Rafael Benitez was destroying Marek Hamsik at Napoli, according to the Serie A outfit s former director Pierpaolo Marino.
Benitez took over as Napoli coach in 2013 after guiding Chelsea to Europa League glory the season before.
The 55-year-old won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana during his time at Naples before leaving to join Real Madrid, where he was sacked seven months into the job.
Under Benitez, Hamsik posted his worst goal tally in the Serie A since joining Napoli from Brescia in 2007, and Marino believes the Spaniard was using Hamsik out of position.
Hamsik is a good player and Benitez was destroying him, Marino told Il Roma.
He was being always played out of position and substituted, his potential was being impoverish…
Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber is targeting securing a place in Germany s squad for Euro 2016.
Badstuber is regarded as one of world football s best centre-backs, but his career has been blighted by injury in recent seasons.
The 26-year-old missed the second half of the 2012-13 season and the entire 2013-14 campaign due to cruciate knee ligament problems, a setback that ruled him out of Germany s World Cup victory.
A thigh tear sustained in April once again halted his run in the first team, but he returned in early November and has made five appearances for Bayern this season.
Badstuber is now focused on doing enough to book a place in Joachim Low s plans for this year s Euros in France.
The European Championship is still far away, he …
Lionel Messi will not be booed by Barcelona supporters if he stays at Camp Nou and can still bow out of the club on a high, according to the club s iconic former player Rivaldo.
Talks between Barca and Messi s agent and father Jorge are ongoing after the six-time Ballon d Or winner last week informed the LaLiga giants of his desire to leave.
Messi reportedly hoped to trigger a clause in his contract that allows him to leave for free, but Barca are of the opinion his €700million release clause still stands.
Manchester City and Inter have been strongly linked, but Jorge Messi indicated on Thursday the forward is considering staying in Catalonia for another year.
Should that prove to be the case, Rivaldo does not believe the Argentina international will be…
Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie has claimed on that Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson is set to join Newcastle United. The well-known and reputable reported has stated on the social networking site that Bournemouth have accepted Newcastle’s bid of £20 million for the striker.
https://twitter.com/SkySports_Keith/status/1302563681847435267
Wilson will travel to Newcastle today to discuss personal terms and is likely to undergo a medical tomorrow before putting pen to paper on a contract with Newcastle United. Aston Villa also made a bid for the England international, according to , but it seems that Premier League rivals Newcastle have beaten them to the signature of the Englishman.
Wilson did not have a great season in 2019-20, as Bournemouth got relegated …
Blackburn Rovers have reportedly made a bid for Ronaldinho, just hours after denying any such interest in the AC Milan star.
Rovers are believed to have tabled a 6.2-million-pound offer to lure the Brazilian playmaker to Ewood Park.
The bid is being reported as confirmed by Sky Sports News, though Blackburn have yet to make any further comment since denying on Monday they had approached the 30-year-old.
Venkatesh Rao, chairman of Blackburn s owners Venky s, said reports that Ronaldinho had been in talks with the Premier League club were inaccurate.
That is not true. There is no interest at all, they are just rumours, Rao told the Lancashire Telegraph.
Earlier, Ronaldinho s brother and agent, Roberto de Assis, stoked the growing speculation by te…
Vincent Kompany stressed Burnley have “total belief” after his relegation-threatened side beat 10-man Brentford 2-1 at Turf Moor for their first win in 11 Premier League games.
The Clarets took the lead through a 10th-minute Jacob Bruun Larsen penalty awarded for a foul on Vitinho by Sergio Reguilon, who received a straight red card.
David Datro Fofana, having been guilty of a remarkable miss late in the first half, then doubled the advantage with a finish just past the hour mark.
A nervy finale for the hosts saw Kristoffer Ajer score a header for Brentford and a stoppage-time Shandon Baptiste effort ruled out due to Ivan Toney fouling goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.
However, Burnley held out for a first victory of 2024 – and only their fourth in the lea…
Atletico Madrid kick-started their title defence with a nervy 2-1 win over Eibar in Diego Simeone s 100th Liga match as head coach.
The Argentinian took over from Gregorio Manzano in December 2011 and has enjoyed an inspirational trophy-laden spell, with last season s title triumph the pinnacle.
Atletico were finally presented with the trophy before Saturday s game at Vicente Calderon but, having drawn their opening game at Rayo Vallecano, they again struggled to produce much of an improvement as the banned Simeone watched from the stands.
German Burgos deputised on the touchline once again and it did not take long for Atletico to race into the lead, with headed goals from Miranda and Mario Mandzukic making it 2-0 in 25 minutes.
Abraham brought Eibar back…
Former Auxerre coach Jean Fernandez has turned down overtures from Marseille and Lyon to take over the vacant managerial position at Nancy.
Fernandez s five-year tenure at Auxerre ended at the conclusion of the 2010/11 Ligue 1 season, freeing him to take over at Nancy following the departure of Pablo Correa.
The 56-year-old was reportedly being heavily courted by French heavyweights Marseille and Lyon, but has opted for a fresh challenge at the Lorraine club, who finished 13th four points clear of the drop zone in the last campaign.
A statement on Nancy s official website said: Courted by several clubs, Jean Fernandez has finally chosen Nancy.
This is great news for the club, who made it their priority to find a successor to Pablo Correa.
Fer…
Chelsea youngster Charly Musonda currently on loan at Real Betis has revealed that he turned down the chance to join Barcelona in 2012 in favour of a move to Stamford Bridge.
The 19-year-old left the Anderlecht academy at 16 to continue his career elsewhere and Chelsea s decision to also snap up his brothers Lamisha and Tika eventually convinced him to join the Premier League side.
It is true that I rejected Barcelona because Chelsea also agreed to sign my brothers, Musonda told Marca.
At the time, it was very important for the family that we all joined the same club. We wanted to stick together.
Barcelona are among the best in the world, but it was important for me to have my family with me.
Visiting La Masia was very impressive. It was a gre…
Aston Villa defender Enda Stevens has joined League Two side Northampton Town on a one-month emergency loan deal.
The 24-year-old made six Premier League starts during Paul Lambert s first season in charge at Villa Park in 2012-13, but has since fallen out of favour.
Stevens spent time on loan at both Notts County and Doncaster Rovers last term, making 13 Championship appearances for the latter.
The former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international started his career at University College Dublin before establishing himself as first-choice left-back at St Patrick s Athletic.
He then joined Shamrock Rovers, where he won two League of Ireland titles and the 2011 PFAI Young Player of the Year award before switching to Villa in January 2012.
The full-b…