Saif Ahmed Chowdhury, Author at Sportzwiki

Saif Ahmed Chowdhury

A passionate guy for whom cricket and football is not just a game and tries to interpret all the emotions through his writings.

Paul Pogba
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Pogba’s Image In France Doesn’t Reflect Who He Is – Deschamps

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France manager Didier Deschamps feels his team’s vital midfielder Paul Pogba is misunderstood and is often the subject of criticism for unnecessary reasons.

Pogba is often criticised for his poor performances.

Life has turned out little bit difficult for the World Cup winner soon after he joined Manchester United from Juventus for whooping £89.3 million in 2016. And since then, he has been heavily criticised for his every poor performance.

However in the World Cup in Russia, Pogba played a major role for France in his side’s World Cup glory. And France manager has insisted that people still doesn’t understand the type of Pogba.

“The rest of the world, and certainly in France, has an image of Pogba that doesn’t really reflect who he is. There’s this idea that he’s a bit individualistic — that’s not the case. I’ve spoken to him about his relationship with the media and I think he’s been unfairly criticised in the past. That’s why there has been this aggressive vibe and he’s had this strained relationship.”

Paul Pogba Paul Scholes

The World Cup winning manager further added:

“But criticism is part of the job and I think you learn to take that on board as you get more experienced. That’s what’s happened with him and I think he’s gained some respect. He joined us ready to become a world champion and he took the whole squad with him.”

READ MORE – Paul Pogba

Meanwhile, Pogba reacted once again with a lighthearted tweet. And he suggests whatever he writes turns into a news.

“Some people make polemic even from “good morning” to create drama. Big Pogoodmorning everyone hope u get it twisted.”

Pogba is leading Manchester United this season. However, his side hasn’t started off well as they managed to win only 3 matches out of 6 and are at 7th in the table.

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Sergio Busquets Signs a New Contract with Barcelona
Image Credits: Marca
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Sergio Busquets Signs a New Contract with Barcelona

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Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets signs a new contract with Barcelona which will keep him at Camp Nou till 2023.

Sergio Busquets’s new deal includes €500 million release clause.

Busquets, who is a La Masia product has been a vital player for Barcelona for the last few years. And it was only about time for the midfielder to sign a new contract with the La Liga champions.

MUST READ | Messi Net Worth, Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth

The new contract includes a €500 million (£445m/$585m) release clause. With his deal, he has now edged a step closer to hanging up his boots as a one-club man. As he is already 30 years old, he will be looking to retire at Camp Nou after his contract expires.

In the recent time, some reports suggested that he might look for a new challenge. A reunion with his former manager Pep Guardiola at Manchester City was also rumored, but now all the speculation has come to an end with the new contract.

Sergio Busquets Signs a New Contract with Barcelona
Sergio Busquets Signs a New Contract with Barcelona

With Lionel Messi as a fine example, Barcelona is also taking a good care of their homegrown player. They raised the fee required to trigger a buyout from €200m to its current mark at €500m.

Busquets is now only 10 matches away to make 500 appearances for Barcelona. He will be also looking to add more titles under his name. The midfielder so far has won seven La Liga titles, six Copas del Rey, three Champions League crowns, three FIFA Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups and six Spanish Super Cups with the club.

Busquets has also been an integral part of the Spain national team throughout his career. He helped his side to World Cup glory in 2010 and a second European Championship triumph in 2012.

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Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard (Credits: Twitter)
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I Only Care About Winning, Not Messi-Ronaldo Comparisons – Eden Hazard

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Chelsea star Eden Hazard is happy and proud to be compared with players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. However, he insists that he prefers winning more than getting compared with other players.

Hazard will like winning trophies for the team rather than getting compared with Messi or Ronaldo.

The man in form Hazard scored an absolutely stunning goal this week to guide Chelsea to a 2-1 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. He has been highly praised by manager Maurizio Sarri. And he believes Hazard can score 40 goals this season.

MUST READ | Ronaldo Net Worth, Lionel Messi Net Worth

Earlier, Ross Barkley blasted a big statement saying his team-mate is better than Ronaldo and Messi right now. However, the Belgium star isn’t concerned with statistics or comparisons.

After the match against Liverpool, Hazard said:

“I don’t have (goal) targets to be fair – my only target is to win something every year. I want to win trophies. It is not important how many goals I score. You know me, I don’t care about that. I just want to enjoy my football and win games. At the moment I am scoring goals, that is why everyone is talking for me to be in the top three (players). It is a pleasure to be there.”

Eden Hazard

The playmaker also revealed what helps him perform better.

“It won’t be simple. Definitely not in the Premier League. I’m feeling good since the FA Cup final. Something you see. I play in strong teams, here with Chelsea and with Belgium who was very good at the World Cup, and that helps me to perform better too.”

Hazard is yet to sign a new contract with Chelsea. But at the moment, he is loving life at the Stamford Bridge.

“Even when the things are not going well, I try to be happy when I am on the pitch. That is why I like football. At the moment, we are winning games so it is more easy to smile but when I am on the pitch I just try to be happy. At the moment it is good. I am scoring goals, we are playing good, so I am enjoying it but we will see in the future.”

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Germany To Host 2024 Euro

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UEFA confirmed on Thursday that Germany will host the 2024 Euro after winning the bid with Turkey.

After seeing off Turkey’s challenge, Germany is set to host 2024 Euro.

After the 2006 World Cup, it will be the first major international tournament staged in Germany. The team won the Euro thrice, however they won the tournament last back in 1996.

Former German captain Philipp Lahm served as an ambassador for the bid. They will host the games in 10 cities. The top stadiums are Bayern’s Allianz Arena, Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion and Berlin’s Olympiastadion. Gelsenkirchen, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Leipzig and Frankfurt are also included.

Portugal are currently the Euro champions after they won the title in 2016 beating hosts France in the final. The Euro 2024 will return  to the traditional arrangement of a single host nation. However, Euro 2020 is set to take place in 12 cities spread across the continent.

Germany To Host 2024 Euro 1
Photo: Getty

Olympic Stadium will host the final of the 24-team tournament. 51 games are scheduled for up to 32 days in June and July. Turkey will consider themselves very unlucky as they lost their fourth bid in the past five Euro bidding races.

Turkey’s bid was marked down because of the airports, railways, roads and stadiums. Particularly, because its economy is struggling. While ermany’s hotel stock, stadiums and transport infrastructure are in place and of high quality.

The 2014 World champions have almost 300,000 more tickets to sell, and promises ‘sizeable and reliable revenues’ for UEFA. They have also net capacity of 2.78 million seats compared to Turke’s 2.49 million. A currency crisis in Turkey has seen the lira lose almost half its value against UEFA’s working currency in the past year.

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Paul Pogba Manchester United
Paul Pogba talks about his life at Manchester United. Image Courtesy: Getty
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Pogba Will Be Gone In January – Paul Ince

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With Paul Pogba in the headlines week in and out, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince feels the midfielder’s time at Old Trafford is over.

Pogba is living a controversial life at Manchester United at the moment.

Along with Manchester United, Pogba’s season has started off not too well. And his relationship with manager Jose Mourinho seems to get worse day by day.

After coming back to his old club from Juventus with a record £89 million deal, big things were expected from the World Cup winner Pogba. But he couldn’t live up to the expectations of the fans at Old Trafford and has often been heavily criticised for his poor performances.

Meanwhile, Paul feels Pogba wants to join the Spanish club Barcelona and the club should get rid of him if he really wants to move out.

Paul Pogba Manchester United

Paul told Paddy Power:

“If this was happening under Sir Alex, he’d have said one thing; ‘He’s going. Get rid of him now.’ Because there’s no chance he’d allow his team to become a joke because of Paul Pogba’s behaviour. I think his fate is completely sealed and he’ll be gone in January. There’s talk of Mourinho going before him. But I’d be disgraced if Ed Woodward allowed that to happen.”

The former midfielder also believes its time for United President Ed Woodward to step up and back the manager.

“If you do that, you’re essentially allowing a player to become bigger than the manager and the rest of his team. It’s time for Woodward to step up and back Jose. If he tells him that he’s upsetting the dressing room and still not playing at the level he should be, then he needs to back the manager and let him go. Pogba has caused far more trouble than he has good since returning to Man United.”

United are currently 7th in the table in Premier League with only 3 wins in their 6 matches.

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Low Disappointed As Mesut Ozil Continues To Ignore Former Manager

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German coach Joachim Low is shocked and disappointed with Mesut Ozil as he continues to ignore his former manager and keeping him away from  face-to-face talks.

Ozil announced he will no longer play for Germany after the FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Ozil, who retired from International football after the World Cup in Russia has not turned back since then. He has continued to ignore the issue and has also refrained himself to hold any personal conversation with the manager or any member from Germany.

Low visited Arsenal’s training ground during a trip to London this week. He met with  Bernd Leno and Shkodran Mustafi. But his former player Ozil was not present.

The German coach also revealed that he has been trying to contact with  Ozil over the phone, but it was all failed attempts in the end.

Low Disappointed As Mesut Ozil Continues To Ignore Former Manager 3

Low told German media:

“Mesut was not [at the training ground], so we have to accept that he does not want to talk to us at the moment. I do not know the reasons. ersonally, I am disappointed that if you have worked together for so long… I would have liked a personal conversation. Of course I would have taken the chance to speak with Mesut Ozil, [he is] still close to my heart.”

The German midfielder retired from International football stating racism and disrespect.

Meanwhile, Low sees as a boost for the nation’s footballers after a difficult last few months as they won the bid on Thursday to host the 2024 Euro.

“A tournament like this is extraordinary for a country and can be a huge motivation for young players. It’s a good step for the coming years. Everyone at the Association can now start planning.”

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UEFA Champions League 20181/19 draw
The draw for the group stages of 2018/19 Champions League have been confirmed.
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VAR To Be Available In UEFA Champions League From 2019/20

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UEFA has confirmed on Thursday that Video assistant referees (VAR) will be used in the Champions League from next season.

VAR to be included in the UEFA competitions too from next year.

The technology will also be used in  Europa League. However,  a year later from 2020-21. It will also be introduced in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup, Euro 2020 and the UEFA Nations League finals in 2021.

VAR was used in the World Cup in Russia which turned out to be a successful move. Many vital decisions were taken with the help of the technology. However, many criticized too as it slows down the momentum of the game.

From this seasons, VAR has been introduce in La Liga and Seria A too.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement:

“We are confident that introducing Video Assistant Referees in August 2019 will give us enough time to put in place a robust system. And to train match officials to ensure an efficient and successful implementation of VAR in the UEFA Champions League, the world’s flagship club competition.”

VAR To Be Available In UEFA Champions League From 2019/20 4

Earlier, the UEFA president said VAR would be introduced from the playoff round onwards. But he has now ruled out the chances and said it will not be used in any European competition this season.

Slowly VAR is getting introduced in almost all the leagues. It is now used in Europe’s top leagues, including La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Portugal’s Primeira Liga.

However, the English Premier League has decided like UEFA to further test the technology. Though, it is  expected to approve its use from next season. But, it has been used at several Carabao Cup matches in England this season. And it will also be used in multiple FA Cup ties in the future.

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Kylian Mbappe’s Three-Match Suspension Upheld By FFF

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France forward Kylian Mbappe, who conceded a three-match ban after shoving Teji Savanier to the ground couldn’t make his ban reduce as FFF have upheld the appeal.

Mbappe was shown red card after shoving Savanier to the ground.

In PSG’s 4-2 win in Ligue 1, Mbappe lost his temper at the dying minutes of the game and saw getting a red hard including a three-match suspension. Although, he apologized to his fans, he insisted that he would do it again if something similar happens to him once again.

Mbappe was hit with a three-game ban by French Professional Football League (LFP), while Savanier was handed a four-match suspension. However, it is stretched to five games because of the existence of a one-game ban in suspended sentence.

Savanier appealed to the FFF. He went above the LFP and granted a re-examination last week. Though, a decision was initially expected last week and Mbappe put his case to the FFF last Friday, the governing body finally communicated on Friday. They confirmed that  both players’ punishment remains the same.

Kylian Mbappe's Three-Match Suspension Upheld By FFF 5

After getting the red card, the youngster said:

“It’s just an accumulation of things. It’s football; you have to learn when playing in this kind of club to let it go because it’s like that everytime so if I get upset every weekend, I’m going to take several reds, so we have to be above it. No, I do not regret it. And if it was again, so I will do it again. And I will apologise to the supporters and everyone, but I cannot tolerate these kinds of gestures.”

In France, straight cards guarantee at least a one-match suspension. As a result, Mbappe missed PSG’s 4-0 home win over Saint-Etienne and Savanier missed Nimes’ draw in Bordeaux.

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Ronaldo Perez
Ronaldo and Perez are reported to share a cold bond among them as of now. Image Courtesy: Getty Images
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Ronaldo Will Come Back One Day In Santiago Bernabeu – Perez

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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has said that his former player Cristiano Ronaldo will come back one day in the Santiago Bernabue. However, he said whether Ronaldo will come back as a player or in another role is still uncertain.

The Real Madrid President believes Real Madrid will see Ronaldo again at home one day.

After ending a 9-year spell at Real Madrid, Ronaldo joined Juventus in the summer transfer window. Things haven’t gone to well for the Portugese star after the move.

He failed to win both UEFA and FIFA Player of the year as his former team-mate Luka Modric won both the awards. Modric was awarded winner on Tuesday and Ronaldo didn’t attend the ceremony.

However, Perez insisted that he would have hugged his former player if he have attended the awards ceremony.

“I would have given him a hug [if he had attended FIFA’s The Best awards]. Because, as I said [on Sunday], the Real Madrid fans are very proud to have counted with Cristiano for nine seasons. He is the worthy successor of Alfredo Di Stefano. He is the player who has scored more goals in the history of Madrid. And I think that he is one of those players who will be in the hearts of the Real Madrid fans and will [be remembered] from generation to generation. He is one of those that one day will come back.”

Luka Modric named best male player at FIFA awards

Meanwhile, Perez also believes Modric deserves the award more than Ronaldo as he helped Real Madrid to their third consecutive UCL and led Croatia to the final of the World Cup.

“There’s no question that Modric has been the best player this year, both for his club team, Real Madrid, as well as with the Croatian national team.Everyone clapped in recognition of his excellent season when his name was announced. For us, who placed our faith in him many years ago, this is the reward for many years of fine football, hard work, quality and effort, and I’ve only got words of satisfaction.”

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I Was Never Offered No. 7 – Marco Asensio

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Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio has finally broken his silence and revealed that he was never offered the no.7 shirt after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus.

Asensio revealed he was not offered no. 7 after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Right after Ronaldo was on his way to Juventus, the talking point was who would get the no.7 shirt. And Marco Asensio was the man who was seen as the front-runner.

According to reports, it was reported that the Spain star was offered the no. 7, but he rejected it. But the winger himself has denied the claims and said he was never offered.

Asensio, who scored the only goal in Real Madrid 1-0 win over Espanyol said after the match:

“They didn’t offer me the No. 7. The club never said anything to me about it and I didn’t have the chance to decide.”

In the end, the number was given to the Real Madrid’s new signing Mariano Diaz.

I Was Never Offered No. 7 - Marco Asensio 6

He was also asked if he liked the No. 10 as an alternative. But he said it’s already on Luka Modric and he’s the perfect man to wear it.

“It’s a number I always liked. But now it’s in good hands. In the future I would like it.”

Meanwhile, Real Madrid President has announced that his side will not play a a Liga game in the United States if asked.

“We will not go to the United States. I don’t know in whose interest it [a game in the U.S.] is, but is not in the interests of the clubs and the fans. We will categorically refuse.”

La Liga President Javier Tebas earlier said whoever does end up going to the U.S. will do so voluntarily. And Perez has said that will not be Madrid.

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