West Bromwich Albion assistant Keith Downing has spoken of his delight at seeing Roy Hodgson named England manager.

Hodgson was appointed England boss on Tuesday, signing a four-year deal, but will see out the English Premier League season at West Brom.

Speaking ahead of West Brom s trip to Bolton on Sunday, Downing said he was thrilled to see Hodgson given the job.

Not surprised because of the mark of the man and the qualities that he has. It was obviously very much driven for Harry (Redknapp) nationally and that was thought that he would be the first choice, Downing said.

But from a football perspective, I ve been working with the man for 15 months so I wasn t surprised that he, certainly, would have an interview.

But to be straight in the…

Chelsea have won the 2011-12 Champions League after a gripping 4-3 win on penalties against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern set up camp in the Chelsea half for the majority of the match, but were extremely wasteful in front of goal, passing up a number of opportunities that allowed Roberto Di Matteo s men to stay in the contest.

Thomas Mueller looked to have finally broken their resistance when he scored in the 83rd minute, but Didier Drogba brought the Blues back from the dead with a punishing header two minutes from time to send the final into extra-time.

Arjen Robben saw a soft penalty saved by Petr Cech in the 95th minute, but there was no winner in the additional 30 minutes as the match moved into a penalty shootout.

Drogba struck the wi…

Mino Raiola does not give a damn if it costs Manchester United a world-record fee to prise Paul Pogba away from Juventus, insisting his only concern is getting the best deal for his client.

France international Pogba departed Old Trafford to join Juve on a free transfer in 2012 and has since developed into one the world s best players during his time in Turin, winning four straight Serie A titles with the club.

The 23-year-old is now being widely tipped to return to United to join Jose Mourinho s rebuilding job, with reports suggesting the fee will be in the region of £92million with a further £18.4m going to his agent Raiola.

That would surpass the previous record fee Real Madrid forked out to land Gareth Bale from Tottenham, but Raiola says the price it will …

Dundee United celebrated their return to the cinch Premiership at the first time of asking after substitute Chris Mochrie’s 78th-minute goal broke the resistance of 10-man Ayr to secure a 1-0 victory and spark a Tannadice title party.

A crowd of almost 10,000 home supporters looked like they might end up frustrated as Scott Brown’s stubborn side kept them at bay, but the dismissal of Nick McAllister on the hour paved the way for Jim Goodwin’s team to get the win they needed, resulting in a post-match pitch invasion.

Although they are not mathematically assured of finishing top of the Championship just yet – second-placed Raith Rovers would have to overturn a six-point deficit, while requiring an unrealistic goal difference swing of 36 over the closing two matches…

Inter Milan and AC Milan are locked in the battle for Palermo defender Ezequiel Munoz, .

The Argentine defender is currently on loan with Sampdoria, but he was unfortunate to suffer an injury in his first appearance for the Blucerchiati.

Munoz is expected to return into action in the coming weeks, and he will have enough time to make a decision on his future.

Namely, the Argentine will be out of contract in the summer and the latest reports suggest both Inter Milan and AC Milan are keen on his signature.

After graduating at Boca Juniors, Munoz joined Palermo in the summer of 2010 and has since featured in 131 league matches for the Rosanero.

The 24-year-old has developed into one of league s top centre-backs over the years and everything suggests…

Emile Heskey, Brad Guzan and Carlos Cuellar have been released by Aston Villa after the club decided not to renew their contracts.

Despite being without a manager, Villa have released the three senior players alongside several academy prospects.

Former England international Heskey, 34, arrived at the Midlands club from Wigan in 2009 in a deal worth just over three million pounds.

The target man enjoyed a good start to his Villa career, scoring on his debut at Fratton Park against Portsmouth, but has enjoyed little success in front of goal since.

Guzan has been restricted to second choice at Villa Park since his arrival in 2008 due to the excellence of former goalkeeper Brad Friedel and current number one Shay Given.

American Guzan, 27, was a fir…

Montpellier will have to buck a recent trend and overcome a poor start to the season if they are to upset the odds against Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Laurent Blanc s men have been solid in their opening two league matches, a tricky first game at Lille ending in a 1-0 victory before new boys Gazelec Ajaccio were seen off 2-0 on Sunday.

PSG have perhaps not played to their full potential in those matches and the fact they have been able to pick up wins is an ominous sign for those looking to prevent the big-spenders from winning a fourth straight league title.

Next up for PSG is a trip to the Stade de la Mosson, a ground that has proved a happy hunting ground for the capital club in recent seasons.

PSG have not lost on their past six league …

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has signed a five-year US$100 million contract extension a record in the NFL.

In 2011, Brees set the NFL single-season records with 468 completions, 5,476 yards passing and a completion percentage of 71.2.

Brees led the Saints to their first ever franchise Superbowl title in 2009, collecting the MVP trophy in the process.

The 33-year-old confirmed the deal had been completed via Twitter, which will see him earn a guaranteed $60m.

What Drew has accomplished in his time with the Saints, he deserves to be the highest-paid player in the league, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement.

We are excited to have this deal done and behind us and look forward to the next five years with Drew as ou…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hopes Tuesday s 3-1 Champions League win over Barcelona can act as an inspiration to future generations at the club.

City battled back from a Lionel Messi opener in style at the Etihad Stadium, with Ilkay Gundogan netting either side of a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick to secure a victory that closes them to within two points of the LaLiga champions at the top of Group C.

But Guardiola hopes there can be wider significance to victory over his former employers, who boast a European pedigree City cannot match having failed to compete on the continent at all between 1979 and 2003.

For the Premier League leaders, who ended 44 years without a domestic league title in 2012 to return to Europe s top competition, Guardiola believes triump…

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng is the best defender in the game, according to club great and sporting director Matthias Sammer.

The Germany international has become a mainstay in a Bayern side that have dominated the Bundesliga in recent seasons following his move from Manchester City in 2011.

Alongside capturing three Bundesliga titles and the Champions League, the former Hertha Berlin and Hamburg man also helped Germany to win the World Cup in Brazil last year.

With Boateng having established himself as a mainstay for club and country, Sammer considers the 27-year-old to be the world s best defender.

His whole development has been amazing, the former Germany international said at the Audi Star Talk on Thursday.

He has stabilised his pla…