Sunday, July 15, 2012

And the Oscar goes to ... Chelsea!

Brazilian starlet Oscar is hot property at the moment and Chelsea look to have gazumped Premier League rivals Tottenham with a £20 million bid for the talented teenager, as exclusively revealed by Goal.com.
Andre Villas-Boas had hoped to tempt the Internacional man to White Hart Lane with a £15m bid but their London rivals are now in advanced negotiations with the South American side ahead of a summer move.

The youngster has already been likened to compatriot and Real Madrid man Kaka, a man who has often been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, but this time it seems that the Blues have got their man

Russia manager candidates get all dolled up

Following Dick Advocaat's resignation from his post as coach after Euro 2012, Russia have revealed their short-list for his replacement with some familiar names at the top of the list.

Pep Guardiola, Fabio Capello and Harry Redknapp have all been tipped to take over the job and take charge of the side that failed to make it out of their group in Poland and Ukraine.

One man, who seems to have ruled himself out of the running though is Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini after he signed a new deal with the Premier League champions, leaving the path clear for the other contenders.

Moneybags Mancini leaves Russia in the cold

Roberto Mancini's new Manchester City contract has kept Russia from luring him away from the Premier League champions.

The World Cup 2018 hosts are currently looking for a top-class manager to take over from Dick Advocaat, who parted ways with the nation after their group stage exit at Euro 2012.


Mancini was rumoured to be top of their list, alongside the likes of Fabio Capello and Pep Guardiola, after the Italian took the Blues to their first league title in over 40 years last season.

The Italian's side beat Manchester United on goal difference in the end after two dramatic stoppage-time goals allowed them to beat QPR and snatch the title from the Red Devils' grasp, something that City are keen to build on with the Italian manager...


Monday, July 9, 2012

Deschamps calls on old friends as Ribery, Nasri et al get binned

 He was, then he wasn't, but now he definitely is. On Sunday it was announced that Didier Deschamps had officially become national team coach of France.

The former Les Bleus midfielder will have to get the side's house in order after a tumultuous Euro 2012 campaign that saw bust-ups involving Hatem Ben Arfa, Alou Diarra and, most explosively, Samir Nasri.
The France campaign at World Cup 2010 was also marred by internal strife and Deschamps will be keen to instill the kind of discipline and harmony that saw France win world football's biggest prize on home soil in 1998 before further triumph at Euro 2000.

Under pressure to weed out the trouble-makers and bring glory back to Les Bleus, could Deschamps turn to the successful class of '98 in order to get the job done?

الشوابكة VS منصور مراد