Football News: Weekly Football News Roundup

6/14/09

Jermaine Jones switches from Germany to US team

The German-American midfielder Jermaine Jones has become one of the first soccer players to take advantage of the new FIFA rule on changing national teams.
FIFA recently adopted the Algerian FA's motion to suppress the age limit of 21 years for the change of national teams in the case of players who have only taken part in international friendlies and not full internationals.
Jones has played three friendlies for Germany and has transferred his allegiance to the US team as soon as the change became available under the new regulations. No doubt, he will find more playing options in his father's country's team.
The owner of both nations' citizenship was left out by Joachim Löw for last year's European Championship in Austria and Switzerland and his patience finally ran out last month when he expressed discontent at his treatment by the manager.

Platini dislikes Florentino Perez's moves

Michel Platini, UEFA's president, does not seem amused by Real Madrid's recent shopping spree. Real's new chairman Florentino Perez has signed the Brazilian Kaka from Milan for 67.2 million euros and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for 93.5 million, all in the space of several days.
"I am not happy with such transfers," said Platini. "This is all happening at the time we are fiercely fighting against such high-price deals. We aim to create balance in European soccer but these transfers disrupt the parity between clubs and divide them into two groups."
Perez, who was also responsible for the multimillion signings of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham in his first spell with Real, reached a deal with Spanish banks in order to finance the exorbitant price paid for the two superstars.
"It seems odd that all of this is happening when many, not to say most clubs are in huge financial problems. The economic crisis has severely dented soccer while on the other hand we see multimillion deals being done by the same club. I'll keep fighting against the megalomania in soccer," vowed the Frenchman, not specifying what measures may be at his or UEFA's disposal.

FIFA's boss Blatter believes Cristiano's transfer "good for soccer"

While UEFA's supremo Platini is fuming over Real Madrid's huge spending, FIFA's president Sepp Blatter sees in Ronaldo's transfer to Real Madrid "a proof of a healthy market" in soccer despite the global financial crisis.
"This transfer shows that our product is still a good product. If soccer is a sport for the masses, then they need stars," said Blatter in stark contrast to Platini's opinion on the matter.
Last week Manchester United accepted Real Madrid's offer of 93.5 million euros for the unsettled Cristiano Ronaldo, who became the most expensive soccer player ever, overtaking Zinedine Zidane's 2001 transfer fee by a neat 30%.
Incidentally, Real Madrid do not seem to be finished with high-profile purchases. Next in line of reinforcements is the international striker David Villa from Valencia, who according to Marca daily has reached an agreement with Perez and will be presented on Santiago Bernabeu in a matter of days. Villa's price tag is a modest 37 million euros, which if true will bring Real's total spending this June to a cool 200 million.

Paolo Maldini negotiating with Chelsea

The legendary, former Milan defender Paolo Maldini may be Chelsea's next signing, albeit not in the players' section. Maldini interrupted his holiday in Miami to fly to London for talks with his former boss and fellow player at Milan, Carlo Ancelotti.
"Carletto", who recently rescinded his coaching contract with Milan, wants Maldini to be his assistant at Stamford Bridge in the Premiership. The friendship of the two goes way back to 1987, when Ancelotti signed for Milan from Roma, and Maldini was a newcomer to the first team.
Last month Barcelona's coach Josep Guardiola said, half jokingly, that he would find a spot for Maldini in the Catalan club should he come out of the retirement. Soon to be 41, Maldini certainly has no such intentions but he may want to make his first steps in a coaching job under Ancelotti's supervision. According to the Daily Star, Maldini speaks better English than Chelsea's new coach and would provide him with great help in the dressing room.

Leonardo searching for a "new Maldini" in Porto

It seems that Milan have found a replacement for their retired captain Paolo Maldini. The Italian media claim his place should be taken by Porto's Aly Cissokh.
The new Devils' coach Leonardo considers the 22-year-old Cissokh as a player who could, given time, reach Maldini's level.
The recently appointed Brazilian travelled to Portugal to try and persuade the Franco-Senegalese to join the seven-times European champions. The young defender also attracted interest from Tottenham.
"I know that some soccer giants are after me. I have a contract until 2012, and the club officials are persuading me to extend the contract for yet another year. It shows their confidence in me, which makes me proud," said Cissokh.

Compiled by Ozren Podnar