Lucescu slates Dortmund or Shakhtar for final Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu claims either his side or Borussia Dortmund will be a Champions League finalist this term.
Both sides will complete their last-16 tie in Dortmund on Tuesday after the first leg at Donbass Arena ended in a 2-2 draw.
The display of the Bundesliga champions in that match has left an impression on the experienced Lucescu.
"Dortmund are strong and have shown they can open teams up with relative ease," the 67-year-old told reporters.
"Juergen Klopp is a world-class coach and we expect to come under a lot of pressure. It will not be easy by any means.
"I predict the team that wins will make it to the Champions League final."
Category: News Views: 774 Added: SkyDate: 05.03.2013 - 00:42
Casillas out of United return leg Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has been ruled out of the club's Champions League tie with Manchester United on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old has been struggling with injury since fracturing his hand against Valencia in January and was originally included in the travelling party for the clash.
However, Real coach Jose Mourinho has revealed his side will be without their captain for the second leg at Old Trafford.
"Everyone is fit and ready to play, with the exception of Iker Casillas," Mourinho told reporters.
With the first leg producing a 1-1 draw, Mourinho admitted turning the tie around will be difficult.
Despite their recent good form in Spain, which has included two wins over Barcelona,
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Category: News Views: 919 Added: SkyDate: 05.03.2013 - 00:39
West Ham near to stadium deal West Ham United co-owner David Gold says a deal for the club to move to the Olympic Stadium could be agreed as soon as March 16.
The east London side were named as the preferred bidder for the stadium on December 5 last year and have since been in talks with the London Legacy Development Corporation about a potential move.
And Gold has now said an agreement is drawing near.
"I think we're close," he told talkSPORT.
"As we speak I'm being promised March 16th. We would sign the agreement then."
The LLDC board preferred the Hammers to League One side Leyton Orient, as well as the UCFB College of Football Business and a consortium linked to Formula 1.
Category: News Views: 695 Added: SkyDate: 05.03.2013 - 00:36
Laudrup backs Swansea to cope with Europe Michael Laudrup insists Swansea have a squad large enough to compete domestically and in the Europa League next season.
Swansea's 5-0 defeat of Bradford City in the League Cup final secured their place in Europe's second-tier cup competition, as well as winning them their first piece of major silverware.
The Europa League will put added pressure on Laudrup's men next term, who currently boast a first-team squad of just 22 players.
But the Dane does not believe new signings will be required to deal with the extra games, and has cited his time as a player at Barcelona as justification.
"I know one year that Barcelona played with 19 first-team players, as well as a few younger players, and they played every three
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Category: News Views: 796 Added: SkyDate: 05.03.2013 - 00:33
Borussia Dortmund-Shakhtar Donetsk Preview Borussia Dortmund will be sweating over the fitness of Mats Hummels, who was forced to sit out of their last two games, with Jurgen Klopp admitting his participation will be in doubt.
However, there are no fresh injury worries, and the likes of Mario Gotze and Lukasz Piszczek, who were rested over the weekend, will come back into the starting line-up.
Shakhtar Donetsk, meanwhile, can be expected to name more or less the same side that faced Dortmund at the Donbass Arena three weeks ago.
One potential change could see Olexander Kucher slot back into the
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Category: News Views: 920 Added: SkyDate: 04.03.2013 - 22:17
Manchester United - Real : Preview There was a curious moment midway through the first half of Real Madrid's 2-1 victory over Barcelona on Saturday that showed how even Real's most frequent opponents struggle to comprehend the scale of their counterattacking threat.
Pepe went down injured, so Real knocked the ball out of play near the halfway line to allow the defender to receive treatment. When the match restarted, Barcelona returned the ball to Real in the most cynical way possible – thumping it downfield to give José Mourinho's side a throw-in close to the corner flag, then pushing forward to press, boxing Real into the corner.
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Category: News Views: 908 Added: SkyDate: 04.03.2013 - 22:12
Fokus liegt nicht allein auf Cristiano Ronaldo Zwischen 2003 und 2009 spielte Cristiano Ronaldo insgesamt 196 Mal für Manchester United. Am Dienstag kehrt der Portugiese erstmals für ein Pflichtspiel ins Old Trafford zurück.
Manchester. Sir Alex Ferguson warnt seine Spieler davor, ihren Fokus alleine auf Cristiano Ronaldo zu richten. Stattdessen ist seinem Team durchaus bewusst, dass Real Madrid seit Jahren ein Achtelfinal-Trauma in der Champions-League verfolgt.
"Natürlich wird er uns Probleme bereiten, aber wir versuchen diese möglichst gering zu halten. Was erwarten Sie, wenn Sie gegen die Mannschaft von Cristiano Ronaldo spielen", sagte der Coach auf der Pressekonferenz zum Achtelfinal-Rückspiel in der Champions League am Dienstag. Ronaldo erzielt im Hinspiel den 1:1-Ausglei
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Category: News Views: 782 Added: SkyDate: 04.03.2013 - 20:44
