Dimitar Berbatov

Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim has said that the club are targeting a good start to the French league season in order to stand chance of winning the title. The club finished second last season under the management of Claudio Ranieri. However, there were several points behind eventual winners Paris St Germain.
Even though they were promoted only in the previous summer, Ranieri paid for this disappointing result with his job. Jardim has been appointed in his place. Even though Monaco have not been spending a lot of money like in the last few transfers window, their squad is thought to be one of the strongest in the French league.

Paris St Germain remain the overwhelming favourites to win the league title once again, but Jardim says that they can upset the odds by starting the campaign in a positive fashion. Monaco has had pre-season during which they have beaten the likes of Arsenal in friendly matches. Further, the return of Radamel Falcao, who has been injured for the last six months, will only help matters. Dimitar Berbatov is also present at the club should Falcao decide to leave for Real Madrid in the last moment. Ahead of the season opener against Lorient, Jardim says that the club wants to have a positive start to the campaign.

“We have worked hard for six weeks to be ready. We want to start with a good game on Sunday. I know who will play. Falcao is not 100 per cent yet but is ready to be included in the group. The team is confident after the six friendlies. We do everything to have a good quality of football. My style of play is to have the ball go through the sides playing very compact. I also like that my press team the opponent very high,” said Jardim.

Leonardo Jardim has been appointed as the new manager of AS Monaco and the first thing that the club fans are expecting him to do is to prevent James Rodriguez from taking an away transfer.

Rodriguez was bought by Monaco last summer at a big transfer fee of 40 million Pounds and the Colombian justified his price tag by producing the goods regularly for the club.

He kept his good form going in the World Cup in Brazil too which put him on the radar of a number of clubs around the world.

It’s certain that Monaco would be receiving some lucrative bids for him in the next couple of weeks. It’s interesting to see how Jardim copes with all that and if he manages to make the talented playmaker stay in France or not.

Monaco had performed reasonably well in the top tier of French football last season and had ended up at the second position, but, despite that, the club board decided to replace the manager Caludio Ranieri with Jardim.

So, it’s clear that the owners want glory and Jardim has been brought in just for that.

Jardim was with Sporting CP last season and he did a good job there. But, the scenario in France will be different from that in Portugal. The standard of the game will be a little higher.

This is the first time that Jardim is going to manage a big club. In the last 10-12 years, he has been in charge of small clubs like Camacha, Braga etc. and he has mostly had one year tenures. But, at Monaco, he would like his stint to be much longer.

Jardim is one of those managers who never played the game themselves at a competitive level.

French club Monaco have announced that Leonardo Jardim has been appointed as their new manager following the release of Claudio Ranieri towards the end of last season. The former Roma and Chelsea manager was sacked from his first after the failure to win the league title. This was seen as hasty decision from the club after Ranieri had just led them to the top division only last summer. Now, Monaco will be focusing on the future after appointing Jardim as their new manager. He comes with a wealth of experience after having recently been the manager of Sporting Lisbon.

The 39-year-old has signed a new two-year contract that will see him remain as the manager of Monaco until 2016. After announcing the news, Monaco stated that he has the experience of being in the top competition and that would help Monaco challenge for titles in the future. Jardim stated that his first job is to start speaking French. He is expected to be handed significant transfer funds – just as his predecessor Ranieri – to end the domination of Paris St Germain in the French division. This is likely to be a threat for Dimitar Berbatov’s place in the team. The former Manchester United man arrived on a free transfer in the January transfer window.

“I am very happy to work for Monaco as it is a big club. I fully believe in this project and I think that this group can go far. The first thing is to start learning to speak French. I have been taking lessons for a few days now, it is question of respect towards the supporters, and the people of Ligue 1,” said the manager. “He is a manager who has obtained excellent results with all of his previous clubs,” said Monaco’s vice president Vadim Vasilyev.

Former Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov has revealed that he will be returning to White Hart Lane in the summer in order to play in a testimonial match for the Ledley King. Former club captain Ledley King announced his retirement from the game a few years ago due to regular complaints with his knee. He has been working as the club ambassador for the last few years. After having served the club since becoming a professional player, King was due a testimonial. It is set to be held in the summer. Some of the best Tottenham players from the past including the Bulgarian Berbatov are set to be present for this match.

Berbatov played with King for a couple of years before moving onto Manchester United for a then Premier league record of £ 31 million. He represented the Red Devils for a few years before joining Fulham. After again a couple of years at the London club, he has joined Monaco in the January transfer window. His next destination is currently in major doubt given that his contract with the French outfit runs out at the end of the season. He has expressed his desire to stay, but the club are willing to offer him only a one-year contract.

“I am really forward to returning to White Hart Lane to play in Ledley’s testimonial. It is a fitting tribute for a great player and I can’t wait to meet up with some of the past and present players. It should be a great night not just for Ledley but for the fans too,” said the striker revealing his intentions to be part of the testimonial match. It has also been heavily rumoured that Tottenham are looking to sign the player, who represented and scored several goals for a couple of years.

Former Manchester United and Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov has revealed that he is looking to follow the footsteps of Eric Cantona in entering into movies once he finishes his playing days.

Former United legend Cantona surprised everyone by becoming a Hollywood star after ending his playing days. He was one of the finest players witnessed by Old Trafford and many expected him to enter into football management or even ownership. The Bulgarian striker recently completed the move to Monaco in a deal worth around £ 2 million.

He had been playing at Fulham for the last few seasons, but as with every other club in the past, he appeared lost and disinterested in the last few months. Since joining Monaco, he appears to have found the interest back again. He has contributed for the club since joining in the January transfer window. Even though they are looking unlikely to win the French league title, it will still be a commendable achievement to qualify for the Champions League next season. The 33-year-old, though, does not have a long-time left in football, but he already has lined up a new career.

Berbatov has stated that he has always been a man looking to do different things with his life and this will not be different in the next stage of his career.

“You know, I’ve played the way I play all my life, I try to do different things, beautiful things, to play the game the way I see it and I think I’m doing it pretty well. To have a comparison with Eric Cantona is not fair because he was a great player for Manchester United – the goals he scored, the way he put his collar – he was really cool. And then he goes to movies and I am a big fan of movies as well, so when I finish with football I will definitely try to be part of some movie,” said Berbatov.

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has revealed that he is loving life in Monaco after managing to start regularly due to the absence of striker Radamel Falcao.

Berbatov was signed from Fulham for a nominal fee towards the end of the January transfer window. His contract was up at the end of the season and Fulham decided to cash in on the player, who had not been performing well up until now.

The move to Monaco, though, seems to have reinvigorated the Bulgarian, as he has been an important player for the club in the last few weeks.

He has scored three goals in just six matches for the French outfit, who are now outsiders for the title after managing to challenge PSG for most of the campaign. They have fallen 10 points behind the leaders with only a handful of matches remaining in the campaign. This has been primarily attributed to the absence of Falcao, who came to the club win a £ 50 million deal in the summer. The striker has been injured since January because of a ruptured cruciate ligament. Berbatov has not only been scoring for Monaco, but he has also been assisting as well.

“The team is young and will still keep growing. To be part of this project is something very exciting for me. There’s lots of talent in the team and it’s only going to increase in the coming seasons. My integration was very easy because I was so well received,” said the striker, whose first-team position could be in danger once Falcao returns from injury. The striker has been expected to return just before the World Cup, although it may be until next season that fans will get to see the best of the Colombian.

For now, Berbatov remains as the number 1 for the French club.

Thanks to the talented Dimitar Berbatov scoring an extra-time winner Monaco is to be sent through to the last eight of the French Cup. His new side reveled in their victories regarding 10-man and Nice 1-0 on Wednesday. They have high hopes and expectations of this season’s upcoming domestic double.

After the 113th minute of a dull sceneat Nice’s Allianz Riviera ground, the former Fulham forward made his first goal since moving to Monaco last month. It brought many cheers to the huge number of fans that had gathered there.
Lucas Ocampos passed the ball tothe 33-year-old Bulgarian in a speculative manner to get the ball into the net from five yards away. Nice’s keeper Mouez Hassan was well-beaten.

Berbatov hadmade only his second appearance for the Monegasques and he had to come on as a second-half substitute. The Monegasquesare presently second in France’s Ligue 1 and are exactly five points away from defending champions Paris Saint Germain.

It seemed to be a very boring game with little action and not too many chances before Berbatov was unleashed. He managed to bring life and excitement into the game. Nice’s Timothee Kolodziejkczak was dismissed. After this the turn of events changed.

He was accused of hitting Monaco defender Ricardo Carvalho and hence was sent off. Obviously irked by the situation, he took few moments to leave the pitch.
Monaco managed to break the deadlock when a header from Ocampos zoomedby a hair’s breadth wide of the left upright.

The other results from Wednesday show that Rennes won 1-0 at Auxerre. Also Guingamp was victorious against L’Ile Rousse winning 2-0 and Moulins from France’s fourth tier won Sete by 3-1. Now they are to head into the quarter-finals.

The 2012 winners, Lyon and Lens played against each other on Thursday for the last place in the quarter-finals.

With Arsenal in search and in need of a new forward and Dimitar Berbatov’s agent stating that the Bulgarian striker was unhappy at Fulham, it seemed like all the pieces were being put together with Betbatov making a move to Arsenal.

However according to Fulham, they have insisted on not having received any kinds of offers or bids for Berbatov. Rumors spread like wildfire concerning the future of Dimitar Berbatov as he was reported to have stated that he wants to leave Fulham during the January transfer window but now according to the new boss of Fulham, Rene Meulensteen there is no problem at all regarding Berbatov.

“No. There is no problem at all, he is a Fulham player.” Rene Meulensteen said.

The performances and goals scored by Berbatov since his arrival might be an indicator on why he is feeling unhappy at the club. Last season he made 33 appearances for Fulham and scored 15 goals while this current campaign is going around in the same fashion. He is no longer the same player of some years ago that used to destroy defenses back when he played in Manchester United.

Tottenham has already managed to offload Jermain Defoe over to the MLS side Toronto as the player will be joining them on Februay and when Defoe eventually departs Tottenham, the only attacking options left for them will be Adebayor and Soldado.

It is believed that Tottenham could be eyeing a possible move for Berbatov as an option that can allow the manager Tim Sherwood the chance on rotating players whenever it may be needed. The transfer window is still far from over giving Arsene Wenger the chance to make a move for Berbatov if they indeed want to sign him up and if they don’t Tottenham can become a more likely destination for the Bulgarian forward as he is nearing the last few years of his career.

The current champions of the Premier League, Manchester United seem to be struggling on picking up any points after suffering from an unexpected 1-0 loss against Everton and falling further behind in the standings of the English league.

The squad of David Moyes has only been able to collect 2 points out of their last 3 matches with draws against Tottenham and Cardiff, their mission to protect and retain their title is getting further out of the reach.

Moyes said: “We are very disappointed. We didn’t take a couple of chances that we had – we needed a bit of good fortune, but one or two things hit the post and Tim Howard made one or two saves.

“Everton kept at it and showed how good a team they are. They got the one goal.We had opportunities, but Everton did as well, they’ve been playing well and that’s why they’re up near the top of the league.”

The only goal of the match arrived in the last few minutes of the match when Romelu Lukaku launched a crossed ball over to Oviedo who was left unmarked and made no mistake in heading it into the back of the net.

As the defensive areas of Manchester United continue to leak goals, it is evident why the team is in search of someone that can solve those problems. Ashley Young, Anderson and Javier Hernandez are all expected to be the players that United have in their transfer list as they want to create enough funds to snatch Marco Reus and a defender.

With Michael Carrick injured and Phil Jones injured, Moyes did not have many options at his disposal he is hoping that the arrival of new players and fresh legs in January will change the season for his team after the transfer window.

Fulham are turning out to have one of their worst seasons in recent history after they are slowly slipping down towards the relegation zone.

This has increased the pressure on manager Martin Jol, who has been responsible for bringing together the team’s attacking line-up. It currently features Bulgarian international Dimitar Berbatov and former England star Darren Bent.

Even though the line-up looks extremely good, they have been unable to produce the goods in front of goal. They have not managed more than five goals combined, which has been a major worry for Fulham, and one of the many reasons the best soccer blog have made them one of the favourites for relegation this season.

Even more worrisome is the form of Berbatov, who has had just one goal this season. He has looked disinterested for most of the season, which does not really well for Fulham ahead of the match with Manchester United. They have lost against the Red Devils in the last three occasions at home and their current form looks to put them on course for a fourth defeat. Jol has said that he is confident that he can bring back Berbatov into the mood to play football ahead of this match against his former employers.

“I have to cheer him up sometimes. We talk about nice things and try to be funny. He tries to talk. But don’t forget he is leading by example if things are going well, and that helps. One or two sentences and that is a lot for him because if you know him, he doesn’t speak that much. He is an optimistic person but he looks a bit like that. He doesn’t want to work his socks off because that’s not him,” said Berbatov.

The Bulgarian is regarded as one of the talented footballers in the world, but he is also extremely moody. This was one of the reasons behind his exit from United.