Diego Costa has insisted that he controls whether or not he plays for the Spanish national side and not Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. The former Atletico Madrid has set the Premier League alight since joining Chelsea this summer, but niggling injury problems and a doubt over his full fitness have dampened such excitement. Costa, who has been selected by Spanish national coach Vicente del Bosque, which has been met with some disappointment from Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who would have preferred the striker to have rested. “I don’t want to be in the middle [of Spain and Chelsea],” he told…
Author: Staff Writer
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans Joachim-Watzke has backed coach Jurgen Klopp despite a poor start in the Bundesliga. A fourth league defeat of the season on Saturday to Hamburg saw Dortmund drop down the Bundesliga table and send concerns around the ground. Dortmund were forced to sell Robert Lewandowski this summer to rivals Bayern Munich, but they have spent well, having signed the likes of Ciro Immobile from Torino and Shinji Kagawa from Manchester United. However, those players are yet to find their best form and Dortmund continue to struggle, prompting CEO Hans Joachim-Watzke to discuss the various problems and his…
France coach Didier Deschamps admits that his side will struggle to stop Cristiano Ronaldo when they meet on Saturday in an international friendly. The 29-year-old may have struggled in the World Cup this summer for his country, but his form so far this season for club side – Real Madrid, has been breathtaking, scoring 13 goals in six league games. Ronaldo, who will be looking to send a message to the international footballing world on Saturday when his country meet France is fresh on the mind of France boss Didier Deschamps, who admits that it will be hard to stop…
Sergio Ramos has been forced to withdraw from the Spanish national squad for their upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers, being replaced by Barcelona’s Marc Bartra. The Real Madrid defender had been struggling through a calf injury following his club side’s 5-0 thumping of Athletic Bilbao on Sunday and after numerous scans and tests – the defender has now been ruled out of action for Spain. Ramos was included in Vicente del Bosque’s squad for the upcoming internationals against Slovakia and Luxembourg. His absence will now be taken by Barcelona defender Marc Bartra, who despite dropping down the pecking order under new…
Gerard Pique has dismissed rumours of a possible return to Manchester United, stating that he would love to spend the remainder of his career with Barcelona. The Spanish defender has found playing time hard to come by this season under new boss Luis Enrique but did start the weekend win over Rayo Vallecano, providing a partnership with Marc Bartra. And, links to his former club Man United have since followed with reports in Spain and England claiming that Pique would welcome a move back to Old Trafford where he spent a season on loan during his younger years. The 27-year-old…
#486852565 / gettyimages.com Manchester United will offer Michael Carrick a new contract keeping the midfielder at the club until 2016, according to The Express. The midfielder’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season but manager Louis Van Gaal wants to keep Carrick and believes he can still offer a lot more to the team and also wants him to help the development of new signing Daley Blind. The 33-year-old has not featured for the Red Devils this season after suffering from ligament damage in July but has begun light training at Carrington and is due to…
Roy Hodgson has chosen not to sign Daniel Sturridge for England’s upcoming tie with San Marino and Estonia and has called up Nathaniel Clyne from Southampton. The Liverpool striker was injured during training with the national squad last month and has not featured for Brendan Rodgers’ side since, having struggled to regain fitness, citing a slight fall-out between Rodgers and Roy Hodgson. Therefore, the former Chelsea striker has not been called up for the game against San Marino, leaving England with Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Richie Lambert. One player given a call-up is youngster Nathaniel Clyne, who has impressed…
A Marco Streller was enough for Basel as they beat Liverpool in Switzerland on Wednesday evening in the Champions League. The Merseyside club started well and came close to scoring through Raheem Sterling, who despite putting the ball into the net – was ruled offside. From that moment, the home side grew into the game and had chances through Derlis Gonzalez but his effort failed to break the deadlock midway through the first half. Lazar Markovic then took matters into his own hands and broke free, playing Sterling but the young English winger was unable to force a shot on…
Danny Welbeck scored a superb hat-trick to help Arsenal beat Galatasaray in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The Gunners started the game well with Welbeck almost scoring in the first five minutes, but his shot was well saved by visiting keeper Fernando Muslera. A few minutes later and the Turkish giants would have a good chance, but Wojciech Sczcesny was in good form to deny both in the space of a minute. Arsenal would take the lead shortly after the 20 minute mark when Welbeck found the back of the net, being provided by the excellent Alexis Sanchez. Welbeck…
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers believes striker Daniel Sturridge is not fit enough to play for England in the coming weeks and has sent a warning to national boss Roy Hodgson. The 25-year-old is currently sidelined with a thigh strain injury which some claim developed whilst on international duty with England last month and Rodgers has questioned whether he should be selected for the European Championship qualifying games later this month. He told reporters: “He won’t be fit to play for England whether he’s available for the weekend or not. “I don’t think he’s fit to play for England. We’re hoping…