Former Arsenal striker Eduardo has been linked with a move to Inter Milan in the last few weeks, but the Shakhtar Donetsk striker has revealed that he does not know anything about the rumours.

However, he would be happy to join a club like Inter Milan. The 30-year-old is currently playing with the Ukrainian outfit since 2010 after moving to the club on a permanent basis.

He was regarded as one of the brightest prospects for Arsenal only to suffer a leg break that he immediately failed to recover from during his Arsenal days.

Bayer Leverkusen did almost the unthinkable when they thrashed Ukrainian powerhouses Shakhtar Donetsk in the third match day of their UEFA Champions League Group A encounter, running out 4-0 winners at home against a side that has troubled the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea in previous season’s competitions.

And now, they have a bigger task on their hands – getting a result from Ukraine when they travel to the cauldron that is the Donbass Arena for their match day four encounter against the Ukrainian champions. The likes of Barcelona, Chelsea and even Manchester United have struggled in front of the home support with United barely managing to escape with a 1-1 draw on match day two.

Leverkusen currently lie at second on the table, one point behind leaders Manchester United with Shakhtar Donetsk in third place with four points from their three matches. While the Ukrainians have not won a match after beating Spanish side Real Sociedad in their first match day, Leverkusen could complete a hat trick of victories in this season’s competition if they manage to come away with a win from Ukraine.

But it’s easier said than done and Shakhtar will be looking to get a result to stay alive in the competition, knowing well that anything other than a victory puts their future in the competition at the hands of the other teams, leaving their qualification into the knockout stages to fate.

And that is something they will not be comfortable with. And Leverkusen has a lot to worry about as well. In Eduardo, Alex Teixeira and Taison, Shakhtar Donetsk have a fearsome frontline, something the paper thin defense of the Germans will struggle to cope with in the bitter cold and that is the one thing that is giving the Ukrainian side hope against their German opponents.

The Brazilian football team will face Switzerland in a friendly game at St. Jakob-Park on Wednesday. It will be Brazil’s first match after their Confederations Cup glory.

The Brazilian team has performed fantastically well this year under the guidance of Luiz Felipe Scolari. They have been consistent and are currently on a winning streak of 11 games. They have certainly emerged out as strong contenders for the 2014 World Cup title.

Talking to the reporters ahead of the match against Switzerland, the Fluminense striker Fred said that the atmosphere in the Brazilian camp is great at the moment.
Fred said, “The boys are very confident. We have had a great year so far and we want to keep winning.”

“After winning the Confederations Cup, we are getting more respect from the opposition. The teams desperately want to defeat us now.”

When asked about Scolari’s contribution in team’s success in recent times, Fred said, “He is a great coach. He came and changed our mindset. The team is extremely comfortable under him.”

“It’s a wonderful phase for Brazilian football. The team is on the right track. However, there is still a long way to go and we need to maintain the consistency.”

Switzerland’s record against Brazil is terrible. They have managed to win only one out of the 10 games that they have played against Brazil so far. That win had come 24 years back in 1989.

However, the manager of the Switzerland team, Ottmar Hitzfeld, has said that his players should back themselves and should try to give Brazil a tough fight.”
Hitzfeld said, “They are a very strong side and competing against them will not be easy.”
“We will have to play aggressively. We can’t let them gain the momentum.”

Tottenham Hotspur had made a bid to bring Brazil’s new rising star Bernard to White Hart Lane this summer, it has been revealed.

According to Alexandre Kalil, the president of the Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro, Spurs were in the mix to sign a player who has already been tipped to be one of the stars to watch out for in next summer’s FIFA World Cup at home while fellow North London rivals Arsenal were weighing up a move for the player.

It has now, however, been revealed that the player, who led the Brazilian club to their first ever triumph in the Copa Libertadores could be on his way to Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk after the Ukrainian club had a bid accepted for the player, believed to be worth over € 20 million.

The Gunners, however, failed to follow up their interest on one of the finds of the FIFA Confederations Cup and the North London club remains the only English side to have made a formal bid for the player. Speaking on an interview at a radio show, Kalil stated that Spurs had indeed made a bid worth around € 18 million or £ 15.7 million, but they also withdrew that bid.

The club president also stated that they wouldn’t push Bernard to move if he didn’t want to move, amidst speculation that the club is forcing the player to move to Shakhtar Donetsk after his father reportedly claimed that he doesn’t want the move so soon for his son and the club is pushing them to accept the offer.

And although Spurs’ bid fell well short of the player’s valuation by his club, it is being believed he will have to move with Shakhtar Donetsk and Portuguese giants Porto now seen as the front runners for his signature.

Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein enjoyed a great relationship with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Arsenal enjoyed a lot of success when the pair worked together. It has been often said that one of the reasons for Arsenal’s failure to win a trophy in the last eight seasons has been the absence of Dein at the club.

Dein still enjoys a close relationship with Wenger outside Arsenal, and he has said that the Frenchman is finally prepared to spend big in the summer in the hope of ending the trophy drought.

Arsenal are in danger of falling out of the lofty top four positions, which would have serious implications for the future of the club.

Due to the lack of regular trophies, Champions League football remains as the only positive factor for Arsenal when they enter into the transfer market. Wenger realises that the club will certainly struggle to attract players if they fall out of the top four. The club has so far struggled in the campaign, and they currently sit in the fifth position. Tottenham and Liverpool are expected to improve even more in the summer, thus providing more competition for Arsenal next season.

After resisting to spend money so far in his reign at Arsenal, Wenger is finally ready to splash the cash for the right player.

“The fact is he has to strengthen the team and I know he will do that. He is one of the best managers in the world, he’s been coaching for 30 years and knows what he is doing. He knows what he wants and it’s just a question of identifying the right talent. It’s a long, hard season and I am a great supporter of Arsene. He has done a phenomenal job and continues to do so year-on-year,” said David Dein.

The Shakhtar Donetsk striker Alex Teixeira has said that he has the ambition of playing for the Italian club Juventus. The striker has been at the Ukrainian club for the last two seasons now.

He signed a four-year contract when he initially joined them in 2010. He has only two seasons left on his current deal, and he has been linked with a move elsewhere. Shakhtar Donetsk recently qualified for the last 16 stage of the Champions League ahead of the holders of the competition Chelsea by finishing in the second place in the group. Alex Teixeira was one of the impressive performers for the club.

One of the main reasons for Shakhtar Donetsk being able to play in the knockout stages of the European competition is the home form. They managed to beat the European champions Chelsea 2-1 at their home, which proved to be crucial in the final stage. Teixeira has said that it is extremely vital that the team manages to maintain a similar kind of performance. The player has also said that his personal best team in the match against Juventus when they were playing away from home. The need for a striker at the Italian club is well known. It is expected that they will be making a bid for the striker shortly.

“I want to respect my four-year contract with Shakhtar. Then, once I’ve done that, I have a dream of playing for Juventus or in the Spanish League. I will try my best to make that happen over the next few years. I think my best performance in the Champions League this season was against Juventus in Turin. And even though they beat us at home, we are still going into the next round with a lot of confidence,” said the striker.

The former Arsenal striker Eduardo has said that Shakhtar Donetsk will not be taking their Champions League group stage opponents Nordsjaelland lightly. The Ukrainian club will be coming up against the Danish club with a real opportunity to progress to the next stage of the competition.

It is one of the toughest competitions in the world, but the good start made by the club in the first few matches mean that they sit top of the table ahead of both Chelsea and Juventus. Irrespective of the result achieved by the two favourites, Shakhtar Donetsk will be able to qualify for the last 16 stage of the Champions League if they win the remaining matches.

The 29-year-old striker Eduardo, who has become one of the key components of the team, has said that they should not underestimate their opponents in this match. He has said that all the matches in the Champions League are extremely tough. While they take on the Danish club, Shakhtar will also be able to learn about the result in the other group match – Juventus vs Chelsea. A draw would be extremely ideal for the Ukrainian team because it would help them open an advantage at the top of the table.

“We watched some of the Nordsjælland games, and they played well in Copenhagen against Chelsea. Although the Blues eventually won 4-0, the Danes put on a very organized display. Chelsea were leading by a narrow margin till the closing stages of the game before scoring the rest of the goals. So we are expecting a difficult match, but we want to advance to the next round, so we need to win. Nordsjælland can possess the ball keep the ball well,” said Eduardo ahead of the match. Shakhtar recently had a win over European champions Chelsea in the group stages.

Eduardo Da Silva’s club, Shakhtar Donetsk, has defeated FC Nordsjaelland in its opening match of the Champions League at Donbass Arena on Wednesday. Donetsk won that match easily by 2-0.

The match was played at the home ground of Donetsk and a large number of home supporters were present there in the stadium to watch the match. The Donetsk team scored one goal in each half. The FCN players never looked like scoring a goal. They looked nervous and gave too many opportunities to the Donetsk team.

The Armenian midfielder, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, was the hero of Donetsk’s victory. He was the player who found the net on both the occasions for his team. He took his team ahead in the match by scoring his first goal in the 44th minute. Luiz Adriano did all the hard work and he gave Mkhitaryan a perfect pass inside the penalty box.

Mkhitaryan took the advantage of the opportunity and sent the ball into the bottom corner of the net from a distance of 8 yards. It was a superb goal. That was the only goal to be scored in the first half.

The Donetsk players looked even more aggressive in the second half. The team kept on attacking and succeeded in getting ahead by 2-0 in the 76th minute when Mkhitaryan scored his second goal in the match. Though Mkhitaryan’s shot was blocked by Jesper Hansen, the FCN goalkeeper, but, the Armenian was quick to pounce on the rebound and beat Hansen on the second attempt. That was the final nail in the coffin. The FCN team didn’t manage to find the net in the remaining 14 minutes and got defeated in the match.

The manager of Shakhtar Donetsk, Mircea Lucescu, would have been happy with the effort of his boys in the match. Shakhtar Donetsk will play its next Champions League match against Juventus on 2nd of October at the Juventus stadium.

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The English Club Fulham is looking to sign the Croatian striker Eduardo Da Silva. The regular striker of Fulham, Clint Dempsey, has told the team management clearly that he doesn’t want to play for the club any more.

So, Fulham is looking for a player who can replace Dempsey in the side and Eduardo is said to be the first choice of Martin Jol, the manager of Fulham. A chance to play in the Premier League again could prompt Eduardo to sign for Fulham. Eduardo has played in the Premier League before when he was a member of the arsenal side. But, during his 3 year tenure at Arsenal, he didn’t get enough opportunities to show his class on the field.

In July 2010, the manager of Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, decided to sell Eduardo to the Ukrainian club, Shakhtar Donetsk, on a transfer fee of 6 million Pounds. Eduardo played his first match for Shakhtar in August 2010 against PFC Sevastopol and he netted in his very first match for the club. Eduardo performed brilliantly for Shakhtar in the 2010-11 season and scored 19 goals. Eduardo’s performance was up to the mark in the last season as well. Eduardo’s decent performances for Shakhtar in the last couple of seasons might have prompted Martin Jol to approach the Croatian striker. However, Eduardo himself hasn’t yet given any statement about his transfer to Fulham.

Meanwhile, Fulham didn’t miss Clint Dempsey at all in its opening match of the season against Norwich City. Fulham thrashed Norwich by 5-0 and started the new season with a bang. After the match, Martin Jol told the reporters that he is desperate to sign a new striker. He doesn’t have too much time as the transfer will get closed pretty soon, but, he is hopeful of finding a quality striker before the closure of the transfer window.

Former Arsenal striker Eduardo has said that he would be interested in returning to the Premier league if he was offered the opportunity.

The Croatian striker brought an end to his Premier league spell after moving to Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk a few seasons ago.

However, the striker has recently admitted that the lure of the Premier league is extremely hard to resist and would be willing to give another shot at the top division of English football if he is presented with a new challenge. Eduardo impressed during his initial spell at Arsenal, but ever since suffering the leg break has never been the same player again.

The injury suffered in 2007 almost effectively brought an end to his Premier league career. He has been flourishing in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk, which has led to rumours that Premier league club may look at him after his newfound confidence.

The 29-year-old, though, is not expected to have a number of years of top-level football left in him. Eduardo has revealed that he still has two seasons left on his current contract with the Ukrainian club. He has also said that he would be extremely happy to extend his stay with Shakhtar Donetsk.

“At the moment I still have two years left of my contract with Shakhtar Donetsk and from all I hear from the club they are really happy with me, which is very important. But you never know. If a club back in England is interested, and I get a good offer then, well you never know. It would nice to be back one day. Now, thankfully, that is all behind me. Ever since I joined Shakhtar I have been okay. I only had one injury problem but it was not a big thing,” said Eduardo.