Liverpool v Manchester United - Preview

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Jurgen Klopp has called Thursday's Europa League last-16 tie against Manchester United "the mother of all football games".

The Reds host United in the domestic rivals' first meeting in Europe, though it is in the second-tier competition rather than the Champions League.

However, Klopp said: "I always said the Europa League is very exciting.

"It's really, really big. I hope it's not the biggest [match] in my Liverpool career but it's very important."

Manchester United have won three European Cups - most recently in 2008 in its current Champions League format - while Liverpool have lifted the trophy on five occasions.

United manager Louis van Gaal said those who criticise their demotion to the Europa League are "living in the past", and Klopp believes the tie will still enthral the crowd at Anfield.

"I don't believe in enemies in football, I believe in real opponents," said the 48-year-old German, who took former club Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final in 2013.

"I have absolutely no problem with Louis van Gaal but the last thing I want is for him to win. Games like this are the mother of all football games."

Liverpool have won the Uefa Cup - precursor to the Europa League - three times, most recently in 2001, while United's best run was to the quarter-finals in 1985.

The winners of the competition qualify for the Champions League and Klopp defender the standard of the tournament.

"What's Champions League level? I saw a lot of rubbish games at Champions League level. Liverpool and Manchester United want to always be part of it, sure.

"There's a long way to go but we can see the line. There's only top quality teams left in this tournament. From now on its something like a small Champions League."

Striker Daniel Sturridge is likely to return to Liverpool's starting line-up and right-back Nathaniel Clyne will return at the expense of Jon Flanagan, who is not registered to play in the Europa League.

Midfielder James Milner is doubtful after he was sent home from training with illness.

Jesse Lingard is suspended for Manchester United and fellow winger Adnan Januzaj is cup-tied, but Antonio Valencia is set to be involved after a foot injury.

Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Will Keane, Luke Shaw, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Phil Jones are all still out.

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Shrewsbury Town v Manchester United - Preview

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea is not expected to feature after suffering a knee injury before the Europa League loss to FC Midtjylland.

He became the 14th player on United's injury list, which includes captain Wayne Rooney,

Shrewsbury's former Manchester United midfielder Larnell Cole returns to the squad after three games out with a groin injury.

Manager Micky Mellon also confirmed defender Jack Grimmer will be fit.

"We will give it our best go and we won't be overawed.

"We will make sure that we thoroughly enjoy the game and take it all in and give the best account of ourselves that we possibly can to represent this great football town.

"We've got to do certain things in a certain way to increase our chances of getting a result, so that's what we're working on and the mentality we're approaching the game with."

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal admitted "You cannot continue with losing games," whose side were on the wrong end of results against Sunderland and Danish side Midtjylland in their last two outings.

"You have to see every match as a match you have to win. On Monday, we have to win. 

"If we win, we are in the next round and we are capable of winning The FA Cup."

Venue:

Greenhous Meadow

Date: Monday, 22 February

Kick-off: 19:45 GMT

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OSM - The Florentino Way

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Rafa Returns Home to Madrid

Rafa Benitez is back home in Madrid. The city of his birth and at the club where he started not only his playing career, but also his managerial career. The latter with Real Madrid B in 1993 and now he returns to La Liga after a decade globetrotting. His time filled with stints at Liverpool, Chelsea, Inter and Napoli gathering a number of domestics trophies and the Europa League when Interim Manager at Stamford Bridge. The Champions League the most memorable in Istanbul with Liverpool in 2005. An unimaginable feat that night and proving impossible to repeat so far. But no doubt the mission impossible President, Florentino Perez will be seeking from Rafa this season.

Midway through the preseason Benitez has now gone two friendly games without his team scoring a goal. Even in Oslo against local team Valenega where his side couldn’t squeeze even one past the Norwegian team. A match held in recognition of Martin Odegaard - the youngest player in history to appear in a European Championship qualifying match - and the earliest ever debutant for the senior Norway team. Odegaard was the major revelation in his country's domestic top flight. He featured in 23 of 30 league games and hit five goals. He was also the youngest player ever to make his debut and to score in the Norwegian league.

Gareth Bale continues to prove enigmatic and offering the Spanish media copious opportunities to question whether he has been worth the €100m price tag. Despite a more central role under Benitez, the welsh international has only managed one goal so far. That was against his former club, Spurs, in a friendly in the Far East. Leading to ideal speculation that given the right offer from Old Trafford Madrid might be happy to get their money back. Something far from reality as Benitez is building his midfield to support Bale, with Tony Kross now playing slightly more forward. Supported by Luka Modric and James Rodriguez. The relationship with Manchester United not at its best as David DeGea seems set to wait another year before a return to the Spanish capital.

Real Madrid will save money by waiting another 12 months to land Manchester United De Gea on a free transfer and offer a £12 million signing-on fee next summer if he sees out the final 12 months of his United contract. That would make up for the smaller contract on offer at the Bernabeu for De Gea, and also represent a far smaller pay-out of the £35m in transfer fees that United want.

For Bale the difficulty is that he's a naturally left sided layer and his success at White Hart Lane was on that flank. The same year he won both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year, and adding the FWA (Football Writer's Association) Player of the Year Award a few weeks later. 

As the new season kick off approaches Sergio Ramos will announce his renewal with Real Madrid on Monday. Bringing to an end an off field battle with Perez and also see the role of the defender increase within the club. Filling the vacuum following the recent enforced departure of Iker Casillas. With a salary increase that makes Ramos the third highest earner at Real Madrid - behind Cristiano Ronaldo and bale. A deal lasting until 2020. Thus securing the centre half partnership with Rafael Varanne for another few years. The duo supported by a contract extension for Portugal international Pepe.

The only other major doubt is Karim Benzema, whose move to Arsenal is a daily story in Spanish sports press as his place upfront has slipped behind Jese. A product of the clubs youth system. Benitez though is adamant that Arsenal haven no chance. Instead has moved to sign someone he knows well and agreed a deal with Internazionale to sign Mateo Kovacic for a fee of €32m with a further €3m in add-ons. 

Late on Sunday a deal was reached for the player, who had attracted Liverpool’s interest earlier in the transfer window. Inter have always maintained that the player would not leave for less than €35m, a fee the Premier League club was not prepared to pay.

The 21-year-old’s agent, Mario Mamic, has agreed a package with the Spanish club and the transfer is set to go through after the player signs his contract on Monday and has his medical this week. The midfielder, who models his game on Andrés Iniesta’s, joined Inter from Dinamo Zagreb in 2013 and has scored five goals in 80 league games for the Milan club.

The Inter manager, Roberto Mancini, said on Sunday: “We need to sell Mateo because of Financial Fair Play. We are sorry because he is a good player but those are the rules. Now we can try to sign some other players.”

Real Madrid play Galatasaray on Tuesday night at the Santiago Bernabeu and start the season in front of their home fans.

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Cruyff Diagnosed with Lung Cancer

The Dutch legend Johan Cruyff has lung cancer, according to reports in Spain.

The 68-year-old, who won three successive European Cups with Ajax before going on to play for and manage Barcelona, was diagnosed last Tuesday, it was reported on Spanish radio station RAC1 and Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivoon Thursday morning.

Cruyff is said to be currently undergoing tests to try to discover the extent of the disease and his spokesman has said he will release a statement later on Thursday.

Formerly a heavy smoker, he had double heart bypass surgery in 1991 while he still in charge of Barcelona – a role he eventually left in 1996.

Barça’s vice-president Susana Monje, who was giving a financial presentation on Thursday, sent a message of support from the club.

In his prime, Cruyff was considered one of the world’s greatest players in the world at a time when Pelé, George Best and Franz Beckenbauer could all lay claim to the title.

He was European Footballer of the Year in 1971, 1973 and 1974 and part of the mould-breaking team that won three European Cups in 1971, 1972 and 1973 – a side that provided the foundation for Holland’s Total Football revolution when their coach Rinus Michels took over the national side in 1974.

Cruyff moved to Barcelona in 1973 and won the league title the following year. That same year, 1974, Holland reached the World Cup final where they were defeated by West Germany.

Four years later Cruyff moved to the United States where he played for the Los Angeles Aztecs and the Washington Diplomats the following year. He finished his career in the Netherlands with two more seasons with Ajax and one with Feyenoord.

Cruyff took over as manager of Ajax in 1985 but it was his return to Barcelona in 1988 that brought him success as a coach, the “Dream Team” winning four league titles, the European Cup and a Copa Del Ray and devising the swift passing possession that later became known as tiki-taka.

Since leaving Barça in 1996 he has had various minor roles in the game and acts as an adviser to Ajax, a spell notable for his successful attempt to block his fellow directors from appointing Louis van Gaal to the board by taking them to court.

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Ballon d'Or Nominations

Gareth Bale is the only Brit in the running for this year's Ballon d'Or - but three Manchester City players are among five Premier League stars also in contention.

Bale has played a vital role in helping Wales qualify for a major finals tournament for the first time since 1958, scoring seven goals in their successful European Qualifiers campaign.

He has attracted some criticism from some Real Madrid fans in recent months and has only scored twice for them this season, with both goals coming in a 5-0 win against Real Betis in August.

Bale has still played an important role for the Spanish giants, however, and struck 17 times for them last term.

The attacker is joined on the 23-man shortlist by five Premier League stars, with Sergio Aguero one of three who hail from the Etihad Stadium.

He was the competition's top scorer last season with 26 goals and has eight more this term including five against Newcastle at the start of the month.

Aguero is included among the candidates along with his team-mate Yaya Toure, a scorer 13 times for his club and country Ivory Coast in 2014/15.

New signing Kevin De Bruyne - who has made a stunning start to his time at City - is also on the shortlist, largely for the work he did at previous club Wolfsburg.

Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez is on the list and he has arguably been the star turn in the division so far this season.

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard, last term's PFA Player of the Year, is the final player of the English-based quintet.

There are few other surprises among the other contenders, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Neymar, Robert Lewandowski and Luis Suarez all named.

Karim Benzema, Andres Iniesta, Toni Kroos, Javier Mascherano, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Ivan Rakitic, Arjen Robben, James Rodriguez and Arturo Vidal complete the selection.

Spain's La Liga - with 11 - leads the way in terms of nominations by league, while Germany's Bundesliga has six nominees. There are two from Italy's Serie A and one - Ibrahimovic - from France's Ligue 1.

Players who have transferred during the past year are recognised for their contribution to both clubs.

Jose Mourinho has had a difficult start to Chelsea's title defence but he is a nominee for the manager's award after their emphatic Premier League win last season.

Arsenal's Arsene Wenger is also included on the 10-man shortlist with the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Laurent Blanc, Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Diego Simeone.

Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli, Massimiliano Allegri and Unai Emery are the final three names shortlisted and the winners will be announced in Zurich on January 11.

Voting will run from next Monday until November 20, with the captain and manager of each international football team having a vote.

International media representatives selected by France Football will also be involved in the process, with a final three-man shortlist to be announced on November 30.

FIFA Ballon d'Or shortlist: 

Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain), Andres Iniesta (Spain/Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Germany/Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Germany/Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/Barcelona), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/Bayern Munich), James Rodriguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suarez (Uruguay/Barcelona), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast/Manchester City), Arturo Vidal (Chile/Bayern Munich).

FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football shortlist:

Massimiliano Allegri (Juventus), Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid), Laurent Blanc (Paris Saint-Germain), Unai Emery (Sevilla), Pep Guardiola (FC Bayern Munich), Luis Enrique (Barcelona), Jose Mourinho (Chelsea), Jorge Sampaoli (Chile), Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal).

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Spain Win Despite Cesc Miss

Ukraine were consigned to the Euro 2016 play-offs after they lost 1-0 at home to Spain despite the reigning champions fielding a second-string side in their final Group C qualifying match.

Ukraine needed to better Slovakia’s result in Luxembourg to earn an automatic berth at the tournament in France next year but their fellow Eastern Europeans secured a 4-2 win to make sure of second place.

With Spain already assured of top spot, Vicente del Bosque fielded an experimental team at Kiev’s Olympic Stadium, scene of Spain’s 4-0 triumph against Italy in the final of Euro 2012.

The full-back Mario Gaspar scored with a header on his debut to put Spain ahead in the 22nd minute and Cesc Fàbregas, captaining the side on his 100th international appearance, won a penalty moments later but had his effort saved by the Ukraine goalkeeper, Andriy Pyatov.

Spain’s eighth qualifying win in a row put them on 27 points from 10 matches and, for the first time, they have gone eight competitive matches without conceding. Slovakia have 22 points and Ukraine 19, eight ahead of fourth-placed Belarus.

Ukraine had a number of chances in the early stages and David de Gea, deputising for Iker Casillas in goal, made two brilliant saves to deny Artem Kravets and Ruslan Rotan after 15 minutes.

Spain made the breakthrough when Nolito sent Thiago Alcântara clear and his perfect cross to the far post was headed in by Gaspar with Pyatov stranded.

Nolito played Fàbregas in just after the restart and he was felled by Oleksandr Kucher but Pyatov flung out an arm to send the midfielder’s spot kick over the bar.

Fàbregas, the 10th player to reach 100 caps for Spain and the second-youngest after Sergio Ramos, has missed all four of his penalties for Spain, excluding shootouts.

Ukraine went close to an equaliser when Andriy Yarmolenko struck a shot against the frame of the goal in the 51st minute before Paco Alcácer was denied by another fine Pyatov save.

“It is a pity we did not take our chances,” the Ukraine coach, Mykhailo Fomenko, said. “We had plenty of opportunities but their goalkeeper was brilliant tonight.”

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Del Bosque Considers Russia 2018

Vicente del Bosque has opened the door to staying on after next year’s Euro 2016 tournament should the holders qualify as expected.

Del Bosque, who took over from the late Luis Aragonés after Spain’s triumph at Euro 2008, has previously suggested he would step down after the competition in France, where La Roja will be chasing an unprecedented third straight European Championship.

Spanish media have reported that the federation president Ángel María Villar is trying to persuade the 64-year-old to stay on until the 2018 World Cup in Russia and Del Bosque appeared to leave that possibility open in an interview with Spanish radio.

“I think that in football matters you don’t have to be very rigid,” he told Cadena Cope when asked about his future.

Del Bosque is a hugely popular figure in Spain after leading the national team to a maiden World Cup victory in 2010 and a second consecutive European title two years later.

However, some felt that a fresh start was needed after Spain’s failure to advance beyond the group stage at last year’s World Cup finals in Brazil.

Among names to have been linked to the Spain job are the Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola, Sevilla’s Unai Emery and Rafa Benítez of Real Madrid.

Spain can make sure of their place at Euro 2016 with a win against the Group C minnows Luxembourg in Logrono on Friday.

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Del Bosque Confirms Final Squad

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Diego Costa and Fernando Torres have been included in Spain's final squad for World Cup 2014, but Manchester City pair Alvaro Negredo and Jesus Navas were left out.

Costa was an injury doubt with a hamstring tear after lasting less than 10 minutes for Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final last Saturday and still faces a race against time to be fit for Spain's first game against Holland on June 13.

Torres has endured a tough season for Chelsea, but scored from the spot in the 2-0 friendly win over Bolivia on Friday night.

The Spanish Football Federation announced on Saturday that both strikers had made the cut and were in Vicente Del Bosque's final 23-man party for Brazil.

It meant no place for Negredo, who enjoyed a flying start to his City career last term, but tailed off badly towards the end of the season.

Navas was also left disappointed, along with Fernando Llorente (Juventus), Ander Iturraspe (Athletic Bilbao), Alvaro Moreno (Sevilla) and Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid).

Torres' club-mate Cesar Azpilicueta, Santi Cazorla of Arsenal, Juan Mata and David De Gea of Manchester United and City's David Silva were all included.

Chile and Australia are the other two teams in the defending champions' group.

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Liverpool), David De Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Xavi (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Juan Mata (Manchester United), David Silva (Manchester City)

Forwards: Pedro (Barcelona), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Fernando Torres (Chelsea).

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