..::Football III::..

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I'm sorry for beating Chelsea with Atletico - Diego Costa

Diego Costa says he is "really sorry" for the part that he played in eliminating Chelsea from the Champions League last season while at Atletico Madrid.

The Spain international was recruited for €44 million this summer after firing Diego Simeone's side into the final, where they were eventually beaten by Real Madrid, but the Blues were casualties in the last four, with Costa netting a penalty in a decisive 3-1 second-leg victory.

The striker recalls being impressed by the Chelsea supporters while on his way to victory and is now keen to make it up to his new team.

"Now I can say I'm really sorry for the part I played in the game we won at Stamford Bridge," Costa told reporters.

"I remember the atmosphere and the passion of the supporters. They stayed right until the end, getting behind their team, even though it was unlikely they could win after we scored two quick goals. I liked that.

"I hope my actions on the pitch and my feet will do the talking. All I can say is I love playing hard and fairly. I want to improve, not only as a player but as an individual, and I believe this is the perfect place for me to do that.

"Joining was an easy decision for me. We have some of the best players in the world, the best manager in the world and it's a club with great history. That's the reason I chose Chelsea and why I want to defend this shirt."

 

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AC Milan could sacrifice De Sciglio before end of transfer window

AC Milan are considering sacrificing Mattia De Sciglio in order to raise funds to make a big-money purchase before the end of the summer transfer window.

The Rossoneri are on the verge of completing moves for Real Madrid’s Diego Lopez and Udinese’s Pablo Armero, but still want to bring more players in.

The primary objective is an established right winger for Filippo Inzaghi’s 4-3-3 formation. Alessio Cerci of Torino is the number one choice, but his €18-20 million price tag is out of reach unless Milan raise funds.

This will require the sale of a star player. CEO Adriano Galliani would prefer to ship out Mario Balotelli, but finding a buyer has proven difficult after the striker disappointed at the World Cup.

Thus, Milan are considering offloading young defender De Sciglio – who has been regularly linked with Real Madrid this summer and who is greatly admired by coach Carlo Ancelotti.

De Sciglio, 21, who can play at both right and left full back, is regarded as one of Europe’s most promising defenders but there have been question marks for a while as to whether Galliani holds him in such high regard.

When asked this summer about which players he considered to be the future of Milan, the transfer guru highlighted Stephan El Shaarawy but failed to name De Sciglio.

Milan, who still hope to complete a €3m transfer for Adel Taarabt from QPR, are also considering Napoli’s Goran Pandev as a cheaper option.

 

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Manchester United make move for Rojo

Manchester United have made a move for Argentina star Marcos Rojo, Goal can reveal.

Southampton have targeted Rojo for much of the summer and have been working hard to broker a deal with Sporting Lisbon while also attempting to persuade the player to move to St Mary's Stadium.

The south coast club were prepared to offer €25 million for the Argentina international but Sporting stood firm on his €38m release clause.

United have now entered the fray and made an offer of around €25m and, while it is still some way short of what the Portuguese giants want, Rojo has learned of the Old Trafford club's interest and is very much keen on the move.

Rojo, who can play centrally or on the left, impressed during the World Cup and was a regular feature for Argentina in their run to the final, where they lost to Germany.

A source confirmed to Goal: "Rojo knows United have now come in and things have changed - he wants to move to Manchester."

United have brought in Ander Herrera and full-back Luke Shaw this summer as Louis van Gaal prepares for his first season in the Premier League. Van Gaal has told club officials that he is happy with his squad but the Red Devils could yet make further signings before the transfer window closes.

United missed out on the signing of centre-back Thomas Vermaelen, who opted to leave Arsenal for Barcelona, but Goal understands that chief executive Ed Woodward has held talks with Nigel de Jong's representatives over a move for the AC Milan midfielder.

 

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Drogba unlikely to face lengthy Chelsea lay-off

Chelsea are optimistic that Didier Drogba will make a quick return to action despite injuring his ankle against Ferencvaros on Sunday, Goal understands.

The striker, who left the club in 2012 but returned this summer after spells with Shanghai Shenhua and Galatasaray, was forced off after just half an hour against the Hungarians after failing to shake off the problem.

Initial reports suggested that the injury could keep him out for as much as four months, but Goal has learned that it is not as serious as first feared and the former Ivory Coast star will be sent for tests and treatment before a full diagnosis is made.

Speaking to the club's website following Sunday's friendly, the 36-year-old said: "I twisted my ankle and I couldn't continue.

"In the next few days we are going to do some treatment and I hope everything will be better."

The news would come as a huge relief to Jose Mourinho, who, after selling Romelu Lukaku to Everton, would have only been able to call upon two forwards in Diego Costa and Fernando Torres for the opening months of the campaign.

Goal revealed on Monday that Mourinho has made an enquiry over the availability of QPR's Loic Remy, though any move depends on the severity of Drogba's injury.

Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign against newly promoted Burnley at Turf Moor on Monday.

 

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Tottenham 'on a high' after perfect pre-season, says Davies

Ben Davies says that Tottenham are "on a high" as they prepare to start their Premier League campaign this weekend.

The Wales international, who joined from Swansea City on a five-year contract in July, made his non-competitive home debut by coming off the bench against Schalke in a pre-season win on Saturday.

The north Londoners beat the German side 2-1 in their final summer fixture and Davies believes that they are ready to start strongly in competitive action when they travel to West Ham.

"We're looking forward to it," he told the club's official website. "We're on a high after pre-season and hopefully we can go there and get off to a positive start.

"It was great to get out on the pitch for the first time. It was a real honour to play in front of the home crowd and I'm glad we got the win."

Spurs' victory over the Bundesliga side completed an unbeaten pre-season schedule for Mauricio Pochettino's men and forward Harry Kane believes that they are shaping up well to take on the Hammers.

"The lads looked sharp, we kept the ball well - just being more clinical is maybe all we could have asked for," the young striker said. "Now we're looking forward to the first Premier League game on Saturday against West Ham."

 

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Dortmund are fired up for Supercup - Kehl

Borussia Dortmund are "fired up" for Tuesday's DFL-Supercup meeting with Bayern Munich, says midfielder Sebastian Kehl.

BVB will host the side they finished runner-up to in the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal as the two sides meet to contend the first piece of silverware of the season for the fourth time in a row.

Dortmund beat the Bavarian giants 4-2 to lift the trophy last season and Kehl insists they are motivated and ready to take on Pep Guardiola's side and win it for the second time in a row.

"We are fired up for this match," Kehl told his club's official website. "We play at home, we want to beat them and win the first trophy of the season.

"We saw last year how much interest there is in this match and what euphoria it generated. It is always special to play Bayern."

Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp added that he is expecting "a match played at the highest level against one of the world’s best teams. It brings together two teams who have had to deal most with the aftermaths of the World Cup, and who have had and still have a most complex pre-season.

"[The game will be won by the team] who can best fix their problems and forget about them for 90 or 120 minutes.

"The team that wins has every reason to be happy; the team that loses doesn’t have to be distraught and tell themselves that it was just the Supercup. The others can add it to their collection."

 

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Abidal: Extraordinary things happened at Barca that nobody knows about

Former Barcelona defender Eric Abidal claims many "extraordinary" things happened behind the scenes at the Catalan club that have never seen the light of day.

Abidal endured a traumatic time at Barca as he was laid low by cancer, underwent a liver transplant and was later forced to leave when, having made an emotional comeback, the promise of a new contract never materialised.

The former France full-back joined Monaco last summer, but has now moved to Olympiakos after a single season in Ligue 1 and was unveiled by the Greek champions on Monday.

Speaking of his time at Camp Nou, the 34-year-old said: "I will never forget what my team-mates did for me [during my illness]. I don't think there has ever been anything like it."

Right-back Dani Alves offered to donate part of his liver to help Abidal return to a normal life, while former captain Carles Puyol let the Frenchman lift the Champions League trophy in his place when Barca beat Manchester United in the 2011 final at Wembley.

However, Abidal was also involved in a pay dispute with the Catalan club and left under a cloud after the public promise of a new deal was never fulfilled by the Blaugrana board.

"Despite everything, at Barca many other things happened that have never seen the light, that have never been published and that the press don't know about," he said. "And they are extraordinary things."

Abidal will link up with former Barca team-mate Ibrahim Afellay at Olympiakos and said: "I hope my experience and knowledge can help this club to grow. Wherever I play, I always give everything and my sweat will be proof of that."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Everton and Chelsea agree on Atsu loan - Roberto Martinez

Everton have "an agreement in principle" to take Chelsea winger Christian Atsu on loan for the season, manager Roberto Martinez says.

The Ghana international has been linked with the Toffees for much of the summer and is now set to make the same move from which Romelu Lukaku – who has since joined permanently for €35 million – profited so greatly last term.

Martinez has confirmed that the switch is pending only the final details before becoming official.

"Everything has been agreed with Christian," he told the press. "It's just a matter of finalising little details more with his work permit and personal situation.

"That will probably take a couple of days to get sorted but we have an agreement in principle to make the move as a loan deal until the end of the season."

Atsu, who joined Chelsea from Porto last summer, was immediately loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem, who finished sixth in the Eredivisie in 2013-14 with several Blues starlets among their team. While fellow Chelsea-loanee was the Arnhem club's most productive player, it was Atsu who was voted their player of the year by the fans.

Martinez added of possible further reinforcements: "We'll take every day we have left in the window just to assess what we have in the squad and I'm happy with what we have.

"I would say we will take right until the last moment."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United Vs Valancia

Starting Line-Ups

Manchester United Starting Line-up

De Gea
James
Smalling
Young
Fletcher
Herrera
Mata
Rooney
Hernandez

&

Valencia Starting Line-up

Diego Alves
Barragan
Vezo
Otamendi
Gaya
Parej
Fuego
Gomes
Feghouli
Alcacer
Rodrigo
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[Wolverine GTR]

Good Luck Manchester United!

Chicharito ta LVG wa impress karanna thiyana last chance 1ka wenna puluwan godak durata
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Half Time

Manchester United 0 Vs 0 Valancia

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After 31th Minute

Real Madrid 1 Vs 0 Sevilla

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Full Time

Manchester United 2 Vs 1 Valancia

Manchester United Goal(s)

Fletcher 49'
Fellaini 90+1'

&

Valancia Goal(s)

Paul 71'
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[Wolverine GTR]

Congratulations Manchester United!

Fellaini kohomahari anthimata goal 1kak score karagattha
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[Wolverine GTR]

UEFA Super Cup

Full Time

Real Madrid 2 Vs 0 Sevilla

Real Madrid Goal(s)

C.Ronaldo 30',49'
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[Wolverine GTR]

Congratulations Real Madrid!

UEFA Super Cup Winners 2014

 

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Manchester United 2-1 Valencia: Fellaini answers jeers with late winner on Van Gaal's Old Trafford bow

Marouane Fellaini netted in the final minute as Manchester United beat Valencia on Louis van Gaal's Old Trafford bow.The midfielder's future at the club remains up in the air heading into the new season, but was on hand to end his pre-season preparations on a high after tapping home from close range.


The game looked to be heading for a draw with Wayne Rooney missing a penalty in the first half before Darren Fletcher scored three minutes after the break.


The Liga outfit proved a tough opponent throughout and Rodrigo Moreno levelled matters after capitalising on a poor clearence by Tom Cleverley inside his own area.After finding success with a 3-4-1-2 formation as Netherlands boss at the World Cup, Van Gaal has continued to utilise the tactic with United and their players were given a first chance to use it on familiar turf.


Wayne Rooney was named captain and paired with Javier Hernandez, but the England man's first-half penalty miss threatened to spoil Van Gaal's welcome party.However, a vintage show of United grit after the break ensures the feel-good factor around the club remains in full flow ahead of their Premier League opener against Swansea City on Saturday.


Despite much pomp and ceremony surrounding the game, it got off to a tepid start, though United looked solid in defence and incisive in midfield with Van Gaal's system becoming more familiar.Ander Herrera scuffed a 24th-minute volley wide, which sparked the remainder of the first half into action.


First, Sofiane Feghouli's low effort was comfortably pouched by David de Gea, before United were given the chance to move ahead just after the half-hour when Rooney was felled by Antonio Barragan under Ashley Young's cross.


Rooney stepped up and lashed a low effort to Alves' right, but the Brazilian sprung superbly to tip the effort onto the post.Rooney had a half-chance to atone for his miss just before half-time, yet a heavy touch allowed Alves to mop up.


It did not take long after the interval for United fans to be on their feet, however, as Young's corner was cleared to the edge of the area for Fletcher to fire home via a Rodrigo deflection.Valencia showed no sign of being happy to cede the game and Hernandez had to be alert to nod Rodrigo's flicked header off the line.


The chance prompted a change in momentum and Valencia duly equalised with 20 minutes to go as United's defensive frailties from last season made a return.Tom Cleverley horribly miscued an attempted clearance from a free-kick into the penalty area, giving Benfica loanee Rodrigo a simple finish from six yards.


Pablo Piatti scuffed wide from inside the six-yard box and Hernandez saw another miscued clearance squirt across the face of goal as panic set in for the hosts.Yet Fellaini looked in fine form after coming on as a late substitute and he emerged as an unlikely hero, pouncing on Alves' error under a high cross to roll home the winner.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Congratulations Manchester United!Ada match 1ka hodata play kala

Ath Defending & MID wala loku aduwak penawa thamathSo aluth kattiya aniwa ganna wenawa next season 1kata hoda fight 1kak denna nam
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