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Thomas Tuchel says it is “good news” that Cesar Azpilicueta’s contract extension has been triggered at Chelsea, and hopes the Blues captain will stay at least another year at Stamford Bridge.
The Spain defender’s deal was due to come to a close at the end of the current campaign, but has automatically renewed for a further season after he hit a number of games this term.
It comes amid what is effectively a transfer embargo on the club due to outgoing owner Roman Abramovich’s sanctions in relation to the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
With Azpilicueta able to walk as a free agent at the end of the campaign, Tuchel admitted he was happy to tie his captain down, though he could still leave if restrictions are lifted before next season.
“I knew it was going to happen because I knew the amount of games before it was going to happen,” he stated. “It was so close.
“It’s a good thing, we were aware of it. It’s good news for us. We have a contract, he’s our captain, it’s a very high possibility he will stay.”
The same concerns linger for other out-of-contract players however, with defender Antonio Rudiger one of the biggest names linked with an exit.
Amid reports the Germany international’s brother and agent met with Barcelona – who have also reportedly pursued Azpilicueta in recent weeks – Tuchel acknowledged he too would chase the former if he was available.
“I would try to meet him [Rudiger] if I were any other club,” he added. “Still, he’s our player and I still think we have a good chance he stays our player once things are solved for us.
“The situation is the situation at the moment. Our hands are tied, we cannot speak to him and offer him or negotiate or renegotiate with his agents.
“So it is fair enough if he listens to other offers. That is the way things go, but I’m still confident.”
Luis Enrique is optimistic that Spain will win this year’s World Cup, despite being drawn in a tough group that contains fellow heavyweights Germany.
Top seeds Spain were placed in Group E in Friday’s ceremony in Doha along with Germany, Japan and either Costa Rica or New Zealand, who meet in a play-off in June.
Spain and Germany, who lifted the famous trophy in 2010 and 2014 respectively, will face off in the competition for a fifth time.
La Roja have failed to beat Germany in their previous three group encounters, but they won their most recent World Cup meeting in the 2010 semi-finals.
They have met just twice since then in competitive games, with Spain hammering Die Mannschaft 6-0 in the Nations League in 2020 after a 1-1 draw in the same competition.
Germany have replaced Joachim Low with Hansi Flick since then, however, and are unbeaten in nine games under their new boss, winning eight of those.
The inclusion of a Japan side that reached the last 16 in 2018 and one of the play-off winners makes for a tough group, but Luis Enrique is in a bullish mood.
“It’s going to be nice. It’s a great group with a great rival, one that we’ll enjoy. You don’t play at World Cups often,” he told reporters.
“My body has stayed as it was before the draw, the same. Regardless of who we got, being in the tournament is already a prize.
“Being seeded means what has been done in recent years counts. We know about Germany but not so much the rest, though we have time to analyse them.
“Competing against us is very complicated and it will be difficult to beat us. Anyone can beat us and we can beat any team.
“It is time to enjoy and be optimistic. We are Spain, seventh in the world ranking and we are going to conquer the world.”
Spain’s huge showdown with Germany will take place on November 27, their second group game.
Should Spain advance, as expected, they will meet either Belgium, Croatia, Canada or Morocco from Group F in the first knockout round.
Fernando Hierro, who took charge of Spain for their disappointing 2018 campaign when exiting to Russia in the last 16, believes facing Germany will give La Roja a chance to lay down an early marker.
“People give a lot of importance to the draw, but if you want to be world champion, you have to beat them all,” Hierro said. “World Cups are won, not lost.
“It is true that everyone pays a lot of attention to the draw for the first group phase.
“But the most important thing is that in the end, if you want to be world champion, you have to beat everyone.
“Therefore, sooner or later the best teams will arrive, and the World Cup will be decided there.”
Tite says Brazil were dealt with neither the group of “death nor of life” after they were drawn to face Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon in the 2022 World Cup.
The Selecao faced Switzerland and Serbia in the last World Cup in Russia four years ago, so there was a sense of deja vu when the draw was made in Doha on Friday.
As the top-ranked side in the world, Brazil will be expected to win Group G, which also includes Cameroon.
But Brazil boss Title says there will be no room for complacency.
He told reporters: “It is neither [the group] of death nor of life. Everything is the same [as Brazil’s group at Russia 2018] – all that was missing was Costa Rica!
“We’re talking about Switzerland and Serbia, the teams who stopped Italy and Portugal, and also a Cameroon team that is very strong in Africa.
“We will have to raise our own game.”
All three of Brazil’s opponents qualified for the tournament as group winners, but Tite is focused on ensuring his side are in the best possible condition to take the tournament by storm.
“That is part of the chapter of a book. Now it’s another reality, another moment,” he said.
“We have to consolidate this work now. There are eight, nine more months until the end of the year. We have to confirm an evolution of the team, to affirm the quality of the team, that the athletes individually can be in their best condition.
“We have to do an invisible job of monitoring them, which for the fans maybe do not see, but it’s the medical follow-up, the physical follow-up, the follow-up of the technical commission with the athlete himself.
“All this [while] respecting their clubs. We have to have all the follow-up and guidance so that they can be in the best conditions, apart from the preparatory games that we will have until the World Cup. This is the most important thing for me.”
Brazil will face Serbia in their opening game of the tournament on November 24.
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte claims that achieving a top-four finish in the Premier League will require a “miracle” as he prepares for Sunday’s clash with Newcastle United.
Spurs have won four of their last five Premier League games, having lost four of their previous five. They have also scored at least two goals in each of their last five matches, last doing so in more consecutive league games between February and April 2017 (a run of seven games).
Ahead of welcoming Newcastle to north London, Spurs trail fourth-placed Arsenal by just three points, but Conte was keen to highlight that his team are not favourites to finish in the Champions League places.
“It’s right to underline that this target is very, very difficult,” Conte said of Spurs’ Champions League ambitions.
“We are not the only team that wants to try to do this miracle. There’s also Arsenal, that in this moment has an advantage, and then there is United.
“United is the team that in this season are struggling a lot. Last season, it was Liverpool.
“This season it depends on United. At the moment, we are among the teams that have to try to stay very close and exploit if someone fails this season.
“If you ask me about the past, about our possibility to reach a place in the Champions League, I would say it would be very, very, very difficult.
“Now, after five months, I’m seeing great improvement of my team, and we have to fight until the end.
“We have the possibility to reach this target, and it’s important to have this type of ambition and put pressure on ourselves for this target. To play Champions League next season is important for me, the club, the players, the fans, everybody.”
Conte, however, was keen to focus on his own team’s progress, though he did admit that a victory would put “pressure” on the Gunners.
“First of all, we have to win for us,” he added. “Not look at others. This way you build a winning mentality. You have to look at yourself and not think what happens elsewhere.
“For sure, if you get three points and get continuity, you show you’re a stable team and the table becomes very interesting.
“But we have to win for us, for our fans and the work we’re doing at the club. But for sure, if you win you put pressure on the others.”
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