..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Juventus reach agreement with Schalke star Draxler

Juventus have reached an agreement with Julian Draxler and must now negotiate a transfer with Schalke, Goal understands.

The World Cup winner has now agreed a deal worth €3.7 million a year, plus bonuses, with the Serie A champions. Schalke must now reach an agreement with the Champions League finalists over a transfer fee.

"For me, an agreement is when three parties are good. Now we are at the stage where only Schalke and Juventus have to talk and, after that, we will see what happens," Draxler's agent, Roger Wittmann, told Goal.

Draxler's contract at the Veltins Arena runs until 2018 and, prior to June 30 this year, his release clause stood at €45m. Juve are understood to want to pay €25m, while the Bundesliga outfit are hoping for closer to €35m.Negotiations between Draxler and Juve appeared to have hit a stumbling block earlier this week, with the 21-year-old included in Schalke's friendly match against Lechia Gdansk despite talks having opened.

Massimiliano Allegri is eager to add an attacking player, comfortable in the No.10 role, this summer and the Germany international has emerged as his prime target.
Draxler has won the DFB-Pokal and German Supercup during his four-year spell in the Schalke first team.He was also part of Joachim Low's victorious side at the World Cup in Brazil last summer.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Of course Lyon want to keep Lacazette - Fournier

Lyon have no intention of allowing Alexandre Lacazette to leave this summer, according to head coach Hubert Fournier.An exceptional campaign in 2014-15, which saw him score 31 goals in all competitions, has seen the 24-year-old linked with a big-money move before the new season.

Arsenal and Liverpool are among the clubs reported to be monitoring Lacazette's situation with the Ligue 1 side, but Fournier has made it clear that neither player nor club is interested in a transfer."I don't have anything major to tell you. He has already said he would like to stay with us," he said to reporters.

"Clearly clubs are attracted by a player of his quality, but he is contracted to Lyon and, with all the competitions we're in, we obviously want to keep him."
Lyon take on Arsenal in the Emirates Cup on Saturday.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Balotelli offered move away from Liverpool by lower-league Italian outfit

Mario Balotelli has been offered a route out of Liverpool after Italian third-tier outfit Lupa Castelli revealed they are interested in the striker.

The former Manchester City man struggled during his first campaign at Anfield as he scored just one Premier League goal and gradually fell down the pecking order.

His first-team oportunities look set to be further limited by the arrivals of Christian Benteke, Danny Ings and returning Lille loanee Divock Origi, while the Italy international also missed out on a place on the Reds' pre-season tour of Asia and Australia.

But Lupa Castelli honorary president Marco Amelia believes his club would give Balotelli the perfect opportunity to rebuild his career away from the usual scrutiny he is put under.

"Our intention is to bring our friend, Balotelli, here, a player who at this time needs to start afresh because we see that he does not want to play anymore, has fans opposing him and is no longer able to show his quality," he told Sky Sport Italia.

"For Balotelli, this could be the first step towards cleaning up his act, taking two steps back and showing everyone what he is capable of doing.

"I'll try to call Mario Balotelli. On an economic point of view, we'll see what happens. I think that at this time Mario needs to find the will he needs to compete.

"It will be tough, it will be almost impossible as it is something that football has never seen, but he could do it."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ramos: I want to give something back

Adrian Ramos has revealed his determination to "give something back" to Borussia Dortmund after an unsuccessful debut campaign at the club.Ramos scored just six goals in 29 appearances during Jurgen Klopp's final season in charge, as BVB finished the season in seventh position.

With Thomas Tuchel now at the helm and fellow striker Ciro Immobile on loan at Sevilla, Ramos is keen to play a leading role for Dortmund next season."It was anything but easy for me. But now it's just a matter that I hope to change in the future," the Colombian told Bild.

"I'll do my best to do myself justice. I want to give something back."An ankle injury ruled Ramos out of the final games of Dortmund's Bundesliga campaign and the Copa America - although the 29-year-old is now back in team training.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Falcao 'very grateful' for Mourinho faith after sealing Chelsea move

Radamel Falcao has admitted he is “very grateful” to Jose Mourinho for bringing him to Chelsea and is aiming to win the Premier League title during his loan spell at Stamford Bridge.

The Colombia international has moved to the Premier League champions following a disappointing season-long loan spell at Manchester United in which he scored just four goals in 29 appearances.

But Falcao has thanked Mourinho for his show of support and is keen to repay the faith shown in him by the Chelsea manager.

“He sent some messages to support me and he said that he believes in me and has faith in me, and for that reason I am very grateful to him and I want to give my 100 per cent for the team and for him,” the striker told Chelsea’s official website.

“I have challenged myself to play in the Premier League and I am enjoying living this experience with a lot of motivation, with a lot of concentration, because I want to triumph with Chelsea. I want to win the league and to be important in the team.”

Falcao is also relishing the prospect of linking back up with Diego Costa following their time together at Atletico Madrid.

“He is crazy! And happy. I know him from Atletico and we enjoyed very good times. We shared very good moments and he is a great guy,” said the Colombian.

“Among funny moments there, I remember he would throw water from the cold pool over the players - every time!

“We are used to playing together, and the 2012-13 year was very good for Atletico when we scored a lot of goals. We are different kinds of strikers and we complement each other.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

AC Milan 1-0 Inter: Mexes wonder goal clinches Rossoneri win

Philippe Mexes hit a goal worthy of settling any Derby della Madonnina as his acrobatic volley secured Milan a 1-0 win over city rivals Inter in Shenzhen.

The French defender connected with Giacomo Bonaventura's corner just after the hour and fizzed a wondrous 25-yard strike past helpless Inter goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo.

In truth, it was a moment of quality the game perhaps did not deserve, though Milan - who had Antonio Nocerino sent off late in the game - were always most likely to score as Inter struggled in possession on a bobbly Shenzhen Stadium pitch.

Milan were also able to give debuts to strike pair Luiz Adriano and Carlos Bacca, suggesting they are well-placed to make more of an impression under Sinisa Mihajlovic this term.

Roberto Mancini's Inter looked off the pace, however, and with any new signings reportedly waiting on the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri to be moved on, they face a race against time to be in shape for the start of the Serie A season in a month's time.The first half gave little clue of what was to follow as both sides blundered in their attempts to break into the final third.

Carrizo smothered M'Baye Niang from close range in the 13th minute, while Alessandro Matri's cut-back after springing the offside trap sold the Frenchman desperately short.

Mihajlovic made eight changes at the break, including the introduction of Mexes, while Niang and Matri were replaced by new recruits Luiz Adriano and Bacca on the hour.

The Colombian made a swift impact, tearing down the right and setting up Luca Antonelli, whose shot was deflected away for a corner on the left wing. What followed was a goal worthy of the greatest stage.

Bonaventura caught out Inter's defence by swinging his delivery to the far corner of the penalty area towards Mexes, who leapt into a scissor-kick volley and launched his strike across Carrizo and into the top corner.

Despite having Argentina strikers Mauro Icardi and Rodrigo Palacio up top, Inter's woes in attack went on until the end and they failed to take advantage in the closing stages after Nocerino saw red for chopping down Geoffrey Kondogbia.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Aubameyang eyes 20-goal Bundesliga haul

Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has revealed he has set himself a 20-goal target for next season.His 16 goals in the Bundesliga last term made him the club's top goalscorer, but he is determined to better that tally.

He told Bild: "Without over-estimating, I want to score 20 goals in the Bundesliga. At least. Preferably, of course, I want to score more."Aubameyang's importance to Dortmund is even greater after Ciro Immobile was allowed to join Sevilla on loan while Adrian Ramos is still recovering from injury.

The Gabon international joined the club from Saint-Etienne in 2013 in Jurgen Klopp's penultimate season in charge of the club.BVB's shortage of attacking options has seen the likes of Marco Reus and Jonas Hofmann operate as a striker during pre-season.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ibrahimovic: I'm staying at PSG

Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has dismissed reports suggesting he will quit the club this summer.

The 33-year-old has been tipped to join AC Milan or move to MLS, but wants to see out the final year of his contract.He said to ESPN FC: "I still have one year left on my contract, so I'm a PSG player and I am also happy at the club.

"I have done great things during these three years and what I did, no one can take it away. My team is fantastic and I play with great players. I live in the best city in Europe, so I appreciate that."There will always discussions and I am happy with the interest people speak of, but I'm a PSG player."

Ibrahimovic joined PSG from AC Milan in 2012 and has since scored over 100 goals for the club in all competitions.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Spain and Italy drawn in World Cup Group G

Spain and Italy have been drawn together in World Cup 2018 qualification Group G at the preliminary draw in Russia on Saturday.

The two nations will also face Albania, Israel, Liechtenstein and Macedonia - but only the group winner will automatically advance to the finals, with the runner-up facing a play-off.

France and Netherlands face the same challenge in Group A, which also features Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus and Luxembourg, while England and Scotland will do battle in Group F.

World Cup 2018 European qualification draw

Group A: France, Netherlands, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg
Group B: Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra
Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino
Group D: Wales, Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova, Georgia
Group E: Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan
Group F: England, Scotland, Slovenia, Malta, Lithuania, Slovakia
Group G: Spain, Italy, Israel, Albania, Liechtenstein, Macedonia
Group H: Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus
Group I: Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland


CONMEBOL (Final group stage)
Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay.

The 10 CONMEBOL nations were drawn to determine the order of fixtures in South America's qualifying section. All sides face each other in a round-robin format.

CONCACAF (Fourth of five stages)
A: Honduras, Mexico, Curacao/El Salvador, Canada/Belize
B: Panama, Costa Rica, Granada/Haiti, Jamaica/Nicaragua
C: Trinidad and Tobago, USA, St Vincent and the Grenadines/Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda/Guatemala

OFC (Second of four stages)
Group A: Tahiti, New Caledonia, [Winner of round one from American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga], Papua New Guinea,
Group B: New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu

CAF (Second of three stages)
Somalia or Niger vs Cameroon, South Sudan or Mauritania vs Tunisia, Gambia or Namibia vs Guinea, Sao Tome e Principe or Ethiopia vs Congo, Chad or Sierra Leone vs Egypt, Comoros or Lesotho vs Ghana, Djibouti or Swaziland vs Nigeria, Eritrea or Botswana vs Mali, Seychelles or Burundi vs Congo DR, Liberia or Guinea-Bissau vs Ivory Coast, Central African Republic or Madagascar vs Senegal, Mauritius or Kenya vs Cape Verde Islands, Tanzania or Malawi vs Algeria, Sudan vs Zambia, Libya vs Rwanda, Morocco vs Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique vs Gabon, Benin vs Burkina Faso, Togo vs Uganda, Angola vs South Africa

Intercontinental play-offs
CONCACAF v AFC
OFC v CONMEBOL

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Arsenal 6-0 Lyon: Ozil & Ramsey star for impressive Gunners

A blistering first half display saw Arsenal score four first half goals as they swept Lyon aside in a 6-0 win in the Emirates Cup.

Olivier Giroud opened the scoring, diverting a Mesut Ozil cross beyond Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes before the Frenchman turned provider for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Youngster Alex Iwobi added a third, completing a well-worked team goal, before the impressive Aaron Ramsey latched on to an Ozil pass to finish from close range.

Ozil added a fifth after the break, thumping a low strike beyond Lopes and into the bottom corner, and Santi Cazorla rounded off the scoring with a free kick late on.

With a point awarded for every goal, Arsenal now top the group with nine, ahead of Villarreal, who beat Wolfsburg 2-1 earlier on Saturday.

Lyon created the first opening of the game when Alexandre Lacazette's delightful flick played in Clinton N'Jie, but Emiliano Martinez was out quickly to make a low save.

Clement Grenier hobbled off with what looked like a hip injury in the 24th minute, and Arsenal piled the misery on Lyon as the floodgates opened.

Giroud was the first to find the net when he headed Ozil's free-kick into the top left-hand corner, and the Frenchman then turned provider to set Oxlade-Chamberlain clear, the England man coolly slotting past Lopes.

Iwobi - nephew of former Nigeria star Jay-Jay Okocha - made it 3-0 when he swept home Ramsey's throughball to finish a fine Arsenal move.

The 19-year-old had another goal ruled out for offside shortly after, but Arsenal stretched their lead further in the 38th minute when Ozil's cross from the left was poked in by Ramsey at the near post.

N'Jie fired a rare Lyon chance wide after the restart, while at the other end Giroud swept a volley wide from Kieran Gibbs' cross.
A fifth did arrive just after the hour, though, with more eye-catching football from Arsenal culminating in Ozil drilling into the bottom right-hand corner from the edge of the penalty area.

With the match sewn up, Wenger made several changes and it was substitute Cazorla who made it 6-0 with a low left-footed free-kick into the bottom right-hand corner.

There was almost time for a seventh as Chuba Akpom lashed a shot against the left-hand post in the closing stages.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

No Manchester City offer for De Bruyne, says Wolfsburg boss Hecking

Manchester City have not made an offer for Kevin De Bruyne, according to Wolfsburg boss Dieter Hecking.

Goal understands that the Belgium international has expressed a desire to join City this summer, and the Premier League club are confident that a deal can be completed before the end of the window.

Reports in Germany have claimed that City are planning a €72 million (£50m) offer for the 24-year-old but Wolfsburg’s manager has denied receiving a bid for the midfielder.

“We have no offers from Manchester City. Full stop,” said Hecking.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Wenger open to striker arrival at Arsenal

Arsneal manager Arsene Wenger remains open to the prospect of a striker joining the club in the summer transfer window.

Goal understands the Gunners are playing the waiting game over their interest in Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema although the Frenchman's agent has insisted he is staying with the Liga giants.

The Gunners smashed Lyon 6-0 in the Emirates Cup on Saturday, with Olivier Giroud one of six different goalscorers, and when quizzed on his pursuit of a striker Wenger revealed that he is "open minded" over a potential deal.

"Let's not forget we scored in our recent games; three, four, six today. And we had not Welbeck, not Sanchez. That means we have an offensive potential.

"We want to add a few more goals than we did last year but I feel at the end of the season we created more chances and hopefully we can confirm that. Having said that, in the transfer market we are open minded. We are as well not in a desperate need."

Aaron Ramsey, meanwhile, who was also on the scoresheet against the Ligue 1 side, insists that the north Londoners can challenge for the Premier League title in the 2015-16 campaign.

He said: "Absolutely [Arsenal can challenge for the title]. We finished off the season really well last year. Hopefully now we can start the campaign as we left off and throw ourselves in contention early on.

"That's important because as we saw last year, Chelsea did not slip up at all and that's going to be important for us to start the season well. We have the players, we have the squad and hopefully we can keep everyone fit throughout the season and we'll have a great opportunity then."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Juventus: Aubameyang & Reus star as BVB batter Bianconeri

Borussia Dortmund exacted some revenge for the Champions League exit to Juventus with a 2-0 friendly win over the Serie A champions in St. Gallen on Saturday.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring for the Bundesliga outfit just before half-time at the AFG Arena, before Marco Reus' superb solo goal secured the win.

The victory is Dortmund's fifth under Thomas Tuchel and sets them up nicely for their Europa League third-round qualifier with Wolfsberger on Thursday.

Juve – who included seven of their Champions League final side in their starting line-up – found themselves on the back foot from the outset as Kevin Kampl and Henrikh Mkhitaryan tested Gianluigi Buffon.

The Italy international was again on hand to deny Aubameyang 27 minutes in, but was unable to prevent the striker from breaking the deadlock just before half-time from Mkhitaryan's precise pass.

New signing Mario Mandzukic should have given Juve the lead prior to Dortmund's opener, but the Croatia striker headed over from fellow new boy Paulo Dybala's free-kick.

Changes aplenty at the break slowed the pace of the game down somewhat, but Reus sparked it back into life with a sublime run, the forward dancing through the Juve defence before slotting past substitute goalkeeper Neto - who was making his Bianconeri debut as a second-half substitute.

Despite late pressure a third goal failed to materialise as Juve - who lacked their normal intensity - kept Dortmund at bay in their first pre-season outing.

 

[Agree to Disagree]

ෆුට්බෝල් බම්ප්

 

[Wolverine GTR]

ෆුට්බෝල් බම්ප්

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

International Champions Cup 2015.07.26

Half Time

Barcelona 0 Vs 1 Manchester United

 

[Wolverine GTR]

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Netherlands boss Blind savours 'spicy' World Cup group

Danny Blind insists that he is looking forward to the daunting challenge of trying secure top spot in Netherlands' "spicy" qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup.

At Saturday's draw in Saint Petersburg, the Dutch were placed in the same pool as France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus and Luxembourg, meaning the either Oranje or Les Bleus will have to settle for a play-off place - or even miss out altogether.However, Blind says that he is happy having such a strong group, arguing that it should bring the best out of his troops.

"These are all good football nations, and France, as former European and world champions, stand out," he said in a statement released by the Netherlands football association (KNVB).

"Because only the winner will qualify directly, it will be a spicy job."Bulgaria and Belarus, from pot four and five, respectively, are not exactly small teams either.

"On the other hand, though, I know that the others were not hoping for Netherlands as an opponent."And let's be honest, good opponents only motivate you more."

Blind only took charge of Netherlands last month, with the former assistant being promoted to head coach following Guus Hiddink's surprise decision to stand down halfway through the country's qualifying campaign for Euro 2016.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Allegri drops Draxler to Juventus hint

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed that the club are trying to sign the trequartista he so desperately craves.

While Carlos Tevez has departed for Boca Juniors and Arturo Vidal is bound for Bayern Munich, the Bianconeri have strengthened their attack this summer with the additions of Mario Mandzukic, Paulo Dybala and Simone Zaza.

However, Allegri has spoken openly about his desire for a classic No.10 and the Italian champions have agreed personal terms with Schalke starlet Julian Draxler over a move to Turin.

The Bianconeri boss refused to be drawn on the proposed deal for the Germany international but did admit that a playmaker will arrive before the close of the transfer window on August 31.

"We need someone we can play between the lines [of the attack]," Allegri told Sky Sport Italia. "The club are working on this.

"Right now we have to work with the squad that we have available to us."The club has worked very well this summer and now we're thinking only about our conditioning."But other players will arrive. The market is long."

Allegri was speaking after watching his side suffer a 2-0 defeat in Saturday's friendly clash with Borussia Dortmund.

The former AC Milan coach had no complaints about the result but was keen to point out that BVB are further along in their pre-season preparations given that the Bundesliga gets under way before Serie A.

"We lacked fitness today," Allegri said. "I would say, however, that today was good practice for us irrespective of the result.

"Borussia have different fitness levels to ours and the most important thing is that nobody got injured, particularly as our big goal is to be ready for the Supercoppa Italiana on August 8."

Dybala started for Juve following his summer switch from Palermo and the Argentine attacker impressed sporadically alongside Alvaro Morata and Mandzukic.

"He's a kid who has great quality," Allegri added. "His level dipped the longer the game went on but he did as well as Morata."As for Mandzukic, he wasn't served well."

Another recent arrival, Sami Khedira, missed the game through injury but Allegri was quick to play down any fears over the German's fitness."He came here with enthusiasm and he's working well but today I didn't want to risk him," he added.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Tuchel: Juventus win proves Dortmund are back on track

Thomas Tuchel says that Saturday's friendly win over Juventus proves that Borussia Dortmund are heading in the right direction.

BVB failed to qualify for this season's Champions League after finishing seventh in the Bundesliga last term, with a strong conclusion to the campaign unable to make up for a dismal start.Jurgen Klopp stood down as coach at the end of 2014-15 and was promptly replaced at the helm by Tuchel.

Dortmund have enjoyed an encouraging pre-season campaign under their new boss and he believes that they have taken another significant step forward with their 2-0 victory over Italian champions Juve, which came courtesy of goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus.

"I am very, very pleased with the way we played," he told reporters. "We made great progress and played with a lot of courage today."The way we played so compact was pretty much exactly how we want to play."We have only achieved a minor aim but we are on our way."

Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was just as enthused by the way in which BVB hassled and harried last season's Champions League runners-up into submission."You can be very satisfied with a 2-0 win against Juventus," the Germany international added.

"Especially with the way we won the ball back and pressured Juve.
"We created so many chances and we took them brilliantly."