by ·Comments Off on Carlos Tevez urges Lionel Messi to prolong his international career

Carlos Tevez has highlighted that Lionel Messi remains a key player for Argentina going forward and has urged his compatriot to continue playing for the national team despite their early exit from the World Cup. The Argentines struggled to keep a clean sheet during the recent World Cup finals in Russia and they were eventually ousted by France during the round of 16 of the tournament.

 

Since then, there have been plenty of suggestions that Messi could call time on his international career permanently after prematurely doing the same in 2016 but Tevez has urged his countrymate to continue to take charge on the pitch, he told ESPN: “I think Leo has to think about himself. He has to think that, if there is not a project that makes him happy and in which he feels comfortable, it is very difficult to take the responsibility of leading Argentina to become champions by himself.  I think we are wrong in not being able to help him feel comfortable. We need him because he is the soul of Argentina and, as long as he continues playing football, it has to be that way. Now [I tell him] to rest, keep a cool head and try to be well, then we need him to take charge and on the pitch.”
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by ·Comments Off on Argentina part ways with Jorge Sampaoli

Argentina have confirmed that they have mutually parted ways with Jorge Sampaoli following a disappointing World Cup campaign. The South Americans had to scrape through the group stages of the tournament but they were thereafter eliminated in the round of 16 stage where they lost 4-3 to eventual champions France.

As a result, there had been much pressure from the country’s faithful demanding the resignation of Sampaoli and the Argentine Football Association has now confirmed that the 58-year-old has been released from the head coach position, their statement read: “Today, the Argentine Football Association and the former national team coach, Jorge Sampaoli, have mutually agreed to the termination of their contract.”
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by ·Comments Off on Jorge Sampaoli not underestimating Iceland ahead of the opener

Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli has stressed that he is not underestimating the strength of Iceland after deciding to announce the starting line-up, a day before the encounter. The pair are expected to tussle during the opening World Cup game in Group D and Sampaoli has explained that he does not need to hide the line-up which has supposedly been leaked.

He said: “No, no, no, the reason why we have named our team in advance is because we knew since Wednesday what we wanted to do.I’ve told you today because we have trained with the starting XI and I don’t believe it’s necessary to hide this information.We know Iceland’s main man, their captain [Aron Gunnarsson], is recovering from injury but they play well as a group and I’m sure it’s going to be very tough against them.They defend in depth and will probably play on the counter attack. Iceland will be a tough team to beat.”
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by ·Comments Off on Hernan Crespo wants Argentina to progress in World Cup prior to Nigeria challenge

Former Chelsea star Hernan Crespo believes Argentina should try and secure their progress to the last 16 of the World Cup prior to their final group stage game against Nigeria. Speaking to Championat.com, the Argentine admitted that his nation won’t have an easy game against the Super Eagles in Group D and he is hopeful of seeing them qualifying prior to the encounter.

He said: “In 1999, I played in Moscow in the final of the UEFA Cup. And in St. Petersburg for the first time. Today the weather is fine, and I really like that there are so many enthusiasts here who have such a passion for football. And I’m very glad to be here, to share joy with everyone. The match against Nigeria in Petersburg will be difficult, but we in Argentina hope that by this time we will qualify for the second round ahead of schedule. I would like to see Messi win the World Cup as part of the national team.”
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by ·Comments Off on Pep Guardiola Confirms Argentine Striker Should Return For The World Cup

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Sergio Aguero should return to full fitness ahead of this summer’s World Cup finals in Russia. The Argentine had to undergo a knee surgery shortly after City’s Champions League quarter-final exit to Liverpool but Guardiola expects him to return to a good condition before the World Cup kickstarts in Russia, he said: “I have had information from [Dr Ramon] Cugat that he will arrive okay [at the World Cup].”

Aguero’s position had come into question during the backend of the previous campaign but there have been no such doubts this term. Over the course of the 2017/18 season, Aguero has netted 30 goals for the club, but he has unfortunately been stranded on 199 goals since the League Cup final triumph over Arsenal in February.Continue reading

by ·Comments Off on Ezequiel Garay Has Not Given Up On Representing Argentina

Valencia defender Ezequiel Garay has revealed that he is not giving up on national team selection despite not being considered by Argentina since October 2015. The centre-back last featured for the South American nation during a World Cup qualifier defeat versus Ecuador, and he has since failed to return to national team reckoning.

Sources have since suggested that Garay has snubbed a call-up, but the defence has dismissed this saying: “It’s a question for the Argentina coach. I intend to do things well at my club and after that it depends on the coach. It doesn’t depend on me to decide who goes and who doesn’t. A lot of things were said. Did you hear anything coming out of my mouth? No. Listen… I never gave up. I always believe it’s a dream to be able to play for your country.”

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by ·Comments Off on Jorge Sampaoli Hints Paul Dybala And Mauro Icardi Could Miss World Cup Squad

Argentina head coach Jorge Sampaoli has admitted that the likes of Paulo Dybala and Mauro Icardi could miss out on the World Cup despite impressing for their respective clubs this term. The pair have enjoyed good run of form with Juventus and Inter Milan respectively, but Sampaoli has stressed that they have not been able to replicate the results at the national stage.


Sampaoli said: “It is complicated for Dybala to get used to our system. We couldn’t improve his performances and we have to evaluate if the current players [in this squad] are better than Paulo or if we have to keep working with Paulo to improve his performance. Icardi’s situation is similar to Dybala’s. The transition of Icardi’s performance from Inter to Argentina weren’t the best. I don’t dismiss him, but, as Argentina’s coach I have to focus on performances in the field.”

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by ·Comments Off on Wayne Rooney challenges Liverpool’s attacking trio

Wayne Rooney believes Liverpool’s attacking trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah are still far off from emulating Manchester United’s famous strike force in 2008. Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez formed the attacking trident under Sir Alex Ferguson during the 2007-08 campaign and they went on to win a Champions League and Premier League double that year.


Speaking on Sky Sports, Rooney stressed that the current Reds frontline needs to find success in terms of Premier League medals before they are rated in the same category as United’s famous trio, he said: “I think they are very dangerous, Firmino works very hard to win the ball back and they have a lot of pace.
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by ·Comments Off on Shanghai Shenhua dismisses Carlos Tevez’s Mexico link

Shanghai Shenhua have dismissed speculation linking star forward Carlos Tevez with a move to Mexico. The Argentine has been associated with a switch to Liga MX, where he is a transfer target for giants Tigres, America, and Pumas.

In a report covered by Shanghai Morning Post, Shenhua team manager Mao Yijun appeared to categorically ruled out Tevez’s exit by confirming that the entire squad will link up for the training camp in Spain, he said: “We will head for Spain for a month long preseason training at Marbella on Tuesday morning and all of our foreign players will be there. We will bring 29 Chinese players [to Marbella] this time. With all the foreign players on board, it will be a 34-man squad.”
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by ·Comments Off on Tevez Regards Italian Football as University, Claims Alvaro Morata

Chelsea forward Alvaro Morata says that his interactions with Carlos Tevez have helped him learn a lot. The two players were teammates when the former moved to Juventus in 2014. He was able to become a major hit after scoring 27 goals in two seasons with the Italian outfit. These goals were a major factor behind Juventus reaching the Champions League final and also winning the Italian Serie A title. Tevez is also known for his time at Juventus, and it appears that the Argentine forward has claimed that it really is a top destination for strikers.

The Argentine is currently playing in Chinese football and has the tag of being the best paid player in the world, although these are unconfirmed reports. Morata joined Juventus as a young player and he appears to have learnt a lot from Tevez, who represented the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, and Juventus amongst many other outfits in European football. There is a criticism of Italian football being too slow, but this does not seem to be the case as far as Tevez is concerned. Morata claims that the Argentine was extremely happy with the time spent in Italian football. After having spoken in glorious terms about Italy, Morata refused to rule out a return to Italian football in the future.
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