Claude Makelele named new Bastia boss

Bastia have announced the appointment of Claude Makelele as the club's new boss on a two-year contract.
The former France international, who served as an assistant to Carlo Ancelotti during the Italian's time in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, replaces Frederic Hantz at the helm of the Ligue 1 side.
"Bastia are pleased to announce that Claude Makelele will be trainer for the next two seasons," a statement on the club's official website read.
"He will arrive in Bastia on Monday, when he will sign his contract before being presented to the press the following day at 11:00.
"The former PSG man will be assisted in his task by Didier Tholot.
"The great family of Sporting Club de Bastia welcomes them both."
Makelele established himself as one of the finest defensive midfielders of the modern era during a career that took in spells at European superpowers such as Real Madrid, Chelsea and PSG before retiring from the game in 2011.

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Diego Simeone is a 'god'- Tiago

Atletico Madrid midfielder Tiago has described manager Diego Simeone as a "god" to the players, and the main reason why they are in the Champions League final.
Simeone's rise as a coach has undeniably been the main story in Atletico Madrid's path to Lisbon and, whatever can be said about him being a "god", the Argentine has performed something close to a football economic miracle by winning the Spanish league and taking the club so far.
"I think for us, for all the club, he's like a God," Tiago said. "He arrived to the club and changed everything. What he says comes true.
"If he asks him to jump from a bridge, we jump. I think he knows a lot of football. We as a group follow him, and we're very proud to have him as a coach."
All of the players put up for Atletico's pre-match press conference, meanwhile -- Gabi, Raul Garcia and Tiago -- expressed pride at the club's season, and called it their biggest ever game.

"This is the most important game in the history of the club, with all the responsibility that brings," Gabi said.
Atletico may have to play it without two of their key players, as both Arda Turan and Diego Costa are still struggling with injury.
Simeone, however, refused to rule either out. Costa did light sprints on Friday with Marca saying that Costa passed the test.
"We will look at Diego and Arda in training today, and see how they feel. We will talk with them tonight and see what the team needs.
"If Arda or Costa do not play, there are two lads who we know will play. We will do what we worked on during the week."
Atletico meanwhile expressed a sense of calm and focus after winning the league.
"We are very confident because we have a very strong identity. This team has shown, throughout the whole season, that we know what to do in every game. I don't think that will change tomorrow. We'll be the same Atletico, very strong. We have a great team opposing us, but this match will be the same as any other."
Simeone meanwhile expressed no fear about Real Madrid.
"They could play 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, or maybe Isco behind [Gareth] Bale and [Cristiano] Ronaldo. We've worked on what we might face, with different options.
"The players celebrated winning Liga after enormous effort. Now they've worked same as ever, focus on next game. There is no other path for tomorrow.
"We know our strengths and our weaknesses. We're compact, structured, interpret moments of game very well. That has brought us here."

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Ugandan President 'Yoweri Museveni' mocks Nigeria President 'Jonathan' for accepting international assistance

While speaking at a campaign rally recently, Uganda’s President 'Yoweri Museveni' mocked Nigeria's President 'Jonathan' for accepting foreign assistance to help fight Boko Haram. The former guerrila fighter said he'd rather commit suicide than ask the international community to protect his people against terrorists

“I have never called the United Nations to guard us. Me, Yoweri Museveni to say that I have failed to protect my people and I call on the UN: I would rather hang myself. We prioritized national security by developing a strong Army, otherwise our Uganda would be like DRC, South Sudan, Somalia or Nigeria where militias have disappeared with school children.

“It would be a vote of no confidence in our country and citizens if we cannot guarantee our security. What kind of persons would we be?” He said

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Eden Hazard could follow David Luiz to PSG

Laurent Blanc wants Chelsea’s player of the year Eden Hazard to join David Luiz as part of Paris Saint- Germain’s plans to conquer Europe.

The PSG coach went public on his desire to sign Hazard as his club  prepared to announce the £50million signing of Chelsea’s disaffected  Brazil international central defender, Luiz.

Chelsea also have a decision to make on Hazard (right) after Blanc admitted that he wanted to sign the winger.

The Paris St-Germain manager said: ‘Why do I love Eden Hazard? Because he is a player who eliminates.

‘We can discuss all of the systems, or a player’s  individual or collective qualities.

‘But a player who can eliminate three, four players at any time in a game is something else.

‘We do not know what to expect with these players. They destabilise the opponent.

‘We know we want plan A. But of course there is a plan B if he doesn’t come. There is also a plan C.’

With such seemingly unlimited funding, Blanc is under pressure to win the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history next season after  dominating the French league again last campaign.

PSG’s medical team flew  overnight to Brazil’s World Cup training camp where Luiz passed a medical assessment to join the Ligue 1 champions.

The £50m fee was agreed  with Chelsea and generous personal terms were successfully negotiated with the player.

The sale of Luiz, which was revealed by Sportsmail in later editions  yesterday, is a massive gamble by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho as he attempts to build a team that can wrestle the Barclays Premier League title from Manchester City next season.

Luiz is Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s favourite player and the decision to sell represents a fascinating move by Mourinho after he convinced the board they must cash in.

PSG, owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, certainly have the finances to conclude a shock move for Hazard too, and Blanc is prepared to pay another £50million to lure the Belgium international away from Stamford Bridge.

But UEFA’s financial fair play  regulations could prove a key stumbling block towards  a potential move for the  23-year-old, particularly given they have already splashed out £50m in the move for Luiz.

Chelsea have released veteran striker Samuel Eto’o, but are still hopeful of persuading  England midfielder Frank  Lampard to stay at the club.

Mourinho will be planning to use the Luiz cash to bring a star striker to the club with Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa his main target.

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