By Michael Place
SANTOS
Yonder Alonso Jersey , Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa has admitted that he made mistakes during disappointing spells with Inter Milan and Benfica as he attempts to kickstart his career at his former club Santos.
Barbosa, nicknamed Gabigol, faced the media on Monday for the first time since securing a 12-month loan with the Brazilian club last week.
"My time in Europe didn't pan out as I'd hoped," Gabigol said. "I didn't have a lot of chances. Every player wants to play and be happy on and off the pitch. I always gave my all, like I did at Santos.
"There were times when I overstepped the mark with my behaviour and I realize I was wrong. But I always trained hard to earn a place in the team. Unfortunately that wasn't possible. That's why I decided that it was time to come back to Santos."
Gabigol was considered one of football's brightest talents when Inter Milan signed him from Santos in August 2016 for 28 million euros.
But he failed to impress at the San Siro, scoring just once in 10 matches before being loaned out to Benfica.
He fared later better with the Portuguese side, making just four appearances without scoring a goal.
His period in Europe is perhaps best remembered for the time he stormed off Inter Milan's bench and disappeared into the dressing room during a Serie A match against Lazio, angry at being an unused substitute.
"That's something you can't do," said a repentant Gabigol. "I apologized the next day. I know that I made mistakes and I assumed responsibility for them. We are all human and we all make mistakes. The best thing you can do is say sorry when you know you're in the wrong."
Gabigol is expected to return for Santos in their Sao Paulo state league match against Palmeiras on Sunday.
He is eager to make an early impression as he targets a place in Brazil's squad for this year's World Cup in Russia.
"My decision to come back has a lot to do with the national team," said Gabigol, who has scored two goals in four matches for Brazil's senior national team.
"I want to help Santos first of all and the Selecao would be a result of my hard work," he added.
Serena Williams will return to competitive tennis next month when she teams with sister Venus and CoCo Vandeweghe at the Fed Cup.
Serena, who gave birth to daughter Alexis Olympia in September, will be competing for the first time since the 2017 Australian Open, where she won her 23rd Grand Slam — an Open Era record.
U.S. Fed Cup captain Kathy Rinaldi announced Tuesday that Serena and Venus Williams will be among the Team USA roster when they face the Netherlands in the Fed Cup on Feb. 10-11 in Asheville, N.C.
The best-of-five match series against the Netherlands will be played on a hard court at the U.S. Cellular Center. This is the first time Asheville has hosted the Fed Cup.
Serena Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam championships during her storied career, will play her first competitive match in more than a year. Venus Williams, ranked No. 5 in the world, has won seven major championships and will also be joined by No. 9 world ranked Coco Vandeweghe on the roster.
Demp Bradford, executive director of the Asheville Buncombe Sports Commission, said the announcement of the U.S. Fed Cup team in Asheville is “incredible.” He said he found out the roster would include the Williams sisters and Vandeweghe on Monday night, a decision he remarked left him “almost speechless.”
“There’s 30 Grand Slams between the two of them,” he said. “It’s just so exciting to have both Williams sisters here. We were hoping for maybe one. To get both of them here and CoCo, it’s tremendous. Our tennis community has been so tremendous to support this event and to buy the tickets without knowing who was going."
Rinaldi will announce the final member of the four-player roster next week, according to the USA Tennis Association.
“Now, all of a sudden, we were close to 5,000 seats a day," Bradford said Tuesday evening. "We’re probably going to be sold out in the next couple of hours.”
Neither of the Williams sisters has been a member of a Fed Cup team over the last two years, but they have been on the same team eight times during their careers, most recently in 2015. Team USA won last year's Fed Cup and has 18 titles overall.
Bradford said that “what a great thing it will be” to see ticket scalpers along Haywood Street. He anticipates the event will be a shot in the arm for the area’s tourism industry in a typically slower month of February.
Play begins at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 10 and 11. One doubles match will be played during the series, but it has yet to be announced if the Williams sisters will be paired together.
“What a great way for them to start out as the reigning world champs than here in Asheville,” Bradford said.(Agencies)
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What are Dental Implants? A Definition
Dental implants look like tiny metal screws; a larger version of the kind used to keep the chinks of your watchstrap connect.
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