Defoe dreams of emulating Barnes against Brazil

England striker Jermain Defoe says he hopes to emulate John Barnes' famous performance at the Maracana when the Three Lions face Brazil on Sunday.

Barnes scored a wonder goal against the five-time world champions at the famous stadium in 1984, dribbling from inside his own half, and the striker confessed he dreams of such a moment during the upcoming friendly.

"That was an unbelievable goal," Defoe told the Daily Mirror. "The fact that we’re still talking about it nearly 30 years later tells you how good a goal it was.

"Who knows? Maybe one of us can score one like it on Sunday. If you can score a goal like that against them, make that sort of impact, it will be talked about for ever.

"If there is a single team in international football you’d want to play against it’s Brazil - even more so in Rio."

Defoe would become only the 21st player to score 20 goals for England if he were to notch against Brazil, joining the likes of Geoff Hurst, Alan Shearer and Nat Lofthouse on the list.

And the striker, who is struggling with an Achilles injury ahead of the game, feels reaching the target against Selacao would be a "great achievement".

Goal number 20 is his first target. He added: "At the moment, I’ve got 19 goals. If I can get that goal and get to 20, it will be a great feeling. I know that there are only so many strikers who’ve done it, so to join them would be a big feeling for me and a big achievement.

"If I could get to 20 for my country, I’d feel that was a great achievement. It would be fantastic for me and I would be really proud of that. There have been some great players who haven’t got there and some really big ones who have."

Mourinho will be a disaster at Chelsea

Barcelona vice-president Carles Vilarrubi has warned Chelsea that bringing Jose Mourinho back to the club could end in disaster.

Goal understands the former Real Madrid boss is on the verge of returning to Stamford Bridge for a second spell in charge and will have his appointment confirmed in a matter of days.

But Vilarrubi believes his second stint with the club will only spell trouble for the Europa League winners.

"It's not good for English football; there is nothing positive in what he leaves in Spain," he told The Telegraph.

"Chelsea can think they had a good time with him, but now is when they will see the real Mourinho. If he acts the same way he has done in Spain, the relationship between them will be just unhappy.

"Mourinho will be a disaster at Chelsea; he is not going to change at his age. I don't talk this way only because he was a rival, but also because how he acted and what he did. His three years in Spain only left us arguments and disagreements."

The Barcelona official dislikes Mourinho's mentality against his opponents, saying the Portuguese is too often out on a personal mission for vengeance.

"He has always been like this," he continued. "What kind of coach wins the Champions League twice and does not fly home on the same aeroplane as his players?"
"A coach you would think he wants to celebrate with his players, enjoy the moment. Not him. He is thinking of himself. I don’t know what is wrong with him. In his mind there is something wrong."

Abidal announces Barcelona exit

Eric Abidal has announced that he will leave Barcelona this summer after a six-year spell at Camp Nou.

The 33-year-old joined the club from Olympique Lyonnais in the summer of 2007 and had since made nearly 200 official appearances for the Blaugrana, winning four Liga titles and two Champions Leagues in the process.

However, health problems largely kept Abidal out of action in the past two seasons as he was diagnosed with a tumour in his liver in March 2011 and underwent a transplant last year.

"This is a difficult day for me. I have spent six years at Barcelona and it has been a very intense period together with my team-mates," Abidal said at a press conference.

"I was keen to continue at Barcelona, but the club have different plans and I have to respect that. I am leaving the club this summer, but I will be back here."

Club president Sandro Rosell, meanwhile, stressed that he hopes Abidal will return to Barcelona once he hangs up his boots.

"Abidal has been at Barcelona for six years and he's part of our history. This is not a goodbye. The doors will always be open for Eric.

"When Eric retires, he will become the director of Barcelona's schools around the world."

Abidal has been linked with a return to Lyon this summer, while Monaco have also shown an interest in signing the left-back, but he has yet to make a final decision on where he will continue his career.

"I have a number of offers, but I need more time to think about them," the Frenchman stated

Julio Cesar confirms talks with English clubs amid Arsenal rumours

The 33-year-old is eager to seal his place in the Brazil squad ahead of the 2014 World Cup and has been heavily linked with a move to the Gunners

QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar has confirmed he is in talks with English clubs over a move away from Loftus Road this summer.

Hoops boss Harry Redknapp indicated recently that the Brazil international would be allowed to leave, rather than spend the season prior to the 2014 World Cup in his home nation playing in the Championship.

Arsenal have been heavily linked with the 33-year-old, and Cesar has now fuelled speculation that the Gunners are among the clubs pursuing his signature.
"There are indeed talks with some teams, but nothing definitive,” he told Globo Esporte. “This is the Confederations Cup moment, I have to focus on doing a good work for the national team.

"I won't name the teams as it would not be ethical since I am under contract with Queens Park Rangers. I let people responsible for my career deal with it."

Cesar is in the Brazil squad for the Confederations Cup and could be in the side to face England in Rio on June 2.

Madrid right to get rid of Mourinho - Figo

Former Real Madrid midfielder Luis Figo believes that Jose Mourinho deserved to be ditched by the Santiago Bernabeu side.

The Portuguese will part ways with the Blancos in June after three years in charge, having joined from Inter in the summer of 2010 and taken the club to three Champions League semi-finals, one league triumph and one Copa del Rey trophy.

However, his fall-out with a number of high-profile Madrid players - most notably captain Iker Casillas - has contributed to his exit from the Bernabeu dugout, and Figo believes it is the right time for his compatriot to move on as he nears a return to the Premier League with Chelsea.

"It was to be expected," he told reporters at a charity event. "I believe it is right for them to bid farewell [to Mourinho].

"Some people will not like it, others will think it's the right thing, but the reality in life is you cannot please all the people. The fans should try to be fair and wait to see what happens next."

Mourinho's benching of Casillas in favour of January signing Diego Lopez has resulted in a lengthy dressing-room dispute but Figo thinks the facts have been exaggerated and that the coach had legitimate reasons for his actions.

"They are my friends," he said of Mourinho and the Spain goalkeeper. "They are of the age to be able to work things out.

"Mourinho's decisions were professionally and technically sound. You might not like it but [as a player] you have to accept and take it in the best way possible for the good of the club."

Madrid face Osasuna on Sunday in their final game of the Primera Division season, having already secured second place behind champions Barcelona.

Transfers season gears up as Managers transfers heats up

The league seasons in major leagues have ended, with Bayern Munich  lifting the Champions League at last. The end of a season is usually followed by transfer of players, by teams who want to strengthen their teams for the next season and players who want regular football. This transfer Season, however seems to be made more interesting with the sacking  of Managers and consequent movements of managers to other clubs. Mind you, this  movement of managers usually happens at the end of the season as well, only that this time around, it is of a higher scale. HERE ARE THE LIST OF MANAGERS THAT HAVE EITHER BEEN SACKED,RETIRED,LEFT AFTER END OF CONTRACT OR RESIGNED AND MANAGERS THAT ARE REPLACING THEM

1. Rafael Benitez

was interim manager of Chelsea FC, led them to the Europa League trophy before leaving Stamford Bridge.He is now the manager of Napoli FC
2. Roberto Mancini

Managed Manchester City for three years. Won a Super cup(Community Shield),Premier  League title  and a FA cup with them. was sacked after losing this  season's FA cup Final to Wigan .
3.Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson  retired from the job of been the Manager at Machester United, after winning the Premier league again, which made it almost 40 trophies that the club has won under him. Sir alex is now serving as a director at  Manchester United and a club ambassador.
4.Roberto Martinez

he left Wigan after leading them to an FA cup victory against Manchester City, their first in the Premier League. Unfortunately, Wigan were relegated and he left ,citing that he don't think that he can lead them back to the Premier League. he is currently in discussion with Everton.
5. David Moyes

David Moyes left Everton to coach Manchester United after staying at Everton for quite some time.
6.Jupp Heynckes

Heycnkes retired from Bayern Munich afterb leading them to their fifth Champions league trophy.
7. Pep Guardiola

brought in to replace Jupp Heynckes after a sabbatical from football management.
8. Andrea Stramaccioni

Sacked after a season in charge of Internationale FC. Reason: led Inter to their worst ever finish in the Serie A for a long time, Finishing 9th and without a place in Europe
10.Walter Mazzari

Walter Mazzari left Napoli after leading them to second position in the Serie A and running out nhis contract. He has already been employed as the Coach of Internationale.

that is it and we expect more as Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Massimo Allegeri are expected to be sacked after under performing. We wait to see what happens though

Carvalho signs for Monaco

The 35-year-old former Real Madrid defender has agreed a 12-month deal with the newly-promoted Ligue 1 side Ricardo Carvalho is the latest player to sign for Monaco after agreeing a one-year deal with the French club.
The 35-year-old defender, who spent three seasons at Real Madrid before his switch to Claudio Ranieri's side, completed his move to the Principality on Tuesday where he will join Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez, who recently completed a €70m switch from Porto.

Carvalho told the official club website: "I'm very happy to join Monaco and to be part of the new adventure. This is a new challenge for me."

The newly-promoted Ligue 1 side backed by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev are also close to finalising a deal for Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao, who was in Monaco for a medical on Tuesday, and Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes is reportedly close to sealing a move.

Carvalho was in the Champions League-winning Porto side which beat Monaco 3-0 in the 2004 final.