Bundesliga club Wolfsburg have sacked former England manager Steve McClaren, replacing him with Pierre Littbarski.
McClaren, 49, was poached from FC Twente in May after he led the Dutch side to the Eredivisie title last season.
But the Englishman had little success in the German top flight and after Saturday s 1-0 defeat to Hannover saw Wolfsburg drop to 12th, just one point above the relegation zone, McClaren was removed from his post having served just nine months of a two-year-deal.
VfL (Wolfsburg) have parted ways with Steve McClaren. Pierre Littbarski is taking over, a statement from the 2009 Bundesliga champions read.
Director of sport Dieter Hoeness said the club no longer had full confidence in McClaren and that the club s slide down the league…
Manchester City s European dreams are hanging by a thread after they were trounced 2-0 at Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League on Thursday.
Former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko and Oleg Gusev got on the scoresheet in either half for Dynamo, who will take a handy advantage into the second leg of their last-16 tie next Thursday.
Gusev s late goal would have been particularly galling for City boss Roberto Mancini, who would have fancied City s chances had they hosted the Ukrainian outfit at City of Manchester Stadium with just one goal in arrears.
But the Citizens now face a serious challenge to their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals, and will rue not making the most of several opportunities to take an away goal against Dynamo.
City had the best of the …
Sunday s Premier League trip to Manchester City could have a decisive impact on Arsenal s future, according to manager Arsene Wenger.
When the fixtures were released last June, City versus Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in the penultimate match of the season appeared to have the makings of a potential title decider.
But both teams have faltered despite boasting richly gifted squads, forced to look on as Leicester City secured the title at Tottenham s expense on Monday.
The upshot is Manuel Pellegrini s final home match as City manager will have a pivotal say on whether each team will take part in the Champions League next season City having bowed out at the semi-final stage this time around at Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Arsenal are three points better off t…
Isco has hailed Zinedine Zidane s impact as head coach at Real Madrid and the attacking midfielder says he is ready to fight for his place at Santiago Bernabeu.
Spain international Isco, who was included in Vicente del Bosque s provisional squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday, has struggled to nail down a starting place under Zidane since the former France great replaced Rafael Benitez in January.
But the former Malaga playmaker credited his boss for boosting morale within a squad who recovered from a testing spell to take the race for the Liga title to the final day of the season and book a place in next week s Champions League final against rivals Atletico Madrid.
There s nothing to say about Zidane. The results endorse that, Isco told Madrid s official website.
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Wayne Rooney believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the right man to heal the player unrest that contributed to Jose Mourinho s dismissal from Manchester United.
Appearing on television ahead of the club s Premier League clash against Cardiff City, Rooney said recent conversations with former team-mates confirmed the atmosphere wasn t great at Old Trafford.
Mourinho was dismissed after a 3-1 loss to Liverpool in which star midfielder Paul Pogba, with whom the Portuguese reportedly had several run-ins, was an unused substitute.
United installed Solskjaer as boss on an interim basis and Rooney, who left for Everton in 2017, welcomed the move as essential to lifting morale.
Of course I stay in touch with a lot of people at the club. I speak to them quite a lot an…
Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick says he will continue to assess his future on an annual basis, but may even keep playing for as long as Ryan Giggs.
The former Wales winger was 40 when he eventually retired in 2014, having spent his whole career with United, before moving into coaching.
Carrick, who signed a new one-year deal last month, is 35 and revealed he has tried to learn from former team-mates like Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, who all enjoyed lengthy careers.
I haven t got an age in mind really, I need to just take it year by year, the United midfielder told Sky Sports after being asked about retirement.
I said that last year, I said it the year before and I will say it again next year too.
I have learnt a lot of…