Spanish party pooper plots Sneijder downfall
by David Legge
FOOTBALL: JOHANNESBUERG, July 10, AFP - Spaniard Sergio Busquets
dreams of being a party pooper Sunday when he faces Dutch star Wesley
Sneijder in the World Cup final.
While Busquets was part of the Barcelona team that won the Spanish
title, Sneijder is chasing a fourth winners medal having helped Inter
Milan conquer Europe after they raised the Italian league and cup
trophies.
Spain are favoured to win a Soccer City clash of countries who have
never been world champions, but Sneijder poses a major threat after a
superb tournament that triggered a 35-million-euro offer from Manchester
United.
Sneijder has already made Busquets suffer once as Inter dumped title
holders Barcelona out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage in
a gripping two-leg showdown.
The Dutch star is also joint leading scorer in the World Cup with
Spaniard David Villa on five goals - the same haul that won German
Miroslav Klose the Golden Boot at the last World Cup four years ago.
World Cup - the main thing
“He is a great player and is in great form. We will try to stop him
like any other player,” said Busquets. “We will try to deny him even the
time to think because otherwise he can create good scoring chances.”
However, Sneijder insists there is just one issue on his mind and
that is helping Netherlands win the World Cup after losing consecutive
finals to host nations West Germany and Argentina three decades ago.
“All these statistics are the least of my worries. Believe me I have
not thought for a second about breaking any records. What I want is to
win the World Cup, end of story.
“I also get asked about being the player of the tournament or the
leading scorer. But if I go on the pitch with all these things in my
head, I will forget how to play football.”
The Sneijder multi-title assault has been the subject of some banter
with former Real Madrid team-mate Sergio Ramos, a defender who will try
to contain the Dutch playmaker before a sell-out 90,000 crowd.
“I got a text message from Sergio saying ‘you have already won enough
trophies this season. It is time to calm down!” 26-year-old Sneijder
told reporters.
“We are going to beat Spain,” he insisted. “If we are not convinced
of that, we will never do it. That is what the coach says, just like
Jose Mourinho did at Inter last season.
“I have been in the form of my life since we got to South Africa and
I want to squeeze every last drop out of it,” said the midfielder whose
two goals sank record five-time champions Brazil in the quarter-finals.
New contract
Coach Joachim Loew will be handed a new contract as a reward for
guiding Germany to the semi-finals it was reported by normally reliable
Bild although German football supremo Theo Zwanziger later denied the
claims.
According to Bild, initial talks broke down this year over financial
disagreements and also over the desire of Loew to have more control over
the national under-21 side.
They claim German Football Federation president Zwanziger will
rubberstamp the new agreement on July 30 at an executive committee
meeting and the new contract will see Loew in charge until the Euro 2012
in Poland and Ukraine.
Zwanziger said while there was a good chance of Loew signing a new
contract, crucial talks still had to be held. “The decision has been
taken to meet after the finals and things have calmed down,” Zwanziger
told AFP affiliate SID. “Loew knows we want to stick with him and I
believe the chances of that being the case are good.”
Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has recovered from a thigh injury and
will play in the third-place play-off against Germany in Port Elizabeth
on Saturday.
Forlan will be joined at the point of the attack by strike partner
Luis Suarez, who missed the semi-final through suspension after being
sent off for a controversial handball in the quarter-final win against
Ghana. Germany striker Mirsolav Klose will decide if he is fit enough to
face Uruguay with the all-time tournament goals record within reach.
Klose has been suffering from a back injury, a setback that has put a
cloud over the 32-year-old’s hopes of grabbing two more goals to surpass
the World Cup record of 15 held by Brazil’s Ronaldo. “It’s Miro who will
decide if he feels better and if he can start,” said assistant coach
Hansi Flick, who stood in at Friday’s pre-match news conference while
Loew was laid low by flu. |