Park Ji-Sung Diminta Berhenti Konsumsi Kodok

SEOUL, Kompas.com - Pemain Manchester United asal Korea, Par Ji-sung diminta menghentikan  kebiasaannya mengonsumsi jus kodok yang telah bertahun-tahun dijalaninya.

Sebuah grup pecinta lingkungan Korea Selatan,"Frogs Frioends" (Mitra Kodok) meminta Park untuk membantu mereka mengampanyekan penghentian pembantaian terhadap hewan amfibia tersebut.

Park Ji-sung oernah mengaku mengonsumsi kodok dalam bentuk jus untuk meningkatkan staminya. Hal ini sudah dilakukan sejak dikenalkan oleh ayahnya saat ia masih kanak-kanak. Ia pertamakali mengakui hal ini melalui oto-biografi miliknya yang terbit 2006 lalu.

"Kami belum mengetahui apakah ada hubungannya. Setelah Park (Ji-sung) mengaku mengonsumsi  kodok untuk peningkatan stamina, jumlah mereka yang mengonsumsi mahluk ini meningkat," kata Park Wan-hee dari lembaga nirlaba "Mitra Kodok."

Sejak berdiri pada 2007 lalu, lembaga ini telah mengampanyekan penghentian konsumi kodok di Korea Selatan.

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Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish: Andy Carroll was fantastic in 3-0 win at Wolves

The England international scored the first goal of the game in the Reds' victory at Molineux on Tuesday night, a year to the day since his 35 million pound move from Newcastle.

Kenny Dalglish praised Andy Carroll for his contribution to Liverpool’s 3-0 triumph over Wolves on Tuesday night.
The 23-year-old striker, who arrived at Anfield on Jan. 31 last year for 35 million pounds from Newcastle United, scored the first goal of the game at Molineux before Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt wrapped the match up.
After the match, Dalglish revealed he was delighted with the entire team but singled out Carroll for his performance.
“We're pleased with everybody. It was a great finish for the first goal,” the Scot told reporters. “[It was] a great ball in from Charlie Adam and a great finish from Andy, who played really well. He's a Liverpool footballer and he will make a contribution for us many times.
“He flicked on one on Saturday for Dirk Kuyt to score against Manchester United and did the same for Craig Bellamy at Bolton. If [Carroll] gets a goal he gets a goal, but his contribution is fantastic.”
The victory was the third big result in seven days for the Merseyside club, after it sealed a League Cup final berth with a 3-2 aggregate win over Manchester City and secured a 2-1 FA Cup fourth-round victory against Manchester United.
“I thought it was a very professional, high quality performance from the players, a fantastic reaction to the previous two games," Dalglish said. “This game became the most important one because it was the next one. They applied themselves well and got what they deserved. I'm delighted with everyone who played."
Liverpool propelled itself past Newcastle and Arsenal into fifth in the Premier League with the victory, and Dalglish lavished additional praise on Welsh forward Bellamy for his role in the win.
“Craig was fantastic. The wee man certainly has been fantastic for us. I wish his numbers were the other way around," he said. “Instead of being 32, I wish he was 23. He doesn't do anything that surprises you. He prepares himself well for matches.
“He does things for himself within the framework of the team. You expect something to happen.”
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Manchester City's Roberto Mancini: We thought the game with Everton would be easier

The Eastlands outfit suffered defeat at Goodison Park and relinquished its outright lead at the top of the Premier League thanks to a solitary Darron Gibson goal.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini admits he underestimated Everton ahead of the clash which saw the Merseyside outfit prevail with a 1-0 victory.
The Italian’s side lost its outright lead over title rival Manchester United as a result of the loss, and only has a predominant goal-difference as a buffer between the two teams.
Darron Gibson scored the solitary goal of the game after a long-range effort swerved into the top corner of Joe Hart’s net, and the visitors failed to capitalize on their dominant possession.
Mancini conceded that he failed to prepare the team for the match and thought the game would be easier for his superstars.
“[It’s a] bad night for me,” he told reporters. “We didn’t deserve to lose, but I think there was some of my mistake in this game. We didn’t prepare very well for this game and we had a problem.
“It’s important for me to know what this mistake is. I didn’t prepare well because I thought maybe this game was easier and you know here [Goodison Park] is never easy, never.
“I didn’t prepare well with the training in the last three or four days.”
Asked if his players put in the same effort as the host, he said: “Yes, the players put everything on the pitch, but I made some mistakes to prepare them in last three days to prepare them for this game.
“[I thought it would be easier] because I thought we played well against Tottenham, we won the last three games in the Premier League and I thought Everton were without three or four important players.”
Regardless of the loss, the former Inter coach remained confident that his side have the quality and the time to stay ahead of the chasing pack.
He said: “It is not important. We are on the top, we have 15 games [left]. It is important that next Saturday we win, however, we have time.”
Mancini’s opposite number and the happier manager, David Moyes, expressed his pride for his players to come through a tough tie and get the result.
“I have [a lot of pride from the performance]. That’s as good at Everton as it has been for a long time. The players we were missing says a lot about the club and how they always seem to come and do it, the players have been great tonight," he told reporters.
“We might have played smoother football and played better, but a side we were playing against tonight I think the players deserve a lot of credit. Manchester City are a magnificent team, we had to defend for long periods, especially in the second-half.
“We limited them to not too many chances, but they’ve always got the threat with the likes of [David] Silva making a through pass, or with [Samir] Nasri with the ability he’s got. It was a great effort by the players and they sowed great desire to get a result.”
American Landon Donovan provided the game-winning assist, his fifth assist in seven Everton games since joining on loan this month.
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Pele: No one else in Brazil like Santos' Neymar

The Brazilian legend believes his compatriot deserves all the praise he receives but hopes to protect to starlet from media pressure.

Brazil legend Pele says he is happy with Santos after his former club opened a section of their museum to current star Neymar.

The 19-year-old was awarded with the Ferenc Puskas award for the best goal of 2011, earning the Brazil international the homage from his club, and Pele feels that Neymar has fully earned such recognition.

"Of course it is earned. At the moment, there is no players, at least here in Brazil, who can be compared to Neymar. Fortunately, he was raised here at Santos," Pele told Globoesporte.

The 71-year-old went on to speak about the growing media attention surrounding Neymar, stating that the youngster needs help in order to not crack under pressure.

"We must protect Neymar from all of this, so we don't get disappointed."

Neymar has been consistently linked with a move to Europe, but insists that he will stay at his current club until 2014, when his contract expires.

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Young face spell on sidelines after 'very aggressive' Fulham match, according to Sir Alex Ferguson

The 19-year-old defender will be sent for an x-ray on a suspected fractured cheek while the former Aston Villa man faces two to three weeks out due to Dickson Etuhu's tackle

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted his side could be without defender Phil Jones and midfielder Ashley Young for a number of weeks after the English pair picked up injuries in the 5-0 thrashing of Fulham on Wednesday.

Jones suffered a suspected fractured cheek after being caught by the elbow of Clint Dempsey, while Young was forced off due to Dickson Etuhu's tackle in what Sir Alex thought was a "very aggressive" second half.

"It was an elbow from Dempsey but I don't think it was intentional," Sir Alex told reporters after the match. 
"He caught Jones and we'll send him for an x-ray. We'll see on Thursday but it doesn't look great.
"But there were some very aggressive tackles in the second half and Ashley Young paid the price of that. He was hurt and had to come off as well and will be out for two or three weeks.
"We are picking up injuries at the moment. Rio [Ferdinand] got a knock on the foot on Sunday at QPR but he should be available for the Blackburn game."
That would rule Ferdinand out of United's Boxing Day encounter against Wigan Athletic, with Nemanja Vidic also unavailable long-term with a knee injury.

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Liverpool striker Luis Suarez set to launch 'total appeal' against eight-match ban for racism row, says agent and lawyer

Uruguay international will be able to play for the Reds until the process is concluded, with the 24-year-old confident of the sanctions being overturned

Luis Suarez’s agent and lawyer Alejandro Balbi insists the Liverpool striker will launch a “total appeal” against his eight-match ban and 40,000 pound fine.
The sanctions were handed down to the Uruguay international on Tuesday, two months after the initial incident during the game between the Merseyside outfit and Manchester United, with Suarez deemed to have used insulting words towards full back Patrice Evra.
Suarez’s agent is adamant that his player is innocent of the charges and says the 24-year-old is confident the decision can be overturned.
“The sanction has two items, the games' suspension and the monetary [fine]. It will be a total appeal,” Balbi told reporters.
“The counts of racism that were made against him are not true. He firmly believes that this harsh sanction can be overturned.”
He added that Suarez “is very affected” by the decision from the Football Association, but insists he is “calm because of the massive support of the club, the coach, his teammates and his captain.”
The former Ajax man is able to feature for Kenny Dalglish's side in the meantime, until the appeal process has reached its conclusion.
Meanwhile, Liverpool was held to a stalemate at the DW Stadium to Wigan on Wednesday evening, with Charlie Adam failing to convert from the penalty spot, the Latics keeper Ali Al Habsi denying the Scotsman with a superb save.
Suarez took to his official website to comment on the disappointing result and thank the club’s fans for supporting him through a trying period.
He said: “We couldn't win. I think we did everything possible. These last days have been very difficult for me and I want to thank the great support received by [sic] all of you!!”

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Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho: Ponferradina can complicate things for us

The Portuguese boss has praised his team's Segunda Division B opponents in the Spanish Cup, describing them as a "quality side" who pose a potential danger

 Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is cautious ahead of his side’s Copa del Rey round of 32 second leg clash with Ponferradina at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Having defeated the Segunda Division B Group 2 side 2-0 in the first leg away from home last week, Madrid will head into the encounter in the Spanish capital as favorite in the tie.
However, Mourinho has played down the Blancos' lead and warns that their two-goal advantage is not "definitive".
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the 48 year-old said: “The result we earned in the first leg is good, but not definitive.
“The tie will be left wide open if Ponferradina score first tomorrow and, if their motivation was high at their stadium, I think it will be even higher at the Bernabeu.
“They are a quality side who can complicate things for us.”
The Portuguese coach also commended his side on their season thus far and enthused: “It is very difficult to evaluate at the end of the actual year of football because the new year comes halfway through the season.
“We've done a good job so far. We are top of the league table, we've won our six games in the Champions League and also our only match so far in the Copa.
“We've had six very good months. In another league championship this Real Madrid would easily win the title."


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