After a humiliating end to their last major tournament, Brazil hope they can begin their Copa America challenge in much more positive fashion in their Group C opener against Peru.
On home soil last year, Brazil progressed to the semi-finals of the World Cup, before a 7-1 demolition at the hands of Germany in a match that will live long in the memory.
Brazil were then thumped 3-0 by Netherlands in the third/fourth-place play-off, and head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari soon departed.
He was replaced by Dunga the 1994 World Cup-winner appointed for a second spell in charge and since then, it has been smooth sailing.
In 10 friendlies under Dunga, Brazil have won on each occasion, conceding just two goals in the process.
Sunday s clash in Temuco represents…
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has admitted that he used to be uncertain of his ability to impress as a front man.
Following the sale of fellow forward Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City in 2009, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger convinced the Dutchman to move more centrally from his previous wide role.
And over the past few seasons, van Persie has developed into one of the most lethal European goalscorers and looks set to breach the 40-goal mark for the season.
I never really thought that I would end up as a main striker, he told the club s official website.
I actually never played there before I did it a couple of times at youth level but it was nothing really special. We only tried it when Adebayor went.
Van Persie learnt his profession as a…
Jurgen Klopp was left lamenting a poor start after Liverpool missed the chance to go top of the Premier League at Fulham.
With Tottenham only able to take a point from their visit to Crystal Palace earlier in the day, the Reds knew that a win at Craven Cottage would hand them the outright lead at the summit.
However, they failed to cope with an energetic start from Scott Parker s men, who took the lead through Bobby Decordova-Reid and continued to create chance after chance in a one-sided start to proceedings.
It is that half an hour period that Klopp believes decided the game, though he was more impressed with what his players produced during the remainder of the 90 minutes as they pinched a draw through Mohamed Salah s penalty.
He told Sky Sports: So, w…
Ada Hegerberg has been left out of the Norway squad for the Women s World Cup.
The Lyon star, the winner of the first women s Ballon d Or last year, was expected to miss the tournament in France as she has not played international football since 2017.
Hegerberg has chosen not to play for her country since the European Championship of two years ago due to frustrations with the state of the women s game in Norway.
We tried to solve it, we had meetings, but she decided not to play, coach Martin Sjogren said to BBC World Service in February.
As a coach, you need to focus on the players who want to be a part of the team and Ada doesn t.
We respect that, and we have been working hard with the other players and they have been doing a great job.
…
Liverpool are leading the race to sign Denis Zakaria from Borussia Monchengladbach in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported by the Italian news outlet that Premier League giants Liverpool are in pole position to secure the services of the 25-year-old defensive midfielder.
Zakaria is out of contract at Monchengladbach in the summer of 2022, and no new deal is in place at the moment. Liverpool can sign the Switzerland international midfielder for €10 million. The player himself reportedly dreams of playing in the Premier League and is keen on working with manager Jurgen Klopp.
The former Young Boys defensive midfielder has made 10 starts and one substitute appearances in the Bundesliga for Monchengladbach so far this season, scoring two goals …
Luis Enrique insists there is nobody better than Pep Guardiola to succeed him as Spain s next head coach.
Guardiola revealed this week he intends to leave Manchester City when his contract expires at the end of next season and explore opportunities at international level.
Spain could be on the lookout for a new leader at that point, with Luis Enrique s deal set to expire after the next World Cup at the end of 2022.
The La Roja job would be an obvious choice for Guardiola, who won 47 caps for his country, and Luis Enrique would be happy to see his former team-mate take up the role.
I would love that. It would be perfect to see his mark on the national team, Luis Enrique said at a news conference on Thursday.
I don t think Spain could have a bett…
Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham must focus on themselves heading into the north London derby with Arsenal, rather than on denting their rivals Premier League title hopes.
With four matches remaining, the Gunners are a point clear at the summit from reigning champions Manchester City, who still have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta s side in second place.
While Arsenal look to stay very much in the hunt for a first league crown in 20 years, fifth-place Tottenham will aim to reduce their six-point deficit to fourth-place Aston Villa, on whom they have two games in hand.
Spurs are winless in the last three north London derbies winning just one of the most recent six though they twice came from behind to earn a point in September s reverse fixture at the Emirates S…
Celtic captain Callum McGregor was delighted to see the resilience of his new team-mates after they came through a difficult early test at Pittodrie.
Aberdeen put Celtic under pressure in the first half especially but the cinch Premiership champions came out 3-1 victors to make it two wins from two.
McGregor said: “It’s always a tough game, they’ll get the crowd involved while the pitch was sticky as well. It’s obviously something they’ve looked at, trying to slow the game down. And slow our quality.
“When you have a new season and a new start, five or six players have joined you, it starts to have a new group feeling. And at the start of every season you start with zero points.
“So to come here, it’s a massive win and it’s one you tick …
Anzhi Makhachkala have signed Lassana Diarra from Real Madrid on a four-year deal.
The midfielder initially appeared to be heading to Russia on a season-long loan, but the cash-rich outfit have now confirmed that he has joined on a permanent switch, along with forward Nikita Burmistov from Amkar Perm.
The signings of these footballers totally correspond to the strategy of our club achieving top aims, CEO Ayvaz Kaziakhmedov told the club s official website.
We are confident that, together with Lassana and Nikita, the club will fight for the most prestigious titles.
Anzhi were keen to add some more experience to their squad and coach Guus Hiddink sees the France international as the ideal addition to his midfield.
The 27-year-old joined Madrid f…
Former Real Madrid star Roberto Carlos feels Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win the FIFA Ballon d Or.
Argentina s Lionel Messi has won the last three editions of the award, with his Portuguese counterpart having to settle for second place last term, after missing out on a top-three spot in 2010.
Nevertheless, the legendary left-back feels the Real Madrid man s time has come now after a successful 2011/12 campaign.
Obviously everyone s talking about Messi, but I reckon he has won enough and there cannot be much more room in his trophy cabinet, he told FIFA.com.
Therefore, I would vote for Cristiano Ronaldo. He is someone who can win matches for you in many different ways, from varying situations in attack. He deserves to win it again.
The Brazil…