Sunderland (United Kingdom) (AFP) – England manager Roy Hodgson has challenged Marcus Rashford to make his life difficult when the Manchester United sensation auditions for a Euro 2016 place in Friday's friendly against Australia. Rashford has emerged as a late contender for a seat on the flight to France after a fine breakthrough season with […]

Milan (AFP) – Fernando Torres is dreaming of eclipsing his Champions League triumph with Chelsea and making history for the second time in the competition by leading Atletico Madrid to victory over Real Madrid on Saturday. Torres won the elite European title with the London side in 2012 when they beat Bayern Munich 4-3 on […]

Zadar (Croatia) (AFP) – Bombs fell on the Croatian town of Zadar as Luka Modric refined his football skills in the corridors of a refugee hotel and in cratered car parks. Modric, 30, is now Real Madrid's midfield general, plotting attacks for Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. Modric was "a vivid child who […]

Milan (AFP) – Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is ready to shoulder "113 years of history" ahead of a Champions League final with Real Madrid that striker Fernando Torres has labelled the "game of my life". Record 10-time champions Real are the opposition at the San Siro stadium in Milan on Saturday, when Atletico will […]

This Saturday, ESPN Deportes will televise the UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. The network has the Spanish-language rights to the game, with the kick-off scheduled for 2:45pm ET. As both teams compete for the most prestigious title in club soccer, Real Madrid seeks its eleventh win while Atlético Madrid looks […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho boasted that giant clubs needed the best managers as he took over at Manchester United on Friday. Mourinho said he wanted to bury the past three years at Old Trafford, which saw David Moyes and then his own mentor Louis van Gaal struggle to emulate the title-studded success achieved by […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – In accepting the challenge of attempting to drag Manchester United out of the doldrums, Jose Mourinho will also seek to restore gloss to his own tainted reputation. The brash 53-year-old Portuguese is a serial winner, having notably won eight league titles and two Champions Leagues, but Chelsea's spectacular collapse over […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho talks bluntly, wins big and then everything seems to go wrong. Taking on what he called the "mystique" and "romance" of Manchester United adds to one of the most most stellar CVs in football. But the 53-year-old Portuguese — who has won eight league titles in four countries with Porto, […]

London (AFP) – Steve Bruce insists Hull City will be motivated by glory rather than greed when they face Sheffield Wednesday for the lucrative prize of promotion to the Premier League in Saturday's Championship play-off final. With television revenue for Premier League clubs due to increase next season, the winner of the second-tier showdown at […]

Madrid (AFP) – On the eve of his second Champions League final since joining Real Madrid, Welsh star Gareth Bale admitted he is more at home with the fame and demands at the world's richest club. Bale's time in the Spanish capital has been marked by severe highs and lows. He instantly made himself a […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo insists personal goals will be put to one side as Real Madrid seek to embellish their incredible European record with victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final on Saturday. Ronaldo, a three-time world player of the year, has never scored a goal at the San Siro but has […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho was expected to become Manchester United's new manager on Friday after reportedly agreeing a deal to take charge at Old Trafford. Mourinho has been in negotiations with United since Louis van Gaal's sacking on Monday and British media reports on Thursday claimed an agreement is now in place for the […]

This past weekend, Major League Soccer and its TV partners pulled out all of the stops to try to boost its fledgling TV ratings. Unfortunately despite the much hyped MLS Rivalry Week, the results yet again failed to move the needle. First, FOX had its first-ever MLS game that aired nationally on FOX broadcast television. Not only that, but […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – As Arsene Wenger and Rafael Benitez will testify, Jose Mourinho has had more than his fair share of public confrontations with opposing managers during his career. None of them, though, have been as bitter or keenly-felt as Portuguese Mourinho's long-running rivalry with Spaniard Pep Guardiola. Manchester, the most passionate of […]

London (AFP) – Australia captain Mile Jedinak plans to take out his FA Cup final frustrations on England in Friday's friendly at the Stadium of Light. Jedinak was given an extra day off before linking up with his Socceroos team-mates as he recovered from Crystal Palace's 2-1 defeat against Manchester United at Wembley last weekend. […]