| Ferdinand regains England captaincy • Ferdinand wins back armband from Steven Gerrard• Darren Bent ruled out of Montenegro clashRio Ferdinand has admitted his surprise at retaining the England captaincy after his return from injury. The Manchester United defender was forced to hand the armband to Steven Gerrard for last summer's World Cup after a knee injury ended his participation in South Africa.Ferdinand has made only four appearances for United since his recovery, and said he was more concerned about returning to the England squad than whether he would usurp Gerrard as captain."I really didn't know about the captaincy," he said. "I was more worried about being in the squad. But I played in a few games and the manager has obviously looked at everything and seen that I am the right man to be captain.He added: "It's a fantastic honour. Stevie's done a fantastic job, especially in the qualifying wins."The manager has spoken to both of us about it – we're both professional, mature and experienced players. If it had gone the other way then I'd say that I hope you do well and that I'm behind you."At the end of the day it is more important that we have a number of leaders out there. The more leaders the better. If we continue to play in the way we have started this campaign then we'll be on the right road."Ferdinand, who has ongoing concerns about a long-term back injury, will start in central defence alongside Joleon Lescott for tomorrow's Euro 2012 qualifier against the Group G leaders Montenegro at Wembley.Darren Bent has been ruled out with a groin injury with Fabio Capello confirming that Peter Crouch will start in attack with Wayne Rooney.Capello said that he has no issue with Ferdinand's fitness. "I think there is no problems with Rio's injuries. He is really good when he plays. He plays like a leader and he is really important for the players.""I watched him against Valencia and then after and he played even better. Now he is 100% fit."The England manager has backed Ferdinand to form a solid partnership with Lescott, despite the two Manchester-based players' relative unfamiliarity with each other."I have big confidence in these players. Lescott played very well against Switzerland," he said. "I work with the back four during the days they have spent together and I think they will be OK.Capello also confirmed that Rooney would be fit to start against Montenegro."I spoke with the medical team and they tell me he is OK. He has trained without pain and hopefully he will play like he did against Switzerland.He added: "Darren Bent is out – he can't play and is feeling some pain – so I think we will play Crouch."Rio FerdinandSteven GerrardEnglandJames Callowguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
England v Montenegro: England beware - Roma striker Mirko Vucinic looks class apart Montenegro will arrive at Wembley with a player they believe can match the world's best. telegraph.co.uk |
Villarreal's 'perfect football eco-system' With a talented group of youth talent added to astute signings, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight for Villarreal's miracleIt was Benjamin Franklin who said nothing in life is certain except death and taxes but what does he know? Sure, he built a few libraries and did some experiments with electricity and catheters and fireplaces and stuff, but he didn't know the first thing about what really matters: football in Spain, that magical world where death and taxes aren't certain at all; where football clubs owe the taxman €627,266,721.38; where a player literally came back from the dead this weekend – Salamanca player Miguel GarcÃa's heart stopped beating, the doctor who saved him revealing: "He was dead for 25 seconds", and where it's not just that death and taxes aren't inevitable, it's that plenty of other things are.Things like Manolo Preciado sneaking a crafty fag on the bench, Deportivo de La Coruña leaving you wondering why you bothered being born, and referees dishing out cards like croupiers on crack; like David Villa hitting the post – that's nine for the season now with Spain and Barcelona – or Cristiano Ronaldo revealing his rippling torso. And Marca dribbling all over it. Like Enrique Cerezo looking insufferably smug, Miguel-Angel Lotina looking irredeemably sad and MÃchel looking impossibly smooth. Like a pointless replay of a player sighing in slow motion while, back in the actual game, someone's scoring a goal; an interview in AS consisting entirely of one, vital question: "just how great are you?"; and every online article ever, no matter what it's actually about, degenerating into bitter 'debate' about Franco, fascism and nationalism. Or your mum. Like El Mundo Deportivo putting a bunch of tools on its cover. Literally.Few things, though, are so inevitable as what happened a week ago today. Now, most Monday night games are irrelevant, an afterthought, normally reserved for rubbish teams – since the league decided to shift games there on a whim midway through last season, Madrid and Barcelona have never been involved. Not included in the weekend round-ups, the stats or the reviews, perilously close to the Champions League action whose previews drown them, and quickly erased from the collective conscience, they're La Liga's graveyard shift. Dave Clifton on Radio Norwich.Last Monday was supposed to be different. Villarreal were facing Hércules. Having won five on the trot, they knew that if they beat Hércules they'd go top for the first time in their entire history. Everyone else knew that if they won, there was half a chance that there might – just might – be a side that could push Madrid and Barcelona. Beaten by Sevilla and Barcelona, and struggling without Sergio Agüero, Atlético weren't it. Nor it seemed, despite their new manager, were Sevilla. And Valencia were going into a nosedive. Maybe Villarreal could be that team instead.Trouble is, deep down they knew they wouldn't win. Sometimes it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the team that thrives in anonymity and comfort, growing strong in what one columnist described as "the perfect footballing eco-system", can't function properly under pressure. And so it was that Villarreal, despite playing well enough, drew 2-2 with Hércules. For the seventh time in their history, they had a chance to go top. And for the seventh time in history, they blew it. Maybe the "other team" wouldn't be Villarreal, after all.Or maybe it would. Open Sport this morning, just seven days later, and there's the headline: "The alternative wears yellow." AS agreed: "Villarreal," writes Artiz Gabilondo, "are the only alternative to Madrid and Barcelona." They might have succumbed to the inevitable last Monday but they did win last night: 2-0 against fellow "alternatives" Atlético Madrid. By doing so they confirmed their best ever start, climbed above Barcelona into second on goal difference and positioned themselves a solitary point behind Real Madrid. They became one of only three teams to have won every home match alongside Madrid and Espanyol – and the only one to do so without conceding a single goal.But if that sounds like they are boring, think again. They've scored more than anyone except Madrid – who've now hit a ludicrous 16 in their past three league matches – and two more than Barcelona. It's true that Villarreal got lucky last night, the referee RamÃrez DomÃnguez denying Atlético one penalty because he decided it was half-time and another because he didn't see a trip on Agüero, but still they were impressive. AS called it an "ode to football", cooing: "marvellous, magnificent, a footballing symphony" and El PaÃs said they were "delicious". "Yes, it's true," ran their match report, "there is a team coming up behind those footballing locomotives Madrid and Barcelona: Villarreal, a delight of a team that builds passing triangles, that links up wonderfully, that moves like angels …"That may be a bit of an exaggeration but they were pretty good. Santi Cazorla, sadly denied the chance to play at the World Cup because of injury, was superb – fast, tidy, tirelessly energetic and precise in possession. Giuseppe Rossi, who scored a really fantastic second, is getting better and better, his movement swift and clever, his touch assured. And Nilmar, finally imposing himself on defenders, did something that this column has never seen anyone do before: beat Luis Perea in a straight sprint. He also created a neat first, slipping a perfectly weighted ball through the gap for Cani to poke past David De Gea. It was all very impressive. It was also all very Villarreal. And that's what makes it so impressive. In fact, that's the point.When Manuel Pellegrini left for Real Madrid, the club replaced him with Ernesto Valverde. Valverde was popular but he changed Villarreal's style, pushing his team higher, increasing the tempo, exerting greater pressure, and opening the pitch out. The players weren't used to it. It didn't work. After a dreadful start, Villarreal slipped into the relegation zone and although they improved Valverde was sacked midway through the season with the side 10th. His replacement was Juan Carlos Garrido, the B team coach who had taken his side into the Second Division and whose football model was the same as Pellegrini's: a narrow, South American style 4-4-2 with technical, ball-playing interiores encouraged to come inside and flood the centre rather than wingers, the width instead provided by the full-backs. Villarreal improved but were hammered 6-2 by Madrid, could only win half of their last 12 and finished outside the European places (their Europa League slot came courtesy of Mallorca being kicked out by Uefa).Worse followed. Or seemed to. The feelgood miracle that was built on cold hard cash ran out of cash. At the start of last season, Villarreal promised to give free season tickets to members who suddenly found themselves on the dole; now, with president and owner Fernando Roig's ceramics business hit hard by the crisis, they too needed help. They sold €17m worth of players, Diego GodÃn joining Atlético, Joseba Llorente going to Real Sociedad, Damian Escudero to Boca and David Fuster to Olympiakos. With Ariel Ibagaza, Robert Pires, Javi Venta and Iván Marcano going, they cut salary costs by almost a third.They signed evil genius Carlos Marchena from Valencia and Borja Valero from Mallorca – arguably Spain's best outside player beyond the big two last season. The average age dropped by two years, from 27½ to 25½ . The departures of GodÃn, Ibagaza and Llorente after they hit the town the night before last season's final match reinforced a policy of discipline that paid off when, frustrated and annoyed, the club decided to shed Juan Román Riquelme in 2007. And the squad is a genuinely good group – Marcos Senna, Cazorla and Joan Capdevila, to name but three, are among the nicest people you could meet in football. But still their chances appeared limited. Was the group really good enough? Were the 10 youth teamers called into the first-team squad really going to cut it?Yes. Villarreal's miracle might have been based on money but it was money well spent. As Roig put it: "When the crisis comes, we'll be ready for it." Not only did they sign good players – and signings still make up the bulk of their first team – but they invested €42m and a lot of time and care in an exceptional youth structure built on an old orange grove, where the approach is identical throughout the club. Santi Cazorla was signed from the Mighty Oviedo at 16. Bruno Soriano, called up for the last Spain squad, is a regular now – and others are coming up behind him; others that have played under Garrido and know his style. Villarreal's style. As Racing coach Miguel-Angel Portugal put it: "Villarreal play the league's best football after Barcelona."At the same time, Marchena's introduction and Garrido's tough attitude – he admits he has mala leche (bad milk) – has added aggression and edge to a side with a soft underbelly. A side that, given the chance to go top will inevitably blow it and a side that realistically can't challenge for the title because Madrid or Barcelona winning the league is the kind of certainty that death and taxes can only dream of. But a side that really is an alternative for top spot in Spain's other league.Talking points• Miguel-Angel Portugal may just want to revise that opinion after Saturday night when his Racing side were pummelled by Real Madrid, losing 6-1. Yes, six. Again. That's 16 – sixbloodyteen! – goals in three games now for Real Madrid. Mind you, Racing did give them a bit of a helping hand with three centre-backs and two wing-backs who don't know if they are defenders or midfielders, allied to a high defensive line and no pressure whatsoever in the middle. Nor did they do much to stop their opponents: Madrid scored with their first three shots on target (their first five of any description) and were 6-0 up after their first seven. Oddly, Racing actually had more of the ball in the first half but just could not deal with the pace, intensity and interchange of Madrid's forwards. Gonzalo HiguaÃn opened the scoring but Cristiano Ronaldo scored four to take him to nine for the season (10 if you believe Marca, which you really shouldn't) and leave Marca's cover splashed with the infuriating headline: "CR7, CR7, CR7 … and again CR7". He's not a bloody car. And anyway, the game's best performance actually came from Angel Di MarÃa, who was sensational.• Chain-smoking, moustachioed wordsmith Manolo Preciado was not happy at his side's 3-0 capitulation against Getafe. "I can't understand the difference between last week [when they beat Sevilla] and this week. It's best I don't say anything," he moaned, turning surreal. "I'm more burnt out than a hippy's motorbike."• Speaking of surreal, the game of the weekend was at the Sanchez Pizjuán where Sevilla beat Athletic Bilbao 4-3. And although Sevilla were 3-0 and 4-2 up, despite the fact that Athletic's third only came in the 93rd minute, the Basques are furious. At 3-2, with Athletic having just scored twice in four minutes, Sevilla were awarded the most bizarre, unexplained penalty ever. Alvaro Negredo crashed into the Athletic keeper Gorka Iraizoz, the ball squirmed free, was cleared off the line, and suddenly the linesman's flag was up. "I'll have to ask the linesman what he saw," said JoaquÃn Caparrós. Hopefully, he'll tell the rest of us when he does.• Zaragoza's fans were almost as unhappy with Dani Alves, whom they accused of a spot of play-acting to get Ponzio sent off after the Argentinian clipped him round the ear (or was it the face?) and he responded as if he'd cut it off. "People are saying I'm an actor, well maybe I'll give up on football and go into the theatre," huffed Alves. "He assaulted me and it's a clear red card. If Jesus Christ wasn't liked by everyone, I've got no chance."• And in a week dominated by Spain's version of the Nobel prizes (only without any real international significance), the Premios PrÃncipe de Asturias, this week's biggest bigmouth was the president of the Asturian Football Federation who somehow overtook the president of Cantabria, shameless rent-a-gob Miguel-Angel Revilla, by attacking José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola on Friday for not allowing their players to go to the ceremony. "Well," he insisted, "it's not surprising, they're both foreigners." And, while everyone else was trying to foster division, without doubt the biggest star was – yet again – Vicente del Bosque who did the opposite with his gesture of solidarity with Luis Aragonés.Results Zaragoza 0-2 Barcelona, Valencia 1-2 Mallorca, Espanyol 2-1 Levante, Osasuna 3-0 Málaga, Villarreal 2-0 Atlético, Real Madrid 6-1 Racing, Getafe 3-0 Sporting, AlmerÃa 1-1 Hércules, Sevilla 4-3 Athletic. And this week's graveyard shift: Deportivo v Real Sociedad.Latest La Liga tableLa LigaVillarrealEuropean footballSid Loweguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Loan advisor scores winner as FC United beat Barrow to claim an FA Cup first round place Club formed in protest at Glazers' takeover now FA Cup heroes. telegraph.co.uk |
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