German World Cup winners welcomed home by hundreds of thousands

Hundreds of thousands of jubilant Germans welcomed their triumphant national football team home in Berlin on Tuesday, waving flags and wearing the national colours as they basked in the nation’s fourth World Cup victory.
Landing at the capital’s Tegel airport, the captain Philipp Lahm led the team down the plane’s stairs holding above his head the golden trophy secured in Sunday’s final, with midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger close behind him wrapped in a German flag.
Nearly half a million revellers packed Berlin’s “fan mile”. a 1.3km stretch of road running from the west of the capital up to the iconic Brandenburg Gate, for a massive party. Many more lined the streets in the city centre along the team’s route.
Fans in Germany shirts, many with their faces painted in black, red and gold and some wearing wigs and bandanas in the national colours, had

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Brazil’s Neymar is out of World Cup after breaking vertebra

Brazil’s bid to win a sixth World Cup has suffered a devastating blow after Neymar was ruled out of the rest of the tournament after fracturing a bone in his back during the quarter-final victory against Colombia.
The Barcelona striker was taken off the pitch on a stretcher after taking a knee to the back from the Colombia defender Juan Zuniga late in the game.
He was taken to a private clinic in Fortaleza – “crying out in pain”, according to the Brazil manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari, – where an X-ray revealed

Wayne Rooney apologises for England’s ‘devastating’ World Cup exit

The 27-year-old, who scored his first-ever goal in a World Cup finals during England’s 2-1 defeat to Uruguay, posted the message after Costa Rica’s surprise 1-0 win over Italy confirmed their exit.

The former Germany captain, Michael Ballack, has come out in support of Rooney, saying that suggestions that he should be dropped before the tournament were “crazy”.

“For me the only player who looked like making a difference for England was Rooney. He is the only one who can hurt teams, and

Louis van Gaal gives United ABC of targets before going Dutch

Louis van Gaal is adamant that he can juggle two jobs at once despite the distraction that his impending appointment as Manchester United manager could have on Holland's World Cup campaign. The Dutchman says he "can manage the situation" and has already handed the club a list of transfer targets to work on while he focuses on his national team duties.
United are taking instructions from the Netherlands about when they should make an official proclamation that they have appointed Van Gaal as David Moyes' permanent successor.
The club have agreed to delay the announcement until there is a rest day for the national team, which means Sunday is the earliest United could finally confirm his appointment. If not Sunday, then it could be Monday as that is also a rest day for the Holland squad before they fly to Portugal to continue their World Cup preparations.
Asked how important it is that his concentration is solely on Holland, Van Gaal said: "I have invested a lot of time in this, so you can imagine how very important [the World Cup] is for me and the players. I've been in football for 40 years. In three months

Tearful Ashley Cole unsure of Chelsea future after Norwich draw

Ashley Cole broke down in tears as he, Frank Lampard and John Terry saluted the arena during the Chelsea players' end-of-season lap of appreciation, and José Mourinho confirmed the club intend to take stock over the next few weeks before determining whether the experienced trio are to prolong their careers at Stamford Bridge.
Talks have been continuing with the representatives of the England men, who have 1,609 appearances for Chelsea between them but are out of contract on 1 July, over new one-year deals. Yet while Terry and Lampard are expected to stay, albeit on reduced terms, Cole's future appears less certain, with the 33-year-old having started only 14 Premier League games this season after losing his place to César Azpilicueta. There is interest, too, in

Manchester United's new manager will make final decision on transfers

Manchester United will give their new permanent manager the final decision on transfers, which means the club could face another traumatic summer in the market if their first choice, Louis van Gaal, is given the role.
The 62-year-old is hopeful that a deal to make him David Moyes' successor will be sealed this week, with the Holland coach keen to do so before starting his World Cup preparations on 7 May.
United are intent on avoiding a repeat of last year when Moyes and Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, oversaw a disastrous window during which the pursuit of Cesc Fábregas, Leighton Baines, Ander Herrera and Fábio Coentrão ended in failure. Marouane Fellaini arrived from Everton on the closing day for £27.5m, £3.5m more than his buyout clause.
United are aiming for an overhaul of the squad. Yet even
 if Van Gaal was appointed in the next few days it would leave him almost no time to finalise targets before starting his World Cup buildup. As with most managers, his preference is to meet a player in person.

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Christian Benteke ruled out of World Cup after rupturing achilles

Aston Villa's Christian Benteke has been ruled out for the rest of the season, including this summer's World Cup, after suffering a ruptured achilles.
The Belgium striker suffered the injury during training on Thursday.
The club confirmed in a statement on Thursday evening that Benteke would undergo surgery would "be out for a minimum of

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