Seedorf to coach AC Milan

Dutch veteran Clarence Seedorf confirmed on Tuesday he is taking over as coach of AC Milan, replacing Massimiliano Allegri.

The seven-times European champions sacked Allegri after a shock weekend loss to Sassuolo and have turned to Seedorf, who won a host of honours in Milan as a player.

Seedorf, 37 and the first man to win the Champions League with three different clubs after stellar spells with Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan, has spent the past 18 months with Rio-based Botafogo.

But he said now was the time to take up a new challenge -- and hang up his boots.

Pele talks about Ronaldo

Pele looks to be impressed by Ronaldo as he says about him before and after the Zurich Ceremony.

FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo must continue to maintain his exceptional high standards in order to be classed among the sport's legends, according to Brazil great Pele who compared the Portuguese to Eusebio.

Portugal and Real Madrid forward Ronaldo beat Argentine's Lionel Messi and France's Franck Ribery to claim the prestigious award for the second time on Monday.

"To me the last true great was (France playmaker Zinedine) Zidane. He stayed at the same very high level for at least 10 years," Pele, who was awarded a honorary Ballon d'Or, told France Football magazine.

Ronaldo is on the right path, though, and reminded the three-times World Cup winner of former Portugal striker Eusebio, the top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, who died earlier this month at the age of 71.

"Today Messi and Ronaldo are above the rest. Ronaldo reminds me a bit of Eusebio, he is well bred.

"He has the elegance and the creativity of the great players," Pele said.

Winning the World Cup used to have greater significance in the voting for the Ballon d'Or but the success of Ronaldo and Messi, who won the award from 2009-12, proved that was no longer true, according to the Brazilian.

"It is perhaps less important than it used to be when I was playing," Pele of the showpiece tournament that the duo will look to win for the first time later this year.

"I'm not saying it is not essential to win the World Cup but the Champions League now has the same considerable impact celebrity-wise."

Ronaldo wins it!!!

Ronaldo scored a staggering 69 goals in 59 matches for club and country in 2013 and was hot favourite to lift the prestigious award he last held in 2008.

BPL Facts

·         Arsenal are unbeaten in 14 Barclays Premier League trips to Villa Park, winning seven and drawing seven.

·         The Gunners' 14 game unbeaten run at Villa is their longest away run without defeat against a single side in Barclays Premier League history.

·         Arsenal conceded two penalties in the reverse fixture against Aston Villa this season for the first time in the League since 5 Feb 2011 v Newcastle United.

First a Rock, Now a Wreck! What ha happened to Manchester United?

Manchester United lost to Sunderland 2-1 in the first leg of the Capital One Cup last night as three generations of United legends watched shaking their heads in disbelief.




For those of us old enough to remember, or in my case, to be there, it is all Déjà vu. When Sir Matt Busby retired after Manchester United has won the European Cup in 1968, it was thought that he would fade away into retirement with his wife and family. But no, he decided he would hang around the ground, the training centre and the changing rooms. This was found to be a distraction for the players and the new manager and it ultimately led to him making a brief comeback, but it merely delayed the inevitable. United were relegated in 1975 and I have to say that the foundations for that were laid during the end of Sir Matt's reign.