Laporta: Barcelona lack direction under Rosell

Jan Kirchhoff believes Schalke will continue to improve as they adapt to the methods and style of new coach Roberto Di Matteo.

Former Chelsea boss Di Matteo has made a positive start to life in the Bundesliga, winning three of his opening four matches in all competitions.

Schalke s strong form continued on Friday with a 1-0 win over Augsburg, with Kirchhoff playing his first full match for the club since his loan move from Bayern Munich in December 2013.

The 24-year-old suffered a long-term ankle injury shortly after his switch, but now feels positive both in terms of Schalke s prospects and his own fitness.

We currently have a relatively hectic period with many games, he told the club s official website.

It will certainly take some time before…

Daniele De Rossi could be on his way out of Roma in January as AC Milan are considering making a move according to Goal.com.

Silvio Berlusconi recently indicated that Milan s new policy on transfers is to focus on promising youngsters, while aiming to make one marquee signing per season too, and they are keen to make De Rossi their big-name arrival this winter.

The 29-year-old signed a new five-year deal with Roma in February 2012, but the Giallorossi have since admitted that they could cash in on the midfielder if a good offer comes in.

Milan have already been in contact with De Rossi to discuss a potential transfer, but the San Siro side realise that it will not be easy to get their man.

The Rossoneri are pondering a 15 million Euros offer, while also …

Italian champions Inter Milan s teenage sensation Mario Balotelli told La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday that his first call up to Italy colours cannot come soon enough.

The 17-year-old striker who was born to Ghanaian parents will celebrate his 18th birthday on August 12 and with it receive his first Italian passport that should signal the start of his international career.

I ve been waiting for years for this August 12 and becoming an Italian citizen because I am Italian, he told the paper.

Despite being born in Sicily and adopted and brought up by Italian parents, the fact his blood parents were Ghanaian has meant he has had to wait till turning 18 before he could become a full Italian national.

Balotelli has long been seen as a future internation…

Harry Kane scored twice to become Tottenham s all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League as they eased to a 4-0 win over Everton at Wembley.

This season has already seen Kane break Alan Shearer s record for most Premier League goals in a calendar year with 39, while also finishing 2017 with more goals than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

And he now owns a piece of Tottenham history after he helped Spurs put Everton to the sword, his brace taking him past Teddy Sheringham s previous record of 97.

For much of the match, however, Kane had played second fiddle to Son Heung-min, who broke the deadlock after 26 minutes and set up Kane s first shortly after the interval.

Son, who has had a hand in more goals at Wembley than any other Tottenham player …

Andre Villas-Boas has backed Gareth Bale to be voted Player of the Year after a stunning late winner in Tottenham s 3-2 victory at West Ham.

Bale s 30-yard strike in the 90th minute at Upton Park took his tally for the season to 15 Premier League goals and moved the north London club up to third on the table, as they challenge for a top-four finish and Champions League qualification.

Villas-Boas hailed Bale s recent displays he has scored eight goals in his past six appearances for Spurs and backed the Welshman to be named the league s best player at the end-of-season awards.

I think he is, Villas-Boas said when asked if Bale was the leading candidate for the accolade.

He s such a super talent, this season we ve seen him in another level, he s made a d…

Market: Blackburn win

Odds: 1/2 @

Looking to extend on their League Cup adventure on Wednesday night, Blackburn will host League Two outfit Hartlepool.

Starting with the hosts, while Blackburn might have only just missed out on a play-off spot last season, Jon Dahl Tomasson s men have opened the 2022/23 campaign with a real flurry. Enjoying what has been quite the summer purple patch, the Rovers were last seen over the weekend laying down another marker. Along with opening the new season with a 1-0 win against QPR at Ewood Park, Wednesday s hosts also landed a thumping 3-0 romp away at Swansea a few days ago. With it looking like their is a real buzz in their camp, Blackburn should be smelling a golden chance to keep up that momentum here. Unbeaten in each of th…

Nolito and Alvaro Morata were the two-goal star men as Spain made a mockery of South Korea s recent fine form, winning 6-1 on the road to Euro 2016.

Uli Stielike had told his Korean side to play with the belief that they could beat the double-defending European champions, but a national-record run of nine games without conceding was emphatically ended in Salzburg.

David Silva s stunning free-kick brought the match to life on the half-hour, but things soon went from the sublime to the ridiculous as Korean goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon s comical error presented Cesc Fabregas with a tap-in.

Nolito and Alvaro Morata enhanced their chances of a place in Vicente del Bosque s frontline with a pair of goals each, though this week s arrival of Atletico and Real Madrid player…

Evergreen Alessandro Del Piero struck his 250th goal in Juventus colours at the weekend, bagging a penalty in a 4-0 rout of woeful Reggina.

It was the latest episode in a glittering career that began back in 1993 as a substitute for Fabrizio Ravanelli and has now seen the 34-year-old take third place in the all-time list of goalscorers at a single Italian club.

Only Guiseppe Meazza, who hit 282 for Inter Milan, and Angelo Schiavio, with 253 goals for Bologna, have managed more goals for one team.

But it surely won t be long before Del Piero takes second place in that list and he may even claim top spot, if Juventus keep faith with him for long enough.

His chances of reaching this landmark seemed slim at the beginning of last season as he lost his pla…

Antoine Griezmann says Paul Pogba is in high spirits and has backed the Manchester United midfielder to prove his doubters wrong during France s friendly matches.

A combination of poor form, injury and illness has meant Pogba has started only four of United s last 11 matches in all competitions, while speculation has persisted over a rumoured breakdown in his relationship with manager Jose Mourinho.

France boss Didier Deschamps conceded this week that the 25-year-old can t be happy with the way life is going at Old Trafford.

Griezmann, however, insists his team-mate is in a positive mood and expects him to perform well when France face Colombia and Russia in this month s friendlies.

He came back [to the squad] with a huge smile on his face, Griezmann tol…

Ryan Giggs has become synonymous with Manchester United, but a quiet exit via the backdoor after the most glorious of playing careers is as much a consequence of his own pride and ambition as it is Jose Mourinho s unwillingness to compromise.

Now, he faces a long and uncertain road back to the Old Trafford limelight.

Perhaps the greatest of United s many outstanding modern players, Giggs legend at his only senior club was forged in the trail of right-backs he left with, as Alex Ferguson put it, twisted blood , as well as the 13 Premier League, two Champions League and four FA Cup titles he helped to raise aloft.

It hardly seems fitting that Giggs illustrious time at United ended without ceremony, but it soon became evident he had loftier ambitions than he would h…