Atletico Madrid sign Brazilian midfielder Assuncao
July 7, 2008
MADRID (AFP) - Atletico Madrid announced Sunday the signing of Brazilian midfielder Paulo Assuncao from Portuguese first division side Porto for an undisclosed fee.
The 28-year-old will join his new teammates at Atletico on Monday, the Spanish club said in a statement posted on its website without specifying the length of his contract.
Assuncao joined Porto in 2005 from AEK Athens but has been eager to leave the Portuguese club after falling out with its management.
Atletico said meanwhile that is was in talks with several clubs which are interested in signing its Portugal international Maniche, 30, ended last season out on loan at Inter Milan after having fallen out with coach Javier Aguirre.
"Returning to Atletico would be difficult, if not impossible. They sent me out on loan because of Aguirre, because we had great differences of opinion and being with him became impossible," he told sports daily Marca last month.
It is the fifth signing for Atletico which finished fourth in La Liga last season and will therefore return to the Champions League stage after an 11-year absence.
The club has signed defenders Johnny Heitinga from Dutch side Ajax and Tomas Ujfalusi from Italian side Fiorentina as well as French keeper Gregory Coupet from Lyon and French striker Florent Sinama Pongolle from Recreativo Huelva.
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Ronaldo going nowhere say United
July 5, 2008
MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Manchester United said Friday the latest reports claiming star winger Cristiano Ronaldo was about to move to Spanish giants Real Madrid were "utter nonsense" and insisted the Portugal international was not for sale.
Ronaldo, a boyhood Real fan, has been linked with a move to the Spanish capital since the end of last season even though he scored a hugely impressive 42 goals in all competitions last term as United won both the Premier League and Champions League trophies.
The 23-year-old may miss the start of next season should he need surgery on an ankle injury.
In the meantime, United insisted their prize asset would not be joining Real within the next few days. "It is utter nonsense and totally laughable. Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale," said a club spokesman.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has become increasingly frustrated by Real’s very public courting of Ronaldo, whose Old Trafford contract runs until 2012. And that led United to report the Bernabeu club to FIFA although the global governing body have taken no action against Real.
Were Ronaldo to leave Old Trafford, it is unlikely he would depart for a fee of much less than 70 million pounds.
United leave for their tour of South Africa on July 18 but Ronaldo was not scheduled to be a member of the squad for that pre-season trip.
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The top 10 FIFA World Ranking
July 3, 2008
Spain are the new leaders of the FIFA World Ranking after their successful European Championships campaign. Previous leaders Argentina drop to sixth place.
The Spanish began Euro 2008 in fourth place and gained another 254 points, enough to surpass Argentina, Brazil and Italy and take the top spot.
Italy, who reached the quarter finals at Euro 2008, move up one spot into second place and Germany climb two spots to third place.
Biggest climbers in the top ten are the Netherlands, from tenth to fifth place, and Croatia who went from fifteenth to seventh place.
The top 10 as of July 2nd, 2008
1. Spain 1557
2. Italy 1404
3. Germany 1364
4. Brazil 1344
5. Netherlands 1299
6. Argentina 1298
7. Croatia 1282
8. Czech Republic 1146
9. Portugal 1104
10. France 1053
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Terim stays in charge of Turkey until 2012
July 3, 2008
ISTANBUL (AFP) - The Turkish Football Federation said Tuesday they have struck a deal with Fatih Terim to stay on as coach of Euro 2008 semi-finalists Turkey until 2012.
"Fatih Terim had a contract until 2010. In the meeting we had with him today we agreed to extend the contract until 2012," federation president Hasan Dogan said in a statement.
Terim had said he was planning to step down and take over a European club after he led Turkey to the semi-finals of a European championship for the first time.
But the 54-year-old-coach, dubbed the "Emperor" for his leadership skills, came under strong pressure to stay on and lead Turkey’s campaign for the 2010 World Cup.
Turkey’s Euro 2008 performance elevated Terim to a hero’s status after he was severely criticised for his tactics and choice of players after losing 2-0 to Portugal in the opening match.
Pundits had given Turkey little chance ahead of the tournament, but the team reached the semi-finals, winning three of their first four games in a dramatic fashion that earned them the reputation of comeback kings.
After losing to Portugal, they beat Switzerland 2-1 and the Czech Republic 3-2 with last-minute goals in the group stage and knocked Croatia out at the quarter-finals on penalties after equalising with the last kick of the game in extra time.
They lost 3-2 in the semi-final as Germany scored their third goal in the 90th minute.
Terim had also guided Galatasaray to become the first Turkish side to win a European trophy when they beat Arsenal in the 2000 UEFA Cup, after which he coached AC Milan and Fiorentina.
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Chelsea sign Portugal´s Deco
July 1, 2008
LONDON (AFP) - Portugal midfielder Deco has signed for Chelsea, the English Premiership club said on Monday, for eight million pounds (10.1 million euros).
Deco, the midfield maestro of Porto’s 2004 European Champions League-winning campaign, leaves Barcelona, with whom he also won the Champions League two years later, after the Catalan club said he did not feature in their plans.
Stamford Bridge have now confirmed the 30-year-old has agreed the move to become the club’s first signing since Luiz Felipe Scolari was appointed manager.
The Brazil-born player is the club’s first signing since the appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari as manager and he is believed to have cost around eight million pounds.
Deco told Chelsea TV: "It is good for me to be here and first of all I am very happy to be here.
"I am sure I have come at the right time to do great things and be able to help Chelsea go back to the way it was and come back to being the first one, not only in England but also to win the Champions League that has been their dream for so long."
Deco’s move will see him link up once again with Scolari, his national coach at Euro 2008, and another Portugal team-mate in Jose Bosingwa, who signed for the club earlier in the summer.
The two-time Champions League-winner had been linked with Inter Milan, where his former Porto boss Jose Mourinho is now manager, but the Italians appear to have been put off by the price. Chelsea, however, seem to have negotiated the fee down to sign Deco.
Barcelona released a statement on Monday claiming Deco had signed a three-year contract with Chelsea.
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