Madrid (AFP) – What makes a young, successful, manager like Zinedine Zidane walk away from Real Madrid, as the Frenchman did this week after just two and a half years in the job? It is almost certainly the relentless pressure of constantly chasing success at a club competing with Spanish rivals Barcelona for not only […]

Lima (AFP) – Driven by the pain of a decades-old wound, Ricardo Gareca has managed to take Peru all the way to the World Cup finals for the first time in 36 years. But coach Gareca doesn't plan to stop there, hoping the team can build on a groundswell of euphoria that greeted the 11th-hour […]

Lima (AFP) – From the peaks of the Andes to the jungles of the Amazon, Peru is rejoicing even before a ball has been kicked at the World Cup, because they are finally going to have their star player Paolo Guerrero with them. The team's captain and top scorer has been given a last-minute reprieve […]

London (AFP) – Gareth Southgate has revealed Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard will start for England in Saturday's friendly against Nigeria. Lingard is competing for a place in Southgate's starting line-up at the World Cup and he has been handed an opportunity to impress at Wembley this weekend. With only two friendlies before England kick […]

Moscow (AFP) – Chelsea football club's Russian owner Roman Abramovich has received Israeli citizenship and is now living there, Israel's ambassador to Russia Gary Koren confirmed Friday. "He has completed the process as far as I know and has moved and is living in Israel and has received an Israeli passport," Koren said in a […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate insists Raheem Sterling does not deserve to be hounded after the controversy caused by his tattoo of an M16 assault rifle. Manchester City striker Sterling, 23, posted a picture of himself training with his England team-mates with a tattoo of the rifle on the winger's right calf clearly […]

Berlin (AFP) – Joachim Loew has said he will only decide on Sunday whether to take Germany's captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to the World Cup after eight months sidelined by injury. Neuer is set to play his first full game since fracturing his foot last September, on Saturday away to Austria in Germany's penultimate […]

Lisbon (AFP) – A crisis at Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon that recently saw masked thugs physically attack players and coaches took a new twist on Friday after goalkeeper Rui Patricio stormed out of the club. Patricio, a target for newly promoted Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, sent a letter to Sporting informing them he was […]

Paris (AFP) – The race to succeed Zinedine Zidane is on following the Frenchman's shock resignation from Real Madrid on Thursday, only days after steering the Spanish giants to a third successive Champions League trophy. Tottenham's Argentinian manager Mauricio Pochettino tops the bookmakers' list of favourites, with Chelsea handler Antonio Conte and former long-time Arsenal […]

Madrid (AFP) – Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino responded Friday to speculation that he is Real Madrid's favoured candidate to succeed Zinedine Zidane as coach by saying: "What will be, will be." Pochettino, speaking in Barcelona at the launch of the Spanish version of his book "A Brave New World", said he was happy at the […]

Milan (AFP) – European football's top financial investigators have recommended excluding Chinese-owned AC Milan from the Europa League next season for violating rules that limit spending, the New York Times reported on Friday. According to the US daily newspaper, "two people involved in the process" have confirmed that UEFA investigators have recommended Milan be excluded […]

Eppan (Italy) (AFP) – Germany's World Cup-winning coach Joachim Loew on Friday ruled himself out of the running to take over at Real Madrid after reports he has been approached to replace Zinedine Zidane. "Of course I can completely rule that out now," Loew told reporters at Germany's World Cup training camp at Eppan, north […]

London (AFP) – Gareth Southgate will begin the process of fine-tuning his World Cup starting line-up when England host Nigeria in Saturday's friendly at Wembley. Southgate has just two more opportunities to see his team in action before they jet off to Russia for the World Cup. Saturday's clash with Nigeria is followed by a […]

Guatemala City (AFP) – FIFA Thursday lifted a suspension imposed on Guatemala 18 months ago over its failure to comply with anti-corruption rules. The suspension prevented Guatemalan teams from participating in international competitions such as the Gold Cup, the Central American Games and the CONCACAF Champions League. "FIFA has today lifted the suspension that was […]

Rome (AFP) – Ronnie Baker sprinted to a second men's 100m triumph in less than a week, winning the Rome Diamond League meet on Thursday as US rival Christian Coleman faded to fourth. A late acceleration saw the US 60m indoor champion power to a new personal and season best 9.93sec with France's Jimmy Vicaut […]