January 12

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Sports
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
12/01/2018
FRIDAY. DAILY HERITAGE
Email: info@dailyheritage.com.gh
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Ronaldo wants
Premier League
manager to
replace Zidane
•Kazuyoshi
Miura
REAL MADRID
superstar Cristiano
Ronaldo reportedly
wants Liverpool
manager Jurgen Klopp
to replace Zinedine
Zidane at the club if Real Madrid
president Florentino Perez decides
to make a change in that
department.
According to Don Balon, the
Portugal international is a big fan of
the German tactician and his
experience of working with big
names and motivating his teams to a
higher level.
Klopp worked wonders with
previous club Borussia Dortmund,
leading them to two Bundesliga
titles and the 2013 Champions
League final, following a period of
little success for the club.
And while he has been unable to
work his magic in quite the same
way at Liverpool, Klopp has turned
the Reds into one of the best
attacking teams in Europe when
they are at their best.
The 50-year-old’s style of play
could certainly see him fit in well as
coach of Madrid, who are struggling
this season under Zidane.
Don Balon suggest the French
tactician’s days at the club could be
numbered, and Perez is already
considering replacements for him.
It may be a tad ambitious to lure
Klopp away from Liverpool any
time soon, but the report states
Ronaldo would place him top of his
list of preferred candidates.
•Cristiano
Ronaldo
Japanese striker
signs new deal at 50
STRIKER KAZUYOSHI
Miura, who turns 51 next
month, has signed a new
contract with Japanese
second division club
Yokohama FC.
The deal means he will
enter the 33rd season of his
record-breaking career,
which began at the Brazilian
side Santos in 1986.
"I will always play my
heart out and hope to
continue to grow (as a
player)," he told Kyodo news
agency.
The former Genoa and
Dinamo Zagreb player has
been at Yokohama since
2005.
Capped 89 times for his
country, Miura has had his
139 goals place him sixth in
the all-time list of top
scorers in the J-League's top
division.
Aged just 15, Miura left
Japan for Brazil to pursue
his football dream in
1982. He was eventually
signed by Santos, for
whom he made his
professional debut in
1986 aged just 19.
Miura left Santos for
Palmeiras later that same
year. One of his team-mates
at Palmeiras was Mirandinha,
who in 1987 became the first
Brazilian to play in English
football after joining
Newcastle United for
£575,000.
Miura was top scorer and
Most Valuable Player of the
inaugural Japanese J.League
season in 1993, seeing off
star imports such as Gary
Lineker and Zico to both
accolades.
His J.League exploits saw
him become the first
Japanese recipient of the
‘Asian Player of the Year’
award in 1993.
He made his Japan debut
in 1990 and fired the country
to their first ever World Cup
appearance in 1998 by
scoring 14 goals in qualifying
stages.
However, he was
controversially omitted from
the final squad for France
and retired from
international football two
years later, having scored 55
goals in 89 appearances.
He has played in Europe
for Genoa and Dinamo
Zagreb, winning the Croatian
league title with the latter in
1999.
Miura joined current club
Yokohama FC as a 38-yearold
in 2005 and has since
made over 200 league
appearances for the club.
BBCsports