Nani

Vitor Pereira, the manager of Fenerbahce, reckons if fortune had favoured Celtic a little bit, they would not have been in such sort of miserable position in European Football at this point of time.

Celtic’s campaign in Europa League 2015-16 has not gone smoothly at all.

They are yet to register a win in the group stage of the tournament.

The two points that they have got presently have come by the virtue of two draws that they have played.

Now, it’s certain that regardless of the outcome of their last match which they have to play versus Fenerbahce, they would end up at the bottommost position in Group A.

Even if they emerge victorious in that match on Thursday, they would be able to take their total number of points to five only and it would not be enough for them to climb up the standings.
But, for Fenerbahce, that game is so very important. They need at least one point from that game, otherwise, they might suffer elimination.

A win would be ideal for the Turkish club, but, they would not want anything less than a draw.

If they lose and Ajax wins against Molde, the tournament would finish for them as well.

According to Pereira, it would be tough work for his players as the Celts would put in huge effort to restore pride.

In the words of the 47-year old Portuguese, “The standard of Celtics as a team is much, much higher than the numbers are showing at the moment. Had luck been by their side, they would perhaps have been in a different position.”

“There is no question of taking them lightly. We know their capability. They would be even more dangerous this time as they are eager to prove a point.”

Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood says that defender Micah Richards has all the capabilities to get back into the starting line-up of the England national team.

The former Manchester City player joined Villa in the summer on a free transfer. He had a spell abroad with Italian outfit Fiorentina, but did not pay dividends since England almost forgot the former youth team product of Manchester City. Now that he is getting regular attention from the likes of England manager Roy Hodgson, who attends most of the Villa games, Sherwood believes that the defender has what it takes to return back to the international fold.

At 27 years of age, Richards is just entering into the prime-time in his career. Apart from being an important player in the Villa defence, Richards will also be leaving out the players when they take on Manchester United in front of a sell-out Villa Park. The chance to captain a team is something that Richards had a long time ago. Sherwood believes that this will act as a major motivation for the player to return to his former glory days. Before City were taken over by rich Abu Dhabi owners, Richards was seen as the next big thing at the Eastlands stadium.

“He had very little football last season. But he has had a good pre-season – injury free. If we can keep him healthy, I am sure he will get back in the England squad. I hope he proves to be a real bargain. We are delighted to have Micah here and if he can reproduce what we know he is capable of, we are getting him in his prime. Mind you, bear in mind we don’t pay him an apple and orange a week though! We hope this is the big stage for him to show what he can do,” said Sherwood.

Internacional coach Diego Aguirre says that he is impressed with the form shown by midfielder Anderson, who is starting to have a real influence on the team over the last few weeks.

The former Manchester United man arrived at the Brazilian outfit not in the best of shape. This is after not being a first-team regular for the last couple of years. Being out of shape was seen as one of the primary reasons behind Anderson allowed to join Diego Aguirre’s team on a permanent basis. The transfer was completed in February 2015. However, Anderson has not been a key player for the team even after spending the last few months.

This is due to the lack of fitness levels and it is something that the Brazil international has been working upon. It seems to have paid dividends after Anderson has played a crucial role in the recent games. Even though the recent game against São Paulo finished as a goalless draw, Anderson was impressive with its range of passing skills. He was primarily brought up as an attacking midfielder in his youth, but he was turned into a combat a defensive midfielder at United.Aguirre is confident that the 27-year-old will be a key player in the Copa Libertadores semi-final against Tigres UANL.

“It’s good news because he is getting better game by game and can help in many games ahead. It may be a reinforcement for the Libertadores, but a long way yet. It is early to talk. I am calm because he works well, he’s a great professional and helps a lot with his experience. I do not care if you are at high level or not. Surely, he will continue and give joy to us all. It would be nice to count on him to play with Palmeiras,” said Aguirre.

Manchester United winger Nani, who is on loan at Sporting Lisbon, helped his national team Portugal get a crucial 2-1 win over Serbia in the recent Euro 2016 qualifying match.

The winger played the full 90 minutes in this victory that helped Portugal keep up their hopes of qualifying for this major tournament. This qualification would be very crucial given that Portugal had a very disappointing World Cup 2014. Despite possessing world class stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, the team were knocked out of the group stages in Brazil.

After beginning the Euro 2016 qualification campaign with a shock 1-0 defeat against Albania, the national team immediately went in for a managerial change with former Greece coach Fernando Santos being brought in to replace Paulo Bento. This managerial change has worked like a treat for the national team after they have now won three consecutive matches. It has put them top of the table over Denmark and Albania. From this position, Nani is confident that the team will be able to qualify automatically for the European championships that will be held in France. Nani is one of the senior members of the national team after having made 84 appearances since its debut in 2006.

“We had to win! We are used to conceding goals from set pieces but were able to get back on track because we were all well aware we had to win this match.Matic’s goal could have destroyed us but we had to keep calm and we managed to do that. We were strong, superior, knew what we wanted and got that in the end!” said Nani.”We never doubted we will qualify for Euro and this moves us one step closer.We played against a tough, quality opponent, but what can I say: we are better and deserved to win,” said assistant coach Ilido Vale.

Portuguese midfielder Nani says that he has not been speaking with Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal.

This appears to suggest that the Dutchman does not see the Portuguese winger as part of his plans. Many were sent back to Portugal on a loan deal to his former club Sporting Lisbon. He has been having a great time in Portuguese football by contributing through goals and assists. This has increased speculation that he may get a second chance at United. However, Nani’s latest admission that he does not speak with Van Gaal has once again increased the transfer rumours.

Nani says that he has been only in contact with Chief executive Ed Woodward, who was instrumental in agreeing a new contract with the Portuguese only last season. After coming very close to joining Juventus in a £ 10 million deal, Nani signed a new five-year contract. Since he is just two years into this contract, it puts United at a perfect time to sell him at a good price after having brought him for around £ 25 million in 2007. During his seven years at United, Nani made close to 250 appearances in all competitions. He has won several Premier League and Champions League medals.

“No [talking with Van Gaal]. I receive some texts from [executive vice-chairman] Ed Woodward. He texted me about the goal and the great season I am having here.I knew with the new manager it would be more difficult because of the new system and my position in it.I knew it would be hard to play. I decided to go to Sporting because it was an opportunity to come home, feel comfortable, get games and feel strong again.At the moment I just focus on my job here,” said Nani.

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew praised his team for the way they have kept their winning run going on despite the numerous injury problems.

The club have one of the largest injury lists in the Premier League with as many as 12 players on the sidelines. One of them is Gabriel Obertan, who was one of the reasons for starting this incredible run of form that has seen Newcastle win the last five matches in the league.

This has propelled them to fifth place in the table, which would have been unthinkable a few weeks ago when they were struggling against the prospect of another relegation.

Pardew completely lost the fans after a very poor start to the season, but this good run of form has seen protests against the former West Ham man subside quite drastically. The latest victory came against relegation threatened QPR. The 1-0 victory was achieved because ofSissoko’s 78th minute goal. The current form shown by Newcastle is something that even table leaders Chelsea cannot match, as they have dropped two points in the last five matches. Pardew says that his team have shown incredible team spirit during this difficult period. The club could equal a club record if they win seven straight matches.

“We had a lot of senior players missing.The depth of the squad gives me great heart.No matter what changes I make, we stay disciplined and we stay strong.And it gives you the foundation to win. It was our best performance at home.There’s definitely more depth to the squad.I felt we were a striker light, I did.Perez has come to the fore for us. That’s been a real bonus,” said Pardew after the win over QPR. The team are travelling to Upton Park to face Pardew’s former team West Ham during the weekend.

Manchester United midfielder Nani is widely expected to permanently move away from the Premier League outfit either in January or in the summer transfer window.

The Portuguese midfielder has struggled for form in the last few years. This led to a loan spell to his former club Sporting Lisbon at the start of the season. This loan spell was also partly done in order to reduce the number of players in the United squad. Louis van Gaal would have a troubled time in keeping many players happy since United do not have European football this season.

Nani has enjoyed a regular first-team outing at Sporting, a club where he is held in high regard. He recently was seen at Old Trafford when playing in an international friendly match for Portugal against Argentina. Ironically, he was responsible for a slight injury suffered by United’s star asset Angel di Maria. Due to the signings that United made in the summer, Nani does not seem to have a future at the Premier league outfit. The 28-year-old has revealed that United will remain as part of his life and that he will definitely return to the club.

The Portuguese midfielder return to Sporting Lisbon in a deal that also saw Marcos Rojo come to United. “They are my club. I was at home there and I have to demonstrate that there are always possibilities. I have nothing against Man United. I came here to play and get games. I am focussed back here at Sporting. This was a great evening.They are all to be congratulated. We gave a good answer. If we enter the game with winning mentality we know we can come away with the victory. Any player playing at Stamford Bridge does so with more desire,” said Nani, who made more than 200 appearances for United since 2007.

Manchester United have effectively brought an end to Nani’s career at Old Trafford after loaning him back to Portugal. The Portuguese winger came to United in the summer of 2007 for around £ 25 million. He was billed as the next Cristiano Ronaldo, but progress has not been in the same way as the former Manchester United star. Nani has struggled for form, while consistency has been a major problem with the 27-year-old. It was widely reported that Nani would be leaving last summer since he had only 12 months left on his contract, but United offered him a new five-year contract much to the surprise of many.

Less than 12 months after giving him a new five-year deal, they have loaned him back to Sporting Lisbon for the remainder of the season. The deal that takes him back to Portugal is part of the £ 16 million acquisition of Argentine defender Rojo. Nani was recently seen in the Premier league defeat against Swansea on the opening day of the season. He came on as a substitute for Javier Hernandez after the half-time break. This appeared to suggest that manager Louis van Gaal was prepared to give him a second chance, but Nani was once again poor.

Despite his struggles in recent years, the winger was given a hero’s reception at Sporting Lisbon, who have produced several great wingers over the last decade. It is also understood that United will be paying the full wages of Nani for the time he spends at Sporting. The player is believed to be a contract at just under £ 5 million per year. Even though this may be a loan deal, Nani’s career at Old Trafford appears to be effectively over. Sporting Lisbon could make a permanent offer for the player next summer.

It has been made clear by the Manchester United officials that all the star players of the team would be on the plane to USA in a few days’ time.

Earlier, it was believed that those Manchester United players who had been playing in the World Cup would be allowed to skip that pre season America tour, but, the new boss, Louis Van Gaal, has decided not to provide that allowance to anybody. He wants every member of the team together right since the start of the pre season.

The Red Devils have to play a total of 4 matches in USA. They would start their tour by facing the MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy on 23rd of this month and then, they would take on Roma, Internazionale and the Los Blancos respectively.

Some of the United players like Wayne Rooney, Chris Smalling etc. have returned from Brazil just about a couple of weeks ago. They must have been hoping for a break of one month, but, sadly for them, they are not going to get that.

Van Gaal himself is not going to go on holidays this summer. He has been in Brazil since the last few weeks with the Dutch team.

Once he gets free from there, he would fly straight to Manchester to take charge at Old Trafford. So, he is setting the example himself.

He is believed to be keen to live up to the faith shown in him by the Manchester United board. According to the reports, he had been asked by the club if he would be able to join immediately after the World Cup and his answer was yes. So, he is up for his new project and he wants the players to be up for it too.

It’s surely going to be an interesting season for United.

Manchester United winger Nani helped Portugal stay in the World Cup 2014 after scoring one of the goals in the 2-2 draw with the USA. This was the second group match for Portugal and they were coming on the back of heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of Germany in the opening match. As a result, they needed to get a result at all costs in order to stay in the tournament. Nani, who has been heavily linked with a move in the last few weeks, put his concentration on the football and scored the opening goal after just five minutes.

This came after a fortunate deflection laid the ball onto the path of Nani. However, Portugal were stunned after the United States managed to take the lead before the 82nd minute. The United States had been threatening to come up with an equaliser for much of the match and it finally came through a stunning shot from Jones. This was followed by a goal from Dempsey just nine minutes before the final whistle. However, the United States were unable to hold onto this slender advantage after they conceded in injury time. Cristiano Ronaldo crossed the ball with great perfection for Silvestre Varela to head home the equaliser.

Portugal face Ghana in the final match of the group stages. “It’s clearly not a good result for us. The 2-2 doesn’t put us out of the World Cup mathematically, but it does leave us in a very difficult situation. Not just because of what we’ll need to do against Ghana, but also because we’ll need a favourable result from the Germany-United States game. We were unlucky late in the first half, but it was a great effort to level the match (in second-half stoppage time),” said Portugal boss Paulo Bento after the match.