The 2011 Brazilian Campeonato Paulista kicks off on January 15 with no shortage of teams in contention for the Sao Paulo state championship title.
Santos, Sao Paulo, Corinthians and Palmeiras are among the favourites but all four have had to deal with big-name departures in the off-season.
Title holders Santos again look strong and will be hoping to reproduce the same attacking football that plundered a staggering 72 goals last time around.
Dorival Junior has left as coach of the club after he fell out with the board over talented youngster Neymar.
His replacement, Adilson Batista, still has Neymar in his squad but will have to do without Robinho, who left for AC Milan in the off-season.
Alan Patrick, Ze Eduardo, Paulo Henrique Lima and the retu…
Girona lost further ground in the LaLiga title race as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Getafe at the Estadio Coliseum.
Jesus Santiago rounded off a well-worked move in the 33rd minute to score the only goal of the game for Getafe, who moved into the top half of the table with victory.
Leading scorer Artem Dovbyk missed a handful of chances in the second half for Girona and defeats means the Catalan surprise packages are now 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid following their win at Osasuna on Saturday.
Getafe had their hearts in their mouths in the 11th minute when the referee was sent to the VAR screen after Omar Alderete pulled Cristian Portu back on the last line of defence, but a yellow card was deemed sufficient punishment.
GETAFE.
— LALI…
Diego Costa has been included in Spain s FIFA World Cup squad after overcoming a hamstring injury ahead of the Brazil showpiece.
Costa had been set to represent his adopted nation in his homeland after a drawn-out tussle between Spain and Brazil over who he would play for.
The Atletico Madrid man played two friendlies for Brazil in March 2013, but made his Spain bow against Italy in February this year after making his decision.
And he will have the chance to do so after winning his race against time to recover from a hamstring injury.
The striker was withdrawn in the final game of his side s La Liga campaign as they drew with Barcelona to win the league.
Having been involved in a race against time to be fit for the UEFA Champions League final against Real,…
Midfielder Alberto Aquilani is not on his way to Serie A champions AC Milan, according to his agent.
The Italian has been linked with a move to the San Siro after Juventus, the club where he has spent the last 12 months on loan from Liverpool, are yet to confirm if they will sign the 26-year-old on a permanent deal.
Juventus apparently baulked at Liverpool s reported 14 million pound asking price for Aquilani, opening the door for Milan, who are searching for a replacement for veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo.
But Aquilani s agent Franco Zavaglia told Gazzetta dello Sport there has been no contact from the Serie A champions about acquiring Aquilani s services.
I can say that I am not aware of any interest from AC Milan, Zavaglia said.
They are j…
Sergio Aguero admits it is a relief to have Lionel Messi back as Argentina prepare for a crucial World Cup qualifier with Chile in Santiago.
The captain was forced to sit out the opening four rounds of South American qualifying as a result of the knee injury he sustained with Barcelona.
Manchester City star Aguero was himself sidelined for the previous two games a 1-1 draw with Brazil and 1-0 victory over Colombia which saw Argentina kick-start their campaign to reach the 2018 finals in Russia after earlier losing to Ecuador and drawing with Paraguay.
And Aguero has welcomed the return of the Ballon d Or holder to the ranks as Argentina look for a win which would see them climb above Chile in the standings.
It s a relief that Leo is with us, he tol…
Manchester United are ready to reignite their interest in Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, .
The Germany international, who has been out injured since the opening day of last season, was a target for Premier League side eighteen months ago, and they are again monitoring his situation as he nears a first team comeback.
United have also been linked with moves for Roma’s Kevin Strootman and Arturo Vidal of Juventus, but see Gundogan as a more affordable alternative.
Prior to his injury, the 23 year old had racked up eighty-four appearances and scored ten goals in all completions since moving to Dortmund from Nurnberg in 2011.
He was part of the squad that won the double in 2012, and came runners-up in the Champions League final the followi…
Massimiliano Allegri thought about resigning as Juventus head coach after his side lost the Champions League final for the second time in three years.
Although a stunning Mario Mandzukic goal ensured Juve were level at the break in Cardiff, Zinedine Zidane s Real Madrid went on to score three times in the second half to defend their title.
Allegri s men were also beaten by Spanish opposition in the Champions League final in 2015, with Barcelona 3-1 winners in Berlin, and after tasting defeat for the second time the Italian considered walking away from Juve.
I left Cardiff with the team and returned to Italy, Allegri wrote in the Players Tribune. The next evening, when I got home, I had to ask myself a very hard question: Is this the end of the road? Is this as…
A fully-fit Mario Gotze would provide a huge boost for Borussia Dortmund, but Hans-Joachim Watzke has warned not to expect too much too soon.
The Germany international – who scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final – returned to action in Saturday s 3-2 win over Urawa Reds, coming off the bench to mark his first appearance since January.
Gotze has been struggling with a metabolic disorder and new Dortmund coach Peter Bosz vowed to be careful in managing his recovery.
And chief executive officer Watzke underlined the midfielder s importance to the side.
Happy to play again
— Mario Götze (@MarioGoetze)
From his mentality and attitude to his great passion, Mario was always ready, he told Welt am Sonntag. That was never…
The Netherlands made a losing start to the Frank de Boer era as Mexico ran out 1-0 winners during the new Oranje coach s first game in charge.
There was little for De Boer to enjoy in a largely one-sided friendly at Johan Cruijff Arena, where Tata Martino s high-energy team made it 18 wins from their past 19 matches as Netherlands debuts for Owen Wijndal and Teun Koopmeiners fell flat.
De Boer indicated before the game that he would rather have had extra time to prepare for his side s forthcoming pair of Nations League matches than play a friendly, but he had to watch as the Netherlands were pulled apart at the back repeatedly as Raul Jimenez and Jesus Corona caused them problems.
There were chances at either end, with Memphis Depay lively in the Dutch attack, b…
Derby County and Swansea City are interested in signing Harry Wilson from Liverpool before the summer transfer window in England closes on Friday, according to . It has been reported that the Championship duo are leading the race for the 23-year-old, with the defending Premier League champions willing to send the Wales international out on loan for this season.
However, according to the report, Derby and Swansea are not the only clubs from the second tier of English football who want to sign Wilson. There are three other teams from the Championship who are looking into a possible deal for the winger, who is not in manager Jurgen Klopp’s first-team plans this season.
Wilson is a very good winger who did well during his loan spell at Bournemouth last season. According t…