EPFL ends agreement with UEFA on Champions League dates

The European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) have voted to end a Memorandum of Understanding that had prohibited domestic matches from being broadcast at the same time as Champions League fixtures, the organisation announced in a statement on Friday.

The group claimed that UEFA has left it “no other option” than to strike down the agreement given recent decisions European football’s governing body has taken.

In August, it made a series of reforms that favoured the continent’s top leagues and the most popular clubs.

UEFA awarded four automatic Champions League places to the continent’s top four leagues. It also took back the 11th and 12th ranked leagues’ right to an automatic qualifier, and changed prize money awards to favour the competition’s most successful clubs.

“The EPFL is of the opinion that the cooperation with UEFA for the development of European professional club football is essential,” the statement read.

“However, the UEFA Executive Committee’s recent decision related to European club competitions leaves the EPFL with no other option than to terminate the current Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations.”

The EPFL’s MoU will end in March 2017.

Atletico Madrid lessons can inspire Tottenham in UCL - Alderweireld

Toby Alderweireld still finds it difficult to talk about the 2014 Champions League final. However the defender hopes to use lessons from Atletico Madrid's run to Lisbon to inspire Tottenham in this year's competition.

Atleti's hopes of a remarkable league and cup double were ended by city rivals Real Madrid at the Estadio da Luz, where Diego Simeone's side led 1-0 until the 94th minute, before slipping to a 4-1 defeat after extra-time.

Alderweireld came off the bench in the 83rd-minute, with Atleti ahead through Diego Godin's goal, and the evening remains a tough memory for the 27-year-old.

"Of course it [still] hurts. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to win the Champions League," said Alderweireld ahead of Tottenham's second group match at CSKA Moscow on Tuesday.

"But at the end, you look back at the whole season, you don't only look back at the Champions League final. We won the league, we played the Champions League final -- it's something you can be proud of. I've tried to look at it that way and not only the negatives. But of course it hurts to talk about it."

One of the takeaways for Alderweireld is his belief that quality players can beat the odds with an attitude of ruthless single-mindedness, and the Belgian sees that at Tottenham.

"Every team can win the Champions League if you put your mind on it. If you have a good squad and the hunger is there to win something, you can do it," he continued.

"At Atletico, we had the big teams like Barca, Real, Bayern -- they were always the favourites. But at Atletico, if you are a really good group -- and, of course, we had quality, too -- you can win it. That's the thing that's stayed with me. If you are a good team and a good squad and your mind is thinking to win, to win, then you have a chance. That's the thing that I have learned the most.

"Look, we want to do everything to win [in Moscow], to get three points. That's the way we go into every game -- to win. We know that there is a little bit more pressure because we lost the first home game but we have to have confidence in our own game and try to give everything on the pitch.

"Nobody is scared to play in Moscow. And to play our own game. I'm very confident. We have to go through. We have to be confident in our game, confident in our quality and confident that we can get the result against any team. So we don't have to look too far into the future, just look game-by-game and try to go to the next round."

Just as at Atleti, Alderweireld is working under an Argentinian coach who demands his players leave nothing on the pitch, and he is in no doubt that Simeone and Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino -- former international teammates -- share one defining quality.

"They are different kind of styles but they are both winners. They want to win everything, they want to win every game," he said.

If Spurs are to win in Moscow, Alderweireld will be important. The Belgian scored in the 2-1 defeat to AS Monaco at Wembley a fortnight ago but his quality and experience at the back will matter against CSKA -- particularly with midfield pair Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele missing.

Since moving to England with Southampton in Sept. 2014, four months after Lisbon, Alderweireld has impressed with both his technical quality and uncompromising defending -- a perfect blend he credits to two of his former clubs.

"At Ajax, I got an education in how to play the ball, how to be confident on the ball, your technique, and then of course you go to a big league like Spain and you have to learn to defend -- the details, the ruthlessness. Be clinical in front of your own goal. Win every duel, every battle and be clever. And the small things. That's something I learned so much and defensively, I grew there so much. So I have the two best things -- I learned to play football at Ajax, to be confident on the ball. And then I really learned to defend at Atletico. So that has made me the defender I am today," he explained.

"It's good as well to have the thing from Ajax, to be confident on the ball, especially given how we want to play at Tottenham. We want to play from the back. We have to get the ball and we have to defend, sometimes, 30 or 40 yards back so it's important that you know how to defend and be confident in your own skills.

"At Ajax, it was nice to have the ball, make goals but you have to see the other side, as well. In the end, defenders are there not to concede goals."

Key to his success at Tottenham has been a centre-back partnership with his former Ajax, and current Belgium, teammate Jan Vertonghen. The pair have started 35 of the 44 league matches since Alderweireld signed, helping Tottenham to the best defence in the Premier League last season -- before their anomalous 5-1 defeat at Newcastle on the final day.

Their last appearance in Russia ended in Ajax's 3-0 defeat to Spartak Moscow in the 2010-11 Europa League last 16 -- a match Christian Eriksen also played in.

"We don't need a lot of words on the pitch," Alderweireld said of Vertonghen. "We know how the other one works. We have a little bit of an instinctive understanding.

"It's difficult for me to explain, but in Russia, it's always hostile, especially Champions League games, when other teams from Europe are coming, English teams, as well. We only have to focus on our game on the pitch and the rest is not in our hands."

Yaya Toure must apologise to play for Manchester City again - Guardiola

Yaya Toure will not play for Manchester City again until Pep Guardiola receives an apology for comments made by his agent.

The City boss is unhappy with remarks from Toure's adviser Dimitri Seluk, who said the Ivory Coast midfielder was "humiliating a great player."

"It was so difficult for me to put [Toure] out in the Champions League -- so difficult," Guardiola told a news conference. "I know him, I know he's a good guy, but it was difficult for me as well to put Aleix Garcia out, [they are] the only two players that are out, because the list is the list.

"But the day after his agent spoke -- in that moment -- Yaya is out. Until Mr. Dmitri Seluk comes back in the press conference, or his friends in the media, he has the courage to call me, go to the media and say an apology to Manchester City, the first one, the second one is his teammates and after the trainer.

"When that happens Yaya will be part of the group and he will have the same chance to play all the games. Because I cannot accept as a coach, every manager when his player doesn't play goes to the media and speak and speak and speak. It depends."

Toure has made only one appearance for City this season -- the Champions League playoff second leg against Steaua Bucharest -- and has not featured in the matchday squad for the seven other City fixtures.

The 33-year-old was also left out of Guardiola's Champions League squad -- along with Spanish youngster Aleix Garcia, who has been on the bench for City's last two Premier League games and made his debut in the 4-0 win over Bournemouth at the weekend.

And Guardiola said Toure, who retired from international football on Tuesday, will not come into contention for Wednesday's EFL Cup clash with Swansea City at the Etihad.

"I know how Dmitri Seluk loves Yaya Toure, if he loves me, show me and make [an apology] to Manchester City [for] what he did in the [media]," he said.

"I cannot imagine in my period when I was a football player, my manager going to the media and speaking against Johan Cruyff, about this and about that.

"Maybe it's a new era now, the new period changing, but I'm an old guy. I am old generation, and old generation managers has to make his players his job and trainers his job, and today the managers believe they are more than they are.

"If he has a problem call [director of football] Txiki Begiristain, the club, and they can talk, until he doesn't speak, Yaya is not going to play."

Toure missed three days of training last week with a migraine but this week has rejoined the first-team squad.

But Guardiola will not consider him following the comments from Seluk to the Sunday Mirror in September.

Seluk said: "If City don't win the Champions League then I hope that Pep has got the balls to say that he was wrong to humiliate a great player like Yaya."

Jose Mourinho to storm the UEFA Champions League kick-off next week

Manchester United coach, Jose Mourinho is set to stir up a storm as the new UEFA Champions League season first round of matches kick off on Tuesday, September 13.

Mourinho who is known for his passionate display during matches and controversial utterances against opponents, especially his opposite number at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, is expected to do what he is known for - rile up emotions and stir up conversations - in the lead up to the new UCL matches kicking off in 3 days.


While it is not known what form Mourinho's antics will take this time or what his motives are, it may not be unrelated to the fact that his team, Manchester United will be missing this year's top European league.

Arguably the best coach in the world, the Portuguese will be competing for honours in the Europa League while his main rivals; Claudio Ranieri, Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger get set to lead their teams to the biggest footballing spectacle in the world after the World Cup.

News making the rounds however indicate that the former Chelsea coach is only trying to draw some attention to himself away from the Champions League as his team squares up with other lesser known teams in Europe.

OFFICIAL: The top four teams from the four highest-ranked leagues will enter the #UCL group stage from 2018

Europe's top four leagues will have four guaranteed places in the Champions League group stage from the 2018-19 season, UEFA has confirmed.

The top four leagues in the UEFA coefficient ranking -- currently La Liga, the Bundesliga, Premier League and Serie A -- will see four teams enter the group stage without having to go through a qualification round.

Currently, La Liga, the Bundesliga and the Premier League are guaranteed three group spots, with a fourth possible through the qualifying round, while Serie A has two guaranteed spots and a third possible via qualification.

The Premier League was in danger of losing one its places to Serie A at the end of this season, particularly after Sassuolo qualified for this season's Europa League group stage while West Ham were eliminated, but both leagues will now get four Champions League spots.

The top flights in Russia, Portugal and France are currently all vying to be Europe's fifth-ranked division but are some distance behind the current top four.

However, the coefficient system will be revamped with clubs judged only on their own records and historical success in European competition also acknowledged.

UEFA has also confirmed that the Europa League winners will now automatically qualify for the Champions League group stage. At present the winners enter at the playoff stage by right, but are elevated to the group stage if the holders also qualify via league position.

The revamp will also involve a change to the way in which clubs are paid, with UEFA explaining: "A new four-pillar financial distribution system (starting fee, performance in the competition, individual club coefficient and market pool) will see sporting performances better rewarded, while market pool share will decrease."

"The amendments made will continue to ensure qualification based on sporting merit, and the right of all associations and their clubs to compete in Europe's elite club competitions.

"We are happy that European football remains united behind the concepts of solidarity, fair competition, fair distribution and good governance."

Adjustments to the current format of the Champions League can only begin in 2018 as that is when the next three-year commercial cycle starts.