Alexia Putellas has pushed back on the suggestion Spain s striking players are rebels amid their ongoing dispute with the national team and coach Jorge Vilda.
Following their qualification for the Women s World Cup in September, 15 players rendered themselves unavailable for selection, citing the situation around La Roja.
The RFEF has so far stood by Vilda, despite pleas from the striking group for him to be moved on over reasons involving their emotional health, presenting a stalemate ahead of the tournament in July.
Putellas has rejected the idea those players are in the wrong, with the Barcelona midfielder at pains to stress the view of her colleagues.
We are not rebels, she told beIN SPORTS. It s exhausting having to constantly claim improvements to …
Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde has urged patience with Ousmane Dembele after the France winger s latest injury setback.
Dembele joined Barca for an initial fee of €105million from Borussia Dortmund in August following Neymar s world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain.
The 20-year-old s dream move quickly took a nightmare turn when he tore his hamstring against Getafe in September, ruling him out for the rest of 2017.
After four comeback appearances this month, three from the bench, Dembele was diagnosed with a fresh hamstring strain following Sunday s thrilling 4-2 comeback win at Real Sociedad.
It means another three to four weeks on the sidelines but, speaking at a news conference ahead of Wednesday s Copa del Rey derby at Espanyol, Valverde in…
Jose Mourinho could remain with Manchester United until the end of the 2020-21 season after he agreed a new contract with the Premier League giants.
The 54-year-old s reign at Old Trafford has brought silverware, famous wins, transfer coups, controversy and antagonism – very much a microcosm of his stellar career.
As the Portuguese aims to bring sustained success to United for the first time since Alex Ferguson s historic tenure, we look back at a few of the highs and lows he has experienced with the Red Devils so far.
HIGHS
Ibrahimovic s Wembley heroics
Zlatan Ibrahimovic hit the ground running in English football last season, immediately repaying the faith shown in him by his former Inter boss Mourinho. The enigmatic Swede was never…
Scotland forward Steven Fletcher has been selected as part of Great Britain s provisional squad for the London 2012 Olympics.
The 25-year-old, who was part of the Wolves side who were relegated from the Premier League last season, was one of the bright lights in an otherwise poor campaign for the Midlands club.
And his performances have certainly gained recognition from Stuart Pearce, who has been given the reins of the Great Britain side during the Games.
Fletcher, a 6.5-million-pound signing from Burnley in 2010, struggled to adapt in his first season at Molineux but scored 12 Premier League goals in 2011-12, although he was unable to prevent his side from being relegated to the Championship.
Former Manchester City coach Pearce has until the first wee…
Former Netherlands international Ruud Gullit has spoken of his disappointment at his country s humiliating exit from Euro 2012.
Bert van Marwijk s side lost all three games, to Denmark, Germany and Portugal, and finished bottom of Group B, despite being touted as possible favourites to win the tournament.
Gullit, who lifted the trophy as captain in 1988, said he was not surprised the 2010 World Cup finalists failed to pass the first hurdle, adding he even thought the same before the campaign began.
It s disappointing (that the) European Championship for Netherlands has finished, (but it is) no surprise, Gullit wrote in his column for De Telegraaf.
Even before the tournament began, Telesport (wrote) about the problems that threatened to emerge as the t…
Atletico Madrid will not dwell on how Saturday s derby defeat to Real Madrid may have impacted their LaLiga title aspirations, captain Koke says.
Early leaders Atleti suffered their first league loss of the season, ending a club-record 26-game unbeaten run, as Casemiro s header and a Jan Oblak own goal proved their undoing.
Koke accepted Madrid deserved victory as Atleti failed to attempt a single shot before the break for the first time in a derby since Opta records began in 2003-04.
The visitors tested Thibaut Courtois only once in the second half, too, as Madrid closed to within three points of their city rivals at the summit.
But Atleti, who had won their previous seven league games, still sit top and Koke is confident they can recover…
Another weekend of Premier League football is officially in the books and with the turnaround being so short this week, many teams don t have much time to learn from whatever happened over the course of the last few days. That s particularly true for Chelsea who, after going on a strong run of form in recent weeks, hit a brick wall in the form of an Everton side who managed to grind out an impressive 1-0 win at Goodison Park.
Help from the fans
Carlo Ancelotti himself claimed that the impact of having 2,000 fans in the stadium helped massively for Everton, and even if you want to cast a shadow of doubt over that estimation, you could definitely feel a stronger atmosphere than we ve seen for the majority of 2020. Everton knew they were the big underdogs heading into this one ba…
Former Brazil international Juninho does not believe the national team s showing at the Copa America Centenario should define their progress under head coach Dunga.
The 1994 World Cup-winning captain returned for a second spell in charge of Brazil in the aftermath of their humiliating 7-1 semi-final defeat at the hands of Germany on home soil, souring their hosting of the 2014 tournament.
Dunga s Brazil bowed out at the quarter-final stage of last year s Copa America, losing on penalties to Paraguay, while they lie sixth in the CONMEBOL qualifying section for the 2018 World Cup after six matches.
But ex-Middlesbrough and Atletico Madrid midfielder Juninho believe the coach, who has faced criticism for a perceived negative playing style, has Brazil on course to ch…
Barcelona have vowed to press charges against the judge presiding over their tax fraud case, claiming they have not been afforded the chance to present their evidence.
The Camp Nou club have faced a legal battle for over a year, after a club member asked for full details of striker Neymar s signing to be published – which revealed an apparent misappropriation of funds in the deal.
Judge Pablo Ruz revealed on Friday that he had finished his investigation into the matter and that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, his predecessor Sandro Rosell and the club itself would all stand trial.
However, Barcelona released a tetchy statement later in the day, claiming to have received no official notice of Judge Paz s decision.
Barcelona expressed conce…
He said in a statement issued on social media: “It has the meant the absolute world and more to be able to pull on the green jersey with honour, step out onto a football pitch – especially at the Aviva Stadium – to represent our great country, standing singing Amhran na bhFiann ready to go out into battle with your fellow countrymen.
“Nothing has ever come close. I gave absolutely everything I had of myself to ensure that I did the jersey, the fans and the country proud, and know that I never took it for granted each time. I hope that showed.
“It will be heartbreaking not to be involved beyond this year, but I feel now is the right time to step aside without any regrets.
“I lived my own and every young Irish footballer’s dream – and represented th…