Former Celtic and Hull City star Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has decided to pursue his career in the Austrian Bundesliga by signing for Rapid Vienna. The 31 year old has joined Rapid on a free transfer and has signed a two year contract with the club.
Rapid were looking for attacking reinforcements after selling Nikica Jelavic to Glasgow Rangers earlier this month.
Vennegoor of Hesselink started his career with FC Twente and spent five years with them before joining PSV Eindhoven in 2001. Five consistent seasons with the Eredivisie outfit earned him a £3.4m switch to Celtic in 2006. He left the Hoops in 2009 to join Hull City.
[Source:- Rapid Vienna]
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Barcelona put their weekend humiliation at the hands of Hercules behind them with two-goal Lionel Messi inspiring a 5-1 Champions League rout of Panathinaikos on Tuesday in their Group D opener.
Barcelona fell behind to a Sidney Govou goal on 20 minutes but responded with three goals in 24 minutes with Argentine Messi scoring twice, in the 21st and 45th minutes, and Spanish star David Villa netting his first Champions League goal for Barcelona.
Pedro Rodriguez and Brazilian Dani Alves scored late goals to complete the rout while Messi came agonisingly close to a hat-trick missing a penalty and hitting both posts in the second half.
It was a big win from the 2009 champions as they gave the perfect reply to Saturday s painful 2-0 league defeat to promoted Hercules…
Manuel Pellegrini believes success in the League Cup final could once again inspire Manchester City to Premier League title glory.
City take on Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday in an attempt to lift the trophy Pellegrini claimed during his first season in charge in 2013-14, courtesy of a 3-1 win over Sunderland.
They went on to pip Liverpool in a thrilling Premier League title race and will need a similarly inspired charge this time around after back-to-back home defeats against top two Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
City put those setbacks behind them with a 3-1 victory against Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday, taking a decisive step towards the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time, and Pellegrini hopes this weekend can rekindle their efforts o…
Hamburg have sacked coach Christian Titz and replaced him with Hannes Wolf as they seek an immediate return to the Bundesliga.
Titz was appointed in March but was unable to steer Hamburg away from being relegated from the top flight for the first time.
Hamburg won four of their opening five league matches in the 2. Bundesliga but have since claimed just one victory in five, a run that has featured three 0-0 draws.
They are two points off leaders Cologne and a point behind second-placed Greuther Furth and local rivals St. Pauli, who occupy the promotion play-off place.
Disappointed with the dip in form, Hamburg have dispensed with Titz s services, turning to Wolf, who won the 2. Bundesliga title with Stuttgart in 2017.
Sporting director Ralf Becker…
Josep Maria Bartomeu is treated as a black sheep and gets unfair criticism at Barcelona, Ramon Calderon has said.
Bartomeu is under fire at Camp Nou after Lionel Messi asked to leave the Blaugrana at the end of a hugely disappointing season.
The six-time Ballon d Or winner s transfer request followed Barca s humiliating 8-2 Champions League defeat to eventual winners Bayern Munich.
But Calderon, who previously served as president at rivals Real Madrid, has sympathy for Bartomeu, whose position is up for election in March.
Being sat in this chair is very difficult, Calderon told Stats Perform News. It is much more difficult than what people can imagine.
There are so many critics and yet, when things go well, the praise is for players and managers…
Everton captain Seamus Coleman conceded he goes a little bit mad with his goal celebrations after he scored in the Toffees 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Coleman put in an impressive display in Saturday s contest at Goodison Park, and capped off his performance with a well-taken goal five minutes into the second half – his first for Everton since January 2017.
The strike put Everton back in front after Lewis Dunk had cancelled out Richarlison s opener, with the Brazil forward making sure of the points late on.
And Coleman acknowledged that his euphoric celebration – running towards the Gwladys Street end of Goodison before cupping his ears to the home support – was a response to what has been a frustrating spell.
I was out injured for a y…
Sandro Tonali fired a late winner as Milan earned a 2-1 away victory over Hellas Verona to climb to third in Serie A and stay in touch with early leaders Napoli.
Stefano Pioli s visitors got themselves ahead early on when Rafael Leao s cross was diverted by Miguel Veloso into his own net, though the lead lasted just 10 minutes as Koray Gunter s shot came off Matteo Gabbia and nestled in the back of the net.
It looked as if Milan would have to settle for a draw until Tonali s cool finish in the 81st minute proved decisive.
Milan s fourth successive Serie A victory over Verona moves them up to third, just three points behind leaders Napoli as Pioli s men look to retain their title.
1 AC Milan are the only unbeaten side in away matches in the big-5 European …
Lionel Messi chose to join Inter Miami in part due to the desire for a quieter life.
That is the view of former Manchester City and Brazil midfielder Elano, who believes Messi made a personal not professional choice by electing to move to MLS.
Messi confirmed last week that he had decided to leave Europe for the United States, where he will join Miami, who are co-owned by David Beckham.
He is departing Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent after two years in the French capital. Barcelona wanted to re-sign the seven-time Ballon d Or winner, but Messi did not wish to wait for his former club to put together a package that might have resulted in other players having to be sold.
Asked by Stats Perform what he thought of Messi s impending MLS switch, Elano said:…
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has announced he intends to stand for a fifth term at the head of football s world governing body in 2015.
Blatter has been head of FIFA since 1998 and has been a strong advocate of moving the World Cup around the continents, including the first on African soil in South Africa in 2010.
The president was also vocal in his support for Qatar s 2022 selection, despite concerns over temperatures in the Middle East country in June when the tournament is normally played.
The 78-year-old pledged in 2011 that this current term would be his last at the helm, but he now intends to seek re-election.
I want to do it (stand for re-election) because it is not over yet, he told Swiss newspaper Blick. My term is indeed over, but my mission is not finis…
Jose Mourinho hailed Louis van Gaal as a great manager, following the Dutchman s appointment as Manchester United boss on Monday.
After widespread speculation, it was confirmed that Van Gaal would be the permanent successor to David Moyes at Old Trafford.
Ryan Giggs has retired from playing to become Van Gall s assistant manager having led the club on an interim basis at the end of the season.
And Chelsea boss Mourinho, who worked with Van Gaal at Barcelona, was delighted with the news that his former colleague would become an adversary in next year s Premier League campaign.
Both clubs will be out to improve on this year s league finishes, after Chelsea ended third behind Manchester City and Liverpool, while United failed to qualify for Europe altogether, finish…