France are poised to name former World Cup winner Laurent Blanc as the man to take over from unpopular coach Raymond Domenech after the World Cup. Blanc told his club Girondins Bordeaux on Sunday he wanted to leave with one year remaining on his contract in order to take the reins of the national team.
Experienced midfielder Patrick Vieira was left out of France's World Cup squad on Tuesday.
Injured Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel was named on Monday in Nigeria's preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup. A knee injury kept the 23-year-old out of the London club's last three games in the title run-in but Nigeria Lars Lagerback is banking on his return to fitness for the tournament in South Africa starting next month.
Dimitar Berbatov came off the bench to give Manchester United a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday that put them five points clear in the Premier League while Arsenal rallied to draw at West Bromwich Albion.
Manchester United kept their treble dreams alive by knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup five days after the London side's Champions League exit thanks to a deserved 2-0 quarter-final win at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Holders Barcelona will play Bayer Leverkusen, a team famous for fading in the final straight, while their arch-rivals Real Madrid face a trip to icy Moscow in the Champions League round of 16 following the draw on Friday. Bayern Munich, whose Allianz Arena will host the final, take on FC Basel, the underdogs who spectacularly ousted Manchester United, in another of the top ties.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi equalled the Champions League scoring record of 71 goals when he struck for the second time in the 76th minute of Wednesday's Group F match at Ajax Amsterdam.
Arsenal are brimming with confidence after beating Liverpool but they will have to show consistency to overcome in-form Porto in the Champions League last 16.
Manchester City humbled their neighbours United by beating them 6-1 and Levante still lead in Spain where European champions Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw by Sevilla.
Ruthless Bayern Munich scored five goals in the first 35 minutes on the way to a 7-1 demolition of AS Roma on Tuesday which bore an uncanny resemblance to Germany's win over Brazil by the same score in the World Cup semi-final.
Pre-tournament favourites Ivory Coast were held to a goalless draw by neighbours Burkina Faso in Monday's only African Nations Cup Group B game.
Nice became the first top-flight side to fall to a club from a lower league in this season's French Cup when they lost 2-1 at third division strugglers Plabennec in the round of 64 on Sunday.
Holders Barcelona barely broke a sweat in a ruthless 5-0 hammering of BATE Borisov while former champions AC Milan made harder work of finding the net before overcoming new boys Viktoria Plzen 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich secured a place in the Champions League last 16 with an impressive 4-1 win at Juventus as former European champions Real Madrid and AC Milan also advanced to the knockout stage on Tuesday. Juventus were eliminated after Bayern came from behind to end the home side's 16-match unbeaten home run in Europe's premier club competition.
Reigning French Open champion Maria Sharapova, former world number one Venus Williams and Australian Samantha Stosur sailed into the second round of the China Open with straight set victories on Sunday.
Lowly Paris St Germain ended Auxerre's surprise Ligue 1 run by beating the leaders 1-0 at Parc des Princes on Saturday.
Real Madrid scored seconds from time to force a 2-2 draw at AC Milan, secure a place in the last 16 of the Champions League and leave coach Jose Mourinho with a smile on his face on his return to the San Siro on Wednesday. Real went through to the knockout stage along with Bayern Munich and Chelsea, although Arsenal, who could also have qualified with two matches to spare, lost 2-1 at Shakhtar Donetsk and will have to wait.
Bayern Munich, facing an early Champions League exit, revived their chances of reaching the last 16 on Wednesday as they beat Maccabi Haifa 1-0 and rivals Juventus lost at Girondins Bordeaux. AC Milan missed a chance to qualify when they were held 1-1 at home by Olympique Marseille and Real Madrid produced an uninspiring 1-0 win over Swiss champions FC Zurich in the same group.
A row has broken out between Real Madrid and the Portuguese Football Federation over whether injured forward Cristiano Ronaldo should be called up for the two-legged World Cup playoff against Bosnia.
UEFA have no immediate plans to postpone next week's Champions League match between Dynamo Kiev and Inter Milan due to swine flu restrictions in Ukraine.
Cristiano Ronaldo has dismissed any suggestion that a struggling Real Madrid is dependent on him, insisting that he alone is not the team's 'saviour'.
World number 12 Gilles Simon was still on course for a World Tour Finals spot after thrashing fellow Frenchman David Guez 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Lyon Grand Prix on Thursday.
Didier Drogba has Bobby Tambling's record tally of 202 goals for Chelsea in his sights, the Ivory Coast striker said on Tuesday.
After failing their first big test of the season by losing 1-0 at Manchester City last week, champions Chelsea face another tough examination when Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday.
AC Milan will be given a stark reminder of their current plight when they come face to face with former talisman Kaka in Wednesday's Champions League game at Real Madrid.
Angel di Maria's late intervention spared Real Madrid another inquest into the case of the misfiring forwards while Zlatan Ibrahimovic's sense of occasion salvaged a Champions League point for AC Milan.
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro was cleared of doping on Monday after failing a drugs test following treatment for an insect sting, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo will be sidelined for three to four weeks after he aggravated an ankle injury in Portugal's 3-0 win over Hungary, the La Liga club said on Sunday.
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga outgunned Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3 to win the Japan Open with a dazzling mix of guile and brute force on Sunday.
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has already met with anti-doping officials following his positive drugs test and a decision on his case could come later in the day, local media reported on Friday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to lead Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Olympique Marseille in Champions League Group C on Wednesday.
European champions Barcelona may be without striker Thierry Henry when they host Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday looking for their first Champions League win of the season.
Barcelona and Real Madrid maintained their perfect La Liga starts on Saturday, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting the champions on their way to a 2-0 victory at Malaga and Real winning 3-0 at home to Tenerife.
A late Bafetimbi Gomis goal gave Olympique Lyon a 2-1 home win over Toulouse to send the seven-times champions to the top of Ligue 1 on Saturday.
The fixtures for the group stages in the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League, which kicks-off on Wednesday.
Martin Caceres scored on his Serie A debut to help Juventus win 2-0 at Lazio on Saturday and maintain their perfect start to the season.
Yoan Gouffran netted in the first half to keep champions Girondins Bordeaux top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 home victory against bottom club Grenoble on Saturday.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho's quest to become the first man to win the European Cup with three different clubs will include a super-charged visit to Milan following Thursday's draw for the Champions League group stage.
A 25-metre half-volley from Miohel Bastos helped Olympique Lyon defeat AS Nancy 3-1 to grab top spot in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Two goals from Yoann Gourcuff helped champions Girondins Bordeaux maintain their perfect start to the Ligue 1 campaign with a crushing 4-0 home win over Nice on Sunday.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances