..::Football IV::..

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No Champions League an opportunity for Chelsea - Conte

Antonio Conte believes failing to qualify for the Champions League will give Chelsea an advantage in the Premier League this season.

Chelsea finished 10th in the Premier League last year, but Conte says the lack of European football at Stamford Bridge will give him more time to work with his players.The ex-Italy boss noted that in his first year at Juventus, the Serie A side were not competing in Europe either and he subsequently led them to the league title.

"Chelsea aren't involved [in the Champions League] this season but these things can happen to big teams," Conte told the Evening Standard. "In my first season in charge of Juventus, they were in the same position. I took over after they had finished seventh the season before.

"Obviously we didn't play in the Champions League or the Europa League and our energy was only focused on the championship. We were able to take advantage of that and we won the title. I hope to do the same with Chelsea."Not playing in the Champions League could be an opportunity because I will be able to work more with my players.

"If you ask me if I prefer this situation, I don't because Chelsea must be in this competition. You do feel like you're missing something when you're not involved in the Champions League. It is a special competition and you want to play in it every year. "But because we are not, I will have a whole week to train with my players and that gives me a chance to work with them more compared to Chelsea managers in previous seasons."

Conte is expecting a "battle" for Champions League qualification this season, with Manchester United also set to challenge for a place in the top four under their new manager Jose Mourinho after missing out last season."It is going to be some battle to finish in the top four next season between all the managers and some will lose out," said Conte. "The players know this, too.

"This club must play in the competition because for a club like Chelsea, the Champions League is their home. It’s important to get back into it."This won't be easy because in England there are seven or eight teams who are very tough and are ready to fight for the title. But that means they are also all fighting for the top four.

"Yet we are Chelsea. We have a great team and we must find our way back quickly to compete for the title or at least a top-four place. We are working very hard to prepare and we want to try to cancel the bad season of last year."

 

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Rooney reveals the toughest defender he's ever faced with Manchester United

Wayne Rooney has named John Terry as the toughest defender he’s ever faced during his career.

The Manchester United striker has had plenty of run-ins against the Chelsea captain, and could be directly facing the 35-year-old once again this season after Mourinho vowed to play him in a more advanced role.

“The best defender is probably John Terry, he reads the game well, he is physical and very tough to play against,” Rooney told www.waynerooney.com.

Rooney also named Barcelona legends Xavi and Lionel Messi as two other toughest opponents.

“For midfield I’d say Xavi, he’s got everything, brilliant passing, vision, creativity and leadership, said the England captain.

“The best striker has to be Lionel Messi, in my opinion he’s the best player ever and I’m honoured to have shared a pitch with him.”

 

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Rooney picks surprise choice for toughest goalkeeper he's ever faced

Wayne Rooney has named Iker Casillas as the toughest goalkeeper he’s ever faced - but he’s only played against the Real Madrid legend for 59 minutes.

The striker faced Madrid on two occasions during his Manchester United career, but he came up against Diego Lopez on both occasions during the 2012-13 campaign.

Rooney first faced Casillas while he was on duty with England in 2004 but was substituted before the first half even finished as he was on the verge of being sent off after a bust-up with the Spain goalkeeper.

Rooney then had wait 11 years to face Casillas again as he came on as a late second-half substitute for England’s friendly against Spain last November.

But even so, his fleeting encounter with the Porto goalkeeper is enough to convince Rooney.

“The best goalkeeper I’ve come up against is Iker Casillas, he’s won everything you can in the game and is one of the best goalkeepers of all-time,” the striker told www.waynerooney.com.

 

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Rooney names his two best Manchester United team-mates

Wayne Rooney has named Paul Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo as the two best team-mates he has played with at Manchester United.The 30-year-old moved to Old Trafford in 2004 and won multiple Premier League titles as well as the Champions League with Scholes and Ronaldo alongside him.

The England captain also played in teams including the likes of Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic but says the Englishman and Portuguese's talent trumps the rest.

"I'd say there are two that stand out and they’re Paul Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo," Rooney told his official website.

"Paul Scholes is one of the best midfielders of all time. His passing, vision and the way he controlled the tempo of games was incredible.

"Cristiano is a special player and he has gone on to be one of the best in the world.
"Some of the things he used to do in training and then take into games was unbelievable, he’ll always be remembered as one of the greats of the game."

 

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Atletico Madrid end pursuit of unsettled Diego Costa

Atletico Madrid have pulled out of the race to sign Chelsea striker Diego Costa, though Goal understands the forward has been left unsettled by the speculation regarding his future.

Diego Simeone has been keen to add a frontline striker to his squad this summer, but Chelsea were firm on not letting Costa go and forced Atletico to look for an alternative in the shape of Sevilla's Kevin Gameiro.

Chelsea sent two written letters to Atleti and went as far as to threaten to report them to FIFA for the tactics they were using to try and secure a deal to bring the Spain international back to the Vicente Calderon.

The 27-year-old is highly regarded at Stamford Bridge having finished as the club's top goalscorer in both of the past two seasons, though his head has been turned by Atletico's advances.

Chelsea and Antonio Conte now want to put the transfer saga behind them and Costa will be back in contention to start against AC Milan despite his manager reporting he missed the last two games with a back injury.

Despite Costa looking likely to stay, Chelsea remain keen to bolster their own attacking options.Romelu Lukaku and Alvaro Morata have been two of the Blues's main summer targets, despite signing Michy Batshuayi earlier in the transfer window for £33 million from Marseille.

Loic Remy is almost certain to leave having fallen below Bertrand Traore in the club's pecking order, with the former QPR man having made just one substitute appearance against Rapid Vienna despite being fit throughout pre-season.

 

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De Gea impressed by Ibrahimovic impact

David de Gea has hailed the impact of new Manchester United signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

United signed Ibrahimovic on a free transfer earlier this summer following his exit from PSG, joining Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in moving to Old Trafford, while a world-record deal is also expected to be completed for Juventus star Paul Pogba.And the striker took all of four minutes to score a bicycle kick in his friendly debut against Galatasaray in front of his Swedish fans on Saturday, leading to fulsome praise from the club's Spanish goalkeeper.

"It's really good to have Zlatan already here, training with the team," De Gea told MUTV."You can see he's a top player, he's massive, very big, with a lot of quality and of course he is a top striker.

"I think he will settle in very quickly."You can look and it seems like he has been playing here many years already and the same with the other guys we've signed."

Jose Mourinho's aggressive restructuring of his United squad has also impressed De Gea, the 25-year-old adding: "They are playing really well, their training has been top and I think that we have signed really good players," De Gea said.

"That gives us more energy when you see players like them coming to Manchester and now we have to train all together, trying to be fit as soon as possible and now we're going to play the first game against Leicester City with the Community Shield up for grabs."

 

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'Stones can be Guardiola's new Pique at Man City'

Pep Guardiola can mould John Stones into Manchester City's version of Gerard Pique, according to former Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert.

City are keen to secure a move for England international Stones this summer, though they are only willing to spend £40 million on the Everton defender despite the Toffees wanting £50m.

And Lambert believes Stones can be moulded into a player of Pique's stature due to the similarities in their playing style.

"If you look at Stones at Everton, and you look at Gerard Pique at Barcelona, they’re really similar footballers," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"Pique has got all the medals and trophies, but I can see Pep Guardiola looking at Stones and thinking he’s really similar to Pique.

"He can take the ball out of the back and pass it, and he might take a risk or two at certain times, but if Pep gets inside his head and moulds him, who’s to say he can’t be as successful."

 

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OFFICIAL: Manchester City sign Sane

Manchester City have completed the signing of Schalke winger Leroy Sane on a five-year deal.

Sane had been linked with a number of clubs throughout the summer but has opted to move to the Citizens, with the Premier League club parting with a reported £37 million to secure the signature of the 20-year-old.It is also understood that the deal could eventually rise to £42m due to add-ons

Sane, who came through the youth ranks at Schalke, scored 13 goals in 57 senior appearances for the club and was also named in the Germany squad for Euro 2016.

Sane becomes Guardiola's fifth signing of the summer, following the acquisitions of Ilkay Gundogan, Nolito, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Aaron Mooy.

 

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Klopp: Managers come to Premier League for the challenge

Jurgen Klopp believes the challenge of winning the Premier League is too alluring to resist for the world's best managers and coaches.

Former Borussia Dortmund boss Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, and a number of high-profile bosses have followed the German to England, with Pep Guardiola taking over at Manchester City and Antonio Conte arriving at Chelsea.

Jose Mourinho also rejected offers from outside England to replace Louis van Gaal at Manchester United, following his disappointing 2015-16 season at Chelsea.

And with so many teams capable of winning the Premier League - Leicester City shocked everyone as they upset the established order, while Tottenham finished third alongside usual challengers Arsenal - Klopp insists that there is simply no greater challenge in football at the moment."Winning the title in England is the biggest challenge of them all. There are the most teams of any league who can win it," Klopp explained.

"If you are looking for the biggest challenge then you need to go to England."That's the difference 100 per cent. It's not like they wanted an easier job. They wanted this. But it is hard. The toughest challenge of all, because there are so many who can win.

"In other countries, only one team is favourite. In Germany, if you want to be in front of Bayern Munich, you have to win all the other games and then a minimum of one against Bayern, because they never lose."In this country it's a very different kind of difficulty. Here you have a number of clubs who think they should be number one.

"In Germany there is one team who think they have to be and one team who think they should be. The rest hope for I don't know what. It's different."

 

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Vidic: I nearly joined Liverpool

Former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has revealed he came close to joining Liverpool before Sir Alex Ferguson convinced him to make the move to Old Trafford instead.

The centre-back was pondering leaving Spartak Moscow for the Anfield side in 2006, only for arch-rivals United to step in and hijack the deal.

"Yes [I nearly joined Liverpool]. Rafa Benitez called me and I nearly went there," Vidic told FourFourTwo."I was interested in going but my English wasn't good and I was struggling to communicate.

"Then Manchester United came. Fergie called me at my apartment and said: 'I watched you play for Serbia against France - I want you here.' United were decisive. Everything was done very quickly, within two days."

Vidic went on to become a key figure at United, winning five Premier League titles before eventually leaving the club for Inter in 2014.

He hung up his boots back in January, but is adamant he wants to return to the game in a managerial capacity."I would like to be a manager, but only if I had the opportunity first to be a coach and learn from someone for maybe one or two years," he added.

"I would take the experiences I had of the managers I've worked under."Nemanja the manager won't be the same Nemanja that you saw on the pitch. They are two completely different roles."

 

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OFFICIAL: Napoli complete €32m Milik signing

Napoli have completed the signing of Arkadiusz Milik from Ajax for an initial €32 million.The Serie A side were in the market for a new forward following the departure of Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus and they have now found their man in Milik.

They presented the Poland international to their fans ahead of Monday's friendly against Nice and Milik has now signed a contract to complete his move to the Stadio San Paolo.

Milik came through the ranks of the Rozwoj Katowice youth academy and also represented Gornik Zabrze, Bayer Leverkusen and Augsburg before joining Ajax in 2014.

The 22-year-old scored 32 goals in 52 Eredivisie appearances as Ajax finished as runners-up behind PSV twice.

Milik becomes Napoli's third signing of the close-season after Lorenzo Tonelli and Emanuele Giaccherini.Napoli are also believed to be closing in on Milik's compatriot Piotr Zielinski, currently under contract with Udinese.

Marc Overmars, Ajax's director of football, told the club's official website: "Arek did a great job at Ajax, his goals-per-game ratio says it all. I can only give our scouting team a compliment for bringing him to our attention. "We were keen to hold on to him, but we were talking about completely different transfer fees when we agreed that Arek would not leave.

"Napoli were really keen to sign him and at some stage we reached a point where it became interesting for us financially. Plus Arek himself really wanted to join Napoli. "The transfer window is open for another month, so that gives us the opportunity to sign an adequate replacement."

Ajax also revealed they could receive another €1m based on Milik's performances in Naples.

 

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De Laurentiis was happy to sell Higuain - agent

Gonzalo Higuain's agent and brother insists Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is glad to have sold the Argentine forward.The 28-year-old has suffered significant backlash from Napoli fans after joining Juventus last week, with De Laurentiis stating he is either "a liar or an actor".

However, his representative and sibling, Nicolas Higuain, believes De Laurentiis is happy with the €90 million he received for the player."Aurelio De Laurentiis said Gonzalo is a great actor," he told Sportitalia. "I think instead the president of Napoli is.

"I think the president of Napoli was very happy to have received €90m from Juventus."And the agent continued to defend Higuain, stating he has made the right move for his career.

"For Gonzalo, Juve is a challenge, because there is now the chance to fight for the Scudetto and the Champions League," he said. "Every person in this game defends their own interests."

 

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'Barcelona & Borussia Dortmund in talks for Mario Gomez'

Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund are in talks over a move for Germany striker Mario Gomez.

The 31-year-old has a year remaining on his current deal with Fiorentina and spent last season on loan at Besiktas where he scored 28 goals in 41 appearances.

The striker has confirmed that he will not be making the move permanent due to the political situation in Turkey but Besiktas remain hopeful that a deal can be agreed for the Germany international, despite interest from both Barca and Dortmund.

“Our fans are feel hopeful about Mario Gomez returning,” Besiktas spokesman Metin Albayrak told Dogan News Agency.

“We're monitoring his situation closely but we know that he is in serious talks with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund. Obviously he is difficult for us.

“I spoke with Slaven Bilic on the phone this morning. He said that they're not interested with Mario Gomez.”

 

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Real Madrid's Jese on verge of Paris Saint-Germain move

Paris Saint-Germain are close to securing a deal for Real Madrid striker Jese, Goal understands.

The 23-year-old is expected to sign a four-year contract with the club, and will move to the French champions for a reported fee of €25 million.

New PSG boss Unai Emery, who replaced Laurent Blanc earlier this summer, wanted to sign Jese during his time at Sevilla and sees the forward as the perfect complement to Edinson Cavani.

"I know Jese well, the club knows Jese well,” Emery said last week. “He is a good player."

The French champions stepped up talks with Madrid during the past week and all parties have now given the green light to conclude the deal.

Jese scored six goals in 38 appearances last season but struggled for regular playing time under Zinedine Zidane.

Competition for places in attack has also increased after Madrid opted to re-sign Alvaro Morata from Juventus.

 

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Draxler desperate to leave Wolfsburg amid new interest

Julian Draxler has revealed he wants to leave Wolfsburg just one year after joining the Bundesliga side, insisting there is interest in him.

The 22-year-old winger moved to the Volkswagen Arena from league rivals Schalke in August 2015, ignoring interest from clubs such as Juventus and Arsenal.
However, the Germany international says he is ready to move on, maintaining that the club agreed to let him leave.“Before one goes public, they should also have a word with themselves," he told Bild.

“I expressed myself clearly after the Euros, with coach Dieter Hecking, that I want to leave Wolfsburg. The coach has known for more than three weeks.“Two days after the semi-final defeat to France at the European Championships, I told him how I see the whole situation and what I want, which is to leave the club.

“I was verbally assured with my transfer in August 2015 that I can leave the club when given opportunities. From Hecking as well as technical director Klaus Allofs.

“It was always clear between all parties that I would like to go to a top international club if the opportunity arises. It was discussed that we speak rationally with one another, if other clubs show interest."Draxler, who was a key player for Germany at Euro 2016, is contracted to Wolfsburg until 2020.

 

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Zidane backs Jese for successful PSG spell

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says Jese's impending move to Paris Saint-Germain is not yet completed, but when it is it will be a good one for the Spanish forward.The young forward is likely to go out on loan for the coming season, as Madrid's attacking depth leaves little room for him in the Liga side.

But the coach insists that while he is certain a PSG move will turn out well, he will welcome him back with open arms at the end of the temporary switch.

"It's still not finished, but it's on the way," Zidane said at a news conference on Tuesday. "Is PSG an ideal fit for him? I think so. He's going to score a lot of goals there. I hope it goes well for him there, but Madrid will always be his home."

With Jese unlikely to play because of the deal and several players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, not available after playing in Euro 2016, Zidane is short on attacking options for Wednesday's friendly against Bayern Munich.The Blancos also said that Karim Benzema will not play in the ICC match, the last game of both teams' pre-season tours of the United States.

Benzema, who is dealing with a hip injury, ran laps around the field at Red Bull Arena while his team-mates trained.Zidane is going through his first pre-season as Real Madrid coach after taking over from Rafa Benitez in January 2016.

How he's approached this summer comes, in some respect, from his opposite number in Wednesday's friendly.The former Real Madrid midfielder was an assistant for new Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti at Madrid and said the Italian tactician taught him valuable lessons about coaching.

"I have a lot of admiration for him and I learned a lot from him," Zidane said. "I'm here thanks to him because a lot of things changed after him. I'm looking forward to saying hello to him tomorrow."Madrid and Bayern square off at 7:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday at MetLife Stadium.

 

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Ferguson: Wayne Rooney would be a great player in any era

Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney did not always enjoy the best relationship during their time together at Manchester United, but the former manager has paid tribute to one of his biggest signings ahead of the captain's testimonial.

United are set to recognise Rooney's service to the club since signing for Ferguson in 2004 with a testimonial on Wednesday and the Scot has led the praise for the forward, saying he brought energy back into the team.

"I always think that great players can play in any era; Bobby Charlton would have been a great player today and Wayne Rooney would have been a great player back then," Ferguson said.

"Wayne came in as a first-team player right away, even though he was only 18, and he's gone on to play for Manchester United for 12 years, which is very difficult in the present day."

And Ferguson revealed that he wanted to sign Rooney at least two years before he eventually did, failing twice to bring him away from then-Everton manager - and later United boss - David Moyes."We first tried to get Wayne when he was 14, tried again at 16 and we kept interest in him before finally agreeing to get him in 2004," he said.

"It was fairly shortly after I'd got rid of the idea of retiring and changed my mind, and I had to rethink about how we were going to take the club forward.

"When you make the decision to retire, you stop thinking, but once I decided to stay I started thinking again and it was really centred around bringing energy back into the team by looking at young players. Of course there was Cristiano Ronaldo, then there was Rooney, and it was a fantastic period. The two of them were unbelievable."

Rooney made a huge impact on debut, scoring a hat-trick in the Champions League against Fenerbahce, and despite some low points - including reportedly looking to leave the club in 2010 and then 2013 as his relationship with Ferguson deteriorated at times - he has gone on to win five Premier League titles, a Champions League and an FA Cup among six other trophies.

 

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Arsenal set to bid £20m for Mustafi

Arsenal are ready to bid £20 million to land Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi, Goal understands.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger remains determined to sign a proven defender in the transfer window after it was revealed that Per Mertesacker will miss months through injury.

With Laurent Koscielny given an extended break following his Euro 2016 duties and Gabriel Paulista currently recovering from tonsillitis, Arsenal could be forced to start with Calum Chambers and new signing Rob Holding in defence for their Premier League opener against Liverpool on August 14.

Wenger previously looked into the possibility of signing either Kostas Manolas from Roma or Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly, but retracted his interest after being informed of the €45m price tags slapped on them by their respective clubs.

Germany international Mustafi, 24, has been identified by Wenger as an intelligent, ball playing centre back who is well suited to Arsenal's style of play, and although Valencia have turned down a bid of £15m for the defender, it's expected that a follow up offer of around £20m will be presented to the Spanish side over the coming days.

Mustafi, who is currently in England ahead of his club’s friendly matches with Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, was reportedly stopped by a border official at Gatwick Airport and jokingly told: “Sign for Arsenal or else you aren’t coming through.”

The player is said to be flattered by the interest and open to moving to north London and is likely to be persuaded by compatriot Mesut Ozil, who played with Mustafi at Euro 2016.

 

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Zidane hints at Isco uncertainty but wants James stay

Zinedine Zidane has cast uncertainty over the future of Isco, but insists he wants James Rodriguez to stay.

James has been constantly linked with a move away from the Spanish capital as he seemed to have fallen out of favour under Zidane, having previously played larger roles under former coaches Carlo Ancelotti and Rafael Benitez.

Isco, meanwhile, has also been the subject of speculation, having been in and out of the Madrid first-team last term.The two players and 20-year-old Marco Asensio will all be competing for the same position heading into the 2016-17 season.

And Zidane has admitted he will find it difficult to fit everyone in, suggesting there could be some departures this summer, but he maintains he wants the Colombian to stay.

"There are many players in that position, so nothing is closed," he told reporters. "We will talk about this when we return to Madrid."There are many players in this position and it is difficult to fit them all in. Moreover, they are all very good. We will make decisions.

"I do not want James to leave. He is a Madrid player, he just wants to play more, but you have to do what he is doing and work."I hope to play him more this year but I want everyone to give their maximum, and then I decide before every game.

"And I have 25 players, so I do not have anything against James, people always ask me the same. James is well in Madrid."

 

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Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is ready to sell Oscar for £30 million, according to The Sun.

The Italian is unhappy with the Brazilian midfielder’s work rate and it’s now claimed that he is ready to cash in.

Inter have shown interest in the 24-year-old, who move to Stamford Bridge in a £19.35 million deal in 2012.