Freestyle football - Matt's got the moves

MATT Aird has busked in Rundle Mall but this week the 19-year-old from Adelaide's south will begin his campaign to take on the world's best freestyle footballers in South Africa.

Aird's biggest audience to date has been a handful of shoppers in the city centre but on Thursday the soccer ball juggler will be South Australia's sole hope in the Red Bull Street Style qualifier in Melbourne.

If he wins the try-out stage on either Thursday or Friday, Aird will be flown to Sydney to face the leading contenders from NSW and Queensland. After launching in Australia this year, Red Bull Street Style national trials will be staged in 45 countries over the coming months.

The Aussie winner will be invited to an international shootout at the 2010 world finals in Cape Town in March.

"I've only done a couple of performances, but not nearly as big as the one I'm going doing for Red Bull," Aird said.

"With performing, for some reason you can do the combos that you can't do when you're practising at home. Being in front of a crowd, it's like stepping up another gear.

"Sometimes I get comments if I'm busking at Rundle Mall, you get people who say 'You can't do that on a pitch', or 'I can do that', that kind of thing. I think it's a compliment. I love it."

Happy Valley's Aird, studying mechanical engineering at university, took up the sport three years ago after seeing a highlights package on YouTube.

He played soccer through high school but said freestyle's extreme range of skills meant the two sports were worlds apart.

"It's like comparing figure skating to ice hockey - they both involve skating but they're totally different," Aird said.

The street style competition is similar to Australian Idol - but with a soccer ball.

Rivals perform stunts in solo and head-to-head battles, on a stage with pumping music.

Judges award points for individual tricks and combinations, and apply penalties for dropping the ball or use of hands. The world leaders also merge juggling talent with breakdance-inspired moves.


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Rooney hospitalised after stumbling over his yacht

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, who is holidaying on the French Riviera, ended up in a hospital after stumbling over his luxury yacht.
According to reports, his pregnant wife Coleen took him to a hospital in St Tropez after he toppled over on the deck.

Doctors feared that Ronney might have suffered a concussion, following which he was kept under observation for two and a half hours.

“He cut his head and everyone was worried he may have a concussion. So, he was taken for a check-up,” The Mirror.co quoted an insider, as saying.

“Wayne might have looked like he was trying to keep a low profile by wearing a cap and hoodie but he was probably trying to hide his cut,” he added.

The Man U star was finally discharged, when doctors were satisfied that the medical reports showed no serious injury. (ANI)


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Manchester City test John Terry's loyalty with £40m bid

Manchester City will make an increased bid of £40 million for John Terry, although any transfer is likely to be dependent on the England captain’s willingness to force the issue.

Chelsea suspect that Terry may be using City’s interest as leverage in an effort to secure an improved contract, but if he is serious about leaving Stamford Bridge, the club will insist that the defender submits a transfer request as they are determined not to be painted as the villains in any prospective sale.

City would not have pursued Terry so rigorously had they not been given grounds for encouragement and are refusing to concede defeat despite having a £30 million bid rejected last week.

Terry would stand to earn about £200,000 a week at City — compared with his existing wages of £135,000 a week at Chelsea — and is said to be impressed by the scale of City’s ambitions, although the club must be aware that they could be being used as a bargaining tool.

Chelsea would consider opening talks with Terry, whose present contract has three years left to run, about a new deal, but they will not be held to ransom and know that £40 million is a lot of money for City to offer for a player who turns 29 in December.

The tone of the statement Chelsea released last week, confirming that they had “completely rejected” City’s offer, reflected their frustration, but despite encouraging Terry to reiterate his commitment to the club, the defender has yet to do so.

City lodged an initial bid for Terry in January, despite being warned off by Chelsea before that, but the situation is intriguing not least because it pits the two of the richest owners in world football against each other for the second time in less than a year.

Sheikh Mansour, the City owner and Arab billionaire, won the previous battle of wills in September last year, with Roman Abramovich, his Chelsea counterpart, refusing to match City’s £34.2 million British record bid for Robinho, the Brazil forward.

Mark Hughes, the City manager, has made it clear that he covets Terry over most others and believes that his leadership qualities, along with his defensive nous and goalscoring prowess from set-pieces, will greatly strengthen a rearguard that still has a fragile look.

Reports that Hughes and Terry were on holiday at the same hotel complex in Dubai last week will only add fuel to the heated speculation.

Hughes wants to pair Terry and Joleon Lescott, of Everton, in central defence next season, although the City manager may wait to see how the Terry situation pans out before stepping up his efforts for Lescott. Everton’s £20 million-plus valuation of Terry’s England team-mate may prove a sticking point.

If a second bid for Terry fails, Hughes is likely to turn to Kolo Touré, the Arsenal defender who is out of contract at the Emirates Stadium next summer and who would be available for about £14 million.

City are still awaiting a decision from Samuel Eto’o, the Cameroon striker, who is locked in a dispute with Barcelona.

Manchester United also inquired about Eto’o this summer but it seems unlikely that Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, will sign another striker now that Michael Owen has joined on a free transfer.
Despite the uncertainty over Terry and Eto’o, however, Carlos Tévez’s £25.5 million transfer to City should finally be ratified this week, with the former United striker rejecting suggestions that a cross-city move would be an act of betrayal.

“If I play for Manchester City I don’t think the United fans will feel I am a traitor,” Tévez said.
¤ Christopher Samba has put Manchester City on red alert by refusing to pledge his future to Blackburn Rovers (Graham Chase writes). The centre back was brought to Ewood Park by Mark Hughes in January 2007 and the City manager wanted to take him to Manchester last summer.

The 25-year-old defender has also been linked with Everton and West Ham United and has left himself open to a move away from Blackburn.

“I am still at Blackburn, so I can’t comment,” he said. “Whoever wants me will need to talk to Blackburn Rovers and we will see. I am calm and waiting.”


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Owen Will Be Better Than Tevez For Manchester United

Former England manager Glen Hoddle has insisted that Michael Owen will be a better attacking option than Carlos Tevez for Manchester United.

Owen went from Newcastle United to Old Trafford on Friday in a move that has taken the football world by surprise.

However, Hoddle insisted the transfer would suit Owen perfectly and he tipped the striker to thrive at his new club.

“The way United play will suit Michael down to the ground,” Hoddle told the Sunday Mirror.

“Possession football and a lot of chances. It couldn't be better for him.

“At United, he won't be the focal point of the team. He will have the likes of Rooney, Berbatov and Valencia around him. They are match-winners as well. He will thrive at United.”

Hoddle also insisted that Owen would outscore Tevez, who rejected the chance to stay on at the club and now looks set to move to Manchester City instead.

“It is a superb bit of business by Sir Alex Ferguson. I'm convinced it could be the shrewdest signing of the summer,” he added.

“If Michael can stay relatively fit and be involved in 30 or so games, he can be better for United in front of goal than Tevez.”





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Life without Kaka will be difficult for Milan

In summer of 2003, two relatively unknown players, Riccardo Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, signed for Milan and Manchester United from Sao Paolo and Sporting Lisbon respectively.
In a matter of months both became valuable assets for their new clubs.
Kaka steered Milan to the 2007 Champions League and a year later, Ronaldo helped United beat Chelsea in an unprecedented all-English final to lift their third European Cup. On a personal level, Kaka won the 2007 Golden Ball whereas Ronaldo was given the same France Football award last year.
By sheer coincidence, these two players were Real Madrid's first signings in Florentino Perez's second reign at the club this summer.
Whereas United intend utilising the proceeds made from the sale of Ronaldo (thought to be in the region of €93 million) to bolster an already-strong squad, Milan have used the €64 million cashed in on the sale of Kaka to balance their books.
This move has irked many Rossoneri supporters because the transfer of Kaka is seen as a big step in the wrong direction for a club harbouring aspirations of glory both domestically and on the continent.
In the past, Milan did lose some of their best players but stability in the team was always maintained and they went on to conquer Europe and lift the scudetto.
Marco van Basten's last competitive game for Milan was the 1993 European Cup final. The following season, Milan replaced the Dutch master by giving more playing time to veteran Daniele Massaro.
The move paid rich dividends as in 1993/94 Milan became the second Italian club - after Inter in 1964/65 - to win the scudetto and the European Cup in the same season.
More recently, in summer of 2006, Milan offloaded Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea and in the following year they went all the way to lifting the Champions League trophy at the expense of Liverpool.
So, can history repeat itself this time around as Brazil duo Ronaldinho and Alexander Pato are now expected to be allowed a free role to operate behind a lone striker, likely to be new signing Emanuel Adebayor (Arsenal).
In other words, can Milan achieve more with less?
The answer to this depends mainly on Milan's new signings.
Ronaldinho was largely out of action for most of last season. If the 2005 Golden Ball winner can hit top-form again, the departure of Kaka could indeed pass unnoticed. Up to 2006, Ronaldinho was considered the best player in the world before hitting a dark patch with Barcelona.
Last season, Ronaldinho showed just a glimpse of his magic but to replace Kaka over an entire campaign he has to step up several gears, keep up in shape and, perhaps, earn his place back in the Brazil national team ahead of the World Cup.
New Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, formerly of Milan, is doing his utmost this summer to prise Pato away from the San Siro.
However, Milan chief Adriano Galliani has insisted several times that the Brazil prodigy is not for sale.
If Pato stays put, Milan could still vie for the honours but if Milan give in to Chelsea's offers, then it becomes pretty obvious that money matters more for Galliani and the rest of the Milan hierarchy.
Pato is Milan's future. For the fans, he has become what Kaka has represented after the departure of Shevchenko.
In recent years, Milan signed seasoned players, putting commercial interests as priority ahead of football matters. But there are indications this summer that the trend is changing as Milan have already snapped up a number of promising youngsters in the shape of Ignazio Abate (Torino), Giacomo Beretta (Albinoleffe) and Gianmarco Zigoni (Treviso).
Club supremo Silvio Berlusconi was criticized in the past for having appointed novices Arrigo Sacchi and then Fabio Capello at the helm of the team. But results have always proved the Italian premier right.
Given the prevailing negative economic climate around the globe, it was inevitable not to sell Kaka at such a conspicuous transfer fee. Milan have a mammoth task in replacing the Brazil wizard but with the right moves and signings, this seemingly-insurmountable hurdle could be overcame.
It is a matter of belief.


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