Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said that he is under no illusion that the Portuguese will offer a major threat to the Spanish in their efforts to reach the Euro 2012 final. Spain have qualified for the final of the competition after beating France 2-0 in the quarter-final stage. They are the favourites to win the competition, but will face a stern opposition in the form of Portugal.
No one has expected Portugal to reach the stage of the competition after they were grouped in the famous 'group of death'. However, attractive performances in the group stages coupled with stubborn display in the quarter-final mean that they will face Spain in the semifinals of the competition.
At this stage of competition, everyone will believe that they have the opportunity to win the tournament itself according to Cesc Fabregas. He has also singled out Cristiano Ronaldo as a major threat for Portugal, but is also intelligent enough to know that Portugal do not have only Ronaldo as the main force within their team. Fabregas has been used as the false striker by Spain in the quarter-final match against France. It remains to be seen if Spanish national team manager Vicente del Bosque will be willing to recall Fernando Torres to the starting line-up.
"Portugal have a strong counterattack, but if I were a coach and had Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo I'd probably play that way too. There may be three Real Madrid players in their side but they have a distinct style. Portugal have a midfield which likes to hold the ball and use it well," said Cesc Fabregas after the 2-0 win over France. Alonso scored both the goals for Spain at a time when it looked extremely difficult for the current Champions to open the scoring.
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said that the decision taken by the club to appoint Guardiola's assistant manager Tito Villanova as the new manager of Barcelona is a great decision. Cesc Fabregas recently completed his first season at the club after his £ 35 million move from Arsenal in the summer.
Even though he started the season spectacularly with Barcelona, he has been extremely were in the second half of the season. Fabregas acknowledges this and promises to improve in the next season. The cup final on May 27 against Athletic Bilbao will be the last match for Guardiola before Tito Villanova takes over.
Barcelona have failed to win both the league title and the Champions League under what you will at this season after the spectacular spell of 13 trophies from a maximum possible 16 up until now. Cesc Fabregas believes that Barcelona will return to winning ways next season because he says that Tito Villanova is a man who is a winner. He has also praised the officials for taking the decision on appointing Tito Villanova, which will provide the club with much-needed continuity. Guardiola said that he expects Tito Villanova to provide something that he failed to offer the club in his four years.
"First of all, I must say that Tito is a very good person. It may sound like a cliche but it's true: he is a winner. He also shares the same virtue with Pep in that he knows how to get the best out of players. I do not like to make predictions but Barca should look great with Tito. I know Tito will want to contribute his own personal touch. And I also know that he had an influence on my signing!" said Fabregas. He also said that he is extremely happy with the decision to move to Barcelona.
Cesc Fabregas has said that Barcelona have the ability to get even better following their Club World Cup victory over Brazilian club Santos. Barcelona won the Club World Cup on Sunday after a 4-0 thrashing of Brazilian club Santos.
It was billed as the match between Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Santos' Neymar, but it turned out to be no contest for Barcelona, as the Catalan giants ran out 4-0 winners. Cesc Fabregas was on the score sheet for Barcelona along with Xavi and Lionel Messi. Now, the former Arsenal midfielder has said that Barcelona have the ability to up the ante even more by becoming an extraordinary side following the win.
This is the second Club World Cup victory for Barcelona in three seasons. Cesc Fabregas believes that Barcelona will certainly be untouchable in the next few years, but they need to be working hard in order to do so. Cesc Fabregas signed from Arsenal in a £ 30 million deal in the summer after failing to win trophies during his six-year stay with Arsenal. However, immediately after signing with Barcelona, he has now won a number of major trophies including the Club World Cup. Now, he says that even though it will be difficult for Barcelona to keep up the hunger, the age of the side means that it will be slightly easier.
“We are very young players and I still believe that we will keep this hunger. Obviously you cannot win every single year, that’s impossible, but we have to do the best we can try to do it. It’s great, they are the best players in the world,” he enthused. “They create so many spaces and so many chances,” he reasoned. Earlier, many criticised his move to Barcelona, but now there will be no complaints.