As speculation of an audacious bid for Manchester City’s Yaya Toure mounts, Inter coach Roberto Mancini refuses to be drawn on the issue. . Roberto Mancini was coy when quizzed on reports linking Inter with a close-season swoop for Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure. . Speculation in the Italian media has suggested that Mancini is keen on a reunion with the Ivory Coast captain, who he brought to the Etihad Stadium during his time as City manager. . Toure’s future with the Premier League champions was called into question earlier this month when he hinted he would consider his future…
Author: David F.
Kaka has claimed former Brazil star Ronaldo is the best player he has ever seen due to the speed with which he could play. . Kaka played alongside Ronaldo for the Selecao and briefly during the latter’s stint at AC Milan, which was blighted by injury problems. . Although the 32-year-old has featured in the same Real Madrid side as Cristiano Ronaldo and faced Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, he maintains his compatriot could execute a move with greater speed and finesse than any other player. . “For me, the best players are those who are able to think of a play…
Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill has defended team-mate Diego Costa’s physical approach to the game. . The striker, 26, contests a Football Association violent conduct charge for an alleged stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can in their League Cup semi-final tie. . Cahill told the BBC’s Football Focus: “It’s his character. It’s the way he plays. He’s a handful for a defender. . “One of his attributes, as well as his skills and scoring fantastic goals, is that he puts his foot in.” Cahill added: “He makes it difficult and uncomfortable for defenders. . “Would you change him? Probably not, and I…
Former Super Eagles attacking midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju has described as unfortunate the death of teammate, Wilfred Agbonavbare. . The former Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper and 1994 Afcon hero died on Tuesday in a hospital in Alcala after a hard fought battle with cancer. . Adepoju said Nigeria has actually lost a great ambassador and hero in the person of the former Super Eagles magnet, Agbonavbare. . “Oh my God, I know he is battling with cancer but it never crossed my mind that death is very much around the corner. . “It’s really sad, shocking and unfortunate, may his ever gentle…
Qatari club Al Arabi have tabled a bid for Inter Milan’s Nigerian midfielder Joel Obi. . The offer has, however, been rejected by the 18-time Italian champions on the grounds that it does not match their valuation of the player. . Obi has found first team opportunities difficult to come by this season and has only made just six starts for the Nerazzuri this season. . Inter’s owner, Erick Thohir, however insists Obi will not leave for anything less than the club’s valuation of the 23-year-old. . SkySports Italia, however, reports that Inter are still open to further discussions with…
Villarreal won 1-0 at Getafe to advance to a Copa del Rey semifinal against Barcelona on a 2-0 aggregate score on Thursday. . Villarreal entered with a 1-0 lead from the opening leg and held Getafe in check until striker Gerard Moreno sealed their place among the final four teams with a goal in the 78th minute. . Barcelona knocked out Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Chelsea reached the League Cup final after Branislav Ivanovic’s towering extra-time header secured a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in a rip-roaring semifinal second leg at an electric Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. . The Serbian defender powered a header past Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet four minutes into the extra period to secure a 2-1 aggregate win for the four-times winners days after their humiliating FA Cup exit to third-tier Bradford City. . Both sides had good chances in normal time and were grateful to their keepers – Thibaut Courtois and Mignolet – for keeping the scores level in a blood-and-thunder encounter…
Bayern Munich will be without Franck Ribery when the Bundesliga resumes after the winter break with the champions taking on second-placed VfL Wolfsburg on Friday. . Ribery suffered a muscle injury in training on Wednesday and defender Rafinha injured ligaments with both ruled out for two weeks, Bayern said on Thursday. . But even without the pair, coach Pep Guardiola can choose from a growing squad with Holger Badstuber, Mehdi Benatia and David Alaba, among other, returning to full fitness after their injuries. . The Bavarians are unbeaten in the league this season and have conceded just four goals in…
Mali’s African Nations Cup fate was sealed on Thursday when FA chief Boubacar Diarra picked the “wrong” ball from a bowl and condemned them to a cruel exit as Guinea won a place in the last eight instead. . Two balls were placed in a glass bowl before the watching Confederation of African Football executive at a Malabo hotel as a rare drawing of lots was used by CAF to separate two countries that finished level in Group D. . Visibly nervous, a pair of officials from the two nations strode on to the stage after a brief introduction from…
It is hard to imagine two more different characters than Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini, so it is no surprise that the Chelsea manager and his Manchester City counterpart seem to rub each other up the wrong way. . Their simmering rivalry is set for another chapter in Saturday’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge, with a potentially pivotal three points on offer. . Should Chelsea claim the spoils, they will lead the champions by eight points, while a City success would leave them just two points adrift with 15 games to play. . The bragging rights, however, also…
Daniel Sturridge is set to make his Liverpool return on Saturday after five months out and for manager Brendan Rodgers there is hope for what he can bring and lingering disappointment over what might have been. . When Sturridge was ruled out with a thigh injury on international duty in early September, Liverpool’s goals dried up. . Left without the services of their top two scorers from the previous season, with Luis Suarez sold to Barcelona last July, Liverpool’s season effectively imploded. . A recent resurgence has been built around a change of system with Raheem Sterling drafted in to…
Chelsea striker Diego Costa will contest the Football Association’s violent conduct charge for his alleged stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can, British media reported on Thursday. . The Brazilian-born Spain striker faces a potential three-game ban after he appeared to tread down on the 21-year-old German early in the first half of their League Cup semi-final, second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. . Should he fail in his challenge he would miss Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash against Manchester City as well as games at Aston Villa and home to Everton. . Costa was later involved in a second stamping furore involving…
Nigerian striker Shola Ameobi is in talks with Barclays English Premier League club Crystal Palace. . Ameobi, currently a free agent, shocked more than a few when he joined Turkish 1 Lig (second division) club Gaziantepspor BB on August 11, 2014. . Four goals and 11 league matches later, Ameobi appears set for a return to the Premier League where he had previously turned out for Newcastle United and Stoke City (on loan). . He left Gaziantepspor in December and Sky Sports is now reporting that following talks with Palace, the 33-year-old is set to be reunited with his former…
Former England striker Peter Crouch has settled his immediate future by signing a two-year contract extension with Stoke City, the Premier League club said on Thursday. . The news ends speculation that Crouch, who has scored 37 goals in 140 appearance for Stoke, would leave when his current deal expires at the end of the season. . Crouch, who will be 34 on Friday, joined the Midlands club from Tottenham Hotspur in a club record £10 million deal in 2011. . “People will stop talking about my future now hopefully, and I can just concentrate on doing well for this…
Manager Mauricio Pochettino faces a tough decision if goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm are both fit to play for Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley on March 1. . He must decide whether to keep faith with number two Vorm, who has played every minute of the campaign, or give a Wembley spot to Lloris, one of the best keepers in the world and his regular first choice. . Spurs reached the final with a 3-2 aggregate win over third-tier Sheffield United on Wednesday after a late goal from Christian Eriksen gave them a…
Guinea described their progress, by the drawing of lots, to Sunday’s African Nations Cup quarterfinal against Ghana in Malabo as the “gods of football fortune” smiling down on them. . The country, devastated by the Ebola virus in the last year, was thrilled to see its national team qualify on Thursday at the expense of Mali after the two sides finished Group D level. . Chants of ‘Ebola, Ebola’ from rival fans had a sizeable impact on the players but they still ended up in the finals after winding up second in their preliminary group section behind Ghana and ahead…
Guinea will play in the African Nations Cup quarterfinals after qualifying instead of Mali by the drawing of lots at a ceremony in Malabo on Thursday. . Lots were drawn to determine second place in Group D after both countries finished level after their three opening round matches. Ivory Coast won the group. . Three successive 1-1 draws for both teams meant they could not be separated by points, their head-to-head result, goal difference or goals scored. . Guinea will now play Ghana in Sunday’s quarterfinal in Malabo at 6pm SA time. . “The gods of football fortune smiled on…
Tottenham Hotspur’s Michel Vorm is set to retain his place in goal for their Capital One Cup semifinal second leg with Sheffield United on Wednesday despite his howler in their FA Cup exit on Saturday. . Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino gave Vorm his full backing on Tuesday ahead of the last-four clash after his mistake gifted Leicester City a surprise 2-1 away win in the FA Cup. . The Dutchman let a tame effort from Jeffrey Schlupp squirm past him and into the net in the 90th minute. . “This is football. He made two big saves against Leicester. His…
Former Nigerian captain Stephen Keshi has told supersport.com that the death of his ex-teammate Wilfred Agbonavbare has left him in shock. . Keshi explained that the passing away of the former Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper is a bitter pill to swallow despite knowing he has been battling cancer for sometime. . “Wilfred is dead? No! This is a bitter pill to swallow,” began Keshi while speaking to supersport.com. “What do I say about him now? I still remember our time together as teammates while at NNB many years back. Wilfred was one goalkeeper who was good at what he did.” .…
Bayern Munich have accused senior Fifa member Theo Zwanziger of double standards after the former German soccer chief criticised the Bundesliga champions over last week’s visit to Saudi Arabia. . The team from Bavaria, a leading global football brand, played a friendly against Al-Hilal in Riyadh on Saturday in a one-day trip organised by a club sponsor. . It coincided with an uproar over the flogging in Saudi Arabia of activist and blogger Raif Badawi and Zwanziger accused Bayern of being driven by “commercial ethics”. . “If Dr Theo Zwanziger has indeed forgotten what he once said (about Bayern) then…