Monday March 9, 2015:
Ghana 2 – 0 South Africa
Mali 1 – 0 Zambia
South Africa’s Thamsanqa Masiya scored an own goal in the 9th minute while Benjamin Tetteh made it 2 – 0 for Ghana in the 44th minute.
Alassane Diallo scored Mali’s solitary goal in the 75th minute to secure their victory over Zambia.
Today is Joseph “Sepp” Blatter’s birthday. Blatter is the eight and current FIFA president. He is the man in charge of world football. He is a Swiss national and was born on March 10, 1936. He has been married three times and has one daughter named Corinne Blatter.
Nigerian international and FC Cologne striker Anthony Ujah has taken his apology one step further. Today happens to be Hennes’s birthday, and Ujah has been to visit him to smooth things over with a bunch of carrots.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane says manager Louis Van Gaal must be given “two or three years” to rebuild the club, following the FA Cup defeat by Arsenal. Keane said on BBC Match of the Day: “They should have given David Moyes more time but didn’t. What are they going to do? Chop and change again? Van Gaal has been in the door two minutes. It takes time. It’s literally a rebuilding job. “It would be a disaster [if United don’t finish in top four]. The big problem with people at the club and ex-players is they keep looking back comparing teams from 10 years ago. They have got to look forward. Focus on the players, focus on the manager… get right behind him. I still think they have enough to get in that top four.”
Who agrees with Roy?
Championship strugglers Millwall have sacked manager Ian Holloway. The 51-year-old, who was appointed in January 2014, had his contract terminated with the Lions second from bottom after five defeats in six games. Ex-Millwall striker Neil Harris will take charge for the rest of the season. “This was a hard decision to take because we very much hoped that Ollie would prove to be the man to take us forward and on to the next level,” said chairman John Berylson.
Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini is interested in taking Manchester City’s Yaya Toure to the San Siro if the Italian club can make a deal within financial fair play rules. Mancini, who managed Toure at Manchester City, returned for a second spell at Inter in November of 2014. “It’s a question mark, we’ll have to see what financial fair play brings,” he told Gazzetta TV in an interview. “I’m sure we’ll do some good business. Yaya Toure? He’s played in almost every league, except for Germany and Italy. “If, as seems to be the case, he wants to try Serie A we’ll look into the possibility, but it won’t be easy. He’s a player with incredible technical ability. I’ve not come across many like him.”
Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has spoken exclusively to BBC World Service and defended Manchester United’s Angel Di Maria, stating the winger’s sending off against Arsenal was out of character. Di Maria received two quick-fire bookings in FA Cup defeat to Arsenal on Monday, the second for pulling the shirt of referee Michael Oliver. Asked if Di Maria showed such a temper in Spain Calderon says: “No he wasn’t like that, I was really surprised to know what he did. “He was a really good player with good behaviour here, never anything like this. Maybe he’s a bit nervous because up to now his change (to Manchester United) hasn’t been the right one. “I know him, he’s not a player who does things like that and I’m sure he will be regretting it.”
Burnley have signed Norwegian midfielder Fredrik Ulvestad on a three-year deal. Ulvestad was a free agent but had previously played at Aalesunds FK, scoring 14 goals in 106 appearances. He made his international debut for Norway in August.
Three French sports personalities are among 10 people killed in a helicopter crash in Argentina, the French presidential office confirms. Eight French nationals and their two Argentine pilots died when two helicopters collided in La Rioja province in the country’s north-west. Yachtswoman Florence Arthaud, Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine all died, BBC reports.
Tuesday 10 March 2015:
FC Porto v FC Basel 8:45 pm
Real Madrid v Schalke 8:45 pm
Wednesday 11 March 2015:
Chelsea v PSG 8:45 pm
Bayern Munich v Shakhtar Donetsk 8:45 pm
Saturday 18 April 2015:
Aston Villa v Liverpool/Blackburn 4 pm
Bradford/Reading v Arsenal 4 pm