The skipper

As we approach the end of the decade somewhat annoyingly referred to as the ‘noughties’ I thought I would pick my team of the decade from the English Premier League.

It isn’t an easy task as there have been some wonderful players. This is my opinion and it will no doubt be different to everyone else’s. That is the great thing about football, we all have different opinions that we truly believe to be right.

Consistent

In goal I am going to choose Manchester City’s Shay Given. He has been a consistent performer for many years and along with Mark Schwartzer and Brad Friedel has probably been the most consistent keeper of the decade. On his day Petr Cech or Pepe Reine may be individually better, but Shay Given gets…

Argentine striker Lucas Barrios has penned an extension to his contract at Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. The new deal, which gives Barrios a higher take home pay packet every week,  will keep The Panther at Signal Iduna Park till June 2014.

Barrios has been a revelation for Dortmund since his 4.2 million euro move from Chilean outfit Colo Colo in July 2009 . He is currently BVB s highest scorer in the league with nine goals.  Barrios also has two assists to his name this season in the Bundesliga.  Only Stefan Kiessling, who plies his trade for leaders Bayer Leverkusen, has scored more than him.

Dortmund are currently fifth in the league with 33 points, and will host Hamburger SV in the next round of Bundesliga matches this weekend.

[Source:- Borussia Dor…

Jose Mourinho claims the Premier League fixtures over the busy festive period have been arranged to give rest to some and create problems for others .

Manchester United face Sunderland on Boxing Day before Middlesbrough visit Old Trafford on New Year s Eve, with a further two matches against West Ham and Reading in the FA Cup taking place in the first week of January.

Although all sides in the top flight are facing a similar pile-up of matches, Mourinho has suggested that the games are arranged to be more beneficial to some teams than others.

The busy period is for some clubs and not for everyone because if you analyse there is no congestion for them, the fixtures are chosen to give some rest for some and create problems for others, said the Portuguese.

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Former Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath believes the reigning Bundesliga champions have made the right choice by naming Carlo Ancelotti as Pep Guardiola s successor and is confident the Spaniard s impending departure will not affect the club s form in the second half of the season.

The Bavarians announced at the weekend that Guardiola will not extend his contract beyond the end of the season and immediately named Ancelotti as the man to take over.

There is clarity at last about who will be Bayern s coach next season. The fact that Guardiola will leave will not affect the team, though, Magath told TZ.

Of course, the players will discuss it among each other. But in the end they all want to win titles and impress the new coach in the process.

Ancelotti …

Arsenal youngster Folarin Balogun is very close to signing a new contract, according to manager Mikel Arteta.

The 19-year-old England youth international had looked likely to leave the Gunners at the end of the season on a free transfer after struggling to break into the senior squad on a regular basis.

However, talks over a new deal appear to have progressed well and Arteta believes the player will commit his future to the north London club.

Speaking on Wednesday, he said: We are going to make it official when it is official and everything is done, but as I said before, I have always been very positive that he wants to stay at the club. We want him to stay at the club. We are very close.

Balogun has scored 55 goals in 78 appearances for Arsenal in yout…

Manchester United players should be embarrassed after their 6-3 defeat to local rivals Manchester City, says former Red Devils midfielder Roy Keane.

First-half doubles from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden had United four goals down at half-time, before they both capped off their hat-tricks after the interval as the visitors conceded six in a Premier League game for just the fourth time.

And despite a late double from substitute Anthony Martial and a superb strike from Antony in consolation, Keane was fuming with United s performance after Sunday s match.

It was the way they started they were slow out of the blocks. City sent a message that they were up for it, and the first goal is huge, Keane told Sky Sports.

United went down after eight minutes and they…

Brisbane Roar moved to the top of the A-League with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Sydney FC at the Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

The 2010-11 and 2011-12 champions produced a dominant performance in front of their own fans, with Matt Smith, Henrique and Jade North all scoring in a devastating seven-minute spell at the end of the first half to send Brisbane into the break leading 3-0.

Sydney, who saw captain Alessandro Del Piero limp off injured before the interval, could not muster much of a response in the second period and Thomas Broich eventually put the result beyond doubt with a fourth for the hosts on 80 minutes.

Frank Farina s men set up to frustrate Brisbane early in the game and their tactics appeared to be working until Smith broke the deadlock after 37 mi…

Big-name European coaches were considered when Bob Bradley became coach of the US football team, but the veteran American mentor made the job his own and melded a squad in his own image.

The pay-off for 3 1/2 years of team-building has come at the World Cup, where the American band of brothers bounced back from a 2006 first-round exit and have booked a date with Ghana on Saturday in the round of 16.

Confidence shown in Bradley when he took the job for six months on an interim basis has paid off with a team devoted to one another, bonded as a group with more concern about playing a role than individual glory.

We believe in what Bob does, US playmaker Landon Donovan said. It has taken a long time for some of us to wrap our heads around what Bob wanted from us. No…

Nacho Monreal has signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal, the club have confirmed.

The Spain international arrived at the Emirates Stadium from Malaga in 2013 and has since become a regular start in Arsene Wenger s first-choice XI.

Monreal has featured in all 22 of Arsenal s Premier League fixtures so far this season and has been rewarded with a new deal by the title-chasing side.

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Sampdoria striker Eder is the answer to Inter s goalscoring problems, according to former club president Massimo Moratti.

Inter s Serie A title bid has stuttered over recent weeks, with a solitary win since the mid-season break dropping them to fourth in the table.

Roberto Mancini s side have amassed 41 points, despite scoring only 26 times in 21 league matches this season, and they have been linked with Paris Saint-Germain s Ezequiel Lavezzi along with Eder as possible options to bolster their forward line.

Moratti, who was replaced as Inter owner by Erick Thohir in 2013, believes Sampdoria s 13-goal forward is a better fit than Argentina international Lavezzi.

I think the problem is there, right there – in scoring goals, he told Gazzetta dello Sport…