Category: What They’re Saying

“From Day One, he was in a similar position to me. He had loved playing for Manchester United and probably thought he wouldn’t play for another club in England but he ended up coming here and found the perfect place for him. The environment, the team spirit has suited him down to the ground. You can count the number of mistakes he’s made on one hand over the three years he’s been here. He’s definitely one of the top three keepers in the Premier League. Consistency is his key and he’s getting better all the time too. Every good team needs a great keeper and we have got one.”

— Everton captain Phil Neville on American teammate Tim Howard, who set a Blues’ record with his 16th shutout of the season in their 0-0 tie with Tottenham that clinched sixth place in the EPL on Saturday. (Liverpool Echo)

“Obviously we’ve been waiting for this since the beginning of the season. That’s a good three points for us.”

— Coach Robert Warzycha, who took over for Sigi Schmid following the Columbus Crew’s 2008 MLS title win, after the Crew won its first game of 2009, a 3-2 win over Kansas City. (MLSnet.com)

“The horrible part of football is you fall in love with your players.”

— Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson. (BBC)

“Are you watching this? It’s a disgrace. It’s a f****** disgrace.”

— The words of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba that were broadcast live on television as he faced the camera crew, after berating referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, on the field after his team was ousted from the Champions League semifinals by Barcelona. Sky Sports apologized for broadcasting the bad language.(The Guardian)

“The guy has continuously bought Newcastle United into disrepute. It really isn’t good enough. In the short time he has been at Newcastle, he has either been injured, in prison or in trouble. Enough is enough.”

— Newcastle legend Malcolm MacDonald on midfielder Joey Barton,who was suspended “until further notice” by Newcastle United after Barton’s locker room confrontation with Coach Alan Shearer after Barton received yet another red card for violent play. Barton had two assault convictions last year and spent 74 days in prison for assaulting a 16-year-old. His long list of transgressions include a training ground attack on former Manchester City teammate Ousmane Dabo that left his victim with a fractured eye socket in April 2007. (AFP)

“We are obviously frustrated. … We cannot keep tying. … We were in control of the game. One lapse of concentration cost us.”

— Forward Patrick Nyarko of Chicago Fire, which is MLS’s only undefeated team but has tied five times, blames the defenders after a one-goal lead didn’t holdup against 10-man Seattle. (Goal.com)

“The initial step in dealing with the situation was to remove Jair Maruffo from his assignment for this weekend. After careful consideration, the decision has been made to officially suspend him for this week and the following week.”

— USSF spokesman Neil Buethe explains actions against referee Jair Maruffo for accepting the gift of Chicago’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco‘s jersey following the Fire’s April 25 game at Columbus. Maruffo is one of U.S. Soccer’s four full-time referees. (Washington Post)

“In this league, anyone can beat anyone. Who said we can’t beat Bayern? We’re confident we can get enough wins to stay up. …. On Saturday we have to fight for our survival.”

— American midfielder Michael Bradley, whose second-to-last relegation-threatened Borusssia Moenchengladbach faces third-place Bayern Munich in Bayern’s first game since it sacked Coach Juergen Klinsmann. Bradley scored the equalizer when Gladbach, at home, tied Bayern, 2-2, in their first meeting of the season. (Bild)

“How can it be right for top players to be earning [$22-$30 million] a year? It’s crazy. These wages need to be capped. But I worry that it won’t happen because the Premier League and the FA are run by donkeys who don’t understand business, who are dazzled by money.”

— Fulham’s chairman Mohamed Al Fayed, who also owns London’s Harrods, one of the world’s largest department stores. (BBC)

“We are aware of the issue and are working closely with U.S. Soccer and their review of the matter.”

— MLS executive vice president Todd Durbin on a U.S. Soccer-MLS investigation into Chicago Fire star Cuauhtemoc Blanco allegedly giving his jersey to referee Jair Marrufo after last weekend’s game against Columbus in which Marrufo red-carded Gino Padula for a foul on Blanco. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Blanco “tossed the jersey into the room occupied by Jair Marrufo and his assistant referees,” that Blanco was seen chatting with Marrufo before the game, and that Blanco yelled at the referee outside the locker rooms at halftime. (Columbus Dispatch)

“We’ve lost all the important games – in Hamburg, Berlin, Wolfsburg, at home to Schalke and against Leverkusen in the cup. We’ve reacted to this negative trend, and acted because we’re afraid of failing to hit our targets.”

— Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness on why the club fired Coach Juergen Klinsmann with five games left in the Bundesliga season. Bayern is in third place, three points behind leader VfL Wolfsburg, and ahead of fourth-place Stuttgart and fifth-place Hamburg only thanks to goal difference. (fcbayern.de)

“When I mentioned the New York Yankees yesterday, my comments were part of a larger assertion that all businesses – even the most successful sports entities – are experiencing some impact from the economic downturn.”

— MLS Commissioner Don Garber after New York Yankees president Randy Levine got testy because Garber noted the empty seats at Yankee Stadium. Levine said, “Hey Don, worry about Beckham, not the Yankees. Even he wants out of your league.” (AP)

“We asked for $10 million, we got our $10 million. We don’t know where it’s coming from, either. He can’t get paid from Milan. Milan could pay us. He could pay them. … I don’t know if he’s going to leave after this season whether we would want him back.”

— MLS commissioner Don Garber on the league receiving compensation for David Beckham‘s loan spell with AC Milan having been extended until the end of the Serie A season. (BBC)

“These are the worst days of my life. I do not have any desire to return to playing soccer. I have seen the replays of the incident, but I do not recognize myself. I lost my cool and I went crazy, but that is not me. The worst punishment is going through what I’m experiencing now. If I see that there’s no chance of me returning to soccer again, then I will try something else.”

— Real Madrid’s Portuguese defender Pepe, who is expected to received a lengthy suspension after kicking Getafe’s Javier Casquero twice while he was face down on the ground. Pepe apologized profusely for the assault.

“I’m having a go at the referee [Tim Weyland] today because his performance was a disgrace. Now, you tell me how a guy who’s running flat out can change direction having to have his arms down by his side. It’s impossible. I’m sure the referee couldn’t change direction with his hands in his pockets.”

— Comments by Toronto FC coach John Carver, published in the Toronto Star, that earned him a $750 for public criticism of MLS officiating. Ref Weyland gave Dallas a penalty kick after the ball bounced onto Marvell Wynne‘s outstretched arm. The converted PK was FC Dallas’ gamewinner in its 3-2 victory (VIDEO of handball, at 4:28)

“A little hyperbolic given that the German media was in the hands of Goebbels for a decade.”

— The UK’s Telegraph’s take on Bayern Munich spokesman Markus Hoerwick’s comment that the Tageszeitung’s photo montage depicting a crucified Coach Juergen Klinsmann was “perhaps the worst gaffe ever made by the German media.” A $130,000 lawsuit has reportedly been threatened by Klinsmann’s lawyers. (Telegraph)

“Sorry, Energie Fans! Certainly one can lose at Schalke. But we did not put up enough defense against the class of the individuals of this opponent. … True compensation will come at the next game.”

— Steffen Heidrich, general manager of German club Energie Cottbus, in an apology to 600 Cottbus fans who traveled to its game against Schalke 04 and witnessed a 4-0 Cottbus loss. The apology included a promise of free tickets to those fans for Cottbus’ next game. (FCenergie.de)

“Not speaking English is a problem. You’ve always got his interpreter running around the training ground. Sometimes you pass the ball through the middle and he chases it. And the interpreter is running alongside him and he gets in there and heads into the net!”

— Tottenham Hotsput coach Harry Redknapp on his Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko‘s communication issues. (BBC)

“I just decided that was the way I wanted to experience the stadium, just walk in and see what I feel. I think it’s impressive. I think it’s going to be beautiful and it’s indeed the type of stadium the club has promised.”

— New York Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio, getting his first glimpse of Red Bull Arena at the “topping off” ceremony that saw the final piece of 7,100 tons of steel placed on the state-of-the-art structure.

“I was still a baby at the time, nine years of age. I couldn’t go to the game, but my cousin did. I remember going to bed that night, praying that a member of our family hadn’t been involved. We got the dreaded knock on the door the next day to say he had died.”

— Steven Gerrard, the current captain of Liverpool, on the death of cousin Jon-Paul Gilhooley, at 10 the youngest of 96 Liverpool fans killed on April 15, 1989, at Sheffield’s at Hillsborough Stadium. On the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, Gerrard will lead Liverpool players at a memorial service at Anfield on Wednesday. (New York Times)

“We might have a chance if Barcelona turns up with eight players.”

— Bayern captain Mark van Bommel on the outlook for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League series between Barcelona and Bayern, which fell, 4-0, in last week’s first game. Bayern was so badly outplayed that after the “Night of Shame” former Bayern coach Udo Lattek was pictured on television in tears.  (Independent)

“It was difficult for the players out there. It was very awkward. There were some bad tackles that went by, other plays that were called. A lot of the cards were merited.”

— Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena on his team’s game with Chivas USA that featured 11 cards (including three reds) and zero goals. (LA Daily News)

“We no doubt will end up considering venues, stadiums, that don’t exist today. Not in the same way that some of the other countries bidding are, because they’re talking about building venues for the World Cup, but given the turnover with top NFL stadiums and top university stadiums that are likely to be built between now and 2018 and 2022, we think that eminently possible.”

— Sunil Gulati, president of U.S. Soccer and chairman of the USA Bid Committee, on the list of stadiums the USA is looking at for the 2018 or 2022 World Cups growing from an initial list of 70.

“The crowds are different, more involved than the old Sounders crowds of the 1970s. They feel more middle class. Soccer in this area used to be an almost elitist sport. Now it feels as if it belongs to everyone.”

— Columnist Steve Kelley on the success of MLS’s Seattle Sounders FC, who have already announced their third straight sellout for Saturday’s game against Kansas City at Qwest Field (and have less than 1,000 tickets remaining for their next two homes games). (Seattle Times)

“Prices have come back to earth, and we have to face that reality. Doing something beats doing nothing in this economy.”

— Councilman Sam Liccardo on slashing as much as $43 million from the land deal the city of San Jose has with Earthquakes owner Lew Wolff and Wolff’s partners in order to keep alive plans to build a soccer stadium alongside a commercial development. Instead of paying as much as $132 million for the 75-acre site, the Wolff group would pay $89 million for 65 acres. Wolff plans on building a 15,000-seat soccer stadium on 15 acres and later develop the rest of the site when the economy improves. (San Jose Mercury News)