Alberto apologises after Owen rant

Carlos Alberto has apologised to Michael Owen following his “midget” rant against the England striker.

The Azerbaijan boss claimed Owen had insulted his team when he mistakenly believed the Real Madrid star had said he expected to score five goals in England’s World Cup qualifier against the former Russian state.

But Carlos Alberto has now been informed that Owen’s comments had “lost something in translation” and has sought to make peace with the former Liverpool forward.

“I see Owen claims he did not say those things,” Carlos Alberto told The Sun. “If that is the case then I accept his apology and apologise back to him. I believed he had promised to score five against Azerbaijan and that made my players and me very angry.

“I was still very upset after a match in which Owen did not look like scoring even once and that is why I said those things. But now, for me, it is finished.”

Carlos Alberto had launched his tirade after England’s 2-0 victory in the the World Cup qualifier at St James’ Park.

He said: “This man – what’s his name? The number 10, the small one who doesn’t play in the Real Madrid first team – said that if Poland beat Azerbaijan 8-0, England should score at least eight and he’d score five of them.

“But he must respect everyone. Who is Michael Owen anyway? What has he ever won in football? He plays for Real Madrid but he is always on the bench. I have a history in football but what is the history of this guy, this midget?

“He ought to clean his tongue and wash the boots of David Beckham as they are so wet tonight.”

However, Owen has since denied he ever made the statements attributed to him and stated that he would never criticise another country.

“If he (Carlos Alberto) checks my pre-match quotes he will realise that I never said anything about scoring five goals – I would never be so disrespectful,” said Owen.

“He would, though, be perfectly within his rights to criticise my performance - I’ve certainly had better games in an England shirt. Fortunately I am a mentally strong person and believe I will learn from the experience and continue to improve as a player and person because of it.”