I wanted to cry with Buffon – Rakitic sympathy for Italy great

Swiss striker Alexander Frei returns to his home country to spend the next three seasons at FC Basel.

Frei began his career at Basel in 1997 and went on to represent five other teams before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2006.

While playing in Germany, Frey grew to become one of Switzerland s most important footballers. At Euro 2008 however, the forward suffered an injury in the first half of the tournament s opening match.

Frei, who does still need to pass medical exams, reportedly costs Basel four million Euros.

…

Southampton shocked Chelsea with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day as two keenly anticipated managerial tenures got under way in the Premier League.

Carlo Ancelotti saw Dominic Calvert-Lewin head Everton to a 1-0 win over Burnley in his first game in charge at Goodison Park, while Mikel Arteta had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to thank for salvaging a 1-1 draw for Arsenal at Bournemouth.

Yet the story of the afternoon came at Chelsea, where superb goals from Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond meant Frank Lampard s men were unable to build upon their impressive triumph at Tottenham last time out.

Spurs are back to within three points of their London rivals and the top four after coming from behind to beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1, a feat repeated in the s…

Gonzalo Higuain netted the equalizer as Inter Miami continued their recent upturn in form with a 2-1 home win over Nashville in the MLS on Sunday.

Phil Neville s Inter have now claimed eight points from their past four games, having been rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference after six defeats in a row.

Nashville had taken the lead early in the second half from Charles Sapong but Miami responded on the hour mark.

Ex-France international Blaise Matuidi played in former Real Madrid forward Higuain who calmly collected the ball and slotted home for 1-1.

Inter dramatically claimed all three points in the 95th minute when Gonzalo s brother Federico Higuain whipped in a well-weighted cross for Indiana Vassilev to head home.

The win moves Miami o…

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti says Jude Bellingham is “obviously” one of the best players in the world.

The England international has had a brilliant start to life in the Spanish capital, scoring 17 goals in all competitions since signing from Borussia Dortmund last summer.

Bellingham, who is LaLiga’s top scorer with 13 goals in 17 league appearances, is in Real’s squad for their Copa del Rey round-of-32 clash at fourth-tier Arandina on Saturday evening, and Ancelotti did not hold back on his opinion on the 20-year-old midfielder.

“He is doing very well,” Ancelotti told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

“He’s done well in the first half of the season. Bearing in mind that he’s had to adapt to our club, to a new culture and la…

Tottenham Hotspur have accepted a bid from Queens Park Rangers for midfielder Scott Parker,.

Hoops boss Harry Redknapp has confirmed that it is now down to player to decide whether he is willing to drop down a division to help with QPR’s push back to the Premier League.

The England international, who made just fifteen league starts under manager Andre Villas Boas last season, is set to fall further down the Spurs pecking order following the arrival of Brazil international Paulinho.

The 32 year old was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year following his first season at White Hart Lane, and was also named England’s Player of the Year for 2011.

He began his career at Charlton Athletic before securing a big money transfer to Chelsea in Ja…

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini was unhappy with his side s defending after they slumped to a 3-2 loss at Cardiff City on Sunday.

Pellegrini s men – who started the season in style with a 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle United on Monday – were brought back down to earth in Wales by a fired-up Cardiff side.

Edin Dzeko put City in front in the 52nd minute with a glorious effort from distance, but Aron Gunnarsson levelled eight minutes later for Cardiff.

Fraizer Campbell, who had been a threat all match, then headed in two corners, making the most of slack marking from Pablo Zabaleta.

And although substitute Alvaro Negredo pulled back a late goal for the 2011-12 champions, Pellegrini s side were unable to salvage a point as Cardiff celebrated their first Pr…

Panama will not be using Iceland s shock draw against Argentina as motivation after boss Hernan Dario Gomez insisted Belgium are superior to Lionel Messi s men ahead of their World Cup debut.

Newcomers Panama have an entire nation behind them as they prepare to make history against a star-studded Belgium side boasting Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in Sochi on Monday.

Fellow debutants Iceland – who reached the Euro 2016 quarter-finals – marked their first World Cup appearance by holding Argentina to a 1-1 Group D draw.

Asked if Panama could replicate Iceland s result in the Group G clash at Fisht Stadium, head coach Gomez told reporters on Sunday: I m not ruling it out. Anything can happen. Iceland had a good run at the Euros.

I must…

Pepe hopes to earn an extension to his Real Madrid contract and wants to retire at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 33-year-old defender has enjoyed an outstanding year, winning the Champions League with Madrid followed by Euro 2016 with Portugal, and he is looking to continue his career with the Spanish giants.

Having signed a deal in August 2015 that expires at the end of the season, there has been talk of another one-year extension and Pepe has confirmed his desire to stay.

My plan is to retire at Real Madrid, he told reporters after the 2-1 LaLiga win over Sporting Gijon. 

I m 33 years old, and last season was one of my best ever. It will be what the club wants.

My renewal is in Real s hands. I will wait for the club until the last second of my …

Arsenal and Zurich held a minute s silence following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, with the news being confirmed during the half-time interval of the Gunners 2-1 Europa League win.

The sides were drawing 1-1 at the midway point at AFG Arena on Thursday after Mirlind Kryeziu converted a penalty to cancel out debutant Marquinhos 16th-minute opener.

It was decided that a period of reflection would be held ahead of the second half, with Arsenal playing the remainder of the Group A contest with black armbands.

Eddie Nketiah – heavily involved at both ends – put Arsenal back ahead after the hour mark in Switzerland and the visitors saw out their sixth win in seven matches this season.

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty The Qu…

Xavi said Barcelona expect Antoine Griezmann to make his Atletico Madrid stay permanent amid reports the Catalan giants could take legal action if los Colchoneros fail to purchase the forward.

Griezmann is midway through a two-year loan spell at Atleti, but Diego Simeone recently suggested his minutes were being managed in order to avoid activating a purchase clause in their deal with Barcelona.

The France international – who scored a 101st-minute winner in Atleti s Champions League opener against Porto on Wednesday – has made four substitute appearances in LaLiga this season, totalling just 109 minutes on the pitch.

On Friday, reports suggested Barcelona could take legal action over Atleti s reluctance to purchase Griezmann, after he featured more regularly…