Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking will ignore Borussia Dortmund s poor position in the Bundesliga ahead of their clash on Wednesday.
Dortmund s plight has been one of the shocks of the 2014-15 Bundesliga campaign so far with Jurgen Klopp s men sitting 16th in the table, the relegation play-off spot.
The North Rhine-Westphalia-based club have finished in the top two for the previous four seasons in Germany s top flight, including winning titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12, but have only managed four wins this term with two games before the winter break.
Despite that, Hecking will not take Klopp s side lightly, claiming there are signs Dortmund are still the powerhouse from seasons past.
What kind of game do I expect? I expect to play against a really strong oppo…
“If I wasn’t aiming to break into the Arsenal first team, that wouldn’t be the correct mindset. I am just at the beginning. I want to get to the very top”.
Those are the words of Reiss Nelson, who is currently on loan at German cub Hoffenheim from Premier League side Arsenal. The 19 year old, who made his professional debut back in 2017, is widely considered to be one of the brightest youngsters on the books at the Emirates. His recent loan spell away with Hoffenheim seems to have done him the world of good, too, because not only is he playing well, but he’s also raising his stock for when he makes his return to Arsenal. At this moment in time it certainly seems like Lacazette and Aubameyang are still the clear number one and two in regards to starting strikers for th…
Germany defender Mats Hummels has never seen anything like the depth France have at their disposal.
World champions Germany face France on Tuesday in a friendly, with both teams considered among the favourites to win next year s World Cup in Russia.
Germany beat France in the quarter-finals en route to glory at the 2014 World Cup, but Les Bleus gained revenge in the last four at Euro 2016, only for the tournament hosts to lose 1-0 to Portugal in the final.
France have benefited from seemingly having a conveyor belt of young talent coming through the ranks and Bayern Munich centre-back Hummels is extremely impressed by their strength in depth.
They have an incredible breadth of young players, I ve never seen anything like that at the level, Hummels told B…
Argentina striker Carlos Tevez declared he had moved on from his missed penalty at the 2011 Copa America after converting the winning spot-kick against Colombia.
In a dramatic finale to Argentina s quarter-final in Vina del Mar, five penalty-takers failed to score before Tevez kept his cool to secure victory.
At the same stage four years ago, Tevez was the only Argentine to miss a penalty as Uruguay triumphed 5-4 in a shoot-out to eliminate the Copa America hosts.
That miss prompted Argentina coach Gerardo Martino to push the 31-year-old forward down his shoot-out order in the hope the new Boca Juniors signing would not be required, but Tevez insisted history was not on his mind when he faced off against Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina.
This is for my t…
Nottingham Forest have launched a bitter attack on referees chiefs after they were denied three penalties during their costly 2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton.
Forest were furious not to be awarded spot-kicks by Anthony Taylor for challenges on Giovanni Reyna and Callum Hudson-Odoi by Ashley Young, who in the meantime had looked fortunate to escape a handball decision with VAR official Stuart Attwell backing the referee.
Minutes after the final whistle, the relegation-threatened club posted on X: “Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept.
Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept.
We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game …
´I talk when I want to´ – Ronaldo feels ´bulletproof´ as he aims to silence the critics at World Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo is motivated by the millions of people who look up to him ahead of the World Cup, as he dismissed criticism of his inflammatory interview with Piers Morgan.
The conversation with Morgan, broadcast on TalkTV, aired in full last week, with Ronaldo seemingly doing his utmost to bring his second spell at Manchester United to an end.
Among a wide range of topics, Ronaldo discussed how he felt betrayed by the club and how he did not respect manager Erik ten Hag – he even aimed a swipe at former team-mate Wayne Rooney.
Ronaldo is seemingly heading for a January exit, though for now his focus is on leading Portugal in Qatar. Their campaign in the gulf nation starts on Thursday against Ghana.
Iker Casillas came to his old Real Madrid club-mate …
A positive drugs test normally marks the end of an athlete s Olympic dream.
But USA goalkeeper Hope Solo will be allowed to take her place at London 2012.
The 30-year old tested positive for Canrenone last month but its position as a specified substance means Solo only receives a public warning.
Specified substances are those which are more susceptible to credible non-doping explanations.
Solo says the substance came from a prescribed medication and acted in accordance with the US Anti-Doping Agency.
Solo is aiming for a second successive gold medal, after helping the team to success in 2008.
…
Arda Guler scored in the first half to earn a second-string Real Madrid side a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Friday, moving the LaLiga leaders a step closer to a record-extending 36th Spanish title.
With five games remaining, Madrid climbed to 84 points and extended their lead to 14 points over second-placed Barcelona, who have a game in hand and host Valencia on Monday.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti rested several key players ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, but his side did just enough to secure the three points.
The winner came from 19-year-old Turkish midfielder Guler, making his first start for Madrid after signing from Fenerbahce, when he turned home Dani Carvajal s cross in the 29th minute.
19 Youngest players to sco…
Sheffield United have named Nigel Adkins as their new manager on a three-year deal.
The Yorkshire club have been searching for a new boss since sacking Nigel Clough after losing to Swindon Town in the League One play-off semi-finals.
Adkins has plenty of experience in the third tier having twice won promotion with Scunthorpe United and finishing runner-up with Southampton in the 2010-11 season.
The 50-year-old, who also gained promotion to the Premier League with Southampton, most recently managed Reading.
He succeeded Brian McDermott at the Madejski Stadium in March 2013 but was unable to prevent the team dropping out of the Premier League and was sacked in December 2014.
Andy Crosby and Dean Wilkins have been named as assistant manager and fir…
Tottenham Hotspur are one of many clubs showing interest in 18-year-old Pescara defender Marco Perrotta, .
In addition, Perrotta s agent Ulisse Savini revealed that his client is being chased by Italian giants AC Milan as well as AS Roma.
AS Roma, AC Milan and Tottenham on him? It s true, but not only them, there are other clubs interested in the player, Savini told tuttomercatoweb.
Perrotta is expected to be a big player for the club following their promotion from Serie B last term. He is under contract with the Biancazzurri until 2016, but his future remains uncertain at the moment.
Right now he is looking forward to a season with Pescara in Serie A and he has a contract that ties him to the club until 2016, added Savini. For the …