Zinedine Zidane can stay at Real Madrid for life, club President Florentino Perez said on Saturday, after the Frenchman became the first manager to win the Champions League two years in a row with a dominant 4-1 win over Juventus.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri's decision to consign 40 million euro ($44.16 million) forward Paulo Dybala to the substitutes' bench appears to have backfired after his side's failure to score in their last two games.
Juventus supporters coach Massimiliano Allegri has often been in his element when he is apparently on the back foot.
Runaway leaders Bayern Munich appeared to barely break sweat in a 4-0 win at Hanover 96 to chalk up their 14th Bundesliga win in a row on Sunday, leaving them a huge 19 points clear at the top.
It was no surprise that Croatia cavorted on the pitch in celebration with fans and family long after beating England in the semi-finals of the World Cup on Wednesday night, but a wiser head might have ushered them quietly to ice bath and bed.
Croatia will be ready for both versions of Russia, says Perisic
Miralem Pjanic's free kick gave Juventus a 2-1 win at Chievo on Sunday as goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon celebrated his 600th Serie A appearance.
Dark horse Croatia take on spirited Nigeria in a World Cup opener on Saturday that could leave one side fighting for their tournament lives in the Group of Death.
Photos from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
Croatia gave themselves a fighting chance of reaching the World Cup knock-out phase when they thrashed a toothless Cameroon 4-0 on Wednesday.
Borussia Dortmund beat Hertha Berlin 3-2 on penalties to reach the German Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday after the match finished 1-1 after extra time.
'But that in no way diminishes France's win. Maybe we were a bit unlucky, in the first six games we were favoured by luck'
Deschamps said 14 of his players were World Cup newcomers but were ready to work towards a common goal and were mentally more mature than their age.
World Cup: When wingers gave Croatia flight
Here is a look at some of the key head-to-head duels which could prove decisive.
Hosts Russia have exceeded expectations after advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals with a win on penalties over Spain but they will need more firepower if they are to give Croatia a run for their money on Saturday.
Goals by Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic earned hosts Croatia a 2-0 friendly win over Israel in Osijek on Wednesday in a free-flowing match containing several missed chances.
Bayern Munich showed no signs of letting up as they routed Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 on Sunday for their 10th straight home win of the season in the Bundesliga.
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.
Serie A leaders Juventus scored twice in the last five minutes to win 3-2 at Inter Milan, who had earlier come from behind to lead despite playing with 10 men in an extraordinary match on Saturday.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri criticised his players for letting their guard down and losing 2-1 at arch-rivals Inter Milan after taking the lead in the second half at the San Siro.
Sevilla drew level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga when they snatched a 2-1 comeback victory at home to Villarreal, while champions Atletico Madrid won 1-0 in a bad-tempered clash at Getafe on Sunday.
Olympiakos Piraeus secured a surprise 3-2 victory over last year's Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid to make a dream start to their Group A campaign on Tuesday.
Portugal are ready to move up a gear when they face Croatia in their mouth-watering last-16 clash in Lens on Saturday, coach Fernando Santos said.
Croatia's players showed the world they are not like the supporters who brought shame on the country with their behaviour at Euro 2016, coach Ante Cacic said on Tuesday.
Croatia captain Darijo Srna still feels the pain of losing on penalties to Turkey at the 2008 European Championship, but refused to talk of revenge ahead of another meeting between the teams at Euro 2016 on Sunday. Croatia exorcised some of their demons by beating Turkey 3-0 on aggregate in a playoff to reach Euro 2012. But Sunday will be the first time the sides have met at a major tournament since that quarter-final in Vienna eight years ago when Semih Senturk's 122nd-minute strike cancelled out Ivan Klasnic's opener three minutes earlier to send the tie to penalties.
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez would be a perfect fit for Atletico Madrid and the La Liga club are in talks with the Argentine's agents, coach Diego Simeone has said.
Atletico Madrid have been unable to repeat the magnificent achievements of last season in this campaign but can congratulate themselves on a job well done if they secure a lucrative Champions League berth on Saturday.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti's decision to deploy defender Sergio Ramos in central midfield was the key to Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid, according to captain Iker Casillas.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
Juventus defender Dani Alves produced an inspired display capped by a stunning volleyed goal in a 2-1 win over AS Monaco on Tuesday that took the Italians into their second Champions League final in three years.
France are favourites as Moscow basked in sweltering summer sun
Croatia ruthlessly exposed England's limitations in the second half of the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday as Zlatko Dalic's side fought back to secure a famous 2-1 extra-time victory.
Juventus need to beat Manchester City to reach the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday and many fans still believe the best way to achieve this is by fielding Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala together in attack.
A late header by Imanol Agirretxe gave Real Sociedad, who are without a coach, a 2-1 victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday.
Croatia needed a touch of Luka Modric magic to beat Turkey 1-0 in their Euro 2016 Group D opener on Sunday, gaining a measure of revenge after their bitter quarter-final elimination by the same opponents at Euro 2008.
Cristiano Ronaldo showed nerves of steel to score an injury-time penalty and send holders Real Madrid into the semi-finals of the Champions League in extraordinary circumstances as they lost 3-1 to Juventus on Wednesday but won a thrilling tie 4-3 on aggregate.
Joao Miranda and new signing Mario Mandzukic led Atletico Madrid to a 2-1 home win in La Liga on Saturday as visitors Eibar were unable to cope with the aerial threat of the champions.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend.
A summary of results from matches played in the Italian Serie A and Ligue 1
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