Pogba’s World Cup-winning boots sell for 30,000 euros

Paris (AFP) – The football boots with which Paul Pogba effectively won the World Cup for France last year were sold for 30,000 euros ($33,470) at a Paris auction on Monday.

The Manchester United midfielder, who scored France’s third goal in the 4-2 victory over Croatia, had donated them to a French charity which helps high school students from tough areas.

Christie’s auction house had hoped that the boots would go for between 35,000 and 50,000 euros.

Pogba, who grew up on a deprived estate in the Paris suburbs, also donated the France shirt he wore during the team’s victory over Iceland in the Euro 2016 quarter final, in which he also scored.

It sold for 4,000 euros — four times the estimation.

And another shirt which he wore in a 2017 World Cup qualification game against Holland went for three times its estimate at 3,000 euros.

The gifted midfielder’s uneven form for Manchester United has made him a target for criticism, which may explain why a shirt he wore for the club in a game against West Ham in 2017 only sold for 400 euros. 

And a number of other shirts did not sell at all, including one he wore for the Italian club Juventus in their Champions League victory over Manchester City in 2015.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2ZN0ttJ

United’s Bailly to miss Africa Cup of Nations

London (AFP) – Manchester United’s Eric Bailly will miss the rest of the Premier League season and the Africa Cup of Nations after the Ivory Coast defender suffered a knee injury against Chelsea, the Red Devils announced on Monday.

Bailly sustained medial ligament damage in a collision with Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic in the second half of Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

The 25-year-old was making his first Premier League start since February 3 but now he will be sidelined for the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts on June 21 in Egypt.

Ivory Coast were drawn in a group featuring Morocco, South Africa and Namibia.

“We can confirm that Manchester United defender Eric Bailly suffered a medial ligament injury on his right knee during Sunday’s Premier League match against Chelsea at Old Trafford,” a United statement read.

“The problem means that the Ivory Coast international will not play for the Reds again this season, missing the remaining top-flight matches against Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City. 

“Furthermore, Bailly is also now unable to play in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament.”

Bailly has made 18 appearances for his club this season and his absence is another blow for United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Phil Jones and Chris Smalling both missed the Chelsea match due to fitness concerns, meaning Victor Lindelof and Marcos Rojo could be United’s only fit central defenders for this weekend’s trip to Huddersfield.

Solskjaer’s side are three points adrift of the Premier League’s top four with just two games left as they battle to qualify for the Champions League.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2UNnYic

‘To infinity and beyond’: Pochettino dreaming of Champions League glory

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino has told Tottenham to shrug off the absence of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min as they prepare to face Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

Kane headlines a lengthy injury list also including Erik Lamela and Harry Winks, while Son is suspended.

But having upset the odds to end Manchester City’s quest for a quadruple of trophies in the quarter-finals, manager Pochettino insisted Spurs’ strength as a collective can overcome Ajax’s talented group of rising stars.

“To be in a Champions League semi-final is something I dreamed about. You need to settle your dreams, to infinity and beyond,” Pochettino said at his pre-match press conference on Monday ahead of Tottenham’s first European Cup semi-final since 1962.

“The chance to play a semi-final for Tottenham has not happened often. We are in a circumstance that is not going to change and we must be ready

“It is impossible to be tired, impossible to not be excited to play. I am sure there is no doubt we will have the energy for 90 minutes.”

However, while Pochettino’s stretched squad were slipping to a sixth defeat in their last 10 Premier League games to West Ham on Saturday, Ajax have had a full week to rest as the entire Dutch league calendar for the weekend was postponed to allow them extra time to prepare.

Without Kane, who is not expected to return this season unless Spurs make it to the Champions League final on June 1, Tottenham’s goals have dried up since a thrilling 4-3 defeat in the second leg of their quarter-final at City was enough to progress on away goals.

Christian Eriksen’s late strike to secure a 1-0 victory over Brighton on Tuesday was Spurs’ only goal in their past three games.

Son’s absence means Pochettino is robbed of another goal threat, with Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente his only striking options.

However, the Argentine said Spurs’ teamwork can compensate for that lack of firepower.

“I think the point is that we arrive where we are now because we were a team and we are going to be a team,” he said.

“I don’t care who is going to score. Always it’s an issue to not have all the players fit, but in front of any name was the team, the collective.”

Pochettino also played down any suggestion that Kane could return in time for the second leg if the tie is still alive heading to the Johan Cruyff Arena next week.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2Wi0bZG

Dortmund handed title blow as Reus slapped with two-game ban

Berlin (AFP) – Marco Reus will miss two of Borussia Dortmund’s remaining three games in the Bundesliga title race after being slapped with a suspension by the German Football Association (DFB) following his sending off in Saturday’s derby defeat to Schalke. 

The DFB’s announcement on Monday means the Dortmund captain will return for his side’s visit to Borussia Moenchengladbach on the last day of the season, by which time the destination of the title could already be decided.

Dortmund will travel to Werder Bremen and host Fortuna Duesseldorf without Reus in the next two weeks, as they look to make up a two-point gap between themselves and league leaders Bayern Munich.

The Dortmund captain was given a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Suat Serdar during Dortmund’s shock 4-2 loss to local rivals Schalke.

Reus’ team mate Marius Wolf, who was also sent off on Saturday for a similar challenge on Serdar, will be suspended until the end of the season.

The DFB said that they had handed a more severe ban to Wolf because, unlike Reus, he had not had “no chance of reaching the ball with his tackle”. 

After Dortmund’s defeat to Schalke, Bayern missed the chance to go four points clear when they were held to a draw at Nuremberg on Sunday.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2DP16JV

De Gea’s latest blunder puts United goalkeeper in spotlight

London (AFP) – David de Gea’s forlorn expression in the final seconds of Manchester United’s damaging draw against Chelsea laid bare the error-prone goalkeeper’s despair after his latest costly blunder.

De Gea has been in dismal form and the Spaniard’s troubled season took another turn for the worse at Old Trafford on Sunday.

When Antonio Rudiger tried his luck with a long-range drive, the Chelsea defender’s hopeful effort should have been a routine save for De Gea.

But instead, reflecting his chronic lack of form and confidence, the Spaniard allowed the ball to slip from his grasp into the path of Marcos Alonso, who took full advantage to score Chelsea’s equaliser.

United were unable to recover from that blow as Chelsea held on for a 1-1 draw that kept them three points ahead of their rivals in the race to finish in the Premier League’s top four.

If they do miss out on a Champions League place, many will point the finger at De Gea, who has gone from United’s sturdy last line of defence to one of their weakest links in recent months.

De Gea’s body language, hands on his hips and head down in the waning moments of the Chelsea game made it clear he knew the full extent of the damage done by yet another howler.

Statistics show he has made three errors leading to goals in his past four games, as many as in his previous 123 matches for United. 

He has not kept a clean sheet for two months and is the first United goalkeeper to concede 50 goals in a league season for 40 years.

It is a remarkable fall from grace for the 28-year-old, who went to last year’s World Cup widely regarded as one of the best keepers on the planet.

De Gea has been voted United’s player of the year in four of the past five seasons, leading to repeated links with a potential move to Real Madrid.

But the seeds of his downfall were planted in Russia, where a series of substandard displays appeared to take a toll on his morale.

Letting Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot past his body for a late Portugal equaliser opened the floodgates as De Gea conceded six goals in four matches, making just a single save in the whole tournament.

Returning to a United team already in turmoil due to the toxic relationship between Jose Mourinho and his players was hardly the calm environment De Gea needed to restore his equilibrium.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2DANfXi

Van Dijk not eying Messi’s crown as world’s best

London (AFP) – Virgil van Dijk was crowned the Premier League’s Player of the Year by his peers on Sunday, but the Liverpool defender insists he is not thinking of battling Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d’Or.

Van Dijk will come up against the five-time Ballon d’Or winner when Liverpool travel to Barcelona for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

Messi has scored 46 goals this season as Barca have wrapped up another La Liga title with three games to spare and remain on course for a treble of league, Copa del Rey and Champions League.

“That’s not something that’s on my mind at all,” said Van Dijk at the prospect of rivalling Messi.

“There are currently players walking around in this football world that are out of this world basically and they’ve been doing it for many years. 

“I’m very happy how I perform at the moment, how consistent I’m performing, that I’m fit as well. I think I just need to not look too far ahead.”

Liverpool head to the Camp Nou on a run of 10 consecutive wins in all competitions, but have still not been able to usurp Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp’s men trail the champions by one point with two games to play and face a tricky trip to Newcastle sandwiched between both legs of their semi-final with Barcelona.

“Right now we’re in a tight title race, in the Champions League semi-finals against a fantastic team, where probably the best players are playing so we just take it game by game,” added Van Dijk.

“For us, now it’s time to focus on Barcelona midweek and then we have a big game at Newcastle away as well.

“I won’t look too far ahead and the only goals I will set are personal goals with Liverpool.”

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2UNm3KD

‘1500 tourists’ — Bayern and Dortmund exchange title race verbals

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was involved in a war of the words with Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke this weekend as a thrilling Bundesliga title race took another unexpected turn. 

Reigning champions Bayern remain on course to wrap up a seventh successive title, but missed the chance to pull clear of Dortmund as both sides dropped points this weekend. 

Ahead of Saturday’s derby with Schalke, Dortmund CEO Watzke claimed that “70 percent of Germans” wanted his club to win the title, and that hardly anybody would turn up to celebrate if Bayern were crowned champions.

“When they celebrate in the (Munich central square) Marienplatz, there will be about 3000 people and maybe 1500 tourists there.”

“In Dortmund, the title celebration is another thing entirely.”

Watzke’s side promptly lost 4-2 to rivals Schalke, giving Bayern the chance to pull four points clear on Sunday, and Bayern sporting director Salihamidzic couldn’t resist a sarcastic response.

“Maybe we will invite Mr Watzke to our title celebration, then he will see that there are many thousands of people there,” he told Sky on Sunday.

Yet Salihamidzic was also forced to eat his words after Bayern were held to a 1-1 draw by strugglers Nuremberg.

Bayern are now two points ahead of Dortmund with three games to go, and still have to face top four sides RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt. 

Dortmund coach Lucien Favre declared the title race over after Saturday’s crushing derby defeat, but Watzke contradicted him on Sunday.

“We will only give up when we have no mathematical chance anymore, we owe that to the fans,” he told kicker magazine. 

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2ZJAKCg