Greuther celebrate Bundesliga promotion

Greuther Fuerth s supporters have celebrated in style after the club s first ever promotion to the Bundesliga.

Mike Bueskens men are guaranteed a spot in Germany s top flight next season, and can seal the 2.Bundesliga title with a win over Hansa Rostock on Sunday.

Former Schalke midfielder Bueskens, who took over in late 2009, urged his team to enjoy the success he said they deserved.

It is a wonderful feeling because we have lifted the spirit of the club with the way we play our football, Bueskens said.

These moments can never be forgotten, and you only get to experience them a few times in your career.

You can t buy these feelings with money, they are just raw emotions. The team has deserved promotion because they have done an excellent jo…

Le Havre close on Simao Sabrosa

Ligue 2 side Le Havre are exploring the possibility of signing Portuguese winger Simao Sabrosa, .

The French club have finally completed the deal for Brazilian striker Adriano and they appear set to recruit another high-profile footballer.

L Equipe has revealed that soon-to-be Le Havre owner Christophe Maillol recently met Simao Sabrosa for dinner, which is enough to suggest he was trying to persuade the Portuguese footballer to move to Stade Oceane.

The 35-year-old has been a free agent since his contract at Espanyol expired in the summer, and chances are he will be interested in a move to France.

Simao Sabrosa spent the majority of his career in Portugal and Spain, playing for Sporting, Barcelona, Benfica, Atletico Madrid and Espanyol, while also enjoy…

Barcelona 7 Celtic 0: Messi hits hat-trick in stunning Camp Nou rout

Barcelona began their quest for a sixth Champions League title with an emphatic 7-0 win over Celtic at Camp Nou.

A hat-trick from Lionel Messi, plus goals from Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez s double, gave Luis Enrique s side all three points to banish memories of Saturday s shock LaLiga defeat to Alaves.

Messi rifled in an early opener and he combined superbly with Neymar to double Barca s lead after Moussa Dembele had seen a penalty saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Neymar bent a free-kick over the wall and beyond Dorus de Vries from 20 yards just after half-time, and the Brazil star set up Iniesta for a sumptuous fourth before the hour mark before Messi completed his treble just a minute later.

Brendan Rodgers side could scarcely get out of …

Bacca isn´t enjoying Milan but Sevilla can´t sign him – Sampaoli

Carlos Bacca revealed he is not enjoying life at AC Milan during a recent visit to Sevilla, but coach Jorge Sampaoli claims the LaLiga club are unable to sign him.

Bacca incurred the displeasure of the Milan fans after he was photographed attending Sevilla s 2-1 win over Valencia instead of the Serie A club s match at Empoli, despite coach Vincenzo Montella sanctioning the injured striker s trip.

The Colombia international has been strongly linked with a return to Sevilla, for whom he played between 2013 and 2015, as his relationship with Montella is reportedly strained.

And while Sampaoli acknowledged he would like to bring Bacca back to Sevilla, they cannot grant him a return in January due to Ganso, Hiroshi Kiyotake and Mariano filling their three non-EU LaLig…

Football rumours: Kevin de Bruyne leads Saudi Pro League’s future targets

What the papers say

The Daily Mirror reports Kevin de Bruyne is high on the list of targets Saudi Arabian clubs intend to pursue next year. The paper says Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal’s whopping £259million bid for Kylian Mbappe was a wake-up call for the Premier League, with some sides already resigned to losing some of their best players. De Bruyne’s former Manchester City team-mate Riyad Mahrez joined Al-Ahli this summer, joining a growing list of high-profile players making the switch.

Speaking of Kylian Mbappe, the Mirror also reports the 24-year-old would be prepared to spend a season in the Premier League on loan before securing his dream move to Real Madrid. The Paris St Germain and France forward’s representatives are believed to have held discreet discussions…

Jurgen Klopp hopeful luck is on Liverpool’s side for Premier League finale

Jurgen Klopp is hopeful fortune is on Liverpool’s side for the Premier League run-in after their 3-1 victory at Fulham moved them joint top of the table with Arsenal.

The Reds scored through Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota as they bounced back from Thursday’s Europa League exit to Atalanta and their Anfield defeat to Crystal Palace.

Klopp admitted the title race excites him, citing rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, much like Liverpool, will need luck during an intense period.

Jota strikes for our third at Craven Cottage |

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

Liverpool have five games remaining and Klopp said: “Maybe if we can keep it as exciting then in the end fortune is maybe then on our side. We don’t know. We have to t…

Roma sign Marquinho on permanent deal

Roma have announced they have completed the signing of Brazilian full-back Marquinho from Fluminense for a fee of 3.5 million euros.

The 25-year-old came to Roma in the January transfer window on a six-month loan deal, and has now inked a contract that will keep him at Roma until the end of the 2015/16 season.

Roma will pay Marquinho s transfer fee in two instalments, with the second lot to be paid before July 10, 2013.

Marquinho netted three times in 15 Serie A appearances for Roma in the 2011/12 campaign.

The Brazilian started his professional career at Palmeiras, and also wore the jerseys of Botafogo and Figueirense before joining Fluminense in 2009.

Hernandez seals Indian move

Former Melbourne Victory midfielder Carlos Hernandez has sealed his move to big-spending I-League club Prayag United.

Having finished seventh last season, the acquisition of Hernandez a member of Costa Rica s 2006 World Cup squad is the latest addition for Sanjoy Sen s Kolkata-based side.

In their bid to challenge for the league title and an AFC Cup spot, United have already paid huge amounts to secure the signing of the likes of Ranti Martins, Subrata Paul, Gouramangi Moirangthem.

Hernandez left Victory at the end of the 2011-12 season, having spent five years at the A-League powerhouse, where he won the Johnny Warren medal as best player for a dominant 2009-10 season.

A fan favourite and capable of the spectacular, he criticised the club s professiona…

Pulis defends Allardyce´s West Ham record ahead of weekend showdown

West Brom head coach Tony Pulis has praised Sam Allardyce ahead of providing the opposition for his counterpart s return to Premier League management at Sunderland.

Sunderland travel to the Hawthorns on Saturday, searching for a maiden league win of the season with their new man at the helm for the first time.

Pulis points out that Allardyce has impressive form in steering teams away from relegation trouble and he also praised the 60-year-old s time at West Ham.

Allardyce rarely enjoyed popular support from the Upton Park faithful despite steering their side to promotion from the Championship in 2011-12 and going on to re-establish the Hammers in the top flight.

West Ham are currently sixth in the Premier League, four points behind leaders Manchester Ci…

Brazilian legend Zico says Qatar ´doesn´t have football´

Former Brazil international Zico has rubbished Qatar s prospective World Cup, claiming the event should not be held in a country that doesn t have football .

Qatar infamously won the right to host the 2022 World Cup in 2010, with widespread claims of corruption surrounding the country s bid.

Global frustration with Qatar s tarnished victory and ongoing stories of construction workers losing their lives in the process of building World Cup stadiums in the Middle Eastern kingdom provided a platform for Prince Ali bin Hussein to challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency last week.

Zico is similarly unimpressed with Qatar s mandate to host the World Cup, with the mass arrests amongst FIFA s elite prompting the FC Goa coach to call for a new bidding process for t…