Villas-Boas turns down Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo director Adalberto Baptista said former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas will not coach the club.

The South Americans are currently on the lookout for a new coach following the dismissal of Emerson Leao after growing unhappy with the 62-year-old s work.

Baptista claims that Villas-Boas was attracted by the possibility of coaching Sao Paulo, but would only take the job if he could begin his tenure in January in order to fine-tune the squad.

He said today that he would not accept our offer, Baptista told Globoesporte.

He wanted some time to plan things, and I do not have time to wait.

It is hard to sign a foreign coach. By the time he gets things going, the ship has sunk already.

In Brazil, you have to win the next match. Now…

Premier League Predictions for round seven – Chelsea to slip up?

Last week I got six results correct and two absolutely correct scores. Not bad really, although I say so myself! I’m not in any way competitive but I thought I should just mention that the BBC’s football expert Mark Lawrenson got four results right and only one perfect score. Just thought I’d mention it 🙂

On to this weeks predictions;

Saturday 4th October 2008

Blackburn v Manchester United

Paul Ince, the self proclaimed ‘Guvnor’ takes on the real ‘Guvnor’ for the first time when Fergie takes his team to Ewood Park.

United are picking up a little and they played well against Bolton last week and then again in Europe in midweek. Blackburn h…

Lovren facing time out with ´more serious´ muscle injury

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Dejan Lovren has a more serious muscle injury than before, adding he cannot put a time frame on the centre-back s recovery.

Lovren went off after 53 minutes of the 2-0 Champions League win away to Salzburg on Tuesday, having managed only 40 minutes of the 3-0 Premier League victory over Bournemouth last weekend.

The defender will miss Saturday s game against Watford at Anfield and Klopp admits he is unsure when the 30-year-old will be able to return.

He is out, muscle this time – more serious than last time, Klopp told reporters on Friday. We don t have a time frame.

With Joel Matip also sidelined with a knee injury, Klopp has only Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez as his senior centre-back options amid a gruelling run …

Portugal v Switzerland: Joao Felix to make debut in Nations League semi-final

Joao Felix will make his Portugal debut in Wednesday s Nations League Finals semi-final against Switzerland in Porto after head coach Fernando Santos rolled out his attacking big guns.

The Benfica teenager enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2018-19 and became one of the hottest properties in European football, with a host of clubs including Manchester City and Manchester United reportedly tempted to trigger his €120million release clause.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva complete a mouth-watering front three for the hosts, while Sporting CP s prolific Bruno Fernandes starts in a midfield anchored by Ruben Neves and William Carvalho.

Arsenal s Granit Xhaka and Liverpool s Xherdan Shaqiri both start for Switzerland following their contrasting experiences in the f…

Kongolo pens Feyenoord extension

Feyenoord centre-back Terence Kongolo has penned a new three-year deal at De Kuip.

The 20-year-old made his Eredivisie debut in April 2012, and became a regular member of the first team during the 2013-14 campaign.

Kongolo made 17 appearances in the Dutch top flight last term and his form convinced Louis van Gaal to include him in Netherlands squad for the World Cup, where he made a solitary appearance against Chile in the group stage.

He has now signed a deal that will see him stay at Feyenoord until 2017.

I am very confident that I can develop at Feyenoord, he told the club s official website.

I do not have a lot of games in the first team and in the league to my name.

Therefore, I think it s better for my development if I play in the…

Simeone: We no longer fear Real Madrid

Diego Simeone has applauded his Atletico Madrid players for banishing their fear of arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Atletico needed an extra-time goal from defender Joao Miranda to end their 25-match winless run against their city neighbours and triumph 2-1 in Friday s Copa del Rey final for the first time in almost two decades.

And their coach was delighted with the commitment made by each and every one of his players on the night and in the wider context of their incredible progress since his appointment in December 2011.

It was an incredible game. We had the luck needed to win the trophy. What these players have been doing for the past year-and-a-half is incredible, Simeone told reporters.

They finally lost their fear and the hearts of each player combined …

Spurs players support Conte sacking but Kulusevski ´sad´ to see him go

Tottenham winger Dejan Kulusevski was sad to see Antonio Conte fired by the club but claimed Spurs players support the decision to remove him from his post.

Conte and Spurs parted company on Sunday after a week of intense speculation suggesting he had already taken charge of his final game.

The Italian made headlines last Saturday when he went on a remarkable rant in his post-match press conference after Spurs threw away a two-goal lead at Southampton to draw 3-3.

He called his players selfish and extraordinarily suggested the club s lack of tangible success in recent years was ingrained, saying: Tottenham s story is this – 20 years and they never won something. Why?

Conte was reportedly asked by club chiefs to clarify those comments and he was said to…

Prediction: Bournemouth vs Fulham

Best Odds: 4/11

Bookmaker:

Facing what could be a crucial showdown on Saturday afternoon, Bournemouth will welcome Fulham to the Vitality.

Bournemouth

Starting with the hosts, while Bournemouth might have claimed a famous 1-0 victory at home against Liverpool on March 11th, that could have just been a minor boost for Gary O’Neil’s men. Making an immediate return to losing ways before heading into the international break as they slumped to a 3-0 drumming away at Aston Villa, the Cherries find themselves at the heart of yet another Premier League relegation scrap. Marking their return from the fortnight interval this weekend sat one point adrift of safety, Bournemouth have now lost three of their last four top-flight appearances. With that run highlighted by …

Solskjaer confirms transfer target Haaland is on his way to Manchester… for a Christmas holiday

Erling Haaland may be flying to Manchester on Friday, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said the United transfer target is only passing through for a Christmas holiday.

United fans thought they might be getting an early Christmas present when reports emerged in Norway on Friday morning of Salzburg striker Haaland boarding a flight bound for Manchester with his father and former City midfielder Alf-Inge.

Solskjaer, who coached Haaland at Molde, has already confirmed his interest in signing the teenage striker, who has scored 28 goals in 22 games across all competitions this season.

However, while the United boss was aware of his flight, he explained it was not business-related.

I don t think he s en route here [to United], to be fair, not through me anyway, Sols…

We´ve all been there! – Maguire explains Manchester United social media faux pas

Harry Maguire insists he did not mean to like an Instagram comment suggesting he was set to join Manchester United.

England defender Maguire has been linked with an £80million move from Leicester City to United, who are looking for reinforcements after a tough end to the 2018-19 season.

And the 26-year-old prompted speculation on Saturday when he acknowledged a comment from a fan on one of his social media posts.

Maguire publicly liked a message claiming he would be a fan favourite at Old Trafford.

But the former Hull City man took to Twitter to explain away the honest mistake, quietening talk he is nearing a switch to United.

Quoting a report of his social media faux pas, Maguire replied: I didn t mean to guys we ve all been there.

M…