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ina midfielder Borja Valero says he is still bitter about not being given a chance to succeed at Real Madrid.
The 2010 Spanish Player of the Year joined boyhood side Real at 11 years of age but only made two substitute appearances for the first team before being sold to Mallorca.
He later joined West Bromwich Albion and Villarreal, before arriving at Fiorentina in August.
Capped once by Spain at full international level, Valero feels he was never given a chance to prove himself at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
They made it impossible for me, he told El Pais.
I made progress since I was 11 years old and when you reach the top floor and they tell you that you cannot go higher, you have to find somewhere else to keep developing.
This …
This North West Province town is barely more than a decent throw-in away from Sun City but not even the most adventurous of risk takers at the gamblers paradise would have dared put a dime on the United States making it to the Confederations Cup semi-finals.
Bob Bradley s Stars and Stripes turned up for their last Group B fixture against African champions Egypt here Sunday as such massive outsiders midfielder Clint Dempsey only realised they could still grab the runners-up spot and with it a ticket to the last four 24 hours before kick-off.
Lopsided defeats to Brazil and world champions Italy, losses compounded by having a player sent off in each game, had seemingly left them facing an early trip home.
But Dempsey s 71st minute header coming on top of goals fro…
Celtic battled to a 4-2 victory over Jablonec in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie despite leaving star forward Odsonne Edouard on the bench.
The win represented Ange Postecoglou s first competitive success since his appointment in June, with strikes from Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi, James Forrest and Ryan Christie putting the Hoops in firm control of the two-legged encounter.
Having suffered another Champions League mishap against Midtjylland, Celtic asserted their authority early as Abada converted on the follow-up from his initial effort to open the scoring.
Furuhashi, on his first Celtic start, doubled the visitors lead with a delicate dink just four minutes later, but Vaclav Pilar instantly responded to halve the deficit, sm…
Robbie Keane scored a late winner here on Saturday to keep Ireland s hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup finals on track as they struggled to overcome a stubborn Cyprus side 2-1 in the Group 8 qualifier.
The Tottenham striker who was a member of the Irish side that were humbled 5-2 in a Euro 2008 qualifier three years ago scored with a header on 83 minutes after he beat keeper Sofronis Avgoustis to the ball from a Damien Duff cross.
This was a must win game for Ireland who remain unbeaten in the group and jubilant Irish supporters outnumbered the home fans by about 2-to-1 among the 7,000 crowd.
Ireland got off to a perfect start when Kevin Doyle scored from six yards after the Cyprus defence failed to clear a corner with only five minutes gone.
Th…
Lorient have completed their second signing in as many days with the arrival of Abdul Majeed Waris from Trabzonspor.
The Ghanaian striker returns to France after a successful loan spell at Valenciennes in the second half of the 2013-14 campaign, which saw the 23-year-old net nine goals in 16 starts.
A permanent move failed to materialise and he opted to leave parent club Spartak Moscow for Trabzonspor, but failed to score a single league goal last season.
Waris is the fourth signing ahead of the new campaign for Lorient, who brought in Benjamin Moukandjo from Reims on Wednesday.
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Former Egypt international Mido hopes Mohamed Salah can get back to full fitness for the nation s World Cup campaign.
Salah s availability for Egypt s Group A opener against Uruguay Friday remains uncertain as the Liverpool forward continues his recovery from a shoulder injury.
The 25-year-old s absence would be a huge blow to Hector Cuper s men, who also face Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Mido – who scored 20 goals in 51 games for Egypt – is hopeful that Salah will be ready to go for the showpiece event.
All Egyptians are proud to have a player playing at the top level and in the final of the Champions League and to become the best player in the Premier League, it s such an honour for all of us, he said.
But now we want him [Salah] in the World…
(GSM) It seems like Raymond Domenech doesn t have many friends these days. The national coach of France is still backed by the the French Football Federation but he is criticised by various people from the football world. Aime Jacquet, who was in charge when Les Bleus won the World Cup in 1998, is among them.
Jacquet questions Domenech s position on the official website of the Fifa. When holding a position like this (as a national coach), four years is enough. There are too many factors that prevent you from working well.
I blame the French Football Federation, they failed to understand this. It is a job you can only do for four years because you are so exposed. Jaquet took on the job as France coach in 1993 and led the French to the World Cup title in 1998 at their ho…
Real Madrid director general Jorge Valdano says the £35m figure they have been quoted for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso means they are close to pulling out of any deal to sign him. Independent
The Spanish club have spent about £170m this summer but the asking price for Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery is one step too far and could open the door for Chelsea to sign the French international. Guardian
But Real Madrid have agreed a deal with Ribery and he will become a galactico next summer. Independent
Wayne Bridge gave Manchester City reason to believe they could sign Chelsea captain John Terry when he signed for them from the Stamford Bridge club in January 2009. City are now preparing a third bid for Terry. Independent
Terry is …
Miralem Pjanic described Cristiano Ronaldo s signing as a huge coup but the Juventus midfielder refused to confirm his future with the Italian champions amid links with Chelsea.
Five-time Ballon d Or winner Ronaldo swapped three-time reigning European champions Real Madrid for Juve in a sensational €112million deal.
The 33-year-old – Madrid s all-time leading goalscorer – signed a four-year contract with the Serie A giants.
Asked about new team-mate Ronaldo, Pjanic told Sky Sport Italia: He s a huge coup, a great player.
However, Pjanic s future in Turin is far from certain as new Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri reportedly tries to lure the Bosnia-Herzegovina international to Stamford Bridge.
According to speculation, Chelsea have been discussi…
(GSM) Former Portsmouth manager and current Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp believes clubs must be cautious with their spending. Redknapp thinks Portsmouth s financial downfall should present a warning to those clubs that are tempted to take risks with cash to achieve quick success.
Redknapp led Pompey to FA Cup glory in 2008, but the club has since then suffered huge financial losses that have put them in risk of entering administration and made them slip to the bottom of the Premier League table in the process.
And Redknapp believes the owners need to take responsibility for their huge over-spending.
I don t know where it all goes, Redknapp said.
We all thought we built a terrific team there. But you re only relying on the owner.
They ve had f…