Ronald Koeman defends Messi amid controversy: “Leo deserves more respect” | The State
With a brace from Leo Messi, Barça beat Granada 0-4.
Photo:
David Ramos / Getty Images
After Barcelona’s 0-4 win over Granada, Ronald Koeman recognized the importance of Lionel messi, the author of two of the goals, be on the team and explained why.
According to what was said in the press conference after the duel, the strategist thinks that the work of the entire team has helped them to have added 9 points in their last three games, but stressed that the presence of a Leo Messi plugged in is essential for the proper functioning of the set.
“Barcelona need Messi for his game, for his importance in creating opportunities and for his effectiveness “he initially noted.
And he continued: “The team is improving a lot. It was a very important week and we got the nine points and with a good game, which gives me a lot of confidence ahead. We have been much superior, we have created opportunities, we have had possession of the ball and we have not conceded chances ”.
Koeman: “Barsa need Leo” 👏
After the double against Granada, the Dutch coach once again highlighted Messi’s contribution to “the game, the creation of opportunities and effectiveness”. Look at everything he said at the conference! 🎤 ▶ ️ https://t.co/mI6fyxcjuC pic.twitter.com/8JXYGaaGvw
Finally, Ronald Koeman revealed the key to his latest victories and gave fans hope to continue with good results.
“If we get ahead on the scoreboard, we are difficult to beat. It is a very complicated season due to many circumstances and we will fight until the end ”, declared the Dutchman.
Ludo King Gets Quick Ludo, Up to Six Player Online Multiplayer Modes
Ludo King has added two new modes to the highly popular mobile and desktop game – Quick Ludo and Five to Six Player Ludo. Gametion Technologies, the developer of the game, says that these were the most sought-after features as they wanted to connect with more of their friends online. Players can also voice chat with each other while playing the game. Ludo King has crossed 500 million downloads worldwide back in December last year and has seen significant growth in the past nine months.
Gametion Technologies announced via a press release that two new features have been added to Ludo King. The first is Quick Ludo, that allows players to play quick games instead of the typically long matches. A regular game of Ludo usually lasts around 15 minutes to 40 minutes. With Quick Ludo, players can wrap up a game in just five minutes. This mode is ideal for playing while traveling or during short breaks.
Five to six player mode, as the name suggests, allows up to six players to play at a time against each other. Initially, the six-player mode was only available in offline multiplayer but now, six players can link up online and play. In this mode, voice chat is also available that will allow players to exchange banters during the game.
Ludo King saw a significant growth in the past nine months due to the pandemic that forced people to stay home. The developers shared that its Daily Active Users (DAUs) increased from 15 million to 32 million and Monthly Average Users (MAUs) went from 110 million to 142 million in the last nine months. This allowed Ludo King to cross the 500 million-download mark worldwide in December 2020 and become the most downloaded game on App Store India for the year, according to the company.
Ludo King is available for free on Google Play, App Store, and on Windows.
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Lampard “dreams of managing Barcelona” after missing out on move as player
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard reportedly has a long-term dream to coach in Spain – and is specifically attracted to Catalan giants Barcelona.
The 42-year-old started his managerial career with Derby County in 2018, but spent just one season at Pride Park before taking the reigns at the Blues.
He has had an up-and-down spell so far, and is coming under increasing pressure after a run of form which has seen Chelsea win just one of their last six Premier League games.
But according to Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué, Lampard has high hopes for the future – and is keen to one day take charge at the Nou Camp.
Frank Lampard is under pressure at Chelsea (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking on the Esport3 program ‘Onze’, Balagué said: “His dream is to train in La Liga and do what he couldn’t do during his days as a player.
“He would like to sit in the dugout at the Nou Camp and coach Barca in the not too distant future.”
Lampard was linked with a move to either Real Madrid or Barcelona numerous times during his playing career.
But in the end nothing materialised, and in the end he spent 13 years at Stamford Bridge, where he won three Premier League titles and a Champions League.
Despite his apparent hopes and dreams, for now Lampard’s focus will simply be on keeping his job at Chelsea.
Lampard faced Barcelona a number of times as a player (Image: Daily Mirror)
He and his side have a great chance to get back to winning ways when they host Morecambe in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup on Sunday before taking on Fulham in a West London derby in the Premier League next Friday.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are currently managed by Ronald Koeman, and their hopes of winning La Liga this season seem all but over as they sit ten points behind leaders Atletico Madrid having played a game more.
Mikel Arteta’s multi-player transfer plan begins with William Saliba loan deal
William Saliba is Arsenal’s second defender to exit the Emirates in the January transfer window – with the promise of more to follow.
The 19-year-old French defender, still yet to make his senior Gunners debut, is joining Nice on loan.
His return to Ligue 1 is the second temporary deal already signed off by the North London club this month, with Sead Kolasinac returning to Bundesliga crisis club Schalke.
But while the absence of any kind of purchase option in Saliba’s switch to the Cote d’Azur shows that he remains part of Arsenal’s long-term planning, club chiefs are forging ahead with plans for a cull within its defensive ranks between now and the end of summer.
Manager Mikel Arteta – who gave the all-clear for Saliba to exit having deemed him not yet ready for Premier League action – is continuing with plans to revamp the side’s defensive line.
This season has seen Arteta use a plethora of centre-backs at the heart of his defence, as the Spaniard has chopped and changed between using a flat back four and a central defensive trio.
Mikel Arteta is planning further changes at Arsenal (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
He has recently reverted to a back four with Rob Holding and Pablo Mari striking up a solid partnership in Arsenal’s recent three-match winning run.
Summer signing Gabriel Magalhaes has impressed since arriving from Lille in the summer and remains the club’s long-term first choice.
Indeed the left-side of defence is already nailed down for the coming years, with the left-footed Brazilian and Kieran Tierney, plus Mari in place as a solid back up to Gabriel.
Kieran Tierney will be first-choice for the next decade (Image: (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images))
It is the right-sided roles which are of greater concern. Currently it is Holding and Hector Bellerin in possession of the shirts, but the former has forever been seen as a backup option – and that is unlikely to change – while the Spaniard is once more being linked with an exit in the summer, this time back to Barcelona, with presidential candidate Joan Laporta keen on a return.
A clear out is expected over the next eight months and when Saliba returns from his loan at the Allianz Riviera, things are expected to look very differently.
Sokratis is already half out the door, having been left out of the club’s Premier League squad in the first half of the season. His deal is up in the summer but Arsenal are hoping European interest will come to fruition to get the veteran Greek off the books this month.
Shkodran Mustafi, who rejected a contract extension offer last year, is for sale but the club have struggled to find a buyer for the Germany international thus far – as in previous transfer windows. Like Sokratis, his deal is up in the summer and he is keen to return to mainland Europe.
The German defender is out of favour and can go (Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Calum Chambers is down the pecking order and can depart this month, potentially on loan with a view to a permanent exit at a later date, while they’ll hope a buyer can be sought for Kolasinac too.
And David Luiz, who has also fallen from first-team favour, will be allowed to exit in the summer when his own big-money contract expires.
Ahead of 2021-22, the question will return to whether Saliba is ready to partner Gabriel, or if the club pursues another right-footed centre-back.
The situation at right-back, where Bellerin is holding off Ainsley Maitland-Niles, with Cedric Soares in the background too, will also be more clear.
As it stands none are guaranteed to depart given their respective contract situations, but nor are any guaranteed to be in situ when the first game of next season rolls around.
Will William Saliba become first choice at Arsenal? Have your say in the comments.
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Arsenal make contact with first January target as player-plus-cash deal proposed
Arsenal have reportedly made contact with Norwich over a player-plus-cash deal for highly-rated midfielder Emiliano Buendia.
Mikel Arteta has big plans to overhaul his misfiring Gunners side this January, and wants to strengthen his midfield as a matter of urgency.
Arteta’s main priority is to offload the deadwood.
The Gunners have already parted company with Sead Kolasinac, who has joined Schalke on loan, while William Saliba is in France ahead of a move to Nice.
A number of other defenders including Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi and Calum Chambers could all soon follow suit.
Arsenal had been linked with Real Madrid midfielder Isco at the start of the campaign, but Emile Smith Rowe has excelled in the number 10 role in recent weeks, prompting Arteta to reconsider a transfer for the Spaniard.
Mikel Arteta (right) is said to be keen on signing Norwich midfielder Emiliano Buendia (Image: REUTERS)
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Buendia, 24, wouldn’t be a high-profile signing like Isco, but according to The Independent, Arsenal are keen on signing the midfielder and have already made contact.
A player-plus-cash deal for the Argentine has been proposed, which could see either Joe Willock or Reiss Nelson go the other way.
Arsenal have spoken to Buendia’s agent, but a deal is still a long way off, the report adds.
Norwich want at least £40million for their prized asset, which is why Arsenal are looking at options to send a player to Carrow Road to sweeten the deal.
A player-plus-cash deal for the Argentine has been proposed (Image: Getty Images)
Canaries boss Daniel Farke is adamant the player will not be leaving this month.
Farke said: “Emi is a key player for us, an important member of the group, and he is totally committed to us. He is our player and will continue to be our player. He is on a long-term contract so we keep him.
“Everyone knows his qualities – I don’t expect interest just because he scored a wondergoal today [against Barnsley]. People know what he can do.”
Will Arsenal finish in the Premier League top four this season? Have your say here.
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Kyrie Irving scoffs at idea of player-coach ‘disconnect’
Steve Nash has often eschewed calling timeouts, saying he wants his Brooklyn Nets to play through things themselves and problem solve on the floor.
On Sunday, Kyrie Irving took matters into his own hands during Brooklyn’s 123-122 loss to the Wizards at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn’s defense was in disarray and getting torn up on switches by Washington’s Rui Hachimura. The forward scored three Wizards baskets and assisted on the fourth in a run before Irving called a timeout with 7:35 in the third.
Asked to elaborate on the seeming disconnect between the bench and the players, Irving pushed back against the question.
“Disconnect? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snapped. “This is basketball. It’s pretty simple.”
Kevin Durant claimed not to have noticed the whole affair.
“I didn’t even see that,” said Durant. “But Steve knows when to call timeouts. He knows what he’s doing over there. We all trust him. He’s only going to get more comfortable as time goes on.”
Durant and Irving were doing their own on-court coaching.
Irving appeared to counsel Caris LeVert after his young teammate picked up a technical. And Durant pulled Joe Harris aside after a defensive breakdown and implored the small forward not to get caught over-helping him, something both have admitted the Nets have been guilty of.
“I had my guy bottled up, and I [saw] somebody out the side of my eye just coming over trying to, I guess, just trying to give some resistance,” said Durant. “I told guys, if I’ve got somebody inside the 3-point line and they pick their dribble up, there’s no need for you to help. And Joe understood.“And I also told him that he can guard, so you don’t have to help so much on him. He can guard it one-on-one. I think we’re all starting to understand each other even more. It’s only going to get better.”
There was a lot of coaching going on out on the court, with Nets players talking to one another. Irving saw a value in those teachable moments.
“It’s basketball. We should be able to communicate out there openly,” said Irving. “So just want to make adjustments on the fly. Just got to continue to get better at that.”
LeVert had just six points on 3 of 13 shooting. He sat down the stretch in favor of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who bounced back with 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting from deep.
Spencer Dinwiddie hasn’t had surgery yet, but he posted a picture on Instagram of himself working out. Nash commented that the versatile guard’s absence is underrated.
“He’s almost the forgotten guy in a sense when you throw him out there in the lineup, but he’s about as well-rounded a player as we have along with Kevin and Ky,” said Nash.
Nets coach Steve NashAP
“He has great size. … He defends well for his position, he’s one of our best athletes, and he can score, playmake, handle the ball and brings a lot to the table. So we miss a lot. He fills a lot of gaps for our team.”
Hall of Famer Paul Westphal died Saturday at the age of 70. His last position in the NBA was as a Nets assistant in 2016.
He was diagnosed with brain cancer last August.
“The Brooklyn Nets mourn the loss of former Nets assistant coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Westphal,” the Nets said in a statement. “Our thoughts and condolences are with his loved ones.”
Adobe Flash Player Departs: How to Still Play Flash Games
Adobe Flash Player, the software that once gained massive popularity for bringing interactive content to the Web world and took animations to new levels, has finally reached the end of its life. While it might not be that known among the Gen-Z audience due to the arrival of newer technologies, the Flash Player plug-in was a must-have among PC users until the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was embraced by a large number of Web developers around the world to bring rich experiences to browsers. However, over time, Flash Player started facing criticism for security issues and performance constraints.
Back in July 2017, Adobe first announced the retirement of Flash Player. It came as a collaborative decision in partnership with Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Mozilla. The San Jose, California-headquartered company also started encouraging developers to migrate their existing Flash content to new standards.
As a result of the end of its life, Flash Player won’t receive any new software versions or even security updates. Adobe also announced last month that it would start blocking videos and animations running on Flash from January 12.
The gradual move to depart Flash Player from the ever-growing world of Web was not imagined by many when it was introduced back in 1996. In fact, it became a huge success shortly after its debut. Adobe revealed that over three million developers used its proprietary offering to build interactive and animated Web content. Not just Web developers, many app developers and even the ones who built thousands of apps for mobile devices also used Flash to bring richness.
Adobe highlighted that 24 of the top 25 Facebook apps used its Flash technology and the top nine Flash-based games in China generated over $70 million (roughly Rs. 511 crores) a month.
However, as the tech world shifted from desktops and laptops to smartphones and tablets, Adobe started facing difficulties in retaining the appeal of Flash Player. The company did optimise the experience with some updates in the past, but the software eventually lost its shine.
“Open standards such as HTML5, WebGL, and WebAssembly have continually matured over the years and serve as viable alternatives for Flash content. Also, major browser vendors are integrating these open standards into their browsers and deprecating most other plug-ins (like Flash Player),” Adobe wrote in the end-of-life note of Flash Player.
In addition to the arrival of open standards, Adobe Flash Player had failed to come to grips with some severe security flaws that played an important role in its departure.
The loss of Flash Player has already impacted game publishers including Zynga that recently announced shutting down of FarmVille, one of the most played games based on Flash. Several Web developers are also spending time in learning more about HTML5 to keep abreast of the new landscape.
How to still play Flash games
Adobe is no longer supporting Flash Player and so do Web browsers, including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. However, there are still ways through which you can evoke your nostalgia and play your old Flash games on your system. The Internet Archive website, that is a known place for archived webpages, provides a dedicated Flash library with over 2,400 items. It includes Flash games as well as animations. You don’t need to have Flash plug-in installed on your browser to play Flash content from that library.
An open-source project called Ruffle is also in development that allows users to experience Flash content in a Web browser, without installing a plug-in. It comes as a Flash Player emulator that natively runs animated content. The project is also providing support to Web developers to convert their existing Flash animations into JavaScript.
For people who want to run Flash content, a site known as Newgrounds has used Ruffle to serve older animated content. A Newgrounds Flash Player is also available for Windows machines that you can install on your PC or laptop to play Flash content from your browser, even without using the traditional Flash Player plug-in.
If you want to play Flash animations and games offline, you can download Flashpoint by BlueMaxima. It comes in two different variants — Flashpoint Ultimate 9.0 for archivists and data hoarders and Flashpoint Infinity 9.0 for casual players. The software comes preloaded with various Flash animations and games. It is essentially targeted at Windows users, though experimental versions of Flashpoint are also available for Mac and Linux machines.
Ways to remove Flash Player
Adobe is recommending users to remove Flash Player from their computers. “Uninstalling Flash Player will help to secure your system since Adobe does not intend to issue Flash Player updates or security patches after the end-of-life date,” the company said.
You can remove Flash Player from your computer by downloading the Flash Player uninstaller provided by Adobe for both 64- and 32-bit versions of the Windows operating systems. After downloading, you need to exit your browser and other programs that use Flash. Once the uninstallation completes, you need to delete Flash Player files and folders manually from your system. You can find them by running C:Windowssystem32MacromedFlash.
Similar to Windows computers, Adobe has provided a dedicated uninstaller for devices running on macOS. It is available in two variants and is compatible with all recent macOS versions. A separate workaround has also been provided by Adobe to disable Flash Player plug-in from your browser.
Is MacBook Air M1 the portable beast of a laptop that you always wanted? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
Every Arsenal player’s salary and where Arteta could free up transfer funds
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has admitted that the club’s priority in the January transfer window will be outgoings, with the Gunners’ squad so bloated that a number of senior players did not make their Premier League squad.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s game against West Brom, Arteta said: “Well, we have a large squad. We knew that.
“A lot of things that should have happened in the summer we could not accomplish them for different reasons. There are a lot of players that are going to go on loan.
“They are going to leave. And that’s the priority at the moment because we cannot sustain the numbers that we have in certain positions.
Mikel Arteta has revealed that Arsenal are looking to offload players in January (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Here, with the help of Spotrac, we’ve had a look at the highest earners at Arsenal to see who they may look to ship out in January.
Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are obvious candidates to leave, given they were left out of the Gunners’ Premier League squad at the start of the season and are high earners, with Ozil on £350,000-a-week and Sokratis on £92,000-a-week.
However, that is easier said than done, with their wages pricing a number of potential suitors out of a move.
Mesut Ozil has been frozen out by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta this season, despite being the club’s top earner (Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Sead Kolasinac, said to be earning £100,000-a-week, has returned to Schalke on loan, while Shkodran Mustafi, on £90,000-a-week, has emerged as a shock target for Barcelona and Arsenal would surely be happy to get him off the wage bill.
Cedric Soares, £75,000-a-week, is also failing to provide value for money, with Hector Bellerin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles ahead of him in the pecking order.
The likes of Calum Chambers (£50,000-a-week), William Saliba (£40,000-a-week) and Reiss Nelson (£15,000-a-week) could also be shipped out on loan in a bid to get regular game time.
Sokratis has also been frozen out and Arsenal will be looking to get his £92,000-a-week wages off their bill (Image: REUTERS)
Below is the full list of Arsenal Players’ weekly wages.
Mesut Ozil, £350,000
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, £250,000
Thomas Partey, £250,000
Willian, £192,308
Alexandre Lacazette, £182,063
Hector Bellerin, £110,000
David Luiz, £100,962
Sead Kolasinac, £100,000
Bernd Leno, £100,000
Nicolas Pepe, £100,000
Granit Xhaka, £100,000
Sokratis Papastathopoulos, £92,000
Gabriel Martinelli, £90,000
Shkodran Mustafi, £90,000
Pablo Mari, £85,000
Kieran Tierney, £80,769
Cedric is said to be earning £75,000-a-week as Arsenal’s third choice right-back (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Eusebio, former Barcelona player and former Spanish coach, is in induced coma The State
Eusebio suffered a fall and a head injury.
Photo:
Archive / Getty Images
The former soccer player and coach Eusebio Sacristán is in an induced coma after undergoing surgery this Thursday at the Hospital Clínico de Valladolid to improve the intracranial pressure that has caused a clot in the head, as a result of a fall and a head injury, according to health sources.
Eusebio will remain hospitalized pending his evolution, as reported by the Foundation that bears his name in a statement and, By express wish of the family of the former soccer player and coach, it will be said entity that provides the news about his health.
Since acute complications in this type of trauma derive from increased cranial pressure, the intervention has been carried out to that pressure drops and you should remain intubated and in an induced coma until his evolution is verified in the next few hours.
Eusebio Sacristán’s family wanted to transmit “A sincere thanks” to all the people, the media and colleagues in the world of sport who are taking an interest in their health.
Eusebius Sacristán Mena was trained in the Real Valladolid quarry to make his debut in the first team at the age of 19 and, after four years, he signed for Atlético de Madrid, where he spent a season, to spend the next seven seasons at Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona.
After signing for the Celta de Vigo in the 1995/96 season and playing there for two years, he returned to Real Valladolid, where he said goodbye as a player in 2002, with 543 accumulated games, which made him the third player who has played the most official games in the history of the League, only behind Zubizarreta and Raúl González.
As a technician, Eusebio has trained Celta de Vigo, the Barcelona subsidiary, Real Sociedad and Girona, from which he left in 2019, without having returned to occupy a bench since then, which is why during this time he has turned to the Foundation that bears his name and now resides in Valladolid.
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Man Utd talisman Bruno Fernandes responds to PFA Player of the Year award hype
Bruno Fernandes has played down talk of him winning this season’s PFA Player of the Year award, insisting success with Man Utd comes first.
The Portuguese midfielder is one of the early front runners for the individual accolade following an impressive start to the 2020/21 campaign.
Fernandes has the second-highest tally of combined goals and assists in the top flight so far, behind only Tottenham’s Harry Kane.
But while United’s talisman is on course to at least be one of the nominees for the trophy, he feels United’s performance as a team will determine whether it’s his name announced as the winner.
“If we win trophies, it is the most important thing,’ Fernandes told MUTV.
Bruno Fernandes has dismissed any early talk of him winning the PFA Players award (Image: PA)
“Of course, it’s good for a player to win individual awards and I will never say I don’t want to be the best player in the league or I don’t want to be the PFA Player of the Season. I want to be [that] but I want to be [that] if the team wins trophies.
“If the team does win trophies, for me, it’s the same. For me, the most important thing is to help my team-mates to also be Player of the Season.
“That’s the most important thing because, if someone from the club is Player of the Season, it means that we do very, very well this season.”
Manchester United are looking to plot their path back to the top.
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United have given themselves a decent chance of lifting some silverware as the season approaches its halfway point.
The Red Devils are just three points off league leaders Liverpool with a game in hand, and also have a cup semi-final to come.
Keeping Fernandes fit and on song will be key to their prospects, particularly with a top of the table showdown to come in January.
Who is your pick for the PFA Player of the Year award so far? Have your say below.
Fernandes has directly contributed to 17 goals for United thus far this campaign (Image: Manchester United via Getty Imag)
But the 26-year-old is adamant any special recognition he receives is a product of the team environment which has helped him thrive at Old Trafford.
“I think we will always be happy if someone else takes an individual award because it means the team is doing well,” he added. “Nobody in football, a team sport, wins an individual trophy just doing well himself.
“You have to do well but you have to have the help of your team-mates to do well. When you have an individual trophy, of course, you are doing really well and deserve the credit but that credit goes to the team because they help you do better and better.”
