La Liga
Why Coutinho is Perfect Fit for Barcelona
BY SAM FRANSISCO.
With the Catalan Giants, FC Barcelona reportedly having seen a $72 million bid rejected for the Brazilian star Philippe Coutinho by Liverpool, they shouldn’t relent on all efforts to get the midfielder as he is custom made for their style of play
Coutinho is Barcelona’s key target this summer but Liverpool aren’t budging in their stance that the player isn’t for sale, given that he is the nexus of the Anfield outfit’s attack, but like we all know in football, everyone is for sale at the right price.
The Spanish outfit should put out all stops to get the 25-year-old nicknamed the ‘Little Magician’ because of his amazing blend of pace, trickery and ability to hit absolute screamers from seemingly anywhere along the frontline.
Now why should they spend over and beyond for Countinho?
First they need a creative midfielder following Xavi’s departure and Iniesta’s decline due to age, Lionel Messi has tried to fill that role playing in the midfield just behind Neymar and Luis Suarez, but it has actually hurt them more than helped them in the previous season.
Coutinho fits this bill as he takes some of the creative burden away from the diminutive Argentinean and allows him to flourish, he has also proven he can play in the high press and possession oriented style of play Jurgen Klopp has introduced to Liverpool.
Secondly Coutinho is an intelligent footballer and his vision and ability to pick a pass even in tight spaces should prove invaluable to the Camp Nou outfit given they have the most deadly attacking trio world football has ever seen.
Ivan Rakitic or even Arda Turan have not been able to plug that gap between defence and attack and Barcelona urgently needs someone who can pick a pass and also is a threat right from midfield.
This was evident against Juventus in the quarterfinals of Europe’s elite club competition last season as Barcelona struggled to carve open a resolute defence, baring this deficiency and lack of creativity- and in Coutinho they might just solve that problem.
Lastly the dedication and commitment of the Little Magician to his game is without question and he doesn’t have a reputation of being rebellious or associated with any kind of trouble,
He is also quite adept in fulfilling any role assigned to him across the midfield, this in itself is a rarity that most footballers don’t posses and why Ernesto Valverde cannot and should not let him slip.
Some might argue he doesn’t score a lot of goals but the beauty of this union is Barcelona doesn’t need him to score goals, they just need him to provide them and that he is very capable of.
It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.
Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.
Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.
Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.
A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.
Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.
Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
-AFP
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-
-Reuters
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
The league title will be icing on Soname’s birthday cake on Sunday
As major global sporting events beckon, Morocco’s monarch launches the Kenitra-Marrakech High-Speed rail project
Nigeria Premier League attains a crescendo this weekend
- WOMEN'S FOOTBALL7 days ago
Naira rain falls on Nigeria’s Flamingos after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria
- OBITUARY4 days ago
NFF mourns the demise of former FIFA referee, Bosede Momoh
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Financial rainfall awaits Nigeria’s Flamingos for every goal scored in Algeria
- U-17 AFCON7 days ago
Morocco crowned CAF U-17 AFCON champions after dramatic penalty shootout win over Mali
- U-20 FOOTBALL6 days ago
Nigeria begin CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations title chase with Tunisian clash
- Nigerian Football6 days ago
Remo Stars maintain ‘7Up’ lead over Rivers United
- feature4 days ago
Ghana’s Cardinal, Appiah Turkson, listed as a possible Pope
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Former WAFU President, Ogufere mourns Christian Chukwu