Real Madrid and France legend Zinedine Zidane has been appointed manager of Real Madrid’s reserve team Castilla. The former Real Madrid favourite acquired top level coaching experience last season working at his old club alongside boss Carlo Ancelotti, as assistant first team coach. The side Zidane will manage from the start of the 2014/2015 season are Real Madrid’s reserve (B) team Castilla, who are lost their relegation battle and have dropped down to the Spanish Segunda Division B. Castilla will benefit from the 42-year-old Frenchman’s wealth of knowledge acquired from his time spent playing and coaching at their parent club…
Author: Staff Writer
Inter Milan have reportedly ramped up their attempts to land Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic. According to Tutto Mercato Web, the San Siro giants have not given up on luring the ex-Fiorentina hitman back to Serie A despite receiving little or no encouragement from the Premier League champions. The report claims the major stumbling block is City’s insistence that they will not farm him out on loan, and Inter’s failure to raise the necessary funds to buy him on a permanent basis, 12 months after his £22million departure from Florence. However, there could be light at the end of the…
Football Express News understands that Manchester United are preparing a bid for Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben. The Dutch winger is impressing for his country at the World Cup in Brazil and his performances have seen a number of big spending European clubs show interest as his time at German club Bayern Munich remains in doubt. Robben has played an important part in Bayern’s recent successes but boss Pep Guardiola is understood to be keen on establishing his own squad of players, prompted talks that the former Chelsea man could be set for a summer exit. La Liga giants Barcelona…
AC Milan playmaker Kaka’s loan switch to Sao Paulo in his homeland has hit a snag, according to fresh reports in the Italian media. The Brazil outcast is meant to join the club on a temporary basis before completing his move to MLS franchise Orlando City, and the San Siro giants believed the deal was done and dusted. However, La Gazzetta dello Sport claims terms are yet to be agreed for the loan and, as a result, Milan are financially hamstrung in their attempts to strengthen the squad before the 2014-15 campaign gets started. Having missed out on qualification for…
The transfer of Chile international goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has been confirmed this afternoon with an agreement formally announced by receiving club FC Barcelona. Bravo, 31, has spent eight seasons playing for Spanish outfit Real Sociedad and will join the La Liga giant on a four year deal. The move will see the Chilean as one of five new signings headed for Camp Nou for the start of the 2014/2015 season, and he will be one of two new goalkeepers. Bravo will share his in-goal duties with 22-year-old German stopper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who has signed to Barcelona from Bundesliga side…
Liverpool target Davide Astori has moved a step closer to joining leaving Cagliari for Serie A rivals Lazio after the two clubs put together a swap deal. The Italy centre-half is being chased by clubs dotted around Europe but Cagliari’s desire to land either Danilo Cataldi, Milos Antic or Mamadou Tounkara from the Rome giants is likely to put his other suitors out of the running, according to Il Messaggero. A source close to Anfield told Football Express News the Reds are still anxious to strengthen the heart of their defence and Astori is high on the wishlist, but he…
AC Milan’s struggle to offload playmaker Robinho is hindering their attempts to land Verona attacker Juan Iturbe, according to fresh reports in the Italian press. La Gazzetta Dello Sport claims new Milan head coach Filippo Inzaghi has already held a telephone conversation with Iturbe in a bid to help the deal along and see off any late competition from rival suitors. However, the report reveals that the San Siro giants’ failure to so far find a buyer for out-of-favour Brazil international Robinho and striker Alessandro Matri is proving to be a major stumbling block, as they need to sell in…
Former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has been tipped to become the next head coach of Italy. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport the 49-year-old is one of the front runners to replace Cesare Prandelli, who resigned from his post just hours after seeing his team exit the World Cup at the group stage. They fell to a second successive 1-0 defeat, with Uruguay replicating Costa Rica’s achievement by defeating the Italians courtesy of a solitary strike. The report claims Mancini faces stiff competition for the role from ex-AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri, who was sacked by the club earlier…
Group C came to a close on Tuesday night as Colombia maintained their 100% record and Greece upset Ivory Coast to progress to the knock-out stages. The likelihood of Japan reaching the next round of the World Cup was not impossible but extremely doubtful as they had to rely on a draw in the game between Greece and Ivory Coast and beat Colombia, but the South Americans proved to hard an opponents for the Japanese. Juan Cuadrado opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 18 minutes, before Shinji Okazaki levelled just before half-time. However, any expectation from the small…
Mario Balotelli’s lack of “behavioural improvement” makes a switch from AC Milan to Arsenal unlikely, according to a leading Italian transfer expert. Gianluca Di Marzio told Night & Day that concerns about the 23-year-old’s temperament were not eased by his displays during the World Cup for Italy, who exited the tournament last night following a 1-0 loss to Uruguay. Di Marzio feels Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is renowned for his research of every potential signing, could walk away from the mooted transfer as the Frenchman may view ex-Manchester City forward Balotelli as a risk. He said: “After the World…