segunda-feira, 28 de novembro de 2016
HSV zieht U19-Talent in den Profi-Kader
Jonas Behounek unterschreibt beim HSV bis 2019
Der Hamburger SV gibt einem Youngster aus der hauseigenen U19 eine Chance, sich unter Profi-Bedingungen zu beweisen. Jonas Behounek unterschreibt bei den Hanseaten einen Vertrag bis 2019.
Behounek wechselte 2012 von Eintracht Norderstedt in die Hamburger Jugend und durchlief ab der U16 alle Junioren-Teams des HSV. In dieser Saison kam er in der A-Junioren-Bundesliga Nord/Nordost zwölf Mal zum Einsatz und verpasste damit nur eine einzige Partie.
Beim 5:1-Sieg bei Carl-Zeiss Jena steuerte der 18-Jährige als Linksverteidiger eine Torvorlage bei. Ansonsten kam Behounek vor allem als Rechtsverteidiger zum Einsatz und avancierte in den letzten Begegnungen sogar zum Kapitän der U19. In den letzten Wochen hatte der Youngster bereits beim Profi-Team des HSV mittrainiert.
Schalkes Embolo: "Geht von Tag zu Tag besser"
Breel Embolo fehlt dem FC Schalke 04 momentan verletzungsbedingt
Breel Embolo fehlt dem FC Schalke 04 bereits rund anderthalb Monate aufgrund eines Wadenbeinbruchs. Noch ist die Leidenszeit des Angreifers nicht vorbei. Weitere quälende Monate in der Reha stehen noch vor ihm. Doch der 19-Jährige blickt positiv nach vorn.
"Es gibt schlimmere Sachen", sagte Embolo gegenüber "Radio Basilisk" über die Arbeit für sein Comeback. "Ich bin froh, dass es von Tag zu Tag besser geht", freute sich der Offensivmann und schickte bereits eine Kampfansage in Richtung Gelsenkirchen: "Ich will so schnell wie möglich gesund werden und bei Schalke wieder voll angreifen."
Die Ärzte hätten ihm jedoch auch klar gemacht, dass er nichts überstürzen dürfe. "Das prügeln sie mir jeden Tag in den Kopf, dass ich nicht zu schnell anfangen darf", berichtete Embolo. "Aber die Genesung läuft super. Ich habe drei Physios, die sich um mich kümmern."
"Alle haben mich nach der Verletzung unterstützt"
Klinikleiter Frank Denzler ist mit dem Heilungsverlauf des Schweizers zufrieden: "Breel ist sehr weit und macht große Fortschritte. Er kann den Fuss immer mehr belasten." Im Abstand von mehreren Wochen würden regelmässige Kontrollen gemacht und die Belastungen entsprechend angepasst.
Der 22,5-Millionen-Euro-Mann zeigte sich erfreut über die Unterstützung und Rückendeckung aus Gelsenkirchen. "Alle haben mich nach der Verletzung unterstützt. Ich wurde schon vorher sehr gut aufgenommen", sagte er. "Die Begeisterung in Gelsenkirchen ist riesig, auf jedem Auto klebt ein Schalke-Aufkleber. Wenn man das nicht selber erlebt hat, dann würde man es kaum glauben", geriet der 19-Jährige ins Schwärmen.
Embolo bleibt weiterhin optimistisch und kann seiner Lage etwas Gutes abgewinnen: "Ich muss das Positive sehen. Ich kann mit meiner Familie zusammen sein und Kollegen treffen, die ich doch etwas vermisst habe." So sei er auch schon "ein paar Mal beim FC Basel in der Garderobe" gewesen und habe ehemalige Mitspieler besucht. "Während der Saison hat man ja kaum Zeit, Familie und Freunde zu sehen", gab der Stürmer zu, der natürlich trotzdem lieber in der Veltins Arena auf dem Rasen stehen würde.
Cosmos in Crisis: Late Pay, Furloughs cast team’s future in doubt
by DAVE MARTINEZ
The North American Soccer League has been in trouble for several months. Despite recent revelations that the league severed its ties to the embattled Traffic Sports, they are still set to lose three of their more successful teams (Minnesota United, Ottawa Fury, Tampa Bay Rowdies), with rumors quickly spreading of the possible end of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Rayo OKC.
Through it all, the NASL has been able to count on a select few clubs and investors that were always married to the cause — none more influential than the New York Cosmos.
But now, the Cosmos have troubles of their own.
Despite winning their third league cup in four seasons, the Cosmos suffered a fourth straight year of declining attendance and dwindling viability in the market. A similar situation last season meant steep budget cuts to the front office and the team roster.
This year, those cuts will go even deeper, bringing to question the team’s long term viability.
In short, the Cosmos look like they are teetering on the brink of extinction.
Again.
FRONT OFFICE CUTS, LATE PAYMENTS
Following meetings last week between Cosmos investors Sela Sports and team chairman Seamus O’Brien, the team began a series of budget cutting initiatives. Those cuts began in the front office.
The day after Thanksgiving, the majority of the Cosmos front office staff were put on furlough, with numbers ranging from 60-80% of staff. The furlough is expected to last one week, with the largest cuts happening in the ticket sales department.
While that may be surprising to some, keep this in mind: while other professional teams began their 2017 season ticket campaign in August, the Cosmos haven’t even begun selling tickets for next year. In fact, they aren’t even taking deposits. The club has maintained for months that they will engage ticket sales once a venue is selected. However, to not even accept deposits sounds alarms about the team’s long-term viability.
But that isn’t the worst of it. Payroll has also been an issue, with top-to-bottom delays in weekly salaries across the board. Pay issues have been a problem in the past, but have been mostly sporadic and negligible. Over the past three months, however, some staff have gone several weeks without pay, with many still owed payment to this day.
Those payroll issues have sent employees scrambling to secure work for next year, with several staff members actively trying to help one another in finding opportunities in the market.
PLAYER TRANSFERS, POSSIBLE RELEASES
Thanks to the work of Giovanni Savarese, the players have mostly been shielded from pay lapses. Recently, however, that hasn’t been the case. Players went nearly two weeks without pay this very month — the same month that they took home the NASL Championship. Many of those outstanding salaries were paid out late last week, but there are still lingering payments owed to a handful of players.
Whether it is massive budget cuts or simply the end of operations, it is clear that the team will certainly not operate at the current level in coming years — if at all. With that in mind, the sporting side is trying to accommodate their roster. Instead of releasing players, several team members are being actively shopped in the transfer market, hoping to find a home ahead of the uncertainty of 2017.
Whether this is an act of solidarity among the sporting department or a directive from team ownership to cash in on transfer money remains unclear.
Clearly, the Cosmos are in trouble — and that is putting it mildly. However, without confirmation of the ownership’s intent, it is difficult to etch the team’s gravestone without knowing its direction.
Yes it sounds like the team is on a fire sale, preparing to close its doors for next season. But keep this in mind: several sources have told EoS that USL’s D2 status is all but secured for the 2017 season. We have also heard that, though the provision exists to maintain two D2 leagues under the USSF pyramid, the governing body is against the idea of engaging in such a convoluted scenario.
With the NASL in a tailspin, it could very well be that the Cosmos, like other NASL teams (Jacksonville Armada), are reducing staff and roster budget to get in line with a D3 model.
Another scenario exists where the team could once again enact stringent budget cuts — reductions that would make this year’s initiatives look forgiving in comparison. Last year, the team cut some of their more handsomely compensated front office employees and also enacted a major reduction to their on-field budget. After another cataclysmic year at the gate, it stands to reason that the club could be looking at a bare-bones operation for 2017.
Still, it is impossible to ignore the facts. The team hasn’t taken ticket deposits for next year. The location of their 2017 home venue, still believed to be MCU Park, remains a mystery. Players are being shopped for transfer. Payroll isn’t being met. Staff are being furloughed.
Does that sound like a team that is gearing up for the New Year?
The NASL is conducting a Board of Governors meeting this Tuesday to address the future of the league. And for the first time since its reincarnation, one can only guess if the Cosmos will be a part of that future.
Reports: NYCFC are looking to purchase remaining stake in Ronald Matarrita
by CHRISTIAN ARAOS
New York City FC only purchased half of Ronald Matarrita’s contract last season and are looking to secure full ownership of the player, La Nación reports.
NYCFC have made a $350,000 offer to Alajuelense for full ownership of Matarrita’s contract. That was declined. They reportedly bought half of his contract and his transfer rights for $525,000 last year. Alajuelense officials believe that with interest in Matarrita coming from overseas, it can receive a higher fee for its share of the player. Pinto suggested that NYCFC rejected an offer from Club Brugge in Belgium.
“I hope New York sells him for two or three million because [we] would take a great slice,” Alajuelense club president Raúl Pinto said. “It would be 50% of the sale and if they already rejected a $1.5 million fee then imagine the share we would retain.”
NYCFC hold negotiating rights for Matarrita and announced Monday that they had exercised their option on the player. Hamburg and Borussia Dortmund are interested in signing Matarrita in the January window but City value him well beyond the $1.5 million Brugge offered. If City were to sell Matarrita now, they would collect two-thirds of half the transfer fee. If they first purchase the remaining share of Matarrita then sell him, then they would collect two-thirds of the fee.
“We are waiting for the right offer for Matarrita,” incoming Alajuelense president Fernando Ocampo said. “[He was] declared one of the best defenders in the MLS, who has proven his worth, young, with a privileged left and with a speed that many admire. I am sure that soon it will happen to a better league “
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action- one
1) Arsenal cannot do without Sánchez
On the corresponding weekend of last season, Alexis Sánchez suffered the hamstring injury at Norwich City that would rule him out for two months. It was the afternoon when the Arsenal forward had also been pushed into the TV camera pit at Carrow Road by Ryan Bennett – an act that Arsène Wenger said “could have killed” the Chilean. Arsenal’s hopes have come to be closely linked to Sánchez’s fitness, on him staying out of the red zone, and there was plenty of nervousness at the club when he hurt his hamstring in training with Chile during the most recent international break. But he came through the scare and he was indefatigable in the 3-1 home win over Bournemouth on Sunday, when his two goals and all-round hustle made the difference. “Even when he looks dead, he is still alive,” Wenger said, with a smile. David Hytner
2) Guardiola’s changes keep City fresh
Only three Premier League teams have reached 30 points a third of the way into the season and the fact that Manchester City are among them gives Pep Guardiola immense satisfaction. “We have had to play eight more games than Liverpool and Chelsea because they are not in Europe,” the City manager said after the hard-fought victory at Burnley. He did not add that two of them were torrid affairs against Barcelona, though he could have done. “We can now take a week to prepare for our game against Chelsea, we are only a point off the top of the table and that is why I am so happy with the first half of the season.” One of the reasons City had to work hard at Turf Moor was that John Stones was surprisingly rested. David Silva and Ilkay Gündogan were given days off too, and Kevin De Bruyne came on from the bench, but Guardiola admitted City found it difficult to deal with Burnley’s aerial onslaught because “their players are taller than ours”. It was a rotation policy that could have backfired. Burnley would not have been flattered by a draw if an early penalty had been awarded for a clear foul by Nicolás Otamendi, though Guardiola managed to get away with keeping key players fresh before the leaders’ visit to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. “There are a lot of games, that’s why you have 23 players,” he said. “But you don’t have to use them all each week, you can go with just 14.” Paul Wilson
3) What a difference two months has made for Chelsea
Antonio Conte believes Chelsea are a “different team” now compared to that which wilted so alarmingly against Liverpool and Arsenal, with the leaders buoyed by seven consecutive wins and confident they can impose themselves against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. It is a conviction shared by his players. “Two months ago we went to Arsenal and we weren’t ready, but now we know what we have to do,” Eden Hazard said. “Manchester City and Liverpool are both good so, if we want to be top at the end, we have to finish above them.” One key member of that revived selection, the winger turned wing-back Victor Moses, is set to start talks over an improved contract in the new year having attracted interest from Barcelona in recent weeks. The Nigeria international, who scored the winner against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, has spent the past three seasons out on loan and has two years to run on his deal, but is likely to join Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois in entering talks over securing a longer-term deal. Dominic Fifield
4) Tymon gives Hull a glimmer of homegrown hope
Josh Tymon was born in May 1999, two weeks after Hull finished 21st in the fourth tier, and the 17-year-old could be key to another survival effort this season. After helping to keep Arsenal at bay in last season’s FA Cup, Tymon has impressed in EFL Cup games, where Hull’s second string have beaten Exeter, Stoke and Bristol City away from home to reach the quarter-finals. With Andrew Robertson injured, Tymon made his Premier League debut against Sunderland last week, becoming the first son of the city to play a league game for the club since Dean Windass. Tymon started at home against West Brom, and proved a match for Matt Phillips and Chris Brunt, who both tried and failed to exploit the left-back’s inexperience as Hull snatched a point. Robertson is likely to regain his place, but with Mike Phelan’s under-strength squad set to be stretched further throughout the festive period, Tymon could provide reliability and versatility beyond his years – the teenager has played in midfield in both cup competitions. Perhaps the wholehearted efforts of a local boy, reportedly earning less than £200 a week, could also have an impact off the field, with so many fans disillusioned with the state of the club. Judging by the swathes of empty seats at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday, that may be a bridge too far. Niall McVeigh
5) Spirit of Pearson may point way forward for Leicester
It was a triumph, of sorts, that Leicester City escaped with a draw against Middlesbrough from what was the champions’ worst display of the season so far. There were several problems but the one that concerned Claudio Ranieri most was his team’s sloppiness, which he attributed to the mental looseness that success has brought. So he said he wants his players to start playing not like last season but the season before, when the prospect of relegation honed the focus of a side then managed by Nigel Pearson. “They remember last season, when everybody played well and everything they tried was good but this year we have to reconnect our brains,” Ranieri said. “They must remember how it was two years ago. The mistakes [against Middlesbrough] came from losses of concentration. If you are under pressure you are very smart, attentive and very careful of every breath. It is not possible to be relaxed.” Paul Doyle
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action- two
6) Denayer’s shackling job may inspire future Liverpool opponents
The ankle injury that forced Philippe Coutinho to leave Liverpool’s victory against Sunderland on a stretcher was Jürgen Klopp’s gravest concern on Saturday, but not the only one. As soon as the referee Anthony Taylor blew the first whistle at Anfield Jason Denayer, Sunderland’s on-loan defender from Manchester City, sprinted from his holding midfield role to Coutinho’s side. He stayed there limpet-like until Liverpool’s No10 escaped for the first time and ran into the clearance from Didier Ndong that curtailed his game. In those 30 minutes, with Coutinho subdued, Sadio Mané’s touch eluding him, and Adam Lallana and Daniel Sturridge injured, Sunderland stifled the Premier League’s leading goalscorers quite comfortably. It was the introduction of Divock Origi’s strength and pace that enabled Liverpool to rediscover their threat and stretch the Sunderland defence to the point of exhaustion in the second half. Despite another important, deserved victory , Klopp was in no mood to discuss David Moyes’s deployment of Denayer on Saturday. “Man-marking?” he said. “It’s not my business. Don’t want to talk about it.” The Liverpool manager awaits confirmation of how long Coutinho will be absent with the ankle problem but he may find others copying Moyes’s tactic when the Brazil international does return. Andy Hunter
7) Payet emphasises his Champions League quality
Dimitri Payet may be tied to West Ham United until 2021 due to the new deal he signed in February but a move for the playmaker must surely be a big temptation for a Champions League challenging club in the winter transfer window. He was the best performer in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford. This was an exhibition of passing, shooting and dead ball delivery that oozed class, with Payet showing similar style to last season’s PFA Player of the Year, Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City. The Frenchman earns around £125,000 a week yet this wage and the price of around £40-45m is surely affordable for a Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur to consider making the investment. With this in mind, if West Ham reach 1 February with Payet still at the club they can consider it a success given his top-class quality. Jamie Jackson
8) Academy focus could serve Koeman well
There was no hiding Ronald Koeman’s anger following Everton’s insipid defeat at St Mary’s and the sense is that he has had enough after a run of one win in eight games. Changes to a generally settled team are surely needed and they could be significant – the captain Phil Jagielka, for instance, could be among those dropped for Sunday’s visit of Manchester United after looking well off the pace against Southampton. Ross Barkley may also be for the chop after another ineffective display by the midfielder at the weekend. The trouble for Koeman is that he does not have a host of stand-out alternatives in reserve. He may be tempted, then, to look at Everton’s options at academy level, although such a prospect should perhaps not fill the club’s supporters with too much hope following the Dutchman’s assertion that he “wasn’t aware” of Josh Sims, after the Southampton youth player shone against Everton on what was his senior debut. Koeman, remember, was Southampton manager for two years. Sachin Nakrani
9) The real Llorente stands up for Swansea at last
Finally Swansea City have seen the real Fernando Llorente and if the Spaniard’s contribution against Crystal Palace is a sign of things to come, it could change the course of the Welsh club’s season. Unable to make the squad at Everton the previous Saturday, Llorente came off the bench against Palace to have a hand in one goal and score the two in injury-time that gave Swansea their first win since the opening day. Leroy Fer has already weighed in with six Premier League goals and Gylfi Sigurdsson continues to be at the centre of everything Swansea do as an attacking force, yet it is the No9 position that has proved so troublesome since Wilfried Bony departed. Llorente, who won the World Cup with Spain and scored prolifically for Athletic Bilbao and Juventus, clearly has the pedigree. Maybe he still has the desire and predatory touch in front of goal, too. Stuart James
10) Martins Indi gives Stoke a glimpse of his potential
Bruno Martins Indi was a key player when Holland finished third in the last World Cup and his performance in Stoke City’s win against Watford demonstrated why he was rated as one of the most promising young defenders in Europe two years ago. He has not quite pushed on since then, failing to establish himself at Porto after his transfer from Feyenoord, but there is obvious potential. Martins Indi snuffed everything out whenever Watford attempted to attack, showing strength in his duels with the burly Troy Deeney and composure whenever he was required to cut out through balls. The 24-year-old is on loan at Stoke and Mark Hughes will want to sign him on a permanent basis if he continues to perform at this level. The fear for Stoke before kick-off was that they would struggle without the injured Ryan Shawcross, but Martins Indi ensured that they did not miss their captain. Stoke’s defence has not always coped well without Shawcross, but Lee Grant was rarely troubled in goal. Jacob Steinberg
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