The A-League season needs to start a month earlier if Australian teams are to be given the best chance of winning the Asian Champions League, Western Sydney goalkeeper Ante Covic said.
The A-League season does not start until October and runs through the Australian summer to avoid clashing with rugby league and Australian Rules.
“I think any Australian club is going to find it difficult when they come to this stage because of the way you’re preparing,” Covic said.
“We’ve just had massive player turnover and our seasons don’t match up at all. Compare that with the Asian clubs, and most them are right in the middle of their season. It’s a huge advantage.
“If we want to give teams a shot at winning the Asian Champions League, we need to start earlier.”
Chievo defeat frustrates Benitez
Napoli coach Rafael Benitez struggled to find an explanation for his team’s defeat to Chievo.
The Partenopei were unable to take advantage of the numerous opportunities which came their way and conceded their first Serie A loss of the season on Sunday.
Gonzalo Higuain had a first-half penalty saved by Chievo goalkeeper Francesco Bardi, who made numerous interventions to further dishearten Napoli.
“This result is really incredible especially when you have 11 clear chances and take 33 shots.
“We clearly need to be more ruthless in front of goal and be stronger mentally,” Benitez said.
We must build on big win – Mazzarri
Inter coach Walter Mazzarri urged his players not to get carried away after Sunday’s emphatic 7-0 Serie A triumph over Sassuolo.
The Nerazzurri demolished the Emilia-Romagna outfit in their first game at the San Siro this season – their first victory of the campaign, having started with a goalless draw at Torino.
“It’s early days,” he said to www.inter.it. “Our aim is to always have the same approach that we saw against Sassuolo.
“We need to be fast and ruthless in attack and play our game. The important thing is to give continuity to this result.”
Garcia in hospital
Watford’s Spanish manager Oscar Garcia has been admitted to hospital suffering from chest pains and will miss the away game at Blackpool today, the English championship club said.
“Oscar spent the evening in hospital being assessed by doctors and will undergo further tests today,” a statement said.
“Assistant coaches Ruben Martinez and Javier Pereira will take charge of Watford for the clash with the Seasiders at Bloomfield Road”.
Garcia joined the club this month having ended his second spell at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Lahm moves on without Kroos
Bayern Munich full-back Philipp Lahm insists he does not miss Toni Kroos, who moved to Real Madrid this summer.
The Bavarians lost one of the creative influences in their team when the Germany international was sold, and they have struggled in the first three games of the Bundesliga season, dropping points at Schalke, but Lahm does not believe losing Kroos is the cause.
“I’m not sad that Toni’s gone – that’s football,” he told Kicker magazine. “Players come and players go.
“I’ve been around long enough not to let the sale of players get me down, even if Toni is an excellent player.”
Stoke City forge N. American links
Stoke have launched a new initiative to establish a series of Academy partnerships across North America.
The Potters have announced a new link with sports management company Global Image Sports to work with a number of youth clubs across the United States and Canada.
Each partner club’s coaches and players will have the opportunity to work with Stoke’s Academy coaches in both the US and UK.
Stoke Academy Director Dave Wright said: “We are looking forward to working with Global Image Sports and bringing our Academy to North America.
“The globalisation of the game in recent years and in particular the growth in North America makes this an exciting project for Stoke City and our Academy.”
DFB to probe missed penalty
The German FA (DFB) are to investigate how Eintracht Frankfurt were not given a penalty in their 1-0 defeat to Augsburg on Sunday since the fourth official was unable to communicate with the referee.
Both referee Manuel Grafe and his linesman were unsighted as Joselu had his shirt pulled inside the area.
The fourth official did have a good view of the incident, however, and tried to inform the referee.
However, his headset was broken and Grafe therefore did not hear him, and play continued.
“For a referee and a linesman not to see something, but the fourth official did and could not communicate with them is not conceivable,” said DFB’s official Hellmut Krug.