Former Liverpool shot-stopper Alexander Doni has hailed the club s current goalkeeper Alisson as the best in the world.

Doni played for a host of Brazilian clubs in a career that also included six years at Roma and a brief stint at Liverpool.

And the 39-year-old told Liverpool s official website that not only was he immediately impressed by Alisson, a fellow Brazilian, he also recommended the English giants move to sign him.

Liverpool tracked Alisson from there, eventually making him the world s most expensive goalkeeper in 2018.

The first time I saw him playing for Inter, I knew he had what it takes to succeed in the .

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

When I saw him play, I immediately recommended him to [goalkeeping coach] John [Achterberg] …

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson sees no reason why Wayne Rooney should not continue in his role as captain under new boss Sam Allardyce.

Upon Allardyce s presentation on Monday, Roy Hodgson s replacement refused to commit to Rooney retaining the England captaincy following the nation s humbling last-16 exit to Iceland at Euro 2016.

Allardyce said he wants to hold off on making a decision on the 30-year-old Rooney, who was named captain after the 2014 World Cup.

Eriksson, however, has backed England s all-time leading goalscorer to retain the armband heading into World Cup qualifying.

I think for the moment, yes, he should continue, Eriksson coach of Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG  said in an interview with Omnisport.

I can t…

New York Red Bulls and Pumas UNAM made winning starts in the CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday.

A youthful Red Bulls team accounted for 10-man Antigua GFC 3-0 at Red Bull Arena in their Group F opener.

Of the starting XI, only three players who faced Chicago Fire in MLS on Sunday were named, but Red Bulls still came out on top thanks to Alexander Muyl and Sacha Kljestan.

Red Bulls who failed to progress from the group stage of the tournament in 2014 were gifted a 14th-minute opener after Antigua midfielder Alejandro Galindo turned the ball into his own net, and things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Sixto Betancourt was sent off 12 minutes later.

WATCH: Give and go, feat. Gonzalo Veron

3-0

— New York Red Bulls (@Ne…

West Bromwich Albion F.C. have confirmed the signing of former Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Diego Lugano on a free transfer, understands.

Lugano, 32, has signed a two-year deal at The Hawthorns after two bench-ridden seasons at the Parc des Princes.

The Uruguay international, who joined PSG from Turkish giants Fenerbahçe S.K. in the summer of 2011, spent the second half of last season on loan at Málaga CF.

I am very pleased to join West Bromwich Albion for the next two years, Lugano said via Twitter.

I m doing something that has been missing in my career, playing in the Premier League, without doubt the most beautiful and competitive league in the world.

The challenge is to match what West Bromwich achieved last season and tr…

Simone Zaza conceded to feeling a little emotional after scoring in Italy s 1-1 draw with Netherlands, two years on from his embarrassing penalty miss against Germany.

The striker broke the deadlock in Turin, albeit with the aid of Virgil van Dijk s unfortunate attempt at a clearance from Federico Chiesa s low cross.

Zaza s goal, which came shortly after his introduction from the bench, helped to ease some of the pain of his spot-kick howler at Euro 2016, when his bizarre run-up preceded a wild effort which he blazed over the crossbar in a quarter-final shoot-out loss.

Nathan Ake levelled the scores in Monday s match after Domenico Criscito had seen red for the hosts in a clash of two sides who failed to qualify for the World Cup, but Zaza was able to focus o…

Lyon s Nabil Fekir has long been linked with a move to . The story has been going back and forth for a long while now from a mild interest, to 99% done , to nothing agreed from a bid being submitted to no bid yet , and so on.

Now, French outlet L Equipe report that have entered the race to sign the France international. A huge club like that, where winning trophies is practically a certainty, would give Fekir a lot to think about, compared to the challenges of the competition in the Premier League. However, Liverpool reached the Champions League final in 2017/18 and they re fast becoming an exciting project under Jürgen Klopp, especially for a player like Fekir. Surrounded by players like Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and now Naby Keita and Fabinho, Fekir would …

What the papers say

Newcastle have reportedly been given a boost in their pursuit of Kalvin Phillips. According to a report from journalist Fabrizio Romano, cited by the Daily Mail, Juventus – Newcastle’s biggest rival for the 28-year-old’s signature – have cooled on the Manchester City midfielder due to stumbling blocks over a loan fee and salary, opening the window for the Magpies to swoop.

The Daily Mail also says former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is desperate for a return to the Premier League. The midfielder completed a £12million transfer from Liverpool to Saudi Arabian side Al Ettifaq last summer, but has reportedly been disheartened by the side’s poor on-field form and lack of crowds. Henderson is believed to be willing to give serious consideration t…

Coach Slaven Bilic is on his way out barring a last-minute miracle that puts Croatia into the World Cup finals, newspapers said Wednesday.

Farewell , headlined Sportske Novosti. Unless there s a miracle, Croatia will not go to the World Cup and will look for a new coach.

Croatia play their final Group Six qualifier later Wednesday against Kazakhstan, needing a win to retain an unlikely chance of bagging a playoff place ahead of Ukraine.

England, having already secured qualification, lost on Saturday to Ukraine who moved above the Croats.

In their last qualifier, the Ukrainians play whipping boys Andorra, who have no points, three goals for and 33 against from nine matches.

Croatia, missing several stars, lie third in the group, a point behind U…

Fulham have announced on their official website that midfielder Kerim Frei has been sold to Besiktas.

The Turkish giants completed the deal just before the summer transfer deadline in Turkey and seem to have landed a player with huge potential.

Kerim Frei arrived at Fulham youth academy from Grasshoppers and he didn t need a lot of time to break into the first team set up.

The Turkish winger went on to make no less than 16 Premier League appearances during the 2011/2012 season, but was then farmed out on loan at Cardiff in October 2012.

Frei featured in another 7 Premier League games since returning from Wales, but he fell further behind the pecking order at the start of the new season.

As a result, the Cottagers decided to accept an offer from B…

Retiring Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Mark Paston is confident the decision to hang up his boots was the right one.

Paston, 36, brought the curtain down on six years in Wellington with a 3-2 loss to Melbourne Victory on Sunday as the Phoenix could not avoid the dreaded wooden spoon.

Following the match Paston said there was obviously sadness at ending his professional football career but excitement about what lay ahead.

This moment you know it s coming eventually, he said. The decision is always supposed to be tough but I think I ve made the right decision.

The New Zealand international has battled back from two broken legs as well as other injuries during his time with the Phoenix and New Zealand, and said the physical toll of training and playing wee…