Mourinho palms Barca off Luiz move

 

Barcelona's pursuit of a centre-back has hit the buffers after they were slapped down by the old enemy; Jose Mourinho.

The Chelsea manager has no interest in selling David Luiz to the Catalans, and, as exclusively revealed by Goal, the Blues have priced the Brazilian at £43 million in order to ward off interest.
 

Mourinho enjoyed many battles with Barca during his time in Spain with Real Madrid, and he will have taken great pleasure from telling them where to go once again.

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Football's biggest names land in Brazil ahead of Confederations Cup

 

With the World Cup under a year away, host nation Brazil stage the 2013 Confederations Cup with the rest of the world set to get a glimpse of what the country has to offer.

The hosts kick off proceedings on Saturday evening against Japan, with the likes of Oscar, David Luiz, Hulk and Neymar all expected to be in action.

And if that game alone does not boast enough big names, Spain have a star cast including Juan Mata, Fernando Torres and Andres Iniesta, Italy have Mario Balotelli and Andrea Pirlo, and Uruguay boast Edinson Cavani and, of course, Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. 

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Benitez bolsters CV as Chelsea celebrate Europa League glory

 

Chelsea secured their second European title in two seasons on Wednesday, seeing off Benfica in Amsterdam to win the Europa League final.

Fernando Torres opened the scoring for the Blues and although Oscar Cardozo equalised for Jorge Jesus’s men, Branislav Ivanovic’s late header won the title for Rafael Benitez’s men.

The win follows last season’s Champions League triumph and means Rafael Benitez has now become just the fourth manager to win the Europa League (or Uefa Cup in its previous incarnation) more than once.
 

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Rafa hits the jackpot as Luiz sends Chelsea into Europa League final

 

David Luiz was the toast of Stamford Bridge on Thursday night as he completed the scoring to help Chelsea beat Basel 3-1 in the Europa League semi-final second leg.

The Brazilian has developed something of a reputation for a stunning goal, and his latest - a thunderous curling strike into the top corner - was no exception.

The victory saw Chelsea secure a 5-2 aggregate victory, giving Rafa Benitez the chance to contest a Europa League final and finish his interim stay at Stamford Bridge with a piece of silverware. 

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FA Cup heartbreak: Aguero sorry for Luiz horror tackle

 

Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup saw Roberto Martinez’s men book a date with Wigan in the final, but left David Luiz seething after a challenge from Sergio Aguero.
The Argentine escaped a yellow card, and subsequent action from the Football Association, for his high two-footed tackle on the Brazilian.
However, he did not escape the attention of of Luiz who insisted he forgave his fellow South American for his “bad tackle”.
Aguero then took to Twitter to say sorry, revealing that he had apologised to the Chelsea man and explaining his moment of madness as “an impulse reaction that shouldn't have happened”.

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Benitez denies 'hand grenade' Di Canio an explosive start

 

Paolo Di Canio's "management by hand grenade" threatened to pay immediate dividends when Sunderland took the lead against Chelsea on Sunday but Rafa Benitez's team came from behind to deny the Italian a perfect start.

A Cesar Azpilicueta own goal gave the Black Cats the lead at Stamford Bridge but another own goal, this time by Matthew Kilgallon, was followed by Branislav Ivanovic's similarly fortunate winner.

The victory, coupled with Tottenham's draw at Everton, strengthened Chelsea's hopes of a top-four finish but left Di Canio looking ahead to a mouthwatering Tyne-Wear derby as Sunderland edge closer to the drop zone. 

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Humpty dumpty Benitez falls off the wall

 

Chelsea's 'interim' manager Rafa Benitez has finally lost his rag with the club's supporters' continual protests against his reign.

After the 2-0 FA Cup victory over Middlesbrough on Wednesday night, the Spaniard slammed fans for having an "agenda" against him while also hitting out at the board for giving him the temporary tag.

And now it seems, with the 52-year-old confirming he will leave at the end of the season, that the manager has firmly fallen from his post and the Blues' can do nothing to put him back together again... 

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England's Wembley win spoils Ronaldinho's parade

 

It was set up perfectly for Ronaldinho. In his unofficial 100th game for Brazil (he has made five appearances in games not recognised by Fifa), he was handed a chance from the penalty spot to get his name on the score-sheet at Wembley. A penalty against England? Well that's as good as a goal isn't it?

WRONG! Joe Hart superbly denied the buck-toothed magician with not one, but two, fine stops to prevent the 32-year-old marking his return to the Selecao (he hasn't played for them since November 2011) with a goal.

It got worse too. Luis Felipe Scolari replaced him at half-time and England went on to win the friendly with goals from Wayne Rooney and the evergreen Frank Lampard - perfectly marking the Football Association's first glamour friendly in their 150th anniversary. 

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