BARCELONA // Barcelona coach Luis Enrique returns to Celta Vigo’s Balaidos stadium on Sunday, looking to consolidate a four-point advantage at the top of the Primera Liga against the team he led successfully last season before taking over at Camp Nou.
After a three-year stint in charge of Barca’s B team, Luis Enrique’s management career stumbled at Roma in 2011/12 before he won plaudits for inspiring modest Celta to a ninth-placed finish in Spain’s top flight last term.
A former Barca and Spain midfielder, Luis Enrique is a confirmed disciple of the Catalan club’s possession-based, attack-minded playing style.
Celta’s continued success despite a limited budget suggests his positive influence on the club has lingered long after his departure. Celta are 10th with 10 games left and have claimed some impressive wins this season, including a 1-0 victory over Barca at Camp Nou in November.
They also drew 2-2 at Atletico Madrid in September, following that up by surprising the champions 2-0 in Galicia in February.
After leaving Celta and taking over from Gerardo Martino at the end of last season, Luis Enrique has guided Barca to the top of the league, where they are four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid.
They are through to the last eight of the Uefa Champions League and the final of the Copa del Rey, and they have a chance of repeating the unprecedented treble of European and Spanish league and Cup crowns in 2009.
Barca centre-back Gerard Pique said on Wednesday the team had remained true to their playing style but had also become more direct, exploiting the talents of their fearsome attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
“I think the team still has the same philosophy, but we have a lot of options,” Pique said.
“With the three great players we have up front, we haven’t had to change the way we play, but we do deliver a lot of balls to them because we know they will create scoring chances.
“We still dominate games. The style and philosophy remain the same. Barca always has to be the team that takes the initiative.”
Messi’s injured foot has improved, Barcelona said yesterday, suggesting the Argentina forward will be fit for the trip to Celta Vigo.
The top scorer in Spain’s top flight with 32 goals did not feature in either of Argentina’s friendlies during the international break after sustaining a blow to his right foot in last month’s clasico against Madrid.
Chinese pursuing a majority stake in AC Milan
MILAN // AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi could sell the club to a group with direct links to the Chinese government in a move that would see both Milan giants come under Asian ownership, reports in Italy said on Thursday.
Speculation surrounding the eventual sale of seven-time European champions Milan has intensified in the past year amid the club’s struggle to keep pace in Serie A, and their recurring failure to qualify for Europe.
Filippo Inzaghi’s Milan side sit eighth in the Italian top flight, 14 points off the third and last Uefa Champions League qualifying spot and 29 points behind leaders Juventus.
Amid an ongoing crisis in Serie A, Berlusconi has failed to invest heavily in top players. Instead, speculation surrounding his reported desire to wash his hands of the club has increased.
The latest reports quoted Berlusconi as saying “the sale of 75 per cent of the club to the Chinese has been done”. The remarks, according to Askanews, were made by Berlusconi on Tuesday night during a private event.
Gazzetta dello Sport was among several media outlets to report the story, and the Italian sports daily said the 75 per cent stake could sell for between €1-1.5 billion (Dh4bn-6bn).
Milan are said to be among the most popular foreign clubs in China and the push for Berlusconi to sell, according to Gazzetta, has come directly from the Chinese government as they look to raise the sport’s profile in the country.
The report added that Berlusconi has demanded that his daughter Barbara, currently a joint chief executive of the club along with Adriano Galliani, remains as the club’s administrator in any future deal.
Berlusconi reportedly will meet a Chinese delegation in the coming days in Arcore, but it would not be the first time the Italian media tycoon and two-time former prime minister has entertained potential buyers.
Reports last month claimed Berlusconi had signed a preliminary agreement to sell 30 per cent of the club to Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol at the end of May for €250m.
In February, Chinese billionaire and Dalian Wanda group chairman Wang Jianlin, who recently bought Swiss sports marketing giants Infront for €1.05bn as well as a 20 per cent stake in defending Spanish champions Atletico Madrid, had entered the fray as a possible investor.
Berlusconi’s company, Fininvest, has consistently denied that a majority stake in the club was on the market.
As of Thursday, Fininvest had yet to comment on the recent revelations.
If the deal were to go through, Milan would become the second Serie A club to be sold to Asian investors. Indonesian tycoon Erick Thohir bought a 70 per cent stake in Inter Milan in November 2013.
Sevilla to keep hold of Emery
Sevilla are planning to extend the contract of coveted coach Unai Emery. The Spaniard is attempting to lead Sevilla to a second successive Europa League title and the club is also pushing for a top-four finish in the Primera Liga. AC Milan are reportedly keen to sign Emery this summer. “Of course, anything can happen in life, but I don’t see that in the horizon considering what he (Emery) tells me and how happy he is here,” Sevilla president Jose Castro said on Thursday. “He is happy with our project. I speak to Emery every two days and he doesn’t know anything about that (AC Milan interest), those are just football rumours. He is very happy with us and we are even talking to him to extend his contract. There is no hurry, but we cannot rest on our laurels. Right now our focus is on the end of the season. We have 10 La Liga games left.” Emery is under contract with Sevilla for a further season. The coach, 43, joined the club in January 2013 and has led them to fifth-place finishes in the past two seasons.
Conte calls for hearing
Italy coach Antonio Conte is seeking a hearing before prosecutors in Cremona investigating him for match-fixing. Prosecutor Roberto di Martino said yesterday that lawyers for the Italian football federation made the request recently. Conte was among 130 people formally notified by state prosecutors in February that they are under investigation for match-fixing in a case that has stretched back nearly five years. Conte is being investigated for committing sports fraud when he coached Siena in 2010/11. Conte, who has denied wrongdoing, already served a four-month sports ban in the case. Di Martino also says he has been contacted by the London-based Tennis Integrity Unit over a related match-fixing inquiry into Italian players Daniele Bracciali and Potito Starace.
Internacional beat Ypiranga in Brazil
Brazilian club Internacional managed to beat Ypiranga in a state championship match on Wednesday even though Fabricio was sent off for making obscene gestures to his own fans, who were booing him. Fabricio was abused by his own supporters 18 minutes into the second half and, in the middle of a dribble, he stopped in his tracks, headed for the touchline and made an obscene gesture to home fans. The 28-year-old defender was sent off and when the Inter fans cheered his departure he ripped off his shirt, threw it to the ground and shouted, “I’m leaving, I’m leaving”, before his teammates tried unsuccessfully to restrain him. The club later suspended Fabricio while his teammates left the stadium without giving interviews.
Morocco sanctions lifted
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday lifted sanctions from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Morocco, freeing the country to play in the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. CAF hit Morocco’s football federation (FRMF) with the ban and a US$1 million (Dh3.67m) fine after it chose not to host the 2015 Cup of Nations amid fears over the Ebola crisis. “The sanctions imposed by the CAF on the FRMF have been set aside, with the exception of the fine, which is however reduced to US$50,000.” CAF had also ordered the FRMF to pay €8 million (Dh32m) “for damages caused to the Confederation of African Football and partners”. CAS said the “question related to the compensation of the possible damage caused by the FRMF to the CAF may still be examined by another jurisdiction”. The FRMF had called for the 2015 tournament, eventually moved at the last minute to Equatorial Guinea. The African division of global players’ union FIFPro have hit out at the CAF for its treatment of Morocco.
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