Louis Laurent Saha

[Andi Istiabudi]

Saha: Ronaldo Sudah Genius Sejak Masih 18 Tahun
Putra Rusdi K - detikSport

Manchester - Louis Saha menilai Cristiano Ronaldo sudah genius sejak masih berusia 18 tahun. Kemampuan analisis CR7 dianggap begitu luar biasa.

Ronaldo bergabung dengan Manchester United saat usianya masih 18 tahun dari Sporting CP pada musim panas 2003. Sejak saat itu, ia andalan utama Setan Merah hingga hijrah ke Real Madrid pada 2009.

Ronaldo mencetak 118 gol dari 292 penampilan. Torehannya tersebut membantu MU merengkuh tiga gelar Liga Inggris dan satu gelar Liga Champions.

Saha menjadi salah satu pemain yang sempat merasakan masa-masa indah bersama Ronaldo di MU. Pemain asal Prancis ini bergabung dengan The Red Devils enam bulan setelah merapatnya Ronaldo.

Di musim pertamanya bermain untuk MU, Saha mengungkapkan bahwa ia sudah melihat kegeniusan Ronaldo. Padahal saat itu, pemain asal Portugal ini usianya baru 18 tahun.

Saha semakin dibuat kagum oleh Ronaldo karena pemain kelahiran Madeira ini tetap bekerja keras meski sudah memiliki bakat besar. Hal inilah yang membuatnya mampu berkembang menjadi salah satu pemain terbaik di dunia saat ini.

"Dia terus mengembangkan diri. Namun caranya tak pernah (sebagai pribadi)," ungkap Saha dikutip dari situs resmi MU.

"Sepanjang karirnya, Anda melihat dedikasi yang sama yang ia miliki saat ia berusia 18 tahun. Mungkin seseorang yang menantangnya akan kehilangan kepercayaan diri. Ia selalu ingin membuktikan bahwa dia adalah pemain terbaik."

"Namun untuk memiliki kepercayaan diri seperti itu, Anda harus berlatih, bekerja keras dan konsisten. Tak memperdulikan apa yang orang katakan karena ini adalah kemampuan yang luar biasa."

"Itu lebih hebat dari sebuah bakat karena dia memiliki kemampuan analisis yang luar biasa di usia saat itu. Dia terus berkembang dan mempertahankan konsitensinya - bagi saya dia genius," jelasnya.

Kebersamaan Saha dengan Ronaldo di MU sendiri berakhir pada 2008. Mantan pemain Fulham ini memutuskan hengkang dari Old Trafford ke Everton.

[zudomiriku]

'Baffled' Louis Saha hits out at Mino Raiola for 'joke' interview in which he revealed Paul Pogba would be leaving Man United... as he calls on star 'with a lot of ego' to 'step up his game' and help get season back on track after Champions League exit

* Paul Pogba's agent Mino Raiola announced the midfielder is set to leave the club
* Raiola's bombshell news came just a day before United's Champions League exit
* Louis Saha criticised the timing of Raiola's interview before such a crucial game
* Former United striker Saha also claims Pogba needs to step up his game now

Louis Saha has slammed Mino Raiola for claiming Paul Pogba is set to leave Manchester United on the eve of an important Champions League game.

Super-agent Raiola, who represents the French midfielder, revealed that his client would be leaving Old Trafford one day before the Red Devils' do-or-die group stage tie with RB Leipzig last week - which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team lost 3-2.

Saha revealed he was stunned by the Italian agent's shock revelation but criticised the interview which 'went against the interests' of Manchester United.


Louis Saha (above) slammed agent Mino Raiola over his Paul Pogba exit comments last week. Raiola held an interview saying his client Pogba is set to leave Manchester United

The former French striker told GentingBet: 'I'm baffled with the situation with Paul Pogba. I really love Pogba, he's someone I consider highly, but this communication is a joke.

'I was shocked and I can't believe something like this happened because this (Leipzig) game was so important for United.

'I'm not speaking as a fan, I'm speaking about Manchester United in general, you think that it's a big game, going into the last 16. You need that focus, but the focus was on one player.

'This is unbelievable, the headlines were about Pogba because of the agent – it wasn't even Pogba who said anything. I can't understand how these things can happen. This is absolutely against the interests of the club.'


The Pogba bombshell came a day before Man United's Champions League group stage exit. Saha claims that Pogba needs to step up his game in order to improve United

Former United striker Saha, who played at Old Trafford for four years between 2004 and 2008, claimed Pogba could not have been aware his agent was going to drop that bombshell at the time he did.

The Manchester United midfielder has since responded to the reaction to his agent's outburst, claiming he is '1,000 per cent involved' with the Red Devils and hit out at critics who 'don't know what's going on inside'.

Despite this defence, Saha has still called on fellow countryman Pogba to step up for the team and claims that the midfielder's ego could be useful in turning United's form around.

Saha continued: 'I can't believe that Paul knew about it, I just can't believe it. We need to find out what happened as there might be more to it but the timing of it was really bad.

'I still think that obviously Paul has got tremendous talent and is still a good player with a lot of ego, which is really helpful to actually prove people wrong, and this is what I want from him.

'He definitely needs to step up his game because there is a team who need to win.'

Saha also backed current manager and former United team-mate Solskjaer despite recent form which has seen them fall behind in the top-four race and exit the Champions League at the group stages.

Saha claimed: 'Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is someone that I really appreciate and do think that he's got the quality for Manchester United.

'Maybe he's not given the players themselves the help, or maybe he's not challenging them enough? I don't know, but there is something missing.

'A team is built on foundations and something needs to be changed. Whatever it is, whether the structure of the club or maybe in terms of transfers, in terms of the academy, I don't know.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9051385/Louis-Saha-hits-Mino-Raiola-revealing-Paul-Pogba-leaving-Man-United-week.html

[zudomiriku]

'Very strong' Erik ten Hag is Manchester United's 'BEST signing' of the summer, insists Louis Saha... as he praises the Dutchman's handling of Cristiano Ronaldo but believes they can do 'amazing things' if wantaway star stays

* The former French international praised the Dutchman's start to his tenure
* Saha is hopeful that his side can hold on to wantaway star Cristiano Ronaldo
* The ex-United striker is impressed with Ten Hag's handling of the situation

Louis Saha believes Erik ten Hag has been Manchester United's most important acquisition this summer after an impressive pre-season - despite adding three star names to his new squad.

Saha praised the former Ajax manager's start to his tenure at Old Trafford under difficult circumstances - with Cristiano Ronaldo digging his heels in over an exit - and expressed his confidence in the club's prospects this season.

Having taken over the Red Devils' hot seat at the start of the summer, Ten Hag has so far successfully negotiated the club's pre-season tour with three wins and a draw, as well as bringing in Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez.

His unbeaten start to life at United did, however, come to an end against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.


Erik ten Hag's start to life as Manchester United manager has impressed ex-striker Louis Saha. Saha believes the Dutch coach has been United's best signing of the summer

'I think he has so far been United's best signing,' Saha told Sportsmail, courtesy of Bet 365. 'The players were out of form but they seem to be coming back stronger and the squad seems to be balanced.

'I would have loved to play under him because he seems to be very strong in what he believes, but at the same time he seems to be very really enjoy listening to players and helping them to improve.

'We can see that players enjoy playing under him, but they still need to run hard, really work hard, but enjoy their football at the same time, so there is a great balance.

'Cristiano [Ronaldo] has been the difficult part, because you have to look for a replacement, but you also have to please the demands of the player because he wants to leave or, or he isn't happy about the guarantees he received.'

The Dutch manager has remained tight-lipped over the Portugal international's future at the club throughout pre-season, stating only that the forward is in his plans for the future, and he wants him to stay.

However, Ronaldo now looks to be forcing his way out of the club in order to play Champions League football next season, after crunch talks on Tuesday resulted in him reiterating his request to be released from his £360,000-a-week deal.

Having missed pre-season with the club's permission, he underwent medical tests and then trained on Wednesday before watching his team-mates in a behind-closed-doors friendly match against Wrexham.

Ronaldo then looked rusty in his first minutes of pre-season when United host Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford on Sunday, before being hooked at half-time.

Ten Hag now finds himself in a position where he must either allow arguably his best player to leave - a player who scored 24 goals last season - and leave himself little time to find a replacement, or keep the wantaway forward at Old Trafford.

But the former France striker is hopeful he will line up for the club next season, adding: 'It's a very difficult one for a new manager who has to set standards for his players. Maybe he doesn't want his squad to be disrupted by new stories every week about the biggest player in the squad.


United slipped to their first pre-season defeat against Atletico Madrid after three wins and a draw during their tour of Thailand and Australia

'It's not easy because he's a player who can still score 25-30 plus goals in a season, and he was pretty much alone last season when it came to the club's goal-scoring responsibilities.

'If he is in the plans for next year then I think they have a terrific chance of doing some amazing things.'

But for the 2006 World Cup runner-up, the most important thing that Ten Hag can bring is stability.

United's greatest period of consistency in the era since Saha's former boss Sir Alex Ferguson's departure arguably came under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and even then Ole was only at the wheel permanently for 20 months.

But with a host of relatively untapped potential at the club, including the likes of Zidane Iqbal who has been so impressive over pre-season, it is this stability that will help young players to blossom in the Ten Hag era.

Saha said: 'It's maybe the most important because the actual job you have, the mission you have is very difficult because it's so unstable.

'Having a manager who is there giving you a clear indication of what he wants can really work long-term because he can tell you what's going to work next week, or next month and so on.

'It's so important to have that foundation if you want to develop. You cannot develop if you know that every single week anything can change, it's impossible to focus.'

Louis Saha was signed by Ferguson in January 2004 after a hugely impressive spell with Fulham, during which he helped the Cottagers win promotion to the Premier League.

The Frenchman - who was part of France's 2006 World Cup squad in Germany - scored 42 goals and assisted 18 times in 124 games for the Red Devils in a four-and-a-half year spell, winning two Premier Leagues, a League Cup, a Community Shield, and the 2007-08 Champions League.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11057095/Louis-Saha-believes-Erik-ten-Hag-Manchester-Uniteds-BEST-signing-summer.html

[zudomiriku]

'Unrealistic' Cristiano Ronaldo is 'only thinking about himself' and has not shown that he is a Manchester United supporter by demanding to leave, blasts his former Old Trafford team-mate Louis Saha

* Louis Saha calls Cristiano Ronaldo's expectations for the Red Devils 'unrealistic'
* Frenchman says his former team-mate is only thinking about himself in exit saga
* Ronaldo still expects to leave the club despite United continuing to stand firm
* Erik ten Hag to decide on Ronaldo in his starting XI against Brighton on Sunday

Ex-Manchester United striker Louis Saha has hit out at his former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, suggesting his demands to leave and subsequent behaviour have been selfish.

Ronaldo requested to leave Old Trafford during crunch talks last month and did so again upon his belated return to training last week.

Ronaldo made an emotional return to Old Trafford last summer after departing for Real Madrid in 2009, signing a two-year deal with the Red Devils with the option of a third.

But a disappointing season last term, culminating in the club missing out on Champions League football has led to Ronaldo requesting an early exit - much to the dismay of Saha.

'In some way, from Cristiano Ronaldo's point of view it's a bit unrealistic to ask now a club of this size to adapt to him and his dream,' Saha told SkyBet.


Wantaway star Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the pitch for Manchester United last weekend. Former team-mate Louis Saha blasted Ronaldo's exit demands. Erik ten Hag has had to deal with more drama than expected since taking over as United boss

'Even last year, I'm sorry but the magic could have happened and everything could have gone well and they won the Champions League and the Premier League and there we go, he could say that he could stay because he had participated in that. It was unrealistic that just his arrival would have changed all this.

'Asking that again after a poor season and maybe not great transfer market business in his view, I don't really understand how dramatic it is to change and to do all those things. I think that last year he had been in Juventus but they hadn't won the Champions League.'

Saha's annoyance at how the saga has unfolded will come as a welcome boost to the club's fans who remain frustrated by the summer's activities.

The start of Erik ten Hag's tenure was supposed be the dawn of a new era of optimism but instead United are having to publicly deal with off-field conflict, whilst No 1 transfer target Frenkie de Jong stalls over a switch to the North West.

But Saha still clearly has the club's best interests at heart and accused the five-time Ballon d'Or winner of 'thinking about himself' rather than putting the club first.

'I'm not Cristiano but as someone who seems to be a supporter of Manchester United, I have felt like he hasn’t shown completely enough of that, he is thinking about himself.

He said: 'I am not going to judge him because he is an immense player and I'm not in his position, but I would have loved him to stay because he's a terrific player. No-one can judge his actions at this moment because it’s his own career.'

It remains to be seen whether or not Ten Hag will select Ronaldo in his starting XI as Manchester United kick-off their Premier League campaign against Brighton on Sunday.

With just four weeks remaining of the transfer window and four fixtures to contest in the month of August, a strong start to the campaign could convince the Portuguese star to stay put and help the club put last season's misery behind them.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11077521/Louis-Saha-blasts-Unrealistic-Cristiano-Ronaldo-says-thinking-himself.html

[zudomiriku]

'He is the hardest I played against… only injuries stopped him exploding and being an absolutely crazy player for Man United': Rio Ferdinand hails former Old Trafford team-mate Louis Saha

* Rio Ferdinand said Louis Saha was the toughest player to go against in training
* Saha and Ferdinand were together at Manchester United from 2004 to 2008
* Ferdinand said Saha was unlucky that injuries hampered his time at Old Trafford
* The French striker was a Sky pundit for Man United's home match on Sunday

Rio Ferdinand has hailed Louis Saha after his appearance as a Sky Sports pundit - and said the French striker was one of the toughest teammates to face in training.

Saha spent four years at Manchester United between 2004 and 2008, where he came up against defender Ferdinand day-to-day on the training pitch.

Now retired from the game, the 44-year-old striker was a talking head for Sky's coverage of the Red Devils against West Ham on Sunday afternoon.

On his latest Five blog, fellow pundit Ferdinand was positive about Saha's appearance - even if he first had a dig over the Frenchman's choice of clothing for the occasion.

Ferdinand, 43, said: 'Louis what was you wearing?! Wow. Even my kid said Dad "is this live?" I said "No, this is Louis Saha, it's what he does." That's how he came to training, actually he would come smarter than that to training. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.'


Rio Ferdinand (r) has said Man United's Louis Saha (l) was the toughest opponent in training. Saha's choice of outfit for his pundit role with Sky Sports on Sunday was mocked by Ferdinand. Ferdinand said that only injuries stopped Saha from having more success at Man United

However, Ferdinand said that Saha was one of the greatest players he came across in training, because of the toughness of working against him - and it was bad luck with injuries that stopped him from being at his best for Manchester United.

Ferdinand added: 'Shout out to Louis I love him. What a player. He actually in training he was levels. I remember Nemanja Vidic saying: "Louis Saha WOAH, does it get harder than this?"

'He is the hardest player I have played against. He used to be a madness. He was a joke. Only injuries stopped him exploding and being an absolutely crazy player for Man United.

'This guy cared, he is one of them guys when I look back now can see there was pain in his eyes because of the injuries. He knew what he was capable of and he wasn't able to go out and do it because he was held back by injuries.

'This guy was as quick as anything out there, off both feet, stronger than anybody, knew where to run and his timing was mad. Mad player. He could have been an absolute madness. He came on and changed games.

'I remember in training he was the hardest. Out of all the strikers I trained against at Man United he was probably the hardest one to play against.

'[Wayne] Rooney took the ball when the ball came in and would take it that way so the defender would come with you and then take it on the outside. Saha was the man at that.'

Saha made 124 appearances for Manchester United across four years, before moving to Everton, Spurs and then Sunderland. He finished his professional career at Lazio in 2013.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11374859/Rio-Ferdinand-hails-former-Old-Trafford-team-mate-Louis-Saha-Sky-Sports-appearance.html