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sexta-feira, 25 de maio de 2018

Le parole di Zidane prima della finale di Champions League contro il Liverpool

Il Real Madrid parte favorito, ma l’allenatore francese non vuole stare a sentire pronostici o previsioni in conferenza stampa

Zinedine Zidane potrebbe entrare ancora di più nella storia del calcio e del Real Madrid se dovesse battere nella finale di Champions League a Kiev il Liverpool. Tre Champions League in fila, roba che non capita a una squadra dagli anni ‘70 e che mai nessun allenatore è riuscito a fare. Zizou potrebbe essere il primo, in una competizione in cui ha solo vinto dall’inizio della sua avventura sulla panchina del Bernabeu.

In molti parlano del Real Madrid come della naturale favorita contro il Liverpool, ma non provate a farvi sentire da Zidane: “Il nostro segreto è il lavoro. Dietro a questa terza finale consecutiva c'è tanto lavoro, ma anche tanto talento. Non è per niente facile arrivare in finale di Champions. Siamo contenti di essere a Kiev. Mi piace tanto competere per vincere, vivo tutto questo con normalità. Dovremo fare una grande partita se vogliamo vincere, non siamo favoriti e neanche loro lo sono. Le finali sono sempre al 50%.

Formazione? Devo prendere delle decisioni e alcuni si devono per forza accomodare in panchina. Un giocatore può rimanerci male, ma quando inizia la partita sta con la squadra e può aiutare a gara in corso. Quando scegli è il momento più difficile per un allenatore. I giocatori lo sanno, ma questa è la mia responsabilità. Chiave del match? Dovremo soffrire il meno possibile senza palla.

Klopp? Lo rispetto tantissimo, ha grande esperienza. Ogni allenatore è diverso. Da giocatore sono stato leggermente superiore (ride, ndr), ma da allenatore Klopp ha fatto un lavoro fenomenale. Cristiano? Lo vedo benissimo. Anche se è al 140%, va bene uguale. Lui vive per questo tipo di partite”.

RAMOS DISMISSES COMPARISONS BETWEEN SALAH AND RONALDO

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has hailed Mohamed Salah as a ‘top player’, but has refused to compare him to Cristiano Ronaldo, who is in ‘another orbit.’

Salah has enjoyed a highly successful debut season with the Reds, scoring 44 goals in all competitions, which could culminate in his first European silverware in the Champions League title tomorrow.

Players and pundits far and wide have thrown their fair share of superlatives at the Egyptian, and now Ramos has weighed in ahead of their respective sides’ clash at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev.

Speaking ahead of the game, Ramos said, as reported by talkSPORT:

Comparing players with Ronaldo and Messi is something you can’t do.

They’re in another orbit. There are players who are in fashion, those who come and go and others who stay around.

Salah is a top player, that’s clear. He’s shown that this year and he’s got a great chance to show that over the next few years as Ronaldo and Messi have done – but the day after tomorrow!

Real Madrid are looking to extend their record number of Champions League wins to 13 tomorrow, while also aiming to become the first team ever to win the European Cup three times on the spin, twice.

Meanwhile Liverpool will be hoping to emerge victorious from their first Champions League final since 2007 where they lost 2-1 to Milan, a rematch just two years on from their famous comeback win over the Rossoneri in Istanbul.

Jurgen Klopp says Champions League is in Liverpool's DNA

Jurgen Klopp has warned Real Madrid that their experience of playing in Champions League finals will only take them so far on Saturday.

Real are bidding to win the Champions League for the third successive year and Klopp admits that may give them a psychological edge prior to kick-off.

However, the German also pointed out that the teams have not met competitively during that period and Liverpool's own record in Europe is not to be sniffed at as they chase a sixth crown.

"Experience is very important and I'm pretty sure that in the seconds before the game Real will be more confident than we are," he said.

"But it's not a problem because the game doesn't end in that second, it only starts.

"We have had two weeks to prepare and everything is clear. We've analysed Real Madrid playing against different teams and thought, 'wow they are really strong', but they have never played us.

"We are Liverpool. Not only are we a really good football team, it's in the club's DNA to go for the big things.

We've analysed Real Madrid playing against different teams and thought, 'wow they are really strong', but they have never played us.

Jurgen Klopp

"Nobody expected us to be here but we are because we are Liverpool. We had the most exceptional run to the final, scoring the most goals.

"The experience they have is a big advantage, 100 per cent, but in the game it doesn't help all the time. We have to make it as difficult as possible for them.

"We cannot try to fight on their level but tactics in football are there to bring a better opponent to your level. When they're on your level you can beat them."

Klopp and Zidane go head to head in Kiev

Klopp pits his wits against Zinedine Zidane for the first time in Kiev and says the Frenchman's record of three successive final appearances proves he is a quality manager.

"If people think Zinedine Zidane has not a lot of knowledge in tactics… well people say the same about me," he said. "Two coaches in the final who have no clue about tactics - what would that say about the game!

Klopp speaks to his players during training in Kiev on Friday

"Zidane is one of the best five players of all time. I'm longer at Liverpool than he has been manager of Real Madrid and he is trying to win his third Champions League. That has never happened before in a manager's career. He is brilliant, like he was as a player.

"This group of players work like a clock from Switzerland. I saw his team playing a lot of times and it's fantastic football, which is organised when it needs to be but there can also be chaos."

Klopp's only previous experience of a Champions League final came with Borussia Dortmund five years ago, when Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich triumphed 2-1 courtesy of Arjen Robben's 89th-minute strike.

"I am pretty sure I was much more excited last time," he said.

"Going to a Champions League final as a manager is pretty difficult to do so it is maybe a once in a lifetime chance and that is how I remember it felt at the time.

"After the game, I knew I wanted to have this opportunity again. It took a while but we are here because my boys gave me that chance again."

Scalpers want up to 11,000 euros for Champions League tickets

Every year, the Union of European Football Associations prohibits purchasers to resell tickets for Champions League final. Every year, tickets are being resold. The 2018 Champions League final in Kyiv is no exception.

The final game between Liverpool and Real Madrid football clubs will take place at the Olympic Stadium on May 26.

The tickets issued by UEFA sold through its official website and distributed through the team’s official fan clubs. People could apply for tickets online indicating their first and last names, as well as other passport information. After all the applications were in, the system randomly chose who got the tickets.

Officially, tickets cost 70, 160, 320 and 450 euros depending on the seat location.

According to the UEFA Champions League Final ticketing Terms and Conditions, any resale is strictly prohibited and the stadium employees can check the attendees’ IDs.

“The entrance to the stadium shall be authorized upon presentation of a valid ticket per person (regardless of age) and, upon request, proof of identity with valid photograph and signature (passport or national identity card),” the document reads.

In case of breaching the rules, a person will be refused to enter the stadium or can be evicted from it, and may be liable to further legal action. And any unauthorized sale of tickets may be reported to the police.

Nevertheless, the web is full of websites offering tickets for any stadium area. Prices are much higher than the original ones, going from 400 euros to 11,000 euros.

The online scalpers, both foreign and Ukrainian, are hard to reach via phones and messengers.

One of them, a Ukrainian company working through the website www.f-tickets.com, sells tickets for 650-5,000 euros, or 10 times the original price.

Their sales agent told the Kyiv Post via phone that they have been reselling tickets for major sports events for five years.

The agent said that the tickets they sold included personal information for identification but assured it wouldn’t be a problem because the UEFA doesn’t check IDs at the stadiums.

In the comment to the Kyiv Post, the UEFA’s press service said it was actively enforcing its ticket terms and conditions, including by monitoring the internet for ticker offers.

“UEFA will take action (including canceling tickets) where such unauthorized offers are identified and, where legally possible, will take legal proceedings against unauthorized sellers,” it told the Kyiv Post on May 25.

Salah challenges Ronaldo's supremacy in Champions League final

KIEV, Ukraine — For once in a Champions League final, Cristiano Ronaldo will yield some of the spotlight to another player sweeping up adulation and personal acclaim.

While five-time world player of the year Ronaldo is chasing a record fifth Champions League triumph, and fourth with Real Madrid, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is chasing a first. Not just a first Champions League success, but a first major title in football in his maiden cup final.

Victory in Kyiv's Olympic Stadium on Saturday would be a fitting climax to an astonishing debut season at Liverpool for Salah. A season when the Egyptian seized his second chance at a Premier League club with gusto after a faltering spell at Chelsea.

Salah has had such a devastating impact that he poses a serious threat to the decade of dominance of the world player of the year award by Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

"Comparing players with Ronaldo and Messi is something you can't do," Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said on Friday. "They're in another orbit. There are players who are in fashion, those who come and go and others who stay around.

"Salah is a top player, that's clear. He's shown that this year and he's got a great chance to show that over the next few years as Ronaldo and Messi have done — but the day after tomorrow."

While lacking the flashy touch of Ronaldo, and presenting the image of a more modest lifestyle on social media, the "Egyptian King" is as adept at harnessing his commercial appeal. In recent weeks, Salah could be found at news conferences promoting a cellphone company, a logistics firm and taxi service. No wonder Salah is making the most of his newly-elevated status in the global game. In 2014, when Ronaldo reached the first of his four Champions League finals with Madrid, Salah was just completing his first five months drifting in and out of the Chelsea team.

Salah never settled and was eventually discarded by the west London club after only 13 appearances under Jose Mourinho. In Italy, a career stalling was reignited at Roma and Liverpool came calling last year.

Few could have imagined Salah's impact, powering the five-time European champions to their first Champions League final in 11 years with 11 goals in a run that began in the playoff round. Ronaldo eclipsed Salah in the competition with 15 goals after starting out in the group stage.

But both Salah and Ronaldo stand locked on 44 goals for the season in all competitions heading into the final. So potent is the 33-year-old Ronaldo, he only required 43 games. Salah, who is eight years younger, played eight more than the Portuguese.

"He's the best," Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said of Ronaldo, "and he proves it every year."

Particularly in Europe, where Ronaldo is the all-time leading Champions League scorer with 120 goals. Real Madrid is seeking a record-extending 13th European club title.

"When you're at this club you cannot take your foot off the gas, least of all in this competition," Ronaldo said. "I love that side of it because it motivates me a lot."

While Madrid and Liverpool are contesting the biggest prize in club football, they were far off the pace in their home leagues.

Third in the Premier League still represented progress for Liverpool under Juergen Klopp, who previously finished sixth, eighth and fourth.

But Madrid regressed in La Liga, surrendering its title with a third-place finish. Madrid has won the Champions League three times in the last four years, with two produced by Zidane early into his first managerial job. It might take retaining the European Cup for Zidane to remain in the post.

"To reach a final is not easy," Zidane reminded his critics. "This is beautiful. This is my passion, I've always been a good competitor, I like to compete and behind all that is a lot of hard work. Not only on my part but also the players. If you like to compete and want to work hard you can achieve what we are doing."

Klopp's grip on the Liverpool job will not be impacted by Saturday's result but victory would put the brakes on a run of five cup finals losses, including in the 2013 Champions League decider to Bayern Munich while Borussia Dortmund manager.

"I know how I lost the finals, it didn't change my life," said Klopp, a two-time Bundesliga champion with Dortmund. "It's not that I wake up every morning and think, 'Wow. That was a big chance.'"

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Most-dominant attacking trio in Europe

The trio of Salah, Firmino and Mane is officially the highest scoring trio in Europe this year, with 85 goals so far this season.

Their quick-paced ‘heavy-metal’ play is almost too hot to handle for most other teams. To keep pace with such energy and movement requires an intense level of focus, skill and mental toughness from the opponents.

These three players are stronger together than they may be individually. They complement each other, they understand each other, they assist each other, and they revel in each other’s glory. While Salah has been the star, Firmino and Mane have laid the ground for him. They deserve as much credit as Salah for making Liverpool tick this season.

And this provides a challenge which Madrid haven’t faced in their last 3 finals. Both Atletico Madrid and Juventus are known for their defensive solidarity and to break on the counter. The challenge for Madrid in those finals was to break their defensive organization. The roles are reversed in this final. A lot will depend on Madrid’s ability to defend, especially in those first 30 minutes of ‘heavy-metal’ play from Liverpool.

While Madrid have a potent attack, and the best player in this competition in Ronaldo, but even he would not be able to save them if they go 3-0, 4-0 down in the first half.

Madrid’s defense has been shambolic multiple times this season. While Ramos and Varane have mostly got the job done, it’s the fullbacks who share the blame. Carvajal has been turned and Marcelo has been caught out of position multiple times; much has been made already of Klopp supposedly calling Marcelo’s forward play a defensive weakness for Madrid. The crosses still create utter commotion in the defensive third. And then there is Keylor Navas, who is not a stranger to brain fades at key moments.

For Madrid to win, they need to be rock solid at the back, with Ramos leading the line. If the defense and mid-field can hold it together, their attack is more than capable of destroying the Liverpool back-line.

Klopp and the strength of the collective

Klopp is known for a few things – supreme man management, ability to inspire, dynamic tactics, entertaining high-press play and building teams where the collective is stronger than the individuals.

He doesn’t necessarily buy / inherit superstars, but he nourishes and grooms talented players who turn into superstars. His teams play like men possessed. He did it with Borussia Dortmund, and he’s doing it with Liverpool now. His Dortmund team had knocked out Real Madrid in the semi-finals, and his Liverpool team is vying to do the same in the finals.

Conclusion

One thing is for sure though – this will be a high-energy, entertaining, attacking, high-scoring and possibly end-to-end match.

Both the Champions and the challengers seem to be full of belief. It’s unlikely that we will see the teams trying to grind out a win. Both teams have an attacking DNA, Liverpool more so. Real Madrid will need to channel all their experience, skill, self-belief and the sheer will to win to be able to beat this marauding Liverpool side.