Hugo Rodallega is hoping to make amends as he returns from suspension this weekend.
The Colombian marksman was handed a three-match ban after picking up a straight red card in the defeat at Manchester United last month.
The Latics have struggled in the striker’s absence and have picked up just one point while Rodallega was out of the side, as well as being dumped out of the Carling Cup by Arsenal.
However, Rodallega is available for the trip to Everton this weekend and boss Roberto Martinez feels the striker is keen to make amends following his suspension.
“It’s a massive boost to have Hugo available again,” Martinez told the Observer.
“From a mental point of view you couldn’t get anyone with more of a desire to get out there.
“It’s been so frustrating for him, and in many ways a learning process for him.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“I’m sure he’s learned his lesson from what happened and he’s desperate to make amends on Saturday.”
Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
According to our friends in Fleet Street, Liverpool are the latest in a string of clubs to be linked with signing ex world player of the year, Ronaldinho. The Brazilian, 30, has become a peripheral figure at the San Siro, with boss Massimiliano Allegri preferring Robinho. It is this lack of first team football this season that has driven speculation of a departure.
However, Liverpool would have to convince him to drop his £6.3m per annum wage demands for the man who has also been linked with moves to Los Angeles Galaxy and a host of Brazilian clubs.
There is no way that NESV would pay the Brazilian the wages that he is on at AC Milan but if he was willing to drop, there could be a deal to be done. Liverpool do need a player that can work with Fernando Torres and Ronaldinho fits the bill perfectly. A stumbling block would be whether Roy Hodgson is willing to move Steven Gerrard back into midfield to accommodate the Brazillian play maker.
[youtube 1QlLZuehOQA]
How likely do you think this deal is to happen – RATE THE RUMOUR
[poll ]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Don’t call him a wheeler-dealer whatever you do, but once again, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, seems to have made another masterstroke of a move in the transfer market. This time though, we aren’t talking about the arrival of one of the worlds best, but the departure of a player who could still have plenty to offer at White Hart Lane.
I am of course talking about David Bentley who has recently finalised a six-month loan move to Birmingham City. Regarded by many as deadwood at Spurs, the 26-year-old moves to St. Andrews in an attempt at defining his career and proving he is more than just a ‘big time Charlie’.
For a player who promised so much as a youngster coming through at Arsenal, Bentley has never really delivered. He often showed little glimpses of real class but consistency was rarely a part of his game. His move to Blackburn seemed to be ideal. Bentley was the big fish in a relatively small pond and it was a role he seemed to relish. The hat-trick he scored against Man United at Ewood Park showed just how much talent he has. Tottenham recognised that, and although £15 million was incredibly excessive, his arrival at the Lane was intended to be an indication of Spurs signing the best up-and-coming English talent.
But it never really happened for Bentley. The once hailed ‘new David Beckham’ was hardly justifying such a nickname or price tag. In two-and-a-half years, he saw first team opportunities become more and more limited and now with the likes of Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart performing the way they are, Bentley himself recognised his time was up.
But should be completely turn his back on Harry Redknapp and Tottenham Hotspur? I’m sure Harry hasn’t given up and him. And why should he? Say what you will about David Bentley, but we all know the talent is there, if not the attitude. Even that seems to be a lot more football focused now he is reaching his peak years.
Six months of quality, consistent performances at Birmingham could prove to be the catalyst for his Spurs career. Alex McLeish has offered a chance for Bentley to be the star at a club again and really show his worth. Going straight into the squad to face Aston Villa on derby-day, who would bet against him scoring the winner on Sunday?
Even if after a successful six months, Redknapp decides it is time for the former Arsenal man to move on, then Bentley’s spell at St. Andrews would have been a shop-window process. I’m sure clubs involved at Europa League level would be interested. At the right price, of course.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Will he turn into a player reborn? We shall have to wait and see, but Harry Redknapp has been in the business long enough to know not to give up on a real talent so quickly. Don’t be surprised if we see David Bentley back in a Tottenham shirt next season.
[divider]
Love fantasy football? Love live footy? You’ll love live fantasy football! Take part in the Spurs v Man United match and play Picklive for FREE Go on, give it a go!
Have you ever watched a more bizarre football match than Arsenal’s trip to Upton Park on Saturday evening? Not only did Wayne Bridge put in a very strong audition for a role as one of the ‘Chuckle Brothers’, but Avram Grant found himself giving his third stoical salute to home fans of clubs he has managed, waving goodbye in a manner that suggests he will not return but without any concrete proof to back his assertion up.
It was taken as read that the Israeli former Portsmouth manager was heading for the exit door in the hours before his Hammers side were comprehensively beaten by an ever-improving Arsenal at Upton Park. Rumours spread like wildfire in the run up to kick-off that former Aston Villa and Leicester City man, Martin O’Neill was in line to take up the reins at the end of the clash in Greater London.
48 hours on from the Grant funeral procession, however, and there appears no definite confirmation of a time of death – the manager seems, against all odds, to be living on, much to the bewilderment of the football community.
West Ham legend Julian Dicks has come out this week to publicly state what so many fans, not just those following the London club, have been thinking; what on earth are the board at West Ham playing at?
With remaining in the Premier League an absolute necessity for every single club in the top flight this season, were Grant to be relieved of his duties, the move would be accepted as a harsh but necessary step for a side that cannot afford relegation. However, the manner in which the Grant issue has been dealt with is another chapter of the soap opera that has become West Ham’s progress over the last five years.
The Hammers have had their fair share of controversy and turmoil in recent years. After a solid return to the top flight in 2005-06, the acquisition of Argentines Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascharano, ushered in a new era of English football, and ultimately one that very nearly cost West Ham their Premier League status. After a hastily arranged Premier League tribunal controversially chose not to dock points from the club over the illegal deals struck for both Tevez and Mascharano, the Hammers survived the drop only on the final day of the season.
The frustration directed at the West Ham board room is not new. Past chairmen have often felt the brunt of the fans’ anger. Terence Brown was on the end of a number of protests from Hammers fans, and whilst Eggert Magnusson brought much welcome funds to the table, helping stave off relegation in 2007, his non-communication with the Upton Park faithful and dwindling fortune alienated him from support.
It was thus with some confidence that West Ham fans will have looked upon last year’s takeover by former Birmingham City duo, Davids Gold and Sullivan, with a sense of optimism. I remember listening to Sullivan on the radio during the early weeks of the season as he outlined sensible aims for the Hammers over the next 18 months. Whilst his new side were short on quality across the squad, there was an acceptance that short-term survival would be the only way to secure growth over a longer period of time.
His assertions have been in contrast to the ultimatum atmosphere that has hung over the Upton Park this season. Whilst demands to improve the side’s fortunes have been met by the increasingly bemused Grant, a sense of chaos has engulfed proceedings, leading former skipper, Dicks, to brand the club a “laughing stock.”
The defender’s frustrations are understandable. West Ham fans have been through the ringer over recent years, and have found consistency impossible to come across. Surely they, more than anyone, deserve to know what is going on?
With two thirds of the transfer window already elapsed, the logic of sacking Grant at this stage would appear virtually non-existent. Would a newly appointed O’Neill be afforded significant funds to strengthen his charges, or would his brief be to simply jump up and down on the touchline in the hope his energy keeps the Hammers from falling?
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
There will be fans out there that will feel that West Ham are feeling the full force of karma. Many Sheffield United fans feel that it was they, not the Hammers, that deserved to remain in the Premier League at the end of the 2006-07 season, when an almost certain relegation inducing point deduction was not imposed on Alan Curbishley’s men.
What the saga has proven, however it ends for O’Neill and Grant, is that the West Ham board have shown an alarming lack of regard for the fans. After the years of turmoil the club has endured, the supporters must be hoping that this is not a sign of things to come, whichever division they begin next season in.
[divider]
Love fantasy football? Love live footy? You’ll love live fantasy football! Take part in the Man City v Leicester match and play Picklive for FREE Go on, give it a go!
Manchester United’s long unbeaten run finally came to an end at the weekend. Wolves provided the type of performance which has seen them beat five out of the top seven already this season and also leads many failing to find an explanation for their ’false’ position at the bottom of the league. ‘False’ was the word United manager Sir Alex Ferguson used to describe the relegation threatened side, but he also then went on to praise his own team for their consistency so far this season. But what was Fergie really getting at? Is he secretly relieved that this streak is finally over?
It sounds stupid really, doesn’t it? Why would any team be happier now they’ve lost a game? By all means, in terms of their points tally in the hunt to regain the Premier League title, Ferguson and co would prefer three points to none, they would have taken one point after that second half performance. But now everyone has stopped debating whether United can go the whole season and emulate the ‘invincible’ Arsenal side, Ferguson will feel his side can get on with getting their form right to win games instead of grinding out results.
Considering their away form already this season, a defeat has been a long time coming. They let Blackpool walk all over them for 70 minutes. They were fortunate at West Brom and have drawn an incredible eight other games on their travels. That isn’t the form of a side looking to go the whole season unbeaten. Let us not forget how embarrassed they were in the Carling Cup away at West Ham as well. I take nothing away from Wolves though. As poor as United were in the second half, the home side were equally as impressive.
But Manchester United have bigger games coming up, without being disrespectful to Mick McCarthy’s men. Ask anyone connected with the team from Old Trafford who they would have rather of lost that record to, Wolves away or Manchester City at home? Bragging rights apart, what would that have done for United’s arch rivals attempts to win the title? Psychologically, it would have been huge. Similarly, now we are entering the business end of the season, if Chelsea ruined the run on March 1st at Stamford Bridge, that would have given them huge emphasis to go on closing the gap.
If Alex Ferguson’s men are to win this league, it will arguably be their best Premier League success out of the lot, considering their run in. As well as a trip to the champions coming up, they then go to Liverpool before trips to Upton Park, where they don’t have a great record, Arsenal, before Chelsea come to Old Trafford themselves. Mix in games against Everton, Newcastle and Champions League involvement, it is certainly going to be a tough 2011 for the Red Devils, so having the added pressure of continuing an unbeaten run would have been a distraction at best.
When Arsenal did it back in the 2003/04 season, nobody really expected them to do it, so the pressure wasn’t there. More than that, they actually had a squad which were equally as impressive away from home as they were at Highbury.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Ferguson must have known that given how competitive the Premier League is now, seven years on from when Arsene Wenger‘s ‘invincibles, were born, coupled with the fact that the top sides have been consistently inconsistent, his side were highly unlikely to achieve such a feat. He even admitted so, so you could sense his relief. Manchester United don’t lose twice in a row too often, so you can guarantee some kind of reaction in the next match. That just happens to be at home to their cross city rivals from Eastlands. I suppose not a bad time to lose then, all things considered…
[divider]
Help to show that when it comes to fantasy footy, your club’s fans are simply the best! Picklive lets you compete against real people for real money… in real time! So go on, take part in the Denmark v England match for FREE
Beaten 2010 quarter-finalists Libertad of Paraguay made a winning start to their Copa Libertadores campaign with a 2-1 win over San Luis.
Argentine Nicolas Pavlovich opened the scoring for visitors Libertad in the 18th minute at Estadio Alfonso Lastras Ramirez.
Mexican hosts San Luis equalised through Juan Manuel Cavallo five minutes before half-time, but midfielder Sergio Aquino restored the lead on 56 minutes.
San Luis finished with 10 men after Ignacio Torres received a second yellow card six minutes from time.
The win puts Libertad top of Group One, with Once Caldas and Universidad San Martin to meet on Wednesday.
Argentine club Velez Sarsfield made an impressive start with a 3-0 home win over Venezuela’s Caracas.
The visitors were a man short from the 12th minute after midfielder Angelo Puentes was sent off.
But it took Velez until just before half-time to take advantage, when Maximiliano Moralez broke the deadlock.
David Ospina Ramirez made it 2-0 on 59 minutes, before forward Juan Manuel Martinez completed the scoring from the penalty spot seven minutes from time.
Velez are the first team to put points on the board in Group Four ahead of Union Espanola’s meeting with Universidad Catolica on Wednesday.
Colombia’s Deportes Tolima opened with a 1-0 win at home to Paraguayan club Guarani.
Danny Otero scored the game’s only goal in the 83rd minute at the Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Tolima top Group Seven ahead of the heavyweight clash between Cruzeiro and Estudiantes de La Plata on Wednesday.
Two-time competition winners Santos of Brazil were held 0-0 away to Venezuelan side Deportivo Tachira.
Mexican team America defeated Uruguayan visitors Nacional 2-0 at Estadio Azteca.
Vicente Sanchez had America in front after just three minutes before Vicente Vuoso doubled the lead in the 48th minute.
On a chilly Saturday afternoon in October 2006, Manchester City put in their worst team performance that many fans had ever seen. And that’s quite a bold statement, because there have been some truly shocking displays down the years, but this one was a real stinker. Pummelled 4-0 away at Wigan and without even fashioning a chance, let alone a shot on target, it became clear that 2006/07 was going to be a very long season.
There was one little glimmering light in that game, though. One little beacon of hope, amidst a bunker of bleak darkness that sunk down like a bottomless abyss. A City academy product was given his debut by the then manager, Stuart Pearce. He played in the number 33 shirt, most recently associated with Vincent Kompany. And, in the limited touches he was able to get when City did keep the ball that afternoon, he showed himself to actually have been the best player for the visitors.
His name was Michael Johnson. A man now often forgotten about at City. A man forgotten about by the Premier League, who once saw him as a future City and England legend. A man forgotten about by football.
For a while it went well for him. Okay, so he was dropped straight after that Wigan game – probably to save him the embarrassment of more team performances like that one – but he worked his way back into the side later in that season.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
A turning point came for the Blues over Easter. After a series of dire performances for the first three months of 2007, it looked like City would be in great danger of finding their way out of the Premier League. But a battling display against Chelsea and a run of form of 11 points from five games (beating Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Fulham, and drawing with Charlton and Liverpool) saw City safe.
That coincided with the return to the team of Michael Johnson. It’s a bit brash to suggest that he alone saved City from the drop that season, but he had a big influence on that run of form. Dunne and Distin, with Barton and Mpenza too, were also hugely involved. And by the time City lost to Arsenal at the Emirates near the end of April, they were safe. We can say that for sure because they only went on to pick up one more point that season, drawing with Watford.
But when he was back in the team, Michael Johnson looked the part and fitted into the team like he had been playing Premier League football for a decade. Then, though, City sacked their manager. It didn’t really come as too much of a surprise, since they hadn’t scored a Premier League goal at home in five months. The club changed owners, too. The new manager quickly became a fans’ favourite and he brought with him a wealth of talent from around the world.
Sven’s City began the season well, losing out only to a fine goal at the Emirates after wins against West Ham, Derby and Manchester United. The goal that beat Derby was City’s first at home since Samaras’s eight months earlier and was scored by one Michael Johnson. A beautiful curler from the edge of the box with the outside of his foot. He scored the winner against Aston Villa that season, too, a graceful run from midfield ending with him slotting the ball beyond Scott Carson.
Sven was saying all good things about him. His team-mates likewise. The media more so. The City fans even more so; some were saying he reminded them of a former City hero, held in the highest esteem: Colin Bell. In truth, the praise was very premature. He had only been in the team for half a season, but he was definitely one to watch. In fact, he was a lynchpin in Sven’s successful City team and he was definitely missed when form took a turn for the worse after the New Year.
Continue to the NEXT PAGE…
The injury that caused him to miss many games that season seemed an innocuous abdominal one. But, while he was out, he had a double hernia operation and, when he did return towards the end of the campaign, he never truly seemed fit and like he had recovered. The season ended and a new manager came in and, this time through City’s lack of funds more than anything, he survived the upheaval once again.
Mark Hughes liked him and Johnson started well, linking up with Stephen Ireland and Elano in a distinctly average start to the season. City were taken over. Robinho arrived as a marquee signing. City lost to Chelsea and faced Brighton & Hove Albion in the League Cup. And that trip to the Withdean Stadium was more costly than a simple, embarrassing League Cup exit: There was a recurrence of Johnson’s abdominal injury and he didn’t play another game that season.
The following summer, City had the chance to truly flex their financial muscle – and they did. Once again, Johnson survived the cull, but this time he had spent over seven months injured and this could have been one of the biggest contributing factors. He was ready for pre-season, where he played (and picked up a minor injury) in a friendly with Orlando Pirates. He was ready for the end of September, where he came off the bench for two minutes in City’s 3-1 win over West Ham.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=left]
City, though, were in the middle of their infamous run of draws and patchy form, and therefore weren’t in a position to be re-introducing players from long term injuries into the side. But, with the League Cup game at home to Scunthorpe being over at 4-1, Johnson got about 20 minutes at the end of the match. In that time, he showed moments of passing and vision that the City fans remembered him for, and he went on to score the best goal of the night – a long range effort on his weaker foot. It looked like he was back in the business, though he needed some game time and City’s form was still poor as they continued to draw games.
But, on 10 December 2009, it was announced that Johnson had broken down in training and suffered a serious knee injury. He was back to square one, after almost a year of hard work to get back to fitness and coming so close to achieving it. He’s not been named in another City squad, fourteen months on.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
This week, though, they travelled to Greece to play Aris Salonika in the Europa League. On the plane and available for selection was Michael Johnson. He didn’t make the squad, in the end, but he’s clearly in the manager’s thinking. He’s on his fourth City manager and each of them has seen something in him that is worth keeping: Roberto Mancini, it has been revealed this week, blocked loan moves to Leeds and Crystal Palace because he is on the fringes of the squad, at least.
After such a long time on the sidelines and such improvements made to City’s squad since he was last playing regularly for City, Johnson fights an uphill battle just to make it back into the team. City have moved on a long way and there’s a very real danger that Johnson has been left behind. Getting his place back won’t be easy; nevermind the fight he has on his hands to fulfil the potential he showed back in 2007. There are so many examples of players who have never been the same after long term injuries. It would be easy to think, in fact, that Johnson’s ship has sailed from the City port – which would be unfortunate given the time he’s had, but football is a cut-throat world.
Providing his injuries haven’t had too much of an effect on him, he can still provide City with an option that they have been lacking recently – some cutting edge through a packed defence. And I don’t think there’s a single City fan that wouldn’t like to see him back in the team, keeping fit and playing like we all used to see.
It has been well documented that the next few months will be key for the long-term development of the Manchester United squad. Before the start of the new season, several squad players will surely discover whether or not they fit into Sir Alex Ferguson’s plans for the future.
The biggest clue as to how Ferguson intends to shape his squad has come with the announcement that Michael Carrick has been awarded a new three-year contract – the former Spurs man has become a mainstay of the United line-up since his arrival in 2006.
The deal is arguably the clearest indication yet that Sir Alex Ferguson does not believe that Owen Hargreaves will make a complete recovery from the chronic knee injuries that have dogged his career over the last two and a half years.
From that point of view, the retention of a player of Carrick’s calibre is understandable. However, the one time West Ham player has really struggled to match the form that made him indispensable during United’s run of three consecutive league titles between 2007 and 2009. Such has been the indifferent level of performance coming from the once imposing midfielder that there were hushed rumours that Ferguson may have tried to sell up in the summer.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
I was at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night during Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat to defending league champions, Chelsea, and got a first hand look at the problems Carrick has been experiencing of late. Despite looking tidy in possession during United’s dominant period in the first half, Carrick was unable to impose himself on the game. By the time the home side had taken control of the game during the second half, he was completely ineffectual and was unable to break up the advancing waves of blue possession. For a man that scores so infrequently, United’s coaching staff would have expected far more defensive solidarity in such a pivotal position.
Yet, despite watching this, and numerous other insipid performances from Carrick over recent months, a new deal has been offered to the two time Champions League finalist. A potential answer as to why may lie in the advancing years of several of the club’s most influential figures.
Experienced heads at Old Trafford are hardly in short supply, but Ferguson will be aware that with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs entering what must surely be their final year as United players, and players like Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown struggling to string a run of games together, that the role of someone with Carrick’s experience is likely to become far more valuable over the next couple of years.
This new contract is also a well-timed fillip for Carrick’s international hopes. With Gareth Barry struggling for form and both Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard showing signs of wear and tear, there will fresh hope for a more permanent berth in the England squad. Twenty-two appearances across a near ten year career would suggest at unfinished business for a man who was the outstanding performer in England’s quickly forgotten 1-0 win over Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Alex Ferguson has rarely offered new contracts to players who have not warranted them, and whilst this is not as left-field a decision as the one to give Michael Owen a two year spell at Old Trafford, Carrick will know he will need to repay his manager’s faith handsomely in the coming months.
I’ve always wanted to write a piece on Michael Carrick. Mainly because when Clive Tyldesley says his name on ITV it sounds like ‘Tariq’ and I wanted to share it. More bizarre musings available on Twitter– subject to availability.
Valencia striker Jonas was delighted to have made his international debut for Brazil in their 2-0 friendly international win over Scotland.The 26-year-old came off the bench at London’s Emirates stadium on Sunday, a moment he claims will stay with him forever.
“I think that it is very difficult to get into the Brazilian national team, because of everything that the side has achieved,” Jonas said.
“It means a lot to me. It was incredible – a day that I will never forget.”
“I spent four days with the squad, and there was a great atmosphere. I will work hard in order to try and get picked again. I know that it is tough, because the Brazilian side has great players. I am going to do all I can until the end of the season here.”
Jonas, who signed with Valencia from Brazilian club Gremio in January, insists he is enjoying his time at the Estadio Mestalla and is looking forward to helping his new team reach the Champions League again next season.
“I think that I’ve done a lot of good things in the little time that I have spent here,” Jonas said.
“I have been here for around two months, and we have two more remaining in which to take third place.”
“The Champions League is the aim of every player, and we have nine games in which to try and get there.”
“One of those games is against a direct rival in Villarreal. We are going to work a lot in these remaining weeks in order to get to third place.”
AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has hinted at signing Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo if his team wins the Serie A.With six league games remaining, Milan hold a three-point lead over Napoli with fierce cross-town rivals Inter a further two points back.
The Italian prime minister has declared his interest in the 26-year-old former Manchester United winger, even though Ronaldo has not indicated he wants to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.
“If we win the scudetto then the next transfer window will see us add one or two great players. One of those could be Ronaldo,” Berlusconi said.
“If we were able to add Ronaldo to our squad I think it would please everybody. Sometimes dreams come true.”
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined the Italian giants at the start of this season, although disciplinary issues have reportedly left Berlusconi questioning his investment.
It would be the first time since 2004 that Milan have won the league title if they hold off the challenges of their rivals.
The current squad includes ageing pair Clarence Seedorf, 35, and Andrea Pirlo, 31, who are both coming off contract.