Napoli star survives fatal car crash

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo said he has received no offers for gun striker Radamel Falcao.

The 64-year-old Cerezo was quite keen to talk down the speculation surrounding the possible departure of Falcao, insisting Atletico will stand firm if others come knocking.

We have not received any offer from anybody. Nor has the player come to say that he wants to leave. Enough already, there is nothing at all here, Cerezo told La Informacion.

The former Porto hitman has been in sensational form so far this season for the La Liga side, scoring 11 goals in 10 appearances in the Spanish top flight. The 26-year-old arrived at the Estadio Vicente Calderon in mid-2011, as a replacement for Sergio Aguero who departed for Manchester City.

It is not the fi…

Promoted together in 2011, Swansea and Norwich are both in good form ahead of their Premier League clash on Saturday.

The Welsh club have gone seven matches unbeaten in all competitions, while Norwich who will be the visitors at Liberty Stadium have not lost in nine.

Such form has seen Swansea climb to seventh, while Norwich is up to 12th in the table.

On his side s surprising run of results, Norwich manager Chris Hughton said his squad deserve credit for getting out of early relegation trouble.

It s a fantastic run and the players deserve all the credit, the former Newcastle boss said.

They have got those result
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s by putting in a lot of hard work on the training ground and in the games.

We have got a really excellent group …

Portugal and FC BarcelonaÂ’s star midfielder has completed a move to LondonÂ’s Premier League side Chelsea.

This information was disclosed on the Chelsea website earlier today.

Deco now becomes ChelseaÂ’s first transfer since PortugalÂ’s ex coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was appointed manager.

Scolari officially takes over the reigns at Stamford Bridge tomorrow (Tuesday 1 July 2008).

The transfer fee has not been disclosed.

Earlier BarcelonaÂ’s new manager Josep Guardiola had said that Deco did not feature in his plans for the new season.

…

Galatasaray president Unal Aysal has denied that Emmanuel Eboue will be leaving the club and said that he is not for sale.

The Ivory Coast defender has made 16 appearances for the Istanbul club so far this season and will be hoping to lead them to another Super Lig championship with the side currently top of the table.

And Aysal was adamant that Eboue is not on his way out of the club.

There is definitely no such thing to be spoken about, even if it already has been, said Aysal in an interview with Turkish newspaper Sabah.

I do not want anyone to go, Eboue is a very experienced name and a major contribution to the team.

The 29-year-old spent six years at Arsenal before making the switch to Turkey in 2011, and Aysal said Gala coach Fatih Terim …

CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs has told that Chelsea technical director Christopher Vivell is a big fan of RB Leipzig star Dominik Szoboszlai. 

The well-known and well-respected journalist has claimed that Chelsea want to sign the 22-year-old Hungary international attacking midfielder from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window.

Jacobs said: “Dominik Szoboszlai has been periodically linked with a variety of top Premier League clubs. Chelsea are the latest.

And it’s true they have sent scouts to watch him. Chelsea’s technical director Christopher Vivell is a big fan and knows him well from his own time at Leipzig.

“There’s no guarantee Leipzig will sell this summer unless the release clause is triggered. Szoboszlai is contracted until 2026…

Chile intend to launch an appeal against FIFA s decision to dismiss their previous complaint regarding Ecuador s participation at the World Cup.

Nine-time tournament finalists Chile asked FIFA to investigate allegations that Ecuador used ineligible right-back Byron Castillo in their successful qualifying campaign.

The Federacion de Futbol de Chile (ANPF) said it had proof that Castillo was born in Colombia and not Ecuador, as stated on his official documents.

Castillo appeared eight times in qualifying, including in a goalless draw with Chile in September and a 2-0 victory in November.

La Roja finished seventh, meaning they just missed out on a play-off spot, but felt Ecuador should be expelled from the World Cup at their expense.

However, after…

FIFA president Gianni Infantino believes Leicester City s Premier League title triumph is a fairytale that will be celebrated by football fans worldwide.

Claudio Ranieri s team were crowned as champions on Monday night when nearest rivals Tottenham failed to secure the victory they needed at Chelsea to take the race into the final two weekends of the season.

Leicester, who were 5,000-1 outsiders for English football s top prize at the start of the season, will now rub shoulders with European football s elite in the Champions League next term and former UEFA general secretary Infantino believes they are thoroughly deserving of their status.

It s a fairytale. It s one of these beautiful football stories that only football can write and no one would have believed p…

Hungarian football fans know a thing or two about Golden Generations.

And while the likes of Ferenc Puskas and the rest of the Magnificent Magyars belong to a different time, consigned to a chapter in a football encyclopedia, the term continues to be bandied around every time a country turns up at a major tournament with a crop of promising players.

For some it s a millstone ask any England or Portugal fan of the past 20 years but for some it becomes a welcome pressure, an added responsibility on which they thrive.

At his pre-match press conference prior to the last 16 clash with Hungary in Toulouse, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots welcomed the tag of match favourites. We ll need to play like a big nation, like a favourite, he said. Earlier in the week, he said he d h…

Real Madrid target David Villa, the top scorer at Euro 2008, has ended speculation about his future by extending his contract with Valencia until 2014, the Spanish first division club said Wednesday.

The best striker in Europe will remain at Valencia, the club s president, Vicente Soriano announced.

The Internet site of sports newspaper Marca said Valencia would make the 26-year-old the best paid player in their history, with an annual salary of more than three million euros.

Villa s contract was extended by one season from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014.

I am grateful to Valencia for this gesture and for all that (the club) has given me and to Vicente Soriano for the effort he has made, Villa said.

The news is a further blow to Real Madrid, who wer…

France started their World Cup qualifying campaign in the worst way possible, crashing to a 3-1 defeat against an impressive Austrian side.

After disappointing as hosts at Euro 2008, the Austrians appeared ready to take revenge versus the French. A little bit of help was given in the 8th minute, with an own goal from Mexès.

Aufhauser then made it 2-0 in the 41st minute but when Sidney Govou scored one back for France on the hour mark, many expected that les Bleus would at least secure a draw.

But the home side held on to their lead and even added a third to decide the clash. Ivanschitz made no mistakes from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute.

Austria and France form part of Group 7, with Lithuania, Serbia, Faroe Islands and Romania. The latter su…