This is Manuel Pellegrini's ninth European campaign and whether Manchester City win or lose against Real Madrid on Wednesday, his impressive record in continental competition continues.The 62-year-old has never failed to lead his side through to the knockout rounds. That is perhaps par for the course at Real Madrid, whom he guided to the last 16 in 2009/10, but not for Villarreal and Málaga, nor necessarily for Manchester City.In the UEFA Champions League his record is seven out of seven, with this season's run to the last four matching his personal best set at Villarreal on that club's competition debut in 2005/06. Pellegrini admits the pain of their semi-final defeat, whe...
Football Update
Title joy for Astra, Plzeň and APOEL
Breakthrough title for AstraAstra Giurgiu are celebrating their first ever Romanian championship after wrapping up the title without even taking the field on Sunday. Closest rivals Steaua Bucureşti needed to beat Pandurii Târgu Jiu to keep the race alive, but a 1-1 result in that match handed Astra the crown with two games remaining – with Steaua five points back and just one match left."We don't need to be modest because this is the reality: we played the best football among all the top-division sides and deserved to win the title," said coach Marius Șumudică, who clinched the first league crown of his coaching career. "It was a very difficult year for ...
Title joy for Plzeň and APOEL
Fourth title for PlzeňViktoria Plzeň sealed back-to-back Czech 1. Liga titles – their fourth championship success in six seasons – with a 2-0 home win against Baník Ostrava on Saturday. Slovakian international Patrik Hrošovský put the hosts ahead with a 32nd-minute penalty, Daniel Kolář making the result safe early in the second half. Plzeň have an unassailable 14-point lead over second-placed Sparta Praha, who have four games left to Karel Krejčí's side's three.Plzeň are on a Czech top-flight record run of 16 consecutive wins, a sequence that started with a 2-1 defeat of Sparta on 1 November. For Krejčí, Pavel Vrba's assistant during the vict...
Indriksons re-elected in Latvia
Guntis Indriksons has been re-elected as president of the Latvian Football Federation (LFF) for another four-year term.Indriksons, who has been at the helm of the national association for 20 years, was confirmed in office at the LFF congress in Riga. Janis Mežeckis was also re-elected as LFF general secretary.Latvian football has developed steadily since 1996, when Indriksons became LFF president. He pledged to continue to develop the game in the Baltic country and to give the Latvian people every opportunity to play football throughout the year.Indriksons also promised that Latvia would contribute to the fight against match-fixing and that plans to build a new natio...
Sevilla v Shakhtar Donetsk background
A third successive UEFA Europa League final is seemingly within Sevilla FC's reach as they welcome FC Shakhtar Donetsk in their semi-final decider.Previous meetings• Kevin Gameiro's penalty earned Sevilla a 2-2 draw in Lviv; the holders took an early lead but trailed 2-1 at the break.• Juande Ramos's Sevilla overcame Shakhtar in dramatic fashion in the round of 16 en route to lifting the 2006/07 UEFA Cup. After a 2-2 draw in Spain, Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop scored at the death to make it 2-2 in the return leg, Ernesto Chevantón eventually winning it for the visitors in extra time.
Stars of UEFA EURO 2016: Zlatan Ibrahimović
At a glanceIbrahimović's ten (and counting) Swedish player of the year awards speak for themselves. That haul, as well as his 62 international goals, is a national record. The impressive feats don't end on the pitch, though, Ibrahimović having sold 830,000 copies of his autobiography – proof, if it were needed, of his hero status in his homeland. At club level, the Blågult captain has won league titles in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France.EURO pedigreeIbrahimović got his first taste of major tournament football in 2002, when he came on as a substitute at the FIFA World Cup finals. Two years later he was a starter, scoring in ...
Ten talents who shone at a U17 EURO finals
Players from 16 teams will arrive in Azerbaijan in the coming days dreaming of inspiring their country to UEFA European Under-17 Championship glory. Since the competition's first edition in 2002, a raft of now famous names have showcased their talents at the finals. UEFA.com selects ten of them.2012, Slovenia: Max Meyer (Germany)All-time UEFA European Under-17 Championship appearances/goals: 11/62011, Serbia: Memphis Depay (Netherlands)All-time UEFA European Under-17 Championship appearances/goals: 10/52010, Liechtenstein: Paul Pogba (France)All-time UEFA European Under-17 Championship appearances/goals...