Mitchell: No animosity to Colosimo
Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell believes Simon Colosimo's move to Sydney FC was a positive for both the club and player. Speaking ahead of the Glory's first clash with Sydney this weekend, Mitchell said there would be no ill-feeling between his players and their former skipper, who moved to the Sky Blues at the end of last season after a frustrating 2007-08 with Perth. Read More (Sportal)
Verbeek lifts the veil on Uzbekistan
The Socceroos' upcoming World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent may loom as somewhat of a journey into the unknown for the Australian side but coach Pim Verbeek is intent on demystifying the trip to central Asia. Verbeek, who has coached in Tashkent before when his South Korean side played there, said it was important that the Socceroos were not intimidated by going to a country which most would struggle to pick out on a map and is not a regular destination for anyone bar expat Uzbeks. Read More (Sportal)
Few surprises in Pim's 27
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek will whittle down his squad of 27 for the friendly against the Netherlands on September 6 ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent four days later. There were few surprises in Pim Verbeek's 27-man squad with only two A-League players named. The Dutchman said he will work out after the game against the Dutch in Eindhoven how many players he will take to Central Asia for the opening match of the second stage of World Cup qualification. Read More (Sportal)
Bassett hangs up the boots
Nathan Bassett will retire at the end of Adelaide's finals campaign with the experienced defender admitting the wear and tear of AFL football is starting to take its toll. The 208-game veteran has been thinking about giving the game away since pre-season and used the motivation of going on in 2009 as a way to keep his standards at a high level. But despite delivering plenty of quality performances, especially in the second half of the season, the 31-year-old said he was finding it hard to back up each week. Read More (Sportal)
Princes Park on the outer
The chances of Carlton's home ground being revived as an AFL venue appears to be all but over following the Blues' announcement of an $18 million re-development of Princes Park. As part of the development, the ground - which has also been formerly known as Optus Oval and MC Labour Park - will be known as Visy Park as part of former president Richard Pratt's long-running financial support of the club. The re-development will house a new state-of-the-art training facility for the Blues, which club chief executive Greg Swann has said will be 'one of the most environmentally friendly buildings, certainly in the sporting industry but in any industry for that matter.' But to enable the re-development to proceed, the Blues have had to demolish both the Heatley and Harris Stands - dropping the ground's capacity from 32,000 to around 20,000. Read More (Sportal)
Eade downplays loss of Williams
Rodney Eade would prefer to have injury-prone defender Tom Williams at his disposal this September, but the Western Bulldogs coach is confident of pushing on without him. Eade has confirmed the 22-year-old would not play again this season. The athletic tall suffered a recurrence of a quadricep injury in a skills session at Whitten Oval on Monday. Read More (Sportal)
Lyon concerned by late finish
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon admits he is concerned that playing a Sunday twilight match in Round 22 could have an adverse affect on his club's finals campaign, beginning the following week. The Saints are the only one of this year's eight finalists that have been scheduled to play on a Sunday in the last home and away round of the season and their match against Essendon won't kick off until 4.40pm - meaning it will not finish until around 7.15pm Sunday night. Read More (Sportal)
Robinho set for Chelsea
Robinho is on the brink of a big-money move to Chelsea, according to his representative. The Brazil forward's current employers, Real Madrid, have all but accepted defeat in their battle to keep the 24-year-old, with president Ramon Calderon claiming he was free to go earlier this week. Read More (Sportal)
Spurs closing in on Russian striker
Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko claimed he was on his way to Tottenham after insisting a verbal agreement had been reached between the north Londoners and his club Spartak Moscow. Read More (Sportal)
Time running out for Hayden
Australia opener Matthew Hayden has conceded his time on the international one-day scene may be coming to an end. The 36-year-old left-hander has withdrawn from Australia's upcoming series against Bangladesh with a heel injury - the same complaint that forced his early departure from the tour of the West Indies earlier this year. Read More (Sportal)
Grella links with Blackburn
Socceroos pair Vince Grella and Brett Emerton have been united at Ewood Park with the Torino midfielder signing with Blackburn. Grella, 29, penned a four-year deal with Rovers. He will play alongside compatriot Emerton after agreeing to a reported $8.6 million offer. Read More (Sportal)
Wilkshire makes move to Moscow
FC Twente has confirmed Australia midfielder Luke Wilkshire is leaving the club to join Dinamo Moscow for an undisclosed fee. The 26-year-old, who has spent the last two years in Enschede after arriving from English side Bristol City, had a contract with the Dutch team until 2012. "The Australian player has reached an agreement with Dinamo Moscow and steps over to that club immediately," read a brief statement on club website, www.fctwente.nl. The 26-year-old, who has also played for English clubs Middlesbrough and Bristol City, agreed to a deal until the end of 2011. Read More (Sportal)
Shevchenko completes Milan switch
AC Milan has confirmed that Andriy Shevchenko has completed his return to the club after passing a medical at their Milanello training complex. The Ukraine forward touched down in Italy after Chelsea agreed terms with the Serie A side on Saturday on a deal to take Shevchenko back to Milan - the club he represented for seven seasons between 1999 and 2006. Read More (Sportal)
Akinfenwa double dumps Bolton
Adebayo Akinfenwa struck twice as League One Northampton claimed the Premier League scalp of Bolton with a shock 2-1 victory in the second round of the Carling Cup. Read More (Sportal)
Laidley hails Grant contribution
North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley has described Shannon Grant as the club's second-greatest match-winner of the modern era - behind only the legendary Wayne Carey - as the star goalsneak announced his retirement on Tuesday. Grant, who will play his 300th game this weekend when the Kangaroos attempt to sew up a top-four spot by beating struggling Port Adelaide at the MCG, says he will retire at the end of the season - leaving a legacy as one of the best big game players in recent AFL history. Read More (Sportal)
Dees pair to bow out
The changing of the guard at Melbourne will continue this Sunday when veterans Adem Yze and Jeff White play their final games for the club. The pair join former skipper and games record holder David Neitz, long-serving coach Neale Daniher, not to mention two CEOs, as prominent figures to part ways with the Demons in the past 14 months. Read More (Sportal)
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