Van Gaal talks down Netherlands´ chances

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…

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…

All eyes – so to speak – will be on Old Trafford this weekend ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo s likely second debut for Manchester United.

Of course, the game will not be televised live in the United Kingdom due to it being a 15:00BST kick-off, so many fans will have to wait a little longer to see what impact he has, but rest assured there will be no shortage of coverage on other platforms.

With the group stages of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League all beginning next week, Saturday is set to be especially busy – exactly what you want after an international break!

What better way to get in the mood for a blockbuster day of football than to try our Opta-powered quiz!

1. Cristiano Ronaldo could play his first game f…

UEFA has fined Juventus and Eintracht Frankfurt after charging both clubs with racist or discriminatory behaviour following Champions League matches earlier this month.

Juventus charge comes following the 2-1 defeat in their Champions League opener at Paris Saint-Germain on September 6, after which social media footage appeared to show visiting fans making discriminatory gestures.

The Bianconeri have now been hit with a €15,000 fine and have seen a partial stadium closure suspended for one year.

Eintracht, meanwhile, were issued with several charges after crowd trouble marred their Champions League trip to Marseille the following week.

The Bundesliga outfit released a strong statement distancing themselves from an individual who appeared to give a Na…

Portuguese daily that Besiktas star Manuel Fernandes could be leaving the club in the summer transfer window.

The 27-year-old is a key member of the squad at FIYAPI Inonu Stadium and is widely regarded as one of Super Lig s top midfielders.

However, it appears that he is searching for a new challenge, with a number of top European sides ready to pounce.

According to Record, West Ham and Fenerbahce are believed to be leading the race for the player s signature, and they could make their interest concrete in the coming days.

Manuel Fernandes already has some Premier League experience, having made 30 league appearances for Portsmouth and Everton.

The former Portugal international, who played for Valencia before joining Besiktas in January 2011, has…