Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu has put the weight of expectation on Chinese powerhouse Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao by claiming there is no pressure on his team heading into the AFC Champions League final.
Olaroiu and Co. will welcome Chinese champions Guangzhou to Al-Rashid Stadium in Dubai for Saturday s opening leg.
Al Ahli are featuring in their maiden Champions League final, having qualified for the knockout round for the first time following group-stage exits in 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2014.
Meanwhile, Guangzhou, who hoisted the Chinese Super League trophy aloft last week, are set contest a second continental final after winning the 2013 showpiece.
With that in mind, Olaroiu believes his Emirati outfit have nothing to lose against Luiz Felipe Scolari s bi…
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Looking to finish off the job on Wednesday night and book their spot in the final of this year s EFL Cup, Chelsea will make the trip to rivals Tottenham on Wednesday night.
Tottenham
Starting with the hosts, while Tottenham might have managed to extend on their FA Cup adventure over the weekend, Spurs will know that they avoided a major upset on home soil. Having to mount a late comeback after falling 1-0 down to League One relegation scrappers Morecambe, Antonio Conte has been vocal about the level of his squad over the past week. Although the Lilywhites might have found an immediate boost under the former Chelsea boss, they have once again shown some recent signs of an issue. Hit with a deserved 2-0 defeat when they made the trip t…
Nemanja Matic insists reports he had a bad relationship with former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho were written by idiots .
Mourinho parted company with Chelsea last week after the Premier League champions lost nine of their opening 16 league matches.
There were persistent rumours of dressing-room unrest throughout a difficult campaign for Chelsea and the club s technical director Michael Emenalo cited a palpable discord between manager and players as one of the reasons for Mourinho s exit.
Matic is one such player who is rumoured to have fallen out with Mourinho as the Serbia international struggles to replicate the form that made him such a key part of Chelsea s title success last season.
However, Matic says he and Mourinho merely laughed at th…
Lionel Messi and his father Jorge will begin their trial over tax fraud charges on May 31, the Catalan Superior Court of Justice has confirmed.
The Barcelona star and his father have been charged with three counts of tax fraud worth €4.1 million dating back to a period of time between 2007 and 2009 and has had his trial date confirmed as being between May 31 and June 3.
Messi had been set to avoid a trial on the grounds that Jorge Messi was apparently responsible for his son s tax obligations.
However, the state attorney later opted to overrule the advice of prosecutors and ordered both to appear in the Eighth Court of Barcelona.
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Pepe Reina has joined Como, whose preparations are under way for their first Serie A campaign in 21 years.
Como, coached by former Spain, Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas, gained promotion back to Italy s top tier last season by finishing second in Serie B.
And they have made 41-year-old goalkeeper Reina their seventh signing of the summer transfer window.
Ex-Liverpool, Napoli and Bayern Munich shot-stopper Reina, who played alongside Fabregas for Spain, joins Como after leaving Villarreal, where he had spent the last two seasons.
Como 1907 is pleased to announce the signing of Pepe Reina until June 2025.
An experienced goalkeeper, Reina has defended the goals of Barcelona, Villareal, Liverpool, Napoli, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Aston…