Son Heung-min has been backed to rediscover his best form by incoming South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who believes a difficult situation at Tottenham has hampered the attacker.
Son has endured a poor season with Spurs, scoring just five Premier League goals after sharing the Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah last term, and his troubles have carried onto the international stage.
The forward wore a protective mask at last year s World Cup after suffering a fractured eye socket ahead of the tournament, where he failed to net in four appearances.
Son produced another ineffective performance as Spurs exited the Champions League against Milan on Wednesday, leaving the future of boss Antonio Conte in serious doubt.
His new international coach, however, retains …
Cristiano Ronaldo has been nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award and Real Madrid are in contention for the Team of the Year gong.
Ronaldo claimed the Ballon d Or for a fifth time last month and is among the six nominees for the prestigious Laureus award, which he has never won.
Madrid could also be recognised for a stellar 2017 at a ceremony in Monaco on February 27 after winning the UEFA Champions League, LaLiga and FIFA Club World Cup.
Prolific forward Ronaldo faces competition from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Lewis Hamilton, Mo Farah and Chris Froome.
Ladies Gentlemen, your 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards Nominees!
Well done to all of you and see you in Monaco!
— Laureus (@LaureusSport)
Federer, also…
Zinedine Zidane accepted his fate will be decided by February s Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain after Real Madrid were dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Leganes.
Marco Asensio s late goal had earned Madrid a 1-0 advantage in last week s opening leg of the quarter-final, putting Zidane s side in full control of the tie heading back to the Santiago Bernabeu.
But despite Zidane recalling Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema although Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were rested Leganes sealed a 2-1 victory and progressed on away goals.
Javier Eraso s 25-yard screamer pulled the visitors level on aggregate and, after Benzema s goal early in the second half, Eraso s corner was thumped home by a tremendous Gabriel Pires header.
1 Leganes are th…
Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan is hinting at a return to international duty after a break of almost four months.
The Al Ain player said he needed time to heal after a backlash from local fans following an unsatisfactory performance during the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations but ruled out assertions that he was surprised by the treatment.
The decision to return is now left to me, the 26-year-old told Accra-based Peace FM.
Very, very soon, I will make that announcement. In my letter, I stated that my action was indefinite, so it can be any time. I will communicate that soon.
The former Sunderland player said he was psychologically affected by his performance at the AFCON and that taking a break meant he would return stronger.
I am not upset. It was due…
Despite choosing China s Super League over the MLS, Didier Drogba still believes the North American competition is ahead in terms of quality.
The 34-year-old former Chelsea striker reflected on his decision to join Shanghai Shenhua during a press conference in Miami to promote the World Soccer Masters game on Saturday.
No, I don t think China is ahead of MLS, Drogba said. I think (my decision) was a personal choice.
I ve played many games here with Chelsea over the years and I ve seen the evolution (of American soccer). When we came here in 2004, the stadiums were busy but not really. In 2010 it was amazing. The footballing has improved a lot in America.
So it wasn t about the (quality), it was a personal choice and my decision.
Pointing to …
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has stated the breakaway European Super League is dead , deeming the controversial concept impossible after nine of the 12 clubs involved pulled out.
The announcement of the planned competition led to a huge backlash, including from governing bodies, rival clubs, fans, players and media, leading to the majority of the teams that had signed up making a quick U-turn.
UEFA issued fines to Atletico Madrid, Inter, Milan, and the six Premier League clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham but a court ruling meant disciplinary proceedings against Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, the three founding members yet to cut ties with the Super League, had to be halted.
A preliminary injunction …
Erling Haaland lauded phenomena Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the Borussia Dortmund forward looks to the pair as inspiration for a long, successful career.
Haaland is still just 20 but has quickly established himself as one of Europe s top strikers and will collect Tuttosport s Golden Boy award on Monday.
Since joining Dortmund from Salzburg in January, the Norway international has scored 23 times in the Bundesliga including a hat-trick on his debut against Augsburg at a rate of one every 74 minutes.
Only Robert Lewandowski (28) and Ronaldo (27) have netted more goals in Europe s top five leagues since that January 18 bow.
Juventus number seven Ronaldo is still among the best players in the world at the age of 35, while Milan s Ibrahimovic,…
Joao Mario is a summer transfer target for host of clubs that have been tracking the 23-year-old this season with Manchester United and Chelsea having already shown interest in Sporting Lisbon midfielder.
According to Portugal media outlet , Liverpool have also joined the chase for the highly rated midfielder having given up on Bayern Munich’s Mario Gotze.
Germany international wants to stay with Bundesliga champions and fight for his place in the team under Carlo Ancelotti. The 2014 World Cup winner is entering the final year of his contract and it remains to be seen whether Bayern Munich will decide to hold on to his for another 12 months.
Red have now turned their attention to the attacking midfielder who was one of Sporting Lisbon’s key performers this s…
Werder Bremen will surely have winced at the sight of a free-scoring Bayern Munich in the build-up to Saturday s Bundesliga clash.
The Bavarian giants thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 on Wednesday to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in stunning fashion.
Shakhtar s Olexandr Kucher was shown the quickest red card in the history of Europe s premier club competition and his third-minute dismissal paved the way for Bayern s win, which saw six different players score.
And it was bad news for a Werder side who have conceded at least five goals in all of their last four matches against Bayern.
Pep Guardiola s men have won their last nine meetings against Werder in all competitions, but have stepped the victories up a notch since a 6-1 home triumph i…
Swansea centre-back Ben Cabango has given Wales boss Rob Page another injury worry after he limped out of his side’s 2-1 home win over Norwich in the Championship.
Wales are already without Aaron Ramsey and Brennan Johnson for the vital Euro 2024 qualifier with Croatia on October 15 and Swansea boss Michael Duff confirmed Cabango suffered a hamstring issue after he went off in the second half of his club’s victory on Wednesday night.
“Ben did the right thing in coming off. He felt something in his hamstring in the first half and then again later on,” said Duff.
“If he isn’t fit for the weekend, then I don’t think he’ll be able to go off to play for Wales during the international window.”
The win gave Duff’s new-look side a haul of 10 p…