Sports Burst – No Future Without Ronaldo
Zizou’s Ronaldo respect and some Copa del Rey crunchers
By Tim Stannard
1) Zidane says no Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo
Coach Zizou of Real Madrid has a bit of a quandary on his hands – a philosophical conundrum almost.
The longer that his team remains in competitions such as the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, the more awkward questions the Madrid manager is going to have to face from an increasingly probing media; questions on the future of himself, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, himself, Gareth Bale, himself, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. Usually in that order every time the Frenchman is propped up in front of a microphone. Sometimes, he is asked about football. But only sometimes.
Wednesday saw Zidane speaking ahead of Thursday’s Copa del Rey game against Leganes – live on beIN SPORTS at 3:30PM ET / 12:30PM PT of course – and was largely asked about CR7, after more stories suggesting the player wants a better deal with Madrid but the club wanting to move the Portuguese pouter on. Two very distinct positions.
But Zidane would not hear of such scurrilous departure talk. “I can’t imagine a Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s his club, he needs to be here,” said Zizou on a footballer who already has a contract until 2021, which has largely been overlooked.
In terms of team news, Karim Benzema is set to make a return for the Copa encounter after injury, although Zidane was cagy over whether his compatriot and Ronaldo would feature. Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT for a look at whether this Copa encounter will be another sticky moment in Real Madrid’s season.
2) A Copa grudge match and Catalan derby
Sports Burst is getting a little ahead of itself here as there are three Copa del Rey quarterfinal first leg games being played on Wednesday. Guess what – all on beIN SPORTS.
There is a Catalan derby in the air with Espanyol hosting Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde returning to a club he once managed and played for. Tune in at 2:55PM ET / 11:55AM PT to see if there is a warm hand on the entrance of the new miracle man of the Camp Nou.
For those who like their soccer more…violent - let’s not hide the facts - then Atletico Madrid hosting Sevilla is a must-see. These two teams have quite the rivalry, and that is reflected on the pitch, especially when the returning Diego Costa is out there, kicking lumps out of everything that both moves, and is motionless on the ground. Tune in at 12:55PM ET / 9:55AM PT for that doozy.
Over on beIN CONNECT 8 at the same time, the top four spoilers of Valencia are in action against Alaves.
Ligue Un also has a second day of midweek action. PSG can open the gap to second place to 12 points with a victory over a Dijon side that will relish a trip to the French capital to face Neymar and co. Head to beIN SPORTS CONNECT 3 at 3PM ET / 12PM PT for that game.
And tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT for the best of the day’s action.
3) Chelsea eyeing Andy Carroll to boost forward line
TRANSFER TRACKER time!
A busy day for Chelsea, a team that is in action in an FA Cup replay against Norwich and is also reportedly negotiating the signing of West Ham United forward, Andy Carroll. A strange one, really. But not as strange as Everton on the brink of handing over some $23 million for Arsenal’s Theo Walcott, another once-promising talent to never quite deliver the goods with the Gunners.
Juventus are torn between two creative midfielders with both Barcelona’s Rafinha and Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos waiting for a call from the Old Lady across the Med. And a disastrous spell for Andre Silva at Milan could be ended with a move to Swansea, at the bottom of the English Premier League.
Head to the beIN SPORTS Facebook page at 1PM ET / 10AM PT as our experts look at the latest rumors and rumbles in the transfer market.
4) Rafa rules as Aussie Open welcomes new star
Time for a spot of tennis with the overnight news from Down Under at the Australian Open.
Rafa Nadal was the latest big seed in the men’s bracket to be in cruise mode with the Spaniard moving through to the third round after a straight-sets win over Leonardo Mayer. Nick Kyrgios kept the home crowd happy after a second-round victory which did not involve him swearing or hitting balls at the umpire. Small steps.
Over in the women’s bracket Caroline Wozniacki was on the brink of an early exit before pulling through to win in 2 sets to 1. And the tournament saw a new star with 15-year-old Marta Kostyuk moving through to the third round.
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The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. Sports Burst is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.