On June 6th, Nani picked up a shoulder injury in training which wasn’t believed to be serious. “I feel better already,” the player said before setting off for South Africa. His only concern was whether he would be ready to play in the friendly against Mozambique.
However, two days later, it was confirmed that the injury was in fact so bad that he was no longer able to compete in the World Cup. Bear in mind this was a whole week before Portugal’s opening game, two weeks before Portugal’s second game and 17 days before their final group stage match. It was therefore assumed in the press that the injury had to be really serious, otherwise the manager would take a gamble on his returning fitness. Nani had a great second half to the season for United so this World Cup had come just at the right time for him.
Nani was replaced by Benfica’s Ruben Amorim, a 25-year-old central midfielder who started just 10 of his 24 league appearances last season as he struggles to hold down a first team place, who has never represented his country. Considering Portugal were so severely lacking in options, it seemed to point to the fact Nani must have really hurt himself and be out for the long term for him to be removed from the squad.
However, upon returning from South Africa, our winger claimed: “I will be fine in a week.” If that really is the case, Nani would have only missed Portugal’s opening game against the Ivory Coast and would have been available for the remaining two group stage games, as well as any possible further matches in the competition.
Unsurprisingly, tongues started wagging, with the media and fans trying to explain why on earth one of Portugal’s best players had been sent home when apparently not very injured at all. Nani had spoken of his “bitterness” and “rage” at having to leave South Africa, which only added to the speculation. Some rumours claimed he had failed a random drugs test whilst others claimed he had fallen out with Carlos Queiroz, although both whispers have been denied today.
“The rumours going around are without foundation,” said Luis Horta, the head of anti-doping authority in Portugal.
The vice-president of the Portuguese federation was equally as baffled as to where the talk had originated from.
“There is no attempting to hide anything, there was only the hope that he could have recovered,” said Amandio de Carvalho.
Carlos Queiroz has today talked about the fuss surrounding Nani, claiming that quite frankly, Portugal have more important things to worry about.
“Tomorrow, we are going to be playing the Ivory Coast in our first game in the World Cup,” said Queiroz. “If Nani is ready in four days, that’s wonderful, but the most important thing is for us to focus on our goal tomorrow. So, with all due respect to Nani, that is what we are focusing on.”
So, what’s gone on here? My interpretation would be something like this: Nani is massively pissed off at being replaced by a nobody in the World Cup team, particularly given how hard he has worked to get there and how confident he is in his own ability to shine. He will have believed he could recover faster than the doctors were telling him would, so upon returning from his 16 hour journey, thoroughly pissed off, claimed he would be available in a week. This of course lead to sensationalised rumours because people were trying to make sense of a situation that didn’t make much sense at all.
It’s a desperately disappointing situation for him and we of course do wish him a speedy recovery. Although, it is good to note that he’s got his club head on him now.
“I want to recover well and start the season with my club, have a good pre-season and be in good form for the start of the season in England,” Nani said today. Good lad.
Man Utd News 24/7
Fall out. the injury is just an excuse
portugal seemed to have panicked with nani, the media can say what they want but i think the team just didnt want to wait. this could be the start to the kids “paul scholes” look on football life. when all looked like united were to give up on him they got fully behind him and united reaped the rewards
portugal just didnt have the same view as sir alex and united again will win out in the end with there winger getting a nice rest and also with this will be rearing to go
Gotta be a fallout, ‘bitterness’ on missing out of the World Cup is one thing…’rage’ is another..
good work nani. dont bother yourself with the world cup mate
theres a more important trophy that we need to win back for ourselves
wow, this surely is a strange one..
spot on red Dave
A strange situation. I don’t buy into the drug test rubbish because if that was the case, they would have made an example out of him. Was it a fallout? With Quieroz? It;s hard to imagine too. Whatever the reason, it’s a real shame that he will miss the WC, but it’s a big boost for us.
Also hope this dosent affect him mentally. representing your country at the word cup is the pinnacle for any footballer. nani knows he has missed out on it.
Wait a second….based on: “If Nani is ready in four days, that’s wonderful, but the most important thing is for us to focus on our goal tomorrow” – What does he mean by “that’s wonderful” ??? Does he still have a chance to play at the World Cup???
This is getting even more confusing now….
I love the kid. Can’t believe I wanted him out less than 6 months ago. Though Di Maria, the kid I wanted to replace him with, did pretty well too.
We need to keep hold of Nani, Rooney, Valencia and Tosic. Along with Anderson, Obertan, et al, our best attacking talent at the same time in decades.
I don’t care if he is Adrian fucking Mutu, he is immense at the moment, and has established himself as a star player at the biggest club in the world. I don’t think the turning point came at the Arsenal away fixture. The turning point came when he said he knew now what it meant to wear the shirt. Don’t know when exactly that was, but that was the moment, the moment he became a United player. I feel gutted for the lad, but from a purely selfish point of view, I hope this helps him start the pre-season fresh for United.
It would be interesting to hear saf thoughts on this, always thought Nani and Quieroz got on.
Something is rotten in the team of Portugal!
Let’s hope that United emerge as benefactors from this circus, by having Nani fresh and fit for the new season.
drama drama drama
@Devil310
No the squads are made up. He can’t go back now.
@portugueseprincess
What do you make of this? Maybe you know something more than us?
i agree with costas the drug test has to be rubbish its something that carn’t be kept hidden.what i don’t understand is last week sir alex was supposed to be pissed off because he wanted nani back for treatment and portugal had invited him to stay on i think its really hard to put a time on shoulder injuries.so maybe they decided not to risk it and that pissed nani off,all seems a bit odd
Well, it was only Nani who said he would be ready, not the doctor. Guess only the team doctor can give the full story. All of us here should know very well what can happen when a half-fit player insist on playing on.
Marq makes a good point. I’ve heard of a player who is suffering from recurring problems to his shoulder because he doesn’t want to operate on it. Nani might be doing the same. All of this might be dating back as far as the Charity Shield when he injured his shoulder and came back sooner than we were afraid he would. Shoulder surgery is not a walk in the park, but he could be risking more injuries to it if he doesn’t do the operation. All of this is pure speculation of course. Hopefully Nani is 100%.
I’d say fallout. Bitterness, Rage can’t just be all because of an injury. If that’s the case, it sounds like it would take a lot of convincing to make Nani go back, imo. If that happened, Portugal have temporarily lost a gem. Keep your head up son – we love ya Nani!
Maybe Ronaldo didn’t want to be up staged.
@Costas, There’s a lot of theories in Portugal at the moment about Nani and his ‘injury’. A very beliavable source said that there were problems between players. It seems Nani and Simao went too far…
I cannot believe this at all. I cannot believe that the team would do this to themselves. Nani has
been the best player in the squad by far, so for him to be the one leaving has angered all portuguese fans. Even more now that he is saying that he will be ok in a week. He wouldn’t be saying this without reason. When he arrieved in Lisbon, I knew straight away that something was up. He was pushing a trolley without much care about his injury and looked relax.
I would hate to think that personal aspirations have got in the way of national pride. They earn so much money but cannot get along for the sake of the team.
There has been bitterness in the team since Queiroz arrived. I never thought I would dislike Queiroz this much. He doesn’t have much control over the team. His worst decision was naming Cristiano as team captain. It caused lots of anger among the team with players like Simao feeling hard done.
I don’t really know what is REALLY happening with Nani but I bet something happened with the team. I’m just sad that our best player is out of the WC because of that.
The quicker Queiroz comes back to Sir Alex’s side the better.
gutted for ya nani, chin up tho mate, hopefully portugal will get knocked out early and it will be easier for ya,
bet fergies already spoke to him, 2 years balon dOr winner, gotta be worth a punt
in*
@portugueseprincess
Thanks for sharing. It doesn’t seem too far fetched to be honest. A lot of national sides suffer from big egos. In 2001, Greece’s best striker quite the national team because someone else wore number 11 in a game instead of him…
It’s a real shame for Portugal because they lost one of their most in form players. Carlos Q. does not have a good track record in terms of managing desciplined sides. When he was at Real it seemed like he lost control of the dressing room there too. That’s why I always felt that he was a great assistant for Fergie, but nothing more They complimented each other quite well.
Quieroz wasn’t happy with how got injured, dam shame for the lad.
@Costas,
I feel really bad for Nani but he will have more opportunities. I am just praying that the national team does well. I doubt it but you know, miracles have happened…
Off topic… If I was Italian I would be very pround now. First team were all the players are actually proudly singing their national anthem. Put others to shame. very well done and good luck Italy.
@portugueseprincess
Yep, I know a thing or two about miracles. I hope Portugal do ok even without Nani. Lets see how motivated Ronaldo is for this.
Oh and good luck Italy too.
Well Rooney apparently has a knock – hope he gets a rest too – the English apparently do not need him since he is an average player compared to Messi Kaka Ronaldo…
And of course Fabio sought to have Heskey as the main man up front
Yep whatever…
Costas
My dear Costas
They all said Germany have half a squad or more that are not tournament savvy
They of course were all wrong – this WC will be fun that’s for sure – as long as nothing happens to any one of our players – feel free – I’ll personally have anyone to win : )
MG
Hows number 10 my friend
kings out for 3 weeks so ysb carragher will probably play, i fuckin hate that cunt, wish rooney was brazilian
wish rooney was irish
@MG
I didn’t agree with that either. In the modern times, the World Cup has a become a tournament for lesser known players. The top players view it as another month of action. And that’s why we see countries from Asia or Africa show more passion about it. And the same applies to players who haven’t been to a WC before. Don’t know how exciting it will be, but we could be in for some big surprises.
Anf of course I echo GHTT regarding number 10.
MG
Hope the little man is ok mate..
willierednut
Quality, you gotta love Ronaldo’s fear of getting upstaged
if people dont want to get cold in nanis shadow then bring a frickin coat
carlos sort out your teams internal problems
rooneys hates ronaldo ronaldo got rooney sent off blahblah
did SAF sell one or did he nip it in the bud and produce manchester un iteds second most successful season ever
gooooaaaalllll!!!!
cmmon Italy
the escape from alcaraz
italy are back in it
aig
i taught you were holland
or are you cheering for whoever scores
i wonder if the italian media will talk about there keeper in the papers tomorrow like hes hitler
like the english media would
Holland first love
italy soft spot.2nd after oranje
sorry not italian paragury media
alcaraz has been signed by wigan last month. on todays evidence it looks a good one
Why was Buffon brought off?
Buffon came off due to a niggle
@GHTT Costas Rai
Temperature and a cough – typical – beat one thing face another
A little tired now listening to Paddington Bear and falling asleep : )
Alcaraz will be a United player in 2011-2012. We know how the South America-Wigan-United connection works.
Italy rarely start these competitions on fire, but they seemed unispired today. Maybe Pirlo will change the pictureI was impressed with Pepe. I wonder why it toold them so long to call him up. Nationality issues?
@MG
I am sure he will pull through. Remember: Giggsy didn’t have a free run on goal on his way to emortality against Arsenal in 99. There are always tackles..
@Costas
Beautifully said mate
You’ve just made my day – One of these days I’ll have to take you up on your free kebab offer : )
@MG
Sure mate. As soon as Greece win their first WC game. I just wormed my way out of a free meal, lol.
i wouldn’t be surprised if the now, more experienced, mature , tactically astute Nani, took Ronaldo to task for being such an arrogant, selfish, ball hog, and told him to pass one in a while, instead of shooting from long distances,etc. Row would’ve ensued, Carloz Quiroz would’ve supported his Ronaldo, and sent Nani home with a minor injury just to keep Ronaldo happy. Hope portugal suffer!
MG
I cannot put it any better than Costas
keep the chin up number 10 one day you’ll marry my number 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcSUdJ5L9f0&feature=related
Im tellin ya lads….United to lift the World Cup!!!!!
I wont accept this lad as done drugs or falling out with THAT moron of a coach, at Portugal, I do my own research and it is not true any of this nonesense.
I just feel bitterly betrayed that I cant see him at the World cup, as far as I am concerned now the Ivory Coast can hump them now on the 15th. and Brazil ( Rom) on the 25th.
Plus the bonus if you see the big picture ( Rom) Brazil take on (Red Rants) North Korea on the 15th. lmao
Purely for whom that follow and all that shite.
We do need a new winner, and some injection of majik, Cmon Honduras, or some clod hopping woodie shoes. Clogs
Disaster!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1286629/Stinker-England-wash-kit-sewage-leak-Wayne-Rooney-Ashley-Cole-miss-training.html
@ Costas very funny, like i read that stuff 4 hours ago, lol.
Nice one though mate.#
And I thought Costas was inviting us all to wash his dirty linen in public! lmao
The Disaster will be Costas Red if I run out of cheap Cider.go for ouzo
MUST ( No Pun ) go! intended, cant wait for the 17th with you I learnt a lot of Nigerian words, to confuse you. lol and get my fav Greek freind on the back foot.
Keep it Red Lads
I remember Ronaldo having a very good World Cup was almost the real turning point from good player to one of the best in the world…
I would have enjoyed watching Nani in this tornament and it could have been part of his further progression,I really don’t think we gained as much as we could of done from him starring in this major event.
“I want to recover well and start the season with my club, have a good pre-season and be in good form for the start of the season in England,” Nani said today. Good lad.
This made my day.Nope it made my next few months till the season starts.I love this lad to bits.i’m gutted he won’t be playing in the WC.Everything points to a fallout rather than a serious injury.I can’t wait for Nani to be a superstar.
Kind of funny, some of you guys keep saying “good, now he is fit for the premier league.” Have some sympathy, for the vast majority of players, playing in the world cup for their nations is much more important than winning the premier league or even the champions league, its about pride
Off topic…but i seem 2 hv fallen in luv with this mesut oezil guy..anybody else think he wd be perfect 4 us…
@Costas
Yeah. The Italians are slow starters. However they do seem to raise their game when it matters unlike some others who start with a bang and then fall flat when it matters. Pirlos return will boost them no doubt.
Lets not forget yesterday they played a very good paraguay team who beat both Brazil and argentina in the world cup qualifiers. No one gave the azzuri a chance in 1982 and 2006 and they won both times. 2006 taught me never write them off. With the fixing scandal back home everyone expected them to knocked out early. They proved everyone wrong. With Lippi at the helm, they can do it again. He is a master tactician
Thank you Zoran Tosic for those 30 odd minutes. cant understand why we signed him if he was never going to play??. seriously dont know what our scouts are upto.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_6206930,00.html
@aig
i second that. even djemba-djemba was given more opportunities in the first team to prove himself.
looks like the club are almost getting back what they paid for Tosic, plus sold Foster for good money – they will be happy with this summer’s business!
@AIG
I was cautious about yesterday’s game anyway. Paraguay are usually a robust side so they didn’t for Italy style of play. They did exceed all expectatios in 2006, especially in the semi final, but I can’t see them doing it again.
Regarding Tosic, I really wish we could have given him another chance. Apparently the club is open to offers for players right now.
@RedScot
Lol I appreciate that you are fluent in Nigerian now. Unfortunately I won’t be around this place for the Greece-Nigeria game. I am clearing the air from now, in case someone will think that I am hiding if (when) Greece lose.
@arjic
yeah. very true
@Costas
even i cant see them winning but people who are writing them off very easily may be proven wrong again. the 2006 semi final surprised me because despite being the better and favorites germany were totally outplayed by italy and deserved the win. The grosso goal was an absolute beauty
@AIG
It was. But my favorite was the other goal.
It was a bold statement by Del Piero that he was alive and well.
@Costas
that was a cool finish too. Del Piero is one of my all time favorites along with Totti. Hoped they would be picked but age went against them because both had decent seasons. The presence of someone like Cassano would have benefited italy but he hasnt been picked for years due to his attitude problems in the past
@GHTT 11.18
That’s really nice
At least we are guaranteed that the United tradition will continue in good hands : )
@GHTT
Posting this the wrong way around
Good morning : )
Good morning to you all : )
aig – You don’t know what the scouts are up to? Well with your vast knowledge of who is great and who is not perhaps you are in the wrong job. Sometimes players just don’t work out. Could be his attitude?
For all the hype that some of these pricks get for fuck all. Ie the media making world class players out of joe average I would take Daniele De Rossi tomorrow. A proper destroyer of a midfielder. I know denton is a big fan.
Morning all.
PS Why on earth are the press reporting that Vida may go to Citeh? As if.
@King Eric
I wish i had a chance. Havent the scouts got it wrong too often of late when it comes to young players.
manucho, tosic, ljajic. How can we say it his attitude when he hasnt played for any sort of time?. after ronaldo we are struggling to find good young players and it is something that needs to be looked into. Rumours are that a few prem clubs want diouf too now. so how is this benefiting us?. send players on loan to lower clubs and when they do well there sell them.
I love De rossi to bits but de rossi has too much of roma in him to even think of leaving them. kind of scholes and giggs type player when it comes to loyalty. even if roma do decide to cash in on him the likes of real and chelsea will comprehensively outbid us.
The time for the likes of de rossi has gone. the freebies and cut price deals look more likely now. cole is the only player we have a good chance of getting so i hope at least we can get him or maybe we have missed out on him too.
United is preparing to bid for the WC nr. 253. City are also in the hunt. (c) The Evening Bullshit
Surely we can’t call it journalism ?
I have to side with AIG on the Tosic thing. We didn’t buy Ljajic because he didn’t develop like we wanted him to over a year. At the same time, Smalling hasn’t exactly taken the Premiership by storm since we signed him 6 months ago, but that’s another story. Anyway, Tosic goes on loan and he does very well. Ok, his attitude about returning to United wasn’t that positive, but I am willing to bet that Nani’s attitude about United in early last December wouldn’t have been much different either. Giggs will be 37 in November, Park is a special missions player who we could utilise in CM and Obertan is still developing. Would it really hurt to bring Tosic back to the fold for 6-12 months and see how he has developed? It’s not like we are loaded with left footed wingers. That’s a panic sale in my opinion.
Oh I don’t think for one minute De Rossi would join United, he is just like Totti and has Roma in his blood.
Costas – Hmmm not sure mate. Fergie obviously didn’t deem him good enough or strong enough. Why would we panic sell? Panic about what? One minute he wants to stay at Cologne then join CSKA. Another odd one.
aig – I don’t think it is as easy as saying “Citeh will outbid us”. I like to think some players have scruples and it just isn’t about money. If it is then I am afraid I don’t want them anywhere near United.
Furthermore people are deluded if they think that we can uncover Ronaldo’s by the dozen. He is a one off. I am happy with us unearthing gems like the de Silva’s and Nani.
@King Eric
no. i dont want dozen ronaldos but the number of young players who havent been able to make it at United has been quite big. we cant sign players and then not give them enough chances to impress.
CIteh wont outbid us but real, chelsea, barca and the italian clubs will and they are big clubs too so players wiont mind going there
@King Eric
It seems to me panicky because our first instict was to take a tempting financial offer instead of keeping Tosic and giving him a full season to prove himself. Ok, it’s a very good possibility that he wouldn’t have made a difference. So in the summer of 2011 we would sell him for 3-4 million as ooposed to 8. Is that disastrous for a club with United’s financial status? In my opinion it was worth it simply because this player could have turned into the real deal.
I haven’t heard him say he wants to go to CSKA. He wasn’t too crazy about returning to United because he wouldn’t get the amount of time on the pitch he has at Cologne. But again in my opinion, it’s up to every club to make a player want to play for it. I am sure that Jonny Evans was hesitant about returning to United and leaving a certain starting place at Sunderland, but United gave him the opportunity to prove himself. The same would have happened for Tosic.
And I agree that Ronaldo wasn’t the last one. We’ve also seen the Da Silvas, Nani and Ando brought to the club as promising youngsters.
Considering Tosic did very well on loan I fully expected Fergie to bring him back. He was hardly given chances when at Utd, despite performing well for the reserves. Very strange signing. We could have persuaded him to stay. Surely he is good enough to play FA and CC games against weak oppositions; playing in those games would have given Fergie a chance to see how he performs at a high competitive level.
aig – I don’t actually think Chelsea will “outbid” us. They haven’t spent fuck all in a couple of years. Looks like their big summer signing is Benayoun. Surely Barca cannot spend much more and Madrid are just a joke.
There is obviously a reason that Fergie doesn’t rate Tosic. Who am I to question him?
Tosic was fucked over by united. End of story i think. But as i understand the price is about 8 m. so thats a positive.