Football news

Mark Hughes has been confirmed as the new manager of QPR on a two-and-a-half year contract. The former Wales, Manchester City and Fulham manager replaces Neil Warnock.

“It’s a great feeling to be back in football and to be manager of QPR,” Hughes said.

“I’m fully aware of the challenge in the short and long term and I am genuinely excited about the ambition of the owners,” the 48-year-old added.

“Now the immediate priority is to consolidate our place in the Premier League, but beyond that, the future is very bright and fills me with great enthusiasm.”

Lazio’s Cana faces long lay-off

Lazio midfielder Lorik Cana will be sidelined for two months with a back injury.

The Albania international was forced off at half-time in Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Siena and tests conducted yesterday confirmed damage to the 28-year-old’s lumbar vertebrae.

The diagnosis means Cana will miss at least 10 Serie A games as well as next month’s Europa League tie against Atl. Madrid.

To add to Lazio’s woes, Italian midfielders Stefano Mauri and Christian Brocchi are also out injured. Mauri is sidelined with a thigh problem while Brocchi has yet to recover from a foot injury.

McCarthy rules out Fletcher exit

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has played down speculation linking striker Steven Fletcher with a January transfer, insisting there is “not a chance” the top scorer will be sold.

The Scottish international has reportedly attracted interest from Liverpool after scoring five times in his last six league games.

However McCarthy said Fletcher would remain a Wolves player and is expected to recover from an ankle knock in time for this weekend’s clash with Spurs.

“There is not a chance of Fletch leaving. If people call, I’d tell them no. He’s too valuable for us,” McCarthy said.

Pienaar has Spurs future – Redknapp

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has insisted that midfielder Steven Pienaar still has a future at the club despite making just five league appearances since joining last year.

Pienaar got a rare taste of action on Saturday after playing in Spurs’ 3-0 FA Cup win over Cheltenham.

Redknapp is adamant that Pienaar can still force his way into the first team despite limited opportunities since signing from Everton in January last year.

“Players like Pienaar and Kranjcar are good players,” Redknapp said.

“You saw on Saturday that they have quality and they have a big part to play between now and the end of the season.”

Parma hire new coach Donadoni

Roberto Donadoni has been named the new coach of Serie A side Parma after Franco Colomba was unceremoniously dismissed following a heavy defeat.

Donadoni, who coached Italy from 2006-2008, had been out of work for six months since being fired by Cagliari during pre-season, straight after a friendly victory.

Colomba paid for Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing at Inter, the third time this season his side had been heavily beaten by a leading contender, following 4-1 defeats against Milan and Juventus.

It was a sixth game in a row without victory, although they only lost two of those and their last success was a hugely impressive 2-0 defeat of high-flying Udinese on November 20.

Colomba became the 11th coach to lose his job in Italy’s Serie A already this season.

Miller gets Russia club coaching job

Veteran Scottish coach Alex Miller has been appointed to take over at Russian second division outfit Sibir Novosibirsk.

The 62-year-old, who played with Rangers from 1967-82, will take over from Dmitry Radyukin, who resigned after the end of the last season.

In 2008, Miller was appointed manager of Japanese side United Chiba at a time when they had just two points from 11 matches. He managed to save them from relegation.

In 2010 Miller took over at Swedish league side AIK Solna but he left after just five months at the helm.

Sawa hailed

Japan hailed women’s football captain Homare Sawa after she was named FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year.

Sawa was announced as the 2011 winner at the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala in Zurich on Monday.

The 33-year-old midfielder, who appeared in a traditional Japanese kimono at the awards ceremony, is the first Asian player to win the award.

“The women’s team gave us great hope and brightness at a time when Japan faced a series of hardships,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters: “It is encouraging news as the new year has just begun. I’m proud of her.”