EPL: Bale signs new deal, Villas-Boas close to Spurs move

Midfielder Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur that will keep him at White Hart Lane until 2016, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. “I’ve been here for five years now and I’ve enjoyed every minute,” Bale told the Tottenham website. “The fans have been great to me and I’d love to re-pay them and do the very best for them. The club is progressing and I want to be a part of that, so it was great to get...

Read More

Mario made a King Kong

Top Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport has apologised for printing a cartoon portraying black Italy striker Mario Balotelli as King Kong. Media reports said Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola had reacted with fury at the depiction, which comes after the 21-year-old has battled racism in his homeland and abroad for years. The cartoon of the Manchester City forward on top of London’s Big Ben swatting away footballs was meant to be humourous...

Read More

Semifinal 2 - Germany vs. Italy

Semifinal 2 - Germany vs. Italy Germany is on a roll. After dominating the group stage with impressive wins over Portugal (1-0), Netherlands (2-1) and Denmark (2-1), the Germans took their play to a whole other level by crushing a feisty Greece squad 4-2 in the quarterfinal round. Waiting Germany in the semifinal round is Italy. The Italians have had a tougher time making it this far in the tournament. Italy tied both Spain and Croatia with...

Read More

England's penalty curse strikes again at Euro 2012

 KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — It was the same old penalties heartache for England. This time, though, there was no hard-luck story to accompany the loss. Defeat by Italy in the European Championship quarterfinals made it six losses in seven tournament shootouts as England's curse struck again on Sunday. Outclassed and outplayed comprehensively by Italy, Roy Hodgson's side clung on to a 0-0 draw. But in Kiev, there were no near misses, no decisions...

Read More

Germany vs. Greece

GDANSK, Poland -- Germany's most prominent fan will be in the stands for the quarterfinal against Greece at the European Championship.Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, wins no popularity contests among the Greek contingent. So the political dimension of Friday's game only heightens what is already an intriguing match in strictly soccer terms.Germany is a three-time champion. Greece is the surprise winner of the 2004, and the Greeks are still standing...

Read More

Don't be fooled by below-par Spain - Loew

Cristiano Ronaldo's header gives Portugal a deserved place in next Wednesday's semi-final in Donetsk where they will play the winners of Saturday's clash between Spain and France. The Real Madrid forward underlined once more that he is the class act at this tournament, arriving with 11 minutes remaining to meet a cross from the right by Joao Moutinho to bullet a header past Petr Cech. It was no more than Paulo Bento's side deserved, because...

Read More

Lucky England scrape past Ukraine, as France falter

KIEV: England rode their luck to top Euro 2012 Group D on Tuesday as they beat co-hosts Ukraine 1-0 while France also made it despite being outclassed in a 2-0 defeat by already eliminated Sweden. A goal by the recalled Wayne Rooney - thanks to a howler by the Ukrainian goalkeeper - was enough for England although Ukraine were desperately unlucky not to be level when the ball clearly crossed the line but the fifth official didn’t see it. France...

Read More

Shevchenko wants to play 1 last Ukraine match

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — This wasn't the farewell game he was hoping for, so Andriy Shevchenko wants another one.The Ukraine captain confirmed his competitive career was over after a 1-0 loss to England on Tuesday, which eliminated his team from the European Championship. However, Shevchenko wants to play one last match for his country to thank his fans for their support throughout his career."If it's possible, I will play one more game," Shevchenko...

Read More

UEFA EURO 2012 | ITALY VS. IRELAND WHO WILL ADVANCE?

UEFA EURO 2012 | ITALY VS. IRELAND WHO WILL ADVANCE? Match starts at 2:45 AM GMT +8:00 Ireland’s 7 losses against Italy are enough to fuel the Irish fire and reclaim their lost honour and glory. Drawing inspiration from Jack Charlton, Ireland is set to grab victory. As a matter of fact, Ireland got the upper-hand during their last three (3) matches. These wins foretell that Ireland shall not be kind to Italy during its EURO matchup this June...

Read More

Ukraine Aims to Impress Home Crowd versus France

UKRAINETournament Statistics (as of June 15, 2012)FRANCE 2Goals Scored1 5Attempts On Target15 8Attempts Off Target4 3Corners11 12Fouls Committed9 0Yellow Cards0 0Red Cards0 PREDICTED STARTING LINEUPS Ukraine (3-5-2) Pyatov; Selin, Khacheridi, Mykhalyk; Tymoschuk, Gusev, Yarmolenko, Nazarenko, Konoplyanka; Shevchenko, Voronin France (4-2-3-1)Lloris; Evra, Méxes, Rami, Debuchy; Diarra, M’Vila; Ribéry, Nasri, Valbuena; Benzema Date: June 16,...

Read More