This comes after AVB declined an offer to extend his managerial stint at the Russian club.
Mircea Lucescu has signed a two-year deal to take over as manager of Zenit Saint Petersburg, the club have confirmed.
source: Goal
FOOTBALL: RUSSIA: Zenit Saint Petersburg Appoint Mircea Lucescu As Manager After Andre Villas-Boas...
This comes after AVB declined an offer to extend his managerial stint at the Russian club.
Mircea Lucescu has signed a two-year deal to take over as manager of Zenit Saint Petersburg, the club have confirmed.
source: Goal
FOOTBALL FINES: UEFA HIT MANCHESTER UNITED AND LIVERPOOL WITH €40,000 FINE
UEFA charged both clubs in March over disturbances among fans, which also included objects being thrown and fireworks being set off, in the matches at Anfield and Old Trafford.
Liverpool and United must pay a fine of €20,000 as a result of the chants, with a further €20,000 suspended for two years, while they have been hit with €17,000 and €18,000 fines respectively for "all other incidents".
Liverpool have also been ordered to contact United within 30 days for the settlement of damage caused by supporters, UEFA confirmed in a statement.
Jurgen Klopp's side won 2-0 at Anfield before a 1-1 draw in the second leg sent them through to the quarter-finals with a 3-1 aggregate win.
source: goal.com
FOOTBALL: THE STORY BEHIND THE INFAMOUS MOURINHO-GUARDIOLA RELATIONSHIP
Back in their time together at Camp Nou, Pep and Jose shared a mutual admiration. Guardiola, although still a player, was considered a future coach even then and was known as one of the game's deep thinkers. And the Catalan admired Mourinho's analytical approach to football. At the training ground, the two men spent long hours talking tactics.
When Frank Rijkaard left Barcelona in 2008, Mourinho wanted the coach's job and in his Powerpoint presentation to Blaugrana officials in Lisbon, he outlined his blueprint to former vice-president Marc Ingla. And in that meeting, he named Guardiola as one of his possible assistants.
But Barca had other ideas. Txiki Begiristain, sporting director at the time, favoured a move for Guardiola and the Catalan was appointed as first-team coach after a sole season at Barca B. Mourinho was not amused.
Pep's spectacular spell at Barca began with a treble triumph in 2008-09, but in his second season the former club captain crossed paths with Mourinho in the Champions League - and the Portuguese had the last laugh by eliminating the Blaugrana in the semi-finals with Inter en route to the title.
The Portuguese infuriated Barca fans - and some of the players, including goalkeeper Victor Valdes - by celebrating wildly on the Camp Nou pitch, but before the game Guardiola had spoken highly of his former colleague. "I didn't know he would make it this far," he said in the pre-match press conference. "If I had known Mourinho had this talent as a coach, I would have gone and told the president."
Mourinho's Inter went on to beat Van Gaal's Bayern Munich in the final at the Santiago Bernabeu and after the match, the Portuguese announced that he would be leaving the Italian club. His destination? Real Madrid.
In January, Pep and Jose sat together at the Ballon d'Or ceremony and all seemed well. "We spoke, commented on the gala, the pianist, who was really good, we gave each other a couple of elbows and nothing more," the Catalan joked.
By that point, they had faced each other in just one Clasico clash - an outrageously one-sided 5-0 win for the Blaugrana at Camp Nou in late November. But things later came to a head as Barca and Madrid met five times in a tumultuous 17-day period in April.
After a tense 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga on April 16, they met again four days later in the final of the Copa del Rey at Mestalla. And following a tight first half, Pedro thought he had broken the deadlock when he latched onto a pass from Lionel Messi and fired past Iker Casillas.
However, his strike was ruled offside. Guardiola waved his finger in disapproval, but replays showed the officials' decision was correct as Pedro was indeed a fraction beyond the last Madrid defender, Alvaro Arbeloa, and Real went on to win in extra time as Cristiano Ronaldo headed home from an Angel Di Maria cross.
In a packed press room after the match, Guardiola appeared to question the decision. "The assistant must have great eyesight to spot that Pedro was two centimetres offside," the Catalan coach quipped.
But six days later, ahead of the Champions League semi-final first leg clash between the two teams at the Bernabeu, Mourinho mocked the words of his Barca counterpart.
"We have started a new cycle," he began. "Up until now there was a very small group of coaches who didn't talk about referees and a very large group, in which I am included, who criticise referees. Now, with Pep's comments, we have started a new era with a third group, in which there is only him, that criticises the referee when he makes correct decisions. This is completely new to me."
The Portuguese's provocations had finally got to Guardiola and with a Champions League semi-final between the two teams ahead, the former Barca boss chose to react this time with a statement of intent - in the Bernabeu press room of all places.
"Senor Mourinho has permitted himself the luxury of calling me Pep, so I will call him Jose," Guardiola said. "Which one is your camera, Jose? All of them, I suppose... Tomorrow at 8.45pm we face each other on the pitch. He has won the battle off the pitch. If he wants his own personal Champions League trophy away from the pitch, let him take it home and enjoy it.
"In this room, Mourinho is the f***ing chief, the f***ing boss. He knows all about this and I don't want to compete with him in here. I'd just like to remind him that I worked with him for four years [at Barcelona]. He knows me and I know him.
"If he prefers to value the views of the journalist friends who take their information in a drip feed from Florentino Perez more than the relationship we had for four years, then, that's his choice. I try to learn from Jose on the pitch, but I prefer to learn as little as possible from him off the pitch."
When he returned to his hotel dining room, the Barca players stood to greet Guardiola with a round of applause. And on the pitch a day later, the Blaugrana beat Madrid 2-0 to leave the Portuguese complaining about referees and dreaming up conspiracy theories in his infamous "Por que?" ("Why?") rant against the Catalan club.
The following season, Mourinho's Madrid won La Liga (still the only team to beat a Pep side to a league title) and Guardiola stepped down to take a sabbatical at the end of the 2011-12 campaign. He was tired of life at Barca by now and, although he would not say so, the constant clashes with the Portuguese had taken their toll.
The two men met once more in Mourinho's first game at Bayern in 2013 as the German side beat Chelsea on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup, but they have not faced each other again until now. And this time, their rivalry will be intensified again as they coach in the same city as managers of Manchester's two rival clubs.
So even though Pep won't want it, expect more fireworks between Guardiola and Mourinho starting this summer. It is bound to be fascinating.
source: goal.com
FOOTBALL: CRISTIANO RONALDO TAKES KNOCK IN TRAINING
Madrid were training ahead of Saturday's San Siro showdown against city rivals Atletico when the Portuguese collided with the goalkeeper.before getting to his feet and walking from the field shortly before the session was due to end.
The issue did not appear serious, but will be an unwelcome development for Zinedine Zidane as the club go in search of an 11th European triumph.
In a media conference earlier on Tuesday, Zidane confirmed Ronaldo had sat out a practice match on Saturday as a precaution after "a little bit of a feeling in his leg".
The 31-year-old has been in superb form in this season's competition, scoring 16 goals in 11 matches as he aims to break his own record of 17 set in the club's victorious 2013-14 campaign.
source: lindaikejisblog
SONY RACISM?!: Mother and daughter turned away from a Sony event in London for "being black", reffered to as "coloureds"
Imani Evans and her mother, Sue were allegedly racially abused and rejected on the doorsteps of swanky London venue, The Voice reports.
The 23-year-old media personality and natural hair blogger, claims door staff insulted her trademark mane and referred to her and her mother Sue as "coloureds". The pair, known professionally as Mother And Daughter Duo, told The Voice of how their press team had secured them an invite to the launch of the Sony Xperia X on May 18.
On arrival, they say they were turned away and told that the venue was at full capacity only to watch other partygoers welcomed in. While on the doorsteps of the Soho venue, 100 Wardour Street, the pair requested to speak to someone in management who had confirmed their attendance.
"We asked her to radio one of her colleagues who knew we was coming and she said into the radio, ‘I’ve got two black girls with me…' and then walked off so we couldn’t hear if she was talking to anyone or not. She came back and said ‘Sorry there’s nothing we can do'," Imani wrote on social media.
The mother-daughter duo who frequent press events and have a number of high-profile friends were met in the line by a friend, TayTay Starhz who is a member of emerging boyband Franklin Lake. When he heard what happened, Starhz attempted to bring the pair through as his guests along with his two friends.
"Shockingly all three of them were stamped and allowed in despite them being ‘full to capacity’ less than 2 MINUTES ago,” Imani said. "We then reached our hands out expecting to get stamped also and then they said ‘Sorry we are full!’ So then I said, ‘How can you be full when you just let my three friends in?’ She then stuttered and changed her story. She said, ‘You aren’t on the list’, which was a blatant lie because we 100 per cent were and why wouldn’t she say that in the first place?"
Imani claims that door staff sniggered and continued to laugh and insists that she overheard one member of staff say they would not be letting any “coloureds in” all while mocking her natural afro hairstyle.
According to representatives for the pair, their treatment wasn’t too dissimilar to a number of ethnic minority individuals who were scheduled to attend the event for the tech giant’s latest product.
The PR company responsible for coordinating the night,, Citizen PR has since release a short statement responding to the allegations amidst mounting pressure from social media.
"A client event that Citizen hosted last week in London couldn’t accommodate everyone that wanted to attend, resulting in a number of people being turned away. Two of those people claimed that race was involved in this decision. We took this allegation very seriously and immediately launched an investigation with our staff and suppliers to confirm details of what happened at the event. Now that our investigation is complete we’re confident our team acted fairly and professionally. Further, we are confident race had nothing to do with it as we don’t stand for that and it simply wouldn’t be tolerated. That said, we’re deeply sorry for their disappointment. It has not been our team’s intent to make anyone feel excluded nor ignored in the aftermath as we fully investigated the matter."
Both Sue and Imani have slammed the apology as insincere and are committed to ensuring the get a sit down with the company and their client Sony.
"How can they claim to have conducted an investigation with only one side of the story? They never contacted us to ask us anything and of course the staff are going to say whatever to cover their backs. We won’t be taking this. This trauma has been a nightmare. I haven't been called 'Coloured' since I was 10 years old," added 47-year-old Sue.
source: lindaikejisblog
Paris Jackson gets new Michael Jackson tattoo in honour of late father
Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris has inked a new tattoo in honour of her late dad. The new tattoo is a tribute to her dad's Dangerous album cover art which features his eyes as well as a decorative frame complete with a crown, elephants, monkeys and a peacock. She captioned the photo;
"The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation." Never forget your roots, and always be proud of where you came from.source: lindaikejisblog
FOOTBALL: MANCHESTER UNITED AND MOURINHO SET TO OFFER £34M DEAL TO IBRAHIMOVIC
And while he could yet decide to move to MLS for a huge payday, United are set to present him with a deal which would allow them to blow any American deal out of the water.
Ibrahimovic is said to be looking for a contract which would see him earn a similar net salary to his €350,000 weekly wage at PSG, and advisors working on United's behalf are putting together a package which could persuade the 34-year-old to move to Manchester.
As part of the deal, Ibrahimovic would receive an £8 million tax-free signing-on bonus, with a £250,000 weekly salary to come over the course of his 12-month contract. He would also be offered an option to sign for a second year as part of the initial agreement, taking his potential total earnings over two years to £34m.
The front man, Sweden's record goalscorer in international football, may yet decide to choose MLS over the Premier League, with his wife Helena Seger having a sportswear business which would benefit massively from a move to the United States rather than Manchester.
However, United are hoping that the lure of a massive contract and a continued career in European football will be enough to secure a deal to bring one of the world's most recognisable football faces to Old Trafford.
Ibrahimovic has won 12 league titles in his last 13 years, including four successive Ligue 1 crowns with PSG. He previously won one of his three Serie A titles with Inter under the guidance of Jose Mourinho, who is due to be announced as United's new manager imminently.
source: goal.com
FOOTBALL: RUMOURS: EVERTON PLAN £40M HART BID
Everton are plotting an ambitious £40 million bid for Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
New Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri is keen to splash the cash this summer following the sacking of Roberto Martinez, and with Tim Howard having left the club, a new goalkeeper is high on the priority list.
Hart's future has been thrown into doubt by Pep Guardiola's pursuit of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, and the Goodison Park outfit believe they could tempt him with a contract worth £200,000 per week.
source: goal.com
FOOTBALL: TRANSFER RUMORS: KEANE TALKS UP GALAXY MOVE FOR RONALDO
Ronaldo, 31, has already said he is open to a move to MLS once his time in Europe is up.
The likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo have followed in the footsteps of David Beckham and Keane in heading to the United States.
And Keane, a three-time MLS Cup winner with the Galaxy, said it looked like Ronaldo would end up at a club like LA.
"I think it's probably a natural progression for him," the Republic of Ireland international toldTMZ Sports.
"Hopefully, not for another couple of years. I've still got a couple of years left in me to play."
Keane added: "I'll be still playing. It'd be great if we could play together."
The Galaxy sit fifth in the Western Conference in MLS after winning five of their opening 11 games of the season.
source: goal.com
FOOTBALL: BETTING: PUNTERS READY TO BACK MANCHESTER UNITED AFTER VAN GAAL'S DEPARTURE
Those quotes have been clipped even further today, with 11/2 (6.50) now the price available on United finishing top of the pile next season following the announcement that Van Gaal would no longer be in charge and rumours intensifying that Mourinho will be the man to take over as punters are clearly willing to put their faith in "the special one" being able to turn around a United team who have struggled to re-establish themselves within the top tier of the Premier League since Ferguson left in 2013.
Mourinho has the highest win percentage of any Premier League boss in history (minimum 15 games) according to Opta's statistics with 66%.
With Chelsea (11/2) and favourites Manchester City (13/8) both bringing in new managers, the scene is already set for another intriguing campaign, especially with Arsenal(6/1) Tottenham (7/1), Liverpool (9/1) and even surprise winners Leicester City (25/1) all in the mix.
source: goal.com
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