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 36 in July, has been at Milan since 1998. He spent three years away from the club on loan spells with Juventus, Torino and Atletico Madrid.
Abbiati featured in 28 of Milan's 38 league games this season, helping them to a third-place finish in Serie A. He also appeared in seven Champions League matches and one Italian Cup game.
AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani will meet with Massimiliano Allegri on Wednesday to discuss the coach's future at the Serie A club....
more
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
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund's central defender Mats Hummels is expected to recover from an ankle injury in time to play in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich. Hummels twisted his right ankle in the 2-1 home loss to Hoffenheim in the final round of the Bundesliga on Saturday. Team doctor Markus Braun says Hummels being on the field Saturday at Wembley is "absolutely realistic." Hummels told Sport Bild magazine the...
04:11 PM, May 20, 2013
London: Nicola Rizzoli of Italy will referee the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. The match at Wembley Stadium on Saturday will be the 41-year-old Rizzoli's highest-profile fixture since becoming an international referee in 2007. Rizzoli will be assisted by compatriots Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani, while Gianluca Rocchi and Paolo Tagliavento will be the extra officials behind the goals. The fourth official is Damir Skomina from...
03:59 PM, May 20, 2013
Fiorentina's players and officials were furious after being deprived of a place in the Champions League playoff by two late goals from AC Milan on Sunday, who clinched third place in Serie A and qualified at their expense. Milan, needing to beat relegated Siena to hold on to third spot, won 2-1 after equalising with a controversial penalty won and converted by Mario Balotelli before Philippe Mexes grabbed the winner....
02:34 PM, May 20, 2013
Ankora: Former World Cup winner and Real Madrid star Roberto Carlos has agreed to coach Turkish Super League's Sivasspor club. Sivasspor officials announced that they had offered the coaching job to the Brazilian after former coach Riza Calimbay called it quits, reports Xinhua. Carlos, 40, reportedly accepted the offer after consulting with friends from his time with Fenerbahce. Carlos is currently the sports director of Russian Premier League club Anzhi...
11:48 AM, May 20, 2013
Rome: Walter Mazzarri has quit as Napoli coach following the final match of a Serie A season that ended with the team finishing runner-up. Mazzarri had been in charge of Napoli for four seasons and steered the team to the Champions League for the second time in three years. He says "at this point I think it is only right to either change scenery or have some time off. If...
09:22 AM, May 20, 2013
Paris: Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti wants to leave the club and says Real Madrid is a possible destination. The Italian had a meeting to discuss his future with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and sporting director Leonardo on Sunday. But it's believed the recently crowned French league champions are reluctant to release him a year before his contract expires. "We had a meeting and I asked to leave the club,"...
09:11 AM, May 20, 2013
Milan: AC Milan secured third spot and a place in the Champions League after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Siena on Sunday in the final Serie A round of the season. Fiorentina crushed Pescara 5-1 but remained in fourth spot and will play in the Europa League next season. Mario Balotelli leveled for Milan after they were contentiously awarded penalty six minutes from fulltime, and Philippe Mexes scored...
08:49 AM, May 20, 2013
Barcelona: Newly crowned Spanish champion Barcelona celebrated winning the league title in front of their home fans by easing to a 2-1 victory over Valladolid on Sunday. While rain and dropping temperatures threatened to dampen the party in the stands, Barcelona had little trouble keeping alive its bid to equal Real Madrid's 2012 record haul of 100 points even without the injured Lionel Messi. The weather cleared up in time...
08:26 AM, May 20, 2013
London: Arsenal qualified for the Champions League for the 16th straight season after edging Tottenham to fourth place in the Premier League, as Alex Ferguson bowed out as Manchester United manager with a 5-5 draw against West Bromwich Albion. Laurent Koscielny's 52nd-minute volley sealed an unconvincing 1-0 for Arsenal at Newcastle, rendering Spurs' 1-0 victory over Sunderland - courtesy of a late screamer from Gareth Bale - meaningless. Chelsea finished...
10:40 PM, May 19, 2013
Rome: Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta confirmed that the Italian Serie A champions are in contact with Carlos Tevez in an attempt to sign the Argentine striker. Marotta said Juventus could have some meetings with Tevez's team, reports Xinhua. "It is clear that at this stage of the season agents step forward and I will not rule out a meeting in that sense. We could reach an agreement with them,...
04:25 PM, May 19, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff officially opened Brasilia's Mane Garrincha World Cup stadium. Despite controversy surrounding delays and cost overruns, Rousseff said the 71,000-seat venue was now the source of pride among Brazilians, reports Xinhua. "A year ago they said that we wouldn't build our stadiums, that they wouldn't be ready. But now we are seeing that the stadiums have been built and are being opened. I am...
03:00 PM, May 19, 2013
Milan: Sampdoria became the only team to beat Juventus twice in the league under Antonio Conte as they secured a 3-2 victory over the newly-crowned Serie A champion on Saturday. Eder, Lorenzo De Silvestri and Mauro Icardi helped Sampdoria come from behind after Fabio Quagliarella had scored against his old team. Emanuele Giaccherini reduced the deficit in stoppage time. Juventus striker Nicklas Bendtner fractured his wrist in the game and...
08:35 AM, May 19, 2013
Barcelona: Real Sociedad came back to win 2-1 at Sevilla and Valencia beat Getafe 1-0 on Saturday as both teams remained locked on points in their fight for a fourth-place finish in the Spanish league. Sociedad remained ahead of fifth-place Valencia on head-to-head goal difference and in control of Spain's last Champions League spot with two rounds to go. The Basque side fell behind 10 minutes in at Sanchez Pizjuan...
08:29 AM, May 19, 2013
London: Manchester United's outgoing manager Alex Ferguson has criticised neighbours Manchester City for sacking Roberto Mancini. The Italian boss was sacked on Monday having failed to retain the Premier League title he won last season and after losing the FA Cup final to Wigan Athletic. Mancini took out a full-page advertisement in the Manchester Evening News on Saturday, thanking fans for their support during his time in charge. The former...
07:47 PM, May 18, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho were sifting through the debris of what the Portuguese coach termed a "disastrous" 2012-13 campaign after Friday's King's Cup final defeat left the world's richest club without a major trophy for the season. The 2-1 reverse to Atletico Madrid at their own Bernabeu stadium meant Mourinho, widely expected to move on at the end of this term, finished a season without significant silverware for...
05:10 PM, May 18, 2013
David Beckham's longevity and his ability to reinvent himself were "absolutely incredible", retiring Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has said. Beckham and Ferguson, who were synonymously linked with Manchester United until the former England captain moved to Real Madrid, both announced in the past 10 days they would retire from soccer at the end of the current season. The 71-year-old Ferguson's final game in charge after 26 years at Old...
09:31 AM, May 18, 2013
Madrid: A Copa del Rey final defeat against Atletico Madrid capped the worst season of Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho's career, the Portuguese said on Friday after the 2-1 loss left him without a major title this season. Widely expected to move on at the end of the campaign and linked with a return to Chelsea, a grim-faced Mourinho gave little away about his future but said Real, the world's...
09:18 AM, May 18, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was sent from the bench for protesting a referee's decision in the second-half of Friday's Copa del Rey final against Atletico Madrid. The Portuguese reacted furiously when the official awarded a free kick to Atletico with around 15 minutes remaining at the Bernabeu, racing to the edge of his technical area and gesticulating wildly. Cristiano Ronaldo had put Real ahead in the 14th minute...
09:01 AM, May 18, 2013
