Barca closing in on Rabiot

World football s governing body FIFA claimed on Wednesday that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has agreed to test FIFA s approach to out-of-competition drugs testing until 2010.

The announcement followed a meeting between FIFA and WADA officials on Monday and a rift between the two bodies over new provisions introduced this year to locate elite athletes for drugs testing.

FIFA has rejected the whereabouts rule that allows random testing by anti-doping specialists 365 days a year, arguing that footballers should only be tested when they are with their teams and not during their time off.

The current FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations have been understood by WADA and will now be tested in practice, prior to reassessment for 2010, FIFA said in a statement.

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Chelsea beat Everton 2-1 to win the 2009 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium here on Saturday.

France s Louis Saha scored the fastest-ever goal in an FA Cup final, in just 25 seconds, to give Everton the lead before Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba equalised for Chelsea in the 21st minute.

The match between the Premier League rivals remained all square until the 72nd minute when Chelsea s England midfielder Frank Lampard scored his 20th goal of the season despite Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard getting both hands to the ball.

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FIFA president Sepp Blatter has expressed his sadness following the death of AIK goalkeeper Ivan Turina.

The 77-year old president of world football s governing body sent a letter to the presidents of the Swedish and Croatian football associations expressing his shock at the 32-year-old goalkeeper s death.

Turina collected one international cap in a career that started with his hometown club Dinamo Zagreb before seeing him play for Skoda Xanthi in Greece and Lech Poznan in Poland.

He arrived in Sweden in 2010 after impressing on trial and went on to make 65 appearances for AIK.

Turina started five of their six league games this season and had
established himself as the number one after two years at the club, he had recently signed a new three-year contract…

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal has dismissed the possibility of his side winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The Netherlands finished runners-up at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, losing 1-0 to Spain after extra-time, and Van Gaal expects competition to win the tournament will be even greater next year.

That would be a surprise, but I don t think so, he told ANP when asked of his country s chances of lifting the trophy.

I can count eight teams who have a better chance of becoming world champions than Netherlands.

I m always real. I dream of becoming world champions. That s what I live for. That s why I m the coach.

Van Gaal took over from Bert van Maarwijk in July 2012 after the Netherlands crashed out of Euro 2012 in the group stage and ha…

Swansea City have appointed Paul Clement as their new head coach, the club have confirmed.

Clement, who succeeds Bob Bradley, has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the Liberty Stadium and will take a watching brief for Tuesday s crucial Premier League clash against Crystal Palace, with the Swans bottom of the table. 

Bradley was dismissed after just 11 matches in charge last week with the club languishing in the relegation zone.

The likes of Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs and Wales boss Chris Coleman were linked with the position, but former Derby County manager Clement quickly emerged as the favourite.

And the 44-year-old has decided to leave his post as Carlo Ancelotti s assistant at Bayern Munich in favour of a switch to south Wales.

A…

Bayern Munich have experienced a remarkable turnaround after a slow start to the season. The reigning Bundesliga champions enter this matchup in a run of eight consecutive wins across all competitions dating back to 11 December 2019, which means they are yet to taste defeat since the league resumed post winter break. This run of five straight wins has lifted Die Roten to the top of the standings, and they enter Round 21 with 42 points out of 20 matches (W13, D3, L4). To make things even better, Bayern own the league’s second-best attack with 58 goals, and the joint-best defence with 23 goals conceded. The fact that they have been proficient on both sides of the ball should bode well for their title chances. Can they repeat what they did last season, when they came from behind to lift …

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho hit out at the Italian Cup schedule ahead of his team s semi-final first leg against Fiorentina at the San Siro on Wednesday.

Following the game, the teams will have to wait more than two months before playing the second leg in Florence.

It won t be easy playing Fiorentina but mostly because the second leg won t be played until April and who knows what condition the teams will be in then, Mourinho said on Tuesday.

It s like playing the first half of a match and then coming back two months later for the second period.

I don t even know what result tomorrow night (Wednesday) would be considered good. It might not even be enough to win 3-0 just as it might not be a drama to have to overcome a 1-0 deficit in two months time…

David Beckham will rejoin AC Milan in the January transfer window. It will of course be his second loan spell at the San Siro.

Good move for Beckham

His return to Europe is in aid of him making it into Fabio Capello s England squad for next years World Cup in South Africa.

You can understand the logic in Beckham s mind. Its a good move for the 34 year-old. Not only is he moving back to Europe, hes moving to a club that Fabio Capello will always have one eye on, having played for and managed the Rossoneri twice.

Still useful

The England midfielder is still a useful player with his vision and his ability to produce fantastic crosses. He is also a good leader and a good personality to have in the dressing room. He still has a quick thinking football…

A hat-trick from debutant Serge Gnabry helped Germany breeze past minnows San Marino 8-0 to extend their lead at the top of World Cup qualification Group C.

Gnabry s trio, a brace from Jonas Hector, Sami Khedira and Kevin Volland strikes and a late own goal sealed victory for the world champions in a game which often resembled a training exercise against a country ranked 199 places below them.

The win means Joachim Low s men remain top of Group C with a perfect record from their opening four games.

The absence of key players and weak opposition allowed Low to hand international debuts to Gnabry and 19-year-old Bayer Leverkusen right-back Benjamin Henrichs.

The 21-year-old Werder Bremen winger enjoyed a first appearance to remember and will cherish the…

Every once in a while the stars align and the football Gods decide to treat us mortals with the blessing of an action-packed weekend.

Their choice could not have been the timelier this time around as there are as many as four high-profile derby games in store for all football aficionados across Europe just after for many – a chronically mundane international break.

Popping some corn and tuning in, or packing your stuff for a trip to the stadium even better, is all you need to do this forthcoming weekend.

Make sure to clear your schedule and also stay with us for the rest of this article as we will try to get you in the mood for some top-notch action.

Manchester United vs Arsenal

Curtain raises on the Premier League weekend early in the afternoon at Ol…