Striker shortage forcing Tuchel to experiment

Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel says he is being forced to play some of his team in an unfamiliar striking role due to his lack of options up front.

Dortmund cruised to a 4-1 friendly win over Luzern on Tuesday in a game that saw Jonas Hofmann and Marco Reus both take up the position as a central striker.

The Bundesliga side face Juventus on Saturday before playing their first competitive game under Tuchel's stewardship against Shakhtyor or Wolfsberger in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League four days later.

"There's a little shortage in our centre forwards, and because during our friendlies we don't want to give the players too many minutes and Adrian [Ramos] is not ready yet, so we're trying different things," Tuchel said.

"We tried Kevin Kampl in the centre but now we would like to give him a chance on his regular position on the wings, so that he could prove himself to us.

"Jonas had really good training sessions in different positions and showed us his versatility, and that's why we want to see this yesterday in a game situation.

"And then it's always weighing up how to do that. We want to get new ideas but on the other hand we need situations where we are comfortable.

"So that everyone knows where to go and to create chances. After half an hour we changed and put Marco through the middle up front. We knew already that he could play this position and that this would work.

"At the moment it's kind of an experiment and Jonas showed us that he could play all positions offensively even though it was unusual to him.

"He is more effective for us at the moment if he comes from the wings. But in the middle it's a really tough situation for us at the moment."

Oscar rejects Chelsea exit talk

Chelsea midfielder Oscar has rejected talk of a move away from the Premier League champions, amid interest from Juventus.

The Brazil international was picked out by Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri as a potential signing last month.

However, the player's agent has already distanced him from a move, and Oscar has now reiterated his desire to stay at Stamford Bridge and build on his three trophies since arriving in 2012.

"I will be staying at Chelsea," he said. "The aim for this season -- to win as many titles as possible."

Oscar lifted his first Premier League title last season, making 26 starts as Jose Mourinho's side finished eight points clear of Manchester City.

Gerard handed Barcelona B role

Gerard Lopez has become the latest ex-Barcelona midfielder to assume the role of head coach for the club's B team after agreeing a two-year contract.

The 36-year-old will follow in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique in taking charge of the Camp Nou outfit's second string, with Barca hopeful he can ultimately emulate their successes.

Both Guardiola and Luis Enrique went on to win trebles with the first team after learning their trade with Barca B, but the new boss in solely focused on lifting the club back into the second division.

"It is an honour to return to the club," he told the club's official website. "My family has been linked to Barcelona, I spent many years at the club and me back is better than I could spend.

"As a coach of Barca B have two major challenges – to return Barca B to the Second Division A and help youth players can climb into the first team.

"My experience in the squad and the club branch will be useful to me, because I put myself in the skin of the players. I want to start work and I am convinced that next Pep Segura will a great job. "

During his playing career Gerard made 140 appearances for Barca, scoring 10 goals in his five years there.

Liverpool seals Benteke deal

Liverpool have finally sealed the signing of forward Christian Benteke from Aston Villa after a lengthy pursuit of the Belgium international.

The 24-year-old has agreed a "long-term contract" at Anfield after impressing with Villa, where he scored 49 goals in 101 appearances.

It is thought Benteke's release clause was £32.5 million, which would make him the second most expensive player in Liverpool's history after Andy Carroll.

"I came here to win trophies," Benteke told the club's official website. "I came here to reach some great goals with the team.

"I'm very happy to be part of the Liverpool family now and I will do everything to make them happy and work hard for them and my team-mates."

It is the latest transfer in a busy window for manager Brendan Rodgers, who has already brought in the likes of James Milner, Danny Ings, Roberto Firmino and Nathaniel Clyne.

The movement has not all been one way, though, and want-away England star Raheem Sterling completed a switch to Manchester City last week, while Liverpool will be without stalwart and club legend Steven Gerrard next season following his move to LA Galaxy.

Rodgers will be hoping to improve on a disappointing 2014-15 campaign that saw his side finish sixth in the Premier League, having been challenging for the title the season before.

Replacing Luis Suarez - now at Barcelona - has been the Northern Irishman's biggest problem, with Daniel Sturridge's injury problems adding to Liverpool's goalscoring difficulties last season.

In the 2013-14 season they scored 101 top-flight goals, but saw that figure plummet to just 52 last term. 

For Tim Sherwood's Villa it is another blow, albeit one that had been a long time coming, with midfielder Fabian Delph having already departed for Manchester City.

Drogba confirms MLS talks, open to Inter move

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba confirmed he is in talks with an unnamed team from MLS, but the Ivorian did not rule out a move to Inter.

Drogba has made no secret of his desire to play in the United States and the free agent is reportedly set to join Chicago Fire, whose coach Frank Yallop was tight-lipped amid growing speculation on Saturday.

Fellow MLS outfit and CONCACAF Champions League finalists Montreal Impact have also been linked with the 37-year-old striker, while reports suggest Serie A giants Inter are interested.

"I'm not aware of that situation [with Inter]," Drogba told FCInter1908.

"Inter are a great club, and certainly if they were to contact me I'd gladly listen to their offer, but I'm currently in talks with an MLS club.

"Inter could be an option if they really are interested in me."

Ex-Ivory Coast captain Drogba was further quizzed about Inter's interest and his willingness to provide back up for Argentina international forward Mauro Icardi should he make the move to Italy.

The two-time African Player of the Year said: "It would be absolutely no problem.

"In every team there are players you have to compete with for a place in the team."

Drogba scored over 150 goals in two different spells for Chelsea, winning four Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League in the process.

Rooney to make Everton return

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney will once again pull on an Everton shirt after agreeing to play in Duncan Ferguson's testimonial next month.

Everton fan Rooney came through the youth ranks at Goodison Park and played alongside fellow striker Ferguson after breaking into the first-team as a 16-year-old.

The England skipper departed for United in August 2004, but he will feature for Everton against Villarreal on August 2 to honour a player he described as a "hero".

"As a young lad growing up in Croxteth, Duncan Ferguson was a hero of mine, as a young player at the club he was an inspiration and when I broke into the first team he helped and looked after me," Rooney told Everton's official website.

"I cannot think of a better way to thank Dunc for all he did for me than turning out in his fully deserved testimonial match. Had he not asked me to play I would have gone and supported him on the day as I am sure most other Evertonians will."

Ferguson is a cult figure at Everton having scored 72 goals in 191 appearances across two spells at the club.

And the Scot spoke of his appreciation that Rooney has agreed to feature in the match.

"I'm absolutely delighted that the wee man has agreed to play in the game," Ferguson said. "Everybody knows that we go way back. I knew him as a kid, he's a top man and I'm proud as his friend that he's fulfilled the potential we always knew was there.

"Wayne's a world-class player and I'm genuinely thrilled that he will play on the day."

Pellegrini hints at further City signings

Manuel Pellegrini has revealed that Manchester City could make further signings ahead of the new season, but stopped short of naming any targets.

City have been busy in the transfer window, signing Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling in a reported £49million move while also bringing in midfielder Fabian Delph from Aston Villa, as well as teenagers Patrick Roberts and Enes Unal from Fulham and Bursaspor respectively.

The Premier League club have been linked with Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba as they seek to regain the Premier League title, having finished eight points behind champions Chelsea last season.

Pellegrini said ahead of Tuesday's International Champions Cup clash with Roma: "I don't talk about rumour and names.

"When we have the player that we want you will know in that moment but at the moment we just have Delph, Sterling and Patrick Roberts.

"We will see in the future maybe more players will arrive but we cannot talk about names because we are not sure who will come.

"Our target is to try and have the strongest squad. I am not talking about names or positions but in the next days probably you will see who will arrive here. We are trying to have only the strongest squad and we will see which is the position we need."

Comedian throws money at Blatter in stunt

Sepp Blatter's media conference was delayed on Monday as a British comedian threw bank notes at the outgoing FIFA president as he took to the stage.

Blatter was facing the media in Zurich, following Monday's confirmation that an election to appoint his successor will take place on February 26, 2016.

But the news conference was held up in bizarre fashion as British comedian Simon Brodkin - who often uses the stage name Lee Nelson - approached the stage and threw money at Blatter.

Brodkin - whose previous stunts have seen him gatecrash an England photoshoot and Manchester City's pre-match warm-up during a Premier League game - was later photographed in a police van, having been escorted from the stage by security.

Blatter announced his intention to resign in June four days after winning a fifth term as president and six days after 14 people, including nine FIFA officials, were indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy and corruption.

The Swiss has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Responding to the incident when the conference eventually started, Blatter said: "I'm sorry what just happened. I just called my late mother and she said 'don't worry it's just a lack of education'."

Raheem Sterling denies Liverpool sickie

Raheem Sterling has denied calling in sick for Liverpool training before his move to Manchester City.

Sterling, 20, last week completed a switch to the Etihad Stadium for a fee which could reportedly rise to £49million after an acrimonious departure from the Merseyside club.

The England international missed two days of training in his final week at the club, with suggestions he was trying to influence transfer talks.

But Sterling said it was a genuine illness – and the Liverpool doctor – that prevented him from training.

"Everyone thought I threw a sick note in. I was in training on the Tuesday - in the changing room my stomach started hurting. I still went out and trained though," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"That day I went home, and I told the doc I was ill. My stomach was rumbling and I had diarrhoea.

"The doctor just said to me you can't be around the other players. For the next 48 hours, I stayed at home.

"That's what the club doctor told me to do. When that 48 hours was done I came back to training as normal."

I inquired from Terry and Cahill advice on Falcao says Mourinho

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho consulted with central defensive duo John Terry and Gary Cahill before bringing Radamel Falcao in on loan.

Eyebrows were raised in some quarters when Mourinho opted to sign Falcao on loan, after the Colombian endured a difficult temporary spell at Manchester United last term.

But Mourinho has revealed that he spoke with Terry and Cahill about the former Atletico Madrid man, who they believe still has the qualities that made him one of Europe's most-feared strikers.

"We think the bright movement is there, the movement to get freedom in the box to score goals is there," said the Portuguese.

"Our players had difficulty to control him all the time and we feel the potential is there.

"Let's see if he can improve his confidence, his happiness.

"If the fact we have a good community of Portuguese people, plus the guys who were with him in Atletico [Diego Costa and Filipe Luis], let's see if this situation can help him.

"I watch Portuguese football regularly and in Porto he was very good.

"When he was at Atletico, I was in Real Madrid, so there were a few years where I was with him all the time. 

"Last season I watched our game against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge a few times because of him."

Espanyol turn down Real bid for Casilla

Espanyol president Joan Collet has revealed the club turned down a bid from Real Madrid for goalkeeper Kiko Casilla.

Having previously turned out for Real's reserve team earlier in his career, Casilla joined Espanyol for the 2007-08 campaign.

In recent days, reports have emerged suggesting Real legend Iker Casillas could be set to depart the Santiago Bernabeu, with speculation mounting that Casilla could make the switch to the capital to replace him.

Speaking on Saturday, Collet confirmed Espanyol had rejected Real's offer, while striker Christian Stuani could be in line to leave the club for pastures new.

"There is no negotiation with Real Madrid right now, we have rejected the offer," he said.

"We are negotiating the possible departure of Stuani."

Derby hit £250,000 jackpot prize

Derby County have become the latest club to benefit from Sky Bet's Transfer Fund after being selected to receive £250,000 on Friday.

The scheme sees fans entering the draw on behalf of their clubs before a winner is selected at random, and the prize money will allow Derby to invest in new players and wages.

Derby fan Richard Jones won the prize for his club and Paul Clement's side could now dip into the transfer market for a seventh time during the close season.

Tom Ince was the latest to arrive at the Championship club for a club-record fee from Hull City, joining Scott Carson, Alex Pearce, Andreas Weimann, Chris Baird and former loanee Darren Bent.

Clement is also a new arrival at the club - the former Real Madrid assistant replacing the sacked Steve McLaren, who is now manager at Newcastle United.

Messi lost his third major international career

Lionel Messi will end his career with an international trophy, Argentina team-mate Ezequiel Lavezzi insisted after Saturday's Copa America loss.

Messi, who has only won titles with Argentina at under-age levels, lost the third major final of his international career in Santiago, with Chile triumphing 4-1 on penalties after the visitors had dominated the goalscoring opportunities through 120 goalless minutes.

Argentina's failure at the Estadio Nacional will only serve to strengthen arguments by critics that Messi will not be truly great until he earns silverware for his country, but Lavezzi reckons it is only a matter of time before he dismisses those doubters.

Messi was also on the losing side in the 2007 Copa America final and last year's World Cup decider in Brazil.

"At some point Leo [Messi] is going to win something with Argentina," said Lavezzi, who came off the bench in the first half to replace Angel di Maria.

"We thought this was an opportunity to make our mark, but unfortunately we could not. It hurts a lot. Once again we are left with a bitter taste. It hurts because we believed that this was the chance to win something.

"I think that we should continue on this path. We are all very good in terms of the group. We are just missing that little step to achieve something."

Lavezzi was one of 10 players to have played a role in both this year's Copa decider and the 2014 World Cup final, while only Messi and Javier Mascherano have three final losses to their name after succumbing 3-0 to Brazil in Colombia eight years ago.

Mascherano could not believe he had missed out on an international winner's medal again.

"I cannot find a way to describe it. Hopefully, in the future Argentina can win," the Barcelona defensive midfielder said.

"I wanted enjoyment with this shirt like anyone, but I have to suffer.

"…Three finals of the Copa America and I lost all three. I cannot find an explanation.

"I thank the fans for the support, like a year ago at the World Cup. We could not provide the joy that we wanted. It is a torture.

"It's a great sadness, especially for us who were doing very good things."

Messi, who was the only Argentine to convert a penalty against Chile, won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina's under-23 team in 2008 and the FIFA Under-20 World Cup three years prior.

Stephen Keshi sacked as Super Eagles coach

Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi have been relieved of his duty after been sacked by the Nigerian Football Federation(NFF).

The NFF made the announcement on Saturday amid reports Keshi applied for the vacant Ivory Coast coaching job.

A statement on the NFF's official website read: "Having thoroughly reviewed the reports/findings of the NFF Disciplinary Committee and NFF Technical and Development Committee, as well as having reviewed the actions and inactions of Mr. Stephen Keshi, in the performance of his duties as Super Eagles' head coach, which we found to lack the required commitment to achieve the Federation's objectives as set out in the coach's employment contract.

"To this end and pursuant to the provisions of Clause 4.3 of the Employment Contract between Mr. Stephen Keshi and the NFF [the contract] and the various clauses therein, the Nigeria Football Federation has decided to exercise its option to summarily terminate the employment contract of Mr. Stephen Keshi with the Federation with immediate effect."

It is not the first time the NFF and Keshi, who signed a two-year deal in April, have parted ways.

After being appointed in 2011, Keshi resigned two years later but quickly reversed that decision, before his contract expired after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Keshi continued in his role on a match-by-match basis for the 2015 AFCON qualifying campaign, though he was replaced by Shaibu Amodu in October - only to be reinstated two weeks later.

The 53-year-old was unable to lead Nigeria to the finals in Equatorial Guinea, however, with Daniel Amokachi taking over on an interim basis after that failure, before Keshi returned to the hot seat in April.

"In the interim, the Super Eagles' team affairs will be jointly managed by assistant coach, Salisu Yusuf and the Technical Directorate of the NFF headed by coach Shaibu Amodu, until the Federation names in due course a new head coach, who, along with the NFF will chart a new direction for the Super Eagles to ensure credible participation in international competitions and assist in building a sustainable football culture for the country," said vice-president Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi.

Tevez: Those who dont love Messi knows nothing

Carlos Tevez says Lionel Messi has the support of the Argentinean people going into the Copa America and suggested any detractors should be ignored.

In the past, four-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi has been the subject of apathy from some in his home country thanks in part to leaving Argentina for Barcelona at a young age while also having struggled to replicate his form consistently with the national team.

In contrast, Tevez - who ended a three-year Argentina exile in November - is considered a 'player of the people'.

However, the Juventus striker defended Messi ahead of Argentina's Copa America's opener against Paraguay, telling the competition's official website: "I believe the people do love [Messi] because he’s Argentine and because he's the best in the world.

"He who doesn't love Messi knows nothing about football or about life. More than that, I don't know what’s going on in their heads.

"Messi is still the same. What has changed is that he has three or four kilos less than before. That means he has more desire, it changes your state of mind, it changes everything.

"I believe he is in his best moment."

Tevez was frozen out of the national set-up by Gerardo Martino's predecessor Alejandro Sabella, with some reports suggesting it was because of a fractious relationship between the Juve man and Messi.

Those suggestions were previously denied by the Barca star, with Tevez explaining:  "I missed the dressing room. I missed the guys. I missed this atmosphere.

"I'm 31 now, not 20 any more like I was before. Before I speak, I think about things. Before I spoke without knowing. That has made me more mature.

"You have to be intelligent when you get something wrong and try to always learn when you make a mistake. It's not good to make the same mistake twice and not learn."

Lewandowski nets four-minute hat-trick in Poland win

Robert Lewandowski scored a last-gasp four-minute hat-trick to give Poland a 4-0 win over Georgia in Euro 2016 qualifying on Saturday.

The hosts were leading 1-0 in Warsaw heading in to the 89th minute, thanks to Arkadiusz's Milik's 62nd-minute strike, before Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski added gloss to the scoreline with his late flurry. 

Lewandowski made it 2-0 as he smashed a shot beyond Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Loria after being played in by Milik.

The former Borussia Dortmund man scored his 25th goal in a Poland shirt with a header from Jakub Błaszczykowski's looping right-wing cross and then netted his 26th as he slid home a fourth from another Milik pass.

That was enough to take him to the top of the Euro 2016 qualifying goalscoring charts, with seven in total so far in the campaign.

Poland sit top of Group D, ahead of Germany and Scotland.

Ayew joins Swansea

Swansea City have announced a deal to sign Andre Ayew on a free transfer.

The Ghana winger has been on the lookout for a new club ahead of the expiry of his Marseille contract and has opted to move to the Premier League, penning a four-year deal at the Liberty Stadium.

Ayew had been linked with West Ham prior to joining Swansea and the 25-year-old becomes manager Garry Monk's first new arrival of the close-season.

Capped 63 times for his country, Ayew made 207 appearances in his eight years at Ligue 1 side Marseille.

Ayew will wear the number 10 shirt vacated by Wilfried Bony when he left Swansea for Manchester City in January.

Fiorentina seeks great comeback against Sevilla

Vincenzo Montella will look to mastermind one of the great European comebacks when Fiorentina host Sevilla in Thursday's UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg.

Reigning champions Sevilla took a huge step towards returning to the final with a 3-0 victory in last week's first encounter at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Unai Emery's side will now attempt to complete the job in Florence, as Sevilla continue their quest to become the first team to win Europe's secondary competition on four occasions.

However, history suggests the Andalusian outfit must err on the side of caution. Indeed, in last season's competition Valencia overturned a 3-0 deficit to progress 5-3 on aggregate in their quarter-final encounter against Basel.

Head coach Montella, whose side recorded back-to-back Serie A victories by beating Empoli 3-2 on Sunday, has not given up the ghost yet.

"On Thursday, we will above all need great self-belief," he said. "It is my duty to transmit my belief to the team.

"It will be a huge task, but I believe we can do it against Sevilla."Part of Sevilla's success has been the goalscoring potential in their team, with Carlos Bacca and Kevin Gameiro each scoring four times in this year's Europa League - the latter netting the third goal in last week's win over Fiorentina.

The form of those two players has meant that on-loan Liverpool man Iago Aspas has been largely restricted to a substitute's role, but he is revelling in Sevilla's success this term.

"The team's season has been very good," he told EPSN.

 "We are almost into the final of the Europa League in Warsaw and fighting for fourth place in La Liga.

"I think it is a good season. On an individual level, when things were going best for me, I was starting games, I had an injury and was out for a month.

"It is difficult, as the coach has played almost the whole season with just one forward. Bacca and Gameiro have scored a lot of goals. 

I have too in the small bit of time I have got to play. But it is difficult. I have done well, but my team-mates have too."Sevilla, who are three points adrift of Valencia in the race for fourth in La Liga, travel to Italy with Beto despite the goalkeeper nursing a shoulder injury, but Dani Parejo (knee) is absent.

Fiorentina, the 1990 runners-up, have injury problems of their own to contend with. Micah Richard (hamstring), Manuel Vargas (adductor) and Nenad Tomovic (hip) are all unavailable for Montella.

Pique wants El Clasico final

While his team-mates are unfazed by who they face in the UEFA Champions League final, Barcelona defender Gerard Pique would welcome an El Clasico against Real Madrid.

Luis Enrique's men booked their spot in Berlin with a 5-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich, despite losing 3-2 at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

Newmarket and Andres Iniesta are happy to play either Juventus or Real Madrid, who complete their semi-final on Wednesday, but Pique said a clash with their La Liga rivals would be ideal.

"A final against [Real] Madrid would be very exciting and historic," Pique said."We've marked an era. 

I'm very happy to be part of this team. We'll remember for a long time, now is the time to enjoy it.

"Neymar netted a brace in Germany after Mehdi Benatia had opened the scoring for the hosts, with the Brazilian's double crucial.

The 23-year-old said his team had celebrated, but understood there was a huge game ahead of them.

"Now we have only one step left. The dressing room hosted a small party, but we still have one more step," Neymar said.

"It's very important to be in the final. It doesn’t matter who we play."Iniesta echoed Neymar's thoughts, and he would like to see Barca win the treble of La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

"Our goal was to be the final and once there it doesn’t matter who our rival is. But we mustn't stop and we have to try and win everything," the midfielder said."Being in the final is huge and it would be incredible to get the titles for the team and for the fans."

Drogba convinced me to join Chelsea - Hazard

Didier Drogba was behind Eden Hazard's big-money transfer to Chelsea almost three years ago, according to the Belgium international midfielder.

Hazard left Lille for Chelsea in a deal reportedly worth £32 million in 2012 and Rudi Garcia, who was coach of the Ligue 1 outfit at the time, claimed a phone call from owner Roman Abramovich persuaded the player to relocate to England .

However, the PFA Players' Player of the Year recipient insisted that was not the case, instead telling The Mirror that Chelsea icon Drogba convinced him to join the London club.

"I didn't want to go to Chelsea because I wanted to play the Champions League and they were sixth in the league," said 24-year-old, who has won the Premier League, League Cup and UEFA Europa League since arriving at Stamford Bridge.

"I was convinced when they won the Champions League in 2012."At the time, Roberto Di Matteo really wanted me, they had Juan Mata, and Oscar had been bought.

I was told: 'You'll see, Chelsea will play football'."Gervinho called me and said: 'Someone's on the phone'.

I didn't know who it was but it was Drogba, he wanted me to sign."I was flattered, he was maybe the best striker in the world. In my head, I wasn't going to sign, but in the end I was very pleased with my choice.

 I didn't speak to Abramovich."I don't know why coach Garcia wrote that in his book."