(GSM) Manchester United striker Michael Owen has been ruled out for the rest of the current season with a hamstring injury. The news comes to end any hope for the 30-year-old in featuring in Fabio Capello s England squad for this summer s World Cup.
Capello had warned Owen that he had to prove he is worthy of being listed in the Three Lions squad during the season and it looks like Owen, who has not been called upon by England since a friendly against France in March 2008, has no hope of playing part of his country s quest in South Africa.
The former Liverpool striker picked up the injury during United s Carling Cup final win over Aston Villa last Sunday. Owen had scored the equaliser in his side s 2-1 win, but had to be substituted after 42 minutes, having sustained th…
South Africa have failed to reach consecutive World Cup finals despite beating Botswana 4-1 in their final group game of Caf qualification.
Bafana Bafana needed to win to have any chance of making the play-offs for the finals in Brazil next summer but Ethiopia s 2-1 win at Central African Republic scuppered their hopes.
The crowd tried to roar the side to an opener from the start and, in the 27th minute, their prayers were answered when Siphiwe Tshabalala s corner was headed by Bernard Parker as a flick-on to the far post where Orlando Pirates new striker Kermit Erasmus nodded his first international goal into the roof of the net.
Doncaster Rovers star Dean Furman doubled the lead just before half-time following a flurry of missed opportunities by side-footing …
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is ready to make peace with Robinho if the Brazil forward is willing to raise his game for the Premier League club.
Mancini sent Robinho on loan to Santos for the second half of last season after growing tired of the former Real Madrid star s lacklustre displays.
Despite costing a British record 32.5 million pounds (49 million euros) in September 2008, Robinho failed to live up to his billing at Eastlands and was even hauled off by Mancini soon after coming on as a substitute in a defeat against Everton in January.
Yet Robinho s form improved dramatically back in Brazil and he also impressed for his country at the World Cup.
With Robinho s spell with Santos due to end next week, Mancini has indicated he could be pe…
Bolton manager Owen Coyle has spoken of his delight at tying down winger Lee Chung-yong to a long-term deal.
The South Korean has been a huge hit since arriving at the Reebok from FC Seoul in a 2.2 million pound deal in July 2008, and has penned fresh terms to keep him at the English Premier League club until 2013.
Lee, 22, has scored seven goals in 54 appearances, including one in last Saturday s 5-1 romp against Newcastle.
And the deal comes as a fillip to Bolton at a time when speculation has arisen that the club may have to sell their best players in the wake of their total debt reaching 93 million pounds.
Manager Owen Coyle said: We re delighted because he s such a talented young player who is continuing to get better, bearing in mind we have to be…
Barcelona forward Ansu Fati has sustained a hip injury during training as the start of the club s LaLiga campaign moves closer.
Fati suffered a contusion to his right hip as he took part in a session on Friday.
He is out and his recovery will determine his availability, confirmed Barca in a statement.
The problem is expected to rule Fati out of Saturday s friendly against Gimnastic.
Barca are due to begin their league campaign on the weekend of September 26/27 at home to Villarreal, with Fati likely to receive a bigger role under new head coach Ronald Koeman this season.
LATEST NEWS | has a right hip contusion, which he suffered during Friday’s training session. He is out and his recovery will determine his availability.
— FC Barc…
Benfica head coach Rui Vitoria says targeting a place in the Champions League knockouts is a must for his side.
The Lisbon giants have only gone beyond the group stage once in their last seven attempts, in the 2011-12 season, when they were beaten by eventual winners Chelsea in the quarter-finals.
Vitoria wants to see a winning start to their campaign this term to give them the best possible chance of progressing, though he is wary of the attacking speed at the disposal of opening opponents Astana.
We want to start this group stage well, get three points and continue to perform the same way we did on Friday [in the 6-0 thrashing of Belenenses], he said.
We want to qualify from the group, which is something that has not happened too often in the past.<…
Former Barcelona assistant Robert Moreno has no doubt the LaLiga giants want to sign Neymar again.
Neymar, 28, has been linked with a return to Camp Nou, having left for Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record €222million move in 2017.
Moreno, an assistant at Barca while the Brazil international was there, said he knew the LaLiga side wanted Neymar again.
I would re-sign Neymar for Barcelona, the Monaco coach told El Transistor.
In the end, Barcelona have to have the best players in the world and Neymar is one of them, a player who makes the difference.
Furthermore, he makes his team-mates play. I know for sure that they want him.
— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr)
Moreno took over as Monaco coach in December last year,…
Jose Mourinho compared Son Heung-min s solo strike in Tottenham s 5-0 win against Burnley to a famous goal scored by Brazil legend Ronaldo.
Son picked up the ball just outside his own 18-yard box, took on several opposition players and fired past Nick Pope to steal the show in Saturday s one-sided affair.
The mazy run and finish was described by former Tottenham striker Gary Lineker as the goal of the season, while Mourinho saw similarities to the stunning individual effort by then-Barcelona star Ronaldo against Compostela in 1996.
Mourinho was assistant to Barca coach Bobby Robson at the time of that incredible strike and has since described Ronaldo as the best player I d ever seen take to the field .
The Tottenham coach revealed on Saturday that Son h…
Claudio Marchisio has labelled defeats in the 2015 Champions League and Euro 2012 finals as the biggest regrets of his career.
Former Juventus stalwart Marchisio confirmed his retirement on Thursday, having been without a club since Zenit agreed to mutually terminate his contract in July.
The 33-year-old had been plagued with injuries in the latter stage of his career, but he was a key cog in Juve s era of Serie A dominance.
In total, Marchisio won 15 trophies, including seven Serie A titles, during his time with Juve, having come through the club s academy.
Marchisio twice featured in the Champions League final – in 2015 and in 2017 – but on both occasions Juve were beaten, first by Barcelona and then Real Madrid.
He also made 55 appearances …
Jose Mourinho is a man in demand at international level, with Brazil reportedly rivalling Portugal in pursuit of his signature.
The 59-year-old is currently employed by Serie A club Roma, having joined in 2021 on a three-year contract.
There are reports that Mourinho is not entirely happy in the Italian capital, specifically regarding player attitudes and the club s financial limitations.
TOP STORY – BRAZIL TO MAKE SHOCK MOVE FOR MOURINHO
Brazil will make a sensational swoop to make Jose Mourinho their new national team boss to replace the departed Tite, according to la Repubblica.
An intermediary of Brazil s national setup will fly into Italy to meet up with the Roma head coach – who has also been linked to the Portugal job – and begin nego…