‘Bale can fill Ronaldo’s void at Real’
MADRID: Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale has the qualities to fill the void left by his fellow forward Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, the Spanish side’s new manager Julen Lopetegui said.
Bale struggled to hold on to his place in the starting XI under Zinedine Zidane and said after his match-winning display in last season’s Champions League final against Liverpool that he craved regular first team action.
Lopetegui said the 29-year-old Welshman’s immediate future was with the Spanish giants.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the main players in the recent history of Real Madrid. He expressed his desire to leave and we allowed him to,” Lopetegui said.
“Gareth Bale is a magnificent player, with so many qualities. He can help fill the void. It is the start of an exciting path for us.”
NEYMAR UNDER FIRE
SAOPAULO: Neymar’s decision to use a sponsored advert to admit he sometimes over-reacted to fouls at the World Cup 2018 has backfired, with Brazilian marketing experts saying it had made the Paris Saint-germain striker’s image even worse.
“You may think I exaggerate. And sometimes I do exaggerate. But the truth is I suffer on the pitch,” Neymar said in the advert, referring to the constant fouls he received at the World Cup. “I took long to accept your criticism. I took long to look at myself in the mirror and become a new man.”
KIWI COACH QUITS
WELLINGTON: Andreas Heraf, the Austrian-born coach of the New Zealand women’s football team, has resigned weeks after players decried his tactics and coaching methods in an unprecedented and public mutiny.
Heraf has been on special leave since June when New Zealand Football received letters from 13 members of the national team saying they would not play for New Zealand if he remained in charge. Some of the letters alleged bullying and intimidation by Heraf.
NZF president Deryck Shaw said he had accepted Heraf’s resignation effectively immediately. He said a review into NZ Football’s “culture” and Heraf’s action would continue and Heraf had agreed to co-operate. NEWDELHI: Javelin thrower Amit Kumar, who had won bronze at the National Inter-state Athletics Championships, has tested positive for a banned substance during an exposure trip to Finland last month. Sources close to the athlete confirmed that Amit has been handed provisional suspension by AFI.