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'Beat the Kop to finish top'
ROBINHO has told his Manchester City team-mates: Beat Liverpool and we can win the title.
In an exclusive SunSport interview, the £32.5million striker claims City are genuine title contenders.
And the Brazilian wants the world to take notice of the top flight’s new big spenders with victory over the Kop tomorrow.
He said: “This is a great time to start winning games against the bigger teams so we can prove we are here to win the title.
“Do I think it’s possible? Yes. Liverpool is one of the great games with their history and tradition. Every player loves these moments and I cannot wait.
“We are not so far from the leaders and the league has just started.”
'Man City fans think I'm a God'
THE most expensive player in the history of British football is feeling humble.
After just one month, five games and two goals, Robinho is being worshipped as a god in Manchester.
Wherever he goes, fans greet him with a reverence normally reserved for church.
And even though Brazil counts football as its ‘other’ religion, the boy from Sao Vicente is not used to adulation.
At £32.5million though, City fans have already anointed Robinho the patron saint of (middle) Eastlands.
And in an exclusive interview with SunSport, the 24-year-old revealed his passion to make himself worthy of the fans’ faith.
He says, smiling: “Sure, people recognise me all the time in the city. They are very kind to me.
“They tell me great things and this kind of motivation is very important for a football player.
“I am already a god and I didn’t do a thing! But my desire is to pay it back, to show the supporters my gratitude with goals, great play and victories.”
The ex-Real Madrid man has already inspired his new side to eighth in the Premier League.
And Robinho has set his sights much higher as he revels in the excitement of his new football world.
He said: “The tempo in English football is different from anything I’ve experienced so far.
“The rhythm is high speed and the quality is excellent — better than I expected. It’s the best league in the world.
“The difference between England and Spain is smaller than the one I experienced when I moved from Brazil to Spain.
“The pitch is wet, just like in Spain, which makes the game faster.
“I think the big differences are the referees, who let the game flow without conceding many fouls, and the supporters.
“They are much more involved in the game than in Spain — they shout a lot and push us more.”
Robinho is determined to embrace life on and off the pitch in his new home.
His new team-mates make fun over his accent and attempts to speak English.
He insisted: “We understand each other well. Football language is universal — you don’t need to speak the language in order to communicate with a ball.
“They understand me and they are having fun on the pitch, sometimes in training when I shout.
“My English so far is rated two out of 10. I’m not having classes yet as I am still living in a hotel.
“But when I move, I will have time for that. In six months’ time, it will be 10 out of 10.”
Robinho has already had top marks for his skill, though. A dream debut against the club that also tried to sign him — Chelsea — was capped with a goal in a 3-1 defeat.
Despite the notion all Brazilians are dead-ball specialists, Robinho admitted no one was more surprised than him when he netted a free-kick against the Blues.
He confessed: “My favourite moment so far has to be the goal against Chelsea.
“Even more because it came from a free-kick and I am horrible at free-kicks! I decided to take that one because I was full of confidence.
"My debuts are always great. The first time I played for Santos, I earned the foul that ended up in a winning goal.
“Then, with Real Madrid, I played very well against Cadiz.
“I knew something special was going to happen in my debut for City, too.
“What makes me most happy is that I am finally playing in my real position and it never happened in Spain.
"I am playing as a second striker, with total freedom to move and get involved in every play — not just restricted to the left wing.”
After four years in Madrid, Robinho admitted he had reservations about moving to the north of England.
He laughed: “There is no beach and no sun. But I am enjoying Manchester so far. Elano took me for a city tour and I loved it.
“After what people had been telling me, I feared the worst. I thought I would arrive here and find nothing but wasteland.
“But it’s not like that. There are fine restaurants and entertainment places, the city is beautiful.
“I have no problem with the food. There is a great Brazilian restaurant in the city centre and I’ll become a regular customer.”
And what about the weather? After all, Blackpool’s Golden Mile is no match for the Copacabana.
He added: “Yes, the weather is an issue. It rains a lot and it looks grey a lot of the time. But I’m getting used to it.”
So there you have it. Football gods can control the ball — but still struggle with the weather.
The Guardian tell us...
'Benítez unfazed by City threat'
Rafael Benítez insists that Liverpool must meet the challenge of mega-rich clubs such as Manchester City head-on if they want to retain their place in the top four. The Anfield manager takes his unbeaten side to Eastlands tomorrow to face City - labelled the richest club in the world since their recent takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group - in the Premier League.
Benítez had warned City that their wealth might cause them problems and ruled out any prospect of his captain, Steven Gerrard, ever being interested in a move there. However, he knows that Liverpool must continue to improve themselves to ward off the threat from the Manchester club to their top-four status.
"In the future you never know how dangerous City's potential will be," he said. "The one thing we can do is to think about ourselves and try to improve our squad and players for this season and the future. Every year you hear about the possible challenges from Aston Villa, Newcastle, West Ham. Now it is City. All that means is that we have to do our job right to keep ahead of them all. It depends on your own team and to sign the players you need to maintain your own improvement."
City's new owners hinted they wanted Gerrard when they took over the club but Benítez said: "I do not want to talk about the size of any club in relation to us. Gerrard is a local player and this is his club. He is a key player for us and he is happy here. We are improving every year and he knows that we can win trophies. That is the most important thing.
"You never know about other players; they are professionals and this is football. But Gerrard is playing well and if we are improving he will be very, very happy here. The key is that he wants to stay here, that is the most important thing. It is not a question of money."
And finally, Mark Hughes adds a bit of realism to those dreaming of a top four finish this season, as the Independent tells us...
'Hughes keeps lid on European aspirations'
A moment of truth, this weekend, for those top four aspirations of Manchester City's. Mark Hughes is rowing back as furiously as he can on the initial proclamations by those who fronted their Arab take-over that City can make a Champions League place, but Liverpool's arrival at Eastlands presents the opposition they will probably need to topple to secure one.
Stephen Ireland suggested this week that City could make the top four – "Getting a bit carried away isn't he? I know he's playing well," Hughes joked – though last week's defeat at Wigan put the size of the task into focus and it is the City manager's view that the team are not playing as a top four side yet. "We haven't got the consistency of performance that we need to be viewed as a top four team," Hughes said.
Hughes' determination to keep a lid on expectations at City, despite the form of Shaun Wright-Phillips and the re-emergence of Elano, led him to suggest that even a win over Rafael Benitez's side would present its problems. "[A win] would help us but maybe then expectations would run away with themselves again," he said. "Our aspiration is to be better than we are at the moment." Hughes hopes to have Richard Dunne back after the hamstring trouble which saw him miss Uefa Cup duty on Thursday.
Benitez, who should have Javier Mascherano back after he was rested in Europe, acknowledged the pressure money was creating for Hughes. "Any questions about whether the money makes it more difficult for them is one for Mark Hughes to answer. They were a good team beforehand, they are a good team now and they will be better in the future. We just have to think about beating the side they have at the moment."
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