Aston Villa have sacked Roberto Di Matteo with the club languishing in the lower reaches of the Championship.
Di Matteo was brought in over the close season with the target of leading Villa back into the Premier League following relegation in May.
But the former Schalke, West Brom and Chelsea boss he led the London club to the Champions League title in 2012 departs with Villa in 19th place, having won just one of their opening 11 games.
A club statement read: Aston Villa Football Club has parted company with manager Roberto Di Matteo.
The club decided to act following a run of disappointing results which has the left the team occupying 19th position in the Championship.
The club would like to place on record its appreciation to Roberto for all h…
Didier Deschamps is the new head coach of France.
The French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed the news in a statement on Sunday.
Having recently vacated his role as Olympique de Marseille boss, Deschamps was immediately installed as the frontrunner to replace former international team-mate Laurent Blanc.
But while initially dismissing such suggestions earlier in the week, the 43-year-old has now opted to accept the French governing body s offer after much consideration.
No details about the length of his contract have been disclosed, but his deal is expected to run until the 2014 World Cup, with the option of a further two years, taking him through to Euro 2016, which will be played in France.
Deschamps started his coaching career at Monaco in…
Laurent Koscielny believes Arsenal are capable of beating Bayern Munich, insisting that the best teams reveal themselves in times of bad form.
The Arsenal captain claimed that following losses to Watford and Chelsea, Saturday s 2-0 win against Hull City was vital for their confidence ahead of their trip to Munich in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
The Bavarian giants have become something of a nemesis for Arsenal, having knocked the Gunners out at this stage in 2013 and 2014.
But Koscielny feels Arsenal s response to recent successive defeats shows they are more than capable of taking on the Bundesliga leaders.
During the season you know we will have some good and bad moments. During the bad moments you see whether you have a good s…
Zinedine Zidane is adamant that Real Madrid snatching a late draw in Saturday s Clasico at Barcelona has little bearing on the outcome of the title race in LaLiga.
Barca appeared on course to cut Madrid s lead at the top of the table to three points thanks to Luis Suarez s opener in the second half, but Sergio Ramos dramatic late header earned a share of the spoils for the visitors.
The point is seemingly a better result for Madrid given their six-point advantage over Barca, but head coach Zidane warned there is still plenty of work ahead if they are to win a first title since 2012.
I don t think it s a hit to Barca s confidence, he told a post-match news conference.
We have a six-point advantage and I don t think this changes anything. We still have …
Premier League holders Chelsea look set to reignite their interest in AC Milan stopper Alessio Romagnoli, according to Leggo.
The Blues plan to reinforce their back line in the summer, as Antonio Conte only has four central defenders at his disposal at the moment.
This has seen Chelsea rekindle their interest in long-term target Alessio Romagnoli, who could be allowed to leave AC Milan in the summer.
Namely, the Rossoneri could consider selling the Italy international if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, with AC Milan currently eight points behind top 4 positions.
Romagnoli had joined the club from AS Roma in August 2015 and went on to make 82 league appearances for the Italian giants.
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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho believes signing Barcelona star Neymar is impossible .
The Brazil international has regularly been linked with a move to Old Trafford, with reports the Premier League giants were planning a huge bid in the off-season.
Mourinho dismissed the speculation, however, and said bringing Neymar to United was far too difficult.
I always try to be objective and pragmatic with the clubs and ask the clubs what can be given to me, he told ESPN Brasil.
Neymar is absurd. A club like Barcelona cannot and will not lose Neymar.
Although [Lionel] Messi is still a young player with years to go, he is already playing well at 30.
Neymar will be the great player of Barcelona after Messi. I think it [signing Neymar] is …
When Sinisa Mihajlovic was appointed as Bologna coach, no one really dared to say they will stay in Serie A. But the Serbian coach made a miracle, making Bologna safe very soon and ending the season comfortably above the relegation places, in mid-table positions.
Big help on the way to safety came from Riccardo Orsolini. The Italian youngster was on loan from Juventus and after scoring eight goals and providing five assists in 35 Serie A appearances, Bologna have decided to sign him. They exercised their option to permanently sign Juventus attacker for a fee of €15m.
Orsolini, who joined Juve from Ascoli in January 2017, spent 18 months on loan at Bologna, helping them to a 10th-place finish in Serie A under Mihajlovic. The Italy Under-21 international is currently a…
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has singled out Chelsea as the favourites to win the Premier League title due to the unbelievable depth of Frank Lampard s squad.
The Blues ended a day top of the table for the first time since September 2018 thanks to Saturday s hard-fought 3-1 comeback win over Leeds United.
They have won four of their last five top-flight matches and are on the division s longest unbeaten run of nine games, having also topped their Champions League group.
And with Chelsea s myriad of new signings quickly settling in, Klopp believes the west London side are now the team to finish above if Liverpool are to retain their title.
I don t feel in the moment that we chase anybody or somebody chases us, said Klopp ahead of Sunday s home clash with W…
Graham Arnold suggested Australia could have a new golden generation on their hands after they qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup.
The Socceroos 1-0 win over Denmark on Wednesday meant they finished second in Group D behind France, despite the defending champions losing 1-0 to Tunisia.
Mathew Leckie s goal on the hour-mark was enough for Australia, and head coach Arnold was beaming with pride at his post-match press conference.
I m just so proud of the players, he said. The work ethic, their commitment, their fight, the way they played.
Denmark are a very good team, they re top 10 in the world for a reason defensively, I thought we were outstanding.
After their victory against Tunisia, Australia s win meant they achieved consecutive vic…
Kai Havertz scored twice but Germany made another early World Cup exit despite beating Costa Rica 4-2 in a thriller at Al Bayt Stadium on Thursday.
Needing a victory to have any chance of reaching the round of 16, Germany secured their first win of the tournament but bow out at the group stage for a second successive World Cup.
Serge Gnabry gave them a richly deserved early lead, but Yeltsin Tejeda equalised with his first international goal in the second half and Costa Rica were heading for the knockout stage after Juan Pablo Vargas put them in front.
Havertz levelled not long after Vargas goal and struck again to put Germany back in front, with fellow substitute Niclas Fullkrug then adding a late fourth goal
It was Japan and Spain who advance from Grou…