Didier Deschamps, who captained France to both World Cup and European triumphs, shared some of his sports psychology secrets on Saturday on the eve of his French side's Euro 2016 final against Portugal.
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
Olympique Lyon suffered another setback when Lorient knocked them out of the French League Cup with a 1-0 home win on Wednesday.
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands broke the 23-year-old women's mile world record on Friday when she clocked four minutes 12.33 seconds in a race dedicated to former American runner Gabe Grunewald, who died from cancer last month at the age of 32.
Ferrari hit back on Wednesday after a French court rejected their bid to prevent Formula One's governing body introducing controversial new rules next season. The sport's most successful and glamorous team warned in a statement at the Monaco Grand Prix they could still pursue legal action and would carry out a threat to quit if the regulations were not rewritten.
Mathai took the office on Monday. He succeeds Jaimini Bhagwati, who retired recently.
Michael Schumacher's son Mick has followed in his father's footsteps by signing a contract with Ferrari to join the Formula One team's young driver academy. The 19-year-old German, whose father won five of his record seven championships with the Italian team, will be competing in Formula Two this year after winning the European F3 title in 2018.
Ibrahimovic was forced off with a muscle problem with 11 minutes remaining, and the Swede was pictured sitting on the bench with an ice pack strapped to the back of his left leg.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix organisers are hoping for a change to the 2010 Formula One calendar so that they can again be the season-ending race next year.
German investigators are looking into the possibility that explosions targeting a bus carrying players of soccer club Borussia Dortmund may have been carried out by Islamists militants, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Akeem Bloomfield announced himself as the latest 'next big thing' from Jamaica
Marco Asensio's strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol to send them top of La Liga and Thomas Lemar scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid in a 2-0 victory at Getafe on Saturday.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to PRS Oberoi, chairman and chief executive of the Oberoi group. The 10th edition of the E&Y awards in India was decided by a six-member jury headed by KV Kamath, managing director and chief executive of ICICI Bank.
Kimi Raikkonen dashed Adrian Sutil's fairytale home race as Force India, for the umpteenth time, came agonisingly close to scoring its first Formula One points before falling to the jinx at the German Grand Prix in Nuerburgring, on Sunday. In a repeat of last year's Monaco Grand Prix, Raikkonen bruised Sutil's VJM02 just when the German, running second, was coming out of the pit and knocked off the front wing to force a pit-stop that dashed Sutil's point hopes.
The fact is that some of the 999 championship races thus far have been questionable Grands Prix and several past race winners never even drove a Formula One car.
Ferrari had all the tools to be successful this season but mistakes and mechanical issue thwarted the team's title ambitions, according to Kimi Raikkonen.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
Atletico should have plenty of money available after talismanic striker Antoine Griezmann said last month he is to leave the club.
Why do people underestimate the difficulty of making money in the financial markets?
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial may be rested for Tuesday's Premier League trip to West Ham United to avoid aggravating a hamstring injury, manager Louis van Gaal has said.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Formula One teams will meet FIA president Max Mosley Friday with champions Ferrari and other manufacturers threatening to walk away from the sport at the end of the season.
LeicesterCity's unexpected Premier League title triumph has helped Claudio Ranieri rediscover himself as a manager after his failed spell at AS Roma, the Italian's mother, Renata Ranieri has said.
Going beyond the annual WEF Summit...
Olympique Lyon virtually guaranteed their place in the Champions League group stage for the 10th successive season after thumping Anderlecht 5-1 in the first leg of their playoff final on Wednesday.
Running as high as sixth, Adrian Sutil aquaplaned off the circuit with just five laps to go as Force India came tantalisingly close to securing its maiden Formula One points in the rain-lashed Chinese Grand Prix before faltering in the closing stages in Shanghai on Sunday.
Formula One's rulers gather in the millionaires' playground of Monaco on Friday to steer the sport away from its profligate past and towards a more cost-conscious future. With teams battered by the credit crunch and stunned by Honda's decision to quit, the FIA's world motor sport council is expected to rubber-stamp measures agreed on Wednesday to rein in spending.
