Serbia defender Nemanja Vidic has admitted that Manchester United must raise their game if they are to retain the Premiership title this season as they prepare for today's big kick-off against Reading at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men start the new campaign as favorites to win the league again having spent in excess of ?50 million (US$101 million) on new signings Owen Hargreaves, Anderson, Nani and Carlos Tevez.
The nine-times Premiership kings denied Chelsea a hat-trick of titles by claiming their first championship in four years last term, but Vidic, who formed a crucial defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand in United's back four, insists that it will take a big improvement if they are to thwart Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool again this season.
"We need to improve everywhere. If you want to win the Premier League and get to the Champions League final, everyone has to take one step up," Vidic said. "We have to be better this season. If we play at the same standard as last season, we will not be good enough to win the league."
"This season the Premiership will be a lot stronger than it was last season because clubs are buying more quality players and we know we'll need to work even harder than we did last season if we're going to win the title again. That is the key for us," he said. "Every game against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal is hard, but all we can do is focus on ourselves and what we can do as a squad together. But it's true that, while we have strengthened this summer, other clubs have done the same."
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two