Rome (AFP) – Giampiero Ventura takes over as Italy head coach after Euro 2016 as the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) opted Tuesday for a low-key manager, radically different from Antonio Conte for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. The 68-year-old former Torino coach's anticipated appointment was confirmed by FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio after a meeting […]

Belfast (AFP) – Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty's approach to football was summed up when he was asked in a television interview who he wanted to play against at Euro 2016. "For me, if we get Argentina that would be unbelievable," he joked. Needless to say, there was of course never any danger of Lafferty […]

Kiev (AFP) – Drilled in Soviet discipline, Mykhaylo Fomenko has taken a no-frills Ukraine side to the European Championship finals, giving hope to a country at war. As a teenager, Fomenko was plucked from a machine plant team and virtually forced to become one of Dynamo Kiev's most influential players of the 1970s. As a […]

Zagreb (AFP) – Appointing a former TV and radio repairman as the national coach has done little to appease Croatia's volatile fans, but the football federation insist Ante Cacic is the man for the job at Euro 2016. "I am satisfied that Ante Cacic deserves to be our national team coach," said Croatian football federation […]

Warsaw (AFP) – Adam Nawalka leads Poland to their third straight European Championship finals with the country determined to reach the knock-out stages of a major tournament for the first time in 30 years. Bayern Munich's hot-shot striker Robert Lewandowski will spearhead the Poland attack in Group C where they will meet world champions Germany, […]

Berlin (AFP) – Joachim Loew will look to add the European Championship crown in France to Germany's 2014 World Cup triumph, even if his team have again endured a far from perfect build-up to the finals. "You always get such problems ahead of every tournament. In 2014, Sami Khedira and Bastian Schweinsteiger were injured but […]

London (AFP) – Everton have agreed a deal to hire Southampton manager Ronald Koeman, according to British media reports on Tuesday. Koeman is Everton's top choice to succeed Roberto Martinez, who was sacked just before the end of the Premier League campaign, and the Dutchman is now on the verge of sealing his switch to […]

Rome (AFP) – Iconic Roma captain Francesco Totti has signed a new one-year contract to play a 25th season with the Serie A side, the club announced on Tuesday. Totti, who turns 40 in September, began his Serie A career with Roma in 1993, playing 601 matches for the club — only surpassed in the […]

Premier League soccer club Swansea City have announced a preseason tour to the United States that will feature friendly games against Richmond Kickers and Charlotte Independence in July, 2016. The Welsh club, who finished 12th in the 2015/16 Premier League, will be in the United States for 11 days this summer. The Swans, led by […]

Berlin (AFP) – Famously mistaken as a ball-boy by Diego Maradona after his Germany debut in 2010, Thomas Mueller will need no introduction at Euro 2016. Despite having earned 70 caps and scored 31 goals for Germany, Mueller is still only 26 and is a shoe-in for club or country whether as a winger, attacking […]

Rome (AFP) – Giampiero Ventura will take over as Italy coach after Euro 2016, Italian Football Federation president Carlo Tavecchio announced on Tuesday, Italian media reported. Former Torino coach Ventura, 68, replaces Antonio Conte, who heads for English Premier League giants Chelsea next season, after the European Championships in France from June 10-July 10.

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – For Wales manager Chris Coleman, who has led his country to a first major tournament since 1958, the greatest triumph of his managerial career sprang from his deepest tragedy. Coleman, 45, only took up the job following the death of his close friend and former Wales team-mate Gary Speed in […]

Bratislava (AFP) – When Slovakia beat Luxembourg last October to clinch qualification for their first-ever European Championship finals, captain Martin Skrtel made a very special TV appearance, gatecrashing the Slovak coach's interview with a local channel. "Slovakia, Slovakia," he yelled at the camera, jumping wildly, stripped to the waist, displaying his tattoo slogan "Veni, Vidi, […]

Copa America Centenario began on Friday with the United States facing Colombia, and boy was the result disappointing. There were very few bright spots for the US. Colombia took a 2-0 lead into halftime and never allowed the US to pose anything resembling a threat in the second half. But there is no time to lament […]

London (AFP) – Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro on Tuesday agreed a deal to settle a case against Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho for alleged discrimination for an undisclosed sum. "The parties agreed to the settlement of this dispute on confidential terms," a Chelsea representative said at the start of a brief hearing.