Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke: We will not compete with Chelsea and Man City for trophies

ARSENAL majority shareholder Stan Kroenke has admitted the Gunners will find it hard to win trophies with him at the helm.

Arsene Wenger’s side are facing another season without a trophy unless they can close the eight point gap to Premier League leaders Leicester.

And Kroenke who has been criticised by many Arsenal fans believes mass spending is not the answer, according to the Evening Standard.
He said: “For me, being an individual owner, I have to have some sort of reality involved.
“If you want to win championships then you would never get involved. I think the best owners in sports are the guys that sort of watch both sides a bit.
“If you don't have a good business then you can't really afford to go out and get the best players unless you just want to rely on other sources of income.
“Over there [in the Premier League] it was sort of like 'well, we've got guys from the Middle East, the oil price is over $100, they can spend anything they want'.
“But the problem I saw with all of that; those people can lose interest.
“It doesn't mean that they will, but I sort of threw that out there: 'What happens when the Middle Eastern family, this thing's costing a lot of money and they decide to go home?'

“I said what really happens in those situations is the fans get hurt because the players get picked up and paid if they're good, the front office gets other jobs.”
Arsenal spent just £10m last summer on swooping for Petr Cech from Chelsea while City spent nearly £150m on new players including Raheem Sterling.
Kroenke’s comments are likely to cause more outrage among Gunners fans after their FA Cup exit at the hands of Watford yesterday.

Gerard Piqué says winning (in style) is a must for FC Barcelona

The FC Barcelona centre-back sits down with UEFA.com ahead of Wednesday's Champions League match to discuss all things blaugrana
Gerard Piqué, one of the pillars of FC Barcelona, gave a wide-ranging interview with UEFA.com before the Catalans take on Arsenal this Wednesday in the second leg of their last-16 tie. Piqué 
provided insightful answers to a host of questions about current events surrounding the team.
On the team's objectives:
"There is a lot of work and three very hard months ahead. We'll try to win it all again because it is up to us. We will give everything to do it in the best possible way. Winning is a must here, and not just winning, but playing well. We have a once-in-a-lifetime generation of incredibly talented players and we have to maximise it. Later, when we're gone, the people will decide whether we have left an important legacy or not."
On the 37-game unbeaten streak:
"It is not easy. In the end, it's a lot of games and you play for a club that obligates you to always win. You have to find the motivation and desire to win every match. It doesn't matter whether you're playing a team in the relegation zone or a team like Arsenal. Here, there is no difference."

On being more comfortable on the counterattack:

"We have more ways to play. We still want to control the ball, possession, and the tempo. We always have more scoring chances, but we are also comfortable defending and going out on the counterattack. The first goal at Arsenal was a pretty clear example. Before it was tougher for us to stay back and defend. We have three players up front who are very fast and they can take advantage of any counter."
On the team's ability to constantly outdo itself:
"Greatness is determined by each person's will. You have to challenge yourself to get better every day. Messi will always be Messi, but you have feel like you're improving, contributing more, that you are more and more important to the team and that they can win more titles thanks to you. Greatness is improving every day. You cannot remain satisfied with the best version of you from two or three years ago. This is the team's goal and the objective is to do it."
On the titles won: 
"Using my common sense, there has been no club which has won more than Barça. The important thing is to be happy to have led a life in which these experiences were possible. We should be proud of what we have done."

FC Barcelona news: Extraordinary security measures for CL clash against Arsenal

FC Barcelona and the Catalan police have agreed on a series of extraordinary security measures to secure the UEFA Champions League second leg clash between Barcelona and Arsenal in the knockout stage of the football competition, which will take place on Wednesday at the Camp Nou stadium here.


According to a statement released by Barcelona on Monday, the measures are set to be implemented in accordance with terror alert level 4, to increase the safety of spectators attending the match, reports Efe.
Camp Nou stadium is set to open its doors two hours before the beginning of the game and advised spectators to arrive early at the venue.
According to the note, none of the fans will be allowed to enter the stadium with large bags, suitcases or backpacks.
The club will conduct a comprehensive inspection at all access points, while vehicles parked in the vicinity of Camp Nou, and also car owners authorised to enter the stadium, will be searched as well.
Additionally, cars will not be allowed to park in the vicinity of the Barcelona home stadium from 8 a.m. except for buses, which will be allowed to have access until 2 p.m.

Aleksandar Kolarov challenges Man City to mount comeback in title race

 Aleksandar Kolarov hopes Manchester City can produce their greatest comeback to reclaim the Premier League title.

City have slipped down to fourth-place following a run of three successive league defeats and Wednesday's 3-0 loss at Liverpool left them 10 points behind current leaders Leicester, albeit with a game in hand over their title rivals.
However, City have come from behind from seemingly irretrievable positions before.
n 2012, a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal left City trailing Manchester United by eight points with six games remaining, but they managed to win all of their remaining matches to win the title.
The situation was similar after a 3-2 defeat to Liverpool in 2014, but City claimed five wins from their five remaining matches to clinch their second Premier League crown.

Asked if winning the league from their current position would surpass those fightbacks, defender Kolarov said: "It could be. Four years ago we always knew we could come back and this could be another great City season, but first we have to do more on the pitch and that is up to us.
"I remember this game against Arsenal and when we won the second title there was a similar game against Liverpool that we lost 3-2.
"And especially I think this year, more than others, you see the other results as well have been very difficult to predict.
"It will be difficult because it isn't all in our hands, so we have to look at other games as well, but I think we have to try and start by winning on Saturday, make sure we win all our other games and then expect that all the other clubs drop points.
"We have experience under [Roberto] Mancini almost four years ago and then [Manuel] Pellegrini two years ago, so I believe we can do it. We know it will be difficult but we have to believe."

Louis van Gaal insists Marcus Rashford didn't save his job

 Louis van Gaal has rejected the notion Marcus Rashford saved his job at Manchester United, instead insisting he deserves credit for placing his faith in the teenage striker.

Rashford has been one of the few bright sparks in a turbulent season at Old Trafford with the 18-year-old's recent goals helping turn around United's faltering campaign.
He scored twice in his debut against FC Midtjylland in a do-or-die Europa League clash, after being thrust into the starting line-up following an injury to Anthony Martial in the warm-up.
Another double a few days later in the 3-2 victory over Arsenal gave United three much-needed points in the league and helped keep them in touch with the top four.

Rashford's emergence has helped ease the pressure which had been mounting on Van Gaal.
However the Dutchman believes United fans should be grateful to him for adopting an aggressive youth policy which has allowed the precocious Carrington product and others like Cameron Borthwick-Jackson to shine this season.
"[The young players] want to prove and they want to show to the world, to the manager, to everybody, that they are the best, so they always give spirit to a team," Van Gaal said.
"That is why we have decided not to invest in January and I have said that already two months ago, but you don't want to believe it. The policy is to have a small selection and then you can give youngsters a chance.
"Now I have read that Rashford is saving me. No, no, Rashford is thanks to my policy, and the club, of course, [and he] has proved that.
"He is there because of that and the same thing for [Cameron] Borthwick-Jackson, [Guillermo] Varela and a lot of other players.
"But they have to prove it because it is very risky to do that. Youngsters are not consistent, we are talking about consistency.
"There are of course exceptions like Martial, but that is a big exception.
"Most of the players cannot show that every week, so it is a big risk, but, at the end, we are in three competitions still and the team has more spirit and the older players are coming back.
"So we have a great momentum at this moment because we have discovered that a lot of players can play at this level and the older players have to compete with these youngsters.
"And it's fantastic and that is also what I have experienced at my other teams, so I think it's always good to have youngsters in your selection."
That injection of youth certainly looks to be paying dividends, given United head to West Brom on Sunday looking to extend their winning run to a fifth successive match.
Van Gaal's men need three points to keep the pressure on fourth-placed Manchester City, who head into the weekend with a game in hand but level on points with their rivals.
It now makes qualifying for the Champions League via the Premier League a genuine possibility, which would no doubt make it easier to attract players to Old Trafford this summer.
Whether Van Gaal is still in charge at that point remains to be seen, but the Dutchman's suggestion that the club's young players can use the rest of the campaign to disprove the need for reinforcements should get a positive response.
"Of course, yes," he said when asked if their emergence could affect his transfer policy. "Also in January that we took the risk for the left-back position that we didn't buy.
"We needed a left-back and we inquired about a lot of players. Some have said it now.
"It is always the agent that is doing that because it is interesting Man United is inquiring, but we said, 'Okay, maybe Borthwick-Jackson and Varela can do the job'.
"There was Spanish interest in Varela and we said no because of that."

Arsenal's spirited comeback against Tottenham gives them hope - and proves Arsene Wenger was right

 After snatching a point Wenger, the Gunners and their followers can at least carry hope into the final two months of this strange season, writes Andy Dunn 

Arsene Wenger often sees spirit, character and commitment where there is only weakness, frailty and timidity. 
But this time, he was right.
The most meaningful reward he took away from the North London derby was not the single point, not the satisfaction of having cooled the rising temperature of expectation at White Hart Lane. 
It was the relief that his team has a backbone. The relief his team has these leader-types everyone keeps banging on about. The relief his team has example-setters.
They don’t turn up weekly – which is why this Premier League season is still likely to end in familiar, decade-old ­frustration – but they are there.

And when another perfect, and perfectly predictable, storm of negativity erupted around them – Francis Coquelin’s brain-fade, a set-piece concession to Toby Alderweireld, Harry Kane’s wow moment – they reacted. The stadium and football waited for ­capitulation and it never arrived.
That is why Wenger, Arsenal and their followers can at least carry hope into the final two months of this strange season. Even in a competition oddly bereft of true excellence, they are probably still not good enough to win it. 
But this was a big step up on efforts at Old Trafford and the Emirates last week.
OK, if you cannot get revved up for this genre of match, there is something wrong. But there was a feistiness about Arsenal, nicely encapsulated in Mesut Ozil barking encouragement and ­instructions from the bench after his own 89-minute flick-fest had been ended by Wenger.
If this had been a backheel contest, Michael Oliver would have stopped it and raised Arsenal hands after half an hour.
There was an attractive irony in the way Aaron Ramsey put Arsenal ahead – a previous showboat had sunk without trace and seemed to symbolise his struggles.
But there was a resilience to go with Arsenal’s instances of flamboyance.
Of all the withering criticism that has come their way, the most damning had been from one of their own.
Alexis Sanchez – sidestepping his own fitful contributions recently – accused his squad-mates of lacking hunger.
His appetite here was rapacious and it was fitting he scuffed the points-sharer past Hugo Lloris. It underlined how a return to the Sanchez prime will be key to what remains of Arsenal’s season.
There were other positives for Wenger.
The John Terry theory that Petr Cech would be worth between 12 and 15 points for Arsenal was finally exposed for the insult it was to David Ospina, and Danny Welbeck was selfless and of considerable nuisance value.
Per Mertesacker may be as slow as a week in prison – and culpable in the build-up to Kane’s house-downer – but he was more effective than he looked, while Ramsey seemed to be trying to rage himself into top form.
But Wenger cannot ignore the negatives. For meaty chunks of this match, Spurs were the dominant force, quicker, stronger, more robust, although Arsenal looked to be holding on to their lead with some comfort until Coquelin slid and walked.
His moment of second yellow madness would have given Wenger an escape clause had Spurs gone on to win.
But he didn’t need it.
More embarrassment loomed, more recriminations loomed, more former players riling Wenger loomed.
But his team responded. And Wenger knows that in a time when he has to stand alone and take a million potshots, at least he has not lost his players.

FC Barcelona's 19-man squad for Eibar trip

Luis Enrique will be without Rafinha, Douglas and Adriano through injury, as well as Neymar Jr due to suspension, but Alves returns

Aead of Sunday’s trip to the Basque country to take on Eibar, Luis Enrique has announced his 19-man squad for the match.

Shortly after speaking to the media and holding the final training session before the game, the manager revealed his list which sees four Brazilians miss out for various reasons, and one returning.
Rafinha, Adriano and Douglas miss the trip through injury, as does Neymar Jr due to suspension, while Dani Alvesis back in the squad after being rested against Rayo Vallecano on Thursday.
The full squad is therefore as follows: Ter Stegen, Bravo, Piqué, Rakitic, Sergio, Alves, Arda, Iniesta, Suárez, Messi, Mascherano, Bartra, Munir, Jordi Alba, Sandro, Sergi Roberto, Aleix Vidal, Vermaelen and Mathieu.

Luis Enrique 'pleasantly surprised' by high-flying Eibar

The FC Barcelona manager speaks to the media before his side travel to the Basque Country to face a small club that's surpassing expectations

Next up for Barça is a trip to Eibar on Sunday at 4.00pm, and shortly before Saturday’s training session, followed by the trip to the Basque Country, manager Luis Enrique spoke to the press. Here’s some of what he had to say:

On Eibar

Eibar is one of the nice surprises in the league this season. They play direct football, they base their attacks on transitions, and are among the best sides at defending and creating pressure deep.”
“At home they are especially dangerous because of the size of their pitch and their fans. We know that from the game we played there last season.”

“They have a different manager this year and a different set of players. That will make the game more difficult, like any game away from home.”

On keeping their feet on the ground

“Everything is on very good track, but that hardest part is still ahead of us, the final and decisive stage of the season.”

On Leo Messi

“Messi is quite capable of finishing the season as top scorer in the league, and by ten clear goals. But the most important thing is that he is focused on winning things for the team, like all the other players. They know what it’s about. If they can achieve things on a team level then they’ll achieve things on an individual level too.”

On Rafinha

“If he’s being discussed as a potential member of the Brazil Olympic squad then that’s good news because it means he’s well on the road to recovery, Things are going to plan so far, and he was able to take part in almost all of the training exercises yesterday. But the doctors still haven’t given him clearance to play, and it’s up to them to decide when to do that.”

On not having a midweek fixture

“It’s a nice time to stop and have a look at what we have ahead of us. We don’t often get this much time to work on tactical issues. Long weeks like this are ideal for that kind of thing.”

Is Barcelona Preparing for an 'Intense Summer' Exciting, Frightening or Both?

Barcelona are prepared to compete during "an intense summer."

Economic vice-president Susana Monje, via the Daily Mail's Kieran Gill,
told Spanish outlet Movistar+ her club are keeping their plans concealed and "can't make public things [they] are working on," but the tenor of her quotes makes for supremely interesting reading, that Barcelona do not appear content as presently constituted.
It is a scary thought, especially considering the current La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League holders are already understood as Europe's best club. The report suggests "Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and Juventus superstar Paul Pogba" are potential targets for the Catalan giants—either or both would tilt the balance of European football further in Barca's already lopsided direction.

Since their 2015 transfer ban, Luis Enrique's side have a net spend of £11 million. Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal's arrivals were cushioned by the sales of Adama Traore and Pedro. It means—given their brand, sponsorships, prize winnings and televisions earnings—UEFA's financial fair play cannot restrict a massive Barcelona spending spree.
Barca have the monetary wherewithal to capture any target and the footballing stature to entice any world-class name (generally barring those at Real Madrid) into exchanging whatever colours for red, yellow and blue.
The notion of placing Pogba and/or Gundogan behind Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi is almost unfair. It is how football works, but if the thought is frightening, the application would be jarring.
An argument exists that Barcelona would be hard-pressed to find areas of improvement, but there are potential weaknesses at centre-back, full-back and central midfield as Andres Iniesta ages; Enrique's goalkeeping situation cannot be described as world class, but the possession-oriented and ostentatious attacking talent he boasts makes up for defensive frailties.
One thinks about La Masia in times like these.
Barca's "farmhouse" has been relatively barren of late. Talents like Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol, Pedro and plenty of others have either left, are finishing their careers or retired. Falling into the modern system of buying more than developing, it seems an interesting development at the Camp Nou.
Sergi Roberto looks the next solid talent to come from the venerable academy, but is he on the level of the world-class, superstar names from 10 to 15 years prior? Not really is the unfortunate answer in that regard.
Perhaps that's the largest problem. Once a club begins to outsource proven, established talent, the primary avenue to improving on those footballers is buying more proven, established talent.
If defenders are what Barcelona need in the upcoming window—despite the links with Pogba and Gundogan—they are more likely to search outside than inside. It is a shame, but shows if Barcelona are slowing down on playing youngsters, little hope remains for other massive footballing brands across Europe.
For the 2015/16 La Liga favourites to improve their squad this summer, the first thing is finding players who should leave and allow them to find greener pastures. Next is securing a top centre-back and full-back, then moving on to the more high-profile midfielders, wingers and forwards.
Barcelona have the money, means and motivation to tighten their grip on European football's neck.
If you are a Barcelonista, it is a wonderful time; everyone else needs to draw their blueprints—and quickly, lest this situation (that being Spanish and Champions League football) gets out of hand.

FC Barcelona Lassa through to the quarter finals after win over Rhein-Neckar Löwen

Xavi Pascual’s side are through to the last eight thanks to heroics from keeper Pérez de Vargas as well as the efficiency of Lazarov, Jallouz and Sigurdsson

FC Barcelona Lassa defeated Rhein-Neckar Löwen (26-20) in the last match of the VELUX EHF Champions League group stages and thus sealed their place in the quarter-finals.
Barça started the match well largely thanks to the stops made by Pérez de Vargas, the passes from Sigurdsson and the accuracy in front of goal by Jallouz who scored five in the first half to give the Catalans an 11-10 lead going into the break.
The home side never fell behind in the first half and continued with the same rhythm in the second. Pérez de Vargas’ masterclass in goal continued in the second period, including a penalty save from Gensheimer’s effort.

The keeper’s display meant that Barça constantly had their opponents at arms’ length and the near 5,000 spectators who filled the Palau Blaugrana were treated to a comprehensive 26-20 win.

Match details

Barça Lassa: Pérez de Vargas, Tomás (2), Entrerríos (3), Sorhandio (1), Gurbindo, Sigurdsson (5) i Morros -starting seven- Noddesbo, Sarmiento (1), Syprzak, Jicha (2), Jallouz (6), Lazarov (6 -1p-).
Rhein Neckar: Ristovski, Sigurmannsson (1), Kneer (3), Baena (2), Larsen (1), Groetzki, Reinkind (4), -starting seven- Schmid (6 -1p-), Gensheimer (2 -1p-), Pekeler, Guardiola, Petersson (1), Gerdon, Ekdahl.
Score per five minutes: 2-0, 5-3, 7-5, 9-6, 9-9, 11-10 (descans), 15-12, 16-12, 20-13, 22-18, 23-18, 26-20.
Officials: Martin Gjeding, Mads Hansen.
Attendance: 4,814

Cristiano Ronaldo apologises to Real Madrid team-mates – reports

Cristiano Ronaldo has apologised to his Real Madrid team-mates for claiming they are not at his level, according to reports in Spain. Following Real’s 1-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid at the weekend, a result that leaves them third in La Liga, four points behind their city rivals and 12 points off leaders Barcelona, Ronaldo was quoted by the 
Press Association as saying: “If we were all at my level, maybe we would be leaders.
“I don’t want to disrespect anyone, but when the best players aren’t available it’s harder to win. I like to play with Karim [Benzema], with [Gareth] Bale, with Marcelo. I’m not saying the others like Lucas Vazquez, Jesé [Rodriguez] and Mateo Kovacic are not good players. They are very good players, but it’s not the same.”

The Real centre-back Sergio Ramos defended his team-mate soon after the comments were made, saying: “I know Cristiano well and I don’t think he was trying to shift the blame on to any of his team-mates,” and the player himself has now also apparently moved to ease any offence his colleagues may have taken from his assessment of their abilities.
According to El Mundo, Ronaldo apologised to his team-mates via WhatsApp, and in an interview with Marca, the 31-year-old is reported as saying: “I was referring to the physical level, not level of play. I am not better than any of my team-mates.”

Real Madrid celebrate birthday with epic video

The Spanish giants took a look back at the club's illustrious history over the past 114 years, including some of their finest moments on the football pitch and basketball court
A birthday is the perfect time to look back on one's achievements and happiest memories - and luckily for Real Madrid, the club has had plenty of those since coming into being on March 6, 
1902. The Blancos turned 114-years-young on Sunday, a day after Cristiano Ronaldo had delivered an early birthday present in the shape of four goals and a 6-1 thrashing of Celta.

And the institution run by president Florentino Perez decided to mark the occasion with a frankly epic video recalling some of the finest moments of the last century-and-a-bit.

Today we are celebrating 114 years of the Real Madrid legend

Bayern close in on Bundesliga title

Bayern Munich took another small step toward an unprecedented fourth successive Bundesliga title with a hard-fought scoreless draw at closest rival Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Bayern, which had a healthy eight-point lead before Wednesday’s shock home defeat to FSV Mainz 05, preserved the five-point gap with nine games remaining.
Bayern midfielder Arturo Vidal came closest to scoring for either side in the 65th minute when Dortmund ’keeper Roman Buerki produced a fine reflex save to deflect his shot onto the crossbar.
“I am happy the ball did not go in,” said Buerki, who also got the better of Douglas Costa in a one-on-one in the first half, but had a shaky start to the game.

“There are always things you can improve upon,” he said.
Buerki conceded the title was less likely with Dortmund having failed to narrow the deficit and now needing two slip-ups from Bayern.
“It is the same as before the game, five points. We will try and win all our games,” the Dortmund ’keeper said.
The visitors had 17 efforts at goal, compared with Dortmund’s 11. League top-scorer Robert Lewandowski was quiet on his return to his former club, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was unable to seriously trouble Manuel Neuer at the other end.
It was the first 0-0 draw in 26 competitive meetings between the rivals.
Thomas Mueller missed the first big chance in the fifth minute when he fired high and wide after Buerki failed to deal properly with Costa’s cross.
Neuer denied Aubameyang on a quick break at the other end minutes later and the tone was set for the game, with both sides’ high tempo creating chances at either end.
Vidal had another good chance before Erik Durm hit the side-netting with Dortmund’s next opportunity.
The outstanding Joshua Kimmich, filling in for Bayern’s defense, made a brilliant last-ditch tackle to deny Marco Reus before Buerki thwarted Costa.
Bayern grew stronger as the game progressed, but Buerki shut the door with his reflex save.
“Nil-nil is definitely a result we can live with. I would like to have seen our efforts rewarded with a 1-0 win,” said Mueller, who said the league was not won yet.
“It stays exciting. We are still under pressure for the remaining games,” he said.
Earlier, Claudio Pizarro scored his 100th Bundesliga goal for Werder Bremen in a 4-1 win over last-place Hannover 96 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen came from three goals down to draw 3-3 at Augsburg.
South Korean midfielder Koo Ja-cheol’s hat-trick was not enough for Augsburg as Hakan Calhanoglu’s injury-time penalty earned Leverkusen an unlikely draw and prevented the team from slumping to their fourth straight defeat.
Jeffrey Gouweleeuw was sent off for conceding the hand-ball penalty in the 92nd minute, 12 minutes after Paul Verhaegh’s own-goal put Leverkusen in touching distance. Karim Bellarabi started the comeback with a 30 minutes remaining.
Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt was not in the stadium to see any of it after leaving for Spain to watch Europa League opponent Villarreal in action against UD Las Palmas.
Veteran Peruvian striker Pizarro scored one goal — his 11th of the season and fifth in three games — and set up another to boost Bremen’s hopes of avoiding the drop.
Fin Bartels opened the scoring before Pizarro made it 2-0 with a brilliant strike in the 26th.
The 37-year-old lifted the ball over two Hannover defenders with his right boot and smacked it past the goalkeeper with his left.

La Liga president insists Messi does not get any special treatment

Barca star Lionel Messi does not get any preferential treatment, according to the La Liga president.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi does not get any preferential treatment, La Liga president Javier Tebas has insisted.
Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis recently claimed the Argentina international is treated differently than the other players in La Liga due to his star status, but Tebas is adamant all players and clubs are equally important to the league.

"For us, all the players in La Liga are protected," the Liga boss was quoted as saying by AS.
"There is no difference between Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo or a player from Rayo Vallecano.
"We are a global Liga and the small clubs are as important to us as the big clubs."
Tebas also had his say on the situation of Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid after the prolific attacker was whistled by his own fans at the weekend following criticism aimed at his team-mates.
"You have to respect the people who come to the Bernabeu, but I cannot understand why anyone would jeer or whistle Ronaldo after everything he has done for Madrid," Tebas added.
"He deserves to be respected for his achievements."

FAZ Endorses Al-Khalifa

The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has picked Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa as its preferred nominee for the FIFA presidency ahead of today's elections in Zurich, Switzerland.

General secretary George Kasengele said FAZ would support the candidature of Al-Khalifa, the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) who also has the backing of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Kasengele said this in a statement released yesterday by communications manager Nkweto Tembwe.

FAZ president Kalusha Bwalya led a three-man delegation comprising Kasengele and committee member Pivoty Simwanza, who is also vying for the vice-presidency at the March 19 elective annual general meeting.

"FAZ in line with its core belief of unity of purpose will support the candidature of Al-Khalifa whom CAF has endorsed. We are part of the African football family under CAF and we shall follow what the continental mother body has advised.

"CAF has taken a stance and as you may know our president Kalusha is an executive committee member there and we would not want to appear to be at variance with our leaders" Kasengele said.

Meanwhile, Gianni Infantino and Al-Khalifa easily lead the race to become president of the troubled FIFA, but an AFP poll of world football's members highlighted complex political manoeuvring and uncertainty surrounding today's vote.

Only four federations publicly backed Prince Ali bin al Hussein, a former FIFA vice-president from Jordan while none openly pledged votes for the two remaining candidates in the Zurich run-off, Jerome Champagne of France and South Africa's Tokyo Sexwale.

NFF to Drag Oliseh to FIFA, CAS

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, stung by the sudden resignation of coach Sunday Oliseh have asked their lawyers to study religiously his contract and come up with possible areas he breached the contract that will guide them in dragging him before FIFA and the Court of Arbitration, CAS.

Sports Vanguard gathered that Oliseh collected his backlog of salaries and allowances before throwing in the towel.

Already, officials pointed that payment of his accommodation funds and coaching the Super Eagles from Belgium as areas he breached the contract."

The Lawyers are going to come up with those breaches but you know that he resigned with immediate effect without giving us the mandatory one month notice. He coached the Eagles from Belgium and it was explicitly stated in the contract that he must coach the team based in Nigeria.

He already collected money for his accommodation when he never stayed here. It is left for those with Eagle eyes to come up with the breaches", our source said yesterday on our hotline.

Arrival in Castellon ahead of game with Villarreal

The two Madrid clubs win to keep up the pressure on FC Barcelona, whose Champions League opponents suffer a devastating home defeat to Swansea City

Atlético Madrid moved to within five points of FC Barcelona (who could restore their eight point lead with a win at Rayo Vallecano on Thursday) by seeing off Real Sociedad in convincing fashion on Tuesday night. An early own goal from Diego Reyes started things for the red-and-whites, and Saúl and Griezmann (the latter from the penalty spot) finished off the job.
Third placed Real Madrid had to battle all the way for a 3-1 win at bottom-of-the-table Levante. A Cristiano Ronaldo penalty and a Mariño own goal put Zinedine Zidane’s side two goals up, but Deyverson then pulled one back for the home side. An intense game wasn’t over until Isco bagged Madrid’s third right at the end.

Barça’s opponents at the weekend, Eibar, were away to the side the Blaugrana will play in the Copa del Rey final,Sevilla. The latter went ahead through Fernando Llorente after 11 minutes, and despite plenty of gripping football there was no further score, and the defeat has done no good at all to Eibar’s bid for a first ever European place.

Swansea beat Arsenal

On a dramatic evening in the English Premiership, neither Arsenal nor Tottenham managed to capitalise on leaders Leicester City’s draw with West Bromwich Albion the night before. Both of North London’s title contenders lost their Wednesday fixtures, three days before they meet each other in Saturday's derby.
Joel Campbell put Barça’s Champions League rivals 1-0 up against relegation threatened Swansea City, but the Welsh side struck back through Routledge and Williams and ended up claiming all three points. It leaves the Gunners six points adrift of top spot, and to add to the drama, second placed Spurs also lost, 1-0 at West Ham