PUYOL DECLARED FULLY FIT, SET TO EXTEND BARCELONA CONTRACT.

Club captain of FC Barcelona and Spanish center back, Carles Puyol was yesterday given a clean bill of health by the Medical staff of the Catalan Club. You will recall that the player has had series of recurring knee troubles over the past one year and had to undergo surgery on the 12th of May to correct an osteochondral injury in his right knee. The surgical arthroscopic process was performed on the captain in order to clean out the his knee joint.  This amongst other things resulted in his inability to join the all conquering Spanish side at the just concluded Euro 2012 competition.

FC Barcelona Captain, Carles Puyol.

Puyol joined training last week and he completed a couple of sessions with the group and having been declared fully fit, he is looking forward to playing again. In a recent press conference, he said "“I feel fine, better every day. I’ve trained a lot. It has been a tough summer but it has given fruit and I’m delighted to have been declared fit. Now I’ll try to give it all I’ve got … I have to get my fitness back and I hope my knee responds well”.

Speaking on his contract with the club which ends this year, he added “I have always felt appreciated by the club, the fans, my team-mates, and the manager” he explained. “I was talking to Zubizarreta the other day and the issue doesn’t look too complicated. There won’t be any problems, things are on track … I’m just looking forward to playing again. If the Club wants me to stay, I’ll stay.”

However, the club will be without the trio of Marc Muniesa, Thiago and Isaac Cuenca who are all injured. Muniesa needing at least six months to fully recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was operated upon earlier today at the club's medical facility.

FC BARCELONA ACCEPT PROPOSAL TO PLAY CATALAN SUPER CUP ON SEPTEMBER 26.

FC Barcelona has accepted the proposal put forth by the Catalan Football Federation to play the Catalan Super Cup on September 26. The Catalan Football Federation proposed a single matchday for both the Catalan Super Cup and the Catalan Cup. The President of the Federation, Andreu Subies, explained this Monday that the four clubs involved in the competition have 48 hours to accept or decline the proposed date.

A Barcelona Player And Espanyol Player slug It Out In a 2011 Catalunyia Supercup Match.

This new date is coming on the heels of an earlier cancellation of the tournament after FC Barcelona communicated that Barça B would represent the Club in the Catalan Super Cup. Josep Maria Bartomeu, the Club Vice-President responsible for the football area had explained: “we made the decision in view of the full schedule of games which our first team have to fill, together with the unavailability of the international players and especially bearing in mind what happened to Marc Muniesa we were worried about the risk of injuries. We decided to announce this well in advance, to avoid any possible disappointment for the fans”.

This however did not go down well with the organisers of the competion who claimed the decision by the club was an affront to the competition and to the whole Catalonia region hence the decision to come to a compromise on an agreeable date for the teams concerned.

FC Barcelona also issued out a communique in which they expressed amongst so many points that.

The Club regrets that institutions like the Catalan Football Federation and the Secretary General of Sport want to interfere in the decisions of team managers on what the best available FC Barcelona team is for the Catalan Super Cup.

RIO FERDINAND CHARGED BY FA OVER ALLEGED RACIST TWEET.

It's a tale of two former club and country captains caught at the wrong end of the law one after the other. Last week, it was John Terry's racial abuse case against Anton Ferdinand, now Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand has been charged by the English FA with improper conduct over comments he made on Twitter. It is alleged that the player acted in a way which was improper and/or bought the game into disrepute by making comments which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race.

Rio Ferdinand.

The alleged misconduct was  in the aftermath of the John Terry trial when Ferdinand had responded to a comment on Twitter which described Cole, 31, as a "choc ice", after the latter appeared in court as a defence witness for Chelsea team-mate Terry, in the racial abuse case involving Rio's brother, Anton.

Although, the term "choc ice" could be construed as a reference to a person being black on the outside and white on the inside. But Rio was quoted on tweeter as saying that what he wrote was a type of slang/term used by many for someone who is being fake. The embattled Manchester United defender has until the 2nd of August to respond to the allegation.

FRENCH FOOTBALL FEDERATION BANS SAMIR NASRI AND JEREMY MENEZ FOR INDISCIPLINE.

Following the conclusion of investigation into the 2012 Euro competition disciplinary incident involving some players of the French National team. The French Football Federation (FFF) has banned the duo of Samir Nasri and Jeremy Menez for three and one games respectively.

Nasri Clutching His Ankle In The Game Against Sweden At The 2012 Euro Competition.

The incident occured after the Les Bleus lost to Spain in the semi finals. While Nasri blasted journalists at the mixed zone, Menez clashed with center referee Nicola Rizzoli together with French goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris. But the duo of  Yann M'Vila and Hatem Ben Arfa who disrespected coach Laurent Blanc in the games against Spain and Sweden received caution against future occurence.

Lawyer Carlos Alberto Brusa who represented Menez, said: "He (Menez) regrets what happened and wants to put this difficult time behind him while blaming it on youthful error. He is not there, I am there to represent him and pass on his message.

Both players will now miss the first game for new coach Didier Deschamps, an international friendly against Uruguay on August 15.

JOSE MOURINHO HONOURED IN LISBON BY PORTUGUESE SPORTS JOURNALISTS.

Ahead of Real Madrid's second pre-season match against Benfica in Lisbon, the "Special One" received the "Prestigio Fernando Soromenho" award, which is the highest distinction awarded by the Association of Sports Journalists of Portugal (CNID). The event took place at 2:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. local time) at the Pestana Palace Hotel in Lisbon.

The match with Benfica is the prestigious annual Eusebio cup, dedicated to the Portuguese legendary striker Eusebio of Mozambiquan origin who presents the cup to the winning team. Real Madrid is the first Spanish team to be invited for this competition.



Jose Mourinho.



An elated Eusebio who won 11 Portuguese league titles, the Ballon d'Or and two Golden Boot awards. Nicknamed the Black Pear during his playing days at Benfica and considered by FIFA to be one of the best European players of the 20th Century was earlier asked in an interview was asked, "How he will feel when Real Madrid and Benfica face each other on 27 July in the trophy that carries his name?"

His response was, "I am deeply satisfied that Real Madrid, the best club in Spain, will travel to Lisbon to play for a trophy named after me. I am honoured and I’m happy for Benfica supporters because they’ll get a chance to see the best team in the world in action at their stadium. I think it will be packed. It will be a great party for Benfica, Lisbon and, especially, for me. I wish to thank Benfica for the job they’ve done coming up with such a great match."

As at the time of compiling this report, the two teams were playing a two all draw.

AFTERMATH OF ENYIMBA FC FEDERATION CUP OUSTER, COACH EGUAVOEN SUSPENDED

Following Enyimba's bid for a fourth consecutive final appearance in the Federation Cup ending after a surprise 2-0 loss to Prime FC in the quarter-final game played in Ibadan on Monday. The People's Elephant have announced the suspension of their coach, Austin Eguavoen for absence from duty and poor performance. The Club had earlier hinted that players and technical crew members of Enyimba are to face disciplinary sanctions following their disastrous Federation Cup campaign.



Enyimba Players And Technical Crew In The Game Against Prime FC.



In a statement by club chairman Felix Anyansi-Agwu, he said the former Super Eagles coach has displayed unprofessional attitude since the team was eliminated from the Federation Cup in Ibadan by giant killers Prime FC of Osogbo. He further confirmed that Eguavoen has been placed on an indefinite suspension with immediate effect claiming a breach of contractual agreement by his refusal to work. However, the suspension is pending the conclusion of  investigation into his anti-club activities.

The Aba Elephants remains the only Nigerian clubside to have won the Sekou Tore cup, now the Orange CAF champions league. A feat which they performed in 2003 with a repeat in 2004 to make them the first team in Africa to win the competition on a back to back basis since it was changed to the CAF champions league. However, the club has been finding it difficult to rise to the same level they were nine years ago since Dr Orji Uzor Kalu left office as he was a major motivator of the team. The club currently lies third on the Nigerian Premier League table behind Enugu Rangers and Kano Pillars.

RUSSIAN FOOTBALL UNION CONFIRMS FABIO CAPELLO AS NATIONAL TEAM COACH.

Less than five months after quitting as coach of the English national team, Fabio Capello has once again taken up another job as coach of the Russian National team after signing a two year contract with the Russian Football Union (RFU) on thursday.

Initially, there was a disagreement in the terms of the contract leading to a delay in sealing the deal but all that seems sorted now with local media reporting the 66 year old manager might earn up to 10 million Euros per annum depending on his performance. His Immediate task will be to rebuild the Russian national team that faltered in the just concluded Euro competition after an impressive start with the hope of taking them to the World Cup finals in Rio de Janeiro come 2014.



Fabio Capello.

The Italian had previously indicated that the England role would be his last in management but things came to an abrupt halt when Capello found himself at odds with the FA over John Terry and he had this to say at his unveiling.

"After I had finished working in England, I was angry, and I wanted to continue working. I really want to achieve your goals and fight for the Cup in Brazil."

"It does not really matter with whom we compete. I now have a new beginning in a coaching career. I'll try to get my philosophy to match that which has brought the Russian national team success, and we will go to the World Cup in Brazil."

Nikita Simonyan, president of the RFU in his own remark promised that the organisation will not interfere with the coach on on-field affairs. "If he decides to make (Andrey) Arshavin captain, so be it."

Capello who announced his intention to live in Moscow will be assisted by Christian Panucci and Italo Galbiati as he continues to build an enviable track record of excellence in his coaching career. Real Madrid, A.C Milan, A.S Roma and  England are some of the teams he has coached previously.