Barcelona have hired Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia, commonly known as Rubi, as assistant to Tito Vilanova for the 2013-14 season.
The 43-year-old was previously in charge of Segunda Division side Girona.
He led them to a fourth-place finish last season, but the Catalan side were denied their first ever season in La Liga as they suffered a 4-0 aggregate play-off defeat to Almeria.
The Spaniard initially joined the club in 2011 as an assitant for Javi Salamero, as they managed to fend off relegation to the third tier.
He signs a one-year deal at the Liga champions with the option to extend his contract by an extra year.
Rubi will officially begin his new role on July 15 when Barcelona meet for pre-season training.
Vilanova will remain in charge of first…
French daily that Lille are on the verge of signing Wolfsburg defender Simon Kjaer.
According to the same source, the Wolves have accepted an offer of €2 million for the player s services, with Kjaer expected to sign a four-year deal with les Dogues.
The Denmark international is set to undergo a medical on Friday, after which he will commit his future to the Grand Stade Lille Metropole outfit.
Simon Kjaer arrives at the club as a replacement for long-serving stopper Aurelien Chedjou, who joined Galatasaray in June.
The 24-year-old has spent last three years at Wolfsburg, although he did enjoy a loan spell with Roma during the 2011/2012 season.
He has scored 2 goals in 22 Bundesliga appearances since returning from Stadio Olimpico, but has deci…
Co-hosts Malaysia and Singapore advanced to the semi-finals of the AFF Suzuki Cup courtesy of wins on Saturday.
In a tight Group B, Singapore finished top after edging Laos 4-3, while Malaysia also progressed thanks to a 2-0 win over Indonesia.
K Rajagopal s Malaysia scored twice in four minutes to seal their win at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
Winger Mohd Azamuddin Md Akil and right-back Mahali Jasuli netted in the 26th and 29th minutes respectively.
In what was a re-match of the 2010 final, defending champions Malaysia prevailed and will face Thailand in the last four.
Meanwhile, Singapore finished top of the group thanks to their thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 win against Laos.
Goals from Khampheng Sayavutthi and K…
Italian goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis returns to his home country to join Serie A side Napoli, after spending the last two years in Spain and Turkey.
De Sanctis, 32, left Udinese for Sevilla in 2007, but only played eight games for the Andalusian outfit in his first season. Last year, the keeper was loaned out to Galatasaray.
In Istanbul, De Sanctis did manage to conquer a spot in the starting line-up with 31 appearances during the 2008-09 season.
The goalie, who also played three games for the Italian national team, signed a contract for the coming four seasons.
…
There were plenty of questions for Joan Laporta as he sought to explain Lionel Messi s Barcelona exit on Friday.
The morning after the night before, the Blaugrana president faced the media to give the club s stance on the failed contract talks that mean their talisman is heading elsewhere.
Laporta spoke for an hour and 20 minutes and covered a wide range of topics relating to Messi, Barca’s finances and the restrictions in place in LaLiga.
Stats Perform brings you 10 key quotes from an exhaustive news conference
The decision is over
It was a blunt answer. Laporta had not come to the news conference to give Barca fans what he described as false hope .
The decision is over, he said. It s done.
Leo is not happy
Nobod…
Clad in the blue and white stripes of Argentina, the dark-haired Messiah appears serene as red devils, guardian angels and big game hunters all eye each other up on the pitch.
At his side, the Pope stands next to a glamorous blonde while a hooded thug brandishes his baseball bat and a stern judge waves the rule book.
It sounds like a surrealist nightmare for any policeman preparing for the Euro 2008 championships, but in fact the characters are part of a new exhibition designed to show how the beautiful game touches and reflects all aspects of society.
Curators at Geneva s Museum of Ethnography had the idea of commissioning the figures as part of their Offside exhibition which shows how folklore, superstition, history and politics are all intimately linked in…
Atletico Madrid midfielder Oliver Torres has returned to Porto for a second spell on loan until December 31 2017.
The 21-year-old spent the 2014-15 campaign with the Primeira Liga outfit scoring seven goals in 26 league appearance as Porto finished runners-up behind Benfica.
He returned to Atleti last term but struggled to hold down a regular starting spot under Diego Simeone.
With competition for places in the Atleti midfield high, the youngster will have the chance to shine in Portugal once again after agreeing his new loan spell.
Óliver Torres.
Bem-vindo / Bienvenido / Welcome
— FC Porto (@FCPorto)
Oliver Torres is back at FC Porto, a club statement announced.
Oliver was one of the leading figures of the team [in…
Wayne Rooney has retained the England captaincy, Sam Allardyce has announced.
The England manager had refused to confirm whether Rooney would be his skipper since being appointed in July, but said on Monday the Manchester United man will be his skipper.
Rooney took over from Steven Gerrard as England captain in 2014 and his leadership skills were praised by Allardyce, who will lead England for the first time against Slovakia in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
Wayne has been an excellent captain for England and the manner in which he has fulfilled the role made it an easy decision for me to ask him to continue, Allardyce told the Football Association s official website.
Wayne s record speaks for itself. He is the most senior member of the squad an…
Prediction: Manchester City win
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
As millions around the world continue to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, one slice of normality has remained the same sport. We re now in a new year and that means we re going to be experiencing a whole lost of games coming at us thick and fast between now and May, which is especially true in the English Premier League. Today, we re going to take a look at something of a David vs Goliath encounter West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester City.
West Brom
The introduction of Sam Allardyce was intended to strike some life into this West Bromwich Albion side and, in some ways, it has. The win over rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Black Country derby will be talked about and remembered f…
Ajax will meet either APOEL or Qarabag in the Champions League play-offs if they defeat PAOK in the third qualifying round.
Last season s semi-finalists will take on the champions of Cyprus or Azerbaijan in a two-legged tie if they overcome the 2018-19 Greek Super League winners.
Scottish champions Celtic will take on Slavia Prague if they make it through their third-round tie with CFR Cluj.
Porto or Krasnodar will face Istanbul Basaksehir or Olympiacos, while Basel or LASK will meet Club Brugge or Dynamo Kiev.
Swiss champions Young Boys await Red Star Belgrade or Copenhagen, and Dinamo Zagreb or Ferencvaros will play Maribor or Rosenborg.
The first legs of the third-round matches are on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the return games on August 13.