With a year to go before the World Cup, Schalke 04 midfielder Jermaine Jones has opted to turn his back on Germany to play for the United States, it was announced on Friday.
The 27-year-old has already informed the German Football Federation (DFB) of his decision and national coach Joachim Loew says he wishes Jones well.
We have acknowledged Jermaine Jones decision and we accept it, said Germany coach Loew, who led the national team to second place at last June s Euro 2008 final.
I wish him plenty of luck in his sporting future.
Under FIFA s current regulations, Jones is eligible to play for the United States of America, for whom he qualifies through his father, despite having played for Germany, because he has not been involved in a major tournament.…
Bayern Munich exacted some revenge on Freiburg and maintained their two-point lead on Borussia Dortmund at the Bundesliga summit with a 1-0 win at Europa-Park Stadion.
Thomas Tuchel s side were eliminated from the DFB-Pokal by Freiburg on Tuesday, but they dug deep four days on to remain on course for an 11th successive domestic title.
Matthijs de Ligt gave Bayern the key breakthrough six minutes into the second half with a thunderous long-range strike, either side of some fine goalkeeping from Mark Flekken.
Fourth-place Freiburg had been unbeaten in seven league games, but they were unable to respond as Bayern made it back-to-back league wins since Tuchel took charge.
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— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
Flekken wa…
Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has confirmed via social media he suffered a jaw injury at the hands of burglars on Sunday.
Aubameyang has been linked to a move to Premier League side Chelsea before Thursday s transfer deadline, but it remains to be seen whether this injury affects any potential deal.
It is reported that Aubameyang was assaulted by a group of armed intruders, who threatened his wife and two children, with The Times claiming the former Arsenal forward had been held at gunpoint.
Aubameyang confirmed the injury through social media, saying via Twitter: On Sunday night, some violent cowards broke into our home and threatened my family and my children, just to steal some stuff.
They injured my jaw but I will recover in no time,…
The agent of Napoli star Jorginho has confirmed his client will move to Manchester City this summer if the Serie A heavyweights agree a fee with Premier League champions.
Citizens’ boss Pep Guardiola is said to have been impressed with the Italian international during the Champions League showdown against the Partenopei earlier this season and has decided to make a summer move for the highly rated midfielder.
Manchester City are expected to bolster their middle line during the summer transfer window and it appears that Jorginho stands as Guardiola’s prime target.
Jorginho’s agent has only fueled the speculation by claiming ‘a deal will be done’ to take the 26-year-old to Manchester if Serie A giants do accept City’s offer believed to be in excess of …
Luciano Spalletti bemoaned Frank Anguissa s unfair dismissal as Napoli were dealt another absentee blow in Wednesday s Champions League quarter-final defeat at Milan.
The Napoli midfielder was dismissed for two bookable offences in the space of four second-half minutes as Ismael Bennacer s 40th-minute strike proved the difference in a 1-0 win for Milan at San Siro.
Spalletti was already without injured striker Victor Osimhen, and his replacement Giovanni Simeone, with Anguissa s suspension adding another name to Napoli s growing list of absentees.
The Napoli coach was left unimpressed by referee Istvan Kovacs decisions but insisted the Serie A leaders have capable replacements heading into next week s return leg in Naples.
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Brennan Johnson has urged Tottenham to keep building momentum after they progressed into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Spurs were made to work hard by Burnley on Friday night, but eventually broke the visitors’ resistance thanks to Pedro Porro’s superb 78th-minute strike.
It made it four wins in five matches for Tottenham and despite a plethora of unavailable players, Johnson is relishing the attacking philosophy being implemented by boss Ange Postecoglou.
“We’re enjoying it a lot. You can tell by how we play on the pitch,” Johnson said.
“We want to keep progressing individually and as a team we want to keep getting better.
“Before the game, the manager said, ‘we’re in two competitions, the Premier League and FA Cup, and we’r…
Bayern Munich have announced a club-record turnover of €528.7 million for the 2013-14 season.
The German champions held their annual general meeting in Munich on Friday and revealed the impressive numbers to members, marking a huge improvement on the previous year.
Bayern made €432.8m in turnover in the year before, with the new results coming in almost €100m higher, while the Bundesliga giants post-tax profit stood at a little over €16m.
The club earned €95.6m before tax, interest, amortisation and depreciation for 2012-13 campaign when they won the treble but the new figure of €98.7m marks another increase.
Deputy CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen believes Bayern are in an unprecedented era of prosperity both on and off the pitch.
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Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam is open to the possibility of a move abroad in the future amid links to Real Sociedad.
The 29-year-old has started just five times for Mark Hughes men in the Premier League this season and a switch to La Liga with Sociedad who are coached by former Manchester United manager David Moyes has been mooted.
Adam insists that he is no hurry to leave the Britannia Stadium, but admits the idea of plying his trade outside of England before the end of his career is something that appeals to him.
There s better weather than here, he told the Stoke Sentinel.
I would love the experience of playing abroad because it s certainly something different. Hopefully, more British players will go and do it.
On rumours of an exit in…
Dries Mertens scored a stunning volley and Romelu Lukaku was twice on target as Belgium started their Group G campaign with a 3-0 defeat of World Cup debutants Panama in Sochi.
Belgium impressed in an unbeaten qualifying campaign, becoming the first European nation to book their place at Russia 2018.
But Roberto Martinez s side struggled to break Panama down in a flat first half at the Fisht Stadium on Monday, requiring a moment of magic from Mertens to break the deadlock in the 47th minute.
Panama almost mustered a rapid leveller but Thibaut Courtois made a smart stop to keep out a low strike from Michael Murillo, before Lukaku struck twice in six minutes to settle the contest.
Lukaku nodded in a sensational Kevin De Bruyne pass and the Manchester Unit…
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