I didn't want to be alive again after career ending tackle, McKinnon

Former Newcastle Knights man Alex McKinnon says he did not want to live
at times in the aftermath of the tackle that put him in a coma and ended his
career.
McKinnon landed head first following a three-man tackle involving
Jordan McLean and Australia captain Cameron Smith during an NRL
match with Melbourne Storm in March 2014.
While McKinnon ultimately left hospital, he is yet to walk independently
and spoke for the first time on Sunday about the tackle and the impact on
his life.
The 23-year-old hit out at Smith's behaviour in the immediate aftermath
of the incident and explained he did not want to be alive at times following
the tackle.
"I didn't want to be alive, I honestly didn't," he told Channel Nine's 60
Minutes programme.
"I had that many thoughts going through my head and I just felt it was
unfair for me to be alive [like that], I honestly did.
"I just kept thinking about my pop. My pop died a year before I debuted.
"Coincidentally he died just after I met [fiance] Teigan and that was just the
thoughts that were going through my head.
"I just wanted to die, I honestly didn’t want to be alive. I just felt like it
was torture ... that’s just the way I felt."
McKinnon was shown the tackle for the first time during the programme
and reserved criticism for Smith, who was heard saying "if he doesn't duck
his head, that doesn't happen" following the incident.
While Smith's club defended him, stating no-one knew the severity of the
situation at the time and that Smith requested to visit, McKinnon was
angered by the comments.
When shown the video, McKinnon stated: "He's still debating? Is he f
serious? Wouldn't you just shut up?
"That's the Australian captain there, well done. That’s f ridiculous.
"I don't know if [Smith's] tried to get in contact through the club but I'm
sure if Jordan McLean could make contact, [Smith] probably could."

De Gea calm over his future

David de Gea has confirmed he will return to Manchester United for pre-
season training in response to continued speculation linking him with a
move to Real Madrid.
The Spain international goalkeeper won United's player of the year award
for the second consecutive season last term and his dazzling displays are
widely reported to have caught the attention of the Liga giants.
De Gea, formerly of Atletico Madrid, spent his summer holiday in the
Spanish capital but was coy when asked about the prospect of joining Real
by Spanish television channel Cuatro.
"Real Madrid? I have to return to Manchester for pre-season," he said, as
quoted by AS.
The 24-year-old refused to entertain further questions about the mooted
switch, adding that he was "calm" over his future.

Cuadrado going nowhere - agent plays down rumours

Juan Cuadrado remains part of Jose Mourinho's plans at Chelsea and is
likely to stay at Stamford Bridge.
That is the view of the winger's agent after a low-key start to Cuadrado's
Chelsea career sparked speculation regarding his future.
The Colombia international started four Premier League games and failed
to complete 90 minutes in any of them following his February switch from
Fiorentina.
Serie A trio Juventus, Roma and Inter have been linked with the 27-year-
old, but Cuadrado appears set to battle for a regular first-team place with
the Premier League champions.
"I read with amazement in some English and Italian newspapers about
imaginary figures and agents associated with Cuadrado, so I think it is
right to clarify the situation," Alessandro Lucci, Cuadrado's representative,
told TuttoMercato.
"Cuadrado is a Chelsea player, strongly backed by Mourinho who believes
in him.
"Juan is fine in London and is very likely to remain at Chelsea."

I'd be supporting Venus, says Serena Williams

Serena Williams expects Venus to be the crowd favourite when the sisters
clash in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday.
World number one Serena, who has already collected the Australian and
French Open titles this year, survived a third-round scare as Britain's
Heather Watson served for the match with the backing of some boisterous
Centre Court support.
The 33-year-old acknowledges that a victory for her elder sibling, the
16th seed, would be popular in light of the latter's battle back towards the
summit of the women's game after being diagnosed with Sjogren's
syndrome in 2011.
The autoimmune disease, which can cause fatigue and joint pain, forced
Venus onto the sidelines and her ranking plummeted to 103 in the world
before a sustained effort hauled her back into the top 20 last year.
"I expect more people to be rooting for Venus," said Serena. "I would be
rooting for Venus.
"She's been through so much. She's had a wonderful story. She's been so
inspiring to me.
"You know, she's just an incredible individual. She's just so amazing.
She's been so inspiring to a lot of people with the same things that she goes
through, too."
Ahead of their first grand slam meeting for six years - the previous
encounter coming in the 2009 Wimbledon final when Serena triumphed -
the younger Williams holds an overall career head-to-head advantage of
14 wins to 11.
"You just have to be focused - there's no easy points against Serena,"
said Venus.
"I think no matter how Serena's playing, she knows how to win."

Inter Milan and Fiorentina fights over Slaha

Inter have hit back strongly at Paolo Panerai over a series of Twitter posts
apparently from the Fiorentina vice-president claiming that the San Siro
club should be relegated for allegedly breaching transfer regulations in
their reported pursuit of Chelsea's Mohamed Salah.
Fiorentina are considering legal action against Salah as the winger is
refusing to return for a second loan spell with the club, who have an option
to keep him for the 2015-16 campaign as part of the deal that saw Juan
Cuadrado head to Stamford Bridge in February.
A Fiorentina statement on Friday stated that Salah has "expressed his
desire to join another club" - reported to be Inter - and Panerai has
courted social media controversy that has prompted dismay at their Serie A
rivals.
An unverified account claiming to be Panerai tweeted on Sunday: "Dear
Giovanni [Malago, president of the Italian Olympic Committee], Salah is the
final straw. We can no longer tolerate that signatures and rules are worth
less than zero.
"If football clubs were to respect transparency rules, then Inter would
already have been relegated. Whose money is it being used, is it starting
from the Cayman Islands?
"[UEFA president] Michel Platini knows that Inter have broken the Uefa
Fair Play rules. For Salah and other players who cost millions. This is the
chance to make an example of them."
However, Inter issued a strong response via a statement that read: "F.C.
Internazionale announces that it has read with great astonishment the
comments made by the Fiorentina vice president on his personal Twitter
account.
"It is not acceptable for anybody to talk out of turn about our club, casting
doubt over its solidity and transparency.
"It is not acceptable for anybody to offend our club and, as a consequence,
our fans, with comments that are utterly lacking in foundation.
"F.C. Internazionale is dismayed by the request for exemplary sporting
action to be taken against the club, given that it and many other clubs has
just signed a public agreement with UEFA to respect the FFP regulations.
"Given that Fiorentina is clearly attempting to involve Inter in a matter that
doesn't concern it, in order to cover up a problem between Fiorentina and
the player Mohamed Salah, F.C. Internazionale will make recourse to any
authority necessary in order to protect its image and integrity."

Newcastle hold talks with Northampton youngster

Newcastle United have held talks with Northampton Town over the
possibility of signing teenage striker Ivan Toney.
The 19-year-old scored eight goals in 40 League Two appearances last
season as Northampton successful preserved their Football League status
and media speculation suggests he could join Newcastle for £300,000.
Northampton boss Chris Wilder confirmed the two clubs have been in
negotiations and told the Northampton Chronicle: "There has been
speculation, and maybe it is one for the chairman to answer.
"There has been discussions, we can’t get away from that, and as I have
said before, Ivan is a very, very good young player that will attract
interest.
"I will know more where we are after I have had discussions with the
chairman [on Sunday and Monday]."
Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren also continues to be heavily linked
with QPR striker Charlie Austin, who netted 18 times in his debut Premier
League season last term.

Signing Falcao not a risk

The signing of Radamel Falcao does not represent a risk for Chelsea,
according to former Stamford Bridge star Clive Walker.
Falcao became one of the most feared strikers in world football due to his
goalscoring exploits at Porto and Atletico Madrid, but a serious knee
injury ended a promising debut season at Monaco in the 2013-14
campaign in which he scored nine goals in 17 Ligue 1 appearances.
Having recovered from that setback, Manchester United brought the
Colombia international to Old Trafford last season, but Louis van Gaal's
move failed to yield reward as he scored just four Premier League goals in
a disappointing and expensive loan spell.
Despite his struggles in England, Jose Mourinho has long been an admirer
of Falcao and, after weeks of speculation, the Portuguese finally got his
man after it was confirmed the 29-year-old would move to Chelsea for
the upcoming season.
And Walker - who made over 200 appearances for Chelsea between 1976
and 1984 - believes that Falcao could prove a shrewd signing if he can
rediscover the form that made him hot property throughout Europe.
"I don't think it's a risk for Chelsea. There's no signing fee so there's no
weight as there was on, for example, Fernando Torres because there was a
£50million weight when we purchased him," Walker told Perform.
"I think in this situation, with a loan, I don't think it's a risk for Chelsea. I'd
like to think Falcao will improve on the season he had last year, maybe he's
got used to the Premier League a little bit more.
"Also, Chelsea play a different style to Manchester United and Jose sees
that as a situation where Falcao will be a better player in the Premier
League because of the style Chelsea play.
"I think it's a good move for Chelsea and I think it's also going to be a big
season for Falcao. He needs to get himself back on track and what a
wonderful player he's been in the past.
"I just think over the last couple of seasons he's probably lost his way a
little bit. He had the injury and maybe Monaco wasn't the right place to go
to and he didn't really perform at United so it's a big, big season for him."
Walker also believes that Mourinho is the right man to instill the confidence
back in Falcao, adding: "I know Jose has admired him from his time in
Spain and Portugal.
"He knows what he's doing when he's buying players Jose Mourinho, and
he certainly feels he can be a big asset this season.
"I think when Jose Mourinho makes a decision - and we're talking about a
world-class player now - and okay it's a season-long loan, but I'm sure
the wages are quite high. So when paying quite a bit of money for
someone Jose Mourinho likes to get it right."

Murillo joins Inter as Obi and kuzmanovic depart

Inter have completed the signing of Colombia defender Jeison Murillo,
while Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Joel Obi have joined Basel and Torino
respectively.
Murillo joins from Granada on a five-year contract after a two-season
spell with the Spanish club.
The 23-year-old joins Geoffrey Kondogbia and Miranda in moving to
San Siro during the close-season, while Barcelona full-back Martin
Montoya is expected to join on loan.
"Jeison Murillo has determination and talent. He's a quality young player,
we are pleased to announce his arrival," president Erick Thohir said.
"Roberto Mancini will get the best out of him and the fans will love his
never-say-die attitude."
Murillo signs on after representing Colombia at the Copa America, where
he was involved in an incident with Neymar in the group stages that saw
the Brazil captain suspended for the rest of the tournament.
While Murillo joins, Kuzmanovic has left for Swiss champions Basel after
the Serbian midfielder struggled to nail down a regular starting berth
during his three years at the club.
Obi has risen through the ranks with Inter and won the Coppa Italia in
2011. He has now opted for a new challenge with fellow Serie A

Inter signs Montoya from Barca

Barcelona defender Martin Montoya has joined Inter on loan with a view
to a permanent move.
The full-back arrived in Milan on Thursday for his medical ahead of the
move, and has now completed the temporary switch to San Siro.
A statement on Barca's official website confirmed that Montoya will join
on an initial season-long loan and will stay for a further 12 months if he
makes a certain number of appearances. At the end of the second season
Inter have the option to complete a full transfer.
Montoya is the latest arrival during a busy close-season for Inter, with
Geoffrey Kondogbia, Miranda and Jeison Murillo signing on for Roberto
Mancini's side.
After rising through the ranks at Camp Nou and breaking into the first-
team in February 2011, Montoya has failed to nail down a regular starting
berth for the Spanish champions and has largely played second fiddle to
Dani Alves.
With Alves having signed a new two-year contract last month and Aleix
Vidal joining from Sevilla, Montoya's chances of first-team football
appeared even more limited, prompting his move to Italy.
During his time at Barca, Montoya won La Liga three times and the Copa
del Rey twice, and he also has a winners' medal from last season's UEFA
Champions League.

Chile Vs Argentina - History beckons as Coppa America heads to final

Argentina and Chile will relish the chance to end long waits for major
international trophies on Sunday in the final of the Copa America.
Tournament hosts Chile came through a close-fought semi-final with
Peru to move within one win of their first Copa success while Argentina
thrashed Paraguay 6-1 and inched closer to their first major title since
1993.
Gerardo Martino saw Lionel Messi shine in their dismantling of Paraguay
last week with this weekend's clash offering the four-time world player of
the year the chance to seal his first international honours.
Despite winning a host of titles with Barcelona, Messi's international career
has not yet reached the same heights, although victory in Santiago would
go a long way to silencing any remaining detractors.
Sergio Aguero - another component of Martino's impressive forward line
- was on target against Paraguay and talked up the quality Argentina
possess with the likes of Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain lurking on the
bench.
"I just try to do my job. Behind me I have Carlitos and I have Pipita
[Higuain], they are very good players and that motivates you," Aguero told
La Nacion.
"It is good if your place is in demand. We [Aguero and Messi] know that
sometimes we will generate, but above all we have to aim not to fail.
"They are one of the best teams in the tournament and it will be a good
final.
"It is the second major challenge facing us after Uruguay and they will look
to impose on us."
For Chile and their Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, Sunday represents the
chance for a first Copa title, having again impressed with a high-energy,
pressing game that also gained praise at last year's World Cup.
Argentina have dominated the sides' recent meetings but, with Chile
looking for a repeat of their 1-0 victory in World Cup qualifying of
2008, captain Claudio Bravo is hopeful the underdog tag can serve his
side well.
"We have never been favourites in any tournament and often is good for us
to feel that, because we are full of energy and enthusiasm," he told
reporters.
"The word fear has not been referred to by anyone in the team, but we have
the utmost respect for all the teams. The headline of fear or that we were
scared was established by the press and not from us.
"I think we have to do the same thing that we did in the match in the
qualifiers for Brazil, which was a very seasoned Chile, a Chile that wanted
to play on equal terms.
"This is something we have been doing since long ago, and the truth is that
we have a great chance, playing at home, with our fans, which increases
our chances of playing a good game and brings us closer to the title."