Luke Shaw finally comes and talks about his current condition

"At the moment my leg feels really great every
time we go outside - there were a bit of aches at the start.
But they're all gone now. I hope to see the fans before the
end of the season. I missed football so much, it was hard for
me to watch it at times. I just wanted to be out there. I'm not
there yet but we're going to keep pushing. To all the staff,
thank you for what they've done and everything."

RANKED: The 9 highest-paid football players in the Premier League

The highest-paid Premier League footballers in the 2015/16 season have been ranked by Enewsug Team

Manchester City appears to have a very high wage bill, with five players on the list.

It's followed by Chelsea with three, while Manchester United and Arsenal have one player each in the top 10.

The salaries may be eye-watering, but it's worth remembering that the Premier League is the most watched football division in the world, and club income is accordingly huge.

Keep scrolling to see the highest-paid Premiership players in the 2015/16 season

9. Kevin de Bruyne — Manchester City
Bryn Lennon / Getty Images
Salary per week: £170,000 ($249,000)

Kevin de Bruyne is one of the younger players on the list at 24, but has a career and salary anyone would envy. He spent two seasons at Chelsea before joining Manchester City for a club-record transfer fee of £55 million, and also plays for the Belgium national team.

8. Cesc Fabregas — Chelsea
Paul Gilham / Getty Images
Salary per week: £170,000 ($249,000)

Fabregas spent eight years at Arsenal before a spell at another huge club — FC Barcelona. He finally joined Chelsea in 2014, where he's paid the second-highest wage in the team. He's put the Premiership experience to good use, helping to win Spain the World Cup in 2010.

 


7. Raheem Sterling — Manchester City
Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
Salary per week: £180,000 ($264,000)

At just 21, Sterling is the youngest player on the list, but he already has 21 caps for England. He got his start at Liverpool, where he played for three seasons before joining Manchester City in 2015 in a transfer deal worth £49 million — the highest for any English player.

 

6. Mesut Özil — Arsenal
Ian Walton / Getty Images
Salary per week: £190,000 ($279,000)

No stranger to big football clubs, Özil played for Schalke and Real Madrid before coming to Arsenal. He also nabbed a World Cup winners medal when Germany won the competition in 2014. Arsenal came second in the Premiership this season, suggesting the club got their money's worth.


5. David Silva — Manchester City
Michael Steele / Getty Images
Salary per week: £200,000 ($293,000)

Silva has one of the longer tenures on the list, having played for Manchester United since 2010. That seems to have only helped his salary, which tops the £200,000 mark per week. When not scoring for City he plays for the Spanish national team, with 96 caps and counting.

4. Eden Hazard — Chelsea
Paul Gilham / Getty Images
Salary per week: £220,000 ($323,000)

The second Belgian player on the list, Hazard had already won a number of "Young Player of the Year" accolades when he joined Chelsea in 2012. He went on to win the Premier League and Europa League with the team, as well as securing 62 caps for Belgium. 


3. Yaya Touré — Manchester City
Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
Salary per week: £240,000 ($352,000)

Hailing from the Ivory Coast, Touré has been at Manchester City for six years. Thanks to two Premier League wins with the club he still commands a huge salary. He's also seen a lot of international action, having earned 100 caps with his homeland and playing three World Cups.

2. Sergio Aguero — Manchester City
Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
Salary per week: £240,000 ($352,000)

The fifth and joint highest-paid Manchester City player of the 2014/15 season, Aguero spent five years at Atletico Madrid before joining City in 2011, with whom he won two Premier Leagues and another two Football League Cups. Over 70 caps with his native Argentina and a runner-up place in the 2014 World Cup only add to his price tag. 

1. Wayne Rooney — Manchester United
Michael Regan/Getty Images
Salary per week: £260,000 ($381,000)

The highest-paid Premier League player of 2014/15  season is also the one who's spent the longest at his club on the whole list. Rooney was a sensation at Everton and it didn't take long for the world's biggest club to snap him up in 2004. Since then he's scored 178 goals for United and picked up 109 caps for England. The new appointment of Jose Mourinho to Manchester will surely galvanise him for another season of goal-scoring. 

Spain and Italy want to change the Champions League so they can make Premier League money

Spanish and Italian football clubs are requesting format changes to the
Champions League in order to financially compete with the English
Premier League, according to the Financial Times.
The clubs want more games between the continent's "heavyweight"
teams, which would increase matchday revenues and commercial
prospects. Currently, the Champions League follows a similar format to the World Cup, in which groups of four teams play each other, with only the top two of each group progressing.
Proposals for new format include an early knockout stage of 16 seeded
teams playing against another 16 — which would result in 16 games for each team. The eventual winners would go on to play in two groups of eight. A "wild card" setup has also been mooted, which would allow historically successful Champions League teams instant entry — a format that would have benefited Manchester United and AC Milan who failed to qualify for the competition this season.
However Alberto Colombo, the deputy general secretary of European
Professional Football Leagues, said it would probably oppose any
measures that grant entry to teams for any reason other than sporting
merit, adding "It’s a matter of keeping the dream alive for any club that’s doing well on the pitch,” the Financial Times reports.
Champions League participation is a hugely lucrative source of income for clubs. Teams who qualify make at least €8.6 (£6.5 million; $9.6 million), while winning the tournament is worth €27 million (£21
million; $30 million) in prize money and potentially far more in
commercial deals. But the Premier League is by far the most valuable football division in the world, with a recent KPMG report suggesting that 5 of the top 10 most valuable clubs in the world are English.
It received a huge financial boost when Sky and BT began competing for broadcast rights, resulting in an eventual price tag of €2.4 billion (£1.8 billion; $2.7 billion) per season.
Spain, meanwhile, has two of the biggest teams in the world in Real
Madrid and FC Barcelona, but the collective value of the teams in La
Liga are said to be worth less than half of those in the Premiership. It can take solace in the fact that two of its teams — Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid — are playing in the Champions League final on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Champions league Win Would Eclipse Barca Double

In an interview given to a Spanish TV, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo claimed that he would take the Champions League title over Barcelona's league and Copa double any day - "I'm not bothered by Barca's double, not at all. I know that if we win the Champions League it's worth more than the double - there are amazing players that have never won it and it's a dream". He also admitted that he was annoyed at not being able to win the Pichichi - "It's obvious that it annoyed me not to win but I wasn't obsessed". He also had this to say when asked about Pique imitating him during Barca's title winning celebrations - "Whenever people are celebrating, they remember Cristiano Ronaldo. I'm always there but there won't be a problem when I play against Pique again".

Zlatan Knows His Future‼

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is being heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford. The news about Mourinho's arrival has further strengthened the transfer rumour. The Swedish striker is reportedly offered a deal worth £34 million by Manchester United. In spite of all these rumours, Zlatan has claimed that he has not made a deal yet but confirmed that he has made his choice. "The future is already written. I have made my choice. It's not important for me to have a deal done before the Euros. I enjoy reading what the media write. It's fun. There is interest from every country. England, Italy, other concretes. There are concrete offers, many alternatives."

Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of leaving Real Madrid this summer

Cristiano Ronaldo addresses Man Utd transfer talk ahead of Jose Mourinho arrival

Cristiano Ronaldo has emphatically ruled out a return to Manchester United, despite Jose Mourinho being set to take over at Old Trafford.

Mourinho is expected to take charge at United following days of speculation following the sacking of Louis van Gaal on Monday.

The Portuguese coach is likely to want to quickly get down to business following his appointment and look to bring in the players he feel can help United challenge for the title next season.

Ronaldo has long been linked with a return to United ever since his move away from Old Trafford in the summer of 2009.

However, the former Manchester United star has move to quash suggestions that he could join the Red Devils this summer, while also ruling out a move to any other club.

Ronaldo is quoted as saying by The Sun: “Right now yes I am happy and I want to stay at this club

Scholes Wants Giggs Besides Mourinho

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes, who has thrown his weight behind Jose Mourinho to come good at Old Trafford, has also indicated that he hopes Ryan Giggs will continue in a coaching capacity at the club. Giggs served as Van Gaal's assistant for 2 years but his chances of continuing in the same role are bleak with Mourinho reportedly ready to bring his own staff to Old Trafford. But Scholes believes his former team-mate and close friend's in-depth knowledge of United should be put to good use by Mourinho and his staff - "He's got great experience, he knows the club inside out. I think everybody involved with the club and the fans especially would love him to be involved in some way".

But it is most likely that he will be replaced by Mourinho's long-term assistant Rui Faria.

A detailed analysis of Atlético Madrid & Bayern Munich's tactics and what they mean for Real Madrid.

There is little doubt that Atlético Madrid are one of the most supreme defensive machines of their generation. Having grown immensely since the middle of the 2012/13 season, Atlético Madrid are now more structurally sound, more versatile, and incredibly more threatening on the counter than they ever were before. There exist little conventional ways of breaking this team down, and some coaches have been driven to unconventional methods in order to do so. One of them is unsurprisingly Pep Guardiola, who perhaps put together the best tactical plan to beat Atleti the world has seen this season. If Real Madrid’s staff had any sense, they would drag Zidane in front of a screen and make him watch hours of Bayern’s offensive play vs. Atleti, which forced Jan Oblak to make 9 saves. But before I get into what Bayern did and how they did it, it is first important to understand how Atlético play.

*The Basics*

Atlético primarily employ two formations, a 4-4-2 and a 4-1-4-1, depending on the situation. Both provide Atlético with the ability to form two banks of four, aiding Simeone in forming a team naturally set up to defend. The focus of Atlético as a team is to close off spaces that look offensively threatening, so as to force the opposition to uselessly circulate the ball before losing it, which will then allow Simeone’s side to counter. Atlético do this through man-oriented marking, allowing them to snap at the heels of the opposition and pressure opponents into losing the ball. On the surface, this sounds extremely simple, but this system requires immense focus and organization from Los Colchoneros. For a manager, things can get extremely complicated when trying to coordinate a man-marking system whilst closing off spaces that can be created by a free moving attacker. Thus, Simeone employs a fluid defensive system, in which every single player in the line-up is ready to take the place of their teammates’, in the case that said teammate tracks a long-winding run. This allows Madrid to continually maintain their horizontal compactness, whilst staying close to their back four in order to prevent gaps in-between the lines.

*Pressing, One vs. One defending, & the Setting of the Trap*

This makes it seem like Atlético primarily sit back when defending, but Simeone’s side regularly employs a press to destabilize opponents who are attempting to build play from the back. Torres and Griezmann usually lead this press, using excellently developed one vs. one defending and body positioning to direct passes into any areas they please. Usually the body positioning of Torres and Griezmann, combined with the marking of the opposition’s central midfielders (by Atletico’s central midfield pairing), forces teams to play the ball wide to their fullbacks. Depending on the side, either Torres or Griezmann will use the touchline and their body positioning to cut off central passing lanes and force the pass to a man-marked winger. It is at this point where most teams lose the ball, as they usually attempt a lofted ball or badly placed ground pass, which is easily intercepted by Atlético’s defense. If the ball does reach the winger, Atlético often manage to close down the man on the ball, but sometimes use their body positioning and local compactness to force the ball to a central midfield option. By this time Griezmann and Torres would’ve turned their backs to face their own team, whilst cutting off passing lanes to the center backs and pressuring the central midfielder on the ball. Aiding their strikers would be the wide-men, who would’ve cut off horizontal passing lanes whilst pressuring the man on the ball. Last but not least would be the two pivots in Atleti’s midfield, who would cut off vertical passing lanes and would apply pressure to win the ball back.

The system depicted above is much like setting a trap. Through clever man-to-man defending, body positioning, teamwork, and work-rate, Atlético can control the opposing teams possession phase and win the ball back at will. With Simeone claiming that the game will be "high intensity," you can bet your house on the fact that the Red and Whites will be employing this same sort of pressing scheme.

*_How Bayern Munich Countered All of This_*

*Off-the-ball movement*

Brilliantly articulated in this articlefrom Into the Calderon, Bayern Munich severely threatened Atlético’s goal with unpredictable off-the-ball movements. Using the dynamic ability of Alaba and Lahm, along with the excellent vertical movement of Vidal and the space investigating of Muller, Bayern exploited Atlético’s man-oriented defensive system. As noted in several tactical analyses of the game, Bayern’s fullbacks often acted as central midfielders in addition to providing width through overlapping runs. This seriously troubled the man marking assignments Simeone had dished out, forcing Atlético players to let some opposition players run free so as not to disrupt their defensive shape. As noted in the linked article, this allowed Alaba to draw a foul, which led to the opening goal of the game, as Atlético desperately tried to close down a man who had seemingly apparated near the edge of the box unmarked.

As hard as it was to mark Bayern’s fullbacks, is must have been nothing compared to trying to tie down the free moving Arturo Vidal and Thomas Muller. Vidal made himself a nuisance by continually acting as Bayern’s fifth attacker, often providing a late passing option in the box. As described in the linked article, this movement proved to be crucial, as he redirected a cross for Lewandowski to finish for the second goal of the evening.

But something the article didn’t fully touch upon was the decision to field Thomas Muller as a half forward. Playing as part of the central midfield three on paper, Muller provided another attacking body in the box, whilst causing haywire for Atlético’s defensive structure as they desperately tried to pick him up. This combined with the other number of players streaming into the attacking third allowed Bayern Munich to create numerical overloads in places of their desire, allowing them to create several chances that should’ve been finished off with aplomb.

*Creation of Mismatches*

Another part of Guardiola’s strategy was to create mismatches in the air versus Atlético’s fullbacks. Clearly trying to avoid Atléti’s dominance in the air at center back, Guardiola had Lewandowski and Muller play on the fringes of the box in order to create headed attempts at goal. In order to prevent Los Colchoneros’ center backs from moving to close down Lewandowski and Muller, decoy runners into the box like Ribery, occupied the attention of Savic and Gimenez and tied them down away from the real threat. It was in this way that the second goal was created, as this time Lewandowski and Muller occupied the center backs, while Vidal outmatched Filipe Luis in the air to assist his Polish teammate.

*Counterpressing*

Despite all that can be said about Bayern Munich’s attacking brilliance, it must still be noted that Atlético Madrid didn’t seem to be at their best defensively. In the first half especially, they looked quite nervous, as if rattled by the intensity of Bayern Munich’s attack. But it wasn’t the German side’s attack that unsettled Atleti’s defense, but rather their defending in the form of a counterpress.

Known as gegenpressing in Germany, counterpressing refers to an especially intense type of pressing that requires a team to win back possession within 5-7 seconds of losing the ball. The aim is to catch out a team transitioning from the defensive phase to the offensive phase of the game and exploit the inherent structural weaknesses that result from this. If the team fails to do so within that allotted time frame, they should recede back into a defensive shape. While this obviously requires excellent fitness, good team communication, and a fine work-rate, an underrated aspect of counterpressing is positional play in the offensive stage.

In order to successfully counterpress the opposition, your attackers and midfielders need to be perfectly set-up in a structure that will be conducive to pressing once the ball is lost. This means that positional play when you have the ball is of paramount importance, with particular attention needing to be paid to the edge of the box and the halfspaces.

The edge of the box is usually guarded by the team’s three forwards, with perhaps the help of a central midfielder. The spacing of these players in relation to each other is very important, so as to ensure an optimum amount of space can be covered without compromising horizontal compactness. This will allow the pressing team to apply pressure on the back line and create an immediate goalscoring opportunity if the ball is won back.

If a team bypasses this first line of defense, the halfspaces need to be well protected.

As noted in this GIF, if a team leaves one of their halfspaces free, Atleti will exploit it and create a clear-cut counterattacking opportunity. Thus it is paramount that the two wider central midfielders in a 4-3-3 protect their halfspaces and cut out the passing lanes best suited for counterattacking teams.

Pep Guardiola used this strategy to a tee, allowing him to suffocate Atléti’s counters and seriously rattle their defense.

Pep instructed his players to defend from the front, with Lewandowski completing as many tackles as Alaba

This complemented Guardiola’s need to create offensive overloads perfectly, as the ability to win the ball back right after losing it allowed Bayern to take advantage of a destabilized defensive structure that was moving into offensive transition.

This also pinned back Atleti in their own half, making it nearly impossible for them to launch counterattacks and employ a press of their own.

*How Should Real Madrid Incorporate All of This?*

*Personnel Selection*

The first thing to do is ensure that the right personnel capable of carrying out the game plan are on the pitch. In order to emulate Bayern Munich’s fluid attacking verve, Real Madrid need central midfielders that can play in-between the lines of Atlético Madrid’s midfield and defense. The primary candidate for this is Isco: a player now well accustomed to the duties of a central midfield role, and a player who possesses a clever understanding of off-the-ball movement. As demonstrated against Manchester City and even in previous clashes vs. Atlético Madrid, Isco is a great mover into the halfspace, an area which structured defenses find very hard to mark. Employing Isco in this space will allow Real Madrid to always have a vertical passing option in midfield, something that is essential when trying to bypass Atletico’s first bank of four in midfield. Without such a player in the line-up, Atlético will simply force all of Real Madrid’s passes out wide, thus pressuring Real into the same stagnant play that has nearly always plagued them against their city rivals.

Another reason to play Isco in the final is because of his understanding of the halfspaces in terms of defensive transition. Isco simply has a natural intuition of the left halfspace, perhaps cultivated by his time at Malaga as a left-winger. Time and time again Manchester City (in the second leg of the UCL) tried to exploit the space in behind Marcelo by attacking through the left halfspace, but Isco cut them off every single time. Against Barcelona in the 2014 Copa del Rey final (where Isco was still learning his central midfield duties), it was Isco’s defending in the halfspaces that prevented much of Barcelona’s central possession play and led to Real Madrid’s first goal.

The second roster decision Zidane has to make is to decide who should be employed as Real Madrid’s deepest midfielder in his 4-3-3. In Real Madrid’s current best eleven, Casemiro occupies the pivot role in the side, and while he has done extremely well over the course of the season, he does not match up well against Atlético. Once an unknown quantity for Simeone when his side first played against Real Madrid this season, Simeone will not repeat his mistake of failing to apply pressure on the Brazilian (which allowed Casemiro to dominate the midfield with his physicality and aerial ability). As the 1stleg vs. Manchester City showed, Casemiro is incredibly uncomfortable under pressure, leading him to lose his composure and needlessly give away possession. Against a much more potent press applied by Atlético, Casemiro’s weaknesses in terms of calmness on the ball and lack of pinpoint passing will be exploited. Real Madrid usually get around this by having Casemiro simply pass the ball off to Modric and Kroos at nearly every opportunity; but against Atleti, Casemiro will not have the luxury of doing that. As discussed earlier, Atlético employ a pressing trap that is designed to isolate midfield pivots by cutting off their passing options. This means that if Casemiro were to play, he would need to play himself out of trouble, by either: dribbling with the ball, or making a pinpoint vertical pass up the field to one of Real’s attackers or advanced central midfielders. No matter how ardent a support of Casemiro you are, you cannot argue with the fact that putting Casemiro in such a situation is not an optimum use of his abilities.

Instead, Toni Kroos is the one who should play as the single pivot vs. Atléti. Famously praised by Ancelotti for being extremely calm and secure on the ball, Kroos is the perfect candidate to beat the Mattress Makers’ carefully laid out trap. Possessing superb offensive awareness and the best passing ability in the world, Kroos is highly capable of playing through Atleti’s press by picking out vertical passes through seemingly risky angles.

When Real Madrid are in the final third, he also possesses the decision making to determine when to retain possession so that Real Madrid can set up for the counterpress, and when to bypass the press because there is a momentary weakness in Atleti’s defensive structure.

However, there are undeniable weaknesses when putting Kroos in the pivot role. No one can legitimately argue that Kroos is better than Casemiro at defending the back line, which is why it’s necessary that Real Madrid counterpress. Defending from the front relieves Kroos of a lot of unnecessary pressure, and ensures that he doesn’t have to sit back and defend, which is where he is weakest.

*Being Careful With the Counterpress*

There is little doubt that the counterpress is one of the more devastating techniques that can be used to dominate an opponent and create scoring chances; but just like any other strategy, it has weaknesses. Counterpressing requires a team to play a high defensive line, which can be exposed by long balls over the top. Guardiola was undone by this in the second leg vs. Atleti, as Bayern pushed too high into Atlético’s half in order to dominate the opposition. This combined with Simeone’s clever substitution and formation change, allowed a long ball to reach Griezmann, which resulted in a goal.

Real Madrid need to seriously worry about this problem if they employ a counterpress. Varane would have been the perfect antidote to this due to his incredible pace and his ability to defend Real Madrid on the counterattack, but the Frenchman is injured. Luckily for Zidane, Pepe is in better form and has been playing the role of coverer for ages. Well attuned to Ramos’ rash tendencies to abandon his defensive line, Pepe has an incredible positional sense and timing of the tackle that will be crucial in preventing the likes of Griezmann and Torres from exploiting a high defensive line. Thus, Pepe should always stay inside Real Madrid’s own half, carefully marking the movement of Atleti’s central striker in order to prevent the sort of route-one football that always seems to be Guardiola’s demise. Ramos for his part should make use of his aggressive tendencies and challenge for the ball in the air. In this way Real Madrid will mark Atleti’s central attackers from the front and the back, ensuring that Los Blancos are better prepared for a an Atléti counterattack than Pep ever was.

*Off-the-ball Movement (The Real Madrid Edition)*

As mentioned before, this is the key to combatting Atlético’s defensive structure and tight man-oriented defensive system. Just like Bayern, Real possess two extremely technically gifted fullbacks that regularly contribute in the offensive phase of the game. Marcelo already possesses the aptitude to make runs into the center of the pitch in the same way Alaba did for Bayern in the 2nd leg, as shown by his run in the recent Clásico which created Real’s first goal of the match. Zidane has to recognize this and let the Brazilian loose. Marcelo’s unpredictable movement and superb dribbling ability should play havoc with his markers and create space ahead of him for the front three.

Carvajal can play a similar role, as demonstrated by his run into the halfspace, which created Real Madrid’s second goal in the recent Clásico. But due to the fact that Marcelo should be let loose in a free attacking role, it wouldn’t be unwise for Carvajal to take on a more traditional capacity at times; in which he provides width for crosses and scurries back to form a three man defense.

However, even all of this will not have the intended effect if Isco isn’t chosen to play. Much like the way Muller was the space investigator for Bayern, Isco needs to act as an advanced playmaker that pips in-between the lines and provides a vertical passing option. This will allow Real Madrid to move the ball quickly if necessary, and should give Real Madrid plenty of chances to probe the Atléti back line. While it may be necessary for Isco to drop deeper in order to help Kroos or Modric evade a press, Zidane must understand that Isco will make all the majority of his impact in the final third of the pitch.

Complementing Isco’s deployment must be movement into the channels from Ronaldo, Benzema, and Bale. They need to occupy spaces which puts question marks over who should mark who, meaning that BBC need to dance into pockets of space in between the fullbacks and center backs. If Isco can receive the ball in-between the lines, it is highly possible that he can also slip a through ball into one of the front three making movements into the box.

*Creating Mismatches (The Real Madrid Edition)*

But only having clever off-the-ball movement isn’t enough. Real Madrid need to attack Atlético three-dimensionally, meaning that they must also provide a threat in the air. This seems to be difficult to accomplish due to Atletico’s aerial superiority in central defense, but Guardiola provided the blueprint to work around that (as mentioned before). This blueprint works perfectly in Real Madrid’s favor, as their two best headers of the ball play on the wings. This signifies that Ronaldo and Bale naturally match up against Juanfran and Filipe Luis, meaning that the latter duo would have to potentially mark the former duo in the air. But too often this hasn’t been the case, as Real Madrid usually only deploy Ronaldo and Benzema in the box. This comfortably allows Atléti to mark their men and theoretically snuff out any credible attempts at goal. That is why it is necessary for Real Madrid to pile players into the box when they decide to cross the ball. Bale needs to make a run to the far post if Marcelo plans to cross, and Ronaldo needs to do likewise if Carvajal plans to swing one in. Benzema has to occupy one of the center backs, and one of Modric, Isco, and Kroos has to do the same. While there is little chance that any of our diminutive midfield wins an aerial battle, their presence will not be ignored, allowing them to act as sufficient decoy targets.

All of this seems rather risky, but it is guaranteed to work. In Madrid’s first clash of the season against the Mattress Makers, a simple decoy run by Ronaldo dragged one of Atlético’s center backs out of position and allowed Benzema to net a headed goal. Now imagine four players in the box, with three of those players acting as decoys, and with the intended target matching up against a fullback. Seems an awful lot like the result will be similar to Bale dominating Alba in the air doesn’t it?

*Conclusion*

The strategy outlined above is no easy task to implement. Zidane would be taking a risk by changing his starting eleven and by implementing a new strategy. But to win big you have to take calculated tactical risks, especially when Real Madrid’s previous plans have not been working. The good news is that Real Madrid have the raw ingredients to pull this off. A knowledgeable coach is needed to make this strategy a reality, and while Zidane is still inexperienced, he should be well aware of the tools needed to counterpress, as he took private lessons with Guardiola and employed the strategy against Wolfsburg in the return leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

There is also the fact that Real Madrid possesses all the personnel to play a high intensity possession-based game, which is complemented by unpredictable off-the-ball movement. Kroos and Modric are supremely gifted passers who should be able to control possession play with ease; Isco, Marcelo, and Carvajal have natural tendencies to occupy positions that are impossible to track and possess the nature to attack opponents from unpredictable angles; Ronaldo is the most intelligent off-the-ball mover next to Muller, and thus should be able to understand how to complement the runs of Marcelo and Isco to a tee; Benzema is used to being a decoy having spent the last couple years of his career acting as a foil for Bale and Ronaldo; and last but not least, Bale has grown immensely in the air, making him a viable target to create aerial mismatches versus Filipe Luis.

The ingredients are all there; it’s up to Zinedine Zidane to mix them in the right way.

Here's how much Manchester United will pay Louis van Gaal for sacking him

Manchester United won the FA Cup under van Gaal just before he was fired.

Manchester United has agreed to pay Louis van Gaal a £4.55 million ($6.6 million) severance package, according to the Times.

The paper says van Gaal would have voluntarily walked away with nothing if the club had handled his dismissal better.

Rumours spread that Manchester United had finally decided to fire van Gaal on the weekend, with word leaked to the press as soon as Manchester United won the FA Cup on Saturday.

But it wasn't until Monday afternoon that the club announced it officially.

Manchester United finished fifth in the 2015/16 Premier League season, missing out on a Champions League qualification.

However, the team won the FA Cup after beating Crystal Palace on Saturday — its first silverware since manager Alex Ferguson's departure.

The Times says that Ed Woodward — Manchester United's executive vice chairman — broke the news to van Gaal at the manager's Cheshire home on Sunday night.

Jose Mourinho is reportedly in talks to be Man United's new manager and is expected to be confirmed for the job in the next few days. He was fired from Chelsea early into last season after a poor start. Ryan Giggs is also considering whether to stay on as an assistant manager, the BBC reports.

In a statement on Monday night, van Gaal said he believed his time at the club had not been in vein:

I am very disappointed to be unable to complete our intended three-year plan. I believe the foundations are in place to enable the club to move forward and achieve even greater success.

I hope that winning the FA Cup will give the club a platform to build upon next season to restore the success that this passionate set of fans desire.

Having managed in Holland, Spain and Germany, I had always hoped for the opportunity to manage in English football and be part of English culture. Both of these experiences have lived up to expectations and been fantastic.

United was unavailable for comment at the time of writing, but in a statement released on the team's website Ed Woodward congratulated van Gaal on winning titles in four different countries and for his focus on youth:

Louis has behaved with great professionalism and dignity. He leaves a legacy of having given several young players the confidence to show their ability on the highest stage. Everyone at the Club wishes him wishes him all the best in the future.

United scored just 49 Premiership goals in the 2015/16 season and spent more than £250 million during van Gaal's tenure buying expensive players like Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial.

Everton hold talks with Manuel Pellegrini regarding manager vacancy

Everton have held talks with Manuel Pellegrini as they look for a new
manager

The Chilean has been in the frame to succeed Roberto Martinez for a
while and is believed to have met the club’s major shareholder, Farhad
Moshiri, about the vacant managerial position.

Pellegrini, who is out of work after leaving Man City earlier this month following a three-year spell, hinted last week that he would prefer to stay in the Premier League. Everton, who finished 11th this season, are expected to meet a handful of other candidates in the coming weeks.

But Everton are also looking to hold talks this week with Unai
Emery with the Sevilla coach a leading contender to replace Roberto Martinez as manager at Goodison Park.

Everton are expecting to meet with Emery in the next 72 hours. It is unclear if the Spaniard is the club's first choice but they are keen to establish his interest in moving to England and any plans he has.

Paul pogba names four legends he wants to emulate

The Juventus star says he wants to combine the best of the game's greatest players to become a new type of player and admits he has "done nothing" in football so far…

I want to be Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane and Vieira all in one

Pogba wants to take the best qualities of the game's greatest in order to become a new kind of supermidfielder.

Pogba said
"I want to become the complete player," Pogba told ESPN. "I want to do everything: defend, attack, score, give assists, tackle, win back the ball. Be a leader on the field. "I want to become a new midfielder. From defensive midfielder to attacking midfielder to attacker. I want to take the qualities from everyone.

"Cristiano, Ronaldinho, Messi, everyone. Andres Iniesta. I'm serious. All players rolled into one. I'd like to get to the level where I have everything: Patrick Vieira, Didier Deschamps, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Ronaldo. It wouldn't be bad, that.

"I've already scored goals, given decisive passes, won back balls. It's really just about raising the level."

Despite currently residing with Juve and having dominated Italian football, a humble Pogba says he is a way off reaching his best.

"I don't think I am a great; I think I've done nothing. I've done nothing in soccer," the 23-year-old added.
"I've won leagues, but I haven't won the Champions League, the World Cup, the Euros. Winning Euro 2016 in France, that wouldn't be bad. "I want to work, to be a great, to win everything."

Specualations are van gaal to stay at old traffold but with another career position

Rumours are the Dutchman will be given a director of football role at the club. That will see Van Gaal complete his three-year contract at the club and leave next summer.
Despite this seasons poor campaign Van Gaal remains popular with executive vice chairman Ed Woodward who still wants to use his vast
footballing knowledge at the club. But Woodward accepts there
has to be change now in the managerial seat

It is understood that the club are considering moving Van Gaal upstairs in order to bring Mourinho to Old Trafford.

Van Gaal, 64, has 12 months left to run on his contract, but mixed results over the last two seasons have poured doubt on his future. Numerous reports have linked Mourinho with the post, the most recent of which claimed that executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had promised him the job if Van Gaal were to be relieved of his duties in the summer.Rumours are the Dutchman will be given a director of football role at the club. That will see Van Gaal complete his three-year contract at the club and leave next summer.

Despite this seasons poor campaign Van Gaal remains popular with executive vice chairman Ed Woodward who still wants to use his vast footballing knowledge at the club. But Woodward accepts there has to be change now in the managerial seat

It is understood that the club are considering moving Van Gaal upstairs in order to bring Mourinho to Old Trafford.

Van Gaal, 64, has 12 months left to run on his contract, but mixed results over the last two seasons have poured doubt on his future. Numerous reports have linked Mourinho with the post, the most recent of which claimed that executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had promised him the job if Van Gaal were to be relieved of his duties in the summer.

Ronald koeman Arsenal

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman is reportedly ready to snub Everton to wait for the Arsenal job in a year’s time.

The Dutch tactician, who has impressed greatly in his time at the St Mary’s Stadium, feels he could be in with a chance of landing a bigger job than the one at Goodison Park.

The Dutchman has been linked with the vacant Everton post after the Toffees sacked Roberto Martinez last week.

But the Mirror claim he will snub Everton’s advances in the hope of receiving an offer from a bigger club next summer.

The news will come as a boost to Southampton, who are due to hold talks with the 53-year-old this week. The Saints remain hopeful he will sign an extension to his current deal, which currently has just 12 months left to run.

Arsenal are poised to offer Arsene Wenger a two-year extension to his present contract in the hope of tying him to the club until 2019 - a move that will cause huge controversy at the club.

According to The Times, Stan Kroenke, Arsenal's majority shareholder, "has prepared a new deal... that the club will urge Wenger to sign promptly if they make a strong start to the next campaign".


The prospect of another three years of Wenger will fill many Arsenal
supporters with dread.
It's 12 years since Arsenal won the league title, and ten years since they reached the final of the Champions League. In the subsequent decade all the Gunners have had to cheer are two FA Cup victories. Yet there remains a hardcore of supporters who still put their trust in the Frenchman, and the Times reports that Wenger was "hugely encouraged by the backing that he received" last month at the Emirates
when a fans' protest at his reign was drowned out by other supporters chanting his name.

During the course of the season koeman was regarded within the Arsenal boardroom as the eventual replacement for football’s longest-serving manager. Koeman, whose tactical shrewdness and
football philosophy fit the Arsenal bill.

Koeman is willing to discuss his future with chairman Ralph Krueger this summer, he has never hidden his ambitions to manage a Champions League club again.

Manchester united zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent has rubbished reports United are making an offer for the Swede.

The 34-year-old will leave PSG at the end of the season, although it is unclear which club he will play for next.
United are long-term admirers, and are thought to have offered a one-year deal.

But Ibrahimovic’s agent Mino Raiola, according to Sky Sports, has described such talk as ‘not factual’.

"In this world we have to accept some journalists use their imagination and make things up," said Raiola.
"The story is not factual."

Outgoing striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic became Paris St Germain's top-scorer in a single Ligue 1 season after marking his final appearance at the Parc des Princes with a brace in the champions' 4-0 victory over Nantes.

The Sweden international, who will leave PSG when his contract expires in the summer, netted in the 17th and 89th minutes to surpass the 37-goal record set by Carlos Bianchi in 1977-78.
The first-half opener came just seven minutes after the home crowd paid tribute to Ibrahimovic, skipper for the night, with a standing ovation.

Ibrahimovic has scored no fewer than 154 goals in his 179 games for the French champions, and is still widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world despite his age of 34.

Benitez at Newcastle

Rafael Benitez says he could continue as Newcastle manager .

The Magpies' second relegation to the Championship in seven years was confirmed on Wednesday.

Benitez, succeeded the sacked Steve McClaren in March, winning two of his nine league games in charge.

Benitez's three-year contract at St James' Park has a relegation release clause, but the Spaniard has recently said he is considering staying at Newcastle to manage them in the second tier.

"If I'm here and discussing it, it's because there is a chance, we have to keep talking," said the Spaniard.

"It could take a couple of weeks maximum."

The club were 19th when he took over, but he could not save them despite claiming 10 points from nine games.

They were relegated by local rivals Sunderland's victory
over Everton on Wednesday.

Newcastle's fans were vociferous in their calls for Benitez to remain on Tyneside in Sunday's final game of the Premier League season, as the Championship-bound side romped to shock a 5-1 victory
over Tottenham.

griezmann transfer to real madrid

The 24-year-old is arguably Atleti's most effective attacking asset and they will not part with him easily—his current contract runs until 2020 and he reportedly has a release clause in excess of €65 million (£47.6 million), according to Jorge Garcia of AS.

It is unsurprising that Real are interested in signing him, as he would be a phenomenal addition to their already stunning forward line.

Alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Benzema, Griezmann could form one of the most skillful attacking units in Europe.

The French star admires his legendary compatriot but affirmed that would not sway him in moving to the Bernabeu, as he restated his commitment to Atletico Madrid

Antoine Griezmann is in talks over a new contract at Atletico Madrid and the France international claims even the presence of Zinedine Zindane would not persuade him to join bitter rivals Real Madrid.

However, Atleti would surely be loath to allow the France international to join their archrivals from across the Spanish capital.
If they are forced to let Griezmann leave next summer, they would likely much rather see him join a team from another league.

Griezmann has scored 32 goals in 53 appearances across all competitions for Atleti this season, including a memorable strike at Bayern Munich to help secure a Champions League final showdown against Madrid.

He told Canal Plus he hopes to extend his stay with Atleti.

"If Zidane calls me [and asks me to join Real] I will say that I'm at Atletico," Griezmann said.
"Zidane is a great person, but I'm here. "I'm even talking to renew my contract. I hope [the talks] will succeed."

Guardiolla's announcement to take over Manchester city had am impact

Pep Guardiola agreed to a three-year contract to become Manchester City manager in the summer.

The 45-year-old, currently at Bayern Munich, his will to replace Manuel Pellegrini, who will leave on 30 June ofcourse had an impact

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that the announcement of Pep Guardiola as the club's next manager had an impact on his side's form in the second half of the season.



Pellegrini's side only confirmed their place in next season's
Champions League with a 1-1 draw against Swansea City on
the final day this afternoon, and the Chilean believes that
the timing of the announcement affected the team.



"I wanted to win the Premier League this season, but the atmosphere from February when the club announced the new manager was maybe not the best atmosphere, we lost two important games at home when we were three points behind the leaders," Pellegrini told BBC Sport.



"The only option we had today was that we needed to get the point to get Champions League for next year." Pellegrini leaves Manchester City having guided the A statement from City said Chilean Pellegrini, 62, was "fully supportive" of the announcement being made.



Pellegrini succeeded the Italian in 2013 and took the club to a Premier League and League Cup double the following season.



Reasons Why City went for Pep
Barcelona's most successful manager with 14 trophies in
four years, including three La Liga titles and two Champions
Leagues.



Took a year's break before joining Bayern in 2013, following
the club's Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup
treble under Jupp Heynckes.



Won the league twice in his two full seasons with Bayern,
who are eight points clear in his third campaign. He is yet to
win the Champions League with the German club and has
been knocked out at the semi-final stage twice.


They face Italian giants Juventus in the last 16 of Europe's
elite club competition in February and Guardiola said:
"Winning the Champions League would make my time here
complete."


This is the most powerful statement of intent from City's Abu Dhabi owners that they intend to construct a club to stand alongside any in
world football.

Guardiola is the game's most coveted coach with a history of
claiming the top prizes.

Forbes: Top 10 richest clubs in the world, guess where your club occupy

For four years consecutively, Real Madrid have been named the richest club with Barcelona and Manchester United in second and third place respectively.

According to Forbes magazine’s Mike Ozanian, Real Madrid is valued at $3.65 billion (£2.53 billion), with a 12 per cent increase from its value last year.

The full top 10 includes six teams from the Premier League, two from La Liga and one each from Serie A and the Bundesliga:



Team Value $

1. Real Madrid $3.65 billion

2. Barcelona $3.56 billion

3. Manchester $United 3.32 billion

4. Bayern Munich $2.68 billion

5 Arsenal $2.02 billion

6. Manchester City $1.92 billion

7. Chelsea $1.66 billion

8. Liverpool $billion

9. Juventus $1.3 billion

10. Tottenham Hotspur $1.02 billion

Top four still possible - Van Gaal insists

Louis van Gaal hasn’t given up hope of Manchester United finishing in the top four this season even if he doesn’t think it will happen.

In what was an emotionally-charged game, headers from Michail Antonio and Winston Reid secured a 3-2 victory for West Ham United as they bade farewell to their home of 112 years ahead of their move to the Olympic Stadium.

The result means that United are now relying on Swansea City to beat Manchester City on the final day if they are to stand a chance of securing Champions League qualification. Van Gaal refused to blame the result on the pre-match drama.

“It is very disappointing because we were ahead. We gave it away because of the set plays,” he said. “As a manager you are never satisfied but when you are 2-1 ahead after 70 minutes then you have to make the pitch bigger and keep the ball better.” On the bus, he added: ”As a professional we live in this world. We know it can happen so we have to cope with that. Twenty minutes from the end we were 2-1 ahead so i don’t think that was an influence.”

United could still finish as low as eighth in the table should results go against them in this final week, although they will be guaranteed Europa League football at least if they win the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

Tottenham for lallana

Mauricio Pochettino reportedly wants to be reunited with the midfielder at Tottenham, with the north London club plotting a £20m
move when the transfer window reopens.

The pair know each other well, having worked together during Pochettino's 18-month stint in charge of
Southampton.
According to The Sun, the Spurs boss is now keen on a reunion as he looks to bolster his squad for another Premier League title challenge next term.

Dietmar Hamann believes Lallana can be a 'game-changer' for Klopp’s men next season.
“If Lallana were to leave, it would be a big surprise because he has come good lately and shown improved form under the new manager,” the Champions League-winning former Reds star said.
“He is a very talented player. He is one of the players I love to watch and one of the players England has really produced in the last ten to 15 years who has got beautiful balance, uses both feet, has great vision.
“Unfortunately he hasn’t done it often enough for Liverpool but I wouldn’t give up the ghost.
“If the penny drops, he is a game-changer and with [Roberto] Firmino and [Philippe] Coutinho and either [Divock] Origi or [Daniel] Sturridge he forms a pretty formidable front four.”

Renato sanches and Matt hummels sign for Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich have signed Benfica midfielder Renato Sanches and Borussia Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels.

Several media outlets linked the 18-year-old Sanches with Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool in the January transfer window but Bayern Munich secured the signture of the young star.

"Renato Sanches is a dynamic, technically-gifted midfielder
who is strong in the tackle and will strengthen our squad,"
Bayern's chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club's
official website.

The German giants t have also strengthened their defence with the
acquisition of Dortmund's German international centre-back Hummels on a deal until 2021.

"We are delighted that Mats Hummels has opted for Bayern," chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club's official website.
"Mats is one of the best central defender in the world. He will increase the quality of our team even more." The fee is undisclosed.

Real madrid one point behind Barcelona - zidane still optimistic

After Atletico Madrid slipped up at Levante, its now one point separating Barcelona and Real madrid on the la liga table currently.

Zidane's team earned a 3-2 victory over Valencia at the Santiago
Bernabeu - earned by a Cristiano Ronaldo brace and a goal from the returning Karim Benzema .

Though the majority held strong doubts in zinedine zidane's appointment as the main man for the Real madrid's top job, he has proved beyond doubts, Madrid is still in the league race and now in the uefa champions league final quite a comforting zone to the Real Madrid fans.


Madrid head to Deportivo La Coruna on the final day while Barca visit Granada, who made sure they will remain in Spain's top flight with an excellent 4-1 win at Sevilla.


The Frenchman told his post-match media conference: "We have to continue building up points and hope Granada do well in their game. We'll do what we can to win our game.

"Now we are second, there's one game left and anything could happen- you never know in football. We have to be aware of
that fight until the final whistle. "But the first thing we have to do is make sure we win our game - it won't be easy, we know that."

Casemiro and Benzema out, Cristiano in - Zidane

Champions league

Real madrid and Manchester city face will clash  in the champions league return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, a match to decide who will feature into the final round in Milan.


The french international termed the second leg of Real Madrid and Manchester city as a tougher challenger compared to the first leg in Etihad stadium.

"Tomorrow will be even more difficult than the 1st leg. we think about our own football."

He ruled casemiro out of the game due to the possibility of what is known as an edema [a condition characterised by an excess of watery fluid collecting in the cavities or tissues of the body] , and is confident he has no missing links in the central midfield position due to the availability of enough players to replace him with

Cristiano who missed action in the first leg match between "The sky blues and "Los Blancos is highly expected to feature in the return leg though during the course of the week Pellegrini rubbished the possibility of the Portuguese international to play but according to Zidane. "Cristiano is good, he is at 100%, he trained with us & will be with us tomorrow. There is no risk. He is training and he is 100%."


Benzema's story the French international does not want to risk playing him.

Liverpool scout hunts pastore

Kevin Hunt [scout] was in the stands as Paris Saint-Germain convinced Rennes that they are the Ligue champions on Friday.

French media have hinted on Hunt with an interest in PSG's
creative midfielder Javier Pastore.

The 26-year-old, who still has three years remaining on his contract, is considering his future at Paris Saint-Germain after falling behind the on form Angel Di Maria.

Forlan anticipates for all madrid champions league final

Former Atletico Madrid favorite Diego Forlan says he would love to see a repeat of 2014's Champions League final this year - but with the Colchoneros [identifying mark of Atlético] on the winning side.

Atletico were just 90 minutes away from winning the final before one of there biggest rivals Real madrid tanished their hopes after winning the game and becoming the champions of europe.

Diego forlan affirmed that revenge over the club's city rivals would be very sweet indeed.
"To be honest I am concentrating mostly on Atletico," the Uruguayan told Goal when asked if he would rather see Madrid or
Manchester City in the final.

"But if I could choose any final it would be against Real Madrid to try and get revenge

Forlan who has a lot of confidence in simeone current squad quoted out one of the clubs strong department.

"[Atletico] have one of the best defences, they are two fantastic players," he affirmed. "We are lucky in that they play and train together, which means they have a very strong understanding as a pair."

Unlucky Jose! Louis van Gaal is going nowhere yet

The Dutch coach has revealed how he signed only a two-year deal at Old Trafford after replacing David Moyes, but the club wanted him on board for three years.

 Louis van Gaal is adamant he will still be Manchester United manager next season, no matter what happens at the end of the season. The Red Devils hold onto the hopes of the top-four finish and are in the FA Cup final but speculation over the Dutchman’s future at the club persists.

 Jose Mourinho has been heavily linked with replacing Van Gaal at Old Trafford but the 64-year-old is relaxed about his future and says he always felt it would take time to bring success to the club where by on the other hand Manchester united fans yarn for the quick restoration of the club's former glory.

 "I knew it would be like this. That’s why they hired me and we spoke about it," he told reporters. "We always knew that the process would take three years. I wanted to sign only for two years. "The club wanted me to sign for three years, not me. I signed for three years – so next year you will see me again. "Every week for six months I have been sacked – and yet I am still here. But this has happened to me at every club I have been at. "I am doing the same job at United that I was hired to do at every club. "People should assess the squad that I took over and make a comparison to the players we have now in terms of age. "There is a big difference between what the people in the street think and the media. A big difference. I can only tell you my experiences and I don’t have to defend myself. I am a realistic man and so I only speak about facts."

 "We also have the best home record in the league, but we are one of the lousiest away teams of the top clubs and that is something we need to improve."

Gareth Bale is *really* stepping up for Real Madrid C.F

The Wales international scored a superb late header to give his side a vital 1-0 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday, and the Frenchman has backed him up with praises.

Gareth has kept Madrid's league title hopes alive, just a week after he scored twice to seal a 3-2 win over Rayo Vallecano.

Zidane is confident the Wales forward can now match Ronaldo's consistent fitness levels and has expressed his delight at seeing the former Tottenham forward make the difference once more. "I'm happy for him. He's had a lot of injury problems. When I see him play for 90 minutes I'm very happy," Zidane said.

Ronaldo is not going to play - Pellegrini claims

Champions league


 Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has warned Real Madrid he has "many friends" watching them ahead of their Champions League clash. The Man city head to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday for the return leg of their semi-final, having drawn 0-0 at home.

 Pellegrini said he knew the injured Cristiano Ronaldo would miss the first leg at the Etihad Stadium and warned Madrid he was well-informed about his former club. "I have many friends in Spain," the Chilean said, via The Mirror.

 "I always try to have as much information about the opposition before every game. And when we had the team meeting on the morning of the Madrid game, I told the players that Ronaldo would not be playing. "I understand what happens with Real Madrid and I know about Cristiano's injury, and that maybe it is not a big injury.

 "But it is difficult for them to take a risk because they don't know if he will play for just five minutes and then they lose him for the rest of the season. "What happens in the next four days will make them decide – and if Ronaldo has any chance of playing then they will take it. And I will know.

" Pellegrini expects an attacking real madrid and his plan is to attack and defend with an aim of getting an away goal inorder to secure a place in the final round of the champions league that will take place in Milan and not just thinking about one player.

Matts hummels creates space for comfort in Dortmund after becoming the subject of protests and boos from fans throughout Saturday's win over Wolfsburg.

Hummels ended long-standing speculation over his future earlier in the week as BVB issued an official statement confirming Hummels' desire to join their fierce rivals confirmed by the Dortmund official website.

Bayern president Uli Hoeness claimed on Friday that the player had already set a move in motion. He said: "When somebody comes knocking on your door, Bayern would be ill advised to not open that door."

 But the centre-back vehemently denied claims that he approached the club by trashing the claims as nonsense, "I have not offered myself anywhere," he told reporters. "That is the greatest piece of nonsense I've ever heard." Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge moved to clarify Hoeness's comments . "Maybe Uli has not understood it correctly," he said. "We were knocking on his door, not Hummels knocking on our door. "Mats has not moved offensively towards us but we asked him whether he could imagine himself moving to Bayern."

Mata on Leicester: its Now or Never

If Leicester defeat United at Old Trafford on Sunday they will secure a first top-flight championship in their 132-year history.

Juan Mata says Leicester's unlikely march to the title is a "little bit of

fresh air" blowing through the Premier League.

"They showed great character, commitment and passion," said Mata.

"They are really close to doing it. But hopefully it doesn't

happen at Old Trafford. They can wait another week."

The Spainard added: "It is good for football in a way because it is a little bit of fresh air. But my wish is that we were winning the league."

PELLEGRINI WARNS STERLING:

It was difficult for the England youngster to make an impact against Zinedine Zidane's side on Tuesday,but says players of his calibre are expected to turn tables around. 


Pellegrini has warned Raheem Sterling that players of his calibre "must make a difference" "He is a very young player, he has a very important future, but of course big players must make the difference to prove to be outstanding. Unfortunately for him, he is not 100 per cent in his best performance.

  According to whoscored.com this is a general summary of Sterling's weaknesses as listed https://www.whoscored.com/Players/97692

He added: "I think this year will be a very important year for him. He's just 21 years
old and I am absolutely sure he will have an important role here and for England.”

Guardiola is confident his team can overhaul Atletico in champions league.

The Spaniard demands his side's semi-last is not over yet and is sure the Bundesliga champions can update Diego Simeone's men in the arrival leg on Tuesday.

 Pep Guardiola has not given up making it to the Champions League final despite losing the first leg of their semi-final 1-0 at Atletico Madrid.

 A single Saul Niguez strike that seperated both sides at Vicente Calderon giving Diego's team an upper hand meaning the German champions face a tough test in the return at Allianz Arena. However, Guardiola is confident his team can overhaul Atletico and also explained his decision to start the game without Thomas Muller.

 "The reason was purely tactical. I just wanted to play with one striker,” he told reporters. "My experience of playing with two centre-forwards is not good. I wanted more control, but I love playing with Thomas Muller. "In Lisbon, Robert Lewandowski sat out but we won. Then it was not an issue. "In the end, I have to make a decision. It's not over yet, we still have a chance. [If it goes wrong] then you can kill me!" Pep said

NEYMAR, THIAGO SILVA, MARCELO OR DAVID LUIZ NOT PART OF THE BRAZIL’S 40-MAN PRELIMINARY COPA AMERICA SQUAD

These are surprises in Dunga's initial list ahead of this year's tournament, with a number of young players left hoping to make an impression at the expense of bigger names.

 Real Madrid’s Marcelo and Paris Saint-Germain duo Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Neymar failed to make coach Dunga’s list, which will be whittled down to 23 players on May 5. 

The likes of Kaka, Philippe Coutinho, Hulk and Douglas Costa,Dani Alves, Willian and Oscar headline Brazil's 40-man preliminary roster for this summer's Copa America The 40-man preliminary list is as seen below:

 CALLED: Alisson - International Diego Alves - Valencia (ESP) Ederson - Benfica (POR) Marcelo Grohe - Gremio Daniel Alves - Barcelona (ESP) Fabinho - Monaco (FRA) Fágner -Corinthians Alex Sandro - Juventus (ITA) Douglas Santos -Atlético Mineiro Filipe Luis - Atletico Madrid (ESP) Gabriel Paulista - Arsenal (ING) Gil - Shandong Luneng (CHI) jemerson - Monaco (FRA) Marquinhos - Paris Saint Germain(FRA) Miranda - Inter Milan (ITA) Rodrigo Caio - São Paulo Casemiro - Real Madrid (ESP) Elias - Corinthians Fernandinho - Manchester City (ENG) Luiz Gustavo -Wolfsburg (GER) Rafinha Alcantara - Barcelona (ESP) Walace- Gremio Felipe Anderson - Lazio (ITA) Kaka - Orlando City(USA) Lucas Lima - Santos Lucas - Paris Saint Germain (FRA) Oscar - Chelsea (ING) Paulo Henrique Ganso - São Paulo Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool (ENG) Renato Augusto - Beijing Guoan (CHI) Willian - Chelsea (ENG) Alex Teixeira - Jiangsu Suming (CHI ) Douglas Costa - Bayern Munich (GER) Firmino - Liverpool (ENG) Gabriel - Gabriel Santos Jesus - Palmeiras Hulk - Zenit (RUS) Jonas - Benfica (POR) Luan - Gremio Ricardo Oliveira - Santos

LOSING LA LIGA WOULD BE A FAILURE - PIQUE

Before the El clasico second leg [the match between Real madrid and Barcelona] Fc Barcelona had an imposing lead on the la liga log with nine points ahead of the second placed Atletico madrid.

Piqué in action for Spain in 2013 with FC Barcelona teammate Neymar.

 Gerard Pique admitted that Barcelona's season would be a failure if they did the likely possible and lost their La Liga title.

 Barcelona who were also eliminated from the Champions League by Atletico at the quarter-final stage and currently looking at La liga as there biggest hope of success this season and they are more than willing to fight and secure the la liga trophy.

 The spanish defender also explained his downturn in form, but said even the best sides have off-days.

 "It is normal to have potholes throughout the year but we had bad luck that they have arrived at those crucial moments," Pique said.


 With Barcelona at 82 points, Atletico madrid 82 having a goal difference of 30 goals separating both sides and Real madrid at the edge with 81 points is Gerald pique right to be scared?

Matts Hummels has asked for the approval from Dortmund for a transfer to Bayern Munich.

The official website of Dortmund has confirmed that Matts Hummels the German international wants to leave the club for bayern Munich as quoted below

 "Defender Mats Hummels Borussia Dortmund has communicated his desire to leave the club in the summer and want to join the league rivals Bayern Munich next season."

 He came through the Bayern Munich youth academy before joining his current club on loan in January 2008 and officially signing for Dortmund in February 2009 for €4 million. Hummels is looking forward on rejoining his former club this next transfer window.

 After loosing out to Maria gotze and Robert lwandowski to Munich, Hummels looks like is the thrid switch between the two Bundesliga rivals.

Craking the Atletico Madrid defensive code

 Atletico Madrid have conceded the least goals within the ‘big 5’ european leagues this season. Atletico don’t compete to interrupt switch statistics, brilliantly properly-drilled man-oriented protective scheme with each and each player carrying out their defensive duties to the absolute utmost. With each of the group lacking out part of there first-class defenders Godin and Holger Badstuber and with world elegance and presently the excellent goal keepers in Europe that is to say oblak and Manuel Neuer let's count on a tougher 2d leg in the champions league.


 With Atletico Madrid appearance to restriction of the opponent’s potential to play in all regions of the sector. Simeone has constantly proved that well-dependent, excessive depth defending can be used to propel a team to the equal degree as groups with a whole lot greater global class attacking expertise. Atletico additionally display that training players so one can defend efficaciously 1on1 can supply them the qualitative superiority essential to put in force a person-orientated protecting system very well. Their local compactness without sacrificing their standard pitch coverage will make it very tough for teams like Bayern Munich, who revel in switching the ball into area on the opposite aspect of the pitch, to score at.