Arjen Robben believes Bayern Munich have what it takes to win the treble this season.
The Bavarians previously won Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB Pokal under Jupp Heynckes in 2012-13 and Robben is optimistic about his side s chances of repeating that historic feat in 2016-17.
Winning the Champions League again is a great challenge and really motivates me, Robben told Fussbal Bild.
But we will also give our all to emerge victorious in the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal.
We will try to win it all and bag another treble. And we sure have the quality to achieve it.
Bayern are in a battle with RB Leipzig for the Bundesliga title, holding a three-point lead over their rivals after 17 games.
The race for the Bundesliga title will be a tight …
Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel feels Pep Guardiola s Bayern Munich were nowhere near as easy on the eye as his Barcelona.
The 46-year-old won 14 trophies during his four-year spell in charge of Barca as the Catalans became the team to beat with their famous tiki-taka style.
He stepped down as Barca boss in 2012, only to return to coaching at Bayern after a one-year sabbatical, guiding the Bavarians to three consecutive Bundesliga titles during his time at the Allianz Arena.
However, Tuchel was not overly impressed with the Bavarians style of play under the current Manchester City boss.
The way Bayern played under Pep was different to how Barcelona played under him. For me, Bayern were not as fluent, rhythmic, fresh and completely different as …
Besiktas are looking to cancel the loan of Loris Karius from Liverpool, according to Turkish outlet Takvim.
Liverpool signed Karius from Mainz 05 in 2016 as a highly rated goalkeeper, voted second-best between the posts in the Bundesliga the previous season behind Manuel Neuer. He was supposed to become what Liverpool now have in Alisson Becker, but their hope failed as he produced a nightmare performance in the 2018 Champions League final, which resulted in the club signing the Brazil stopper. Unhappy about the situation, Karius asked to leave and he joined Besiktas on a two-year loan.
However, it seems the newly appointed Besiktas president Ahmet Nur Cebi isn t very fond of Karius and will seek a way to have the deal cut short, sending the 26-year-old back to Merseysi…
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We already know a handful of the nations that will be competing in next year s UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, but we don t yet know them all. There s still an awful long way to go in terms of how many minutes have left to be played across the continent, but in reality, just a few games separate some teams and a place in the European Championships. The game we re going to be taking a look at today will be contested between Azerbaijan and Wales, with neither side being in the best of positions.
Azerbaijan
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Azerbaijan as a footballing nation, mainly due to their political issues as well as just how far away they are from most of Europe s more prominent sides. They have…
Erik ten Hag told his players that their drop-off in the defeat at Tottenham was unacceptable as the Manchester United boss accused some of the team of not running or sticking to their jobs.
Having finished third in the Premier League and won the Carabao Cup during a promising first season in charge, Ten Hag began the new campaign with a 1-0 win against Wolves but United were fortunate to get anything from the game.
The Red Devils were then beaten 2-0 at Spurs after a fine start faded in the capital last Saturday, but the manager hit back at suggestions his midfield was to blame.
“You also have to make clinical analysis and that assessment is not right,” Ten Hag said. “It’s not about the midfield.
“It was about the back and the front. That’s w…
Senegal are hoping coach Aliou Cisse will clamber off his sick bed to lead the team against England.
Cisse has been ill the last two days, and failed to take training on Friday as a result.
His assistant Regis Bogaert faced the press ahead of the World Cup last-16 clash but remains confident Cisse will be on the bench at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday.
He said: He s been sick for a couple of days now and he let us [the staff] take charge of training yesterday, with his instructions.
We are sure that at 10pm tomorrow, he will be there.
— FSF (@Fsfofficielle)
Senegal are African champions and edged out Ecuador to secure qualification from Group A and underline their growing reputation on the world stage.
Bogaert added: We k…
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema says he is happy with the support he has received from his team-mates and coaching staff during the Mathieu Valbuena scandal.
Benzema was arrested in November for his alleged role in blackmailing fellow France international Valbuena.
It has been a difficult past few weeks for Benzema, but the 27-year-old has tried to not let it affect his form on the pitch.
And after a hat-trick against Malmo in Madrid s 8-0 Champions League win on Tuesday his first treble for the club since 2010 Benzema says he just wants to talk about football.
I m good and all the people support me, my head is fine and that is seen on the pitch, Benzema said.
Goals are great for your confidence and for me and the team as well.
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Brighton manager Gus Poyet believes English football will be drastically different without the retiring Alex Ferguson.
The Uruguayan has never met Ferguson as a manager but having come across him in his playing days, he knows the impact the Scot has had on the English game during his career with Manchester United.
After finishing fourth in the Championship this season, Brighton are bidding to join United in the Premier League for the first time but first have to successfully negotiate a play-off semi-final against Crystal Palace and a prospective final at Wembley.
Poyet, who has been in charge at Brighton since 2009, is eager to achieve promotion for the club, but admitted that if they were to do it the Premier League will not feel the same without Ferguson.
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Manuel Pellegrini does not believe Pep Guardiola has any reason to say sorry for being linked with his job at Manchester City.
Speculation has increased that Guardiola will succeed Pellegrini at the Etihad Stadium next term after his announcement last month that he will leave Bayern Munich at the end of his contract in June.
The former Barcelona boss subsequently said his ambition to work in the Premier League lay behind his decision to leave the Bundesliga champions and this week Guardiola apologised to top-flight bosses in England, having also been mentioned in connection with Manchester United and Chelsea.
Pellegrini, who was dismissed in 2010 by Real Madrid after finishing as runners-up in La Liga to Guardiola s Barca despite claiming a then club-record tally…
Belgium international Romelu Lukaku is maturing into a top striker
Everton’s 2-0 FA Cup quarter-final victory over Chelsea on Saturday at Goodison Park was feisty to say the least.
It was a good old-fashioned blood and thunder English cup tie, which was decided by a moment of brilliance and a cool head, both provided by former-Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.
The Toffees club-record signing had failed to score in his previous four appearances against his old employers, but his brace effectively put the reigning champions out of their misery this season. Guus Hiddink’s side now have very little to play for this season.
Everton on the contrary now have at least one trip to Wembley and an FA Cup semi-final to look for and it is all courtesy of their big n…