Rio has last laugh as England's injury woes mount

 

Roy Hodgson may have secured a second successive 1-0 victory as England boss after Saturday's friendly against Belgium, but the win was not without sacrifice as his squad was hit with further injury concerns ahead of Euro 2012.

Having already seen Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard forced to withdraw from th tournament, Hodgson has now been left to sweat over the fitness of centre-back duo Gary Cahill and John Terry.

With the Three Lions squad thinning in both numbers and experience, Hodgson may rue his decision to leave Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand behind this summer...

Hodgson takes cautious approach after England's injury pile up

 

Following the withdrawals of Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard from the England squad through injury, it appears manager Roy Hodgson may take a cautious approach when Belgium come to entertain on Saturday.

The midfielders were ruled out of the trip to Euro 2012 with a groin and thigh injury respectively, with Phil Jagielka and Jordan Henderson called up as replacements.

With doubts also remaining over the fitness of Scott Parker, rumours that a large order of bubble wrap is heading into Wembley Stadium are currently unfounded.
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What next for Ronaldinho?

 

Former Barcelona star Ronaldinho has quit Brazilian club Flamengo because of a dispute over unpaid wages and image rights.

The Brazil international had long been involved in a tug of war with Fla, with reports suggesting that the 32-year-old has become disillusioned with life at the club after being insulted by Rubro-Negro fans during a match against Internacional.

Ronaldinho claims he is owed millions in salaries, bonuses and image rights, and the Labour Court in Rio de Janeiro has ruled in favour of the player, though the club will undoubtedly appeal against the decision.

After such an illustrious career, where does Ronaldinho's future lie? Will he seek to prolong his playing days or hang up his boots?

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Will Liverpool bronco buck Rodgers?

 

The search appears to be over: Liverpool look set to name Brendan Rodgers as their new manager on Thursday after the Swansea boss was granted permission to speak to the Anfield side.
The former Reading and Watford man will be charged with the task of making the Merseyside club a Champions League force again - something both the legendary Kenny Dalglish and current England boss Roy Hodgson failed to do.

Can Rodgers stay in his seat long enough to return Liverpool to their former glory? Or will the Anfield horse bolt once again?
 

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659 million can't be wrong

 

They were pipped to the Premier League title on the final day in dramatic circumstances, and dumped out of the Champions League at the group stages, but Manchester United are moving on from their trophyless season.
A market research survey yesterday claimed the Old Trafford club has a staggering 659 million fans globally - doubling their numbers from a similar study conducted in 2007.

It is a lofty claim, but if it is to be believed, Sir Alex Ferguson's side will surely be back among the silverware soon enough.
 

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A case of the Blues as Hazard plumps for Chelsea

 

After months of speculation, rumours and toying with Europe's top clubs, Eden Hazard finally put an end to one of the longest running transfer sagas in recent times by announcing he will join Chelsea.

Just a month ago the Belgian wizard had looked certain to move to Manchester from Lille, with both City and United battling it out to secure the 21-year-old's signature.

However, the Blues' dramatic victory in the Champions League final changed Hazard's mind one last time, with the continent's hottest property opting for a move to west London, leaving Roberto Mancini and Sir Alex Ferguson in a spin...

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France avoid big freeze against Iceland

 

A late turnaround for France on Sunday evening saw Laurent Blanc's side's blushes spared as they saw off Iceland 3-2 on hometurf.

Les Bleus trailed their Scandinavian opponents 2-0 at the break, with both Birkir Bjarnason and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson exposing the wayward Patrice Evra down the visitors' right flank.

Yet, second-half goals from Mathieu Debuchy, Franck Ribery and Adil Rami - the latter two coming in the final 10 minutes of the game - ensured that France stretched their unbeaten run to 19 games...

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Europe's giants take an unlikely beating

 

Saturday saw shock results all over the continent as some of Europe's best and brightest were brought down to Earth by the smaller nations.

Netherlands lost 2-1 at home to Bulgaria, Germany were blown away by Switzerland in an extraordinary 5-3, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal could only draw 0-0 with lowly Macedonia.

It was a day in which the Davids of European football delivered some unexpected beatings to the much-fancied Goliaths, putting preconceptions into doubt ahead of Euro 2012...

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Pep rides off into the Spanish sunset

 

Pep Guardiola's glorious reign as Barcelona's manager came to an end on Friday with a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final.

Two goals from Pedro and Lionel Messi's 73rd strike of an unbelievable season made it 14 trophies in Guardiola's four-year spell in charge of the Catalans.
The 41-year-old former Barcelona player announced last month that would be stepping down and it was a fitting end to the club's most successful-ever period.

Guardiola will be sorely missed by players and supporters alike as he takes a year-long sabbatical from the game - despite continued rumours of an approach from Chelsea....

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Kagawa's sun rising at Manchester United

 

The news broke on Tuesday that Manchester United have launched a bid for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa.

The 23-year-old has scored 39 goals in 71 appearances for Jurgen Klopp's men as they have won back-to-back Bundesliga titles.
No wonder then that Sir Alex Ferguson is keen to do all he can to snag the Japan international ...

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