American goalkeeper Brad Friedel signed a three-year contract with English club Aston Villa on Saturday. The 37-year-old left Blackburn for an undisclosed fee, one day after Blackburn signed former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson from Tottenham. Friedel, who has made 82 appearances for the United States, has previously played for the Columbus Crew, Galatasaray and Brondby before moving to England... -- read full article
Willi Lemke, a United Nations' special representative for sports and development, on Saturday pledged his full support to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. -- read full article
Wayne Rooney showed he has heeded the advice of Brazilian great Pele by rounding off Manchester United's tour of South Africa with a dazzling performance in a 4-0 win against Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. -- read full article
Udinese forward Antonio Di Natale said on Saturday he has put June's costly Euro 2008 penalty miss against Spain well and truly behind him. -- read full article
David Beckham, who sparked a wave of "Beckhamania" one year ago when he joined the Los Angeles Galaxy, has seen the fascination slow and Major League Soccer grow due in part to his arrival. -- read full article
Blackburn Rovers on Friday signed Tottenham's England goalkeeper Paul Robinson for 3.5 million pounds (4.44 million euros), the Lancashire club announced. -- read full article
Blackburn has given Aston Villa permission to open discussions with former United States goalkeeper Brad Friedel about a transfer. The teams had already settled upon a transfer fee for the 37-year-old Friedel, who had extended his contract with Blackburn through to 2010 in February. The Rovers wanted to sign a replacement before selling Friedel and acquired England's Paul Robinson from Tottenham in... -- read full article
Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi said he was hoping to step into Claude Makelele's shoes by making the holding role his own next season. -- read full article
Star midfielder Michael Ballack said he had nothing left to prove in the latter part of his career and backed Chelsea's 30-somethings to have the last laugh over Manchester United's Alex Ferguson. -- read full article
Scott Carson has vowed to erase bitter memories of the mistake that stopped England reaching Euro 2008 by regaining his position as Fabio Capello's first choice goalkeeper. -- read full article
Sunderland midfielder Dwight Yorke is likely to miss the rest of the Premier League club's pre-season programme after suffering a suspected fractured cheekbone. -- read full article
