Michael Frontzeck has stepped down as coach of Hanover with immediate effect, just eight months after taking charge of the Lower Saxony club.
The 51-year-old has tendered his resignation with the club spending the winter break inside the bottom two of the league.
“After plenty of consideration and lots of talks, I have come to the conclusion that I will end my work at Hanover,” said Front-zeck, who guided the club to safety after taking over in April.
“Unity and trust are necessities for successful work, particularly in our situation. I no longer felt that I had these at Hanover.”
Beckham reveals Ibra MLS hope
David Beckham admits he would love the chance to one day sign “born winner” Zlatan Ibrahimovic to his proposed Major League Soccer franchise.
Former England captain Beckham played alongside Ibrahimovic at French champions PSG before announcing his retirement in 2013.
Beckham said: “We have received permission to build an arena and it will take three years... maybe two, at best.
“If Ibrahimovic is still active, then I want to buy him right away. He is a physically magnificent specimen, so it’s entirely possible.
“Who does not want a man who is prepared to kill to win?”
Sheikh Salman is bookies’ favourite
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa from Bahrain was made the favourite to become FIFA’s new president in February’s election by bookmaker William Hill yesterday following the eight-year ban on UEFA president Michel Platini.
Sheikh Salman, the president of the Asian Football Confederation, is 6-5, ahead of second favourite Prince Ali bin al-Hussein from Jordan at 13-8, with UEFA’s general secretary Gianni Infantino 5-2.
Jerome Champagne was a 20-1 outsider with South African Tokyo Sexwale at 25-1.
Messi ‘abused’ at Tokyo airport
River Plate president Rodolfo D’Onofrio has condemned the actions of supporters who allegedly abused Barcelona forward Lionel Messi at the airport following Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup final in Japan.
According to media reports, Messi was spat at and insulted by some River fans as the Barcelona squad prepared to fly home following their 3-0 victory over the Argentinian side.
River president D’Onofrio said: “I’ve just read that Messi had problems in the airport with some fan. Messi is the best Argentinian player... he’s a gentleman.
“So I applaud him. You need to know how to lose and when to recognise the other team were better.”
Glik signs new Torino contract
Torino FC captain Kamil Glik has committed his future to the Italian club by signing a new contract till June 2020, the Serie A side said.
The Polish defender was recently linked with a number of Bundesliga and Premier League sides, including Manchester United. His previous contract was due to expire in 2017.
Glik, 27, joined Torino from Palermo in 2011 and went on to become captain of the Turin side from the 2013-2014 season.
With seven goals last season, he was Serie A’s top scoring defender, along with Fiorentina’s Gonzalo Rodriguez.
Bad challenge
Bournemouth’s Adam Smith has hit out at James McClean after claiming the West Brom man could have broken his leg. The Baggies midfielder was sent off in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to the Cherries after a wild swipe at Smith.
Smith, who scored Bourne-mouth’s first goal, said: “Personally I thought it was a very dangerous challenge.
“I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was sprinting towards me so I knocked the ball and jumped.
“I was lucky I did because if my leg was standing I could have been hurt. I don’t know but he could have done a lot of damage.”
Rummenigge knew Pep was leaving
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admits he had known for a fortnight that Pep Guardiola was going to leave the Bavarians next summer.
Guardiola’s departure at the end of his contract in June was confirmed by the Bundesliga club on Sunday, although the an-nouncement hardly came as a surprise with speculation rife that the Spaniard would be leaving.
And Rummenigge has revealed he knew what was coming weeks ago, telling Germany’s Bild newspaper yesterday: “He came over to me two weeks ago at our Christmas party and told me that he was looking for a new challenge.
“He was almost apologetic. I’m not disappointed in him. You could read between the lines and that was something that we should have interpreted.
“We did take note of it, but we just wanted to give him time to make up his mind in peace.”