James Milner is a member of the English club Manchester City and of the English national team. He is looking forward to the derby against their opponents from the same city. He expects that they'll be the winners and that his team will make a spectacular derby during one of the most tense games in the Premier League.
"We are confident and we have world-class players all the way through the side. We have younger players and older players and it's a good mix here." said the midfielder of Man City
Milner went on saying: "We know we can keep improving and we will do that. We work hard in training and we have great scope to go on and become even better. I think that's the main thing, to move forward as a team"
Right now Manchester City is 3rd with 49 points while their opponents are leading the Premier League. Gaining 3 points in this game may be vital for both teams. It will be a difficult match and as Milner said: "It's obviously a massive game. It's one everyone wants to win. It will be a tough game and it's up to us to go there, perform and try and get a result"
Look at Lorenzo's interview before he won the MotoGP in 2010 and what he said about his partner and what his expectations about the season were.
Q: Everyone expects that the rivalry between you and Valentino will be even stronger this year. How do you plan to manage it?
Jorge Lorenzo: I think our rivalry is not personal, but just limited to the sport area. For me it is normal: we both want to win and we are in the same team. Last year we had a very polite and good relationship with the media and I expect this year to be the same again.
Q: Who is your biggest rival this year and why?
Jorge Lorenzo: I don't know. Theoretically Valentino, Casey, Dani and me are the riders who are going to fight for the championship, but I am sure that it is possible that somebody else will be fighting with us for the championship.
Q: Is your aim this season to be world champion? Will you be satisfied with second place gain?
Jorge Lorenzo: Yes, I would be satisfied with the second position. It is a very difficult position to get, specially now that I am riding with fantastic riders. Anyway, I want to win but I am not in a hurry to get the championship. I have to be patient.
Q: You made a few mistakes last year, what have you learnt from them and how will you avoid making similar ones this year?
Jorge Lorenzo: I think that last year's problem was that all four riders were riding at their limit at every race and in that condition it is very difficult to finish the races. It is true that I made a few mistakes of strategy or concentration that I will try to avoid this year, but I am quite satisfied with my 2009 season.
Q: Your first season in MotoGP was spectacular but included a lot of injuries. After such an up-and-down first year, did you expect to be as strong as you were in your second?
Jorge Lorenzo: I hoped to be more regular and faster. Again this year I want to try to be better but you know, maybe I will not get it. And if you can't be better, you may go down mentally, so I will try again and I will try to improve my performances.
Q: How do you think you can improve this season? Are there any specific areas you want to focus on that will make you a stronger racer?
Jorge Lorenzo: Yes, I really think that my starts are not the best. This winter I have been training very hard to improve this quality, because if you start well you avoid many problems…
Q: Have you requested any developments for the M1 this year to tailor it more to your riding style?
Jorge Lorenzo: You know, fortunately one of my best qualities is that I can adapt my riding style pretty easily, so for this reason I don't think I have to tell many things to our engineers. I think Valentino has more experience and is a very good rider, so I have my hopes to him to develop the M1.
Q: If you are faced with a replay of Barcelona 2009 this season, do you think you will know how to beat Valentino this time?
Jorge Lorenzo: Well, I really don't know what I could do if that happened again this year. One thing is what you imagine you could be doing and another thing is what you do when you are on the bike. I have seen many videos about that overtaking and maybe I could have closed the line more. But, as I said, who knows...
Q: This year you will have a new team manager and a new data technician, do you expect any changes in the way your team works and what are you expecting from the new team members?
Jorge Lorenzo: One of the main changes this year is the new team manager. Last two years we had Daniele Romagnoli, that was a great team manager: he worked very hard and we got very good results. For a series of reasons we had to change the team manager and now we have Wilco Zeelenberg, who may give me some good advices, that Daniele could not give me, because Wilco is a former rider and for sure he has more knowledge about racing. As you know we have a new data engineer, Davide Marelli, and I hope we will be doing a good job together.
Q: After two seasons, do you feel as if you're taking more of a part in the development of the bike?
Jorge Lorenzo: Yes, I am more prepared to do this job because I have more experience and I know more about the bike. I can speak with the engineers with more knowledge about this job. Valentino continues to be the leader of the development of the M1 but Furusawa knows that I must start this difficult job as soon as possible, in the interest of Yamaha and mine.
Q: There was speculation about your contract last year. Do you feel happy in the team at the moment?
Jorge Lorenzo: Yes, I am very very happy. I have always been happy in Yamaha. From the first moment I joined this factory they all welcomed me like one of the family and the ambience in the garage is perfect. To me, my ideal is to be staying with Yamaha for a long time. We will see.
Q: What do you think about some of Valentino's comments about your future together in the team? Are you happy sharing a garage with him?
Jorge Lorenzo: Yes, I am happy to be with Valentino. I think that with no other riders I could learn more than with him. In general we are the best team in MotoGP.
Q: What do you think about the rookies coming into MotoGP this season?
Jorge Lorenzo: To be honest, I did not expect that the MotoGP category could be more talented that it was in the last two years, but it seems that it will be a more and more fast category next season. For sure the coming of Spies, Bautista, Barbera and Aoyama will do the show of the MotoGP even more interesting for the fans and for the riders.
Q: Do you think Simoncelli or Spies can make as big an impact as you made in 2008?
Jorge Lorenzo: Yes, why not? They are world champions, they are young, they are very fast and they want to be fast in MotoGP as early as possible. Maybe it will not be easy to improve my debut, because I won the pole position and I finished second in the race, but if they do not crash, they could even improve my final result.
Q: What have you been doing during the off-season? How much training and how much holidaying?
Valentino Rossi: If my time during winter was 100, let's say 50/50 between holiday and training. I went to the mountains with my friends and I snowboarded with them, which is my favourite winter sport. My training during the winter break is very different than the standard one during the MotoGP season. Anyway, I have never stopped training, otherwise it would be very much difficult to start riding again this year.
Q: How do you prepare for a new season? Is it more important to work on your fitness these days?
Valentino Rossi: Training has become more and more important, because MotoGP bikes are more and more difficult to be ridden and you need power and resistance for the 45 minutes of the race. You also have to get to the new season start in the best possible shape. At the gym, my training is pretty normal, with weights, but I always try to ride motocross or supermotard bikes at the “cava”, in order to not lose the feeling with the throttle.
Q: At the age of 31 (nearly) do you think you are still improving as a racer or do you think you have reached the peak of your talents?
Valentino Rossi: On 16th February I will be 31. I will be a little older… I always try to be at the top of my shape, improving and trying to adapt to the new bike. You always need to adapt yourself to the new bike, to the new regulation. If you think you are at the top of your performance, it is a big problem! Every season has its own story, it is more and more difficult and you always have to be faster. I will try again, as usual.
Q: Who do you think will be toughest to beat this season, Jorge, Casey or Dani, and why?
Valentino Rossi: It is very difficult to say now who will be the hardest rival this year. I think all of them are on the same level, it is difficult to beat any of them. They are very strong riders, they can be fast on every track and condition and through the entire season and they are all capable of winning the championship. The 2010 bikes will make the difference, but I think all three riders will be the more difficult to be beaten.
Q: You have made no secret of the fact that you are not happy about the new engine rule restricting the amount of engines that can be used in a season. How would you change it, if you could?
Valentino Rossi: This rule is not fantastic for MotoGP. It will make everybody's lives very difficult. Tome it is not right that MotoGP have six engines only for the entire season, it is too tight. The rule is aimed to save money, but I think engines should be at least eight; ten would be easier and less risky. All manufacturers will have to adapt to the new rule and all riders will have to be careful, in order to save the engines and arrive at the end of the season with six engines only.
Q: Last year you made more mistakes than we've grown accustomed to seeing you make. Do you think this was to do with the level your rivals pushed you to or what?
Valentino Rossi: Rivals pressure is always very high, every year. In 2009 I did three mistakes during races, which is too much, but at least two of them were very particular, because it was raining and I had slick tyres. In Indianapolis, instead, I had the worst accident and I could avoid it. In 2010 we will try to stay as much concentrated as possible and to avoid those mistakes.
Q: What developments have you personally asked to be made to the M1 for this season?
Valentino Rossi: In order to improve the 2010 M1 we have decided to focus on two aspects: we have improved the chassis, that I tested in Valencia with. Our aim is to develop a more stable bike, with more grip. The second direction, which is the most important, is the engine. We need more horsepower, despite the new rule that limits the number of engines through the season. We need more power and longer life of the engine. This will not be easy for Yamaha, but I know that they have been working very hard on this.
Q: What's your opinion about Ben Spies? Do you think he can be a threat to the current 'big four', as many people say he will be?
Valentino Rossi: There is a lot of expectation about Ben Spies. I think Spies is a very good rider and has a great talent. It is not a case that he is the current Superbike World Champion! He will surely be very competitive, he has a good potential, he's fast and brave, but of course I hope he will be less fast than we will be, because four strong riders are already too many…
Q: What are your thoughts about the news of 1000cc engines returning in two seasons' time? Is that an exciting prospect that makes you want to commit to MotoGP for even longer?
Valentino Rossi: Theoretically, I am very happy to go back to the 1000cc, because I like it more than 800cc and it is more fun. Of course we will have to see how the technical regulation will be for these engines and we will have to see whether they are fast and fun to ride like they were in 2006. Anyway, going back to 1000cc is an important challenge, as far as my motivation are concerned, and may convince me to stay in MotoGP for longer.
Q: Following your recent Ferrari F1 test, people are asking once again if you will move to F1. What do you say about this, and how do you expect Ferrari to do this year?
Valentino Rossi: I had the chance to drive the Ferrari F1 car in Barcelona. It was great, I had fun and it was a very good test, with good lap times, but I think that it will be very difficult to see me driving in Formula One.
Q: What do you think about Schumacher returning to F1?
Valentino Rossi: It has been an interesting and curious choice. It will be nice to see Michael again on a F1 car and see if he can be as fast as he used to be before retiring.
Q: Is what Schumacher is doing something you could see yourself doing, i.e. leaving MotoGP for a few years and then returning? Or do you think that, when you do decide to retire, it will be for good?
Valentino Rossi: I don't know. It is a difficult question. A lot of great sportsmen such as Michael Jordan retired and then came back, as well as Armstrong. Honestly, my objective is to not retire at all and, if I do it, I would do something else. But I don't know, it is really very difficult to say.
Q: When do you expect to make a decision about your future?
Valentino Rossi: It is difficult to say a date, anyway during the next summer I will have my ideas more clear about my future, about 2011 and 2012. I am very good in Yamaha, so I will talk to them first. Then we will see.
Q: Can you shed any light on what you're planning?
Valentino Rossi: I can tell you that I am building a new house. All the rest, I don't know; I have not decided yet.
The Serbia hooligan who allegedly sparked the trouble at Marassi before, during and after Italy's abandoned Euro 2012 qualifier has said the highly charged show of force was against his own team, not the Azzurri. Ivan Bogdanov continues to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, but said his protests were not aimed at Italy but aimed at Serbia because of the political and financial problems in the country. "I have a military past in Serbia," "I love my country. I have nothing against Italy, I have it with my team." "I was very drunk at the match and I apologize for all problems i let to." Not content with the tension that reached boiling point inside the ground on Tuesday night, violence spilled out onto the streets with inevitable conflict between riot police and ultras.
Ivan Bogdanov was arrested by police shortly after and he is being detained. He faces charges of aggravated damage, resisting arrest and violating a number of laws relating to public order offenses.
After his release from the police he apologized in public to Italy and he again said that his country is the problem and he has no bad feelings for Italy. "I really like Italy" said the 29-years-old hooligan Ivan through his lawyer.
“I don’t feel the pressure. The truth is I’m arriving in good shape. I have a strong desire to do as well as I can, as do my teammates. We want to give our best for Argentina and we hope things turn out well.”
“I won’t change. I’ll keep playing in the same way,” Messi said. “I hope to be able to do what I do (in Barcelona) in the national team without my form suffering, because that (way of playing) is what has made me able to achieve everything I have (up until now).”
“I don’t know. It’s Diego’s decision,” said Messi, who spoke to the AP at the launch of his new Adidas soccer shoes. “But I think Argentina is fortunate to have many top-quality forwards. That has been proven in this last year because if you look at all the important leagues, there is an Argentine there at the top."
“We are approaching the World Cup on very good form and that’s great news.”
“The criticism on how I play doesn’t hurt. If it’s because of my performances then I’m the first to criticize myself and the first to know that I haven’t done things well enough — it’s not a problem. But what hurts is when people talk about things unrelated to football. Things beyond football, things from outside.”
“Let’s hope we can do things well and that we can become champions with Argentina and lift the cup. There is no doubt that winning a World Cup would be something unforgettable for the country, for me and for everybody.
“I have also won everything individually and now I would like to do the same with Argentina.”
James Milner is a member of the English club Manchester City and of the English national team. He is looking forward to the derby against their opponents from the same city. He expects that they'll be the winners and that his team will make a spectacular derby during one of the most tense games in the Premier League.
