By AVI CREDITOR
Speculation at the Nou Camp will be silenced for at least another year.
Pep Guardiola has agreed to stay on as coach of FC Barcelona through the 2010/2011 season, although the deal won't be signed until this summer.
Guardiola, long-rumored to be looking for a club change, still admits that he won't be staying with the UEFA Champions League title holders forever, but the one-year extension should ease apprehension among Barca supporters.
Last season Guardiola guided Barcelona to a treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey titles, and although the team was bounced by Sevilla in the Copa del Rey last week, it remains five points clear of second-place Real Madrid in La Liga and advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League.
Here are a few more newsworthy items to help you get through your Wednesday:
Neville under FA investigation
Manchester United's Gary Neville was caught on camera giving the middle finger to former teammate Carlos Tevez during Tuesday's Carling Cup semifinal at Eastlands, and now he faces potential punishment by the Football Association.
Tevez, who scored twice in Manchester City's 2-1, first-leg victory over United, celebrated his goals by taunting his old squad and Neville responded with a one-fingered salute.
The Red Devils will get a chance for redemption in the second leg, slated for Jan. 27 at Old Trafford. Aston Villa and Blackburn play their second leg this afternoon. Villa took the first leg 1-0 last Thursday.
Campbell sues Portsmouth
As if the financial situation at Portsmouth wasn't bad enough, now Pompey is being sued by former player Sol Campbell.
The 35-year-old Campbell, who returned to Arsenal over the weekend on a deal through the end of the season, is suing for 1.67 million pounds (about $2.72 million) in allegedly unpaid image-rights fees and bonuses.
Portsmouth has already had issues with paying its current players on time this season.
Hull City lands Zaki
Beleaguered Egyptian international Amr Zaki is back in the Premier League after being loaned to Hull City from Egyptian side Zamalek FC for the remainder of the season.
Zaki scored 11 goals for Wigan Athletic last season, but he was chastised for his attitude and work ethic by former Wigan coach Steve Bruce. The striker was unfit for the African Cup of Nations, where Egypt has advanced to the quarterfinals.
Relieved to see some stability at Barcelona? Amazed at Carlos Tevez' current form? Have any cash to donate to Portsmouth? Afraid of what Zaki's arrival means for Jozy Altidore?
Share your thoughts below.
I can only hope…
And then he goes back to Villareal…
I have to disagree, I guarantee you that Berbatov got at least 65% of the starts if that in overall competition in which they were involved, unless there was an injury
But EPL, Champions, late stages of FA and Carling I guarantee you Berbatov got more starts and minutes.
Even in the FIFA Club World Cup
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/haiti_earthquake_nfl_football.html He should approach it the way he approached CD9’s accident. He should have not played then, in respect to his boy being involved in a near-fatal accident.
“you are half way around the world, and you find out that a country that houses some of your family suffers a major earthquake killing hundreds of thousands. You are saying you’d sit in england and play soccer on the weekends while you wait for news??”
Yes
If he chooses to bypass the World Cup and help Haitians over the summer. I hope you feel the same way. So your saying that Khalid Boulahrouz is insensitive, a dick, and doesn’t care about his family, cause he played after his daughter passed way.
It boils down to this, Jozy is doing what is best for himself. However, he should not think that he is as good as he thinks that he is. I think if he didn’t think so highly of himself, he probably would be training right now, rather than tweeting or playing fifa 10 on his ps3
i guess so 😀
i just like to see my name on the boards from time to time
how many games has he missed?? 1 so far?? now likely to miss a second?? he has started, he has played, and he has scored with Hull (though not in league play).
Seriously get over yourself.
im sorry, but you are saying career is more important then family?? he will still have a team to play for once he gets back. We are not talking about a month vacation here, we are talking about a week or two of looking for family.
Just b/c he’s out of training and games for a couple weeks does not means his career will end. your argument is poorly constructed
you are half way around the world, and you find out that a country that houses some of your family suffers a major earthquake killing hundreds of thousands. You are saying you’d sit in england and play soccer on the weekends while you wait for news??
If jozy feels the need to go to haiti then that’s his business, not yours or anyone elses.
none of us know how jozy is feeling. Jozy might not be qualified in “search and rescue” but he can go down there check out his family’s home and also attempt to identify any bodies.
Donate money… Play & actually start and donate your weekly salary (if he hasn’t done so). Hey, Score a goal or create an assist and donate $10,000. What I am trying to say is, what good will it do if he goes to Haiti right now. He will either get mugged, jet-lagged, something will happen, and will get in rescuers’ way. Let the professionals physically go down and do their job. As an athlete he should spend what resources he has, like his money to assist in the rescue.
If Jozy says I will not go to the WC, I will spend my time in Haiti, volunteering, I hope no one disapproves.
You’re assuming ManU could have afforded him….
Actually, Tevez was very much off form last season with United, and he actually played quite a bit and was given a lot of chances to prove his worth. And he also was not on form in the beginning of this season. Not mention his form for Argentina where even he admitted he didn’t deserve to start. So I don’t really understand your comment about him always being on. He certainly is right now though, that’s for sure. As a United fan, it certainly is a shame to see him play so well now…
Dick.
Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere. Jozy is a very wealthy son of Haitian emigrants….he thinks he can help out his poverty-stricken relatives, and the relief situation right now is too thin to cover the whole of the country. He thinks he can do something….maybe he’s right.
It’s not helpful for his situation, that’s a fact. But he feels it’s something he has to do, and if he can help out at all I wish the best for him.
At this rate he will not be playing for the remainder of the month. What will happen if he doesn’t hear anything next 2 weeks? He will have missed 3 matches. If he is still on leave, he isn’t training or going to any team meetings, etc. What is he going to do, go down to Haiti and look for them himself? There will come a point where he will have to focus on his career. Yes, life is bigger than football but that is all he knows.
Take Kalid Boulahrouz his premature daughter passes away, yet he plays a few days later in the Euro 08.
Knishes?! Bwahahaha….thanks for the chuckle.
Not amazed at all of Tevez’s form. He’s always on. MU screwed up big time letting him go.
Hull is not taking Mido– just Zaki.
Bolton is still talking with Holden.
and a better coach and better players in general.
SBI came back after and said that report was unsubstantiated and couldn’t back it up with any other stories than the Mirror.
hull doesnt need another striker. they need a better midfield
:)) we are in agreement then :))
http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2010/01/report-bolton-passes-on-holden-who-is-set-to-sign-with-braga.html
So Zaki is the guy who wont play with jews or algerians right?
I predict he will get pelted with knishes the first game he plays.
Please, oh please, let him be in the picture whenever they unfurl those mindless Say No To campaign banners before a game.
He could play football and find out if they are alive. Him going to Haiti to look for them is against advise I would offer the young man. He is not qualified in the field of search and rescue. If he is concerned I would advise him to hire someone to look for him.
“You are too expensive; this is equivalent to the economic theory question “should Michael Jordan cut his own grass?” Yes, he may be best at it, but the opportunity cost is too high and he should hire a street kid.”
only a wakeup call if he starts producing. if he doesnt do anything for the team, as all the forwards have done this season, then i dont see it anymore of a threat then whats already there.
im sure jozy already knows he needs to start producing, at which point im certain he’s trying to produce.
Goff reported last night that Holden failed to secure a contract with Bolton. Is that consistent with what SBI knows? There has been some different reports and I wasn’t sure what was the latest. Thanks in advance.
2-2 now. Milner scores a pen.
Nevermind, already have. Would be great to see Guzan get a trophy.
Too bad Stu Holden isn’t dressing for Bolton. taking it to Arsenal right now.
That’s terrible for Villa & Guzan. Down 2-1 on aggregate, and now losing on away goals. They have to get two here.
Guzan saved brilliantly on a point blank header but had no chance on the rebound. 2-0.
Good point. (*rimshot*)
Otergod, not my point..I really don’t expect Zaki to do much at all (or Mido for that matter) My point is that Jozy needs to see the willingness of Brown to bring in forwards as a wake up for his poor production. I agree with you that he has not had the midield support that he needs, maybe when Bullard is back that will change. Evidently Brown, by his actions so far this transfer window, sees nothing wrong with his midfield 🙂
didnt Villareal just lose a forward?? wouldnt be the worst thing in the world to see him go back to spain.
you must be assuming Zaki will even produce for Hull. Big if seeing as none of their current forwards are putting forth much of anything. Perhaps we should look to the midfield first. Jozy should have put some of his chances away, but i would say the midfield need to be better in all ways
wow, thats a dickish thing to say. He hadnt heard from family members for days, and you ask why he took time on leave??
you must hate your family if you’d choose playing a football match over finding out if they are even alive.
Guzan doesn’t do well on a corner. Blackburn leads 1-0.
Why does Guardiola want to leave in the near future?
Why would they ditch him? Brown will at least keep him for depth purposes….
Not going well for Altidore, can’t believe he doesn’t have a goal in league play yet.
I’m sorry, but, I found Neville’s hand gesture to Tevez to be quite hilarious.
Neville stays classy as always.
I guess it all depends how strong his roots are. Some people come to America and let their roots go. Others never let go. Maybe Jozy is closer to his familiy than the others NFL players.
I can’t believe that system of relegation and promotion leaves a team not being able to pay its bills. Who would have thought that system stinks ?
I am thinking that Hull will terminate Altidore’s loan deal.
So let me get this straight how the hands of players will be judged. A player will get punished for using his hand for gesturing but another player will not get punished for using his hand to score a game winning goal.
Time is not on Jozy’s side. He needs to knuckle down and start producing. Zaki certainly should be seen as a wake-up call for him, but that’s all. Zaki has a terrible reputation as a “team player” and probably will only be at Hull till the end of the season. At worst he will eat into Jozy’s playing time. Also a worry is that Brown will bring in Mido from Middlesboro.
Its a bad time for Jozy to hit a bad spot, but IMO he will respond and be OK.
Ives: what are the circumstances surrounding Jozy’s loan deal from Villarreal? In your opinion will they be willing to extend the loan contract with Hull or are they likely to shop him around again?
Really??? Maybe because he has multiple family members still missing in Haiti and he is worried about their status. Life is bigger than football sometimes!
I don’t understand why he would be on leave. Okay, his homeland suffered a major earthquake but over the weekend other Haitian athletes participated in the NFL playoffs. I really think Jozy is over-rated. He has potential but when I watch him play, he seems to not put in 100%, except for the Spain & CR matches.
Definitely worried about Zaki taking minutes from Jozy. Does anyone know if Jozy will be playing on Saturday? Or is he still on leave?