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Everton defender John Heitinga has revealed he is enjoying life under new boss Roberto Martinez since the departure of David Moyes to Old Trafford this summer.

 

The 29-year-old Dutch centre-back played under Moyes for four years since he arrived at Goodison Park from Atletico Madrid in 2009. He paid tribute to the former manager but admitted he was enjoying Martinez’ style and philosophy both in games and in training.

 

"Moyes created a lot at Everton, on a smaller scale it may be a bit similar to what Ferguson had done at Manchester United. The first team now has a completely new coaching staff and many new players," he explained.

 

“During training we do everything with the ball, much is being done with playmaking. Martinez's Spanish influences are seen immediately. He is a fan of the way Barcelona play and the Dutch School. He tries to unite. The combination football that Everton are now playing, I think it's a pleasant change."

 

 

The new staff all seem to be nice guys and have hit the ground running. I am enjoying working with them, albeit enjoyment is a difficult word to say during pre-season!

 

The gaffer has brought new methods of training and after having done the ‘David Moyes pre-season’ for so long the new methods come as a nice change. I’d love to say that pre-season was easier now but if anything it’s become even harder.

 

What changes have you noticed around the club?

 

GS: Everybody knows Roberto Martinez wants his team to play football from the back. They won the FA Cup last year but people will look at the league position because they got relegated. But the one thing that they’ll all say about his sides is they always want to try and play football, and that’s been there for everybody to see in pre-season. I watched all the pre-season games and it’s been a change. They’re very reluctant to knock a long ball. I think under David Moyes there was occasions if Plan A wasn’t working, he resorted to Plan B which was probably knock it long to Fellaini and work off him. Roberto doesn’t want that – he wants his teams to play it from the back, he wants his teams to be patient. I think you saw that in the first game against Norwich. I think people will come away from Goodison saying ‘what fantastic football!’. I hope they go away and say ‘what fantastic football and what a fantastic result’. The most important thing at the end of the day is results. But I think supporters coming through the door will see a different style of play, most probably a more attractive style of play. Whether that becomes winning football, we’ll just have to wait and see and hopefully the answer’s yes.

 

In terms of pre-season, how did it compare to when you were a player here?

 

GS: One thing that struck me, talking to the players, was the fact that on the first day of training, the balls were out. That was very similar to what Howard Kendall did. You get a lot of managers who don’t let the players see the ball for the first week and it’s all about running and endurance. That’s   certainly not the case with Roberto. As with Howard, he thought you did your running with the ball. It was a mental thing and more enjoyable than running up sand dunes. Of course it’s changed in terms of the way they look after the players, their well being, their fitness and what they eat is important. That wasn’t the case in our day. Everybody hated pre-season because you knew you used to work hard and you had to get a few pounds off, but players are coming back and they don’t need that. You look at the likes of Leighton Baines who trains all through the summer and knows his fitness levels and his fitness plans, so that’s the thing that’s changed. We were just left to our own devices, which inevitably meant coming back and we were trying to lose weight to get back into the shape we were before we left the club.

 

But new boss Martinez has a reputation for his commitment to an attractive passing game and club skipper Jagielka admits it is a case of having to adapt.

 

"This pre-season has been drastically different," said Jagielka, quoted in the Daily Star.

 

"Normally you're working a lot harder off the ball - you're running around and the balls rarely come out.

 

"But the new manager has different views. We've got to start to adapt now to the way he wants us to play."

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lmfao

From man is categorizing running, ykno man is running.

LMFAOOOOO

Tears

Truss them tears aint even from laughter

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not a man utd post but a good place to stick it

 

 
Desportivo Brasil: Inside the Brazilian football factory
 

He is the new Brazilian superstar-in-waiting and wanted by Manchester United, Real Madrid, Sao Paulo and Udinese.

His name is Bruno Gomes, he is 17 and the striker has scored 122 goals in three years with Desportivo Brasil.  He is, it seems, set to move on.

But while there is nothing new about a player leaving a South American club for riches elsewhere, there is something very different about this story.

 

Notable former players

 

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Henrique (2008): Sold to Barcelona for £6.75m

Keirrison (2009): Sold to Barcelona for £11.8m

Cleiton Xavier (2009): Sold to Palmeiras

Muriqui (2010): Joined Atletico Mineiro

 

Sao Paulo, Flamengo, Corinthians and Santos might be household names, clubs famous in Brazil and beyond, but might not have heard of Desportivo Brasil.

Yet they are becoming one of the most talked about football clubs in South America, despite not having a team playing in the Brazilian championship.

During the Confederations Cup in Brazil last summer, I travelled to Porto Feliz, a largely featureless town almost three hours drive from Sao Paulo, to find out what they are all about.

There is nothing exceptional about it, apart from Desportivo Brasil.

The people who run Desportivo are certainly not shy. Formed in 2005, they claim to be the premier academy for young Brazilian footballers; to be a place where, from the age of 14, the cream of the country's young players live, sleep and dream football.

 

Desportivo Brasil's business is finding talent, nurturing it and selling it abroad to hungry European superpowers desperate for the next Neymar.

When you consider that there are estimated to be 10,000 Brazilian footballers playing professionally around the world, you can see why Desportivo are being talked about, why they are busy and getting busier.

The first thing you notice after passing through the electric gates and walking into reception is a signed Manchester United shirt. Proudly framed it hangs over the welcome desk.

 

 

Desportivo Brasil factfile

Full name: Desportivo Brasil Participacoes Ltda.

Founded: 19 November 2005

Ground: Estadio Municipal Alfredo Chiaevgato

Capacity: 15,000

Head coach: Waldemar Privati

 

 

Building an academy doesn't come cheap, and Desportivo have a handful of 'partner' clubs around the world; Manchester United is one of them. Nike provide the kit and the training equipment, as well as a corporate tick on every bedroom door in the modest dormitory where the boys share rooms.

Running the Desportivo operation is director Rodolfo Canevasi. Under the high-vaulted ceiling of his office and overlooking the indoor swimming pool, he shows me some of the many trophies squeezed into an almost-too-small cabinet.

"This was won in Northern Ireland in 2012." he says. "The Milk Cup. We came from Brazil to Europe and won one of the most important tournaments for young players in the world."

They won alright; won all five games scoring 22 goals and conceding only three; defeating Newcastle 3-0 in the final having already put six without reply past Portuguese side Benfica.

"Having a senior team is not part of our strategy, not part of our DNA," explains Canevasi. "We are a youth football club."

"Desportivo is owned by a group called Traffic, which is the major sports marketing company in Latin America.

Play media

 

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Desportivo Brasil 3-0 Newcastle United

"We have to find our boys by the age of 10, 11 or 12. Brazilian law says they can't move here until they are 14, so we bring these boys and their families to show them the project and that we're best when the time comes."

"We take a 14-year-old boy out of his family and we give back a boy at 18 or 19 who is ready for life. We give them classes, we teach them English, we have a psychologist to prepare them for success, for life abroad; or for injuries and failure."

So where do Manchester United come in?

"We have a contract with Manchester United," he added. "We share the development of some young kids together and every 15 days United's Brazilian-based coach comes here, and twice a year they go to Manchester to spend time there.

"If the player is good enough then United, for a certain time, has the first option to buy that player. Not of every player here, but certain players; the ones we developed together, not more than three or four boys. Bruno Gomes is one."

When Desportivo sell a player, it is conducted like a normal transfer between clubs.

"Of course, we always try to keep a share in the player to ensure that if he is sold again we still have profit to come," added Canevasi. "Some of that money goes back to the stakeholders - but the more profit there is, the more we can invest here."

 

Affiliated clubs:
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Brann (Norway)

Estoril-Praia (Portugal)

Fort Lauderdale Strikers (USA)

FC Twente (Holland)

Ituano (Brazil)

Manchester United (England)

 

Without first-team wages or stadium overheads, those profits could be huge.

Outside a bus arrives bringing the youth team of a local Sao Paulo state club to play against Desportivo's under-15 team. If they are lambs to the slaughter then they are big lambs, towering over the young Desportivo boys.

Desportivo's under-15 coach Anderson explains the size difference: "This visiting team are under-16s. It's good for our boys to player older teams; it's tougher for them."

Not that tough though - after half an hour Desportivo lead 3-0. With two goals and one assist there is one player in particular who stands out. "Ah, that's Heitor," says a glowing Anderson. "Our next Bruno Gomes!"

I'm introduced to Filipe de Luca, he is a 15-year-old midfielder, speaks good English and is both shy and polite.

"My dream is to play in Europe, to play with the great players, maybe for Paris St-Germain," he says. "I hope to be like Oscar, but my model at Desportivo is Bruno Gomes; he is so good, the best I have ever seen, better than Wayne Rooney."

Later I ask Rodolfo about Filipe de Luca and ask if he could really be like Oscar. Rodolfo smiles: "Now Filipe is very interesting, a fantastic prospect, and with an Italian passport, which will help. Like Oscar? Maybe, though maybe better. Maybe Kaka."

I laugh. Rodolfo does not and I suddenly realise that he's not joking.

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Benfica defender Ezequiel Garay has claimed he was due to join Manchester United for £18m - until David Moyes blocked it.

Former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had trailed the Argentinian defender for months and Garay has claimed a deal was agreed .

But Garay, 27, says Moyes pulled the plug after taking over at Old Trafford after refusing to match Benfica's price tag. Benfica have to pay Garay's former club Real Madrid a slice of any sell-on fee.

Garay said: "I believed I was going to join Manchester United in the summer. The deal was nearly closed but finally Benfica did not accept the offer.

"I believe the exit of Ferguson has influenced the deal. Moyes did not believe in me as much but that's not a problem.

"I am happy at Benfica and have a lot of dreams and ambitions for this season. Now I only think about the present which is Benfica but it's never possible to discard anything in the future."

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/manchester-united-transfer-news-ezequiel-2368281#ixzz2heMoZOjH

Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

 

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We worked on certain goalkeepers. Did they have a certain trend? It’s details. When [post-Ronaldo] we played Schalke away in the Champions League semi [in 2011], we knew that Manuel Neuer, a good goalkeeper, was like Peter Schmeichel and would come out with a star jump [spreading himself]. So we worked on finishes low to either side, low through the legs.’’ Ryan Giggs scored.

 

rene>>>>>>>

 

 

 

Ronaldo’s rise accelerated under Sir Alex Ferguson and the coach Rene Meulensteen at Manchester United particularly at the start of the attacker’s phenomenal 2007-08 season.

 

“Don’t underestimate the importance of the manager, the father figure,” emphasised Meulensteen on the shaping of the then 22-year-old Ronaldo, “but it’s also about details.

 

"That season we won the Champions League, at the beginning, Ronaldo was suspended for three games [after being sent off at Portsmouth], so I stayed behind to work with him. I knew what Ronaldo wanted. He wanted to be the best player in the world. I told him: ‘I can help you with that. There’s nothing wrong with your work ethic, it’s a wave pushing you forward.’ So I drew this diagram for him, pointing out his details as a player.

 

“There’s the ‘tactical’ bit, awareness, understanding, decision-making. There’s the ‘physical’; everyone has his peak fitness, especially Ronaldo, his pace, strength, stamina and agility. There’s the ‘personality’, winning mentality and attitude. The last bit is ‘technical’, the basics, passing, shooting, moves, turns, and other skills to dominate the one to one. I asked Ronaldo: ‘Where are you good at?’ He said: ‘Skills.’ ‘OK, so with one-touch and two-touch play, plus the moves you have, will make you unpredictable and therefore very hard to defend against.’“

 

Meulensteen addressed another issue. “I told him: ‘The problem is also your attitude and therefore your decision-making. At the moment you’re playing to put yourself into the limelight, to say “look at me, how good I am”. Therefore, Mr Ronaldo, you are doing a lot that doesn’t mean anything for your team-mates’. He accepted this. I said: ‘You need to score more goals. Targets, aims.

 

"Cristiano, I’ve looked at your goals last season, and you only scored 23 because you want to score the perfect goal all the time. ‘Look at me! Top corner!’ The most important individuals are the ones who elevate the team, not themselves. You think it’s the other way round. No, no, no. Elevate the team and the team will then elevate you.’”

The Dutchman asked United’s No 7 to set a goal target. “Ronaldo said: ‘I think I can score between 30 and 35 goals.’ ‘OK,’ I said. ‘I think you can go over 40. This week, in these training sessions, I’m going to work on your way of finishing.’”

 

They first discussed Ronaldo’s mindset when approaching goal. “I told him: ‘Look at Shearer, Lineker, Solskjaer and Van Nistelrooy: who say give me the ball, that goes in the back of the net.’“

Ronaldo was focused more on the spectacular. “He was thinking: ‘That ball comes to me, I hit it top corner.’ I needed him to get out of that. I told him: ‘It doesn’t matter how you score, where you score, as long as the ball goes in the net.’” It was time to score ugly goals as well as beautiful ones.

 

“We worked on positions, which zone he was in, 1 (in front of goal), 2 (to the sides) or 3 (further out). We worked on what type of finish. One-touch. Do you need to control it? Volley it. Pass it in. Side-foot it in. Chip it in. We worked on certain goalkeepers. Did they have a certain trend? It’s details. When [post-Ronaldo] we played Schalke away in the Champions League semi [in 2011], we knew that Manuel Neuer, a good goalkeeper, was like Peter Schmeichel and would come out with a star jump [spreading himself]. So we worked on finishes low to either side, low through the legs.’’ Ryan Giggs scored.

 

Back in that early-season period at Carrington in 2007, Meulensteen and Ronaldo worked on different goalscoring scenarios every day but with one staple for each drill. “It was four repetitions, move on, four repetitions, move on,” Meulensteen explained. “That’s what I’ve learned from experience. People hold their concentration for 1 2 3 4 Bang.’’

Ronaldo was educated to create an image of the situation and the desired outcome: “Where am I [position]? Where’s the ball coming from? Where’s the goalkeeper? Where’s the finish?” Meulensteen gave colours to the four corners of the goal. “Cristiano had his back to the goal. He had to shout which colour, green whichever, he was aiming for, so subconsciously working his brain. He knew his target in advance.’’

 

By the end of January, Ronaldo had scored 27 for United. “You have to reset your target because you have already achieved it,’’ Meulensteen said to Ronaldo at Carrington. “You can now do two things, you can take your foot off the pedal, say ‘I’m happy with this’, or break your personal best and then you have March, April, May to come and that’s when these things are won.” Ronaldo was determined to continue his upward trajectory. “Now we worked on ‘attitude’,’’ continued Meulensteen.

 

“I put a video together for him about top professionals like Muhammad Ali, Pele with little quotes from them. ‘Just have a look at this video,’ I told him, ‘I know you have a big TV. Read the clips. It will put you in good stead.’ There were little quotes about hard work and focus: focus on performance rather than outcome, focus on putting your qualities for the team and also body language. There were loads of times with Cristiano when he shrugged his shoulders, so I put a video clip together.”

 

The clips were of Ronaldo’s body language. “Do you realise how important an impact body language and facial expressions have on the millions watching?’’ Meulensteen asked Ronaldo at Carrington one day. “What do you mean?’’ Ronaldo replied.

 

Meulensteen continued: “Do you remember the goal you scored against Sporting [Lisbon on Nov 27, 2007] at home, the free-kick? You turned around to the camera, and did this [spreads hands out]? What were you trying to say? Sorry? Or were you trying to say ‘look at me, nobody else can do that’?’’

 

One of United’s kit-men was present.

 

“I asked him what he thought the gesture meant,” Meulensteen recalled.

 

“I’m the best,” was the kit-man’s take on Ronaldo’s stance. So Meulensteen turned to Ronaldo and said: “That’s what the millions think. They look at you as arrogant. You do the same thing when you get hacked down, ‘ahhh’, toys out the pram: ‘You can’t kick me, I’m Cristiano Ronaldo.’ You need to learn to play football the way Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer play tennis. Ice-cold. The moment people stop kicking you is because they’ve found another way to stop you. You want people to kick you. You need to make sure you see it coming. Make sure you’re clever’.”

It was back to the video-room. “I showed him clips of Johan Cruyff, an expert at avoiding tackles. He saw them coming, would change direction, and people would slide in front of him. I told Cristiano: ‘The most important thing is your facial expression, don’t react at all. Stand up, brush yourself off, and that defender thinks, ‘what can I do next?’ Overpower him with your qualities as a footballer, belittle him with your skill. You’re in control, not someone else.’

 

“If you look back to the season, he was tremendous. He scored 42 goals. Look back to the Champions League final: he scored the header, fantastic, apart from one moment when he let himself down, the [missed] penalty. That’s when Ronaldo thought: ‘It all comes down to me, that’s what I want.’ What happens? He loses focus. I mentioned it to him afterwards but he knew.”

 

So what of Bale’s arrival at the Bernabéu? “I don’t think it will affect him [Ronaldo] that much,” Meulensteen said. “In my opinion, Bale is nowhere near on the same level, absolutely not. Ronaldo is a far more complete player. Bale will still be important. He has time to settle in. It will make Real Madrid stronger, even more powerful. But if for whatever reason Bale came and Ronaldo would leave it would make Real Madrid weaker.”

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Yet he still continued to spit his toys out the pram..

 


We worked on certain goalkeepers. Did they have a certain trend? It’s details. When [post-Ronaldo] we played Schalke away in the Champions League semi [in 2011], we knew that Manuel Neuer, a good goalkeeper, was like Peter Schmeichel and would come out with a star jump [spreading himself]. So we worked on finishes low to either side, low through the legs.’’ Ryan Giggs scored.

 

rene>>>>>>>

 

lol I think most coaches look at opposing goalkeepers traits

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I fully agree with Barton's comments the other day

 

But when it dropped I had a Fergie fanboy trying to convince me that the intelligence behind the coaching of guys like Rene, Quieroz, Kidd etc. just had to have come from Fergie and that them guys were just drumming into the players' heads the explicit instructions of Fergie, smh. 

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