EYESFUD

  The Inter defender will reclaim the armband for Thursday's World Cup qualifier against Uruguay as Selecao coach Tite continues his rotation policy
Inter Milan defender Miranda will captain Brazil in their World Cup qualifier against Uruguay on Thursday.
Coach Tite elected not to appoint a full-time skipper following his June 2016 appointment, instead preferring to rotate the armband around the senior members of the squad.
After former captain Neymar’s announced his decision to step down as permanent skipper following the Olympics last year, Tite insisted he would pass the honour around a group ‘full of leaders’.
Miranda was Tite’s first Brazil captain, awarded the role in the 3-0 victory over Ecuador in Quito in September 2016.
Daniel Alves has twice worn the armband (versus Colombia and Argentina), while Fernandinho (Peru), Filipe Luis (Venezuela) and Renato Augusto (Bolivia) have also led the team.
Robinho and Diego, meanwhile, each captained the side during January’s friendly against Colombia, in a match that was restricted to home-based players.

Turkish top flight club Antalyaspor said on Wednesday that their star striker Samuel Eto’o would be left out of the squad until further notice in a bitter row over comments on social media.Former Cameroon international Eto’o, who in a glittering career has turned out for Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea, had written on his Instagram account he was not being given respect for his achievements as he is black.Eto’o had moved to Antalyaspor in June 2015 as the keystone of the club’s bid in the southern Mediterranean resort city to find national and even European success.But his stint has turned sour in the past weeks amid intense rumours in the close season Eto’o would join Istanbul arch rivals Besiktas.Tensions have been compounded by a dreadful start to the new season which has seen Antalyaspor reap just one point from four matches.Eto’o had written on his Instagram account inTurkish: “Reminder — perhaps some people do not feel respect for me because I am black.”“But I am not going to come down from the level I have reached. I have been in this game for 18 years,” he added, posting a screenshot from Wikipedia of all the cups he has won.Eto’o did not specify to whom he was targeting his criticism but later posted another message insisting it was not directed at Antalyaspor chairman Ali Safak Ozturk.But Antalyaspor said in a terse statement on its website that a meeting of its board had decided to leave Eto’o out of the squad until further notice.Turkish commentators had interpreted the remarks of Eto’o as a response to apparent criticism by Ali Safak Ozturk of his performance in the early season.“No player is above the interests of Antalyaspor. Everyone must know their place,” the chairman was quoted as saying.Turkey is the latest stop in Eto’o’s eclectic career which has taken him to high-profile and lesser known football hotspots around the world.He played between 2011-2013 for Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in the Caucasus region of Dagestan before the owner pulled the plug on its ambitions.

Antonio Conte will step down from his position as
manager of Italy following Euro 2016.
Conte has been heavily linked with the managerial
vacancy at Chelsea and this move increases the
prospect of him taking over at Stamford Bridge.
The 46-year-old was appointed Italy manager in
August 2014 shortly after resigning as coach of
Juventus.
"I feel that I must go back to being a coach in a
club to have the opportunity of coaching every day,"
said Conte.
Conte led the Turin club to three successive Serie A
titles prior to taking on the national job.
Chelsea sacked Jose Mourinho as their manager in
December 2015 and appointed Guus Hiddink on an
interim basis until the end of the season.
The Blues have improved from 16th to 10th in the
league under Hiddink but have been knocked out of
the Champions League and FA Cup.
They face missing out on next season's Champions
League unless they can make up an 11-point gap in
nine games.
What are Conte's credentials?
Conte is a former Italy midfielder who made over
500 appearances for Juventus, winning five league
titles and a Champions League.
He won 35 caps for his country and was part of the
squad that was beaten by France in the final of
Euro 2000.
After spells coaching Arezzo, Bari, Atalanta and
Siena, Conte returned to Juve in 2011 and guided
them to the Serie A title at the first attempt and
without losing a game.
However, he was then charged with failing to report
attempted match-fixing during his time as coach of
Siena.
Conte pleaded his innocence but was banned for 10
months - a sentence that was reduced to a four-
month touchline suspension.
Juventus retained their Serie A title despite Conte's
absence and won their third in succession the
following season before his exit.
Who will succeed Conte?
Conte took over as Italy manager following the
country's disappointing group stage exit at the 2014
World Cup under Cesare Prandelli.
He has led the side to Euro 2016 qualification by
finishing top of their group and remaining
unbeaten, with seven wins.
Bologna manager Roberto Donadoni and Leicester
boss Claudio Ranieri have been mentioned as
possible replacements for Conte.
"We will make evaluations with serenity," said
Tavecchio. "For now, it's time to acknowledge this
and have to deal with a person who has recovered
the image of the Italian national team, his
commitment and sacrifice."

French authorities have seized documents from the
French Football Federation (FFF) in connection with
Switzerland's criminal investigation into ex-Fifa
president Sepp Blatter.
According to Switzerland's office of the attorney
general, the documents are connected to "the
suspected payment of 2m Swiss francs [£700,000]".
It said the search in Paris was carried out at
Switzerland's request.
The criminal investigation into Blatter, 79, began in
September.
The office of the Swiss attorney general said the
FFF consented to the search of its Paris base, which
was carried out on Tuesday.
Swiss prosecutors have accused Blatter of criminal
mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV
rights deal and of a "disloyal payment" to suspended
Uefa president Michel Platini.
Blatter, who served as head of world football's
governing body from 1998 until 2015, and
Frenchman Platini have denied any wrongdoing.
The pair have been suspended from all football-
related activities for six years after a Fifa ethics
committee investigation found them guilty of
breaches surrounding the payment to Platini in
2011.
They have both said they will appeal against the
decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Blatter and Platini say the payment honoured a
verbal or gentleman's agreement made in 1998 for
work carried out by the Frenchman when he was a
technical advisor for Blatter.
Last month, Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino
was elected as Blatter's successor and has vowed to
"restore the image" of Fifa.

The Frenchman has defended himself, insisting
his record at the north London club speaks for
itself and says it is unfair to judge his team
before the end of the season
Arsene Wenger insisted he was not bothered by
Arsenal fans holding up a banner asking for the
Frenchman to quit during the Gunners’ 4-0
win over Hull City in the FA Cup.
Supporters were seen with a banner reading:
'Arsene thanks for the memories but it's time to
say goodbye' during the sixth round clash at the
KC Stadium on Monday night.
Fans have grown frustrated with the club after
falling eight points off the top of the table and
with their Champions League hopes looking
forlorn after a 2-0 first-leg defeat to Barcelona.
However, Wenger was defiant after the match,
insisting his record speaks for itself and that he
will continue to do his job.
"There's nothing disappointing for me - you
know, I do my job," Wenger told reporters.
"Look at the history of the club, since the club
exists, and you will see that I have nothing to
be scared of. I don't care. I do not want to speak
about that because it is always the same story.
"I told you already sometimes the press
conferences are very boring and it is enough
now. If you have any questions, you ask
anybody else but you don't come back to me
with that.
“Do you know someone who has won it [the
FA Cup] more than me?"
Wenger also insisted it was unfair to write
Arsenal’s season off just yet and insisted his
side would continue to fight on three fronts.
"We judge the season afterwards and I’m quite
amazed so many people judge it so early," he
added.
"We have not given up anywhere and you will
see that in the coming weeks. This club has been
in a much worse position than it is today."

The Brazilian has a wonderful balance of flair
and fight and his stats for the season suggest
his performances should be generating greater
praise
He has played less Premier League minutes this
season than Alexis Sanchez, the man Liverpool
were desperate to land in the summer of 2014,
but Roberto Firmino has recorded more goals
and assists than his Arsenal counterpart.
Dimitri Payet, a contender for the PFA Player of
the Season, has the same attacking figures -
eight successful strikes and seven set-ups - as
the Brazil forward, but his defensive
contributions are nowhere close.
The Reds moved for Firmino in July last year as
Raheem Sterling pushed for a switch to
Manchester City, and the 24-year-old has posted
much better numbers than the England
international.
The former Hoffenheim man is Liverpool’s top
scorer in the league for 2015-16, their prime
creator, is instrumental to their pressing system
and has proved to be a tireless worker, yet he
doesn’t garner as much column inches as the
aforementioned names.
Payet’s luminary performances have been a
driving force behind West Ham’s accomplished
season thus far and he is deserving of every
superlative he receives. But in yet another
campaign of flux for Liverpool, Firmino has
proven to hugely effective regardless of where
he's stationed on the pitch - without the
plaudits.
In fact, just a month into the season, the
‘thiever of balls’ was labelled a flop and at
the end of 2015, he was featured on multiple
lists counting down the top 10 worst signings in
the league.
Jurgen Klopp preached patience over Firmino
when he took over from Brendan Rodgers last
October, detailing that just as he needed to learn
about English football, so too did the attacker.
Firmino moved from the Brazilian second
division to Hoffenheim, a tiny town south of
Frankfurt with a population of only around
3,000. It is referenced as a development club of
sorts, where he was allowed to quietly settle and
grow away from the glare present at a European
giant in a gigantic city.
As Klopp explained: “Firmino is a complete
offensive player. He can play each position. It
took him time to move from Hoffenheim — a
small development club in Germany — to play at
Liverpool.
"It was a big difference and Firmino needed to
adapt to his new situation, this new pressure.
“I know him very well from Germany so he
does not have to show something special to me
because I know everything about him and his
qualities.”
It is no longer just the manager who should be
appreciating the Brazilian’s talents. No player
in the league has been involved in more goals
for his club in 2016 than Firmino with 11, and
he has registered 54 tackles this season, winning
83% of them.
As Liverpool attempt to make “consistency a
hobby,” it is the man from Maceio, who has
twice netted against Manchester City and
Arsenal, that can make the difference for them.
If Firmino continues as he has, expect him to
feature on the lists counting down the top 10
Premier League signings of the season.

The Tottenham Hotspur hitman demonstrated
his class in the North London Derby, but
couldn’t do enough to guarantee victory
Often, derbies are cagey, tense, tetchy affairs,
with neither side willing to open up and go for
goal for fear of letting their opponents in.
This wasn’t entirely the case in Saturday’s
North London Derby, even though the stakes
between the two unlikely title rivals were as
high as ever.
Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal threw
everything at victory at the weekend, at least
during different stages of the contest.
It was Alexis Sanchez’s late equaliser that
ultimately decided that the points would be
shared; bad news for these two perhaps, both of
whom could fairly feel they might have taken
more from the contest, but a delight for Leicester
City, who went on to defeat Watford 1-0 to
move five points clear at the top of the Premier
League.
By the time that Alexis rescued a point with a
low finish beneath Hugo Lloris, half the crowd
at White Hart Lane were surely nauseous with
the game’s many twists and turns, desperate to
be put out of their misery—the agonising
oscillation between revitalising hope and terrible
despair—and simply settle for the draw.
Arsenal will have fancied their chances of
picking up three points when Aaron Ramsey
fired home after being found in space, but a
double-salvo from Spurs turned the contest on
its head.
The key moment came when Francis Coquelin—
who had to that point been part of an
unfamiliar but effective two-man midfield screen
for the Gunners—was dismissed for a needless
foul on Harry Kane, receiving a second yellow
card and relinquishing Arsenal’s hold on the
match.
Toby Alderweireld’s half volley drew Spurs
level, before Kane’s moment of genius.
The England international, receiving a back-
heeled pass from Dele Alli in the left channel,
then sent a perfectly measured curling strike into
the far side of the goal from the corner of the
box.

Saturday 12th March 2016
F A cup Fixtures Matches-- sixth round
Everton v Chelsea 15:00
Man Utd v West Ham 15:00
Reading v Crystal Palace 15:00
Arsenal or Hull v Watford 15:00

o paraphrase a question supposedly
asked of George Best in a hotel
bedroom, where did it all go wrong
for the FA Cup ?
The answer remains the same:
Manchester. There are two obvious
salients to help chart the decline of the
nation’s favourite knockout
competition, and both involve decisions
made in and around Old Trafford over
the past couple of decades. The first was
Manchester United pulling out of the
2000 event, with the shameless
connivance of the Football Association,
to visit Brazil instead in what we now
know to be a hopelessly naive attempt
to win votes for a World Cup in
England.
What seemed a poor decision at the
time looks even worse from today’s
perspective, particularly as United were
not only the holders but defending the
Treble. Few teams will ever get the
chance to do that, and although the
domestic cup is clearly the weakest
element of the three titles, that it should
have been the FA helping undermine
the importance of its own competition
remains scandalous.
The next big low point came almost a
decade later, when United were beaten
by Everton in a 2009 Wembley semi-
final through fielding a weakened team.
Everton would never have got past a
full-strength United side, and failed to
convince in the final against Chelsea,
but Sir Alex Ferguson decided players
such as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano
Ronaldo would be better saved for
Champions League challenges ahead.
This was not the first time Ferguson had
made clear through team selection that
the FA Cup was low on his list of
priorities, and other managers had done
the same by this point, yet disrespecting
the competition at the semi-final stage
was a new slap in the face. In the old
days teams would never have done such
a thing when they were 90 minutes
from Wembley, but United already were
at Wembley (pah!) and nothing could
have demonstrated more starkly that the
old days and the old ways had been
consigned to history.
So all those accusing Manuel Pellegrini
of perpetrating the worst ever act of
vandalism on the FA Cup are wrong.
Chelsea v Manchester City ought to have
been the tie of the round and it was sad
to see how it ended up at the weekend,
but managers are paid to make
decisions and there was not only logic
but precedent behind Pellegrini’s
reasoning. He might yet end up with egg
on his face in either Europe or the
Capital One Cup final this week –
Ferguson’s careful husbanding of his
resources in 2009 saw United squeeze
past Arsenal in the Champions League
semis only to fall short against
Barcelona in the final in Rome – but
when you have a lengthy injury list and
three big matches in three different
competitions in the space of eight days,
then something has to give.
Those arguing that Pellegrini has turned
his back on more attainable silverware
are also being slightly unfair. In all
probability the FA Cup would have been
easier to win than the Champions
League, in which City have generally
struggled against the top sides. It would
have been easy too for Pellegrini to
concentrate on the domestic prizes in
his farewell season, so as not to bow out
empty-handed.
But the brief when Pellegrini arrived
was to advance and improve the team
in Europe, and he is doggedly sticking
to it. City have never been in the last
eight of the Champions League, and
now they have a chance. Even if they
don’t make it any further that at least is
experience in the bank for the next
manager to build upon. In the circles in
which City are now moving, the
company they are aspiring to keep, an
FA Cup win by itself would not be a
satisfactory return. Look at Arsenal.
They are pleased with two successive FA
Cups though not exactly delighted.
Mostly they are just relieved the joking
has stopped.
That is, of course, the trouble. Touching
as it was to hear City fans complaining
they fancied a day out at Wembley in
May, the bottom line is that the
Champions League and the FA Cup exist
in the same space. If you are lucky
enough to be involved in the first, you
are unlikely to allow the second to
compromise your chances. Occasional
treble feats might suggest otherwise,
though to win a treble you need to be
the best team in your country by a
considerable distance, and keep your
best players fit through the business
part of the season.

City are not in that situation, and it
must be remembered that though
United’s Cup final against Newcastle in
their Treble year was something of a
formality, the semi-final against Arsenal
involved a replay, a last-minute penalty
save and a prodigious winning goal . It
could have gone either way.
Even so, the fact that everyone
remembers Ryan Giggs’s memorable
winner means the FA Cup was alive and
well as recently as 1999. It still meant
something then, because both Arsenal
and United gave it everything they had.
Then United pulled out the following
season, and the decade that followed
brought a succession of mostly drab
finals – exceptions can be made for
2001 and 2006 – mainly because each
one involved teams from the Champions
League elite.
That expression, Champions League
elite, is ultimately where everything
went wrong for the FA Cup. In all the
years when only the champions from
each country contested the European
Cup the two competitions happily
existed side by side.
Things started to change from 1997‑98
when runners-up were first admitted,
and from the millennium onwards up to
four teams from the major leagues could
take part. Check those dates against the
perceived decline of the FA Cup. That’s
where the glory went.
How could it ever retain its old status
when the best four teams in the country
were required to play bigger, more
glamorous, more lucrative games at the
same time? Now people are talking
about switching to midweek or
scrapping replays, when they should be
looking instead at the insidious creep of
the Champions League. Ought it really
take a whole month to sort out the
round of 16?
That’s eight separate match-nights, from
16 February to 16 March, or four whole
closed midweeks, because Uefa will not
tolerate any televised competition to its
prestige tournament. Now the notion is
even being mooted that slackers such as
Manchester United should be allowed
access through a Champions League
wildcard. Keep an eye on that one.
Nothing in the Champions League’s
short history allows confidence that bad
ideas that work in favour of big clubs
will be rejected out of hand.
Too much of the debate over the past
week has assumed it is the FA Cup that
has become a problem. It certainly has
a few problems, though its basic
precepts of fairness, accessibility and
opportunity ought to be celebrated
rather than abandoned or adapted in
the name of progress.
Especially if progress is represented by
a competition that was designed to be
elitist, self-enriching and disruptive.
Stealthily invading space that belongs to
others while refusing to make
concessions of its own, the biggest
problem here is the one hiding in plain
view.

Brendon McCullum

For a land fascinated with Rugby, and mired with
allegations of match-fixing in cricket, for the latter
to emerge into prominence, the game needed a hero
who could have folklore scripted around him. There
was Richard Hadlee, there was Martin Crowe, but
they were long gone. For sheer romance, Brendon
McCullum's game lacked poetry. He was more brash
and aggressive with his game to ever have elegance
find a place; entertaining and gentlemanly,
nonetheless.
Trent Boult, who has gone on to become the leader
of New Zealand's pace attack, said, "He has
changed the game in a way. The way New
Zealanders have got behind cricket, behind the team
is because of him and his style of play, his
attacking captaincy."
When he walked out to play his final Test, there
were placards in his honour at the Hagley Oval,
#ThankYouBaz trending online and long-time
arch-rivals Australia giving him the guard of
honour. All of this would've been an unlikely
thought two years back.
Then...
New Zealand, for long, weren't world beaters. They
weren't what the cricketing world likes to define the
less-competitive as - minnows, either. Somewhere
in between the two, they were always a side that
produced a few extraordinarily talented cricketers
and athletes, who harnessed their skills in another
sport/s during the winter months. What they
always did possess was a line of brilliant captains,
who somehow make did with an offering of a
string of all-rounders and a few good men to form
a formidable unit.
When Stephen Fleming, the country's most
successful captain, retired, the line of progression to
take New Zealand cricket forward was known. It
was Daniel Vettori followed by Ross Taylor. While
too many niggles and injuries kept the former out
of action for long, the latter faced an
unceremonious axing following a string of defeats.
Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, had
suggested that Taylor relinquish his role as captain
in limited-overs cricket to concentrate on his
batting. Not too pleased with the turn of events
and the idea of split captaincy, Taylor decided to
take a break from cricket and wasn't too keen on
leading the side in Tests alone. Hesson may have
been convinced that McCullum, whom he had
known since the latter was six years old, could fit
the bill. But his record wasn't anything to boast
about.
He may have played 70 consecutive matches till
then without getting dropped. But he primarily held
his position in the side for the lack of better
options. He wasn't an extraordinary wicketkeeper
either. As a Test batsman, he averaged in the
mid-30s. It was only against Bangladesh,
Zimbabwe and India that he scored more than 40
runs an innings. More importantly, unlike in One-
Day Internationals (ODIs) and T20s, he wasn't a
game-changer in Tests. His accomplishments till
then belonged to the league of far more ordinary
men than those who were accorded a guard of
honour on their farewell Test.
As a batsman, there were doubts about McCullum's
ability to play the long innings. He could unsettle
a few plans for a minor period. But, in late 2012,
things started to change for the man from Otaga
and for New Zealand cricket.
Forging world-beaters
"Tough times don't last, but tough blokes do"
- Brendon McCullum's text message to Alastair
Cook when the English captain was going through
a tough phase.
For long, New Zealand had a tough time to find a
settled batting order in Tests. Kane Williamson
wasn't the best batsman in the side, let alone being
one of the finest in the world. Jesse Ryder's
disciplinary issues found him in and out of the
team too often. Ross Taylor was too good to be left
out, but too inconsistent to have been persisted
with for long. So was the case with Tim Southee.
An array of fine all-rounders had retired and there
weren't able replacements.
For a year since McCullum took over, New Zealand
didn't win a single match. They were whitewashed
against South Africa in a two-match series, drew
against England at home and against Bangladesh
in Bangladesh. The first Test against West Indies
too ended in a draw.
Something had to change - for New Zealand as a
team and McCullum as a player. He was a highly
successful T20 batsman, arguably the best in world
cricket. His style was never in sync with Test
cricket. He could play only in one gear. He may
not have been a Shahid Afridi, but he wasn't a
Virender Sehwag either. Somewhere, in between, he
found his identity. He rarely played long innings.
but changed the course of the match in whatever
little he could. It was only until India found out
otherwise in February 2014.
A match-winning double hundred was followed by
a match-saving triple. The second knock was an
exhibition of patience, application and
determination to believe that all was not over. It
was at this point that New Zealand cricket was
creating a brand for itself, a brand of aggressive
and entertaining cricket. They went all-out on
attack, providing thrill-a-minute contest,
transferring a style which got them success in
limited-overs to the longest format.
Over the last one year, McCullum himself went on
to shift a gear higher. The 188-ball 202 against
Pakistan, the 134-ball 195 against Sri Lanka and
the 28-ball 41 against England - all came in
winning causes. And even when it didn't, like the
run-a-ball 80 in Brisbane or the 79-ball 145
against Australia, it shifted the momentum in
favour of New Zealand, forcing the Australian
captain to adopt a defensive field.
Hadlee defined the turn of events in New Zealand
cricket rather simply: "There is something special
going on in our game at present and it is summed
up in one word: McCullum"
When he eventually called it quits, the question
that was popped, as many other celebrated
cricketers would have liked to hear, was - 'why?'.
With 6,453 runs, McCullum finished as the second-
highest run-getter for the country in Tests. He has
the most double centuries and the highest
individual score in an innings for a New Zealander.
He also hit most number of sixes ever in the longest
format, apart from playing every single match for
the country from debut to retirement (a world
record). He brought in crowds to the stadium and
had sub-continent fans get up early morning
frustratingly to find the streaming links of New
Zealand matches. He infused life into New Zealand
cricket, making them the most exciting bunch to
watch display their art.
John Wright, who stepped down as New Zealand's
coach in August 2012, said, "I knew that New
Zealand are going to have a good period of cricket.
So that doesn't surprise me. They are playing an
exciting brand of cricket under Brendon. That is
what he has personally brought and encouraged.
It's a very good bunch of cricketers that has come
through and matured. They are going to have a
very good period of cricket in the next five to six
years. I think it's one of the best New Zealand
teams."
New Zealand may have failed to beat England in
the four-match Test series, but that also began a
three-year unbeaten run at home. The 14-match
streak lasted till the third Test against Sri Lanka.
The only home series defeat that McCullum faced
as a captain was his farewell series. The two other
series defeats that New Zealand faced under him
was against South Africa in South Africa and
against Australia in Australia.
Describing his captain's contribution, Southee had
said a few months back, "He has changed the game
and other teams are trying to be as attacking as
Brendon has been. He has, sort of, set a standard
as captain to follow. Others are trying to emulate
what Brendon is doing, his aggressive mindset."
Unfortunately for Brendon, much like the World
Cup 2015 campaign which ended with a defeat in
the final, his farewell Test didn't have a result
befitting his career and captaincy. But like so many
other facets of cricket, therein lies the beauty of the
sport, therein lies the narration for a folklore.
"I think there is something pretty romantic about
finishing playing cricket in front of New Zealand
crowds and in New Zealand grounds,"

 Chelsea is searching for a new manager
 The club has an agreement with Antonio Conte
According to the La Gazzetta dello
Sport, Chelsea have agreed a deal in principle with Antonio Conte for the Italian to become
the club’s next manager.
Previously, Di Marzio reported that Chelsea approached Antonio Conte, the former Juventus manager, about taking over the helm at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have been without a permanent manager since they parted ways with Jose Mourinho in December 2015. The source notes that Conte, the current Italy boss, could be in line for a move to England after Euro 2016, as he has already held talks with officials from the London club.
Conte won three consecutive Serie A titles during his three seasons in charge of Juve, and also won the Champions League with the club as a player in 1996.
However, there are reports that Athletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has agreed to become the next Chelsea manager in a deal worth a staggering £9.28 million (€12 million) a year. It was disclosed that Simeone notified the management of the Spanish club that he will leave the club at the end of the season to take over from interim boss Guus Hiddink at Stamford Bridge. Pep Guardiola’s
move to Manchester City has made Simeone the primary target and Roman Abrahamovic has
showed interest in the former Argentine international.

The Nigeria Football Federation has concluded plans to tighten security around the Abuja Stadium for today’s Super Eagles cracker against after threats of protests against the team escalated on Tuesday.
A ragtag bunch of fans carried placards asking for the sack of coach Stephen Keshi at the stadium. This is expected to increase when the African champions take on the Falcons of Jediane this afternoon.
A top NFF Secretariat staff told Goal this morning that there are going to be about 800 security personnel comprising of the DSS, Police, Civil Defense and Federal Road Safety Commission for the match because of the tension surrounding the impending outcome of the match.

“Our prayers today are for the Super Eagles to win the match against Sudan and also to play well to cool the nerves of the angry Nigerian soccer fans. We are aware of the fact that Nigerians are not happy as a result of the poor performance and results of the Eagles in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers,” the source said.
“But we are very sure that the Eagles will do well and win today’s match.  The President of the NFF, Amaju Pinnick has already drummed it into the ears of the players the importance of winning today’s match which would kick start the redemption battle for the 2015 Arica Cup of Nations ticket.
“Only yesterday we learnt that some irate fans stormed the main bowl of the Abuja National Stadium with placards with inscriptions Keshi must go and other violent messages. Luckily enough, the Super Eagles did not use the main bowl for their training exercise while Sudan did.
“All these happenings have made the leadership of the NFF to tighten the security plans for today’s match,” the source also concluded.
The Super Eagles are currently at the bottom of their group with a point gathered from three matches while South Africa lead the group with seven points and are closely followed by Congo DR with six points and Sudan third with three points.
Nigeria must win today’s match to have any chance of qualification for Morocco 2015.

Vidal deal edges closer

The Argentina international is keen to work under Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford and an agreement in principle over personal terms has been reached between United and the player.

But Madrid value Di Maria at £45 million, while United had initially hoped to secure the forward for a fee in the region of £30m.

Talks are set to resume next week with both Madrid and United confident that an agreement can be reached over a suitable transfer fee.

The 26-year-old would be United’s third signing of the summer following the arrival of midfielder Ander Hererra and former Southampton full-back Luke Shaw.

Goal understands Van
Gaal is also keen for United to continue their pursuit of  midfielder Arturo Vidal as the Dutchman overhauls a squad which finished seventh in the Premier League last season.

Di Maria is currently recovering from a thigh injury and is battling to be fit for Argentina’s World Cup final against Germany on Sunday.

When questioned about his future at Madrid, Di Maria insisted last month that he wished to be kept in the dark by his agent.

"I've asked my agent not to tell me anything about the talks he's having," he told reporters. "I don't know what's going to happen with my career.

"I don't want to know anything about my future right now. I'm focusing on my national team and not on what's going on elsewhere.