Spanish side FC Barcelona will be at full strength when they look to defeat Italian champions Juventus to win their fifth Champions League trophy in the final at Berlin.Saturday’s game in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin promises to be a…
Category: Football
Messi the man as Barca close on historic treble
Barcelona’s talismanic Lionel Messi remains the driving force of a talented side on the brink of repeating 2009’s historic treble despite a change in their coach and style of football, not to mention a host of players.The Argentine provided the…
Tyrants will fall: FIFA’s Jack warner speaks
By Miriam Wells The former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner today made a dramatic televised address in which he claims he fears for his life and has documents directly implicating Sepp Blatter in wrongdoing. Speaking in a broadcast entitled Jack…
Ex-Fifa executive detailed bribes in 2013 secret guilty plea
A former executive committee member of football’s global governing body Fifa told a US judge in November 2013 that he and other officials took bribes in connection with the 1998 and 2010 World Cups, among other major tournaments.Chuck Blazer, a…
Fifa crisis: Ex-official Chuck Blazer details bribe-taking
Former top Fifa official Chuck Blazer admits that he and others on the executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the choice of South Africa as 2010 World Cup host. The American says he also helped to arrange…
What next for football after Fifa chief’s resignation?
Sepp Blatter’s resignation as Fifa president just days after his re-election to the most powerful job in world football is a seismic moment. The 79-year-old has wielded power for 17 years but will leave with Fifa mired in a corruption…
Marvellous Messi leads Barcelona to King’s Cup final triumph
A magical Lionel Messi goal, the first of a personal double, led treble-chasing Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the King’s Cup final on Saturday.The Argentine skipped superbly past four players in a mazy run after 20…
Prince William issues call for Fifa to ‘put the sport first’
The Duke of Cambridge has urged world football governing body Fifa to “show that it can represent the interests of fair play and put the sport first”. Prince William, the president of the FA, made his comments during a speech…
Fifa’s Blatter comes out fighting despite scandal and divisions
Fifa President Sepp Blatter came out fighting on Saturday as he began his fifth term in charge of soccer’s governing body, implying that the United States timed the announcement of a major corruption probe to try to scupper his re-election…
FIFA leader Sepp Blatter wins 5th term amid mass graft scandal
Two days after seven FIFA officials were arrested by Swiss police on charges of corruption, and others were detained around the world, septuagenarian and incumbent leader Sepp Blatter — who has led FIFA since 1998 and weathered numerous calls to…
Sepp Blatter seeks 5th term as graft scandal grips FIFA
The 209 members of Fifa are to vote for their new president at a congress in Zurich, as football’s world governing body faces a major corruption scandal. Sepp Blatter, the favourite, is seeking a fifth term. He is being challenged…
New FIFA President should end abuses
New York – The next president of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) – world football’s governing body – should ensure that future host countries of the World Cup are required to comply with fundamental human rights norms. The FIFA…
Britain says ‘something deeply wrong’ at FIFA
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Thursday there was something deeply wrong at the heart of world football’s governing body FIFA and that it needed to be reformed.
World soccer rocked as top officials held in US, Swiss graft cases
Seven of the most powerful figures in global soccer faced extradition to the United States on corruption charges after being arrested on Wednesday in Switzerland, where authorities also announced a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two World…
Fifa corruption probes: Officials arrested in Zurich
Two criminal probes into corruption at football’s governing body Fifa are under way, after seven senior officials were arrested in Zurich on US charges. Separately, Swiss prosecutors launched a criminal case into the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World…
Barcelona players dominate La Liga team of the season
Four Barcelona players topped the list of the best 11 La Liga footballers in the 2014-15 season, as chosen by the editors of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) website.The Catalan team, which won the title, decorated the all-star…
Second player death in Argentina in 10 days
Atletico Parana defender Cristian Gomez died on his way to hospital after collapsing on the pitch during a match on Sunday, the second such death to hit Argentine football in 10 days.Matches in all divisions had resumed this weekend after…
Real heavyweight Ronaldo backs coach Ancelotti
Real Madrid top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo has signalled strong support for coach Carlo Ancelotti and sent a clear message to club president Florentino Perez that he does not want the Italian to be sacked.Perez is widely expected to make Ancelotti…
I would never choose to leave Chelsea, says Mourinho
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho would not choose to leave the club he has just steered to another Premier League title but he is prepared to manage another English team, the Portuguese coach has told the BBC.Mourinho, 52, said in an…
Xavi quits Barca for Qatar after 17 glittering seasons
Barcelona midfielder and captain Xavi confirmed on Thursday he will leave his boyhood club at the end of the season and has agreed to join Qatari side Al Sadd after a glittering career stretching over 17 seasons.The 35-year-old former Spain…
Fabregas gets comical red as Chelsea slump at West Brom
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas was sent off in bizarre circumstances as the below-par Premier League champions, playing with 10 men for over an hour, slumped 3-0 at West Bromwich Albion on Monday.
Messi eulogised after leading Barca to La Liga triumph
Spain’s biggest selling sports daily Marca summed it up in Monday’s headline after Barcelona wrapped up a fifth La Liga title in seven years and their 23rd overall on Sunday: “Messi’s League”.The Argentina forward scored a typically brilliant goal to…
Barca not out for revenge against Atletico, says Luis Enrique
Atletico Madrid were the scourge of Barcelona last season but the Catalans’ coach Luis Enrique says they will not be on a revenge mission when they visit the Calderon on Sunday looking to win back their La Liga crown.Barca hold…
This Barcelona side is bombproof, says Pique
Barcelona have had their ups and downs this season and centre back Gerard Pique believes it is partly the team’s durability in times of adversity that has helped propel them to the brink of a treble of titles.Barca were four…
Real forwards flop as holders exit Champions League
Real Madrid paid more than 200 million euros (145 million pounds) to assemble their forward line of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema but the attacking trio failed them again in Wednesday’s Champions League exit to Juventus.Ronaldo did manage…
Messi is the best player of all time: Guardiola
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is the best player ever, Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday after the Spanish side eliminated the Bavarians 5-3 on aggregate to reach next month’s Champions League final.”He is the best player of all time,” Guardiola…
Crisis-hit Bayern with mountain to climb against Barca
Bayern Munich will not only have to overturn a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first leg deficit against Barcelona on Tuesday but they will have to do it against a superb defence and in the midst of their biggest slump in…
Chelsea is winning the heart of Japan
A 15-minute walk from the Shin-Yokohama bullet train stop, just southwest of Tokyo, the Nissan Stadium undergoes an awkward rebranding as the International Stadium Yokohama every time Japan plays host to the “Fifa Club World Cup presented by Toyota”.
Crisis-hit Bayern with mountain to climb against Barca
Bayern Munich will not only have to overturn a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first leg deficit against Barcelona on Tuesday but they will have to do it against a superb defence and in the midst of their biggest slump in…
Barca four points clear after Real held by Valencia
Real Madrid’s hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a stinging blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia on Saturday to slip four points behind their arch rivals with two games left.Treble-chasing Barca…