Fabrizio Ravanelli is determined to return to former club Marseille as head coach one day.

The Italian striker spent two and a half seasons at the club as a player after leaving Middlesbrough in the wake of their relegation from the Premier League.

And, despite lasting just five months as Ajaccio coach in his first foray into management in 2013, Ravanelli remains determined to take the reins at Stade Velodrome in future.

Yes, of course, this is my dream, he said. Marseille is my town. 

Everyone knows me there and I want to go to work and do the best for this club. The fans are fantastic and everything. Everyone loves this shirt.

I would love to return one day, as soon as possible, even.

I want to return as coach. It would be fantastic…

Gianluigi Buffon says Spain and the rest of Europe will rue the day they vastly underrated Italy.

The Italians gained some retribution for their 4-0 Euro 2012 final loss to Spain with a 2-0 round-of-16 win over the two-time defending champions on Monday.

Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle scored for Italy as their supreme defensive organisation kept Spain at bay.

Antonio Conte s men had been rated by both national and global media as perhaps the worst Italian team at a major international tournament in recent memory, something Buffon says the coach and the rest of the squad had not forgotten.

There is a long and tortuous road ahead of us and very difficult teams on our path. We cannot yet say that it is a great Euros for Italy, as we’re only in the q…

Gerard Pique says he is not planning to make another Antoine Griezmann documentary with the Atletico Madrid forward once more being linked with Barcelona.

Griezmann has reportedly been a top target for Barca in recent years but the Catalan giants have thus far been unable to tempt the France international to make the switch to Camp Nou.

At the end of the 2017-18 season Griezmann featured in a television documentary, made by a company owned by Barca defender Pique, in which he mulled over his future before announcing his decision to stay at Atletico.

But reports in Spain this week have suggested Griezmann is unsettled at Atletico and wants to join Barca to boost his chances of winning more major titles to add to the World Cup glory he enjoyed with France.

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Arsene Wenger has offered some advice to Tottenham counterpart Mauricio Pochettino when it comes to winning the first trophy of his managerial career.

The former Espanyol head coach has won widespread praise for transforming Spurs into one of the Premier League s strongest sides, with surprise title challenges in 2015-16 and 2016-17 sustained until the final weeks of the season.

However, Pochettino s detractors continue to point to the fact he has yet to deliver on Spurs promise and secure silverware, with an EFL Cup final defeat to Chelsea in 2015 the closest they have come since he took charge three years ago.

Wenger, whose first major trophy was the Ligue 1 title with Monaco back in 1987-88, says the key is to ignore the prize and concentrate on battling a fe…

Mykhaylo Mudryk says he follows Arsenal closely amid speculation over a potential move to the Gunners from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Mudryk s sparkling form this season has seen him register 16 goal involvements in as many appearances and attract interest from some of Europe s elite clubs, with the 21-year-old closely linked to Arsenal.

The Ukraine international says he has kept up to date with the Gunners impressive form, which sees them holding a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League heading into the World Cup break.

I check on them on MyScore and know when they’re playing I can check on them, Mudryk told Vlada Sedan s YouTube channel. I also watch them too.

They are a very dynamic side, in general not just in controlling possession but also in s…

Ligue 1 referee Johan Hamel has died at the age of 42.

The French Referees Union confirmed Hamel s passing in a statement on their official website on Wednesday.

Hamel had officiated in the French top flight for more than a decade and made his Champions League debut as fourth official in Real Madrid s win over Celtic earlier this month.

One of the most respected referees in France, Hamel s final match in the middle was Lille s 1-1 draw with Rennes on November 6.

He was also fourth official for PSG s 5-0 win over Auxerre at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.

L’arbitrage est en deuil. Nous apprenons le décès de notre Collègue et Ami, Johan HAMEL, arbitre de Ligue 1, à l’âge de 42 ans. A sa Famille, ses Proches et Amis, le SAFE et les Arbitres …

Defending champions Uruguay began their Copa America campaign with an unconvincing 1-0 win over Jamaica.

With Barcelona forward Luis Suarez the 2011 player of the tournament banned for the competition due to his bite on Italy s Giorgio Chiellini at last year s World Cup, Uruguay were uninspiring in front of goal. 

Oscar Tabarez s men struggled to break down tournament invitees Jamaica, who were resolute at the back for much of Saturday s contest in Antofagasta.

However, Uruguay took advantage of the one true defensive lapse made by the tournament outsiders, as Cristian Rodriguez opened the scoring in the 52nd minute.

Winger Rodriguez made no mistake with a close-range strike at the end of a well-worked set-piece move from the two-time World Cup winners…

Petr Cech says Chelsea can be proud of themselves after beating Barcelona 1-0 in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

The English Premier League hosts managed a narrow victory thanks to Didier Drogba s goal just before half-time at Stamford Bridge.

Goalkeeper Cech acknowledged his side rode their luck at times and said it had been tough for his team-mates to adapt to a game where they had very little possession.

We can be proud of what we have done today, Cech told Sky Sports.

There was amazing quality in the team, everyone gave 100 per cent. We are not used to playing 90 minutes without the ball. Mentally it is difficult to keep the focus.

We have been brilliant all over the pitch, the commitment to defend and cover everyon…

Mikel Arteta believes Granit Xhaka s red card in Arsenal s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Burnley was caused by his struggling side trying too hard to turn their faltering season around. 

Arsenal lost their fourth consecutive Premier League home fixture at Emirates Stadium on Sunday – the club s worst winless run on home soil in the top flight since 1959 – with the decisive moment coming when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed into his own net from Ashley Westwood s corner in the 73rd minute. 

The Gunners cause had been made harder when maligned midfielder Xhaka was sent off shortly before the hour mark for grabbing Westwood by the throat.

That was the sixth Premier League red card for the Gunners since manager Arteta took over in December 2019 – double tha…

I remember watching the vibrant Alexis Sanchez tearing teams apart at times for Arsenal. He was never truly world-class, but he was a highly dangerous attacking player to opposition teams.

However, a switch to Manchester United in January of 2017 has turned into a nightmare. In fact, according to , the Red Devils are prepared to pay half of his massive £500,000 per-week salary to any team interested in signing the Chilean.

It seems unlikely that any other club would take on Sanchez’s massive wages, which is why the Red Devils would have to subsidise any likely move.

Has completely flopped at United

For years, Sanchez moaned about and at his teammates at Arsenal. He showed great individual talent at times, but he was never much of a team player. The fact that…