Ronaldo, Real sink Sevilla to claim Super Cup

Ronaldo, Real sink Sevilla to claim Super Cup - Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to ensure a successful Wales homecoming for his team-mate Gareth Bale as Real Madrid comfortably won the UEFA Super Cup in Cardiff by beating Sevilla 2-0 on Tuesday. The former Manchester United star struck in each half to earn a brace and underline Madrid's dominance of a game they controlled throughout.

The Spanish giants thrilled a capacity 33,500 crowd at Cardiff City Stadium with their all-singing, all-dancing game, and Sevilla's players were often reduced to a spectating role. Bale, who joined Real from Tottenham Hotspur in a world record £86m deal last summer, also stamped his class on proceedings, delivering a precision cross from which Ronaldo scored his opener.

© Getty Images

And when he pounced again early in the second period, there was no way back for UEFA Europa League title holders Sevilla as the 2014 UEFA Champions League winners showcased their enviable quality. Real coach Carlo Ancelotti paraded his awe-inspiring wealth of playing talent, with major summer signings James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos joining Bale and Ronaldo in a team captained by goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

James and Kroos both had their moments, with the electric speed of Colombian international Rodriguez's pass a regular highlight, while Bale's former Spurs colleague Luka Modric worked tirelessly in midfield.

Although the Spanish domestic season does not start for almost another fortnight, Real already look in ominous form, suggesting they will not only challenge for another European crown but also seriously threaten Atletico Madrid's reign as La Liga champions.

Real predictably monopolised possession in the early stages, but Bale's first involvement almost saw him put through by Ronaldo, but the Welsh international went to ground and could not get a shot off. Bale then saw a shot deflected narrowly wide as pressure began to mount, and when Ronaldo was sent crashing to the turf, the referee gave a free-kick that Ronaldo dipped just over the bar.

Casillas was not called into action until the 20th minute, and he had to be alert at his near post to block a Vitolo shot as Sevilla displayed a counter-attacking hunger after being penned deep inside their own half. Ronaldo should have put Real ahead following Karim Benzema's excellent approach work, yet having eased past two Sevilla defenders he shot straight at advancing Sevilla goalkeeper Beto.

It was a let-off for the underdogs, but Ronaldo was not to be denied 15 minutes before the break, finishing from close range for his 17th goal in ten appearances against Sevilla after Bale's inch-perfect cross created a gilt-edged opening. Sevilla could have few complaints, having played second fiddle for long periods as Real's masterful exhibition of passing meant they enjoyed prolonged periods of control.

Casillas was pressed into his second save of the game as half-time approached, deflecting a Daniel Carrico effort high and wide, but Real had no further scares in securing a 1-0 interval advantage. And Ronaldo stamped a defnitive mark on proceedings just four minutes after the break when he rifled a powerful left-footed shot into the corner of Beto's net to double Real's lead.

Despite having effectively wrapped the game up, Real showed no intent to take their foot off the accelerator and Ancelotti will have been thrilled with their desire during the closing stages of a one-sided encounter. James went desperately close to making it 3-0, but his powerful drive was superbly turned around the post by Beto, then Modric was narrowly off-target with a shot from outside the box.

Emery sent on former Arsenal player Jose Antonio Reyes among his late substitutions, but Real were already in cruise control and they comfortably closed the game out as they added more silverware to a bulging Bernabeu trophy cabinet. ( fifa.com )

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Blatter dances on as his European rivals seethe

Blatter dances on as his European rivals seethe  — On a tough day in his 16-year FIFA presidency, Sepp Blatter even found time to shimmy on stage with a glamorous Brazilian model.

Blatter's shuffling steps with Fernanda Lima, FIFA's favorite big-event host during Tuesday's gala opening of its annual congress, suggested he was care-free just 48 hours before the troubled 2014 World Cup kicks off.

Yet Blatter had seemingly been snubbed by Brazil state president Dilma Rousseff, who skipped the ceremony, and hours earlier was subjected to a ferocious attack on his record by European football leaders.

Senior UEFA officials lined up to openly denounce Blatter's running of the scandal-hit governing body after urging him during a closed-door meeting not to stand for re-election in 2015.

"People link FIFA to corruption and bribery and all kinds of old boys' networks," said Michael van Praag of the Netherlands, revealing he had told Blatter "people tend not to take you very seriously anymore. FIFA has an executive president and that means you are responsible."

Blatter's behavior on Monday finally caused European frustrations — long simmering at seeing UEFA President Michel Platini's potential path to the FIFA throne blocked — to boil over.

On a tour of continental meetings, Blatter had fanned indignation among African and Asian delegates by suggesting recent European media reports alleging corruption linked to Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid was rooted in racism.

Blatter also promised hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonus payments to each country from FIFA's $4 billion-plus World Cup revenues.

The FIFA president intends to cash in Wednesday with widespread support from the congress floor for his expected presidential candidacy.

Europe's collective anger flared Tuesday, perhaps fueled by knowing that Blatter was already backed by five of the six confederations before arriving at UEFA's five-star hotel in downtown Sao Paulo.

First, they reminded Blatter he promised them in March 2011 that his current four-year term would be his last.

"He said that he changed his mind and every human being is allowed to change his mind," Van Praag said.

England's delegation, led by Football Association President Greg Dyke, revived long-standing friction with Blatter.

"I said to him, 'I regard the comments you made about the allegations in the British media in which you described them as racist as totally unacceptable,'" Dyke told reporters.

UEFA board member David Gill said Blatter should go in 2015.

"Personally, yes, I think we need to move on," said the former Manchester United chief executive, comparing FIFA to the International Olympic Committee, which changed its president after the Salt Lake City bidding scandal.

Platini did not meet with reporters Tuesday, though his secretary general, Gianni Infantino, denounced Blatter's description of a "storm" around world football.

"There is not a storm in football. There is a storm in FIFA," Infantino said. "It's something which is coming for years and years and years, and every time it's something else."

The volatile meeting recalled open conflict between Blatter and Europe that flared around his original election in 1998, and his re-election in 2002 during a financial scandal after FIFA's then-World Cup marketing agency collapsed into bankruptcy.

Yet Blatter remains secure in office partly because UEFA comprises only around one-quarter of FIFA votes. European support has not been decisive in a presidential poll since the 1960s.

Globally, there is little desire to change a FIFA system and leadership that delivers booming revenues.

"Rest assured, the 11 members in this room are the first in line" to vote for you, Oceania president David Chung told Blatter on Tuesday.

Football politics — on which Blatter clearly thrives — deflected attention away from the expected problems with Brazil's tournament hosting.

On Tuesday, a five-day subway workers' strike ended in Sao Paulo though further stoppages are threatened Thursday, when Brazil plays Croatia in the tournament's opening match, if sacked union leaders are not reinstated.

"What is uniting us today and tomorrow and in the next month is the love of this beautiful game," Blatter said Tuesday, without reference to the host nation's problems and $11 billion-plus bill which has roused widespread public anger

Linking himself to the absent Rousseff, Blatter insisted: "Together we have said this World Cup shall be a great event, not only for Brazil but for the world." ( Associated Press )

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FIFA Congress stung by Blatter resign calls

FIFA Congress stung by Blatter resign calls - Football rulers hold their annual congress on Wednesday amid calls from top European football for president Sepp Blatter to end his reign as FIFA president and damaging corruption accusations against Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid.

Michael van Praag, head of the Dutch football association, said Blatter should quit when his term ends next year. A similar demand was made by David Gill, vice-chairman of England's Football Association.

Blatter, 78, officially opened FIFA's annual congress at a gala in Sao Paulo on Tuesday night without mentioning the attacks or corruption controversy. He is expected to announce on Wednesday that he will seek a new four year term.

"Tonight we are in a festive mood because let's say the discussions and all of what's linked with FIFA and is so important nowadays, we will discuss it tomorrow," Blatter told said.

FIFA investigator Michael Garcia is to discuss his inquiry into the FIFA vote on the 2022 World Cup awarded to Qatar and the 2018 tournament that will be held in Russia at the Congress.

The corruption allegations and criticism of Blatter have threatened to further taint the opening of the latest World Cup in Sao Paulo on Thursday. Brazil is already struggling with protests over the cost of the event. 

President of FIFA Sepp Blatter speaks at the opening ceremony of the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo on June 10, 2014 (AFP Photo/Nelson Almeida)

Van Praag challenged Blatter when he appeared before a closed meeting of the European confederation, UEFA. Some federations are angry because Blatter said in 2011 when he secured his latest term that it would be his last.

"Mr Blatter, this is nothing personal but if you look at FIFA's reputation over the last seven or eight years, it is being linked to all kinds of corruption and all kinds of old boys' networks things," Van Praag said he had told Blatter.

"FIFA has an executive president and you are not making things easy for yourself and I do not think you are the man for the job any longer."

Blatter replied that he would not resign straight away, according to the official.

The English FA's Gill also said it was "disappointing" that Blatter had changed his stance and the FIFA leader should leave next year.

People march during a protest against the upcoming Brazil World Cup in Rio de Janeiro on May 15, 2014 (AFP Photo/Christophe Simon)

"I think we need a full, frank and open debate about what FIFA needs going forward."

UEFA president Michel Platini has been touted as a possible rival to Blatter when the FIFA vote is held in May next year. Platini has said he will only decide his candidacy in September.

Van Praag said that if Platini does not stand then UEFA should agree another candidate to stand against the Swiss official. 

Blatter was given a standing ovation when he spoke before the African, Asian and North American-Caribbean confederations on Monday. "This time, before UEFA, he did not get it," van Praag said.

Blatter has been FIFA's president since 1998. But his rule has never seen a controversy like the accusations that Qatar paid for votes when FIFA chose the Gulf country to host the 2022 World Cup.

President of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Michel Platini stands on the stage during the opening ceremony of the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo on June 10, 2014 (AFP Photo/Nelson Almeida)

Qatar has strongly denied involvement in wrongdoing. But allegations made in British newspaper The Sunday Times are expected to be raised at the FIFA congress.

Garcia, a former US federal prosecutor, has completed his report but it will not be handed to a FIFA adjudicatory chamber until mid-July. Blatter has said no decisions will be taken until September or October.

FIFA faces mounting pressure as five of its six major sponsors, who account for hundreds of millions of dollars of finance each year, have called for a thorough investigation of the allegations.

The embattled FIFA leader has hit back at critics however by saying that racism is behind the corruption accusations

Blatter hit out at the "storm against FIFA" over Qatar and the "discrimination and racism" at the heart of the attacks when he addressed the African Football Confederation on Tuesday.

David Gill, vice-chairman of England's Football Association at Old Trafford, Manchester on May 15, 2013 (AFP Photo/Paul Ellis)

African football officials were among those said to have accepted Qatar's money, according to the Sunday Times. CAF members gave Blatter a rousing reception and slammed the allegations in a statement. 

Asia's top Olympic official Sheikh Ahmad al-Sabah of Kuwait said last week that the allegations were a racist attack on Arabs.

But English FA chairman Greg Dyke said he had told Blatter "the allegations being made are nothing to do with the racism, they are allegations about corruption."

Blatter was equally defiant at the Asian Football Confederation adding that "I still have the fire inside" to lead FIFA.

Qatar beat the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea to the 2022 tournament, despite a FIFA technical report which warned the searing temperatures during June and July in Qatar posed a health risk. ( AFP )

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I will end my career at Santos : Neymar

Neymar: 'I will end my career at Santos' - Brazil star Neymar intends to finish his career where it all started at Santos, but could also represent other clubs in Brazil.

The 22-year-old left Santos for Barcelona in June last year in his first move to a European club, and he has been tipped to star at the FIFA World Cup.

While a return to his homeland appears a long time away, Neymar said he would definitely play in Brazil again – with his final season to be at Santos.

Neymar: 'I will end my career at Santos'

"This is something to think about, I want to play for another team in Brazil, it wouldn't be a problem to sit down and hear an offer," Neymar said.

"The club can be from Sao Paulo, from Rio de Janeiro or from any other state of Brazil, the only that is certain is that I will end my career at Santos."

Neymar said there were several reasons behind his decision to leave Santos, including a new challenge in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

"It wasn't just about the money, that's not why I left," he said.

"I wanted to live a dream, play other competitions, play the Champions League, grow, evolve, learn another language, that's what motivated me to come to the European continent." ( goal.com )

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Several ways to get Franck Ribery as angry as Pep Guardiola believes he needs to be

Several ways to get Franck Ribery as angry as Pep Guardiola believes he needs to be - One of Bayern Munich's problems in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid was the disappearance of Franck Ribery. The UEFA Best Player in Europe award winner has been enjoying yet another stellar season and if Bayern are to come back from the 1-0 deficit, they'll need Ribery to be at his best. Luckily, Bayern manager Pep Guardiola thinks he knows the key to getting that out of him.

(Photo by Matej Divizna/Getty Images)

From Reuters:

"He was playing angry against Bremen [in Bayern's 5-2 win on Saturday]. Franck needs this aggression, he needs to play angry. He keeps fighting and that is why fans love him. He is one of the best players in Bayern history, he has always performed at the highest level and we need the best Ribéry."

But how do you ensure that Franck Ribery is suitably angry? Well, there are few methods worth trying...

• Tell him that Cristiano Ronaldo definitely deserved the Ballon d'Or more than him.
• Stick him with a mascot that's too tall for his liking.
• Have all of his teammates relentlessly chase him with glass boots full of beer.
• Tell him Cristiano Ronaldo said that he didn't deserve to win the Ballon d'Or.
• Tell him Cristiano Ronaldo laughs at him while he polishes the Ballon d'or trophy.
• Tell him Cristiano Ronaldo thinks his name is "Franck Rickery."
• Just say "Cristiano Ronaldo" in his presence.
• Show him this image...

Sorry Im not sorry, bro. (Nike) 

(sports.yahoo.com )

READ MORE - Several ways to get Franck Ribery as angry as Pep Guardiola believes he needs to be

I Made A Mistake

Pep Guardiola: 'I made a mistake' - Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola took responsibility for his side's UEFA Champions League semifinal loss to Real Madrid on Tuesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos struck braces in Real's 4-0 second-leg thrashing of the Bundesliga champions at the Allianz Arena, completing a 5-0 aggregate victory.

Guardiola: I made a mistake

Guardiola said it was his error that led to Bayern's loss, while he was unhappy with the way his team used the ball after having the majority of possession in both legs.

"We played badly when we had the ball. That's my responsibility. I made a mistake," the Spaniard told a news conference. "It was a bit better in the first leg, but congratulations to Real Madrid."

Guardiola lamented his side's defending from set pieces, with Ramos heading in a corner and free kick in the first half. Ronaldo netted on the counterattack before halftime and completed the scoring with a cheeky free kick that went under a jumping Bayern defensive wall.

"We have to carry on now. If you don't play well and you defend set pieces badly, that's just how it is. You are being punished," Guardiola said. "We are at the highest level in Europe; such mistakes are punished right away."

Guardiola said he had been hopeful Bayern could reproduce the performances it put in against Premier League sides Arsenal and Manchester United earlier in the knockout stages.

"What we did against Arsenal and Manchester (United) did not work today," he said. "Also in the first leg in Madrid we had more control than today and at least a couple of chances. Today, just a few. That's why we have lost the semifinal. You play with the ball and if you don't have it that doesn't work." ( Goal.com )

READ MORE - I Made A Mistake

Football has a lot of power in the world and our society

Can football change the world in its fight against poverty? - A band of heroes unite to change the lives of those in need, to feed the starving and house the homeless. 

This is the rationale behind a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) initiative which it hopes will help halve world poverty by 2015. 

Arguably the UN faces an uphill struggle. 

A recent Oxfam report estimated that the world's richest 85 people share a combined wealth of $1.67 trillion, as much as the poorest 3.5 billion of the world's population.

The World Bank's definition of poverty is based on an income of less than $2 a day, or a calorie intake of less than 2100 calories.

Football stars Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane are the faces of the Match Against Poverty, launched in 2003 and now an annual event aimed at raising funds for the impoverished.

"It's the world's most accessible and equal sport. You can even make your own football," Petra Lantz, director of the UNDP representation office in Geneva, told CNN.

"I've seen that with kids who use paper and string, then they have a football and they pretend that they're Ronaldo or Zidane.

"If you want to reach these kids who are no longer in school, sport is an excellent activity. Football is a sport that is accessible even for those who are poor."

The match stems from the UN adopting the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, which were put in place to help the organization halve the number of people in the world living below the poverty line by 2015.

The Match Against Poverty has played its part in that. The 2013 event raised $360,000 for youth-oriented projects in Brazil and Cape Verde, while Lantz suggests it has raised $4 million since its inception.

This year the game took place in Bern, Switzerland, with the Stade de Suisse the venue for a match between Ronaldo, Zidane and friends and local club Young Boys.

Stars like Luis Figo, Pavel Nedved and Marta –the world's most famous female player and a UN Goodwill Ambassador - turned out for a match which finished 8-6 to the stars.

Organizers expect to raise $250,000 - generated from the sale of tickets and broadcasting rights and corporate sponsors - from the game, with two thirds of the money generated going to victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

The typhoon - considered by some to be among the strongest such storms to make landfall - struck the Philippines on November 8. Its powerful winds and enormous storm surge smashed buildings, destroyed roads and caused widespread power and water outages.

Proceeds from the match will go to the UNDP's short-term work scheme, which is focused on cleaning up after the storm and helping to put some money into people's pockets.

However is assembling a collection of retired pros to play together the best way to raise interest in ending poverty?

Lantz is convinced involving people of such a high profile is the only way to get the public excited about tackling inequality in the face of "poverty fatigue."

"Having celebrities of this calibre standing up and saying 'We should join forces to reduce poverty, combat poverty and end poverty, it's really important," she said.

"If you're a young kid in Lagos in Nigeria and you're playing football and you see one of your heroes standing up and saying 'it's about time the world ends poverty,' that's something that is very important."

The match also sees the UNDP work alongside FIFA and UEFA, two bodies which govern world and European football respectively.

According to Lantz, establishing partnerships between such large and influential organizations is vital.

"We need partners, in the private sector and in civil society," she added.

"But working with bodies such as UEFA and FIFA, and the International Olympic Committee as well, it's a way of reaching others and engaging."

A FIFA World Player of the Year winner and a two-time World Cup winner with Brazil, Ronaldo insited football can help address the issue of poverty.

"We are very proud to help people and also we are happy because all of our friends said yes and they will come," Ronaldo told CNN.

"Football has a lot of power in the world and our society." ( worldsport.blogs.cnn.com )

READ MORE - Football has a lot of power in the world and our society

Soccer-Balotelli says game not doing enough to combat racism

Soccer-Balotelli says game not doing enough to combat racism - Italy striker Mario Balotelli, a high profile victim of racist abuse from the stands, says world soccer is not doing enough to combat the problem.

The 22-year-old was born in Italy to Ghanaian parents and has long had to deal with insults from fans of Juventus, who were forced to play a game behind closed doors in 2009 after supporters sang "a black Italian does not exist".

Juve fans still chant "jump up and down and Balotelli will die" but the song is deemed not to be racist by Italy's Serie A, who did fine his former club Inter Milan after monkey chants were heard in the derby with his new club AC Milan last month.
 

"It annoys me, it makes me angry and I don't like it. However, we're are making too little progress on this issue," Balotelli told a news conference on Sunday ahead of Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Malta.

A 30,000 euro ($39,000) sanction was also dished out by Serie A to Genoa after fans sang racist chants against Milan this month and Croatia were hit with an 80,000 euro fine by UEFA at Euro 2012 for racist abuse towards Balotelli.

Anti-racism campaigners slammed UEFA as the Croatia fine was 20,000 euros less than the punishment handed out to Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner for revealing the logo of a betting company on his underpants while celebrating a goal at the Euros.

UEFA and FIFA have since started cracking down harder on racist incidents after gauging the public mood.

Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng drew widespread praise after storming off the pitch and forcing a match to be abandoned in January when he was racially abused from the stands in a friendly at Italian lower-division side Pro Patria.

Ghana's Boateng has since joined FIFA's anti-discrimination task force and even spoke at the United Nations on the issue.

"I agree with him, to stop racism we all need to contribute, together," Balotelli said. ($1 = 0.7694 euros)

Reuters

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Zorro unmasked

Zorro unmasked - That is three more than Wayne Rooney, who has admittedly featured in fewer matches than the Spaniard, but it is also only four less than Robin van Persie.

Van Persie’s goalscoring exploits at the start of the season have effectively won Manchester United the Premier League title ahead of schedule, but his worrying loss of form – he has only scored once in the last 12 matches – has coincided with exits from both the Champions League and the FA Cup.

At Chelsea, Torres has impressed in fits and starts this campaign and – while he has not hit the heights of his pomp at Liverpool – El Nino (it seems strange to call a 29-year-old The Kid) is in far better nick than the washed-up has-been that was all but written off this time last year.

Fernando Torres has scored 19 goals for his club this season.

Where – and against whom – Torres has found his goals is arguably a major sticking point though.

Only seven of Torres’s 19 goals have come in the Premier League, and most of them have come against weaker opposition. Indeed, discounting the strike against Manchester City in the Community Shield, Torres has only managed one goal against Chelsea’s nearest rivals, in the 2-1 win at Arsenal earlier in the campaign.

However, quality of opposition has not necessarily been the problem – Torres found the net against an excellent Shakhtar Donetsk side, and Rubin Kazan are a decent outfit, certainly one who would be challenging for the minor European places if they were suddenly transported to England.

What was impressive about Torres’s match-winning brace last night was the manner in which he took his goals – both brave, swashbuckling efforts – and the bright and inventive nature of his build-up play.

I watched Torres regularly when he was at Atletico Madrid, having been based in the city for some time in the mid 00’s, and even then the hype was tempered by a relative inconsistency, the feeling that he – like many strikers – is a confidence player, and that his confidence was particularly brittle.

Indeed, Torres went eight Liga matches without scoring towards the end of the 2004-05 campaign, but crucially he was at his hometown club, a side with relatively low expectations supported by fans willing to give their hero a chance to regain his form.

Current Chelsea fans have greater expectations than Atletico fans back then, and display a certain ruthlessness that they expect from their heroes.

While Torres may have lost a smidgeon of the pace he so willingly displayed at Liverpool, he has regained some of the confidence that appeared terminally lost. Demba Ba has taken the heat off him somewhat (he will hit a lean streak soon, and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the inevitable backlash), while Rafael Benitez’s appointment does seem to have helped him, albeit not in the manner we may have expected.

Tactically, Torres is being used in his preferred role – the central striker position that Didier Drogba hogged prior to his departure – but the main help has come from the lightning-rod effect that Benitez has unwittingly provided: Chelsea fans are too busy hating on Agent Rafa to get on Torres’s back, and he appears calmer and happier as a result.

Torres needs to start doing it in the Premier League – where opposition fans are giving him the grief that he escapes in Europe – and if he hits double figures in that competition by the end of the season Chelsea will view that as a decent return.

Maybe he needs to continue wearing that ridiculous mask, which could bizarrely give him the cloak of anonymity needed for him to stop overthinking his moves when he gets in the positions he has always been capable of finding.

Either way, talk of his demise appears to have been premature and, given that he is an intelligent man and a willing worker, there could be a long-term lease of life as he adapts his game to account for less searing speed. It worked for another Madrileno after all – and Raul didn’t do too badly into his 30s. Reda Maher – on Twitter @Reda_Eurosport

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QUOTE(S) OF THE DAY

“It’s a pity. City pay big money, but do not understand that human relations mean more than anything. Yaya feels the club do not want him” – Yaya Toure’s agent before his client signed a bumper new contract.
"I will never forget how I have been treated here by the fans, the club and the owners and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to finish my career as a Manchester City player” – Yaya Toure after signing a bumper new contract.

FOREIGN VIEW

"The club has written to UEFA due to a series of incidents on the pitch in the understanding that objectively speaking it was evident that the referee did not apply the rules of the game. When two players from the same team are on the floor the referee should stop the match, which did not happen” – What about when those two players are probably faking it, as many of your team do on a regular basis? Whinging Barcelona start to lose the sympathy of the wider football world for the less appealing side to their game.

COMING UP

Tranny-spotter Joey Barton may have Tweeted himself out of a starting role for Marseille when they face Bordeaux in what promises to be a fiery all-southern Ligue 1 clash on Friday night, while Premier League expert Jim White does his thing and Pitchside Europe picks its European Match of the Weekend.

By Eurosport | Early Doors – 11 hours ago

READ MORE - Zorro unmasked