New Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Dieter Hecking says his one and only objective this season is to save the club from relegation.

Hecking replaced Andre Schubert on Thursday after he was sacked with the Foals lying 14th in the Bundesliga, just three points above the relegation zone.

He inherits a side who are through to the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal and the last 32 of the Europa League, but Hecking says neither of them are as important as staying in the Bundesliga next season.

He said: “The Bundesliga is the bread and butter and we need to do our jobs there as quickly as we can.”

Galliani in favour of matches abroad

Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has suggested that some Serie A matches be played abroad to try and showcase the league to an international audience.

“Even though Italian football is not the first, it is part of Italian excellence,” Galliani said.

“We need to let people know us. We need to play some league games abroad. The NBA also does this.”

A Chinese consortium is seeking to buy seven-times European champions Milan. The deal is set to be finalised on March 3.

Juande Ramos set to leave Malaga

Juande Ramos’s second spell as Malaga coach seemingly ended on Thursday night after the club’s owner wrote what appeared to be a farewell message to the former Real Madrid, Sevilla and Tottenham manager on Twitter.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani wrote: “Thank you very much Juande Ramos, appreciate your honesty and respect your decision. I wish you all success.”

Ramos came under pressure from supporters during the club’s King’s Cup 4-3 defeat to second-tier Cordoba this week, which meant they were knocked out 6-3 on aggregate.

Steaua trouble

One of European football’s iconic names could disappear from the game after Romania’s defence ministry won a court case against Steaua Bucharest.

The 1986 European Cup winners – their country’s most successful club with 26 league titles – have been illegally using the name which rightfully belongs to an army side, the court ruled.

The ministry had first resorted to law in 2011, saying the club, founded in 1947 as an army side, had used the Steaua brand illegally since 2004.

Steaua, under flamboyant owner Gici Becali, separated from the state sports club, CSA Steaua Bucharest, in 1998.

The ministry called the court ruling “well-deserved” and said in a statement it would sue Becali’s Steaua for €40 million for using the brand illegally for more than a decade.

Pulis confirms bid for Schneiderlin

West Bromwich Albion have made a bid for Manchester United’s French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, manager Tony Pulis said yesterday.

Pulis also confirmed that Albion intended to do other business in January in what promises to be a busy transfer window for the Premier League club.

“I don’t want to say any more other than confirm our bid (for Schneiderlin). We have to be fair to Manchester United and the player,” Pulis told reporters.

Reports said that West Brom tabled an offer in the region of £13m for Schneiderlin.

Blues cleared by Premier League

Chelsea did not break Premier League rules in failing to report allegations of historical sex abuse made by their former player Gary Johnson in 2014, a statement from English football’s top division said.

Johnson, 57, said earlier this month he had been abused by former Chelsea chief scout Eddie Heath in the 1970s, receiving £50,000 from the club in settlement in 2015.

Heath died before the allegations became public and Chelsea apologised to Johnson on Dec. 3 for the abuse he suffered.

“After careful consideration, the Board has determined that no Premier League rules were broken by the club not reporting this matter to them in 2014,” the Premier League said.

“The League has requested that Chelsea agrees to a full safeguarding audit from an independent safeguarding expert.”

Chelsea confirm Oscar’s China move

Brazilian international midfielder Oscar will join Chinese club Shanghai SIPG from Chelsea, the London club said on its website yesterday.

Although no financial details of the transfer were released, media reports suggested Shanghai paid €60 million to lure Oscar to the 16-team league.

“Chelsea Football Club and Shanghai SIPG have agreed terms for the permanent transfer of Oscar,” Chelsea said in a statement.

The 25-year-old Oscar, who scored 38 goals in 203 appearances for Chelsea, lifted the Premier League, League Cup and Europa League during his four-and-a-half-year spell at the club.

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