
Madrid: Jose Mourinho eased up on criticising his Real Madrid squad on Monday and singled himself out for blame for their poor start to the season. The nine-times European champions host Manchester City in their opening Champions League Group D game on Tuesday, with the fallout from his damning assessment of the team's performance in losing 1-0 at Sevilla on Saturday still causing waves. "I am responsible for this miserable...

11:20 PM, Sep 17, 2012

Monte Carlo: Defending champion Chelsea will take on Juventus, while Real Madrid will face Manchester City in this season's Champions League group stage. Thursday's draw pitched the holders against a Juventus side that stormed to the Serie A title and was unbeaten in all competitions last season apart from the Italian Cup final. Group E also includes Shakhtar Donetsk and Champions League debutants Nordsjaelland. Real have been handed the toughest...

10:19 PM, Aug 30, 2012

Paris: France is looking for a new coach after Laurent Blanc turned down a new contract offer, and former World Cup-winning captain Didier Deschamps is touted as the favorite to replace him. Blanc stepped down on Saturday after a European Championship campaign that ended in the quarterfinals and with his players again being questioned about their behavior. Blanc informed the French Football Federation of his decision following lengthy negotiations with...

10:52 AM, Jul 01, 2012

London: Ray Wilkins believes England could have had their own Andrea Pirlo at Euro 2012 had Paul Scholes been convinced to play. The Manchester United midfielder was capped 66 times by the Three Lions, scoring 14 goals, before retiring from international football in 2004 at the age of just 30 following the European Championship in Portugal. Despite rumours of a return both under Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello, Scholes never...

01:22 AM, Jun 29, 2012

Krakow: Top Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport has apologised for printing a cartoon portraying black Italy striker Mario Balotelli as King Kong. Media reports said Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola had reacted with fury at the depiction, which comes after the 21-year-old has battled racism in his homeland and abroad for years. The cartoon of the Manchester City forward on top of London's Big Ben swatting away footballs was meant...

06:32 PM, Jun 27, 2012

Paris: France midfielder Samir Nasri on Tuesday issued an apology for insulting a journalist after his team was knocked out of the Euro 2012 quarter-finals by Spain last Saturday. "Too many untruths circulate at the moment. May the fans, and the children in particular, know that I regret sincerely that my words may have shocked," he said on his Twitter feed. Nasri, who was a second-half substitute in France's 2-0...

05:10 PM, Jun 27, 2012

Krakow: Injured Italy players Daniele De Rossi, Ignazio Abate and Giorgio Chiellini are undergoing intensive physiotherapy to try to be fit for Thursday's Euro 2012 semi-final with Germany. Team doctor Enrico Castellacci refused to rule any of the three in or out on Tuesday, even remaining cautious on Chiellini's chances despite the centre back training normally after a thigh problem. "We are doing eveything possible," Castellacci said. Chiellini would probably...

10:54 PM, Jun 26, 2012

Paris: Samir Nasri could face a two-year ban from international duty, as the French Football Federation (FFF) prepare to discuss the midfielder's behaviour at Euro 2012, L'Equipe reports. The Manchester City man made the headlines for all the wrong reasons when he celebrated his goal against England with an outburst toward the French press, before challenging a journalist to a fight during a heated exchange in the mixed zone after...

04:04 PM, Jun 26, 2012

London: Police authorities in the UK have launched an investigation into a series of alleged racist tweets against England football players Ashley Cole and Ashley Young after the pair missed penalty kicks during the Euro 2012 quarter-final against Italy won 4-2. The use reportedly posted racist remarks against Cole and Young, which incited other Twitter users. In response to those who flayed his Tweets, the user replied: "All I got...

12:38 PM, Jun 26, 2012

CNN-IBN's panel of experts said that Italy were a better side than England and deserved to win the quarterfinal. ...

04:16 PM, Jun 25, 2012

Kiev: Roy Hodgson has hailed the effort and commitment of his England players after they were knocked out of Euro 2012 on penalties at the hands of Italy. The Three Lions managed to hold out for 120 minutes against an Italian side that dominated much of the game, but they were condemned to more penalty heartache with Alessandro Diamanti converting the winning kick. However, despite the defeat, Hodgson was keen...

10:23 AM, Jun 25, 2012

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10:14 AM, Jun 25, 2012

Kiev: England suffered yet more penalty heartbreak, this time at the hands of Italy as they succumbed to an agonising 4-2 defeat on spot kicks in a goalless Euro 2012 quarter-final here. Italy dominated the match but wasted a host of chances in normal time thanks to some brave last-ditch Three Lions defending, and Roy Hodgsons side managed to see out the extra 30 minutes before the inevitable shoot-out many...

03:12 AM, Jun 25, 2012

CNN-IBN's football experts Novy Kapadia and Karim Bencherifa preview the England-Italy quarter-final in Euro 2012 on Sunday night. ...

09:16 PM, Jun 24, 2012