New Lyon coach Hubert Fournier wants to build his team around defensive midfielder and current captain Maxime Gonalons.
Fournier was installed as Lyon s coach on Friday for the next two seasons, replacing Remi Garde, who decided to take a break from football.
At his first press conference as Lyon boss, Fournier declared Gonalons, who has been heavily linked to Napoli, would be his key man and urged his new employers not to sell the 25-year-old to the Serie A club.
Gonalons is the player on whom the future of the club should be built, and on whom I would like to rely, Fournier said on Friday.
But in the end I m not the one who makes the decisions and in theory a big offer can always come in.
But I m
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going to call him and let him know that I ll be …
Having drawn 2-2 at FC Twente and thrashed Werder Bremen 4-0, holders Inter Milan face their most taxing challenge to date in this season s Champions League when Tottenham visit San Siro on Wednesday.
The London side also opened their account with a 2-2 draw at Bremen but their 4-1 demolition of Twente in their last outing suggests they will be Inter s biggest rivals for top spot in Group A.
I expect a difficult match against a team that is mentally strong, who push high up the pitch and are good on the counter-attack, said Inter coach Rafael Benitez, a Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005.
We re going to have to play very well if we want to win.
A goal from Samuel Eto o his 12th in 11 games this term brought the Italian champions a 1-0 win …
Monday would seem to be a momentous day in modern football: the moment at which the Ballon d Or escapes the grasp of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Since Kaka got his hands on the prize in 2007, Messi and Ronaldo have won five awards each, both during its years as a combined FIFA accolade and as the standalone prize given out by France Football.
However, it is reported that Real Madrid and Croatia star Modric has come first in the voting for the 2018 edition, ahead of holder Ronaldo and Atletico Madrid and France forward Antoine Griezmann.
The triumph would cap a memorable year for Modric, but is he really the most deserving player of football s grandest individual prize? Two Omnisport writers go head-to-head to decide
Yes Modric s 2018 sums up 15 y…
John Terry has revealed he had daily injections for a whole year after Jose Mourinho asked him to play for Chelsea with a broken foot and toe.
The 36-year-old is nearing the end of his time at Stamford Bridge, with Terry formally leaving the club at the end of his contract on June 30.
The experienced defender has already played his last game for Chelsea and opened up about the sacrifices he made during his career with the Premier League champions.
I remember in Jose Mourinho s years he was desperate for me to play or train when I had a broken toe and a broken bone in my foot, Terry told the club s official website.
I had to have two injections in my toe every day for a whole year, one before training and sometimes the doctor would have to come out and…
England manager Gareth Southgate seemed unimpressed by Jordan Henderson s decision to take a penalty – which he ultimately missed – off Dominic Calvert-Lewin in Sunday s 1-0 win over Romania.
The Three Lions were in action for the last time ahead of Euro 2020, with England set to face Croatia at Wembley next Sunday.
Marcus Rashford scored the winning goal with a cool spot-kick after the excellent Jack Grealish had been hauled down.
But Henderson, a half-time substitute, was unable to follow suit as Romania goalkeeper Florin Nita saved his penalty late on following a clumsy Vlad Chiriches foul on Calvert-Lewin.
The Everton striker was expected to take the kick, but Henderson – playing for the first time in 106 days – stepped up as he looked to scor…
Inter are scheduled to face Juventus in Turin on the penultimate day of the Serie A season in what could be a title-deciding showdown.
Antonio Conte s side finished just a point behind champions Juve in 2019-20 after suffering just four defeats in 38 games, two of which came against the Old Lady.
The Nerazzurri are set to meet Juve on matchday 37 in 2020-21 before concluding the campaign at home to Udinese.
Inter can expect a tricky start to their title challenge. They begin away to Benevento on September 20 before consecutive games against Fiorentina, Lazio and city rivals Milan.
They face Atalanta away on November 8 and Napoli at San Siro on December 16, with their final match before the mid-season break seeing them head to Hellas Verona on December 23.…
Inter Milan coach Leonardo has credited Adriano Galliani chief of city rivals AC Milan for inspiring him to become a football manager.
Leonardo, 41, has quickly endeared himself to the Inter faithful since replacing Rafa Benitez at the helm of the troubled club, leading Inter to four straight Serie A victories.
The Brazilian got his managerial start at arch-enemy AC Milan, serving as a technical director before being promoted to head coach when Carlo Ancelotti moved to Chelsea in May 2009.
And Leonardo, speaking ahead of Sunday s clash at Udinese, admitted he owed a great deal to Inter s bitter rivals.
I ve always had an excellent relationship with Galliani, Leonardo told reporters.
I respect him a lot, he gave me a lot. He gave me many opport…
Roma caretaker boss Vincenzo Montella is looking forward to returning to Rome s Olympic stadium for Sunday s clash with Parma.
Montella was handed the reins at Roma on Monday after Claudio Ranieri resigned, and the 36-year-old who made 194 appearances for the club as a player between 1999 and 2009 said he was looking forward to taking charge of the side at home.
The Olimpico always gives you strong support, it gave me strong support when I was a player, and I believe it will do even more now I am the coach, Montella said.
We are playing Parma, a team with excellent players. They have a lot of excellent strikers, so we need to remain focused.
I expect Parma to try their hardest as they need a good result, like us.
Montella also paid tribute …
A late header from Gareth Bale kept Real Madrid s La Liga title challenge alive as they battled to a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Zinedine Zidane s side went into the match just a point behind leaders Barcelona and second-placed Atletico Madrid and knowing that victory would take them top of the table for at least a few hours, with both their rivals playing later in the day.
With Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema injured and one eye perhaps on the visit of Manchester City in Wednesday s Champions League semi-final second leg, Madrid struggled to break down a resilient Sociedad side who beat Barca at Anoeta just three weeks ago.
Bale missed three clear-cut chances, while Jese Rodriguez was also thwarted by goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and a stubborn …
Australian midfielder Tim Cahill has moved to reveal that his contract with Shanghai Shenhua has been terminated with immediate effect.
The 36-year-old had signed a new deal with the Chinese side in November 2015, but was now allowed to leave as he was not in the first team plans of head coach Gregorio Manzano for the new season.
The Australia international was clearly disappointed by the club s decision as he revealed the news via Instagram.
This is very sad especially after what I feel I have helped to build in Shanghai Shenhua on and off the park.
Just thinking about saying goodbye to my team-mates and especially the amazing fans is heartbreaking.
I will always think about what could have been for us as a club in 2016.
Tim Cahill m…