Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has backtracked over comments he made suggesting the club s players could boycott playing for Germany.
Speaking after Bayern s Champions League Group B game against Red Star Belgrade last week, Hoeness talked about the debate over who should start in goal for Joachim Low s side.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has opened up about his frustration at being unable to dislodge Bayern s Manuel Neuer, who was in between the sticks for Germany s World Cup triumph in 2014.
Hoeness criticised Ter Stegen for his comments and claimed the media are coordinating a campaign against Neuer, insisting Bayern would not let their players be damaged without reason .
He added the Bundesliga champions could no longer send pla…
Diego Simeone insists the only way Atletico Madrid can end their current slump is through hard work.
The Argentinian leads his side into Champions League action on Tuesday against Monaco looking to turn around a poor start to the season, as they have picked up just five points from their opening four LaLiga games.
Such an underwhelming return has already seen them fall seven points behind league leaders Barcelona, but Simeone says he has seen enough to suggest Atleti are moving in the right direction.
We have had ups and downs, with good match passages, he said at his pre-match media conference.
The other day [a 1-1 draw with Eibar] there were good things. The only improvement I know in football is through work, it is the only way for the team…
Edin Terzic and Sebastian Kehl are 100 per cent the men to lead Borussia Dortmund, according to the club s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Terzic replaced Marco Rose as head coach in May while former Dortmund midfielder Kehl took over from long-term sporting director Michael Zorc at the end of the 2021-22 season.
Dortmund began the 2022-23 campaign steadily, winning four of their first five games in the Bundesliga, and they qualified from their Champions League group to reach the last 16.
However, an inconsistent run in the league ended with back-to-back defeats to Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach just before domestic football halted for the World Cup in Qatar, and Dortmund found themselves in sixth place after 15 games, nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
Talksport understands that Paris Saint Germain are keen on signing Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
The Spain international has been in Italy for the past two years and is keen on penning a new deal with the Naples club though fresh terms have not yet been agreed.
PSG are interesting in bringing in another keeper to challenge Alphonse Areola and Kevin Trapp for the number one spot while Newcastle United are also interested in securing the services of the thirty-four year old with their manager Rafa Benitez having previously worked with him at Liverpool.
Reina has racked up ninety-three appearances in all competitions for Napoli since signing for them permanently while he also played for them forty-three times during a loan spell in the 2013/14 campaign.
Market: Olympiacos win
Odds: 11/10 @
Looking to pick up a first-leg advantage when they open their Europa League qualifying adventure on Thursday night, Olympiacos will welcome Genk to the Karaiskakis Stadium.
Starting with the hosts, signing off their pre-season preparations with a disappointing 2-0 friendly defeat against Championship outfit Norwich, Olympiacos will certainly be seeking an immediate response here. Tipped as a standout contender to extend on their Europa League qualifying adventure his month, Diego Martinez’s men will certainly be excited to make a return to the Karaiskakis Stadium here. Despite being forced to settle for a bronze medal finish among Greece’s elite earlier in the year, the Reds have gained a reputation for their continued su…
Best odds: 3/4
Bookmaker:
Atalanta and AS Roma are set to take each other on in the 24th matchday of their respective Serie A campaigns at the Atleti Azzurri d Italia stadium on Saturday evening. It will be one of the two derbies of the round, the other being the clash between title chasers Lazio and Inter Milan on Sunday.
Atalanta
Atalanta have surprised the football world over the course of 2018/19, and they ve obviously carried that spirit over into this campaign as well. Unexpected clubs finishing inside top four in the strongest leagues is not something unheard of, but rarely have any of them been able to sustain the form the following season. Leicester City were a good example of that when they won the Premier League in 2015/16 and finished in the lower h…
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is to undergo back surgery this week, the club have announced.
The news comes after the 31-year-old sat out Germany’s matches against Turkey and Austria last month and three subsequent Barca fixtures.
A statement on the club’s official website said: “First-team player Marc ter Stegen will undergo a surgical procedure this week to address the lower back issues he is experiencing. Following the procedure, a new statement will be given.”
You ll be back stronger, Marc!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Ter Stegen said in a post on social media: “After intensive conversations with the medical team of the club and various supporting experts, we decided to undergo a surgical procedure.
“The b…
Luciano Spalletti hailed Victor Osimhen for his performance in Napoli s 5-1 thrashing of Juventus and says he is amazed by what the striker still has to offer.
Osimhen opened the scoring for Napoli in Friday s top-of-the-table Serie A clash with a close-range finish, ending Juve s run of 770 minutes without conceding in the league.
The 24-year-old then assisted Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, before doubling his strike tally in the second half in between goals from Amir Rrahmani and Elif Elmas.
He is only the third player to score and assist in the first half against Juve over the past 15 seasons, after Cagliari s Luca Gagliano and Roma s Diego Perotti (both in 2020).
But while now boasting 13 goals and three assists in 17 appearances this season, Spalletti believ…
Manchester United are interested in signing Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that the Premier League giants are willing to pay as much as €50 million to sign the France international forward. Italian giants Juventus are also claimed to want the former Borussia Dortmund star.
Barcelona are not willing to sell Dembele, who is reported to be very much in the plans of manager Ronald Koeman. The Spanish powerhouse are actually planning to renew the contract of the 24-year-old, who has been at Camp Nou since 2017 and has had injury problems.
Dembele made 19 starts and 11 substitute appearances in La Liga for Barcelona , scoring six goals and providing three assists in the process. The France international fo…
Putting in another downbeat performance on Sunday afternoon as they slumped to a at the hands of Everton, it is no secret that Chelsea are in the midst of an extended Premier League crisis.
Missing out on booking any kind of European finish last season and coming under a huge amount of scrutiny, there was plenty of optimism around Stamford Bridge over the summer that would be able to steady the ship in west London.
However, once again falling out the top-half of the Premier League table and needing a major miracle in their bid to book a European return, the former Tottenham boss has made it abundantly clear that he is expected to be backed during January’s transfer window.
Despite breaking a string of financial records since Todd Bohley’s takeover was conf…