Schurrle laughs off exit talk

Schurrle the Germany international has found regular football hard to come by at Stamford Bridge this season, with six of his 10 Premier League appearances coming from the bench.

Schurrle made his first start for the club since November 5 against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday, as Chelsea rounded off their UEFA Champions League Group G campaign with a comfortable 3-1 home win.

The 24-year-old, who scored the second in that fixture, has been linked with a move back to the Bundesliga as part of a potential swap deal including Borussia Dortmund star Marco Reus.

But Schurrle has no intention of departing west London any time soon.

“Of course I can just laugh all the talk of leaving off,” he told The Evening Standard. “I am not going to change club in the transfer window.

“I am happy where I am, I am happy in London. I love the city, I love the fans. We have a great team and want to win something this season.

“This is where I belong and where I want to help. I know what the manager wants for me and that he likes about me.”

Chelsea’s progress to the Champions League knockout stages was already assured before Wednesday’s clash at Stamford Bridge, but the win meant they went through unbeaten despite heavily rotating their squad.

The last 16 could produce a potentially problematic tie with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen all finishing runners-up in their respective groups, but Schurrle does not fear any side.

“We can rotate and make changes and we still have so much quality on the pitch,” he added.

“We have a big squad – that’s what we need for our goals. We don’t fear anybody. If we play our best we can beat e

Neymar, Piqué and Xavi in FIFA campaign against Ebola

The three FC Barcelona players have participated in the ‘Together we can beat Ebola’ campaign set up by FIFA to raise awareness of preventative measures against the spread of the virus prevention campaign to support the fight against Ebola in conjunction with the African Football Confederation(CAF) and health experts. Called Together we can beat Ebola, it involves a selection of the world’s top footballers are publishing eleven messages to raise awareness of the disease and ways to combat it. And three of those players,Neymar, Gerard Piquéand Xavi Hernández, are from FC Barcelona. Each of them make recommendations that were specially chosen by doctors and health specialists from Africa, the World Bank Group and theWorld Health Organisation(WHO), who are working hard to eradicate the disease from West Africa.
Speaking about the importance of such initiatives, Neymar said that “it is very important for the right information to reach the people affected by the outbreak of Ebola. We all hope that this positive campaign can help people get a better understanding of the Ebola virus and reduce the chances of it spreading. We are supporting this campaign in order to help our brothers and sisters in the most affected regions of the world. Together, we can beat Ebola.”

Thiago Silva has revealed his anger at Neymar after losing the Brazil captaincy to the Barcelona star.
The Paris Saint-Germain defender led his nation at the World Cup, but a humiliating 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany and 3-0 loss to Netherlands in the third place play-off has seen new coach Dunga hand Neymar the armband.
Silva has not played for Brazil since the tournament over the summer, with the Selecao recording five clean sheets in his absence, and the centre-back admits he is far from happy with his current situation and his compatriot for his lack of empathy.
“Sincerely, I didn’t expect this,” Silva said at a press conference ahead of Brazil’s friendly with Austria on Tuesday.
“I would be lying if I said it didn’t annoy me. It feels like something was taken away from me that was mine. It’s painful and makes me sad.
“Especially because no one has come to talk to me about this. Neymar didn’t approach me.
“But I think we must be prepared for everything, somehow, even if I thought I was going to come and play.
“I have to be ready to be on the bench also. We have quality players, like David Luiz and Miranda, so I knew that it was going to be hard, but I didn’t expect to be dropped. But it’s part of football and I’m ready to fight for my place back.”
Chelsea defender Filipe Luis, meanwhile, had glowing words for Dunga, who has named the left-back in his starting XI for every game of his second spell in charge of the Selecao so far.
“I talked a lot with my team-mates. We are delighted with this type of training because the intensity required is always very high, we are always on training and on the game,” he said.
“So this type of training helps us to improve a lot and work on the way that we play with our team-mates.
“You start to know your team-mates better on the field. So, we are very happy because they are requiring the maximum from us.”

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FG Gives Nigerian Army N300B

Honorable Bashir Adamu, a member representing (PDP, Jigawa), who is also the Chairman; House Committee on Defence, on Thursday revealed that the sum of N300 billion has been given to the Nigerian Army.READ ALSO: DHQ Assures Nigerian Army Has It All To Defeat Boko Haram

According to ThisDay, Adamu revealed that the money was a paltry payment out of the N1 trillion stated in the budget.

The lawmaker urged the Federal Government to release more funds to the military following the security challenge being experienced in the country, to enable it confront insurgency head on.

Adamu, said they would meet the president on the matter to discuss it extensively in order to find lasting peace to the issues in the North-East.

READ ALSO: Sheik Zakzaky Says Military Plan To Kill Him

In another development, Senator Sani Saleh, who is also a member of the Senate Committee on Defence, while condemning the military inability to effectively combat terrorism insisted that the situation in the North-east was deteriorating, and reiterated the need to permanently put an end to it.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian military has been complaining of poor funding, which allegedly resulted to inadequate weapons for personnel to fight the terrorist group, Boko Haram. It would be recalled that on August 20, 2014, BBC reported that Nigerian soldiers stated that they were no longer willing to risk their lives in the fight against Boko Haram until they are provided withbetter and more sophisticated equipments.

The terrorist which has been constituting nuisance in the northern part of the country was also reported to have chased about 480 Nigerian soldiers into Cameroon after heavy gun battle, a development the Nigerian army authorities later described as “tactical maneuver”. In May 2014, over 300 people were killed by Boko Haram in Gamboru Ngala following the slow response from the Nigerian military.

Despite these barbaric attacks from the sect, the Nigerian Chief of Staff, Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah assured Nigerians that the military was going launch a massive attack on the terrorists across Nigeria.

Luis Enrique: “Each game is a new test”

The FC Barcelona manager is optimistic about the team’s chances against Villarreal but knows they’ll need to get things right in attack

He added that his grateful to club for signing Douglas, who will be useful not only in defence but also in supporting the forwards

Luis Enrique has spoken to the press on the eve of Barça’s first away trip of the season, which takes them to Villarreal, “one of the strongest teams in the league. We know the opponent and the venue. They have a good coach who has made good signings. It’ll be an attractive game for us and we’ll have to get things right in attack.” The game will see FCB up against three former players in Jonathan and Giovanni dos Santos, and Espinosa.

We know the opponent and the venue. They have a good coach who has made good signings.

Barça will travel south on the morning of the match, and will be doing so with Neymar back in the squad, while Iniesta will stay in Barcelona as a precautionary measure after hurting his left knee. Luis Enrique confirmed that the Brazilian is fully fit and ready to play, adding that “every player offers something different. I already have the team picked, but not even the players know what it is yet.”

And following the opening day win against Elche, the manager is confident about his side’s chances against the ‘Yellow Submarine’. “The players have been spectacular in training this week” he explained. “We need to see the team playing at its best … But every game is a new test. A team always needs time to adjust to a new coach, but I have not said that I need more time”.

Douglas will do a lot for the team, especially in attack. I thank the club for working so hard to bring him here

He was also asked to comment on Gerard Piqué being excluded from the Spain squad, replying that “he has been having trouble with his hip. But he’s looked fine to me for the last few weeks and he’s ready to compete”. And as for new signing Douglas, the Asturian is confident that “he’ll do a lot for the team, especially in attack. He’ll be good for us and I thank the club for it’s hard work and effort to bring him here … In principle, I’ll be playing him in his natural position, but there’s always the option of moving him further up the field.”