• 

  Ronaldo: Pressure 'huge' on Brazil World Cup team.

  March 28, 2014 8:34 IST

  RIO DE JANEIRO :  Ronaldo, who led Brazil to its last World Cup title 12 years ago, said Thursday this year's team is under crushing pressure with everyone expecting a sixth title helped by home

• 

  Barcelona's injured goalkeeper Valdes to have surgery on Monday.

  March 28, 2014 7:25 IST

  BARCELONA, Spain :  Injured Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes will undergo an operation to repair his torn right knee ligament on Monday.   Barcelona says the procedure will be performed by doctors Ulrich Boenisch and Ricard Pruna

• 

  Jerome Valcke: 'Time is flying' for Brazil World Cup.

  March 28, 2014 7:05 IST

  RIO DE JANEIRO : Top FIFA official Jerome Valcke says "time is flying" toward the World Cup and getting three stadiums finished at the last minute presents "risks" with insufficient time to test the venues.  

• 

  Arsenal confirms preseason game against Red Bulls

  March 27, 2014 20:32 IST

  LONDON: Arsenal will travel to the United States after the World Cup to play a preseason friendly against the New York Red Bulls in a match that will see Thierry Henry take on his former

• 

  Barcelona signs Croatia midfielder Alen Halilovic

  March 27, 2014 17:48 IST

  BARCELONA, Spain: Barcelona has signed Croatia midfielder Alen Halilovic from Dinamo Zabreg to join its youth team.   Barcelona says the 17-year-old Halilovic has agreed to a five-year contract.   The Spanish champions say they will pay

• 

  Milan beat Fiorentina, Juventus edge closer to title.

  March 27, 2014 14:53 IST

  Rome: Mario Balotelli struck once and set up the other as AC Milan fought to a 2-0 win over Fiorentina in the Italian Serie A football.Wednesday's win was Milan's first first in five games and

• 

  UEFA's Platini delays talks on FIFA election plans

  March 27, 2014 10:44 IST

  ASTANA, Kazakhstan : UEFA President Michel Platini has pushed back his deadline to decide to contest the FIFA presidential election next year.   Platini told UEFA's 54 member federations he will discuss the 2015 FIFA and

• 

  Spanish League: Madrid loses to slip in race, Atletico & Barcelona win.

  March 27, 2014 9:42 IST

  BARCELONA, Spain : Real Madrid lost 2-1 at Sevilla to slip behind in the race for the Spanish league title on Wednesday, as leader Atletico Madrid and Barcelona both won to move ahead of their

• 

  Brazil inaugurates its World Cup training center.

  March 27, 2014 7:25 IST

  RIO DE JANEIRO :  The Brazilian football federation has inaugurated the training center it will use during the World Cup.   Wednesday's inauguration of the Granja Comary, located about an hour from Rio de Janeiro, came

• 

  Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes tears knee ligament.

  March 27, 2014 7:16 IST

  BARCELONA, Spain : Goalkeeper Victor Valdes may have played his last game for Barcelona after tearing a right knee ligament during Wednesday's league win over Celta Vigo at Camp Nou.Barcelona said the injury will require

• 

  Nervy Liverpool stay in strong title contention after 2-1 win over Sunderland.

  March 27, 2014 7:00 IST

  LIVERPOOL, England : Title-chasing Liverpool overcame an attack of nerves to squeeze to a 2-1 win over Sunderland and move to within a point of leader Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday.Steven Gerrard's free

• 

  Basel ordered to play Europa QF in empty stadium

  March 26, 2014 23:04 IST

  NYON, Switzerland: UEFA has punished Basel for fan hooliganism by ordering the Swiss club to play its home Europa League quarterfinal against Valencia in an empty stadium.   UEFA said its disciplinary panel on Wednesday deferred

• 

  New UEFA competition could offer Euro 2020 places

  March 26, 2014 21:38 IST

  GENEVA: UEFA is preparing a Nations League to replace most international friendlies, and wants to offer qualifying places for the European Championship.   UEFA's 54 member federations will be asked on Thursday at their annual Congress

• 

  A modern Colosseum: Roma reveals new stadium plan

  March 26, 2014 19:21 IST

  ROME: Three-time Serie A champion Roma plans to build a new privately financed stadium inspired by the Colosseum on the outskirts of the Italian capital.   Labeled "Stadio della Roma" for now -- until naming rights

• 

  Deschamps to name preliminary 30-man WCup squad

  March 26, 2014 18:16 IST

  PARIS: France coach Didier Deschamps will name a preliminary 30-man World Cup squad on May 13, then give seven the bad news before the team leaves for Brazil.   Teams have to send FIFA a list

• 

  Neymar wages causing Barcelona friction: Johan Cryuff

  March 26, 2014 14:28 IST

  Rio de Janeiro: Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff claims Neymar's signing for Barcelona has created resentment among his Blaugrana teammates.The 22-year-old Brazilian reportedly earns six million euros a year plus incentives, a figure Cruyff believes

• 

  Australian footballer Harry Kewell to announce retirement.

  March 26, 2014 8:44 IST

  Canberra:   Australian football legend Harry Kewell is set to announce his retirement Wednesday, the media reported.Kewell, 35, is said to have called a press conference around 2 p.m. Wednesday -- though there has not

• 

  Dzeko double helps Man City to 3-0 win over Man United in English Premier League.

  March 26, 2014 7:33 IST

  MANCHESTER, England: Edin Dzeko scored inside 43 seconds and again in the second half as Manchester City inflicted more misery on Manchester United with a 3-0 win on Tuesday, cutting its deficit to Premier League

• 

  Swansea draws 2-2 at Arsenal in English Premier League.

  March 26, 2014 7:14 IST

  LONDON :  Arsenal conceded an injury-time own-goal to give Swansea a 2-2 draw on Tuesday and fall further behind in the Premier League title race.Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured

• 

  Bayern Munich wins Bundesliga with record 7 games spare.

  March 26, 2014 6:39 IST

  BERLIN : Bayern Munich set a new milestone in its dominance of German football on Tuesday, beating Hertha Berlin to wrap up the quickest Bundesliga title in 51 years of the league.Goals from Toni Kroos,

• 

  3 English footballers deny fixing matches

  March 25, 2014 23:31 IST

  BIRMINGHAM, England: Three former non-league footballers in England have denied conspiring to fix matches as part of an investigation into a suspected international betting syndicate.  Michael Boateng, Hakeem Adelakun and Moses Swaibu appeared in court

• 

  FIFA VPs back Garcia's World Cup bid probe

  March 25, 2014 23:06 IST

  ZURICH: FIFA vice presidents Michel Platini and Jeffrey Webb say they support ethics investigator Michael Garcia amid reports that senior FIFA colleagues want the American removed from office.   Garcia is investigating potential wrongdoing, including by

• 

  Ex-Croatian football official jailed for bribery

  March 25, 2014 21:37 IST

  ZAGREB, Croatia: A court has sentenced a former top Croatian football official to four years in prison for taking bribes in return for guaranteeing certain referees controlled their matches.   Zeljko Siric, a former vice president

• 

  Ancelotti asks Madrid to bounce back at Sevilla

  March 25, 2014 21:33 IST

  MADRID: Real Madrid's match at Sevilla in the Spanish league on Wednesday is "the most important of the season" to coach Carlo Ancelotti.   Madrid is looking to bounce back from a demoralizing 4-3 loss to

• 

  Chance for East Bengal to close in on I-League leaders

  March 25, 2014 18:28 IST

  Kolkata: East Bengal take on Mumbai FC in a rescheduled Airtel I-League encounter at the Salt Lake Stadium Wednesday afternoon.The Kolkata club made up significant ground in the title race at the weekend as they

• 

  Barcelona star Neymar poses with Brazilian supermodel Gisele

  March 26, 2014 6:39 IST

  Barcelona forward Neymar has taken to Instagram to share a photo of himself with Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen during a photoshoot for Vogue magazine.Less than 24 hours after his side's dramatic 4-3 victory over rivals

• 

  FIFA conducts management course in Botswana

  March 25, 2014 6:54 IST

  Gaborone: The world football governing body FIFA Monday opened a management and administration course in Botswana as a way of improving the level of the game in the country through commercialisation.The week-long course held in

• 

  Russell Brand turns soccer expert for charity

  March 25, 2014 13:41 IST

  London: British actor-comedian Russell Brand became a TV soccer pundit to raise money for a charity.The "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" star, a fan of London club West Ham, was given the chance to weigh in on