Confederations Cup 2013 Preview: Mexico

Usually branded as an unnecessary tournament which simply robs players of their summer break, the Confederations Cup in reality is much more important. Technically, it is the Championship of Champions as along with it being a dress-rehearsal for the big show – the World Cup – it also pits the six winners of their respective Confederations along with the FIFA World Cup winners and the forthcoming World Cup hosts to judge who is the best of the best.

Here is a preview of the CONCACAF winners Mexico:-

Buildup to the Tournament

The 1999 edition winners and two-time Confederations Cup semifinalists come into this tournament by virtue of being the CONCACAF Gold Cup Winners. El Tricolor won the 2011 edition with a 100% win record with a 4-2 comeback win against the United States in the finals. The recently concluded 2012 Olympics saw the young Mexican National Team win the Gold medal ahead of the much fancied and talented Brazilians, who they will be facing in the upcoming tourney.

Sporting Clube President Peter Vaz questions AIFF’s emergency committee decisions

Peter Vaz, President, Sporting Clube de Goa

By ringing in the changes to the I-League format, introducing the cap for the number of teams for Goa which is the present Mecca of Indian football, and permitting and actively promoting the IPL-style franchisee league bang in the middle of the football season, AIFF has sounded the death knell for club football in India.

Momentous decisions have been taken by an Emergency Committee. One fails to understand what the emergency was about other than bypassing the AIFF Executive Committee and the Clubs. The I-League has been broken up into Western and Eastern conference without any consultation whatsoever with the clubs, who are the main stake holders. When the AIFF is getting its entire revenue from the I-League marketing rights, why was the AIFF afraid to call a meeting of the I-league Committee wherein all the clubs are represented in order to discuss the change in the I-League structure?  This shows AIFF’s lack of respect for the clubs who are the backbone of Indian football.

Chelsea in Cavani talks, confirms Napoli president

There have been rumors floating around in the transfer market that the new Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been handed over £100 million as transfer funds to strengthen the squad by the Russian owner Roman Abrahimovic. And reportedly, Mourinho is about to use the half of it in the coming days.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed Chelsea’s interest in the Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani. The striker has been linked with the West London club for past few months but Napoli were adamant not to negotiate a transfer and they insisted that one will have to trigger the £53 million release clause included in the 26-year-old’s contract.

Now, Laurentiis has revealed that a deal may be agreed upon in the coming days. “If Cavani is sold then I’ll re-invest all of the £53m of his rescission clause. There is interest from Chelsea in Cavani, they’ll call me in the next few hours,” Laurentiis said.

“I’ll be delighted if he stays, but if he leaves then he will be adequately replaced,” he added.

Player of the Month Awards: May 2013

After a week of voting and thousands of votes, Sportskeeda’s readers have decided who their Players of the Month for May are. Here are the winners:

Goalkeeper of the month: Simon Mignolet, Sunderland and Belgium 

The Belgian played three crucial fixtures for the Black Cats against high-scoring oppositions but managed to concede just three goals, contributing heavily towards his side’s survival in the Premier League.

Mignolet will now have to play at the World Cup qualifiers with the national team. Two more crucial fixtures against Serbia and Scotland could allow him to prove his mettle as a quality goalkeeper.

I think I'll be Chelsea manager by end of week - Mourinho

I'm going to London on Monday and I think that between Monday and the end of the week I will be the Chelsea manager, Mourinho said

AFP

Jose Mourinho gave the strongest indication yet that he will return as Chelsea manager by telling a Spanish TV soccer show that he hopes to take charge of the London club by the end of this week.

Mourinho ended his three-year reign at Real Madrid with a 4-2 home La Liga win over Osasuna at the weekend, and in his last interview in Spain, on the Punto Pelota show, he appeared to end speculation surrounding his future plans.

"I'm going to London on Monday and I think that between Monday and the end of the week I will be the Chelsea manager," the 50-year-old Portuguese said.

"I feel the people there love me and in life you have to look for that.

"Life is beautiful and short and you must look for what you think is best for you," added Mourinho, who has also enjoyed successful spells as coach of Porto and Inter Milan.

Mourinho orginally joined Chelsea in 2004 and won back-to-back Premier League titles from 2005 before leaving the club by "mutual consent" in September 2007.

The west London club have yet to confirm a deal has been agreed with their former manager.

On Sunday, the Premier League inadvertently posted a pre-written story on its official website announcing Mourinho's much-awaited return before apologising to Chelsea for the "publishing mistake".

Neymar could be next Messi, says Lampard

AFP

Rio de Janeiro: England midfielder Frank Lampard said that new Barcelona signing Neymar has the potential to be as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Speaking Saturday, on the eve of England's friendly against Brazil in the official reopening of the Maracana Stadium, Lampard praised the 21-year-old striker, reports Xinhua.

"I played against Neymar at Wembley in February and I've also seen some videos of him on Youtube. He does some spectacular things," said Lampard, who is England's captain in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard.

"I have spoken about him with David Luiz, Oscar and also Ramires. For me he is a young superstar and he has what it takes to do well for Barcelona. I hope he is successful. Football needs big players like Messi and Ronaldo and I think Neymar could also be one of those players at the top."

Lampard was among a group of England players that visited Rio's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue Saturday. He admitted the city had a charm like no other he had visited and said the trip had whetted his appetite to return for next year's World Cup.

"Being here is a nice. There is a certain magic in Brazil and particularly in Rio. We know there's work to be done to qualify and it is up to us to do that. I'm confident. There are lads that are going to make a name for themselves and possibly will be peaking at the perfect time," the 34-year-old said.

Lampard added he was looking forward to playing at the Maracana Stadium, whose reopening comes after almost three years of reconstruction work and cost overruns.

"The Maracana is world renowned. I grew up hearing stories about it and it's an honour to play there. It's a new stadium now but the name remains the same. In England we have Wembley which is a great stadium and the Maracana is in that category."

Bayern Munich win Cup final to earn historic treble

Reuters

Berlin: Champions League winners Bayern Munich became the first Bundesliga team to win the treble after their hard-fought 3-2 win over VfB Stuttgart in Saturday's German Cup final.

Having claimed their fifth European crown in Wembley last Saturday and won the Bundesliga with a record tally of 91 points, Bayern completed the set with their 16th German Cup title.

 The Bavarian giants won the European Cup in three straight seasons in the 1970s, but coach Jupp Heynckes ended his two-year tenure in charge of the most successful Bayern side of all time.

 Striker Mario Gomez, who made a rare start ahead of Mario Mandzukic, hit two after the break to add to Thomas Mueller's first-half penalty as Bayern cruised to a 3-0 lead.

 But a bullet header on 71 minutes, then a well-placed shot, both from Austria's Martin Harnik, 10 minutes from time, ensured a nervous finale as Bayern weathered Stuttgart's late onslaught.

 But Bayern were not to be denied their 45th win from 53 matches in all competitions this season.

 Ex-Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola will replace Heynckes as Bayern head coach on June 26, but after just three defeats and 11 league points dropped all season, it is hard to see where he can improve.

 After the exertions of their Wembley triumph seven days before, Bayern failed to take control early on at Berlin's Olympic Stadium in front of 75,000 fans as both sides had their chances.

 Wembley match winner Arjen Robben found space on the left but Gomez sent his effort high on 14 minutes.

 Stuttgart's Harnik then first headed at Neuer, and Georg Niedermeier failed to prod the ball home at the back post after lightening reactions from Bayern's off-balance Manuel Neuer on 22 minutes.

 Bayern had a clear penalty turned down when Stuttgart captain Serdar Tasci tackled Robben before the ball, but referee Manuel Grafe waved away Bayern's protests on 32 minutes.

 Grafe pointed straight to the spot four minutes later when Guinea's Ibrahima Troare brought down Philipp Lahm as the Bayern captain sprinted into the area on the right.

 Mueller drilled his penalty into the bottom left corner with 37 minutes gone.

 It could have been more as Gomez squandered two clear chances as the break approached when his shot cannoned off Stuttgart goalkeeper Sven Ulreich's leg, then he fired over the bar as it stayed 1-0 at half-time.

 But Gomez made no mistake on 48 minutes when Lahm's cross gifted him a simple close-range tap-in.

 The Germany star then added a third and his second on 61 minutes when Mueller fired in from the right and the ex-Stuttgart forward tapped his shot past Ulreich on 61 minutes.

 Stuttgart were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Vedad Ibisevic's shot deflected off Jerome Boateng's hand on 79 minutes.

 But Harnik slotted home his second moments later, but Bayern held on for their third title.