Guangzhou R F confirmed on Wednesday they have secured coach Cosmin Contra and midfielder Michel from Getafe.
In a statement on their official website, the Chinese Super League (CSL) club announced Contra and his coaching staff will soon arrive in Guangzhou to complete the deal.
Michel, who has been on loan at Getafe from Valencia, will follow his Romanian coach to China for his first stint outside Spain.
The 26-year-old attacking midfielder, who has scored one goal in 12 La Liga matches for Getafe, has also played for Levante in his career.
Contra, who represented Romania 73 times between 1996 and 2010, has been in charge of Getafe since March but, according to reports in the Spanish media, the 39-year-old claimed the La Liga outfit had asked him to leav…
Dani Alves feels Neymar is misunderstood at Paris Saint-Germain, believing the Brazilian star needs the same treatment as Barcelona captain Lionel Messi.
Neymar has won Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophee des Champions since his world-record €222million transfer from Barca in 2017.
The 27-year-old forward scored 28 goals in all competitions during his first season, while he managed 20 before suffering a foot injury in January.
Neymar has been linked with a return to LaLiga via Barca s bitter rivals Real Madrid, and PSG team-mate Alves said the Brazil captain should be treated like five-time Ballon d Or winner Messi.
A great day for training today !
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)
Here, everyone …
Switzerland 0 Northern Ireland 0 (1-0 agg): Controversial first-leg penalty sends Swiss to World Cup
Switzerland s controversial 1-0 first-leg win over Northern Ireland in their World Cup play-off proved decisive, as Vladimir Petkovic s side played out an entertaining 0-0 draw in Sunday s return fixture in Basle to secure passage to next year s finals.
Petkovic s men were wasteful on the day, but ultimately that did not matter, with the Swiss holding firm at the back and ensuring their lead from Belfast claimed thanks to Ricardo Rodriguez s contentious penalty was enough to send Switzerland to Russia.
The first half was frantic and exhilarating in extremely sodden conditions, but Northern Ireland could count themselves more than a little lucky to remain only a goal down on aggregate at the break, with Haris Seferovic, Xherdan Shaqiri and Steven Zuber all seeing fine cha…
Brazil forward Robinho rued not being able to participate in the penalty shoot-out that saw Paraguay oust them from the Copa America yet again.
Robinho s goal in the opening quarter-hour had Brazil on track to progress past the quarter-finals in Concepcion.
However, Derlis Gonzalez equalised from the spot and then, with nothing to separate the sides at the end of 90 minutes, scored the winning penalty for a 4-3 shoot-out win.
Douglas Costa and Everton Ribeiro were the shoot-out culprits for Brazil.
Robinho was unable to take a spot-kick after being replaced by Ribeiro in the 87th minute, and admitted he had hoped Dunga would allow him to remain on the field.
It was the second consecutive time Paraguay ousted Brazil from a Copa, after also sending …
A Cyriel Dessers double took Rangers past Hearts in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final to set up an Old Firm final.
The enigmatic Gers striker slid in the opener after five minutes and then sealed the victory in the 78th minute for a 2-0 win, leaving the Tynecastle club still searching for their first win over the Ibrox side at Hampden Park.
For the most part, it was a far from sparkling performance from Philippe Clement’s side who have gone off the boil in recent weeks.
Nevertheless, Rangers will meet Celtic in the May 25 final at the national stadium by which time we will know which of the Old Firm clubs have won their cinch Premiership title race, which the Hoops are leading by three points with five fixtures remaining.
|
— Rangers…
Cristiano Ronaldo hopes he can be the man to checkmate Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022, but he does not believe a World Cup win for Portugal would end football s GOAT debate.
Ronaldo and Messi are the sport s two modern greats, with supporters of each player claiming them to be the best of all time.
However, despite European Championship success for Portugal and last year s Argentina triumph in the Copa America, neither have won the greatest team prize of all.
Ronaldo has endured a difficult season at Manchester United, yet he has arrived in Qatar in confident mood, even if he does not believe he has anything to prove.
Even if I won the World Cup, there would be this debate, he said on Monday. It s like in everything, there are some who like blondes more, oth…
The Russian FA has confirmed Pep Guardiola is a candidate to replace Dick Advocaat as coach of the national team.
An ambitious Russian federation released a 13-man list on Tuesday and the former Barcelona manager was included.
Guardiola stepped down from his post at Barcelona at the end of the 2011-12 season after four years in charge and winning 14 trophies, making him the most successful coach in their history.
The former Spain international, who earned 47 caps for national side between 1992 and 2001, cited exhaustion as a major factor in his decision and was replaced by long-time assistant Tito Vilanova.
However, despite his intentions to take a one-year sabbatical from football, the Russian FA have identified him as a candidate for the job in wake of…
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes side.
Leeds heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
SECURING SAFETY IN STYLE!
— QPR FC (@QPR)
Data Debrief
Chair has scored…
FIFA president Sepp Blatter brought an end to his 17-year tenure at the head of world football s governing body on Tuesday, four days after being re-elected for a fifth term.
In a sensational development, the 79-year-old announced his resignation in Zurich at a hastily arranged press conference, confirming an Extraordinary Congress will be held to appoint his successor.
The move caps a remarkable week that started with a corruption scandal engulfing the organisation, and finished with the exit of its president.
Here we look back on a chaotic seven days.
Wednesday May 27
Swiss authorities at the request of the United States Department of Justice (USDoJ) indict 14 people, including nine FIFA officials, on charges relating to corru…
Borussia Moenchengladbach will welcome Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League playoff on Tuesday.
Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre led his side to a fourth-place finish in the Bundesliga last season, meaning they play in Europe s premier club competition for the first time since 1978.
Their Ukrainian opponents beat Dutch side Feyenoord 3-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round.
Favre believes a positive result against Kiev will be no easy task.
Dynamo Kiev is a fantastic team. They play well. They have a lot of potential and are very creative. They are always dangerous for their opponents, Favre said.
And I don t want to speak too much about individual players but there are some really good ones. But we want to get…