Hazard hoping for Chelsea silverware

Russia coach Guus Hiddink, recalling the hazardous qualification route his team suffered to get to Vienna, insisted he was keeping his feet firmly on the ground ahead of Thursday s Euro 2008 semi-final with Spain.

If England had defeated Croatia at Wembley in the final qualifier back in November then Steve McClaren s men, and not the young Russians, would have taken their place at this feast of European football.

Having snuck in by the back door Russia has punched above its weight and now lies one game away from Sunday s final an amazing achievement after that opening 4-1 rout dished out by their last four rivals Spain in their opening group game.

I cannot forget that we had an irregular qualification, good results then bad results, Hiddink told a press confe…

Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund have given star attacker Shinji Kagawa a month to decide if he wants to extend his contract.

The Japan international whose current deal expires in 2013 has been offered a three-year extension through 2016 with an annual salary of three million euros.

But after waiting several months for a response, Dortmund s front office has ran out of patience and want an answer from Kagawa, while the club is still in a position to ask for a high transfer fee.

It s about planning for the future of the club, sporting director Michael Zorc told Kicker.

Other positions are involved too. We need security.

Kagawa has garnered attention from Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea as well as Serie A powerhouse A…

AC Milan are working hard on finding common ground with the representatives of Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao about new contracts for the attacking pair to sign, but according to sporting director Frederic Massara, there is no real progress worth reporting as of yet. Given that the club have been making an effort for months now, it seems there are significant obstacles in the way.

Giroud and Leao are, of course, in different stages of their respective careers, the French striker being 36 and the Portuguese winger 23, and there s a different sort of interest from elsewhere in their services. But they ve both been important for Milan s return to the top of Italian football over the recent years, especially the Scudetto triumph last season.

There is obviously more reason t…

Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham won well in the FA Cup on Saturday while Macclesfield Town and Luton Town notched famous triumphs.

FA Cup holders Chelsea came from behind to thrash Southampton 5-1 at St Mary s Stadium as Senegalese forward Demba Ba netted a double on debut.

Ba who joined the European champions on Friday from Newcastle cancelled out Jay Rodriguez s opener on the goal-line before Nigeria international Victor Moses gave Chelsea the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Branislav Ivanovic headed Chelsea s third before Ba s instinctive finish and a Frank Lampard penalty sealed a huge win for Rafael Benitez s side.

Manchester City produced a routine 3-0 home win over Watford, with Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry and Marcos Lopes scoring for the w…

Juventus could hand a first-team debut to Simone Muratore, who has been added to the squad for Friday s derby with Torino following an injury to Emre Can.

A muscular problem sustained by Can has ruled him out of contention, prompting the Serie A champions to call up midfielder Muratore.

The 20-year-old has not previously been part of a matchday squad in 2018-19, although he was an unused substitute against Tottenham in the Champions League last season.

Juve head into the clash at the Allianz Stadium having already wrapped up an eighth straight Scudetto, while Torino are one of six teams fighting for the two remaining Champions League qualification berths behind the champions and Napoli.

…

Verdict: Home win + both teams to score

Best Odds:

Bookmaker:

Having secured a 1-1 draw with a second-string side in the first leg at Balaidos, Barcelona will be looking to clinch a place in the next stage with an assured performance at their Camp Nou. But, with Celta also holding Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw at the weekend, the Catalans will not have an easy job on Thursday evening.

Barcelona

This is turning out to be one of the most successful seasons in recent years for Barcelona, although the Catalans obviously need to continue in the same manner if they want to have reason for celebration next summer. Ernesto Valverde’s men are already 16 points clear of arch rivals Real Madrid in the La Liga standings, which is enough to suggest they should ease …

Swansea may soon be seeing the back of Wilfried Bony who is close to sealing a move to Manchester City

According to , reigning Premier League champions Manchester City are close to sealing a £30million deal for Swansea striker Wilfried Bony.

The Ivorian is set to head for the Africa Cup of Nations that starts on January 17th.

However, Sky claim that the two clubs have held formal discussions over the player and Bony is expected to have a medical later today before joining up with his national side.

Goals

Wilfried Bony is a natural born goal poacher and has scored goals throughout his career. His first port of call in Europe was at Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic, where he scored 22 times in 59 appearances in the Czech top-flight.

His…

Sunderland have signed England striker Jermain Defoe on a three-and-a-half year deal from MLS side Toronto FC,.

The move sees Jozy Altidore move in the opposite direction, with the US international having scored just one goal in forty-two league appearances for the Black Cats.

Defoe, who spent just under twelve months in America, is eligible to make his debut against former employers Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon.

In two spells with Spurs, the forward made over three hundred and fifty appearances in all competitions, scoring one hundred and thirty-three goals while he has also played for West Ham United where he began his career, and Portsmouth.

Internationally, he has been capped fifty-five times for his country, scoring nineteen goals tho…

Ben Brereton scored his first international goal as Chile edged to a 1-0 win over Bolivia in Copa America Group A on Friday. 

Martin Lasarte s side opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Argentina on Monday and, despite the slender scoreline, they never looked like failing to follow that up with maximum points against a limited Bolivia outfit at the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba. 

Blackburn Rovers striker Brereton, who made his debut from the substitutes bench against Argentina, scored the only goal of the game early on, firing past Carlos Lampe after an incisive breakaway. 

Chile carved out numerous chances to extend their lead – most of which came in an utterly dominant first half – but they were unable to find a way past their opponents, who have no…

Barcelona star Alexia Putellas insists she is getting better every day after being ruled out for 10-12 months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, as she thanked fans for their support.

Putellas suffered the injury during training just three days before Spain s opening match of the Women s European Championship last month, and was subsequently ruled out for up to a year after undergoing surgery.

Spain were understandably hampered by the Ballon d Or-winning attacker s absence, exiting the competition after a quarter-final loss to eventual winners England.

Putellas, who top-scored with 11 goals in the Women s Champions League last season, has now spoken out on her injury for the first time, expressing gratitude for the support offered to her.

I …