Vieira Appointed New Coach of Genoa

Nice's French coach Patrick Viera looks on during the French L1 football match between Dijon (DFCO) and Nice (OGCN) on March 31, 2019, at the Gaston Gerard stadium in Dijon, central-eastern France. (AFP)
Nice's French coach Patrick Viera looks on during the French L1 football match between Dijon (DFCO) and Nice (OGCN) on March 31, 2019, at the Gaston Gerard stadium in Dijon, central-eastern France. (AFP)
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Vieira Appointed New Coach of Genoa

Nice's French coach Patrick Viera looks on during the French L1 football match between Dijon (DFCO) and Nice (OGCN) on March 31, 2019, at the Gaston Gerard stadium in Dijon, central-eastern France. (AFP)
Nice's French coach Patrick Viera looks on during the French L1 football match between Dijon (DFCO) and Nice (OGCN) on March 31, 2019, at the Gaston Gerard stadium in Dijon, central-eastern France. (AFP)

Genoa have appointed former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira as their new coach, the Serie A club said on Wednesday.

The Frenchman has been out of work since parting ways with French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg in July, having previously managed Premier League club Crystal Palace.

Genoa, hovering above the relegation zone after a lackluster start to the season, sacked coach Alberto Gilardino on Tuesday.

Genoa have 10 points from the first 12 games of the league campaign, leaving them 17th in the standings.

Vieira, 48, began his managerial career with Manchester City's under-23 team from 2013-2015, before he took over at MLS side New York City. He then spent two-and-a-half years at Ligue 1 side Nice before moving to Palace.

He will reunite with new signing Mario Balotelli, having coached the Italian striker for 10 matches when they were both at Nice in the 2018-19 season.



Hakimi Declared Fit for Morocco's AFCON Bid

Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui and Morocco's defender #02 Achraf Hakimi attend a press conference at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco on December 20, 2025, ahead of the start of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) football tournament. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)
Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui and Morocco's defender #02 Achraf Hakimi attend a press conference at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco on December 20, 2025, ahead of the start of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) football tournament. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)
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Hakimi Declared Fit for Morocco's AFCON Bid

Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui and Morocco's defender #02 Achraf Hakimi attend a press conference at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco on December 20, 2025, ahead of the start of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) football tournament. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)
Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui and Morocco's defender #02 Achraf Hakimi attend a press conference at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco on December 20, 2025, ahead of the start of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) football tournament. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)

Morocco captain and star player Achraf Hakimi is fit and ready for the host nation's Africa Cup of Nations bid but may not start in the tournament's opening game, coach Walid Regragui said on Saturday.

"Tomorrow will be my decision but he has more than done his job. His injury was not an easy one," Regragui told reporters in Rabat where Morocco play minnows Comoros in the first match on Sunday.

"I still have another night to sleep and decide whether he starts or whether we protect him and see how it goes for the remaining games.

"He is able to start, but he might not start."

Paris Saint-Germain right-back Hakimi, the African player of the year, has not played since coming off with a left ankle injury in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich on November 4.

The 27-year-old left the field in tears that night, clearly fearing for his chances of featuring at the Cup of Nations. The injury was later diagnosed as a severe sprain.

"I feel good. I am following the program given to me by the medical staff and the coach," Hakimi, who also came sixth in this year's Ballon d'Or ranking, said Saturday, according to AFP.

Regragui added: "He has made sacrifices over the last four or five weeks that nobody else could have made, and has set an example to the other players and the staff.

"Today we can see that the protocol we put in place after his injury has been more than positive but now we have the whole competition to manage."
Morocco will also face Mali and Zambia in Group A as they bid to win a first Cup of Nations since 1976.

The tournament runs into the New Year and will finish with the final in Rabat on January 18.


Kimmich, Neuer Headline Absentee List for Injury-hit Bayern

Bayern Munich's Belgian head coach Vincent Kompany arrives for the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and Mainz 05 in Munich, southern Germany on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Karl-Josef HILDENBRAND / AFP)
Bayern Munich's Belgian head coach Vincent Kompany arrives for the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and Mainz 05 in Munich, southern Germany on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Karl-Josef HILDENBRAND / AFP)
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Kimmich, Neuer Headline Absentee List for Injury-hit Bayern

Bayern Munich's Belgian head coach Vincent Kompany arrives for the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and Mainz 05 in Munich, southern Germany on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Karl-Josef HILDENBRAND / AFP)
Bayern Munich's Belgian head coach Vincent Kompany arrives for the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and Mainz 05 in Munich, southern Germany on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Karl-Josef HILDENBRAND / AFP)

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany confirmed captain Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich were among several absentees for Sunday's Bundesliga match against Heidenheim.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday ahead of the final match of the calendar year, Kompany said Sacha Boey would also miss out through injury, Konrad Laimer is suspended while Nicolas Jackson is away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal.

Long-term absentee Jamal Musiala returned to team training this week but would not return until 2026.

France winger Michael Olise, who had eye surgery earlier in the week, is expected to return, as is Luis Diaz who missed out last week with suspension.

The dependable Olise is yet to miss a match with injury since joining Bayern from Crystal Palace in 2024.

According to AFP, Kompany said Germany captain Kimmich is still struggling with an ankle complaint picked up on international duty in November.

"We've had so many matches recently, at a certain point the pain becomes too much," Kompany said, adding Kimmich had "been playing at the limit of what's too painful" for weeks.

Unbeaten Bayern have enjoyed a close to flawless league campaign this season, dropping just four points in their opening 14 matches.

League leaders Bayern sit six points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who have played a game more.

On Saturday, German tabloid Bild reported Bayern was set to extend with winger Serge Gnabry by two years until 2028.

The former Arsenal forward has played at Bayern since 2017 and has impressed this campaign, with five goals and seven assists in all competitions.

The 30-year-old has also returned to form at international level, with three goals and an assist in Germany's six World Cup qualifiers.


Arsenal's Arteta Says he Has to Earn the Right to Get Contract Extension

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta kicks back a ball during the English Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers, in London, Britain, 13 December 2025.  EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta kicks back a ball during the English Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers, in London, Britain, 13 December 2025. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
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Arsenal's Arteta Says he Has to Earn the Right to Get Contract Extension

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta kicks back a ball during the English Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers, in London, Britain, 13 December 2025.  EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta kicks back a ball during the English Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers, in London, Britain, 13 December 2025. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN

Mikel Arteta suggested he could extend his contract at Arsenal beyond 2027 but says he still has to earn the right to continue as manager by winning silverware at the Premier League club.

Arteta, who completes six years in charge of Arsenal on Saturday, won the FA Cup with the North London club in 2020 but has yet to taste success in the league, his side finishing runner-up in ⁠the last three campaigns.

They are currently two points clear this season and have also reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

Asked whether he could see himself extending his stay beyond the end of his contract in 2027, Arteta told ⁠reporters on Friday: "Yes, but it’s about today. And a lot of things have to happen in the next few months as well to earn the right.

"I think a manager has to earn the right to be here tomorrow. A lot of things have to happen in the next few months as well to earn the right (for an extension),” Reuters quoted him as saying.

The Spaniard said ⁠Arsenal's lack of trophies was not down to substandard performances.

"You look at the performances, all the records that we had that were broken in the history of the club. We still haven't managed to do that (win trophies)," he added.

"That tells you the level we are in, which is a level that the Premier League has never experienced in the past."

Arsenal travel to Everton later on Saturday.