Football: Berbatov to bid goodbye to Spurs and Peter Crouch’s Liverpool swansong?
May 9th, 2008Tottenham star Dimitar Berbatov looks set to play his last game for the club against Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Sunday in what promises to be a farewell fixture for a number of players on both sides.
The Bulgarian striker is expected to be the most high-profile departure from Spurs after manger Juande Ramos admitted that he may be powerless to prevent his prize asset seeking Champions League football at a bigger club.
“It’s difficult to say whether it will be his last game. I would obviously like him to stay here but we don’t know how future negotiations will go, so it’s something I can’t guarantee,” the Spanish coach said. “I’ve spoken to him many times and I know exactly what he wants. But it is a private conversation and I won’t say what he told me.”
Ramos is expected to make wholesale changes to the squad in the close season with Pascal Chimbonda, Ricardo Rocha, Young-Pyo Lee, Teemu Tainio, Radek Cerny and Younes Kaboul all knowing that Sunday’s game could be their last in the white of Spurs.
The former Valencia boss took charge after the chaotic end to Martin Jol’s reign in October, and led the club to League Cup victory and UEFA Cup qualification, but is now keen to bring in his own players as part of ambitious plans for next season.
The Spaniard signalled his intentions with the 15-million-pound capture of 22-year-old Croatian playmaker Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb last week and he has also been linked with big money bids for Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o, Portsmouth’s Lassana Diarra and West Ham’s Anton Ferdinand.
England goalkeeper Paul Robinson is also expected to move in the summer but is unlikely to be fit for Sunday’s game due to an ankle injury, denying him the chance of a last appearance in-front of his home supporters.
Opponents Liverpool have had a similarly dramatic season on and off the pitch but will be in a relaxed mood for Sunday’s game after securing Champions League qualification last month. Manager Rafael Benitez and American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett had high hopes of a title challenge at the beginning of the season but after a largely disappointing campaign will be refreshing their squad ready for a more sustained attempt next year.
Players who could be appearing in their last game for the Reds on Sunday include John Arne Riise, Jermaine Pennant, Steve Finnan and Andriy Voronin.
The Spanish coach has already made a bid for Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry, fuelling rumours that midfielder Xavi Alonso could also be saying goodbye on Sunday. However, Benitez scoffed at the reports, saying: “(Alonso) is our player, he has a contract. Barry can play in three different positions, so I don’t think we need to worry about this.”
England forward Peter Crouch could also be making his ‘Pool swansong against Spurs, the club who gave him his first professional contract, after publicly stating he wants to leave to seek first-team football. Again, the Spanish boss played down suggestions. He said: “If we receive a very good offer — and by that I mean 15 million pounds — we will consider it. I’m happy to keep him.”
Sunday’s fixture could also be the Reds’ last under the ownership of Gillett and Hicks following their acrimonious falling out earlier in the season. Supporters of the famous club are banking on a takeover offer from Dubai based consortium DIC over the summer to provide the stability needed for improvement.
Liverpool are guaranteed a fourth place finish, whatever Sunday’s result, while Spurs can still finish in the top ten if they win and West Ham slip up against Aston Villa.
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Atletico can now qualify for the Champions League for the first time in over a decade with victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday as they have a superior head-to-head record to fifth-placed Sevilla who are three points behind.
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An 18th goal of the season for Real captain Raul, another Arjen Robben header and strikes from substitutes Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy ensured a historic league double for Real, who won 1-0 at Camp Nou back in December, as they humiliated Barca to cap a fine season.
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Every professional European footballer would love to play in a Champions League semi-final, but some things are more important than football. The sad death of Frank Lampard’s mother last Thursday, underlines this, and Chelsea’s influential midfielder is unlikely to play on Wednesday night against Liverpool as he takes time to get over the loss. Lampard’s absence may improve Liverpool’s chances of overcoming Chelsea’s away goal advantage; punters should however, note that the Londoners beat Man Utd on Saturday without him, and the Reds will themselves be without Brazilian left-back, Fabio Aurelio, who is out for the season with a groin injury.
Despite the likely absence of Lampard, Chelsea are favourites to go through having earned a crucial – if somewhat fortunate - away goal at Anfield. The Pool must now either win the tie, or produce a higher scoring draw to reach the final in normal time, or replicate the 1-1 draw to take the tie to extra time. Unfortunately for Rafa Benitez their record at Stamford Bridge suggests this is unlikely. The Reds have failed to score in an amazing eight games at the Bridge under Benitez, and Chelsea have lost just once in normal time at home in any competition since September 2004 (against Barcelona).
Cristiano Ronaldo was philosophical when asked about his penalty miss in the opening minutes of Manchester United’s semi-final first leg against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. The Portuguese winger promised to make amends the wasted opportunity saying ‘I will score at Old Trafford’. Alex Ferguson and all United fans will be hoping Ronaldo’s confidence is well-placed, but with the talent that Barca bring to the Theatre of Dreams, he may still come to regret his mistake. In 2000 United faced Real Madrid in a second leg quarter-final at Old Trafford, after a 0-0 draw at the Bernabeu, only to lose 3-2.
Though the Red Devils had another genuine penalty claim waived away, the first leg was otherwise dominated by the Catalans. With quick forwards such as Henry, Eto’o and Messi, Barca could punish United but outside of European competition, those rare talents have failed to deliver on the road. Coach, Frank Rijkaard, has been unable to establish a successful formation, and has been hindered by injuries to key players. Messi, Deco and Henry are all available but short of full fitness, while Ronaldinho is definitely out. On the plus side, captain, Carles Puyol, returns having sat out the first leg due to suspension.
“The fixture is not fair as well in terms of the timing between the two games,” United manager Ferguson said. “The Liverpool fixture with Chelsea was Tuesday followed by Wednesday, so there is four days either way to get themselves ready, which is a big advantage, there is no question about that. “Unfortunately, we have 60 hours to prepare for this game. All we can do is rest them. We stayed overnight in Barcelona. “Then we had a light training session at Barcelona’s training ground. Being in the sun and having a day relaxing is probably the best thing we could have done,” the Scot added.
