Thaksin to make Man City the "Pride of Thailand"

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has vowed to make Manchester City, the English Premier League footballclub he bought in July 2007, the pride of Thailand. "It will be the team Thais are proud of," Thaksin, who returned to Bangkok from exile 18 months after being ousted in a coup, told army-run Channel 5 television from Hong Kong.

He also reiterated a commitment to spread the club's name across Asia with a network of training and recruitment academies.

"There will be Man City China, Man City Japan, Man City U.S.. In the next season, Man City will be another Man United," Thaksin said.

He gave no details of the plan but said fans would be surprised by an improved performance.

In an interview with Reuters in December, Thaksin discussed plans to raise funds for the club and to recruit players, including securitising revenues such as gate receipts.

"Securitisation is the name of the game they are playing in Western countries. We have to work on that," he said.

Two Man City players accompanying him on his return to Thailand on a flight from Hong Kong had nothing but praise for their chairman and his commitment to the game.

"He's a very genuine and a very nice person -- very generous and passionate about the club. He's willing to put in time, money and effort to make sure the club's a success," goalkeeper Kaspar Schmeichel told Reuters.

GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT

Although he insists he has quit politics, Thaksin's 81 million pound purchase of 75 percent of Manchester City helped maintain his prominence -- his every move and utterance recorded by Thai newspapers.

"The Manchester City takeover has put him in a global spotlight," Thaksin biographer Sorakon Adunyanon said.

"Having built an empire worth 73 billion baht, not many people outside Thailand knew him. But after spending only five billion baht on City, he has become globally known," he said.

Despite being disliked by many urban, middle-class Thais, Thaksin's control of what was a struggling side whose last major success was a League Cup win 31 years ago, has brought him adulation from the City faithful.

Thaksin told Channel 5 he would spend much of his time in Thailand on promoting Thai soccer through Manchester City.

His Thaicom foundation has already financed the Thai national team to train twice in Manchester in the past three months and Thaksin has promised to hire a European coach or a trainer from City's academy to work along side a Thai coach for the team.

Schmeichel and team mate Kelvin Etuhu are in Thailand for a youth soccer clinic as part of the club's search for a suitable site to build a soccer academy.

Gazza’s poem for his guard

TROUBLED soccer star Paul Gascoigne showed his sensitive side in a touching POEM he gave a bodyguard in Malta.

He penned it on a napkin after a heart-to-heart chat in a restaurant.

He wrote: “There are no rules for loving and sharing. But hearts beat faster when someone is caring. Love Gazza, xxx.”

Gazza, 40, had been in the Med to play in a veterans match in November. He broke down during the game and then had a hip replacement.

While recovering from surgery he began his slide into a drink and drug-induced breakdown.

The ex-Newcastle and Spurs ace is now being treated at a psychiatric hospital in Co Durham.

The bodyguard said: “It goes to show whatever problems Gazza might have, at heart he is a decent guy.”

Camera ipobarica anche al Tottenham

In Italia l'utilizzo sarebbe illegale

C'è un segreto dietro al successo del Tottenham in Carling Cup. Si tratta di una camera ipobarica presente al centro sportivo degli 'spurs' che simula allenamenti ad alta quota. Lo rivela il 'Daily Mail' che spiega come il Tottenham sia l'unico club della Premier a utilizzare questa camera, simile a quella in cui dorme il 'merengue' Raul e che ha fatto discutere in Italia essendo il suo utilizzo considerato doping.

Una pratica che sembra dare i suoi frutti. La vittoria sul Chelsea nella finale della Coppa di lega ha senz'altro una concausa oltre alla bravura dei giocatori di Juande Ramos. Allenamenti specifici, intendendo con questa affermazione sedute di lavoro mirate in maniera scientifica attraverso l'utilizzo di una camera ipobarica che facilita l'ossigenazione del sangue migliorando le prestazioni degli atleti. L'utilizzo di questo metodo, salito alla ribalta delle cronache perché appannaggio di Raul, l'attaccante del Real, e in Italia non consentito perché non conforme alla normativa antidoping, ha avuto una risonanza notevole anche in Inghilterra dove il Tottenham risulta essere l'unica squadra della Premier che adotta questo sistema per 'rigenerare' i suoi calciatori.

Utilizzata anche dalla squadra olimpica inglese di canottaggio, la camera ipobarica degli 'spurs' consente quella "marcia in più" che separa "i vincitori dai perdenti", secondo quanto afferma l'azienda produttrice Sporting Edge. Intervistato dal 'Daily Mail' il dottor Charles Pedlar, specialista dell'Istituto dello sport britannico, ha spiegato che la camera ipobarica "migliora l'assorbimento dell'acido lattico e permette una resistenza maggiore all'atleta sotto sforzo. In generale ne beneficiano tutte le condizioni aerobiche. Ma i calciatori devono comunque allenarsi sodo se vogliono avere dei benefici".

La 'magic room' del Tottenham, inoltre, può simulare ogni tipo di clima che si può trovare intorno al mondo. Decisamente utile quando, ad esempio, la squadra è impegnata in trasferta a Mosca in inverno o a Siviglia in estate. Insomma, niente ritiri preventivi al caldo, se non un paio di sedute in pochi metri quadrati di spazio.