David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Raul may play Football in India

Some of the world's top football stars David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Michael Owen and Raul Gonzalez could soon be seen in action during a franchise-based tournament to be launched by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner IMG-Reliance early next year.

Beckham, Henry and Raul are closely working with IMG in different projects to promote the game and the sports management group is pursuing them to be a part of the eight-team tournament that will be played in India Jan 14-March 13."IMG has professional contracts with some stars like Beckham, Raul and Henry and there is a high possibility that they can be seen either playing or promoting the new league that will be held next year," a top AIFF official told IANS.

Thierry Henry

Former England captain Beckham, who recently retired from football, is contracted with IMG to promote football in China as its brand ambassador while ex-Real Madrid legend Raul, who is playing with Qatari club Al Sadd, and Henry work with the IMG Academy on a regular basis. IMG are also consultants to the Qatar Football Association for the 2022 World Cup.IMG's senior vice-president (football) Jefferson Slack is in talks with the international players to convince them to play in the league.
"IMG have started targetting some of the just retired international stars to play in the tournament. According to the joint venture between Reliance and IMG, the sports management group has to get some international stars for the league," the official said.Each of the eight teams in the new league is expected to have a squad of 25 players, including half-a-dozen foreign recruits. The official also said that teams will be up for grabs through a bidding process by August.The franchise-based football tournament is expected to glamourise the sport in the country, like what the Indian Premier League (IPL) did to cricket.But the AIFF is yet to decide on the players' transfer and club registration rules and may have to ring in some changes in its constitution for the tournament.  The AIFF wants all the eight clubs to be centrally registered but according to current rules clubs can only be registered with state associations.IMG-Reliance will also have to take players on loan from the I-League clubs for two months and players transfer rules also have to be amended.

UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal: Watch Live streaming of Barcelona Vs Paris S.G.

Barcelona Vs PSG Football Match will be played on 10.04.2013 in Camp Nou (Barcelona) for a UEFA Champions League second-leg match. Bjorn Kuipers will be the referee for this match.

Barcelona will be hosting this match against PSG for the 2nd leg. In the first leg, it was a really close match between the two sides. PSG managed to level the score in the closing minutes. Barcelona will be the favorites to win this match, as they are playing at home and they are usually unbeaten in their home matches. Messi is said to be doubtful for this match, as there is a slight injury concern.

Paris Saint Germain Vs Barcelona Live stream

  Paris Saint Germain will be looking to play their best football if they were to beat Barcelona. They had a quite good match in the first leg and defended quite well. Thiago Silva was in fine form, keeping Messi at bay most of the time, but Messi still managed to score. PSG will need to get them on the counter and play like they did in the first-leg. If Messi does not play, then PSG has got a really good chance to go through, but they will still need to defend well. PSG key players are Z. Ibrahimovic, D. Beckham and Thiago Silva.

Barcelona will most likely be the hot favourites to win this match, but without Messi Barcelona are not that strong (if he really doesn’t play). PSG will need to take advantage of this, even though they are playing away, it will be quite tough.The match will begin on April 10, 2013 7:45 PM BST

Yours Favorite sports portal www.anantasports.com is bringing the Live streaming Video of the UEFA Champions League match to its readers. Hope you will enjoy the Live Streaming of the Match in your PC.

Click here to watch the Live Streaming of Barcelona Vs Paris Saint Germain 

Euro Cup 2012: Team Profile France (Know the Participating Team France

The world most exciting Tournament has already begun and we have seen some exceptional games till date. All 16 qualified European giants are fighting for the cup and every team will play to win the tournament.

www.anantasports.com is bringing the profiles of all the participating team to its readers and here it is France. France is taking part in the tournaments under the guidance of Coach Laurent Blanc. 

Laurent Blanc’s side didn’t qualify easily. Qualifying for France was not an easy affair. After a turbulent World Cup campaign, the team was quickly thrust into further turmoil with a home defeat against a well organized Belarus side, though that would be the team's sole defeat of the campaign, and the last time les Bleus have been beaten in any match.

Crucial to the quest was the team's immediate ability to bounce back in Bosnia, where it defeated its host 2-0. A series of solid if unspectacular performances followed, leaving the final match, also against Safet Susic's side, crucial.

Edin Dzeko would give Bosnia & Herzegovina the lead, but a nervous French side riddled with injury problems battled back and qualified thanks to a Samir Nasri penalty.

France may have won the European Championship twice, but its record in the competition as a whole is remarkably mundane otherwise.

French Team For Euro 2012

 Led by the great Michel Platini in 1984, les Bleus picked up their maiden success on home soil, having barely tasted the final stages of the competition previously, and they would repeat that victory in dramatic circumstances over Italy 16 years later.

Since then, les Bleus crashed out to eventual-winner Greece at the quarterfinal stage in 2004 before failing miserably to make even the slightest impression on the ‘Group of Death’ four years later, when the team was humiliated by the Netherlands and Italy.
Coach: Laurent Blanc

Appointed in the wake of Raymond Domenech’s catastrophic reign, Blanc was charged with picking up the pieces of a France side in disarray following a dreadful World Cup 2010 campaign that had left the squad fractured.

His coaching CV to that point might have been short, consisting of no more than two years with Girondins de Bordeaux, but it was also remarkably impressive as ‘Le President’ had led the Stade Chaban-Delmas club to the Ligue 1 title in his debut season and followed that up with a charge to the Champions League quarterfinals.

Blanc is no stranger to the international game, either, having captained France as a classy center back during its 1998 World Cup triumph, albeit missing the final due to a controversial suspension.

France Coach Laurent Blanc

Captain Hugo LLoris

France coach Blanc showed his immense faith in goalkeeper Hugo Lloris by announcing he would be the captain of the national team for Euro 2012 back in February.

Already with over 30 caps to his name at the age of 25, the Olympique Lyonnais goalkeeper is regarded as one of the most promising young players in his position in Europe, having played a key role for les Gones since signing from hometown club Nice in 2008.

Though veterans such as Franck Ribery and Florent Malouda have more international experience, having played in the 2006 World Cup final, Lloris is the figurehead of a new era of the French game, which is why he has been chosen as the skipper ahead of such luminaries.

France Captain Hugo Lloris

Player to watch Franc Ribbery

Picking out an individual star from the ranks of talented French players is no easy task, particularly as so many of these men have flattered to deceive on the international stage in recent times.

Ribery, in particular, is a player to have come under scrutiny domestically as he is perceived to be too individualistic and egotistical. Blanc has, however, stressed the importance of the Bayern Munich winger as a player who can turn a game in an instant.

Injury and loss of form have prevented the former Olympique de Marseille man from reaching his peak yet under Blanc, but if he can produce the kind of play for France that he does on an almost weekly basis for Bayern, les Bleus’ level will undoubtedly benefit.

France Player FrancRibbery

How France Qualify:

France confirmed their place after topping Group D ahead of Bosnia , Romania and Belarus. Crucial to the quest was the team's immediate ability to bounce back in Bosnia, where it defeated its host 2-0. 

GROUP D	GP	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	France (Q)	10	6	3	1	11	21
2	Bosnia & Herzegovina	10	6	2	2	9	20
3	Romania	10	3	5	2	4	14
4	Belarus	10	3	4	3	1	13
5	Albania	10	2	3	5	-7	9
6	Luxembourg	10	1	1	8	-18	4

Sep 3, 2010 France 0-1 Belarus
Sep 7, 2010 Bosnia & Hezegovina 0-2 France
Oct 9, 2010 France 2-0 Romania
Oct 12, 2010 France 2-0 Luxembourg
Mar 25, 2011 Luxembourg 0-2 France
Jun 3, 2011 Belarus 1-1 France
Sep 2, 2011 Albania 1-2 France
Sep 6, 2011 Romania 0-0 France
Oct 7, 2011 France 3-0 Albania
Oct 11, 2011 France 1-1 Bosnia &Herzegovina 


Jersy: Brand: Nike
Home Jersey: Blue horizontal stripes
Away Jersey: White with black thin line highlights on both sleeves

France Home and Away Jersy

 France Squad For Euro 2012:

Coach: Laurent Blanc

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux)
Defenders: Gael Clichy (Manchester City), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (AC Milan), Adil Rami (Valence), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille), Anthony Reveillere (Lyon)
 Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Samir Nasri (Manchester City), Alou Diarra (Marseille), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Blaise Matuidi (PSG), Marvin Martin (Sochaux)
 Strikers: Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle), Karim Benzema, (Real Madrid), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier), Jeremy Menez (PSG), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)
 Style of play: Coach Laurent Blanc favours a solid 4-2-3-1 formation based on a solid defence. A flat back four are supported by two defensive midfielders (Yann M'vila and Yohan Cabaye) who not only serve as the first line of defence but also key link between midfield and the attack. They also use a high pressing game to win back possession in the opponent's half. Blanc wants his team to dominate possession, so it hardly comes as a surprise that France uses its technical skills to move the ball around quickly and on the ground. Franck Ribery pulls the creative strings in the centre of midfield, flanked on either side by Samir Nasri and Mathieu Valbuena. The trio push forward in attack and offer service to the lone striker, Karim Benzema.