Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso said he was delighted his match-winning double against France sent his side into the Euro 2012 semi-finals.
But he insists that to do so on the occasion of his 100th national team appearance was just an extra .
Alonso s first-half header and injury-time penalty secured the win for the Spaniards, as they look to become the first international side to win three consecutive major titles after success in this competition four years ago, along with their World Cup triumph in South Africa in 2010.
And Alonso highlighted the ease with which the Spanish made victory against the French look, despite many predicting a close encounter beforehand.
It s in these matches that we have to show what we re about, he told UEFA.com. We controll…
Juventus head coach Maurizio Sarri would welcome a Champions League last-16 tie with Tottenham so that he can face off against extraordinary Jose Mourinho.
The Italian champions eased into the knockout stages with five wins and a draw in their Group D campaign, culminating in a 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
Tottenham suffered a 3-1 loss at Bayern Munich in their final Group B match, meanwhile, but they were already assured of second place behind the German giants in Group B.
Juve and Tottenham could meet in the next round, with Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon and Real Madrid other possible opponents for Juventus.
Good way to end our group stage! See you in February!
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano)
Mourinho claim…
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In a week of several extremely good news for them, Liverpool will welcome Watford to Anfield on Saturday for a game that will open the 17th round of the 2019/20 Premier League roller coaster.
Liverpool
They might have left it late again, but Liverpool have made it into the knockout stages as they seek to defend their Champions League trophy by beating RB Salzburg in Austria on Tuesday. Having seen in the flesh what he can do, the Reds have since reportedly reached an agreement with Salzburg over a January transfer of 24-year-old winger Takumi Minamino, and they followed that up with a fresh five-year deal for manager Jurgen Klopp, which has now been signed.
As for the Premier League, the European champions seem unstoppable at…
Alvaro Morata has the potential to match the level of Luis Suarez and Robert Lewandowski, according to Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque.
The Juventus striker has enjoyed two promising seasons in Serie A since leaving Real Madrid in 2014, winning back-to-back Serie A and Coppa Italia doubles under Massimiliano Allegri.
Widespread reports claim that Madrid will exercise their buy-back option on Morata before next season, either to bolster their own attacking options or to sell him on to a higher bidder, with Chelsea among the clubs linked with an interest.
And Del Bosque has no doubt that Morata can develop into the same lethal sort of striker as Lewandowski, himself a target for Madrid, or Barcelona star Suarez.
That s his challenge, he told AS when a…
Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan feels reborn as he prepares to return to the international stage following his injury woes.
A long-term back problem left the Borussia Dortmund man stranded on the sidelines from August 2013 until last October.
But the 24-year-old has proved his fitness since making his comeback and is hopeful of featuring when Germany take on Australia in a friendly and Georgia in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier over the course of the next week.
What touches you the most after suffering an injury for so much time, is the fact that you really appreciate your health afterwards when you have recovered, said Gundogan.
You appreciate that you spend a day without suffering.
For a long time, I already felt pain when I woke up in…
Gareth Southgate is considering starting Ivan Toney in Sunday s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine, but picking the best possible team to win the game is the top priority.
Toney was called up by Southgate for this month s fixtures, despite the Brentford striker facing a potential ban for breaching the Football Association s betting rules.
The 27-year-old was an unused substitute in Friday s 2-1 win against Italy, as he was in September s Nations League draw against Germany on his only previous call-up.
Southgate is hoping to give Toney some minutes against Ukraine at Wembley, but not at the expense of selecting a player more suited to starting the match.
Ivan Toney has been very good. We really like him, and he s very much in our thoughts, Southgate sai…
Manchester United s Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo has registered the trademark CR9 in a move which Spanish sports daily AS said Wednesday was an obvious sign that the striker will join Real Madrid at the end of the season.
The 23-year-old already operates two clothing stores in Portugal under the CR7 trademark, a combination of his initials and the shirt number he wears for both the English side and the Portuguese national team.
In November his lawyers registered in Portugal the trademark CR9 , a combination of his initials and the number which he would likely be assigned when he joins the Spanish side since the number 7 is already in use by Real captain Raul, the newspaper reported.
The number 9 jersey is currently used by 27-year-old Argentine striker Javi…
It is Monday September 28, 1992, and Sevilla s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan is the location of a media circus rarely seen before or since in the stadium. Bavarian giants Bayern Munich are in town for a hastily arranged friendly.
Prior to the two sides meeting in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday, this friendly 26 years ago is the only previous occasion in which Sevilla faced their illustrious German visitors.
Yet, Bayern were not the focus of the media attention. No, they were there for the first game of Diego Maradona s return to Spain.
The world s most renowned footballer formerly of Barcelona was barely given enough space to take part in the coin toss such was the scrum around him, with microphones and cameras shoved towards his face with little reg…
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed his admiration from Erling Haaland amid strong links to the in-demand Salzburg striker.
United are believed to be among the frontrunners for the teenager s signature thanks to Solskjaer s relationship with the player he coached at Molde.
Haaland s father, Alf-Inge, reportedly visited the Premier League club s training ground in November and the Red Devils are known to be in the market for attacking reinforcements.
Bundesliga sides Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig held talks with Haaland last week and United likewise appear to be plotting a January bid.
He s a player I like, Solskjaer told Viasport reporter and former footballer Jan Aage Fjortoft following Wednesday s EFL Cup quarter-final win over …
Julio Cesar believes his former club Inter Milan are Juventus only rivals for this season s Scudetto.
Inter occupy second place in Serie A, just four points behind Juve, leading to increased expectations that this campaign will be fought out by the northern Italian giants.
And the Brazilian goalkeeper, now at QPR, insists his former club must approach Saturday s clash against Juve with no fear.
Juve must be attacked, Cesar told Gazzetta dello Sport. Why shouldn t they? Inter seem to be their most serious rivals, perhaps the only one. Even more so than Napoli, who cannot find the same consistency as Inter.
I ve had time to learn about the philosophy of (Andrea) Stramaccioni, with whom I wanted to work more. He has a nice way of seeing football in a humb…