Inter Milan add 7th Chinese academy with Hong Kong launch
August 1 – Inter Milan has launched another of its Inter Academy projects in China, this time in Hong Kong, taking the number of Chinese academies to seven.
Performance
FIFPro says World Cup stars are being called back into Euro club action too early
July 31 – The international players’ union FIFPro says that at least 15 players who performed at the World Cup have taken part in UEFA club competitions less than four weeks after returning from Russia – not nearly enough time, it says, to recuperate properly.
Cameroon poised to bring in Sven-Goran Eriksson for national team job
July 31 – Cameroon have confirmed that discussions are under way with former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson to take over as coach of the Indomitable Lions.
Klopp still feeling the pain over Ramos(ifications)
July 30 – It was more than two months ago but the painful wounds of defeat are still hurting Juergen Klopp.
Mexican FA fails to convince Osorio to continue national team job
July 30 – Juan Carlos Osorio, who led Mexico to the last 16 of the World Cup, has quit after three years in charge.
Hot work. Bayer Leverkusen’s Bellarabi given medical all-clear
July 26 – Bayer Leverkusen winger Karim Bellarabi has been discharged from hospital after collapsing from exhaustion in a pre-season friendly.
Leonardo back at AC Milan as club battles for stability and a return to former glories
July 26 – AC Milan, cleared to play in the Europa League this season having initially been banned, and under new administrative leadership off the field, have brought former player and manager Leonardo back to the club as general manager.
Napoli owner de Laurentiis tells Chelsea and Sarri to back-off stealing his team
July 23 – New Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has been accused of trying to “dismantle” former club Napoli by the Italian club’s president Aurelio de Laurentiis.
Klopp picks through the bones of an increasingly crowded international calendar
July 20 – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says the gruelling demands of international football are getting so serious that clubs will soon be “collecting the bones” of overworked players.
Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola returns as Sarri’s assistant
July 19 – Former Chelsea and Italy striker Gianfranco Zola, who made 312 league and cup appearances for the club, has returned as assistant to new manager Maurizio Sarri.
Melwood’s days numbered as Liverpool give go-ahead for new training campus
July 18 – Premier League Liverpool who completed a rebuild of their Main Stand at Anfield two seasons ago, are now focussing their construction attention on the £50 million redevelopment of the club’s Academy site in Kirkby which the club has said will now go-ahead.
American dream. Rooney debuts at DC United
July 18 – Former England captain Wayne Rooney says he decided to further his career in the United States with DC United because he did not want to “hang around and be a dead weight”.
Croatia’s Lovren bemoans loss and questions if anyone really knows the VAR rules
July 17 – Croatia’s Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has poured out his heart over their World Cup final defeat saying his side “played much better football” than France.
Game changer? VAR turns from hero to villain on World’s biggest football stage
By Andrew Warshaw
July 16 – Long before the World Cup got under way, FIFA president Gianni Infantino was unequivocal. It was unthinkable, he said, for the destiny of the world’s greatest sporting occasion to be decided by a refereeing mistake.
Relevant expands with US Club Soccer sanctioned ICC Futures tournament
July 16 – International Champions Cup organisers Relevant, has expanded its tournament footprint into youth competition with the ICC Futures event that kicks off today at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.