AC Milan appoint Giampaolo as head coach

AC Milan have finalised the appointment of Marco Giampaolo as head coach on an initial two-year contract.

Giampaolo, 51, put pen to paper after leaving fellow Serie A side Sampdoria on Saturday, with Milan holding the option to extend his contract by a further season.

The Swiss-born Italian guided Sampdoria to ninth in the last of his three seasons in charge and emerged as the leading option for Milan following Simone Inzaghi s decision to sign a new deal at Lazio.

Giampaolo replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who stood down in the wake of Milan s failure to secure Champions League qualification.

Comunicato Ufficiale: Marco Giampaolo

Official Statement: Marco Giampaolo  

— AC Milan (@acmilan)

Having spent time in charge of Cagliari, Br…

Gattuso: Champions League not imperative for Milan job prospects

Gennaro Gattuso claims AC Milan have outperformed more fancied teams this season and that Champions League qualification is not a condition of his employment.

Milan visit SPAL in their final Serie A fixture on Sunday knowing victory is essential to their hopes of sneaking into the top four.

Third-placed Atalanta and city rivals Inter both take a point advantage into winnable home matches against Sassuolo and Empoli respectively.

Gattuso has already guided the Rossoneri to their best points haul since the 2012-13 season and, having never fielded Champions League demands from the powers above, already views the campaign as one of positive progress.

Apart from Atalanta, who are enjoying a sporting miracle, we re ahead of more highly rated teams, Gattuso tol…

Thompson to leave Melbourne Victory

Former Australia international Archie Thompson has called time on his Melbourne Victory career after discussing his future with head coach Kevin Muscat.

Thompson, a three-time A-League championship winner and the league s all-time leading goalscorer with 90 goals, announced his departure on Saturday, ending an 11-year association with the club that stretches back to their inception in 2005.

He has enjoyed plenty of success at Victory, winning three championships, but at the age of 37 has called it a day and will leave the club at the conclusion of Victory s Asian Champions League campaign, which could yet extend to the round of 16 with a win against Gamba Osaka on Tuesday.

Melbourne Victory has been an amazing club to play for and I ve loved every minute of …

Rooney in serious DC United talks – report

Wayne Rooney is in advanced talks over a transfer from Everton to DC United, claims the Washington Post.

England s record goalscorer has reportedly been speaking with the MLS side for a number of weeks and it is said the club are positive about a deal. DC United have declined to comment.

Rooney is Everton s top scorer this season with 11 goals in all competitions, but he has not scored in the Premier League since December.

Last month, he was forced to deny a rift with manager Sam Allardyce, who has come in for significant criticism from fans despite guiding the team away from the relegation zone since taking over from Ronald Koeman as manager in November.

On Tuesday, Allardyce insisted it would take a massive bid to tempt Everton to sell Rooney, who only …

Prediction: Pachuca vs New York Red Bulls

Best Odds: 1/2

Bookmaker:

Hoping to pick up a first Leagues Cup victory at the second attempt in midweek, New York Red Bulls will travel to Pachuca in the early hours of Wednesday.

Pachuca

Starting with the hosts, while Pachuca might have claimed another play-off ticket last season, Guillermo Almada’s side have struggled to find any real stability since opening up the 2024 campaign. Making an immediate return to losing ways last week as they fell to a routine 2-0 defeat away at U.N.A.M, the Gophers have recorded just a single victory from any of their first four Liga MX appearances. Getting proceedings underway on July 8th with a 1-0 loss at the hands of Monterrey, the former Santos Laguna boss will also have a mounting headache over his side’s issues in th…

Chelsea and Brighton to open Caicedo talks

Chelsea are about to open negotiations with Brighton and Hove Albion over the possibility of signing Moises Caicedo, according to Fabrizio Romano. The talks are set to begin by Friday, and the Ecuador international is believed to be open to the idea of moving to Stamford Bridge. The personal terms should not be a problem.

Caicedo remains a player in high demand. The Blues have been interested in the 21-year-old midfielder since January, but Brighton refused point-blank to sell in the middle of the season. Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool have alse been linked, as have Bayern Munich. Manchester City might yet enter the race, having lost Ilkay Gundogan and facing the prospect of Bernardo Silva leaving as well.

Brighton have qualified for the Europa League next sea…

Troy Deeney to stay at Watford?

According to Sky Sports, Watford are set to keep hold of Troy Deeney after a great deal of speculation over his future. The 30-year-old has been with the Hornets ever since joining from Walsall back in 2010, and in that time he s established himself as one of the club s best players in their recent history. So then, the reports linking him with a switch elsewhere in the Premier League were obviously concerning for their fans.

Cardiff City initially approached Watford with the intention of putting in a bid, but they apparently cooled off not long after. Deeney has always been viewed as a hard-working forward who can be used across the pitch, but in this instance, it appears as if his immediate future will still be at Vicarage Road as opposed to elsewhere.

Watford s Premi…

Robben in no rush to sign new Bayern deal

Arjen Robben claims he is not preoccupied by extending his Bayern Munich contract which expires at the end of the season.

The 32-year-old Dutch winger was on target in Bayern s 3-1 win over Augsburg on Saturday.

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has previously suggested talks are planned with Robben about his future at the club.

When asked about this after Saturday s victory, Rummenigge said: Do not worry, next season we will have a great squad.

Robben s agent and father said last month the player was happy to stay at the club he joined in 2009 and that talks would take place in the autumn. 

Speaking after his goal against Augsburg, Robben suggested those negotiations are yet to begin, but he is not spending too much time worrying about i…

Maguire calls for calm over England criticism: ´We got to a World Cup semi-final playing like this´

Harry Maguire has defended England and Gareth Southgate from criticism relating to their style of play, pointing out they did well at the last World Cup and Euro 2020 playing the same way.

England were held to a 0-0 draw by Italy at Molineux on Saturday, leaving them with two points after their first three Nations League games.

Of similar concern is the fact the Three Lions have not scored a single goal from open play in those matches, with their solitary strike coming from the penalty spot in the midweek 1-1 draw with Germany.

Manager Southgate has been criticised for perceived cautious tactics, which many consider to be the root of the issue.

But Maguire is not convinced, suggesting they are not doing anything different to when they reached the 2018 Wor…

´Every World Cup should have a Maradona Day´ – FIFA chief Infantino

Diego Maradona should have a day of celebration dedicated to him at every World Cup, according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

The legendary Argentine died at the age of 60 in November 2020 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Paying tribute during the Qatar World Cup at an event to mark the second anniversary of Maradona s death, Infantino said the mercurial figure should be remembered at each subsequent tournament for his significant impact on football.

Diego is immortal, he is with us, Infantino said. We not only need to pay tribute but to celebrate also Diego. I would like that from now on, at every World Cup we would take one day to celebrate Diego Armando Maradona, because he made so many people fall in love with our sport, football.

I am Italian…