..::Football IV::..

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'Chelsea will fight for Conte' – Courtois eager to avoid repeat of Mourinho debacle


Thibaut Courtois insists that Chelsea are ready to fight for under-fire coach Antonio Conte, with the Belgian eager to avoid a repeat of the situation which resulted in Jose Mourinho's sacking in 2015.

Mourinho paid the price for Chelsea's poor start to their Premier League title defence in 2015-16, with the Portuguese coach dismissed after the side lost nine of their first 16 league games .

Conte was then brought in as head coach at the end of the season and went on to lead Chelsea to the Premier League title last term.

Chelsea's title defence has not got off to the best of starts this year, with Conte's men losing three of their nine games so far, but they showed character in Saturday's 4-2 win over Watford, emerging victorious thanks to two late goals despite falling 2-1 behind just after the break.

And Courtois, who made his 100th Premier League appearance against Watford, is adamant that the players are up for a scrap in order to keep the Italian in the job.

"I remember what happened two years ago under Jose Mourinho and things started to be said, there were stories about the dressing room without knowing what was happening.

"We are happy to show that we are ready to fight. We all know what would have happened [extra speculation about Conte's future] if we had lost against Watford."There was a moment when we were 2-1 down, we were having difficulties and Watford could have made it 4-1. It was very important to come back to win.

"In 2015 [under Mourinho] we wanted to fight as well but the game didn't turn out well for us, there was too much bad luck. Sometimes different things happened.

"But we are showing we want to fight again now, firstly as a group of players. We want to win games. We don't want to lose and say we don't care anymore. We want to fight for ourselves, too. It is important for us."Some of us remember what happened two years ago and we don't want the same thing to happen."

Speculation has suggested that some Chelsea players have grown frustrated with Conte's training methods this term, but Courtois dismissed those rumours as nonsense.He added: "Every manager has his own routine. With Antonio we do a lot of tactical sessions and drills. We are fine with it.

"Last season we were champions with his way and we trained much more than this season, so I don't know why somebody would complain. It's not as if we don't like to train."

 

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Bayern star Muller to miss Celtic and Dortmund games with hamstring strain


Thomas Muller has been ruled out for three weeks after suffering a hamstring strain against Hamburg on Saturday, Bayern Munich have confirmed.The Germany international lasted just 10 minutes of Bayern's 1-0 win before being forced off with what coach Jupp Heynckes hoped would only be "cramps".


However, after undergoing examination on Sunday, Bayern have revealed the full extent of his injury, with the strain set to keep him out until the middle of next month.The injury comes at a particularly bad time for Muller, with Heynckes claiming on Friday that he was close to being back to his old self.

He will miss a number of crucial matches, with two games against RB Leipzig – one in the DFB-Pokal and another in the Bundesliga – coming in the next five days.

Muller is also expected to be sidelined for the trips to Celtic and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and Bundesliga respectively.

 

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Zidane named Coach of the Year for Real Madrid success

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has been named the Men's Coach of the Year at The Best FIFA Football Awards.

Zidane beat out Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and Juventus' Massimiliano Allegri to claim the prize for the first time having been the runner-up to Claudio Ranieri in 2016.Ranieri was at the ceremony in London to present this year's award to Zidane.

The Frenchman led Madrid to a second consecutive Champions League title in 2016-17 and also claimed La Liga - the club's first since 2011-12."I'd like to thank all of the players for making this possible," Zidane said. "This is a very special prize."

Zidane replaced Rafael Benitez as Madrid manager in January 2016 and immediately led the club to their 11th European Cup, becoming the seventh person to win the continent's top club honour as a player and a coach.He repeated the feat last season, beating Allegri's Juventus in the final, and also guided Madrid to victory in La Liga, finishing three points ahead of Barcelona.

Allegri won the Serie A championship with Juventus, while Conte was a Premier League title winner with Chelsea.Zidane's star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, is expected to win the Men's Player of the Year award for the second year in a row in London.

Zidane, Conte and Allegri were in the running for the Men's Coach of the Year award after the shortlist was narrowed down to three names.
Originally, the prize had a 12-person list of candidates selected by the same group of experts - including the likes of Diego Maradona and Cafu - that decide on the Men's Player of the Year field.

That list was voted on between August 21 and September 7 by national team coaches, national team captains, selected media and fans, with each of the four voting categories weighted evenly.

 

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Congratulations Zidane!

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Juventus' Buffon named Best FIFA goalkeeper

Juventus veteran Gianluigi Buffon has been named the Best FIFA Goalkeeper at Monday's ceremony in London.

Buffon beat out Real Madrid's Keylor Navas and Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich to take the title, after previously being named to the FIFPro team of the season in 2006 and 2007.

The goalkeeper was rewarded for another fine season in the Juve net, as the Italians made a clean sweep of domestic honours in taking the Serie A, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa trophies.

Juve also reached the final of the Champions League, where they lost out to Real Madrid. "It's a great honour to receive this award at my age. I'm proud of it, but I want to say thanks to my club, my coach and my team-mates," Buffon said at the ceremony.

"They helped me to make it possible. I want to say thanks to all the people who voted for me."I think the last year was a fantastic year for Juventus. But it wasn't enough to win in Europe."

The Best FIFA Goalkeeper is a new addition to the world governing body's awards, making Buffon the inaugural holder of the title. Iker Casillas holds the distinction, however, of being named to the FIFPro World 11 on five occasions while at Real Madrid, making him the most successful in the competition's history.

Neuer, meanwhile, had been named to the team for the last four years, putting Buffon third on the all-time list with his three appearances.

 

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Congratulations Buffon!

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Giroud's Arsenal wondergoal wins FIFA Puskas Award

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has won FIFA's Puskas Award for the best goal of 2016-17.Giroud took home the prize for his stunning scorpion kick at the end of a superb team move against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on January 1.

The Frenchman's remarkable goal saw him meet Alexis Sanchez's cross with an audacious volley that looped over Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and went in via the crossbar.



It was one of 16 goals in all competitions Giroud scored for the Gunners last term.
Speaking at the The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony at London Palladium, the 31-year-old dedicated the prize to his father."It's an honour for me and I'm delighted to receive this trophy today," he said.

"I would like to thank the people who voted for me. I would like to congratulate the three [finalists], who scored amazing goals too."Obviously, I would like to thank my team-mates – without them I could not score this goal – and my family."I also would like to dedicate this trophy to my Dad."

Giroud saw off competition from Venezuela women's international Deyna Castellanos and Baroka goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke to win the award.
Castellanos scored a 94th-minute winner from the halfway line against Cameroon at the Under-17 Women's World Cup last year immediately after her team had conceded what seemed to be a last-minute equaliser.

Masuluke, meanwhile, went up for a corner and netted a stunning last-gasp leveller for Baroka against the Orlando Pirates in the South African Premiership last November.

 

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Congratulations Giroud!

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Messi, Ronaldo headline FIFPro World 11 for 11th consecutive year


Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have taken their place on the FIFPro World 11 for the 11th year running. Messi was the leading vote-getter in the team that was selected by 26,622 players from 71 countries in a vote organized by FIFPro, the world’s player union.

Ronaldo was among five Real Madrid players named to the side, as the Blancos unsurprisingly dominated the team after winning La Liga and the Champions League in 2016-17.

This year's FIFPro World 11 contains eight of the same players who featured in last year's side, with Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci and Neymar the new additions replacing Manuel Neuer, Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez. Bonucci, who moved from Juventus to AC Milan in the off-season, is the only player of the 11 making his first appearance in the FIFPro World 11.

The Italian was among three players named to the side who transferred in the off-season, with Neymar and Dani Alves both making the move to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona and Juventus, respectively. The FIFPro World 11 was decided based on performances during the 2016-17 season meaning that despite their transfers, that trio was selected for their performances with their previous clubs.

Because of the criteria, only three clubs were represented in the FIFPro World 11: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.

2016-17 FIFPro World 11

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, Juventus)

Defenders: Dani Alves (Brazil, Juventus/currently Paris Saint-Germain), Leonardo Bonucci (Italy, Juventus/currently AC Milan), Sergio Ramos (Spain, Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Luka Modric (Croatia, Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Germany, Real Madrid), Andres Iniesta (Spain, Barcelona)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid), Neymar (Brazil, Barcelona/currently Paris Saint-Germain)​

 

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Cristiano Ronaldo named Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2016-17

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has been named Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2016-17.

Ronaldo takes home the award for the second year in a row, as he managed to defeat competition from fellow finalists Neymar and Lionel Messi at the awards ceremony in London.

The 32-year-old turned in another stunning campaign for Madrid in 2016-17 as he led the Blancos to a La Liga and Champions League double, including a brace in the Champions League final against Juventus.

Ronaldo netted 25 times in La Liga last term and added 12 goals in the Champions League to round off another sensational goalscoring season. "[I want to thank] Real Madrid supporters, my teammates, my coach, I have to say thank you to them," Ronaldo said after recieving the prize."This is a great moment for me. Thank you a lot for the support. It's great to be around such amazing players and I'm so happy."

The Best FIFA Men’s Player award was initially pared down to a shortlist of 24, which was named in August. From there, Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar were named the three finalists in September.

The winner of the award was selected by the current coaches from every FIFA men’s national team, the current captains of every FIFA men’s national team, one journalist from each territory represented by a national team and fans from all over the world registered on FIFA.com. Ronaldo also took home the inagural Best FIFA Men’s Player award in 2016. FIFA formerly awarded the Ballon d'Or in conjuction with the magazine France Football, but the two sides split apart last year.

France Football still awards the Ballon d'Or, and it is expected the Ronaldo will equal Messi with his fifth such prize when the award is announced in December.

The Best FIFA Men’s Player nod wasn't the only honour Ronaldo picked up on the evening, as he was also named to the FIFPro World 11 for the 11th year in a row.

Elsewhere on the night, Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud won the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of 2016-17, Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane took home the Men's Coach of the Year prize, and Juventus veteran Gianluigi Buffon was named the Best FIFA Goalkeeper.

Ronaldo has scored just one La Liga goal in five appearances thus far in 2017-18, but has picked up the slack in Europe with five goals in just three Champions League appearances.

 

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Congratulations Cristiano Ronaldo!​

 

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Kane: Spurs can win the Premier League


Tottenham star Harry Kane believes his team are capable of winning the Premier League this season, urging them to take confidence from their Liverpool thrashing.

Kane scored a brace as Mauricio Pochettino's men hammered Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley on Sunday.Spurs have finished third and second the past two seasons, and sit five points behind league leaders Manchester City.

Kane, who tops the goalscoring charts in a bid for a third consecutive Premier League Golden Boot, believes his side are capable of delivering a first top-flight league title for Spurs since 1961."We've been very close the last couple of seasons to winning the Premier League, hopefully this year will be our year," the England international said.

"We've definitely got a good enough team to do that, so as I said, we've got to keep working hard and see what happens. It's doable, we've just got to maintain our form.

"Yesterday will give us great confidence, beating a team like Liverpool, that way as well."There's a long way to go, we've been so close the last couple of years, hopefully we can do it this year."

Kane's fine form has seen him linked to several of Europe's top clubs, but the 24-year-old insists he is committed to Spurs.
The forward believes Tottenham can develop into one of the biggest clubs in the world under Pochettino."To win trophies, to become one of the best teams in the world and one of the best players in the world," Kane said of his goals."I feel we've got a fantastic setup to do that, a fantastic manager, fantastic team. I'm looking forward to it."

 

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Kroos: Kane has proven himself with Premier League production


Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos talked up Harry Kane, but he was unwilling to be drawn on whether the La Liga champions should buy the Tottenham star.Kroos, 27, was among five Madrid players named in the FIFA FIFPro XI of 2017 on Monday.

There was no place for Premier League Golden Boot winner Kane, with the top three in the Best FIFA Men's Player — Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar — making up the attack.

Kane has continued his impressive form to start this season, leading to reports Madrid are interested in the England international, and Kroos praised the 24-year-old.

"That's not my job," the Germany international said."He's a good player, you don't score so many goals in the Premier League if you're not a good striker of course."But if you buy him or not, that's not my job."

Kroos was joined by team-mates Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo in the FIFA FIFPro XI.Madrid became the first team to defend the Champions League in 2017, and Kroos hopes they can complete a hat-trick of European successes.

"It's been difficult the last two years," he said. "What I can promise is we will try everything to do this again but there are many good teams around us so it's going to be difficult.

"Every year, it's Barcelona, you have great English teams, you have Bayern Munich. A lot of clubs want to win the Champions League."It's crazy that we did it back-to-back — that never happened before, so this is very good and very difficult to defend this title."

 

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The end of Cristiano vs Messi? 'It's just starting', says Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo believes his rivalry with Lionel Messi has plenty of distance left to run after scooping the Best FIFA Men's Player award in London.

Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo was honoured at the gala after a poll of international head coaches, captains and members of the media saw him come out ahead of Barcelona counterpart Messi, with Brazil and PSG forward Neymar in third.

Including the years when FIFA's individual award was merged with the Ballon d'Or, Ronaldo and Messi have now been labelled the best player in the world by football's global governing body five times apiece.The Portugal captain has come out on top in four of the past five years, with Messi in second place on each occasion.

Yet Messi has been in a rich vein of form for club and country over recent months, firing Barca to the top of La Liga with 11 goals in nine matches and securing Argentina's place at the 2018 World Cup with a majestic hat-trick against Ecuador.Considering they're the all-time leading scorers for their respective clubs and countries and the two leaders in both La Liga and Champions League history, debate over who is superior out of Messi and Ronaldo will occupy football fans for some time to come.

Speaking to reporters at London Palladium, Ronaldo initially sought to play down the rivalry before apparently laying down a long-term challenge to the 30-year-old Messi, whom he swapped cordial greetings with as they sat alongside each other during the ceremony. "I don't compete with Leo," he said. "He is a player, who is in the same era. He won five times. I won five times too — individual awards for the best in the world. So things are as they are.

"Obviously, I am happy because, as I said before, I am at the best club in the world. I have had the opportunity to demonstrate that I am at a very high level during the last few years. And I am still [physically] very well.

"So I am very quiet. I will see what's going to happen tomorrow, but at the moment I have to enjoy this nice moment of my life because you never know what will happen next."But, asked whether Ronaldo versus Messi was over, the 32-year-old added: "It didn't finish yet... it is just starting."

Reigning Spanish and European champions Madrid are currently five points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, who they host in the first Clasico of the season on December 23.

 

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Manchester United great Giggs keen on Everton & Leicester jobs


Ryan Giggs has declared his interest in the Premier League managerial vacancies at Everton and Leicester City.Manchester United great Giggs served as an assistant to Louis van Gaal during the Dutchman's Old Trafford tenure, leaving when Jose Mourinho took the reins in 2016.

The former Wales international also interviewed for the job at Swansea City last season but has only taken charge of four senior matches when placed in caretaker charge of United after David Moyes' departure in 2014.

Everton sacked Ronald Koeman on Monday after a 5-2 weekend defeat to Arsenal at Goodison Park left them in the bottom three — a point worse off than Leicester after caretaker boss Michael Appleton oversaw a 2-1 win at Swansea in the wake of Craig Shakespeare's dismissal."For me, these are clubs I would be interested in," Giggs told Sky Sports.

"I think you look at those two teams, Leicester being champions two seasons ago, Everton being a fantastic club with a fantastic history."However, there are a lot of coaches out there who would be interested in those positions."

Giggs is keen to be the latest student of Alex Ferguson to go into management but, despite his lofty current targets, he would not necessarily insist upon a Premier League job."I've said all along that I'd be open to clubs which share the ambitions of myself," he added.

"I want to improve clubs and improve players, to enjoy working for them and for players to enjoy the challenge.

"There are clubs in the Premier League which would be good jobs but also in the Championship and League One."It's more about the philosophy for me than the stature of the club."

 

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'The moment is brilliant' – Ronaldo delighted after winning Best FIFA Men's Player award


Cristiano Ronaldo expressed his delight after winning the 2016-17 Best FIFA Men's Player award on Monday in London. The Real Madrid star took home the prize for the second year in a row, defeating fellow finalists Neymar and Lionel Messi.

It was yet another individual honour for the 32-year-old, who has managed to stay on top of the footballing world despite reaching an age where many players begin to show signs of slowing down.

"The moment is great. I feel happy. I'm 32, I win the best player in the world so I'm so glad," Ronaldo said. "The next year I don't know what's going to happen. I just try to focus on the moment — the moment is brilliant. I'm glad."

Ronaldo led Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double in 2016-17, and his goal is to do it all over again in 2017-18. "The same," Ronaldo said when asked what he hopes to accomplish this season with Madrid.

"To win the Champions League again, try to win the league and in individual terms, try to do my best like always and let's see what happens." Ronaldo is widely favoured to equal his great rival Messi with a fifth Ballon d'Or later this year.

Having won every individual and team award at the club level and after taking home Euro 2016 with Portugal, the upcoming World Cup represents the last remaining major prize that Ronaldo has yet to win. The Portugal captain isn't worried about Russia 2018 at the moment though, preferring to take things one at a time.

"Eight months [until] the World Cup, let's enjoy the moment," Ronaldo said. "La Liga, Champions [League], the [Spanish] cup — the World Cup, we have time to speak about that."

 

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'I don't know how much longer I'll be here' - Zidane thriving on uncertainty at Real Madrid


Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has admitted that he does not know how long he will remain at the Bernabeu, but that he is determined to enjoy every day.

The Frenchman has achieved incredible success in his 18 months in the top job, bringing home two consecutive Champions League crowns as well as the 2016-17 Liga title. Zidane will be aware, however, that success is no guarantee of job security at the Blancos.

Since Fabio Capello left the Bernabeu at the end of the 2006-07 season Madrid have gone through seven different trainers, with only Jose Mourinho managing to keep his position for more than two terms. For that reason Zidane is taking every day as it comes.

"[The stage] is not my favourite place, I enjoy myself more on the pitch because we have passion and I am delighted for the players," Zidane joked at Monday's Best FIFA Football Awards when he was quizzed on his rather awkward performance upon accepting the Best Men's Coach gong .

"It is a lot of work, for them more than me. I have been here for 18 months and while I don't know how much longer I'll be here, I am enjoying it.""A third Champions League? Yes, it is possible, we are going to try. You all know that it is winning that drives us on."

Zidane was also keen to place his players at the forefront, on a night when Cristiano Ronaldo was named Best Men's Player and Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Marcelo and Sergio Ramos joined him in the FIFPro World 11 .

"I am delighted with this prize, it is the culmination of a lot of hard work, and I repeat what I said up there: I am grateful to this club and above all the players because in the end they are the ones who play," he added.



"How much do Real Madrid players have to thank me for? I don't know, you'd have to ask them. I am the boss and the guy who works with them but there are a lot of people here and we all work well together. There is great talent here and where there is talent great things can be achieved.Having made the headlines on the weekend with his comments on the Lionel Messi and Ronaldo rivalry, Zidane cut a more cautious figure on Monday when the issue was brought up again.

"Messi or Ronaldo? Wait for later down the road because a lot can change, Neymar is there, Iniesta too, there are a lot of great players, but the pair are doing well," he explained.

"Will the Messi-Ronaldo cycle finish? I don't think so, I don't know."

 

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FIFA The Best Awards 2017 in Pictures​