Al Ittihad on the comeback trail

FIFA.com takes a look Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad - the only club to twice win the AFC Champions League - as the Jeddah-based side seek to reclaim their former glory on the continent.

Mancini eyes Premier League after Europa exit

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini says that although his side deserved their UEFA Europa League exit at the hands of Sporting Lisbon, they are still capable of winning their maiden Premier League title.

Campbell praises Arsenal form

Former Arsenal captain Sol Campbell has praised his old club for their recent improved performances and warned of the need for "hard work" if success is to be achieved at the Emirates Stadium.

Hard-won redemption for Korea DPR

Korea DPR put aside their early exit from Brazil 2014 qualifying to claim the AFC Challenge Cup. FIFA.com reviews all the action from Asia’s second-tier tournament which was also marked by the emergence of Palestine and the Philippines.

Formula1blog.com Podcast #255- Australian GP review

Join Jeff, Mark and me as we review the first race of the 2o12 season…the AUstralian Grand Prix review. We cover all the teams as they finished (yes, every team…not just the top 4 or 5) and we offer our coveted award: Pass of the race Donkey of the race Drive of the race Tell

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Campbell praises Arsenal for revival

Former Arsenal captain Sol Campbell has praised his old club for their recent improved performances and warned of the need for "hard work" if success is to be achieved at the Emirates Stadium.

African connection lifts Thai underdogs

Buriram United made headlines on the opening AFC Champions League matchday with a stunning win against Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol, and the Thai club's African connection is playing a key role in their success.

Mazzarri: Napoli must turn the page

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri has said that his side put their UEFA Champions League exit behind them if they are go on and achieve success in Serie A and the Coppa Italia.

Pakistan seamers dent top order

Dodgy shot selection was the main cause for Sri Lanka conceding the third CB Series final and their opening match of the Asia Cup. Against a new opponent today, their familiar problems persisted

Pele to attend meeting of President Rousseff and FIFA President Blatter

Brazil 2014 Ambassador Pele has accepted the invitation of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff and FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter to attend their meeting at the Palácio do Planalto in Brasilia.

Gerrard hat-trick edges Reds past rivals Everton

Steven Gerrard claimed a hat-trick as Liverpool put an end to their losing streak in the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 victory at home to rivals Everton in the 217th Merseyside derby.

Gerrard treble edges Reds past Everton

Steven Gerrard claimed a hat-trick as Liverpool put an end to their losing streak in the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 victory at home to rivals Everton in the 217th Merseyside derby.

Bayern thrash Basel to reach quarters

Mario Gomez scored four times and Arjen Robben grabbed a brace as Bayern Munich booked their place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with an emphatic 7-0 victory at home to FC Basel.

F1B Staff Picks- Australian GP

The Marussias and HRTs of the world have taken over the asylum! With one race down and nineteen to go, Victoria, who finished 6th in last season’s F1B Staff Picks World Championship, is starting her 2012 campaign strong with 17 points from 27 available, having guessed the top two spots correctly, as well as Alonso

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Osvaldo boosts Roma's European hopes

Roma gave their outside hopes of a top-three finish in Serie A a shot in the arm tonight with a 1-0 win against Genoa thanks to an early strike from Pablo Daniel Osvaldo.

Federer & Roddick On Collision Course

World No. 3 Roger Federer has been dealt an earlier-than-expected test at the Sony Ericsson Open, facing a potential third-round clash with former champion and American favorite Andy Roddick.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Vermaelen completes comeback victory

Thomas Vermaelen scored a winning goal deep into stoppage time at the Emirates Stadium to snatch a 2-1 victory for Arsenal over Newcastle United and consolidate their fourth-placed position in the Premier League.

France's Blanc looks to EURO 2016

France coach Laurent Blanc said that his only aim for this year's EURO was to get past the group stage, but the true test would be the next tournament on home soil.

Marat Safin to wed model Anna Druzyaka

Former No. 1 Marat Safin will marry model Anna Druzyaka, the Russian press reports. Safin and Druzyaka will reportedly hold ceremonies both in Moscow and New York.

Federer within striking distance of No. 2

After winning six titles in the last six months, Roger Federer is now within 825 points of Rafael Nadal for the No. 2 ranking. Nadal has 600 final-round points to defend at this week’s tournament in Miami, while Federer only 360 to defend.

More on Mercedes ‘F-duct’ rear wing: the technical stuff

Todd’s handled the pending controversy around Mercedes’ “F-duct” rear wing system, which problematically enough leaves it to me to pass on some technical suppositions about how the whole thing works. Fortunately enough, the official Formula 1 site has some details. (Click on this link to get the image.) It goes like this: This is the

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Azarenka tops Sharapova for IW title

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP)â€"Victoria Azarenka routed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-3 to win the BNP Paribas Open title on Sunday in the WTA Tour’s first final between the No. 1 and No. 2 players since 2008.

Azarenka broke Sharapova six times in improving her record to 23-0 this year, the best start to a season since Martina Hingis went 37-0 to open 1997. The top-ranked Belarusian won her Tour-leading fourth title of the year.

“It’s important to stay humble and to know that what I have been doing is working,” Azarenka said. “Don’t forget those little details, and being disciplined, professional off the court is as important as being determined and really hard working on the court.”

The women’s final was a rematch of the Australian Open final, which Azarenka won 6-3, 6-0 in January to keep Sharapova from regaining the No. 1 ranking. This time, Sharapova was error-prone during the 1 1/2 -hour match on an unusually cold, windy day in the desert. The second-ranked Russian kept hitting close to the lines and missing.

“She’s extremely solid and she makes you work for every point,” Sharapova said. “Maybe she forces you to want to do a little bit more than either you should or would want to. She’s really fit, playing with a lot of confidence, and you can definitely sense that when she’s moving around the court and hitting the ball. I just made too many unforced errors at the wrong time and wasn’t solid enough.”

Azarenka broke Sharapova in the final game, when the Russian double-faulted then shanked a forehand to set up Azarenka’s first match point. She won after forcing Sharapova into a desperation defensive shot that sailed beyond the baseline. Azarenka dropped her racket, pumped her right arm and broke into a brief dance while smiling broadly.

She joked that the best thing about being No. 1 is “you don’t really have to find yourself in the draw anymore. It’s the first one.”

It was yet another dominant performance by Azarenka, who improved to 5-3 against Sharapova, including 4-0 in finals. Sharapova hasn’t beaten Azarenka in a completed match since 2009; she won last year in Rome when Azarenka retired in the second set with a right elbow injury.

“What was important for me was to try to put as much pressure on her, not to really let her into the match because when she has a little window open she always going to take the opportunity and she’s going to fight no matter what the score is,” Azarenka said.

Sharapova twice had aces to hold serve in the first set, but her groundstrokes were inconsistent. Azarenka led 4-1 in the second set when Sharapova won two straight games to get to 4-3, capped by a swinging forehand volley winner. But Sharapova won just two points in the final two games to fall to 13-3 on the year.

“I still don’t think I was as aggressive as I should be,” Sharapova said. “But it’s OK. We’re going to play against each other a few more times, so I’ll have time to change that.”

Chelsea and former champions on the ropes

FIFA.com looks ahead to this week's UEFA Champions League fixtures, which present difficult tests for Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid if they are to reach the quarter-finals.

PSG leaves it late at Dijon

Kevin Gameiro struck in injury-time to frustrate the chasing Montpellier as his late goal sealed a 2-1 win over Dijon and kept Paris St Germain on track for the Ligue 1 title.

Penalty drama as Korea DPR claim trophy

Korea DPR have lifted the AFC Challenge Cup and assured themselves a place at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup after winning the final 2-1 against Turkmenistan, who missed a late penalty before conceding the winner.

Dream weekend for McCarthy, Rivaldo

It was a return to glory days in Africa as 34-year-old Benni McCarthy bagged a brace in a thrilling South African derby and Rivaldo scored a hat-trick a month ahead of his 40th birthday.

Blatter writes to Bolton chairman

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter has written to Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside to assure him of the football family’s thoughts and prayers as Fabrice Muamba continues to fight for his life.

Muamba still in a critical condition

An update was released on Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba this morning, with a joint statement from the club and hospital explaining that the player is stable but remains critically ill in intensive care.

Heavyweights seek to restore pride

FIFA.com previews the second AFC Champions League matchday where the spotlight will fall on a number of the continent's elite aiming to overturn shock opening defeats.

Hospital: Muamba remains critical

Best wishes have flooded in from around the country for Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba, who is "critically ill" and faces a crucial 24 hours after collapsing yesterday according to manager Owen Coyle.

Hospital: Muamba remains critical

Best wishes have flooded in from around the country for Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba, who is "critically ill" and faces a crucial 24 hours after collapsing yesterday according to manager Owen Coyle.

Lyon's Cris out for a month

Lyon captain and centre-back Cris has been ruled out for around a month with a calf injury, hurting his side’s chances of achieving a top-three finish in Ligue 1 and reaching the Coupe de France semi-finals.

Teams want rear wing resolution ahead of Malaysian GP

Formula One is about racing but it is also about technology, the two concepts go hand-in-hand in this sport. This weekend’s Australian Grand Prix proved to be an exciting race but like many years prior, it also brought out the controversy over the technology used by certain teams. In this particular case, MErcedes AMG Petronas is using

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Vettel, Hamilton reactions to Button

Prior to this weekend’s Australian GRand Prix, Red Bull boss Christian Horner had commented that he thought McLaren were going to be their main rivals. He mentioned Jenson Button as a threat to both Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Horner was right. Vettel finished second behind McLaren’s Jenson Button and his teammate Lewis Hamilton

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New sensations and shock results

FIFA.com’s regular summary of Asian club football looks at some new clubs shining brightly in Japan and China PR, plus some goalscoring heroes in Korea Republic, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

No complaints from Mourinho after Malaga draw

Jose Mourinho says he cannot criticise his Real Madrid team after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Malaga yesterday, because they "gave their all" and were unfortunate not to score more.

F1 Rocks™ brings Melbourne to its feet

F1 Rocks™ in Melbourne kicked off the 2012 season's official off-track entertainment over the Australian Grand Prix weekend, by staging concerts on Saturday and Sunday evening at the Sidney Myers Bowl with headliners Lenny Kravitz, The Cranberries and Wolfmother. Kravitz's scintillating performance fired up the packed audience with a collection of his greatest hits, including 'Fly Away', 'American Woman' and 'Always on the Run'

New hopes and shock results

FIFA.com’s regular summary of Asian club football looks at some new clubs shining brightly in Japan and China PR, plus some goalscoring heroes in Korea Republic, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

Sitting pretty in sombreros

Every Monday, FIFA.com delivers you a football-related photo you won’t be able to resist paying a second glance to. This week’s shows Pele on a trip to Mexico.

TV Schedule: Miami

The 12th and 13th weeks of the 2012 ATP World Tour season features the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year at Miami, Florida.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Malaysia preview quotes - HRT & Sauber on Sepang

From the idiosyncrasies of Melbourne's Albert Park, the F1 paddock moves quickly to the first purpose-built venue of the season, the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, host of this weekend's 2012 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix. The teams and drivers look ahead to what should be a hot three days - both on and off the track

Cabanas: Football's giving me another chance

Salvador Cabanas, who little over two years ago was shot in the head, speaks to FIFA.com about recovering from the incident, his imminent return to action, love of Mexico and desire to represent Paraguay at Brazil 2014.

Keane double guides Galaxy past DC

Robbie Keane scored twice to help Los Angeles Galaxy to their first win of the season, 3-1 over DC United, while Colorado Rapids made it two wins from as many starts.

Hospital: Muamba condition remains critical

Best wishes have flooded in from around the country for Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba, who is "critically ill" and faces a crucial 24 hours after collapsing yesterday according to manager Owen Coyle.

Win sends Thun fourth, Zurich draw

A 2-0 win over Lausanne saw FC Thun climb up to fourth in Swiss Super League, with Christian Schneuwly getting a brace, while Servette held visitors FC Zurich to a 1-1 draw.

Hannover hammer lowly Cologne

Mame Diouf came off the bench to score a late brace as Hannover downed Cologne 4-1 in the Bundesliga, with Lars Stindl and Jan Schlaudraff also scoring to send their team back to seventh.

Violence sees Athens derby abandoned

With the score at 1-0 to the visitors, the Athens derby between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos was postponed after violence forced the referee to call an end to the game in the 83rd minute.

Late strike sends Club America third

Substitute Vicente Vuoso scored five minutes from time to send Club America third with a 2-1 win over ten-man Unam Pumas, while Neri Cardozo rescued a point for Monterrey in a 1-1 draw at Toluca.