Soccer

Wayne Rooney: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Wayne Rooney desires a Cup of Joy.

Wayne Rooney (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What he said:

“I could sit here saying I’ve got 200 caps and 100 goals for my country. But the ultimate is to win a trophy and that’s what we all want to do.”

Newly appointed skipper of the English national soccer side Wayne Rooney is quite sure of his place in history.

Rooney plays his 100th tie for England this Saturday when the Lions take on Slovenia on Saturday in an European Cup qualifier match-up.

Rooney is seven goals away from overtaking Sir Bobby Charlton as his country’s all-time leading scorer. Charlton has 49 goals from 106 appearances.

English: Sir Bobby Charlton at the British Council for School Environments (BCSE) on 9 November 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rooney said:

“Obviously I’m not going to be as big a legend as Sir Bobby Charlton – he’s won the World Cup.To eclipse that I’d have to win the World Cup.”

What Rooney really meant:

 “I wish playing for England were as easy as playing for Manchester United. At least, with them I win something. And we have a larger budget too.”

What he definitely didn’t:

 “I’ll take another Fair Play Award. We have a couple from the 90s.”

Jordan Perez: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Jordan Perez hopes to be the Rock of Gibraltar, not Brazil.

What he said:

“Anything below seven goals and I’ll be satisfied as then we can say that we’re better than Brazil (routed 7-1 by Germany at the World Cup).” 

Amateurs Gibraltar take on world champions Germany in a mismatched battle in the European Cup qualifiers on Friday the 14th. Their goalkeeper Jordan Perez will be happy if they fare better than Brazil who lost 1-7 to the Germans in the World Cup semi-final this summer.

What he really meant:

“At least, our defence will be better (than Brazil’s) with me in citadel. We can’t just be torn to shreds even though our current record stands at 0-17.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Well, at least, our morale is higher than Brazil’s and we have no great expectations neither from our fans nor our press.”

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge made Van Gaal “Van Gone”.

What he said:

“As soon as he presented his autobiography in a snobby restaurant, I knew hard times were ahead.Louis van Gaal was not always easy-care. He wanted to ‘Vangaalise’ our club. He has a huge ego.”

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge terms former coach Louis Van Gaal “egoistic”.

Van Gaal was Bayern’s manager from 2009-2011.

The club clinched the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal in his first year.

What Rummenigge really meant:

 “There’s only one alpha-male or alpha-dog at Bayern and that’s me. Van Gaal reported to me and any attempt to remake the club in his image would find opposition in me. PS: I have a huge ego, too.”

What he definitely didn’t:

 “I don’t have a queasy stomach. And restaurants are not where I would release my autobiography.”

Emmanuel Adebayor: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Emmanuel Adebayor chased a ball for his first ever walk-about.

What he said:

“Anyway, I was in the church laying down and, around nine or 10 o’clock on the Sunday morning, I could hear children playing outside.Suddenly somebody kicked a ball into the church and the first person to stand up and run was me because I wanted to get that ball.”

Togolese footballer and Tottenham Hotspur forward Emmanuel Adebayor recounts how he was a late bloomer when it came to walking as a child. The young Adebayor had not toddled yet in his fourth year. His mother travelled all over the Dark Continent seeking a cure.

What he really meant:

“Believe it or not, I was meant for soccer and soccer for me. Ask my mother.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Actually, I couldn’t stand the long-winded sermon by the priest on the pulpit and I simply grabbed the first opportunity to go walk-about.”

Sir Alex Ferguson: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Sir Alex Ferguson would rather leave West Ham behind and take home the bacon.

What he said:

“I hope that before I die, someone can explain the ‘West Ham way’. What is it? They last won a trophy in 1980, the FA Cup. I never played against any West Ham team that played football I was afraid of. They were always surviving, or lucky as hell against us.”

The updated version of “Alex Ferguson: My autobiography” has the former Manchester United boss deride West Ham United and their supposedly different style of play.

The surprising attack prompted a spirited defence from West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan.

Sullivan said:

 “I read an article this week in which Sir Alex Ferguson said he was not sure what the ‘West Ham Way’ was.Personally I think what we are witnessing right now is exactly that. We are playing attacking football with everybody giving 100 per cent and we are getting results at the same time.

Our strikers have scored nine times this season and given us what we sorely lacked last year – goals.”

What Ferguson really meant:

“I’m so mad. Why is there no Manchester United way? Is there? Or even better the Alex Ferguson way? Just count the number of trophies in my cabinet.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’m lucky as hell.”

Alex Ferguson: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Alex Ferguson updates his Manchester United legacy.

What he said:

“It is an insult to say that I left an ageing squad.Chelsea have seven players over 30 but nobody talks about them being an old team.”

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was promoting the revised version of his autobiography, “Alex Ferguson: My autobiography” at London’s Theatre Royal.

What he really meant:

“Hell, no one would have said a word if MU had continued their winning ways. Did I forget to mention that I did not quit midway?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Chelsea are handling the transition better. Well, somebody’s gotta win and somebody’s gotta lose, right?”

Louis Van Gaal: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Louis Van Gaal has no time for last-minute shirtless histrionics.

What he said:

“He did a stupid reaction after the goal.You can be excited but you don’t have to pull your shirt off because then you have a yellow card. It is not so smart.”

Manchester United boss, Louis Van Gaal rebukes fellow Dutchman Robin Van Persie for taking off his jersey while celebrating his 94th minute equaliser against Chelsea. It was the first time since 9 December 2012 that United scored in injury time to either draw or snatch a victory.

Robin van Persie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Van Persie was booked by referee Phil Dowd for the infringement.

What he really meant:

“Couldn’t he have waited till the game was over to celebrate? He held back till the 94th minute, didn’t he?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“How about tiny-necked shirts for the players? That way, they’ll think twice about tearing them off especially when they’ll look like headless chickens with the tees draped around their heads…”

Jose Mourinho: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Jose Mourinho is no pushover when push comes to shove.

What he said:

“Charged? Charged? If it was me, it would have been a stadium ban.”

Jose Mourinho vents his ire at Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, claiming that if he had been the aggressor he would have been severely penalized.

The Chelsea boss was involved in a confrontation with the Frenchman when the two sides played each other at Stamford Bridge earlier this month.

Mourinho said:

“I gave you my reaction after the match, saying nothing had happened. The reaction from everyone else was saying nothing had happened. Am I surprised he wasn’t punished? I’m not surprised. I’m not surprised. Charged? Charged? If it was me, it would have been a stadium ban.“

What he really meant:

“History’s not on my side when it comes to fracases. I may be the Chosen One in more ways than one.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I have a persecution complex.”

Jose Mourinho: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Jose Mourinho projects his expectations from his players.

What he said:

“The same thing as ‘a project’. The project has to be flexible. The project is never the same from when we start to when we end. It’s like at my house. You change, I don’t like this door, you change. The windows.”

Jose Mourinho compares his footballing strategy to a project. He believes that players and tactics have to be flexible and adaptable.

Mourinho said:

“I prefer my team to press in a low block, but if the opponent prefers to build from the back, and they are fantastic, it gives them huge stability in their game – I’m going to press there. Liverpool wanted to play with Suarez behind the defenders, Sterling the same thing, and Steven Gerrard in front of the defenders. So I go there, I play Lampard on Stevie G, I play my block completely low. I win. And I’m criticised because I [am not allowed to] play that way. So I am the stupid one. I’m not fundamentalist. And I think some people in football are becoming a bit fundamentalist.”

What he really meant:

 “Just like the scope of a project changes with every iteration, the way my team plays depends on the opponent’s style of play. I adapt to the situation accordingly. I am not rigid.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Of course, I have to keep my stakeholders and especially my sponsor happy. And did I mention that I can always jettison players when the transfer window comes around? That’s how flexible I really am.”

Christian Kwesi Annan: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Christian Kwesi Annan has a jersey for life.

What he said:

“I am saving it for life. I’m not going to trade it for anything. I’m going to frame it, put it on the wall and then treasure it.”

Hong Kong may have been trounced 7-0 by Argentina in a friendly but Ghanaian-born forward Christian Kwesi Annan is far from unhappy.

The striker swapped shirts with Lionel Messi at the end of the game.

Lionel Messi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Annan said:

“He (Lionel Messi) said I am the best player in my team, and asked to exchange jerseys with me.It feels amazing. I have a lot of respect for him. I tried to challenge him and couldn’t get the ball from him. He is very pacey.

Watching Messi on TV you think it’s easy to take the ball from him but it is impossible [in reality]. He has quick feet.”

What he really meant:

“Lionel is the best footballer on the planet. I’ll treasure his shirt more than any goals I score. He’s an inspiration and his jersey is mine. Now I can always visualize myself doing a Messi. I’ll build a new wall too if I have to.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I wish I had bought tickets for the game and watched it from the sidelines. That way I could have enjoyed his play without having to run around chasing him, his team-mates and the ball.”