LIONEL MESSI RETURNS TO ARGENTINA SQUAD

Lional Messi will return to international football after previously announcing his retirement, according to the Argentina FA.

"I see that there are a lot of problems in Argentina football and I don't want to create more. I don't want to cause harm, on the contrary, my goal was to help in any way I could. ...

There are many things that need to be fixed in Argentine football. But I prefer to help from inside rather than stand on the outside and criticism. A lot of things ran through my head on the day of the [Copa America] final. And I seriously considered leaving the team. But I love my shirt and my country too much.

I want to thank all the fans who wanted me to keep playing for Argentina. I hope we can give them joy very soon."

ESPN FC,GOAL.COM,

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6-0 in La Liga

Barcelona: Strikers Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez each scored a pair of goals in FC Barcelona's 6-0 thrashing of Getafe in La Liga here.

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Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid dominate Spanish league awards

Spanish champions Atletico Madrid were largely ignored at the Spanish Professional Football League (LFP) Gala Awards for the 2013-14 season on Monday as Real Madrid dominated proceedings, with Cristiano Ronaldo claiming three gongs.

The Portuguese superstar picked up the awards for best player, best forward and best goal in La Liga at the ceremony in Madrid,

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Ramos pulls out of Spain squad

The Real Madrid defender will miss his country's Euro 2016 qualifying matches with Slovakia and Luxembourg and has been replaced by Barcelona's Marc Bartra

Sergio ramos has been withdrawn from the Spain squad for the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifying matches with Slovakia and Luxembourg due to a calf injury.

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LIONEL MESSI BACK TO THE TOP OF AP SOCCER POLL

AP Global Football 10 rankings:

1. Lionel Messi, 110 points.

2. Arjen Robben, 80.

3. Stevan Jovetic, 73.

4. Diego Costa, 58.

5. Erik Lamela, 45.

6. Cristiano Ronaldo, 40.

7. Stefan Kiessling, 39.

8. Nacer Chadli, 38.

9. Munir El Haddadi, 35.

10. Karim Bellarabi, 34.

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Neymar out of World Cup

The 22-year-old fractured a vertebra in his back when he was kneed in a challenge by Juan Zuniga.

Neymar was in tears when he carried off on a stretcher, before being taken to hospital in Fortaleza.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said: "Neymar was going to be hunted. For three matches that has been happening."

Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar told Brazil's SportTV: "Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to play. He is very, very sad."

"It's not serious in the sense that it doesn't need surgery, but he'll need to immobilise it to recover."

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"Messi does not need World Cup for greatness"-Maradona

“Messi doesn’t need to win the World Cup to be the best player in the world,” Maradona said,“It would be great for Argentina, the fans and for him, but winning a World Cup or not won’t take away any of his achievements up to now to be among the greatest.”

Maradona thinks the Brazil World Cup is the perfect stage for Messi to get his revenge.

“I approached him and told him he’d have many World Cups to get revenge.

“I said it with all my heart. While the rest were thinking about our return home he was there, head bowed, crying.”

As for this year’s tournament, Maradona went on: “There’s Spain, Germany and there’s Brazil with a tremendous defence.

“You think of Brazil’s defence and six or seven names come to mind, you think of their attack and there’s only Neymar.

“For Messi, it will be a test of character, to bring out all that crying he has in his heart. Brazil can be his great revenge.”

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Meet baby Milan!

Barely two weeks after her partner, foo

tballer Gerard Pique, posted a photo of their new-born son Milan's little feet on Twitter, Shakira has posted a proper picture of her little bundle of joy on the social networking site.

In the adorable picture, father Gerard is seen kissing his little son Milan, who was born on January 22, 2013. Shakira tweeted the picture saying, "Meet our baby boy Milan."

Shakira also posted a link of the UNICEF website along with the picture, and urged people to donate to a baby shower on behalf of needy children helped by the UN children's agency.
This picture was posted on Twitter by @Shakira

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India 2-4 Palestine

Wednesday’s international friendly pitted a weakened Palestine squad against hosts India at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi, Kerala.
Home team advantage couldn’t help India who conceded to Palestine’s offensive tactics in the second half. Palestinian midfielder Ashraf Alfawaghra disappointed the crowd of 15,000 by scoring a hat-trick and carrying his team to an undisputed 4-2 victory.

India started strong in the opening minutes of the first half after Clifford Miranda scored in the 17th minute. Alfawaghra equalized it to one apiece in the 30th minute but India once again took the lead after Syed Rahim Nabi headed the ball off of a corner kick to score in the 39th minute.
The second half began in Palestine’s favor as Hussam Abusalah found the back of the net in the 47th minute. Abusalah attempted another break in the 51st minute but was taken down by Nabi who was called for the foul. Aflawaghra capitalized on the penalty kick, putting Palestine in the lead 3-2.
Palestine focused much of their play in the middle and took advantage of India’s loose defense to break ahead in the 66th minute. Alfawaghra scored his hit-trick after cutting in from the right and fighting through India’s defenders to take Palestine’s lead up to 4-2.

India showed signs of life near the end of the match when substitute midfielder Jewel Raja took a shot that went wide by only a few inches.

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Qatar World Cup 2022........

Ukraine is ready to share its experience of holding large-scale sporting event during preparation of Qatar for the FIFA World Cup , which final it will host in 2022 , President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych said in his speech during presentation of Ukraine’s national projects and investment opportunities in Qatar, ForUm learned from the President’s press service.

"I know that a lot of Ukrainian specialists are ready to join the preparations for this important event ," Yanukovych said.

He expressed confidence that the field of professional sport is a common interest of Ukraine and Qatar.

The President reminded that Ukraine and Poland have hosted the European Football Championship this year. "According to experts and ordinary fans, this event was held at a very high level. Thanks to this event, Ukraine, in fact, has newly opened itself to the world," Yanukovych said.

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London 2012 Olympics - Schedule, Results

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Messi can’t win World Cup single- handedly

CESAR Luis Menotti has stated that Lionel Messi must be supported by his international colleagues if Argentina is to win the World Cup again in 2014.
The No.10, who is widely considered the Albiceleste's best player, has been criticised in the past for not replicating his club form with Barcelona on the global stage.
However, Menotti, who led Argentina to victory in the 1978 World Cup, has called on his fellow countrymen to help the forward out in their forthcoming campaign for glory.
"Leo is not going to save the Argentine team at the World Cup," Menotti told Gazeta Esportiva.
"Messi alone guarantees nothing. You cannot win a World Cup with one player. Messi could be the difference and we are lucky to have him, but if we do not assemble a team, Messi is not going to save us in 2014.
"In the 1970 World Cup, the most brilliant player I saw was Pele for Brazil, but he was not alone. With him were Rivelino, Clodoaldo, Tostao, Jairzinho and Gerson."
The South American nation last won the World Cup in 1986.

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Qatar holds Iran to 0-0 in World Cup qualifier

Qatar survived an onslaught from Iran to secure a well-earned 0-0 draw in an Asian World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

Iran, a favorite to advance to the 2014 finals in Brazil, was by far the better side but its attack couldn't turn the bulk of possession and good chances into goals thanks in part to Qatar goalkeeper Qasem Burhan. It has scored only once in its first two Group A matches.

In the first half, Iran captain Javad Nekonam hit the crossbar in the 30th minute while Qatar's naturalized Brazilian defender Marcone was denied by goalkeeper Mahdi Rahmati 10 minutes before the break.

Iran's best chance in the second half came in stoppage time when a free kick from just outside the area by substitute Ashkan Dejagah just flew over the goal.

''It was difficult as I had expected. But it was a game that moved only in one direction: Towards the Qatar goal,'' Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said. ''But, despite all attempts, we couldn't score. Our inability to find the target cost us two points. We played the entire 90 minutes with full concentration, never allowing the rivals any space. Our goalkeeper was tested only once, in the first half.''

Qatar coach Paulo Autuori praised his players for bouncing back after a 4-1 defeat to South Korea last week.

''Congratulations to our players. The way we reacted after the defeat against South Korea proved the players' mental strength,'' he said. ''The presence of a 100,000-strong vociferous crowd made it even more difficult, but we showed we've the capability to withstand all those pressures.''

Qatar, which is hosting the 2022 World Cup, is level with Iran on four points in Group A, two points behind leader South Korea.

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Who Will Win Today's Euro 2012

Spain and Italy are good teams, and they're going to start 22 good players at the Euro 2012 final on Sunday. You may be surprised to learn that two teams who have made it to the final of a major competition undefeated are filled with very good players, but that's OK, because now you know. While watching these 22 good players, you might try to ascertain information about which ones are gooder than good, or at the very least, the most interesting. Here are four players you should keep an eye on throughout the match.

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Neymar wins Fifa's Puskas Award for best goal of 2011

Neymar won the Puskas Award at Fifa's annual awards for his solo strike against Flamengo, beating fellow strikers Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.

"I think it’s the best goal I’ve ever scored," the Brazilian said. "I picked up the ball on the left, went past two opponents and laid the ball off to a team-mate.

"We played a great one-two and I managed to wriggle clear of two more opponents and put the ball away. It was just about the perfect move."

The 19 year-old danced past three defenders, completed a one-two with a teammate before chipping the ball past the Flamengo goalkeeper. Flamengo had the last laugh by winning the match 5-4.

Neymar also said he was happy to stay in Brazil after being continually linked with a move to Europe.

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Lionel Messi named the world's best player for the third time

Zurich, Jan 10: Already judged one of football's all-time greats at just 24, Lionel Messi unsurprisingly extended his reign as the world's best player for a third year on Monday.

The Barcelona and Argentina forward received the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for 2011, beating his club teammate Xavi Hernandez and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid to the game's most prestigious individual honor.

"It's a huge pleasure for me," Messi said, after accepting the trophy from another three-time winner, former Brazil forward Ronaldo. "It's the third time I get this award, and it's a huge honor."

Messi's prolific scoring and unselfish creative play inspired Barcelona to win five trophies last year including the Champions League, Spanish League and Club World Cup.

Messi is the first man to win three straight FIFA world player awards in the honor's 21-year history. Zinedine Zidane of France also won three FIFA player awards.

Messi received 47.88 percent of the points in votes cast by national team coaches and captains plus invited journalists. They chose from an original shortlist of 23 players.

Cristiano Ronaldo finished second with 21.6 percent and Xavi got 9.23 percent to finish third for the third straight year.

"This one is very special because I want to share this with my friend and teammate Xavi . He deserves it," Messi said.

On a night of Barcelona dominance, the Catalan club inflicted another defeat on its great rival Madrid in the men's coaching award.

Barca's Pep Guardiola was chosen ahead of Madrid's Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson of Manchester United. Mourinho and Ronaldo did not attend, as Madrid plays a Spanish Cup match Tuesday in Malaga.

In the women's award, Homare Sawa of Japan ended Brazil forward Marta's five-year rule as the world's best player. Abby Wambach of the United States was also shortlisted.

Sawa led Japan to win the 2011 Women's World Cup and adds the FIFA prize to her tournament best player and top scorer trophies.

A major international tournament victory is all that now eludes Messi.

Guardiola and Ferguson agreed at an earlier news conference that Messi should be classed alongside legends such as Pele, Diego Maradona and Alfredo di Stefano.

"Now he can sit beside them. It's a huge award, no?" Guardiola said.

FIFA's world player honor merged last year with the Ballon d'Or trophy awarded by France Football magazine since 1956.

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Fulham 2-1 Arsenal

Chelsea are again closing in on third spot in the Premier League – a 2-1 win at Wolves last night means Andre Villas Boas is now just 2pts behind Tottenham although Spurs will have the chance to pull away again tonight when they host West Brom. Stephen Ward looked to have ensured a 1-1 draw at Molineux last night when he cancelled out Ramires’ goal with 6mins to go but Frank Lampard fired the winner one minute from the end of normal time. Lampard admitted after the game that he was lucky not to have been sent off after a studs-up challenge in the first half.

Arsenal lost fruther ground with a 2-1 defeat at Fulham. The Gunners were one-up with five mins to go before Steve Sidwell and then Bobby Zamora landed all three points for Fulham. Arsenal finished with 10men after Johan Djorou’s sending off, Arsene Wenger has claimed it was the wrong decision to show him a second yellow.

QPR captain Joey Barton could be in trouble with the FA after accusing the referee of being “conned” into sending him off. Barton launched the attack on Twitter. QPR went down 2-1 at home to Norwich. Stoke grabbed all the points at Blackburn – Peter Crouch on the double in a 2-1 win.

And Aston Villa fell 2-0 at home to Swansea.

Leaders Man City will host Liverpool tonight, Sunderland are at Wigan

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Blackburn shock United

Canadian international Simeon Jackson came off the bench to grab a stoppage-time equalizer as Norwich rescued a 1-1 draw against Fulham in the Premier League.

Sir Alex Ferguson's 70th birthday was ruined by Manchester United's stunning loss to struggling Blackburn and Chelsea slipped out of the Premier League's top four with a home defeat to Aston Villa.

At Norwich, Portugal forward Orlando Sa had scored after just six minutes to put the visitors on course for a rare away win. But Norwich continued to press, and Jackson, who has 23 caps for Canada, nodded in Elliott Bennett's right-wing cross five minutes into added time to record his second Premier League goal, and earn Paul Lambert's side a share of the points.

Fulham went ahead when Moussa Dembele was allowed to charge to the edge of the penalty area before feeding Sa, who drilled a low shot past John Ruddy into the bottom right corner.

The home side was almost 2-0 down before they could mount a recovery, with fullback Kyle Naughton clearing an effort from Sa off the line.

At Old Trafford, goalkeeper David de Gea's mistake allowed Grant Hanley to pounce in the 80th minute and give Blackburn a 3-2 win.

"It is a disaster," Ferguson said. "I never expected it."

The surprising setback for the defending champions means Manchester City can go three points clear at the top by winning at Sunderland on Sunday.

"We weren't at the races. Too slow, too laboured. Not quick enough," said Phil Jones, who left Blackburn for United in the off-season. "The injuries don't help. But they are no excuse. We were nowhere near good enough ... they thoroughly deserved their win."

Third-place Tottenham slipped up as well, drawing 1-1 at Swansea to sit six points behind United.

The bigger winner of the day was Arsenal, which went fourth with a 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers after Chelsea slumped to its fifth loss of the season, with Villa winning 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Consecutive 5-0 routs for United before facing struggling Blackburn had pointed to another easy victory on Ferguson's landmark birthday.

Ayegbeni Yakubu, though, wasn't in a giving mood, scoring with a first-half penalty and a low shot past De Gea six minutes after the break.

Dimitar Berbatov hit back with two quick finishes inside the area, but United couldn't stage another comeback after Hanley's winner.

Blackburn manager Steve Kean hopes supporters will finally stop calling for him to be sacked by the Indian owners.

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Jose Mourinho has reiterated his desire to return to the Premier League

Jose Mourinho has reiterated his desire to return to the Premier League "in a couple of years" once his time in charge of Real Madrid is over. The former Chelsea manager has always been open about his love of the game in England and has long been linked with taking over Sir Alex Ferguson's role at Manchester United when the Scot decides to retire. "I am very, very happy to be in Real Madrid. It is a great experience for me," Mourinho told BBC Radio Four's Today programme. "I believe it is probably the biggest club in the history of football, I didn't want to miss the chance to work here but my passion is England and my next step will be to go back, if possible go and stay for a long time." He added: "Get me a club in a couple of years, get me a good club." The 48-year-old is a renowned student of the game but he insists "individual genius" will always prevail regardless of the amount of preparation and organisation. He said: "I think the genius will make always the difference. And the genius in my sport is about some unbelievable players that can break every organisation and every work you can do. "Genius in managing also exists. For me in football the most important thing is man management. Football for me is a human science, it is about man." Mourinho also agreed the prospect of human failure is one of the attractions of sport, saying: "Emotional intelligence is crucial at this level in every sport. "It is one thing to take a penalty winning 5-0 in a friendly, another thing is to take a penalty kick in the last minute of the Champions League or World Cup final. I try to prepare my players the best I can but in the end of the day they are the guys that decide everything in the right moment. They make the difference. "I analyse them in a group context always but I know they are all unique. This is an amazing experience - many of us don't want to quit, never. We want to go to the last day we can because this leadership becomes part of our life."

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Aston Villa winger Albrighton scores 20,000th Premier League goal

Aston Villa midfielder Marc Albrighton scored the 20,000th goal in English Premier League history when he netted in the second half of his side's match against Arsenal on Wednesday.With only 11 goals needed to reach the milestone going into Wednesday's seven fixtures, the race was on to secure a slice of Premier League history and Albrighton took the spoils at Villa Park. Albrighton struck in the 54th minute when he intercepted a wayward pass from Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen and slipped a cool finish past Wojciech Szczesny to cancel out Robin van Persie's first half opener for the Gunners.

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