DELEITURAS

Sadio Mane has shrugged off continuing links with Real Madrid by insisting he is happy playing for a Liverpool side who “beat big teams”.

The Senegal international has been a reported target for Zinedine Zidane’s rebuilding project at the Bernabeu for some time.

However, Mane – the Premier League’s joint-top scorer this season with 22 goals – is focusing on Saturday’s Champions League final against Tottenham in Madrid.

“Always this is part of football, so we have to deal with it, but for me the most important thing is Liverpool and I’m happy here,” he said of the speculation.

“It’s always a pleasure that this kind of team wants (you) but don’t forget Liverpool. They beat big teams.

“I’m preparing for one of the biggest games for the club and the fans and the players as well, so let’s focus on this one first and win it.”

After the disappointment of being beaten in last year’s final by Real Madrid in the circumstances they did – losing Mohamed Salah to a shoulder injury and then conceding twice to two freakish goalkeeping errors – there is added motivation for Jurgen Klopp’s players.

And when you factor in that they narrowly missed out on a first league title since 1990, there is even more incentive for them to end the season on a high and bring home a sixth European Cup.

“We know we have targets; we want to win the league and the Champions League. We didn’t win the league but we still have one trophy to play for, so we are going to try to give everything to win it,” Mane added.

“We would love to win it (the league) but we have to take it as a positive. It will give us more motivation and even the fans as well. So let’s do it together and win this trophy.

“I think it’s just incredible and I’m so positive. Of course it (last season’s final) will help with this one because we wanted to win it and it was not the case. That’s part of football.

“At the same time I think it’s positive because many people, even you (the media), didn’t expect us to play this final.

“We did it (and) I think we learned a lot from this and now we can use our experience this season to get what we want.”

Mane was the main man when it came to providing the goals to sustain Liverpool’s ultimately unsuccessful title challenge in the second half of the season.

The 27-year-old scored 17 goals in 22 matches from mid-January and is bidding to become only the second Liverpool player to score in two European Cup finals, after Phil Neal, and the first to achieve the feat for the Reds in successive appearances.

But even taking into account his prolific form he admitted he needed a break, and the week off followed by a training camp in Marbella has re-energised him for Madrid.

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“It refreshed everyone,” said Mane, who could also become just the eighth player to score in more than one final – the others being Gareth Bale, Samuel Eto’o, Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Raul, Mario Mandzukic and Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the only player to find the net in three.

“We would have loved to have kept going straight but that is not the case and we understand how this goes in football with different competitions at the same time.

“But we know how to deal with this kind of situation now. We had a few weeks to prepare the game and we are fresh again and go there with fresh legs.

“We expect a very difficult game because Tottenham is a very good team, but we are also good, so that’s an exciting game.

“We’ll see what’s going to happen, but I’m sure we will give everything to get what we want.”

 

Mauricio Pochettino has privately told Adam Lallana that he should think about leaving Liverpool for the good of his career, according to reports.

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The 31-year-old has started just six games in all competitions this season, with injuries taking their toll and Jurgen Klopp’s midfield reinforcements knocking him down the pecking order.

Lallana could still feature in his second consecutive Champions League final with Liverpool next month due to a UEFA rule change, but might leave at the end of the season to pursue regular football.

And Football Insider say a Tottenham club source claims that Pochettino ‘told him not to waste the last years of a career’ by staying at Liverpool.

Lallana has previously said that he would “love to work with him again” but there is little chance of the midfielder moving to Spurs this summer, with the club looking to sign younger players.

Danny Mills recently told Football Insider that Lallana “would be perfect” for Manchester City despite there being no indication of interest.

“You almost forget about him but he is very gifted and a talented footballer,” Mills said.

“I would almost say he more fits the Man City style, he’d be perfect for them with his short, darting runs and clever runs in behind.

“As you start to get older, you realise you are not invincible and your career is not going to go on forever. Liverpool will definitely want to keep him but it might come down to him wanting to reignite his career.

“If that’s the case, he’s going to go. He’s such a good player he won’t be short of interested clubs.”

 

Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt has two transfer demands as Manchester United and Barcelona go head-to-head over his signature, according to reports.

The Manchester Evening News reported on Monday that United do not consider Ajax defender De Ligt a possibility this summer, despite reports claiming he could move to Old Trafford.

The Dutchman is expected to join Barcelona but has also been linked with a £12.3m-a-year contract at United.

Reports last week suggested that De Ligt was heading for the Nou Camp, although a deal has not yet been agreed with his agent Mino Raiola, giving both United and Manchester City hope they could yet lure the teenager to England.

And now Mundo Deportivo claim that De Ligt has two transfer demands and he has ‘cooled his interest’ with Barcelona after listening to Raiola’s suggestions.

De Ligt ‘wants more money’ and ‘requires guarantees to be a starter’ when deciding on his next club.

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The report adds that Barca will not ‘enter into a war of figures’ after expressing their desire to make De Ligt a key player in their future plans.

If United – who won’t be able to offer him Champions League football – can meet De Ligt’s demands it could give them an edge in the battle to sign the 19-year-old.

 

Bruno Fernandes has claimed he doesn’t know his future amid fresh speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United and Manchester City.

The Sporting Lisbon midfielder was one of the players that was involved in the club’s title party on Monday as they celebrated their Portuguese Cup final win against Porto at the weekend.

When questioned about his future by Sporting TV, Fernandes responded: “I spent two intense years here, I don’t know if I’m going to leave, I don’t know the future.”

And on Tuesday Record (via Sport Witness) claimed that of the two Manchester clubs it is City that are ‘best positioned’ to sign Fernandes this summer.

The report in the Portuguese newspaper added that Sporting want €70million if they are going to part with their prized asset.

Another outlet Correio da Manhã also covered the story, claiming that Sporting have only received a bid of €55million so far but they did not specify if the offer came from United or City.

 

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Jurgen Klopp has dismissed rumours that he could become the new Juventus boss as “bullsh*t” and claimed there is no chance he will leave Liverpool.

Sky in Italy claims that Juve are likely to appoint Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri as the successor to Max Allegri but they are still dreaming of Champions League finalists Mauricio Pochettino and Klopp.

The report from Monday added that ‘the club [Juve] are keen to keep all options open to them in the unlikely event a last-minute approach for Klopp or Pochettino becomes an option’.

However, Klopp poured a barrel off cold water over the reports and said there was no way he would leave Liverpool this summer.

“Of course it’s a league that I like, it’s really exciting but all these rumours I hear about Juventus are bullsh*t,” Klopp told Sky Italia.

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“There is nothing true about it. I am not going to leave Liverpool. I know Serie A very well, I follow it and I like it, but I am going to stay at Liverpool.”

On the final, Klopp told reporters: “We feel this as a real European final. Nothing else. It’s a proper European final, nothing else. It’s not the third game we’ve played against Tottenham this season – it’s a European final.”

 

Romelu Lukaku looks to be on his way out of Manchester United after he agreed terms with Inter Milan, according to reports.

Lukaku has recently dropped down the pecking order at Old Trafford with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sometimes preferring to play Marcus Rashford as the club’s main striker.

The 26-year-old has scored 42 goals in 96 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils with 15 of those coming in the current campaign.

It’s understood that Solskjaer will not stand in his way if he wants to find regular football elsewhere with recent reports linking him heavily with a move to Inter Milan.

And today’s reports in Gazzetta Dello Sport continue to back up previous rumours by claiming that Lukaku agreed a deal in principle to move to Inter on a little less than his £250,000-a-week wages at United.

The terms were apparently ironed out when Lukaku visited Italy earlier this month and were conditional on Inter qualifying for next year’s Champions League, which they did on the final day of the season.

The main issue still to resolve remains between the clubs with Gazzetta Dello Sport saying that Inter value Lukaku at £55million, while United – who signed him in 2017 for £75million – want closer to £62million for him.

 

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Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet is on Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe’s list of targets this summer, according to reports.

The keeper has been frozen out at Anfield after losing his place to Loris Karius in Jurgen Klopp’s side last season, before the arrival of Alisson from Roma saw him on the bench this term.

However, The Sun claim that Bournemouth could end Mignolet’s recent Liverpool misery after the Belgium international ‘attracted interest from Eddie Howe’.

With Asmir Begovic falling down the pecking order, the report claims that Howe wants a new goalkeeper to ‘compete with 39-year-old Artur Boruc and youngster Mark Travers.’

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Liverpool seem to be able to name their price when dealing with Bournemouth with the Cherries giving them almost £40million for Dominic Solanke, Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith.

And that seems to be the case again with Mignolet as The Sun adds: ‘Liverpool are willing to let him go for £15m and he is on Howe’s shortlist for a new No1 next season.’

 

Mohamed Salah has hinted that he would like to see Daniele de Rossi move to Liverpool in the summer and admits it would be “beautiful” to see him in the Premier League.

The Italian will call time on his career at Roma, who announced they won’t be renewing his contract, after spending 19 years at the Serie A club.

In that time he scored 63 goals and made more than 600 appearances for the Giallorossi – but he only managed to win three trophies in that time.

And with De Rossi becoming a free agent in a matter of weeks, Liverpool forward Salah would love to see him try the Premier League.

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“He is a legend of the club and of Italian football, not just because he is a great friend of mine,” said Salah.

“I don’t know what to say, I saw the game and the affection of the fans who saluted him. He made many sacrifices for his team, I would like to thank him, he is one of the best of which I have played with. Good luck for the future.”

Salah added: “A future for him in the Premier League? It would be beautiful, but I don’t know if it’s possible. It would be pleasing for me to play with him again, he is an optimal player.”

 

LUBANG ISLAND, PHILIPPINES – The memories of Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda remain alive on the Philippine island of Lubang, southwest of Manila, 45 years after his surrender.

Onoda, an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer deployed to the island from December 1944 to lead guerrilla warfare at the height of World War II, did not surrender until March 10, 1974, over 28 years after the war ended, because he had not received orders from his superiors to stop.

The native of Wakayama Prefecture died in January 2014 in Tokyo at the age of 91.

“Onoda is a historical person. I think he’s the only person who hid for so long and then survived,” said 17-year-old Nico Felix, a high school student on the island that is part of Occidental Mindoro Province.

Felix said he knows Onoda’s story because the local community and his school occasionally talk about “the Japanese soldier during WWII who hid in the mountains here.”

Many are also aware because of the public opening of the Onoda Trail and Caves tourist site in 2011. The mountain attraction offers visitors a glimpse of Onoda’s life in the forest.

Carolyn Villas, 51, a social studies teacher, said that for over two decades now, she makes it a point to bring up the case of Onoda when discussing the war with her students.

“Of course, the students need to know that this happened to us, that we are part of the Philippine history, that Onoda was known in history because he was the longest to be in hiding (and) that’s why he was called a Japanese straggler,” Villas said.

By making them aware that their own home island played a significant part in history, the younger generation of Lubang residents will be “more curious and interested about our own local history,” she added.

Felix said he and other students “should learn about Onoda because that is part of our own history, and it helps to know about the damages of World War II so they won’t be repeated.”

Bryan James, 18, another high school student, said that largely because of Onoda, “Lubang is already known to others” and the island’s tourism potential has grown.

The Japanese soldier also showed how it is “to live on your own, and survive out of just natural and organic resources,” added fellow student Aaron James, 17.

Edwin Trajico, 54, the chief tour guide at Onoda Trail and Caves, similarly said, “One legacy that Onoda left out of his hiding in this mountain is the lesson that people can actually live in a natural environment or in the forest, where food is readily available and even medicine.”

“Because of him, we are now also able to preserve this forest, this mountain,” he added.

Older folks, on the other hand, who were alive while Onoda was hiding in the mountains, have other narratives and sentiments to share.

Adiodato de Lara, 76, said Onoda and his fellow straggler, Kinshichi Kozuka, burned rice plantations tended to by his father, and killed or stole cows, which Onoda admitted to in his book.

De Lara also accused Kozuka of killing his father on April 25, 1972, adding that he and other Japanese soldiers “caused so much disturbance here” and that the people should be apologized to and compensated for that.

Kozuka was Onoda’s last companion in the mountains of Lubang from May 1954 until October 1972 when he was shot dead by local authorities. Another soldier surrendered in September 1949 and one was shot dead in May 1954.

Felito Voluntad, 68, was a high school student joining a local patrol team searching for the Japanese soldiers sometime in 1969 when he was sniped on his back, either by Kozuka or Onoda.

The minor injury, which was treated promptly by a local doctor, left a scar that remains visible today. Voluntad said others were not as lucky as him. “There were some they killed by shooting. My uncle was also shot and injured in the stomach.

“I was angry at them. … I was happy when (Onoda) surrendered because there was nothing for people to fear about anymore in the mountains,” he said.

While he agrees that Onoda and his party should have apologized to and compensated the local people, Voluntad said he understands “where Onoda is coming from because he really thought the war was still ongoing at the time.”

Jacobo Balbuena, 76, a retired airman of the Philippine Air Force who was stationed on the island, can still vividly recall how the Japanese and local authorities conducted the search for Onoda and convinced him to surrender.

Balbuena said he joined the search patrol immediately after Norio Suzuki, a Japanese civilian who established contact with Onoda in February 1974, eventually leading to his surrender a month later, showed a photo of the Japanese soldier taken in the jungle.

Onoda finally yielded after his commanding officer, Maj. Yoshimi Taniguchi, flew to the island and personally relieved him of duty.

“We were surprised when we actually saw Onoda in person because he was only around 5 feet tall, and not a very big person,” Balbuena recounted.

Balbuena said he was part of the 14 “honor guards” who Onoda passed through upon his surrender at Gozar Air Station. “He walked straight. He was snappy. He looked like a very smart soldier. He looked very strong.”

Villas, the social studies teacher, said that despite the negative aspects of Onoda’s stay on the island, “still, we have to appreciate it. Anyway, those are all over now.”

“His importance is that, in hiding here, despite the not-too-many very good memories at the time, the place is now preserved. (The Onoda Trail and Caves) is even rightfully named after him now,” she said.

“The people of Lubang are very kind. Despite the bad things that happened, he was still given some kind of a tribute.”

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YOKOHAMA/KAWASAKI – A mass stabbing around a school bus stop in Kawasaki that claimed the lives of two occurred over a period of less than 20 seconds, investigators said Wednesday.

Seventeen students of Caritas Elementary School, a private Catholic school in the city near Tokyo, and two parents were attacked Tuesday, most while waiting for the school bus.

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Police searched the suspect’s home in Kawasaki on Wednesday looking for clues about the attack, in which a schoolgirl and the father of an unharmed pupil were killed.

Wielding knives in both hands, Ryuichi Iwasaki, 51, allegedly carried out the attack before taking his own life from a self-inflicted stab wound to the neck, police said. The entire incident happened over a distance of 50 meters along a street.

Both knives were 30 centimeters long, and investigators found two more knives in a backpack believed to have belonged to the assailant.

The police have confirmed through security camera footage that Iwasaki took a train from Yomiurilandmae Station on the Odakyu Line, the train station nearest his home, and arrived at Noborito Station near the attack site.

He is believed to have then walked to a convenience store, where he left his backpack before starting his rampage, carrying knives in each hand, according to the police.

The cameras installed around the area captured Iwasaki moving rapidly among his victims as he carried out the attack, they said.

Investigators said they believe the suspect began the attack by slashing 39-year-old parent and Foreign Ministry official Satoshi Oyama multiple times before continuing his spree. Oyama was found lying on his back on the street near the convenience store and was later confirmed dead at a hospital.

Iwasaki then seriously wounded the 45-year-old mother of a Caritas student and attacked Hanako Kuribayashi, an 11-year-old sixth-grader from Tama, western Tokyo, who later died, and other children who were forming a line to get on a school bus, according to the police.

The incident occurred at around 7:40 a.m. Tuesday on a street in Kawasaki’s Tama Ward near Noborito Station.

Iwasaki lived in a house in Kawasaki’s Asao Ward with an elderly couple believed to be his relatives.

Neighbors of Iwasaki said they had very few dealings with him although one thought he was short-tempered.

Forty minutes before the incident, which ended when he stabbed himself in the neck, Iwasaki said good morning to a female neighbor, a rare and unusual occurrence, she said. He then went in the direction of nearby Yomiurilandmae Station.

The two had a troubling interaction, according to the neighbor, when Iwasaki rang her doorbell early one morning last summer to complain that a branch from her garden that had grown over the sidewalk had hit him in the eye.

Iwasaki is said to have attended local elementary and junior high schools, though few people knew much about him, with one man saying his mother recently mentioned she had seen him for the first time in a long time.

“I can’t believe he would cause such a horrible incident,” said another female neighbor, who added that she had seen him walking a few days ago looking down and carrying some shopping bags.

A newspaper deliveryman said he had initially believed that the only people living at Iwasaki’s home were an elderly couple, but recalled seeing a large amount of youth magazines lined up outside the house three or four months ago on a paper recycling day.