Roberto Mancini unhappy & Kolo Toure wants Mario Balotelli deal to be finalized
Manchester City Manager Roberto Mancini has expressed his anger over the timings of International friendly matches. He said that having internationals just days before the start of the Premier League makes no sense. He added that it does affect his team’s preparations for the new season. He is not the only manager voicing his concern over these matches. He said that after the World Cup all the clubs had hardly got their players back, and this break does not help the team one bit.
The Italian manager said that, the players when playing for their national teams are in a different state of mind and it does take some time for them to come back into the club football mode. He added that it is also quite often that players come back from national duty with a niggling injury, plus the unnecessary travel also does not help their cause.
Mancini said that he is sure that the players will not be in a frame of mind to be ready for the season opener this weekend. He added that this is not just his problem but all the clubs have the same problem so FIFA needs to rethink their schedule regarding these friendly matches.
Manchester City players, Carlos Tevez and David Silva had only made it to Manchester a week ago and had started training with the team. He said especially a player like Silva who is new to the team would have benefitted from more prep time, but there is nothing actually that can be done.
The former Inter Milan manager went on to say that apart from all that, he still believes that his team is good enough to take on the big boys in the league this season. He said that he is very excited about the upcoming season and has big plans for his team this season. He said that this is another reason he wanted more time pre season with his team to assess the state of his players and see everything in detail.
Meanwhile Manchester City captain, Kolo Toure has said that he is hoping that the Italian striker, Mario Balotelli will make a telling contribution to the team in the new season. The young Italian front man has been on the shopping list for City for a while now. Toure got a firsthand look at Balotelli when Ivory Coast played Italy in a friendly at Upton Park. Balotelli played his first senior game for Italy and Toure said that he has got abundance of talent.
Toure said that he also got a chance to talk to the Inter Milan man, and was very impressed by his understanding of the game. He added that this may be the right time to blend in a raw talent like that into the team. Balotelli has long been unhappy at Inter Milan and under Jose Mourinho last season he was out of favour and did not get much game time. He did not help his cause by openly admitting his support for Inter’s age old city rivals AC Milan. Toure said that Balotelli will be a perfect fit for the English game, he added that he is blessed with pace and physical presence. The former Arsenal player said that this is exactly what Manchester City has been looking for and he hopes that the deal will seal before the transfer window closes by the end of August.
Tags: