Sneijder content with last-eight berth

Hamburg midfielder Alen Halilovic has hailed Lionel Messi s humble attitude and says the Argentine is hugely popular in the Barcelona dressing room.

The Croatia international teamed up with Messi after joining Barcelona from Dinamo Zagreb in 2014 and he has nothing but fond memories of his time alongside the prolific attacker.

Leo is an incredibly nice guy. He is always willing to help, very polite and down to earth, Halilovic told Bild.

Everybody in the team likes him and not just because he is such a great player.

I really like the way Messi plays. I have learned a few things from him. I love to take on my direct opponent and play a risky pass. I always try to focus on my own game and to just do my job.

Halilovic left Barcelona for Hamburg …

Japan are bidding for their first East Asian Cup success when they face South Korea in the final game of the 2013 edition of the tournament.

Both teams are in contention for the title going into the last round of fixtures on Sunday, with China also harbouring hopes of victory as they prepare to take on whipping boys Australia in the day s earlier game.

However, Japan s previous results mean they cannot be caught at the top should they beat the hosts at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul.

The Japanese established their advantage courtesy of a 3-2 victory over Australia on Thursday, which came despite head coach Alberto Zaccheroni changing his entire starting XI.

I guess in total I ve called 70 players in three years, but I still wanted to see these guys, he said …

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has brushed off Thierry Henry s criticism as he targets his best-ever season in the Premier League.

Henry an Arsenal club legend suggested in April that the London-based outfit will not win England s top flight with Giroud as their principal forward, and maintained a high quality striker was needed at the Emirates Stadium.

Giroud admitted he did not initially understand the reasoning of the comments but says they will not impact his game as he aims to further contribute to the side.

Alongside Giroud, who scored 14 league goals last season, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looks set to rely on the likes of Alexis Sanchez (16), Danny Welbeck (4) and Theo Walcott (5) up front during the 2015-16 campaign.

Giroud s best Premier Leag…

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone says nothing will ever make up for the two Champions League final defeats he has suffered against Real Madrid.

Simeone s side were beaten on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time in May s showpiece at San Siro, with Cristiano Ronaldo converting the decisive spot-kick after Juanfran had hit the post.

It marked Atleti s second defeat in three finals against their city rivals, after they were beaten 4-1 after extra time in Lisbon in 2014 following Sergio Ramos equaliser in second-half injury time.

Simeone said after this year s disappointment that he would have to go away and think , prompting speculation that he could quit the Vicente Calderon after close to five years in charge.

But while he insists that he …

Ronald Koeman believes Barcelona have a strong enough squad to compete for major honours as long as others step up to fill the void left by Lionel Messi.

Barca are heading into a new season without Messi in their ranks for the first time since 2003-04 following the superstar forward s shock switch to Paris Saint-Germain this week.

Messi scored 672 goals and assisted 265 more for the Catalan giants across 778 appearances, helping the club to 35 trophies across his 17 years in the first team.

The six-time Ballon d Or winner directly contributed to 39 goals in LaLiga last season – scoring 30 and setting up a further nine.

Antoine Griezmann was the only other player to reach double figures for goal involvements (20), with Ousmane Dembele next on the list wi…

Manchester City s interest in signing Tottenham forward Harry Kane is well known.

The two sides will meet on Sunday in the Premier League with the situation adding spice.

Spurs have held out on City s interest although the matter will develop as the conclusion of the transfer window approaches.

TOP STORY – SPURS HOLDING FIRM ON KANE

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is refusing to budge as Manchester City attempt to sign Harry Kane, reports The Telegraph.

Levy will come face to face with City officials in Sunday s Premier League meeting between the two sides.

The report claims the Spurs chairman is unwavering in his plan to retain his best player despite Kane expressing his desire to leave.

Daniel Levy is set to hold fi…

A man was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of threatening at knifepoint the fiancee of Darren Fletcher, the Manchester United midfielder, and burgling the footballer s house.

Hayley Grice was forced to take off her engagement ring while Fletcher s mother was also forced to hand over watches and jewellery in a raid that took place on February 23, just hours after the player had flown out with the United squad for a Champions League match in Milan.

Fletcher s young twins were also in the house in the upmarket village of Bowdown, south of Manchester.

A statement issued by Greater Manchester Police on Tuesday said: A man has been arrested in connection with a robbery at a house in Bowdon, Trafford.

Shortly before 9pm (2100GMT) on Monday, February 23 2009, p…

Bournemouth have joined the race to sign Napoli midfielder Jonathan de Guzman,.

The Netherlands international, who rejected the chance to sign for Sunderland last week is now set to join Eddie Howe’s side who are four games in to their first ever season in the Premier League.

De Guzman moved to Naples from Villareal last summer having spent the 2013/14 campaign on loan at Swansea City.

He has been absent from both of Maurizio Sarri’s match-day squads so far this campaign, and started just twelve Serie A games in the entirety of last season.

The twenty-seven year old has been capped fourteen times for his country, with three of those appearances coming at last summer’s World Cup finals.

The Cherries drew with Leicester City on Saturday…

Italy international forward Giuseppe Rossi is set to sign a new deal with Fiorentina, according to Corriere Fiorentino.

The 28-year-old is ready to take a major pay cut as a way of saying thanks to the club and fans for always standing by his side during what has been a very difficult period for him.

Rossi has only managed 23 Serie A appearances since joining Fiorentina from Villarreal two and a half years ago and he continues to struggle through injury.

As a result, he will now have his yearly salary reduced from €2.4m to €1.7m, although the new deal will also include hefty bonuses for appearances, goals and meeting club objectives.

Fiorentina took a major gamble when they splashed out €10 million on injury-plagued Rossi, and that decision seemed…

Denmark followed Group C winners France into the last 16 with the first goalless draw of the 2018 World Cup against Les Bleus at the Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday.

France had already qualified and Denmark needed a point to be certain, although a 2-0 win for already eliminated Peru against Australia sent them through regardless of their result.

Didier Deschamps, marking his 79th game in charge to level Raymond Domenech s France record, rested key players such as Paul Pogba and Hugo Lloris and kept Kylian Mbappe on the bench for the majority of the game with an eye on their knockout campaign. 

Deschamps six changes contributed to a lack of cohesion that prevented France from ending the group stage with maximum points for the first time since they won the tournam…