Guangzhou (AFP) – Goals change games in football but for Dragan Stojkovic, the man Arsene Wenger once tipped to succeed him at Arsenal, one goal altered the course of his career and landed him in China instead of at Premier League outfit Swansea City. The 53-year-old Yugoslavia legend, who is managing Guangzhou R&F in the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid are finally finding their groove in La Liga and just in time for a city derby against Real Madrid after they strolled to a 3-0 win over newly-promoted Huesca on Tuesday. One victory from their opening four league games left Atletico seven points adrift of Barcelona a fortnight ago but […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has backed Manchester City starlet Phil Foden to shine for the next decade after the youngster's dazzling League Cup display against Oxford. Foden was City's man of the match and capped his influential performance with his first senior goal in their 3-0 third round win on Tuesday. The 18-year-old midfielder […]

London (AFP) – Paul Pogba has been stripped of the vice-captaincy of Manchester United by manager Jose Mourinho as tensions between United's star midfielder and manager continue to rise. Pogba has deputised as skipper in the absence of club captain Antonio Valencia on three occasions this season against Leicester and Brighton in the Premier League […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey boasts gleaming new stadiums, one of the most impassioned football fan bases anywhere and has never before hosted one of the world's greatest sporting events. For the Turkish leadership, after the bitter blows of seeing Istanbul miss out to Tokyo for the right to host the 2020 Olympics and repeatedly missing […]

Berlin (AFP) – With a long history of hosting major sporting events, Germany makes a solid case for hosting the Euro 2024 finals, with the winning bid to be announced Thursday. AFP sports looks at the pros and cons of their bid: Big events, big stage Germany has an impressive track record of hosting top […]

Istanbul (AFP) – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an avid follower of sports who massively developed football infrastructure, has in 15 years in power always come away empty-handed from bids for Turkey to hold one of the world's great sporting events. On Thursday, UEFA will determine if Erdogan's dream will finally be realised when it chooses […]

Nyon (Switzerland) (AFP) – Having lifted the World Cup in 2014, Philipp Lahm now hopes to bring Euro 2024 finals to Germany on Thursday when UEFA announce the hosts for the European Championships. After retiring last year, ex-national team captain Lahm, 34, is head of Germany's bid to host Euro 2024 against rivals Turkey, the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho was left red-faced amid fresh talk of a rift with Paul Pogba as Manchester United crashed to a shock penalty shoot-out defeat against Frank Lampard's Derby in the League Cup on Tuesday. Just hours after Mourinho reportedly told unsettled star Pogba that he would never captain the team […]

London (AFP) – Derby County manager Frank Lampard piled more misery on his former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho as the Rams beat 10-man Manchester United 8-7 on penalties, while Manchester City cruised into the last 16 of the League Cup on Tuesday. Mourinho paid the price for making nine changes in a thrilling 2-2 draw […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich dropped points for the first time this season as Felix Goetze scored a late equaliser for Augsburg at his old club in Tuesday's 1-1 draw. Bayern were cruising to a home win, which would have left them four points clear, before Goetze nodded home the equaliser four minutes […]

Berlin (AFP) – Not even a superb goal by Manchester City reject Javairo Dilrosun could prevent Hertha Berlin losing 3-1 at Werder Bremen on Tuesday and relinquishing second place in the Bundesliga. Dutchman Dilrosun, 20, is the latest rising talent to quit the Premier League to try his luck in the Bundesliga having joined Hertha […]

London (AFP) – Paul Pogba has been told by Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho he will never captain the club again while the Portuguese remains in charge, according to reports on Tuesday, as tensions between United's star midfielder and manager continue to rise. Pogba has deputised as skipper in the absence of club captain Antonio […]

Rome (AFP) – Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi proclaimed his innocence and evoked the possibility of "involuntary food contamination" after testing positive for the banned substance dorzolamide, media reports said Tuesday. Rossi, who has played 30 times for the Azzurri in a career blighted by knee injuries, tested positive following an Italian league match between his […]

London (AFP) – Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez has been charged by the Football Association over comments he made about referee Andre Marriner before Saturday's draw at Crystal Palace. Benitez had been responding to a question about Palace forward Wilfried Zaha's plea for greater protection from referees. Zaha said he would have to have his leg […]