Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze will miss Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich after failing to recover from a hamstring injury, leaving the team without one of their best players.
Dortmund confirmed on Wednesday that Goetze will not be fit in time to face his future club at Wembley Stadium in London. It would have been the 20-year-old Goetze's last game for Dortmund before his 37-million euro switch to Bayern next season.
"The final was my main aim and I fought hard for it in the last weeks," Goetze said on Dortmund's website.
Goetze returned to training on Tuesday but suffered a recurrence of the problems that forced him off in the semi-final second leg against Real Madrid on April 30. After completing an individual jogging exercise in the morning, he broke off training after an hour with team-mates in the afternoon....
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09:05 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: In one of the most bizarre bits of news related to Alex Ferguson since he retired as coach of Manchester United, what is allegedly the last stick of chewing gum chewed by the legendary football tactician has been sold for a whopping 390,000 on online auction site Ebay, with all proceeds going to charity. According to reports in the UK media, Ferguson's chewing gum was somehow retrieved from...
04:04 PM, May 22, 2013
Malaga will be free to compete in the Europa League next season after UEFA announced on Wednesday that the European ban imposed on the Spanish club had been lifted. The Costa del Sol club, who reached the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, had been given a one-year ban by UEFA due to financial irregularities but had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). UEFA's decision came after...
03:45 PM, May 22, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian striker Neymar has agreed in principle to join Barcelona, July 1. The 21-year-old striker is understood to have signed a deal last week to join the Spanish giants following the Confederations Cup in Brazil, reports Xinhua. Neymar's current club Santos could ratify the deal on Wednesday. As anticipation surrounding the move intensified, Barcelona star Lionel Messi said Neymar would be a "wonderful signing" for the Catalan...
02:39 PM, May 22, 2013
Panaji: Churchill Brothers Technical Director Subhash Bhowmick, who was not happy with the club management interfering with the team's affairs, has stepped down from his post. He finally sent his resignation letter to the club boss Churchill Alemao on Tuesday. It is learnt that Bhowmick, who guided Churchill Brothers successfully to win the I-League crown for the second time, had alleged differences with Alemao during the I-League matches. According to...
01:20 PM, May 22, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze pulled out of training on his comeback from a hamstring injury Tuesday, putting his participation in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in doubt. Goetze took part in individual jogging exercises in the morning before joining the team session in the afternoon, but he could only complete an hour with teammates before withdrawing. German magazine Kicker reported that Goetze's injured right hamstring that...
11:09 PM, May 21, 2013
Miami: Manchester City and the New York Yankees have formed a new Major League Soccer team to play in New York City from 2015, the organizations said on Tuesday. English Premier League club Manchester City, owned by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi, will be the majority partner in New York City Football Club with the Yankees, the biggest name in baseball, an "active member of the ownership group". "This is...
10:13 PM, May 21, 2013
New Delhi: Some of the star Indian footballers, including former skipper Bhaichung Bhutia, are likely to feature in All India Football Federation's (AIFF) franchise-based tournament planned by its marketing partner IMG-Reliance in the 2013-14 season. IMG-Reliance have already approached nine players, including Bhutia, and they have shown their interest in playing in the eight-team tournament which will be held from January 14-March 13 next year. "IMG-Reliance have approached nine star...
09:17 PM, May 21, 2013
Milan: Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis denies meeting former Chelsea coach Rafael Benitez on Monday but admits he is interested in selling Edinson Cavani to sign Manchester City's Edin Dzeko. Napoli is in the hunt for a new manager after Walter Mazzarri announced his departure. De Laurentiis says on Tuesday, "I didn't go to London to meet with Benitez ... it's true though that I've spoken with a lot of...
07:42 PM, May 21, 2013
Milan: Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti dropped a hint on Tuesday that he might backtrack on his promise to keep Andrea Stramaccioni as coach, saying he was "reflecting" on what was best for the club. "I don't like to say that it's the end of an era but we are having another look at the recent events," Moratti told reporters outside his office in "Have I changed my mind over...
06:04 PM, May 21, 2013
Madrid: Florentino Perez's record as Real Madrid president was under scrutiny on Tuesday after the construction magnate's latest coaching project ended in disarray with the premature departure of Jose Mourinho. Perez, who is up for reelection next month, announced on Monday Mourinho would be leaving at the end of the season, three years before his contract expires. The world's richest club by income finished their latest campaign without a major...
05:09 PM, May 21, 2013
London: Manchester United earned a record 60.8 million pounds in Premier League television revenue this season en route to a 20th English title. Deposed champion Manchester City, who finished 11 points behind United in second, received 58.1 million pounds, according to figures released by the league on Tuesday. Even finishing last was lucrative, with Queens Park Rangers returning to the second tier after earning 39.8 million pounds from TV companies....
04:55 PM, May 21, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Andres Iniesta says Spain cannot yet claim to be on the same pedestal as Brazil in football's international hierarchy. The Barcelona midfielder has been a key member of a Spain team that has won the two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup. Iniesta said Brazil had maintained a unique aura owing to the country's rich football history. "To have won five World Cups like Brazil has...
03:15 PM, May 21, 2013
Here is a look at the life and career of Jose Mourinho, the charismatic Portuguese manager, who will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after reaching an agreement with the club on Monday to leave three years before the end of his contract: EARLY DAYS: - Jose Mourinho was born in January 1963 in Setubal, Portugal. - Following a modest playing career, he accepted a job in...
09:43 AM, May 21, 2013
Florence: Italy must adopt a zero tolerance policy towards racism in football if they are to eradicate the problem from the sport, national team coach Cesare Prandelli said on Monday. A number of Italian clubs have been punished for racist incidents recently. "It is a serious problem, a problem that is not only the national team's or Milan's but Italian football's," Prandelli said. "If we want to be credible on...
09:15 AM, May 21, 2013
Madrid: Mallorca's hopes of avoiding relegation from the Spanish league were kept alive by a 1-0 win against Real Betis on Monday. With two rounds left, 19th-place Mallorca are three points behind 17th-place Deportivo La Coruna but with an inferior goal difference. Mallorca striker Tomer Hemed scored in the 21st minute from close to the penalty spot after goalkeeper Adrian San Miguel saved Victor Casadesus Castano's initial shot. Betis stayed...
09:10 AM, May 21, 2013
Jose Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season having once again produced some golden quotes. Here are some of the Portuguese coach's most memorable utterances over the years as well as what others have said about him. WHILE PORTO COACH: "The only thing that I want to say is that we are the best ones and in normal conditions we are more than the best ones....
09:00 AM, May 21, 2013
Madrid: Jose Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after three years at the Spanish club, paving the way for his expected return to Chelsea. The Portuguese coach's final season at Madrid has been blighted by divisions and a lack of trophies, but he is free to leave three years early from his contract after the final match on June 1 without any compensation involved. "To...
11:42 PM, May 20, 2013
Milan: Veteran AC Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati has signed a one-year contract extension with the Serie A club. Abbiati's contract was set to expire next month but he agreed to a new deal tying him to the club until June 2014. Abbiati says "I've signed for a year and that's the club's policy, but I am happy to start another season with Milan which is my family." Abbiati, who turns...
08:19 PM, May 20, 2013
Singapore: Atletico Madrid will not stand in the way of striker Radamel Falcao if he wants to leave the club this offseason, general manager Miguel Angel Gil Marin said Monday. Marin said in Singapore that it's up to Falcao to decide whether to say at Atletico-the newly crowned Copa del Rey champions-but the club would support him no matter what he chooses. "Before the start of the season we talked...
06:42 PM, May 20, 2013
