IT HAD TO HAPPEN AND NOW IT HAS

MILAN'S BOATENG WALKS OFF A MATCH AFTER ABUSE FROM FANS

Kevin-Prince Boateng led his AC Milan team-mates off the pitch on Thursday after black players were subjected to racist abuse during a friendly at fourth division side Pro Patria.
The former Tottenham and Portsmouth forward kicked the ball into the crowd after 26 minutes of the goalless match in Busto Arsizio, 20 miles  north-west of Milan, then took off his shirt and marched off the field with the rest of his team.

The match was abandoned as Milan decided to send out a ‘strong signal’ after Boateng and three other black players — M’Baye Niang, Urby Emanuelson and former Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari — were subjected to monkey chants from a section of the crowd, who continued their abuse despite being told to stop by the stadium announcer.
Milan director Umberto Gandini said he was ‘very proud’ of his players and captain Massimo Ambrosini told Gazzetta dello Sport: ‘We were annoyed from the beginning. We wanted to give a strong signal. We could not continue the game in an atmosphere like this.’
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri, whose side were preparing for Sunday’s Serie A clash at Siena during the Italian winter break, added: ‘I hope that our actions will be followed if it were to happen in official games, from the amateur championships to Serie A.

We are disappointed and saddened by what has happened. Milan play for the right to respect all players. We need to stop these uncivilised gestures.

‘We are sorry for all the other fans who came here for a beautiful day of sport. We promise to return, and we are sorry for the club and players of Pro Patria, but we could not make any other decision. I hope it can be an important signal.’

Ghana international Boateng, 25, later took to Twitter to say ‘Shame that these things still happen’, and his actions were applauded by the football fraternity and anti-racism campaigners.

Kick It Out were understood to be ‘encouraged’ by Boateng’s decision to leave the field and Piara Powar, executive director of European anti-discrimination group FARE, highlighted the supportive role played by the midfielder’s Milan team-mates.
Former Arsenal and Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira said last year that ‘Italy doesn’t want to fight racism’, but yesterday he applauded Boateng’s ‘brave’ stance.
Vieira wrote on Twitter: ‘It was brave of Kevin-Prince Boateng to do what he did today and it was the right thing. We need to stand up and stand together. Well done.

I would give Balotelli a 100 chances - Mancini plays down clash with Manchester City striker

After the two had to be seperated in training by players and coaching staff, the Italian thinks the incident "wasn't bad things like in the newspapers"

Photographs emerged of the two clashing after Mancini was unhappy with a challenge by Balotelli on teammate Scott Sinclair and the two had to be seperated by assistant manager Brian Kidd along with other members of the club.

However, the 48-year-old has played down the incident and insists the matter is over with.

“Mario made a tackle on his team-mate that I would prefer to see in a game and not against a team-mate,” Mancini told reporters.

“I asked him to leave the pitch – he said no so I moved him off. That’s all that happened and it was nothing more than that.

"Nothing has changed between Mario and me and my thoughts have not changed about him and these things happen from time to time.

“Will Mario have more chances? I will give him 100 chances as long as I can see him trying to improve and working hard for this football club.”

It is not the first time the two have clashed during their time together and Mancini admits he lost his temper with the 22-year-old.

He added: "For two seconds, yes. Three, four seconds later no. He didn’t want to leave pitch. No fight."

mancini and balotelli at it again over a bad tackle

father and son

Ba agrees three-and-a-half year Chelsea deal

Demba Ba's move to Chelsea from Newcastle is set to be completed after the Senegal striker agreed a three-and-a-half year contract at Stamford Bridge.

The deal will be finalise after he undergoes his medical which in all farenses is just a formality.

Is he a good buy? Torres may not agree with that.

The Stamford Bridge club saw off late interest from Arsenal in Ba, who, it is understood, will earn around £70,000 a week at his new club — a significant improvement on his terms in the North East.

 

HISTORY FOR YOU

China builds world's longest bridge

AND WE THINK 3RD MAINLAND IS LONG!!!

THIS IS LIKE FROM LAGOS TO IBADAN OR BEYOND.

At 26.4 miles long, the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge would easily cross the English Channel and is almost three miles longer than the previous record-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the American state of Louisiana.

The vast structure links the centre of the booming port city of Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province with the suburb of Huangdao, spanning the wide blue waters of Jiaozhou Bay.

Built in just four years at a cost of £5.5 billion, the sheer scale of the bridge reveals the advances made by Chinese engineers in recent years.

No longer dependent on western expertise for such sophisticated projects, the six-lane road bridge is supported by more than 5,200 columns and was designed by the Shandong Gausu Group. When it opens to traffic later this year, the bridge is expected to carry over 30,000 cars a day and will cut the commute between the city of Qingdao and the sprawling suburb of Huangdao by between 20 and 30 minutes.

At least 10,000 workers toiled in two teams around the clock to build the bridge, which was constructed from opposite ends and connected in the middle in the last few days.

A staggering 450,000 tons of steel was used in its construction – enough for almost 65 Eiffel Towers – and 2.3 million cubic metres of concrete, equivalent to filling 3,800 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Chinese officials said that the bridge will be strong enough to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake, typhoons or the impact of a 300,000 tonne vessel.

With its economy growing by 16 per cent a year, Qingdao is one of China's fastest-growing and most prosperous cities. The main port of the Chinese navy and home of Tsingtao Beer, China's best-known brew, it hosted the sailing events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Briefly occupied by Germany between 1898 and 1914, Qingdao's mix of early 20th century European-style villas and churches, sandy beaches and reputation for fine seafood has seen it become one of China's most popular domestic tourist destinations in recent years. It is also regarded as a highly desirable place to live. A 2009 Chinese survey named Qingdao as China's most liveable city.

Qingdao's residents have hailed the bridge as a long overdue marvel.
"I'm so happy the bridge is finished. The old road between Qingdao and Huangdao is so crowded and now my journey will be much easier. We are a tourist city with beautiful beaches, so it is important we have good transport links," said one commuter on sina.com, China's biggest internet portal.

But people from other parts of China have denounced the huge cost of the bridge, especially as it only cuts the distance between Qingdao and Huangdao by 19 miles.
"To spend billions to save 20 minutes driving time is a waste of taxpayers money. It's just a show project to make the governor of Shandong look good," complained one commentator from Jilin Province in China's northeast.

China is already home to seven of the world's 10 longest bridges, including the world's lengthiest, the 102 mile Danyang-Kunshan rail bridge, which runs over land and water near Shanghai.
And with Beijing pumping billions into boosting China's infrastructure, the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge will not be the world's longest sea bridge for very long.

WHEN YOU ARE GOOD, EVEN 'DICTIONARY' RECOGNISES YOU

In honour of our genius! Swedes add verb 'to Zlatan' to national dictionary

Sweden has added the verb ‘to Zlatan’ to their national dictionary.

In the country’s latest way of honouring their footballing hero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swedish Language Council has approved the term, since it has been increasingly used in conversation by Swedes referring to an outlandishly talented action.

The word was originally coined on Les Guignols, a popular satirical puppet show - similar to Spitting Image - from French station Canal Plus, whose characters are in awe of the PSG striker.  

To recognise this, the Swedes have even acknowledged the original French spelling of ‘zlataner’, simply tweaking to create ‘zlatanera’ and officially defined it as ‘from the French: to dominate on and off the field.’

Ibrahimovic is currently Ligue 1’s top scorer having netted 18 times for the Parisians. While he is a natural showman, he admitted that he does not rehearse his goal celebrations.

‘When I score a goal, I never know in advance how I will celebrate, given (I’m) the current top scorer in the championship,’ he told RMC Sport.

‘There is so much adrenaline. Timing is everything, the environment, my mood. This is pure emotion.’

Many players have lent their names to particular moves before, but affording their overall brilliance to a verb is a first. 

Johann Cruyff was honoured with the ‘Cruyff turn’ and the 360-degree turn has been attributed to Garrincha – although both Zinedine Zidane and Diego Maradona have staked claim to this.

PSG are currently leading Ligue 1 on goal difference, ahead of Lyon and Marseille and face Valencia in the last 16 of the Champions League in February.