England s Glen Johnson has warned his team-mates not to underestimate the skill of Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko despite his ageing legs.
Johnson was still at Stamford Bridge himself when the Ukrainian legend arrived from AC Milan for just over 30 million pounds in May 2006.
However, the move did not go to plan as he only hit the back of the net nine times in 48 Premier League matches over three seasons (and 22 times in 77 appearances for the Blues in all competitions).
But now it is a different story altogether. After being loaned back to Milan for the 2008/09 season, he left Stamford Bridge and rejoined Dynamo Kiev in 2009. The 35-year-old has rediscovered his form and defied his critics to score both goals in his country s Euro 2012 win over Sweden.
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Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque is set to be presented with a coveted managerial award, normally reserved for his Italian counterparts.
After leading his country at Euro 2012, where they beat Italy 4-0 in the final, Del Bosque is set to pick up the Premio Nils Liedholm award, which is normally presented to recognise the best of Italian football .
In a break from tradition, Del Bosque will be the next recipient, dependent on the Spanish Football Federation giving it the go-ahead, with many Italian coaches believing the talented Spaniard deserves recognition.
A former Real Madrid player and coach, Del Bosque has led Spain to unparalleled success in recent years, winning the World Cup in 2010 and retaining the European title, which they won under Luis Aragones in 20…
Ecuador will be without Antonio Valencia for the upcoming Copa America after undergoing surgery to remove metal screws from his ankle.
The Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) made the announcement on Tuesday, with 75-cap veteran Valencia requiring at least two weeks of rehabilitation, meaning the Manchester United utility will miss June s showpiece event in Chile.
Coach Gustavo Quinteros and Ecuador s governing body were only made aware of Valencia s surgery, which was conducted on Monday, after United s final Premier League match of the season over the weekend.
The plates or screws [inserted following a serious ankle injury in 2010] were causing trouble. Therefore they decided on an operation [Valencia and doctors of Manchester United], Quinteros said.
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Sevilla head coach Michel is confident his side can beat his former club Getafe in their first La Liga outing of the season on Saturday.
Former Spain international Michel coached Getafe between 2009 and 2011, before taking over at Sevilla in February this year.
He guided the team to ninth last season, three points and two places better off than his old side.
They two teams go head-to-head at Sevilla s Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Saturday, and Michel is confident the hosts will come out on top.
I think I have a team with the resources to beat Getafe, with all due respect to them, he said.
I m sorry to say that but my team is good, motivated and has a lot of desire to play the first match of the season a new season in entirely.
Sevil…
Barcelona defied the odds to pull off the greatest escape in Champions League history as they beat Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 at Camp Nou to become the first side to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit in Europe s top-tier competition.
Barca s hopes appeared to be dashed when Edinson Cavani scored for PSG in the 62nd minute to make it 3-1 on the night and ensure the hosts needed to score another three to progress.
But, as Luis Enrique suggested was possible on Tuesday, Barca incredibly hit that target and they did so in the most dramatic of circumstances, scoring three times after the 88th minute – Neymar getting two before Sergi Roberto sealed progression five minutes into stoppage time.
Highlighting the sheer significance of the match are Opta s key stats.
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Jermain Defoe made a goalscoring return to the international fold as England chalked up a routine 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania.
The 20th strike of Defoe s international career came after 21 minutes at Wembley and four years on from his 19th versus minnows San Marino in March 2013.
Aside from the 34-year-old Sunderland striker celebrating a starting berth in familiar style, there was little else to write home about in a forgettable encounter.
Manchester City centre-back John Stones was forced into a goal-line clearance on the stroke of half-time but Gareth Southgate s side closed out victory in comfort after Defoe s replacement Jamie Vardy doubled their advantage midway through the second period.
Burnley s Michael Keane made his competitiv…
Daniele De Rossi is physically fit to face Torino but has been shaken by the loss of his friend Davide Astori, Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco has said.
Astori was found dead in his hotel room on Sunday, plunging Italian football into mourning and prompting the postponement of the day s Serie A fixtures.
The 31-year-old Fiorentina captain, who was found to have died of natural causes related to a heart problem, played alongside De Rossi at Roma in 2014-15 and also for Italy s national team.
Addressing the media on Thursday, the Giallorossi coach was asked if his skipper is in the right frame of mind to play on Friday.
He s been very down, he was really close to Davide, said Di Francesco.
From a physical point of view he s available and could pla…
Marco Asensio dismissed suggestions Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was unfair for dropping him from the European champions starting XI.
Asensio has established himself as one of Europe s most promising midfielders since joining Madrid from Mallorca in 2014.
After an impressive loan spell with Espanyol, Asensio became a regular in Madrid s squad last term and has seen his involvement further increased this season.
The 22-year-old was particularly impressive in the first half of the campaign and started nine LaLiga games before Christmas, but he has appeared in the starting XI rather more sporadically since the turn of the year.
And when it was put to him that Zidane may have been a little unfair to him, Asensio was adamant the responsibility was all his…
Suffering a 3-0 drumming at the hands of Cristiano Ronaldo s in their final Group G appearance in this year s Champions League on Tuesday night, Barcelona have the feel of a club really in crisis.
Suffering their first European defeat at the Nou Camp since that embarrassing 8-2 loss at the hands of Bayern Munich over the summer, it is no surprise that many around Catalonia are calling for Ronald Koeman to be given his marching orders.
Despite their former defender only taking over back in August after leaving his role with the Dutch national side, the one-time Everton boss finds his new squad sat all the way down in ninth in the La Liga table.
With their shock 2-1 defeat against Cadiz last weekend highlighting a string of issues, we have taken a look at three r…
Paris Saint-Germain have sacked head coach Thomas Tuchel a day after they hammered Strasbourg 4-0, according to widespread reports.
Tuchel has come under increasing pressure this season, with champions PSG third in Ligue 1 after losing four of their 17 matches.
A rout of struggling Strasbourg on Wednesday came too late for the German boss, who was reportedly relieved of his duties on Christmas Eve.
Former Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who spent over two years with PSG in his playing days, looks poised to replace the 47-year-old.
Tuchel masterminded back-to-back Ligue 1 title triumphs after he was appointed in May 2018, also winning the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and claiming the Trophee des Champions twice.
PSG missed o…