Chelsea confirmed the appointment of Portugal's Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager on Wednesday as the 33-year-old, who resigned from Porto on Tuesday, agreed to a three-year contract. A fact file on the manager.
Chelsea confirmed the appointment of Portugal's Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager on Wednesday as the 33-year-old, who resigned from Porto on Tuesday, agreed to a three-year contract. Villas-Boas, who led Porto to a domestic double as well as winning the Europa League last season, replaces Carlo Ancelotti, who was sacked in May after failing to win a trophy in his second season.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is almost back to full fitness after being diagnosed with malaria, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday.
Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas has called for a big improvement after the European champions suffered a surprise early-season setback at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday.
Champions Bayern Munich opened up an eight-point lead in the Bundesliga at the start of the German season's one-month winter break by beating Hanover 96 1-0 on Saturday amid mounting speculation over the future of coach Pep Guardiola.
Chelsea must avenge their 2008 Champions League final defeat by Manchester United or face a trophyless season if they lose the all-English quarter-final which starts at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday (1845 GMT).
Champions Chelsea demolished West Bromwich Albion 6-0 on Saturday, shrugging off poor pre-season form to launch their Premier League campaign in style.
Bournemouth breathed life into their Premier League survival bid on Sunday, coming from a goal down to beat fourth-placed Leicester City 4-1 for their first win in 10 games. Toby Alderweireld's 81st-minute header sealed a 2-1 Premier League victory for Tottenham Hotspur against Arsenal in the first north London derby in their new stadium on Sunday.
After failing their first big test of the season by losing 1-0 at Manchester City last week, champions Chelsea face another tough examination when Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed that Jose Mourinho's Chelsea team was stronger than Carlo Ancelotti's historic Double winners.
'They created danger when we lost the ball or because of our errors. I believe that if we stay calm, remain really patient and make them move then the game will go our way'
Chelsea closed on the Premier League title when a first-half header from Nicolas Anelka secured a gritty 1-0 win over a fiercely resilient Bolton Wanderers side on Tuesday.
Arsenal conceded five goals for the first time at their Emirates Stadium as they suffered their worst home defeat for 19 years.
Sporting Director of Spain's Football Federation (RFEF) Fernando Hierro has been named the national team's new coach for the duration of the World Cup in Russia, the Federation said in a tweet on Wednesday.
English Premier League leaders Chelsea could only draw 1-1 at relegation-threatened Hull City on Tuesday as they squandered the chance to move four points clear of Manchester United in the title race. Didier Drogba's free kick shortly before halftime cancelled out Hull's opener scored by Steven Mouyokolo but Chelsea could not force the winner after the break despite late pressure.
Chelsea secured the Premier League crown in magnificent fashion on Sunday with an 8-0 thrashing of 10-man Wigan Athletic in a party atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.
Bookies have placed Premier League leaders Chelsea as the new clear favourites with 3-1 odds to retain the FA Cup following Sunday's fourth-round draw.
Zinedine Zidane has been reappointed as Real Madrid coach nine months after resigning, replacing Argentine Santiago Solari.
Frank Lampard passed the 150-goal milestone for Chelsea on Saturday with four goals in a 7-1 hammering of Aston Villa as Carlo Ancelotti's side roared back to the top of the English Premier League.
Chelsea have given under-fire captain John Terry several days off and he will miss Saturday's FA Cup fifth round tie against Championship (second division) side Cardiff City at Stamford Bridge.
Real Madrid continued their impressive start to the new year with Karim Benzema giving them a 1-0 victory in the King's Cup quarter-final first-leg tie away to Espanyol on Tuesday.
Former European Footballer of the Year Andriy Shevchenko has agreed to rejoin Dynamo Kiev from Chelsea.
Chelsea got their hands on the first trophy of the English season on Sunday when they beat Manchester United on penalties to win the curtain-raising Community Shield after a lively Wembley encounter had ended 2-2.
Chelsea's title hopes were boosted on Thursday when they learned that injured defender Ashley Cole was likely to return for the last three games of the season.
Real will ease the pain by retaining their Champions League title, their only hope of salvaging a disappointing season.
Chelsea's perfect start to the season under new manager Carlo Ancelotti came to a surprise end on Saturday when the Premier League leaders lost 3-1 at Wigan Athletic and had goalkeeper Petr Cech sent off.
German midfielder Michael Ballack has said that this year's English Premier League campaign is looking like a 'two-horse race,' after just six games.
Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea came from behind to win 3-1 at Sunderland on Tuesday and make it two wins from two in the Premier League.
Arsenal lit up the opening day of the Premier League season with a 6-1 demolition of Everton and Didier Drogba struck in stoppage time to give Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti a winning start on Saturday.
Didier Drogba, who has so far scored 18 goals for Chelsea, could miss the club's game against Portsmouth because of an injured back.
With the Premier League season kicking off on Saturday we look at the prospects of the 20 top-flight clubs.
Former Netherlands coach Marco van Basten has discussed the possibility of taking over at AC Milan, the club's assistant manager Filippo Galli was quoted as saying on Monday.
Andrea Pirlo will spend the rest of his career at AC Milan and will not join former boss Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, the Serie A club's owner Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday.
Manuel Neuer became the first goalkeeper since 2002 to make the final short list for the FIFA world player of the year award on Monday when he was included alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the final three.
A decision on the future of AC Milan playmaker Kaka will be taken on Monday, club owner Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday.
AC Milan surged up to joint second in Serie A thanks to Filippo Inzaghi's hat-trick in a 5-1 home thrashing of lowly Torino on Sunday.
Werder Bremen produced a rousing fightback at the San Siro to eliminate favourites AC Milan from the UEFA Cup on Thursday and heap further pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian shrugged off fresh speculation this week that he could be sacked in May but will face further calls for his head after Claudio Pizarro scored twice as Werder hit back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 and reach the last 16 on away goals after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.
Paris St Germain will play Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona were pitted against an unpredictable Napoli, while Chelsea were drawn against Bayern Munich. City, who will be at home in the second leg, have yet to beat the Spanish side with two draws and two defeats in their previous four meetings.
Real Madrid have sacked coach Rafa Benitez after less than half a season in charge and promoted their former France great Zinedine Zidane from the B team to replace him, president Florentino Perez said on Monday.
AC Milan sealed their first win of the Serie A season when they overpowered early pacesetters Lazio 4-1.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances