Saturday, May 31, 2014

Spain announce Final 23-man World Cup squad

Spain have announced their 23-man squad which will travel to Brazil this summer for the World Cup.

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, David de Gea

Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Raoul Albiol, Javi Martinez, Jordi Alba, Cesar Azpilicueta, Juanfran Torres

Midfielders: Koke, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fabregas, Santi Cazorla, Pedro Rodriguez, Juan Mata, David Silva

Strikers: Fernando Torres, David Villa, Diego Costa

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UEFA close off two sections of the Santiago Bernabeu due to ‘nazi flag’, Real Madrid to appeal

UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body recently announced that they are imposing sanctions against Real Madrid, resulting in the closure of two sections of their Santiago Bernabeu stadium for their next home Champions League due to racist events that occurred in their 23 April semi-final match against Bayern Munich.

UEFA went on divulge that the sanction is under Article 14 of the Disciplinary Regulation, which will close down sections 120 and 122 after Real Madrid we found guilty of racist behaviour, which is a result of a fan waving a flag with a Nazi swastika.

“Real Madrid are obliged to display a banner with the wording ‘No to Racism’ in those sectors.

All forms of racist behaviour are considered serious offences against the disciplinary regulations and are severely punished. Following the entry into force of the new disciplinary regulations on 1 June 2013, the fight against racist conduct has been stepped up – resulting in tougher sanctions to deter any such behaviour.”

However, Real Madrid intends to fight the sanction, contesting that referee, Howard Webb didn’t actually see the flag, as it wasn’t in his post-match report, and that the punishment is retroactive following the social media firestorm it cause on social media after the flag was seen.
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Portugal boss concerned about Ronaldo knee injury as World Cup looms

Portugal head coach Paulo Bento is concerned about the wellbeing of captain Cristiano Ronaldo, according to reports in the Portuguese media.

The Real Madrid superstar played in the recent Champions League final despite carrying a knee injury, and that exertion has left the forward with swollen tendons in his left knee. He will go to Brazil, for sure, but he may be protected in training before Portugal's first game, against Germany on Monday 16th June.

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Netherlands announce Final 23-man World Cup squad

Louis van Gaal did not spring any surprises with his selection for Brazil, with the experienced likes of Wesley Sniejder and Dirk Kuyt making the cut alongside a host of youngsters

Netherlands have announced their final 23-man squad which will go to the World Cup this summer, with few surprises from Louis van Gaal's selection.

Major names such as Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, Nigel de Jong and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar star in the 2010 World Cup runners-up squad, who will look to make amends for their group stage Euro 2012 exit this summer.

Rafael van der Vaart is the most notable absentee but his omission was already confirmed after he picked up a calf injury in training with the Oranje set-up this week.

Jasper Cillessen, Michel Vorm and Tim Krul were chosen as the three goalkeepers by future Manchester United boss Van Gaal, who sent home uncapped PSV shot-stopper Jeroen Zoet.

Chelsea full-back Patrick van Aanholt and young Manchester City centre-back Karim Rekik, both of whom spent 2013-14 on loan in the Eredivisie, were also axed from the final Dutch squad.

Youthful forwards Jean-Paul Boetius and Quincy Promes - who have a cap each - will not be on the plane to Brazil, while uncapped midfielder Tonny Vilhena is the final name to be excluded from Van Gaal's final selection.

The squad chosen will aim to qualify from a tough group which contain world and European champions Spain, strong South Americans Chile and Asian-region qualifiers Australia.

Netherlands Final 23-man World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Jasper Cillessen (Ajax), Michel Vorm (Swansea City), Tim Krul (Newcastle United)

Defenders: Paul Verhaegh (Augsburg), Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord), Joel Veltman (Ajax), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord), Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Terence Kongolo (Feyenoord), Daley Blind (Ajax)

Midfielders: Leroy Fer (Norwich City), Nigel de Jong (AC Milan), Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord), Jonathan de Guzman (Swansea City), Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray)

Forwards: Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Robin van Persie (Manchester United), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce), Jeremain Lens (Dynamo Kiev), Memphis Depay (PSV)
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Luis Suarez agent: 'Big offer from Real Madrid would be hard to turn down'

Luis Suarez's agent has said that the Liverpool striker is settled at Anfield but admitted that a big money offer from Real Madrid would be difficult to turn down.

Madrid are reportedly preparing a bid of around £100m for the Uruguayan after he enjoyed a prolific season with the Reds.

"A year ago he was very likely to leave Liverpool," Alejandro Balbi told Cadena Ser.

"Now I think it is very difficult because he is an idol, although clubs can offer a lot of money.

"If there is such a big offer from Real Madrid, it is very difficult to say no. Luis Suarez has always had a predisposition for Spain."

Suarez, who scored 31 goals in the Premier League this season, underwent knee surgery last week and is a doubt for the World Cup.
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Arsenal line up Alvaro Morata and Karim Benzema

Arsenal are reportedly closing in on a double swoop for Real Madrid strikers Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata.

The Gunners have been keen on Morata for some time and failed with a bid in January, while manager Arsene Wenger has been keeping tabs on France international Benzema's position at Santiago Bernabeu.

Wenger has been in the hunt for a striker but is now readying a double move for the Los Blancos pair, according to The Express.

Benzema has just 12 months remaining on his current deal in Spain and could be available in a cut-price move, while 21-year-old Morata is way down the pecking order with the Champions League winners.

Morata could be landed for around £8m, provided Madrid have a buy-back clause inserted into any potential deal, according to the report.
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Thibaut Courtois open to Chelsea return

Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois has said that he is open to returning to Chelsea after this summer's World Cup.

Courtois has spent the past three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid and played a pivotal part in their success last season, with Diego Simeone's side winning La Liga and reaching the Champions League final.

He played against Chelsea, his parent clu , in the semi-final of Europe's elite club competition but said that a move back to Stamford Bridge could be best for his career.

He told Cuatro: "We will talk after the World Cup, we'll talk with Chelsea. I'm very comfortable here, I love living here, but at times you have to think about the sporting aspect. We'll see what happens, I can't say right now. First the World Cup."

Courtois previously admitted that he felt no "emotional connection" with the London club.
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Wenger: 'Arsenal will spend big in the summer'

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that the club will spend big in the transfer market this summer, after the Frenchman signed a new three-year deal at the Emirates.

The Gunners ended their nine-year wait for a major trophy by winning the FA Cup last season, and Wenger wants to build on that success by strengthening the squad and challenging for the title in the next campaign.

He told reporters: "We know we have to have a successful June and July, that's where you strengthen the team. It's very important that we are good now in the next two months until the end of August, that we can give to the team some more quality and go into next season with the belief we got from [the FA Cup] win.

"Should the fans expect a big summer? Yes, they should expect that. What I can promise is that we work very hard in a market that is very, very congested with many people who have a lot of money.

"But we have a big advantage, players want to join us and if we find the right quality I'm sure we can strengthen the team."

Wenger is currently the longest-serving manager in the Premier League, having stayed with Arsenal for 18 years.
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Arda Turan agent cools talk of exit

Arda Turan's agent has said that his client is happy at Atletico Madrid amid speculation of a move away from the club in the summer.

The Turkish midfielder is reportedly a target for Liverpool and Manchester United but his agent, Ahmet Bulut, believes that he will still be at the Spanish club next season.

"We don't have any deal in mind, as Arda is very happy at Atletico Madrid. He has a contract until 2017, although everything depends on Atletico. They will decide on Arda," Bulut told AS.

Turan found the net three times and assisted another four goals last season to help Atletico win their first La Liga title since 1996.

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Borussia Dortmund set to complete Immobile signing

Ciro Immobile is expected to today complete a €19.5m transfer from Torino and Juventus to join Borussia Dortmund.

The 24-year-old, whose 22 goals earned him the Capocannoniere title for 2013-14, was heavily reported on Thursday evening as having had his sale to the Bundesliga outfit accepted by Juve and Toro.

It is understood that the Bianconeri have agreed to initially buy back Torino’s 50 per cent share in the striker, before then selling him on to Dortmund for a fee believed to be in the region of €19.5m.

The player, who is reported to have agreed to a five year contract worth €2m a season with the Germans, is expected to have paperwork on his move signed off today, ahead of official confirmation coming through.

Immobile is reported by Tuttosport as even in line to be presented by his prospective new club on Sunday.

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Valencia ready to make Llorente offer

Valencia are ready to make a ‘huge bid’ for Juventus striker Fernando Llorente, according to reports.

The Spain international was one of the stand-out performers for the Bianconeri last season, adapting well to Italian football despite only joining from Athletic Bilbao in the summer.

The towering forward netted 16 times in Serie A, forging a superb partnership with fellow newcomer Carlos Tevez.

But having signed on a free from Los Leones, La Sexta claim that Antonio Conte’s men would be willing to off-load Llorente if they can receive a large fee.

And it is suggested that under new owner Peter Lim, Los Che would table a massive offer in order to get their man.

Valencia have also been linked with Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko.
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Madrid to offer €50m-plus-player for Vidal

Real Madrid are ready to offer €50m plus players for Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal, it has been revealed.

The Chile international has been heavily linked with a switch to Santiago Bernabeu this summer, with Coach Carlo Ancelotti himself admitting that they could be interested in his services.

And Tuttosport lead with the news this morning that Los Blancos are prepared to table €50m to land the Bianconeri man.

The paper also claims that one, or possibly two, of Marcelo, Fabio Coentrao and Alvaro Morata could also come to Turin as part of the deal.
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Atlético Madrid fans launch grassroots campaign to prevent the signing of Roberto Soldado

Atletico Madrid has been linked with a move for former Valencia and current Tottenham Hotspur striker, Roberto Soldado over the past week, but the fans have made their thoughts on the signing very clear, even inventing a hashtag (#UnAtletiSinSoldado/#AnAtletiWithoutSoldado) to create a viral trend.

Atlético Madrid are looking to cover their Number 9 spot as it appears that Diego Costa will leave the club and join Chelsea, while David Villa will leave and move to MLS side, New York City FC, and while Atleti has been linked with a multitude of strikers, it’s the rumoured move for Roberto Soldado that has many Colchoneros up in arms.

Soldado joined Tottenham from Valencia in a €30 million deal last summer, but has failed to show the same goal-scoring prowess he showed in Spain.

However, it’s not necessarily Soldado’s complete drop in quality or the fact that the 29-year-old was brought up in the Real Madrid youth system that has the fans up in arms, but an incident that occurred in a match against Valencia in November 2012, where Soldado drove his spikes into the forehead of then-star, Radamel Falcao, causing the Colombian to bleed profusely and get stitches that were in for several weeks, something the fans will, it seems, not soon forget.
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Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1 Cote d'Ivoire : Edin Dzeko brace fire Bosnia past Elephants

The Man City forward scored twice on Friday's friendly, ensuring that Didier Drogba's stunner was nothing but a consolation goal

Edin Dzeko bagged a double as Bosnia-Herzegovina accounted for Cote d'Ivoire 2-1 in their international friendly in St Louis on Friday.

Dzeko scored either side of the half-time break to inspire Bosnia to victory against their fellow World Cup participants at Edward Jones Dome.

The Manchester City striker broke the deadlock just past the quarter-hour mark before making sure of the win eight minutes into the second-half.

Cote d'Ivoire substitute Didier Drogba scored a stunning free kick during the closing stages, though it was only a mere consolation.

It was a confidence-boosting win for Bosnia, who are set to face Argentina, Nigeria and Iran in Group F in their first-ever World Cup appearance.

Safet Susic's men had lost their last two competitive games prior to Friday's fixture but they now head into Tuesday's friendly against Mexico full of confidence.

As for Cote d'Ivoire, it is back to the drawing board and quickly after three games without a win, with the African nation up against Colombia, Greece and Japan in Group C in Brazil.

A very open start saw Bosnia with the better of the play before Dzeko's opening goal in the 17th minute.

Miscommunication in the Cote d'Ivoire defence led to the ball falling to the Manchester City striker at the edge of the area.

With goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo having been drawn out by an attempted chest back, Dzeko was on hand to curl an effort into an open net for his 34th international goal.

Cote d'Ivoire started to settle into the encounter midway through the first half, albeit without overly troubling Asmir Begovic's goal.

It was mostly from set pieces that Ivory Coast, without Manchester City star Yaya Toure and his brother Kolo, looked threatening.

Bosnia continued where they left off after the break, doubling their advantage in the 53rd minute.

Miralem Pjanic delivered the ball to Dzeko on the edge of the box and the towering front man turned his defender before finding the back of the net with a half-volley to move 10 goals clear of team-mate Zvjezdan Misimovic in the scoring charts, though Gbohouo could have done better.

Cote d'Ivoire almost found a way back into the contest on the hour-mark, however their effort was cleared off the line by veteran defender Emir Spahic.

The introduction of Drogba sparked Cote d'Ivoire into action, however, but as they attempted to reduce the deficit, it left them exposed in defence during the final half-hour.

Second-half substitute Vedad Ibisevic, who replaced man-of-the-match Dzeko, was at the centre of some decent chances for Bosnia, but the Stuttgart striker could not get on the end of several delightful crosses into the penalty area.

Bosnia were by far the better team throughout but they were breached in the first minute of injury-time.

Drogba was fouled outside the box and the striker, who is a free agent after leaving Galatasaray, alerted potential suitors with a thunderous free kick - his sixth goal in eight games for the national team.

Bosnia are back in action against Mexico in Chicago on Wednesday before flying out to Brazil for their opening World Cup match against Argentina on June 15.

Meanwhile, Cote d'Ivoire are set to face El Salvador on the same day before going head-to-head with Japan in the opening game of their World Cup campaign on June 14.

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Rickie Lambert arrives for Liverpool medical

Southampton striker Rickie Lambert has reportedly arrived in Liverpool for a medical ahead of his £4m switch to Anfield.

The Saints forward is ready to finalise the details on his move, and will undergo the procedure at around 11am on Saturday morning, according to Sky Sports News.

The 32-year-old stayed at a city centre hotel on Friday evening, and was driven to the club's Melwood training ground to complete the medical, before heading back to meet up with the rest of the England squad ahead of their departure to Miami.

Meanwhile, the Reds are believed to have tabled a fresh £25m move for Southampton captain Adam Lallana.
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