Zidane pleads with Ronaldo after ‘I quit’ bombshell
ST PETERSBURG, Russia: Hosts Russia eased to a 2-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday in the opening match of the Confederations Cup, a tournament seen as a test for the country before it stages next year’s World Cup.
Midfielder Denis Glushakov flicked the ball over goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic in the 31st minute as New Zealand defenders rushed back to try to clear it off the line. New Zealand’s Michael Boxall got a touch on the ball and was credited with an own goal.
Scoring chances came early for Russia, playing with confidence and unexpected flair, a powerful header by defender Viktor Vasin bouncing off the inside of the post before being cleared by New Zealand’s Michael McGlinchey.
Marinovic kept his team in the match early in the second half with back-to-back saves, diving to punch away a header by Dmitry Poloz before scrambling to his left to smother a rebound attempt by Aleksandr Erokhin.
But weak defending allowed Russia’s Fedor Smolov to slip past the New Zealand defence and tap in a low cross by team-mate Alexander Samedov in the 69th minute.
World champions Germany and the champions from Fifa’s six confederations are competing in the two-week tournament that will allow Russia to test its soccer infrastructure in four of the 11 cities hosting World Cup matches.
Russia, a record low 63rd in Fifa’s world rankings, face Portugal on Wednesday and New Zealand play Mexico the same day. MADRID: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane broke off his holiday to call Cristiano Ronaldo in a bid to persuade his unsettled star not to quit the club, Spanish sports daily Marca claimed on Sunday.
Ronaldo, on Confederations Cup duty in Russia with Portugal, is reportedly furious over a tax probe into the off shore accounts dealing with his image rights, and has reportedly vowed to leave Spain.
“I am leaving Real Madrid,” Marca claim Ronaldo told his Portuguese colleagues. “I have made a decision. There is no turning back,” the daily sports paper reported.
According to Marca when Zidane heard Ronaldo had sworn to quit he broke off from his family holiday and called his No 7 to tell him Madrid “needed him for his goals, and also his winning mentality”.
Marca also reported that club captain Sergio Ramos had called Ronaldo to ask him to stay.
In just 265 games for Real Madrid Ronaldo has scored 285 goals, winning three Champions League finals in four seasons.
The 32-year-old Ronaldo is the latest football superstar to come under scrutiny for tax evasion after Lionel Messi was handed a 2.1-million-euro ($2.3 million) fine last year for avoiding paying taxes on part of the income he earned from image rights via companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay.
Ronaldo is accused of defrauding the authorities of 14.7 million euros in tax through offshore companies. — AFP