Filling the void left by Neymar is no easy task, but Santos forward Gabriel is determined to grasp his opportunity when Brazil visit Paraguay for Tuesday s World Cup qualifier.
Influential captain Neymar is suspended for the contest in Asuncion following an accumulation of bookings after being cautioned in Friday s 2-2 draw against Uruguay.
The absence of the skipper is a blow to Brazil, who sit third in the CONMEBOL group, but it does present an opportunity to Gabriel.
The 19-year-old says it is impossible to replace Neymar and he will attempt to bring his own qualities to the national team.
Taking the vacant spot left by Neymar is very good, but I will not replace him, said Gabriel, who has represented Brazil up to Under-23 level.
He is our…
Lille midfielder Marvin Martin has vowed to take criticism on the chin as he looks set to finish another campaign without a goal.
Martin joined the Ligue 1 club from Sochaux in 2012 after impressing at the Stade Auguste-Bonalbut, but failed to find the net in his debut season at Lille.
Having suffered with knee injuries recently, Martin has again failed to score in his 21 appearances for the club this term.
With another season set to pass without Martin finding the net, the 25-year-old acknowledges he has not yet lived up to his potential after displaying promise at Sochaux.
It s understandable. I too am impatient, I really want to score, he told L Equipe.
I work in training but I have to try more. I know.
I do not particularly want to play the mar…
Here we are on the eve of the biggest game in the European calendar and I somehow find myself wondering how the two teams are in the Champions League final.
Neither Chelsea nor Bayern Munich were champions of their domestic leagues last season, and neither have been champions this season.
Change
The competition is called the Champions League yet the two teams in the final are not actually champions. The competition should be looked at by the trades description act.
I think maybe UEFA should look at renaming the competition and regressing back to the old name of European Cup(unlikely because of corporate deals).
Ironically for the majority of time that the competition was the European Cup, only teams who were national champions qualified for the c…