Agencies/Sevilla
Sevilla coach Unai Emery rejected offers from Napoli and West Ham and extended his contract with the Europa League winners to compete in the Champion League next season, he said yesterday.
“Which coach or player has the possibility to play in the finals? Few. I start training on July 6 and I already have the European Super cup against Barcelona,” he said in an interview published in daily El Pais.
“And then we will play in the Champions. Sevilla gives me this possibility. Moreover, we have managed to create a culture of work at all levels. Napoli offered me a project with economic strength but without the Champions. And I had a nice option from West Ham, a very sizeable economic,” he added without giving further details.
Emery signed a one-year contract extension with Sevilla on June 5 after leading them to the Europa League title for a second straight year. As Europa League champions, Sevilla will automatically play in the Champions League next season.
The 43-year-old held talks with West Ham and Napoli and had also been talked about as a possible replacement at Real Madrid after Carlo Ancelotti was sacked, but Real decided to go with Rafa Benitez. Emery joined the club in January 2013 and has led them to consecutive fifth-place finishes in La Liga in addition to their European success.
Neville named assistant coach at Valencia
Former England international Phil Neville has been appointed assistant coach of Valencia, the Spanish side announced yesterday. The 38-year-old ex-Manchester United and Everton defender-cum-midfielder will work as the number two at the Mestalla to Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
“Phil Neville has great experience at the top level of competition, but above all he has knowledge and values that fit perfectly with our team and our club,” Nuno told Valencia’s website.
“He has always been a team player, and our philosophy is based on teamwork. We are—and want to continue to be—a group. I am convinced that he is going to help us a lot.”
Neville previously worked as the assistant to David Moyes at Everton and United. He can look forward to coming up against Moyes, who is the coach at Real Sociedad. Valencia will enter next season’s Champions League at the play-off stage after finishing fourth in La Liga.
Tunisia and coach Leekens part ways
Tunisia and Belgian coach George Leekens have parted ways, the national football federation (FTF) confirmed yesterday. The move comes just two weeks after hosts Tunisia crushed Djibouti 8-1 in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations matchday 1 qualifier.
Leekens guided Tunisia to the 2015 Cup of Nations quarter-finals before suffering a controversial defeat by hosts Equatorial Guinea. A hotly-disputed stoppage-time penalty enabled the Equatoguineans to equalise and they triumphed 2-1 after extra time.
An FTF statement read: “We decided (on) an amicable separation between the two parties without any payment on the part of FTF or George Leekens.”
The wording hints at Leekens, whose contract with Tunisia ran to March 2016, having lined up alternate employment. Reigning African champions Ivory Coast are seeking a coach after Frenchman Herve Renard resigned to join Ligue 1 club Lille.
Another possibility is that the 66-year-old was concerned about his safety following the seaside massacre of 38 tourists by an Islamist gunman in eastern Tunisia two days ago. Officials said Leekens would be replaced by another foreign coach. The next Cup of Nations qualifying engagement for the ‘Carthage Eagles’ is away to Liberia during September.
Reform chief calls on those involved to embrace change
The FIFA official charged with reforming the controversial world football governing body has called on president Sepp Blatter, and all involved, to back the need to change those running the sport.
“The times of flirting with power are definitely gone,” Domenico Scala, chairman of FIFA’s audit and compliance committee, said. “I call on all concerned, including Mr Blatter, to endorse in the interest of the reforms unequivocally the announced changing of the guard at the top of FIFA.”
The 79-year-old Blatter said in interviews earlier this week that he had not resigned the position he won for a fifth term on May 29 but rather was making his mandate available at an extraordinary congress. The date of that congress has yet to be decided though Blatter himself has suggested early 2016 as a realistic timeframe.
Atletico Madrid’s Turan in talks with ‘clubs’
The Atletico Madrid playmaker Arda Turan has said his agent is in talks with three or four clubs over a move from the La Liga club. Arda has a contract with Atlético until June 2017 but his agent, Ahmet Bulut, has been quoted as saying the 28-year-old is keen to play in the Premier League.
Chelsea or Manchester United are seen as likely destinations, with the Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain and Milan also in the hunt. “The transfer rumours are not entirely correct,” Arda said on his Twitter feed on Sunday. “My agent is currently in touch with 3-4 clubs. I will update you all if a deal is made.”
Arda, who is worth around £25m, has become a hugely popular figure with the Atlético fans in his four seasons in the Spanish capital since joining from Galatasaray.
Unai Emery
