Latest Football News

• Anelka slams French federation over 18-match ban

  PARIS, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Nicolas Anelka has described the French Football Federation (FFF) as a "bunch of clowns" after they handed the striker an 18-game international ban for his role in the national team's World Cup revolt in South Africa.

• Argentina defender Otamendi to join Porto from Velez

  BUENOS AIRES, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Argentina World Cup defender Nicolas Otamendi is to join Porto from Velez Sarsfield after the Portuguese side agreed a deal for 50 percent of the player's transfer rights, the Argentine club said.

• Argentina planning England match next year - agent

  BUENOS AIRES, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Big soccer rivals Argentina and England could play a friendly on Feb. 9, 2011, the man charged with organising the South American team's international calendar said on Thursday.

• Argentine midfielder Solari set to join Penarol

  MONTEVIDEO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Former Real Madrid and Inter Milan midfielder Santiago Solari is poised to leave Mexico's Atlante for Penarol, the Uruguayan champions said on Wednesday.

• Atletico too good for Inter in Super Cup

  MONACO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Atletico Madrid gave new Inter Milan coach Rafa Benitez plenty to think about when they deservedly beat the Champions League winners 2-0 in the European Super Cup at the Stade Louis II on Friday.

• Beckham hoping to return to MLS action next week

  CARSON, California, Sept 2 (Reuters) - David Beckham hopes to make his return to action in LA Galaxy's match against Columbus Crew on Sept. 11, the midfielder said on Thursday.

• Benin confirm Nobilo as coach just in time for qualifier

  COTONOU, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Frenchman Jean-Marc Nobilo was confirmed by the Benin football federation as their new coach only five days before they begin their African Nations Cup qualifying campaign on Sunday.

• Blackpool sign midfielder Carney

  Blackpool complete the signing of FC Twente's Australian midfielder David Carney for an undisclosed fee.

• Bolton cancel Shittu's contract

  Bolton terminate the contract of Nigeria international defender Danny Shittu.

• Bradley to stay on as U.S. coach for 2014 World Cup

  CHICAGO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Bob Bradley has agreed to stay on as United States coach for another four years to include the 2014 World Cup, U.S. Soccer said on Monday.

• Bruma signs new deal with Chelsea

  Chelsea's teenage defender Jeffrey Bruma signs a new contract keeping him at the club until 2014.

• Bulgarian champions Litex appoint Penev as coach

  SOFIA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Bulgarian champions Litex Lovech have appointed Luboslav Penev as their new head coach, the club said on Friday.

• Cameroon's Geremi joins Larissa in Greece

  ATHENS, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Cameroon international midfielder Geremi has joined Greek Super League side Larissa on a free transfer, the club announced on Tuesday.

• Celtic crash out of Europe

  A hat-trick from Ricky van Wolfswinkel helped Utrecht turn their Europa League tie with Celtic on its head.

• Chile's Ponce moves to Racing Santander on loan

  SANTIAGO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Chile World Cup defender Waldo Ponce has joined Racing Santander on loan, the Spanish club's president Francisco Pernia said on Tuesday.

• Chinese officials deserve Iran snub - soccer chief

  BEIJING, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Iran's demand for a neutral referee for their friendly against China this week is disrespectful but local match officials only have themselves to blame, according to China's soccer chief Wei Di.

• Chinese player Feng's sight saved after bus incident

  BEIJING, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Shenyang Dongjin defender Feng Shaoshun will not lose the sight in his left eye which was cut by glass after opposing fans stoned the team bus, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) said on Wednesday.

• City ease into group stage

  Man City are through to the Europa League group stage after a 2-0 home win against FC Timisoara.

• Coaches support five-refs experiment, say UEFA

  NYON, Switzerland, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Europe's leading coaches are in favour of the experiment with two extra linesmen behind the goals and prefer it to the use of goal-line technology, UEFA said on Thursday.

• Colombian club looks to hit back at striking players

  BOGOTA, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Colombian former South American champions Once Caldas could punish or sack players who have gone on strike over owed salaries, a club official said on Tuesday.

• Colombian club's players end strike over unpaid salaries

  BOGOTA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Players of Colombia's Once Caldas ended a strike and returned to training on Wednesday after reaching agreement with the club over stalled salary payments.

• Corinthians centenary celebrations marked by tragedy

  RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Celebrations to mark Brazilian soccer giants Corinthians 100th birthday on Wednesday were grimly overshadowed when a 21-year-old woman was run over by the club's official bus as it left the party.

• Croatian Rubcic named as Bangladesh coach

  DHAKA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Croatian Robert Rubcic has been named as the new coach of the Bangladesh soccer team, with his first assignment to be the Asian Games in November.

• Curbishley linked with Villa job

  Alan Curbishley is among those to be interviewed for the vacant manager's post at Aston Villa, BBC Sport understands.

• Dedication is key for Carragher

  As he prepares for his testimonial game, Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher says his strong character has kept him playing at the top level since 1997.

• Djalo replaces injured Varela in Portugal squad

  LISBON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Sporting forward Yannick Djalo will replace Porto's injured Silvestre Varela in Portugal's squad for Euro 2012 qualifiers at home to Cyprus on Friday and away to Norway four days later, the Portuguese Football Federation said on Tuesday.

• Essien puts international career with Ghana on hold

  JOHANNESBURG, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has stood down from international football for the foreseeable future, telling Ghana he wants to return to form at club level, coach Milovan Rajevac said.

• Euro dream over for United

  Dundee United's European adventure came to an end after a 1-1 second-leg draw against AEK Athens.

• Europa League draw

  Manchester City face Italian giants Juventus, while Liverpool tackle Napoli in the Europa League group stage.

• Europa League round-up A-F

  Sporting Lisbon battled from two goals down to win their tie against Brondby 3-2 on aggregate.

• Europa League round-up G-L

  Besiktas look like they could be one of the teams to beat in this year's Europa League as they cantered through to the group stage.

• Europa League round-up M-U

  PSV survived their scare against Russians Sibir to comfortably book a Europa League group stage place.

• Europa woe for Well

  Motherwell saw their Europa League dreams dashed on Thursday as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Odense.

• Exit leaves Lennon feeling low

  Neil Lennon admits seeing Celtic slip out of the Europa League on Thursday was difficult to stomach.

• FA refuses to accept Ukraine coach's resignation

  KIEV, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The Ukrainian FA has refused to accept the resignation of national coach Myron Markevich who quit in protest on Saturday after his club Metalist Kharkiv were punished for match fixing.

• Ferdinand fit to play - Solskjaer

  Rio Ferdinand is ready to play for the Manchester United first team, according to reserves boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

• Former U.S and Fulham striker McBride to retire

  CHICAGO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Former United States World Cup striker Brian McBride will retire at the end of the current Major League Soccer season, his club Chicago Fire said Friday.

• France's Ribery will not appeal three-match ban

  PARIS, Aug 25 (Reuters) - France midfielder Franck Ribery will not appeal the decision by the French Football Federation (FFF) to ban him for three matches for his role in the team's World Cup revolt, the player's lawyer said on Wednesday.

• Gerrard eyes Europa task

  Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is looking forward to the challenge his side face in the Europa League.

• Goodnight Vienna for Villa

  Aston Villa's misery continued as they were dumped out of the Europa League after defeat to Rapid Vienna.

• Gudjohnsen lacking match fitness

  New Stoke City signing Eidur Gudjohnsen says that he needs games after training alone while looking for a new club.

• Injury blow for Serbia defender Ivanovic

  BELGRADE, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic will miss Serbia's opening Euro 2012 qualifiers in Faroe Islands on Friday due to a back injury and is also unlikely to play in the home game with Slovenia on Sept. 7.

• Joint Iberian World Cup bid earns FIFA praise

  LISBON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - FIFA ended a four-day visit to inspect Spain and Portugal's 2018 or 2022 World Cup bid by praising the countries' capacity to co-ordinate effectively in hosting a joint event.

• Juve leave out Buffon

  Juventus have omitted Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from their 25-man squad for the Europa League.

• Juve warned over Balotelli

  Juventus have been warned they face tough sanctions if their fans target Mario Balotelli with racist abuse.

• Kalitvintsev named Ukraine caretaker coach

  KIEV, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Former Ukraine midfielder Yuri Kalitvintsev was appointed the national team's caretaker coach on Wednesday, the country's football federation (FFU) said.

• Levski bus stoned after Europa League match in Sweden

  SOFIA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Levski Sofia's team bus was hit by stones and bottles following the Bulgarian club's Europa League playoff game against AIK Stockholm in Sweden, local media reported on Friday.

• MacDonald admits major blow

  Kevin MacDonald admitted that the Aston Villa's exit to Rapid Vienna may now not get him a permanent job.

• Mancini relishing Euro tilt

  Man City boss Roberto Mancini is relishing a tilt at Europa League glory after reaching the group stage.

• Mexico mulls cutting foreigners from domestic league

  MEXICO CITY, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Mexico, whose younger players impressed at the World Cup, are looking to cut the number of foreigners in the domestic league to increase international opportunities for the country's juniors.

• Mexico's Franco announces international retirement

  MEXICO CITY, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Argentine-born striker Guillermo Franco, without a club since leaving West Ham United in May, has quit international soccer.

• Midfield berth attracts Scharner

  Paul Scharner says he joined West Brom with the promise that he would play in his favoured position of centre midfield.

• Midfielder Hasebe limps out of Japan friendlies

  TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Japan midfielder Makoto Hasebe will miss Saturday's friendly against Paraguay because of a calf strain.

• New Japan coach promises 'Zac-attack' as chief samurai

  TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Japan's new coach Alberto Zaccheroni swept into Tokyo on Tuesday, asking to be called "Zac" and promising a lasting legacy from his reign.

• Neymar inspires Santos to fourth straight win in Brazil

  RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Brazil prodigy Neymar volleyed a fine goal from the edge of the box after 52 seconds to inspire Santos to a 2-1 win over Avai that put them third in the Brazilian championship on Thursday.

• Nine World Cup members make France return

  PARIS, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Nine players who took part in France's World Cup fiasco, among them goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and winger Florent Malouda, were named on Thursday in coach Laurent Blanc's squad for Euro 2012 qualifiers early next month.

• Olympiakos agree to sign striker Pantelic

  ATHENS, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Olympiakos Piraeus agreed a deal for Serbia striker Marko Pantelic on Friday, continuing a rash of recruitment under new coach Ernesto Valverde.

• Police search for Cabanas shooter in Colombia

  BOGOTA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Colombian police are searching for a Mexican fugitive wanted for the shooting in January of Paraguay soccer player Salvador Cabanas, a senior officer said on Thursday.

• Portugal's Simao to quit national side

  LISBON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Portugal winger Simao Sabrosa said on Friday he was quitting the national soccer side for personal reasons.

• Premier League transfer spending dips to three-year low

  Overall spending by English clubs was around 350 million pounds ($539.2 million), 22 percent below the levels of 2009 and the lowest after three years of record growth, Deloitte said in a report released after the English deadline closed on Tuesday.

• Queiroz banned for insulting anti-doping agents

  LISBON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Portugal suspended coach Carlos Queiroz for one month on Thursday and fined him 1,000 euros ($1,284) for insulting anti-doping agents before the soccer World Cup, but cleared him of obstructing anti-doping activity.

• Reds roar back to go through

  Liverpool booked their place in the group stages of the Europa League after beating Trabzonspor.

• Round-up-Chelsea win again, Real draw

  LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - English champions Chelsea maintained their perfect start to the season but Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid were held 0-0 at Real Mallorca and German champions Bayern suffered a shock defeat to Kaiserslautern.

• Serbia drop Stojkovic and Pantelic for Euro qualifiers

  BELGRADE, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Serbia coach Radomir Antic has dropped goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic and striker Marko Pantelic for the side's opening Euro 2012 qualifiers in the Faroe Islands on Friday and at home to Slovenia on Sept. 8.

• Sneijder and Forlan battle to light up Super Cup

  MONACO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder and Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan can strengthen their cases to be World Player of the Year with more stellar performances in Friday's European Super Cup.

• Soccer-Carcela leaves Belgium and Morocco waiting to mull future

  BRUSSELS, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Belgium or Morocco? Standard Liege midfielder Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez says he still cannot decide which country to play for, explaining his no-show at Belgian training this week.

• Spain eyes 2018 World Cup prize as fitting end to year

  MADRID, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Being chosen to host the 2018 World Cup would be a fitting end to a year in which Spain were crowned world champions, Spanish sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky said on Tuesday.

• Spain recall Torres and Iniesta for Euro game

  MADRID, Aug 26 (Reuters) - World and European champions Spain have recalled Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres for their Euro 2012 qualification opener against Liechtenstein on Sept. 3 and friendly against Argentina four days later.

• Spurs clinch Van der Vaart deal

  Tottenham secure an £8m deal for Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.

• Sudan avoids international ban as FIFA accepts vote

  KHARTOUM, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Sudan has avoided being banned from international soccer after the country's Football Association re-ran its elections without government interference, FIFA said on Tuesday.

• Trabzonspor v Liverpool preview

  Liverpool take on Trabzonspor in their second leg Europa League tie without seven first-team players.

• U.S back Bradley but tight-lipped over alternatives

  MIAMI, Aug 31 (Reuters) - United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati refused on Tuesday to confirm whether he had talked to any other coaches before signing up incumbent Bob Bradley to four more years in the role.

• Uefa announces vuvuzela ban

  Uefa has decided to ban vuvuzelas from all European competition following their use at the World Cup.

• UEFA bans vuvuzelas from European competition

  BERNE, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Vuvuzelas have been kicked out of European competitions after UEFA said that the controversial plastic trumpets drowned out supporters and detracted from the emotion of the game.

• UEFA chief Platini shows red card to poor refereeing

  MONACO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Bad referees have no place in soccer and will no longer be tolerated by UEFA, president Michel Platini said on Thursday.

• United defend season ticket sales

  Manchester United chief executive David Gill defends the club's failure to reach their season ticket sales target.

• Vienna swoop for Vennegoor

  Rapid Vienna have confirmed the signing of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink on a free transfer.

• Villa return for keeper Marshall

  Aston Villa re-sign 35-year-old goalkeeper Andy Marshall having released him at the start of the summer.

• West Brom sign full-back Hurst

  Portsmouth full-back James Hurst signs a two-year deal with West Brom.

• West Ham seal deal for Jacobsen

  West Ham confirm the signing of Danish right-back Lars Jacobsen from Blackburn Rovers.

• Woodgate left out of Spurs squad

  Jonathan Woodgate is left out of Tottenham's 25-man squad but Manchester United include Owen Hargreaves.

• Yobo completes Fenerbahce switch

  Everton defender Joseph Yobo joins Turkish side Fenerbahce on loan.

• Zaccheroni joins Japan's 2022 bid team

  TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Japan have wasted little time putting new coach Alberto Zaccheroni to work by making him an ambassador for the country's 2022 World Cup bid.

• Zaccheroni to become new Japan coach

  TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Former AC Milan and Juventus manager Alberto Zaccheroni has been named as the new coach of Japan, the country's governing body announced on Monday.

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