Brazil coach Mano Menezes on Friday named Ronaldinho in his squad for the prestigious friendly game against arch-rivals Argentina in Doha, Qatar on November 17.

Ronaldinho, who was not selected for the World Cup by Menezes s predecessor Dunga, is joined in the squad by AC Milan team-mates Thiago Silva, Robinho and Alexandre Pato.

The 30-year-old Ronaldinho, a two-time FIFA World Player of the Year, has not represented his country since he played in a World Cup qualifier against Peru in April 2009.

Brazil squad

Goalkeepers: Victor (Gremio), Jefferson (Botafogo), Neto (Atletico Paranaense)

Defenders: Daniel Alves (Barcelona/ESP), Rafael (Manchester United/ENG), Adriano (Barcelona/ESP), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce/TUR), Thiago Silva (AC Milan/ITA), Dav…

Juan Manuel Lillo has been fired as coach of Almeria, paying the penalty for an 8-0 humiliation at the hands of Barcelona on Saturday.

The Andalusian side have managed just one win and collected only nine points from their first 12 games of the La Liga season.

They were annihilated by reigning champions Barcelona in front of their own fans at the Estadio Juegos de Mediterraneo, with a rampant Lionel Messi claiming a hat-trick.

The embarrassing defeat proved one loss too many for 45-year-old Lillo, who was relieved of his duties shortly after the match.

The reason is purely sporting and comes after the bad results Almeria have suffered in recent weeks that have seen the side slip into the relegation places, the club said in a statement.

Lillo …

Pep Guardiola has promised to disclose his future plans on Sunday following Bayern Munich s 1-0 win at Hannover.

The victory over Michael Frontzeck s strugglers, sealed by Thomas Muller s 40th-minute penalty, was largely overshadowed by mounting speculation in the German media that Guardiola will not remain with the reigning Bundesliga champions after his contract expires at the end of this season.

Borussia Dortmund s surprise 2-1 loss at Cologne means Bayern go into the mid-season break with an eight-point lead at the Bundesliga summit and Guardiola told a post-match press conference that there will soon be clarity regarding his next move and that he intended to speak with chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Asked by a reporter when he will disclose more in…

Lille have signed attacking midfielder Marcos Lopes on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

The 18-year-old joined City from Benfica in 2011 and has gradually risen through the ranks at the Etihad Stadium.

Lopes, a Portugal Under-21 international, made four appearances for City last season, making his first start for the club in the 5-0 League Cup win over Wigan Athletic last September.

But the Brazilian-born Lopes will now attempt to gain further first-team experience in northern France after making the temporary switch to the Stade Pierre Mauroy.

Lille will compete in the UEFA Champions League next season, and Lopes is delighted to potentially have the chance to test himself at the top level of European club football.

I feel very happy to h…

Lionel Messi has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo s record for the most hat-tricks in LaLiga history after scoring another treble in Barcelona s 5-2 win over Real Mallorca on Saturday.

In the week he moved above rival Ronaldo with a sixth Ballon d Or success, Messi showed why he was voted the world s best player with his impressive display at Camp Nou.

The 32-year-old scored two long-range goals in the first half and added a third seven minutes from time to make it 35 career hat-tricks in the Spanish top-flight.

That is one more than Ronaldo, who spent nine years with Real Madrid before joining Serie A giants Juventus in 2018.

Messi s first strike also saw him become the only player to net 10 or more goals in each of the past 14 seasons across Europe s top-five…

Joe Burrow said he would not trade his journey from transfer quarterback to Heisman Trophy winner for anything in the world after collecting college football s most prestigious honour on Saturday.

The LSU signal-caller, likely to be the number one overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, won the Heisman, awarded to college football s most outstanding player, on Saturday at a ceremony in New York.

He did so by a record margin, receiving 841 first-place votes and 2,608 points. Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts was second with 762 points ahead of Ohio State pair Chase Young and Justin Fields.

Burrow transferred to LSU from Ohio State in 2018 and was seen as a mid-round draft pick coming into the 2019 season.

However, an incredible campaign has seen Burrow throw fo…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Mohamed Salah’s relentless drive to score goals will never end.

The Egypt international scored in the 6-1 Europa League demolition of Sparta Prague to bring up his 20th goal of the season, becoming the first player in the club’s history to reach that mark in seven successive campaigns.

“In seven years together with him, the one problem we never had was consistency,” said Klopp after the Egypt international’s first start since New Year’s Day after a hamstring injury.

“Mo is just delivering and delivering and delivering, his desire doesn’t stop, his quality is there and his desire to score doesn’t stop.

“He has improved in so many aspects since he started here. That’s how it is, he will not stop.…

Market: Vancouver Whitecaps double chance

Odds: 3/5 @

Looking to extend on their recent flurry, Vancouver will mark their return to MLS duties in the early hours of Thursday when they meet a struggling Colorado.

Starting with the hosts, last seen putting in another downbeat display as they slumped to a routine 2-0 loss away at Orlando, it is fair to say that Colorado are in the midst of a public MLS nightmare. Coming under a huge amount of scrutiny since opening the 2023 campaign, Robin Fraser’s men are tipped as a standout pick to claim the Western Conference’s wooden spoon this season. Crashing back down to earth since opening May with a much-welcomed boost, the Rapids have now failed to win any of their last eight straight domestic appearances across all …

Jeffrey Schlupp and David Accam have been omitted from Ghana s final 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup.

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah trimmed his 26-man party down on Sunday, with Leicester City full-back Schlupp and Helsingborg midfielder Accam both failing to make the cut.

The duo join Jerry Akaminko in missing out on a place in Brazil, after the Eskisehirspor defender sustained a broken ankle in the closing stages of Ghana s 1-0 friendly defeat to the Netherlands on Saturday.

The 26-year-old is set for three months on the sidelines and will require surgery.

Of the 23-man squad, 16 players are set to make their World Cup debut for Ghana in Brazil, while captain Asamoah Gyan and midfielder Sulley Muntari will make a third finals appearance and are among the more se…

Manchester United will face Barcelona in the Champions League final, after they crushed Schalke 4-1 at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

United led 2-0 from the semi-final first leg, so when Antonio Valencia drilled an angled shot past Manuel Neuer after 26 minutes and Darron Gibson made it 2-0 five minutes later the tie was all but over.

Schalke did reply through Jurado before half-time but United were able to see out the match and even score twice more after the break, both through midfielder Anderson, to complete a 6-1 aggregate win.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson took a huge gamble on his side s Champions League future by resting nine of the 11 players that started their English Premier League match at Arsenal last weekend clearly concerned about a title-deciding fixtur…