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Wednesday Kickoff: Tottenham eye Lloris signing, Maradona fired and more

Lloris (Getty Images)

Brad Friedel is aware that his playing days are winding down, and Tottenham is reportedly eyeing a move that could accelerate his decline from his post as the club's No. 1 goalkeeper.

According to reports, Spurs are looking to sign Lyon and French national team goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, a move that does not faze the veteran American goalkeeper, who is entering his second season with Tottenham.

"We will welcome any good addition to the squad," Friedel reportedly told UK outlet Talksport. "When I first signed here, there was no secret Tottenham would one day need a new long-term goalkeeper. I am 41, this could be my final season. I will do whatever asked of me, whether that is No. 1, 2 or 3, and will do it to the best of my ability."

Here are a few more stories to get your day going:

MARADONA FIRED FROM AL WASL

Diego Maradona is looking for work again.

The Argentine legend was fired from his post of United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl after one season and had one year remaining on his deal with the club. Maradona guided Al Wasl to an eighth-place finish in the 12-team league last season, and his entire technical staff was also ousted by Al Wasl's new board, which was instituted last month.

REDKNAPP NOT INTO RUSSIA JOB

A day after Harry Redknapp had his name on Russia's shortlist for its next coach, the former Tottenham manager has reportedly taken himself out of contention.

The BBC is reporting that Redknapp is not interested in the position and will give way to one of the other 12 finalists. Rafa Benitez is expected to meet with the Russian federation later in the week, while Fabio Capello and Pep Guardiola are also on Russia's wish list to replace Dick Advocaat. For Redknapp, he is still on the look out for his next challenge after being passed over for the England managerial role and being ousted from Tottenham in favor of Andre Villas-Boas.

ELIA RETURNS TO BUNDESLIGA

Two years ago, Eljero Elia was one of the rising young stars in the world, a member of the Netherlands' 2010 World Cup team and a surefire fixture for the national team going forward. Things haven't quite played out that way for him, but he's headed back to a league where he has had previous success to get his career back on track.

Elia completed a move from Juventus to Werder Bermen, signing a four-year deal with the club. Before a failed stint at Juventus, the 25-year-old Elia was with Werder Bremen's rival Hamburg, where he played his way into national team contention.

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What do you think about Friedel potentialy competing with Lloris for starter's minutes? Where do you think Maradona's next challenge should be? Where do you see Redknapp coaching next? Do you think Elia still has the potential to become one of the world's best attacking talents?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Maradona fired whoopee big deal it’s always happening, Lloris to Spurs I would like but what happens to Friedel, Gomes and Cudicini, Redknapp to Russia no way!

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  2. In case you missed it, Spurs signed Jan Vertonghen. That pretty much addresses CB – Vertonghen, Kaboul, and Dawson is a very good top 3, and King/Gallas etc. can rest up and see spot duty when needed.

    The glaring need for Spurs is up front.

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  3. Yeah, Keller was good and had lots of great moments, but if we’re talking strictly about who was the better keeper, it is/was Friedel, no question.

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  4. Friedel never said he would roll over and just give the job to Lloris. He is merely saying the right things.

    First of all there is no guarantee this will happen.

    Second, talented keepers have crashed and burned in the EPL before. Friedel is a proven quantity there, Lloris is not.

    If Lloris beats him out Friedel certainly has the credentials and probably remains good enough to get another gig somewhere in the EPL during the January transfer window.

    And of course there are always injuries.

    Friedel is smart to not act out and get labeled as a malcontent. With a little luck he should be good for another year or two earning the big money.

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  5. Friedel made 114 saves and kept 14 clean sheets, while playing the full 3420 minutes despite being 40 years old.

    He was a top five goalkeeper in the Permier League imo.

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  6. This is ridiculous, sure Friedel is getting old and declining, but he SHOULD be a starting goalkeeper somewhere, probably for a decent Premier League team. If Tottenham replace him with Lloris, someone else should buy him.

    Just last year, he had better numbers than Cech and Szczesney, to pick the goalkeepers at two other top clubs:

    Minutes per goal conceded:
    Friedel 83 (seventh best in the league)
    Cech 78
    Szczesney 70

    Save %:
    Friedel 73.5% (seventh best in the league)
    Cech 68.3%
    Szczesney 63.2%

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  7. Why would Russia be interested in Redknapp? This is a team with serious issues when it comes to getting to the next level of competition (failed to qualify for WC ’10 and failed to get to the 2nd round of Euro ’12). Why would they want a coach whose last club team fell apart at the end of the season and missed out on the Champion’s league? I guess hiring Redknapp would give the players an out if they miss out on WC ’14 — it would be ‘arry’s fault instead of their own.

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  8. Worth noting that the players do not decide who starts. The coach does. If Lloris signs and Friedel stays on, what they have to say about it will mean nothing. How they perform will be the deciding factor. The goalie earns his starting job — it doesn’t come with a consent decree from the back-up.

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  9. Well — Opportunities to grab a young keeper with Lloris’ ability don’t come often. If the time to strike is now, they probably hsould make the investment.

    As for Friedel – it’s interesting what bankruptcy can do for a guy. He’ll accept the back-up job, if it means he keeps getting the big paycheck — though, a transfer might bring him even more money, since he’ll get a percentage.

    More to the point, if money wasn’t such a big issue for him now, I’d think he’d be more vocal about wanting to play every week, somewhere, in his final year or two.

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  10. Well, Spurs are in the Europa League through no fault of their own, but I get what you’re saying. What I don’t get is that Lloris’s agent or someone from Lyon said that he would consider leaving for any of the top 5 teams in Europe. Last time I checked Tottenham didn’t remotely fill that requirement, nor does Arsenal, who for some bizarre reason was linked to him, but that was probably BS…

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  11. Eljero Elia pulled off one of the dirtiest moves I’ve seen on your boy Johnathon Spector, Ives. I wish him good health and luck at Werder Bremen.

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  12. Keller’s game against Brazil was perhaps the single greatest soccer performance by an american. Worth watching his highlights again, as he was simply on a different plane of existence that game.

    That said Friedel, is a class act and extremely impressive.

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  13. How can anyone fire Maradonna? How can anyone not like him? I mean, he’s the self-proclaimed greatest player in the history of the game (despite the fact that he couldn’t carry Pele’s jock on a good day). He had to cheat to help his country win the World Cup (hand of god, my arse). He is an obnoxious, confrontational, egotistic drug abuser. How could anyone not like him?

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  14. I won’t say Meola was the best, (because he’s not) but he was my personal favorite. I can’t hold the World Cup 94 game vs. Brazil against him. Brazil dominated that game from beginning to end and it should have been a much larger scoreline than 1-0.

    And I’m not saying Hope Solo won all of that hardware by herself (no soccer player can make that claim about any trophy). But based purely on the amount of hardware she has obtained on the international level over the years, no American goalkeeper has won more.

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  15. Unless Friedel agrees to be #2, why would Lloris move from top dog at Lyon — a team competitive in France and headed to Champions League — to back up at Spurs (a no-hoper in England and mere Europa League team)?

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  16. Meola? I think it’s a little bit of a stretch to say he got us into Italia 90, there were a few others who played in qualifying, and unfortunately my burning memory of him will always be him standing a mile off his line as Brazil scored an easy near post goal in 94. I’d say it’s between Keller and Friedel, and I always liked Keller just a tad more, but both were great.

    As for Solo, she hardly won her hardware by herself, and doesn’t Scurry compare in that regard? Both benefit from playing for much better teams relatively. Solo’s personality and problems she has caused by her own choices and actions (she wasn’t dropped for Scurry for playing reasons) definitely rules her out of the discussion for me.

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  17. Sounds a lot like Fulham…except we’re realistic in our expectations and know that adding/losing Clint will make a difference of a few places in the table.

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  18. Liverpool makes me laugh, they’re a slightly above mid table side with serious delusions of grandeur, their supporters are some of the most unrealistic on the planet.

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  19. Hugo Lloris is one of the top 5 GK in the world and is still in his 20s, I can understand why anyone would want him.
    At the same time, I think Spurs have bigger holes to fill than at GK. I still think they have alot of issues at CB, with either injury prone or subpar players at the position.
    If I were Spurs, I would rather bide my time with Friedel and try and fill gaps at CB than throw a ton of cash at Lloris.

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  20. In case anyone is interested in how some of the Liverpool locals feel about the possibility of Clint Dempsey joining the Reds, here are a couple of blogs, both followed by fan comments (some of it a bit irritating) .

    Why signing Dempsey for LFC makes perfect sense
    http://www.thisisanfield.com/2012/07/why-signing-dempsey-for-lfc-makes-perfect-sense/

    Clint Dempsey Won’t Solve Liverpool’s Goalscoring Woes
    http://liverpool.theoffside.com/2012/7/10/3149989/clint-dempsey-wont-solve-liverpools-goalscoring-woes

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  21. 15 years in England. One of the best GK’s in PL history. Arguably he’s world-class, 1 of the top 20-25 goalkeepers in the world

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  22. In that case, I would agree with Reid that Freidel at World Cup 2002 had the greatest run of any keeper in USMNT history. My personal favorite is Tony Meola. His performances over the years got us into World Cup 1990 and allowed us to advance to the 2nd round in World Cup 1994. He was also a mentor to Tim Howard while with the Metro Stars in the late 1990s.

    But if we’re talking about all American goalies in US history, I don’t think any American goalie has more international silverware than Hope Solo…just sayin.

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  23. Very tough to say. I think the 02 WC run brings back the best memories of a US keeper, and if Friedel didn’t retire from nat’l team duty so early he might be head and shoulders above the rest but I think that it is pretty evenly matched.
    I wish that I could comment on keepers before 1996 but don’t have that knowledge.

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  24. A debate about what? Friedel has retired from national team duty and Tim Howard is the undisputed #1 for the Nats. What is there to debate?

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  25. I think we need to have a discussion and debate of best US goalkeeper.

    My vote is for Friedel!! Great athlete and a class-act professional.

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