Coaches National teams World Cup 2014
NATIONAL TEAM - SWITZERLAND - 2014 WORLD CUP - Goodbye, Ottmar Hitzfeld. All the best and take care.

Hitzfeld has made a positive impression wherever he has been stationed and his name is still regularly chanted in the stands at Bayern Munich.

“He put together a really good team that will last for many years to come,” Granit Xhaka told FIFA.com, before Josip Drmic added: “He’s done a great job.” 

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2 Jul 2014
Fixtures+Results National teams Squad World Cup 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 19 - LAST SIXTEEN - ARGENTINA VS SWITZERLAND 1:0

LAST SIXTEEN
1st July 2014

Argentina vs Switzerland 1:0

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1 Jul 2014
Fixtures+Results National teams Squad World Cup 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 19 - LAST SIXTEEN - BELGIUM VS USA 2:1

LAST SIXTEEN
1st July 2014

Belgium vs USA 2:1

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1 Jul 2014
Key-Player World Cup 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - ARGENTINA - KEY PLAYER - ‪LIONEL MESSI - PROFILE

Lionel Andrés Messi; born 24 June 1987, is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. 

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1 Jul 2014
Key-Player World Cup 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - USA - KEY PLAYER - ‪JERMAINE JONES - PROFILE

Jermaine Junior Jones, born 3 November 1981, is a German-American footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Turkish club Beşiktaş. He has previously played for Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen, Blackburn Rovers and Schalke 04. He was born in Germany and represented them at U21 and senior level.

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1 Jul 2014
Coaches National teams World Cup 2014
NATIONAL TEAM - NIGERIA - COACH - STEPHEN KESHI RESIGNS AFTER EXIT

He becomes the sixth manager to leave his job during the World Cup, following the departures of Honduras's Luis Suarez, Iran's Carlos Queiroz, Japan's Alberto Zaccheroni, Italy's Cesare Prandelli and Ivory Coast's Sabri Lamouchi.

Keshi, who captained Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup finals, was previously in charge of Mali and Togo.

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1 Jul 2014
Fixtures+Results National teams Squad World Cup 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 18 - LAST SIXTEEN - FRANCE vs NIGERIA 2:0

LAST SIXTEEN
30th June 2014

France vs Nigeria 2:0

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30 Jun 2014
Fixtures+Results National teams Squad World Cup 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 18 - LAST SIXTEEN - GERMANY vs ALGERIA 2:1

LAST SIXTEEN
30th June 2014

Germany vs Algeria 2:1

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30 Jun 2014
Key-Player World Cup 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - GERMANY - KEY PLAYER - THOMAS MUELLER‬ - PROFILE

Müller's role can be described as an attacking all-rounder, a player able to play in a variety of forward positions. He can play in any of the attacking midfield roles but usually plays in the center for Bayern Munich, and on the right for Germany.

He has been used as an out-and-out striker on occasion. Müller has been praised for his maturity, pace, technique, awareness and positioning.

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30 Jun 2014
Key-Player World Cup 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - FRANCE - KEY PLAYER - ‪KARIM BENZEMA - PROFILE

He has been named French Player of the Year twice for his performances in 2011 and 2012. Benzema is a former French youth international and has represented his nation from under-17 level onwards. 

Benzema has earned over 65 caps and represented France at three major international tournaments; the 2008 and 2012 editions of the UEFA European Football Championship and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

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30 Jun 2014
Key-Player Player Of The Year

2014 African Footballer of the Year - BBC list to be named

It's that time of year again: when Africa's top footballers wait to find out if they have made the shortlist for the BBC African Footballer of the Year.

On the morning of 10 November, the BBC will unveil the five names in the running for the 2014 prize.

The public will then be able to vote online via the BBC Sport pages and via text.

Once again the shortlist is guaranteed to generate interest and debate after an exciting year for African football that saw two teams from the continent progress to the second round of the World Cup for the first time ever.

Now in its 23rd year, the BBC has been recognising and rewarding the very best of Africa's sporting talent since former Ghana captain Abedi "Pele" Ayew won the first award in 1992 when it was known as the African Sports Star of the Year.

Since then, the cast list of former winners has been a who's who of Africa's sporting and footballing heroes and reflects the changing face of the game on the continent and beyond, its influences and its progress.

The brilliance of early winners like Ayew, George Weah and Nwankwo Kanu led to a greater interest in African footballing talent - and an explosion of Africa's international stars into the main leagues of Europe in the early 1990's.

Now it's difficult to find a major championship without its constellation of African stars and that will once again be reflected in this year's shortlist.

The nominees have been drawn up by African football experts from across the continent but once again the final decision will be down to a public vote by fans from around the globe.

The voting will close at 1800GMT on 24 November whereupon we will tally up the results and check them before handing over the prize to the winner on 1 December.


PREVIOUS FOOTBALL WINNERS

AFRICAN SPORTS STAR OF THE YEAR

• 1992: Abedi 'Pele Ayew
• 1994: Zambia National Team
• 1995: George Weah
• 1996: Emmanuel Amuneke
• 1997: Nwankwo Kanu
• 1999: Nwankwo Kanu
    

AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR 2014

• 2000: Patrick Mboma
• 2001: Sammy Kuffuor
• 2002: El Hadji Diouf
• 2003: Jay-Jay Okocha
• 2004: Jay-Jay Okocha
• 2005: Mohamed Barakat
• 2006: Michael Essien
• 2007: Emmanuel Adebayor
• 2008: Mohamed Aboutrika
• 2009: Didier Drogba
• 2010: Asamoah Gyan
• 2011: Andre 'Dede' Ayew
• 2012: Christopher Katongo
• 2013: Yaya Toure

 

 

9 Nov 2014
(BBC Africa by Vera Kwakofi - Current Affairs Editor)

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