Kewell turns away from A-League

Updated July 4, 2011 11:28:00

Socceroos star Harry Kewell is unlikely to play in the A-League this year after a deal presented to Football Federation Australia (FFA) was rejected, according to his manager Bernie Mandic.

Mandic told SEN Radio an offer was made to the FFA in which Kewell would receive a 30-70 split of any increased profit for away matches he features in during the A-League season.

But Mandic, disgruntled over apparent misleading comments by FFA spokesman Kyle Patterson in the media over the Kewell deal, said the offer was rejected.

Mandic said the 32-year-old had agreed in principle to deals with both Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory and was in the final stages of deciding on which club to sign with.

"The FFA offered to assist in bringing Harry back to play in Australia and asked what it would cost to use Harry to market and promote the sport in partnership with the FFA," Mandic told SEN.

"We offered them a better deal than we have offered the A-League clubs - a 30-70 split of any additional gate revenue from the away games that Harry plays in.

"If there are no more people coming to the away games that Harry plays in, Harry gets nothing.

"But he is still happy to market and promote the sport.

"Now this was not accepted by the FFA, which is fair enough."

Mandic made it clear Kewell had no shortage of offers from outside Australia and a deal to play in the A-League this season would now only happen under the 30-70 offer.

He said no guarantees of income had been put to any of the A-League clubs or the FFA on Kewell's behalf.

"Harry is happy to play in the A-League but he will not doing it for any financial guarantees, whether from the FFA or anybody else," he said.

"Hopefully this can happen down the track .. if not this year, then next year or the year after."

"From our end nothing will change.

"People actually keep throwing money at us, we don't want their money.

"They come up with these formulas of their own. It is a simple formula, it is bums on seats, additional revenue.

"The deal has been identical from the very start, from more than a month ago."

Tags: sport, football, aleague, socceroos, australia

First posted July 4, 2011 08:38:00

View the original article here

Glory to give new stars a run

Posted July 4, 2011 19:53:00

Perth will put its new-look A-League squad on the test bench on Saturday night when it takes on Scottish giant Celtic in the Western Australian capital.

The Glory have recruited heavily following last season's disappointing campaign, with stars such as former Manchester United midfielder Liam Miller, New Zealand international Shane Smeltz, former Adelaide skipper Travis Dodd, Dutch defender Bas van den Brink and goalkeeper Danny Vukovic arriving at the club.

Vukovic said the squad is still settling in but hopes to put in a good showing against Celtic, which suffered a 1-0 defeat last Saturday to Central Coast.

"We've been working hard the last nine weeks with our pre-season and it's all pretty much for this game, so it will be a good test for us to see where we're at and, hopefully, we'll get a good result," he said on Monday.

"We've still got a couple of months before the start of the season.

"There's still a few things that we need to work on and, obviously, more than half the team's new to this club so we need to work on things and now play a lot of games to gel as well as possible.

"They (Miller and van den Brink) have only been with us for a couple of sessions but, from what we can tell, they look like very good players and I think they're going to be very good for us.

"I think the club's recruited very well and a lot of experience there, so we're confident that we'll do well this year and anything less than finals football, I think, will be a disappointing year for us."

Celtic manager Neil Lennon is hopeful Scottish international midfielder Kris Commons and defenders Charlie Mulgrew and Thomas Rogne will be fit to take on the Glory.

- AAP

Tags: sport, football, aleague, australia, wa, perth-6000

View the original article here

Germany opens up Women's World Cup with win

Published:Monday, June 27, 2011 11:25 AEST

Kerstin Garefrekes of Germany celebrates with her team-mates after she scores her team's opening goal during the FIFA Women's World Cup match against Canada at Olympic stadium on June 26, 2011 in Berlin, Germany.

Tags: sport, football, canada, germany

View the original article here

Manager Villas-Boas set for Chelsea

Updated June 22, 2011 06:38:00

English Premier League giant Chelsea confirmed overnight it was set to hold talks with Andre Villas-Boas after he resigned as FC Porto coach earlier in the day.

The 33-year-old - who guided Porto to the domestic double and the Europa League trophies last season - would become the youngest coach in the history of the Premier League should the talks prove successful.

Chelsea, for whom Villas-Boas worked when compatriot and mentor Jose Mourinho was their manager, released a statement declaring their intentions.

"We note that the release clause of Andre Villas-Boas has been activated," a Chelsea club statement read.

"We can at this time confirm our interest in him and hope to reach agreement with him on personal terms and make a further announcement in the near future," added the club, who have been without a manager since sacking Carlo Ancelotti after they finished without a trophy last month.

Villas-Boas had informed Porto that he was breaking his contract by paying a 15-million-euro ($20.39m) departure clause.

FC Porto said in a statement that they had been "notified of the intention of coach Andre Villas-Boas to terminate his contract by activating the departure clause with immediate effect".

The club added that his contract "would be terminated after the payment of the required sum".

Earlier Portuguese news agency Lusa reported that Villas-Boas informed the club by fax of his decision.

The Blues are seeking to replace Ancelotti, who was given the boot just 12 months after guiding the west London club to an historic double of league and FA Cup titles.

Porto president Pinto da Costa admitted on Monday the club could not prevent their manager from leaving if the required financial conditions were met.

"Villas-Boas has a contract and a clause of 15 million euros," he said.

"If someone deposits 15 million euros into our account and he wants to go, we cannot do anything because it is something that is contractually specified."

Villas-Boas, who has fallen out with Mourinho though he has never explained why, became the youngest coach to win a European trophy when Porto beat fellow Portuguese side Sporting Braga in the Europa League final.

Reports suggest an annual salary worth 4.4 millions pounds ($6.74m) is on the table for Villas-Boas - whose ancestors number a baron and a count - and he could well bring Porto's Colombian star striker Radamel Falcao to Stamford Bridge with him.

Turkey coach Guus Hiddink had also been linked with a return to Chelsea, where he won the FA Cup as a caretaker manager in 2009.

Porto was unbeaten in the league last season with 27 wins in 30 matches, becoming only the second Portuguese club to finish a league season unbeaten, after Benfica in 1972-73.

- AFP

Tags: sport, football, english-premier-league, united-kingdom, england

First posted June 22, 2011 06:37:00

View the original article here

Man Utd signs England forward Young

Updated June 24, 2011 07:58:00

Premier League champions Manchester United continued their close-season restructuring and acquisition of home-grown talent by signing Aston Villa and England forward Ashley Young overnight.

Young, who agreed a five-year contract in a deal estimated to be worth around 15 million pounds ($22.8m), is manager Alex Ferguson's second June buy.

The United boss is bidding to strengthen his ranks following last season's 19th Premier League title and Champions League final appearance in which they were largely outclassed by a rampant Barcelona side.

The 25-year-old winger, who can also play as a second striker, joins England under-21 defender Phil Jones, who moved to United from Blackburn Rovers in another big-money move earlier this month.

"Manchester United is delighted to announce it has reached agreement with Aston Villa for the transfer of Ashley Young," the club said in a statement on their website.

"The player passed a medical in Manchester this week and has agreed a five-year contract."

Young joined Villa from Watford in 2007 and has since built a reputation as a consistent Premier League performer with an impressive change of pace and an eye for a pass.

"The opportunity to come and play for one of the biggest clubs in the world is one I couldn't turn down," Young told the club website.

"It's a prospect I always looked at from being a child."

- Reuters

Tags: sport, football, english-premier-league, united-kingdom, england

First posted June 24, 2011 06:51:00

View the original article here

Flores leaves Adelaide for China

Updated June 27, 2011 11:41:00

Argentine playmaker Marcos Flores has quit A-League club Adelaide United for a deal in China.

The Reds say they are disappointed the attacking midfielder rejected the club's three-year marquee player offer.

Flores, a Johnny Warren medal winner, has signed with Chinese Super League club Henan Jianye.

Adelaide will receive around $500,000 for the player.

The 31-game Adelaide player asked to be released last Friday, but the club's board initially refused.

"Marcos advised the club he did not intend to remain in Adelaide and intended to take up the offer from China," the club said on Monday in a statement.

Flores is the 11th player to leave Adelaide United since the end of the A-League season.

The departed include captain Travis Dodd, defenders Robbie Cornthwaite and Iain Fyfe, wingers Matthew Leckie and Lucas Pantelis, and midfielder Adam Hughes.

-AAP

Tags: sport, football, aleague, australia, sa, adelaide-5000

First posted June 27, 2011 08:54:00

View the original article here

Amini signs with Dortmund

Posted July 5, 2011 06:37:00

Central Coast young gun Mustafa Amini has joined German giant Borussia Dortmund but will remain with the Mariners on loan for the coming A-League season.

In an outcome described by the Mariners as "win-win for all parties", the 18-year-old midfielder was on Monday transferred to the reigning German champion and instantly loaned back to the Gosford club.

It brought an end to lengthy negotiations, after the Mariners reportedly rejected a transfer offer of $135,000 earlier this year after Amini trained with the club in Germany.

The new transfer fee was not disclosed but is believed to be well in excess of the initial offer.

Amini said he was excited about joining the German club and welcomed the chance to spend another season under Graham Arnold at the Mariners.

"I'm really excited to be joining Dortmund, they're a big club with amazing supporters," Amini said.

"But first of all I want to have another great season with the Mariners, as well as a good under-20s World Cup in Colombia."

Mariners chairman Peter Turnbull thanked Dortmund after nutting out a "much-improved" deal.

"We now have a deal that satisfies everyone, Musti's international future, the club's needs and more importantly, the fans," he said.

"They will now be able to see Musti play out the balance of his original contract plus the Asian Champions League group stage."

Amini will link up with fellow Australian young-gun Mitchell Langerak at Dortmund after the goalkeeper moved from Melbourne Victory last year.

-AAP

Tags: sport, football, football-germany, aleague, australia, nsw, gosford-2250, germany

View the original article here