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Panathinaikos vice-president Dimitris Gontikas has revealed talks are taking place with Lazio for the transfer of Djibril Cisse.

The 29-year-old Frenchman was linked with a move to the Italian capital on Tuesday when reports claimed he was set for Serie A football.

And Gontikas has now confirmed the former Liverpool man may be leaving Athens.

"There are talks with Lazio. We know it will be hard losing Djibril, but Panathinaikos cannot move forward without selling some of their players," he is quoted as saying by Il Corriere dello Sport.

Meanwhile, Lazio president Claudio Lotito has told Juventus it will have to stump up the cash for Stephan Lichtsteiner.

"If Juventus want him then they will have to pay 12 million euros," he told the press.

Reports claim the Turin giants are offering 10 million euros.?

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Labels: Cisse, Djibril, Goalcom, Lazio, Panathinaikos, talks

Hoffenheim director of sport Ernst Tanner has said that Andreas Beck will remain with the Bundesliga outfit casting doubt over a move to Juventus after reports claimed the Italians were keen on him.

Beck was linked with the Turin outfit in January, before reports in May resurfaced regarding an offer from the Serie A club.

However, Tanner has said the 24-year-old will not be leaving during the summer transfer window.

"I expect that Andreas Beck will play for us next season," Tanner told the press.

Reports suggested the Turin-based side had five million euros ready for the Hoffenheim full-back who is tied to his club until 2012.

Juventus is said to be in talks with Lazio for right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner, but president Claudio Lotito warned his player will cost around 12 million euros.

But Juve sporting director Giuseppe Marotta is hoping to close business with a 10 million euro payment.?

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Labels: Andreas, Goalcom, Hoffenheim, Juventus, reveals, summer, switch, unlikely

Roma will keep Marco Borriello after agreeing to pay AC Milan a 10 million euro transfer fee which was agreed upon when signing the previous loan deal last year.

The 29-year-old moved to the Eternal City for one season with Roma holding an option to sign him permanently for 10 million euros.

Sky Sport Italia reports that the capital city club has exercised the option to make the deal permanent and will announce the move officially at a later stage.

The striker scored 11 goals in 34 Serie A games last term as his side finished sixth, allowing it to qualify for the Europa League playoff round.

News of Borriello's permanent deal comes just hours after Barcelona said it was considering an offer from the Italian club for their 20-year-old striker Bojan Krkic.?

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Labels: Borriello, Complete, Goalcom, Marco, Milan, million, Report, transfer

CONCACAF Gold Cup™ Semifinal USA v Panama, Wednesday 6/22 live at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX Soccer! For a complete match schedule, click here
HOUSTON - Michael Bradley won't be returning to Aston Villa after new manager Alex McLeish decided not to pick up the club's option to purchase the American midfielder.

Instead, Bradley will continue to feature for the United States during the Gold Cup while keeping any options for his future open.

Bradley's agent Ron Waxman confirmed Aston Villa's decision to Goal.com via email.

"Michael will not be joining Aston Villa on a permanent transfer," Waxman said.

As he updated reporters Tuesday about his status, Bradley seemed resigned to finishing out the last year of his contract with the Borussia Mönchengladbach if necessary but would prefer to find a solution that is mutually beneficial to both sides.

"I've got a year left on my contract there so we’ll see what happens," said Bradley, before adding, "If something comes up, that’s good for Gladbach and good for me, I’ll look at it. Otherwise, another year at Gladbach."

Given Gladbach's financial situation, the club would likely prefer to sell the the 23-year-old now rather than let his contract run out. However, the club isn't against Bradley's return.

"We are trying to reach Michael by telephone," Borussia sporting director Max Eberl told Bild. "If there are no other option for him he'll train with Gladbach after the Gold Cup and his vacation. He has one more year left on his contract."

Bradley is currently with the U.S. national team in Houston ahead of the Gold Cup semifinal against Panama.

With his club futures of several United States team players still in limbo, Bradley believes that international competition is beneficial because it allows those players, himself included, to focus solely on the national team.

"You get to get away from all of that," Bradley said. "One of the special things about this team is that when guys come in, we are committed to [the U.S. national team] and we don’t let things on the outside distract us."

He added, "It's been nice to be here [in the Gold Cup] and concentrate on the things at hand."

Michael Bradley | A vital cog for the U.S. team, less so for Aston Villa

Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Ogugchi Onyewu, Freddy Adu and even Clint Dempsey all have uncertain statuses within their current club teams. Wednesday's match marks the Stars and Stripes' fifth over the span of 17 days, so there has been limited time to think about anything else aside from fitness and the next opponent.

Still, in a rare moment of pause, Bradley opened up on his perspective about what's happened with his own current situation.

"My experience at Villa was a good one but it is a new situation [now],” he said. "With a new manager coming in, it's totally understandable that it is his club and he wants to have his say on the team."

"On my end, its good because I don't want to be at a place where I am not wanted," he said.

Bradley’s loan to the Birmingham-based club was based on a fractured relationship between the midfielder and then-coach Michael Frontzeck at Gladbach. In May, the club explained that it never wanted to let Bradley leave the club and, now under new management, it appeared as if Bradley was open to returning to the German club.

"No doors are closed," said Bradley to Goal.com after the U.S. friendly 4-0 loss to Spain earlier this month. "I'm just trying to keep all options open at this point."

Alex Labidou is the Deputy Editor of Goal.com USA. Agree or disagree with the story above? Give him a shout @sportslab on Twitter.

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Labels: after, Aston, Bradley, decline, Goalcom, keeping, Michael, Midfielder, options, purchasing, Villa

 
Andre Villas Boas is on the brink of becoming Chelsea's new manager after tendering his resignation as Porto coach.

Porto confirmed the news to the CMVM (Portuguese stock market) following reports from the Lusa news agency that the 33-year-old quit via fax.

Villas-Boas will officially leave his position once the terms of his release clause, 15 million euros, are met by prospective employers, Chelsea.

The statement reads:

"Porto Football Club, under the terms of article 248, number 1 of the Securities Law, informs the market that Porto Football Club was today notified of the intention of its coach, Andre Villas Boas, to rescind, with no just cause, his sporting contract of employment with this company, activating the respective release clause, with immediate effect.

"Therefore, the employment contract will be considered, by this company, rescinded, with the deposit of the amount specified (in the release clause)."

Chelsea has been searching for a manager since relieving Carlo Ancelotti of his post at the end of the season after he failed to build on his double-winning first season at the club.

Villas-Boas won a treble in his first year of management at the club last season.

He managed to break multiple records in his short time there, including highest number of consecutive wins in the Portuguese league and the biggest margin of points over the second-placed team.

He became the youngest coach to ever win a European competition when he guided the Portuguese league champions to victory in the Europa League just over a month ago.

Prior to Porto, Villas-Boas was manager at Academica in Portugal for the 2009-10 season, which was the catalyst for being hired as Porto head coach.

The young Portuguese coach also worked with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Inter during his respective stints at the clubs.

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Labels: Andre, Become, Chelsea, Goalcom, Manager, Porto, quits, VillasBoas

Prior to its semifinal matchup against Honduras Wednesday in Houston, Mexico added depth to its roster following the suspension of five players earlier this month.

Coach Jose Manuel de la Torre has decided to bring in defenders Paul Aguilar, Hector Reynoso and Hiram Mier as replacements for the remainder of the Gold Cup.

Mexico U-22 goalkeeper Luis Mitchel and forward Marco Fabian left for Colombia Monday with the U-22 team but are on stand-by should the team need them.

Starting goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and starting defender Francisco Rodriguez were among the five players suspended for testing positive for clenbuterol.  Bench players Edgar Duenas, Christian Bermudez and Antonio Naelson were also banned from the team.

The Mexican Futbol Federation was officially informed by CONCACAF late Sunday night that it would be allowed to fill its 23-man roster.

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Labels: additions, following, Goalcom, Makes, Mexico, players, Roster, suspension

West Ham United has announced a number of players have been released, with American defender Jonathan Spector being one of them.

Having played for the London club since 2006, Spector racked up over 100 appearances for the Hammers in that time and become a major part of his country's defensive unit. He's been capped 31 times by the USMNT.

Only 25, Spector could pick up with another club in England or he may prefer a move to Major League Soccer if the right offer comes along. The former Manchested United player is free to sign with whatever team he chooses after the release.

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Labels: American, defender, Goalcom, Jonathan, releases, Spector

Paul Scholes has full faith in Sir Alex Ferguson's ability to build yet another successful Manchester United team as the Scot looks to add to his squad to replace the ageing members of his side.

The former England midfielder retired after United’s 3-1 loss to Barcelona in the Champions League Final and will now take up a coaching role at the Red Devils.

However the playmaker does not feel that the legendary manager needs to replace him in the midfield and believes the talent in the youth system could sustain United’s title challenges for years to come.

He told the club's official website: "The manager will know what he needs and if he needs to buy players or he’s happy with what he’s already got. Over the last couple of years he’s not really added that much to it, and if he feels the need to do it now, he’ll do it. He’s built three or four teams now and if he needs to do it again, I’m sure he will.

"I don't need replacing. I don't know where the answer lies about a replacement. That is up to the manager and his staff. There is no doubt there is a lot of talent at this club. You only have to look at the youth team this year and what they have done. There are some great players."

The Red Devils have been linked with players such as Wesley Sneijder, Luka Modric and Samir Nasri since the end of the season as they look to bounce back from the disappointment of the Champions League final defeat.

Scholes believes the caliber of individuals linked to the club is exciting and is hopeful that with a few more additions United can again challenge for the European Cup next season.

He said: "The ones we have been linked with are great players as well. I am sure the manager will buy or bring through the right players and will be just as successful and hopefully get towards the Barcelona level as well.

"It’s great. Even when I was a player you see all these top players around the world that you’re linked with, and you’re excited about maybe playing with them. As a fan now, just like my son is, we’re hoping we buy the best players in the world and that they make us even stronger for next year."

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Labels: Again, Goalcom, Manchester, rebuild, Scholes, United

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp believes that Chelsea's £22 million bid to sign midfielder Luka Modric is ‘ridiculous’.

Modric has been the subject of much transfer speculation all summer with both the Stamford Bridge club and Manchester United touted as possible destinations for the Croatian international.

Tottenham’s failure to qualify for the Champions League had cast doubt on whether it would be able to keep hold of its key players such as Modric and Gareth Bale.

However these claims have rubbished by the former Portsmouth manager as he looks to keep his best players with Spurs aiming to challenge for Champions League football again next season.

Redknapp told the BBC: "Luka is not for sale. If there has been a bid of £22m that is ridiculous. There are people being sold for £20m who are not fit to lace Luka's boots."

Spurs sources had earlier told Goal.com that chairman Daniel Levy has "no intention" of caving in to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic, and is "adamant" that Modric will not be sold at any price.

Modric played a pivotal role in helping Spurs reach the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League in their debut season in the competition.

The midfielder has made 119 appearances for Harry Redknapp’s side since joining in the summer of 2008 scoring 12 times.

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Labels: being, boots, Chelsea, Goalcom, Harry, Modric, players, Redknapp, reported, Slams, There, Tottenhams

FiFA president Sepp Blatter stands on the verge of another four years as the leader of world football's governing body, despite the organisation appearing to be teetering on the brink of outright revolt.

Following an extraordinary press conference in Zurich on Monday, Goal.com takes a sideways look at some of Blatter's most incredible statements during his reign at the top of football's political tree…

"The source of wealth is from individuals with little or no history of interest in the game, who have happened upon football as a means of serving some hidden agenda."
Sepp Blatter here talking about about himself and his FIFA pals greedy businessmen taking over football clubs to make a fast buck.
"Unfortunately there are other pressing and unpleasant issues that also must be dealt with: corruption, racism, betting and doping."
Zero out of four isn't that bad, I suppose.
"Because I love football and I love the footballers."
You just hate the fans, the ordinary people who aren't fortunate enough to have the money to go to Fifa tournaments, journalists asking fair questions, etc, etc.

"FIFA cannot sit by and see greed rule the football world. Nor shall we."
No, FIFA will not stand by, it will get actively involved to ensure its senior members make a killing too.
"If there is no winner at the end of 90 minutes of play, we would proceed directly to penalty kicks."
He obviously never watched the MLS, as he thinks there should be no drawn games at World Cups. 
"It can also be dangerous. It can be like to hang somebody."
On football's biggest issue: the snood.
"I do not think, and the FIFA Congress are of the same view, that you can afford to stop the game, and with the camera system HawkEye showed us, there is a delay in announcing the decision and the situation can change. The chip in the ball technology, which Adidas and Kairos trialled, was not accurate enough and the problem is that you have to put the chips in millions of balls made by lots of different companies."
Blatter bleats on about not using simple goalline technology in 2009 because it'd cost a lot of money. Hmm. Fifa has lots of money, so do football teams, so do ball manufacturers… where is the problem?
"As soon as we have a safe, fast and uncomplicated goal indicator, we will use it."
Sepp changes his tune on technology a year later. Don't know if you know, mate, but it's been around in cricket and tennis for plenty of years and works just fine.

Rather embarrassing associating myself with this… | … thinks the guy in the lion suit
"Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. They could, for example, have tighter shorts."

Apparently Andy Gray and Richard Keys were appalled by this outburst.

"Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men - such as playing with a lighter ball."
For the head of world football, you'd think he'd know that the women's game is played with the same ball as the men's.

"I think in football, there's too much modern slavery, in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere."
Finished with being sexist, Sepp makes a ridiculous and lazily offensive analogy when asked about the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga, because, of course, a £100,000-a-week footballer really is just like a slave.
"The host of the 2018 World Cup is… Russia!"

And then everyone acted surprised.
"The host of the 2022 World Cup is… Qatar!"
But remember, they didn't buy the World Cup. Even if the general secretary of FIFA said they did. Because he didn't mean it like that, obviously.
"I'd say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities."
Ah good, back to offending people. Sepp laughs at a legitimate question about the World Cup being staged in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
"Handling the past will be presented to the Congress. We have to make sure that immediately after the election that we rebuild the image of Fifa."
Or you could rebuild the image of FIFA before and during the election. Just a thought.

"This committee will strengthen our credibility and give us a new image in terms of transparency. I will take care of it personally, to ensure there is no corruption at FIFA."
Sepp will investigate Sepp to ensure that Sepp is doing things by the book. Seems fair.
"I received once an envelope, when I was secretary general and in this envelope there was an amount of money. I couldn’t refuse because he put it in my pocket. I came home here to Fifa and gave it to the finance director and he put this money on the account of the Swiss Bank Corporation…. Then it was specifically known that please don’t try to give money to somebody who’s in the FIFA."
Sepp proudly boasts that he turned down a bribe, but receives full marks for incompetence by doing nothing about the man who tried to buy him off.
"Crisis? What is a crisis? If one of you can describe to me what a crisis is, I can answer."
It'd be two senior members of FIFA, one of them your best mate for years, being charged with bribing officials and it happening on your watch.

I've lost my dictionary! | Blatter fumes as he struggles to understand what 'crisis' means
"We are not in crisis, just some difficulties. The difficulties will be solved, and solved inside our family."
There was a load creaking noise as he said that: it was the sound of a giant carpet being lifted up so the whole corruption saga could be swept underneath it.
"…"
For a change, Sepp said nothing after being asked to respond to critics who say he should step down.
"Listen. I will not go into discussions with people that like to create problems."
Blatter seems to think that it's the journalists' fault that FIFA is in turmoil, rather than the in-fighting, the blatant corruption and the sham of an election set to take place on Wednesday.

Football, eh, isn't it great?

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Labels: Blatter, calling, crazy, footballers, Goalcom, president, shorts, slaves, suggesting, tighter, women, words

On Sunday, the United States U17 squad captured their first official CONCACAF Championship in team history. However, the trophy was less than fulfilling, given what the U.S. team showcased on their path to the championship.

In other words, results at this age are not enough, or at least less important than development. When tasked with coaching one of these development ages, the core of the team should show qualities such as: comfort on the ball, proper technique when receiving and passing, and a fundamental understanding of position and spacing on the field. Something for the players to fall back on when their superior athletic abilities decrease as other players mature.

Simply put, that is not the case with this team. While the field conditions in Jamaica were awful, there is no excuse for simple technical elements of players’ abilities being jarringly absent.

For instance, most of the players (specifically head coach Wilmer Cabrera’s outside backs) improperly received the ball throughout the tournament, even under limited pressure. A scout at a Development Academy game this weekend explained the obvious problem: The players are trapping the ball with the outside of the foot, which closes the angle and limits the field for the player.

Instead, the player should open his hips and receive the ball with the instep of the foot so the field is open and the chances to play the ball forward are multiplied by what the player can now see in front of him.

These are elements of the game that most European and South American coaches expect from even their youngest players. It is something simple, and when you are watching a game, its absence sticks out like an Eskimo in Miami.

This is not to suggest that all of the American youngsters are lacking in technical ability. There are a handful of youngsters who - given the right situation - could develop into some potent players.

For instance, Alejandro Guido demonstrates the consistency and skill-set of a player capable of making the jump to the next level.

The problem is that the rest of the team is not pushing him or any other player to make that leap - the proverbial step from playing against mediocrity to playing against the best in the world.

Instead, this team is taking reps against inferior competition to demonstrate their superior athletic abilities as opposed to working on other avenues of the game to help them at the next level.

Increasingly, the next level is moving further away from Bradenton, where the U.S. U17 team is based. Of the players who stuck with the program during the last cycle (2009) and played at the U17 World Cup, only two are shoe-ins for the U.S. U20 squad for this year’s qualifying cycle – Juan Agudelo, who played sparingly at the U17 level, and Perry Kitchen.

U.S. U20 coach Thomas Rongen spent most of his time during the last two years looking elsewhere for talent. The separation between the two coaches' philosophies is making the U17 team almost an unnecessary toil for players.

As a matter of fact, there will be Development Academies - namely D.C. United and Derby County - that produce the same amount of players for the U.S. U20 World Cup team as Cabrera and the U.S. U17 2009 World Cup team.

This alienation of the program from the rest of the U.S. soccer structure is relatively new. In previous years the U20 squad and the Olympic team both heavily depended on the talent produced by Cabrera’s age group. The 2009 U20 World Cup squad had five players from the 2007 U17 World Cup team.

However, opportunities for players are diversifying the path from the grassroots clubs up to the professional ranks. Rongen’s insistence on an all-professional squad makes the journey of Bobby Wood more significant in the future than Stefan Jerome.

Wood went from the Irvine Strikers to 1860 Munich via a connection with the German club. He worked his way up from the youth programs to the reserve team and then to the full team. Now, Wood figures to be an important piece for Rongen at the U20 level without ever appearing with the U17 team.

Jerome, on the other hand, spent two years in Bradenton with Cabrera’s program and staff. He was one of the starting forwards for the U17 team during the last cycle. Now, he is playing with Sigma Olomouc in the Czech top flight. Since his first call-up with the U20s shortly after his graduation from Bradenton, he has disappeared from Rongen’s radar.

Obviously, Cabrera does not always get the best players at this age for his program as some explore other opportunities, including Sebastian Lletget and Joseph Gyau from the last cycle - two players who played with the team during qualifying but not at the World Cup.

However, the point remains that while Cabrera has demonstrated some ability to identify and select talent, there are still players in his program who are not receiving the proper coaching for this level. These are minor issues that snowball into larger fundamental problems as the players progress to the professional level. At the end of the day, that needs to be the goal of the U17 program – to produce players ready to play at the next level, not just win CONCACAF Championships.

J.R. Eskilson is the Youth Soccer Editor at Goal.com. You can follow him on Twitter @NCAAsoccer.

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Labels: Cabreras, Championship, Commentary, Enough, Goalcom, squad, Wilmer

Inter captain Javier Zanetti says this season's battle for the Scudetto will be between three teams: the Nerazzurri, Milan and Napoli.

Despite last night's 3-0 loss by the Azzurri to the Rossoneri, the Argentine believes all three sides will be wanting to win the league at season's end.

"Independent of the result between Milan and Napoli, I am very happy with how we are playing," the defender explained to TuttoSport. "The league is great and equal this season, with three teams that will battle it out until the end."

Zanetti is pleased the Beneamata have gotten past their hectic playing schedule, which saw the side play 15 games in two months.

"Playing 15 matches is two months has cost us somewhat," he continued. "Now we have time to work hard and gain whoever has been injured."

The 37-year-old has the belief the side can overcome their one-goal deficit against Bayern Munich and claim a spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

"We believe in our abilities 100 per cent. We will be going to Germany to qualify," he added. "We know it will not be easy, but we need to try."

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Labels: Between, Fought, Goalcom, Javier, Scudetto, Teams, Three, Zanetti

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says coach Luigi Del Neri must be shown faith by the club's board of directors and keep him at the Bianconeri.

The shot-stopper believes the tactician was given a chance to perform, and should be allowed to until the end of the season.

"I think he [Del Neri] should stay," the 33-year-old told Tuttosport. "The directors gave their full faith in the coach, and he should stay until the end of the season.

"When a players walks onto the pitch, it does not matter whether they like the coach or not. Their focus is on doing their role, which is the reason why they get paid. The remainder of the problems stay away.

"All the players hold Del Neri in high esteem, and up until the win against Inter, everyone was saying that he had had a good season. We now need to approach every match as if it were a final, and work out the outcomes in a month or two when the season ends."

The custodian believes his team-mates must keep their heads up for the remainder of the season, and not act as if all hope has been lost.

"We need to go onto the pitch without the air of feeling as if we are at a funeral," he expressed. "We need to remain optimistic and happy to show the coach and the fans that we want to achieve something important."

The Bianconeri are set to face league leaders and rivals Milan this weekend, and Buffon is hoping the side can end their two-match losing streak and defeat the Rossoneri.

"If on Saturday, we can find our way, we can change the way our season will finish, ending it on a high. Should we lose, we will be repeating the same mistakes that we did last season," concluded Buffon.

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Labels: Buffon, coach, Gianluigi, Goalcom, Juventus, Luigi, Remain, season, until

Premier League side Liverpool have been struggling to find their best form this season and winning the domestic league title is almost mathematically impossible for manager Kenny Dalglish and his men. Additionally, they are already eliminated from both the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Liverpool still have a chance of lifting a trophy at the end of the season though as they are still in the Europa League, and defender Martin Skrtel is eager to do just that.

"In the last few weeks we've got some good results and that was really important for us, for the players and the club. We just hope we carry on," Skrtel was quoted as saying on the official UEFA website.

"The Europa League is nice for us and a great chance to win a trophy this season. We all have to give our best for a good result in this competition.

"For me it's a great feeling working with Kenny Dalglish because he's a legend at the club – an icon."

Liverpool host Sparta Prague on Thursday in the last 32 after recording a 0-0 draw in the away leg last week.

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Labels: chance, Europa, Goalcom, Great, league, Liverpool, Martin, Skrtel, Trophy

Inter have been warned not to expect an easy game against Bayern Munich in tonight's Champions League encounter as former striker Sandro Mazzola picks out the dangermen.

Mazzola won the European Cup with La Grande Inter twice, and he expects Bayern to test Leonardo's men.

"I expect a difficult game where Inter will have to watch their opponents very carefully as they want revenge following last year," Mazzola told Tuttomercatoweb.com.

"Inter will need to watch Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger carefully.

"It's difficult to predict what type of game we will see, but I hope Inter will be determined with the will to win.

"I think Maicon or Dejan Stankovic will be decisive."

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Labels: against, Bayern, champions, European, Goalcom, Inter, league, Mazzola, Munich, Sandro, Tough, TwoTime, winner

Champions League holders Inter lock horns with German giants Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening and Inter playmaker Wesley Sneijder has singled out tricky winger Arjen Robben as the Bavarians' main attacking threat.

"Arjen is by far Bayern's most important player. We will have to do our utmost to make sure he doesn't get involved too much. He makes Bayern 50 per cent better with his presence," said Sneijder, according to Voetbal International.

"Bayern are a completely different team with Arjen. They really struggled without him, but they've returned to winning ways since his return. They score more goals now and Arjen has already been involved in a lot of goals again.

"We are determined to get a good result in the first leg. It's simply too dangerous to rely on a good result in the away game. We have a perfect team to play for a clean sheet and get a good result this way."

However, Bayern haven't lost a single game with Robben on the pitch in the 2010-11 campaign and Inter will have to be at their best to beat the German side.

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Labels: Arjen, Bayern, could, Difference, Goalcom, Inters, Munich, Robben, Sneijder, Wesley

The French outfit are the underdogs for the encounter, but the former Monaco boss believes his charges can knock the Red Devils out of the tournament.

"We're not going to wait for them of course," Deschamps told The Sun.

"We will take the game to them. They have a lot of quality up front but our chance is to create them problems at the back.

"The victory against Chelsea earlier this season, although we were both qualified, was a massive boost for my players. Chelsea played their best side in order to reverse the bad period they were going through.

"In a double header it's more difficult than one game of course. But only in football can you see the smaller team win — it doesn't happen in any other team sport.

"In rugby, basketball, handball the big team always wins. Manchester is not Marseille but we will play our chance even if it's a small one."

The 42-year-old also revealed that he intends to exploit a chink in United's armour, as he has spotted a defensive frailty.

But Deschamps was quick to point out that the Red Devils still remain a strong defensive unit despite the undisclosed "weakness".

He said: "I've spotted their weaknesses at the back of course. I won't tell you those now for sure, but it's certain we will not be content with just defending in the two matches.

"But United do defend very well, they have enormous talent. What interests me more is the different shapes they use. They have different types of organisation and what interests me particularly is how they apply it by the different use of players.

"They sometimes play one striker or two strikers although mostly in Europe they play only one with a reinforced midfield. That's what Sir Alex Ferguson has done every time."

Labels: Deschamps, Didier, Goalcom, Manchester, Marseille, United

After abject performances in recent weeks, and a penalty shoot-out FA Cup exit at the hands of Everton on Saturday, club captain Terry echoed the fighting talk of manager Carlo Ancelotti before the match, and is hopeful that re-capturing the winning feeling could spark a fresh run of form.

The 30-year-old told Sky Sports: “It’s a good lift, obviously winning does that, you can see the buzz in the dressing room but it’s important now we continue this run again this could be the start of it as I said yesterday.

“The manager said we’re still not dead, there are still an awful lot of points to play for and we will keep fighting.”

Terry and his defensive comrades had little to do in a game which Chelsea eased through and the skipper was pleased with how his side executed their plans for the fixture, showering particular praise on the Blues strike force.

Quizzed on his views of the performance, Terry said: “Exactly what we asked for yesterday, I thought we set out our game plan very well, the two up top worked very well and with the pace of the two guys up-front it caused difficulties all night for them.”

Chelsea’s front pairing on the night saw Fernando Torres and Nicolas Anelka lead the line, with the Frenchman grabbing the headlines while the Spaniard came close to breaking his duck on several occasions.

Anelka put Chelsea in-front on 17 minutes and the Blues never looked in threat of losing their lead, only capable of extending it. The Frenchman obliged early in the second period when rounding off a sweet Chelsea move with a crisp drive across the helpless Copenhagen 'keeper.

Commenting on Anelka, Terry added: “Fantastic, it’s difficult for the strikers at the minute because there’s so much competition, but credit to themselves, Didier when he came on as well caused a lot of trouble, they seem to be clicking and working well.

“And obviously it’s always going to take a couple of weeks for the guys to settle in, hopefully this is the start of very good partnerships.”


Labels: build, CALLS, champions, Chelsea, Copenhagen, Goalcom, league, Terry, victory

The Eastlands outfit have spent lavishly to bring in top talent, paying enormous sums to land the services of their targets.

And the former Barca midfielder believes that with such spending, City are bound to overtake the Catalan club in due course.

"You cannot compare Barcelona with City right now because Barca are at the top and have top-quality players," Toure told The Sun.

"They have Leo Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Dani Alves, who are fantastic. But we are still signing new players.

"In a couple of years we could be better than Barcelona. What we need to do is continue to work hard and improve with every game.

"I keep saying to my brother Kolo and my family that City have great players but we need to continue to work hard to become great."

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Labels: Barcelona, better, could, Goalcom, Manchester, Toure, years

The Columbus Crew announced on Monday that they have signed 28-year-old midfielder Josh Gardner to a multi-year contract. Per league and club policy, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Josh is a left-footed player with good passing ability," said Crew head coach Robert Warzycha. "He was drafted by the Galaxy so he has some MLS experience, and will provide the depth on the left side that we need."

Gardner was originally a first round draft choice of the Los Angeles Galaxy back in 2004, but never stuck with the Western Conference team, making only 21 appearances with the club over two years. He also spent time with the NASL version of the Seattle Sounders and most recently played with the Carolina Railhawks.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for me," Gardner said. "I am very happy that the coaching staff saw something in me and decided to bring me on board. I am humbled by my journey to get here, but it is a great opportunity to come to a team that has such great tradition. I look forward to the hard work and to continue that tradition by helping the team achieve its goals.”

The midfielder attended the Univeristy of Cinncinnati from 2001-2003 where he played in all 60 matches for the Bearcats.

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Labels: Columbus, Gardner, Goalcom, Midfielder, NewLook, Roster