Mourinho delights in putting another one over Ranieri

The derby d’Italia between Internazionale and Juventus was not the most entertaining game of the Serie A season but Jose Mourinho Authentic Prada Handbags Usa hailed his team’s performance as “fantastic” after Sulley Muntari’s goal in the second half allowed the Nerazzurri to beat their rivals 1-0 at San Siro on Saturday night.

“The team did fantastic from the Bicester Village Prada Bag Price first minute to the last; those on the pitch and those on the bench,” said the former Chelsea manager after the game. “We won because we played better than the other team.”

Inter were Authentic Prada Shoes Outlet in control for most of the game, creating a few clear chances to score and risking almost nothing against Claudio Ranieri’s Juventus, who approached the game on the back of seven consecutive wins in all competitions. It was a typical Mourinho victory.

“Juve played a negative game,” said Mourinho, who had ratcheted up his war of words with Ranieri before the game. “I understood during the week how important it is for Inter to beat Juventus. We had just the right amount of tension coming into the game. If you go into a game with too much tension, you don’t win; if you go in without enough tension, you don’t win.”

The coach also admitted that Inter were lucky in the run of Agatha Ruiz Dela Prada Online Store play that led to the goal – the former Portsmouth midfielder Muntari Agatha Ruiz Dela Prada Online Shopping turning in a miscued shot by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. “Zlatan wasn’t trying to pass prada store, it was definitely an attempt to shoot. We were lucky on that occasion but the victory is absolutely deserved, no doubt about that,” said Mourinho.

“During the week I watched many games of Agatha Ruiz Dela Prada Sale Uk Juve and studied how they are playing and how they played when they beat Inter last Authentic Prada Handbags Canada season; it means I have plenty of respect for them.”

Mourinho started with Adriano in attack after leaving out the Brazilian striker for four games for disciplinary reasons. “For a game like this Black Leather Prada Milano Purse we needed an animal like Adriano,” he said. Mourinho also praised Ibrahimovic, who missed two easy chances against his former team. “He was absolutely fantastic tonight. He missed two goals and will miss others in the future but I don’t think there are strikers better than him. What else can he do to win the Balon d’Or? Cristiano Ronaldo may score more goals but he is not doing it with my national team [Portugal] and I’m sure it’s much easier for a striker to score in England than in Italy.”

Ranieri was visibly disappointed after his team lost the game to the man who replaced him at Chelsea in 2004. “Tonight we did not see the real Juventus,” he said. “Unfortunately we did not play as we can do because Inter did not allow us to do it. I’m disappointed because we conceded a Are All Prada Products Made In Italy silly goal and Ibrahimovic was very lucky to find Muntari in the path of his shot. We wanted to win this game but nothing is changing at the moment. We are Agatha Ruiz Dela Prada Shop Online still there and I’m sure we will bounce back immediately.”

Meanwhile Mourinho dedicated the victory to the Inter president, Massimo Moratti, who said: “Mourinho has finally managed to put his print on the team. He has done a great job and the team is finally playing as our coach wants.”

JJB chair David Jones repays Mike Ashley’s 1.5m loan

JJB Sports executive chairman Sir David Jones today sought to arrest the crisis engulfing his leadership at JJB Sports by repaying a controversial 1.5m personal loan from sportswear rival Mike Ashley.

Jones, a retail veteran best known for his distinguished career at Next, had been Agatha Ruiz Dela Prada E Shop under pressure all week to explain his decision to borrow money from a competitor. The men had offered different versions of events, with Ashley claiming that the loan, made some time in the autumn of 2007, was agreed after Jones joined JJB in October that year, while JJB claimed it was arranged before. The distinction is important because if the loan was made after Jones joined it might have constituted a conflict Authentic Prada Bag For Sale Philippines of interest. During the week legal proceedings were threatened by both parties.

The row had threatened Jones’s position at JJB which narrowly avoided bankruptcy earlier this year and is trying to win support for a 50m fundraising.

Separately, the fashion chain All Saints has secured new financial backing, ending the turmoil caused by the collapse of the Icelandic banks that owned its shares and provided funding.

The retailer said it had agreed 30m of new loans from Lloyds TSB that would replace its previous relationship with the now nationalised Landsbanki.

Despite the financial turmoil engulfing its backers, All Saints, named after All Saints Road in Notting Hill, London, has won a cult following for its edgy fashions, with like-for-like sales up 31% so far this year.

Fashion entrepreneur Kevin Stanford, who co-founded Karen Millen, has been key to All Saints’ success, but the maelstrom that hit Iceland’s banking system resulted in a court battle between Stanford and fellow shareholder, the collapsed Icelandic bank Kaupthing.

Stanford led the acquisition of All Saints six years ago prada replica handbags, taking a 65% stake and becoming executive chairman. But after the collapse of minority partner Baugur, Authentic Prada Americas Cup Sneakers he sought to issue new shares to an outside investor to fund expansion. Are All Prada Products Made In Italy That move was blocked by a high court injunction on behalf of Kaupthing’s resolution committee, which is overseeing creditors’ interests following the bank’s failure.

Kaupthing Authentic Prada Gauffre Authentic Prada Bag For Sale Ph had been All Prada Nylon Bags able to intervene, winning power of attorney over Stanford’s shares, because the businessman had pledged them as collateral for a personal loan from the bank. Kaupthing is believed to have told the court he owed more than 250m. However the case was Apertura Outlet Prada Montevarchi settled at the start of this summer, with both sides retaining an interest in the business. Stanford is still Authentic Prada Handbags Online Australia the chairman but it is not clear if his shareholding remains the same and he could not be reached for comment.

“This Baby Prada Shoes Uk deal strengthens our financial foundations and gives us a great platform to develop and expand our business,” said Stephen Craig, All Saints chief executive.

Monday’s Rumours

Reared on a diet of WWF and World Of Sport, the Rumour Mill likes nothing better than Best Prada Outlet In Florence watching grown men grunt and grapple with each other, preferably while sporting tight spandex and facepaint.

And while we can’t guarantee that Sir Fergie will slip into an all-in-one for his latest bout, we’re positively drooling at the news that he’s on the Are All Prada Products Made In Italy brink of kicking Roman Abramovich in his lily-white swingers.

The Manchester Agatha Ruiz Dela Prada United manager, who at least appears to be sporting the red war paint again, will fight the bearded Chelsea tsar for the right to sign portly Everton prodigy Wayne Rooney. He’s likely to cost the winner of this bout some 25m in Are Prada Handbags Cheaper In Italy the summer, despite him having two years left on a contract which is clearly not worth the paper it’s been printed on and really is there no morality left in this festering business anymore I ask you.

Ahem, the key to this business may be that despite that face, Rooney is one of the biggest “celebrity clients” on the Nike roster. And with United bankrolled in part by the Yankee swoosh, you don’t need to be Einstein to work this one out. Which is lucky for the both of us.

After the fight, Chelsea will dust themselves down and sign Portsmouth’s Yakubu Aivegbeni.

And then Nottingham Forest’s Andy Reid, although he also interests Spurs, which is clearly irrelevant in an age where money talks etc. and so on.

Meanwhile replica prada nylon handbags, man of honour James Beattie will leave Black Prada Bag With Gold Hardware Southampton if or when Glenn Hoddle returns to St Mary’s. So he’s going, then, and preferably as far Best Prada Outlet In Florence away from the God-bothering gob-shite as possible: Newcastle.

Juan Pablo Angel is on his way to Sevilla, if you happen to believe every scurrilous rumour we cut and paste from the tabloids.

If you do, you’ll fall for the one about Celtic’s Alan Thompson heading for Charlton, and the rumour that Alexei Smertin’s loan move at Portsmouth could become permanent in the summer, with the ink not Authentic Prada Purses Sale yet Bergdorf Goodman Prada Mens Shoes dry on his Chelsea contract.

And despite that rumour involving Beattie and Hoddle (look up), it seems Iain Dowie may be unveiled (to gasps of horror and calls to pull the veil back over) as the new manager of Southampton before this day is done.

The man he’ll replace, Wee Gordon Strachan, will be Barberino Factory Outlet Prada offered the chance to keep his hand in at Second Division Bournemouth. “Gordon’s more Agatha Ruiz Dela Prada Uk Sale than welcome to come here and help out,” said Cherries boss Sean O’Driscoll, with one eye on the toilets.

Nicklas Bendtner desperate Authentic Prada Handbags Online to become Arsenal’s No1 striker

Nicklas Bendtner has declared he is ready to return to Arsenal’s first team after a three-month absence through injury, a return that coincides with an injury to Eduardo da Silva and Sunday’s Premier League match against Manchester United.

Bendtner played the final half-hour of last night’s Bicester Village Prada Store Number goalless draw at Aston Villa, his first competitive football since October, and said he was happy with his fitness. “We have a lot of big games coming up. I’ve only trained one time with the team and played half an hour at Villa and everything feels okay,” he said. “We will see how I am during the week and hopefully things will keep progressing so I will be 100% when the weekend comes.

“If Eduardo is out, am I ready to come in? I wouldn’t be here if I was wasn’t ready. If I play Sunday, I will be ready as well and Manchester United is the sort of big game you’d love to come back into.

“Is this a Authentic Prada Fairy Bag For Sale chance to become the No1 striker? That is my plan. Is it achievable? Of course. Why am I so confident? Authentic Prada Handbags Usa It is simple. I am a good player. I’ve always had that belief. People ask me every time we speak ‘Why are you like that?’ and that’s just Black Leather Prada Milano Purse the way it is. If I didn’t think I could do it, I wouldn’t be standing here telling you I could.”

The Arsenal manager outlet, Arsne Wenger, has confirmed that Eduardo’s hamstring strain will rule the striker out of Sunday’s game. With Robin van Persie still sidelined with Black Prada Chain Bag an ankle injury sustained on international duty with Holland, Bendtner is likely to be given an opportunity to establish himself in the side. After Sunday’s match, the Gunners travel to Chelsea before hosting Liverpool, a run of fixtures that may prove decisive in the title race.

“These games coming up will have a big bearing on the title,” said the Danish striker. “We have fought to get ourselves into a good position. We have three big matches, and a few more which are quite important, and we need to get as many points as we can from those.

“We have done really well. We have got ourselves into a great position now where we are fighting at the top of the league. We know why we have got here and we are capable of winning every game and winning the championship and that is why we are Authentic Prada Online Shop focused.”

Bendtner suffered a lengthy lay-off Black Prada Chain Bag after aggravating his groin problem against Tottenham Hotspur in late October. He has watched from the sidelines Authentic Prada Online Shop as his team embarked Authentic Prada Canvas Bag on a 10-match unbeaten run which has brought them 24 points and returned them to contention in the Premier League.

“It is so good to be back and to taste the atmosphere, the smell of the grass, everything,” he said. “It is just fantastic. I don’t think you realise when you are out for so long how much you miss it and, when you come back, you are so happy.”

From Dakar to Old Trafford, via Paris, Milan (just), Sicily and Stamford Bridge

It was not an auspicious start for Patrice Evra. His debut for Manchester United at Manchester City last weekend was watched by tens of millions of viewers worldwide, among them his Ap Lei Chau Prada Factory Outlet 23 brothers and sisters. He lasted only 45 minutes before being substituted, with his team 2-0 behind.

‘It’s never nice as a defender when you concede goals,’ the left-back said after United’s 3-1 defeat, ‘and I can’t be happy with my debut. But I’ll quickly put that behind me. Now we’ve just got to knuckle down.’ His knuckling down could start in another high-profile Premiership game against Liverpool at Old Trafford this afternoon, and continue in the League Cup when United take a 1-1 away draw into the second leg of the semi-final against Blackburn Agatha Ruiz Dela Prada Shoes Uk on Wednesday.

Evra already has a scar to show for his efforts. Tangling with Trevor Sinclair midway through the first half of the derby, he was caught first by a flailing arm and then, as he lost balance and fell, by the City winger’s studs. The unintentional collision left Evra with a cut along the left eyebrow and a squint that made it seem as though he was winking when we met in the tunnel after the game.

‘I expected it to be a physical game, but that’s never bothered me,’ he said. ‘I can give as good as I get. My vision was blurred for a few minutes, but I’m not sure whether I was taken off for that or whether it was a tactical change.’ The Best Prada Outlet In Florence latter is favourite.

Evra is desperate to impress at United, hoping that a run of good performances will earn him a place in France’s World Cup squad. When Bixente Lizarazu quit international football following France’s Euro 2004 flop, Evra seemed to be the ideal replacement. Similar in playing style and attitude, he had just completed a fine season with Monaco, including an appearance in the Champions League final.

But, while his five caps have all come since Raymond Domenech replaced Jacques Santini, recently the coach has been aping Jose Mourinho by playing William Gallas out of position at left-back, with Jean-Alain Boumsong partnering Lilian Thuram in the middle. When Lyon left-back Eric Abidal returns from injury, Gallas is expected to shift inside to partner Thuram. Evra will compete with Abidal for the left-back spot.

‘It’s a World Cup year and you can’t help but think about it,’ Black Prada Eyeglass Case Evra says. ‘It will all depend on how well I play, but maybe as the left-back of Manchester United I have a better chance of convincing the coach.’ As long as there are no repeats of the derby performance, of course.

Evra’s journey to Old Trafford has been a circuitous and, it is fair to say, remarkable one. Best Prada Outlet Italy Evra has many people to thank for helping to guide him along a tortuous path from the tough Paris suburb where he grew up. There have been so many turning points, fateful moments, on Black Prada Doctor Bag the way that he barely knows where to begin. Those he is grateful to include his huge family, the Italian scout he met in a suburban gym, a Senegalese stranger who saved him from sleeping rough in Milan, a group of nuns on a packed train, and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for a tackle that left Evra with a nasty scar across the inside of his left ankle but a new fan in Sir Alex Ferguson.

Evra, 24, was born in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, the youngest of eight children. His father, who married four times and added another 16 kids to the clan, worked for the Senegalese Embassy and was sent to work in Brussels before the family settled in France. Evra, who recently became a father himself – his son, Lenny, is now three months old – was still a toddler when he moved to the high-rise concrete blocks that form Les Ulis, the same suburb to the south of Paris where Thierry Henry first began kicking a football.

Henry’s talent was spotted early. Evra, though, was still clicking his heels at 17 and getting into bother with the local gendarmes for petty crimes Authentic Prada Bag For Sale Philippines bred of boredom – scrapping, and stealing croissants from the boulangerie.

Evra was invited by a friend from another Paris suburb to play in a small five-a-side tournament in Juvisy. It was to be his first step towards the big time. An impressed Italian observer approached Evra and asked if he fancied a trial with Torino. Evra accepted, and after the trial he was whisked off not to sign for Torino but by Marsala, a Sicilian team then playing in the third division. A contract was offered and accepted. Evra, then a dashing forward, was a professional footballer.

Next was a pre-season training camp in a remote town in the north Italian countryside. The scout wrote down the train route from Paris on a scrap of paper, and provided the tickets. Evra nearly never made it.

‘I hadn’t exactly done a lot of international travelling, shall we say,’ Evra says. ‘I made it to Milan, but then couldn’t work out where my connection was.’ Authentic Prada Shoes Outlet Not speaking a word of Italian, a distressed Evra tried and failed to communicate with railway staff and passersby. In a panic, he rang his mother and said he wanted to give up and go back home. She told him to sort it out and after wandering around aimlessly for a while, the near penniless Evra slumped to the floor in tears and prepared himself for a night under the stars in front of the station. He would try to find the right train the next day. In stepped the stranger from Senegal.

‘He saw my distress and just came and saved me,’ says Evra. ‘He was so kind, and being from my homeland made it a bit special to me, sort of fated. He put me up for the night and put me on the right train the next day. There were five of us on this huge mattress in his tiny pad. I’d love to see that guy again, to say thanks.’

On the train, as the temperature became stifling, Evra was seized by another panic attack: would he know when to get off? Many of the little stations did not have proper signs, his worries grew and he began Authentic Prada Outlet Uk to badger a group of nuns who could not understand a word of French but seemed to recognise the name of the town Evra was seeking. He asked them every five minutes just in case. ‘When we finally arrived, they almost pushed me off the train replica prada shoulder bags,’ Evra says, laughing. ‘They were so glad to see the back of me.’

Evra, excited at being handed his first proper set of kit, settled quickly with Marsala. Playing up front, he scored six times in 27 games and was popular with the locals who dubbed him the Black Gazelle. He has fond memories of his time in Sicily, less so of the following season.

After proposed moves to Lazio and Roma collapsed amid a heap of scrabbling agents, Evra found himself with second-division Monza and a coach who was not interested in the teenager. The only good things that happened in the following months, says Evra, is that he got to finally know his way around nearby Milan station and his brother Dominique met his future wife. They now run a bar in Milan.

Frustrated at his lack of games, Evra engineered a move back to France with Nice in the second division. After starting out in attack for the first few matches, Evra was forced to fill in at left-back for the last 15 minutes of Bicester Village Prada Online a game against Laval following a spate of injuries. He did so well that his coach, Sandro Salvioni, decided to prolong the experiment, much to Evra’s displeasure. Despite a running row between the two that lasted the remainder of the season, Evra shone sufficiently in his new position to be named the division’s best left-back. Didier Deschamps, just starting out on his managerial career, persuaded Evra to turn his back on interest from Barcelona and Auxerre and join him at Monaco.

Which is where Hasselbaink comes in. Having memorably seen off Real Madrid, Monaco came up against Chelsea in the 2004 Champions League semi-final. In the opening minutes of the return leg at Stamford Bridge, Evra went down under a crunching challenge from the Dutch striker. There was a hole in his sock and he could see a gaping wound. Monaco’s trainer signalled to the bench to make a substitution, before being convinced to backtrack.

‘I told him I’d smash his face in if he made me go off,’ says Evra, who even now is surprised at the vehemence of his words. ‘I knew it was a bit mad, but I just had to play, even though my foot felt like it was hanging off. I apologised afterwards to our trainer for being so rude.’

Evra later had nine stitches inserted and wears the scar proudly. Ferguson mentioned the incident to him when he first approached Evra, after Monaco lost the final 3-0 to Jose Mourinho’s Porto.

‘He said it showed my character, and he liked my determination,’ Evra says. But Monaco, who had already allowed Ludovic Giuly and Jerome Rothen to leave, blocked United’s move for their rising star. Ferguson, with some success, turned to his left-back Gabriel Heinze. When the popular Argentine was injured, Ferguson went back to Monaco and got his man.

‘I know Heinze well and he’s a good guy,’ says Evra. ‘It’s funny how our destinies have crossed. But, you know, I’ve had so many twists and turns along the way that nothing really surprises me any more.’

Manchester United beat Chelsea to move to verge of title

The title is Manchester United’s in all but