Steven Gerrard s thoughts on the absence of defender Tyrone Mings should not have been made public by the Aston Villa head coach, believes former player Micah Richards.
The England defender was stripped of the Villa captaincy heading into the new Premier League season, with midfielder John McGinn handed the armband for the 2022-23 campaign.
And Mings was absent for the season opener at former club Bournemouth, where Villa fell to a 2-0 defeat against the newly promoted Cherries.
Speaking afterwards, Gerrard said he would select Mings again when he looks me in the eye and shows that he s ready to play .
But Richards, who was a Villa player when Mings first arrived at the club, suggested Gerrard s comments had thrown his former team-mate under the bus…
Paraguay booked their spot in the Copa America quarter-finals after comfortably accounting for a lacklustre Chile 2-0 on Thursday.
Goals from Braian Samudio and Miguel Almiron saw Paraguay upstage two-time champions Chile in their penultimate Group A fixture in Brasilia en route to the knockout round.
Samudio s maiden international goal gave Paraguay a 33rd-minute lead at Estadio Nacional de Brasilia, before Almiron converted a penalty 13 minutes into the second half.
Chile were aiming to maintain their unbeaten start under head coach Martin Lasarte having won three and drawn three of the six matches since his appointment, while trying to put some pressure on Group A leaders Argentina.
But Chile struggled from the outset, recording just one tame shot on …
Seattle Sounders have completed the signing of Uruguay international Nicolas Lodeiro from Boca Juniors for an undisclosed fee.
Lodeiro, 27, joined Boca in 2015 and played a key role in the Argentine giants run to the Copa Libertadores semi-finals this season.
The former Ajax and Corinthians midfielder s initial contract with Seattle runs until 2019, though the MLS side hold the option for additional years.
Lodeiro becomes the third Designated Player at the club, joining forwards Clint Dempsey and Nelson Valdez, and his arrival excites Sounders general manager and president of soccer Garth Lagerwey.
We have doggedly pursued our top target, Nicolas Lodeiro, for the past several months and we are delighted our persistence finally paid off with his signi…
England forward Daniel Sturridge explained his actions after being caught on his phone during the side s 2-1 friendly win over Australia last month.
Sturridge, who missed the game through injury, was sat behind the England bench and had been spotted using his phone during the contest at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.
Images of Sturridge using the device drew heavy criticism via social media, but the Liverpool forward explained just why he was using his phone, and insists England manager Roy Hodgson had no issue with it.
That night was my first annual charity event in Birmingham. My family had put the event on and were texting me, the 26-year-old revealed.
I wasn t sat on the bench, I was behind the bench [because of injury].
Of cou…
Deportivo Toluca have crowned themselves champions of Mexico, beating Cruz Azul 7-6 on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate result in the final.
After winning the away match 0-2, Toluca appeared to be heading for victory but things weren t as simple in the return leg.
Vela scored the opener for Cruz Azul four minutes after the interval and Dominguez made it 0-2 with 12 minutes left to play. Penalties were needed to determine which of the two sides would win the 2008 Apertura.
Both sides converted their first six penalties but Toluca keeper Cristante then parried Vela s spot kick to give Miguel Almazan a chance to decide the championship.
The defender s effort hit the crossbar but bounced in from keeper Gutierrez back for a dramatic climax and Toluca s first t…
Brazilian manager Zico is about to add yet another adventure to his career, as he is ready to sign a deal with Russian giants CSKA Moscow.
Zico is to replace Valery Gazzaev, who recently resigned from his position.
The 55-year-old Brazilian has a rather exotic resume, having coached Japanese side Kashima Antlers before taking the reigns at the country s national team. In 2006, Zico moved to Fenerbahce and in September 2008 he tried his luck at Uzbek side Bunyodkor, whom he recently led to a domestic league title.
I expect to sign, Zico told Brazilian newspaper O Globo. But there are still a few small things that need to be solved.
CSKA have been going through one of their best spells in history. Under Gazzaev, the Muscovites won three national champion…
Philippe Coutinho scored a brace as Brazil opened the Copa America with a 3-0 win over Bolivia in Sao Paulo.
After an underwhelming first half at Estadio do Morumbi, Coutinho scored twice within eight minutes of the restart to put Brazil in control on Friday.
A VAR check and handball led Coutinho to the penalty spot and the Barcelona star made no mistake in the 50th minute before making it 2-0 three minutes later after capping a sweeping move.
Everton came off the bench and scored the goal of the night with a blistering effort from outside the area in the 84th minute as the Selecao – who have won the Copa on each of the previous four occasions they have hosted in 1919, 1922, 1949 and 1989 – made a winning start in Group A.
GOOOOOOOOOL DO BRASIL! Mais…
Frank Lampard s lack of managerial experience should not concern Chelsea but they must make sure they get the right people on his staff, according to Ruud Gullit.
The Blues are searching for a new boss after confirming Maurizio Sarri s departure on Sunday, with the Italian leaving Stamford Bridge to take over at Serie A champions Juventus.
Chelsea great Lampard is the favourite to take over despite his coaching CV including just a solitary season in charge of Derby County, who missed out on promotion after losing in the Championship play-off final to Aston Villa.
Yet Chelsea have taken the plunge with inexperienced appointments in the past. Gullit came in as player-coach in 1996, while Gianluca Vialli filled the same role after the Dutchman departed in Febru…
Manchester City defender John Stones feels it was a blessing in disguise that he did not join Chelsea a year ago and instead plays for best manager in the world Pep Guardiola.
Chelsea, then managed by Jose Mourinho, made a strong push to sign the England international prior to the 2015-16 season, but did not produce a bid that tempted Everton to sell.
Instead, Stones remained at Goodison Park for that campaign before joining City this month for a reported fee that could eventually rise to £50million.
Stones, 22, has always been in a hurry to reach the top level and compete to win trophies, but feels his move to Chelsea not materialising should now be seen as a positive as it means he gets to work under Guardiola.
I suppose what happened turned out to…
Denis Suarez has revealed his deep admiration for Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta after the 22-year-old secured a return to Camp Nou.
Barca exercised an option to bring the attacking midfielder back to Catalunya after he was sold to Villarreal last August following a loan spell with Sevilla.
Having declared the move a dream come true when the signing was announced, Suarez spoke at his official presentation on Wednesday of his excitement at playing with Iniesta.
He is a role model for everyone in football and I m so happy to be able to learn things from playing alongside him, he said, before reflecting on his time with Villarreal and Sevilla.
I grew as a footballer during those experiences. At Sevilla my fitness and tactical awareness improved and I…