BURKE LEARNS FROM SLOVAKIA SNUB

RB Leipzig’s Oliver Burke has said that he was gutted with the fact that he was not played against Slovakia after he played in the World Cup qualifier against Lithuania only a few days earlier.

The 19-year old was baffled as he thought his pace and power gave the team an advantage but Coach Gordon Strachan though otherwise.

RB Leipzig’s Oliver Burke has said that he was gutted with the fact that he was not played against Slovakia after he played in the World Cup qualifier against Lithuania only a few days earlier.

The 19-year old was baffled as he thought his pace and power gave the team an advantage but Coach Gordon Strachan though otherwise.

He took to his Twitter handle to post “silent man” but quickly deleted the tweet. The youngster worth £13 million said he was disappointed with the decision of the coach.

“Of course, it was disappointing to be dropped for the Slovakia game. But I’m just really happy to be involved with Scotland. I’m still young and to be with the first team at international level is a great feeling.

“It’s a brilliant achievement for myself. I’ll hopefully just keep showing what I’m capable of and, when I get the call – or if I get the call – I’ll do my very best for the team,” the young player said. Tickets for Scotland’s international home matches are available through this site, whilst away matches are done by a ballot system on the SFA website.

He added that it was not “nice” to miss the squad but that he would stick with the manager’s decision. He said he hopes to make up for it when he gets an opportunity to play.

Burke has been facing a lot of recent. From German lesson, to moving his family to Germany and playing off the bench for Leipzig, it has not been an easy ride for the young man. Leipzig are chasing Bayern Munich as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men think they can snatch the crown this year.

Burke admitted that the move has been a difficult one but added that he remains focused on thriving.

“I’m learning everyday here. From a football point of view, I want video analysis every day. Even on my phone, I’m constantly looking where I can improve my game. I feel I’m getting better,” he said.

Slovakia beats Scotland

Slovakia beats Scotland 3-0 to put more pressure on Gordon Strachan. The Scotland manager has come under intense pressure during the recent weeks with Scotland having a difficult campaign in the World Cup qualifiers.

This is the second match in a row where Scotland failed to take maximum points after their draw with Lithuania.

Slovakia started the match well and put Scotland under pressure from the kick-off. They will score the first goal through Robert Mak to take the lead. Scotland fans were hoping that the goal will spark their team to life but unfortunately, nothing happen and they will concede another goal.

Again Robert Mak will be their tormentor in chief when he managed to evade Russel Martin to score the second goal. This goal will be a major blow for Scotland as they will be unable to come back into the game.

Scotland will concede a third goal when Adam Nemec will score on a header that will give the Scotland keeper no chance.
The defeat leaves Scotland third in their group 3 points behind leader England putting their qualifications for the next World Cup in danger. Scotland has missed the previous two World Cups and will be hoping that they can make it this time, but so far there is little to suggest that the side will improve.

Ever since the defeat pressure has been mounting on the manager as many people feel that the team is no longer progressing under Strachan. There is still a lot to play for in the qualifying campaign, and some pundits believe that the only way out is to change manager.

Scotland will need someone that has good experience of international football and also someone that can motivate the team and organize them on the pitch. Indeed the goals conceded against Slovakia were mainly due to poor organization.

Kozak Targets Win against Scotland

Extremely poor form at the start of the World Cup qualification campaign has led to Slovakia being in a dire state even after just only four games. Manager Jan Kozak says that the only hope for the national team when it comes to qualifying for the World Cup 2018 is to beat Scotland in the next game.

It represents one of the toughest fixtures for the national team in the qualification campaign apart from facing England. A good start to the campaign is always essential when it comes to qualification and Slovakia certainly did not achieve this after back-to-back defeats.

Admittedly, Slovakia did not have the easiest starts to the World Cup qualification campaign after coming up against England and Slovenia in their opening two matches. Losses from the Euro 2016 campaign severely dented their confidence going into these matches. Now, though, they have an opportunity to recover with opposition like Lithuania, Malta, and Austria set to offer little resistance going forward. In order to take advantage of these features, Slovakia have to win against Scotland. The top two teams qualifying for the World Cup with the second team having to go through a play-off place.

Surprisingly, Lithuania currently occupy the second spot with Scotland and Slovakia further behind. “We have got ourselves into this situation with two unnecessary defeats. I think we could have done more. So we need to win this match if we want to keep hopes of qualifying. It is up to us to get out of this situation. If we want to have the hopes to qualify for the World Cup in 2018, we need to get some points in this match. But it is not easy to win matches at international level,” said the manager, who has been in charge of Slovakia since 2013.

SKRTEL BECOMES A LEADER

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he is extremely happy with the way Slovakian defender Martin Skrtel has become a leader in the team after almost coming close to the exit door in the summer.

Skrtel fell out of favour with Brendan Rodgers last season and he rarely featured for the first-team. He was expected to leave the club in the summer with the likes of Napoli showing interest in him. He moved to Napoli would have reunited him with Rafa Benitez, who was the man who brought into Anfield in the first place.

However, Rodgers and Skrtel patched up their differences and they were able to make up for lost ground. The defender has been spectacular for Liverpool, as they are close to sealing a spot to qualify for the Champions league next season. This will see the club return to the competition, which they have won five times in their history. They have not been in this competition since 2009. Skrtel reportedly made playing in the Champions league a key priority. He would have definitely left the club if Liverpool did not make it next season.

The former Swansea manager has expressed delight at the way the defender has been able to change himself.

“I wouldn’t be lying if I said that after last season I was thinking about leaving Liverpool. But it is not an easy decision to leave a club like this. I have been here for six years and Liverpool is, for me, one of the biggest in the world. I decided to stay and fight for my place. After games like Arsenal I am just happy I did and proud to be here. There was a lot of talk and rumours that I would go but I was happy to stay,” said Skrtel ahead of the Arsenal match.

HAMSIK RULES OUT TITLE

Slovakia star Marek Hamsik has said that his club Napoli cannot win the Italian Serie A title this season. The midfielder is regarded as one of the transfer targets for Manchester United.

The fact that the player once again set to fail in winning the title may actually result in the transfer of the 26-year-old, who had a great first half of the campaign. Hamsik was one of the reasons behind Napoli’s imperious form under Rafa Benitez at the start of the season. Like many others to the club, his form has also decreased in recent weeks.

Slovakia star Marek Hamsik has said that his club Napoli cannot win the Italian Serie A title this season. The midfielder is regarded as one of the transfer targets for Manchester United.

This was allowed Juventus to open a significant advantage in the league table, which Hamsik concedes is the end of the title dreams for his club. Former Manchester city striker Rolando Bianchi scored in the 90th minute to secure a 2-2 draw against Napoli for Bologna. This coupled with Juventus getting a 4-2 win over Sampdoria means that the 12 point advantage will be to hard to recover according to Hamsik. He has said that Napoli should now focus on getting to the second spot in the table, which will be enough to qualify for the Champions League automatically.

The club were also knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages despite securing 12 points from the six matches. They are now taking part in the Europa league.
“Scudetto? Now the gap is pretty big and I think it’s too much. We should look at Roma and taking second place, which would allow us to go directly into the Champions League,” said Hamsik, whose team take on Chievo in the next match.

This will be home encounter, which Hamsik will be hoping to make use of in order to confirm their push for the top two. They have a slender advantage over the chasing pack that includes Inter Milan.

SLOVAKIA MISS OUT

Slovakian midfielder Marek Hamsik, who will not be taking part in the World Cup 2014 after his team failed to qualify for the tournament, has said that Napoli will still be contenders for the title at the end of the season.

After suffering a second defeat of the season, Rafa Benitez’s men have slipped behind Roma and Juventus in the title race. They went into the match against Juventus with a lot of high hopes, but they were unable to come away with even a draw. They were beaten by Antonio Conte’s men with a lot of ease.

The 3-0 defeat was inflicted through goals from Fernando Llorente, Andrea Pirlo, and Paul Pogba. This result leaves Napoli into third place after just 10 matches this season. Despite this defeat, Hamsik has said that Napoli still remain in the title race because there are a lot of games remaining. He has stated that they still have to play against the likes of Juventus and Roma at home, which will give them an advantage. Hamsik was not expected to be at the World Cup since his Slovakia team do not have much quality elsewhere apart from him.

“It was an important game at Juventus, but not decisive. We are saddened by the loss, but the championship is long. Fortunately, Roma drew at the weekend so the teams at the top are very close. We are only at Week 12 and everything is still in our own hands, we’ll still have to play Roma and Juventus again in the Spring,” said the midfielder. This was the second defeat in the last five matches for Napoli.

Hamsik has been in great form of Napoli after scoring six goals in just 12 matches for Benitez and his men. After the international break, they play against Parma.

STILL HOPE

Slovakia remain in with a chance to qualify for the World Cup 2014 with only a few matches remaining. After all the teams in the group have played eight matches, Slovakia are only a few points behind Greece in the final qualification spot.

They have given them a great chance to make an appearance at the World Cup after managing to beat table leaders Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday. Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel was part of the team that managed this significant victory. After the match, he praised his teammates for being part of this huge victory.

Slovakia are four points off the top of the table and they are third in the table. Even though Skrtel said that he believed Slovakia can qualify for the World Cup, he thinks that it will not be easy due to the monumental challenge ahead of them. Slovakia can get close to Bosnia-Herzegovina even further when they take on Bosnia-Herzegovina in a home match. The home support will be an important aspect towards pushing them for three points. Incidentally, this win is the first Slovakia have achieved after a long time of continuous draws.

Before this encounter, they had four consecutive draws. National team manager Kozák is not expected to change the side much for the reverse fixture.

“We played really well against a strong opponent. We wanted to stay calm as long as possible and try to score. We kept a clean sheet which was absolutely pivotal for us. Everyone played well on Friday and we did what the coach wanted us to do. It is a great result which means that nothing is lost yet and even though we face a difficult task in our group we are ready to fight until the last game,” said Skrtel, who now looks set to stay with Liverpool.

HAMSIK BELIEVES

Napoli will certainly be weaker without the presence of Uruguay star Edinson Cavani up front, but midfielder Marek Hamsik believes that they can overcome this deficiency and still challenge for many titles in this season. After many years, Napoli are once again in with a shout to win the title.

They came extremely close last season only to see Juventus win it for a second time in succession. After the departure of Cavani, Slovakia midfielder Hamsik has become one of the important members of the team. The club recently saw the arrivals of players like Gonzalo Higuain and Pepe Reina.

They have reinvested most of the money generated from the sale of Cavani for around £ 55 million to French club PSG. In the last three seasons, Cavani has contributed to majority of the goals for Napoli. Hamsik, though, thinks that Napoli will be able to continue improving because the club can find goals from other areas of the pitch. The 26-year-old midfielder himself was responsible for a number of goals last season, which led to him being linked with a move elsewhere. However, he has professed his love for Napoli once again.

He says that he wants to win the Italian Serie A and Champions League with Napoli this season.

“The Scudetto and the Champions League? We will win both. I arrived at Napoli at age 19. I was unknown back then, but the club have given me a chance to play for them. In my six years here, we grew up together, me and Napoli. Now we can go further – I feel good here and I want to continue to grow with Napoli. I will continue forward and not suffer from loneliness. We can do great things next season, the best is yet to come,” said the midfielder.

STARS MUST STAY

Slovakian midfielder Marek Hamsik, who has managed to establish himself as one of the important members of the Italian club Napoli, has said that he hopes that manager Walter Mazzarri and striker Edinson Cavani will remain at the club next season as well.

These three are amongst the important cogs of Napoli. They have been able to transform a club that was fighting to finish in the top half of the table to a club that can challenge Juventus for the title. Napoli will once again qualify for the Champions league next season as they are expected to finish second in the season.

However, several transfer rumours are threatening to break apart the team that has been hugely influential in Italy over the last few years. Edinson Cavani has been linked with a move to some of the top clubs in Europe like PSG and Manchester City. He is expected to cost in excess of £ 40 million, but that is unlikely to worry these mega rich clubs. After helping transform Napoli into a title challenger, Mazzarri has also been attracting attention from several clubs as well.

Even Hamsik has been linked with a move to Chelsea as the replacement for Frank Lampard, but the midfielder is hoping that Cavani and Mazzarri stay at the club next season.
“It’s difficult to think of a Napoli without Cavani and Mazzarri; we would lose a player who has scored more than 100 goals and a coach who has turned us into challengers for the Scudetto. I hope Mazzarri and Cavani don’t go, so that we can make this Napoli great. In the last three years, we have obtained great results and we want to continue like that,” said Hamsik, who has been in great form this season. Hamsik has 10 goals from 36 appearances this season.

HAMSIK WILL STAY

The agent of the Napoli and Slovakia midfielder Marek Hamsik has revealed that it is highly unlikely that his client will ever leave Napoli. The 25-year-old is regarded as one of the best young midfielders in Europe.

He has been attracting attention from the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester City in the past.

However, no club has come in with an official bid for the player. Even if they come, the player is unlikely to leave Napoli because he holds the club in his heart according to the agent Mino Raiola. Hamsik is not only in love with the club, but is also in love with the city as well.

Napoli have been fortunate over the years to help players like Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik. The manager Walter Mazzarri has been able to build the team around these players. Both players have been unwilling to leave Napoli despite potential interest from several clubs across Europe. Hamsik was signed from Bologna back in 2007 for € 5 million. He has so far made 23 appearances in the league alone for Napoli and has managed to score nine goals in these matches. His goals have helped Napoli to move into the second place just a few points below the table leaders Juventus.

“I know Marek really well and he is very different from other footballers. He’s in love with the city of Naples, he is very tied to the club and the President. I don’t think he will ever leave Naples and Napoli. I believe that he will end his career with the club without ever wearing the shirt of another club,” said the agent Mino Raiola in an interview given to a radio station. After appearing to fall out of the title race during the Christmas period, Napoli are once again back in the hunt for the title.