Invisiblewall.net: Gilberto Silva News

http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=114775&d=122&h=24&f=46

Gilberto Silva’s fruity balls

Lovells did its bit for charity on 7 April. The firm hosted a glamorous reception to promote Street League, a charity that uses football to promote social inclusion, crime reduction, conflict resolution and education.

The event was attended by Arsenal FC and Brazil footballer Gilberto Silva and former Wimbledon FC manager David Bassett. It included a draw to select teams for the Street League World Cup Final, which took place in Regent’s Park on 9 April. Bizarrely, the draw featured numbered tangerines that Silva and Bassett had to pluck from the barrel. Not a lot of balls, then.

Arsenal beat Blackburn 3-0 in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

Here’s Gilberto’s thoughts on the game.

“We knew what to expect. They played hard and strong and we knew what they would give us.

“We did very well and in the whole game we did not give them any confidence or hope they could beat Arsenal. We did the job.

“A couple of times Blackburn were very aggressive and that is not part of football. Some moments they went over the top.”

Gilberto continued to help the inexperienced Toure/Senderos partnership, and while I’d disagree that aggressiveness isn’t part of football, I think he did a great job at keeping calm in the face of knobend Paul Dickov.

Gilberto poses for the camera (his hair is even longer)

His passing was a bit off at times, but he did manage to do 4 back-heels in the first half.

Not much else to discuss really – he’s a dead cert to start for Chelsea.

* * *

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,277-1563843,00.html

Gilberto resolves to click back into place
By Gary Jacob
IT DID NOT TAKE Arsenal’s slump to illustrate to Arsène Wenger the importance of Gilberto Silva. The Arsenal manager has always appreciated his inconspicuous work in protecting the defence and it was not by chance that cracks opened in the team during the midfield player’s absence because of a back injury.

Arsenal were top of the league, seemingly imperious, when Gilberto played his last match before injury in September. When he returned, more than six months later, he found them endeavouring to scrape into second place and reach the FA Cup Final, an ambition that hinges on their semi-final against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

The Brazil international has been the man most missed by Arsenal this season — even if this sounds surprising to some supporters who have never warmed to his anchoring play. Statistics support the case: he has been on the losing side only five times in 69 league matches for the club. Little wonder that Wenger is to offer him a three-year extension to his contract, which has one year remaining.

“It was a coincidence (Arsenal’s dip in form), and in one way it was good that the people appreciated me when I was out, but I would have preferred to be playing,” Gilberto said. “When you can’t do what you normally do, it is very frustrating.”

In Gilberto’s absence, it was a difficult period for Arsenal and they have never fully healed from the scars that Manchester United inflicted upon them, first in ending their 49-match unbeaten record in the league, then their title challenge. Depending on the semi-final results, some redemption could come against United in the Cup Final. “People remember who wins, never who is second,” he said. “The season has been very hard because some of the important players have been injured. We are still strong, we need to carry on and if we win the FA Cup, the season will not be a disaster.”

Gilberto is warm, relaxed and quick to smile. Yet mention his back injury and he turns reflective. He sustained the problem on the opening day of the season, but it was seven more matches before a second scan showed that he had a fractured vertebra. There was a chance that the injury could have ended his career.

“I felt pain every day during training, but I wanted to help the team,” Gilberto said. “But it got worse, until one day I woke up and I couldn’t tie up my trainers, so I thought this is enough for me, something is wrong.”

He received conflicting advice about whether he needed an operation, but opted instead to spend two months recuperating in Brazil, where he had to wear a body brace to support his back. He has returned looking leaner, with a thicker shock of hair, and with even more vigour to help out at Street League, an expanding project that enables the homeless to play football. “I was always positive in my recovery. Sometimes I felt pain and complained about the brace, but my family said: ‘Be patient it is going to be OK’,” he said.

“But it was difficult as I didn’t see any games, I didn’t follow the team, stopped watching football. Some of my friends told me the results. I thought if I watched and thought about football, maybe it will take me longer to recover. But I think I made the best choice just to focus on my recovery. Had I not done that, it may have been worse.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2005161163,00.html

Arsenal eye Gilberto deal

By GAVIN GLICKSMAN

ARSENAL will offer Gilberto Silva a new contract this summer – but David Bentley has warned he is not afraid to quit Highbury.

Gilberto made his comeback in the 4-1 win over Norwich last Saturday after being ruled out since mid-September with a back injury.

He has 12 months remaining on his current deal but Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is keen to secure a three-year extension for the 28-year-old.

Wenger said: “We will try to extend Gilberto’s contract.

“He has a great presence in midfield and you could see that against Norwich. He certainly knows the job.

“We want him to stay and we want him to be part of our future. We will sort that out in the summer.

“He has recovered completely from his back injury and that will not be a problem for him now.”

This is the first Gilberto match report I’m writing. I probably won’t write a report on every game he plays in, but I’ll do games which are interesting to write/read about. Each report will be fairly short, and only about what Gilberto does. For Arsenal match reports, try arseblog.com, and for Portuguese language Brazil match reports, try CBF News.

So, the news that Gilberto might return for Arsenal was the only Gunners-related news for most of the week leading up to the Norwich game. That’s because Gilberto is one of the worlds most famous players, and not because there was absolutely no other news because of international week.

Gilberto started alongside Flamini in the centre of midfield, and as a defensive minded player, his biggest worry was Darren Huckerby for the Cannaries. Huckerby proved a worry to Arsenal when he scored, but it wasn’t Gilberto’s fault.

Throughout the game, Gilberto played alot of short passes, and unlike his typical self, most of the passes reached their intended target.
He made about 3/4 tackles in the game — quite alot, considering Arsenal had the ball for most of the game.

In the absence of Vieira, there were flashbacks to the beginning of the season, when Fabregas came on for Flamini. Henry took the captains armband, which left Gilberto organising the midfield. From the North Bank, I saw Gilberto signaling to the other midfielders to hold the midfield line properly.

He had two shots (I think), and they both went quite far over the bar. Good to see he’s still his old self.

He pulled off two pieces of close-control skill, to outwit Norwich players. Highbury was stunned for a minute, and then forgot he did it. He’s invisible, i tells ya.

In huge news, I think he’s cut his hair a bit, though it isn’t as short as we’re used to.

Arsenal had an easy game, and Norwich didn’t create many chances, so Gilberto’s overall day wasn’t very busy – but for a return game to the Premiership, he did fantastically well, and he played for all 90 minutes.

Well done Bert.

Depending on how he comes out of this game (fitness wise), Gilberto’s next game could be in a weeks time, against Middlesbrough in the Premiership.

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=266895&lid=NewsHeadline&sub=Wenger+welcomes+back+Gilberto&navlid=&sublid=&Title=Wenger+welcomes+back+Gilberto

Highbury will offer a special welcome to Gilberto tomorrow. After more than six months out with a fractured vertebrae, the Brazilian is set to resume his role in central midfield.

It is fair to say that absence has made Arsenal hearts grow fonder of the quiet, efficient and affable 28-year-old. However his manager never needed convincing.

“Gilberto is a quiet guy,” said Arsène Wenger. “He never wants special attention but people forget he is a world champion.

“Sometimes there are players who have a real team attitude – a discreet one, not a flashy one — and sometimes these kinds of players are not rated as much as they should be.

“The positive thing [about his time out] is that when he did not play people realised how important he was.

“Gilberto makes the game fluent and simple. He does the cleaning work and that is always important in the house.

“At the same time I would not want to diminish the merits of Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas. We have still had a reasonable season because they have done very well. That was unexpected. But at some stage, when we did not have Edu, Gilberto and Vieira, we were very young.”

And for all their abundant abilities, there is one thing Flamini and Fabregas do not have — height. (Though, at 17, the Spaniard is still growing). Wenger believes the lack of another strapping six-footer in the Arsenal area has hindered his side in defending set-pieces.

“Gilberto is good in the air and some stage we were a little bit too small,” said the manager. “You suffer a bit less on set-pieces when you have Gilberto and Vieira in there.

“If you look at the statistics, we are one of the teams with the least crosses against us but the percentage we have conceded on crosses is three times higher than any other team. That means we were not always able to compete with their size.

“For example Charlton had something like 97 crosses against and we had 36 but we conceded the same amount of goals on headers. In this area Gilberto’s absence has played a big part.”

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=266804&lid=NewsHeadline&sub=Vieira+ruled+out+but+Gilberto+will+start&navlid=&sublid=&Title=Vieira+ruled+out+but+Gilberto+will+start

Vieira ruled out but Gilberto will start

Arsène Wenger will conduct a midfield merry-go-round on Saturday. Just as Gilberto returns to the first-team after a long absence, Patrick Vieira is ruled out with a hip problem.

The Brazilian’s return to the starting line-up has far greater significance than the absence of the Frenchman. Gilberto has been out since mid-September with a fractured vertebrae while Vieira is likely to be sidelined for “two or three days”.

Thierry Henry returns to the squad after his calf problem but in-form Philippe Senderos has been ruled out with a minor thigh injury.

“We do not have Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Philippe Senderos and Sol Campbell tomorrow,” said Wenger.

“Philippe has a very slight thigh muscle problem that will be only two or three days. Patrick has a hip problem and that will be two or three days as well. Also Dennis still has his calf problem and Edu has his cartilage.

“However Thierry is fit and Gilberto will play.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/sporttop/tm_objectid=15358642&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=football–wenger–my-gunners-are-more-solid-with-silva-name_page.html

ARSENE WENGER has hailed the resilience of world champion Gilberto Silva, who returns to the side today after a career-threatening back injury.

The Gunners boss has also been given a further boost by the return to fitness of Sol Campbell from an ankle injury and the recuperation of striker Thierry Henry who faces Norwich.

Campbell will take in a reserve game on Monday to prove his fitness ahead of the FA Cup semi-final against Blackburn.

Yet it is Gilberto’s comeback that pleased Wenger most last night. He has been sidelined since mid-September and both men feared the player would have to have to hang up his boots as his stress fracture of the back frustrated the medics.

Indeed Wenger believes the Brazilian has only been properly appreciated while he has been missing – and Arsenal’s defensive record has suffered as a result.

The Frenchman said: “The positive thing is when he didn’t play, people realised how important he is and he became a more highly-rated player.

“It’s not only because he protects the centre-backs, it’s also because he’s good in the air and we have conceded many goals from crosses this season.

“It’s a shame as sometimes people who have a real team attitude, rather than a flashy one, only get that kind of recognition when they don’t play. People forget Gilberto is a world champion but he’s a quiet guy and he doesn’t want special attention.

“I wouldn’t like to diminish the merits of Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini as we’ve still had a reasonable season as they’ve done extremely well.

“But when we didn’t have Edu, Gilberto and Vieira together, we were a bit young.”

Gilberto’s return is also particularly timely as Patrick Vieira is ruled out with a hip injury and Edu is still missing with a hamstring problem.

Henry (left), who returns from a calf injury, recently claimed Gilberto was as important to Arsenal as Makelele is to Chelsea. Wenger added: “Yes, they do a similar job. They make the game fluent and simple.”

Although Gilberto is ready to return after playing three times for the reserves, Wenger revealed: “It was very serious.

“If he had needed surgery, he could have locked a part of the back that needs to be very flexible for a footballer.

“It was a stress fracture from fatigue. He developed that in Brazil with his shin and was out for nine months, but he has worked tremendously hard to return.”

Wenger is wary of the threat posed by Norwich and especially striker Dean Ashton, whom he tried to sign from Crewe.

“We wanted to take him on as he’d played so well in the Youth Cup against us,” he added.

“We watched him again and again, but Crewe wanted to keep him. And when he was finally available, we didn’t need him.”

http://www.arsenal-mania.com/?page=articles&view=full&article=107215

Gilberto has been out since September with a fractured vertebrae, but after regaining some match fitness in the reserves, Wenger feels the Brazilian could finally be ready to return to the first team.

“I don’t know yet, I will have to wait until tomorrow before making that kind of decision,” the manager said. “But Gilberto has had those games in the reserves and maybe he will play.”

Link to original article

GILBERTO SILVA has scoffed at the growing smear campaign that dismisses Patrick Vieira as yesterday’s man.

In fact, the Brazilian insists Vieira is the midfield rock upon which Arsenal can build another great team.

Gilberto said: “I think Patrick has been unfairly criticised this season because he’s had to boss a team with many young players. Many people forget that my injury and Edu’s left him alone with the task of driving the midfield and also looking after the youngsters.

“Much was said about Real Madrid being keen on taking him to Spain, but the important thing is that he stayed. Patrick is a warrior and an extremely important player for Arsenal – and he doesn’t need to prove it to anybody.

“Just take a look at his CV. If I were an Arsenal director, I’d do everything to keep him, Robert Pires and Thierry Henry, who can certainly play at the highest level for many more years.”

The demands placed on Vieira in guiding a talented but inexperienced group of midfielders highlights one of the biggest problems Arsenal face in attempting to catch up with champions-elect Chelsea.

Gilberto said: “This season has been pretty disappointing and the players feel they have let the supporters and themselves down. Going out of Europe was painful, especially for me, who could only watch it from the sidelines.

“What we do have to remember, however, is that Arsenal dealt with many injuries this season, including mine and Sol Campbell’s, foe example. This is one of the reasons we are not fighting for the title with Chelsea.

“Chelsea also have more experienced players, especially on the bench. Our group is full of young players who will need more time to reach their true potential.

“It is not fair to expect maturity right now from players like Fabregas, Flamini and Van Persie, although I’m sure they will be idols at Arsenal in the future.

“We lost players like Kanu, Keown, Parlour and Wiltord, who could step in in times of trouble. It’s not for me to speculate about decisions that are up to the manager and the board, but I won’t be surprised if the club brings in two or three experienced players this summer.

“This season showed us that maybe another midfielder should be bought and perhaps a striker with more presence in the box, so that Thierry wouldn’t be overloaded. Sol’s injury was also a big blow.”

Gilberto is convinced that Arsene Wenger has identified this season’s problems and planned a successful route forward.

“I do believe Arsene knows what to do,” said Gilberto. “If everything the press is saying about the transfers funds for the summer is right, I’m sure the boss won’t need any help. Critics have been too harsh on Arsene and I expect to see him having the last laugh.”

Gilberto has spent six months out with a serious back injury but is keen to make an impact in the one competition the Gunners can still win. He added: “We still have the FA Cup to fight for and we need to win it. A club like ours must lift at least one trophy a season.

“My contract expires in the 2006-07 season but I want to stay at Arsenal. I am happy in England and I would not feel comfortable leaving the club before helping them to win the Champions League.”

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=264292&lid=NewsHeadline&sub=Reserves+v+Southampton+Tonight,+7pm:+Match+Preview&navlid=&sublid=&Title=Reserves+v+Southampton+Tonight,+7pm:+Match+Preview

Here’s all the Gilberto bits:

Gilberto, in his third Reserve team outing after a long-term injury, played a perfectly-weighted pass and Arturo Lupoli steered home his 15th goal in 16 games for the second-string.

The 31st minute was a moment of pure class. Gilberto split the visiting defence with a low, pacy pass and Lupoli raced on the clip his shot over the advancing keeper.

Bert’s comeback looks to be on track for the FA Cup Semi Final.