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Monday Kickoff: Luiz questions Mourinho’s ‘special’ label; Zola fired by Cagliari; and more

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By RYAN TOLMICH

Jose Mourinho has long been regarded as “The Special One”, but David Luiz doesn’t believe that the Chelsea manager lives up to the monicker.

The Paris Saint-Germain defender, who played under Mourinho at Chelsea last season, says he does not believe that Mourinho is “special”. The Portuguese manager previously claimed that Luiz would not be missed at Chelsea following his departure to PSG, and Luiz is responded by stating that Mourinho is viewed more favorably by the media then him.

“He is special for you, not for me,” Luiz said. “I had some great moments at Chelsea and won a lot of titles. I was very happy.

“They are having a great season, defend well and have great players but above all I know my team. We will try to score there and play like we know how. We will have a good game plan and implement it the best way possible to achieve a great performance. Both can still qualify.”

Here are some more news and notes to kick off your Monday:

CAGLIARI FIRE ZOLA

Gianfranco Zola’s legendary status as a player was not enough to save his mangerial role at Cagliari.

Cagliari announced Monday that the club has fired Zola, who took charge of the club in December. The club, only four points from the relegation zone, is set to bring back Zdenek Zeman, who preceded Zola in the role.

“Cagliari Calcio announces that it has dismissed Gianfranco Zola and his staff from the technical guidance of the first team,” the club said. “This decision was made reluctantly, in respect of a great man who wrote unforgettable pages in the history of Cagliari, bringing lustre and prestige to Sardinia.

“He and his staff depart with thanks for the work done in recent months, carried out with dedication, professionalism and passion. We wish him heartfelt good luck for the rest of his career.”

Zeman’s return comes as little surprise, as the club is obligated to pay his wages for the remainder of the season regardless.

PULIS BASHES VILLA PARK PITCH INVASION

West Brom manager Tony Pulis is far from happy with the events that transpired following his side’s 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in this past weekend’s FA Cup action.

Fans stormed the field in the game’s closing moments in an act that Pulis called “disgraceful”. The FA is currently investigating the invasion.

“It’s disgraceful. We don’t want to see those scenes,” Pulis said. “They’ve beaten us and for that to happen, that’s just mindless idiots. If you’re Villa, you need to look at the stewards as they came over to our fans and there was nobody there.”

“It’s a quarterfinal of the FA Cup, a full house, you know it’s going to be tasty. You should have stewards but the hierarchy at Villa should recognize the need for stewards both ends of the pitch. It puts the players at danger and we don’t want to see that. We were seeing it in the 1970s and ’80s and we don’t want to get back to that.”

QUICK KICKS

Tim Cahill’s Shanghai Shenua captured a 6-1 derby victory over Shanghai Shenxin in the Australian’s club debut. (REPORT)

Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos are both set to return for Real Madrid. (REPORT)

Cologne’s Anthony Ujah has apologized for his celebrating “too hard” with the club’s mascot, a goat named Hennes. (REPORT)

Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel has been deemed to be not seriously injured after being stretchered off from Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Blackburn Rovers. (REPORT)

What do you think of Luiz’s comments? What do you think of Zola’s firing? How should the FA handle the pitch invasion?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. It’s more disgraceful that Tim Sherwood had no issues with the invasion. He said he can understand the emotion? His players even talked of being scared.

    Reply
  2. Cologne’s Anthony Ujah has apologized for his celebrating “too hard” with the club’s mascot, a goat named Hennes.

    Just watched the video to this. Pretty funny and random.

    Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel has been deemed to be not seriously injured after being stretchered off from Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Blackburn Rovers.

    Skrtel is a warrior but that guy is always getting injured or has various bandages on his body.

    Reply

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