Last Modified: 19 May 2006
Source: ITN
Chelsea captain John Terry believes that England will be able to "deal with" World Footballer of the Year Ronaldinho if they come up against the Brazilian in this summer’s World Cup finals.
Depending on results, England and Brazil are on course to clash in the semi-finals in Germany in what would be a rematch of their meeting in the quarter-finals in Japan four years ago.
But Terry has has taken confidence from the way Chelsea have dealt with Ronaldinho in their meetings with Barcelona over the last two seasons in the Champions League.
And the 25-year-old Blues centre-back said: "Everyone says Ronaldinho is the best player in the world which I personally agree with. But going into any possible game I don’t think we’re going to show him too much respect or let him get away with things.
"Paulo Ferreira marked him really well and got really tight to him for Chelsea and against England he’d be up against the likes of Gary Neville who is a fantastic world class player and I’m sure he’ll know how to deal with him.
"Ronaldinho is a great player and difficult to mark but I’m sure we’ll do our best. He’s a very strong player, he’s got great feet, is a great finisher. He scores goals, he’s quick. He’s absolutely got everything."
There was a time when the Italian defenders were widely regarded as the best in the business.
But Terry believes that England should now be placed in the same bracket and he is a particular admirer of Manchester United right-back Gary Neville and his preparations.
He added: "I think we have certainly caught up with the Italians, if you want to put it that way, but I’m not saying there aren’t world class defenders out there.
"There’s (Alessandro) Nesta, (Carles) Puyol, etc. I’ve had the likes of Marcel Desailly and William Gallas with me at Chelsea and I’ve learned from Ricardo Carvalho.
"But which defenders in the world do I admire? I tend to think of the English lads really, the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville. I see these people day in day out in the Premiership
"Certainly coming away with England and seeing Gary Neville and seeing how he works in training and after training is excellent. It’s not just about games, it’s about preparation and he is spot on all the time."
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, believes, that the time has come for England to deliver at this summer’s World Cup after insisting one major trophy in the national team’s history is "not good enough".
Carragher said: "I talk to the other players about it. To have won only trophy in our history is unbelievable. It’s not good enough with the players England have had down the years.
"Greece have done it but we’ve never won a European Championship. It’s about time that England did do something on an international stage. Everyone else seems to do it and we always seem to fall short for whatever reason.
"But I think the group of players we have is one of the best probably since we last won the World Cup - and hopefully we can go and win it again this summer."
He added: "When you look at the favourites for the World Cup, Brazil are a stand-out team and people talk about the Italian and Dutch squads along with Argentina, whom we have beaten. But on paper, I’d say that we were as strong as any, if not stronger than the other nations alongside Brazil."
Source: www.channel4.com
For more resources, click here
Powered by Qumana