Speaking on BT Sport, Rafael Benitez said: “It’s a pity because we qualified [for the knockout stages of the Champions League] without losing any games and scoring a lot of goals. “It’s difficult to explain. You could see Camacho, Del Bosque, Pellegrini, Mourinho, Ancelotti so it’s not easy to be there manager there. He added: “My assistant Fabio Pecchia said there is a permanent presence of the chairman. He’s around, he’s talking with players, he’s talking with the Press. “He’s always around, it’s not easy for a manager, especially coming from England, to see the chairman talking with players or talking with the Press every single day.”

FIFA’s Ethics Committee has recommended life bans from football for former Conmebol vice-presidents Luis Bedoya and Sergio Jadue. The pair each pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy in December, having been indicted as part of the long-running criminal investigation into corruption with FIFA.

The former Nigeria Women captain, Florence Omagbemi has been named the interim head coach of the Super Falcons by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The choice of the former Super Falcons captain and defender was approved by the NFF executive board on Tuesday following the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee.  The Falcons have been without a substantive coach since the team failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics last year. Erstwhile acting coach Christopher Danjuma was sacked after he failed to win a medal at the All African Games in Brazaville in September 2015. Omagbemi will be in charge of the reigning African champions until the appointment of a yet to be named foreign coach.

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Remember him? Former Real Madrid and Spain striker Fernando Morientes’ first managerial role has not ended well after being sacked as Fuenlabrada boss, report AS. Having been handed a two-year contract in June, the club were expecting promotion but Morientes leaves them in 11th place in the Spanish third tier.

Lionel Messi’s second goal against Sporting Gijon on Wednesday was his 439th for Barcelona in all competitions and the 10,000th Barcelona have scored in their history. That means the little Argentine has scored just under five percent of all the goals the Spanish champions have registered since 1899.  Remember that Messi’s first goal in this game was his 300th La Liga goal making him the first player to score as much goals in the Spanish elite division.

Roberto Baggio (soccer) – Former FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or winner, a striker who played for AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan and others, as well as Italy, born 1967.

Thomas Bjorn (golf) – First Dane to play in Ryder Cup, born 1971.

Claude Makelele (soccer) – Former Chelsea and France midfielder, born 1973.

Gary Neville (soccer) – Former Manchester United and England defender, now Valencia manager and coach with England, born 1975.

Keith Gillespie (soccer) – Former Newcastle winger, born 1975.

Jermaine Jenas (soccer) – Former Nottingham Forest, QPR and England midfielder, currently working as a pundit with the BBC, born 1983.

Anton Ferdinand (soccer) – Former West Ham, Sunderland and QPR defender, now at Reading, born 1985.

Kenya international Michael Olunga, who asked Arsenal to sign him last year, has moved to Swedish side Djurgardens from Kenya’s Gor Mahia. The 21-year-old published a video last August asking Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to sign him. Instead he has signed a four-year deal with Djurgardens after a month’s trial. “He’s very ambitious and purposeful, he trains hard and always wants to learn and take the next step,” the club’s sporting director Bosse Andersson said. “The development potential is huge so with the peace and quiet of our Djurgården environment he can develop into a striker able to play in the biggest leagues in Europe. “That’s Michael’s own ambitions and he has the characteristics required for it.” Olunga, whose nickname is The Engineer due to his university studies as well as his football talents, admits he can be a slow starter. “In the beginning I have to get going, but once I get started I tend to get on a roll with my scoring,” he told the club’s website. “So far I have only played friendlies but it feels like a good level. “Everything is very well organized and the quality of the training camp has been very good. It feels like it’s a good springboard to the big European leagues.”

Nike has terminated its relationship with Manny Pacquiao after the six-weight world champion described homosexuals as “worse than animals”. The 37-year-old, who is running for a senate seat in his native Phillipines, later apologised for his comments. “We find Manny Pacquiao’s comments abhorrent,” said a Nike statement. “Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community.” The sportswear company added: “We no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao.” Pacquiao’s original remark was made in a television interview and he initially appeared unrepentant, writing on Instagram that he was “just telling the truth of what the Bible says”. However, he later wrote on Facebook he was “not condemning LGBT”, while still voicing his opposition for gay marriage. Pacquiao, whose last fight was a defeat by Floyd Mayweather in May, is due to fight American Timothy Bradley Jr in Las Vegas in April.

Lionel Messi became the first player to reach 300 La Liga goals as he scored twice in Barcelona’s victory over Sporting Gijon. Messi opened the scoring from just outside the box for goal number 300 but Carlos Castro levelled moments later. Messi added his second from a pass by Luis Suarez, who then had a penalty saved before curling home a third goal.

Former Golden Eaglets coach, Emmanuel Amuneke has been appointed as the new coach of the Nigerian U20 National team, the Flying Eagles. His appointment was confirmed by the Nigerian Football Federation in a communiqué at the end of its executive Board meeting on Tuesday. His appointment could be seen as a deserved promotion after he successfully guided the Golden Eaglets to defend their title at the 2015 FIFA U17 world in Chile. Success in Chile earned him a nomination for the African Coach of the year award, which he lost to Ivory Coast’s Herve Renard. His first task in charge of the Flying Eagles would be to ensure that the Flying Eagles Qualifier for the 2017 African youth Championship. Amuneke was named African Footballer of the Year in 1994.  He will be assisted by Kabiru Baleria and Emeka Amadi as assistant coach and goalkeeper trainer respectively. The Flying Eagles of Nigeria will face the winner of the qualifying tie between Burundi/ DR Congo in the second round of qualification for the competition.  Nigeria is yet to win the world cup in this category. The lads coached by Tunde Disu and Samson Siasia got the second positions in 1989 (in Saudi Arabia) and 2005 (in Holland) respectively. We wish Coach Amuneke and his new team the best of luck.

Germany’s World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer has been warned and fined by FIFA’s ethics committee. He had earlier been provisionally banned for “failing to cooperate” with its inquiry into the bidding processes for 2018 and 2022 World Cups, won by Russia and Qatar respectively. Beckenbauer, 70, was one of 22 men who voted to decide the tournament hosts. FIFA says he did not cooperate during an in-person interview and in response to written questions. Beckenbauer, who subsequently demonstrated a willingness to cooperate according to FIFA, was fined 7,000 Swiss Francs.

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Wayne Rooney has been left out of the Manchester United squad for Thursday night’s Europa League match against FC Midtjylland in Denmark. The England captain stayed behind as his team-mates made the trip and that means Anthony Martial is likely to start up front with Will Keane offering cover off the bench. Matteo Darmian is also not involved, as expected, after dislocating his shoulder during the 2-1 defeat against Sunderland at the weekend.

Manchester United squad to face FC Midtjylland:

De Gea, Romero, Love, McNair, Smalling, Blind, Poole, Riley, Carrick, Herrera, Schneiderlin, Lingard, Pereira, Weir, Mata, Memphis, Martial, Keane.

A Russian footballer taunted Turkish fans by pulling off his shirt to reveal a picture of President Putin after a match in Istanbul. Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Dmitri Tarasov’s vest showed Mr Putin in a navy cap along with the words “the most polite president”. The politically-charged Europa League match was the biggest sporting encounter between the nations since Turkey shot down a Russian jet in November. Turkish side Fenerbahce won 2-0. Lokomotiv Moscow are now likely to face punishment because European football’s governing body Uefa does not allow political statements during matches.

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Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo walked out of a news conference on Tuesday after being questioned about his record in away matches this season. Ronaldo, 31, has scored 32 goals this season but has not netted away from the Bernabeu since 29 November. “Who else has scored more goals away from home than me since I arrived in Spain?” said Ronaldo, the all-time top scorer in the Champions League. “Name one player who has scored more than me. No answer? OK. Thank you.” Ronaldo was speaking at a news conference before the first leg of Real’s Champions League last-16 tie against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday. In December, the Portuguese became the first player to score 10 goals in the competition’s group stage. Eleven of his goals this season have come away from home, but he has not scored in his past four away games. “It’s understandable that people have doubts,” said Ronaldo. “It’s like with a son when you give him everything and then when you take it away, he cries. “I hope that I can keep this ‘bad form’ up until the season’s end.”

Tuesday 16 February, 2016:

Benfica 1 – 0 Zenith

Paris St. Germain 2 – 1 Chelsea

Serena Williams has withdrawn from her second consecutive tournament, after announcing she will miss next week’s Qatar Open because of the flu. The number one-ranked Williams pulled out of this week’s Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday, also citing illness. “I have come down with the flu and do not feel 100% and I need to take this time to recover,” said the American. Williams last played in the Australian Open final, losing to Angelique Kerber.

Former Ivory Coast boss Herve Renard has been appointed as the new coach of Morocco to replace Badou Zaki. Renard led Ivory Coast to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2015, three years after winning it with Zambia. After his Nations Cup victory with the Elephants Renard left to take over at French club Lille in May but was sacked in November. Zaki left as coach of the Atlas Lions by mutual consent on 10 February. Renard’s first competitive games with Morocco will be home and away 2017 Nations Cup qualifiers against Cape Verde at the end of March. The two sides are currently top of Group F having won both their matches so far, Libya and Sao Tome are the other teams in the pool. The Atlas Lions have also progressed to the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

Tuesday 16 February, 2016:

Benfica vs Zenit  08:45pm

Paris St Germain vs Chelsea 08:45pm

Wednesday 17 February, 2016:

KAA Gent vs VfL Wolfsburg 08:45pm

Roma vs Real Madrid 08:45pm