Over-Analysis 'Killing" Soccer: Pochettino

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino fears English soccer's obsession with over-analys of decisions and a fixation with diving could kill the sport.
Pochettino's side drew 2-2 at Luverpool on Sunday in a match marred by contentious penalty decisions by referee Jon Moss.
Tottenham was awarded two penalties which have been the source of fierce debate in the past two days, while Spurs midfielder Dele Alli was also booked for diving. Pochettino felt all three calls were correct, but Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp was left furming as his side were pegged back in stoppage time when Harry Kane converted the second controversially awarded penalty.
Tottenham's impressive performance has shbsequently been over looked as the decisions of the officials are analyzed with a fine-tooth comb, and Pochettino believes paying so much attention to such issues takes away from the essence of the game.
"Soccer is a creative sport, in which you need the talent, that grows in a very intelligent person, a very smart brain," he said. "And now we are so focused on minimal details. I don't know. I am worried that in a few years (...)."

AFP/London

Neymar Gets £3 Million a Month

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) pays 12 of the 13 largest player salaries in the French league, led by Neymar, who makes £3.07 million (US$3.8 million) gross a month, more than twice as much as the next highest earner, sport daily L'Equipe reported on Tuesdah.
Behind Neymar, PSG players occupy the next seven places: Uruguayan Edinson Cavani makes £1.54 million a month, French teenager Kylian Mbappe earns £1.5 million and Brazilian defender Thiago Silva makes £1.33 million.
Then come Argentine midfielder Angel Di Maria and Brazilian defender Marquinhos, both on £1.12 million, Italian midfielder Thiago Motta (£875,000), and Argentine Javier Pastore (£770,000).
The first non-Parisian on the list is Radamel Falcao, the Colombian striker who earns £750,000 a month and, because he is in Monaco, pays no taxes.
The top ten is rounded out by Dani Alves, another Brazilian defender at PSG, who makes £700,000. Next come three more PSG stars - German striker Julian Draxler and Italian playmaker Marco Verratti both make £600,000.
PSG's French striker Hatem Ben Arfa is tied on £500,000 a month with two Marseille players, the former West Ham player Dimitri Payet and Brazilian Luiz Gustavo.
At the other end of the Ligue1 salary table are Amiens, where the average monthly salary is £15,000, including three players on just £2,800.
Next comes another man working tax-free in Monaco, Leonardo Jardim, on 350,000 closely followed by Claudion Ranieri, who won the English Premier League with Leicester in 2016 and makes 340,000 a monthin Nantes.

AFP/Paris

Kane Penalty Earns Hotspur Draw

Harry Kane scored his 100th Premier League goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time to snatch a point for Tottenham Hotspur in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Mohamed Salah capitalized on a mistake from Eric Dier to put Liverpool in front in the third minute, taking his tally to 20 league goals for the season.
Substitute Victor Wanyama thundered home an equalizer 10 minutes from time before Kane missed from the penalty spot in the 87th minute.
In the most dramatic of finales, Salah thought he had won it in the 91st minute, only for Spurs to win another penalty which Kane converted to leave his team fifth in the table, two points behind third-placed Liverpool.
"It is difficult to get every decision right," Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said. "When they are right and show character I needed to congratulate them."
Defender Virgil van Dijk, returning to the Liverpool starting lineup, did a fine job of keeping an unchanged Spurs quiet for the majority of the first half.
Liverpool's task was made easier by their early opener. Dier, in attempting to make an interception, diverted the ball into the path of Salah, putting the Egypt international clean through to break the deadlock.
Tottenham's only shot on target in the first 45 minutes came via the boot of Mousa Dembele, but his half-volley was easily saved by Loris Karius.
Spurs improved after the break and almost equalized through Son Heung-min in the 58th minute, but Karius stood tall to make the block.
The visitors equalized out of the blue when Wanyama thundered the ball into the net from distance before the drama unfolded.
Kane's tame penalty was easily saved by Karius after the England striker had been felled in the box before Salah danced his way past two Spurs defenders and fired into the net to score what looked likely to be the winner.
However, the linesman spotted a foul by Van Dijk on substitute Erik Lamela in the box, giving Kane the chance to make amends.
"The softest touch in the whole game decides the game," Klopp said. "It is not a penalty."
Kane duly converted from the spot with virtually the last kick off the game to silence Anfield.

Reuters
London

Pique Defends Celebration After 'Special' Goal Against Espanyol

Gerard Pique said shushing Espanyol fans with a finger to his lips after scoring was the least he could have done while celebrating the goal which earned Barcelona a 1-1 draw in La Liga on Sunday.
The defender headed home Lionel Messi's free kick in the 82nd minute to preserve the league leader's 22-game unbeaten run, a club record, tying a spiky derby clash at the waterlogged RCDE Stadium in Cornella.
Pique had been berated throughout by Espanyol fans for his comments after Barcelona eliminated its local rival in the King's Cup quarterfinals in January.
A long-time hate figure for Espanyol supporters, Pique stoked the fire by referring to it as "Espanyol de Corella" multiple times.
Espanyol moved to its new stadium in the town near Barcelona in 2009 after preciously playing at the Olympic Stadium in Catalonia's capital.
"They are from Cornella, like I said the other day," said Pique. "I know it hurt them and I used sarcasm to annoy the!.
"Saying they play in Cornella is not disrespectful, it's a fact. They complain about that and report me, but they don't investigate insults towards my family. That is disrespectful. Telling them to be quiet was the least I could do."
Espanyol supporters had hurled abuse at the defender and his pop star partner Shakira during the King's Cup first leg at Cornella, which the hists won 1-0.
After Pique scored on Sunday he ran off in celebration before approaching a stand packed with Espanyol supporters and putting his finger to his lips.
"Celebrating the goal was special after everything that's happened in the last week," added Pique.
"Some of the fans here have been directing insults at me and my family for a long while. I know a lot of Espanyol fans that are good people but those at the to don't report those insulting chants.
"We are people and we have a limit. It's a derby game and it is what it is."
Espanyol midfielder Estabam Granero was not imprressed with Pique's celebration.
"When you provoke people you can't later ask for respect," Granero told reporters. "Before the gesture it was a model game. Later it was more wild. Everybody must take responsibility for their actions."

Rik Sharma
Reuters/Barcelona

Higuain Bags Hat Trick In Juve's 7-Goal Rout

Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuain scored a second-half hat trick as the champion routed hapless Sassuolo 70 in Serie A on Sunday.
Juve stayed second, however, as leader Napoli won 2-0 at table-propping Benevento, helped by a gem of a goal from Dries Mertens, to keep it one point ahead of the Turin side. The leading pair have both won their last seven games.
AS Roma ended a six-match winless run in the league by beating Verona 1-0 with a first-minute goal by Cengiz Under while, in a bizarre game, both Bologna and Fiorentina scored directly from corners in a three-minute spell.
Napoli has 60 points from 23 games with Juventus on 59 before a gig gap to Lazio on 46, Inter Milan (45) and Roma (44).
Alex Sandro gave Juventus a ninth-minute lead and two quick goals from Sami Khedira put the Turin side three goals up. Miralem Pjanic added a fourth before halftime.
Higuain burst on to the scene with a hat-trick between the 63rd and 84rd minutes. The Argentine opened his account with a clinical finish, then latched on to Claudio Marchisio's long pass before rounding Andrea Consigli to score. He completed his hat trick by playing a one-two with Federico Bernardeschi before dinking the ball over the bemused Sassuolo goalkeeper.
"I'm always trying to improve," Higuain said. "As a player, you need to be humble enough to want to learn and know that you always have to question yourself."

Reuters
Milan

Neymar Plays 'Cat-and-Mouse' With Barca

Neymar played "cat-and-mouse" with Barcelona during the close-season before his move to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Barcelona vice-president Jordi Mestre has said.
PSG paid €222 million (US$277 million) to trigger the buyout clause in the Brazil forward's Barcelona contract last August, making him the most expensive signing in soccee history.
Barcelona had believed Neymar was going to stay at the club, with Mestre stating he was 200 percent sure the Brazilian would be at the Nou Camp this season.
"What hurt me the most was the way it happened," Mestre told newspaper Diario Sport in an interview.
"We were all on tour talking with him and his father, and they were not transparent.
”If he came to us and said, I want to go, like Cesc (Fabregas), Pedro, Alexis (Sanchez), and (Javier) Mascherano did, we would have reached an agreement. What you can't do is rock the boat.
"He played cat-and-mouse with us. It arrived at a point where we say where things were going so we told him we would not pay his contract renewal loyalty fee."
Neymar and his representative did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Neymar renewed his deal with Barcelona in July 2016, which meant he was owed a €26 million renewal bonus.
Barcelona did not pay it and deposited the money with a notary. FIFA, world soccer's governing body, is investigating an official complaint from the forward regarding the matter. Mestre said Neymar's behavior caused inflation in the transfer market.

Reuters
Barcelona

MU Takes Advantage as City Held at Burnley

Manchester United's new signing Alexis Sanchez scored on his home debut in a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town as it took advantage of a slip by cross-town rival and Premier League leader Manchester City on Saturday.
After City had been held 1-1 at Burnley, their daunting lead over United was reduced to 13 points when Jose Mourinho's side eventually overcame a defensive Huddersfield side.
It took 55 minutes before Romelo Lukaku broke the deadlock after which Sanchez won penaly, had it saved by Jonas Lossl, but tucked away the rebound in the 68th.
"We had to be patient but had to keep the intensity high and the pressure," Mourinho told the BBC.  "We had to break down the Berlin wall organized so well by David Wagner."
City paid the price for missed chances as they drew at Turf Moor with Johann Berg Gudmundsson's 82nd-minute equalizer eaening Burnley a point. City had dominated possession but, after taking the lead with a fine strike from Brazilian Danilo in the 22nd minute, the visitor failed to press home its advantage.
"We are frustated in terms of the result but the performance was outstanding," said City manager Pep Guardiola.
City has 69 points, ahead of United on 56 with third-placed Liverpool (50) at home to Tottenham Hotspur (48), which is fifth, on Sunday, while Chelsea (50) visits mid-table Watford on Monday.
Sixth-placed Arsenal (45) led Everton 4-0 at halftime and won 5-1 as Welsh international Aaron Ramsey scored the first hat-trick of his career. Record signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was also among the scorers.
Huddersfield's defeat at Old Trafford dropped them into the bottom three for a first time since it was promoted as Southampron and Swansea City both moved above them.
Bottom club West Bromwich Albion lost 3-2 at home to Southampton on a emotional day at the Hawthorns, where there was a minute's applause for the home side's former striker Cyrille Regis, who died aged 59 last month.
Albion led early on through Egyptian defender Ahmed Hegazi but were rocked by three goals, in a quarter of an hour either side of halftime.
Soithampton held on after Salomon Rondon's goal to secure a first win in 13 league games, leaving Albion four points adrift at the bottom with 20 points.
Improving Swansea earned a valuable point with Federico Fernandez's equalizer at Leicester City, for which Jamie Vardy scores his 13th goal of the season in all competitions.

Steve Tongue
Reuters/London

Zidane Fuming As Leaky Defense Costs Madrid Once More

Real Madrid's season has lurched from one disappointment to another over the last few months and the mood at the club was further soured by a 2-2 La Liga draw at Levante on Saturday, a result that left embattled coach Zinedine Zidane "disgusted."
Zidane's side twice threw away the lead with Giampaolo Pazzini's 89h minute equalizer earning Levante a point and leaving the defending champion fourth in the standings, 18 points behind arcrival and leader Barcelona.
Madrid started the year poorly but consecutive league wins over Deportivo La Coruna and Valencia had given Zidane hope that his team might be turning a corner, until it slipped up against a hard-working Levante.
The coach was furious that his team made two defensive errors which led to both Levante goals, the first converted by Emmanuel Boateng before Pazzini's late intervention.
Madrid captain Sergio Ramos broke the deadlock but then played Jose Luis Morales onside in the build up to Levante's first equalizer three minutes before halftime.
Then, 33-year-old forward Pazzini, a deadline day loan signing from Verona, was allowed to charge between Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane to score on his debut after Isco had restored Madrid's advantage.
"I'm disgusted with the result, it's hard to take," Zidane told reporters. "Aftet our second goal we had to control the ball, nothing else, and defensively we were not good.
"The truth is the game was under control and we had done the hard part, which is scoring, 2-1, but we made two errors and they scored two goals against us."
Madrid has now conceded in each of its last six league games and shipped a total of 25 goals, mote than twice as many as Barcelona (10) and second-placed Atletico Madrid (9).
With Madrid eliminated from the King's Cup by local rival Leganes, the only trophy it can realistically win is the Champions League, in which it has a tricky last 16 tie against Paris St. Germain (PSG) to negotiate.
Midfielder Casemiro is adamant that Madrid cannot continue to defend so poorly if it wishes to defend its European crown.
Madrid hosts PSG at the Santiago Bernabeu on Feb. 14 in the first leg of their Champions League showdown, with the return in Paris on March 6.

Rik Sharma
Reuters/Madrid

Deportivo La Coruna Sacks Coach Again

Deportivo La Coruna sacked its coach Cristobal Parralo on Sunday with the club rooted in the relegation zone on the back of a poor run of results.
After a 5-0 trashing at Real Sociedad on Friday the Liga club's directors decided to swing the axe on Parralo's short reign even though he only took over from Pepe Mel in November.
The defeat at San Sebastian, just along Spain's northern coast from the Galician port of La Coruna, was a seventh game without a win for Deportivo.
The club has been in decline for the past decade after a mini golden era when it won the Spanish league in 2000 and the cup in 2001 with Dutch striker Roy Makaay as spearhead and iconic Brazilian center-back Mauro Silva as captain.

AFP/Madrid

'Just The Beginning' For Neymar As PSG Hits Key Run

Neymar insists his Paris Saint-Germain career is just getting started as the runaway French league leaders prepare for a crucial stretch of matches that will likely define their season.
PSG go to struggling Lille on Saturday, exactly six months on from Neymar's world record transfer from Barcelona, with the Brazilian superstar bidding to add to his overall haul of 26goals from 24 matches.
"I wasn't expecting this at the beginning, these statistics with Paris Saint-Germain. But I'm here to help the team and my teammates and to try and do better each day, in each match, qnd that's the most important thing," Neymar told PSG TV.
"It's not my objective to be the team's main player, the lad who gets the most assists or scores the most goals. I just want to play my own soccer, that's how it is, I want to make things happen."
Neymar followed up a four-goal performance in an 8-0 win over Dijon with a brace in last weekend's 4-0 rout of Montpellier, and despite constant speculation about his future, he is adamant there is much more to come in Paris.
"It's just the beginning," said the 25-year-old, who scored the club's 2000th goal at the Parc des Princes against Montpellier.
"Making history with this club is an important thing for a player. That's why I came here. To make history and help PSG progress."
After Saturday's trip north, PSG visit second-tier Sochaux in the French Cup and then host Toulouse in Ligue 1 before all eyes turn to the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with holders Real Madrid in Spain on Feb. 14.
Lille, the French champions in 2011, are just one place above the bottom three after a tumultuous first half of the campaign that resulted in an acrimonious divorce between the club and mercurial Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa.
While PSG continue their inexorable march towards a fifth title in six years, the battle for sexond place intensifies this weekend as Lyon host defending champions Monaco on Sunday.
It will be the second meeting in 10 days after Lyon dumped Monaco out in the last of 32 of the French Cup following a 3-2 victory at the Stade Louis II.
But aftet six wins in seven league outings, Lyon slumped to a 3-1 defeat last time out on what was Gustavo Poyet's debut as Bordeaux coach having replaced the sacked Jocelyn Gourvennec.
Monaco sealed a return to the French League Cup final on Wednesday as Radamel Falcao struck twice in a 2-0 defeat of Montpellier to set up a rematch against last year's winners PSG.
"He (Falcao) hadn't scored in three games but everyone knows he's a big player and all players know there are times when they don't score," said Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim.
"Now we have time to think about the final, we will prepare better for the final than last season," he added, after seeing his side trashed 4-1 by PSG a year ago.
Marseille, who are level on 48 points with Lyon after Sunday's 2-2 home draw with Monaco, will look for a fifth league win in six when they host bottom-of-the-table Metz on Friday.

Martyn Wood
Agence France-Presse/Paris

United Seeks a Reaction On Sanchez's Home

Alexis Sanchez is poised to make his home debut as Manchester United aim to bounce back from a damaging defrat at Tottenham Hotspur when struggling Huddersfield Town visit Old Trafford on Saturday.
United fell 15 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City with a 2-0 defeat at Spurs on Wednesday that also saw the gap between United in second and Tottenham in fifth cut to just five points in the race for Champions League qualification.
Sanchez has yet to score in two appearances since joining from Arsenal in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan head to the Emirates.
However, midfielder Juan Mata believes Samchez's mere presence has helped raise the bar of what can be expected of United for the rest of the season.
"Alexis is a great player and I'm sure that he will help us a lot," said Mata, who himself has been pushed further down the pecking order by the Chilean's signing.
"His arrival is great news because a player of his level always raises the competition within the team and our competitiveness."
United are set to be without Marouane Fellaini who was substituted against Spurs just eight minutes after he had come off the bench as a substitute.
Mourinho confirmed the Belgium midfielder has a knee ligament injury and joins defender Eric Bailly (ankle) and forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (knee) on the sidelines.
Huddersfield have slumped to just a point above the drop zone on the back of four straight defeats, but the highlight of their return to the top flight for the first time in 45 years came in beating United 2-1 back in October.
And Mata has warned his team-mates not to underestimate David Wagner's side even though the Terriers are winless in seven league games.
"Huddersfield are struggling to win in this start of 2018 but they already showed in our first game against them what they're capable of," added the Spanish playmaker.
"We need to try to learn from that experience so we can make the most of our strengths and get the three points.
"We are aware that we are entering the decisive spell of the season, and I can tell you that we feel strong and encouraged to fight for as much success as possible."
Huddersfield midfielder Philip Billing urged his team-mates not to be intimidated by the prospect of facing United's stellar names in front of nearly 75,000 people at Old Trafford.
"It's Manchester United and they have world class players but you can't think about that - it's 11versus 11," said the Denmark Under-21 international.
Striker Elias Kachunga is still out with a knee ligament injury, whilst defender Jon Gorenc Stankovic is still short of fitness following his return from a long term knee problem.

Timothy Abraham
Agence France-Presse/Manchester

Some Miami Residents Call Foul Over Beckham Soccer Venture

David Beckham has finally achieved his goal of bringing Major League Soccer to Miami, but the prospect of a stadium without parking that drives up housing costs in a low-income neighborhood is no hit with residents.
The former England captain and glitzy star of storied Champions League teams was formally awarded an MLS franchise on Monday, but key details remain up in the air, such as its name and logo and when it will debut.
For the 25,000-seat stadium, the investor group led by Beckham has acquired land in an area called Overtown, a working class districr between downtown and Little Havana.
They still need to buy one more piece of land, but for now the deal is held up in court by a lawsuit. The investors are confident they will prevail.
"Our 24th team now is in Miami. The stadium is in the Overtown site," MLS commissioner Don Garber said.
One problem is that Miami is already choked with traffic and the stadium will not have its own parking lots.
And people in the neighborhood fear housing costs that are already rising will force them to move away as they keep going up.
" We are largely overwhelmed by the larger forces in the community that are out there. Our voices are not being heard sufficiently," said Ernest Martin, a member of the Miami River Commission, an association of people living near the waterway.
Martin was especially critical of the lack of parking.
But Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Monday that altough the stadium itself will have no on-site parkinv, there blocks from the planned area.
He also pointed to public transport, but people in Miami love their cars.
The problem of rising housing cost comes with gentrification. Overtown is a black-majority neighborhood of some 13,000 people, and 24 percent of the residents earn less than US$10,000 a year, well below the poverty level.
"This has been a low-income housing area for many years," Martin told AFP at his home along the river.
"Ultimately the big increase in rent for the area will cause Overtown to become a more select area for residential users," he added.
The barren lot of land where the stadium is supposed to go up is surrounded by a fence on which neighbors have hung a sign that reads, "No to the stadium."
Nearby are modest apartment buildings and a few shops. At a corner liquor store, the cashier tends to customers from behind bullet proof glass. The storefront is protected by iron bars.
Douglas Romero, a 27-year-old resident of Overtown, told AFP that this year his rent has already gone from $1,050 a month to $1,200.
"I'm a little worried, you know," Romero said, holding his foir years old son.
"The prices of rent have been going up lately, starting in January. The only thing would be, if prices go up, you know, everybody looks to move. Everybody looks for somewhere else."
It is not even the city's first tryst with MLS.
In the first team, Miami Fusion, made their debut in 1998 but only played for four seasons before being cut from the league after the 2001 campaign amid low ticket sales and the lowest revenues of ang team in the competition.
Soccer in America is nowhere near as popular as baseball, basketball or American soccer. But Beckham and his fellow investors are counting on the cultural diversity of Miami - with its large Hispanic and Caribbean populations - to attract fans.
And not all in the neighborhood are against the newcomers: "Him bringing the stadium here (...) it's wonderful," said Cedric Dixon, 52. "It's excitement. It's changing Miami."
Landscaper Williams Charlie is meanwhile skeptical thet the new stadium can bring jobs, but says "we need a soccer team" nonetheless.
"Beckham knows what he's doing. I'll go right to the game - if they don't move us out."
Ome sign of how deeply opposed some are is the emergence of a Facebook group against the stadium which publishes scary videos of soccer-related violence as a way of warning against the dangers of hooligans.

Leila Macor
Agence France-Presse/Miami

Real Begins Crunch Month After January Transfers

Zinedine Zidane, whose Real Madrid side go to Levante this weekend, will soon find out of if he was right to refuse to add to his squad in the January transfer window.
There were no new arrivals at the Santiago Bernabeu, with a move for the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga the most notable transfer that did not happen in La Liga.
Kepa signed a new long-term contract in Bilbao after Zidane insisted that he did "not need a goalkeeper." Instead he will stick with Keylor Navas, who faces his former club on Saturday.
Madrid appeared to be in a full-blown crisis after they were dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Leganes, but they have won their last two games in La Liga, scoring 11 goals in the process.
A 7-1 defeat of Deportivo was followed by a 4-1 win at Valencia last weekend, when Cristiano scored two penalties as Real moved to within two points of third-placed Valencia with a game in hand.
" A crisis for Madrid is losing one game but nobody doubts their quality. All the small teams want ro go through the crises that they have," said the Levante coach Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz, whose team drew 1-1 at the Bernabeu in September.
Ronaldo, who has scored four goals in two league games, has been struggling with a calf knock. However, he is expected to play as Madrid begin a month that will shaped by their Champions League last 16, first leg against Paris Saint-Germain on Feb. 14.
Barcelona, who are 11 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top, put their unbeaten league record on the line as thet visit Espanyol on Sunday.
It will be the third Catalan derby in under three weeks, after Barca won 2-1 on aggregate in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
However, Sunday's game falls awkwardly for Barcelona, in between the two legs of their Cup semifinal against Valencia. Atletico host Valencia on Sunday night.
Among the busier clubs in the January window were Sevilla, future Champions League opponents of Manchester United.
They have brought two players back to Spain on loan from England - midfielder Roque Mesa from Swansea City and Everton striker Sandro Ramirez.
"Sevilla have been interested in me for a year and a half. They knew how much I wanted to be here," said Mesa, who endured a difficult las six months at Swansea.
"In the end our paths were destined to come together. This is a big club," he added as Sevilla face Eibar after drawing 1-1 at Leganes in their Copa del Rey semifinal, first leg.
The 26-year-old Spain international, Inigo Martinez says he is "proud" to become the most expensive signing in Athletic Bilbao's history, after they paid his 32 million-euro (£28 million,  US$40 million) buyout clause to sign the centre-back from Basque rivals Real Sociedad.
Athletic swooped for Martinez after seeing Aymeric Laporte move to Manchester City for a reported £57 million, and he could make his debut for his new club in Girona on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay has hit out at the player, suggesting he should have waited for an offer from "a team rhat can win the Champions League, or at least get to the semifinals." and fans in San Sebastian will be allowed to exchange Real shirts with Martinez's name on it for another one.

Agence France-Presse
Madrid

Coleman's Return 'Superhuman': Manager

Seamus Coleman's return to Everton's first team earned rare praise from manager Sam Allardyce who described it on Friday as "almost superhuman."
The 29-year-old Irish international full-back played the whole of the 2-1 win over Leicester City on Wednsday just 10 months after he broke a leg following a horrific tackle by Wales defender Neil Taylor in their 2018 World Cup qualifier.
Coleman - whose injury qas so bad he required an oxygen mask as treatment was given - had a much-needed morale boost whilst he recovered with a new five-year contract.
"I don't go this far normally but it was almost superhuman," said Allardyce at his Friday press conference.
However, Allardyce said it was by no means certain Coleman would turn out again this weekend against Arsenal.
"We have to have an assessment this morning on when do we play him again. He says he's fine," said Allardyce.

AFP/London

Podolski Named Captain For Vissel Kobe

German World Cup winner Lukas Podolski has been named captain of Japan's Vissel Kobe soccer club for the coming season, the team announced Friday.
The 32-year-old joined the J-League club in Kobe last year after playing for Turkey's Galatasaray since 2015.
"It's a heavy reaponsibility to be appointed captain by any team, in any country," Podolski said in German, according to a club spokesman.
"The top priority is to bring results to the team," he added.
"I'll share my experience with everyone."
Kobe goalkeeper Daiya Maekawa posted a photo of himself and Podolski on Twitter, with the caption: "Master and apprentice. I would like to learn from you."
Podolski, a veteran of three World Cups and the scorer of 49 goals for Germany, arrived in Japan in early July on a contract reportedly worth US$5.3 million a year. He scored twice in his first game for the team, delighting fans.

AFP/Tokyo

Guardiola Repeats Call For Player Protection as City Forges Ahead

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola urged officials to better protect his star players after a 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday.
The result left his side with a commanding 15-point lead at the top of the Premier League but Guardiola was unhappy with a series of challenges, the worst of which saw Matt Phillips booked for a high-flying lunge at young City substitute Brahim Diaz.
The incident followed City's FA Cup victory at Cardiff on Sunday were Leroy Sane sufferes an ankle ligament injury which will sideline him for up to seven weeks - prompting Guardiola's call for his players' protection.
However, he was in a more conciliatory mood on Wednesday, although he did have an animated discussion with fourth official Kevin Friend on the final whistle.
"I've said what I said so we spoke with Kevin, the fourth official," Guardiola told reporters. "They have an opinion, I have another one, they're the bosses, I accept that. I have to accept it."
The Spaniard added: "Today we were lucky, three or four days ago we were unlucky with Leroy.
"The image speaks for itself. I could repeat what I said after the last game but it's not necessary. That chat was good, that's all."
Guardiola was also unhappy with a late lunge by James Mc-Clean on Kevin De Bruyne, which earned the West Brom man a yellow card, and an Allan Nyom foul on Kyle Walker.
But Albion manager Alan Pardew believed Guardiola's weekend comments had provoked City supporters into trying to put pressure on referee Bobby Madley in a bid to get him to hand out harsher treatment to the visitors than might otherwise have been the case.
Pardew also pointed out that City were not faultless, highlighting an early incident in which home midfielder Fernandinho appeared to stamp on Grzegorz Krychowiak, who had to be replaced later in the first half.
"He's a winger and in desperate situations wingers can make poor challenges. It was a poor challenge, make no mistake about that," said Pardew of Phillips's challenge.
"But I think Fernandinho made a similiar one in the middle of the pitch. I'm not sure if the referee saw it.
"I thought Pep's comments at the weekend affected the crowd. Every challenge, they were saying 'you're not protecting our players, referee!'.
"There were a few songs sung about him but I actually thought he (Madley) had a decent game."
Officiating aside, it was a routine victory for Guardiola's team, with goals from Fernandinho, De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero sealing victory.
Their efforts also took City's goal tally for the season to 101, an astonishing mark before the end of January, although Guardiola was conscius that his team missed a host of chances - Raheem Sterling in particular - and the manager warned they were chances which better teams would have pumished his side for wasting.
"When you ask me what he (Sterling) can improve - that (finishing)!" said Guardiola, whose side remains in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple of Premier League, FA Cup,
League Cup and Champions League titles in the one season.
"When he is able to improve that he will be a top-class player, so I'm happy because today what I feel is this is one of the best performances we played this season."

Ian Whittel
Agence France-Presse/Manchester

EPL Splashes Cash as Arsenal Sign Aubameyang and Giroud Makes Chelsea Switch

England's Premier League clubs have spent more money than ever in a January transfer window, with initial estimates suggesting they had reached the £450 million (US$639 million) mark come deadline day.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee of around £56 million on Wednesday's concluding day of business, with Oliver Giroud moving to Chelsea as part of a complicated transfer jigsaw.
The previous EPL record for a January window was £225 million in 2011.
Prior to Wednesday's 2300 GMT deadline in England, Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Lucas Moura from Paris Saint-Germain but Manchester City pulled out of signing Leicester's Riyad Mahrez.
Top Premier League clubs have splashed the cash in the January transfer window, desperate to qualify for the top four, which guarantees entry into the lucrative Champions League.
Aubameyang, 28, signed a contract with the Gunners until 2021, becoming Arsenal's second big-name signing of the January transfer window after Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined from Manchester United.
His arrival will boost Arsene Wenger's forward options after the departure of Alexis Sanchez to United in a swap deal with Mkhitaryan but raises questions about Alexandre Lacazette's futurw with the Gunners.
The prolific Aubameyang compared himself to club legend Thierry Henry, telling Arsenal Player he was attracted by the "big history" of the club, who lost ground in the Premier League with a 3-1 defeat by Swansea on Tuesday.
The Gabon international will be reunited at the Emirates Stadium with former Dortmund team-mate Mkhitaryan - a tweet on Arsenal's Twitter account pictured the two players together with the message "Friends reunited."
Aubameyang posted a message on Instagram apologizing for the circumstances surrounding his departure from Germany but describing himself as "crazy."
"Perhaps it was not the best way for me to have decided, but everyone knows that Auba is crazy," Aubameyang said.
"I never had any bad intentions. I will never forger these four-and-a-half years at Borussia Dortmund."
Chelsea later announced the arrival of Arsenal striker Giroud on an 18-month contract for around £18 million and Michy Batshuayi's departure for Borussia Dortmund in a loan deal until the end of the season.
Frenchman Giroud, 31, who has struggled to hold down a regular starting spot since joining Arsenal in 2012, said he was delighted to be joining their London rivals.
Belgian forward Batshuayi, 24, arrives in Dortmund as a direct replacement for Aubameyang, to complete the three-way puzzle.
Brazil winger Lucas challenged his new Spurs team-mates to win the Champions Laegue after arriving from PSG for a reported £25 million.
Manchester City may have got nowhere with their interest in Mahrez, but the Premier League leaders paid a club-record fee of £57 million for young French centre-back Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao, in a deal confirmed on Tuesday.

Pirate Irwin
Agence France-Presse/London

Benfica Director Charged In Graft Probe

A second Benfica director has been charged in a corruption investigation involving Portugal's biggest club, authorities confirmed on Wednesday. Portugal's public prosecutor, the PGR, told AFP that Benfica vice-president Fernando Tavares had been charged, after club president Luis Felipe Vieira was charged in Tuesday.
A source close to the investigation had said on Tuesday that Vieira had been charged with "influence peddling".
The PGR said that the "Operation Lex" investigation by the anti-corruption unit of Portugal's national police had so far led to 12 people being charged in total, including two Court of Appeal judges and a sporting director. Some 30 raids have been carried out in the investigation into "corruption, obtaining undue advantage, laundering of capital, influence peddling and aggravated tax fraud".

AFP/Lisbon

Nagatomo Joins Galatasaray

Japanese international Yuto Nagatomo has joined Turkish giants Galatasaray on loan from Inter Milan until June, the Serie A club confirmed. The 31-year-old full-back completed his medical in Istanbul on Wednesday.
No details were given of the deal but according to Italian press reports the Turkish club have an option to buy Nagatomo for €7 million (US$8.6 million). Nagatomo, who joined Inter in January 2011 and has made 210 appearances scoring 11 goals, is hoping for more playing time ahead of the World Cup in Russia.
The former FC Tokyo player - capped 101 times by Japan - has played in just one of Inter's last 10 league games. He was also part of the side which won the Italian Cup in the 2010-2011 season.

AFP/Milan

English Clubs The Big Spenders In The Year: FIFA Report

Soccer clubs across the world splashed out a record US$6.37 billion on players during 2017 with English teams again the biggest spenders, FIFA's Global Transfer Market Report said.
The total paid out was about 33 percent more than in 2016 as English clubs led the way with a net spend of $988 million on squad improvement.
Deals such as Romelo Lukaku's £75 million ($) move from Everton to Manchester United and Alvaro Morata's £60 million switch from Real Madrid to Chelsea put English teams at the top of the list.
But those individual deals were eclipsed by Brazilian forward Neymar's move from Barcelona to Paris St Germain in a world-record transfer worth €222 million ($263 million).
The fee was over double the previous record which took France midfielder Paul Pogba to Manchester United from Juventus for $126 million.
"Spending growth is driven by a relativelg small group of clubs," the report said, wirh over two-thirds of the total amount spent by 50 clubs in 13 different countries.
The average transfer fee for a player in the top 50 most expensive moves was $48.4 million, up from $35.2 million in 2016. The report shows that only 15.8 percent of transfers involved fees being paid from one club to another.
Free paid to agents also increased significantly. English clubs forked out a reported out a reported $125.7 million on intermediary payments and $447 million was handed over worldwide - up from $387 million in 2016.
Brazil was the country most involved in international transfers with 1,775 of its players switching teams in 2017.
Two hundred and fifty four Brazilian clubs conducted international transfer deals with Germany (143), England (132), Argentina (11) and Spain (98) making up the top five.
Spanish clubs received the most money in transfer fees ($840.4 million), but Portuguese ones posted the highest net receipts of $707.5 million.

Reuters
Madrid

'Complicated' Aubameyang Deal Set To Go To The Wire

Arsene Wenger's transfer dealings will not for the first time dominate deadline day on Wednesday as the Arsenal manager tries to secure the signing of Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a deal he admits is "complicated".
Wenger - who kept the football world on tenterhooks last August as he held out selling Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City because he failed to secure Thomas Lemar from Monaco - has persuaded the board to offer a club record £60 million (US$84 million) for the Gabonese marksman.
However, the 28-year-old's move likely depends on Dortmund securing a replacement, thought to be Belgian international Michy Batshuayi from champion's Chelsea, and the later getting French veteran Oliver Giroud from the Gunners.
Wenger would prefer not to let Giroud join a major rival having already seen Sanchez move to Manchester United earlier this month but the French striker is keen to stay in London as he seeks regular first team action to secure his place in France's World Cup squad.
"Every detail can make deals and the deals nowadays are so complicated that, so long as you have not finished it, you cannot be too confident - it doesn't help too much," said Wenger after his side lost 3-1 to Premier League strugglers Swansea on Tuesday.
Aubameyang would alleviate the pressure on French striker Alexandre Lacazette, whom Wenger shelled out a record £46.5 million in August, although he would be ineligible for the Europa League having already played in the Champions League this campaign.
Further complicating matters is that the German transfer deadline is at 1700GMT as opposed to England's at 2300 GMT.
Elsewhere runaway leaders Manchester City have lodged a surprise £60 million bid for 2016 champions Leicester City's Algerian star Riyad Mahrez, who ignored manager Claude Puel's pleas for him to stay by putting in a transfer request.
However, Leicester are unlikely to let the 26-year-old - who was a key player in their stunning title success in 2016 and who was returned to form this term after a dip last season - leave for less than £90 million.
City have lost influential Germany winger Leroy Sane for up to seven weeks with an ankle injury and with the club competing on four fronts Guardiola suggested he may require a replacement.
"Right now, it's the same as (Alexis) Sanchez, it's not the place to talk about it. It's so difficult," City manager Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday when asked about Mahrez.
"If things are not possible, then nothinv is going to happen. We don't have too much and we play every three days. We have to find solutions."
It's not just the top clubs involved in the frenetic last few hours of a January that apart from Sanchez becoming the highest-paid player in the league - on a reported pre-tax £500,000 a week - has seen City play a record fee of £57 million for young French centre-back Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao.
Tottenham too os getting close to signing Brazilian Lucas Moura, who has fallen out of favour at French giants Paris Saint Germain with the arrivals of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
PSG apparently wants the majority of the £26.5 million fee paid up front.
Those fighting to remain in the cash-rich upper echelon will also get in on the act with Swansea - whose win over Liverpool saw them move out of the bottom three - seeking to bring Ghanaian striker Andre Ayew back to Wales.
The Swans are hoping to sign the 28-year-old for around £18 million in 2016 - but the London side who have only Javier Hernandez as their one fit striker will want to bring in a replacement.
Watford's long-time servant Troy Deeney could fill the void and is valued at £16 million to leave the club he has been with since 2010.

Pirate Irwin
Agence France-Presse/London

Hotspur's Prodigy Son Has Father To Thank

If Son Heung-min helps overcome Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Juventus in coming weeks, then fans of the North London club should save more praise for the South Korean's father.
Son Woong-Jung has played a major role in developing a player who has become Asia's record scorer in the Premier League and, arguably, the best player the contingent has produced.
Son senior was a professional player of some repute in the K-League in the eighties and, in terms of style, there is a family resemblance. Until injury ended his career at 28, Son displayed the sort of speed and technical excellence that Spurs fans have come to love in his offspring.
After his playing days were over, Son took to coaching. "I don't think I was really satisfied as a player," he told a Korean documentary. "But coaching players was different. He is my son but I am proud to say that his technique and basic ball skills are among the best."
The 25-year-old was worked hard from an early age. "We raised him strictly."
The father took Son out of high school at the age of 16 to head to Germany and SV Hamburg, an unusual decision for young Korean ptospects who traditionally join a professional club after university.
"I wouldn't have become the player I have without my father," Son Said, after leaving Hamburg for Bayer Leverkusen in 2013.
While the two may have similarities on the pitch, it is a little different off it. Past coaches recall that the father was something of a loner in the team environment, and not one to mix with his fellow players.
But Son junior is a hugely popular figure at his club.
"On and off the pitch, he is very positive an optimistic and has been since the beginning," Park Yong-soo, head of administration at the Korea Football Association, told AFP.
The player's smile has become almost a famous in England as back in his homeland. "He always had it, even when he was hurt on the pitch, and that has made him especially popular with Korean girls."
Son left the Bundesliga in August 2015 to sign for Tottenham. After an up-and-down first season, when he showed only flashes of his ability, he came into his own in 2016-2017, scoring 14 Premier League goals and 21 in total.
He has continued to shine this season and has been one of the Premier League's most exciting forwarda, bagging eight goalsnso far this campaign to help Spurs lie fifth.
Son has already surpassed Park Ji-Sung's record to become the Premier League's most prolific Asian player. Last term, he beat Bundesliga great Cha Bum-Kun's Korean mark for goals in a European season.
There are plenty of opportunities to come this season: Spurs are still alive in the FA Cup, and they will play Juventus in the Champions League last 16 from February 13.
In a tough run of fixtures, they also entertain Manchester United on Wednesday and play Liverpool and Arsenal on February 5 and 10 respectively.
"His smile disappeared in Germany for a time," said Park. "But he has found it again in England. He is performing well and playing his best football."
Match-winnning displays in the Premier League and the Champions League have made Son Asia's most popular player. He was named as Asia's International Player of the Year by the Asian Football Comfederation in 2017.
"There is pride all over Asia in Son," Steve Kim, former head of competitions at the Asian Football Confederation. "He is playing at the highest level and shows all Asians that it can be done. Especially in countries where the Premier League is very popular, Son is held in very high regard."
When he returns to Korea in the close-season, Son often visits his father's other great project: the Son Football Academy, nestling in the hills of the family's native Gangwon province.
At the academy, Son Woong-Jung has created a top-of-the-range training facility dedicated to helping othet young players follow in his son's footsteps.

David Jones
Agence France-Presse/Seoul

Oscar Demands Better From Shanghai SIPG

Oscar demanded Shanghai SIPG improve "in many aspects" after the Brazilian star's big-spending side failed to convince in becoming the fourth Chinese team to reach the Asian Champions League group stage.
SIPG limped to a 1-0 home victory over Thai minnows Chiangrai United in coach Vitor Pnereira's first game in charge since taking over from the Portuguese Andre Villas-Boas.
Compatriot Pnereira, whose appointment late last year was met with a lukewarm response from SIPG fans, has vowed to achieve what Villas-Boas could not and win some silverware in his debut season in China.
But it will have to play better than it did on a chilly and heavily polluted Tuesday night in Shanghai and it had international winger Yu Hai to thank for his scrappy 48h-minute winner.
Attacking midfielder Oscar, who moved to the Chinese Super League (CSL) a year ago from Chelsea for an Asian-record €60 million (US$74.6 million), wore gloves to protect himself in the freezing condions. But the 26-year-old refused to use the bitter cold as an excuse for last year's Champions League semifinalists.
"We still need to improve in many aspects and to play better in the next stage," said the Brazilian.

AFP/Shanghai

Fiery Sanchez Can Spark United: Herrera

Ander Herrera claims Alexis Sanchez's fighting spirit has already ignited Manchester United as the Chile forward prepares his Premier League debut for his new club at Tottenham on Wednesday.
Sanchez is the highest paid player in the Premier League after making amblockbuster move to United from Spurs' local rivals Arsenal last week.
The 29-year-old marked his debut by setting up two goals in United's 4-0 beating of minnows Yeovil in the FA Cup fourtg round on Friday.
Sanchez paraded his sublime skills to lay on strikes for Marcus Rashford and Herrera, but it was not just his deft touch that impressed his United teammates.
Despite criticism of his attitude in the latter stages of his spell with Arsenal, Spain midfielder Herrera says Sanchez's grit and desire have rubbed off on his new colleagues and are certain to prove a huge asset.
"What I really like from him is the way he fights when the team loses the ball," Herrera told MUTV.
"He's always ready to be the first defender for the team, and that's big for us.
"Obviously we know his quality on the ball, he's amazing, but his fight, the way he defends, he's the first player to defend. I really like it."
United manager Jose Mourinho, whose second placed side is 13 points behind leader Manchester City, clearly agrees with Herrera about Sanchez:s catalyst qualities.
Sanchez has now been designed his own locker in the United changing room next to two specific players.
The pair on either side of the Chilean are Rashford and Jesse Lingard, and Mourinho is reportedly behind the decision.
It is believed that Mourinho wants Sanchez's positive attitude to work to rub off on the youngsters.
Michael Carrick, who captained United against Yeovil on his first appearance since September, has seen plenty of stars come and go in his 12 years at Old Trafford.
The former England midfielder was quick to hail Sanchz's signing as a coup as he labelled the flamboyant playmaker a perfect United star.
"He is not bad is he? Not bad for a little !an," Carrick said.
"He is going to be a terrific player, he is a proper Manchester United player, and it's great to have him here.
"He is so exciting and so dynamic. He's always looking to create opportunities, to play forward and the fans are going to enjoy watching him, hopefully we will enjoy playing with him."

Steven Griffiths
Agence France-Presse/London

Coaches Angry And Baffled Over VAR Decisions

The introduction of a video replay system (VAR) for referees was supposed to eliminate doubts over decisions and allow the soccer to take center stage.
The main talking-points from the Sunday's Serie A matches in Italy, however, again centered in refereeing only adding to the confusion rather than stopping it,
That could make worrying viewing for FIFA which is hoping to use VAR at the World Cup in Russia provided the system, currently in use on a trial basis in a number of countries, is authorized by the sport's law-making body IFAB. A decision is expected on March 3.
FIFA will have to ask how a system, which is still causing confusion after five months of use in Serie A, can be expected to run smoothly in a tournament where it will be new to most referees and players.
iFAB told Reuters in a stetement that it is "analyzing all live VAR tests worldwide to ensure that, if VARs were given the green light (...) the involved referees, video assistant referees and other match officials are effectively equipped and prepared."
It added that "it is the participating competition organizer's responsibility to provide adequate training and education for their referees."
The incidents which led Gazzetta dello Sport to talk of a "black Sunday for referees and VAR concerned a Milan goal against Lazio which both coaches agreed was handball and a last minute match-winning Crotone goal disallowed  against Cagliari.
Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi said it was unbelievable that Patrick Cutrone's goal for Milan was given when television replays showed the ball went in off his arms.
"I would like to lose for once withou VAR in the middle," said Inzaghi, who has previously complained that VAR has taken the enjoyment out of the sport.
Crotone's 90th-minute goal was initially awarded but the referee changed his mind and gave offside after reviewing the incident, a decision which took several minutes. Replays suggested the goal should have stood.
"We had won the game," Crotone coach Walter Zenga said after the 1-1 draw.
"I saw the incident on television and it dawned on me that it wasn't offside and I don't understand how the referee could have made that mistake despite reviewing the incident. It's inexplicable."
Another drawback with VAR, which had been exposed in Serie A, is that controversy also arises if a decision is not reviewed - as happened in Napoli's 3-1 win over Bologna.
Bologna thought they should have been awarded a penalty for handball by Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly when the score was 1-1 and wete equally angry at a penalty awarded to Napoli for the slightest contact on Jose Callejon.
"In the first incident, (the referee) took the responsibility for the decision himself, maybe to save time, and in the second, he left it to someone else, in this case, the VAR," Bologna coach Roberto Donadoni said.
"I would have prederred the same degree of judgment for both decisions."
The length of time it takes to make decisions is another bone of contention, with Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri warning last year that matches could last "three of four hours" if it was overused.
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said on Monday that, with or without VAR, decisions would always depend on the interpretation of the referee.

Reuters/Milan

Barca's Pique Extends Contract Until 2022

Barcelona's Spain defender Gerard Pique has signed a contract extension until 2022 which will take him beyond his 35th birthday, the Liga club said on Monday.
"I am really happy to be celebrating my extension because this is my home and since my return, my desire has been to end my career here," said Pique, who will have served 14 years with the first team as a professional by the time the contract ends.
Pique started out in Barca's youth ranks before joining Manchester United in 2004 but returned to the Nou Camp four years later and has since played over 250 league games.
”It's a special day, Gerard Pique is an experienced player, a Barca fan from birth and let's hope we can continue to keep winning trophies. The deal was an easy one," Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu told a news conference.
Pique also said on the club's website, fcbarcelona.com, that there was never any question of him playing anywhere else.
"I can only see myself in a Barca shirt. If I had not extended my contract then I would have stopped playing because I only play football because I play for Barca," he said.
Pique has won three Champions League and six Liga titles plus five King's Cup, five Spanish Super Cup, two European Super Cup and three FIFA Club World Cup trophies with Barca.

Reuters/Barcelona

Mascherano Gets a Nickname In China

Disappointed Chinese soccer fans branded Carlos Tevez "very homesick boy" but they have an altogether fonder nickname for his fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano," pony brother."
The 33-year-old Mascherano last week left Barcelona for Hebei China Fortune in the Chinese Super League (CSL), weeks after the forward Tevez returned to Boca Juniors following a miserable year at Shanghai Shenhua.
Tevez's unflattering nickname was a play on how his surname is pronounced in Chinese and a nod to his problems setting for long periods anywhere un his career.
But defender Mascherano, who played with Tevez at Corinthians and West Ham United early in their careers, makes the move to the CSL with a far better reputation.
That is reflected in his "Pony Brother" moniker - the "Ma" in Mascherano sounds familiar to the word in Chinese for pony.
Hebei, in China's north, referenced Mascherano's nickname in announcing his signature on Wednesday, saying in a club statement: "He is famed for his iron-blood style and his forever tireless running.
"He is loved by his teammates and fans and has a loving nickname as 'Pony Brother."

AFP/Shanghai

Cahill Returns To Millwall Ahead of World Cup

Veteran Socceroo Tim Cahill has rejoined former club Millwall on a short-term deal, the English Championship side said, as the striker looks for more game time to secure his spot in the World Cup squad. Cahill, who quit Melbourne City in December after rarely featuring in the starting line-up since joining the A-League side in 2016, played a key role in helping Australia qualify for Russia 2018.
"I"m really happy. I've had a great career as a footballer, but to come here now at this stage of my career, with eyes on a World Cup place, it's such a professional environment," Cahill told Millwall's website in Monday. "The romance of the story is definitely not lost in me. I've always said that if I came back to England, I'd come home."
Cahill is Australia's most prolific international soccer with 50 goals and is seeking to represent his country for a fourth-consecutive World Cup in June-July.
The 38-year-old will join Millwall's squad for the rest of the 2017-18 season, which ends in early May ahead of the play-offs.
Millwall manager Neil Harris said the team would benefit from Cahill's wealth of experience and enthusiasm, adding that the Australian was "in terrific shape."

AFP/Sydney

Sane Damages Ankle Ligament: Man City

Manchester City winger Leroy Sane damaged ankle ligaments in his side's 20 FA Cup fourth-round win away to Cardiff City at the weekend, the Premier League leader confirmed on Monday.
The German wad injured in a nasty challenge in the first half by Cardiff's Joe Bennett, who was shown a second yellow card for the tackle and later sent off for a second bookable offence.
Sane wad replaced at half-time and City manager Pep Guardiola later said he feared he could be "out for a while," possibly a month.
While confirming the nature of the injury, City did not put a time table on a return for Sane, who was scored 11 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions this season.
"I suffered ankle ligament damage, but I think it isn't bad as it looked," Sane wrote in Twitter. "My rehab will start soon and I'm motivated to be back on the pitch as soon as possible!"
Guardiola was furious about the challenge, and about a later one by Bennett on Brahim Diaz, and went onto the field after the final whistle to complain to referee Lee Mason.
Bennett was shown a second yellow for his challenge on Diaz.
Guardiola later called for referees to do more to protect players from bad challenges.

AFP/London