Hamburg secure German international from Bayern

Manchester City handed the initiative to fierce rivals Manchester United in the fight for Champions League football after being held to a 2-2 draw against Arsenal. It meant they finished the weekend two points ahead of United having played a game more, so victory for the Red Devils would see them leapfrog City with a game to play.

Manchester United are fifth in the Premier League table with 63 points from 36 games, and have won three of their last four games to narrow the deficit to the Sky Blues. They beat Norwich City on the weekend, but do have tough opposition next up which could hamper their chances. Seventh-placed West Ham United are next up for Manchester United, and have beaten the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham among othe…

Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Donadoni appear the frontrunners to take over from Alan Curbishley as manager of West Ham, but the club insisted Sunday there were no clear favourites as they confirmed a four-man shortlist.

Former Italy international Zola and former Italy coach Donadoni have already impressed in talks with Hammers director Mike Lee, however he has not yet ruled out Slaven Bilic or Michael Laudrup.

Bilic, the coach of Croatia, has yet to have direct talks with the club while former Danish international Michael Laudrup, the coach of Spanish side Getafe in 2007-2008, will be interviewed on Monday.

Lee made it clear that West Ham would not wait until January for Bilic, though he did not rule out him staying as Croatia coach on a part-time basis for th…

Wayne Rooney wants to manage Everton following the conclusion of his playing career.

Rooney returned to boyhood side Everton last July after 13 years at Manchester United, where he won five Premier League titles, the 2007-08 Champions League and became the club s record scorer.

But Rooney has not been a guaranteed starter for the Toffees since the appointment of Sam Allardyce as Ronald Koeman s successor at Goodison Park.

And the 32-year-old is already planning the next move in a distinguished career that saw him captain England and hit a record 53 goals in 119 international appearances.

The main thing I want to have a go at is management, Rooney told the Telegraph.

I would love to stay at Everton in a coaching role or hopefully manager one day.…

Chelsea will be boosted by the return of Marcos Alonso for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona but Tiemoue Bakayoko is not expected to play, according to Antonio Conte.

Spanish defender Alonso sat out Chelsea s 4-0 rout of Hull City in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday, having missed back-to-back Premier League fixtures due to hamstring and ankle problems.

Struggling midfielder Bakayoko was also absent for the clash at Stamford Bridge amid his woes and head coach Conte all but ruled out the Frenchman for Tuesday s visit of LaLiga leaders Barca.

Bakayoko I don t think will be available for the Barcelona game, but Alonso is ready to play, Conte told reporters.

A special moment for our Chelsea mascots today! 

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Luiz Felipe Scolari insists his future as Brazil coach is out of his hands following a dismal end to the side s FIFA World Cup campaign.

Scolari was bullish in his post-match media conference on Saturday after watching Brazil lose 3-0 to the Netherlands in the third-place play-off in Brasilia, claiming his team had played well throughout the tournament and were on the right track.

In charge of the national team for their last World Cup triumph in 2002, Scolari returned for a second spell at the helm in 2012.

After FIFA Confederations Cup victory last year had raised hopes among Brazilians, Scolari s men failed to deliver over the past month in front of their passionate support under the immense pressure of an expectant home nation.

The manner of Brazil s …

Roma midfielder Salih Ucan has pledged to help the club challenge for the Serie A title after completing his move from Fenerbahce.

The 20-year-old Turkey international moved to the Stadio Olimipico on an initial season-long loan earlier this month after spending two seasons with the Turkish champions.

Roma can extend the loan for another year, at no additional cost, and also sign the player permanently in the 2016-17 season for a fee of €11million.

Ucan is keen to show his worth as Rudi Garcia s side seek to improve on last season s second-place finish.

I put in some big performances at Fenerbahce. [Roma s director of football Walter] Sabatini wanted to sign me on the back of the success I had there, he said.

There are lots of great midfiel…

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has hailed Lionel Messi as the best player of all time after scoring one goal and setting up two others in the 3-0 Copa America quarter-final win over Ecuador.

Messi was the architect as La Albiceleste progressed to the Copa semi-finals where they will take on Colombia on Tuesday in Brasilia.

The six-time Ballon d Or winner set up Rodrigo De Paul for Argentina s 40th-minute opener, before assisting Lautaro Martinez s 85th minute sealer.

Messi grabbed a goal of his own in stoppage-time with a trademark free-kick which took him to 76 international goals in his 149th appearance for La Albiceleste.

Leo s game, I honestly don t know if he s going to get tired of being praised every day, Scaloni said at the post-game media c…

Luis Suarez scored twice as LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid secured a comfortable 3-1 home victory over Elche.

Atletico had lost the Madrid derby in their last league fixture, ending a 26-match unbeaten run in the competition.

But there was little danger of them suffering a second straight top-flight loss from the moment Suarez put them in front four minutes before half-time on Saturday.

Suarez added a second after the break as he emphatically ended a three-match run without a goal.

Lucas Boye headed in to give Elche hope, but Atletico sealed all three points when substitute Diego Costa converted a penalty with 10 minutes remaining.

is averaging a goal every 82 minutes for in !

— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN)

Atletico thought …

Giorgio Chiellini has warned Juventus that they are running out of time to be ready to start their Serie A title defence against Fiorentina on Sunday.

Massimiliano Allegri s side have had mixed results in pre-season, with a win over Tottenham in the International Champions Cup not enough to dispel doubts raised from a penalty shootout defeat to Melbourne Victory and a 2-2 draw with Espanyol.

Juve endured a miserable start to their title defence in 2015-16, taking just three wins from their first 10 matches, before a remarkable run of 26 victories in their final 28 games saw them clinch a fifth Scudetto in a row.

And Chiellini has urged his team-mates to sharpen up this week in order to avoid another disappointing start to the campaign against a strong Fiorentina …

Turkish club Caykur Rizespor are on the verge of completing a double swoop for ex-Arsenal duo Mathieu Flamini and Emmanuel Adebayor.  

The pair will join one-time Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje in Rize on free transfers after their respective contracts at Arsenal and Crystal Palace were not renewed at the end of the 2015-16 season.

Adebayor has a proven track record at the highest level, scoring 46 league goals for Arsenal in a three-year stay at Emirates Stadium before spells with Manchester City, Real Madrid and Tottenham, while former AC Milan midfielder Flamini made 242 appearances across two spells with the Gunners.

We reached an agreement in principle with both players, Caykur Rizespor coach Hikmet Karaman told Anadolu Agency.

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