2015 Nations Cup: Modibo Maiga recalled to Mali squad Modibo Maiga has been named in Malis 23-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Equatorial Guinea despite missing all their qualifiers. The 27-year-old, on loan to French side Metz from West Ham United, has not played for the Eagles in over a year. Wolverhampton Wanderers top scorer Bakary Sako, who has scored seven goals this season, has also been called up. He will miss up to five Championship games for Wolves as they chase promotion to the Premier League. Malis Group D matches: 20 Jan : v Cameroon in Malabo 24 Jan: v Ivory Coast in Malabo 28 Jan: v Guinea in Mongomo Bordeaux midfielder Abdou Traore is another who has earned a return to the squad after more than a year out of the national team. The team will be captained by 34-year-old Roma midfielder Seydou Keita, who will be playing at his seventh Nations Cup finals. Otherwise coach Henryk Kasperczak provided few other surprises in his squad, with the Yatabare brothers Mustapha and Sambou selected as expected. Mali, who have finished third at the last two continental finals, have been drawn in a difficult Group D along with Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Guinea in the 17 January to 8 February tournament. Steven Gerrard: Liverpool captain to leave at end of season Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season. Gerrard, 34, became free to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas team on Thursday and is believed to be wanted by clubs in the US. The former England skipper, who made his Liverpool debut in 1998, will not move to another English club. Liverpool offered midfielder Gerrard a new deal in November and will make a statement on his future on Friday. Archive: Gerrards 2006 FA Cup final screamer LA Galaxy president Chris Klein declined to comment on suggestions his club want to sign Gerrard, who scored two penalties in the 2-2 draw with Leicester City on New Years Day. Jamie Carragher, Gerrards former Liverpool and England team-mate, tweeted: Sad day for Liverpool and English football. I think its the right decision, all things considered. Match of the Day presenter and former England captain Gary Lineker tweeted: One of the finest players to have graced the Premier League. A top, top player. Gerrard, born in the Merseyside village of Whiston, joined Liverpools academy when he was nine years old, progressing through the ranks to make his first-team debut as a substitute against Blackburn Rovers in November 1998. Arsene Wenger: Fan arrested for confronting Arsenal boss A supporter was arrested after confronting Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in his dugout during the Gunners 2-0 defeat at Southampton. The 25-year-old man approached Wenger, 65, but was led away by stewards and detained by Hampshire Police. Southampton say the man was an Arsenal fan sat with home supporters but Wenger thought it was a Saints follower. The incident comes after Wenger was abused by Arsenal fans when boarding a train after Decembers loss at Stoke. Wenger rues two big mistakes At St Marys, Wengers assistant Steve Bould angrily gestured to the supporter who was guided straight down the tunnel by a group of stewards quick to react. It was a young boy, said Wenger afterwards. I think it was a Southampton fan. He was not aggressive at all. I dont think he said anything. A Hampshire Constabulary statement read: The man, arrested on suspicion of going onto area adjacent to playing area contrary to the Football (Offences) Act 1991, remains in police custody. Officers are investigating circumstances to establish whether any criminal offences have been committed. Wenger, in his 19th season at Arsenal, was the subject of protests by some Gunners fans earlier this season, with a banner asking him to leave unveiled at West Brom in November. A solid recent run of form has dampened criticism of the Frenchman, who guided his side to the FA Cup in May, a first trophy in nine seasons. But his side lost for the first time in five matches at Southampton as Ronald Koemans side capitalised on two errors by Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to move fourth in the Premier League, one place and three points above their visitors. Louis van Gaal says Man Utd must defend better Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says his side must improve their defending of set-pieces after conceding from a dead ball against Stoke City. Peter Crouch headed down a corner for Ryan Shawcross to volley Stoke ahead, with United needing Radamel Falcaos equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw. We know that is happening. We have had two meetings about it, said Van Gaal. We knew Crouch was heading the ball to a second player, who was totally free. That was very bad. The draw at the Britannia Stadium was Uniteds third in four games over Christmas and was another instance of points dropped away from home this season. Van Gaals side have won eight of the 10 games played at Old Trafford this term, but have won only two of their nine games on the road. We have to play better in away matches, added the Dutchman. In my opinion, there is no difference in away matches to at home because our fans are fantastic. We have to do better. Apart from Falcaos goal, United had only one other shot on target. Stoke, meanwhile, hit the post and had a strong penalty claim rejected. We didnt deserve any more than a draw, said the former Netherlands boss. They were closer to a winning goal than us. We had time and space to build play, but we didnt create much. United lost Ashley Young to a hamstring injury during the second half, with Van Gaal admitting the winger could be out for many weeks. Im not a doctor so we have to wait for tomorrow or the day after, he said. Jan 1, 2015 16:27:00 The Barcelona midfielders contract expires in 2018 but he would like to end his career in his homeland Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano has declared that he would love to return to River Plate in Argentina, but admitted that his long-term future is not entirely in his hands. Mascherano, 30, started his career in Buenos Aires with River before moving to Brazilian side Corinthians in 2005. Since then, he has gone on to represent West Ham and Liverpool before joining Barcelona in 2010, where he has won La Liga, Champions League, Copa del Rey and Club World Cup. The defensive midfielder, who has also played as a centre-back at the Camp Nou, recently signed a long-term contract but is already looking to the future. In principle I have four more years at Barcelona - but in football its really difficult to plan more than a year ahead,” he told Fox Sports. Ive always said that I would like to finish my career at River, which would be like going full circle because I started there. It would be great to go back to Argentina and River eventually but the reality is that Im not sure if Ill be in the physical condition to play football at the level River would require, and if River would need a player such as myself at that moment in time. These things are all completely normal factors, you cant force them and, when the time comes, well see if the parties involved can come to an agreement. But something like this is not solely dependent on me! The Chelsea boss believes the Belgian is forced to endure too much physical punishment from opposing teams and fears it could end up driving him away Bet = CHE £11.7 Draw £75 WAT £150 Eden Hazard could leave English football unless referees clamp down on the physical treatment he receives from opposing players, according to Jose Mourinho. Hazard shone even as Chelsea ended up on the receiving end of a shock 5-3 defeat to Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Thursday, scoring a well-taken goal in the second half. But Mourinho was unhappy at some of the challenges endured by his Belgian winger - who is reportedly attracting interest from Real Madrid - and believes officials must do more to protect one of the Premier Leagues brightest talents. People [are] in love with football in this country; people must be in love with Eden Hazard, the coach told reporters. The way, match after match, hes being punished by opponents and hes not being protected by referees, maybe one day we wont have Eden Hazard. Its one, two, three, four, five, 10 aggressive fouls against him. They kick and kick and kick, and the kid resists. Hes a very honest guy in the way he plays, but thats another problem.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 03:52:38 +0000