London (AFP) – France football legend Thierry Henry is keen for another chance to prove he can be a successful manager despite his unhappy brief tenure at Ligue 1 side Monaco. The 42-year-old — Arsenal's record goalscorer — told the Daily Telegraph that although his phone did not ring for four months following his sacking, […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Brazilian-born striker Elkeson said he wants to fire China to the World Cup after he became the first footballer without Chinese ancestry to be named in the national squad. The recently naturalised 30-year-old will make more history when — as widely expected — he lines up for Marcello Lippi's side in a […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo admitted on Wednesday his long-time rivalry with Lionel Messi has made him "a better player" and that he enjoys a "healthy" rivalry with the Argentine great. However, Portuguese star Ronaldo, whose influence at Real Madrid mirrored that of Messi at Barcelona before he left for Juventus, admitted that the pair […]

Paris (AFP) – Guillaume Hoarau's second-half penalty claimed a 2-2 draw to deny former winners Red Star Belgrade a comeback victory over Young Boys in the Champions League's play-off round first leg on Wednesday. Roger Assale scored early on for the hosts before Milos Degenek and Mateo Garcia put the 1991 European champions 2-1 up […]

Montreal (AFP) – The Montreal Impact fired head coach Remi Garde on Wednesday, the former French international paying the price for a sluggish campaign which has left the club's playoff hopes on a knife-edge. Former Arsenal and Lyon player Garde will be replaced by former Colombia international and Houston Dynamo coach Wilmer Cabrera. Two members […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi gave Barcelona a timely boost on Wednesday by returning to training with the rest of the squad after a calf injury. Messi trained alone in the morning before joining his team-mates in the afternoon, increasing hopes that Barca's captain could play a role against Real Betis in La Liga on […]

Khartoum (AFP) – Sudan's first ever women's club football league will start next month, a federation official told AFP Wednesday. The championship, which will involve 18 clubs separated in three regions, would have seemed unlikely only a year ago when Islamist general Omar al-Bashir was still in power. "The women's football league will start in […]

Milan (AFP) – Italian champions Juventus announced on Wednesday that they have opened a new branch in Hong Kong as the Serie A giants look to expand into the Asia-Pacific region. Juventus see the region as a major area of potential growth and are keen on "strengthening one's presence" in Asia as they trail behind […]

London (AFP) – Twitter have reacted to calls for more to be done in preventing racist abuse of footballers on social media platforms by agreeing to meet with representatives of Manchester United they announced on Wednesday. United executives were keen for a meeting with Twitter after their French World Cup winning midfielder Paul Pogba was […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has suggested that Renato Sanches and Jerome Boateng may be heading for the exit door at Bayern Munich, telling Sky Germany that both players will find it difficult to break into the first team this season. Portuguese midfielder Sanches and German defender Boateng have both pushed for […]

Milan (AFP) – French winger Franck Ribery said he was relishing one last challenge as the former Bayern Munich legend rubber-stamped a two-year deal on Wednesday to play for Serie A club Fiorentina. The former French international left Bayern Munich as a free agent last May after 12 seasons during which he earned the nickname […]

Milan (AFP) – French winger Franck Ribery travelled to Italy on Wednesday to complete a medical ahead of a move to Serie A club Fiorentina. The former French international has left Bayern Munich as a free agent after 12 seasons with the German giants during which he won 23 trophies. Ribery's new deal was rubber-stamped […]

Shanghai (AFP) – China named Elkeson in their squad Wednesday for their opening World Cup qualifier with the Brazilian poised to become the first without Chinese ancestry to play for the country. The move has divided Chinese football fans and experts, however, as coach Marcello Lippi attempts to guide the nation to only their second […]

Milan (AFP) – As the sole survivor of a coaching shuffle among the leading challengers, Carlo Ancelotti could have the best chance to end Napoli's 30-year wait for the Serie A title. Yet Antonio Conte's arrival at Inter Milan has also raised expectations of an end to Juventus's long domination in the season that kicks […]

Paris (AFP) – Ajax finished with 10 men on Tuesday but moved closer to the Champions League group stage with a 0-0 draw away to APOEL in Nicosia in a playoff round first-leg match. The game was goalless but packed with incident. Ajax, a four-time winner of the competition and a semifinalist last season, dominated […]