by FRANCO PANIZO
It is no secret that Luca Toni has been unhappy with his situation at Bayern Munich this year, and West Ham United is one of the clubs that has taken notice.
Toni is being heavily pursued by West Ham, and talks with the Italian international are considered to be in the advanced stages. Toni, who has only played in four league games this season, made it clear last week that he was upset about his lack of playing time, criticizing Bayern Munich manager Louis van Gaal.
West Ham is trying to replace injured forward Carlton Cole, who suffered knee ligament damage in West Ham's weekend victory over Burnley.
Here are some more stories to help you get through Thursday:
LDU Quito wins Copa Sudamericana
Ending a game with nine men, and losing 3-0 is usually as bad as it can get for any team, but that was not the case for LDU Quito, who won the Copa Sudamericana on Wednesday night in that situation.
Having won the first leg against Internacional 5-1 last week, Quito claimed the Copa Sudamericana despite a 3-0 drubbing in Brazil. The Copa Sudamericana is LDU Quito's third continental title in two years, having won the Recopa Sudamericana and the Copa Libertadores in 2008.
Real Madrid duo to stay
Real Madrid midfielders Fernando Gago and Guti will not be leaving the club when the winter transfer window opens.
According to their agent, the players' lack of playing time will not force moves away from Los Galacticos, and both remain in the club's plans for this season. Guti has made seven league appearances, scoring twice and assisting on three others, while Gago has only played in four games.
Sol Campbell and Notts County end dispute
If you're a Sol Campbell fan, you will be glad to know he is officially free from Notts County.
After disputing with the club for weeks, Campbell finally received his official release from Notts County, agreeing to a 'statement of departure', which prevents him from talking publicly about his time with the club. Campbell, now a free agent, is being linked with Coca Cola Championship club Newcastle United.
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Do you think Toni could thrive in the EPL? Happy to see LDU Quito win the Copa Sudamericana? Should Gago and Guti should move in the winter? Where will Campbell go next?
Share your thoughts below.
hahaha lighten up big man. Besides, Franco posted it, not Ives, so perhaps you need to give the post another look as well!
As Ives stated in the post, Cole has knee ligament damage, and won’t be available for some time. Once again, my theory that 90% of the people that post here don’t even bother to read what they are commenting on.
it’s sad to think that a player of guti’s caliber is planning on spending his whole career as a second choice. dropped at the first sight of some flashier “galactico”.
Ummm, what?
I love Jonathan Spector as much as the next guy, but shouldnt Zola be putting whatever funds they have towards buying a defender or two? I would be confused by a Toni signing as they really have no problems at all scoring goals, unless they plan on cashing in on Carlton Cole.
yeah- At some point, Newcastle will bring in a defender to play with Taylor who isn’t over-rated, over-the-hill, or overly incompetent. Or like Boumsong, who was all of the above.
A good way to guarantee a sellout and a great crowd at the next MLS All-Star game: Hold it in Red Bull Arena, and make the opponent Liga de Quito.
Toni is the best player in the world…..
…..at putting his hands up to his incredulous, wide-eyed face after missing a point-blank header.
I thought it was the facility that Italy was training at during the Confed. Cup. I can’t find the article…
doug,
weve got our place, its the same place we were for confederations cup. That’s an added bonus of the confeds cup, you get to scope out your spot first.
Thanks for the LDU Quito mention Ives. I may be in the minority here, but I miss the Latin American coverage. That game last night was insanity!!! I was speechless. It made for both incredible and horrifying viewing, all at once. The drama of whether Flu could come back from a 5-1 hole, clawing all the way back to 5-4 before folding after 5 minutes of extra time. The awe of a championship game fanaticism at one of the true temples of the game, the Maracana in Rio. A ref that looked like he took some extra bit of juice before the match, and who reffed the game as such, with some very dicey decisions and a dictator’s wrath. 3 red cards. Too many yellows to remember. A player almost headbutting the ref. At least one freak in the stands with a laserlight pointed at the Liga keeper all game long, and at the ref himself towards the end in defiance. Flying objects. Rainforest like heat & humidity that made the pitch a slippery mess & left the players ragged. 3 goals, plus 2 or 3 near misses that would’ve given Flu the win. Dominguez, the LDU keeper, both lucky and good, under relentless pressure after the 18th minute Liga red card. Liga winning despite Fossatti’s tactical mess and Reasco’s horrible miss in LDU’s best shot of the game… Anyone used to watching relatively disciplined, organized, European style soccer might’ve been absolutely beside themselves watching I think. Unless they could appreciate the raw passion, hunger, and creative freedom of expression that makes tourneys like the Libertadores and Sudamericana so fun to watch.
As a Deportivo Quito fan I am forced to shun the Liga news!
I remember during the confed cup that the Americans were very pleased that they secured one of the better training facilities in a high elevation but I can’t recall the city name.
Anybody know where the US will train for the World Cup?
I just read this and was curious:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/6716956/World-Cup-2010-England-lose-to-Argentina-in-race-for-training-facilities.html
I think I remember Donovan saying in his Simmons’ podcast that they would probably practice somewhere with high elevation in the US and then go to SA about a week or so before the first game. Anyone else hear this or anything else about where they’ll train?
As a Newcastle fan I really hope that they don’t bring in Sol and if they do its on a very strict “pay as you play” contract that only lasts a year. I think he can still do a job in the Championship and could be good for some of their upcoming defenders but tying up old players to lucrative contracts is a mistake that Newcastle has hopefully learned to avoid. I think bringing in a young player would serve them far better but the fact that he would come on a free is all that Ashley seems to care about.
As for Toni, I’m not up to date on West Ham’s financial status but aren’t they in a position to make not any significant signings? It would be great for them to grab Toni but I have a feeling he’ll head back to Italy to finish up his career there.
I was waiting for this post, but alas, not the stuff I was interested in…