CARLOS TEVEZ has told Cristiano Ronaldo he will never be as good as Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo returns to Manchester tonight looking to help Real Madrid dump Manchester City out of the Champions League.
The Portugal ace is expected to be the star of the show in the Group D clash at the Etihad Stadium, with Roberto Mancini’s men needing a win to keep alive their slim hopes of qualification.
Ronaldo has been a sensation since leaving Manchester United to join Real in 2009 for £80m, plundering 124 goals in 113 games in Spain.
The debate about who is the greatest player in the world continues to rage, with opinions divided between Ronaldo and Messi.
Tevez said: “Cristiano is one of the best players in the world and he will play in this game the way he always does.
“He does not seem to feel pressure. We will have to keep a special eye on him.
“I think that you have got to try and make sure he doesn’t get in behind you.
“Once he gets a chance to run at you, he is very dangerous and he strikes the ball well too, so you have to try and stop him further up the field.
“I think it is only right if Cristiano does believe he is the best in the world. Any guy who gets 37 to 40 goals a season has a right to believe that, but if you push me, I am always going to go on the side of Messi.”
City must beat Real tonight and Borussia Dortmund away next month, and hope other results help them, to stay in the competition.
The Argentine striker added: “The players are all convinced it is still possible. As long as it is mathematically possible, why not?
“As long as we go out determined to win the last two games, it then depends on how the other results turn out.
“Real Madrid are one of the best teams in the world but it is a case of going out to win. I wouldn’t want to put pressure on myself to think I am going to make the difference.
"It has to be a group effort, the team working together as a whole.”
David Silva thinks Manchester City must be patient in the Champions League
Manchester City star David Silva knows he and his team-mates should have done better in the UEFA Champions League but does not think there is a rush for success in Europe.
Last season's Premier League winners have to defeat Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night to avoid a second successive group stage exit.
But Silva, who has only played two European games this season due to injury, thinks City are gradually making progress having only made their Champions League debut in the last campaign.
The Spaniard said in The Sun: "Three years ago, we struggled to get into that competition. Now we are required to win it but we must have patience.
"We know that so far, we should have done better in Europe but we can only look forward."
Former Valencia playmaker Silva was reportedly a transfer target of Real in the summer but he opted to sign a new contract with City in September.
He said: "I am very happy in Manchester. I'm one of the leaders and part of a team.
"When I play here, I feel very important. Everything works well here and I am happy, so I renewed."
BARCELONA have slammed claims that Manchester City are looking to launch a raid on the Spanish club by bringing in a number of players including Cristian Tello.
With Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begirstain leaving their posts at the Catalan giants to join City as chief executive and sporting director respectively, speculation has mounted that the Premier League champions will tempt some of Barcelona's key players with some big money bids.
Tello is one of the hottest properties in Europe and can operate as either a winger or a forward.
The Spaniard was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool before the deal collapsed and Brendan Rodgers settled on a loan deal for Real Madrid’s Nuri Sahin.
And though City currently have four top class forwards on their books, Mario Balotelli has been courted by PSG, and so making a move for Tello doesn’t seem such a fanciful idea.
Tello made a name for himself in the Champions League last season, when he scored a double during Barcelona’s 7-1 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen.
ON THIS DAY BOLLOX
Sunday 21 November 2010
City turn on the style as they beat Fulham 4-1 at Craven Cottage and move up to fourth in the Premier League as a result. Carlos Tevez opens the scoring after just six minutes and further strikes from Pablo Zabaleta and Yaya Toure give the Blues a 3-0 half-time lead. Tevez scores again shortly after the re-start to complete the scoring before Fulham pull back a consolation through Zoltan Gera.
Saturday 21 November 1981
John Bond’s City thrash First Division leaders Swansea 4-0 at Maine Road courtesy of two goals each from Dennis Tueart and Kevin Reeves. A crowd of 34,744 watches the Blues turn in a master class against John Toshack’s side who had risen from Division Four to the top of the top division in successive seasons.
1998
City played Gillingham
MCF.net THREAD:http://www.mancityfans.net/mcfnet/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=44489
Sergio Agüero V Nico Rosberg.
What happens when you put an Argentinean international footballer on a race track in a DTM car with a seasoned Formula One driver? The answer is a lot of screeching, sliding and tyre smoke; one deliriously happy Sergio Agüero and a slightly nervous Nico Rosberg.
[youtube]cnXRk73Wo-Y[/youtube]
This summer, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver Nico Rosberg challenged some of the best sportsmen to prove their talent in the fastest of sports, taking part in a training session on a fully authentic F1 simulator before being let loose to record a time around the legendary Monza race track. Rosberg threw down the gauntlet by setting a lap time 1:21.05 but was staggered by a response from Sergio Agüero who topped the challenger leaderboard with a time of 1:22.58.
The multi-talented Argentinean was brought to Donington Park Racing Circuit in the UK where he was given a lesson by Nico Rosberg, before putting his talent to the test on the track in a race-tuned Mercedes C 63 AMG performance car. He tore around the track, setting some highly impressive lap times, proving his feet work almost as well on the pedals as they do the football pitch. Not wanting to be outdone however, the German F1 driver then gave Agüero the ride of his life in a Mercedes DTM car.
Sergio Agüero said at the end of the day, "I was very happy to win the PUMA Race Off challenge and prove how fast I am in an F1 simulator, and today I showed Nico Rosberg how fast I can be on a real track. His driving lesson was pretty boring to be honest so I thought I’d show him how to really drive, but then I have to say in the Mercedes AMG DTM car he impressed me a lot. He’s probably nearly as quick as me!"
Nico Rosberg added: "Sergio sure knows how to drive. In the Mercedes C 63 AMG car he flew around the track and handled the car really well, so full respect to him for that. I was a bit surprised how good he was. He's a great guy but I didn’t want him getting too cocky so I enjoyed showing him what I could do in the Mercedes AMG DTM car. Now he knows what real racing is all about!"
HOOLIE BOLLOX
United and City top of the table in football hooligan league - but number of fans arrested falls
They may be first and second in the Premier League – but Manchester City and Manchester United have also taken the top two spots in a league table of football hooligans.
Figures released by the Home Office show that 148 Reds fans were arrested last season – more than any other club. And 94 Blues suffered the same fate, placing them in second place ahead of Liverpool (87).
However, the number of United supporters arrested has dropped significantly from 276 in the previous season. City’s figure is also down compared with 108 last term.
These statistics reflect a national trend. Overall, arrests at football matches are down by almost a quarter.
Policing and criminal justice minister Damian Green has claimed that football-related arrests are now at ‘an all-time low’.
A Reds spokesman said: "While any arrest is regrettable, these figures need to be seen in the context of 1.8million people coming through the turnstiles at Old Trafford.
"This is significantly higher than any other league club in this country."
Across England and Wales time-limited banning orders also fell from 3,173 to 2,750.
Cardiff were the worst offenders, with 135 of their followers forbidden from entering football grounds.
They were followed by Chelsea and then the Reds with 98. City lie in 12th place with 47 people banned from matches.
In the Premier League 16 arrests were made for racist or indecent chanting. One of those arrested for that offence was a United fan.
Elsewhere 24 fans of Bolton Wanderers were arrested compared to 23 Wigan Athletic supporters.
A total of 22 Oldham Athletic followers were arrested, followed by Bury (16) and Rochdale (three).
Outside the league five Stockport County fans were held along with two Macclesfield Town supporters.
The figures also show that no England fans were arrested at the summer’s European Championships.
This means that no supporters of the national team have been held at either of the last two major international tournaments.
Malcolm Clarke, from the Football Supporters Federation, said: "I think this is a good news story.
"It is very rare that you see any set of statistics fall by 24 per cent in a year – it’s an extraordinary reduction.
"Manchester City may be in second place but their numbers of arrests have fallen like everybody else’s have."
DIGITAL BOLLOX
Micah Richard's PFA Facebook page benefits strongly from Manchester City's dominant start to the season say's Digital Sports Group.
Digital Sports Group head of operations Matthew Tait believes that the recent domination on the field, courtesy of the Manchester City star studded line up has seen key player's such as Micah Richards' Facebook page increase dramatically, with the total weekly reach increasing by over 20%. The Facebook page has become a thriving hub for the Manchester City defender since it's launch and is becoming more and more popular with each week that passes, with a rapidly growing community of fans keen to hear all the latest news on their favourite player. The official PFA Facebook page along with Micah Richards player profile on football.co.uk provide the only online location of the official PFA biography, lifetime stats, news and high resolution gallery.
Digital Sports Group Head of Operations Matthew Tait believes that the recent domination on the field, courtesy of the star studded Manchester City line up has seen key player's, such as Micah Richards' Facebook page increase dramatically, with the total weekly reach increasing by over 20%.
The Facebook page has become a thriving hub for the Manchester City defender since it's launch and is becoming more and more popular with each week that passes, with a rapidly growing community of fans keen to hear all the latest news on their favourite player. The official PFA Facebook page along with Micah Richards player profile on football.co.uk provide the only online location of the official PFA biography, lifetime stats, news and high resolution gallery.
Micah Richards has played for Manchester City from 2001, making his first team debut in 2005. A powerful right back, he was the youngest defender ever to be called up to the England squad, Richards has gone on to make 13 appearances for his country.
Micah has only managed a few limited appearances this season, due to injury against Swansea City. However, having been rumoured he would face up to 12-16 weeks out of action, the Manchester City star could be back in action just a month after his injury, Roberto Mancini confirmed. Although it is never good take have a key player miss a month of football in the highly competitive Premier League and Champions league alike, fans on Micah will be relieved the star could be back at the start of next month, at the latest.
Having captained the Great Britain Olympics football squad and current Manchester City vice-captain, Roberto Mancini see's the right back as a potential successor to Vincent Kompany. Last season – no defender earned more assists than Micah, who is willing to throw his body on the line in order for his beloved Manchester City to win.
Head of Operations at DSG, Matthew Tait had this to say “Micah Richards really has no shortage of fans after his performances for Manchester City this season and we can see that by the success of his PFA Facebook page.”
“All of us here at Digital Sports Group are proud we've had the opportunity to work with The PFA to give the fans a fantastic and unique fan resource for Micah.”
DSG became the official digital partner of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) earlier this year and have since launched a number of Player profile fan pages on social media site Facebook as well as providing official player pages on their football news site football.co.uk.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Middlesbrough are happy to wait until January to sign their former winger Stewart Downing on loan, with Liverpool eager to line up a replacement for the 28-year-old before they allow him to leave the club. Sun
Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert insists he is not actively trying to sell 28-year-old Darren Bent, the £24m England striker he has stripped of the captaincy and relegated to the bench. Daily Mirror
Tottenham pair Alex Pritchard, a 19-year-old midfielder, and Shaquille Coulthirst, an 18-year-old striker, have reportedly caught the eye of Real Madrid and Barcelona. Metro
Roma have approached Arsenal over a £5m move for 32-year-old midfielder Tomas Rosicky in January. talkSHIT
Juventus are interested in signing Liverpool target Pablo Armero, who is valued at £10m by the 26-year-old Colombian defender's current club, Udinese. talkSHIT
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas will be given up to £20m to spend on new players in January with CSKA Moscow's Alan Dzagoev and Roma's Miralem Pjanic, both 22-year-old attacking midfielders, among the names being considered. Daily Star
Former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, 52, is being lined up to replace Roberto Di Matteo as Chelsea manager if Pep Guardiola refuses to take over before the summer. DSSC
Harry Redknapp is considering a lucrative move to manage Ukraine, increasing the pressure on QPR to make him an offer. Sun
Mark Hughes has refused a request from the QPR board to resign as manager. Hughes would be entitled to pay-off in the region of £5million were the club to sack him. Evening Standard
Hughes is to turn to predecessor Neil Warnock's players to save his job after the dozen new faces he signed in the summer won none of QPR's first 12 league games. Daily Mirror
Swansea midfielder Leon Britton is hoping he can follow in the footsteps of Leon Osman by earning an England call-up after turning 30. Daily Mirror
England is on standby to host next summer's Euro Under-21 finals amid concerns over the security situation in Israel, where the tournament is due to be held. Times
The FA will decide in the next 48 hours whether to charge referee Mark Clattenburg over allegations he racially abused Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel. Times
Fifa president Sepp Blatter will make a visit to St George's Park on Wednesday to sign an agreement under which the FA will share information on areas such as coaching and stadium management with the sport's governing body and emerging nations. Daily Telegraph
MORE BOLOX LATER ...
