MALAWI COACH: I WILL BUILD A NEW TEAM

Flames caretaker coach, Tom Saintfiet has said some players do not deserve to be in the national team and

will be axed as he turns his focus to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria`s Super Eagles.

Saintfiet said he will be forced to ring some changes after being let down by the performance of some players at the Cosafa Cup in Zambia, where the flames even failed to make the grade in the third place match.

Although he could not be drawn to name the players who face the chop, Saintfiet expressed disappointment with the performance of goalkeeper Simplex Nthala and the defence. "I am very disappointed and angry as a coach at the moment. What i noticed was that my goalkeeper

I'm 95% Fit - - Onazi

Super Eagles midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi, has declared that he is close to full fitness following the injury that forced him to miss the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.

The midfielder copped the injury while playing for the national team in a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Namibia in Windhoek last month but returned to action just last week and he has featured in two pre-season games for his club SS Lazio.

The Rome-based team will meet Juventus in the Italian Super Cup and the former My People FC star says he and his teammates are looking forward to a great season beginning with the game with Juve.

"I'm working to get in shape in a few days’ time; I’m at 95 percent okay for now. We are working very hard and well because the pre-season training will be useful for us in the future,” he said.

"Against Spezia, I liked the team, we played very well - particularly in the first half and we created so many chances. We must do better than last year; we have to try to win every game. Firstly, in the upcoming Super Cup and from there on focus on winning the Scudetto; why not?”

Onazi is one of the players listed by Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi for the Mandela Challenge game against Bafana-Bafana of South Africa next month.

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LAZIO, TORINO WANT EMEGHARA

Serie B side Siena have revealed that Torino and Lazio are interested in signing Nigeria-born striker Innocent Emeghara.



The Switzerland international joined the Tuscan club on loan in January, with an option to sign outright. He scored seven goals in 17 League games. “Yes, we’ve taken up the option to keep him,” sporting director Stefano Antonelli told Calcio News 24.

Bierhoff fears for German football

The ex-Mannschaft star believes there is an unhealthy reliance on players from the nation's two top sides

Oliver Bierhoff believes the sheer number of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund players in the Germany side could harm their chances of winning World Cup 2014.

Despite the two teams emerging as the finest in Europe after contesting last season's Champions League final, the former Mannschaft striker is refusing to get carried away with Germany's apparent progress.

Instead, the 45-year-old cited an expanding gulf in home-grown talent as a potential source of decline.

"Although Germany has Mario Gotze, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos, we lack classic strikers and full-backs," the 1996 European championship winner highlighted to Express.de.

"In Bayern's starting line-up in the Champions League final, there were six foreign players. We felt it at the European Under-21 championships [where Germany were eliminated in the group stages].

"We must not rest now. We need to set a course in football and take massive efforts to ensure we remain competitive."

"Without Dortmund's and Bayern's input, there is considerably less talent."

Joachim Low's men had struggled in friendlies against Ecuador and the United States without the Bundesliga's leading Germany internationals.

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Kaka hails Real Madrid Over Win of PSG.

The Brazil midfielder spoke highly about the sense of occasion that accompanied Real Madrid's game with the Ligue 1 winners in Gothenburg

Kaka has hailed Real Madrid's "fantastic" 1-0 friendly win over Paris Saint-Germain in Sweden on Saturday night.

A first-half goal from Karim Benzema was enough to separate the sides as los Blancos ran out winners courtesy of that solitary strike in their third pre-season game.

 

Kaka, who replaced goal-scorer Benzema in the 67th minute, acknowledged that this was precisely the sort of spectacle that fans would want to see, as well as adding that it was an important part of his side's preparations for the new campaign.

"The crowd had a great time and enjoyed the match," the 31-year-old Brazilian told Realmadrid.com.

"It was a good preseason match and we also got the win and I'm happy. It is a great experience to play against a good team like PSG in this city, it was fantastic."

The presence of Madrid in Gothenburg, not to mention Zlatan Ibrahimovic's arrival back in Sweden, caused a great deal of excitement and Kaka was quick to speak of the fans' experiences in the Ullevi Stadium.

"It is very important that the fans get to enjoy a good match like this. I think the crowd had a great time and enjoyed the match."

Real Madrid now travel to the USA where they will face L.A. Galaxy in the Guinness International Champions Cup Phoenix on Friday.

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Owen says it would be a surprise if Suarez leaves Liverpool for Arsenal.

Michael Owen thinks Luis Suarez would be making a surprising career move if he left Liverpool to join Arsenal.

Ex-Liverpool striker Owen told BBC's Sportsweek that joining Real Madrid or Barcelona would make "more sense".

"Arsenal are a fabulous club and have got a great heritage, but Liverpool are as big - if not bigger," he said.

 I'd be very surprised if he were to move to Arsenal. Madrid or Barcelona would make more sense."

 Truthfully, can you really see Arsenal winning the Champions League next season or going into the later stages? Unless they buy a good few players then I can't."

Bosingwa leaves Queen Park Rangers.

 

Jose Bosingwa leaves QPR by mutual consent

QPR defender Jose Bosingwa has left the club by mutual consent and is set to join Turkish top-flight side Trabzonspor. 

The 30-year-old former Chelsea full-back joined the Hoops as a free agent last summer and went on to make 23 starts, scoring one goal as they were relegated to the Championship.

Bosingwa, who cost Chelsea £16.2m in 2008, made 24 appearances for Portugal and played at the 2008 European Championship before quitting international football in 2011.

He began his club career at Boavista but came to prominence at Portuguese rivals Porto where he won three league titles and the Champions League before his move to Chelsea.

The defender won another Champions League title, a league championship and three FA Cups during his four-year spell at the Blues.

Source ; bbc Sports.