Written by Sayeed Mahadi | 10 August 2010

Boss Klaus Allofs has confirmed midfielder Mesut Ozil may be leaving the Werder Bremen this summer but insisted there had been no official offers for the Ozil yet.



Manchester United’s Ferguson on Sunday responded to questions about Ozil after the 3-1 defeat of Chelsea in the Community Shield by repeating that he was glad with his present squad and "did not need to add to it". However, the Manchester United manager, who was at Craven Cottage on Saturday to see Ozil's team play Fulham in a pre-season friendly, was mainly confusing when he was asked frankly, on four occasions, whether it was right the deposed Premier League champions were after the man who helped to defeat England from the World Cup 2010.
Reports in Spain have recommended Barcelona are close to an contract to sign the Werder Bremen’s Ozil, who has one year left on his agreement and impressed during Germany's World Cup battle. However the club's media director Tino Polster said "there are no talks and there is no offer from Barcelona."Manchester United are also interested in Ozil , with their boss Sir Alex Ferguson having watched Werder Bremen's friendly with Fulham on Saturday, and Chelsea also being linked with a move for the midfielder.
Mesut Özil (born 15 October 1988 in Gelsenkirchen) is a German professional footballer who plays for Werder Bremen and internationally for the German national team. Özil, who has played for national team since 2006, gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA...

Written by Sayeed Mahadi | 26 July 2010

Dutch footballer Rafael van der Vaart has exposed that he could make a move from Real Madrid if an offer was made for him from one of England's top football teams.

The Netherlands international had slipped down the pecking order at the Santiago Bernabéu following Real's spending spree last summer with speculation suggesting that he could be set to embark on a fresh challenge. And with reported curiosity from the Premier League, Van der Vaart is alert of the transfer gossip.


Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February, 1983) is a Dutch footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Netherlands national team. His preferred position is central midfield as playmaker. Van der Vaart began his career at Ajax's famous youth academy and worked his way into the first team debuting as a 17-year-old. He moved to Bundesliga side Hamburg, then to Real Madrid. He understands that a couple of major clubs are keepings tabs on his situation and says the prospect of such a switch does sound appealing.


"I have heard of the interest from Liverpool and Chelsea - and that is very flattering," Van der Vaart told the Daily Star Sunday. "If either of them were willing to offer me first-team football, I will be honest that it would be very hard for me to not listen to what they had to say. I think I have the relationship with Madrid where they understand my position and would let me hold talks. I expect the majority of transfers to be concluded in the next two weeks, and...

Written by Sayeed Mahadi | 17 July 2010

Spain's winning World Cup squad have returned to Madrid & paraded through a sea of excited fans in the capital city Madrid.

An estimated one million people gathered in the Spanish capital as the team paraded in an open-top bus to celebrate their world cup victory. Spain Captain Iker Casillas had earlier carried the trophy down the steps of the plane as the squad made a victorious return from South Africa. Then the Spain players met the royal family of Spain and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain. And the celebrations ended with the bus parade that paraded through the centre of Madrid, and air force fighter jets of Spain flew overhead sprawling the colors of the national flag Spain. The parade came to a stop at the path near the Puente del Rey, where the victory festivities continued.


Champion of Europe Spain won the World Cup for the first time thanks to Andres Iniesta's extra-time winner against the Netherlands in Johannesburg on Sunday. During the winning celebrations on Monday night, some team-mates forced Cesc Fabregas to briefly wear a Barcelona shirt as they stood on stage in front of Spain followers. The defenders of Barcelona grabbed the midfielder of Arsenal, who has been linked with a return to the Nou Camp where he played as a youngster, and managed to pull the shirt over his head. Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos and Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina had been at the centre of the players' celebrations on the team bus as the parade inched...

Written by Steve Wright | 14 July 2010

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is fading in the rearview mirror, and while South Africa is hardly pausing for breath before announcing intentions to follow up a remarkably successful tournament with an Olympic bid in 2020, the rest of the world looks forward to the domestic leagues and the 2010-2011 season. With this being a World Cup year, players will barely have chance to breathe before preseason training is upon them and as players have had the summer to showcase their talents in front of the world, there is certain to be a lot of transfer activity before the window closes. Here are five scenarios to keep your eyes on between now and August 31st.

Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal - Barcelona)

 

If this transfer saga wasn't at the forefront of people’s minds already it definitely will be now thanks to the Spanish World Cup winning parade. For those who missed it Barca players Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol pulled the famous blue and red shirt over the head of Fabregas in Madrid. A sign of things to come perhaps? Fabregas is, of course, famously seen as the player who got away after Arsenal signed him out of the Barcelona youth system. Ever since then there has been a sort of pining on both ends to get Cesc back in a Catalan shirt. Fabregas is arguably the best midfielder in the English Premiership and his talents would work great in Spain. If I were him though, I would be concerned that he would be sitting on the bench behind Xavi and Iniesta, just like he did all summer for the...

Written by Steve Wright | 13 July 2010

Yesterday we looked at the stars that lit up South Africa with their skills, and in the process finding a way onto the coveted The Go team of the tournament. Today we will visit the other end of the spectrum, the players who for one reason or another did not live up to expectations on the greatest stage of all. Yes the team has 12 players, but with the way these guys performed it honestly wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. Welcome to the all dud team of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Goalkeeper - Rob Green (England)



Goalie was probably the most contested position in our all dud team with multiple keepers making their claim with moments of ineptitude. Despite the best (worst) efforts of Algeria's Faouzi Chaouchi and Slovenia's Samir Handanovic in particular, Green has to be first choice. His gaffe against the USA when he let a tame Clint Dempsey shot glance off his hands into the net set the tone for the World Cup as far as England were concerned, and seemed to vindicate pretournament predictions that England’s goalkeeping situation was a joke. replaced by David James for England’s second game, Greens tournament was over.

Left Wing Back - Patrice Evra (France)

The French captain was seen as the leader of the mutiny within their camp in which the players stormed off the training facility following a heated row with staff. This was the beginning blow in a meltdown that would see the Group A favorites crash out of the World Cup bottom of their group with 1 point...

Written by Sayeed Mahadi | 12 July 2010

Spain player Andres Iniesta's stunning goal in the exciting 116th minute gave Spain its first FIFA World Cup 2010 title with a 1-0 win in Johannesburg over the Netherlands Sunday.Main storyline



It was a dramatic final for the  World Cup 2010. Sunday's world Cup final was not the kind of football you would expect of two nations known for playing excellent & fluid football. Instead it was a confrontational, irritable match where both team did not  get any chance to show their outstanding skills due to smooth defense and, at times, laborious tackles. World Cup final Referee Howard Webb was possibly the busiest man on the ground, handing out a finals-record 13 yellow cards (eight to the Netherlands and five to Spain), which was not actually a shock considering how many fouls were committed during the course of the game (28 fouls for the Netherlands to 19 for Spain).There were probabilities for both sides in this match. The Oranje's most terrific player, Arjen Robben, was blocked by Spanish keeper Iker Casillas in the 62nd minute. In the 77th minute, Sergio Ramos should have put the Spaniards in advance, but his open header off a corner kick missed the goal post. Iniesta’s deciding symbol in the second extra time period cracked the hearts of the millions of orange-clad Dutch followers at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg who thought that; maybe, this was their country's year, especially after they had gone through the tournament unbeatable. With the win, Vincente Del...

Written by Sayeed Mahadi | 12 July 2010

Uruguay striker Diego Forlan is the winner of the Golden Ball award as the Best Player of the World Cup 2010 after scoring five goals in seven matches during the tournament. Forlan was voted the most outstanding & excellent player of the World Cup by credited media after leading his team Uruguay to the semifinals.

Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan footballer who currently plays for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Uruguayan national team, as a striker. He is the two-time winner of both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe.

Germany forward Thomas Mueller has been awarded the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer with five goals. Apart from Forlan, Spain's David Villa and Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands also struck five times with only one assist, but Mueller received the award with three assists. Mueller helped Germany take third place with his five goals.

Thomas Müller (born 13 September 1989 in Weilheim) is a German international footballer who plays for Bayern Munich. Müller plays as a midfielder or forward, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking midfielder, second striker, or on either wing.

Uruguay placed the fourth position in World cup 2010 after losing 3-2 to Germany in the third-place playoff on Saturday. Spain Spain is now  soccer's new world leader by defeating the Netherlands 1-0 to lift the title at Soccer City on Sunday night. Villa and Sneijder both...

Written by Steve Wright | 12 July 2010

The World Cup is done and dusted for another four years, and as with any tournament there were a number of players who put in standout performances. Below is TheGo's unofficial team of the tournament.

Goalkeeper - Iker Casillas (Spain)

 

With Mr. Spanish football between the sticks, the World Cup winners only conceded two goals the entire tournament. Casillas is such a calming influence on his back four that his worth is measured in more than just his excellent shot stopping ability. Few keepers in the world command as much respect as the Spanish number one, and in big moments this World Cup he always came through. His stand out moment came in the final as he denied the usually lethal Arjen Robben on two separate 1 on 1 situations in the second half.

Runner up - Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria)

With Nigeria seemingly deciding to not attack for most of the tournament Enyeama was called upon again and again to keep his team in games. Without his saves the Super Eagles campaign would have been even more embarrassing.

Right Back - Maicon (Brazil)

With the exception of maybe Luis Fabiano, Maicon was the only Brazilian to come away from this World Cup with his head held high. The powerhouse fullback scored a goal against North Korea that only he will know if he meant of not, but he was a constant source of energy and enthusiasm for a team that at times seemed sluggish in possession. Always a menace going forward, he was solid at the back throughout Brazil’s tournament...