London: Bayern Munich are trying to downplay being the favourites, while Borussia Dortmund are eager to play up their chances to pull off the upset. Even before the start of Saturday's Champions League final, the German rivals are at odds in their approach to the biggest game in club soccer.
Bayern are approaching their third final in four years with the self-assured calm of a team in control after a season of dominance, while Dortmund are enjoying the role of underdogs.
Bayern winger Thomas Mueller summed up his side's mood on Friday, saying that the match-up is just a normal Champion League game. "Of course, you get goose bumps when you're on the pitch and we know what's at stake. We won't let it drive us crazy though," the 23-year-old said.
Bayern captain Philipp Lahm felt the same way. "The players are the right age now, the right character. There's nothing against us winning tomorrow," said Lahm, who added that he wouldn't be surprised if Bayern reached a fourth final in five years next season....
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10:04 AM, May 25, 2013
Caretaker manager Gary Bowyer has been rewarded for keeping Blackburn Rovers in the English Championship (second tier) by being giving the job permanently on a one-year rolling contract. "It is a huge honour and a proud moment for me," the 41-year-old said in a statement on Friday. "I have been at the club for nine years, I know the traditions. The foundation of the club was built on hard work...
09:28 AM, May 25, 2013
London: England Under-21 winger Andros Townsend has withdrawn from the squad for June's European Championship in Israel after being charged by the FA with alleged betting offences. "The FA has announced it has charged Andros Townsend in relation to alleged breaches of its rules governing misconduct and betting," an FA statement said on Friday. "The Tottenham Hotspur player has been charged with breaches of Rule E8 (b) in relation to...
09:21 AM, May 25, 2013
Sao Paulo: Brazilian club Santos accepted the offers made by Barcelona and Real Madrid for young striker Neymar, who will now decide where he wants to go. Details of the offers were not made official, but Brazilian media reported that Real Madrid are willing to pay 35 million for Neymar, 7 million more than rivals Barcelona. Real Madrid also reportedly offered a bigger salary, but the player has said in...
09:11 AM, May 25, 2013
Rome: Inter Milan appointed former Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri as their new coach on Friday after sacking Andrea Stramaccioni following a disappointing ninth-place finish in Serie A. The 2010 Champions League winners have suffered a series of blows and gone through five coaches since their unprecedented treble under Jose Mourinho. "FC Internazionale would like to thank Andrea Stramaccioni for the great commitment and professionalism he showed in a particularly difficult...
08:58 AM, May 25, 2013
London: Bayern Munich are unfazed by the need to be more clinical in attack against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and avoid another Champions League final defeat having lost the showpiece match twice in the past three years. Midfielder Thomas Mueller, who at 23 will be in his third final after losing in 2010 and 2012, said his team mates were not panicking because experience had taught them the key to...
08:53 AM, May 25, 2013
Rome: Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has denied media reports earlier on Friday that he had named former Chelsea and Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez as the new Napoli manager. "I've closed the deal for a new manager but I can't officially announce it until I receive the go-ahead from the other club with which he is under contract until June 30," he was quoted as saying by Sky Italia. "I...
12:47 AM, May 25, 2013
London: The Europa League, long regarded as the impoverished relation of the glitzy Champions League, was boosted on Friday by UEFA's announcement that the winners would qualify for the elite competition from 2015. In an attempt to increase the prestige of its secondary competition, UEFA also said 16 teams rather than the current six would qualify directly for the group stages. "I have thought about this for a long time,...
10:07 PM, May 24, 2013
Milan: Inter Milan reportedly fired coach Andrea Stramaccioni on Friday, five days after concluding Serie A with a highly disappointing ninth-place finish. Stramaccioni was informed of the decision, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport and the ANSA news agency, although Inter did not immediately announce the move. Walter Mazzarri, who stepped down as Napoli manager last weekend, was already being tapped as the likely replacement. Having never coached in Serie...
09:07 PM, May 24, 2013
Manchester: Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan left the Premier League champions on Friday as new manager David Moyes prepared to make his own coaching appointments. Former United player Phelan is departing along with goalkeeping coach Eric Steele ahead of the arrival of Moyes, who takes over from the retired Alex Ferguson on July 1. "I would like to put on record the club's thanks for everything Mike and Eric...
08:29 PM, May 24, 2013
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is set to step up his interest in PSG forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic after discussions with the Blues technical team over potential summer transfer targets. If Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney joins PSG this summer, then according to reports in France, PSG board will allow Ibrahimovic to leave for the right money. The Swedish international helped his Parc des Princes side to clinch their first domestic title...
04:52 PM, May 24, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Barcelona have reportedly made a final offer of 23 million euros to sign Brazil international striker Neymar during the European summer transfer window. The Catalan club's football director Raul Sanllehi returned to Spain Thursday after a week of negotiations with Neymar's club Santos and his representatives, Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported. The Brazilian outfit has reportedly rejected successive bids of 18 million euros and 20 million euros...
03:54 PM, May 24, 2013
Paris: France coach Didier Deschamps has called up Lyon forward Alexandre Lacazette for the first time to replace the injured Jeremy Menez for next month's friendly matches against Uruguay and Brazil. The French Football Federation said Thursday that Menez has pulled out because of back pains. The Paris Saint-Germain winger has not played since scoring the goal that clinched the league title in a 1-0 win at Lyon two weeks...
03:38 PM, May 24, 2013
Mumbai: His confidence left shaken after getting just five games with the reserves for Sporting Lisbon, Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri has now taken a more pragmatic approach and would hold talks with the Portuguese club about his future before embarking on a second stint. "I am not used to sitting out. All my life, I have been playing for club and country regularly all 90 minutes.It plays on my...
03:35 PM, May 24, 2013
Prague: Midfielder Tomas Rosicky and goalkeeper Petr Cech have been included in the Czech Republic squad for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Italy next month. The Czechs need to do well in the June 7 game in Prague to keep their hopes alive to qualify for the tournament in Brazil. Italy leads Group B of European qualifying with a three-point advantage over Bulgaria. The Czechs are third, five points...
03:21 PM, May 24, 2013
English soccer champions Manchester United(MANU.N) have trimmed 10 million pounds off the annual interest bill on their debt through a refinancing arranged by Bank of America. The move could free up more cash to help new team manager David Moyes to strengthen his team for next season after taking over from Alex Ferguson, who retired this month after leading United to 13 English league titles. The American Glazer family bought...
03:11 PM, May 24, 2013
London: Manchester City have set their next manager the daunting task of winning five trophies in the next five years. City sacked manager Roberto Mancini earlier this month, saying the club had failed to achieve any of its stated targets for the season except qualification for the Champions League and are expected to appoint Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini. "If we look at the next five years, I would say I...
02:00 PM, May 24, 2013
Mumbai: Describing the IPL spot-fixing scandal as unfortunate, former India football captain Baichung Bhutia said betting should be legalised in the country to stop corruption in cricket. "In Europe betting is legalised and you don't come across such scams everyday in football like you get to see it in cricket. I think legalising would make it better," Bhutia told reporters on the sidelines of a Football Players Association of India...
11:59 AM, May 24, 2013
Paris: The big surprise about the Champions League final on Saturday isn't the teams - Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, both superb. It's that it took so long for such an all-German contest to materialise. With the largest economy and population in Europe, modern stadiums heaving with fans, financial backing from industrial giants, an impressively run league with a fat balance sheet and mostly profitable clubs and a web of...
10:25 AM, May 24, 2013
Mumbai: In a bid to increase competition and give "better incentives" to the players, the All India Football Federation plans to add four more teams to the existing 14 in the I-League next season. "The I-League as it stands today, we are going to add four new teams. We were thinking of two new teams but by the time the entire process goes through, we will be adding four new...
10:24 AM, May 24, 2013
