Benfica manager Jorge Jesus has extended his contract at the Estadio da Luz by an extra two years.
Jesus side ultimately endured an agonising 2012-13 campaign, finishing second in the Primeira Liga behind Porto, as well as suffering last-gasp defeats in the UEFA Europa League and Taca de Portugal finals.
The Lisbon outfit had gone the entire campaign unbeaten and topped the table with two games to go in the season, but a 2-1 defeat to Porto, sealed by a 92nd-minute Kelvin strike, helped Vitor Pereira s side to the league crown.
A Branislav Ivanovic goal in the 89th minute saw Chelsea overcome Benfica in the Europa league showpiece, while the Taca de Portugal slipped out of their grasp thanks to two goals in the last 10 minutes from Vitoria de Guimaraes.
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Paris Saint-Germain star Marco Verratti is perfectly suited to playing at Barcelona, says former attacker Luis Garcia.
Verratti – despite being contracted to PSG until 2021 – continues to be linked with Barca, who are believed to be strongly interested in the Italian midfielder.
The 24-year-old was quoted as telling PSG he would stay and resist Barca if the French giants signed champions , though he later denied the interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport took place.
Former PSG director of football Patrick Kluivert also claimed Verratti wants to join Barca but the capital club are unwilling to sell their prized asset.
Asked about Barca s reported pursuit of Verratti, Garcia – who emerged from the Catalan team s youth system in 1998 and is working for…
And a more exciting one we might just add.
Florentino Perez is a businessman. A very successful one with a heightened sense of entrepreneurship which has come quite handy when it comes to the 70-year-old’s handling of the European and Spanish champions .
Florentino Perez is best remembered as a man who ushered Real Madrid to the Los Galacticos era which truly raised the bar at Santiago Bernabeu as long as paying high fees for elite footballers is concerned.
Florentino’s Era
One of the pillars of the new project had been Zinedine Zidane, the French legend signed in 2001 from Juventus for a then-world record transfer fee of €73.5 million a man now in charge of Florentino s pet project.
The likes of David Beckham, Michael Owen, Robinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, J…
Philippe Coutinho said it was hard to explain why Lionel Messi and Barcelona had not won the Champions League more often in recent seasons.
Messi, 31, is a four-time winner of Europe s premier club competition, but the last of those successes came in 2015.
Barca have been eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in the past three seasons.
Asked why Barca, with one of the all-time greats in Messi in their side, had struggled for success in the competition in recent seasons, Coutinho said that was tough to explain.
That s difficult to say. Messi is the best player in the world, perhaps the best in history and it s difficult to explain that, the attacker said ahead of Barca s clash against PSV on Tuesday.
I guess there s no explanat…
With the first round of Nations League fixtures drawing to a close on Tuesday night, we are offered a host of meetings from across Europe in midweek. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a Tuesday acca, we have found you a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Tuesday 8th September
BST 19:00 MK Dons vs Northampton Town
Starting with Tuesday s guests, undoubtedly still boosted after booking their spot in League One over the summer, Northampton find the mood in their camp at a real high. Along with shocking many and landing a stunning 4-0 romp when they faced off against Exeter in the fourth-tier play-off final at Wembley back in June, Keith Curle s men have won four of their last five contests and would have only been …
Andre Schurrle, a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, has joined Fulham on loan after falling out of favour at Borussia Dortmund.
The winger sat out Dortmund s International Champions Cup win over Manchester City last week, with the club confirming he was not involved after being excused due to negotiations with another club .
Crystal Palace and AC Milan were also linked with the 27-year-old, who assisted the winning goal for Mario Gotze in the World Cup final four years ago, but it is Fulham who gained promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs last season who have won the race for his signature.
It seals a return to England for Schurrle after three years back in Germany, and the former Chelsea man is looking forward to life at Craven Cottage.
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Angel Di Maria has been galvanised by Argentina s World Cup success, which Massimiliano Allegri sees as good news for Juventus.
Di Maria played a starring role in his country s epic final triumph against France on Sunday.
The winger won the penalty for Lionel Messi s opener, then added a sublime second himself before being substituted with Argentina seemingly in control.
France rallied to reach a shoot-out following a 3-3 draw, but Messi and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez led Lionel Scaloni s side to a long-awaited victory.
Di Maria had returned to the Argentina line-up for the Lusail Stadium showpiece having lost his place in the XI following an injury in the group stage.
It has been a similar story for the 34-year-old at club level this season, jo…
Raphael Varane lauded Paul Pogba after the midfielder starred for France in their Euro 2020 opener against Germany.
Didier Deschamps world champions started their Group F campaign with a 1-0 win in Munich on Tuesday – Mats Hummels own goal the difference.
France also had two goals disallowed for offside, with Germany never truly clicking into gear as Joachim Low s decision to recall some veteran campaigners did not go according to script.
Instrumental in the win was Pogba, whose exceptional pass to Lucas Hernandez ultimately resulted in the unfortunate Hummels, who looked ponderous and out of place in Germany s back three, turning into his own net.
Playing on the right of a midfield three alongside Adrien Rabiot and N Golo Kante, Pogba attempted more …
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Two sides who have their sights set on securing a Champions League return this season, Atalanta will welcome Juventus to Bergamo on Sunday evening.
Atalanta
Starting with the hosts, while Atalanta might have marked their return from September’s international break with an action-packed 3-2 defeat at the hands of Fiorentina, La Dea have come roaring back. Last seen earlier in the week putting in a gritty performance as they landed a 1-0 victory away at Verona, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men should find the mood in their camp at a real high. In fact, opening their Europa League adventure with a routine 2-0 win against Rakow, the Bergamo-based outfit have won each of their last three appearances across all competitions. Likewise, along wi…
Barcelona have announced that they will face Major League Soccer sides Inter Miami and New York Red Bulls in the United States as part of their pre-season.
Barca still have one competitive game of the 2021-22 campaign to play – at home to Villarreal on Sunday – yet plans are in place for their preparations ahead of next season.
Xavi s side will face David Beckham s Miami, who have been linked with Barcelona great Lionel Messi, at DRV PNK Stadium on July 19 and the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena 11 days later.
With a big gap between those two fixtures, it has been reported that Barca are still hoping to arrange high-profile friendlies against Real Madrid and Juventus.
FC Barcelona return to the United States this summer to play two friendlies again…