Hamburg have confirmed the appointment of Bruno Labbadia for a second spell in charge of the club.

The Bundesliga s basement club have been without a head coach since the sacking of Joe Zinnbauer in March, with sporting director Peter Knabel taking caretaker charge in the meantime.

Labbadia a former Hamburg player  was previously dismissed by the club in 2010 after less than 10 months in the hot seat.

Former Mainz chief Thomas Tuchel had been heavily linked with the position in recent days, and Hamburg CEO Dietmar Beiersdorf confirmed talks had taken place.

Beiersdorf revealed, though, that discussions over a potential deal to bring Tuchel to the Imtech Arena had reached deadlock , prompting the club to turn to Labbadia, who last managed at Stuttgart fr…

Alessandro Nesta says a move to Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact was a logical choice after deciding to leave AC Milan.

Centre-back Nesta, 36, joined the Canadian side on a free transfer on Thursday, and explained he was eager to experience life in North America with his family.

I met with Joey (Saputo, club president) and Nick (De Santis, general manager), we talked about football and I liked their ideas, Nesta said at a press conference.

Then they came to visit me in Florida and now here I am; MLS seemed like the most logical choice.

I played in Europe for 20 years. I wanted something new and different for me and the family. I think Canada or the USA are the perfect places to raise children.

I have a lot of enthusiasm and desire to …

Unai Emery has reiterated Thiago Silva s importance to Paris Saint-Germain amid rumours of a move to Juventus.

The Brazilian defender joined PSG in 2012 and has since become the club s captain, but talk of a return to Serie A, where he previously played for AC Milan, has intensified.

Silva s contract is set to expire in 2018, and Juve chief executive Giuseppe Marotta last week hinted at an interest in signing him.

However, with the 32-year-old back in the Brazil squad after being frozen out under Dunga, Emery insists the centre-back is happy and remains a crucial player for PSG.

[Thiago Silva] has a lot of experience, he told a news conference. All the players respect him as do I.

I have talked a lot with him. He was called up by Brazil, and he…

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes Manuel Neuer and David de Gea are the best goalkeepers in the world and feels they are as good in their position as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are as outfield players.

Neuer was voted the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) World s Best Goalkeeper in 2013 and 2014, while De Gea was named the Premier League s top shot-stopper in both 2012-13 and 2014-15.

Neuer and De Gea are the best goalkeepers in the world, Ferguson was quoted as saying by Kicker.

And by quite some distance as well.

You have Messi and Ronaldo as outfield players and then Neuer and De Gea as the goalkeepers equivalent.

Ferguson signed De Gea from Atletico Madrid in 2011 when he was …

Former Tottenham coach Les Ferdinand was saddened by the news of Ryan Mason s retirement from football.

Hull City midfielder Mason suffered a fractured skull in an FA Cup match against Chelsea last January and confirmed on Tuesday that he has been advised by specialists not to return to playing.

The 26-year-old, who said he felt lucky to be alive after the incident, had hoped to resume his career but said in a statement he was left with no option but to retire due to the risks involved given the nature of my injury .

Former England and Spurs striker Ferdinand, who was a coach at White Hart Lane for six years before becoming QPR director of football in 2014, felt Mason had the potential to become an excellent player.

Always , .

— Tottenham Hotsp…

Eric Dier claims he has no regrets over his decision to join Tottenham rather than Manchester United, following reported interest from the Red Devils in recent seasons.

United were among a glut of clubs who attempted to sign Dier from Sporting Lisbon in 2014, with the versatile youngster electing to take up Tottenham s offer.

Jose Mourinho reportedly renewed United s interest in Dier in 2017, but the offer was rebuffed, and Dier claims to be perfectly content in north London.

There is a great spirit here, we get on very well on the field and off the field, Dier, who is excited about what Spurs can achieve under Mauricio Pochettino, told reporters.

I think there is fantastic chemistry. I think after the manager s first season here, it started really in t…

Tottenham s nightmarish week plunged new depths as Hugo Lloris was taken off on a stretcher with a serious arm injury after gifting away a goal in the third minute against Brighton and Hove Albion. 

The Spurs skipper was left in agony and received oxygen from medical staff following an awkward landing on his left arm in Saturday s Premier League match at Amex Stadium. 

His injury occurred after goalkeeper Lloris caught but then dropped a routine cross from Pascal Gross. 

He stumbled backwards and attempted to use his arm to cushion his fall, only for it to buckle under his weight. 

Lloris 

— David de Gea (@D_DeGea)

Neal Maupay nodded in the loose ball from point-blank range to give Brighton a 1-0 lead and compound Tottenham s mise…

Mohamed Salah will miss Saturday s Merseyside derby after limping out of Liverpool s Champions League victory over Manchester City on Wednesday.

The Egypt international continued his sensational campaign with the opening goal in Liverpool s 3-0 quarter-final first-leg win, but he was substituted seven minutes into the second half with a groin injury.

Jurgen Klopp told his pre-match media conference the Reds were trying everything to get the 25-year-old, who leads the Premier League scoring charts with 29 goals, fit to feature at Goodison Park.

However, he has not recovered in time to make Liverpool s matchday squad, placing his chances of making the second leg against City on Tuesday in doubt.

 Your team for today s derby…

— Liverpool FC …

Everton forward Richarlison has refused to rule out the possibility of leaving the club in the future, though he admits he feels happy where he is at the moment.

The 24-year-old Brazil international was reportedly the subject of an £85 million bod from Barcelona in January 2020 which the Toffees rejected, and the rumours about the interest from the Catalan giants still haven t gone away despite the financial struggles they are going through at the moment. Paris Saint-Germain are also believed to be interested as they contemplate the possibility of losing Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer next summer, and unlike with Barcelona, there should be no financial issues there.

Richarlison told Argentinian outlet that he is always careful when thinking about the future. He expr…

Pep Guardiola insists he has had no significant influence over Mikel Arteta s fledgling managerial career.

Arteta spent three and a half seasons working as one of Guardiola s assistants at Manchester City before leaving to take the top job at Arsenal in December 2019.

City travel to Emirates Stadium on Sunday looking to extend their record-breaking winning run of 17 matches in all competitions.

Thursday s 1-1 draw against Benfica in the Europa League means Arsenal have only won once in their past five games but Guardiola nevertheless expects a tough test from his former understudy, who he does not believe has been getting much luck of late.

What I see the last month or two months, every game Arsenal plays better than the opponent, he said.

Our…