Invisiblewall.net: Gilberto Silva News

Invisiblewall.net: Gilberto Silva News

Archive for September, 2008

Silva: Pana Are Ready

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Panathinaikos’ high-profile summer signing Gilberto Silva has sent a message out to Champions League opponents Anorthosis Famagusta, stating that his side are ready to face Temuri Ketsbaia’s men in Nicosia and that they have travelled to Cyprus with victory in their sights.

The former Arsenal captain acknowledged the quality of the Trifili’s next opponents, but stressed that a victory for the Athenians would help them take a huge step towards qualification for the knock-out stages of the competition.

The Brazil international was quoted by Sport 24 as saying: “We’re ready. The win is extremely important for us and we will do everything we can for the victory.”

Silva did point out, however, that the match would not be an easy one, especially given that it’s against the same side that dumped Olympiakos out of the Champions League during the qualifying stages.

“We know that the match won’t be easy,” The 31-year-old admitted, “Anorthosis are a good side, but we are going to Cyprus to win.”

The midfielder also opined that, although his side have enough quality, they will need to play a more savvy brand of football to overcome their opponents.

“We have the quality to get the three points,” he continued. “If we win, the chances of us qualifying from the group stages will increase, but we will need to play smart and stay focused.”

He added: “It is extremely important that we have our fans with us.”

New Start

Reflecting on his team’s loss against Inter Milan in their first group stage encounter at the OAKA two weeks ago, the Brazilian admitted that the defeat marked a poor start to their European campaign.

The veteran said: “The result of the first match was certainly a bad one but I don’t think the team played too badly.

“It was a bad start, it is never nice to start with a defeat at home but we also know that it we didn’t lose against just anybody.

“Even so, it would have been significant to have started with a victory.”

Despite the disappointment of the Matchday 1 defeat, Silva sees Wednesday’s encounter as the perfect opportunity for Panathinaikos to make a “new start” to their Champions League campaign.

“On Wednesday we have the chance to make a new start, even away from home,” he noted.

“Anorthosis aren’t a particularly well-known team, but we must be careful, as they eliminated Olympiakos from the same competition.

“It is extremely important that we come back with the three points,” he concluded.

From Goal.com



Denilson: Gilberto is my example

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

From The Sun

I would love to go down in history alongside the French ace or his fellow Brazilian Gilberto Silva as a Gunners legend.

Denilson said: “Any comparisons with Vieira are great for me because he was really a player that left his mark on this club. He helped Arsenal to achieve beautiful things so it’s an important reference for me.

“But it’s the same with Gilberto Silva. He is also an example for me to follow.

“But they have both made their mark and now it is my time to write my history in the pages of Arsenal.”



Gilberto to face Venezuela for Brazil

Friday, September 26th, 2008

From Eurosport:

Manchester City’s three Brazilians, Robinho, Jo and Elano, have all been included in Brazil’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Colombia in October.

Former Arsenal midfielders Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), and Julio Baptista (Roma) are also included.

Brazil lie second in the South American qualifying zone standings and will face Venezuela on October 12 before hosting the Colombians three days later.



Gilberto plays as Pana beat Aris

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

Source: Goal.com

Pana Bounce Back With Victory
Aris 1-2 Panathinaikos

The crossbar denied Aris captain Sergio Koke what would have been a brilliant injury time equalizer, as Panathinaikos held on for a 2-1 win at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in Thessaloniki to bounce back after a disappointing mid-week Champions League loss to Inter Milan.

It was Panathinaikos in fact that was presented with the best chance of the match in the 83rd minute, when Gilberto Silva outpaced Valentin Roberge to latch onto an innocuous looking forward ball by Cleyton.

The Brazilian took it around Kelemen, who had raced out to the edge of his penalty area. The former Arsenal man seemed certain to score but somehow contrived to send his shot wide of the near post from a slightly narrow angle but with the entire goal gaping.

His team-mates were almost punished for that miss when Aris produced another flowing move in the 92nd minute of the match. It began with substitute striker Delorte heading the ball down for Javito, who beat two men as he approached the area before squaring it across for Lembo. The Uruguayan in-turn slipped it toward Delorte, who dummied and let the ball roll to the feet of Koke on the left side of the box.



Pana lose 2-0 to Inter: Gilberto bemoans misfortune

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

Gilberto Silva played for Panathinaikos against Inter – for whom Vieira now plays. It was a tussle against the former Arsenal colleagues. Goal.com reports:

Inter defeated Panathinaikos 2-0 in Athens in Champions League Group B this evening. Carlo Garganese rates the players on show.

Midfielder and former Arsenal man Gilberto Silva played a full game against Inter and echoed similar sentiments.

“We played a very good match against a very good team.

“When you play against such a team however, two chances is all it takes for you to lose the match.

Silva maintains his new club can progress from the group stages but that they must respect all of their opposition in order to do so.

“The way in which we have played has given us momentum and I believe we can progress to the next stage of the competition.

“We must respect Anorthosis, it will be a difficult match against them and we need the points to match our ambitions.”

Gilberto Silva: 6 – Held his own in the middle-of-the-park against his old Arsenal team-mate Vieira, but Gilberto is certainly not the player he once was.

Secondary source



Gilberto underlines Panathinaikos desire

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

Having worked for a common cause while on duty with Brazil last week, Gilberto must now look to get one over his international colleagues Júlio César and Maicon when Panathinaikos FC tackle FC Internazionale Milano in Tuesday’s opening UEFA Champions League Group B fixture.

Experienced hand
The 31-year-old played alongside the Internazionale duo as Brazil beat Chile in FIFA World Cup qualifying, but was suspended for the subsequent goalless draw against Bolivia – keeping Gilberto waiting for his 64th cap for the Seleção. It is that type of experience which prompted Panathinaikos to move for the Arsenal FC midfielder in July, ending their search for a wise head to guide a young squad attempting to return to the group stage after an absence of three years.

Mission accomplished
This mission was accomplished when Gilberto helped the Greens eliminate AC Sparta Praha in the third qualifying round, but the true test lies ahead as they meet Inter, Werder Bremen and Cypriot newcomers Anorthosis Famagusta FC in a section the Italian champions are expected to dominate. Looking forward to the opener against the Nerazzurri, Gilberto said: “It won’t be easy, that’s for sure. This is the highest level and every match is difficult. We’ll need to respect all our opponents, not just teams of Inter’s calibre. Inter’s players are more experienced than ours. At Panathinaikos, we have many young players in our ranks and we lack this sort of experience, both as group and as individuals.”

‘Positive result’
Indeed, only nine players in the Athenian club’s squad have prior knowledge of the UEFA Champions League – and their combined squad tally of 155 appearances is dwarfed by the 748 made by those from the blue-and-black half of Milan. Nevertheless, Gilberto is confident that a lack of know-how will be no obstacle to his team when they take the field at the OACA Spyro Louis Stadium. “Rest assured that we’ll fight to the end,” he said. “We’ll do the best we can on the pitch. We have faith in our abilities and hopefully we will get a positive result. It’s a big challenge for everyone, but if we want to be at the top we have to play against such teams.”

Vieira link
As well as coming up against his Brazilian compatriots, Gilberto will also be renewing ties with former Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira, more than three years after they last played together in the 2005 FA Cup final victory against Manchester United FC. “It’s been a long time since I last saw Patrick,” said Gilberto, his smile betraying his affection for the Frenchman. “It will be nice to see him again. I look forward to it and I hope I will have a good game against these friends.”

Source: UEFA.com



Gilberto: We’ll Take Inter To The Limits

Monday, September 15th, 2008

From Goal.com:

Panathinaikos new boy Gilberto has admitted that beginning their Champions League campaign against Italian champions Inter on Tuesday is a tall order, but insisted that his team will be up for the challenge.

Greek giants Panathinaikos have made their return to the Champions League following a two-year absence from Europe’s biggest stage. A third-place finish in the Greek league last season was enough for them to enter the qualifying rounds for Europe’s premier club competition, which they reached after disposing of Dinamo Tbilisi and Sparta Prague.

Now they will be up against Inter in the full knowledge that last time they faced an Italian opponent in a home game they lost 2-1 to Udinese, which effectively meant they wouldn’t even be able to continue in the Uefa Cup. That was also the only time they have ever lost to an Italian side at home in the Champions League.

“It won’t be easy, that’s for sure,” said Gilberto, who made the switch from Arsenal in the summer.

“This is the highest level and every match is difficult. We’ll need to respect all our opponents, not just teams of Inter’s calibre. Inter’s players are more experienced than ours. At Panathinaikos, we have many young players in our ranks and we lack this sort of experience, both as group and as individuals.”

He added: “Rest assured that we’ll fight to the end. We’ll do the best we can on the pitch. We have faith in our abilities and hopefully we will get a positive result. It’s a big challenge for everyone, but if we want to be at the top we have to play against such teams.”

Gilberto will be up against some familiar faces, not least of which will be ex Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira, but also international colleagues Júlio César and Maicon.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw Patrick,” said Gilberto on uefa.com. “It will be nice to see him again. I look forward to it and I hope I will have a good game against these friends.”



Gilberto helps Pana to 3-0 victory

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

Source: Goal.com:

Former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva took his place in the starting line-up, with countryman Rodrigo Souza fulfilling the lone striker role in Ten Cate’s familiar 4-2-3-1 formation.

On 35 minutes, the Greens doubled their lead when Austria captain Andreas Ivanschitz saw his curled free-kick deliver from the right touch-line headed into the air by Gilberto Silva, before being turned in intelligently by Giannis Goumas. He flicked the ball around his body and past an advancing Vrontaras.



Gilberto nursed back to full fitness

Friday, September 12th, 2008

From this article::

…and the Gilberto Silva, who may be nursed back to full fitness ahead of his side’s opening Champions League clash against Inter next Tuesday.



Gilberto suspended for Brazil vs. Bolivia

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

Brazil seek new thrashing:

Following their recovery against Chile, Dunga’s side will try to display a great performance home, when they host Bolivia in Round 8 at the South American Qualifiers.

Coach Dunga will have to do without midfielder Gilberto Silva, out due to card accumulation, and without left-winger Kleber, sent off against Chile.

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