Last month Phillip Cocu guided PSV Eindhoven into the UEFA Champions League knockout stage for the first time since 2006/07 – when he was part of a side coached by Guus Hiddink that reached the quarter-finals – and today the 45-year-old was rewarded with a contract extension until summer 2019. UEFA.com's Dutch correspondent Berend Scholten looks at the former Netherlands midfielder's achievements in the job so far.Cup successThe erstwhile AZ Alkmaar, Vitesse, Barcelona and al-Jazira player, capped on 101 occasions by the Oranje, initially became PSV coach in March 2012, replacing Fred Rutten on an interim basis. He immediately led the Farmers to the Dutch ...
Football Update
Gent captain Kums honoured in Belgium
Gent midfielder Sven Kums received the 62nd Belgian Golden Boot as his nation's player of the year for 2015, with the Buffalos dominating the awards on Wednesday evening.The 27-year-old former Anderlecht trainee, who joined Gent in 2014, finished 166 points ahead of team-mate Laurent Depoitre in the final reckoning, with team-mate Danijel Milicevic finishing third in the poll of sports journalists and football dignitaries."Actually, I did not prepare anything for this," Gent captain Kums said. "I especially have to thank my team-mates. Any member of the team could have ended up in my position on this stage here. They all have done fantastically well. This award is an award f...
Arsenal seek change of fortune against Barça
Arsenal FC hope it will be a case of third time lucky when they host FC Barcelona in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.• The Premier League side have lost their two previous knockout ties against Barcelona, who won in England at this stage of the competition in both 2014 and 2015.Previous meetings• Arsenal came from behind to beat Barcelona 2-1 when the teams last met in London in the 2010/11 round of 16, Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin overturning David Villa's first-half goal. • Barcelona recovered with a 3-1 second-leg success in which Lionel Messi scored twice. Sergio Busquets had briefly given Arsenal h...
Jankauskas confirmed at Lithuania helm
Former Porto striker Edgaras Jankauskas has been confirmed as Lithuania coach for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying.Jankauskas, 40, takes charge following the departure of Igoris Pankratjevas after Lithuania's fifth-placed UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group E finish on ten points. His first games will be against Estonia on 29 May and against Latvia three days later in the Baltic Cup, before a 6 June friendly with Poland."I will strive to help the players become better everywhere – in training, playing for their clubs and with the national team," he said. "My responsibility is to channel their abilities in the right way and to motivate them to perform at their best."Janka...
Lionel Messi wins Ballon d’Or: In photos
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Higuaín heroics leave Napoli sitting pretty
Only one player, István Nyers back in 1949/50, has scored more goals than Gonzalo Higuaín's 18 at the halfway stage of a Serie A campaign.'El Pipita' finished one goal short of the Hungarian striker's all-time record after netting twice in Sunday's 5-1 success at Frosinone – his fourth brace in his last six league games. That win secured Napoli the title of 'Scudetto d'Inverno' (winter champions), with the Partenopei two-points ahead of Juventus and Inter, and on target for a first scudetto since the Diego Maradona-era triumphs of 1987 and 1990."No team has ever won the Scudetto in January," Higuaín said after the match in Frosinone. "But we are top of the league and w...
Napoli go top, Sporting and Villarreal stay strong
Napoli lead the way at the halfway point in Serie A after climbing to the top on a weekend that featured notable wins for fellow UEFA Europa League hopefuls including Villarreal, Sporting CP, Olympiacos and Manchester United.Gonzalo Higuaín struck twice as the Partenopei won 5-1 at Frosinone to leapfrog Internazionale at the Italian summit, while Islam Slimani scored late to keep Sporting four points clear in Portugal as they edged Braga 3-2. As for Villarreal, they dispatched Sporting Gijón 2-0 to post a sixth consecutive Liga victory and remain fourth.That is nothing compared to Olympiacos