Barcelona and Real Madrid’s top players could move to England in the wake of the Premier League’s new television rights deal, La Liga president Javier Tebas has warned Spain’s leading clubs. . Sky and BT Sport have paid a record £5.136bn for live Premier League TV rights for three seasons from 2016-17. . Tebas said Real Madrid and Barcelona’s superstars could now leave Spain. . “Well yes I think so. We have a serious problem, and we won’t be the best league in a year,” Tebas said. . “We’re going to lose a lot of value in the market because…
Author: David F.
England manager Roy Hodgson has all but confirmed Tottenham striker Harry Kane will be in his squad for next month’s double-header with Lithuania and Italy. . Hodgson described the 21-year-old, who has scored 23 goals in 35 games this season, as combining “everything you’re looking for in a centre forward”. “Is he worth a place in the squad now? Of course he is,” said Hodgson. . Captain Wayne Rooney is likely to continue in attack, despite adopting a new midfield role at Manchester United. . Kane, who only made his first Premier League start for Spurs in April, is currently…
Chelsea striker Diego Costa claims his challenges are “strong but noble” and that he has never seriously injured an opposition player. . The Brazil-born Spain international, 26, has just served a three-match ban for a stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can in their League Cup semi-final last month. . “My challenges are strong but noble at the same time.” Costa said in an interview with Sport magazine. (external) . “Check my records, you’ll find I’ve never caused a bad injury to a player.” . Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho claimed the stamping incident was an accident and the player has been targeted…
Oladipo has a message for Africans trying to succeed in sports. . More than being selected No 2 by the Orlando Magic in the 2013 NBA draft, it turns out that Victor Oladipo won two battles. . First, the 6-foot-4 guard adopted an extraordinary mental strength. . Second, he proved doubters wrong. . Now, the former Indiana University stand out is taking his own experience to help others succeed. . In Thursday’s post-practice session at Steinberg Wellness Centre in Brooklyn, New York, the 22-year-old born to Nigerian parents addressed the media, and explained why self-belief can make a major difference…
Nigeria Under-20 men’s national team coach Garba Manu has released a 22-man team to engage the Ghanaian Under-20 side in a two-game international friendly to take place in Ghana. . Team captain Musa Muhammed, leads a cast that includes a host of members of the victorious Under-17 team that won the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in the UAE two years ago. . Regulars like Chidera Eze, Akinjide Idowu, Taiwo Awoniyi, Zaharadeen Bello and Samuel Okon made the list for the friendlies. . Others in the team for the trip include goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo, Obinna Nwobodo, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Ifeanyi Matthew, Abdullahi…
Just like the CAF Champions League, this season’s CAF Confederations Cup also begins this weekend and two of Nigeria’s teams, Dolphins of Port Harcourt and Warri Wolves will be looking to make their mark in the competition. Incidentally both sides will be on away turf for the first leg of their fixtures. . Dolphins: Domestic Front: Dolphins are the luckiest of the Premier League quartet in the Continent this season. They ended last season in 7th place and teams like Nasarawa United, Giwa FC and Abia Warriors put up performances that probably earned them a place in the Continent. However…
Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri has taken a swipe at title rivals Chelsea by claiming the Premier League leaders are nothing special. . Second placed City are in danger of surrendering the title they won last season after falling seven points behind Jose Mourinho’s team following a run of four leagues without a win. . However, Manuel Pellegrini’s side finally returned to form with a 4-1 win at Stoke on Wednesday and French star Nasri is convinced they can still overhaul Chelsea before the end of the season. . After drawing twice with Chelsea this term, Nasri sees no reason…
Real Madrid had mixed news on the injury front on Thursday, with centre back Pepe returning to training but fullback Fabio Coentrao joining a lengthy list of sidelined players. . Coentrao, like Pepe a Portugal international, had picked up a calf muscle injury, Real said on their website (www.realmadrid.com). . The La Liga leaders and European champions did not say how long he would be out of action but local media reported he would not be available again for at least a week and a half. . Real are already missing midfielders James Rodriguez, Luka Modric and Sami Khedira as…
Nigeria U20 male national team coach Garba Manu has released a 22 man team to engage the Ghanaian U20 side in a two game international friendly to take place in Ghana. . Team captain Musa Muhammed leads a cast the includes a host of members of the victorious Under-17 team that won the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in the UAE two years ago. . Regulars like Chidera Eze, Akinjide Idowu, Taiwo Awoniyi, Zahradeen Bello and Samuel Okon made the list for the friendlies. . Others in the team for the trip include goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo, Obinna Nwobodo, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Ifeanyi…
Gary Neville believes Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal hasn’t “cracked” despite showing signs of pressure – and insists he’ll win the Premier League within three years. . Neville, speaking in Singapore ahead of the opening of his Hotel Football project at Old Trafford, said the Dutchman was on track and that criticism was wide of the mark. . A frustrated Van Gaal this week issued a four-page dossier to combat claims United were playing a “long-ball” game, a move seen as a sign that the pressure was starting to tell. . “He’s quite clearly not cracked,” former defender Neville…
LvG must see to that
I’d say yes, He looks like a great future coach
Martin Odegaard only made his debut for Real Madrid Castilla at the weekend but the most talked about teenager in football was back training with Cristiano Ronaldo and Co this week. . The 16-year-old Norway international entered the fray as a second-half substitute against Athletic Bilbao B during the Segunda Division Group II clash at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium to make his official bow in the famous white strip. . But Odegaard was back in the big time midweek when he was pictured training with Carlo Ancelotti’s first-team squad as they prepare for Saturday’s La Liga match against Deportivo…
Premier League clubs are determined to ensure the new £5.1bn domestic TV deal does not go straight into the players’ pockets, according to Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. . Ex-Spurs owner Lord Sugar compared the new deal with prune juice, saying it will “go in one end and out the other”. . But Woodward has indicated a desire among clubs to avoid that scenario. . “The general mood in the Premier League is that clubs are determined not to be continually loss-making,” he said. . United’s staff costs, which include player wages, were £48.7m in the six months to…
Ivory Coast’s football team has been rewarded with millions of dollars in prizes by the country’s government for winning the Africa Cup of Nations. . Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara is giving each member of the 23-man squad a house worth $52,000 (£34,000) and the same amount in cash, the government says. The team beat Ghana’s Black Stars 9-8 on penalties in the tournament’s final in Equatorial Guinea. There were also six-figure rewards for the Ivorian Football Federation and the team’s technical staff – in total the government has shelled out more than $3m (£2m) in celebration of the victory. .…
Both Chelsea and Everton have been charged by the Football Association after players from both teams were involved in an on-pitch incident. . The clubs are charged with failing to ensure their players conducted themselves properly during the game. . Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic will not face any further action over an incident involving Everton’s James McCarthy in the 86th minute
Ivory Coast have leapt up the latest Fifa world rankings after winning the Africa Cup of Nations. . Equatorial Guinea, hosts of the Nations Cup which ended on Sunday, soared into the top 50 for the first time. . The National Lighting leapt 69 places and are joint 49th with Congo after reaching the semi-finals, albeit in controversial style. . The Ivorians moved up eight places to 20th although Algeria remain Africa’s best-placed team in 18th. . The Elephants are ranked second in Africa behind the Desert Foxes, the team they beat in the quarter-finals. . Nations Cup runners-up Ghana…
Nigeria international striker Brown Ideye clearly is a man reborn. . On January 31, he seemed doomed to exit the Hawthorns in disgrace after West Bromwich Albion announced they had reached an agreement with Qatari club Al Gharafa to ship the striker out of the club. . A deal to bring West Ham striker Carlton Cole to WBA – ostensibly as Ideye’s replacement – however collapsed at the last minute and the Nigerian got an unexpected lifeline. . He did take to Twitter shortly after the closure of the January transfer window to dismiss speculations linking him with a move…
Udo Lattek, the most successful Bundesliga coach of all time and one of a select few managers to win all three major European club competitions, has died at the age of 80. . Lattek, who helped catapult Bayern Munich to the top of European football in the 1970s and coached Borussia Moenchengladbach and Barcelona among others, passed away in a nursing home. . He had suffered a series of strokes had been treated for Parkinson’s disease. . “Udo Lattek was not only the most successful coach in Bundesliga history,” German Football Association President Wolfgang Niersbach said in a statement on…
Jurgen Klopp admits relegation-threatened Borussia Dortmund deserve to be criticised after their own fans jeered their 11th defeat of the season to stay bottom of the Bundesliga. . Dortmund slumped again in Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat at home to fourth-placed Augsburg, who played the last 20 minutes with ten men. . Borussia are desperately low on confidence and have just three league games before their Champions League last 16, first-leg clash at Italian league leaders Juventus. . The 2011 and 2012 German champions are facing their first relegation since 1972, but have another chance to claim some badly needed points at…