'I'm very happy and I can say that 2016 was the best year of my career, the trophy shows that people aren't blind and watch the games.'
Barcelona leapfrogged Atletico Madrid to go top of La Liga after Lionel Messi's acrobatic volley secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory against tenacious Malaga on Saturday.
Athletic Bilbao claimed their first silverware in more than three decades when they wrapped up a 5-1 aggregate win over 10-man Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup on Monday and unleash ecstatic celebrations in the Basque city.
Irresistible Chelsea go into the Christmas round of fixtures knowing they can end the year by re-writing the record books.
On the face of it, Jose Mourinho shouldered the blame for the wounding defeat in his first Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday.
When Barcelona host local rivals Espanyol on Saturday hoping to edge closer to the La Liga title, many may be haunted by Raul Tamudo's 89th minute equaliser which wrecked their title bid in 2006/07.
'Keep Calm And Carry On' could be Claudio Ranieri's motto for the second half of the season after Leicester City earned a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday to put the heat back on Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger dismissed protests against him as more 'disappointed love' than 'real aggression' after disenchanted supporters held up banners calling for his resignation in the 1-0 victory over Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday.
Defender Diego Godin scored a dramatic goal nine minutes from time to send Uruguay through to the World Cup last 16 after a 1-0 win over Italy, on Tuesday, which sent the four-times champions home.
Adjudged the best goalkeeper at the South American U-17 Championship in March, Borquez had a clean slate in four games to help his side secure a FIFA U-17 World Cup qualification for the first time since 1997.
Leicester City's Premier League title defence got off to a terrible start as they were beaten 2-1 at promoted Hull City, who shrugged off an injury crisis to shock the champions on the opening day of the new season on Saturday
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Schalke 04 on Saturday that edged them closer to a record fourth consecutive league title.
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Chile won the Copa America for the first time on Saturday.
A Lionel Messi masterclass, netting a brilliant free kick before laying on two more goals, put Argentina's World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a resounding 3-0 win over Colombia in San Juan on Tuesday.
A fierce work ethic, an astute tactical brain and the ability to forge superb team spirit all combined to make Italian Antonio Conte an acclaimed winner in his own country which is why Chelsea have chosen him to revive their fortunes in England.
Bastia forward Brandao has been sentenced to one month in prison for headbutting Paris St Germain midfielder Thiago Motta, a French tribunal said on Thursday.
Thomas Mueller and Thiago Alcantara struck twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich thumped Werder Bremen 5-0 on Saturday to open an eight-point gap at the top with their first win in three games. The Bavarians, who claimed one point from their previous two matches, terrorised visiting Werder with Kingsley Coman setting up three goals in an eye-catching dress rehearsal for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Juventus next week. "It may look easy ... but it was not," said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. "It was important to win after losing to Mainz 05 (last week). "As for Kingsley, he is a young player but today he showed his quality. We will need such a player on Wednesday." Guardiola can also count on Mario Goetze again after the attacking midfielder made his comeback from a four-month injury layoff.
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Chelsea's terrible start to the season plumbed new depths on Saturday when the Premier League champions lost 2-1 at West Ham United.
Bayern Munich kept their five-point lead at the top of the table on Saturday, drawing 0-0 at second-placed Borussia Dortmund to stay on track for a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title.
Manchester United's struggle to achieve a top-four finish continued on Tuesday as Zlatan Ibrahimovic came to their rescue with an added time penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw against Everton in their Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Defender Gerard Pique grabbed a rare winner and Lionel Messi scored yet another beauty as Barcelona came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 at the Nou Camp on Sunday and reclaim an eight-point lead at the top of La Liga.
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England striker Jamie Vardy says Leicester City have no intention of treating the Champions League as some sort of belated Premier League victory parade, and are ready to add another chapter to last season's stunning success story.
Mancini, who comes up against the Premier League leaders in the Round of 16 first-leg at the Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul on Wednesday, does not fancy his side's prospects.
Italian Ranieri takes his side, currently bottom of the Premier League, to United on Saturday and said he is looking forward to renewing his friendship with the man who replaced him as Chelsea manager in 2004.
Defender Giorgio Chiellini scored three times, including an own goal, as Italy beat Azerbaijan 2-1 in their Euro 2016 Group H qualifier in Palermo on Friday.
Thiago Alcantara's sensational flying volley in stoppage-time earned Bayern Munich a 2-1 win at VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday, extending their unbeaten run to 43 league games and increasing their Bundesliga lead to 13 points.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino was angry after his side surrendered the lead for the second straight week in a 1-1 Premier League draw at in-form Leicester City on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
A lacklustre Barcelona squandered the chance to go top of La Liga after crashing to a shock 1-0 home defeat by Malaga on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Juventus continued their charge towards a fourth successive Serie A title as they predictably swept aside AC Milan 3-1 on Saturday to complete a league double over their old rivals.
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery scored a sensational volley to lead the German champions to a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday that sent them eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with six matches left. Frenchman Ribery, who has missed most of the season due to injury, took off at the edge of the box and sent his mid-air volley past Lukas Hradecky in the 20th minute after the keeper had initially saved a shot from Mario Goetze. It was the 32-year-old's second goal of the campaign after being sidelined for eight months with an ankle problem and then suffering another injury that kept him out until last month. Bayern found no resistance from Eintracht and Xabi Alonso rattled the crossbar with a free kick early in the second half with the hosts enjoying close to 70 percent possession.
Robinho came off the bench to head home the winner in Brazil's 2-1 victory over Chile on Tuesday, taking his personal tally to nine against their South American rivals and boosting his chances of playing at next year's World Cup finals.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and Real Madrid rattled in four goals before halftime in a 5-1 La Liga rout of Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu in Madrid.
Poland midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak has signed a five-year contract with Paris St Germain, the French champions said in a statement on Sunday.
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