Mourinho's opinion about Messi and the Ballon d'Or

Jose Mourinho talks about Wesley Sneijder, Lionel Messi and the 2010 Ballon d'Or

Sneijder, Messi, Ronaldo and wine

🗣 Wesley Sneijder:

"I could have become like Messi or Ronaldo. I simply didn't feel like it.

"I enjoyed my life, maybe I had a glass [of wine] at dinner.

"Leo and Cristiano are different, they have made many sacrifices, and that's fine with me."

🍷

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Wesley Sneijder

Wesley Sneijder (9 June 1984) Dutch professional footballer named UEFA midfielder of the season and one of the three best midfielders in the world for 2010 by FIFA
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Turan squeezes the Orange

Arda Turan led his Turkey side to a stunning 3-0 win over Netherlands, who were beaten to a pulp

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Dutch blown away by Icelandic volcano

Iceland pulled off one of the shocks of this week’s round of Euro 2016 qualifiers as a Gylfi Sigurdsson double inspired the Norse side to a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands.

The Swansea City playmaker opened the scoring from the spot on Monday night before doubling his tally midway through the first half with a brilliant, instinctive volley that the dour Dutch were unable to recover from.

The result leaves the Oranje in third place in Group A, behind both leaders Iceland and second-place Czech Republic, while the pressure is ramping up on Guus Hiddink, who has suffered defeat in three of his four matches since taking over from Louis van Gaal.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 12:00

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Netherlands 2014 Tribute

Netherlands GoalToons episode:

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Storylines aplenty after Champions League draw

The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League was completed on Monday, with some intriguing fixtures emerging to create a number of story-lines.

Didier Drogba will get his return to Chelsea and what is sure to be an emotional reunion with Jose Mourinho, after the Blues were drawn with Turkish side Galatasaray.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping to draw upon all his knowledge of La Liga for the clashes with Barcelona, while Arsene Wenger's Arsenal were arguably handed the toughest tie of them all after they were paired with holders Bayern Munich.

Tuesday, 17 December 2013 09:45

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Higuain in tears as Napoli miss out on last 16

Napoli agonisingly missed out on a place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Despite beating Arsenal 2-0 with goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon, the Italian side were eliminated after Borussia Dortmund defeated Marseille, meaning the Bundesliga outfit progressed top of Group F, with the Gunners finishing second by virtue of a superior goal difference.

And it was all too much for goal scorer Higuain, who could not hide is disappointment after the game.

"Not going through is incredible," he said. "It is an injustice, really.

"Going out with 12 points – winning four games in such an immensely difficult group with two sides as strong as Arsenal and Dortmund - when you see teams going through with only one or two wins, with six or seven points, it's disappointing.

"It cannot be anything else but bad luck because to win four games out of six and be eliminated is not something that happens often."

Thursday, December 12, 2013 12:00

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Madrid & Mourinho gobble up Galatasaray

 

Real Madrid enjoyed a Champions League feast against Galatasaray at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.

The visitors were made to look like turkeys as Jose Mourinho's side raced into the lead early on through Cristiano Ronaldo's goal, before the victory was rubber-stamped by Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain.

The Turkish side have been left with plenty to do at home, needing to score at least four goals to secure one of the competition's biggest ever upsets. 
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Champions League elite prepare for quarter-final battle

Friday's Champions League quarter-final draw served up four intriguing clashes as Europe's elite continue their hunt for a place at Wembley in May.

Barcelona have been paired with Paris Saint-Germain, which will see Zlatan Ibrahimovic face his former club, although the Swede is suspended for the first leg.

Last season's beaten finalists Bayern Munich face a tricky tie against Serie A champions and current leaders Juventus.

Jose Mourinho will be reunited with two of his former players in Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder as Real Madrid take on Galatasaray.

While in the final tie of the round, Malaga will be in action against German champions Borussia Dortmund. 
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Galatasaray are coming with Drogba and Sneijder

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Drogba jumps ship to join Sneijder at Galatasaray

 

Didier Drogba has become the latest player to ditch Shanghai Shenhua for pastures new, with the Ivory Coast striker opting to join Wesley Sneijder at Turkish giants Galatasaray.

Fellow former Chelsea player Nicolas Anelka ended a similarly problematic spell in Asia to join Juventus on loan this month - leaving the Chinese club's dreams seemingly in tatters.

However, despite interest from a host of Serie A clubs, Drogba has opted for the fiery atmosphere of Istanbul, signing a one-and-a-half year deal with the Super Lig side...
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Christmas comes early for Sneijder & Santa

 

Christmas has come early in Wesley Sneijder's household as the midfielder has been sent on a premature festive break by Inter.

A short statement from Inter on Tuesday confirmed the following: "It was the last training session of 2012 at the Angelo Moratti centre for Philippe Coutinho and Wesley Sneijder today.

"The two players, at the behest of the club and head coach Andrea Stramaccioni, will rejoin their families for Christmas from tomorrow."
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Leave Twit out: Inter ban Sneijder from social media

 

Footballers today live a life constantly in the public eye and social media plays a part in that, with many players building up internet profiles of themselves, but Inter man Wesley Sneijder has had that privilege taken away.

The Netherlands star's wife Yolanthe Cabau announced the news on her own account that Inter had banned Sneijder from using Twitter, despite the midfielder seemingly never saying anything particularly naughty.

Do you think it is fair for a 'sensible-Simon' such as Sneijder to have his social media fun taken from him? Well, Massimo Moratti has had his say.

There will be no more hashtags, '@ mentions' or direct messages coming from the Dutchman so he'll have to find something else to keep him busy while he recovers from injury.
 

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Van Gaal in the deep end with Netherlands job

 

After a disastrous Euro 2012 campaign which included squabbles within the squad and a string of toothless displays, Louis van Gaal has now been handed the task of getting Netherlands back on track.

A trio of dismal performances in Group B last month condemned Netherlands to an early exit and led to the resignation of Bert van Marwijk.

With a raft of Dutch players airing their differences with each other in public at last month's tournament, Van Gaal will step into the Oranje hotseat for the second time in his career but will instantly face a tough test ahead of the World Cup 2014 qualifiers.
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Ronaldo passes Euro 2012 exam with flying colours to send Dutch & Danes packing

 

Cristiano Ronaldo answered his critics in stunning style on Sunday night with his virtuoso performance in Portugal's 2-1 victory over Netherlands at Euro 2012.

After enduring a difficult start to the competition, the Real Madrid star scored both goals to book his side's place in the quarter-finals against Czech Republic - sending the Dutch and Denmark home.
That took Ronaldo's tally for the season to an astonishing 65 for club and country, although the 27-year-old will know that his work has only just begun if he is to deny arch-rival Lionel Messi yet another Ballon D'Or.
 

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Moratti clears out the old Inter garbage

 

Inter president Massimo Moratti may have dismissed suggestions that coach Claudio Ranieri will be sacked after the club's Champions League exit at the hands of Olympique de Marseille on Tuesday night, but the oil tycoon also conceded that he is considering overhauling his ageing, declining squad in the summer transfer market.
Senior players such as Maicon, Julio Cesar, Esteban Cambiasso and Wesley Sneijder have cause for concern with the Nerazzurri also out of the Coppa Italia, and needing a miracle to qualify for next season's Champions League.

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I'm over here!

 

Wesley Sneijder was Manchester United's top transfer target last summer yet unfortunately for the English champions, no deal materialised.

The Inter playmaker now seemingly desires a move to the Premier League but with Sir Alex Ferguson focusing on other targets, Roman Abramovich and Roberto Mancini will surely be keeping an eye out on the latest developments from San Siro ...

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Pick on someone your own size!

 

Goalkeeper Joe Hart might be England's last man standing by the time Wednesday night's international friendly against Netherlands at Wembley kicks off, given the rate of withdrawals from the Three Lions' squad.  

Glen Johnson became the fifth player to pull out, joining Darren Bent, Wayne Rooney, Tom Cleverley and Kyle Walker on the injured list..... 

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Massimiliano Benassi

 

It seemed like a foregone conclusion. Inter had been on fire, winning their previous seven Serie A matches. 

Lecce found themselves at the other end of the table, but managed to exact revenge for their 4-1 trouncing at San Siro earlier in the season with a surprise 1-0 win over Claudio Ranieri's men. 

Serse Cosmi will have Massimiliano Benassi to thank, with the 30-year-old keeping Inter's all-star cast at bay for 90 minutes. 

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