Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Soccer Break Tuesday
The pain for Arsenal fans just rolls on it would seem, as a trip to my office’s kitchen confirmed on Monday when I heard two voices grumbling about “Van Persie” and “not enough shots”.
The North London club’s woes of the last two weeks or so have been much publicised, but perhaps at last there is some news to cheer Gunners fans up in the return of former keeper Jens Lehmann? Who would you prefer in goal? Lehmann, or Arsenal’s only currently available goalie Manuel Almunia, in good form in the last two matches against Barcelona and Manchester United?
Keep a close eye out as the signing could be confirmed on Tuesday after Arsenal moved to sign the German late on Monday.
Some very recent news on the earthquake repercussions is that Japan’s J. League has been postponed indefinitely, while news on the international friendlies is due on Wednesday.
Now onto Tuesday’s Champions League matches, including four former winners. Do you agree with these predictions?
Inter Milan must become only the second team in Champions League knockout phase history to overturn a first-leg home defeat with a second leg away win. Some task.
Worth a bet given Bayern’s turbulent last week in which coach Louis van Gaal said he would leave at the end of the season? Bear in mind however that Van Gaal, while at Ajax Amsterdam in the 1995/96 season, was the only coach to achieve this feat according to UEFA statistics.
Nakamura’s Japan snub a no-brainer
Japan midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura’s decision to snub a return to Yokohama and join Spain’s Espanyol left his boyhood club devastated.
Yokohama’s club president slapped himself with a 50 percent pay cut by way of apology to furious F-Marinos fans, but arguably the most surprising aspect of the protracted saga was Yokohama’s “shock” that Nakamura opted for Espanyol instead of them after leaving Celtic, where he won three Scottish Premier League titles.
The choice between playing against glamour sides Real Madrid and Barcelona or languishing in the backwaters of the struggling J-League was a no-brainer.
The 31-year-old had always wanted to play in La Liga, while Espanyol had been chasing the Japan playmaker for years.
I think that was the wrong attitude, he should not behaving like that, we all know J league is struggling hard, and i hope they will give us best results in future, if they keep struggling hard.
