Bundesliga has missed Hoeness, claims former Bayern boss Hitzfeld

Former Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld wants to see ex-president Uli Hoeness get back involved at the Allianz Arena once he leaves jail.

Hoeness was sentenced to three and a half years in jail in March 2014 after being found guilty on seven counts of tax evasion in which he defrauded authorities of a total of €27.2million.

However, the former West Germany international and long-serving Bayern board member is to be released halfway through his sentence on Monday after it was deemed he had little chance of reoffending.

The 64-year-old served as coach and later commercial manager for Bayern before assuming the presidency in 2009, but resigned shortly after being found guilty.

Hoeness has helped with the club s youth setup since being granted da…

Cantona rules out Marseille return

Eric Cantona has made it clear that he is not interested in a return to Marseille as the club s new sporting director.

The former France international was born in Marseille and wore the OM jersey between 1988 and 1991.

Recent reports suggested the 49-year-old could return to his former club as sporting director following a hugely underwhelming 2015-16 campaign, but Cantona has stressed a comeback to the Stade Velodrome is not an option at this stage.

Me as sporting director at Marseille? People are making up stories. There is no truth in these claims, Cantona told France 5.

Me and Marseille is a closed chapter. It s something from the past. It has been 20 years now.

You do not have to do something big in order to be Marseille s saviour now. Cou…

Nagelsmann has ´full backing of Bayern´ as Salihamidzic expects return to form

Julian Nagelsmann will turn around Bayern Munich s form after the international break and has the club s full backing , sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has pledged.

A run of three draws in the Bundesliga for Bayern was followed by a 1-0 defeat to Augsburg before many of Nagelsmann s players headed off on national team duty.

Bayern sit fifth after seven rounds of games, five points adrift of early pace-setters Union Berlin, and they face Bayer Leverkusen next.

Leverkusen have made a much worse start than Bayern, with the team that finished third in the Bundesliga last season winning just once so far this term.

But almost all the focus is on Bayern, who have won the last 10 Bundesliga titles, and Salihamidzic has admitted the early form is a concern, b…

Augenthaler baffled by Wolfsburg philosophy

Former Wolfsburg head coach Klaus Augenthaler is at a loss to understand the club s philosophy as they continue to struggle in the Bundesliga this season.

After Saturday s 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Ingolstadt, Wolfsburg find themselves dangerously close to the relegation places, 14th and just two points clear of the play-off position.

German champions in 2008-09, it has been a topsy-turvy ride for Wolfsburg and their fans, despite finishing runners-up to Bayern Munich in 2014-15 as they continue to struggle for consistency while selling the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Andre Schurrle.

Wolfsburg s poor start to the season has already cost Dieter Hecking his job last month and while 1990 World Cup winner Augenthaler who was coach at Volkswagen Arena from 2005 t…

Manchester United appoint consultants to plan Old Trafford redevelopment

Manchester United have appointed a team of leading consultants to plan a future redevelopment of the club s Old Trafford home.

The club s 74,140-capacity stadium, the largest in the Premier League, has not been developed since the 2005-06 season, when 8,000 additional seats were added to the iconic venue.

However, United have announced they will work with the same consultants who contributed to the design of Tottenham s new state-of-the-art stadium, which opened in 2019.

Manchester United has appointed a team of leading consultants to begin work on creating a masterplan for the redevelopment of Old Trafford, read a statement on the club s official website.

The team will be led by Legends International and Populous, both of which have a wealth of stadiu…

Pioli positive over new deals for Calhanoglu and Donnarumma

Stefano Pioli remains confident Milan can agree contract extensions to keep Hakan Calhanoglu and Gianluigi Donnarumma at the club. 

Both goalkeeper Donnarumma and midfielder Calhanoglu – two influential players in helping Milan sit top of Serie A – have expiring deals, along with talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 

Technical director Paolo Maldini recently said Milan hope to reach terms to retain the trio beyond the current campaign, with head coach Pioli wanting them to stay as they build for the future.  

The important thing is that both the club and the technical group have already had their say in a convincing way, Pioli said of contract negotiations ahead of Saturday s trip to Spezia.  

We are happy to be able to continu…

Erling Haaland makes history before Trent Alexander-Arnold earns a point

Trent Alexander-Arnold cancelled out Erling Haaland’s 50th Premier League goal as Liverpool grabbed a point against champions and title rivals Manchester City on Saturday.

The England international struck 10 minutes from the end of a tight encounter at the Etihad Stadium after Haaland’s landmark strike looked like extending City’s record home winning run.

City had won their previous 23 games on home turf in all competitions, a running dating back to a visit from Everton on New Year’s Eve last December.

Alexander-Arnold’s late equaliser also spared the blushes of goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who had a day to forget having gifted Haaland his opener and committed several other errors.

Haaland had shown no mercy as he netted in the 27th minute, reachi…

Pochettino puts PSG failure down to dealing with ´too much greatness´ among star players

Mauricio Pochettino believes he offered Paris Saint-Germain stability but the challenge proved a step too far after having to appease too much greatness within his squad.

PSG brought in Lionel Messi in August 2021, along with Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos, to join forces with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in the French capital.

A plethora of world-class talent was expected to help Pochettino s side to European glory, though they instead crashed out of the 2021-22 Champions League after a dramatic last-16 clash with eventual winners Real Madrid.

Pochettino and PSG subsequently parted ways in July 2022, with Christophe Galtier his replacement, and the Argentine has said balancing an abundance of superstar footballers was the greatest difficulty.

Manchester United won´t wait 30 years for title – Solskjaer aims dig at Liverpool

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is adamant the Red Devils will not have to wait 30 years for their next Premier League title as he aimed a dig at rivals Liverpool.

United have not won the league since 2012-13 and the struggling English giants are languishing in 14th position and 15 points adrift of Liverpool ahead of Sunday s showdown at Old Trafford.

Liverpool have not claimed a league crown since 1990, though the unbeaten Premier League leaders are on track to end their drought this season.

While United have fallen on tough times, Solskjaer is confident it will not be three decades before the 20-time English champions are back at the summit.

Manchester United will bounce back and win the league, Solskjaer told reporters.  We might have …

Southampton 1-0 Tottenham: Ings scores again as Kane injury adds to Tottenham troubles

Danny Ings continued his hot streak with a brilliant individual winner as Southampton earned a 1-0 Premier League victory at home to a lacklustre Tottenham, who lost Harry Kane to injury.

Ings, behind only Jamie Vardy in the league s scoring charts, hit the only goal as Southampton moved up to 11th in the table by virtue of a third win in four games over the festive period.

Tottenham trailed at half-time for the fourth straight league game and could not find a fightback, with Jose Mourinho s men unable to capitalise on Chelsea s draw at Brighton and Hove Albion in the race for Champions League qualification.

Their New Year s Day misery was compounded by star striker Kane limping off having appeared to hurt his left hamstring in the process of scoring an equalise…