Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola returns as Sarri’s assistant
July 19 – Former Chelsea and Italy striker Gianfranco Zola, who made 312 league and cup appearances for the club, has returned as assistant to new manager Maurizio Sarri.
Performance
Melwood’s days numbered as Liverpool give go-ahead for new training campus
July 18 – Premier League Liverpool who completed a rebuild of their Main Stand at Anfield two seasons ago, are now focussing their construction attention on the £50 million redevelopment of the club’s Academy site in Kirkby which the club has said will now go-ahead.
American dream. Rooney debuts at DC United
July 18 – Former England captain Wayne Rooney says he decided to further his career in the United States with DC United because he did not want to “hang around and be a dead weight”.
Croatia’s Lovren bemoans loss and questions if anyone really knows the VAR rules
July 17 – Croatia’s Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has poured out his heart over their World Cup final defeat saying his side “played much better football” than France.
Game changer? VAR turns from hero to villain on World’s biggest football stage
By Andrew Warshaw
July 16 – Long before the World Cup got under way, FIFA president Gianni Infantino was unequivocal. It was unthinkable, he said, for the destiny of the world’s greatest sporting occasion to be decided by a refereeing mistake.
Relevant expands with US Club Soccer sanctioned ICC Futures tournament
July 16 – International Champions Cup organisers Relevant, has expanded its tournament footprint into youth competition with the ICC Futures event that kicks off today at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Chelsea finalise Conte’s long goodbye with Sarri set to takeover
July 13 – It’s been one of the biggest open secrets of the footballing summer. But it still begs the question as to why a club would sack a manager who, in his first season, wins the Premier League and in his second the FA Cup.
Van Basten critical of Neymar theatrics; Parreira has no issue; Roxburgh highlights VAR effect
July 13 – FIFA’s technical director Marco van Basten, arguably the greatest striker of his generation, has a word of advice for Neymar: cut down on the play-acting.
Amuneke lays blame for African 2018 performances on poor talent development
July 12 – Africa will never fulfil their potential on the World Cup stage unless they develop their youth properly and have strong enough characters on the field.
Luis Enrique signs on for Spanish job in time for Nations League kick off against England
July 11 – As anticipated, Spain have named former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique as their new head coach after Fernando Hierro stepped down from temporary charge following their shock last-16 World Cup exit to Russia.
Brazil bid to keep Tite through to Qatar 2022
July 9 – The Brazilian FA (CBF) wants to maintain Tite as head coach of the Brazilian national team until the 2022 World Cup in Qatar even though Brazil crashed out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage following a 2-1 defeat against Belgium.
Last minute sub Hierro quits Spain after World Cup cameo ends in early exit
July 9 – He was only a stand-in but he has already stepped down. Fernando Hierro, forced at the 11th hour into leading Spain at the World Cup, has given up the post and will not return to his former role as sporting director.
Buffon ends 17-year stay at Juve for final push at PSG
July 9 – He may be 40 and have retired from international football but Gianluigi Buffon is about to enter a new phase of his stellar career.
UEFA adopts extra time fourth sub rule for top competitions
July 6 – Clubs who reach the knockout stages of the Champions League and Europa League and other elite competitions will be allowed to make a fourth substitution if the match goes into extra time from next season.
Cannavaro’s Guangzhou Evergrande drop in for pop-up training camp with Austria Wien
July 4 – Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande, on a training visit to Europe, have joined Austria’s FK Austria Wien who are currently in pre-season preparations at their new Generali Arena.