Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter suffered the ignominy of being left off the organisation s list of footballing birthdays on Thursday.
The Swiss, celebrating his 80th birthday, was a notable absentee from FIFA s daily list despite having spent more than 40 years working for the game s governing body.
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic and veteran striker Samuel Eto o were among those to be recognised for March 10 birthdays.
Happy Birthday to (23), (28), Priscila (34) and (35)
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom)
Blatter stepped down as president last year and was subsequently banned from football for six years following an investigation into an alleged disloyal payment made to former UEFA president Michel Platini in 2011.
Police conducted a searc…
Carlos Queiroz insist complications during preparation can inspire Iran when they face Morocco in their World Cup opener on Friday.
A pre-tournament friendly against Greece in Turkey was shelved due to political tensions between the European nation and their neighbours, while late replacements Kosovo also pulled the plug.
Geopolitical turbulence has rarely been too far from Queiroz s side of late, with the former Real Madrid boss criticising Nike this week after the US sportswear giant refused to supply boots to his players on account of trade sanctions.
Over the course of seven years at the helm, which took in qualification for Brazil 2014, Alex Ferguson s former assistant at Manchester United has chosen to harness such troubles as motivation for his underdogs.…
It was a drama-filled evening after CONMEBOL controversially overturned the result of last week s Copa Libertadores first-leg clash as Independiente advanced to the quarter-finals ahead of Santos.
Santos and Independiente played out a goalless draw on August 21 but the latter were awarded a 3-0 victory just hours before Tuesday s return fixture after the Brazilian side fielded an ineligible player.
Carlos Sanchez was at the centre of the controversy due to a red card he was given during his River Plate stint in 2015, with Independiente arguing the Uruguay international should have been suspended for the opening leg.
CONMEBOL ruled Sanchez did not serve the entirety of the ban handed out three years ago.
Describing the decision as embarrassing on the day o…
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is not concerned about Manchester City in the wake of the Premier League champions annihilation of Watford.
Beaten 3-2 by an injury-ravaged Norwich City in their previous league match, City responded with an 8-0 destruction of Quique Sanchez Flores Watford at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
By contrast, Liverpool were made to work far harder for a 2-1 win away to Chelsea thanks to first-half goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino.
Henderson, though, says his only concern is on sustaining Liverpool s winning run, rather than giving too much thought to City s threat.
Eight to choose from but which one was your favourite?
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Gianluigi Buffon has confirmed he will leave Juventus at the end of the season but he is yet to decide if retirement beckons.
The 43-year-old re-joined the club two years ago having spent 2018-19 at Paris Saint-Germain, but he feels the two parties have reached the end of a cycle .
Over the course of his second spell in Turin, Buffon has been second choice to Wojciech Szczesny, playing 16 times in Serie A since the start of 2019-20.
He won his 11th league title last term, but under the guidance of his former team-mate Andrea Pirlo, 2020-21 has been a drag for the Bianconeri, who sit fifth in the table with three games to go – Inter have already claimed the Scudetto.
Now he feels it is time to move on again, though he has not come to a decision as to wh…
Frank De Boer insisted he always wants to win after suffering a 1-0 loss to Mexico in his first match in charge of the Netherlands, but defiantly reminded his critics that he rested key players ahead of his side s forthcoming Nations League fixtures.
Raul Jimenez scored a second-half penalty to settle the friendly at Johan Cruijff Arena on Wednesday, which saw De Boer go head-to-head with Mexico boss Gerardo Martino – who he succeeded as head coach of MLS outfit Atlanta United.
De Boer left Atlanta in July following a poor run of form and his appointment as Ronald Koeman s successor as coach of the Netherlands raised concerns among supporters unimpressed by his record at club level in recent years.
Inter sacked De Boer after he had been in charge for just 85 da…
As the contract of Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich approached its final year and negotiations over a new one hit an apparent impasse, speculation mounted over his potential transfer to Real Madrid this summer. Bayern are believed to have offered the Canada international a salary between €13 and 14 million per year, while he demanded €20m.
Real Madrid s interest in the 23-year-old left-back was concrete in the past, but with the opening day of this summer s transfer window getting closer, the Spanish giants are yet to take steps in that direction.
Meanwhile, in addition to Real Madrid s idleness on that front, Bayern s recent appointment of Vincent Kompany as the new head coach has made Davies remaining at the club and signing a new deal possible again, according to…
Real Madrid 3-1 Paris Saint-Germain (3-2 agg): Benzema´s stunning hat-trick books Los Blancos´ last-
Karim Benzema scored a sensational hat-trick as Real Madrid fought back to beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on Wednesday and secure a scarcely believable 3-2 aggregate victory in their Champions League last-16 tie.
Kylian Mbappe, who is widely expected to join Madrid on a free transfer at the end of the season, gave PSG a two-goal lead in the tie with a breakaway goal late in the first half – a goal that moved him clear of Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the Ligue 1 side s second all-time top scorer with 157 goals.
Benzema led a stirring Los Blancos fightback in the second half, though, grabbing his first in the 61st minute after a big mistake from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
He then sealed their progress into the quarter-finals with two goals in the space of two minutes to leav…
Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham could win a trophy within the next two years under his stewardship.
The 42-year-old moved to White Hart Lane in the close-season from Southampton, where he impressed in leading the club to eighth in his only full campaign in charge.
Under Pochettino, Spurs have made an inconsistent start in the Premier League, with 11 points to their name from eight matches.
Tottenham take on Asteras Tripolis in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday and Pochettino is confident that he can soon guide the club to their first silverware since their League Cup triumph under Juande Ramos in 2008.
You need time, he said. You need to suffer and keep the bad moments. But maybe now is a different period for us.
I am sure we ll achieve …
Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has urged his side to “stick with the positive things” ahead of their Champions League clash against Copenhagen.
His comments came following Bayern’s second-half turnaround against RB Leipzig at the weekend, where they were suddenly 2-0 down from two goals within six minutes of each other in the first half.
England captain Harry Kane then sparked the comeback before Leroy Sane snatched a point to draw 2-2 and Tuchel is determined to take the positives forward into future fixtures.
“We analyse it all and are drawing our conclusions, which we’ll discuss with the teams,” he told a pre-match press conference.
Off to Denmark
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
“We’re trying to develop a bett…