Beckham omitted from Team GB Olympic football squad

LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham has revealed that he has been left out of the Team GB Olympic football squad. T

he former England captain had been included in coach Stuart Pearce's 35-man shortlist, and was expected to be named in the final squad of 18 as one of three over-age players. 

 Craig Bellamy has already confirmed his place in Pearce's plans and fellow Welshman Ryan Giggs is also reportedly set to be involved. 

 Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole and Manchester City's Micah Richards have also been linked after both missed out on a place in England's squad for Euro 2012. 

Everyone knows how much playing for my country has always meant to me," Beckham said in a statement. "So I would have been honoured to have been part of this unique Team GB squad. 

Naturally I am very disappointed, but there will be no bigger supporter of the team than me. And like everyone, I will be hoping they can win the gold. 

Beckham had hoped to make a comeback on the international stage having captained England for nearly six years between 2000 and 2006. 

He is the Three Lions' most-capped outfield player with 115 national team appearances to his name. 

 Now 37, the former Manchester United star last turned out for his country in 2009 having left Real Madrid two years earlier to play in the MLS.

Read more »

Barcelona agree €14m deal for spain star

Barcelona have announced on their official website that they have agreed a fee with Valencia for the signing of Jordi Alba. 

 The Blaugrana had long been linked with a move for the left-back, and are now one step closer to completing the deal after negotiating a €14 million fee. 

 Alba will undergo a medical next week, and sign a five-year deal upon successful completion of his physical examination. 

Barcelona announce that today an agreement with Valencia has been reached for the transfer of Jordi Alba, pending a medical examination. 

The player will undergo in Barcelona next week," an official statement reads. "The cost of the transfer will be €14m and the player will sign a contract for the next five seasons. 

Alba, 23, is a product of the Barcelona youth academy, but failed to break into the first team at Camp Nou and left the club in 2005. 

 He will now return to his boyhood outfit after spells with Cornella, Gimnastic and Valencia.

Read more »

Van Marwijk leaves Netherlands post

Bert van Marwijk has stepped down as coach of the Netherlands national team. 

The 60-year-old's position had been under threat after Oranje crashed out of Euro 2012 at the group stage with three defeats from three matches. 

 He also faced strong criticism from players and media alike and reportedly lost control of the dressing room after rebellion led by vice-captain Rafael van der Vaart. 

 After a meeting between Van Marwijk and the Dutch Football Federation (KNVB), both parties decided that the coach's contract, which was due to expire in 2016, be terminated with immediate effect. 

We are grateful to Van Marwijk," KNVB director Bert van Oostveen said. 

He performed exceptionally well at the 2010 World Cup and in getting us to the top of the FIFA world ranking. "Of course it is sad to part company with him, but we must be realistic.

Van Marwijk took charge of Netherlands in 2008, replacing Marco van Basten, and guided them to a runners-up finish at the World Cup in South Africa. 

 He also led the Dutch side to an impressive campaign in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, winning nine out of 10 matches, but in Poland and Ukraine they suffered defeats to Germany, Portugal and Denmark.

Read more »

Arsenal to play against Super Eagles in Abuja

Arsenal FC have concluded plans to test their full team against the Super Eagles of Nigeria as part of their 2012-13 pre-season preparations. 

 The game has been scheduled for Abuja on August 5. 

Arsenal have never played a West African side though they have paraded many West Africans in their side amongst whom is former Super Eagles captain Nwankwo Kano, Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor and they currently have Cameroonian midfielder Alexandre Song in their team. 

 Nigeria is currently ranked 60 in the latest Fifa rankings and will face an Arsenal side which finished third last season in the English Premier League. 

 DanJan Sports, the promoters of the Arsenal tour, have finalised agreement with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). “We are delighted to announce that Arsenal Football Club will face the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Abuja," David Omigie of DanJan Sports said.

The NFF have agreed that the country will present a strong side as Coach Stephen Keshi continues his development process. Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, will also use this game to showcase his full squad for the 2012-13 football season. 

The London club traditionally hosts an annual pre-season tournament at the Emirates Stadium, but they opted to postpone the event for a year because of the 2012 London Olympics. 

The visit to Nigeria will conclude Arsenal's pre-season tour after playing in both China and Malaysia in July. 

 Arsenal FC stated on their website that; “The club last visited Africa during a tour to South Africa in July 1993, and is returning as a result of the fantastic support which exists for the team, not only in Nigeria, but across the entire continent.

 Meanwhile, DanJan Sports also revealed that tickets for the upcoming friendly match with Nigeria will go on sale from July 4 across outlets to be announced soon. 

 In July 2008, they brought Manchester United and Portsmouth to Abuja for a pre-season friendly. As well as the match between the two, Portsmouth also played against Kano Pillars, a Nigeria Premier League side.

Read more »

Fabregas puts holders into final

Spain progressed to their third consecutive major final with an 4-2 penalty win over Portugal in the Euro 2012 semi-final at the Donbass Arena.


 Despite playing at far from their best and with chances to find the net at a premium, a total of 120 minutes failed to separate the two sides as the game ended 0-0. With the shoot-out level at 3-2 after Bruno Alves rattled the bar it was Cesc Fabregas who netted the winner. 


 Vicente del Bosque sprung a surprise before kick off as he made one change to the side that defeated France in the quarter-finals, electing to start with Alvaro Negredo in attack ahead of both Fabregas and Fernando Torres. 


 His Portuguese counterpart Paulo Bento also made one alteration, his first after naming the same side for their six previous competitive fixtures. 


Helder Postiga was forced to begin among the substitutes with Hugo Almeida deputising in his stead. 


 The Seleccao set about disrupting Spain's rhythm immediately by pressing their opponents high up the pitch. 


It worked for the opening few minutes as La Roja struggled to get their foot on the ball but they soon forged a chance for themselves. 


 Andres Iniesta played a give-and-go down the left flank with Jordi Alba before passing the ball into the box. 


Negredo could not get a shot away but managed to stab it back to the top of the penalty area where Alvaro Arbeloa tried to caress it into the top corner but his attempt flew over the bar. 


 But the Spaniards were by no means dominating and Cristiano Ronaldo was proving difficult for Del Bosque's men to deal with. 


However, two charging runs down the left failed to result in anything to truly test Iker Casillas with a free kick and a wild volley on the spin inside the opening 25 minutes. Bento's men continued their high-intensity pressing and Spain were unable to get the most out of Xavi when on the ball. 


A long delivery forward resulted in an opportunity for Iniesta but he failed to hit the target, and moments later Ronaldo pulled an effort wide of the goal. 


 Spain continued to look uncomfortable on the ball and just nine minutes after the restart Del Bosque had to concede that his pre-match gamble had not paid off as he replaced Negredo with Fabregas. 


 Portugal were getting a lot of joy from putting the Spaniards under pressure in their own half but Almeida failed to make the most of it in the 57th minute. After his side won the ball back he could have passed to Nani or Ronaldo but instead produced an ambitious shot from 35 yards that did not work Casillas. 


 Shortly after the hour mark Spain began to have their best spell of possession in the opposing half but there remained little to separate the two sides as the tension mounted. 


Xavi got the game's first shot on target with a drilled attempt that was straight at Rui Patricio, shortly followed by a Ronaldo free kick that flashed over the bar. 


 In the 90th minute Portugal found themselves in a four-on-one but when the ball was shifted to the left, Ronaldo failed to make a solid connection and blazed his well off target in what was the last opportunity of normal time. 


 As the Seleccao grew tired they were no longer forcing their opponents to play from deep, instead allowing them to control the ball in their own half during much of extra time. 


Del Bosque's side dominated the extra 30 minutes but Rui Patricio brilliantly thwarted both Iniesta and Jesus Navas either side of the interval to ensure the game went to a penalty shoot-out. 


 Both teams got off to the worst start possible as Patricio and Casillas both saved from Alonso and Moutinho respectively. 


Iniesta, Pepe, Pique, Nani and Ramos all scored - including a Panenka from the latter - before Bruno Alves hit the bar to make the score 3-2 to Spain after four spot-kicks each. It offered Fabregas the chance to book their spot in the final and he obliged, scoring via the post and setting up a date in Kiev for the final with either Germany or Italy on July 1.

Read more »

Bayern Munich confirm Mandzukic deal

Bayern Munich have confirmed that striker Mario Mandzukic will be moving to the Allianz Arena on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. 

 The Bavarians have lost Ivica Olic this summer, and although they have re-signed Claudio Pizarro, they were also linked with a move for Manchester City's Edin Dzeko. 

 However, they were priced out of a move for the Bosnian, and turned their attention to the Croatia international, who scored three goals at Euro 2012. 

 Bayern general manager Christian Nerlinger admitted that the 26-year-old's performances in the tournament were a factor behind the move, along with his consistent performances for Wolfsburg last season. 

We are delighted to bring a top Bundesliga striker like Mario Mandzukic, and we have also seen in Euro 2012 matches that he has special skills," the 39-year-old told the club's official website. "He will continue to strengthen our squad. 

Mandzukic moved to the Bundesliga from Dinamo Zagreb in 2010, and is Bayern's third summer signing alongside Pizarro, and former Borussia Monchengladbach defender Dante.

Read more »

Hodgson defends Rooney over Capello criticism

England manager Roy Hodgson has defended Wayne Rooney's performance at Euro 2012 after Fabio Capello's criticism of the forward. 

 The former Three Lions manager hit out at Rooney's 'lost in translation' jibe on Tuesday by suggesting that he could 'only understand Scottish'. 

 Hodgson, however, leapt to the defence of the 26-year-old before continuing to praise the squad for their efforts in Poland and Ukraine, where they fell in the quarter-finals to Italy. Capello is entitled to his opinions, I suppose," Hodgson said. 

I don't know what relationship he would have had with Wayne but I always think it's a bit cheap to kid on a player who was so anxious to do well. 

His attitude was magnificent. He was putting in extra work in training because he was concerned he was behind the others having missed the first two games through suspension. "He was trying to do extra work and we were trying to put the brakes on. 

His desire to do well was enormous. "In the final game (against Italy) he, along with one or two other players, didn't play to the level he can but that's what football is about. 

If every player was a robot and played at the same level in every game then football would be a very simple game and we wouldn't need coaches. 

Aside from a promising opening 20 minutes in which Glen Johnson and Danny Welbeck were unlucky not to score, England were vastly outplayed by Italy on Sunday and eventually succumbed to defeat in the dreaded penalty shootout. 

Maybe it (the quarter-final) was a bridge too far," Hodgson said. "We ran out of legs a bit in the final part and didn't keep the ball as well as we should have done but it was a valiant effort to take the game to penalties. 

There was a brief period in the first half when we showed what we could do but we couldn't keep that up. Getting to penalties was the best we could do. "I don't think we could have done much more. 

The players' focus couldn’t have been better, and the effort couldn't have been better. "In the first half that showed. 

At half-time I didn't see any reason to believe we couldn't win the game. But in the second half and extra-time it was obvious they were in the ascendancy and we were thankful for some magnificent defending to make sure we stayed in the game. 

There was no surrender. It was a great effort and I feel very proud of what the players did for me on the pitch. But there will always be recriminations if you don't get as far as you'd like, and achieve what you want to."

Read more »