Guardiola: No trophies and I may be sacked

22 July 2014 21:35

Pep Guardiola knows there is a good chance he will be sacked if he is unable to win more trophies in his second season at Bayern Munich.

Bayern retained their Bundesliga title in record time in the Spaniard’s first year at the helm before beating Borussia Dortmund to win the DFB-Pokal, having already lifted the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Guardiola still came in for criticism, not least from club legend Franz Beckenbauer, despite securing four trophies in his debut campaign in Germany.

The former Barcelona coach again warned it would take time for Bayern to adapt to his principles and style of football, but knows he will be judged on how many trophies he returns this season.

“I came here to do the best job possible, as I did at Barcelona. I came to a country which was different from where I was born and grew up and that sees football differently,” he is quoted as saying by Marca.

“I’m trying to adapt and also trying to get everyone here to adapt to my ideas, but that is a process. It can’t be achieved in just one year.

“It is no secret. If I don’t win more trophies, a new coach will probably come in next year.”

Guardiola reflected on a memorable first season at the helm, but rued the manner in which the Bavarian giants were hammered 5-0 on aggregate by Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final.

“We won the Bundesliga with a record points tally, we won the cup and it was an incredible season,” he added.

“It was a shame to lose to Real Madrid in the way that we did. Not the fact that we lost, because losing is always a possibility.”

Dortmund held as Immobile makes debut

22 July 2014 21:16

Ciro Immobile’s first Borussia Dortmund appearance was not enough to inspire his new team to a pre-season victory at third-tier Osnabruck.

The Italian striker arrived at Signal Iduna Park during the close-season from Torino and was a second-half substitute in Dortmund’s 1-1 draw on Tuesday.

Dortmund recovered from going behind to a first-half penalty from Nicolas Feldhahn to earn a draw thanks to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s strike just after the hour.

Immobile had a chance to win the match in the closing minutes, only for Daniel Heuer Fernandes to deny him with a good save.

Like their opening pre-season game against Hessen Kassel, which ended in a 4-1 win, Dortmund failed to convert some decent chances, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jonas Hofmann guilty of spurning opportunities.

Jurgen Klopp’s men were punished for their profligacy just after the half hour as Osnabruck took the lead from the penalty spot.

Having being held back by Ji Dong-won inside the penalty area, midfielder Feldhahn opened the scoring with a well-taken spot-kick.

Aubameyang had a chance to level in the closing minutes of the first half, but his effort was well blocked.

Klopp changed his entire team at half-time, including introducing debutant Immobile.

The Italy international was immediately involved in the action and attempted an audacious effort from 35 yards in the 50th minute that sailed just wide.

Immobile’s presence was causing the Osnabruck defenders plenty of problems, although it was fellow substitute Mkhitaryan who levelled.

With 65 minutes played, the Armenia international embarked on a mazy solo run before finding the net.

Last season’s Bundesliga runners-up began to exert even more pressure, but Immobile’s lack of match sharpness showed as attacking moves broke down around him.

Immobile’s first real opening in a Dortmund shirt came three minutes from time as he latched onto to a pass inside the penalty area, but Fernandes made a good save to earn Osnabruck a draw.

Rodriguez´s dream becomes Real

22 July 2014 20:56

James Rodriguez described his big-money move to Real Madrid as “a dream becoming a reality” when he was unveiled at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.

The Colombia forward has joined the European champions from Monaco on a six-year deal believed to be worth €80million on the back of an outstanding World Cup.

Rodriguez is the Spanish giants’ second close-season new recruit following the arrival of Toni Kroos from Bayern Munich and the 23-year-old spoke of his determination to add to the club’s long list of honours.

“I’m very happy to be here, it’s a dream becoming a reality for me. I want to give you lots of happiness and titles in the future,” he said at his presentation ceremony.

Rodriguez inspired his country’s impressive run to the quarter-finals of the World Cup and won the Golden Boot by scoring six times – including the goal of the tournament against Uruguay.

A huge crowd flocked to the Bernabeu to see Rodriguez introduced as a Real player.

Real president Florentino Perez believes the arrival of the former Monaco man is another statement of the club’s intent to follow up their Champions League and Copa del Rey triumphs last season by winning yet more trophies.

Perez: “We’ve signed a player that has led a fantastic Colombia national team in the recent World Cup. A player that is one of the stars of the World Cup. His goals have shown that, including the goal of the tournament.

“Last season was magnificent, but we can’t sit back on that and be complacent.”

Rodriguez spent just one season at Monaco after his move from Porto for a fee in the region of €45million in May last year.

He quickly justified that outlay, scoring 10 goals and being named in Ligue 1’s team of the season as Monaco finished second behind Paris Saint-Germain.

Garcia: Benatia and Ljajic going nowhere

22 July 2014 19:27

Roma coach Rudi Garcia has ruled out selling sought-after centre-back Mehdi Benatia and forward Adem Ljajic.

Morocco international Benatia has been linked with Manchester City, Chelsea and several other clubs on the back of an impressive first season at Roma following his move from Udinese.

The 27-year-old is reported to be unsettled, but Garcia has no intention of allowing him to leave and revealed he will play in a pre-season friendly against Liverpool at Fenway Park in Boston on Wednesday.

“Mehdi is under contract and will play with Roma this season,” he said on Tuesday.

“Fortunately the president manages to speak to all the players and yesterday he talked to everyone.

“Tomorrow Benatia will play against Liverpool.”

Serbia international Ljajic has also been the subject of transfer speculation ahead of the new season, particularly following the arrival of Juan Iturbe from Verona last week.

Garcia has also played down talk of Ljajic departing as the Frenchman attempts to build on an impressive first season at the helm.

“For me the primary transfer strategy is to keep our most important players and Adem is one of them,” Garcia said. “He takes a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and I like that.

“We have to be wary of not putting too much pressure on Iturbe. He can improve and will be important in attack, but it’ll take a while before we see him at his best in our system.”

Roma finished second in Serie A last season, achieving their highest top-flight points tally of 85.

Stoke secure Bojan on four-year deal

22 July 2014 19:22

Forward Bojan Krkic has left Barcelona to join Stoke City on a four-year deal after the clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.

The Premier League club revealed last week that they were monitoring the availability of the 23-year-old and he has now become Stoke’s fifth close-season signing, much to the delight of manager Mark Hughes, who spent one season as a player at Camp Nou.

“Anyone who knows European football will be aware of him as a player and the fact that he sees his future at Stoke City is really exciting and an endorsement of the club itself,” said Hughes.

“He’s desperate to prove himself in the Premier League and we’re pleased to be able to offer him that platform.

“The time he spends with the squad in Germany [on the club’s pre-season tour] will help him settle in and will give myself and the coaches the chance to take a good look at him.”

Bojan was tipped for big things after making his Barca debut at the age of 16 and scoring 10 goals in 31 La Liga games in 2007-08.

However, he has since failed to reach double figures in a league campaign and had a spell at Roma before re-joining Barca. Loan stints at Milan and Ajax bookended his Barca return.

It was suggested that Bojan would move to the Britannia Stadium on loan, but he has signed permanently.

Deportivo La Coruna and Olympiacos were also linked with Bojan before he opted to test himself in the English top flight.

Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes enthused: “A number of other clubs had expressed an interest in him but Bojan believes joining Stoke City will benefit his career and we have no doubts he will prove to be a wonderful addition to our squad.”