Cristiano Ronaldo looks on as Lionel Messi wins UEFA’s best player in Europe award for 2014-2015

LIONEL Messi has been voted UEFA’s best player in Europe for 2014-2015 with Germany’s Celia Sasic winning the women’s award.

The Argentina star, who won the Champions League, Spain’s La Liga and Spanish Cup with Barcelona, claimed the award for the second time ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.

“I am happy to win the award. I thank all my teammates because they deserve part of it. I depend a lot on the team like everyone else,” the 28-year-old said.



Messi also won in 2010-2011 and succeeds Real Madrid rival Ronaldo who won last year.

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It has been 20 years since the Toffees last claimed silverware, but their manager believes the club can end that drought

Roberto Martinez said Everton must start winning titles, with the manager claiming his talented squad are more than capable of adding trophies to the cabinet within the next five months.

Everton have not claimed silverware since 1995, when they won the FA Cup and Community Shield (then known as the Charity Shield) under Joe Royle.

The Merseyside outfit are 11th in the Premier League this season, while they are preparing for a semi-final showdown against Manchester City in the League Cup on Wednesday before an FA Cup third-round tie against Dagenham and Redbridge three days later.

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I’m Self-motivated – Ronaldo

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed his primary source of inspiration in his quest to be the best player in the world… himself!

The 30-year-old has won the Ballon d’Or three times but says that he never needed to model himself on any particular idol growing up, beyond his single-minded desire to play for the Portugal national team.

“Most of the time, I inspired myself,” Ronaldo told Unscriptd. “I’m self-motivated.

“But of course, at that age, I was looking at a big reference in the national team – for example, [Luis] Figo, Rui Costa, Fernando Couto. It was kind of a dream to reach that level.

“The national team, I’d look at them and I’d speak for myself: I want to be a professional player and I want to play for the national team. But I don’t have one specific person that I just follow.”

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Weber: Coup for Canadian soccer as men's Nats land former Scotland U21 midfielder Scott Arfield

Scott Arfield of Burnley will be joining Team Canada, reports Province soccer writer Marc Weber.JAN KRUGER / GETTY IMAGES

Canada Soccer’s ramped-up recruitment efforts have paid off again.

Burnley midfielder Scott Arfield — born and raised in Scotland but eligible for Canada through his Toronto-born dad — will be part of Benito Floro’s squad in 2016, sources tell the Province.

Arfield, 27, is the latest in a string of off-field wins for Canada Soccer, who in 2015 gave international debuts to FC Dallas forward Tesho Akindele, Glasgow Rangers winger Fraser Aird and Queens Park Rangers winger Junior Hoilett.

Akindele, a 23-year-old who grew up in Colorado, had interest from the U.S.; Toronto-born Aird, 20, played for Scotland at the U17 and U19 levels; and Hoilett, 25, was also courted by his father’s birth country, Jamaica.

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Manchester United’s ‘Player of the Game’ in the win against Swansea

Manchester United finally ended their run of eight matches without a win by claiming a much needed 2-1 victory over Swansea City at Old Trafford on Saturday. After a first half that saw both squads scoreless, it was classic Manchester United in the Sir Alex Ferguson era, with the Red Devils climbing back on top with a second half winner.

It was the Wayne Rooney of old that showed up on the second half, scoring the go ahead goal that separated the two squads from the 1-1 stalemate. The goal that beat Swansea keeper, Lukasz Fabianski, was a brilliant flick from the United captain in the 77th minute.

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Champions League Round of 16

The big groups and therefore the best in continental Europe can fight one another to attain triumph.

Interesting matches within the spherical of sixteen this is often the simplest team Serie A Ac.Milan drawn opponents of Premier League groups ar drawn by Arsenal.

The following ar the groups that enter sixteen of the  Champions League:

1. Olympique Lyonnais (FRANCE) 
2. APOEL FC (CYPRUS) 
3. SSC Napoli (ITALIA) 
4. Chelsea FC (ENGLISH) 
5. AC Milan (ITALIA) 
6. Arsenal FC (ENG) 
7. FC Basel 1893 (SWITZERLAND) 
8. FC Bayern München (GERMANY) 
9. Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GERMANY) 
10.FC Barcelona (SPAIN) 
11. PFC CSKA Moskva (RUSSIA) 
12. Real Madrid CF (SPAIN) 
13. FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUSSIA) 
14. SL Benfica (PORTUGAL) 
15. Olympique de Marseille (FRANCE) 
16. FC Internazionale Milan (ITALIA)

The following is that the draw for the  Champions League last 16 :

1st leg - Tuesday 14 February 2012
Olympique Lyonnais vs APOEL FC 
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs  FC Barcelona


1st leg - Wednesday 15 February 2012
AC Milan vs  Arsenal FC 
FC Zenit St. Petersburg vs  SL Benfica 


1st leg - Tuesday 21 February 2012
SSC Napoli vs Chelsea FC
PFC CSKA Moskva vs  Real Madrid CF


1st leg - Wednesday 22 February 2012
FC Basel 1893 vs  FC Bayern München 
Olympique de Marseille vs  FC Internazionale Milano 


Second Leg

2nd leg - Wednesday 7 March 2012
APOEL FC vs Olympique Lyonnais
FC Barcelona vs  Bayer 04 Leverkusen 


2nd leg - Tuesday 6 March 2012
Arsenal FC AC Milan 
SL Benfica FC Zenit St. Petersburg 


2nd leg - Tuesday 13 March 2012
FC Bayern München vs  FC Basel 1893 
FC Internazionale Milano vs  Olympique de Marseille


2nd leg - Wednesday 14 March 2012
Chelsea FC vs SSC Napoli
Real Madrid CF vs PFC CSKA Moskva 

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Stoke City archive: Magnificent Potters smash five past Trotters

WHAT A DAY: Jon Walters celebrating his second against Bolton - and how we reported that game at the time.

WE never require much reason to help ourselves to remember Stoke City's 5-0 Wembley pummeling of Bolton however we have a couple today as we dig back in the chronicles. 

Next Tuesday, when Stoke tackle Liverpool in the Capital One Cup, it will be their first semi-last subsequent to that well known cloudy April day in 2011. 

Furthermore, obviously, it was the apex of Tony Pulis' nine years responsible for the club he will wind up against this evening at West Brom. 

There are many photos we could choose, from the thousands lining for tickets back at the Britannia Stadium and a procession of London-bound mentors hung in red and white to a Kenwyne Jones reverse somersault and dumbstruck supporters.

There are flags with messages like "We just score from a toss in" and vintage scarves cleaned off from when the Potters won the League Cup 39 years prior.

Be that as it may, we have plumped for this, of Jon Walters scoring Stoke's fifth and his second.

A weekend ago the Sunday Times recommended Walters was a contender for sportsman of 2015 in the wake of returning from the verge of leaving Stoke to reassert his significance to Mark Hughes; and assuming a noteworthy part as the Republic of Ireland fit the bill for Euro 2016.

"You must buckle down and it pays off at last," he told the Sentinel in the wake of devastating Bolton four-and-a-half years back. "You've generally got the opportunity to have confidence in where you need to be."

The 34,000 Stokies who watched him that day know where they need to be; watching Walters and Co back at Wembley. Do they trust it?

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