Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci has heralded coach Cesare Pranelli’s decision to agree to a contract extension as great news .
Prandelli, who took charge of Italy in 2010, has rejuvenated an ageing side and transformed them into an international force once again.
Despite a heavy loss to Spain in the final of UEFA Euro 2012 and a semi-final defeat on penalties to the same opposition at last year s FIFA Confederations Cup, the Italians have a large pool of younger, exciting players that have been tipped to impress at the upcoming World Cup.
The former Fiorentina boss confirmed on Monday that he will remain in charge until Euro 2016, and Bonucci is convinced that the continuity of having Prandelli in charge long-term can only be a benefit ahead of the trip to Brazil.
Dedryck Boyata has agreed a new two-year deal with Premier League champions Manchester City.
The 23-year-old defender, who qualifies as a home-grown player after joining the club s youth set-up in 2006 at the age of 16, made his City debut in 2010 and featured in six games in all competitions this season.
He made his international bow for Belgium in the 4-4 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Austria but that remains his only cap.
Boyata, whose deal will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2016, has had loan spells with Bolton Wanderers and Twente, while he picked up a League Cup winners medal with City this season after featuring in four matches in the competition.
City are thought to have kept the Belgian on in order to boost numbers of home-grown players in thei…
Iker Casillas has revealed he did not speak with Jose Mourinho during his final year at Real Madrid – a time he described as war between their respective supporters.
The veteran Spain goalkeeper endured a bitter relationship with the former coach after he was dropped during the 2012-13 season and subsequently lost his place permanently to Diego Lopez following an injury to his hand.
Casillas has admitted in the past that he felt isolated during Mourinho s turbulent final few months at the Santiago Bernabeu prior to his departure and return to Chelsea at the end of the season, though he refused to speak publicly about the issue at the time.
And the 34-year-old, now with Porto, has described the extent to which his relationship with the Portuguese coach deterior…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has joked that he paid Steven Gerrard £100 to say nice things about him in a national newspaper on Friday.
The Anfield club meet Manchester City in the League Cup final on Sunday, presenting Klopp with the chance to secure his first piece of English silverware.
And, discussing Liverpool s chances, club legend Gerrard told The Daily Telegraph: I believe they will do it. They have an extra element which will make a massive difference: Jurgen Klopp.
I think back to those finals I did win as a player and in the build-up the managers were crucial. Gerard Houllier and Phil Thompson were meticulous in their approach having us well drilled, in Thommo s case bringing years of experience of winning trophies and playing major finals.
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Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger believes the gap between Europe s top nations and its minnows is narrowing.
Germany continue their qualifying campaign for the 2012 European Championships when they play host to Group A cellar dwellers Kazakhstan on Saturday.The 2008 European runners-up are five points clear on the group s table with straight wins over Belgium, Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as a 3-0 win at Kazakhstan.But Schweinsteiger cautioned his team-mates not to expect an easy victory when Kazakhstan visit Kaiserslautern, saying minnow nations no longer feel fear at the thought of taking on top sides like Germany. It is not easy to scare those teams out of the stadium anymore, Schweinsteiger said. They improve and they learn more these days. Maybe in the past you …
Wales boss Rob Page has defended Danny Ward and blamed “politics” for the out-of-favour Leicester goalkeeper not moving in the January transfer window.
Ward, Wales’ number one, has not played for Leicester in over 12 months and finds himself third-choice goalkeeper at the Championship promotion-chasers.
Page urged several Wales players to change clubs in January in order to play more ahead of the Euro 2024 play-offs, which starts with a semi-final against Finland in Cardiff on Thursday.
Almost to a man Page’s call was heeded but Ward has remained frozen out at Leicester, drawing plenty of criticism from Wales fans on social media who feel he should have moved with ambitions of a third successive European Championship appearance.
“I’ve spoken t…
Defending champions Mexico and Jamaica played out a dour goalless draw at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Denver.
Much was expected of the Group C clash on Thursday – a repeat of the 2015 Gold Cup final which Mexico won 3-1 – but it did not deliver.
In fairness, Mexico were without stars Javier Hernandez, Carlos Vela, Hirving Lozano, Giovani dos Santos and Andres Guardado following the Confederations Cup in Russia.
Erick Torres, however, did come close for the Mexicans, hitting the post in the first half in the only highlight of the match.
The stalemate leaves Mexico and Jamaica level on four points after two matches, a point clear of El Salvador, who beat Curacao 2-0.
Orbelin Pineda was rewarded with a start after coming off the bench and scoring i…
Serie A giants AC Milan will travel to Romanian side Universitatea Craiova in the first leg of the third round of qualifying for the Europa League.
Milan have embarked upon an ambitious close-season of spending under the ownership of Yonghong Li s Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux group and are on the brink of a significant transfer coup by signing Italy centre-back Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus.
Vincenzo Montella s side will have ambitions to go deep into Europe s secondary club competition as they look to re-establish themselves as a major force and their first hurdle comes against a Craiova team who came fifth in Romania s Liga I last term.
Everton, buoyed by the return of Wayne Rooney, are to face Ruzomberok of Slovakia or Norwegian side SK Brann.
PSV, …
Kieran Trippier has signed a new deal with Tottenham, committing him to the club until 2022.
The right-back joined Spurs from Burnley in 2015 and, following Kyle Walker s £50million sale to Manchester City earlier this month, appears to be the club s first choice, having enjoyed an extended run in the team towards the back end of last season.
Trippier made just 18 Premier League starts during his first two campaigns, but looks set to become a firmly established part of Mauricio Pochettino s plans as Tottenham aim to improve on their second-place finish in 2016-17.
His displays for Spurs earned the full-back a maiden England cap earlier this year, when he started the 3-2 friendly defeat to France in Paris in June.
We are delighted to announce that has si…
Day two at the Confederations Cup saw Cristiano Ronaldo take centre stage.
The Portugal superstar, who is thought to want out of Real Madrid due to accusations of tax fraud in Spain, played 90 minutes as the Euro 2016 champions were denied a winning start by Mexico s Hector Moreno in a 2-2 draw.
Chile then got the better of Cameroon 2-0 thanks to late goals from Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas.
Away from the on-field action, there was plenty going on around Russia and Omnisport s team on the ground was on hand to get the best bits.
SO FAR, SO-CHI GOOD
Sochi hosts its first game of the Confederations Cup on Monday when an experimental squad representing world champions Germany take on Australia. While one of the main purposes o…