Turkey s selection problems ahead of Wednesday s Euro 2008 semi-final with Germany deepened on Monday as they lost their appeal against first choice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel s suspension.
Volkan had received a two match suspension after pushing over Czech striker Jan Koller in their final group match, and had served the first of those match bans for the quarter-final against Croatia.
However, Turkey had appealed to have the second one rescinded but found no favour with the UEFA Appeal Commission.
Volkan s suspension will see 35-year-old veteran Rustu Recber one of the few survivors from the side that reached the 2002 World Cup semi-finals win his 118th cap, though, it was a glaring error by him that handed Croatia what looked like being the winning goal in t…
The Swiss city of Lausanne, disappointed it would not be hosting a Euro 2008 game, found another way to celebrate the sport with artsy, offbeat interactive football tables.
Twenty-two artists and designers were invited to customise soccer tables based loosely on a popular European game called baby-foot or foosball to their own interpretation. Each table was then placed in a different place across this city on the banks of Lake Geneva.
The rules were simple but strict the artist could do anything as long as the public could play with the creation.
One designer tapped the sport s financial stakes, with players represented by stacks of fake Swiss banknotes the better the player, the bigger the denominations or the thicker the stack, just like real-life salaries …
Erling Haaland netted a goal on his debut as Manchester City defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 at Lambeau Field in their pre-season friendly on Saturday.
Torrential rain meant lengthy delays and 40-minute halves, with the two sides sent back to respective dressing rooms after only 13 minutes of play, but not before Haaland opened his account for City.
The 22-year-old was left with a relatively simple finish, tapping in from close range after the reigning Bundesliga champions failed to clear a dead ball, with Kevin de Bruyne playing Jack Grealish in for the evential assist.
The Norway international made way for Julian Alvarez during a shortened half-time break, while Bayern looked particularly out of sorts in possession without the talismanic Robert Lewandowski.
In a bid to become the most creative side in Europe, Tottenham are reportedly interested in the services of Rafael van der Vaart. The Dutch midfielder has had a magnificent Euro 2008 and has seen interest from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United arise.
But, according to The Telegraph, he would not be interested in a move to Tottenham. Despite his ambition to play in the Champions League, van der Vaart is thought to be happy at Hamburg. As a result, he has decided that he will only leave Hamburg to join a club that excites him.
The interest has been there for some time already, but they are not the club I want to go to.
The chance that I will stay at HSV is really big. As long as no team comes by which makes me immediately excited, I see no reason to lea…
Few in the Premier League would have given Dusan Tadic s move to Ajax a second glance last year, but he has been one of the stars of the Champions League this season.
Tadic left Southampton after an inconsistent four years in England and quickly rediscovered his best form with surprise semi-finalists Ajax.
Much of the focus on the Eredivisie giants has centred around youngsters Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong, yet Tadic had perhaps been their most outstanding performer.
The Serbia international has provided both goals and assists and saved some of his best performances for the biggest stage of all.
Tadic sparkled as Ajax s star man in an incredible 4-1 win at Real Madrid in the last 16, before again playing a key role in victory at Juventus last time…