Milan (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri admits he would love to coach Italy one day but has committed his immediate future to a Leicester City side that, he believes, could spring a few surprises in next season's Champions League. "I would never rule it out. I would love it. And Leicester's blue shirts are already quite […]

Lost amidst all the excitement about Leicester City winning their first top flight title in their 132 year history was the fact that their closest challengers could have won their first top flight title in 55 years. Tottenham have had a great season, a young team that is expertly coached and in a prime London […]

Berlin (AFP) – German champions Bayern Munich on Tuesday splashed out a reported 73 million euros ($83 million) to launch their Champions League campaign for next season by signing Germany defender Mats Hummels and Portugal teenager Renato Sanches. Centre-back Hummels, 27, becomes the third Dortmund star to join German champions Bayern in three years after […]

Jakarta (AFP) – As former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho mulls his next move, an unlikely suitor has emerged in the form of the beleaguered Indonesian national team, which is banned from international football. Indonesian Sports Minster Imam Nahrawi has announced that he wants Mourinho, who has been out of work since December after being sacked by […]

Berlin (AFP) – Less than a week before he names his provisional Euro 2016 squad, Germany's head coach Joachim Loew has been given a boost by three of his stars. Loew will name his squad at the French Embassy in Berlin next Monday, but has been given good news about injured pair Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany's […]

Guangzhou (AFP) – When Kin Chai was a boy in 1990s China, his rural school had no football team. Or pitch. Or even a ball. Instead, the children kicked an empty plastic jug around in the street. "It was a small village," he said, "not that developed... we tried to put together village competitions, but […]

Bratislava (AFP) – When Slovakia beat Luxembourg in October to clinch their first-ever Euro spot, 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, Vici" (I came, […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – A glance at Wales's record in qualifying for Euro 2016 reveals a glaring truth: stop Gareth Bale, and you have a very good chance of stopping Chris Coleman's team. That Wales are gearing up for a first major tournament since 1958 owes much to the brilliance of Bale, who scored […]

Mexico City (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino opened a meeting of the football body's new council in Mexico on Monday, as UEFA chief Michel Platini's resignation following a sport ban cast a shadow over the event. Infantino, who was Platini's number two at the European football organization before taking over FIFA in February, lamented […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is facing the biggest fight of his 13 year international career to hold onto his England place going into the European Championships. England's talisman ever since he burst onto the scene as a preternaturally gifted 18-year-old at Euro 2004, Rooney has gone to five major tournaments as […]

London (AFP) – Studious and well-travelled, Roy Hodgson has the weighty responsibility of ending England's 50 years of major tournament heartache at the European Championship in France. After a run to the quarter-finals at Euro 2012, less than two months after succeeding Fabio Capello as manager, Hodgson presided over a galling group-phase exit at the […]

Moscow (AFP) – Igor Akinfeev's international name has been marked by a calamitous error at the 2014 World Cup, but he remains Russia's best goalkeeper and he is looking to make amends at Euro 2016. As the clock ticked towards 70 minutes in Russia's opening group match in Brazil, South Korean Lee Keun-ho hit a […]

London (AFP) – Five things about England ahead of the European Championships: Fifty years of hurt This year marks the 50th anniversary of England's only major tournament triumph: victory on home soil at the 1966 World Cup. A team managed by Alf Ramsey, captained by Bobby Moore and inspired by Manchester United midfielder Bobby Charlton […]

Norwich (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Norwich City right-back Ivo Pinto has vowed his side will not give up in their fight against relegation, but accepts their chances of staying in the Premier League are slim. Saturday's 1-0 loss to Manchester United means Alex Neil's men must win their final two games, at home to Watford […]

Mexico City (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino voiced sadness after his former mentor Michel Platini decided to resign as UEFA chief following a sports tribunal's rejection of his appeal against a football ban. Infantino, speaking to reporters after a FIFA Council meeting in Mexico City, said that, as chief of football's governing body, he […]