New Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu insisted his age will be a benefit rather than a hindrance at Camp Nou.
Mathieu s transfer from Valencia to Barcelona was met with some criticism last week due to the €20million fee the Catalan club paid for the 30-year-old.
But in an interview with the club s TV channel and website, Mathieu claimed he will be ideally suited to slot into the central defensive slot vacated by former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol, effectively arguing a younger player would struggle with the pressure.
Being 30 gives you more tranquillity and experience when you talk to the press and deal with the atmosphere of big clubs, the Frenchman said.
I m very ready for the demands and pressure.
While Mathieu has played more of his ca…
Ephraim Mashaba will hope for signs of a new beginning when South Africa take on Swaziland a side he used to coach in Wednesday s friendly in Mbabane, though not everyone is happy with his squad selection.
It will be Bafana Bafana s first match since suffering a group-stage exit at the Africa Cup of Nations, where they failed to win a match.
Mashaba, who took over in July 2014, saw his side endure a disappointing campaign in Equatorial Guinea, which yielded only a draw against Senegal from three Group C matches.
That was in stark contrast to a qualifying campaign overseen in its entirety by Mashaba in which South Africa emerged from a tough group unbeaten, earning a draw away to Nigeria that denied the Super Eagles a spot at the tournament.
Mashaba …
Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels has all but confirmed that he is ready to consider an offer from a top club.
The Germany international remains one of the most sought-after players in world football, but he recently pledged his future to the Millionaires.
Hummels, however, appears open towards a big club move, albeit only if he likes the style of play of the side in question.
“If a club with a bigger reputation than Dortmund were to make a move, but I don’t like the way they play football, I wouldn’t even consider a move,” he said in an interview with Kicker.
“At Dortmund, the style of play is exactly like I want to play football.”
While most high-profile players leave Borussia Dortmund to join Bayern Munich, Hummels moved in t…
Scotland captain Andy Robertson was replaced by Nathan Patterson a minute before halftime of his team s 2-0 defeat to Spain on Thursday due to a shoulder injury.
The experienced left-back has returned to Liverpool, Scotland boss Steve Clarke has confirmed, to be assessed before a date of his return to action can be determined.
“He hurt his shoulder. It was an immediate decision to take him off. He will go back to his club to be assessed.”
Steve Clarke confirms that Andrew Robertson has returned to Liverpool after suffering an injury against Spain.
— Football Daily (@footballdaily)
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Premier League leaders Manchester City welcomed Chinese president Xi Jinping and British prime minister David Cameron to their City Football Academy headquarters on Friday as part of the former s state visit to the UK.
President Xi and Cameron watched City manager Manuel Pellegrini put his squad through their paces ahead of Sunday s Manchester derby as part of a trip that was hosted by City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
Star striker Sergio Aguero featured among the welcoming committee and posted a selfie with the duo to social media.
In a statement on City s official website, Al Mubarak said: It is an immense honour for the City Football Academy here in Manchester to be included in the itinerary of President Xi s state visit. We were delighted to be able to host…
Both Celtic and Rangers enjoyed comfortable wins in a cinch Premiership fixture card hit by Storm Babet.
The Hoops completed a Glasgow double over Edinburgh after three matches were called off for safety reasons.
Here, the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the reduced schedule.
Happy honeymoon for Philippe Clement
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— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC)
Rangers fans wanted to see something different under Belgian manager Philippe Clement and they certainly did in a 4-0 Ibrox win against Hibernian. Michael Beale had been criticised for the ponderous style of his Gers side but Clement’s version played at high tempo and got the ball forward quicker. The manager himself declared himself “happy” but not yet impressed. “Im…
Karim Benzema s agent insists the Real Madrid striker is not seeking to leave the Santiago Bernabeu against a backdrop of renewed speculation of a possible move to Manchester United.
The France international has repeatedly been linked with United throughout his career, but Karim Djaziri, his representative, is adamant Benzema is settled at Real at the end of a season in which he scored 21 times in all competitions.
Djaziri also dismissed reports that he has held talks in London recently with senior United officials.
He told Marca: I haven t met with any club in London. Not with United and not with anyone else.
We haven t held talks with anyone other than Real Madrid.
What is Karim going to do in Manchester? He s happy in Madrid.
…
Ex-Hearts joint-manager Anatoly Korobochka has claimed his refusal to select former owner Vladimir Romanov for a friendly against match Barcelona led to his sacking at Tynecastle.
Hearts entertained a star-studded Barcelona before a crowd of almost 58,000 at Murrayfield in July 2007, with a Ronaldinho brace and a strike from Giovani dos Santos helping the Catalan giants to run out 3-1 winners.
A bizarre subtext to the match has now emerged namely that controversial Lithuanian tycoon Romanov wished to turn out for Hearts and pit his wits against the likes of Samuel Eto o, Yaya Toure and Andres Iniesta.
Korobochka, who was in charge alongside Stephen Frail, refused this unusual request and believes it was a factor in his January 2008 departure from the dugout on …
Yaya Toure says Lionel Messi would always get his vote for the Ballon d Or ahead of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Both Messi and current holder Ronaldo have been named on FIFA s 23-man shortlist for the 2015 prize, along with Manchester City midfielder Toure.
While he admits giving two awards every year would make the decision easier, Toure has explained why he thinks his former Barcelona team-mate deserves it every time.
While Cristiano Ronaldo has had another exceptional year, I d always vote for Lionel Messi. Not only because there s a great respect between us from my time at Barca, but also because I think Leo is above the rest, he said to France Football.
In fact, ideally, with these two monsters there, they should give two Ballons d Or ev…
Diego Simeone is grateful for what Kieran Trippier has given to Atletico Madrid as the full-back closes in on a move to Newcastle United.
Trippier is reportedly undergoing a medical with Newcastle on Wednesday after an initial £12million (€14.36m) fee was agreed between the clubs.
The England international joined Atleti from Tottenham in July 2019 and has made 86 appearances for the Spanish side in all competitions.
Across his two and a half seasons in LaLiga, Trippier ranks joint-fourth for assists (10) and fourth for chances created (81) among defenders.
He played a key part in Atletico s title triumph last term and Simeone has wished the 31-year-old well at his next club.
I always look at the positives, Simeone said at a news conference on …