Bolt challenges Bellerin to compete with him

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin has been called out by Usain Bolt over claims that the defender could beat him in a race.

News emerge in November that Bellerin’s 40m time of 4.41 seconds is faster than what Bolt managed in the first 40m his world record 100m race during the 2009 Berlin World Championships.
However, the legendary Jamaican athlete, who famously supports Manchester United, appears to be amused by such stories.

‘These stories make me laugh,’ Bolt said.

‘Footballers are very fast over the first 10-20m – that is what they train for. I train to be fast over 100m or 200m.’

(c) Metro

Aston Villa first team play the U-21, lost 3 - 0. Shambolic??

How do you describe this?

Bottom of the Premier League for what seems an eternity and losing 6-0 at home to Liverpool in their last match, Villa were in desperate need of a confidence boost.
A behind closed doors match against the club’s Under-21s development team would do the trick, right?
Think again.
A team made up of Aston Villa’s first team stars has lost 3-0 to their U21s side.
Brad Guzan, Alan Hutton, Ciaran Clark, Kieran Richardson, Ashley Westwood, Jordan Veretout, Idrissa Gueye, Leandro Bacuna and Scott Sinclair all featured in the match.

Hutton played (Picture: Getty Images)

It will offer little encouragement to Remi Garde, who is desperately trying to navigate a route to Premier League safety.
With 12 matches remaining, eight points from safety and only three league games won all season, it seems unlikely.
Maybe they should try throwing the kids in?

(c) Metro

Ridiculous: English FA investigating 'pee' claim during League Two Clash

The Football Association are investigating claims by Plymouth fans that a Mansfield player, Adi Yussuf relieved himself during the League Two clash between Plymouth 3 - 0 home win over Mansfield Town.

The player at the centre of controversy, Adi Yussuf.

Supporters of the League Two side said the player urinated while warming up during the match last Saturday.
The claim was made tendered by the spectators who were seated at the disabled access and subsequently forwarded a statement to the stewards on duty at the Home Park.
 

"During the first half of the match Mansfield substitute Adi Yussuf was warming up on the touchline right in front of the disabled zone where I sit with my friend.

"He said something to Plymouth Argyle substitutes Rooney and Purrington before walking over to the piece of disused land between the disabled zone and the Devonport End and took a wee. A supporter who preferred to stand on anonymity said.

The accused player, Yussuf (left) contests the ball with an opponent. Getty Images

"This was right in front of everyone in the disabled section.

"Myself and the lady who works in the refreshments area witnessed it as well as some others and we reported it to the stewards.

"They later took a statement and reported it to the referee."  

Brendan Malone, the referee on duty included the incident in his report and the Football association has begun investigation over the issue.

In response to the allegation, Mansfield Town said: "The club has been made aware of the said complaint by The Football Association and is internally investigating the matter."

The home team has also taken up swift action on the issue. 

From the church to becoming a Champion. Amazing!

Back in 2007 Jorge Villafana was working nights, scraping a living by helping his uncle clean a church in his native California. Aged 17 at the time, his dream was to become a professional footballer, a dream that might have seemed a little distant following his failure to get himself noticed at a trial with former Major League Soccer side Chivas USA.

It was on one of those arduous night shifts, however, that his uncle persuaded him to try his luck in a new televised player-search competition called Sueño MLS (“MLS Dream”), the prize for which was a tryout with Chivas USA, the very club that had turned him down just a few weeks earlier.

“You had three days to sign up,” the midfielder turned left-back told said. “I went on the very last day and they told me there were no more places. They said: ‘But just wait because if someone doesn’t turn up, we’ll give you a shot’. In the end, a kid dropped out and that’s how I got my chance.”

 

                                                        Seizing the day
Just one of 2,000 young hopefuls signing up for the competition, with another 4,000 waiting in the wings in case anyone else dropped out, Villafana was not going to find it easy.

“We had trials every weekend,” he explained. “There were 2,000 of us when we started out and suddenly there were only 1,000 of us left. The Saturdays went by until they’d whittled us down to 11 after just a month. We played a game against the Chivas U-19 team so they could see how good we were. There was a lot of competition but I was excited at having got so far and I started to believe I could make it.”

That belief was justified, as the left-footed Villafana, who stands 5’10 tall, emerged as the very first winner of a competition that would be won the following year by Monterrey forward Rogelio Funes Mori, twin brother of Argentina and Everton defender Ramiro.

 

Nicknamed Sueño in recognition of his success, the young Villafana, who spent part of his childhood in central Mexico, enjoyed a meteoric rise with Chivas USA, as he narrated: “I spent about six months with the youth team and then I moved up to the first team. Walking into the seniors’ dressing room was an experience I’d always pictured in my mind as a kid. Suddenly you’re there with people you’ve seen on TV, big names and players about whom I’d always wondered if I’d ever get the chance to play with. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

He added: ‘When I arrived they asked me: ‘You’re the kid who won Sueño MLS?’. They said: ‘Congratulations. We hope it works out for you’. The old hands made me feel at home. They helped me. They supported me and they also pushed me hard so that I could make the grade.”

                                                                Efforts rewarded
The youngster quickly won over the fans with a string of consistent performances and also earned himself a place in the USA squad at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009, where he captained a Stars and Stripes side that went out in the first round.

“Getting the call from USA was another dream fulfilled,” said Villafana, who was 19 at the time. “That’s what I’d been aiming for all my life and once I got there I worked hard to get a starting place. I hope I can repeat the experience one day.”

After changing his surname from Flores to Villafana in 2011, in tribute to his mother, who brought him up single-handedly, the hard-working youngster took another major step forward by signing for Portland Timbers at the age of 24. It was there that he achieved another career landmark in winning the MLS title in 2015.

Recalling their MLS Cup win, he said: “I remember the four minutes of injury time lasting forever. We felt so excited when the final whistle went because it had been a very long season with lots of ups and downs. We got our reward for all the hard work we’d put in. It’s what any professional dreams of: winning the title and lifting the trophy.”

Villafana had further cause for celebration last December, when he sealed a move to Mexican giants Santos, and has since continued to live a dream that began for him almost nine years ago: “I want to make my name here too. I want to make the championship play-offs and win another title.”

That is not the extent of Villafana’s insatiable ambition, however, with a full international call-up the next objective in his sights: “I haven’t forgotten about it and I’m working towards it the whole time. I want to grow and to represent my country at senior level.” 

(c) FIFA.com

Adebayor: Playing football is my hobby and not to prove people wrong

Crystal Palace's new signing Emmanuel Adebayor said he has nothing to prove and does not deserve a reputation of being a disruptive influence in the dressing room.
The Togo striker, who joined his fourth Premier League club last week, made his debut in Tuesday's 2-1 Premier League defeat by relegation-threatened Bournemouth.
Prior to his move to Palace, the 31-year-old was a free agent after being released by Tottenham Hotspur in the close season and had played just 17 minutes of top-flight football in a little over a year.

"There is a bad reputation about Adebayor. But if you ask every single manager that I have worked under, maybe just one or two would say I am a bad apple in the dressing room," Adebayor told the Evening Standard newspaper.
"I just want to play football and have happy moments again. I do not have anything to prove. I just want to enjoy my football. I have been there and done it and I am pleased to be back."
Adebayor said he had held talks with manager Alan Pardew over taking a leadership role in the Palace camp.
"He said I have to be a leader, which means I have to set an example. Which means I have to come on time in training, do my job professionally and that is what I am doing," the former Arsenal striker said.
"Football is something I love doing and I want to enjoy it."

© Reuters

We are playing catch up - Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says his side are playing catch-up in the Premier League title race after Tuesday's goalless draw with Southampton left them five points behind leaders Leicester City with 14 games remaining.
A four-game winless streak in the league has seen Arsenal slip to fourth in the table after Tottenham Hotspur's 3-0 victory over Norwich City took Mauricio Pochettino's men ahead of the Gunners on goal difference.
"We have to catch that back and we have a difficult programme, especially away from home. We need to respond quickly away from home now," Wenger told the club's website (www.arsenal.com).
With Leicester City impressing in their 2-0 win over Liverpool, Wenger believes the spotlight will shine even brighter on Claudio Ranieri's side and hopes the increased pressure can help derail their phenomenal campaign.
"Leicester won again and now I am sure that everybody will take them very seriously, especially in the media, so they will be under pressure as well," the Frenchman said.
"But we have not to look too much at Leicester or (second placed) Man City. We have to win football games. We have to focus on how to respond quickly and win our next game, that's all we can do."
Arsenal have failed to score in three consecutive league games for the first time since February 2009 and Olivier Giroud called on his teammates to rediscover their killer instinct in front of goal to get their league title tilt back on track.
"It's a long way to go and we just need momentum. You have to keep the faith and keep believing that you will maybe score. He (Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster) was always in the right position and did very well and it is frustrating," Giroud said.
"Now we are five points from Leicester so it is going to be a hard time in the few weeks to go and we need to get as many points as we can. It's not over, we need to stay positive and be more efficient in the next games to come."
Arsenal travel to relegation-threatened Bournemouth on Sunday.

© Reuters