Anthony Stokes has called on all of Celtic’s attack-minded players to pull together and fill the void left by Gary Hooper.
Hooper scored 31 goals for the Scottish champions last season but has now sealed a move to Norwich City to leave a significant void in Celtic’s front line.
Stokes said: “I always try to score as many goals as possible. But we are all going to have to dig in and try to chip in. Over the last three or four years, we have done that.
“We will all try to do as much as possible. We’ve got enough players here and we just have to adapt to life without Gary now.”
Mourinho respects Arsene Wenger
Jose Mourinho has revealed his new-found respect for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
The Chelsea manager and the Frenchman endured a difficult relationship during Mourinho’s first stint at Stamford Bridge but it seems things have improved between the two.
“I started meeting him in UEFA, at the Euros, the World Cup, we had dinner and so on,” the Portuguese said yesterday.
“When you are not playing against each other, it is easier to know people. It is easy to speak about football, he’s a very nice guy.
“I respect him a lot and I will show my respect always.”
Schalke win Raul testimonial
Schalke ran riot against Qatari champions Al Sadd in a testimonial for former Royal Blues’ striker Raul.
The former Spanish striker played the first half for his current club before swapping shirts at half-time to give over 60,000 fans inside the Arena AufSchalke one final glimpse of him in a Schalke shirt, and he scored twice in a 9-0 victory for the Bundesliga side.
His first goal was set up by a delightful backheel from Julian Draxler.
“I owed that to him,” said Draxler to Sport1 television. “He has done so much for me.
“He could not have bid farewell without scoring a goal.”
CSKA Moscow warning on Honda
CSKA Moscow has reiterated their stance that they do not intend to sell midfielder Keisuke Honda to Milan unless the Serie A giants table a suitable offer.
The Japanese international’s contract becomes a free agent in January and has already agreed personal terms with the Rossoneri. However, the two clubs have yet to agree a deal to conclude an immediate transfer.
“Honda can talk to other clubs about his future, but for the moment he cannot leave unless there is a suitable offer,” CSKA president Yevgeni Giner said
“There are rumours of proposals that reach €1.5m-€2m, but this is not a solution that is useful for us.”
Schweinsteiger wins player award
Bastian Schweinsteiger has been voted the German football writers’ player of the year for 2013, beating Bayern Munich team-mates Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller into second and third place respectively.
The Germany international took 92 votes in a poll conducted by Kicker magazine among 527 sports reporters.
Ribery received 87 votes and Muller took 85 while former Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes was the overwhelming winner of the best coach award with 383 votes, ahead of Freiburg’s Christian Streich with 77.
“This title is also for the team,” said Schweinsteiger. “It surprises me a bit because there were times when a lot of critical things were reported about me.”
Paraguay promote youth coach
Paraguay, virtually out of the running for a place at the 2014 World Cup finals, have promoted youth coach Victor Genes to take charge of the team until the end of the qualifiers in October.
Genes replaces Uruguayan Gerardo Pelusso, who quit in June after a 2-1 defeat by Chile in Asuncion left Paraguay bottom of the South American group with eight points from 12 matches.
Genes, whose youth team played at the recent Under-20 World Cup in Turkey, is Paraguay’s third coach in the qualifying campaign for the finals in Brazil.
N’Diaye loaned to Eskisehirspor
Sunderland midfielder Alfred N’Diaye has joined Turkish side Eskisehirspor on a season-long loan, the Barclays Premier League club have confirmed.
The 23-year-old France youth international has made just 16 appearances for the Black Cats since his arrival from another Turkish club, Bur-saspor, in a £3.8 million deal in January.
N’Diaye’s move continues the changes being made by new manager Paolo Di Canio at the Stadium of Light.
The Italian has made nine new signings this summer and allowed six players to leave permanently while Danny Graham, and now N’Diaye, have moved out on loan.