The 2009 Confederations Cup officially opened Sunday with an energetic ceremony by hosts South Africa with a giant human flag of 700 school pupils and a showcase of African culture.

Painting themselves in the colours of South Africa s post-apartheid flag, the pupils formed into a giant formation before painting the tournament s logo on a giant banner circled by flags from the eight-nation tournament.

The announcement of teams topped off performances from South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Lebo M of Lion King fame, and a procession of peformers representing the entire African continent.

With kick-off at 1400 GMT, the 52,500-seater Ellis Park stadium cremony was met with cheers as fans showed their appreciation by blowing plastic trumpets…

(GSM) Liverpool full-back Andrea Dossena has revealed he is on the verge of moving back to Italy to play with Napoli as he awaits his exit from Liverpool. Dossena has had a disappointing time at Anfield and has spoken of his desire to return to Serie A before.

The Italian is on the brink of ending a sad 18-month spell in England after starting just 13 Premier League games from Liverpool having switched to The Reds from Udinese in 2008

Dossena is expected with Napoli and the 28-year-old is excited by the prospect of returning to Italian football.

I m looking forward to embracing Napoli and to experience the emotion of the Stadio San Paolo, Dossena told Il Mattino.

It s missing the official news of the move and so I can t say a lot, but I m waiting.

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Paris Saint-Germain defender David Luiz believes his Brazil team-mate Philippe Coutinho will leave Liverpool at the end of the season if they do not qualify for the Champions League.

The attacking midfielder has developed into one of Liverpool s star players since joining the club from Inter in January 2013 and has been linked with clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid in recent months following his sublime performances at Anfield.

The 23-year-old opted against a move away from Liverpool ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, but his compatriot expects him to leave if they again fail to qualify for Europe s elite club competition.

Coutinho made the choice to stay at Liverpool without Champions League football this season. I don t think he will make that choice again, …

Paul Pogba showed glimpses of his true quality as he netted a stunning goal as part of a double in Manchester United s 4-1 Europa League hammering of Fenerbahce on Thursday.

The Frenchman led the way for United in an emphatic win to bounce back from individual criticism attracted after a poor showing in Monday s 0-0 draw at Liverpool, while Robin van Persie netted a late consolation on his return to Old Trafford.

United took a while to get going, though, as they struggled to craft opportunities before Pogba converted a penalty just after the half-hour mark and fellow Frenchman Anthony Martial followed the midfielder s lead with a second spot-kick in quick succession.

Pogba effectively wrapped things up for United with a spectacular strike just before the break …

Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara has been summoned by France boss Didier Deschamps after Adrien Rabiot was ruled out of next week s Nations League games.

Already without a number of key midfield figures including Paul Pogba and N Golo Kante, the injury to Rabiot deprives Deschamps of another experienced player.

Rabiot has not fully recovered from a left calf muscle injury, the French Football Federation (FFF) said on its website, and has been ruled out of Juventus Serie A match against Monza this weekend.

Deschamps decided it was sensible, as a precautionary measure, to withdraw Rabiot from his group and promote a player more likely to be available for full squad activities when the group gather at the Clairefontaine training base on Monday.

Kamara…

Bayern Munich stretched their lead at the Bundesliga summit to four points as goals from Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane clinched a 2-1 win over a stubborn Werder Bremen.

Having taken advantage of Borussia Dortmund s slip-up at Bochum to go top last week, Bayern knew an 11th consecutive league title is now in their hands as they travelled to the Weserstadion on Saturday.

Thomas Tuchel s stuttering start at Bayern looked set to continue as Werder held firm for over an hour, but Gnabry s close-range finish broke the hosts resistance before Sane capped a flowing move to make it 2-0.

Though Niklas Schmidt s stunning strike ensured a nervous finish, Bayern clung on to pile the pressure on Dortmund ahead of their meeting with Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Jiri Pavlenka smothere…

Notts County have appointed Ricardo Moniz as their new manager.

Moniz ruled himself out of the running to take over at Meadow Lane last week due to family reasons but has now agreed to take the helm. 

The Dutchman has six games to save County from League One relegation, with the club sitting a point adrift of safety.

County have been without a permanent manager since parting company with Shaun Derry on March 23. Paul Hart and Mick Halsall have taken charge of the team in the interim.

Moniz, who has previously been on the coaching staff at Tottenham, led Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg to a league and cup double in 2012.

His first game in charge comes against bottom club Yeovil Town on Saturday.

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Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has declared his happiness at seeing Bayern Munich and former team-mate Pep Guardiola reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

Luis Enrique s men cruised into the last four with a 2-0 quarter-final second-leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, securing a 5-1 aggregate win.

And Barca will be joined by Bayern and ex-boss Guardiola, whose side produced a stunning comeback to turn around a 3-1 first-leg deficit with a 6-1 victory against Porto at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern last met the Catalan club in the semi-finals of the 2012-13 Champions League, when Jupp Heynckes masterminded a 7-0 aggregate demolition of a Barca team coached by the late Tito Vilanova.

But Luis Enrique said: I m happy to hear that Pep [Guardio…

Javi Gracia described his sacking by Watford as unexpected and abrupt  but insisted he has not fallen out with the club s owners after he was replaced by Quique Sanchez Flores.

Watford terminated Gracia s contract on Saturday after the Hornets claimed just one point from their first four games of the Premier League season.

The decision to bring the curtain down on Gracia s 20-month spell in charge came as a surprise to the Spanish manager, who reflected on having delivered a mid-table top-flight finish and a run to the FA Cup final in 2018-19.

In a statement, he said: After the unexpected announcement about the termination of my contract after only four matches, I want to express my surprise after completing the best season in Watford s history.

announ…

Lionel Messi insists he has no issue with Cristiano Ronaldo and would accept a dinner invitation from his long-time awards rival.

The pair crossed paths at a recent ceremony to crown the UEFA Men s Player of the Year for 2018-19, which Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk won.

Barcelona captain Messi and Juventus star Ronaldo finished second and third respectively, but the event gave the former Real Madrid forward the chance to publicly reflect on their battle in Spain and the time they have spent at the pinnacle of the game.

Ronaldo floated the prospect of a private dinner in future, an idea welcomed by his fellow five-time Ballon d Or winner.

Yes, I don t have any problem with that, Messi told SPORT.

I ve always said that I don t have any issue …