You have to hand it to Jens Lehmann, he does come out with some belting comments. My favourite of last season [Read the rest of this entry »]
There can be very few Gooners who thought that [Read the rest of this entry »]
Some of you may have noticed that Germany were held to a 2-2 draw against Belarus on Tuesday, despite dashing into a two-goal lead by half-time. It hardly bodes well for their chances of winning Euro 2008, although everybody’s favourite keeper Jens Lehmann claims that his error-ridden performance for Joachim Low’s team was down to the new ball that will be used for Euro 2008. Makes a change from blaming Manuel Almunia all the time.
Sporting Life reports that the Arsenal keeper continues to speak out against the many injustices which are clearly stopping him being the greatest shot-stopper the world has ever seen.
He told Kicker magazine: “The ball is very difficult for me. I only trained with it for the first time a week ago. It is once again different to the ones before it.
“I had a situation in the first half (against Belarus) where I wanted to hold on to the ball – and then it started to move around.
“I hope in the coming days, when also my freshness will come back, that I then have a bit of time for a lot of shot training in order to get more familiar with the ball.”
How can the ball be that different to the ones used previously? It’s round, the same size and surely roughly the same weight? It might be perfectly plausible to cite a lack of first team action as a justification for a rusty performance but not a match ball. Arsenal fans will be all-too aware of Jens trying to hold on to the ball and seeing it move around!
Jens Lehmann has certainly been a colourful character during his five years in England. Above anything else, he’s been a fantastic goalkeeper for Arsenal, and it’s only this season where he’s fallen out of favour with Arsene Wenger. The German has also been involved in a fair few altercations with opposition team players who have dared to invade his private space, the most notable being Didier Drogba last season where the pair indulged in a top class game of handbags.
The official Arsenal website reports that Lehmann isn’t bitted and twisted at being left on the sidelines this season and actually got quite emotional on Sunday after his final match at the Emirates. Bless his cotton socks…
“I had one or two tears in my eyes,” he said afterwards. “It was a great farewell for me. This farewell will always stay in my heart.
“The boss told me before that he planned to get me on. It was a very warm welcome on the pitch and I was very fortunate because the team didn’t let me down before, just in case it had been 3-0 or 2-0 for Everton, it would have been a different reception.”
“It was the right decision from the start to the end, to come here,” he said. “Not only in terms of football but as well for my family. My children now are talking, are speaking better English than German, and they don’t want to go back.
“My wife and myself, we learnt the language quite well and we learnt about another way of life. A very respectful, very kind way and that’s a little bit different to Germany. There are a lot of similarities between English and German people but there are some differences as well.
“As for the football I was part of a team which was playing probably the most attractive game. It was really good.
“In the first two years we won something, unfortunately in the third year we were very close to winning the Champions League, but failed in the end.
“My biggest memory was probably the Real Madrid game at home, when we played 0-0. Then of course the FA Cup Final and then there was the game we became champions at Tottenham.
“I was together with Sol Campbell we were the only players who felt disappointed in the dressing-room because we didn’t know we were champions by this time. We had conceded a goal just at the end and it finished 2-2. That was a very, very emotional moment for me.
“But, I said before, there are more memories than only just playing, there is the reception of the supporters. The respectful kindness of the supporters.”
It’s probably fair to say that Lehmann and Manuel Almunia won’t be staying in touch after this season has finished. The latter recently went on record as stating that his predecessor ‘hates’ him, something which Jens immediately denied.
Well, according to him anyway, although Manuel Almunia may beg to differ. After all, there’s no reason why Arsenal’s Spanish keeper would make up a lie about Lehmann’s hostility towards him, especially as he’s Arsene Wenger’s number one pick these days.
Nevertheless, The Guardian reports that the German cat has denied that he hates anyone, apart from Chris Moyles and Sharon Osbourne (understandable in both cases, COS thinks). The big cuddly bear that is Jens reveals he had a little chuckle when he read Manuel’s comments.
“I do not hate anybody in the world,” said Lehmann. “I saw Almunia’s comments and they made me laugh more than anything else. I was just disappointed that I could not have prevented the defeat at Manchester United.”
Yes, it must be really funny sitting down at the breakfast table, tucking into some cold meats and cheese only to read that your team-mate suspects you hate them. Here at COS, we’re disappointed that Lehmann is leaving England in the summer as he’s provided us with plenty of entertainment. However, it’s safe to say that these sentiments won’t be shared by the majority of the Arsenal squad.
Everyone’s favourite all-action midfielder and the man who avenges any onfield slight directed against Cesc Fabregas is still yet to sign a contract extension with Arsenal. Mathieu Flamini’s contract withers into nothingness this summer, and he still hasn’t scrawled his name on a new one – with a host of Italian giants sniffing around.
His buddy Cesc obviously still wants him playing next to him, saying:
“I keep telling him to sign it quick, because we need him, but he is concentrating on football at the moment. We are still going for two titles, so right now everything else is not so important. Of course he wants to know where he will be next season, but we all hope he will be with us.”
Cesc’s excuse for Flamini, that “he is concentrating on football at the moment” – doesn’t look so solid when you glance over to Spanish goal-post prancer Manuel Almunia, and see that he has just signed until 2012…
Could Manuel Almunia hold the key to England’s chances of winning the 2010 World Cup? The BBC report that the Arsenal goalkeeper is close to obtaining British citizenship and, with a Spain call-up looking unlikely, he’s open to an approach from Fabio Capello.
“They (Spain) have never, never called me,” said Almunia. “If other people want me, I have to study my situation and take a decision because it is good for me – I will not close myself to anything.
“I always say I have to wait to see what is happening at that moment, or which goalkeeper England has, or which goalkeeper Spain has, look at the situation and take a decision,” said the Pamplona-born keeper.
“It would be a big decision but I wouldn’t care if I had two days to take it.”
Goalkeeping has been one of England’s biggest problem areas in recent years. Tottenham’s Paul Robinson has proved largely unconvincing for the national team, David James has been dismissed as too erratic, while Scott Carson had a match to forget against Croatia.
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