Michel Platini has been re-elected as UEFA president until 2015, vowing to battle the scourges of violence in stadiums and match-fixing.
The 55-year-old former France captain, who has been in the post since 2007, was re-elected unopposed at the UEFA Congress in Switzerland on Tuesday.
His policies of opening up European club competitions to lower-ranked teams and toughening financial rules on clubs to crack down on reckless spending have made him popular amongst member nations, and Platini vowed to continue to fight to reduce crowd violence.
There is no place in football for those who transform passion into violence and pride into sectarianism, Platini said.
Every country should establish a whole battery of legal measures enabling them to ban hooligans…
Spain s tactical flexibility under Luis de la Fuente has been the key to their emergence as the outstanding team at Euro 2024, believes Rodri.
Some felt Spain could struggle after being drawn with Italy, Croatia and Albania in Group B, but they won all three group games and have continued to impress since then.
They thrashed Georgia 4-1 in the last 16 before overcoming hosts Germany 2-1 in extra time in the quarter-finals, teeing up Tuesday s semi-final meeting with France.
The Opta supercomputer makes France (30%) and Spain (30%) favourites to lift the trophy on Sunday, ahead of England (23%) and the Netherlands (16%) on the other side of the draw.
Many believe Spain have played the best football at the tournament, and they lead all teams in Germany for …
Barcelona have approved their largest ever budget of €897million for 2017-18, following a record revenue in 2016-17.
The LaLiga giants earnings of €708m for 2016-17 were presented at the club s General Assembly on Saturday, with club members then approving next year s record budget with 391 votes for and 49 against.
The huge revenues did not include the €222m received from Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar, which should prompt another record-breaking set of figures in a year s time.
It is the first time Barca have surpassed the €700m barrier in terms of revenue for a fiscal year, and the club have now accumulated a profit of €175m since 2010.
Barca plan to have earned €1billion in revenues by 2021, though that strategy could be threatened by th…
1) Barcelona
Pep Guardiola, one of the Nou Camp’s favourite sons, returned to the club over the summer to take the Barcelona hot set. That despite his lack of managerial experience.
Having endured the humiliation of finishing a massive 18 points behind old rivals Real Madrid last season, Barca will be looking to bounce back by capturing the La Liga title this time around.
The club has significantly bolstered their squad over the summer, signing Sevilla pair Seydou Keita and Daniel Alves, Gerard Pique, Martin Caceres, Jose Manuel Pinto, Alexsandr Hleb and Henrique.
The hurt of last season should spur Barcelona to towards their 19 La Liga title in 2008-2009, with a much improved side to select from in 2008-2009.
2) Real Madrid
…
This NFC East clash sees the Giants travel to the Linc to face the Eagles who still have faint hopes of reaching the playoffs. The Giants are out of contention but every game against division-rivals matters and the franchise will look to finish the season strong.
Can the Eagles do enough to secure the W? Don’t miss our NFL picks and predictions for the New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles.
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Monday’s prime-time game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts might not get everyone excited, but this game is still loaded with prop gems. Will both teams try to establish the run in a game that should see a fairly neutral game script, or will either coach trust two of the worst passing offenses in football?
One thing I do know is this game is ripe for sacks, and there is just one pass-catcher I’m trusting for an Over.
Find out my free prop picks in Monday Night Football’s Week 12 game between the Steelers and Colts.
Also, be sure to check out Jason Logan’s full Steelers vs. Colts betting preview along with Robert Criscola’s spotlight player props for Matt Ryan.
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The Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts have both hit a rut. Hurts and the Eagles were held without an offensive touchdown last week in Dallas in their second straight double-digit defeat against a top NFC opponent.
The Birds have lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2021 and Hurts hasn’t helped despite NFL odds often being favorable.
However, they’ll have a chance to get back on track in Week 15 against a Seattle Seahawks team that has lost four straight and is a slight home underdog in the latest MNF odds.
Before making your NFL picks, read on for our Jalen Hurts odds spotlight for Monday Night Football as part of our Eagles vs. Seahawks predictions.
And if more NFL player props are your flavor, w…
The Cleveland Browns and Seattle Seahawks will both have the bulk of their starters on the field to open their final NFL preseason game tonight.
Deshaun Watson’s status is still in the air for the Browns, but we could get our first glimpse of him throwing to their trio of stud receivers. Meanwhile, Geno Smith will get a few series under center for the Seahawks as they continue to break in their new offensive scheme.
Find out why key injuries for Cleveland will play an important role in the outcome of this one in our Browns vs. Seahawks predictions and NFL picks for Saturday, August 24.
Browns vs Seahawks prediction
My best betSeahawks moneyline (+102 at DraftKings)
My analysis
We probably won’t know…
Farewell then, Nuno. It was, let’s face it, almost entirely doomed from the start, to the extent there is pretty much zero point in analysing the gains, the losses and the legacy of Nuno-era Spurs.
What memories will Tottenham’s 35th permanent managerial appointment leave in north London? A way of standing. An expression of sympathetic bafflement. The sense, above all, of a head coach who seemed at all times to be encrusted with an ancient sadness, a courtly keeper of the grail in someone else’s castle, whose final words, dispatched by the hand of Daniel Levy, will be “He chose … poorly”.
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But what did Spurs expect from a …
This was perhaps the perfect way to win it, the perfect way to confirm Manchester City’s status as the defining domestic force of the age and all-round era-machine.
The words used to describe this team, the semantic field of Pep-era City, tend to be mechanical. City are a juggernaut, a steamroller, a fully operational death star. They completed the league and Cup Double here with a couple of moments of routine, mid-30s brilliance from a footballer who looks less like a visitor from the footballing future, more like a cuddly pirate.
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Enter Ilkay Gündogan, still killing them softly, seven years into his time at City. This was not Gün…