40-Year-Old Arsenal Legend Robert Pires Set to Play in Indian Super League: Daily Soccer Report

Arsenal legend Robert Pires, now 40, is set to join the Indian Super League. Other players short-listed to play in the league, which is scheduled to kick off next year, are Hernan Crespo, Freddie Ljungberg, Dwight Yorke and Louis Saha.

Pires said:

“I’m on the shortlist to go to India and I cannot wait to be there. The shortlist is what we would simply call a ‘draft’, just like the Americans do in basketball. The Indians use it for cricket. That’s what they want to do with football. We’ll see what happens, but it should start at the beginning of 2014.”

According to ESPN, “Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Bangalore, Kochi, Goa and Pune are the nine cities that could host a franchise, with clubs likely to be coached by other former greats such as Peter Schmeichel and Marcel Desailly.”

Here are today’s world soccer news headlines:

International soccer

40-year-old Robert Pires set for Indian Super League — ESPN FC
Greek and Turkish Cyprus agree on single football team — Zaman
Brazil unrest raises World Cup 2014 fears as Soccerex conference in Rio de Janeiro is canceled — Metro
Sepp Blatter suggests scrapping World Cup playoffs — Yahoo Sports
Mark Schwarzer calls time on international career — The Guardian
Michael O’Neill agrees two-year extension as Northern Ireland manager — The Independent
John Hartson stands down from his position as Wales assistant coach — Wales Online
Martin O’Neill warns he and Roy Keane will form a ‘bad cop, bad, bad cop’ partnership — Independent

Premier League

Left-side onslaught shows David Moyes is making mark at Manchester United — The Guardian
Sascha Riether apologises for stamp on young Manchester United star Adnan Januzaj — The Mirror
Sascha Riether may escape ban for stamp on Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj — The Telegraph
David Moyes not happy with Marouane Fellaini red card in Manchester United draw — Bleacher Report
Fulham question FA rule over Riether — Evening Standard
Manuel Pellegrini: No one will be happy to face Manchester City — The Guardian
FOX says that the launch of Fox Sports 1 and FXX hurt its profit in its fiscal first quarter — Newsday
Manchester United’s David Moyes refuses to criticise Ashley Young dive — The Guardian
Nasri takes fresh swipe at Mancini as Man City progress to Champions League knockout stages — The Mail
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup slams Christmas fixture list — Sky Sports
Fabio Coentrao wanted by Tottenham Hotspur in January transfer window — The Mail
Manchester United’s first FA Cup final programme fetches £16k — BBC Sport
Gary Medel ordered to watch Wayne Rooney in Manchester United Wembley spy mission — Wales Online
Newspapers banned by football clubs should fight back — The Guardian
Everton striker Arouna Kone to undergo knee operation — The Independent
Emmanuel Adebayor is lazy, irritating, overpaid and surrounded by hangers-on — Evening Standard
Man City fans hang a ‘Free Pussy Riot’ banner at the CSKA game, stewards take it down — 101GG

MLS

MLS hopefuls Orlando City SC to play at ESPN Wide World of Sports complex for 2014 season — MLS Soccer

UEFA Champions League

Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund: five reasons why they are everyone’s second team — The Guardian
British interest in Borussia Dortmund no surprise to the men who make the Yellow Wall work — Telegraph

Football League

Blackburn rule out Jordan Rhodes sale in January — Sky Sports

La Liga

Lionel Messi in crisis: still brilliant, just not as brilliant as before — The Guardian
Microsoft confirm Bernabeu talks — Football Espana

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