Czech Republic midfielder Tomas Rosicky has singled out his former Arsenal team-mate Andrey Arshavin as Russia s biggest threat.
Speaking ahead of their Euro 2012 encounter, Rosicky feels there is no doubt that the attacking midfielder is Dick Advocaat s main man.
When you watch matches of the Russian team, Andrey is still the key player in the national team too; there s no doubt about it. Andrey is still a great player, and there s no doubt he will represent an enormous danger for us, Rosicky told UEFA.com.
The Czech captain also claimed that Russia the Euro 2008 semi-finalists are the favourites to top Group A.
If you re talking about the favourites for the group, that would be Russia. They have a very experienced team and play good football, so we d…
Jurgen Klopp had little interest in comparing in-form Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah to former Reds star Luis Suarez, insisting such discussions are for newspapers and social media.
Egypt winger Salah has been in sensational form since moving to Anfield in the close-season, and he took his tally of goals for all competitions to 17 with a double in Wednesday s 3-0 Premier League win at Stoke City.
Such an impressive return has led some to compare Salah s contribution to that of Suarez, who scored 82 times in a fruitful three-and-a-half-year spell before he departed for Barcelona in July 2014.
Reds boss Klopp welcomed Salah s impressive form, but is keen not to match him up against Suarez.
I m not interested, I respect Suarez a lot – he s a Liverpool le…
Is Diego Simeone nearing an exit at Atletico Madrid / Image via fm-base.co.uk
Few people anticipated that Diego El Cholo Simeone will achieve stellar success with Atletico Madrid upon his arrival to Vicente Calderon after short and relatively inconspicuous managerial spells in Argentina and Italy.
Having spent five years embedding his own DNA, way of thinking, character and his soul into the club he spent two years playing for, temperamental Argentine appears to have nothing left to give to the Spanish outfit.
At least that is what back-to-back opening La Liga draws against minnows Alaves and Leganes appear to be telling us.
Cholo’s revolution
Return to Atletico Madrid was an emotional one to Diego Simeone.
After all, Cholo is an emotional ma…
Roma have plans in place if Chelsea s reported swoop for Edin Dzeko and Emerson comes to pass.
The Premier League club have been linked with a surprising selection of strikers over recent days, with former Wolfsburg and Manchester City man Dzeko one of the men understood to be in their sights.
Left-back Emerson has missed much of this season due to rehabilitation from a cruciate knee ligament injury but Dzeko s departure would be immediately and keenly felt.
The 31-year-old Bosnia-Herzegovina international has scored 61 times in 117 appearances for Roma since joining on an initial loan from City in 2015.
Dzeko was named in the starting line-up for Sunday s crunch clash against Inter, amid speculation it could be his Roma farewell, and director of footbal…
Atletico Madrid put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey thanks to a 4-0 first-leg win at Lleida Esportiu, with Diego Costa scoring as a substitute on his return before giving them an injury scare.
Vitolo and Costa only became eligible to play at the start of January following their moves in July and September respectively due to Atletico s transfer ban, and although the game was already won by the time they both entered the fray from the bench, the former Chelsea star made a lasting impression with the third goal.
It was by no means a vintage Atletico display for much of the first half, as they afforded their modest opposition several chances and looked flat going forward.
But Diego Godin headed them into the lead just after the half-hour mar…
With the Champions League making its return to action on Tuesday night, we are offered a stacked schedule from across Europe. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a midweek flutter, we have searched far and wide to find you a couple of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Tuesday 20th October
BST 19:00 Stevenage vs Newport
Starting with Tuesday s guests, while on paper it might show that Newport have struggled with their form since opening October, it doesn t quite tell the whole story. With it appearing that their 2-1 defeat against Cambridge earlier in the month was just a minor blip, the Exiles bounced immediately back as they secured a deserved 1-0 win against Tranmere at Rodney Parade and have enjoyed what has been a very impr…
Andre Villas-Boas has been appointed as the new head coach of Marseille, the Ligue 1 club have confirmed.
The former Chelsea, Tottenham and Porto boss has agreed a two-year contract with Marseille, having been without a coaching job since leaving Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG in November 2017.
Villas-Boas has been appointed following Rudi Garcia s departure, with the former Lille and Roma coach having left on May 22.
Marseille CEO Jacques-Henri Eyraud said: Andre Villas-Boas is a young and already very experienced coach. He has a perfect knowledge of the requirements of the highest level.
Our new era has begun.
André Villas-Boas is an Olympien.
André Villas-Boas is the Boss.
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— Olympique Marseille (@OM_English) <…
Steven Gerrard insists he is focused on delivering a positive result for Aston Villa ahead of his return to Anfield, claiming the noise surrounding the game does not affect him.
Gerrard played 710 times for boyhood club Liverpool, winning the Champions League, two FA Cups, three EFL Cups, the UEFA Cup and a UEFA Super Cup in the process.
The Liverpool legend will face his former club for the first time on Saturday as Aston Villa boss, having won three of his first four games since leaving Rangers to replace Dean Smith.
The noise is for other people to get excited about, Gerrard said ahead of Saturday s game. For me, it s about preparing the team in the best way I can to try to get a positive result for Aston Villa.
For everyone else, it s a mas…
Lionel Messi will be the highest-rated player on FIFA 22 after EA Sports revealed the upcoming game s top 22.
The latest edition of the long-running title will be released at the start of October and will see Messi representing a team other than Barcelona for the first time.
Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in August and will give gamers the chance to line up with him, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all in the same front three.
With a rating of 93, Messi will be the game s best player, excluding icons and special Ultimate Team cards.
The ratings of Neymar and Mbappe were also among those revealed on Monday, with the pair among five players on 91 – the other three are Cristiano Ronaldo, Jan Oblak and Kevin De Bruyne.
Of course, the game will give Manch…
Ange Postecoglou has no issue with Tottenham fans staging a protest ahead of Saturday’s fixture with Manchester United, but is sure they will be united behind the team once the match gets started.
An hour-long demonstration by the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust has been arranged for 3.45pm over the club’s decision to raise the price of matchday tickets for the 2023-24 campaign.
While Spurs announced in April that season-ticket prices would be frozen, THST expressed its frustration last month over the matchday ticket price increase and the lack of consultation.
It has resulted in a ‘Call to Action’ from THST, who wants a full reversal of an increase they insist will price out loyal fans, but they made a conscious effort to ensure the protest occurre…