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Arjen Robben, Bayern Munich Legend Retires From Football

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The Netherlands play maker, Arjen Robben announced on Thursday he is ending his playing career at the age of 35 after a 10-year spell with German giants Bayern Munich.

His contract at Bayern had expired on June 30.

Robben played 96 international matches for the Netherlands, scoring 37 goals, and starred in the team which reached the 2010 World Cup final and finished third four years later

He won two Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea in 2005 and 2006, before claiming a La Liga winner’s medal with Real Madrid.

But Robben, a Groningen youth product, will be best remembered for his time at Bayern. He helped the Bavarians to eight Bundesliga crowns, five German Cups and the 2013 Champions League title, scoring 144 goals in 309 appearances for the club.

There had been speculation Robben would continue playing, with a possible return to England mooted, but instead, he has decided to hang up his boots after a career which was often blighted by injuries.

“At the moment I’m fit and healthy and as a fan of many other sports, I want to keep it that way in the future,” Robben added.

At Bayern, he combined with fellow winger Franck Ribery to great effect as the pair earned the nickname ‘Robbery’.

“Thank you, Danke, merci, dankjewel @arjenrobben,” wrote the 36-year-old Ribery, whose Bayern contract also expired last month, on Twitter.

“Best @FCBayern counterpart I could imagine, #Robbery will never be forgotten! What a career my friend, now enjoy your time off the pitch.”

Robben had already retired from international football after the Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

He missed the majority of Bayern’s tight title contest against Borussia Dortmund in the second half of the last term but returned late in the season.

Robben and Ribery both scored in their farewell appearance as Bayern secured a seventh straight German league title on the final day of the season with a 5-1 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt.

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Nigeria End Argentina’s U20 World Cup Dream, Reach Quarter-Finals

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The Flying Eagles advance to the quarter-final of the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time in 12 years after defeating host Argentina 2-0 at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario in the early hours of Thursday, The PUNCH reports.

Second-half goals from Ibrahim Muhammad and Rilwanu Sarki secured a shock win for Ladan Bosso’s team.

They will face either Ecuador or South Korea in the quarter-final of the competition in Santiago del Estero on Sunday.

The Flying Eagles started brightly but as the first half wore on, La Albiceleste dominated play.

Striker Alejo Veliz had two scoring chances to break the deadlock as the break approached but missed those sitters.

First, his glancing header went narrowly wide in the 14th minute while his second attempt before the break was saved by Kingsley Aniagboso who was in goal for Nigeria.

In the 61st minute, The Flying Eagles broke the deadlock through Emmanuel Umeh when he flicked the ball over the top for Muhammad, who slotted home a low shot past goalkeeper Federico Gerth.

The goal saw Argentina pile the pressure in search of an equaliser and in the process they had 20 shots at goal as against Nigeria’s nine.

Javier Mascherano’s boys came agonisingly close when Luka Romero’s low drive from a distance hit the upright of the post for Daniel Bameyi to put the ball to safety.

In additional time, substitute Victor Eletu came off the bench for Ibrahim Muhammad to make an assist for Haliru Sarki to score Nigeria’s second on the night and secure a famous triumph for Nigeria for the first time in the competition since 2005.

Nigeria’s win on Thursday ended a run of 10 straight U-20 World Cup victories for Argentina. The young La Abliceleste had won all seven games when they hosted the tournament in 2001, and their first three at this edition.

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Manchester City Deserve to Win, Says Ancelotti

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Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has admitted that Manchester City deserved to win the match because they played better, as Madrid a painful 4-0 loss at Manchester City on Wednesday.

The win completed a 5-1 aggregate defeat for Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final.

Manchester City, who were beaten by Real Madrid at the same stage last season, avenged that heartbreaking defeat with a brilliant performance in front of their jubilant fans.

Only Real Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, prevented them from inflicting even more damage.

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“They played better than us and deserved to win.

“They put a lot of pressure at the beginning, it worked out well for them because they made it very difficult for us to get the ball in play and they went two goals ahead.

“From then on, it was difficult to get back into the game. We tried in the second half… but it didn’t work out,” Ancelotti told reporters.

Ancelotti admitted it was a painful night but said it was too soon to analyse what had gone wrong.

“Evaluating today, at this moment, makes no sense.

“It is a defeat that hurts, it hurts a lot. But it can happen. We reached the semi-finals of the Champions League against a strong opponent, they played better and left us without a final.

“We have to learn and for the next season, to be better,” he said.

This is coming a year after winning a LaLiga and Champions League double, and becoming the first manager to capture titles in each of Europe’s top five leagues.

Ancelotti is now facing up to finishing the campaign with just a Spanish Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup to show for their efforts.

He did, however, set another record on Wednesday, becoming the coach with the most European Cup games (191), surpassing the mark set by former Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson.

But with their rivals Barcelona crowned LaLiga champions last weekend with four-games to spare, Ancelotti was left searching for a silver lining.

“I think it was a good season. We have to show up in the few games we have ahead of us.

“I think that reaching a Champions League semi-final is a success because only four teams make it to the last four,” Ancelotti said.

NAN

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Why We Defeated Chelsea – Arsenal Manager, Arteta

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Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has hailed his side’s dominating 3-1 win over Chelsea on Tuesday night.

The Gunners won thanks to a Martin Odegaard double and Gabriel Jesus strike.

Noni Madueke scored the only goal for the visitors in the second half.

“We wanted to [push Chelsea back early on]. We knew that if we dominated them and got in the final third then they were going to have issues.

“In the first 15 minutes of the second half, we should have scored two or three goals – then the game is over,” Arteta said

The result takes Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester City, who face West Ham on Wednesday.

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