glowing CV.
FBL-FRA-LIGUE1-PSG-AMIENS
But despite these glaring warning signs, Juve deemed him worthy of a gamble, and given that he caught the eye so noticeably in the PSG midfield for more than five years, it felt like a win-win situation for the Serie A giants.
If he lives up to the hype, then he’ll be a global superstar. If not, then he can be shipped off for a hefty sum and we can all forget this experiment ever happened.
But if something seems too good to be true, more often than not, it’s because it ain’t.
The fanfare that surrounded Rabiot’s arrival quickly turned to confusion, as he struggled to even make it onto the pitch for Juventus. Maurizio Sarri handed him 27 minutes of action in the opening game of the season, and that was the midfielder’s lot for the next three matches, as the Italian coach opted to select compatriot Blaise Matuidi in his place.
SSC Napoli v Juventus – Serie A
As the games wore on, Rabiot earned Sarri’s trust, and was a regular figure in I Bianconeri’s midfield, up until their final two matches. But despite making 17 league appearances, there was one question on every Juve fan’s lips.
What does Rabiot actually do?
Well, one brief glance at the 25-year-old’s statistics will tell you that he’s not an offensive midfielder. 0 league goals and 0 assists is concerning, but in fairness, that’s not really in his job description. Rabiot made his name as an elegant passer and distributor of the ball, and he has always been confident when dictating the pace of a game.
However, plenty of his best work often came from breaking up play, and taking a backseat as PSG’s attacking all-stars inflicted the major damage. It was a comfortable job, when you’re an efficient cog in the most expensively-built and overpowering machine in an entire country.
Juventus may be similar to PSG in their domination of Italian football, but they are by no means as financially superior to their rivals as the French champions. Serie A is a hard-fought battle for Juve, with different challenges being posed ever year by a number of adversaries, who are desperate to end the Old Lady’s monopoly of the scudetto.
And Rabiot might have been caught out by this. It’s possible that perhaps the midfielder hasn’t learned and developed quite as much as he thought he’d done during his time with les Parisiens. Games seem to pass him by in Italy, and he simply looks incapable of changing the outcome of a match. Not once has Rabiot grabbed a game by the scruff of the neck, and at a club like Juventus, that will not do.
The Frenchman flits in and out, but his periods of lethargy and ineffectiveness hugely outweigh his measly positive input. And Rabiot’s inability to impose himself stands in stark contrast to that of fellow midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, who has convinced supporters that he is the future of the Juve midfield.
The Uruguayan star really has the lot, and at only 22 years old, he is ready to mix it with the big boys. With his combative style of tough tackling and an intelligent passing range, Bentancur looks a much safer bet to put your money on than the butterfly Rabiot, who flutters in and out of matches with such fragility.
And if that wasn’t reason enough to get rid, the summer arrival simply doesn’t fit with the club’s ethos and profile.
Olympique Lyon v Juventus – UEFA Champions League Round of 16: First Leg
Even with Cristiano Ronaldo in the side, Juventus play a team game. It’s all about organisation, fighting for one another and getting the job done as a unit. Fino alla fine.
Rabiot sticks out like a man who has spent years relying on the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Angel Di Maria to produce some individual magic to demoralise and steamroll their lowly opposition, rather than forcing the issue himself.
All in all, it’s not looking good for the midfielder.
Rabiot’s mother may be trying to force her son to test new waters, but he may end up being pushed off the plank before he can jump ship.
MADRID – James Rodriguez disarankan untuk hijrah ke Liga Inggris menyusul masa depannya yang masih belum jelas di Real Madrid. Saran tersebut datang dari salah satu senior James di Timnas Kolombia, Ivan Cordoba.
Cordoba menyayangkan talenta James jika ia terus bertahan di Real Madrid. Sebab menurutnya, James salah satu pemain terbaik yang kini dimiliki Kolombia dan diyakini punya masa depan lebih cerah di Inggris.
“James Rodriguez adalah pemain terbaik untuk kami, warga Kolombia. Itu tergantung padanya, dia memiliki semua yang dia butuhkan untuk melakukannya dengan baik. Saya berharap James akan pergi ke Inggris karena ada begitu banyak pilihan menarik untuknya,” ujar Cordoba, melansir dari laman Goal International, Minggu (10/5/2020).
“James sudah berada di salah satu tim terbaik di Real Madrid, tetapi Liga Premier akan menjadi tujuan yang hebat untuknya,” lanjutnya.
Di sisi lain, meski menyarankan James untuk bermain di Liga Inggris, Cordoba mengakui kalau ia sebenarnya berharap penyerang 28 tahun itu bisa bermain di Liga Italia bersama mantan timnya, Inter Milan.
“Mereka yang membelinya akan membuat pilihan yang sangat baik. Sejujurnya saya berharap untuk melihatnya di Italia di Inter. Saya berharap suatu hari dia bisa menggantikan saya sebagai pemain sepak bola Kolombia di San Siro,” tandasnya.
HLV trưởng của Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, cho rằng kỳ chuyển nhượng mùa Hè 2020 sẽ là “một thế giới mới”.
Do ảnh hưởng của đại dịch Covid-19, các giải đấu có thể kéo dài sang tháng 7 thậm chí là tháng 8. Mặt khác, tình hình kinh tế khó khăn khiến cho các CLB “ngại” chi tiền tấn trên thị trường chuyển nhượng.
HLV Solskjaer sẽ mua thêm ai trong kỳ chuyển nhượng tới?
Nhiều chuyên gia dự báo rằng giá trị các cầu thủ sẽ giảm nghiêm trọng, thậm chí nhiều cầu thủ đang được cho mượn chưa biết tương lai ra sao.
Chia sẻ quan điểm của mình về TTCN sắp tới, HLV Solskjaer cho biết: “Chúng tôi luôn muốn cải thiện đội hình. Nhưng với sự thiếu chắc chắn của thị trường hiện tại, không ai biết chuyện gì sẽ xảy ra. Dù sao, tôi cũng hài lòng với các cầu thủ đang có”.
“Thế giới hôm nay là một thế giới khác hẳn 2-3 tháng trước. Chúng tôi phải điều chỉnh và thích nghi. Có nhiều CLB ngoài kia đang khó khăn hơn chúng tôi rất nhiều. Đó sẽ là một thế giới mới, và tôi nghĩ rằng thị trường chuyển nhượng mùa hè sắp tới sẽ khác hoàn toàn so với những gì chúng ta từng biết đến”.
Với tiềm lực tài chính mạnh của mình, Man United hoàn toàn có thể tận dụng thời cơ để mang về những ngôi sao như Jadon Sancho hay James Maddison. Nhưng HLV Solskjaer không nghĩ thế.
Ông nói: “Tôi nghĩ Greenwood, Martial và Rashford đã có một mùa giải rất tuyệt, họ cùng nhau ghi được tới 50 bàn. Rashford đã có mùa xuất sắc nhất dù dính chấn thương, Martial cũng vậy, trong khi Greenwood cho thấy tiềm năng rất lớn”.
