Rio de Janeiro: Napoli are preparing a move to sign Brazilian goalkeeper Rafael during the European summer transfer window. But the club faces stiff competition from Italian Serie A rivals Inter Milan and Roma, reports Xinhua.
Brazilian side Santos is said to have placed a five million euro price tag on the 23-year-old, who has been in impressive form this season after an injury-hit 2012.
Rafael has won three international caps for Brazil and was a member of Mano Menezes' Olympic team that won the silver medal at London last year. Napoli currently have three goalkeepers in their squad: Morgan de Sanctis, Antonio Rosati and Roberto Colombo.
...
more
02:58 PM, Jun 19, 2013
New Delhi: Highlighting the Indian footballers' grievances over non-payment of salaries as per terms laid down in their contracts, former captain Bhaichung Bhutia recently presented a report at the FIFPro Asia Conference in Melbourne. The International Federation of Professional Footballers, usually known as FIFPro, is a worldwide representative organisation for professional players. At the moment, there are 49 national players associations who are members of FIFPro. Bhutia is the president...
02:54 PM, Jun 19, 2013
English Premier League champions Manchester United kick off their 2013-14 campaign at League Cup winners Swansea and will host Jose Mourinho's Chelsea the following week. Chelsea will open their campaign against newly-promoted Hull at Stamford Bridge. Manuel Pellegrini begins his Manchester City reign at home to Newcastle, while Arsenal host Aston Villa. Arsenal will then host Liverpool and will travel to Chelsea in their following games. Liverpool too have a...
01:42 PM, Jun 19, 2013
London: Juan Mata has rubbished the claims of moving out of Chelsea and said that he is happy at Stamford Bridge. However, reports in a Spanish newspaper claims that new coach Jose Mourinho wants to sell the midfielder with Barcelona interested in order to raise funds for new signings. Mata had a brilliant last season with 20 goals and 35 assists, but Mourinho wants to build the side on his...
01:20 PM, Jun 19, 2013
London: Andy Carroll is set to complete his permanent transfer to West Ham after passing a medical with the Premier League club. The 24-year-old striker spent last season on loan at Upton Park from Liverpool. According to The Gaurdian, the England international had been due to undergo his medical on Wednesday, but on Tuesday night Hammers chairman David Gold revealed the examination was already complete. "We managed to bring Andy's...
01:06 PM, Jun 19, 2013
Fortaleza, Brazil: Brazil forward Hulk insists he is unaffected by jeers from the stands and has vowed to win over the hearts and minds of Brazilian supporters during the Confederations Cup. The Zenit St Petersburg star was booed during Brazil's friendlies against England and France earlier this month as fans called for him to be replaced by Paris Saint-Germain winger Lucas Moura, reports Xinhua. But the 26-year-old saw a shift...
12:21 PM, Jun 19, 2013
London: Seeking a replacement for the Real Madrid-bound Carlo Ancelotti, the French champions PSG were prepared to meet a 11.7 million euros buyout clause in the Portuguese's contract at White Hart Lane and substantially improve his personal terms. Instead, Andre Villas-Boas has opted to stay at Tottenham; partly in anticipation of facing his former mentor, Jose Mourinho, in league football for the first time, partly in expectation of more aggressive...
12:17 PM, Jun 19, 2013
Miami: The Miami Heat produced an extraordinary comeback to beat the San Antonio Spurs 103-100 in overtime early on Wednesday to force a decisive seventh game in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. Needing a win to keep their title defence alive, Miami clawed back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter before Ray Allen drained a three-pointer with five seconds remaining that tied the game at 95-95 and...
10:07 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Indian national team captain Sunil Chhetri is conducting a football summer camp at the Ambedkar Stadium and wants kids to learn proper training methods and take the game seriously. ...
09:43 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Paris: Fabio Capello is set to be announced as the new manager of French club Paris Saint-Germain, according to a report in ESPN Soccernet. Current PSG manager Carlo Ancelotti would then be allowed to make his highly-rumoured move to the vacant position at Real Madrid. Current Russia national team boss Capello has been chosen ahead of Tottenham's Andre Villas-Boas, with the young Portuguese coach rumoured to have resisted the French...
09:32 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Recife, Brazil: Mario Balotelli is so unpredictable that even his coach has trouble keeping tabs on the prized Italy striker. Balotelli's winning goal in the Azzurri's 2-1 win over Mexico at the Confederations Cup was a prime example. The goal showed off Balotelli's combination of brute strength and sheer athleticism. But the AC Milan striker immediately took away some of the moment's lustre by stripping off his shirt, earning a...
09:04 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Eastbourne: Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska slumped to a 7-6 (2), 6-2 defeat by American qualifier Jamie Hampton in the first round at Eastbourne on Tuesday. Radwanska, who won the title in 2008, struggled throughout the match at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament. Although the Polish player leveled at 5-5 when Hampton served for the first set at 5-4 and then held a set point at 6-5, she was overwhelmed in the tiebreaker...
09:03 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Recife: Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi picked out Japan's Shinji Kagawa as the dangerman for his side ahead of their Confederations Cup match on Wednesday. "I only know three or four Japanese players and the most talked about is the one that plays for Manchester United, Kagawa, he is the star," De Rossi told reporters on Tuesday. "I think they are well organised and I think that means they will...
08:37 AM, Jun 19, 2013
London: Aston Villa have signed towering Denmark striker Nicklas Helenius from Aalborg, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. The 22-year-old, who stands 6 feet 5 inches tall, agreed a three-year contract at Villa Park after signing for an undisclosed fee. "Nicklas is a young lad but also a full international with a good goal-scoring record in Denmark and he'll prove himself in the Premier League," manager Paul Lambert told...
08:28 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Jerusalem: Thiago Alcantara scored a first-half hat trick as Spain turned on the style to beat Italy 4-2 on Tuesday and win the European Under-21 championship for a second consecutive time. Italy started as the brighter side at Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium but the Spanish players, captained by Thiago, soon gained control and took the lead after just six minutes. They never looked back. Spain's Under21s went on to retain their...
08:15 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Paris: The trial of French football stars Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema over claims they paid for sex with an underage call girl was adjourned for procedural reasons on Tuesday until 2014. Benzema, a Real Madrid striker, and Ribery, a Bayern Munich winger, are to be tried on charges of paying Zahia Dehar, a prostitute-turned-fashion muse, for sex in 2008 and 2009, when she was only 16, then 17 years...
11:19 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke wants Sepp Blatter to reverse a previous pledge and stand again for the presidency of world football's governing body. The 77-year-old Blatter, who has been in office since 1998, was handed a fourth, four-year term in 2011 after saying he would stand aside in 2015. But Blatter has been dropping hints that he wants to remain in the job, and his closest...
09:06 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Tashkent: Uzbekistan narrowly missed out on direct qualification for the 2014 World Cup despite routing Qatar 5-1 on Tuesday. Uzbekistan finished level on points with South Korea for second spot in Group A of Asian qualifying - which yielded automatic qualification for Brazil - but were one behind on goal difference. Uzbekistan will go into a sudden-death playoff against either Oman or Jordan, who meet later Tuesday. Qatar took the...
08:42 PM, Jun 18, 2013
New Delhi: At a time AIFF and its commercial partner IMG-Reliance are planning to float an IPL-style football league, India skipper Sunil Chhetri Tuesday said that the sport needs to increase its glamour quotient but not at the cost of ignoring the I-League. "I am happy with whatever I have been hearing and how it (IPL-style league) is going to happen. But I am not sure whether it is going...
08:16 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Sydney: Australia, Iran and South Korea all secured berths at the 2014 World Cup on a dramatic final day of Asian qualifying on Tuesday. Australia beat Iraq 1-0, waiting until the 83rd minute before Josh Kennedy headed home the winner that secured second spot in Group B. Iran booked their place with a disciplined counter-attacking game that produced a 1-0 win at South Korea. While Iran finished top of Group...
07:59 PM, Jun 18, 2013
