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AC Milan director general Ariedo Braida has revealed the club are considering making a move to sign Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
"It's not easy to sign Ibrahimovic, but it is possible," Braida said. "It doesn't just depend on us, as it also depends on Barcelona and the player."
Ibrahimovic is reportedly seeking a move after the arrival of Spain striker David Villa knocked him down the pecking order at the Nou Camp. The Rossoneri are looking to boost their attacking options and are willing to offload Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in order to raise funds for a high-profile signing.
Braida told Spanish TV channel RAC-1: "I know Ibrahimovic well and he is a great player. The problem is that Milan have three, four or five forwards for two or three places. In order to sign a new striker, we'd have to sell one. Having said that, everything is possible. Yes, this can happen."
Ibrahimovic played for Milan rivals Inter for three-years before moving to Barcelona in a €60 million player-plus-cash deal in July 2009, with Samuel Eto'o heading the in other direction.
English Premier League side Tottenham suffered a surprise 3-2 defeat at the hands of Young Boys of Bern last night in their Champions League play-off.
In truth it turned out to be a good result for the North London side.
Great Defeat
Even Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp thought it was a ‘Great defeat’, he told Sky Sports: “That was a great defeat in the end if there is such a thing as a great defeat. At 3-0 we were out of it,”
“They started off, they got after us, we didn’t look happy on the surface, we couldn’t get hold of the ball, it kept bouncing away from us and we didn’t look confident in our play and we were in desperate trouble to be fair.
“Full credit to the lads. We come back to 3-1 and then a great goal from Pav to put us right back in the tie, and the tie is evenly balanced now. We need to win at home and it gives us a great chance still.”
Shell-shocked
Tottenham looked shell-shocked after going 3-0 down in less than half an hour in Switzerland. They looked like a bunch of strangers. Centre-backs Sebastien Bassong and Michael Dawson were awful and Young Boys looked like they could score every time they came forward in the first half.
Tottenham cannot use playing on artificial turf as an excuse for their poor start, although they wouldn’t have been used to playing on such a surface Spurs still shouldn’t have been so sloppy at the back.
Tottenham did start to play towards the end of the first half and got back into the game with a goal through Bassong. Before Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko scored Tottenham’s second with a superb effort, Young Boys had chances to add to their lead but didn’t take them.
Substitute Christian Schneuwly missed two glorious chances to put the Swiss side in even healthier shape. Those misses could cost the Swiss side a place in the Champion’s League group stages, despite their superb display against Spurs.
Away Goals
Tottenham had an off day but they managed to score two crucial away goals. Those two goals mean that Tottenham only need to win the second leg 1-0. However that’s easier said than done. Young Boys went to Fenerbahce in the last round and got the result they needed to go through.
Better
If or when Tottenham get through to the group stages of the Champions League then they will have to do far better than they did last night. If they were playing against better opposition last night then they probably would have conceded six or seven.
Tottenham now have to go out and put things right in the second leg next Wednesday. It’s crucial for Tottenham to start showing their quality.
They could easily go out of the Champions league before they have even made it into the group stages. I’m sure that Young Boys will give it everything they have at White Hart Lane but I just think that Tottenham will have too much for them back in England.
Learning Experience
Tottenham need to use this game as a learning experience and they must now realise they can’t take anything for granted and that no game will be easy for them in the Champions league. I’m sure Tottenham won’t make the same mistakes they did last night and will get the opportunity to come face to face with some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Source: www.soccernews.com
Bremen playmaker opens the door to United and Chelsea
By Chris BurtonGerman sensation Mesut Ozil has revealed that he would relish the opportunity to join Manchester United or Chelsea.
The 21-year-old playmaker saw his profile rocket this summer after a number of impressive showings at the World Cup finals.
His creativity helped Germany secure a third-place finish and ignited interest in his services across Europe.
His current employers, Werder Bremen, accept that they now face a battle to keep their prized asset at the club.
As Ozil has just one year remaining on his current contract, they have accepted that they may need to cash-in now rather than lose him for nothing in 12 months time.
It is believed that a bid of around £12million could force their hand, and that sort of money is readily available to the best in the business.
Top clubs in the Premier League would have no problem finding such a sum and Ozil admits he would welcome a switch to England.
"There are four or five clubs in Europe that you would have to say as a player would be a dream to play for," the youngster said in the Daily Star Sunday.
"Manchester United and Chelsea are very much two of them.
"When you are looking at moving clubs it's impossible not to pay attention to the Premier League and even more impossible not to pay attention to Manchester United and Chelsea."
He added: "I am a winner and, when I am looking for a new club, I simply look at where I can be the most successful and where I can win the most trophies.
"If you look at the recent history of Manchester United and Chelsea then it's clear that a player can be very successful there.
"Of course clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona are of huge interest and the Premier League's top two clubs are of serious interest to me when the time comes."
While hinting that he could be tempted to take on a new challenge in the near future, Ozil accepts that his future lies in the hands of Bremen.
He said: "I am under contract with Werder for another year and it is impossible for me to say if a deal will be done this summer.
"They may decide that they want to keep me for another season or they may decide to sell me this summer so they can get some money for me. That is up to the club."
The 21-year-old playmaker saw his profile rocket this summer after a number of impressive showings at the World Cup finals.
His creativity helped Germany secure a third-place finish and ignited interest in his services across Europe.
His current employers, Werder Bremen, accept that they now face a battle to keep their prized asset at the club.
As Ozil has just one year remaining on his current contract, they have accepted that they may need to cash-in now rather than lose him for nothing in 12 months time.
It is believed that a bid of around £12million could force their hand, and that sort of money is readily available to the best in the business.
Top clubs in the Premier League would have no problem finding such a sum and Ozil admits he would welcome a switch to England.
"There are four or five clubs in Europe that you would have to say as a player would be a dream to play for," the youngster said in the Daily Star Sunday.
"Manchester United and Chelsea are very much two of them.
"When you are looking at moving clubs it's impossible not to pay attention to the Premier League and even more impossible not to pay attention to Manchester United and Chelsea."
He added: "I am a winner and, when I am looking for a new club, I simply look at where I can be the most successful and where I can win the most trophies.
"If you look at the recent history of Manchester United and Chelsea then it's clear that a player can be very successful there.
"Of course clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona are of huge interest and the Premier League's top two clubs are of serious interest to me when the time comes."
While hinting that he could be tempted to take on a new challenge in the near future, Ozil accepts that his future lies in the hands of Bremen.
He said: "I am under contract with Werder for another year and it is impossible for me to say if a deal will be done this summer.
"They may decide that they want to keep me for another season or they may decide to sell me this summer so they can get some money for me. That is up to the club."
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Rafael Marquez was released Saturday from the final two seasons of his contract with Barcelona, a move that allowed the 31-year-old Mexican defender to join former teammate Thierry Henry with Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls.The Spanish champions announced the agreement with Marquez, whose contract had been scheduled to run through June 2012. Hours later, the Red Bulls scheduled a Tuesday news conference to announce the signing of a star player, without saying who it was.
Marquez didn't say where he would sign, although his talks with the Red Bulls have been common knowledge in soccer circles. His release allows him to sign with New York without a transfer fee.
"We're analyzing the options that we have and we'll see what works best," Marquez said.
A farewell ceremony was held Saturday at Camp Nou.
"One of the our team's reference points leaves Barcelona to start a new stage," team president Sandro Rosell said. "Rafa Marquez has been a key player for our last two coaches."
