Bale mystery injury may keep him out of Wales friendly with Ireland

Gareth Bale will report for training with Wales this week - but is understood to be reluctant to 

risk his fitness by playing for his country while his future remains in the balance.

Talks between Tottenham and Real Madrid over his career are due to resume later this week.

His transfer is still expected to go through before the window closes and could even be concluded by next weekend.

'Gareth has been instructed to report for international duty,' said AVB last night. 

'He has been training alone and working with our medical department, and we will make sure they pass all the relevant information across to the Wales team.

'Will he play for Wales? That's not up to me.' 

Yet Wales may tread a diplomatic path and pull Bale out of the friendly to avoid causing their star any embarrassment. But no one foresees him turning out for Spurs in the near future. 

All roads lead to Spain - even if he must negotiate Wales first. 

Spurs fans did not chant Bale's name or parade banners pleading with him to stay as Tottenham drew 1-1 with Espanyol on Saturday.

It was as though the Welshman had never been king of White Hart Lane.

In any event, the club may have a new hero - and he wears No 9.

It took £26 million club record signing Roberto Soldado just 28 minutes and 39 seconds to open his account for Tottenham. 

He may not have Bale's extraordinary physique, pace and athleticism, but the Spaniard is a threat and he has the quiet confidence to become a Premier League match-winner.

Soldado and the other new signings, Paulinho and Nacer Chadli, received a rapturous reception before the match. 

Paulinho had an early downward header into goal disallowed for offside. 

But it was Soldado who broke the deadlock from the penalty spot.

Danny Rose was upended by Javi Lopez just inside the box, and Soldado netted crisply into the corner.

'It is always important to score a goal and I hope this was the first of many,' said Soldado. 

Chadli was quiet on the left of midfield, a reminder that Bale is irreplaceable. 

Espanyol danger man David Lopez equalised with a thumping header just before half-time, exposing deficiencies at the centre of the Tottenham defence. 

Skipper Michael Dawson said: 'The new signings are going to improve us. It was great for Roberto to get his goal. We're looking forward to the start of the season.'

Read More

Guardiola ready to make changes needed at Bayern

Pep Guardiola has highlighted the improvements still needed to be made in his Bayern Munich side after their 3-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach kicked off the new Bundesliga season.

Guardiola took charge of his first Bundesliga game as Bayern coach on Friday at Munich's Allianz Arena and spent 71 of the 90 minutes barking instructions from the sidelines.

Goals by Dutch winger Arjen Robben, Croatia's Mario Mandzukic and Austria's David Alaba gave defending German champions Bayern three points at home on Friday night.

But the Spaniard then presented an extensive list of areas Bayern must improve -- something of concern for the club's senior figures, who have set high standards.

"We didn't always press well, gave Gladbach too much time, our counter-attacks weren't always well controlled and when we lost the ball, we didn't always get back into position straight away," said Guardiola.

Bayern leaked just 18 goals last season -- a record low in the Bundesliga -- but goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had a busy night against Gladbach.

"I had lots and lots to do," admitted the Germany 'keeper who is more used to quieter evenings when Bayern dominated last season.

Part of the problem stems from Bayern's new system, with Guardiola having discarded the 4-2-3-1 formation which won the treble of Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup.

Instead, Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger is being used as a single defensive midfielder in front of the back four, but as Friday night showed, it can leave big holes.

"Pep isn't a magician," admitted Bayern's director of sport Matthias Sammer, but Guardiola's team is clearly not yet comfortable with the new system.

Guardiola admits he still struggles to express himself to his players -- and hinted the 4-1-4-1 system could be abandoned.

"Sometimes it's difficult to explain to the players, in my German, what I want," he said.

"I like the system, but maybe in the future I have to adapt to my players and change it.

"I would have no problem with that."

As France winger Franck Ribery succinctly put it: "For the first game it was okay, but we need to improve".

In fairness, Guardiola has had just eight weeks to work with his players since succeeding treble-winning Jupp Heynckes, even less with others.

Brazil centre-back Dante, who conceded an own-goal just before the half-time break against Gladbach, and Spain's Javi Martinez both came into preparations late after Confederations Cup duty.

And Schweinsteiger also joined pre-season training late after an ankle operation.

"I am not responsible for the tactics, but at the moment some players still need to catch up," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

"Especially the Confederations Cup participants as Dante or Javi Martinez, but Bastian Schweinsteiger is still not at 100 percent. We will surely become stronger."

Guardiola has often acknowledged the pressure he is under at Bayern and it has been made clear they expect to win the treble again this season.

Sammer has directly said the Bavarian giants expect to become the first team to defend the Champions League title.

"At Bayern, there is always pressure, so it might not be bad if Pep gets used to it directly," added Rummenigge.

"He can't do anything about the hype around him, neither can the club.

"He is clearly very interesting for the media, but that's not a problem, we can handle it."

Read More

Dortmund debutant Aubameyang claims hat-trick

New-signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit a hat-trick as Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund kicked off their Bundesliga season with an emphatic 4-0 win at Augsburg on Saturday.

With defending champions Bayern Munich, under new coach Pep Guardiola, having already enjoyed a 3-1 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday, 24-year-old Gabon forward Aubameyang showed why Dortmund paid French Cup winners St Etienne 13 million euros (US$17.3m) for him.

He opened his account by heading home a Marcel Schmelzer cross from the left wing to put Dortmund ahead after 24 minutes.

Aubameyang celebrated with his trademark forward somersault, then doubled Dortmund's advantage when he slipped his marker and fired home across the goal on 66 minutes.

The Gabon star then converted a great pass from Robert Lewandowski on 79 minutes to wrap up his hat-trick before the Poland striker converted a penalty in the dying stages.

South Korea striker Heung-Min Son also scored on his first competitive appearance for Champions League side Bayer Leverkusen in their 3-1 win at home to Freiburg.

Germany striker Stefan Kiessling put the hosts ahead with 22 minutes gone, but Freiburg's new signing Mike Hanke levelled just before the break.

Son restored Leverkusen's lead just two minutes after the break when he fired home from close range after a final pass from Sidney Sam.

Germany midfielder Sam then converted Kiessling's cross to seal the win with 52 minutes gone, while Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno protected his side's lead when he saved a 67th-minute penalty from Jonathan Schmid.

Hertha Berlin marked their return to the top-flight after a year's absence with a 6-1 rout of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Colombia striker Adrian Ramos and Tunisia forward Sami Allagui both scored twice in the hammering at Berlin's Olympic Stadium while a first-half penalty from Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Alex Meier was all the guests could muster.

Hanover 96 enjoyed a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg, who finished with nine men after both midfielder Maximilian Arnold and Swiss defender Timm Klose were sent off.

Arnold was shown a straight red card with just 32 minutes gone for a bad tackle on Hanover's Tunisia defender Karim Haggui, while Klose was sent off seven minutes after the break for his second yellow card.

Hoffenheim were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Nuremberg.

Later Saturday, newly-promoted Eintracht Braunschweig host Werder Bremen while, on Sunday, Mainz host Stuttgart and Hamburg are at Schalke.

Read More

United leave Rooney OUT of Community Shield despite being named in Hodgson's England squad

Disgruntled Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been left out of the squad for the Community Shield game against Wigan because of a shoulder injury.

The 27-year-old has been training with the reserves this week and was also picked in the England squad to play Scotland on Wednesday.

Rooney has only played 45 minutes of pre-season and that was a behind-closed-doors friendly against Real Betis.

Rooney had written a personal thank you to England manager Roy Hodgson after including him in the national squad.

He said: 'Can’t wait to join up with the England squad and hopefully play in a competitive match, they always are against Scotland. 

'Big thanks to Roy Hodgson for selecting me and showing his faith and support, appreciate it.'

His lack of match sharpness may hinder his chances of playing, and will definitely put him several weeks behind his fellow Manchester United players, or anyone else for that matter, when the Premier League season gets underway.

Read More

Why Suarez is too good for Liverpool (and Arsenal)… and check out my retirement gift from Magic Messi

Luis Suarez is too good for Liverpool. He is one of the top players in the world, whereas Liverpool were only the seventh best team in England last season.

His talents are greater than the stage on which he plays. Not only does he deserve to play in the Champions League, he should be winning it.

Luis Suarez is also too good for Arsenal. In recent years, they haven’t challenged for trophies; they have not made an impact in the Champions League and they are no closer to winning the Premier League. 

If Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich wanted him, I would wish Luis all the luck in the world and staunchly defend him. That is his level; teams who have a great chance of winning the Champions League. That’s why I'm so puzzled by his determination to leave for the Emirates.

Liverpool have taken a firm line throughout this impasse and John W Henry was emphatic when saying Suarez will not be sold to the club's main rivals for fourth spot. Henry should be applauded by everyone in football for this stance. 

I do, though, have a growing sense of unease over how much Suarez has become unsettled. I took part in a training session at Melwood before Steven Gerrard's testimonial last Saturday and I was alarmed by the Luis Suarez with whom I was sharing a pitch.

From his first day at Liverpool, I had been used to seeing a warrior  who loved his football and charged around with great enthusiasm. Every day his skill would blow you away. Remember the 50-yard chipped goal at Norwich in April 2012? We saw him do that at Melwood long before. What impressed me most was his attitude. Training was as important as a game. He would leave nothing behind, competing for every ball as if his life depended on it.

On this occasion, however, his attitude was completely different. He didn’t want the ball and had no interest in getting involved. He stood on the periphery, with shoulders slumped.

Read More

Moyes sets sights on Modric swoop after Fabregas snubs United switch

David Moyes is considering a move for Luka Modric with his pursuit of Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas over.

The Manchester United manager has a shortlist of options with the Real Madrid midfielder among them. 

Modric, 27, has been a target for United under Sir Alex Ferguson who lost out to Real Madrid last year.

He joined Madrid from Tottenham for £33m yet failed to make any real impression with La Liga fans voting him one of the worst signings of the summer.

However, then coach Jose Mourinho defended him citing a poor pre-season and Modric came back to make a telling contribution in Madrid’s Champions League defeat of United at Old Trafford.

Moyes has an interest in Everton’s Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines but understands they would not necessarily be the big-name signings United fans are craving for.

Keen to make the right decision Moyes is weighing up alternatives and Modric remains a viable option with Madrid willing to sell for around £25m.

The Spaniards would welcome the money with negotiations ongoing with Tottenham over a £100m deal for Gareth Bale although they would prefer to offload elder players such as 31-year-old Xabi Alonso.

Sevilla’s highly-rated French defensive midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, 20, remains another name in Moyes’s mind but his priority is to bolster United’s attacking and creative options first.

Read More