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Showing posts from June, 2013

Marko Marin seals loan switch from Chelsea to Sevilla

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The 24-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge last summer, during Roberto Di Matteo's tenure, from Werder Bremen for a fee of around £7m. Compatriot Andre Schurrle's recent arrival from Bayer Leverkusen means Marin has fallen further down the pecking order and he has agreed to move to southern Spain to link up with Sevilla, who finished ninth in the 2012/13 La Liga table. After moving to west London he quickly suffered a troublesome hamstring injury and had to wait to regain full fitness to make his competitive debut in the 6-0 Capital One Cup home victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. The German waited even longer to make his first league start for the Blues, with the home derby against Queens Park Rangers in early January ending in a surprise 1-0 defeat. His first competitive goal for Chelsea followed in February's 4-1 win over Wigan Athletic and he went on to make 16 appearances in total last season. New boss Jose Mourinh

Carragher says he can inspire Chelsea to a title challenge

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So I think they've got two of the top players in the league, I'm sure they'll spend money as they always do and they've got the Mourinho factor as well. The players absolutely love and adore him. They all talk about that and you would imagine they would go the extra yard for him. Mourinho has got that thing about him, he's a special manager and he gets special results. I think he could make the difference. Chelsea under Mourinho is box office for the Premier League, for Sky and for all of us really. I really see them fighting for the title now this season. The obvious three will be Chelsea, Man United and Man City. I'd expect those three to be up there, but if Arsenal spend well again - they look like they're going to invest a lot more into it - I'd expect them to get that fourth spot. I see the top three the same as it is now, but I'd expect Chelsea to make a much stronger challenge for the title and maybe just pip Man Un

Carlo Ancelotti is the Right Man to Steer a Unified Real Madrid

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After weeks of negotiations and wrangling, Real Madrid today announced that they have finally got their man and that Carlo Ancelotti has agreed a three-year contract to be the new manager of Los Blancos . The 54-year-old arrives in Spain as a replacement for Jose Mourinho , whose somewhat tumultuous three-year term at the Santiago Bernabeu came to an end last month. After the brashness of the Portuguese, president Florentino Perez is going in a different direction with the more demure Italian. Ancelotti is very much the chalk to Mourinho 's cheese. He's a man who doesn't really care for giving great quotes, for whom press conferences are a pre - and post-game requirement, rather than a chance to impress. However, whilst their perceived personalities may differ greatly, the hiring of Ancelotti is set with the same goal in mind as that of Mourinho : Achieving la decima . Over his distinguished ma

Isco to Real Madrid: Los Blancos Sign Malaga Star

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  Real Madrid have paid €27 million for the Spanish international.  Signing Isco away from Malaga only serves to broaden the gap between superpowers Real Madrid and Barcelona and the rest of La Liga. While Malaga obviously would have loved to retain the budding superstar as he continues developing his game, Isco  was wise to focus on the best course of action for his career—in this case, a move to a club with tremendous talent to put around him. But Isco ’s decision to join Real Madrid instead of Manchester City was particularly surprising given his link to manager Manuel Pellegrini . And it's all the more damaging considering City's recent failed attempts to acquire stars on the transfer market. While Isco had a difficult decision to make, his time away to consider his options had to be an anxious period for the Manchester City boss. As quoted by Jamie Jackson of The Guardian , Isco wanted to take a vacation to decide his future:

Andrey Arshavin rejoins Zenit St Petersburg after leaving Arsenal

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Andrey Arshavin has rejoined his former club Zenit St Petersburg after his contract with Arsenal expired. The 32-year-old Russian forward had been on loan at Zenit for a spell last season after seeing his chances limited at Arsenal, where he had been the club's then record signing in a £15m deadline-day deal in February 2009. Arshavin, who has agreed a two-year deal, said on the Zenit website: "I am very glad that it happened. I am glad to get back to the city. It's good to wear the Zenit shirt. I just want to play football. "Of course, I want to return to the national team. I do not know whether being at Zenit helps this or not. I just want to play football. And I want to do it in my hometown." Arshavin made 144 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 31 times over the course of five seasons – including all four in a 4-4 draw against Liverpool at Anfield in April 2009.