Football Every Day » NEWS

Kenny Dalglish sacked as Liverpool manager

sujesh — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:32:02 +0000

PETALING JAYA: Kenny Dalglish has been sacked as Liverpool manager, the BBC reported Wednesday.

The 61-year-old paid the price for Liverpool’s poor performances in the Barclays Premier League. His departure came after face-to-face talks with principal owners John W Henry and Tom Werner in Boston on Monday.

Despite reaching the FA Cup final and winning the Carling Cup, the Reds finished eighth in the top flight, losing as many games as they won.

Dalglish had been expected to take a holiday this week, but flew to the US instead to review the season with Henry and Werner.

Early favourites to fill the position are Wigan manager Roberto Martinez and former boss Rafael Benitez.

Lopes so happy as Portugal call-up scuppers wedding

carol — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:41:02 +0000

LISBON, May 16 (Reuters) – Portugal full back Miguel Lopes, a surprise pick for Euro 2012, said it was the happiest day of his life when coach Paulo Bento called him up even though it forced him to scrap his wedding plans.

“I had to talk to a lot of people, but they understood why I had to cancel the wedding and gave me a lot of support, another day will come,” Lopes, 25, told reporters on Wednesday.

Portugal's Miguel Lopes heads a ball during a training session at Luz stadium in Lisbon. Portugal started on Wednesday their training camp for the Euro 2012.

He did not specify if his wife-to-be was one of the people who understood his decision, but admitted the first thing he did after hearing about the call-up was to kiss his fiancee Monica Pina.

“This is the happiest day of my life,” the Braga player said.

Lopes’s wedding had been scheduled for the same day as Portugal’s pre-tournament friendly against Macedonia on May 26.

The versatile defender, who can play at right and left back, showed up with a smile wearing his Portugal kit, proudly answering reporters’ questions after his first training session with the national team.

He said his playing style resembled that of Barcelona’s Dani Alves and Inter Milan’s Maicon.

“I really like how Dani Alves and Maicon play, I feel that my game is a bit like theirs. They are my two role models and I have the motivation to get to their level one day,” Lopes said.

England squad for Euro 2012

carol — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:16:35 +0000

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) – England manager Roy Hodgson on Wednesday named the following 23-man squad for the June 8-July 1 European Championship:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Robert Green (West Ham United), John Ruddy (Norwich City)

Defenders: Ashley Cole (Chelsea), John Terry (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Leighton Baines (Everton), Joleon Lescott (Manchester City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, captain), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur), Gareth Barry (Manchester City), James Milner (Manchester City), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Manchester United)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur)

Euro 2012: Carroll, Ruddy, Defoe named in England squad

sujesh — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:55:02 +0000

LONDON (Reuters): England manager Roy Hodgson named Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy and Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe on Wednesday in his 23-man squad for next month’s European championship.

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was left out but his club team mate Wayne Rooney was included despite missing the first two matches of the tournament through suspension.

England begin their campaign against France on June 11 in Donetsk before travelling to Kiev to play Sweden on June 15 and and returning to Ukraine for a game on June 19.

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Robert Green (West Ham), Joe Hart (Manchester City), John Ruddy (Norwich)

Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton), Phil Jones (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Manchester City), Glen Johnson (Liverpool)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Andy Carroll (Liverpool)

Danish league to test goal line technology

carol — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:05:05 +0000

BERNE, May 16 (Reuters) – Two Danish league matches will be used this month to test GoalRef, one of two goal line technology systems being evaluated by FIFA, soccer’s governing body said on Wednesday.

FIFA said testing of the system would take place at the Silkeborg-Sonderyske and Nordsjaelland-AC Horsens matches.

Rival system Hawk-Eye is being tested in two minor league games in England, the first being the Hampshire FA Senior Cup final between Totton and Eastleigh later on Wednesday.

FIFA emphasised that the systems would not be used by match officials in the test matches to make decisions.

“Only the (test) observer in the stadium will have access to the Goal Line Technology system readings,” said FIFA.

“Therefore, should a goal-line incident occur in any of the test matches, the system will not be utilised by the match officials, meaning the GLT system will have no influence on the outcome of the matches in which the system is being tested.”

A final decision on which system will be used is expected to be taken at a meeting of the International Football Association Board, soccer‘s rule-making body, in Kiev on July 2.

The Hawk-Eye system, which is used in tennis and cricket, is based on optical recognition with cameras while GoalRef uses a magnetic field with a special ball to identify a goal situation.