Kadewere set for Neymar showdown
Zimbabwe international forward, Tino Kadewere, has been included in the Lyon’s squad for tonight’s Coupe de la Ligue final against French giants Paris St Germain at the Stade de France.
This means Kadewere has a chance to win a major silverware in his first match for Lyon.
He was one of the seven forwards included in the squad by coach Rudi Garcia.
Kadewere will be part of a cast of four African forwards, in the squad, the others being Cameroonian international striker Karl Toko Ekambi, Ivorian forward Maxwell Cornet and Burkinabe forward Betrand Traore.
The others are Dutch forward Memphis Depay and the French duo of Moussa Dembele and Maxwell Cornet.
If he plays tonight, Kadewere could feature against Brazilian superstar Neymar.
“We have two fantastic games to play. We’re very excited and motivated. We’re very enthusiastic,” Garcia, whose club also take on Juventus in a Champions League battle, said yesterday.
“It’s important to have the option of five substitutions, especially in the first few games back. It’s a smart decision. We’ve prepared well.
“We have shown in the league games we can compete with this PSG team. We will have to do it over 90, and maybe even 120, minutes.”
“It’s a great opportunity to win a trophy and we want to bring it back to Lyon. We have a high-quality team.
“The weather has been very hot here lately and we’ll take that into account. We’ve prepared well in Lyon and we must make sure we are hydrated.”
Former PSG captain, Thiago Silva, could also be joining Lyon after the expiry of his contract.
According to the newspaper L’Équipe, Silva has a number of offers from France to stay in Ligue 1.
The Brazilian will leave the Parc des Princes when his contract expires, which means the moment PSG will be eliminated from the Champions League.
He could arrive at Lyon on a free transfer but his salary of one and a half million euros per season makes him practically unreachable for the team, so he would have to lower his demands.
PSG’s Leandro Paredes said Lyon were going to give them a tough run.
“They are a very strong side with many talented players,” Paredes said.
“We all hope to be in top form and that it will be an entertaining final. I know their coach very well and he will do everything to cause us problems so we have to be ready to play our best and focus on our own football.” — The Herald/PSG TV.
