Batista to become Bahrain boss

Former Argentina coach Sergio Batista has agreed to take charge of Bahrain's national team.

The 52-year-old Buenos Aires native has been out of work since parting company with Chinese Super League outfit Guangzhou Evergrande last year but will sign a two-year contract with the Middle Eastern nation.

Batista, a former defensive midfielder who was a part of his country's 1986 World Cup-winning squad, led Argentina to Olympic glory at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

He subsequently took charge of the senior squad in 2010, succeeding former team-mate Diego Maradona at the helm, but was dismissed after a poor showing at the Copa America the following year.

Batista returned to the game in 2012 by taking a management role at Guangzhou but has now been charged with trying to qualify Bahrain for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The 2022 hosts have never before performed for the biggest tournament in the game, though they were beaten in a play-off with New Zealand for South Africa 2010, losing 1-0 on aggregate.

Benteke named Premier League Player of the Month as Pearson scoops manager prize

Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke has been named the Premier League's Player of the Month for April, while Leicester City's Nigel Pearson has scooped the Manager of the Month award.

Benteke scored five goals in four Premier League matches in April - strikes against Manchester United and Tottenham and a hat-trick against QPR - to fire Villa to four vital points that lifted them clear of the relegation zone.

Pearson, meanwhile, led his Leicester side to four consecutive victories prior to defeat to Chelsea as the Foxes hauled themselves a point clear of the Premier League drop zone from a seemingly hopeless position.

Jose Mourinho is ready to make a summer approach to sign Benteke, who has been revitalised under Tim Sherwood and scored 11 goals in his last nine matches in all competitions.

Leicester are looking increasingly likely to preserve their Premier League status under Pearson, who has courted controversy on several occasions this season and was forced to apologise after calling a journalist an "ostrich" following his side's loss to the champions.

You can't keep tabs on Messi - Boateng

Jerome Boateng says it is impossible to "keep tabs" on Lionel Messi after the Barcelona man embarrassed the World Cup winner on Wednesday.

Messi scored two brilliant goals, while Neymar grabbed the third, as the Catalans ran out 3-0 winners at Camp Nou.

After smashing in the first from the edge of the area, the Argentine ghosted past Boateng, leaving the defender in a heap on the floor before clipping the ball beyond Manuel Neuer.

"You can't keep tabs on such a quality individual," he told the DFB's official website.

"You can only manage to reduce their threat as a team and, as shown by the closing stages, that certainly takes a lot out of you.

"You can't keep Messi out of the game for 90 minutes. We did really well to limit his influence for the first 70, but then you have to continue to defend as a team.

"After falling behind, which shouldn't happen in the first place, you can't then allow the other team to further increase their advantage."

Can Werder Bermen signing Anthony Ujah join Europe's elite strikers?

A number of strong performances this term for FC Koln have seen Werder Bremen meet Anthony Ujah’s release clause, believed to be in the region of €5m. The Nigeria international will leave the RheinEnergie Stadion in the summer, leaving a city he has called home since 2013 for a team aiming at Europa League qualification.

It is an obvious step-up for Ujah, who only two years ago had to leave modest Mainz in search of first-team playing time. Werder are historically the third most successful team in the German top flight with four Bundesliga titles, and are presently in the hunt for sixth place. In the intervening period, the Super Eagles striker has powered the Billy Goats to promotion, and ten goals have proved the difference between mid-table (by no means a foregone conclusion yet, mind) and a relegation scrap (which remains a serious prospect, albeit an unlikely one).

There are merits to the move for both player and club.

Werder get a striker who has proven himself capable in the top-flight, while Ujah earns a chance to prove he has learnt enough to justify leaving Thomas Tuchel, a coach he confessed to greatly admire upon arriving in Germany from Norway.

Of course, there is still much for him to improve upon as a player – he is hardly the finished article – but ten Bundesliga strikes is not to be sniffed at. If this seems an underwhelming tally, do consider that Koln are not the league’s great entertainers; that’s Bayern Munich you’re thinking of. The Billy Goats have the second-lowest tally for shots per game (10.6) in the league, and only two teams have managed fewer goals this season: Paderborn and Hamburg, both a point above the relegation zone.

Ujah has scored a whopping 33 per cent of his team’s goals. For context, only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dortmund) and Alexander Meier (Eintracht Frankfurt) have been as indispensable. Take away Ujah’s contribution in goals and assists (three) and Koln would (on goal differential) be second from bottom.

There is, of course, only so long a player can carry a modest club before either one thing or the other results: the player decides he wants to test himself at a higher level, or a bigger team makes an irrefutable offer. In this case, the latter has taken place, but the former must result quickly if the 24-year-old is to be a success with Die Werderaner.

Viktor Skrypnyk’s side are not the force of the early to mid-noughties that won the title in 2004 and were runners-up twice more in a four-year span. In the face of financial difficulty, expectations are rather tempered these days; the club is essentially now a stepping stone. A fine recent example is Belgium international Kevin de Bruyne, who excelled there on loan from Chelsea in the second half of the 2013 season, thereby snagging a move to Wolfsburg last summer.

The Wolves will almost certainly play in the Champions League next season on the back of de Bruyne’s contributions.

Might Ujah toe a similar path and feature in the Champions League in the near future? Next season at Werder may provide the answers; while he possesses great speed and a ridiculously good leap at just 5’11”, there are a lot of facets to his game that need to improve for him to become an elite forward.

For one thing, his footwork could be much better. There are also huge question marks over his concentration, both in front of goal and in open play. Considering the primacy of pressing from the front and winning possession quickly, this does somewhat take away from his all-round game – he notably had to be shouted at by his team-mates in a 2-1 win over Schalke in December after switching off.

It may seem like a little thing, but that ability to put in extra yards upfront is exactly the sort of thing top forwards have; the ability to keep the opposing defenders perpetually on their toes, and punish a momentary lapse, thereby creating something out of nothing.

In terms of his finishing as well, it remains clinical so long as he does not have too long to think about it. If he does, he becomes frustratingly easy to read. In a way, this is true of most forwards, and in any case at a higher level there is less space and time in advanced areas, but it is something he has to work on with the coaching staff at Werder.

At 24, there is obviously a lot of upside still. By conventional wisdom, his peak remains a good four years in the future – if in that time he picks up the mental side of his game, he may eventually make the leap to a bigger club. The Bundesliga could do with another prolific Nigerian striker, not since Jonathan Akpoborie and (to a lesser extent) Victor Agali has the German top-flight had a seasoned Nigeria international forward.

Ujah will hope his international career is rather more momentous than theirs though.

Sevilla are not in the Europa League final yet - Vicente Iborra ahead of Fiorentina clash

Sevilla midfielder Vicente Iborra insists that his side cannot afford to think about the Europa League final ahead of their semi-final clash with Fiorentina.

The Rojiblancos are on course to retain the trophy and go into Thursday's first leg at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as favourites to progress.

However, Iborra is well aware that beating Vincenzo Montella's men will not be an easy task.

"We cannot think about the final yet," Iborra told Goal.

"The first leg will be an important and beautiful game to play. We are prepared to face it.

“We know that Fiorentina have great players and that they are having a good season in the Italian league - and we know that they will be difficult.

“All the players know that this is a special game for our fans and we want to give them reasons to feel proud. We are sure they will give us a helping hand as they have done all season."

Sevilla are currently fifth in La Liga, three points behind Valencia who occupy the final Champions League spot.

"We will try to finish fourth," Iborra promised. "We will fight for the Champions League and we will continue to leave everything on the field just like in the match against Real Madrid."

Sevilla lost 3-2 at home against Real last weekend in a game in which Iborra scored.

“I was unlucky earlier in the season in the game at the Santiago Bernabeu but I had better luck in the return match. However, the goal did not help the team. We will fight to the end in La Liga," he concluded.

Andres Iniesta has voiced his admiration for Lionel Messi in the wake of his superb performance in Barcelona's 3-0 win over Bayern Munich in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg.

The Argentina international was the star of the show as he helped Barca to a vital home win with two goals and an assist in the final 15 minutes of the encounter at Camp Nou.

Iniesta has nothing but praise for his team-mate, saying the side are lucky to have him.

"Leo Messi does things that nobody else does. I take my hat off to him once again," Iniesta told the official Barcelona website.

"We are lucky to be able to enjoy having him. He makes us happy."

The Spanish midfielder then went on to voice his delight with Wednesday's victory, but stressed that they cannot afford to get carried away.

"We tried to control the ball, but we knew they’d want it too. Our effectiveness in the last few minutes is what decided the game.

"We know what football is like. This is a semi-final against Bayern. Nothing has been decided yet because there are still 90 minutes to go and we’ll have to get things very right in Munich if we want to play the final.

"We shouldn’t start thinking that nobody can beat us. We have to keep doing this, because if we stop, there are other very good teams and when you least expect it they can beat you."

Burnley successful in Duff red card appeal

Burnley defender Michael Duff is available to face Hull City this weekend after his red card against West Ham was overturned.

Duff was sent off for a clumsy challenge on Cheikhou Kouyate in the first half, with Mark Noble scoring the resulting penalty as the Clarets lose 1-0 to leave them on the brink of relegation from the Premier League.

Both Burnley manager Sean Dyche and West Ham counterpart Sam Allardyce agreed that Duff's dismissal was harsh, given several players appeared to be covering the 37-year-old at the time of the tackle.

Burnley subsequently appealed referee Jon Moss' decision, which was overturned on Wednesday.

Dyche's side remain bottom of the table, eight points from safety with three games remaining.

Bayern would never sign Hazard, insists Van Buyten

Bayerrn Munich scout Daniel Van Buyten has stressed that the Bundesliga champions are not interested in signing Eden Hazard due to the hefty transfer fee it would take to lure him away from Chelsea.

The Allianz Arena side have been linked with a number of wingers in recent weeks as they look to add some more depth to their attack, yet Van Buyten has made it clear Hazard is not an option for Bayern.

"Bayern would never sign a player like Eden Hazard. He would cost between €70 million and €80m and that is a lot of money even for Bayern," Van Buyten told Het Nieuwsblad.

"They would rather sign a 17-year-old or an 18-year-old who would cost €5m or so."

Van Buyten then went on to reveal that Anderlecht midfielder Youri Tielemans is one youngster Bayern are showing an interest in.

"Tielemans is one of the players Bayern are keeping a close eye on. He still has a lot to learn, but he is one of the biggest talents of his generation.

"I like to compare him to Bastian Schweinsteiger. He is getting older and Tielemans could be his long-term replacement."

The 17-year-old has a contract with Anderlecht until June 2016, but is set to sign a renewal once he turns 18 on Thursday.

Beating Barcelona would be the greatest achievement of Guardiola's career

There has always been a degree of scepticism about Pep Guardiola's work at Barcelona and now at Bayern; as if he has simply been handed two squads of world-class players and all he has to do is stand on the sidelines and watch them score goals.

He has indeed inherited two great teams but nothing in his career so far will have prepared him for what is about to transpire in this upcoming series of games. Guardiola is facing the most intense challenge of his coaching life. Against Barcelona on Wednesday at Camp Nou he will have to demonstrate that his side can legitimately be described as the best in Europe. That is not easy. It is even more difficult when he has only half a team.

Not once this season has Guardiola had a full squad available to him. Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger, two World Cup and treble winners, have missed huge chunks of the campaign. Last summer's marquee signing Medhi Benatia has also broken down too often. Franck Ribery remains touch and go for this week but his season, like so many others at Bayern, has been injury-ravaged. Pep has had to do without his two Spanish maestros, Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martinez, for most of the season although their return at this part of the campaign could now prove crucial.

While those players have finally regained fitness, other important ones have been struck down. Arjen Robben and David Alaba, the best attacker and best all-round player in the squad respectively, are marked absent until next season. Robert Lewandowski, who has toiled diligently all season while those around him were dropping like flies, is recovering from concussion, a broken nose and a broken jaw. Holger Badstuber was again emerging as a key defender but another muscle injury has stricken him lame.

Pep's season has been more about managing resources than implementing the next stage of his grand plan. He has turned up on matchdays with only 14 fit players. No coach can conduct significant work on the training field with those numbers. Bayern play 34 Bundesliga matches a season. Their squad is 25 players strong. Multiply one number by the other and you get 850 individual matchdays. Guardiola's squad between them have missed nearly 200; around a quarter of all games. Think of Bayern's strongest XI; now think how many times Guardiola has been able to use it. Never has a coach had to achieve so much with so few fit players at his disposal.



He should be thankful that Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Dante, Juan Bernat, Xabi Alonso, Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller and Lewandowski have stayed fit for most of the season between them because they form the core of what has become Guardiola's first choice XI. And now he has to prepare them for mighty Barca.

Guardiola has worked out a blueprint for success in the Bundesliga. He has also been aided by his rivals' inability to collect three points in places Bayern do every week. His record against the top teams in Germany is not the best around and it is proving difficult to implement his high-wire football in Europe too. He can dominate the league scene through Bayern's inherent superiority but cannot always bring his style to bear in the most demanding matches. That is not down to any tactical inferiority though - it is because he can never pick his preferred team.

By Pep's exceedingly high standards Bayern have played well only twice in Europe this season, such have been the impediments; away at Roma and at home against Porto in the last round. Julen Lopetegui exploited weaknesses in the ranks and ponderousness in possession when Porto beat Bayern 3-1 at the Estadio do Dragao, but Guardiola rectified those errors in the second leg.

Bayern were forthright in their attacks. They went wide for crosses and found success which proved that Guardiola is not above compromising or at least varying his football in the name of victory. He will likely have to do that against Barcelona too. Pep is asking the walking wounded to beat the team who, on form, are the best in the world.

Contrast the fitness picture at the Allianz, where the long-serving club doctor Hans Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfhart has departed due to the pervasiveness of infirmity, with the serenity at Camp Nou. Luis Enrique, the Barca coach, was criticised for his rotation policy earlier in the season and even fell foul of the moods of Lionel Messi, but the decision to rest players and slowly ease Luis Suarez into the picture is now paying dividends at a key time in the season. While the likes of Robben and Alaba are breaking down, Messi, Suarez and Neymar are just getting going.

Guardiola has to find the antidote to world football's most electrifying front three while Messi will relish the prospect at getting one-on-one with Dante and Boateng. Guardiola made Messi into the best player in the world once upon a time. He now must work out how to prevent him from having a major impact on this tie.

However, whatever knowledge Guardiola had of the inner workings at Barcelona now counts for little. It is a different club to the one he left. Key figures like Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes and Eric Abidal, the very heart and soul of Guardiola's dream team, have departed. Xavi is marginalised. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitic, Neymar and Luis Suarez represent a bold new Barcelona that is a distortion from what was Guardiola's long-term plans.

Ludicrously, Guardiola still needs to prove his credentials at Bayern. It is reckoned to be an easy job; the fact that he cannot win a treble is a bete noire. That demonstrates the level of expectation around both Bayern as a club and the man himself. Pep has to accept that the true indicator of his legacy in Bavaria will come in the Champions League. It is where he will be judged.

The defeats to Real Madrid last season were the worst of Guardiola's career. This Barcelona side are similar in terms of the star quality of their forwards and their relentlessness in attack. The total failure against Madrid might yet have a bright side; Guardiola can show he has learned the lessons from last season. He can do that against Barcelona and prove he is now a better coach for that chastening experience.

The 7-0 aggregate trouncing of Barca by Bayern in the 2013 semis was widely seen as the end of the Catalans' golden age. Jupp Heynckes and his side destroyed Pep's model over those two legs. After a sticky start Luis Enrique has Barca hitting Guardiola-esque highs this season and certain members of the squad will be hungry for vengeance. Bayern are wounded. Barca are remorseless.

If Guardiola and Bayern emerge from this tie victorious then it will be the greatest achievement of his coaching career; greater than the treble, greater than the Club World Cup, greater than all those records broken with Barca.

Madrid must learn lessons from Juventus defeat - Hernandez

Javier Hernandez has called upon his Real Madrid team-mates to learn from Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first-leg loss to Juventus.

Alvaro Morata gave Massimiliano Allegri's side an early lead in Turin, only for Cristiano Ronaldo to level for the visitors going into the break, with Carlos Tevez's penalty sealing victory.

The Mexico international has no bitterness about starting the game on the bench and is hoping to do his bit to secure a place in the final.

"The feeling is negative because we lost the game, but we fought until the end and with a 1-0 in the return leg, we'll get there," he is quoted as saying by AS.

"We have to be calm and use this as a lesson because there are no small teams in this competition.

"The coach asked us for attitude and what we do in La Liga. They had a great game. We have to try to get back on track.

"I've always said you must accept the coach's selection decisions but no one is happy on the bench.

"We have to swallow this and think about Valencia, who are also fighting in La Liga."

Real Madrid entertain Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu at 19:00CET on Saturday.