..::Football II::..

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Manchester United signs two Chinese sponsorship deals

The Red Devils have announced two partnerships with banking group China Construction Bank and soft drinks producer Wahaha, with benefits for the club's 108 million Chinese fans

Manchester United has announced two new three-year sponsorship deals with two Chinese companies.

The Red Devils have an estimated 108 million fans in China, and have announced new links with soft drinks manufacturer Wahaha and one of the country’s most prominent banking groups, China Construction Bank (CCB).

Wahaha has been the largest beverage producer in China for the last 11 years, and will become the club’s first official soft drinks partner in the country.

They produce a number of branded products including milk drinks and energy drinks, having been founded in 1987 by Zong Qinghou.

Meanwhile, the link with CCB means it holds the exclusive rights to produce an official Manchester United branded credit card in mainland China, offering a range of exclusive benefits to their 102 million personal banking customers.

CCB received more than 30 awards in the first half of 2012, and the Red Devils’ commercial director Richard Arnold is delighted to have signed the deal with them.

“We are very pleased to be partnering with China Construction Bank to bring the official Manchester United Credit Card to China,” he told the club’s official website.

"Manchester United has a huge following in China of 108 million. We know from our visits there, including to Shanghai last summer, that our Chinese followers have always been among the most supportive.

"Through our relationship with CCB we hope not only to give fans an excellent product, but also bring them closer to the club they so passionately support.

"As China’s fiscal and industrial strength continues to grow, it is establishing itself as a leader in the global economy and the place for businesses to invest."

Arnold also spoke of his pride at being able to work with Wahaha, especially given the close links that the club have established with their enormous Chinese following.

"This is the club’s first sponsorship of its kind in China and we are delighted to be able to work with a company which, like Manchester United, is dedicated to innovation and leadership in its field."

 

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api bomu WAHAha

 

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Cole plans talks with Man United

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole would prefer to stay in the Premier League if he leaves Stamford Bridge and is hoping to hold talks with Manchester United.

 

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Malaga 1-3 Barcelona: Messi and Cesc expose Malaga's defensive errors

Barcelona reached the mid-way point of the Liga season unbeaten this evening, as the club took advantage of some defensive mishaps to secure a 3-1 victory over Malaga at La Rosaleda.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a well-taken goal in the first half, before a crisp finish from Cesc Fabregas and a well-worked goal from Thiago after the break secured all three points, but not before Diego Buonanotte scored a superb late consolation goal for Malaga.

Barcelona welcomed coach Tito Vilanova back to the dugout after he missed Thursday's thumping Copa del Rey win over Cordoba due to a medical appointment in New York, and he was nearly celebrating a goal after just seven minutes.

A brilliant piece of goalkeeping from Willy Caballero stopped Messi from giving Barcelona the lead, after Welligton gifted the Argentine a shooting opportunity by not controlling the ball inside his own penalty area. Caballero reached out to push the ball away from Messi with his left arm, just as the attacker appeared set to round him and shoot into an empty net.

Twenty minutes later, however, Caballero was unable to repair another teammate's mistake. Ignacio Camacho's back pass to the goalkeeper was far too weak, which allowed Messi to seize the ball ahead of Caballero, cut back on to his right foot and then slid a finish into the bottom right corner to make it 1-0 to Barcelona.

After starting the game brightly Malaga looked stunned by Barcelona's goal and could easily have gone two behind just minutes after Messi's opportunistic opener. Fabregas was the man who came close, as his sweeping effort drifted just wide of the right post with Caballero beaten.

Malaga's best chance of the half fell to Roque Santa Cruz, but he could only direct a header straight at Victor Valdes after connecting with Joaquin's whipped free kick from the left.

Shortly after the break Barcelona fashioned some breathing space and Fabregas made it 2-0. The former Arsenal man evaded the attentions of stand-in right back Sergio Sanchez on the left to latch on to a mesmerizing through ball from Messi and clip a fine shot past Caballero.

The away side never looked like letting the lead slip after the second goal, as on the rare occasions that los Boquerones did steal the ball from Barcelona's midfield they were then thwarted in the attacking third by some robust defending from Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano.

In the 82nd minute Thiago got in on the goalscoring act to make it 3-0 by finishing off a well-worked team goal. The Spanish midfielder exchanged passes neatly with Dani Alves on the edge of the Malaga box before hammering a low shot into the bottom left corner.

However there was still time for Malaga substitute Diego Buonanotte to ensure he had something to remember from the game in the final minute of normal time, as he curled a delicious free kick past Victor Valdes from 20 yards to make it 3-1.

Just two days separate this fixture and the two side's next meeting, with the Blaugrana playing host to Malaga at Camp Nou on Jan. 15 for the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal.

 

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Cole plans talks with Man United

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole would prefer to stay in the Premier League if he leaves Stamford Bridge and is hoping to hold talks with Manchester United.

 

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Blackpool 1-2 Fulham (aet): Hangeland header sees Cottagers through to FA Cup fourth round

Brede Hangeland’s extra-time header snatched an unlikely 2-1 victory for Fulham over Blackpool in an enthralling FA Cup third-round replayhttp://www.goal.com/en-us/teams/england/1094/blackpool.

The game had seen plenty of neat build-up play but little end product before Nathan Delfouneso pounced on a poor punch from Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to tuck away what was seemingly a late Blackpool winner.

Kieran Richardson sent a fierce drive beyond Matty Gilks to take the tie to extra time, though, and after the home side missed a string of chances to win it, Hangeland headed home to set up a fourth-round clash with either West Ham or Manchester United.

Both sides started in scrappy fashion, each giving away a succession of free-kicks, but Blackpool started to threaten through wingers Tom Ince and Nathan Ecclestone. It was more incisive wing play that created the first chance for Ince, only for the Liverpool transfer target to dither over his shot and allow Phillippe Senderos to make the block.

Dimitar Berbatov’s omission had given Mladen Petric the opportunity to shine, but the Croatian could only shank wide after excellent work from Ashkan Dejagah, as Fulham started to exert control over proceedings.

Shortly after, Gilks was drawn into action once more by Alex Kacaniklic, while Chris Baird also saw a header shave the top of the bar as the first half drew to a frantic close.

Both sides played with a lot more urgency in the second half, and with nine minutes remaining, Blackpool eventually broke the deadlock. Schwarzer flapped at a deep cross, only succeeding in punching it out to Delfouneso, who gleefully slammed home to spark wild celebrations at Bloomfield Road.

The Tangerines’ hopes of a fourth-round berth were dashed in dramatic fashion, though, as deep into injury time, Richardson crashed in an unstoppable 25-yard effort to extend the tie.

Blackpool started the added 30 minutes the brighter and Schwarzer redeemed himself partly for his earlier gaffe by beating away Gary Taylor-Fletcher’s follow-up to a low shot, before Kirk Broadfoot slammed a wayward effort way over the bar.

The home side continued to strive for the winner as, yet again, Ince failed to beat Schwarzer from close range, with the Australian pulling off a superb save to keep his side in it. Fulham repeated its trick of striking late when Hangeland looped a 116th-minute header over the unfortunate Gilks to break Blackpool's hearts and seal the victory.

 

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Inter 3-2 Bologna (aet): Ranocchia nets dramatic winner to seal Coppa Italia semifinal slot

Inter showed its resolve to recover from a nightmare end to regular time in front of its own fans, finally overcoming Bologna 3-2 after squandering a 2-0 lead in the final minutes to go through to the semifinal of the Coppa Italia.

Fredy Guarin and Rodrigo Palacio appeared to have assured qualification for the home side with a goal each, but Bologna battled back and regained parity through Alessandro Diamanti and Alberto Gilardino in the dying minutes of the second half. The game was finally decided thanks to Andrea Ranocchia, who scored the decisive strike seconds before the end of extra time.


The quarterfinal tie began in an even fashion, with Inter perhaps shading the opening exchanges albeit facing strong resistance from an organized Bologna outfit. After failing to impress against Pescara at the weekend, Antonio Cassano was back to his best as he spearheaded his side's attack; the forward almost opened the scoring after a wonderful run through the heart of the away defense, only to drag his effort wide after running out of space in the penalty area.

Bologna struggled to break down its rivals in the final third, and looked most dangerous from distance. Alessandro Diamanti was a constant danger at that range and fired an effort into the side-netting for his side's best early chance, while at the other end a delightful Cassano free kick was headed just wide by Matias Silvestre. Il Bambino's partnership with Fredy Guarin was giving the visiting backline no end of trouble, and it was no surprise when one of the duo opened the scoring.

Cassano laid off to his Colombian teammate on the edge of the area with 34 minutes played, but Guarinstill had a lot of work to do. With a delicate feint the playmaker shrugged off his marker's attentions, and the few Inter fans who had made the midweek trip to Guiseppe Meazza were left delighted as their man released a bullet shot that left Federico Agliardi with no chance to save.

Bologna was left to chase the game from 1-0 down, but to their credit the Rossoblu refused to give up. Samir Handanovic became the hero for Inter with a couple of top-class saves, denying Alberto Gilardino after the striker connected with Marco Motta's cross and following that stop by denying Diamanti once more from distance. The goalkeeper's safe hands ensured Inter would enter the break with a slim advantage, as they chased a place in the last four of Italy's domestic cup competition.

The visitors continued their search for an equalizer after the break, aided by an Inter team that reemerged from the tunnel a far more defensive outfit than that which departed from the first half. Bologna was gifted possession by the deep-lying hosts, but still looked most dangerous when hitting from outside the area; another Diamanti bomb whistled inches wide of Handanovic's post in a heart-stopping moment for the Neroazzurri.

After an indifferent start to the half, Inter finally regained its previous rhythm and started to push forward once more, always inspired by Cassano, who was directing proceedings. The speed of Alvaro Pereira almost yielded a second goal when the Uruguayan sprinted through to meet a deep pass, but he was thwarted by the swift reaction of Agliardi who came racing out to deny the wing-back one on one.

The match appeared to have ended as a contest 15 minutes from time, when Inter punished its opponents on the break. Juan's long pass upfield found substitute Rodrigo Palacio, and the Argentine did brilliantly to advance before curling a glorious 25-yard effort beyond Agliardi and into the top corner.

Bologna was not sunk though. Diamante hit back almost immediately with a free kick guided with expert precision into the roof of the net.

Andrea Ranocchia then gave his side a scare in heading against his own post, and there would be one more twist in the tale during regular time. Marco Motta floated a teasing centre across the Inter goal, and it was met by Gilardino, who flew in to level the scores with just seven minutes remaining. The drama continued with Ranocchia bundling Cassano's cross into the net, but the effort was ruled out for a foul as the game entered extra time.

After that frenetic finish the game lowered in tempo during the next 30 minutes, although Javier Zanetti and Manolo Gabbiadini both missed golden chances to put their teams through. In the dying seconds, however, Ranocchia nodded home a corner to give his side the most dramatic of victories.

Inter moves on to meet either Roma or Fiorentina in the last four, the two teams meeting on Thursday evening. Juventus and Lazio will dispute the other semifinal clash.

 

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Stoke City 4-1 Crystal Palace (aet): Walters bounces back from horror show with extra-time double

Jonathan Walters put a nightmare weekend behind him, as his extra-time double secured Stoke City’s passage to the FA Cup fourth round at the expense of a resilient Crystal Palace side with a 4-1, extra-time victory.

Ian Holloway’s side had impressed throughout, but was unlucky to find themselves a goal down as the game entered its final minutes after substitute Kenwyne Jones had come off the bench to give the Potters the lead.

With five minutes remaining, Palace was awarded its second penalty of the night, having seen Jermaine Easter’s earlier spot-kick saved by Thomas Sorensen, and it was left to substitute Glen Murray to fire home past the Dane to take the tie into extra time.

Walters, who scored two own-goals and missed a penalty in Stoke’s heavy defeat against Chelsea on Saturday, headed home Matthew Etherington’s cross to give the Potters the lead, before wrapping up the victory with a fine solo effort. Cameron Jerome fired home a late fourth, and U.S. international Geoff Cameron played all 120 minutes, as Stoke claimed a comfortable victory, even though the final scoreline flattered the Premier League side.

Tony Pulis’ men started brightly, as they looked to bounce back from their first home defeat in nearly a year, but after struggling to create any chances of note, Palace soon started to take control of the tie, with Manchester United target Wilfried Zaha impressing in front of Sir Alex Ferguson, who took in the match as a spectator.

After Aaron Wilbraham had headed an early chance over the bar, Zaha soon began to run riot for Palace, bamboozling his way through Stoke's defense on numerous occasions, and it was the product of one of the young England international’s mazy runs that created the game’s first real talking point.

Working his way into the penalty area, Zaha was hauled down by Ryan Shawcross, leaving referee Anthony Taylor with little choice but to award the penalty. Easter stepped up to take the spot kick, but he was unable to beat Sorensen in the Stoke City goal, with the Dane diving down well to his left to push the 31-year-old’s effort onto the post and away.

Peter Crouch was replaced by Jones as Stoke looked to open the scoring, and the Trinidad and Tobago international made an instant impact, having a shot deflected onto the post with virtually his first touch since coming on, before heading home from the resulting corner.

Murray’s late penalty took the fixture into extra-time, but Palace had no answer for Walters’ double and Jerome's late finish, as Stoke ensured its place in the fourth round against reigning Premier League champion Manchester City.

 

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Real Madrid 2-0 Valencia: Benzema on target as Blancos earn first-leg advantage

Real Madrid secured a 2-0 lead in the first leg of its Copa del Rey quarterfinal with Valencia after a gutsy performance from the visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Che put in a committed performance in the Spanish capital but it was Madrid which emerged on top with one goal either side of halftime. Karim Benzema put the hosts ahead against the run of play in the first half before an Andres Guardado own goal secured them a solid first-leg lead.

After two early Cristiano Ronaldo free kicks flew wide of the posts in the opening seven minutes, the clearest chance for Madrid to take the lead fell to Luka Modric. The Croatian was put through on goal by Benzema but, with plenty to aim, at he somehow contrived to shoot narrowly wide.

Valverde's men assumed control of possession and it was not until the 28th minute that los Blancos managed to wrest the ball away and worry the Valencia defense again.

Ronaldo held off the challenge of Joao Pereira to slip a pass to Mesut Ozil as he surged into the box from deep. However, in stretching to control the ball his touch was heavy and Pablo Piatti managed to steal in and poke possession to his toes.

Again Valencia bounced back with two decent chances for Jonas, one of which was only kept out by a magnificent reaction save from Casillas, but the misses proved costly as Benzema gave los Blancos the lead against the run of play.

Eight minutes from halftime a swift counterattack was lead by Michael Essien. He found Sami Khedira who put a first-time pass into the path of the Frenchman, who then guided the ball into the bottom corner.

The visitors continued to press after the break with some adventurous football that forced Jose Mourinho's men to defend in numbers. And they were let off the hook in the 50th minute as Victor Ruiz nodded over the bar despite beating Casillas to a cross into the box.

Los Blancos were struggling to forge any meaningful attacks in the second half and so Angel di Maria was introduced shortly after the hour mark.

But Valencia remained in control and it came agonizingly close to equalizing in the 66th minute. Roberto Soldado sprung the offside trap and Casillas could only palm his shot into the path of Jonas; however, he somehow struck the ball wide with almost the whole goal to shoot at.

Once more it was a miss from the Brazilian who was a prelude to Madrid finding the net, somewhat undeservedly. Fabio Coentrao raced to the byeline and his cutback was bundled into the net by a combination of Guardado and Gonzalo Higuain, though the Mexican appeared to take the last touch.

Valverde was sent to the stands by the referee in the aftermath of the goal but Guaita halted things from getting worse as he denied Ronaldo with two brilliant saves in the closing stages.

Therefore, Los Merengues only take a 2-0 advantage into the second leg at Mestalla in a fortnight.

 

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Maradona: I no longer want to work in football

Argentina legend Diego Maradona has revealed he no longer wants to work in football.

The former Al Wasl coach has spoken of his disillusionment with the game following the dismissal and swift replacement of Matias Almeyda by River Plate.

"After how disgusted I was with the way they fired 'Pelado' Almeyda and by Sunday they had Ramon Diaz, I no longer want to work in soccer," he told Racio Nacional. "To present the new coach in three days, it disgusts me. I don't want to do it again."

Elsewhere in Argentina, the former Boca Juniors favorite refused to be drawn on the subject of Juan Roman Riqueleme's future with the club, instead stressing the player's need to find a new team while he still has the ability to play football.

"What happened between Riquelme, [Carlos] Bianchi and [Daniel] Angelici is their problem. What I think is that he has to play again. I don't think for Boca, but he has to return to play."

 

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Soldado attacks Real Madrid over referee performance

Valencia's Roberto Soldado has blamed Real Madrid for what he calls "wrong" decisions made by officials in his club's 2-0 Copa del Rey quarterfinal first leg defeat on Tuesday.



The Spain international was judged to have been offside on a number of occasions when replays suggested otherwise. Soldado believes that comments from the club leading up to the game were detrimental to the officials’ performance at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, and he said Jose Mourinho’s side has an unfair influence on the Spanish game.

"It's difficult to come to the Bernabeu and see all those mistakes made by referees and linesmen," Soldado said. "In Valencia we have been silent [while Madrid complained]. They complain a lot about the referees and there is the result.

"Referees can be wrong once, but should not be so much [as tonight]. And it makes you wonder. They don’t want to withstand the pressure of being wrong against Real Madrid. If it has served them to talk all this week, then I think there are institutes that should control their statements. Statements that come from Real Madrid nowadays do not benefit the sport."

The two teams meet again for the second leg of the quarterfinal at Estadio Mestalla on Jan. 20, with the winner advancing to the semifinals to meet either Barcelona or Malaga.

 

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Guardiola: I want to manage in the Premier League

Pep Guardiola has put Premier League clubs on red alert after declaring his ambition to manage in England.

The former Barcelona coach has spent this season on a self-imposed sabattical following four years of enormous success at the Catalan club, during which he won 14 trophies. And despite being linked with a move to Bayern Munich, the 41-year-old Spaniard has offered hope to his Premier League suitors.

"I've always found English football very fascinating, for the environment, the crowd and the supporters," Guardiola said. "In Italy, Latin people will support you when you are playing and when you lose, they kill you. In England I'm always surprised that people always support everything and that is nice. That's why, maybe, I hope to have the challenge or the opportunity to train there.

"As a player, I couldn't realize my dream to play there. But I hope in the future I have a challenge to be a coach or a manager there and feel the experience of all the coaches and players that have been there. It is unique, to play in that league. The support is amazing. I want to feel the supporters, the environment, the media and the style of the players and everything. I am still young, just 41, so I hope in the future I could be able to train there and enjoy that."

Guardiola was speaking ahead of the FA's 150th anniversary commemorations in London on Wednesday. It was only 24 hours earlier that Real Madrid boss José Mourinho confirmed his interested of coach in the Premier League in the near future.

 

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Nene leaves Paris Saint-Germain for Al Gharafa

Nene has completed his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Qatari club Al Gharafa on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

The former Monaco attacker has been out of favor for much of the season, despite scoring 21 goals in Ligue 1 in 2011-12, and he has been linked with a number of clubs after previously revealing his desire to depart the capital club.

Al Gharafa's general secretary Jassem Al-Mansouri revealed the deal had been concluded and the length of the contract, though he did not disclose the former Brazil Under-23 international's salary. AFP is reportingthat the 31-year-old will earn around 4.5 million euros a year.

 

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Galliani: AC Milan has not spoken about signing Balotelli

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has revealed that the club has not discussed the possibility of bringing Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli back to Serie A, believing that he is not for sale.

The Italy international moved to Eastlands in Aug. 2010 from Inter and, despite glimpses of his potential, has struggled to establish himself as a regular under Roberto Mancini.

Speculation over a return to Serie A intensified after a training ground bust-up between Balotelli and his manager but Galliani denies that any talks have taken place.

"The president [Silvio Berlusconi] is right, we have never spoken about signing Mario and I don't think he is for sale," he told Sky Sport 24.

Galliani hinted, however, that reports of the club's interest in bringing Ricardo Centurion to San Siro could be on the money.

The 19-year-old midfielder is currently playing for Racing Avellaneda in his native Argentina and has been linked with moves to Italy in the past, with Napoli and Inter both reportedly interested, as well as Portuguese outfit Benfica.

Galliani did not confirm any interest on Milan's part but did suggest that the team would be looking to bring in young players as they look to build a squad for the future.

"Centurion? The Milan of the future will be young, so let us see what happens," he added.

The Rossoneri official was firmer, however, on the chances of signing Cagliari defender Davide Astori, declaring: "Cagliari will not sell Astori."

 

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Vilanova: If Barcelona were 18 points behind, I'd be sacked

Tito Vilanova has piled the pressure on Jose Mourinho by suggesting that if Barcelona was 18 points behind Real Madrid, he would be sacked.

Mourinho has come in for criticism because of his side's poor form in its title defense and the decision to drop club icon Iker Casillas. While Los Blanocs were playing against Real Sociedad, the mention of Mourinho's name drew whistles the club's supporters.

Vilanova added to the situation by insinuating that he would be gone if his team was trailing Mourinho's by 18 points like the position the former Chelsea and Porto boss currently finds himself. When asked if the title race was over, Vilanova told reporters, "No, but if the situation was the other way around, I woudn't be here to answer that question.

"Madrid are capable of winning every game in the second half of the season and we are capable of losing those points. We are not talking about four games, there are a lot of games left. I know that things can change very quickly. As soon as you lose two games, you look worse as a coach."

Vilanova was speaking ahead of the Blaugrana’s Copa del Rey tie against Malaga, which he does not think will prove to be an easy path to the semifinals -- where Barcelona could potentially meet Real Madrid.

"Malaga have already shown what they are capable of in the Champions League and La Liga," Vilanova said. "They are a team full of virtue, and you can have a red card or go a goal down and everything is more difficult, because it is decided over the two legs.”

 

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Galatasaray urges Sneijder to make decision as fans' group claims deal is in the offing

Galatasaray has called for Wesley Sneijder to make a fast decision regarding his future despite a fans' group claiming that a deal to bring the Netherlands international to Turkey is almost done.

The Turkish club have been courting the playmaker in recent weeks and recent reports suggest the transfer will finally be resolved one way or another.

Oguz Altay, the chairman of the Galatasaray supporters club, tweeted that the Inter midfielder would have his move confirmed by the end of the week, saying: "I just finished a meeting with Galatasaray chairman Unal Aysal. He told me that there's almost an agreement with Sneijder. Thursday or Friday the deal will be done."

That is contrary to club official Semih Haznedaroglu's view, who admitted that Cimbom are still waiting for a reply from the former Real Madrid man after tabling a contract offer.

"We can’t force him to come here if he doesn’t want to. Perhaps he prefers to play in the Premier League," he told Bugun.

He added, "He has to give us an answer as soon as possible because we have done all we can. Perhaps he’ll give us an answer today, but all this delay isn’t ideal."

Haznedaroglu also warned Sneijder that the club would begin looking for an alternative if it continues to wait for confirmation or otherwise from the 28-year-old."All this waiting is no good for us and we’ll look for an alternative. It was the same situation with Kaka. We did everything possible without any success," he explained.

"We can understand that there is no rush from Sneijder, but we have done our job. We’ve got an agreement with Inter and made the player an offer.
"We need a decision from him, a yes or no."

 

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Remy set for QPR switch after snubbing Newcastle offer

Marseille forward Loic Remy is set to sign for QPR within the next 48 hours after rejecting Newcastle United's contract offer, according to the BBC.

The 26-year-old is now undergoing a medical in London ahead of a reported 10 million pounds move after QPR chief executive officer Philip Beard flew to France to push through negotiations.

QPR, who sit bottom of the Premier League, five points adrift of safety, bettered the basic salary package offered to Remy by Newcastle United and are now poised to land their second signing of the January transfer window following Tal Ben Haim's arrival at Loftus Road earlier this month.

Remy is one of Harry Redknapp's long-term targets, with the 65-year-old personally monitoring the forward during his time at Tottenham.

On Saturday, the QPR manager claimed Remy "didn't want to come" to Loftus Road and admitted he could not even meet him after travelling to France to watch the striker feature in Marseille's 1-1 draw with Guingamp on January 6.

But Remy changed his mind after struggling for selection and form in Ligue 1 this season having started just two games and netting just one goal.

Last term, the forward was Marseille's top scorer with 12 goals in 29 Ligue 1 appearances.

 

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Zeman: Marquinho dropped for disciplinary reasons

Roma coach Zdenek Zeman has revealed that Marquinho has been left out of the side to face Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia for disciplinary reasons.

The midfielder was left out of the squad for Wednesday's match at Stadio Artemio Franchi, and veteran trainer Zeman said he believed the rest of his squad would step up in the former Fluminense player's absence.

"Marquinho has not been called up for the Coppa Italia. He did something that he should not have done," he told the Roma Channel.

"But I have confidence in the rest of my players."The former Lazio coach also praised the work done by Vincenzo Montella at Fiorentina and rubbished claims that the top clubs do not care about cup competitions until they are close to winning them.

"They are a team that play good football. They have lost their last few matches, but that's only because they failed to exploit their chances," Zeman said."In other countries this type of competition is very important. But in Italy it only seems important in the latter stages. For me this competition has always been important."

 

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Sven-Goran Eriksson joins 1860 Munich

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has joined German second division side 1860 Munich.

Eriksson’s role at the club is currently unclear, but it has been revealed by board member Otto Steiner, the Swede will not be taking control of the team with current coach Alexander Schmidt remaining in charge.

Steiner told the official club website: "The board has accepted that Sven-Goran Eriksson will be included in the coaching team of 1860. Alexander Schmidt will remain our coach. Executive Robert Schafer has the order to talk to both of them and to negotiate their exact duties."

Since leaving the England job after the 2006 World Cup, Eriksson has coached in leagues around the world including spells in Mexico, England and Africa.Most recently he found himself working with BEC Tero Sasana in the Thai Premier League.

1860 Munich currently finds itself sixth in the second division, five points off third-placed Kaiserslautern.

 

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Benitez: Chelsea starlet Piazon to join Malaga on loan


Interim Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez has confirmed highly rated attacking midfielder Lucas Piazon will join La Liga side Malaga on loan until the end of the season.


The Blues beat off competition from a host of European rivals to sign the 18-year-old from Sao Paulo, when he completed a move to Chelsea last January.

Piazon has made three appearances for the club so far - two in the League Cup and one Premier League outing in the 8-0 victory over Aston Villa in December 2011.


However, with first-team opportunities likely to be limited due to the stiff competition for places in the youngster’s position, with Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar all currently ahead of him, he will join the Spanish outfit.

Malaga currently sits in fifth spot in La Liga and will face Portuguese giants Porto in the last 16 of the Champions League in February.

Piazon has represented Brazil at Under-15 and Under-17 levels and will be hoping to establish himself in Spain under Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini.