Roma must defend better

Thomas Vermaelen has stated that Roma needs to improve defensively and make sure that they stop conceding so many goals.


The former Arsenal player said that Roma are good when going forward, but they concede too many goals and that this can hinder their chances of winning the title.

Thomas Vermaelen is currently on loan from Barcelona and has been out of the team for the last 2 months due to injury. He said that he was happy to be back in the team after spending some time away due to injury.

He said that he feels better and he wants to help the team win games. However, he admitted that the team is currently conceding too many goals and that it is important that they find a solution to this issue. He said that the team would have to learn how to defend collectively so as to reduce the amount of goals they concede. Continue reading Roma must defend better

VERMAELEN INJURED, ROMA SEEKS REPLACEMENT

Belgium international Thomas Vermaelen has been reportedly sidelined from AS Roma’s plans as he is set to undergo surgery for sports hernia. The former Gunner defender arrived Roma on loan from Barcelona sometime this summer but has only managed to feature in three games for Roma, with one of them lasting for just 41 minutes in a Champions League preliminary at Porto, before he was sent off.

Injuries are not a new thing to Vermaelen. However, this sports hernia has been a thing of concern for the 30 year old since early September. A correspondence from Corriere dello Sport newspaper has said Roma sought the inputs of specialist and they believe a surgery might well be in place. Continue reading VERMAELEN INJURED, ROMA SEEKS REPLACEMENT

WENGER BACK IN FOR VERMAELEN?

Catalan Publication, Sport, reported that the Spanish La-Liga Champions weighed up a bid from Emirates Stadium. Arsenal coach, Arsene Wenger surprisingly made a bid to re-sign their former defender, Thomas Vermaelen.

Vermaelen joined the Ajax youth academy in year 2000 as the Netherlands side won the 2003/04 Eredivisie title in his first season with the club. He had a loan spell with RKC Waalwijk before returning to Ajax and winning the KNVB Cup and the Johan Cruyff Shield as well. When Klaas-Jan Huntelaar departed in 2009, Vermaelen played as the club captain for the rest of the season. Continue reading WENGER BACK IN FOR VERMAELEN?

Vermaelen Working Hard to Recover

Thomas Vermaelen continues to be absent from the first-team even after his move to Roma. The player joined the Italian club on a loan deal from Barcelona. Signed as a replacement for Carlos Puyol, Vermaelen has never been able to manage more than a handful of games in each of the two seasons at the Camp Nou.

After having signed him for a whopping £ 16 million, Barcelona are unwilling to write off the deal. The club sent him on loan to Roma in the hope of seeing him rediscover his fitness. It has not been the case, as the player has been out with a hernia problem since September. Continue reading Vermaelen Working Hard to Recover

SPALLETTI RAILS AT JOURNALISTS

Luciano Spalletti reckons the journalists are trying to put cracks in the Roma camp by repeatedly raising the point of Francesco Totti’s exclusion from the starting XI. As per Spalletti, he has already explained that he is being a little cautious about his skipper due to his injury which has healed not a long back.

But, despite his explanation, every press conference he attends, most of the questions thrown to him are based on Totti only and that’s why he wonders if it’s done with some sort of deliberation, maybe to cause a rift or something. Continue reading SPALLETTI RAILS AT JOURNALISTS

MARTINEZ LOSES HIS FIRST GAME

Former Everton manager Roberto Martinez started his run on a poor note as Spain crushed Belgium 2-0. Sacked coach Marc Wilmots might not be too sad about the end of the game after he sacked when he supervised of one the most talented team on the planet, yet they lost out in the Euro 2016 woefully. Spain was on a poor run at the tournament, but the changes they have made started yielding fruits.

Despite the phasing out of former starts Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso, and former play maker Xavi Hernandez, Spain seem not to be lacking real talents as the changes to the squad rose up to the occasion as they thrashed a Belgian side coached by Roberto Martinez and Thierry Henry. Continue reading MARTINEZ LOSES HIS FIRST GAME

VERMAELEN OFF TO ROMA ON LOAN

Former Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen couldn’t find his footing at Barcelona despite joining for £15 million, so the club has now sent him on a season-long loan to Italian side AS Roma. One of the issues with the player during his time at Nou Camp was his inconsistency due to injuries. He featured just 21 times in his two seasons at the club, despite signing five year contract with Spanish giant.

In his first season, the player had wait until the last game of the first season before he got his first team debut, as he had suffered from thigh injury. The player was in action for his country at the Euro 2016 for Belgium, but they were knocked out by Wales in the quarter final in a shock exit. Continue reading VERMAELEN OFF TO ROMA ON LOAN

VERMAELEN TRANSFER NOT SETTLED

Former Gunner Thomas Vermaelen is reported could move away from Catalan giant Barcelona this summer. Arsenal have been linked to the defender as they require more depth at the back and since the player has struggled since his move to the Nou Camp.

The Belgian player since his move has not been able to establish himself at Barca. He faced a difficult time just before his move from the club as he was down with injuries. However reports say the player is ready to make another appearance in the English Premier League and would most likely consider a return to Emirates ahead of the other options that are available. Continue reading VERMAELEN TRANSFER NOT SETTLED

Marc Wilmots laid the blame on the makeshift defence

Belgian manager Marc Wilmots laid the blame on the makeshift defence for the loss against Wales in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals.

Belgium had a great opportunity to reach the semifinals of the competition and that this golden generation can perform when it matters the most. Questions have been raised about the mental strength of the golden generation, which features the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, and Thomas Vermaelen. The latter has missed majority of the campaign and it was not surprising to see him unable to feature at the Euro 2016 due to injury.

Wilmots was sceptical about the availability of Vermaelen for the tournament, but Belgium were handed major injury blows just prior to the Euro 2016. The likes of Manchester City captain and defender Vincent Kompany’s failed to make it to the tournament was one of the biggest blows. Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen was yet another injury casualty but midway through the campaign. All these injuries – especially in the defence – forced Wilmots to field a makeshift defence against one of the surprising teams of Euro 2016 – Wales. A 3-1 defeat – despite taking an early lead through Nainggolan – saw Belgium exit the tournament with Wilmots blaming the defence as a major reason.
Continue reading Marc Wilmots laid the blame on the makeshift defence

YOUTUBE TO BROADCAST SPAIN’S TOP TIER

Popualar video streaming company, Youtube has signed a deal to broadcast top tier football games in spain. YouTube has built on its live sports offerings after agreeing a free-to-air broadcast deal with Spain’s Professional Football League (LFP). A number of games from the LFP World Challenge, Spain’s top-tier football pre-season tour, will be shown on the online video platform later this summer. As well as the live games YouTube will also offer a number of highlights packages and behind the scenes content from the tour.

The broadcasts will include games featuring Real Sociedad and SD Eibar, who will embark on a North American pre-season tour and RCD Espanyol who are due to visit Bolivia as part of their summer plans. YouTube will show a number of fixtures including San Jose Earthquakes against Real Sociedad, Philadelphia Fury against Eibar and Club Blooming against Espanyol, among others.

The LFP World Challenge is part of a wider campaign set up between the Government of Spain, Spain’s Professional Football League (LFP), the country’s higher sports council (CSD), and the Spanish institute of foreign trade (ICEX) to promote La Liga and Spain in general. The news comes just days after BT Sport, which holds the exclusive UK broadcast rights to the Champions League and Europa League, announced that it would show the final of each tournament for free on YouTube.

YouTube’s ambitions to strengthen its foothold in live sports streaming extend beyond just football however, the Google-owned video service recently partnered with the NFL to offer fans some of the game’s most iconic matches for free. While YouTube has made its ambitions to stream live sport clear, it has been aided by sports broadcasters’ attempts to hold on to their audiences who are increasingly cutting cable and satellite subscriptions in favour of consuming content on digital platforms. The La Liga has also been attracting growing interest as they constantly rule the continental football tournament in the Champions League.