Tag: football

Zurich – FIFA has been left with a huge challenge following Brazilian delays in building stadiums for the 2014 World Cup, secretary general Jerome Valcke said Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo turned down the chance to join Barcelonabefore his world-record deal to join Real Madrid, according to former Blancos president Ramon Calderon.

London – Tottenham Hotspur restored some pride to English soccer by succeeding where Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all failed over the last two weeks by winning a match in Europe.

True to his word, USA national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann called in a roster composed mostly of players who play in Europe for a March 5 friendly against Ukraine.

Madrid — Real Madrid’s long wait to be back on top of the Spanish league is finally over. And it wasn’t all due to Cristiano Ronaldo.

By Owen Phillips Everton manager Roberto Martinez said Chelsea’s ability to “use every trick in the book” contributed to his side’s 1-0 defeat by the league leaders. Martinez felt the stoppage-time free-kick that led to John Terry’s winner at Stamford…

Brazil has announced a security boost of around 70,000 officers to police this year’s football World Cup. In total, 170,000 people are expected to be deployed to guarantee security across the 12 host cities. On Wednesday, President Dilma Rousseff said…

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini said Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson favoured Barcelona in the Spanish side’s 2-0 victory at Etihad Stadium.

London – Free-scoring Manchester City will face the toughest test yet of their European credentials when they face European aristocrats Barcelona in the first leg of the standout tie of the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday.

Jose Mourinho may have hit the headlines for his recent claims that some of the world’s biggest clubs are not taking UEFA’s Financial Fair Play laws seriously, but finger-pointing may become the norm when new rules come into full effect…

Sao Paulo — FIFA is expected to conduct surprise doping tests of all World Cup players at least once beginning in March, setting up biological passports to determine possible irregularities in blood and urine samples.

England manager Roy Hodgson says it will be difficult for Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole to secure a place in his starting XI at this summer’s World Cup.

Norwich City striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel has welcomed the Football Association’s decision not to charge Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure with violent conduct.

Fulham defender Dan Burn has likened defending against Manchester United to playing in the Conference.

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic’s departure from the club is a “mutual decision”, Old Trafford manager David Moyes has said.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the FIFA world soccer player of the year, was banned for three Spanish league games after making a gesture when he was ejected in a match at Athletic Bilbao.

Carson, Calif. – Landon Donovan gave a classy performance in the US national team’s 2-0 win Saturday over South Korea serving as the linkman for the Yanks’ attack.

Gerard Pique has revealed that Lionel Messi initially struggled to adapt to his new surroundings after joining Barcelona as a youngster.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho still insists his side are not serious title contenders – despite inflicting a first Premier League home defeat of the season on Manchester City.

Real Madrid defender Marcelo has hit out at referee Miguel Ayza for his decision to send off Cristiano Ronaldo during Sunday’s 1-1 La Liga draw against Athletic Bilbao.

There will be no national extension of pub licensing hours during England’s opening World Cup match, the Home Office has confirmed.

Injury-plagued Gareth Bale will miss Real Madrid’s trip to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday because of a slight calf strain.

Gareth Bale will miss Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey clash against Espanyol on Tuesday evening as a result of a minor calf injury, with Carlo Ancelotti refusing to risk the Welshman ahead of Sunday’s Liga clash against Athletic Bilbao.

There have been a number of great personal rivalries in football over the years – Carlos Bilardo vs Cesar Luis Menotti, Samuel Eto’o vs Roger Milla, Luciano Moggi vs Massimo Moratti – but none quite as poisonous as the feud…

Manchester United’s club-record signing Juan Mata has acknowledged his surprise that Chelsea allowed him to move to Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo presented the Ballon d’Or to the Santiago Bernabeu faithful ahead of Real Madrid’s 2-0 win on Saturday before firing the club to the top of La Liga.

Spain midfielder Juan Mata is expected to arrive at Manchester United on Friday for a medical ahead of his proposed move from Chelsea.

Fifa has warned Brazil’s World Cup 2014 host city of Curitiba that it could be excluded unless work speeds up.

Manchester United have not bid for Juan Mata, but refuse to rule out making a future offer for the Chelsea player.

MADRID (Reuters) – Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is hoping for a little good fortune when the record winners return to Valencia for Wednesday’s King’s Cup quarter-final, first leg against Levante (2100 GMT).