Borussia Dortmund coach Peter Stoger labelled Marco Reus indispensable as the attacker is linked with a potential move to AC Milan.
Reus, 28, has battled injuries throughout his career and underwent knee surgery last year, seeing him spend more than eight months on the sidelines before his return earlier in February.
His goal helped Dortmund to a 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Despite his recent injury woes, the Germany international has been linked with a move to Milan, but Stoger said – when fit – Reus was a crucial player.
If he s fit and well he is indispensable for any team. We will do it the same way as we handled it last week, he said.
We speak to him constantly because he knows his body very well, …
Xabi Alonso believes Renato Sanches will prove to be a fine addition for Bayern Munich and is looking forward to teaming up with the promising midfielder.
Sanches impressed at Benfica in 2015-16 to earn himself a big-money move to Bayern and played a key role in Portugal s victorious Euro 2016 campaign.
The youngster is regarded as one of the biggest talents around in the game and Alonso has little doubt he will make an instant impact at the Allianz Arena.
He s 18, 19 [in August], he s such a promising player, Alonso told ESPN.
He has so much power, so much energy. He s hungry to win things, to improve and I m looking forward to working with him and to be able to share the midfield and to play together.
So far he s European champions with Portu…
Barcelona defender Eric Abidal says he never thought of dying during his long struggle with cancer.
The Frenchman was first diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and missed a year of football after undergoing a liver transplant in April 2012.
I never thought of death because I know that it is God who decides, the 33-year-old told TF1.
I have suffered. I remember one Sunday when I could not bear the pain. I asked the doctors if they could put me into coma.
We talked about a transplant, but in fact, I had four or five operations in a very short time. I ve lost 19 kilograms.
After the fourth operation, the doctors told me I had a lot of fluid in my stomach and wondered how I could stand the pain.
…
Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has been elected the new Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president.
Australia s Moya Dodd has maintained her vice-president position.
The AFC
had had to elect a new president after former leader Mohammed bin Hamman was
banned from football administration for life by FIFA.
Sheikh
Salman, a member of Bahrain s royal family and president of the Bahrain Football
Association, overcame two other candidates Dato Worawi Makudi of Thailand
and the UAE s Yousuf Yaqoob Yousuf Al Serkal with 33 out of 49 votes from the
AFC s member associations.
Saudi
Arabia s Hafez Al Medlej withdrew on the eve of the elections after failing to
win full support of the West Asian region.
While
Sheikh Salman s campaign was dogged by ac…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Erling Haaland knows what he wants to do amid increasing speculation about the Salzburg striker joining Manchester United, who drew 1-1 at home to Everton on Sunday thanks to Mason Greenwood s equaliser.
Solskjaer described Greenwood as different class in his post-match news conference, but discussion soon turned to 19-year-old Norway international Haaland.
Reports suggest the United boss could be given the resources to bring his compatriot to Old Trafford after impressing in Salzburg s ultimately unsuccessful Champions League campaign.
I don t comment on those speculations, Solskjaer said of the transfer talk. [Haaland] knows what he wants to do, and he knows what he s going to do, so I don t have to give any advice to any other t…
Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus took out their frustration on Parma as the Bianconeri swept to an ominous 4-0 win at the Ennio Tardini on Saturday.
After a midweek draw at home with Atalanta, in which Ronaldo missed a penalty, Juventus were out to make amends on their travels and did so resoundingly.
Ronaldo scored twice to take his tally to a league-high 12 from nine Serie A appearances, going two clear of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku.
His efforts followed an opener from Dejan Kulusevski, the winger who dazzled on loan with Parma last season but now belongs to the impressive array of Juve attacking options. Another from that forward line, Alvaro Morata, headed a late fourth.
Heads up!
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)
The visit…
Newcastle United head coach John Carver says he and Jonas Gutierrez have moved on like grown men following a training-ground bust-up.
Gutierrez was left out for last weekend s defeat to Tottenham and revealed to a fellow Twitter user that his absence was not due to an injury.
On Thursday, Carver confirmed he had been involved in a disagreement with the Argentine, who had previously hinted at frustration on social media.
There was a situation on the training ground, which happens. We have shaken hands like men, Carver said.
We had a conversation and moved on like grown men.
Newcastle face Swansea City on Saturday looking to end a run of six straight defeats amid a backdrop of fan protests and fears of relegation to the Championship.
Steven Defour is hoping to force his way back into the Belgium squad after making an impressive Premier League debut for Burnley in a 2-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday.
Defour set up Andre Gray for Burnley s second goal at Turf Moor in front of new Belgium coach Roberto Martinez, who was watching from the stands, after completing a club-record move from Anderlecht.
Martinez spoke with Defour after the match and the 28-year-old is aiming for an international recall to add to his 46 caps after being left out of the squad since November 2015.
It s a good thing that [Martinez] came, Defour told La Derniere Heure. I had the chance to speak with him after the match.
He didn t give anything away concerning his selection. It was more to do with a first contact.<…
Aston Villa have completed the double signing of Jores Okore and Leandro Bacuna.
Okore put pen to paper on a four-year contract, after completing a medical at the Premier League side on Thursday.
The 20-year-old signs from FC Nordsjaelland and was part of the side that won the Superliga title in 2012 and the Danish Cup in 2011.
The midfielder is thrilled to be joining Paul Lambert s side, as he told the club s website: We re a young team and we played some really good football over the second half of last season which is something we want to build on now as players, as a team and as a club.
I know there is great potential in the team. I have watched many of our games because the Premier League is very popular back in Denmark.
I know also that we have a good coach and t…
Arsenal forward Gervinho is flattered by reported interest from Marseille, but is still unsure over exactly where his future lies.
The Ivory Coast international has struggled to cement a regular place in Arsene Wenger s starting line-up since joining from Lille in 2011.
Marseille, who qualified for the UEFA Champions League after finishing second in Ligue 1 last term, are admirers of the winger, with club assistant Franck Passi recently naming Gervinho as a potential target.
The 26-year-old confirmed he is considering his future at the Emirates Stadium, but did not go as far as to confirm whether he would be leaving in the off-season.
It is true that I had little time to play on my return from the African Nations Cup, Gervinho told abidjan.net. But it is the choi…