This is what I live for – Madrid coach Zidane welcomes Champions League reunion with Ancelotti´s Bay
The big game mentality that made Zinedine Zidane one of the most decorated players of his era is still burning brightly and was there for all to see after his Real Madrid team drew a Bayern Munich side led by mentor Carlo Ancelotti in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Zidane, a World Cup, European Championship and Champions League winner with France and Madrid, served as Ancelotti s assistant when the Italian guided Los Blancos to their historic 10th European Cup success in 2014.
The apprentice has since taken the reins outright at Santiago Bernabeu, winning the prestigious competition himself last season, while Ancelotti is now in charge at another of the continent s powerhouse clubs.
And the two will go head to head for the first time since the conclusion of…
Pedri hopes Lionel Messi stays at Barcelona so he can learn from the best , though the new signing has not ruled out a loan move for the 2020-21 season.
Barca confirmed a deal with Las Palmas to sign the highly rated 17-year-old in September 2019, but he stayed at the second-tier club for the remainder of the campaign.
He was finally unveiled as a Barcelona player on Thursday, however, with president Josep Maria Bartomeu and new sporting director Ramon Planes – who has replaced Eric Abidal in the role – present at the ceremony.
Pedri – who revealed he idolises Andres Iniesta – is excited at the prospect of working alongside Messi, provided the forward remains at Camp Nou amid continued speculation over his future.
It s not e…
Petr Cech has urged Arsenal to keep hold of exceptional attacking duo Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
Along with an incessant soundtrack of disquiet over manager Arsene Wenger s unresolved future, speculation over Sanchez and Ozil s next move has persisted during the closing weeks of the season.
Both players are out of contract in 2018 and extended terms remain unsigned.
Alexis has been brilliant, scoring a lot of goals, Cech, who is set to line up against former club Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday, told reporters.
They are both exceptional players and obviously you always want to keep your exceptional players.
That s the main thing is we need to keep the team together and try to strengthen it in the areas where the manager would like t…
FIFA said on Wednesday that a more transparent online system for international player transfers would become compulsory on October 1, helping to protect under 18 year-olds.
The Transfer Matching System (TMS) has been tested in 18 countries since February 2008 and gradually expanded, currently covering 3,633 clubs, allowing footballing authorities to see more details on each transfer.
Each club involved in a transfer has to enter the same details including bank accounts, amounts of money, timing and pay, with added documents such as identity documents and contracts, or it will be blocked.
This is an historic moment for football, said FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
TMS is a relatively simple online system but it will have a tremendous impact on the interna…
MLS side Toronto FC have appointed former Germany boss Jurgen Klinsmann as an adviser as they seek to improve their current position in the footballing world.
The Major League Soccer side expect Klinsmann and his company Soccer Solutions to help reorganize the club and improve their current stature.
Toronto FC said the German will work closely with interim director of football Earl Cochrane and assistant general manager Jim Brennan.
Klinsmann has been linked with various coaching positions after being sacked at Bayern at the end of 2008/09 season, but this will be his official return to football following the unsuccessful spell at Bayern.
[Source: USA Today]
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Manchester United have pace to hurt Bayern Munich in the return leg of their UEFA Champions League tie, according to captain Nemanja Vidic.
Honours are even heading into next week s quarter-final second leg in Munich after United held the defending champions to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Without the services of first-team regulars Robin van Persie (injured), Patrice Evra (suspended) and Rafael (injured), United were always facing an uphill battle against Bayern s possession-based game, but David Moyes men frustrated their German opponents and could have easily taken a lead to Allianz Arena.
And Vidic, who opened the scoring for United, believes the pace of Danny Welbeck and Wayne Rooney can lead the club to their first semi-final appearance since the 2010-11 season, w…
Romulo will remain at Verona next season after they agreed a deal with Fiorentina to end their co-ownership of the midfielder.
The 27-year-old moved to Europe in 2011 and made 34 appearances for Fiorentina before moving to the Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi ahead of the 2013-14 campaign.
Under Andrea Mandorlini, the Brazilian-born midfielder struck six goals in 32 Serie A appearances as Verona achieved a top-10 finish.
And now, with the new season on the horizon, Verona have agreed a deal that will see them own 100 per cent of Romulo.
Hellas Verona announces that it has exercised the right of redemption, outright, for Romulo from Fiorentina, read a statement on Verona s official website.
Romulo is the second player Verona have purchased outright d…
A recent indie hit will soon be getting the chance to pay homage to one of its biggest inspirations. Today, as part of Konami’s Castlevania Fair event on Steam, Poncle–the team behind Vampire Survivors–announced the Ode To Castlevania DLC pack, which will be available for all versions of the game on October 31 for $4.
Ode To Castlevania is “an all-out celebration” of the long-running adventure series, as well as the largest update in Vampire Survivors’ brief history Come from Sports betting site VPbet . The content pack will include over 20 new heroes, 40 new weapons, and the largest map the game has seen so far, which will be “stacked with sinister secrets and a bunch of baneful bosses.”
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Iraq coach Srecko Katanec is keen to ease the pressure on his players ahead of their opening Asian Cup clash with Vietnam on Tuesday.
The 2007 champions are second seeds behind Iran the top-ranked team in Asia in Group D but will want to still be in with a chance of topping the pool when they meet their neighbours in the final match of the round robin on January 16.
Katanec is determined not to get ahead of himself, with matches against Vietnam and Yemen to come first, and says his side are ready for battle .
The first match in every competition is always important, from the Asian Cup to the World Cup, he said. What I can say is that we ll do our best to have a good game. We are ready for the battle.
We will take it one game at a time. We are paying ful…
Prediction: Leicester to Win from Behind
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Wolverhampton Wanderers will look to get their home form back on track on Saturday afternoon as they face an out of form Leicester City at Molineux.
Nuno Espirito Santo s men have dropped to 11th in the Premier League table but could go above their opponents in the table up to eighth with a victory. Meanwhile, the Foxes head across the Midlands with the opportunity to reclaim seventh despite a tricky spell of results in recent weeks.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Despite Wolves having done tremendously so far in their first season back in the Premier League, the team are currently going through an inconsistent period. They managed to beat Tottenham Hotspur and Wembley just before New Year, wh…