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
- 50 Celtic fans attacked in Amsterdam pub last night – hours after they featured on Dutch TV — Daily Record
- Ronaldo breaks Messi’s record for Champions League goals in a calendar year — Goal
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
The Daily Soccer Report is your morning guide to the latest world soccer news headlines, so you don’t have to spend an hour or more scanning the Internet. We do all the work for you. Read The Daily Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every morning to stay on top of all the news that matters.
