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Tito Vilanova has stepped down as Barcelona boss due to ill health

On Friday night Tito Vilanova stepped down as boss of Barcelona due to ill health. Vilanova’s exit was announced at a press conference by Barcelona president Sandro Rosell.

Pep Guardiola’s former assistant is believed to have suffered a setback in his battle against throat cancer.

Vilanova first discovered he had cancer when he had a tumour removed in 2011, only for him to relapse later that year.

In December, he travelled to New York to undergo treatment.

Unfortunately, it seems that his health has taken a turn for the worst and he will now undergo extensive treatment away from the glare of the media spotlight.

Best wishes

On behalf of everybody at Soccernews,…

Unfancied Lazio ruffled the feathers of Serie A champions Inter Milan in the Bird s Nest in Beijing Saturday night to win the Italian Super Cup 2-1.

Lazio captain Tommaso Rocchi superbly lobbed Inter keeper Julio Cesar after finding a gap between the Inter defence just after the hour to clinch the winner.

Two minutes earlier, Rocchi s 61st minute freekick found its way through the Inter wall and rebounded off keeper Cesar, bobbling up into the path of Lazio s Brazilian midfielder Matuzalem, who slotted home to the delight of several thousand Chinese Lazio fans.

The quick double stunned Inter s galaxy of stars and their thousands of Chinese fans into a rare silence after they had controlled affairs on and off the pitch for most of the tense final.

Lifting…

West Brom striker Shane Long is remaining calm over discussions on a new contract with the club.

The Republic of Ireland international signed a three-year deal, with the option of a fourth, in August 2011 and was a key part of the side that achieved an eighth place finish last season.

And with the 26-year-old about to enter the final year of his contract the club are keen to tie him to a new deal.

We re still in talks, Long told The Express Star.

I still have a year and an option (for another) left so I m concentrating on playing for West Brom this season and hopefully having another really good season in the Premier League and we will see where the contract talks go in the future.

I m still a West Brom player and that s all I m looking at now.

It s …

Manchester United manager David Moyes would be mad to sell Wayne Rooney, according to Old Trafford fans favourite Gary Neville.

Neville, who hung up his boots in 2011, played alongside the striker for seven years at United and now works with him as part of the former defender’s coaching role with the England national team.

Chelsea have so far had two bids rejected for the 27-year-old as speculation over his future at the club intensifies.

Rooney has scored 197 goals in 402 appearances for United since joining from Everton and Neville is adamant that the Premier League champions must keep hold of the England forward.

Manchester United, at this moment in time, would be mad to sell him, Neville said in an interview in The Daily Mail.

Along with Robin Van Per…

Renato Sanches is content to adhere to Niko Kovac s instruction by remaining at Bayern Munich, so long as he gets opportunities to play.

Restricted to four Bundesliga starts last season, midfielder Sanches boosted his case for first-team opportunities with a strong showing in the 3-1 victory over Real Madrid in the International Champions Cup (ICC).

The Portugal international helped Bayern established superiority during the opening 45 minutes and could take on a more prominent role following the end of James Rodriguez s two-season loan deal.

Speaking ahead of the Madrid match, Kovac confirmed the club had told Sanches to forget abou
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t finding new employers, advice that has been heeded by the player.

I m ready to stay,  Sanches told Bild.

…

Eden Hazard and Virgil van Dijk have been revealed as two of the cover stars for the FIFA 20 video game.

Three editions of FIFA 20 will be released, with Hazard now at Real Madrid following his move from Chelsea on the cover of the standard version of the game.

Liverpool s Van Dijk, who led the Reds to Champions League glory last season, will take up the cover on the champions edition . A cover star for the ultimate edition is yet to be confirmed.

Hazard starred for Chelsea in 2018-19, scoring 18 goals across all competitions as the Blues finished third in the Premier League and won the Europa League final.

Van Dijk, meanwhile, was the key cog in a Liverpool defence that conceded 22 goals in the league, as they finished a close second behind Manchester…

The chief executive of English Premier League basement club Portsmouth expressed his astonishment Thursday at allegations of tax evasion and promised to clear his name.

Peter Storrie went on the offensive after receiving a letter from Britain s HM Revenue and Customs warning him of impending prosecution over charges relating to the transfer of midfielder Amdy Faye from French club Auxerre for 1.5 million pounds (2.49 million dollars) in August 2003.

Storrie has been on bail since being arrested in November 2007 on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.

It has been alleged Faye was paid a 250,000 pounds (415,000 dollars) signing-on fee on which tax was not paid.

The move against Storrie is the latest in a series of off-field problems for…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 8/11 @

Two sides who lost their Premier League status over the summer, Burnley will welcome Norwich to Turf Moor on Friday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Burnley might have got a new era underway at Turf Moor this summer, it appears that the Clarets are enjoying life under Vincent Kompany. Although some around Lancashire might have been shocked to see the former Manchester City skipper arrive at the club back in June, they have lost just one of their opening eight Championship outings. Although Burnley might have been left heartbroken last weekend as they watched West Brom snatch a last-gasp 1-1 draw on the road, Kompany s side have their sights firmly set on clinching an immediate Premier League return this year. Breezin…

Monaco will open their Coupe de la Ligue campaign with an away trip to Reims after the draw for the third round was made on Thursday.

Claudio Ranieri s men sit top of the Ligue 1 table and are undefeated after the first five games, with star striker Radamel Falcao already finding the net on four occasions.

However, the principality club have not won a major trophy since 2003, when they beat Sochaux 4-1 in the Coupe de la Ligue final, and they will start their quest to regain the crown against a Reims side that has lost just once so far this season.

Rennes, who reached last year s final only to lose to Saint-Etienne, host Ligue 2 Nancy, while Brittany rivals Nantes and Lorient face-off at the Stade de la Beaujoire.

Bastia have been drawn against Corsican neighbour…

Jurgen Klopp is hopeful his Borussia Dortmund side can learn from past experiences ahead of their UEFA Champions League game with Marseille.

Both sides head into the game having lost their opening matches against Napoli and Arsenal respectively, but it is Marseille who perhaps hold the psychological advantage after doing the double over Dortmund in the 2011-12 campaign.

The Bundesliga side were eliminated in the group stage in that season, but they will likely go in as favourites for this clash at Signal Iduna Park following their run to the final last term.

Still, Klopp is wary of the threat posed by Marseille, and is hoping his side can avenge their previous losses to their Ligue 1 counterparts.

You cannot buy experience, the manager said.

We had bad exp…