Napoli head coach Rudi Garcia knows his side cannot afford a slow start if they are to target Champions League success this season.
The Partenopei topped their Champions League group ahead of Liverpool and progressed to the quarter-finals last season, where they were beaten by AC Milan.
Garcia’s side, though, head into their opening European tie away to Portuguese outfit Braga on Wednesday night sitting fifth in the table after a draw at newly promoted Genoa left them with seven points from four games.
“There is something wrong in the league (Serie A) because we are only fifth, but it is the start of the season,” Garcia told a press conference.
“The logical thing would be to say that we need to be more consistent, but we can say that the champions…
Former defender Christoph Metzelder is confident Germany can reach the semi-finals at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Germany are one of the favourites to lift the World Cup trophy this year after being drawn against Portugal, Ghana and the United States in Group G.
Metzelder, who earned 47 caps for Germany before he retired from international football in 2008, represented the national team at two World Cups in 2002 and 2006 as they reached the last four on both occasions.
And the 33-year-old is tipping Joachim Low s men to at least replicate that feat in Brazil.
I think Germany are always in with a chance, Metzelder told FIFA.com.
I m well placed to say that because I was part of a squad that was nowhere near as talented as the one we ve got now, an…
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has accused his successor Gianni Infantino of disrespect, while lambasting plans to expand the World Cup.
The Qatar 2022 edition of football s flagship tournament is the last to feature its current 32-team format, with 48 nations set to take part at the 2026 event.
Infantino has pushed for expansion since he replaced Blatter as the head of FIFA and has explored moving the World Cup to either a biennial or triennial cycle.
But his predecessor suggests he is not acting in the best interests of the sport.
What is happening at the moment is an over-commercialisation of the game, he told German newspaper Die Ziet. [It is] trying to squeeze more and more out of the lemon.
[Look at] the World Cup with 48 teams, or a C…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp cannot guarantee Daniel Sturridge more game time even if the forward stays at the Premier League club.
Sturridge, 28, is linked with a move away from Anfield in January after starting just five league games this season.
Klopp said he was unable to offer the England international any assurances over his game time.
I have never in my life promised a player game time for the next few months. It is not possible. We have mentioned all the things like it was so far, the German told UK newspapers.
When Daniel is fit, training in shape he is still an outstanding striker there is no doubt about that. But he did not play the last few weeks – for different reasons.
Of course one of them was Roberto Firmino s performance, t…
United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann hit back at Bob Bradley, insisting he never jockeyed for the position.
Bradley said Klinsmann was after the USA job he held during the 2010 World Cup, during which the German provided commentary.
When he did commentary on the 2010 World Cup, he was already jockeying for the job, Bradley said.
Klinsmann responded on Monday while his team trained at RFK Stadium, which is where they face New Zealand in a friendly match on Tuesday.
I could ve taken the job in 2006. I could ve taken it in 2010. I was not jockeying anything, Klinsmann said, via ESPN FC.
Bradley, of course, has had success away from the national team.
He was recently named as the first American manager in the Premier League as he took ov…
David Moyes insists Manchester United are ready for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League and believes his team can progress.
United s inconsistent season has seen them tumble out of contention in domestic competitions, but Moyes men remain in Europe, albeit with a tough task against the defending champions in the quarter-finals.
A 4-1 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday lifted spirits around Old Trafford after crushing recent defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool.
And Moyes is relishing the Bayern clash ahead of the first leg in Manchester on Tuesday.
While United have defensive concerns over Rafael da Silva and Patrice Evra, Moyes thinks there is still belief within his squad that they can go into the return game in Germany with an advantage.
I…
Brazilian midfielder Felipe Anderson is once again linked with a Premier League move.
The 24-year-old had been previously wanted by Manchester City but he remained with Lazio who are now said to be willing to listen to offers for their star performer.
Italian media outlet Tuttosport now claim that Chelsea are willing to throw themselves in the race for the Lazio star who is likely to cost up to £40 million. In addition to Chelsea and Manchester City, another club said to be looking towards Felipe Anderson are Manchester United.
Anderson joined Biancocelesti from Santos ahead of the 2013/14 season and wasted no time in establishing himself as a vital part of Lazio squad over the past three seasons.
The Brazilian however battled several injury issues and …
Inter striker Mauro Icardi has reached 100 goals in Serie A, fittingly doing so against his former club Sampdoria on Sunday.
The Argentina international confidently rolled home from the penalty spot on the half-hour at Stadio Luigi Ferraris to put Inter 2-0 up after Ivan Perisic s opener, Icardi bringing up his century in his 180th Serie A match.
He then made it 3-0 and moved on to 101 soon after, beating Sampdoria goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano with an audacious backheel from close range.
Icardi netted his first Serie A goal way back in November 2012, scoring Sampdoria s third in a 3-1 Derby della Lanterna win over rivals Genoa.
He went on to get 10 in Italy s top flight that season, convincing Inter to part with €6million to secure his signa…
Barca win in an exciting match / Image via bleacherreport.com
Atletico Madrid welcomed La Liga rivals Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals at Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night.
The highly-anticipated match lived up to the expectations as it turned out to be highly eventful game with both teams dominating in each of the halves.
Barcelona’s impressive performance in the first half was however enough for the Catalans to gain the upper hand ahead of the return match at Camp Nou and here are the five things we learned tonight:
Barca deserved their win, but Atletico did not deserve to lose
Contrasting claim? Exactly, but that is arguably the most precise way to describe the openly-contested match we saw unfold at Vicente Calderon.
Andres Iniesta believes Barcelona would not regret bringing Neymar back from Paris Saint-Germain.
Brazil star Neymar has been repeatedly linked with a Camp Nou return over the past six months, with PSG digging in during the Ligue 1 close season to ensure he stayed in Paris.
An astonishing move to the French giants in August 2017 saw Neymar bought out of his Barcelona contract for a world-record €222million, and PSG hoped he would lead them to Champions League glory.
Only this week, Neymar said he felt the longed-for European glory remained a possibility this season, and he has seen off much of the hostility from Parisian supporters that followed several months of appearing to agitate for a return to Barca.
Yet as PSG bid to scoop a third successive Li…