Robinho left the club’s training camp in Tenerife on Monday, sparking reports that he had walked out for good. But Robinho said the club knew he was going back to his homeland for family reasons.

Robinho, who moved to City from Real Madrid last year for a British record transfer fee, left on the same day that AC Milan star Kaka turned down a world-record move to City.

“I feel it is important to underline that I did not return to Brazil because of the Kaka deal,” Robinho was quoted as saying by the BBC.

“He is one of my good friends and it would have been great to see him at Manchester City, but it had nothing to do with his decision to stay in Milan. I am committed to helping Manchester City become the force the owners assured me they will become.”

A statement posted on Robinho’s website says the striker is happy at Man City and will return to the club in a few days.

“I had made Manchester City aware that I needed to return to Brazil because of a family matter,” Robinho said, according to the BBC. “I will return to the club and hope to sort this out as soon as possible.”

Robinho’s departure from the training camp could still land him in trouble with City, however.

“I do know Robinho is not at the training center in Tenerife,” executive chairman Garry Cook said on Tuesday. “If he has left the training ground it is a breach of club discipline. I am waiting for a full debrief.”

City stunned the football world when they beat out Chelsea to sign Robinho in the final minutes of the transfer window in September, paying Madrid a British record transfer fee of £32.5 million.

While he has scored 12 goals for the club, City are still in the bottom half of the standings and only four points above the relegation zone. The team were knocked out of the FA Cup by League Championship club Nottingham Forest.

Robinho has not been afraid to criticise his teammates in public or advise manager Mark Hughes about who he should be signing.

“They are content with just finishing fifth or sixth,” Robinho said last month. “They are content with little, thinking just a draw might be good enough. They lack the mentality of champions. I have learned that being second is worthless so I want to inspire a winning mentality.”

Since those comments at the start of December, City have picked up only eight points from a possible 18 in the league – prompting the team to pursue new players in the January transfer window.

Kaka topped that list and City pursued him in a blaze of publicity to help Sheik Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group achieve its ambition of turning City into a global force.

City were offering about £100 million to lure Kaka away from the 2007 Champions League winners to a club without a major trophy since 1976. But the deal collapsed late on Monday when Kaka said he was staying at Milan, turning down a reported weekly salary of nearly £500 000.

“We had entered into a confidentiality agreement (with Milan) weeks ago but, in my personal opinion, they bottled it (backed out),” Cook said. “We had gone through a three or four-stage process in which Milan made it quite clear Kaka was for sale and we made it clear we intended to bring him to Manchester City.

“As we got to the next stage there were questions they could not answer and I think the political and public pressure made them change their conditions.”

City did sign injury-prone Craig Bellamy from West Ham on Wednesday for about £14 million – twice the price it took the Hammers to bring the Wales striker from Liverpool in July 2007.

In 18 months at Upton Park, the 29-year-old Bellamy has appeared in just 24 league matches and scored seven goals.Source: supersport.co.za

Pic: newsoftheworld.co.uk

After heavy speculation in the media, the Brazilian / AC Milan superstar Kaka have turned down a 100 million pound deal to move  to Manchester City in the English Premier League that would have earned him an estimated weekly wage of 500 000 pounds.

Hundreds of Milan fans gathered outside his home on Monday in an attempt to convince him to stay – and Kaka responded by beating his hand on his heart while holding a Milan shirt.

Here, he gives his reasons for remaining at the San Siro:

“I believe I have made the right choice.

“To have gone to Manchester City could have been a great project but in the past few days I have prayed a lot to understand what the right team would be and in the end I have decided to remain here.

“I don’t want anything else, I just want to be well and be happy in the place where people love me.

“From this story I have understood how people love me at Milan, the fans and my team-mates have helped me make this choice.

“Milan has always turned down offers for me.

“I always said to everyone to first agree with Milan and then we can talk. But Milan had never accepted an offer for me.

“No member of my family has pushed me to go anywhere.

“I have not had any arguments with my father.

“My family has been very supportive and at no time have they forced me one way or the other.

“There were rumours that this story had come out because I wanted to renew my contract, this is not true.

“I have remained with the team where I am linked by heart.

“Saturday’s game was no ordinary game for me.

“I was very emotional.

“Many children brought their drawings that they dedicated to me.

“When I left Sao Paulo to join Milan, a large part of the public criticised me.

“Now here all the fans are there chanting my name.

“Milan is my home, where I am close to and where my heart really is. That is what made me take this decision.”

Pic + source: news.bbc.co.uk

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has written off Arsenal’s title hopes, believing it will become a three-way battle between the defending champions, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Arsenal are eight points behind leaders Liverpool, seven adrift of Chelsea and two off United.

“I presume us, Chelsea and Liverpool will start pulling away a bit after Christmas,” Ferdinand told BBC radio from Tokyo where United are competing in the Club World Cup of continental champions.

“It’s not beyond them (Arsenal), it’s just my personal opinion that it will be between us three this season.”

Arsene Wenger’s side are languishing in fifth place after surrendering the lead in a tame 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough on Saturday.

At the same time, Aston Villa’s 4-2 win over Bolton Wanderers took Martin O’Neill’s side into fourth.

United, who drew 0-0 with Spurs last Saturday, will miss next weekend’s round of Premier League matches, but Ferdinand said everyone would be keeping a close eye on what was happening.

“We’ll be looking and seeing what’s going on,” he said.

“Last weekend we were disappointed, especially after our game, but when you look back on it you can take it that we came out of it better than anyone else because we drew away and the other teams drew at home.

“We can take some comfort from that but it would have been nice to have got the three points. We would have been sitting a lot prettier than we are now.

“It looks like teams will drop points. Hull going to Anfield and getting a draw is a massive result for them. Who would have said that before the season kicked off?

“West Ham getting a draw at Chelsea was a surprise as well. There have been quite a few unusual results this season but I am sure it is good for the fans.”

Source: supersport.co.za

Pic: centreholdsit

Spain won only their second major tournament on June 29, beating Germany in the Euro 2008 final in Vienna 1 – 0, Fernando Torres’ solitary strike in the first half proving enough to separate the two teams.

Long considered international football’s biggest underachievers, Spain finally broke their duck 24 years after last appearing in a final, the 13th edition of the European championship proving lucky for them.

Spain went into the tournament with the most talented squad and played the most consistent football in Austria and Switzerland, deservedly winning the trophy. Even the absence of David Villa, who ended Euro 2008 as its top scorer with four goals but missed the final with a thigh injury, did not seem to put off a Spanish side that has reached new heights of team spirit and cohesiveness.

Throughout the tournament, Spain stuck to a patient style of knocking the ball about, wearing down teams with their patient passing, and it was no different in the final.

Even though Germany started more dangerously than their opponents, Spain quickly overcame their nerves and created the first dangerous chance, Iniesta’s cross deflecting off Christoph Metzelder to prompt a reflex save from Jens Lehmann in the 14th minute.

Eight minutes later, Fernando Torres rattled the bottom of the post with his header, but his moment of glory would come in the 33rd minute. The Liverpool striker chased Xavi Hernandez’ long ball, beating Philipp Lahm to chip it over Lehmann and into the side of net next to the goal post.

Spain continued to dominate throughout the rest of the half, but could not take take advantage even when in numerical superiority, when Michael Ballack had to leave the field of play to have his eyebrow stitched.

Germany once again started the half stronger than their opponents, but Spain wrestled control back and Torres came close to scoring a second goal in the 55th minute, identical to his first, only to see Lehmann smother the ball at the last moment.

Joachim Loew, the German manager, tried to change the tactics of his team, taking off defensive midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger and sending on striker Kevin Kuranyi, which almost paid an instant dividend, but Ballack’s piledriver in the 59th minute was just wide of Iker Casillas goal.

Germany enjoyed a brief period of superior posession and had another half-chance through Bastian Schweinsteiger, but almost went two down, only for Lehmann’s reflex save to deny Sergio Ramos’ header.

Lehmann was undoubtedly the busier of the two goalkeepers, Germany barely testing Casillas until the end of the match, while at the other end Marcos Senna, outstanding throughout the tournament, came close to putting the result beyond any doubt in the 81st minute, missing substitute Dani Guiza’s knockdown by centimetres.

A tense last ten minutes saw a German penalty appeal turned down, correctly, by Italian referee Roberto Rosetti, while Spain winded the clock down in their opponents’ half to hang on for the win and the trophy.

Spain reach their first Euro 2008 final in 24 years by beating the fairytale team of Russia 3 – 0 last night. Spain have also been unbeaten for 21 games on the trot now. Xavi Hernandez, Daniel Guiza and David Silva found the back of the net for the Spaniards in the second half, the score having been 0 – 0 at halftime.

Germany and Spain will now meet in the final on Sunday. It will be Spain’s 3rd final and they will be looking for their second win (last title was won in 1964 when they beat the USSR) and Germany for their 4th.

Score:

SPAIN 3 – 0 RUSSIA

The German defender Philipp Lahm scored a goal in the last minute against Turkey to take Germany to the final in the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. It is the sixth time the Germans qualify for a Euro final and are aiming for their fourth title.

Turkey dominated the first 20 minutes and it looked as if an upset was brewing when they scored in the 22nd minute when Ugur Boral kicked a crossbar deflected strike of Kazim Kazim through Jens Lehman’s legs. Germany struck back within 4 minutes though to make it 1 – 1 courtesy of Bastian Schweinsteiger. In the 79th minute the Turkish fairytale looked to be over when Miroslav Klose gave the Germans the lead for the first time in the match. Turkey made the Germans sweat once again when their hero from the Switserland and Croatia game Semih Senturk scored in the 86th minute. Philipp Lahm then took it away from Turkey when he scored Germany’s winning goal in the las minute.

Score:

GERMANY 3 – 2 TURKEY

After playing 120 minutes without a goal Spain and Italy were sent to penalty kicks to determine the final spot in the Euro 2008 semifinals and in the end it was Spain punching their ticket to advance. Spain became the first country seeded number one to advance past their quarterfinals match.
Both sides struggled mightily on the finishing end through regulation and into extra time as Spain fired off 27 shots (10 on goal) and Italy managed 12 shots (6 on goal) with no scores. In the end the match was determined on penalty kicks with Spain edging Italy 4-2. Forced into penalty kicks Both sides were even at one after David Villa scored for Spain and Fabio Grosso equalized for Italy but after Santi Cazorla scored Daniele De Rossi’s shot was stopped and Spain had a 2-1 advantage.
Marcos Senna made it 3-1 for Spain before Mauro German Camoranesi brought Italy to within 3-2. Daniel Guiza then missed for Spain and Italy had a chance to even the score but Antonio Di Natale was stopped and then Cesc Fábregas put the match away for Spain with a goal.
Spain will now face Russia on Thursday at 2:45 pm ET for a chance to play for the 2008 Euro championship.

Score:

SPAIN 0 – 0 ITALY (Penalties: Spain 4 – 2 Italy)

Two unlikely results have shaken the line-up of UEFA Euro 2008 as the tournament reaches the semi-finals. Russia scored two goals in extra time to defeat a shocked Netherlands 1-3 on Saturday night (21 June) and Turkey managed to steal the game from a seemingly stronger Croatia on Friday (19 June).

Pavlyuchenko scored after 56 minutes to put Russia ahead of Holland; the way it remained until the dying seconds when Ruud van Nistelrooy ostensibly ended hopes of a giant-killing, scoring in the 86th minute.
Russia fought hard in extra time, and during the second half Torbinski evaded a ragged Holland defence to cheekily slot in a cross passing the face of goal. Russia put the boot in four minutes later, scoring another by way of Andrei Arshavin.

Turkey, fresh from their strong fightback in the group stages against the Czech Republic, held Croatia to a 0-0 scoreline well into extra time. Klasnic scored for the Croats mere minutes before the match was to go to penalties, and then Semih immediately levelled the scoreline seconds before a Croatia win. The Turks then proceeded to thrash them 3-1 on penalties.

Scores:

TURKEY 1 – 1 Croatia (Penalties: Turkey 3 – 1 Croatia)

RUSSIA 3 – 1 NETHERLANDS

Germany beat Portugal 3 – 2 last night in their Euro 2008 quarterfinal encounter. Bastian Schweinsteiger scored
Germany’s first goal in the 22nd minute followed by Miroslav Klose’s header in the back of the net from a Schweinsteiger free kick in the 27th minute. Portugal never gave up though and made the scoreline 2 – 1 in the 40th minute, compliments of Nino Gomes. Michael Ballack restored Germany’s two goal lead in the 61st minute, having scored goals in consecutive games now. Portugal made sure of a nail biting finish when they reduced the deficit to one goal in the 87th minute.

Germany will now play Croatia or Turkey on Wednesday.