Michael Preetz has expressed his gratitude to Hertha Berlin for putting their faith in him after he signed a new contract with the club.

The Hertha general manager has put pen to paper on deal with the Bundesliga club until 2017, with his previous contract due to expire next year.

Coach Jos Luhukay also committed to the Berlin outfit by signing a new deal in May and 46-year-old former Germany striker Preetz, who replaced Dieter Hoeness in 2009, is determined to ensure Hertha continue to progress.

I thank the committees of the Association for the trust and am looking forward to further cooperation, said Preetz.

Together we will do everything we can to move on our chosen path and consistently promote the development of Hertha BSC.

Hertha are fourth in the Bu…

Football Australia (FA) chief James Johnson was horrified at the scenes from Saturday s Melbourne derby pitch invasion and is ready to hand out the harshest of punishments for those involved.

Saturday s game at AAMI Park between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City saw flares thrown by both sets of fans during the first 22 minutes, before trouble escalated when a flare appeared to hit a pitch-side cameraman before exploding.

City goalkeeper Tom Glover threw another flare back into the crowd, inflaming the situation, before fans behind the goal stormed the pitch, with Glover being hit in the face with a metal bin that had been used for other flares. Referee Alex King was also caught up in the incident, before taking the two teams off the pitch, with the game later abandon…

Toni Kroos is set to leave Real Madrid as a six-time Champions League winner but Carlo Ancelotti wants the Los Blancos midfielder to reverse his retirement decision.

The Germany midfielder appears to have played the final club game of his career, signing off with European glory after a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in Saturday s final.

Kroos delivered a perfect corner-kick assist for Dani Carvajal s 74th-minute opener at Wembley Stadium before Vinicius Junior sealed Madrid s 15th crown in UEFA s top club competition.

The 34-year-old Kroos will head to Euro 2024 with Germany this month before calling time on his glittering career, though Ancelotti hopes he will change his mind.

I m really grateful to Kroos, Ancelotti said. He finished at the very top…

Market: Sheffield United win

Odds: 4/5 @

Two sides who are still battling it out in the play-off chase, Sheffield United will welcome a struggling QPR to Bramall Lane on Tuesday night.

Starting with the hosts, after marking their return from March s international break with a sluggish 1-0 loss away at Stoke, Sheffield United will be desperate for an immediate response here. Heading into their fortnight break with a routine 2-0 win against Barnsley at Bramall Lane, the Blades have continued to impress since bringing back Paul Heckingbottom. Skyrocketing their way up the Championship table, they have also gained a reputation for their continued success on home soil. Including a run highlighted by a thumping 4-1 romp against Middlesbrough, Tuesday s hosts are unbea…

Arsenal returned to winning ways in unconvincing fashion as Mesut Ozil s stunning volley gave them a 1-0 Premier League win over struggling Newcastle United.

The Gunners had failed to win in their last three league games but the visit of Newcastle side without a victory since October will have been viewed as a welcome one.

Most will have expected the floodgates to open when Ozil opened the scoring in magnificent fashion after 23 minutes.

But Arsenal struggled to put the game to bed as Newcastle produced the kind of battling performance their fans have wanted during a worrying slide down the table that has now seen them collect only one point from nine games.

The Magpies began the game just a point above the bottom three and their lack of reward for a com…

American businessman Frank McCourt has taken control of Marseille after the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner completed his purchase of the Ligue 1 outfit.

The deal was finalised on Monday, with McCourt taking over from Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, having entered into exclusive discussions in August.

McCourt, who also owns the Los Angeles Marathon, sold MLB franchise the Dodgers for $2.15billion in 2012, which represents the highest price ever paid for a sports team.

Marseille nine-time winners of France s first division with their last title coming back in 2010 are 12th in the table this season following a 13th-place finish in 2015-16.

Today opens a new chapter in the great history of Olympique de Marseille, McCourt said in a statement. A chapter of which I …

Steven Gerrard feels Liverpool s unexpected title challenge has been built on the foundations of a strong finish to last season.

Brendan Rodgers side sit top of the Premier League going into the last six games of the campaign, and know that a haul of 18 points from their final run of fixtures would give them a first top-flight crown since 1990.

Liverpool are on course to break the all-time Premier League record for goals in a season set by Chelsea, with 103, in 2009-10 having netted a remarkable 88 times in their 32 matches so far.

The Merseyside club have surged to the top of the table on the back of a run of eight straight league victories, and they have not lost since their 2-1 reverse at Chelsea on December 29.

Such form is in stark contrast to recent season…

Pep Guardiola is a man with weak self-confidence according to Bayern Munich doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, who has lambasted the Manchester City manager in his new autobiography.

Muller-Wohlfahrt was established as the orthopaedic surgeon of choice for a number of leading sporting stars, including sprinting great Usain Bolt, and had worked at Bayern for more than 35 years by the time Guardiola was appointed as head coach in 2013.

The pair clashed frequently during Guardiola s tenure, with the former Barcelona boss irritated by Muller-Wohlfahrt s refusal to attend training sessions and reportedly clashing with the veteran physician over a number of issues, including treatment for the injury-plagued Thiago Alcantara.

Matters came to a head after Bayern s 3-1…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola concedes he failed to get the best out of Alexis Sanchez during the pair s solitary season together at Barcelona.

Guardiola s City host Sanchez s Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday in a clash which could have significant ramifications in the title race.

The duo will be reunited after working together at Camp Nou in 2011-12, a campaign which saw Barca lift the UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de Espana, Club World Cup and the Copa del Rey.

Despite that success, Guardiola admits his tactics did not necessarily suit Sanchez, whom he believes is benefiting from being selected as the central striker under Arsene Wenger.

Alexis has played in Chile and in Italy with Udinese and played really well in Barcelona, Guardiola sai…

Rafael Marquez is relishing a reunion with former Barcelona team-mate Samuel Eto o at the FIFA World Cup on Friday.

Mexico take on Cameroon in Group A s second fixture, after hosts Brazil kicked off the tournament with a 3-1 win over Croatia on Thursday.

And defender Marquez is relishing the opportunity to face off against former club-mate Eto o, alongside whom he played from 2004 to 2009.

It s going to be something special, as he is a good friend of mine, and we spent a good time being team-mates in Barcelona, he said. But now he is my opponent and I ll have to do my job and particularly it will be almost always on him.

So I ll try my best, knowing that he is an important player for Cameroon and he is one of the pillars of this team, so I´ll try to do my best. …