French champions Paris St Germain have named former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach after sacking Thomas Tuchel, with the Argentine signing a deal until June 2022, the Ligue 1 club said on Saturday.

Pochettino, who played for PSG as a defender in the early 2000s and also captained the side, has been out of a job since being dismissed by Spurs in November 2019, a few months after guiding the north London club to the Champions League final.

The 48-year-old Argentine said he was honoured to take on the role and that the Parisian club “has always held a special place in my heart”.

“I return to the club today with a lot of ambition and humility, and am eager to work with some of the world’s most talented players,” Pochettino, who has an option for a one-year extension in his contract, said in a statement.

“This team has fantastic potential and my staff and I will do everything we can to get the best for Paris Saint-Germain in all competitions.

“We will also do our utmost to give our team the combative and attacking playing identity that Parisian fans have always loved.”

Pochettino’s first game in charge will be a trip to St Etienne on Jan. 6 when the league resumes following the winter break.

PSG have 35 points from 17 games, one point behind league leaders Olympique Lyonnais and Lille, and are through to the last 16 of the Champions League where they face Spanish side Barcelona.

“The return of Mauricio fits perfectly with our ambitions and it will be another exciting chapter for the club and one I am positive the fans will enjoy,” PSG chairman and CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi said.

“With the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, Paris Saint-Germain is committed to continue to build and move the club forward over the coming years.”

Tuchel, 47, was appointed PSG boss in 2018 and guided them to two Ligue 1 titles along with a domestic quadruple in his second season at the club.

The German, who led PSG to the Champions League final in August which they lost to Bayern Munich, was dismissed on Christmas eve following a 4-0 win over Racing Strasbourg with the side sitting third in the league standings.

PSG confirmed they had terminated his contract on Tuesday. Pochettino will take his first training session on Sunday.

Source: REUTERS

West Brom manager Sam Allardyce on Wednesday taunted old rivals Arsenal by claiming the struggling Gunners are in danger of relegation.

Arsenal are languishing in 15th place in the Premier League after their worst start to a league season since 1974-75.

Mikel Arteta’s team are just four points above the relegation zone and were thrashed 4-1 by Manchester City in the League Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Albion are second from bottom with seven points, five adrift of safety, and host Arsenal on January 2 in what Allardyce believes will be a crucial relegation showdown.

Asked if he regarded Arsenal as rivals in the fight to avoid the drop, Allardyce said: “If they are in the bottom eight at the moment, yes, absolutely.

“They’ve only won maybe one in the last 10 or so, and it appears their big results have come in the Europa League.

“And of course getting beat again last night (Tuesday), even though it’s not in the league, as it does with our players, drains the confidence of Arsenal’s players, of course it will.

“Because they’ll be wondering what has hit them, why they are down there, and what it is going to take to get out of that position.”

Allardyce often jousted with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger whenever his teams faced the Gunners.

A veteran of several successful fights to avoid relegation in his long managerial career, Allardyce is confident he can save West Brom, potentially at the expense of Arsenal.

“I know what it takes, I hope I can convince the players to respond to what I say on what it takes to get out of it, and I hope we can push on Arsenal when they play us because they’ve got a lack of confidence, and try to beat them — or anybody in the bottom eight,” Allardyce said.

Source: AFP

The Bundesliga’s bottom club Schalke 04 on Friday confirmed the sacking of Manuel Baum after just 79 days as head coach, with Huub Stevens returning for his fourth stint to try to end their 28-game winless streak in the league.

Schalke are already on their third coach this season as Stevens, 67, replaces Baum, who was appointed on September 30 after predecessor David Wagner was sacked.

At the time, Baum was described as the club’s “last bullet” in the fight against relegation.

Wednesday’s 2-0 home loss to Freiburg left Schalke three matches short of the league record of 31 games without victory, set by Tasmania Berlin in 1965/66.

This Saturday’s home meeting with Arminia Bielefeld, who occupy the relegation play-off spot, is a chance for Schalke to claim a first Bundesliga win since January.

After nearly 30 years in Germany’s top flight, Schalke are six points from safety.

“The game against Bielefeld has enormous meaning for our club,” said Schalke director Jochen Schneider.

“The team needs a new impulse and we trust Huub Stevens and (his assistant coach) Mike Bueskens to bring just that.”

Stevens is a club legend having steered Schalke to their 1997 UEFA Cup final triumph, beating Inter Milan on penalties when Bueskens was in the side.

Stevens last stepped in at Schalke when Domenico Tedesco was sacked in March 2019.

The Dutchman led the team to a 4-2 win at arch rivals Dortmund the following month which kept Schalke in the Bundesliga at the end of the 2018/19 season.

“That was definitely the last time,” Stevens insisted at the time, yet just over 18 months later he is back.

The Gelsenkirchen club, who have huge debts, are taking a financial gamble with Wagner and Baum, who both signed contracts until 2022, still on their payroll.

Source: AFP

The Cameroon international made a significant contribution for the Bavarians to help them secure an unblemished record in the group stage

Eric Choupo-Moting scored his first Champions League goal for Bayern Munich in their 2-0 victory over Lokomotiv Moscow on Wednesday night.

The 31-year-old was afforded his second start in the European competition and made the most of the opportunity to open his account for his side.

The Cameroon international teamed up with the Bavarians in the summer from French champions Paris Saint-Germain, and has been in fine form since joining the German Bundesliga side and reigning champions of the European Competition.

The game started with both sides aiming to outwit each other but failed to find the back of the net before the end of the first half.

After the restart, however, Niklas Sule broke the deadlock powering home a fine header beyond the reach of goalkeeper Guilherme. Choupo-Moting then doubled Bayern Munich’s lead with a perfect finish, his third goal for the club since his arrival at Allianz Arena.

The attacker featured for the duration of the game in his ninth appearance across all competitions for the club.

The victory ensured the German side reached the next stage of the Champions League without dropping a single point in the group stage.

Hans-Dieter Flick’s men secured 16 points from six games, finishing above Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Choupo-Moting will hope to continue his fine form in front of goal when Bayern Munich take on Union Berlin in their next league game on December 12.

The forward had previously featured for Hamburger SV, Mainz 05, Schalke 04 before moving to England to feature for Stoke City. He left the club to team up with PSG following their relegation from the Premier League and shone during his time in France.

Choupo-Moting is currently Cameroon captain and has made more than 50 appearances for the Indomitable Lions.

Source: Goal.Com

Paris Saint-Germain’s decisive Champions League game with Istanbul Basaksehir on Tuesday was suspended in the first half as the players walked off amid allegations of racism by one of the match officials. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he “strongly” condemned the alleged racist remarks.

The row erupted after Basaksehir assistant coach Pierre Webo, the former Cameroon international, was shown a red card during a fierce row on the touchline with staff from the Turkish club appearing to accuse the Romanian fourth official of using a racist term.

Television microphones picked up a furious Webo repeatedly asking why a racist term had been used to describe him.

The game at the Parc des Princes stopped in the 14th minute, with the players walking off around 10 minutes later.

Basaksehir’s Senegal international striker Demba Ba, among the substitutes for the away side, could be heard remonstrating with the official, saying: “When you mention a white guy, you never say ‘this white guy’, you just say ‘this guy’, so why when you mention a black guy do you say ‘this black guy?'”

“I strongly condemn the racist remarks made against Pierre Webo, a member of the Basaksehir coaching staff, and I believe that UEFA will take the necessary measures,” Erdogan tweeted after the incident.

The match, being played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic, is decisive for PSG who need a draw to clinch qualification for the last 16 from Group H, which also contains RB Leipzig and Manchester United.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Manchester United star Paul Pogba is “unhappy” at Manchester United and should leave in the next transfer window, his agent Mino Raiola said in an interview with Italian media.

The French midfielder of Guinean descent was at one point the world’s most expensive player.

Raiola said the World Cup-winning France midfielder, 27, needs a “change of scene” after struggling to establish himself under United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

“Paul’s unhappy at Manchester United, he can’t express himself any more as he would like to and as we expect of him,” Raiola told Italian newspaper Tuttosport.

He has to change teams, he needs a change of scene. His contract is up in a year-and-a-half, in the summer of 2022, but I think the best solution for all sides is a transfer in the next window.”

Pogba returned from a spell at Juventus for a then world-record fee of $118 million in 2016.

“The club… knows it risks losing him for nothing, as at the moment the player has no intention of extending his contract,” Raiola said.

It is not known where he will go next but Pogba has also expressed his desire to play for Real Madrid one day, particularly if that means playing under the orders of Zinedine Zidane.

The midfielder’s superb strike in Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Ham was his first goal in eight Premier League appearances this season.

Source: Africa News

Mario Balotelli has signed for Silvio Berlusconi’s team Monza on a deal until the end of the season, the Italian Serie B side announced on Monday.

In a statement, Monza said that striker Balotelli has signed a contract until the end of June, but did not disclose the Italy international’s wages.

The 30-year-old reunites with former Milan chiefs Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani, under whom he played over 2013 and 2014 and then on loan from Liverpool for the 2015-16 Serie A season.

He also rejoins former Milan teammate Kevin Prince Boateng, who signed for Monza in September.

Balotelli, who has scored 14 times in 36 appearances for his national team, played for his hometown team Brescia last season but couldn’t do anything to stop them from being relegated to second-tier Serie B.

Former Italian prime minister Berlusconi purchased Monza in September 2018 for around three million euros (today $3.6 million) having sold Milan for 740 million euros in April 2017.

The club from just outside Milan earned promotion from third-tier Serie C last season and are currently nine points off the automatic promotion places for the top flight.

Source: AFP

Borussia Dortmund’s 16-year-old striker Youssoufa Moukoko became the youngest-ever player to feature in a Bundesliga game when he came on as a second-half substitute against Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

Moukoko came on in the 85th minute in the place of Erling Haaland.

Moukoko, whose sensational run through the youth teams in recent seasons has shown him to be one of the biggest talents of his generation, made his league debut a day after his 16th birthday on Friday made him eligible to play under current rules.

Former Dortmund player Nuri Sahin had held the record, having made his debut in 2006 at the age of 16 years and 11 months.

The Cameroon-born Moukoko is already a Germany youth international with the Under-20 team and regularly played above his age group throughout his youth career at Dortmund, scoring 141 goals in 81 games for the Under-17 and Under-19 teams.

In the current Under-19 season alone he has netted 10 times in three appearances.

Source: Reuters

N’Golo Kante scored just his second international goal as World Cup holders France defeated European champions Portugal 1-0 in Lisbon on Saturday to secure a place in the Nations League finals.

Chelsea midfielder Kante was quickest to react to a rebound as he netted the winner on 54 minutes that clinched France top spot in Group 3 ahead of the final round of matches.

France lead Portugal by three points ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Sweden in Paris but are guaranteed first place by virtue of their superior head-to-head record.

Didier Deschamps’ side became the first team to advance to the finals, which UEFA has pencilled in for October next year. Portugal won the inaugural edition on home soil in 2019.

With victory for either country enough to win the group, Deschamps made two changes to the team that drew 0-0 with Portugal at the Stade de France last month.

Source: AFP

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng wants to start contract extension talks with the European champions his agent said on Wednesday amid uncertainty surrounding the future of fellow centre-back David Alaba.

Boateng, 32, a 2014 World Cup winner, is out of contract in June.

“We are open to contract talks and would be delighted to have them with Bayern,” Boateng’s representative Damir Smoljan told Sport1.

“Jerome feels unbelievably well here and the team is incredibly focused and professional.”

Boateng joined Bayern in 2011 and has won eight Bundesliga titles.

He was also a key member of the Bayern team which won Champions League titles in 2013 and last August.

The timing of his agent’s comments come days after Bayern revealed a stalemate with Alaba, 28, who also has only seven months left on his current deal.

Boateng also underlined his form on Tuesday with his first Champions League goal for five years before saying the Bavarian squad are all behind Alaba.

Along with fellow stars Mats Hummels and Thomas Mueller, Boateng was told in March 2019 by Germany coach Joachim Loew his international career was over.

However, the trio’s current form has led to calls to reinstate them for next June’s postponed Euro 2020.

Bayern coach Hansi Flick said senior club bosses “are all glad” to see Boateng in such eye-catching form.

Flick praised Boateng’s “very good” performance in Salzburg as his goal “paved the way” to victory.

Bayern lost Thiago Alcantara to Liverpool in September and Alaba, who has reportedly demanded a huge pay rise, looks set to leave in the coming months.

The league leaders have made no secret, like all top-flight clubs in Germany, their finances have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Players have to become more understanding. We have insane financial losses and haven’t had a spectator in the stadium for eight months,” chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Sport Bild.

AFP