Malonga seals Guimaraes switch

With 100 days to go until the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the favourites begin their final preparations in a series of friendly matches on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Pre-tournament form is a notoriously fickle indication of how a team will perform at the quadrennial football showpiece, but some of the sides bidding for glory are already beset by problems and controversies.

England s chances of a first World Cup success since 1966 were hyped to the hilt in the aftermath of their near-flawless qualifying campaign, but Fabio Capello s side has since become tainted by scandal.

John Terry was stripped of the captaincy following allegations of an extra-marital affair with the ex-girlfriend of international colleague Wayne Bridge, who turned his back on the England set…

Portsmouth administrator Andrew Andronikou announced Wednesday that 85 of the cash-strapped club s employees have been made redundant.

But he added he was receiving enquiries on a daily basis regarding a takeover for the bottom of the table Premier League side and that no players, who comprise many of Pompey s biggest earners, had been sacked.

Andronikou also said he was confident the south coast side would be able to answer questions from British tax authorities and that Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie had taken a 40 percent pay cut.

Portsmouth are due to return to the High Court on March 15 to answer a winding-up order brought by British tax authorities.

If a judge decides Portsmouth cannot overcome debts said to be totalling 76 million pounds the…

Diego Lopez wants Premiership move

AC Milan goalkeeper Diego Lopez is being heavily linked with a winter move to English Premier League, according to Tuttosport.

The Spanish shot-stopper surprisingly lost his place in the starting line-up to 16-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma, and the Rossoneri coach Sinisa Mihajlovic recently praised the veteran for his professional behaviour during what has been a difficult few weeks for him.

Nevertheless, it is perfectly clear that Lopez is far from happy with the current situation and he reportedly hopes to leave AC Milan in search of regular first team football at the earliest opportunity.

Tuttosport has learned that he has a number of suitors in English Premier League, and it is believed the former Real Madrid goalke…

that Arsenal are lining up a January move for Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi.

The twenty-two year old had a blistering 2014/15 campaign – scoring twenty-two goals in thirty-six Serie A appearances, though he has struggled to recapture his form despite Roberto Mancini’s side sitting top of the table.

The Gunners were linked with a £32m move for the Argentina international turned down in the summer, and now look set to reignite their interest as they look to bolster their attacking options.

Icardi moved to the San Siro from Sampdoria in the summer of 2013, and has since racked up eighty-one appearances for Roberto Mancini’s side in all competitions, netting forty goals while his record last season saw him finish the campaign as the top scorer in the …

Perth Glory held on with 10 men for the majority of the game to beat Newcastle Jets 2-1 and bring an end to their winless A-League run.

Richard Garcia s side had lost three and drawn two of their previous five games but raced two goals ahead at HBF Park inside 24 minutes.

Ciaran Bramwell marked his second start for Glory with his maiden goal, the 19-year-old placing a shot away from Lewis Italiano after Osama Malik smartly dummied Bruno Fornaroli s centre.

The hosts added a second soon after as Darryl Lachman headed Neil Kilkenny s corner ​down and ​away from Italiano for his own first goal for the club.

Glory have dropped 10 points from winning positions in 2020-21, the most of any team in the division, and they gave the Jets a lifeline when Jonatha…

Despite investing heavily into the team in the last 13 years and winning numerous trophies, Champions League triumph still hasn t happened for Manchester City. They came closer than ever last season, only to suffer heartbreak in the final as they failed to answer Kai Havertz s strike for Chelsea.

Speaking to the press ahead of their opening match of the new campaign in the competition against RB Leipzig on Wednesday, midfielder Rodri urged his team to learn from the defeat and move on.

You learn more from defeats than victories.

Rodri admits Manchester City must move on from their Champions League final defeat of last season.

— Football Daily (@footballdaily)

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Real Madrid s Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo is just as good as Barcelona s Lionel Messi and he will prove it when the two sides clash this weekend, his teammates insisted Thursday.

These are the two best players in the world and it s going to be a good match. Messi is a really good player, he destabilizes, but we have Ronaldo who is just as good, Real s Brazilian defender Marcelo told sports daily Marca.

The confrontation between the two players is highly anticipated after Messi scored all four goals during Barcelona s 4-1 win over Arsenal on Tuesday which took the Catalan side into the Champions League semi-finals.

The 22-year-old s first ever four goal haul won him superlatives from all sides, with Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger calling him the best player…

Keylor Navas could be heading out of Madrid

may be back on top of La Liga but it was another rollercoaster weekend for goalkeeper Keylor Navas in a display that could have gone a long way to sealing his Bernabeu fate.

The Costa Rica international should have been sent off, scored an own goal and then made a marvellous late save to preserve victory as Madrid came from behind to beat Betis 2-1.

Delight for Madrid then, but quite possibly despair for Navas who has struggled all season after surgery on a heel injury. The Madrid stopper has managed just four Liga clean sheets, compared to 11 for both Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Sergio Asenjo, while Jan Oblak has nine.

It’s worth pointing out that Navas has played behind a whole host of defensive combinations…

Daniel Sturridge hailed Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp as a great manager and insists he has no issue with his playing time at Anfield.

The England striker has scored four goals in seven appearances across all competitions this term, including a stunning long-range equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Saturday.

It marks a happy return for Sturridge, who spent the second half of last season on loan at West Brom after a combination of injury trouble and the inspired form of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane limited his opportunities at Liverpool.

Even with his goals this term, Sturridge is yet to start in the Premier League and has clocked up just 24 top-flight minutes, yet the 29-year-old is only focused on impressing when he s on the pitch.

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Paulo Fonseca claims his move to Tottenham collapsed because incoming director Fabio Paratici preferred a coach with a more defensive style.

The 48-year-old former Roma boss had looked primed to take over from Jose Mourinho until the deal fell through, with some reports initially blaming problems with Italian and United Kingdom tax laws.

Spurs went through a host of prospective candidates, including Gennaro Gattuso and Antonio Conte, before Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed in June.

Nuno has endured a mixed start to life in north London, winning his first three Premier League games before suffering comprehensive defeats to Crystal Palace and Chelsea.

Spurs have only scored once from open play in their five league games in 2021-22 from 2.5 expected goals, …