France s World Cup and European Championship winning defender Laurent Blanc was officially named national team coach on Friday, announced outgoing French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes.
The 44-year-old, who cut his teeth for the job in coaching Bordeaux to the 2009 league title, replaces Raymond Domenech, who stepped down after France s catastrophic World Cup finals campaign, though, he had already said he would not stay on in the post in any case.
It is the good news of the morning, said 75-year-old Escalettes, who fell on his sword in the fallout from the chaotic events surrounding France s first round exit in South Africa.
The France team will continue under the leadership of Laurent Blanc, who will have an extremely pugnacious s…
Amid the clamour for the Bundesliga s exciting young talent to feature for Germany, Joachim Low has offered a reminder of the quality required to mount a successful defence of the World Cup.
There has been speculation that Low could pick an experimental squad for the Confederations Cup in June and July, which serves as a warm-up tournament for the World Cup in Russia next year.
Germany will be seeking to retain the crown they earned in Brazil in 2014 and Low has plenty of promising newcomers vying for selection alongside an experienced core of established players.
But the national team coach claimed he will not be easily swayed by the calls for new faces.
There are not quite as many [who are ready] as we always think, he told Kicker.
We re talki…
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge remains some way off a return to fitness, as the England international struggles for consistency on his road to recovery.
Sturridge has managed just six appearances for Liverpool this season, with his Anfield career having been plagued by hamstring and thigh injuries since arriving from Chelsea in 2013.
The 26-year-old offered Klopp a glimpse of his quality with a brace during Liverpool s 6-1 League Cup hammering of Southampton in December but Sturridge will miss the FA Cup visit of West Ham this weekend and Tuesday s Premier League trip to Leicester City.
[There is] no news. He s still working. Sometimes it s better, sometimes it s worse, Klopp told reporters.
Daniel is still working. He needs consis…
The Copa Libertadores final between Flamengo and defending champions River Plate has been moved from Chile to Peru.
Santiago was set to host to the November 23 final, but continuing unrest and protests in the Chilean capital has forced CONMEBOL to relocate this month s decider.
South America s governing body confirmed on Tuesday that the Peruvian capital of Lima will now stage the upcoming final as River look to claim back-to-back titles.
The choice of the new location is based on the Peruvian government s offer of security guarantees, CONMEBOL said. The decision was a consensus with the presidents of Flamengo and River Plate, from the confederations of Argentina, Brazil and Chile, and thus the policy of holding the single finals in different countries was maint…
Dimitri Payet has replaced the injured Nabil Fekir in France s squad for their friendly against Iceland and Nations League tie with Germany.
Fekir was substituted just seven minutes into Lyon s 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday after injuring his left ankle.
Payet has been in fine form for Marseille this season – scoring four goals in nine Ligue 1 appearances – and last played for his country in October 2017.
The former West Ham playmaker was not selected for Les Bleus triumphant World Cup campaign after he was injured in Marseille s Europa League final loss to Atletico Madrid.
Didier Deschamps has recalled Mamadou Sakho, Kurt Zouma and Lucas Digne for October s double-header.
Deschamps, winner of FIFA s Best Men s Coach award, …
Victor Osimhen reached another milestone as Napoli concluded their Scudetto-winning campaign with a 2-0 victory over Serie A s bottom side Sampdoria.
Osimhen sealed the Capocannoniere with his second-half penalty taking his tally for the Serie A campaign to 26 goals, while it was also his 50th overall in the competition.
Substitute Giovanni Simeone s wonderful individual effort secured victory as the Partonopei lifted the Serie A trophy at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, where Luciano Spalletti was overseeing his final match in charge before taking a year-long sabbatical.
The Partenopei finished their memorable season on 90 points, their second-highest tally in Serie A – having collected one more under Maurizio Sarri five years ago.
17 In 2023, Victor Os…
Melbourne Victory have appointed former midfielder Grant Brebner as their head coach on a permanent basis.
Brebner, 42, took over at Victory as interim head coach in June, before leading a youthful team to one win and four losses to finish the A-League season.
A two-time championship winner with Victory as a player, Brebner was appointed permanently on Monday.
I am extremely proud to be appointed the head coach of Melbourne Victory, Brebner said in a statement.
The club has been a huge part of my life, and the experience of coaching the team over the past couple of months really fuelled my desire and belief that not only did I want the opportunity to secure the role full-time, but that I had the skills and expertise to do so, and to do it well.
Ex-Newcastle United defender Olivier Bernard thinks transfer targets like Clement Grenier will be put off by a lack of European football.
Newcastle had a bid rejected for the Lyon midfielder in January and reports have suggested that Alan Pardew has renewed his interest in the 23-year-old.
But Bernard – who started his professional career at Lyon – thinks a possible deal looks unlikely due to an apparent difference in valuation.
In addition, Bernard expects Pardew s close-season recruitment drive to be hampered by missing out on a place in either the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League last term.
For the money that s been spoken about (for Grenier), it s never going to happen, Bernard told the Evening Chronicle.
I think if he goes, it ll be for …
Competition: Premier League
Market: Rooney to score anytime
Odds:
Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney is being backed to get on the scoresheet when his side travel to Upton Park to face West Ham United this weekend.
The 28-year old has netted 11 goals in the Premier League, but eight of them have been on his travels. Rooney bagged a goal in both of United’s last two away games to Crystal Palace West Brom respectively, and is being given odds of 16/11 by 888 Sport to score again away from home.
Rooney, an England international, is having a good season based on his own personal performance, but goals haven’t been flowing as he would have liked for club country.
He remains a pivotal figure under new manager David Moyes, but doesn’t hav…
Boudewijn Zenden believes Real Madrid s 4-0 Clasico loss to Barcelona will continue to hurt coach Rafael Benitez for some time.
Barcelona ran out comfortable winners at the home of their bitter rivals in November and, despite a string of emphatic wins since then at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Madrid faithful have fostered a frosty relationship towards Benitez.
Displeasure from the stands was clear at regular intervals during Sunday s match against Rayo Vallecano, despite Real coming from behind to thrash their beleaguered nine-man opponents 10-2.
Former Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder Zenden is well-versed in the impact Clasico results can have on each of the Spanish giants fortunes but believes recent matches show accusations that Benitez is an overly cauti…