Paris (AFP) – If Didier Deschamps steers France to a Euro 2016 triumph against Portugal he will become only the second man to have won the competition as a player and a coach. Former Germany coach Berti Vogts was the first to have won the tournament as a player and a coach, 24 years apart. […]

Covering a team over the course of a soccer season is tough, in the sense that you see your team in a different way than a fan who attends the same games. Despite rules against cheering and journalistic standards that demand an air of neutrality when writing about the squad, you cannot help but grow […]

Newcastle (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Senegalese international striker Papiss Cisse became the latest high-profile player to quit Europe for China on Saturday, signing for Shandong Luneng from Championship side Newcastle United. The 31-year-old, who scored 44 goals in 131 appearances for the Magpies in four-and-a-half years, signed for the Chinese Super League side for an […]

Rome (AFP) – Marcelo Bielsa, who pulled out of coaching Lazio in a shock move just 48 hours after his appointment was announced, has blamed the club for his exit saying it had failed to sign a single player. The intense Argentine, known as "El Loco" (the Madman), called Lazio boss Claudio Lotito overnight Thursday […]

Saint-Denis (France) (AFP) – France coach Didier Deschamps urged his players to be constantly mindful of Cristiano Ronaldo in Sunday's Euro 2016 final and insisted that the Ballon d'Or will be a battle between the Portugal captain and Lionel Messi. Deschamps said he wanted France's rising star Antoine Griezmann to be on the world player […]

Saint-Denis (France) (AFP) – France's run to the Euro 2016 final on home soil has given the country "an escape" after the horror of last November's Paris attacks, captain Hugo Lloris said on Saturday. The rolling attacks on the French capital, claimed by the Islamic State group, left 130 people dead and led to calls […]

Paris (AFP) – For Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal the Euro 2016 final on Sunday offers a golden opportunity to end a miserable record in meetings with France. As well as having home advantage and history on their side from wins in their last two major tournament finals on home soil, Les Bleus can claim to be […]

Paris (AFP) – The Euro 2016 final will feature a duel between boyish poster boy Antoine Griezmann and preening superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to be the dominant number seven. Griezmann, 25, is the tournament's top scorer bidding to deliver success for the home nation in his first major international final. Ronaldo wept teenage tears after Portugal's […]

Paris (AFP) – Talented left-back Raphael Guerreiro is one of three members of the Portuguese squad who will be facing the country of his birth in Sunday's Euro 2016 final against France. Guerreiro and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes were born and brought up in France, which is home to a huge Portuguese migrant population. Midfielder Adrien […]

Marseille (AFP) – Euro 2016 was meant to be Paul Pogba's tournament, putting the seal on what could be a world record setting transfer away from Juventus. But Antoine Griezmann's match-winning performances against Germany and Iceland have made him the darling of the host nation. Pogba was expected to light up his maiden European Championship […]

Paris (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo's battle-hardened Portugal stand between hosts France and a cathartic victory in Sunday's Euro 2016 final at Stade de France. The stadium was targeted by suicide bombers during France's friendly against Germany last November in attacks across Paris that left 130 people dead. It cast a black shadow over the tournament, […]

Germany vs. France. The rare marquee matchup that delivered on its massive potential. How would Europe react to such an epic night and rare result? Let’s take a look. Germany’s Bild forlornly shouts the name “Weini!” as one of its most accomplished players failed his country. The subheadline incredulously exclaims, “Of all people Schweinsteiger, of […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Chris Coleman, basking in the success of Wales's run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals, said Friday the upcoming 2018 World Cup campaign will be his last as manager. The 46-year-old, who took Wales to their first finals since the 1958 World Cup and then oversaw a superb campaign only ended […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Welsh star Gareth Bale and his team-mates paraded through the streets of Cardiff packed with an estimated 200,000 fans raucously cheering them on Friday as they returned from their Euro 2016 heroics. Having exceeded even the wildest dreams of the Welsh — more used to seeing their rugby team triumph […]

London (AFP) – Talented teenage midfielder Lewis Cook will get a chance to shine in the Premier League after Bournemouth signed him from fallen English giants Leeds United on Friday. The 19-year-old — the Football League Young Player of the Year last season after impressing for the struggling second-tier outfit — signed a four-year contract […]