Croatia are mourning the death of their former coach Miroslav Blazevic, who led them to a third-place finish at the 1998 World Cup.
Blazevic enjoyed a coaching career spanning 47 years up until his retirement in January 2015.
He won trophies with six different clubs and described ending Dinamo Zagreb s 24-year wait for the Yugoslav First League title in 1982 as his greatest honour.
The former winger spent six years in charge of Croatia and guided them to a bronze medal at France 98 in their first World Cup finals appearance.
Croatia s Football Federation (HNS) confirmed Blazevic s passing in a statement on Wednesday, two days before his 88th birthday.
The statement added: HNS would like to express the deepest condolences to his loved ones, on beha…
Brendan Rodgers is intent on improving Celtic’s fortunes in Europe as he prepares to return to the Champions League stage.
The newly-appointed Hoops manager had two cracks at the continent’s elite competition during his previous stint at the club in 2016 and 2017, but mustered only three points on each occasion.
When the Hoops got back into the Champions League group phase last year under Ange Postecoglou, they collected just two points.
Rodgers admits the tournament poses a formidable challenge for any Scottish club, but he believes it is possible for Celtic to become more competitive.
“Your bread and butter is always Scotland, you have to ensure that you have dominance here,” he said. “But I’d like to think we can do something in Europe.“I…
Basketball star Russell Westbrook has revealed he is a part of the consortium led by 49ers Enterprises which is poised to take full ownership of Leeds.
Los Angeles Clippers point guard Westbrook, who won the NBA’s most valuable player award in 2017, has followed American golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in becoming a minor stakeholder in Leeds.
Westbrook, according to Forbes the 14th highest-paid athlete in the world, said he had invested in the Yorkshire club at a sports and entertainment summit held by Sportico.
. mentioned on stage at our that he is part of the investor group led by the that is taking over Leeds United
— Sportico (@Sportico)
The 34-year-old said: “I was lucky enough to have conversations with some of the partne…
Cristiano Ronaldo has been touted as a total genius for winning Portugal s controversial penalty in the 3-2 victory over Ghana in the World Cup by a FIFA member.
The 37-year-old tucked home Portugal s opening goal from the spot to become the first player to score in five separate World Cup tournaments, though the decision to award the penalty left Ghana furious.
However, a FIFA member has suggested that the awarding of the penalty was down to the play of Ronaldo, who was deemed to have been fouled by Ghana s Mohammed Salisu.
In a briefing in Doha, FIFA technical study group (TSG) member Sunday Oliseh declared forwards were getting smarter and believes it was Ronaldo s intelligence that led to the awarding of the spot-kick.
Maybe the strikers are getting …
Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez has revealed Luis Suarez s advice after his red card against Crystal Palace earlier this season, warning him against committing another screw-up .
The Uruguay international was dismissed on his home debut for the Reds after headbutting Joachim Andersen in an altercation during the 1-1 Premier League draw in August.
That dismissal was part of a mixed start for the striker at Anfield, though Nunez appears to be turning the corner under manager Jurgen Klopp in recent weeks, scoring in each of his last four starts.
The 23-year-old revealed Suarez, his Uruguay team-mate and former Liverpool forward who was no stranger to controversy during his time in England, texted him advice in the aftermath.
Suarez scored 69 goals and recorde…
Albin Ekdal has been included in Sweden s 23-man squad for Euro 2016, despite the injured midfielder being a serious doubt for the tournament.
The Hamburg player suffered a deep cut to his back when falling onto a table while celebrating his club retaining their Bundesliga status at the weekend and it remains to be seen if he will recover in time to feature in France next month.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will captain a Swedish party that includes IFK Norrkoping forward Emir Kujovic, last year s top scorer in the Allsvenskan.
Coach Erik Hamren has also selected six members of the side that won the Euro Under-21 Championship last year.
I think we have a good mix, with a world-class player taking a big responsibility for the team, as Zlatan is doing, but also the …
Leeds United, Everton, Southampton and Leicester City all earned big results on Saturday in their efforts to beat the drop.
The Premier League s struggling sides were the big winners from the five matches to take place.
Leeds beat fellow relegation candidates Wolves 4-2, while Everton pegged back Chelsea twice at Stamford Bridge and Southampton came from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Tottenham.
Leicester, meanwhile, snatched a draw at Brentford, though 19th-placed Bournemouth lost 3-0 at Aston Villa.
Wolves 2-4 Leeds United: Six-goal thriller and two reds at Molineux
Leeds came out on top in an enthralling encounter at Molineux, with Javi Gracia s side claiming what could be a vital three points in their bid to survive this season.
Jack Harris…
Paolo Maldini has urged Milan to make the most of their Champions League run after conjuring memories of the great Rossoneri sides he represented.
After last month s 1-0 win at home to Tottenham, Wednesday s goalless draw on the road was enough to help Milan into the competition s quarter-finals for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Milan endured a run of seven campaigns without Champions League football prior to returning to the competition last season – a far cry from the success of Maldini s playing days.
The technical director, who helped Milan win five European crowns as a player, was delighted to see the Rossoneri s current crop record a notable continental win of their own.
You suffer more as a director, but your focus is different. When …
Al Nassr showed Rudi Garcia the door on Thursday and handed little-known Croatian Dinko Jelicic the chance to boss Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League.
Roma head coach Jose Mourinho had been linked with a possible Ronaldo reunion, having coached the Portuguese at Real Madrid.
Spanish newspaper AS this week claimed Mourinho had been offered a two-year contract worth €100million.
For now at least, Al Nassr have put Jelicic in charge, promoting him from his position in charge of their under-19 team.
The Riyadh-based club said: Al Nassr can announce that head coach Rudi Garcia has left the club by mutual agreement.
The board and everyone at Al Nassr would like to thank Rudi and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 8 months.
…
Scotland fans have suffered more frustration in the process of buying Euro 2024 tickets after a blunder delayed the much-awaited start of the sale.
The Tartan Army were still reeling from the sobering impact of the ticket prices for the opening match with Germany following the high of Saturday’s draw, when the sale was called off less than an hour before it was due to start at noon on Wednesday.
Scotland Supporters Club members with 12 or more loyalty points were due to be sent codes to use on UEFA’s ticket portal on the morning of the sale but too many received it.
An email to fans read: “Due to a technical error, UEFA EURO 2024 codes have been sent out to Scotland Supporters Club members who are not eligible to buy tickets at this stage.
STATEMENT…