Tottenham defender Ben Davies insists he never contemplated leaving in the January transfer window despite playing second fiddle to Danny Rose.
Rose’s brilliant form meant Davies made only three starts in Spurs’ first 22 Premier League matches but maintains he has never questioned his future at White Hart Lane.
“I was always sure I was going to be here,” Davies said.
“My contract here is secure and every club needs two players for every position. I didn’t really contemplate leaving.”
Argentina strike
All of the weekend matches in Argentina’s top three divisions were postponed following a players’ strike over delayed salary payments, BBC reported.
The players’ union said some clubs are facing a major financial crisis and have not paid them for five months.
Argentina’s troubled football association says negotiations have progressed and the season will resume this week.
A major corruption investigation last year triggered the current crisis as senior officials at the Argentine FA were implicated in a corruption scandal involving television broadcasting rights.
Ibrahimovic may face FA action
Former referee Dermot Galla-gher expects Zlatan Ibrahimovic to be in hot water over his elbow on Bournemouth defender Tyrone Mings in Saturday’s Premier League clash.
The FA is awaiting the report from referee Kevin Friend, due today, before deciding whether to take action against the Manchester United striker.
Gallagher said: “The pictures do Zlatan no favours whatsoever.
“That will definitely be one that the FA will look at, they’ll speak to the officials.”
The FA has been gathering all footage of Saturday’s match. If the officials confirm they did not see the elbowing, then the case will go to the review panel that decides on unseen incidents.
Conte wants new experiences
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte wants to live “different experiences” when his time at Stamford Bridge comes to an end.
Last weekend, the former Juventus and Italy boss was forced to reiterate his commitment to Chelsea amid rumours of a return to his homeland with Inter.
“In my mind, there is the will to find different experiences in different countries,” said Conte.
“I think it’s fantastic to find these experiences. When I was a footballer, I played only for two teams: Lecce and Juventus. But, honestly, in my career I wanted to play in different countries.”
It is the absence of wife Elisabetta and daughter Vittoria which likely ignited the rumour mill of Conte being unsettled.
Giovinco misses from the spot
Sebastian Giovinco failed to convert a penalty as Toronto FC rang in the new season the same way they finished the old, playing out a scoreless draw on the opening weekend of Major League Soccer (MLS).
Toronto fielded an identical line-up to the one that lost to the Seattle Sounders in December in a shootout at MLS Cup 2016.
But goals again proved hard to come by, with former Juventus forward Giovinco squandering a first-half chance to score from the spot after he was adjudged to have been fouled in the box by Salt Lake keeper Nick Rimando.
Giovinco has a habit of striking penalties to the right of the keeper and it looked as though Rimando knew that, as he got down smartly to make the save and redeem himself.
Barca believe they can oust PSG
Barcelona’s hopes of clawing back a 4-0 deficit to PSG in the Champions League may look like a lost cause to some but coach Luis Enrique says he has an “unbreakable faith” that the Spanish side can turn the tie around.
Barcelona’s 5-0 victory over Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday was their fourth straight win since that embarrassing last-16 first leg defeat in Paris last month.
Luis Enrique said: “I’ve naturally been thinking about the tie for a long time, it wasn’t normal that they beat us so easily but our objective is to show that we can turn it around.
“I have unbreakable faith that we can win the tie on March 15. We’re going to risk everything, we want to create an atmosphere in which the fans will help us even more than they normally do.”
New US policy on national anthem
The United States Soccer Federation has instituted a policy that requires players on a national team to “stand respectfully” during national anthems.
The policy was reportedly passed by the federation’s board of directors on February 9 but only came to light last weekend.
The policy comes after United States national player Megan Rapinoe knelt during the anthem on two occasions last year – once while representing the national team and the other time while playing for the Seattle Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League.