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Rafael Benitez says he will be leaving Napoli following the final game of the Italian club's season on Sunday. Benitez look set to be named the new Real Madrid coach The Spaniard, 55, is favourite to take over at Real Madrid, who sacked coach Carlo Ancelotti on Monday. "I want to thank the chairman, club and fans because after two years my experience here in Napoli is coming to an end," said Benitez. "On Sunday, we have a very important match and I want to finish my two years with a victory." Napoli, in fourth, host third-placed Lazio in their last game of the Serie A season with a Champions League place at stake. Benitez's side are three points behind their rivals and a win would see them qualify for Europe's premier club competition on the basis of a better head-to-head record. Benitez refused to discuss his future and the prospect of taking charge at Real Madrid, where he had stints as a youth coach, Under-19 coach and as...

Jamie Vardy and Charlie Austin have been handed their first senior England call-ups for the upcoming games against Republic of Ireland and Slovenia. However, there is no place for in-form Tom Cleverley or Ashley Young in Roy Hodgson's squad for the friendly with Ireland in Dublin on July 7 and the Euro 2014 qualifier with Slovenia seven days later. Vardy, 28, is the big surprise, having scored four Premier League goals and contributed eight assists in 33 games for Leicester this season. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Hodgson said: "I saw Jamie Vardy at Fleetwood and players like him who like running in behind defenders are good for coaches. He's had a good season." Austin, though, had been expected to get the call after he contributed 17 goals in the league for relegated Queens Park Rangers. Hodgson said: "We've always had our eye on Charlie, but up to this point we haven't had the space in the squad. We'll give him...

Liverpool have cancelled Friday's planned meeting with forward Raheem Sterling over comments attributed to the player's agent. Aidy Ward reportedly said the England forward, 20, will not sign a new deal even if offered "£900,000 a week". "I don't care about the PR of the club," Ward told the Evening Standard.  Sterling was expected to tell the Reds he wants a move away from Anfield this summer and has already rejected a new £100,000-a-week contract. Liverpool believe there would be no point in having a meeting when the player's representative is quoted as saying a new deal would not be signed regardless of the figure. In the newspaper interview, Ward also used a four-letter expletive to describe ex-Red Jamie Carragher, who has criticised Sterling's actions. "He is definitely not signing. He's not signing for £700, £800, £900 thousand a week. He is   not signing," said Ward. "My job is to ...

Benfica clinched their second successive Portuguese Liga title with a goalless draw at Guimaraes as their only challengers Porto were also held. Benfica players celebrate winning the league Benfica  went into the penultimate round of games with a three-point lead - and that is where they stayed, meaning their superior head-to-head record against Porto guaranteed them the trophy. The crucial goal came in the event from Belenenses substitute Tiago Caeiro, who cancelled out Jackson Martinez's strike to earn his side a 1-1 draw and end Porto's hopes of overhauling the Eagles. Benfica chairman Luis Filipe Vieira told his club's official website: "We are all happy. All Benfica are happy and this title is dedicated to all of them." At the other end of the table, three of the four relegation places are now settled after Gil Vicente and Arouca followed Penafiel in succumbing to the drop. Penafiel were already down but took Gil Vicente with them than...

Glo Premier League ‘big boys,’ Kano Pillars and Enyimba International showed up on the road claiming all three points in their respective fixtures on Match Day 9 which saw leaders, Sunshine Stars grinding out a draw in Lafia. Sunshine Stars are now tied on points by Gabros FC and Wikki Tourists, 1-0 winners in their home games that brought their total tally to 17 points. Four home wins, two wins on the road, three draws and a total of 13 goals including two own goals summed up activities of Match Day 9 with the highly anticipated clash of the longest football rivalry in Nigeria between Shooting Stars and Rangers International ending 1-1 in Ibadan. Adamu Hassan scored Pillars' only goal in Umuahia Giwa FC recorded their second home draw and were pushed down to fifth place from second after they were held 0-0 by Taraba United. It will be the second game in four that joint top scorer, Ibrahim Shuaibu failed to find the back of the net. It was six-time champions, ...

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has told Gareth Bale's agent to "stay quiet" after he suggested the forward's team-mates did not pass to him enough. Jonathan Barnett claimed the 25-year-old Welshman is suffering because of a lack of help from other Real players.  "This is a world in which a lot of people talk and sometimes they talk too much," said Ancelotti. "Bale has never had problems with his team-mates and his team-mates have never had problems with Bale." Bale is the world's most expensive player after being signed in a £85.3m deal from Premier League side Tottenham in September 2013. The ex-Southampton trainee scored 24 goals in 46 games during his debut season, helping Madrid win the Champions League and Copa del Rey. But he has been jeered by some supporters this season and has faced heavy criticism from sections of the Spanish press. Bale, who has scored 15 goals in 44 matches this season, also came ...

Two time African champions, Enyimba FC of Aba has unveiled their bew logo to their fans. See the new logo after the cut ... Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you, the new badge of Enyimba Football Club #TheNewElephant pic.twitter.com/ive7YvlCyS — Enyimba FC (@EnyimbaFC) May 8, 2015 U like? 

Following the release of draws for the Federation Cup Round of 64 and subsequent dates for other stages of the competition, some fixtures of the Glo Premier League has been adjusted and dates announced for outstanding fixtures involving the teams that played on the continent. Salihu Abubakar, Chief Operating Officer of the League Management Company (LMC) announced the minor adjustments and explained that the adjustments are inevitable as the league dates have already been fixed before the Federation Cup draws were held.  “NFF programs always take precedence over other football programs and it is in deference to this code that the LMC has adjusted it’s league schedules”, added Abubakar. Postponed Match Day 3 fixtures involving Shooting Stars and Kano Pillars in Ibadan have been slated for Wednesday, May 6 while Dolphins and Warri Wolves will play on Thursday, May 7 in Port Harcourt.are still involved in CAF Confederations Cup and have arrears of three games in the lea...

Roma  climbed to second place in the Serie A table with a  2-0  home triumph over  Genoa  on Sunday afternoon. Seydou Doumbia put the hosts on their way in the 35th minute before Alessandro Florenzi doubled Roma's lead seconds from time to condemn Genoa to their 10th defeat of the season. The outcome at the Stadio Olimpico, Roma's second straight win, lifted the Giallorossi two points above city rivals Lazio. Lazio, however, have an opportunity to leapfrog Roma into second if they win at Atalanta later on Sunday. The top two teams in Serie A will qualify directly for next season's Champions League. Lazio  failed to reclaim second spot after being held to a 1-1 draw at  Atalanta . Giuseppe Biava put Atalanta ahead four minutes into the second half before Lazio's Marco Parolo equalised in the 77th minute. The visitors could not find the winner as Atalanta defended deeply to earn a valuable point in their battle t...

The goals rained down in torrents in the Glo Premier League in Sunday's Match Day 7. Twenty-five goals were scored which leaves match Day 7 tied with Match Day 2 as having the highest number of goals . Sunday's games were not all about goals as Heartland once again fell short on their home ground, the Dan Anyiam Stadium and this time in humiliating fashion to Sunshine Stars. It remains the biggest home defeat of the season, erasing their 3-1 win in Ilorin over Kwara United. Giwa FC are now top of the table again after Match Day 7 by a point. Sharks 2-2 FC Taraba It was a four-goal thriller in the early kickoff of the day in the Double Header in Port Harcourt. Sharks shared the points against a gutsy FC Taraba, who fought back twice to end the game 2-2. Thompson Stowe and Chiamaka Madu scored for Sharks while Mohammed Usman and Chinedu Ohanachom ensured the Jalingo club left the Garden City with something to cheer. Dolphins 2-0 Lobi Stars T...