Roma counting on Dzeko-inspired miracle against Liverpool

Rome (AFP) – Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco said Tuesday he is counting on another Edin Dzeko-inspired miracle against Liverpool to reach the Champions League final.

Trailing 5-2 after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, Roma need to score at least three goals at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday to reach the May 26 final in Kiev.

Dzeko scored a crucial, late away goal in the 4-1 quarter-final first leg defeat at Barcelona and the opening goal of Roma’s 3-0 second leg win at the Stadio Olimpico that saw the Italians through on away goals.

The Bosnian handed Roma another lifeline with an 81st strike after Liverpool had romped to a five-goal lead at Anfield last week, Diego Perotti adding a precious second from the spot four minutes later to keep Roma’s final hopes alive.

“Players with his (Dzeko) qualities must be decisive as (Mohamed) Salah was in the first leg,” said Di Francesco.

Former Roma forward Salah tore through his former club at Anfield, scoring twice and setting up two more goals.

“We can’t change a team just for him (Salah) or put three players on him, we have to be good at raising the athletic level, giving little, but remembering that we have to score three goals. 

“We were at the mercy of Liverpool for 25 minutes and that cannot happen. We want to try and do something big in a stadium with 70,000 people.

“If I could, I would copy and paste that performance against Barcelona, not just technically but on a mental and physical level,” he added, of their comeback from 4-1 down against the Spaniards last month to reach the semi-finals.

“The desire to make another miracle happen must push us all to give that extra something.”

Bosnian forward Dzeko has scored 24 goals this season for Roma in all competitions, and Radja Nainggolan warned he was ready to break his European drought.

“I’ve never scored in the Champions League, maybe I’ll break through tomorrow,” said the Belgian. 

“We will try to complete another comeback, and although it will be complicated I’m the type of person who never likes the simple way.”

Dutch defensive midfielder Kevin Strootman however has been ruled out with a leg injury.

Roma lost the European Cup final to Liverpool 34 years ago, but Di Francesco warned: “The 1984 final is in the hearts of the people, but they are two games that cannot be compared.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s assistant Zeljko Buvac stepped aside this week for personal reason, and Di Francesco joked: “I’ve kicked out my assistant too to make it even!

“It’s internal stuff, I’m not preparing the game based on that. We’ll face a strong and determined team which represents a great club, one with a great history in Europe.

“I don’t think one staff member can make a difference.”

Off-pitch tensions are also high as Liverpool supporter Sean Cox lies in a coma after being attacked before last week’s first leg in Anfield.

“There are bad apples among all fans,” said Di Francesco. “I’ve already said that I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Sean Cox and his family and I’m against all forms of violence, like we all are here.

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Rangers sack Murty as Gerrard speculation swirls

London (AFP) – Scottish Premiership giants Rangers sacked manager Graeme Murty on Tuesday, with Liverpool youth coach Steven Gerrard widely tipped to be his successor at Ibrox.

Murty was only meant to be a short-term fix after being called in as caretaker boss following Pedro Caixinha’s sacking in October but he ended up staying in the post for six months.

Ibrox chiefs, who have been in talks with former Liverpool and England midfielder Gerrard for the past week, say they hope to be able to release details about Murty’s successor “in the near future”.

Gerrard, 37, hung up his boots in 2016 after a 12-month stint with LA Galaxy and now manages the Liverpool under-18s 

Rangers’ 5-0 league humbling on Sunday by Old Firm rivals Celtic, who wrapped up their seventh consecutive Premiership title, came just two weeks after a 4-0 drubbing by Brendan Rodgers’ side in the Scottish Cup semi-finals.

Rangers are third in the Premiership table, with only goal difference separating them from fourth-placed Hibernian.

Murty took over on an interim basis for the second time in October before being told in December he would remain in charge until this summer.

But two days on from Sunday’s Parkhead mauling, the 43-year-old was called into a meeting with managing director Stewart Robertson to be told he was being sacked.

“Rangers are grateful to Graeme, who did not hesitate when asked last October to become interim manager after the departure of Pedro Caixinha and then, at the turn of the year, when he was offered the role as manager until the end of the season,” the club said in a statement.

“Graeme has had to contend with difficult and challenging circumstances but conducted himself in a thoroughly professional manner. He will take some time to consider his options, which include returning to his role at the Rangers Academy.”

Assistant coaches Jimmy Nicholl and Jonatan Johansson will take charge of the club’s three remaining league fixtures, starting with Kilmarnock’s visit to Ibrox on Saturday.

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Liverpool great McDermott to sell European Cup medals

London (AFP) – Liverpool great Terry McDermott is selling his three European Cup winners’ medals just days before his former club look set to appear in the Champions League final.

The 66-year-old former England midfielder will also put up for sale five league winners medals and his player awards at British auction house Sotheby’s on May 22, according to Britain’s Sun newspaper.

McDermott won both the Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Writers’ Association awards in 1980. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who won the FWA award on Tuesday, has emulated that feat this season.

McDermott, who scored the opener in Liverpool’s 1977 European Cup final win over Borussia Moenchengladbach and was pivotal in the 1978 and 1981 wins over Bruges and Real Madrid, said he does not need the money.

It is hoped the auction will raise £150,000 ($205,000) — less than the reported weekly salary of £185,000 that Salah would receive in a new deal.

“I might get some stick for it in Liverpool but I don’t really care,” he told the Sun.

“I don’t need the money. But I don’t need medals to be proud of what I’ve done. I already know — and that will not go away.

“I’ve got three kids who are doing very nicely, but I want to give them something before I die. They can pay off the mortgage,” added McDermott, who was capped 25 times.

Liverpool are hot favourites to reach the Champions League final in Kiev on May 26, taking a 5-2 lead into the second leg of their semi-final against Roma on Wednesday.

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Wembley needs England games, says prospective owner

London (AFP) – Billionaire American businessman Shahid Khan says England “must play” at Wembley or the stadium will lose its soul as he presses his bid to buy the home of the national team.

The flamboyant Khan, who made his fortune in the car parts business, has made an offer to buy the stadium from the Football Association (FA), with reports saying the bid is worth around £1 billion ($1.4 billion).

The 67-year-old owner of NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars and English championship side Fulham, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper that it was vital the stadium continued to host the national team’s matches.

“England must play there,” said Pakistan-born Khan, whose Jaguars team have played several times at Wembley. “Otherwise it will be a shell. It would be like an empty suit that doesn’t have soul.”

“We don’t want the FA abandoning us,” added Khan, whose Fulham side are chasing promotion to the Premier League. “Even though the FA captures the revenue from the games, it injects the soul, the passion into the venue that adds value.”

“We want the FA to be there, we want the England football games. Other than that the steel and the concrete is not worth £600 million-plus, plus to us.”

Khan also said that buying Wembley would be beneficial to any potential World Cup bid.

“Our role would be to provide a world-class venue,” he told the BBC website. “(The FA) will have a pool of money of about £600 million that can be invested into the core mission of the FA, which is English football and their ultimate goal of winning a World Cup.

“Wembley is a great stadium and you want to get it configured to hold Super Bowl and World Cup finals.”

Wembley, which has a 90,000-capacity, was reopened in 2007 after the FA’s seven-year, £757 million-rebuild of the home of English football.

The current version of Wembley, famous for its iconic arch, replaced the original venue, which was renowned for its twin towers on one side of the stadium.

Wembley has staged the FA Cup final since the old stadium opened in 1923 and has hosted some of football’s most celebrated matches, including England’s 1966 World Cup final victory and seven European Cup finals.

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On his home turf in Egypt, everyone wants piece of Liverpool’s Salah

Cairo (AFP) – Patriotic statements, flashy commercials and an anti-drug campaign: Mohamed Salah’s dazzling displays for Liverpool have taken the football world by storm, and on his home turf in Egypt seemingly everyone wants a piece of him.

Salah has shot to stardom thanks to his goal-scoring exploits in England and Europe, and senior Egyptian officials increasingly refer to the player — although he has carefully steered clear of politics.

Last month foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid went so far as to call him “an icon of Egypt’s soft power”.

Abu Zeid made the comment on Twitter after Salah scored a brace and set up two more goals as Liverpool beat AS Roma 5-2 in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Anfield last week.

The second leg takes place on Wednesday night in the Italian capital.

The remarkable game prompted President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to also congratulate the flying forward.

“What he has accomplished calls for pride and affirms Egyptians’ capabilities in all fields… Proud of him every Egyptian who holds Egypt’s name high,” Sisi tweeted.

Salah the “Pharaoh” represents an opportunity for the country to improve its image internationally after years of turmoil in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.

– ‘Global face’ –

The fact that “an athlete at that level penetrates the media wall and becomes a face known globally inevitably reflects… on his home country,” said Pascal Boniface, director of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.

From the modest village of Nagrig in the Nile Delta, Salah has catapulted to worldwide fame since his arrival last summer in England from AS Roma in a transfer deal worth 42 million euros.

Awards have since piled up, leading to talk of him challenging Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for the 2018 Ballon d’Or, given to the world’s best player.

On April 22, Salah scooped the Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year for the 2017-18 Premier League season.

Salah also became a national hero for his leading role in helping Egypt to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.

The competition kicks off on June 14 in Russia, and the eyes of all Egyptians are expected to be on him.

But Boniface remains sceptical of how successful attempts would be to use Salah politically on the international stage.

Such attempts would be “very exposed” and similar “to the old ways of propaganda,” he said.

On the other hand, the prodigy can give a significant boost to Egyptians’ “national self esteem”, he said.

In Egypt, images of President Sisi abound in public, with Salah the only other person coming close to having as many appear on advertising billboards, television screens and online.

Pictured alone or alongside his Egyptian or Liverpool teammates, Salah features prominently in adverts for a mobile telecoms company, a brand of soda or a local bank.

At the same time, he has publicly supported a campaign by the National Council for Women promoting gender equality, and appears in a government video for an anti-drug campaign.

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Man Utd have laid down marker for next season, says Young

London (AFP) – Ashley Young believes Manchester United have laid down a marker for next season at their end of a frustrating Premier League campaign that Manchester City turned into a procession.

Jose Mourinho’s men are on track to end a third successive season with a major trophy, with the FA Cup final against Chelsea a chance to build on what looks set to be their best league finish since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

United boss Jose Mourinho is determined to wrap up second spot behind City but full-back Young, who has impressed this term, regrets chances missed.

Sunday’s 2-1 win against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal came after victories against City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool over the past couple of months.

“We want to keep winning,” full-back Young said. “We want to keep up the momentum to the end of the season and the FA Cup final.

“We have to put down a marker for next season with the way we perform from now on. It is building towards next season.

“It has been one of those seasons when around Christmas we were drawing games, late goals against us and, when you look back at those kinds of games, then you think the season could have been different.”

Young said United had made a statement with their wins against the other top sides but also had to improve results against other clubs.

“If we can finish with the number of points we know we can, then it is a different season and that points total that would have won us the league, but it is not to be,” he said.

Young’s cross set up the winner as United beat Arsenal on Sunday, continuing a fine season that has put him in the frame for a place in England’s World Cup squad.

“I still have the hunger and desire to win the same as I had when I was 21,” he said. “I am nearly 33 now and getting on a bit, but I still have that hunger and desire to go out and play every game.

“I know my legs can still take me through games and I have shown that with the number of games I have played this season.”

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Bayern need ‘cool heads and hot hearts’ to shock Real: chairman

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich need “cool heads and hot hearts” if they are to learn from Juventus and pull off an unlikely Champions League victory at Real Madrid, says chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Bayern face an uphill task in Tuesday’s semi-final second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium after losing 2-1 in Munich last Wednesday when a defensive slip let Marco Asensio hit the winner.

To compound their problems, Bayern have lost both key defender Jerome Boateng and creative winger Arjen Robben with groin injuries.

Nevertheless, the Germans jetted to Madrid on Monday determined to pull off an unlikely win.

They can take solace from Juventus who went down fighting with a 3-1 win in Madrid in the quarter-finals after losing 3-0 in Turin, bowing out 4-3 on aggregate.

“Juve are a good example of putting pressure on Real in Madrid,” said Rummenigge.

“We need cool heads and hot hearts.”

Defender Niklas Suele, who will step in for Boateng at centre-back, added: “It’s a difficult starting position, but we trust ourselves to do it.

“It will be important to switch well between attack and defence.

“We also did well against (Cristiano) Ronaldo (who failed to score) in the first leg.”

– Pressure to score –

Rummenigge says the loss of Boateng and Robben gives their replacements the chance to step up and shine.

“Boateng and Robben will not make the trip and we can’t change that,” said Rummenigge.

“I think lamenting makes no sense, we have other players who can step in.

“When I look at the development of Niklas Suele, that’s been top notch.

“Whoever stands on the pitch will have to go to their limits if we want to be successful.”

Bayern must score at least two goals to have any chance of reaching the final on May 26 in Kiev.

“We’re confident,” said right-back Joshua Kimmich, who scored in the first leg.

“We did not play at our top level and still had some chances.

“The aim is to score two goals and conceding wouldn’t change much.”

In the first leg, the Germans were kicking themselves for converting just one of their 17 shots on goal, compared to Real’s seven, two of which Marcelo and Asensio put away.

“We will get some chances and when we get them, we will have to use them,” said Bayern president Uli Hoeness.

Rummenigge defended Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski, who was criticised in the German media for struggling in front of goal in the first leg.

“I find this discussion ridiculous, as we all actually find it ridiculous at Bayern Munich,” fumed Rummenigge, a former striker.

“He has scored 39 goals again this year and we are glad that he is with us and that next year he will play with us.”

Rummenigge pointed to legendary Bayern striker Gerd Mueller, who scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany in the 1970s. 

“He (Lewandowski) is a goal machine and I can remember Gerd Mueller for example, who is the number one in all (goal) statistics, not only at Bayern Munich, but throughout Germany.

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