09/21/14 ~ CROSS RIVER UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Sunday, 21 September 2014

SPORT NEWS: Wembley to stage UEFA EURO 2020 final

The UEFA Executive Committee has appointed the 13 associations that will stage UEFA EURO 2020, with England hosting the semi-finals and final in London.

The 13 host associations, selected from 19 applications, are:

England/London – semi-finals and final

Azerbaijan/Baku – three group games, one quarter-final

Belgium/Brussels – three group games, one round of 16 game

Denmark/Copenhagen – three group games, one round of 16 game

Germany/Munich – three group games, one quarter-final

Hungary/Budapest – three group games, one round of 16 game

Italy/Rome – three group games, one quarter-final

Netherlands/Amsterdam – three group games, one round of 16 game

Republic of Ireland/Dublin – three group games, one round of 16 game

Romania/Bucharest – three group games, one round of 16 game

Russia/Saint Petersburg – three group games, one quarter-final

Scotland/Glasgow – three group games, one round of 16 game

Spain/Bilbao – three group games, one round of 16 game

Voting breakdown

England previously staged EURO '96, with Germany beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in the final at Wembley. Of the other host cities announced in Geneva today, Munich (1988), Rome (1968, 1980) and Brussels (1972) have all held UEFA European Championship final matches in the past.

UEFA's Executive Committee decided in Lausanne on 6 December 2012 to organise a "EURO for Europe" in 2020, rather than a tournament in one or two host countries. The move followed an initial idea revealed by UEFA President Michel Platini at the end of UEFA EURO 2012.

The Executive Committee also took its decision in the wake of positive feedback from its member national associations as part of a consultation process lasting several months. Then, on 25 January 2013, the Executive Committee decided that the UEFA EURO 2020 final round would be staged in 13 cities around Europe.

Source: UEFA.com

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SPORT NEWS: UEFA.com's team of the week

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UEFA.com had reporters at every game on UEFA Champions League matchday one and they have all put their heads together to pick their team of the week in the first instalment of a new feature that will be running throughout the season.

GK: Davy Roef (RSC Anderlecht)
The 20-year-old marked his debut in the competition with a fine display at Galatasaray AŞ, denying Goran Pandev and Bruma although he was finally beaten by Aurélien Chedjou in added time.

DF: Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München)
Not known for his goalscoring, the defender picked the perfect time to open his UEFA Champions League account – in the 90th minute against former club Manchester City FC with the score locked at 0-0, his deflected volley finally beating Joe Hart.

DF: Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona)
Another goalscoring defender, the Barça centre-back nodded the only goal of an unexpectedly tight game against APOEL FC from Lionel Messi's free-kick in the 28th minute.

DF: Alberto Moreno (Liverpool FC)
Liverpool's new left-back has already made an impression as an attacking force in the Premier League and repeated the trick on his competition debut, supplying the cross from which Mario Balotelli scored the opening goal.

DF: Carlão (APOEL FC)
His team may have been beaten at the Camp Nou, but the APOEL central defender was the orchestrator of a disciplined effort that largely held Barcelona in check and might even have earned a point.

MF: Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund)
His probing passing and boundless energy has long been a key asset for Dortmund and the midfielder was at it again against Arsenal FC, supplying the pass for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's clinching second goal.

MF: Yacine Brahimi (FC Porto)
A summer signing from Granada CF, the midfielder became the seventh player to mark his UEFA Champions League debut with a hat-trick as his new club overran FC BATE Borisov. "I'm very happy to have scored the three goals as it's the first hat-trick of my career," the Algerian international said.

MF: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid CF)
The Welshman scored in last year's final and started this season in a similar vein with Madrid's second goal in a 5-1 win against FC Basel 1893. He also set up Cristiano Ronaldo's strike 60 seconds later.

FW: Gervinho (AS Roma)
His team are in the group stage for the first time since 2010/11 and the Ivorian forward made it look as if they had never been away with two goals and an assist against PFC CSKA Moskva. "I don't think anyone could object to Gervinho being man of the match," said Roma goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis.

FW: Alejandro Domínguez (Olympiacos FC)
The 33-year-old midfielder played a role in the first two goals as the Greek champions toppled last year's runners-up Club Atlético de Madrid, providing the corner that led to Arthur Masuaku's first goal and sparking Ibrahim Afellay's second with a lung-busting run and cross.

FW: Carlos Tévez (Juventus)
The Argentinian ended a five-year scoring drought in the UEFA Champions League with both goals against Malmö FF, the first an accurate low shot after a brilliant one-two with Kwadwo Asamoah and the second a superlative free-kick.

Source: UEFA.com

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FLASHBACK NEWS: Kucharczyk: Victorious Legia aiming at Warsaw

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• Michał Kucharczyk says Legia are aiming for the Warsaw final
• Tomasz Jodłowiec pleased with Legia's display
• Hans Vanaken disappointed Lokoren could not create chances
• Mbaye Leyedetermined to bounce back in Group K
• Next games: Trabzonspor v Legia, Lokeren v Metalist (2 October)

Michał Kucharczyk, Legia winger
I am glad I delivered a good ball to Miroslav Radović who scored the winner for us. Of course, it was not our best match in recent months, but we were still able to win the game against strong opponents.

After one match we have three points, the same number we collected in six games last season. Our goal is not only to qualify from this group, but to reach the final. We all know it will be played in our city and we would like to take part in it. I am not joking: why not have dreams and try to realise them?

Every year we get more and more experience in European competitions and it will help us to win important games. Now, there is a kind of marathon ahead of us, in the Polish Ekstraklasa and Europa League, but we are prepared for this. Tiredness? It can only come after the last game in December. Now, we feel strong and well prepared.

Tomasz Jodłowiec, Legia midfielder
We are very glad because we realised our plan by taking three points. OK, maybe it was not our best match, but what matters most is victory against a very solid Belgian team.

We know it is not possible to score four goals in every match, like we did against Celtic at home. Everybody would love to repeat that as often as possible, but let's be realistic. We did not make many mistakes against Lokeren, just a few. A good start gives us more confidence and will help us to show our class in coming games.

Hans Vanaken, Lokeren midfielder
We are disappointed because we could have got a point here. Legia are a good team but they were not so much better than us in this match. We had a very good game, we were well organised but maybe did not create enough chances.

We lost the game because of one counterattack, one long ball which started Legia's winning move. Definitely, we should watch the video of this moment to avoid such mistakes in the future. We have lost, but it is not over. We still have our dreams. We qualified for the group stage thanks to victory over Hull City. That was a great moment and we want more unique moments like it. I hope that in two weeks, after the home game against Metalist, we will be much happier.

Mbaye Leye, Lokeren midfielder
We played against a team which were well organised and very quick in recovering the ball, but we are disappointed because we were not inferior to them. Unfortunately for us, we did not create as many chances as we normally do. To lose in such a way is really frustrating.

We learnt a lot about Legia before the game, we knew that Miroslav Radović is extremely dangerous so it is our mistake that we did not stop him.

The good thing is that we still have five matches to play. Our group has not clear favourites so anything could happen. It is that kind of tournament and the last thing we want is to be out of the competition after just two matches. It means we must get better a result in our next game. Our goal is the same – to qualify, no matter whether it is through being first or second in the group.

SPORT UPDATE: Wembley welcomed as 2020 final venue

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UEFA President Michel Platini and the president of the English Football Association (FA) Greg Dyke are confident that London – a football stronghold with such a proud history in the game – will stage a final phase to remember at UEFA EURO 2020.

The UEFA Executive Committee unanimously chose the English capital to stage the semi-finals and final of European national team football's flagship competition in six years' time. The setting of Wembley Stadium is considered as a special venue for what will doubtless be a unforgettable climax to the 'EURO for Europe' in 13 cities across the continent.

"[UEFA EURO 2020] is an idea that I put in place some years ago," Michel Platini told media in Geneva. "I absolutely wanted the last week to be a week of national team football. I also wanted this competition to take place throughout Europe, and you saw today that it will go from east to west.

"There will be a week of football in a great capital, London. I know the festive aspect there, and how the English welcome [people]. I hope London will be equal to the task, so that all those who love football will spend a magnificent week there, and see three exceptional matches in a very fine stadium – [Wembley] is a marvellous stadium. We know it well, because we have staged two recent UEFA Champions League finals there [in 2011 and 2013]."

"We're obviously delighted; I'd like to thank the government and the mayor of London who have helped us to put this together," added Greg Dyke. "Wembley is a great stadium – you go back to EURO 96 [in England], and Wembley has been completely rebuilt since then.

"I'd like to congratulate UEFA," he added. "You look at all these capital cities across Europe, and you think to yourself: 'What a good idea [UEFA EURO 2020] is'."

The choice of Wembley Stadium was unanimous after Munich decided to withdraw its candidature just prior to the vote. Mr Platini explained why the 13 cities in question had been chosen. "We now have the time to put things in place so that the fans can participate in this great adventure," he said. "Here you have cities with major international airports. The vote wasn't based on national teams and the beauty of the country – there were criteria linked to airports, transport, and accommodation.

"When you look at the quarter-finals, two are in the east and two are in the west," he added. "I think the Executive Committee members tried to find a balance: the [south] with Rome and Bilbao, while up north, there is Copenhagen and Saint Petersburg."

"The European map [for 2020] looks great," added UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino. "It will be easy to make up the groups in a way to meet the objective, which is that even for those matches where fans have to travel away, the distances will not be that big."

SPORT NEWS: Europa League matchday one facts and figures

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• With their 6-0 victory at home to Aalborg BK, FC Steaua Bucureşti became the first team in the history of the UEFA Europa League to score six goals in a game. Their achievement was swiftly matched by PAOK FC, who ran out 6-1 winners at home to FC Dinamo Minsk. There had been 1,037 matches played in the competition before Steaua and PAOK kicked off.

• While 6-0 and 6-1 are now the two biggest winning scorelines in UEFA Europa League history, BSC Young Boys managed to match the old record of 5-0 with their home victory against ŠK Slovan Bratislava.

• Steaua set another competition record as Claudiu Keşerü registered the UEFA Europa League's fastest hat-trick. His three goals between the 61st and 72nd minutes took the record away from Liverpool FC's Steven Gerrard, who struck a 13-minute treble against SSC Napoli in 2010/11.

• Matchday one was a night for quickfire hat-tricks as PAOK's Stefanos Athanasiadis (18 minutes) claimed the third fastest in UEFA Europa League history and GNK Dinamo Zagreb's El Arbi Hilal Soudani (29) the fifth fastest.

• Fourteen teams made their group stage debut on matchday one and only one managed a victory, FC Dinamo Moskva prevailing 2-1 at Panathinaikos FC. It was a sobering night generally for the newcomers, with eight of them losing and the 14 sides between them managing just six goals while conceding 31.

• Only one nation has a representative in the group stage for the first time, Finland and HJK Helsinki (who lost 2-0 at FC København). That means 36 of UEFA's 54 member associations have now supplied at least one team to the competition during its six years of existence.

• PSV Eindhoven are the sole club to have been involved in all six UEFA Europa League campaigns, and have also played more games in the competition than any other side, the 1-0 home success over Estoril-Praia being their 43rd. It was their 23rd victory, which puts them joint second in the all-time listings alongside Club Atlético de Madrid, two wins behind SL Benfica.

• Luuk de Jong, who converted PSV's winning penalty against Estoril, became the first player with a UEFA Europa League goal tally in double figures to score for three different clubs. His first goal for PSV followed eight for FC Twente and two with VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.

• FC Salzburg's Jonatan Soriano, the competition's top marksman in 2013/14, got off the mark with his team's second equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Celtic FC – the competition's 2,700th goal.

• Ante Ćorić became, at 17 years and 157 days, the UEFA Europa League's fourth youngest goalscorer in Dinamo Zagreb's 5-1 win at home to FC Astra Giurgiu. The youngest scorer is still Romelu Lukaku, who netted for RSC Anderlecht against AFC Ajax in the inaugural 2009/10 competition aged 16 years and 218 days.

• There are ten national title holders in this season's UEFA Europa League field, but just three of them – Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb, Poland's Legia Warszawa and Romania's Steaua – mustered an opening win. There were defeats for the champions of the Czech Republic (AC Sparta Praha), Denmark (AaB), Finland (HJK) and Slovakia (Slovan), while those from Azerbaijan (Qarabağ FK), Austria (Salzburg) and Scotland (Celtic) all drew, the latter two against each other.

• Of the six sides that qualified automatically for the group stage, the three playing at home – Everton FC, ACF Fiorentina and holders Sevilla FC – all won and the three playing away – EA Guingamp, VfL Wolfsburg and Estoril – all lost.

• There were no victories for any of the four teams who began the campaign in the second qualifying round. While Dinamo Minsk and HNK Rijeka were both beaten away from home, FC Krasnodar (1-1 at LOSC Lille) and Asteras Tripolis FC (1-1 at Beşiktaş JK) picked up a point on their travels.

• Italy, with four clubs, have the largest number of representatives in this term's group stage, and the Serie A contingent got off to an excellent start, with Fiorentina, Napoli and FC Internazionale all winning and debutants Torino FC drawing away. The next best represented countries are Belgium, France, Greece and Ukraine with three teams apiece.

SPORT NEWS: Belhanda and Lens on Dynamo Kyiv superiority

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• Younes Belhanda says the visitors captialised on Rio Ave's defensive weakness

• Jeremain Lens believes Dynamo Kyiv's extra quality showed through
• Renan Bressan hails Dynamo as the strongest club in Group J

• Diego Lopes: Rio Ave deserved a goal for their efforts

• Next games: AaB v Rio Ave, Dynamo Kyiv v Steaua (2 October )

Younes Belhanda, Dynamo Kyiv midfielder
We played very well and made a good start. We knew they played good football, like all Portuguese teams, and the main thing was to win here. I played a crucial role and we were good in the first half. We controlled things in the second period and pressed them high up the pitch.

The pitch was difficult and there was wind as well as rain, yet despite all that we managed to keep the ball on the ground and play quick football so they couldn't counter us. We knew they had weaknesses at the back and we took advantage of them.

Before thinking about how far it's possible for us to go in this competition, though, we have to get out of the group and that won't be easy because there are good sides in the group. Rio Ave will want revenge when we play them again but I think we're well set up to qualify.

Jeremain Lens, Dynamo Kyiv forward
Our experience counted this evening but I think there was also a big difference in quality between us. We used our qualities and the likes of myself, Younes Belhanda and Andriy Yarmolenko had some space that we used well. The most important thing is to win your first game, and we did, so that's a good start for us. I think we can make it through the group stage with the quality we have.

Renan Bressan, Rio Ave midfielder
Dynamo scored two goals very quickly and that meant the game was more complicated for us. Maybe if Marcelo had scored the header early in the second half then the game would have been different. Congratulations to Dynamo, who for me are the strongest team in the group. They are a big club. They managed to thwart our attacks and score three goals. We have to continue to work hard.

Diego Lopes, Rio Ave midfielder
It's a tough scoreline to take. They were clinical and scored three goals. We had to take risks and that left a lot of space in our defence and they profited from that. This was a good learning experience for us. Dynamo are a good team. The two goals in the first half were tough on us and I think we deserved to score too.

SPORT UPDATE: London to host UEFA EURO 2020 final

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046 - Thirteen countries to stage matches across Europe

Today in Geneva, the UEFA Executive Committee selected the thirteen host cities that will stage matches at UEFA EURO 2020, when the competition will celebrate its 60th anniversary in six years' time.

The semi-finals and finals of UEFA EURO 2020 will be hosted at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

Three group matches and a quarter-final each will be staged in Azerbaijan/Baku, Germany/Munich, Italy/Rome, Russia/St. Petersburg.

Three group matches and a round of 16 match each will be played in Belgium/Brussels, Denmark/Copenhagen, Hungary/Budapest, Netherlands/Amsterdam, Republic of Ireland/Dublin, Romania/Bucharest, Scotland/Glasgow and Spain/Bilbao.

Commenting on the bidding process UEFA President Michel Platini said:

"I would like to thank all bidders for their efforts and dedication in submitting their candidature.

"UEFA EURO 2020 will be an historic occasion, with matches of our flagship national team competition taking place in every corner of our continent.

"It is truly, therefore, a EURO for Europe, where fans will have the unique opportunity to be part of the UEFA European Football Championship right on their doorstep."

The voting process was split into four separate phases, starting with the selection of the association hosting the semi-finals and final. The selection of London's Wembley Stadium was made by acclamation after Munich had withdrawn its candidature prior to the vote.

The second phase of voting consisted of the selection of the four venues which will each stage one quarter-final and three group matches. Each of the bidders which complied with the requirements set, namely a minimum stadium capacity of 60,000, were ranked by the UEFA Executive Committee members in order of preference, with the first-ranked bidder receiving four points; the second-ranked three points; the third-ranked two points; and the fourth-ranked one point. The points of all votes entered by the Executive Committee members were then added up, and produced the following result, with the four bidders with the highest number of points selected:

Germany/Munich: 38 points

Azerbaijan/Baku: 37 points

Russia/St. Petersburg: 29 points

Italy/Rome: 20 points

Belgium/Brussels: 11 points

Wales/Cardiff: 3 points

Hungary/Budapest: 2 points

The third phase of voting determined one association/city to host one round of 16 match and three group matches, in each geographical zone that had not yet been selected in the first two phases. For this ballot, the Executive Committee members had to give their vote to one of the venues from a particular geographical zone. The bidder with most votes was selected.

The six geographical zones, as decided by the UEFA Executive members whose associations had not presented a bid, were:

Zone 1: North-West: England, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Zone 2: Scandinavia: Denmark, Sweden

Zone 3: East: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia

Zone 4: Centre-East: Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Hungary, Romania

Zone 5: Centre: Belgium, Germany, Netherlands

Zone 6: South-Mediterranean: Italy, Israel, Spain

As the candidatures of Belarus/Minsk, Bulgaria/Sofia, FYR Macedonia/Skopje and Israel/Jerusalem were adjudged not to have fulfilled the bid requirements by the UEFA administration, these candidatures did not participate at all in the selection phases for which they would otherwise have been eligible, in accordance with article 1.3 of the annex of the bid regulations.

The first vote, concerning Zone 2, produced the following result:

Denmark/Copenhagen: 13 votes

Sweden/Stockholm: 3 votes

The procedure was then repeated for Zone 4, and produced the following result:

Romania/Bucharest: 12 votes

Hungary/Budapest: 3 votes

The fourth phase of voting determined the remaining six associations/cities that will each host one round of 16 match and three group matches. Here again, all remaining associations were ranked by order of preference, with the first-ranked bidder receiving 6 points, the second-ranked bidder 5 points, the third-ranked bidder 4 points, and so forth.

Voting in this final phase produced the following result:

Netherlands/Amsterdam: 58 points

Republic of Ireland/Dublin: 55 points

Spain/Bilbao: 50 points

Hungary/Budapest: 48 points

Belgium/Brussels: 43 points

Scotland/Glasgow: 22 points

Wales/Cardiff: 21 points

Sweden/Stockholm: 18 points

FOOTBALL NEWS: Welbeck opens Arsenal account in victory at Villa

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• Arsenal FC go fourth in the Premier League with 3-0 win at third-placed Aston Villa FC.

• Danny Welbeck scores his first Gunners goal since joining from Manchester United FC.

• Late Victor Wanyama goal earns second-placed Southampton FC victory at Swansea City FC.

• Liverpool FC lose 3-1 at West Ham United FC – the Reds' third league defeat this term.

.@MesutOzil1088 has been central to @Arsenal's best work - here's his Opta chalkboard (assist in blue) #AVFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/wBiEDt42Kh

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) September 20, 2014

• Newcastle United FC come from two down to draw with Hull City and move off foot of the table.

• Queens Park Rangers FC bounce back twice to draw 2-2 with Stoke City FC.

• Burnley FC versus Sunderland AFCfinishes goalless at Turf Moor.

Elsewhere

Bundesliga: Paderborn surprise leaders

Liga: Madrid score eight

Ligue 1: Marseille reach summitSerie A: Juventus defeat Milan

© Source: UEFA.com

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FOOTBALL NEWS: Marseille beat Rennes to reach summit

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• Olympique de Marseille go top of Ligue 1 thanks to 3-0 home win against Stade Rennais FC.

• André-Pierre Gignac scores twice for OM before Romain Alessandrini adds third deep into added time.

• FC Nantes up to fifth following 2-1 victory against OGC Nice.

• Three goals in closing eight minutes as Toulouse FC and SM Caen draw 3-3.

• Jean Calve puts Caen ahead on 86 minutes but Pavle Ninkov earns Toulouse a point 60 seconds later.

Fin de ce match fou sur le score de 3 buts partout! Que dire? Des occasions, beaucoup, mais toujours un manque de réalisme... #TFCSMC

— Toulouse FC Officiel (@ToulouseFC) September 20, 2014

• SC Bastia just a place above relegation zone after 3-1 defeat at ninth-placed FC Metz.

• Benjamin Moukandjo scores only goal to earn Stade de Reims maximum points at FC Lorient.

Elsewhere

Bundesliga: Paderborn surprise leaders

Liga: Madrid score eightPremier League: Welbeck opens account

Serie A: Juventus defeat Milan

Source: UEFA.com

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SPORT NEWS: Mbia and Deulofeu delight in Sevilla success

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• Stéphane Mbia underlines importance of "work on training ground"in Sevilla's win

• Creator of both the holders' goals, Gerard Deulofeu, enjoys win in a "special competition"

• Feyenoord winger Ruben Schaken rues "two quick goals that helped Sevilla play"

• Team-mate Karim El Ahmadi says "Sevilla are stronger" and only second place realistic

• Next games: Rijeka v Sevilla, Feyenoord v Standard (2 October)

Stéphane Mbia, Sevilla midfielder
It's important for the team to work hard and get three points. We pulled together, we played well and got a good result. We do a lot of work on set-pieces on the training ground, the coach comes up with the strategies and they came off tonight, helping us get a great result for the team, for the group and for the fans.

I'm so happy to be here. We've got a great coach, we have a fantastic team, great young players and great new signings. I've just signed for one year and we'll see what happens after that, but I'm just enjoying it and feel very happy to be back. For me, the most important thing is to enjoy my job, and I like it here, the people are nice, my family are happy here, so I'm just going to do my best on the pitch and see where we can go from here.

I think I have [become a better player since coming here] and that's why I stayed, because I always want to do better, by doing my best on the training ground and on the pitch. Not looking to our next [UEFA Europa League] game yet, we're just taking things step by step and enjoy tonight's win - we played well, we got three points and it's a really important start.

Gerard Deulofeu, Sevilla midfielder
We knew that it would be a tough game, but we were fortunate enough to take a two-goal lead and then I think we managed the game very well. We defended very well as a team and what's most important are the three points we've got in the bag. It was vital to start well, with three points. We did that and now we have to get back to work again.

Yes, both assists were very similar. You have to work on [set-piece] strategy, I think it's very important. This game was decided by dead-ball situations, though to be honest I think we played a very good game overall. This is a competition that means a lot and is very special to everyone involved with Sevilla, so let's see if we can keep moving forward step by step towards challenging for it.

Ruben Schaken, Feyenoord forward
I think the organisation was not good, we conceded from two standard free-kick situations. You make [marking] appointments and then you see then they're not done by the defenders. So we conceded two quick goals which was great for Sevilla – because it helped them to play, made them feel good, comfortable and that they could come into their game. You could see today how good a team they are.

It was unlucky, because if that free-kick [from Jens Toornstra) had gone in it would have brought us to within one goal, which would have given us more belief, more confidence, but it didn't go in.

Next game [at home to R. Standard de Liège] is very important. You know that if you're playing Sevilla away you could well lose, it's normal as they're a very big club, but we have to pick up points in our home games - starting with the one against Standard, which I think is winnable. We need to stay in the top two places and to do that we'll need to be strong at home and steal some points away to Rijeka and Standard

Karim El Ahmadi, Feyenoord midfielder
Yes, it was a tough game as we knew it would be. Sevilla are a team that ought to be in the Champions League or something – they're that strong. But if you look at their two goals we could feel a bit unlucky as we gave them free headers far too easily. I think if we'd managed to frustrate them in the first half and keep the score at 0-0 then we might have been able to do something but, realistically, Sevilla are a stronger team than we are and I think we need to focus on second place in the group.

Maybe if that free-kick had gone in to make it 2-1, you never know what could have happened. But we have a young team and this kind of experience is good for them, taking on big teams at this level. As I said before, I think we have to focus on trying to finish second and to do that we'll need to get as many points as possible from our home games.

Source: UEFA.

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EXCLUSIVE: Pick of the week: matchday one

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UEFA.com reviews the opening week of the group stage with Olympiacos FC, Yacine Brahimi, Luka Zahovič and "special person" Steven Gerrard all playing a starring role plus the nominees in our new Goal of the Week poll...

Team: Olympiacos FC
Olympiacos may only just have missed out on the quarter-finals last season but they still had some task in starting Group A against Club Atlético de Madrid, runners-up just a few months ago and fresh from beating Real Madrid CF. No problem: they were two up inside 31 minutes through Arthur Masuaku and Ibrahim Afellay and although Mario Mandžukić pulled one back, Kostas Mitroglou claimed his first goal in a ten-month period which included a transfer to Fulham FC and the FIFA World Cup.

Antoine Griezmann added a second for the visitors, but it was not enough as Olympiacos won 3-2. "We forced Atlético out of their comfort zone, which is what they usually do to their opponents," said coach Míchel.

VAMOOOS!!! Best way to start the CL!!! Unbelievable feeling!!!! @olympiacos_org #ChampionsLeague @PajtimKasami pic.twitter.com/yzL7l2fTjZ

— Omar Elabdellaoui (@OmarEla14) September 16, 2014

Player: Yacine Brahimi (FC Porto)
It was not a bad UEFA Champions League debut on the whole for Brahimi, newly signed from Granada CF. The playmaker, who scored from a free-kick in the play-off defeat of LOSC Lille, became only the seventh man to plunder a hat-trick on his bow in the competition proper against FC BATE Borisov, burying an early opportunist strike, a fizzing second and another curling set piece for his treble in a 6-0 win.

"I'm very happy to have scored the three goals as it's the first hat-trick of my career and it gives me the desire to work even harder," said Brahimi, who would have been in your Fantasy Football team if you had listened to tipster Paolo Menicucci and Porto correspondent Nuno Tavares last week...

Portuguese football guru @UEFAcomNunoT just told me that Brahimi is a 'can't miss' when I had already finished my team #rethink #FantasyTips

— Paolo Menicucci (@UEFAcomPaoloM) September 11, 2014

Group: G
It's fair to say there is still all to play for in this section after two 1-1 draws, but that masks some incredible drama. First, at Stamford Bridge, in-form Chelsea FC took on injury-depleted FC Schalke 04 and went ahead through Cesc Fàbregas only to miss a number of chances before being pegged back by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. "We had more than a couple of fantastic chances to win the game," said José Mourinho.

Over in Slovenia, Sporting Clube de Portugal were leading 1-0 at NK Maribor deep in added time when the home side equalised through Guimaraes-born 18-year Luka Zahovič, the son of former SL Benfica and Porto player Zlatko. "I think it was a great performance, apart from the mistake we made in the last minute," was Sporting scorer Nani's summary.

Quote: "Tévez is a fantastic player, world class. In some situations he really is unstoppable"
Defender Filip Helander sums up the difference between his Malmö FF side and two-time champions Juventus after the Swedish debutants' 2-0 loss in Turin.

Moment: Liverpool FC v PFC Ludogorets Razgrad, added time
Liverpool's return to the group stage after five years away was as keenly anticipated as Ludogorets' debut, but for 82 minutes it was goalless until Mario Balotelli hit what seemed the winner. However, the Bulgarian champions had already shown their nerve in their incredible play-off success against FC Steaua Bucureşti, and in the 91st minute Dani Abalo levelled for what would surely be a memorable draw.

Except... When Liverpool are in trouble, Steven Gerrard usually comes to the rescue and he did so again, converting a penalty for a 2-1 win after Milan Borjan, the Canadian goalkeeper deputising for the suspended Vladislav Stoyanov, brought down Javi Manquillo. "I don't have words for Steve. He's a great footballer, he's a special person, not just here but at a world level," said man of the match Alberto Moreno.

Number: 1,000

.@Benzema scored @realmadrid's 1000th goal in European competition. RT to congratulate Karim! #UCL pic.twitter.com/QL79CLpQ8d

— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 17, 2014

Photo: Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München)

Goal: YOUR CHOICE!
Tévez, Hulk, Benzema, Brahimi or Nani: you can choose in our new Goal of the Week poll.

Source: UEFA

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SPORT NEWS: Richards wants Fiorentina to go all the way

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• Micah Richards said he joined Fiorentina due to the strength of their squad

• Jasmin Kurtić expresses his "honour" at representing the Viola

• Lionel Mathis felt Guingam's 3-0 defeat was "hefty"

• Jérémy Pied says Guingamp's home games will now be crucial

• Next games: Dinamo Minsk v Fiorentina, Guimgamp v PAOK (2 October)

Micah Richards, Fiorentina defender
It was a great result for us tonight. We were a bit disappointed that we only drew at the weekend so tonight was good to start off with a win. Definitely it's nice to keep a clean sheet too, but this game also shows that we've got goals in this team and hopefully we can show that this season. We've got a hard group and teams that hurt us if we don't do it right, but tonight we did it right and it was a good performance from the lads.

It was nice to make my debut. The fans were cheering for me when I was warming up so it was a nice vote of confidence from them and I was glad to get out there.

It's going to be slow for my fitness to get there because I've not played as many games as I've wanted to of late so it's good to get as many minutes as I can so then I can hopefully break into that starting XI. It's my style of game that I like to get forward, run with the ball and get in behind so it's always nice when the fans get behind you.

I think we've got a really good squad and when I came here, that was the reason why I actually came here because I looked at the players and saw they've got a really good team. Sometimes it just depends on the luck of the draw, but I'm not going to say we can win the Europa League and I'm not going to say we can't, but we just want to go as far as we can go.

Jasmin Kurtić, Fiorentina midfielder
In the move that led to the opening goal, I just put the ball into the middle and fortunately [Juan] Vargas arrived to make it 1-0. From that moment on, the game became easier for us. It was a good first game of the season for me because we won, but it would have been a bad start if we'd lost – but that's football. We're on the right path now and we want to carry on this way. We're all happy with the way we played and with the three points.

It's easy to play together with [David] Pizarro and Borja [Valero] because the best players are also intelligent, they love to play with the ball and it's the same for me. They give me a great hand. I cried with joy when I signed for Fiorentina. It's an honour for me because this is the biggest club I've ever played for and I really want to give 150% for this club. [Mario] Gomez will get his goal sooner or later. We're all doing everything for the good of Fiorentina and the important thing is that the team does well, not whether Gomez scores or not.

Vincenzo Montella, Fiorentina coach
I was pleased with my team's spirit. We looked for this win by playing football and we knew how to control the game. All of the new players showed the quality that we had seen in them and what led us to sign them. Even Gomez is like a new signing, considering he hardly played last season. He started well and sacrificed himself a lot. We worked hard on getting the balls into the box from the wings and this is another option for us.

Lionel Mathis, Guingamp midfielder
I think the game was pretty even, but when it was ten against 11, it was practically unplayable and then we conceded the third goal and I think that's a bit hefty. We had chances in the first half and their goalkeeper made a great save too.

Jérémy Pied, Guingamp midfielder
We had a plan to try to make things harder for them as the game wore on. The longer we managed that, the better it was for us, but the red card really hurt us and after that it became difficult. Like I said, we really wanted to be in this game for as long as we could and to try to prevent them from playing their game, like we managed against FC Girondins de Bordeaux, but it just didn't work out.

We felt that we could get the ball moving forwards quickly; we could see plenty of gaps, particularly out wide and we tried a few things, changed a few things, but it's one of the basic rules of football that if you can't manage to go in front, then you're not going to change much.

I just hope we can do better in the next game. It's going to be decisive already because I've seen their [PAOK's] score [beating Dinamo Minsk 6-1] and of course we'll now take a look at the video of that match, but without any doubt, if we want to survive in this group, we've got to pick something up at home against all three of the other sides.

Benjamin Angoua, Guingamp defender
We're disappointed with the defeat of course, but we can't let it get us down for long because we already have our next game ahead and we need to shift our full attention to that. To be perfectly honest, I don't think you can say anything about us maybe not being well organised because the red card changed everything. It's hard to recover from something like that. But we are sportsmen; we are professionals and we'll do all we can to ensure we do better next time.

SPORT NEWS: Gâlcă and Keșerü on Steaua feat against AaB

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• Constantin Gâlcă praises Raul Rusescu as Steaua defeat AaB 6-0 in Group J

• Hat-trick scorer Claudiu Keșerü admits there were harsh words at half-time

• AaB's Kent Nielsen: "We had our chances, so many, but could not take them"

• Goalless at the break, Steaua score six second-half goals to stun the visitors

• Next games: AaB v Rio Ave, Dynamo v Steaua (2 October)

Constantin Gâlcă, Steaua coach
It was very important to start the group with a victory and it proved to be a very difficult match. We played a very poor first half, when we did not act as a unified team. But then we managed to make everything good during the break, discussing it all and then playing a very different second half.

Rusescu coming on [as a 49th-minute substitute] made a big difference because he moves a lot, especially between the lines. We knew everything about our opponents, but this is what happens – the first half that is – when you don't fully focus on a game. We have to be realistic: Aalborg posed us plenty of problems in the first half.

Claudiu Keșerü, Steaua forward
Starting the group stage with a hat-trick is pretty unbelievable. There was a fantastic feeling among us and that's why we kept going until the end. Maybe we were not aggressive enough in the first half, and we were indebted to Giedrius Arlauskis, who made some fantastic saves. The coach roused us at the break. There were a few harsh words and in the second half we were more aggressive.

Raul Rusescu, Steaua forward
Aalborg played very well for 60 minutes, but we knew they couldn't keep it up. Anybody who didn't see the whole match wouldn't believe the final score. We are happy and it's important for us that we started on the right foot. I am happy. As a person, I am back home with my family; as player, I am at Steaua, my second family.

Kent Nielsen, Aalborg coach
I am very, very disappointed and frustrated at how the match went. We were not well enough prepared from a physical point of view. We had our chances – so many chances, especially in the first half – but we were not capable of taking them.

Instead, Steaua were very efficient and proved what it means to be competitive, while our lack of experience was obvious. We were pleased with our game in the first half, but if you don't have the necessary quality to profit from such opportunities, this is what happens.

Rasmus Würtz, Aalborg captain
I don't know if we had bad luck, but it's clear that we were not clinical enough to profit from so many chances. At this level you have to be clinical and score whenever you have the opportunity. In the future, this is what we have to do.

© 1998-2014 UEFA.

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SPORT NEWS: Mirallas says clinical Everton want more

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• Kevin Mirallas delight at marking "big day" with clinical display

• Team selection shows Everton are "going for it" in Europe

• Kevin De Bruyne laments Wolfsburg defensive woes

• Next games: Krasnodar v Everton, Wolfsburg v LOSC (2 October)

Kevin Mirallas, Everton forward
It was a big day – it was four years since we'd played in the Europa League and it was important to win the first home game against a strong team. Wolfsburg are a good team but we played well. When you're two up at half-time it helps and although they were better in the second half, it was already 3-0. The team knows we have a great goalkeeper [Tim Howard] and [at the other end] we didn't have a lot of chances but we could score four goals and that's important.

I'm really happy to play with a great player like Samuel Eto'o, and when he saw me breaking, he played the ball straight to me – only a great player can do that and after that, the one-on-one is easy

The next game is against Krasnodar in Russia. It'll be different. We don't know what their pitch or stadium will be like and they'll be tough at home – they beat Real Sociedad 3-0 [to qualify]. But we play every game to win. Look at Sevilla – they're a good team but not the best in Europe, and they [won the competition].

The Premier League is a very tough league with difficult games but you could see today the manager sent out his best team, he didn't change anything, and the team are going for it.

Leighton Baines, Everton defender
We got a decent lead at half-time and having got the third so early in the second half perhaps took our foot off the gas a little bit. We were a bit disappointed to concede a goal at the end but they were pressing for that and it was a good free-kick.

It puts us in a good early position but there are only tough games in this group. It is a really strong group so we'll have to put in more performances like that throughout the group to get out of it.

Kevin De Bruyne, Wolfsburg midfielder
I don't think we played that badly but we made the dumbest mistakes at the back and you see against a team like Everton who have a lot of strength in attack, they can score easily. I talked to some of the guys from Everton after the game and they said: 'We didn't have a lot of chances but there was so much space for us to play between the lines.' That is something we have to work on.

I know we have to score more – that is one of our problems – but the fact that we are creating chances is good. At the other end we have to keep a clean sheet to win some games – it is difficult if you concede in every game.

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Other automakers to challenge Tesla in over-the-air software upgrades

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DETROIT (Reuters) - Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc on Friday announced it is rolling out a software upgrade over-the-air to its current Model S owners, a unique ability that other automakers are expected to offer within a few years.

Tesla, based in Silicon Valley, has completed more than a dozen over-the-air software upgrades since the Model S was first sold in mid-2012, said Egil Juliussen, director of research for automotive electronic technology for IHS Automotive.

Juliussen said other automakers have completed some over-the-air software upgrades but only on an experimental basis.

Normally, when an automaker wants to upgrade software in on-board computers in cars that are already on the road, owners must bring vehicles to dealerships.

Tesla is able to upgrade software remotely, similar to software updates on smartphones.

About 30,000 vehicles have been updated over the air this year, almost all by Tesla. By 2020, a full one-fifth, or about 22 million new vehicles globally, will have the ability to accept software upgrades over-the-air, said Juliussen.

Juliussen said by 2015, over-the-air software upgrades to cars already in consumer hands will expand to 230,000 and reach 1 million in 2016.

"The cost savings alone will make it very attractive for the auto manufacturers to use over-the-air software upgrades," said Juliussen.

Automakers are expected, he said, to team up with software developers for over-the-air communication with the vehicles they have sold.

Three privately held software firms are in the lead in this venture, he said. They are Red Bend Software, based in Waltham, Massachusetts; Symphony Teleca Corp based in Silicon Valley; and Arynga, based in San Diego.

He said that it can cost $400 to $500 every time an owner brings a car into a dealership for a software upgrade. Doing so remotely will cut those costs dramatically, and dealers will not have to purchase as much equipment, Juliussen said.

For the current upgrade, Tesla Model S owners will be notified of the availability of it and will be asked to select a time for it to be downloaded, which takes several hours, Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said.

Tesla, which connects to its cars through a 3G network of AT&T Inc, is calling the latest upgrade announced on Friday "Software v6.0." Tesla is rolling out the upgrades in North America and Europe now, and within a few weeks will be performing them for owners in its other markets, China, Hong Kong and Japan.

Among the new features being added in the current upgrade to the Model S are traffic-based navigation and commuting advice and remote starting by using a mobile phone.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Apple faithful line up for latest, larger iPhones

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NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) latest phone lured throngs of gadget lovers, entrepreneurs and early adopters to its stores in New York, San Francisco and other cities around the world in the latest sign of strong initial demand for the new, larger generation of iPhones.

Even the night before the phones' Friday debut, nearly 70 people were waiting in line in front of the Apple store in downtown San Francisco. Some eager to get their hands on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which feature larger screens and longer battery life, had been there since the night before.

At the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York, the line of would-be buyers stretched for more than 10 blocks. Apple employees led them in a New Year's Eve-style countdown to herald the store's opening at 8 a.m. EDT and high-fived customers as they entered the glass cube leading to the underground store.

In Atlanta, police were called in before 5:30 a.m. to assist with crowd control at one mall location because of worries about trampling, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

While it has become customary for swarms of people to greet Apple product introductions, Friday's long lines were still a sign of healthy demand for the new models. The phones drew more than 4 million preorder requests in the first 24 hours on Sept. 12, more than double the 2 million for iPhone 5s in the same period two years ago.

The enthusiastic crowds gathered despite signs that Apple's legendary "cool factor" may be dimming with some consumers, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Sales predictions from investors tend to be optimistic. Apple watchers tracking the early sales of the new iPhones note that the precise number of units sold in the first weekend will depend on the strength of the supply chain. A Friday report from Barclays cited the long lines outside stores as a positive sign for demand, suggesting that combined first-weekend sales for the new phones could rise as high as 11 million units.

Despite the high demand, sales could be choked by a limited number of iPhone 6 Pluses available immediately. A T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.N) spokeswoman said Friday that demand for the new phones was "tremendous," but the larger model would not be available yet.

Paul Terrebonne, a 26-year-old cook who had preordered his space-grey iPhone 6, said the size of the new devices had been enough to lure him back to Apple from his previous phone, a Motorola Moto X.

"It's all about screen size, plus I missed the iPhone's camera," he said, adding that he had shunned the iPhone 6 Plus because it was "a bit too big."

The launch attracted buyers from farther afield. Flavio Gondim, a 40-year-old Brazilian public sector employee, said he was buying an iPhone 6 in New York because "back home these are, maybe, 50 percent more expensive."

In Asia, many who lined up to buy the new phones in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia said they planned to re-sell the devices in China, where regulatory hurdles are holding up the new phones' debut.

It remains to be seen whether the renewed iPhone mania will extend to Apple's other big product introduction, the Apple Watch, which will not be available until early next year.

Raj Kaur, who was comfortably waiting in line in San Francisco in a folding chair, said she did not plan to repeat the vigil for the new watch.

"I'll wait for the second edition," she said, "when they've worked out the kinks."

(story refiled to fix typographical error in first paragraph, "adopters" not "adapters")

(Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Andrew Hay)

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Retail investors rush to buy Alibaba IPO

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(Reuters) - The biggest initial public offering of all time appears to have finally gotten U.S. retail investors' attention.

Two weeks ago, brokerage firms and financial advisers were hearing practically nothing from clients about Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which went public Friday.

But today, investors at TD Ameritrade and Fidelity Investments rushed to place orders for shares of the Chinese e-commerce provider, which is a juggernaut in China and has higher sales figures than both Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc combined.

Pre-market investor orders at TD Ameritrade Holding Corp for shares of Alibaba Holding Corp surpassed the number of orders placed before the Facebook initial public offering, according to the firm.

Similarly, at Fidelity Investments' brokerage arm, orders for Alibaba were running 10 percent higher than they had for Facebook, according to a source familiar with the situation, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not permitted to speak to the media on the matter.

Meanwhile, financial advisers, many of whom just weeks ago were saying they were surprised at the lack of interest in Alibaba, have been flooded with calls from clients interested in buying shares of the company in the past 48 hours.

"I think as the chatter has increased and the date of the IPO got closer, investors are deciding to get in," said Alan Haft, a Newport California-based financial adviser, who has seen the number of clients who want to buy shares almost double in the past few days. "The common thread I hear is 'this is the Amazon of China.'"

As of Monday, 88 percent of American consumers had not even heard of Alibaba, according to an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters.

The surge in orders for Alibaba at TD Ameritrade took the brokerage's executives by surprise, said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at the firm. Just two weeks ago the number of client inquiries about the Alibaba IPO at TD Ameritrade was around a quarter of what it was for Facebook and about half of what it was for Twitter Inc.

Many investors have become more comfortable with the idea of investing in Alibaba given all of the media coverage around the company in the past couple of hours. "They realize it is not a fly by night company," Kinahan said.

As of mid-day, Alibaba accounted for about 15 percent of all retail client trades at TD Ameritrade, according to the company.

In the past two days, James Gambaccini, a Fairfax, Virginia-based independent financial adviser, said he had received at least 75 e-mails and calls from clients interested in buying shares.

"It's all they have been hearing about on the news over the last day so they want to know what it's all about," he said.

Retail investors generally get only 10 percent to 20 percent of shares in big IPOs.

The offer, which was distributed at $68 per share in the IPO, began trading at $92.70 at 11:53 a.m. EDT on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Jessica Toonkel; Additional reporting by Jed Horowitz; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Linda Stern, Jeffrey Benkoe and Andrew Hay)

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TECHNOLOGY NEWS: SAP buys expenses software maker Concur for $7.3 billion

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By Harro Ten Wolde

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's SAP (SAPG.DE) has agreed to buy U.S. expenses software maker Concur (CNQR.O) for $7.3 billion in cash, strengthening its position in cloud computing, an area it long hoped to avoid until its momentum became too great to ignore.

SAP specializes in providing software for companies on their computing networks, but has come under pressure from cheaper rivals that offer services over the internet, or "the cloud".

By buying Concur, SAP is not only increasing its online products, but also believes it can capitalize on the U.S. firm's strength in the travel sector to sell additional software.

The German business software company said it would offer $129 per share for Concur, a 20 percent premium over the Sept. 17 closing price and just short of the $130.36 record high Concur shares set in January after a two-year upward run.

That is equal to the 20 percent premium SAP paid for its 2012 acquisition of cloud procurement software maker Ariba, and comparable with the 18 and 19 percent arch-rival Oracle ORCL.O paid for Taleo in 2012 and RightNow in 2011.

"It seems expensive. But we believe that Concur is the leader in its market and the potential synergies will be a valuable addition," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note.

SAP, which competes in cloud computing with global rivals including Oracle (ORCL.N), IBM (IBM.N) and Salesforce (CRM.N), will finance the Concur acquisition through a credit facility agreement of up to 7 billion euros ($9 billion).

After initially shunning the cloud, SAP began a series of acquisitions with the $3.4 billion purchase of SuccessFactors in 2011 as it responded to fast-growing internet software pioneers such as Salesforce and Workday (WDAY.N)

"SOMETHING BIG"

With the acquisition of Concur, SAP will increase its cloud users to 50 million from 38 million.

"We have something big here, guys," SAP Chief Executive Bill McDermott told analysts and reporters on a conference call.

Concur has 23,000 clients, including companies, governments and universities with a total of more than 25 million users of its travel and expense-management software.

About a third of Concur users run SAP software and the German company expects to add Concur customers.

Based on 57 million outstanding shares, the offer for Concur is valued at $7.3 billion. Including debt, the offer represents an enterprise value of about $8.3 billion, SAP said.

Global business spending on cloud services is expected to jump 20 percent this year to $174 billion, research firm IHS estimates, rising to more than $235 billion by 2017.

Concur has close relationships with providers of travel services, giving the potential to capture repeat business from hotel or airline partners that will add to SAP's revenues without it having to find extra users.

The model could allow SAP to build a tight-knit business travel community in the cloud without risking its double-digit margins, analysts said.

As well as Ariba, SAP also owns Fieldglass, which allows companies to manage their temporary staff and independent contractors and services.

SALES BOOST

SAP expects to gain between 3 billion euros and 3.5 billion euros in sales from cloud computing by 2017, out of a total of at least 22 billion, but CEO McDermott said it would raise that forecast after completion of the Concur acquisition.

SAP shares closed down 2.4 percent at 58.45, the biggest drop in a 0.6 percent weaker European technology index.

Shares in Concur, which reported a 28.6 percent rise in revenue to $178.37 million in the quarter to June 30, were up 18 percent by 1637 GMT. They have fallen more than 17 percent since early this year. The drop has been partly down to declining margins, Jefferies' analysts wrote in late April.

Concur trades at 44 times expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), according to Starmine data, against a ratio of 30 for Salesforce.com (CRM.N).

The Concur board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close before the end of the first quarter of next year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

SAP was advised by Deutsche Bank. Concur was advised by boutique bank Qatalyst.

(1 US dollar = 0.7768 euro)

(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard and Georgina Prodhan; Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Oracle shares slide after soft results, CEO change

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(Reuters) - Oracle Corp's (ORCL.N) shares fell as much as 5.5 percent after the database software maker reported disappointing quarterly earnings late Thursday and said Larry Ellison was stepping aside as chief executive.

Ellison, co-founder and leader of Oracle for 37 years, will be replaced by co-CEOs Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, although Ellison will remain executive chairman and chief technology officer.

Oracle shares were down $1.98 at $39.57 in mid-day trading on the New York Stock Exchange with 7.8 million shares changing hands, more than double the stock's 10-day average volume.

At least three brokerages took negative actions on the stock after news of the management change and weak profit report.

"Database license sales were again negative (especially weak in the U.S.) ... Coupled with Larry Ellison's decision to give up the CEO role, our confidence in the core database business is getting tested," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a research note.

Deutsche downgraded the stock to "hold" and cut its target price to $42 from $48. Barclays Capital cut its price target to $48 from $50, but maintained a "buy" rating.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co analyst Brian White cut his price target on the stock to $48 from $50, citing "near-term softness".

White, however, said he remained optimistic about Oracle's cloud software efforts. The company's revenue from cloud software rose 29 percent to $477 million in the first quarter, and the company added more than 500 customers.

According to Thomson Reuters data, the median price target for the stock among Wall Street analysts is $46.

Up to Thursday's close, the stock had gained 8.6 percent this year, roughly in line with the broader market. Still, that lags the performance of most tech stocks this year, with the S&P 500's Technology Sector Index .SPLRCT rising 14.6 percent by comparison.

(eporting by Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore; Writing by Dan Burns; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Joyjeet Das)

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TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Exclusive: France's Iliad sets mid-Oct deadline for T-Mobile US bid - sources

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LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - French low-cost telecom operator Iliad has set a mid-October deadline to decide whether to improve its bid for T-Mobile US or walk away as it faces resistance from seller Deutsche Telekom, several people familiar with the situation said.

Deutsche Telekom, which owns 66 percent of the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, has doubts that Iliad will be able to improve the U.S. business since the French startup has no track record in the country, a source close to the German company's management said.

Under the deal structure proposed by Iliad, Deutsche Telekom would have to keep a stake in the combined company.

Iliad is currently in talks with several U.S. banks to help it finance a possible improved bid for T-Mobile US alongside existing lenders HSBC and BNP Paribas, the people familiar with the situation said, after a $33 per share offer for 56.6 percent of T-Mobile US was rejected by Deutsche Telekom.

Chief Financial Officer Thomas Reynaud said Iliad's key leverage ratio would not surpass 4.5 times net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). He also said that Iliad would limit any capital increase to fund the T-Mobile bid to 2 billion euros ($2.57 billion).

Iliad is also seeking to team up with private equity funds including KKR to raise about $5-6.5 billion, the sources, who could not be named because the talks are private, said.

T-Mobile US, Iliad and KKR declined to comment. Deutsche Telekom could not be reached immediately for comment.

Iliad's management team has now finished road shows to meet U.S. investors and is waiting to hear back from potential investors, the sources said.

Depending on how positive the feedback is from private equity investors, the French firm could be able to table an improved bid in the second week of October, two of the sources said.

Iliad could offer between $35 and $40 per share for a stake in T-Mobile of between 60 percent and 90 percent, depending on the appetite of private equity funds and lenders for the deal, two other sources said.

But Iliad, whose shares have fallen around 25 percent since it embarked on a bid for T-Mobile in late July, cannot afford a lengthy pursuit of T-Mobile if Deutsche Telekom is not willing to engage.

POSSIBLE CONSTRAINTS

In a note this week after it hosted a dinner with T-Mobile US's investor relations team, brokerage firm Jefferies said criteria for potential partners included a spectrum line in the United States and a U.S. customers base, on top of favorable financial terms.

Such a constraint would rule out Iliad as an acquirer, although this could also be part of Deutsche Telekom's tactics to get a better deal from Iliad, said some of the sources who are close to Iliad.

Deutsche Telekom would still prefer to exit the U.S market but is under no pressure to sell T-Mobile US at the moment or to start negotiations with Iliad, said the source close the German company's management, who did not rule out that Deutsche Telekom might still be active in the United States in two to three years.

Deutsche Telekom expressed scepticism last month about estimates by Iliad's boss Xavier Niel that the merger would result in $10 billion in benefits from cost cuts.

That pledge has also been met with scepticism by some analysts who say T-Mobile is already run in quite a lean manner.

Earlier this month, Iliad's Reynaud said the French group had not yet won access to a so-called "data room", which is usually set up to give bidders access to information that is not public about a company it wants to buy.

Even without access to detailed information on T-Mobile, Iliad believes it can generate $2 billion in savings per year, or 7 percent of T-Mobile's estimated cost base, by running the operator in a more cost efficient way.

Deutsche Telekom, which makes about a third of its sales and a fifth of core profits in the United States, has tried to sell T-Mobile twice since late 2011 because it sees it as too small to compete with market leaders Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T.

The German company spent about a year negotiating with Sprint Corp., the third-place U.S. mobile carrier, over a potential sale, only to see it withdraw in early August over worries U.S. regulators would bar the deal on competition grounds.

(Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia, Freya Berry in London, Leila Abboud in Paris and Harro Ten Wolde in Frankfurt and Liana Baker and Marina Lopes in New York)

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: With co-CEOs, Oracle sets challenging course

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - By promoting its two presidents to serve as co-chief executives instead of founder and CEO Larry Ellison, database-and-software behemoth Oracle (ORCL.N) is setting itself a course that has confounded other big companies.

The move seemingly marries the product oversight of Mark Hurd, former chief executive of Hewlett Packard, with the legal and financial expertise of Safra Catz, a 15-year Oracle veteran.

With Ellison remaining executive chairman and in a position to call the final shots, the company may be able to avoid some of the challenges that have mired other co-CEOs, who often end up in an unhappy "two's-a-crowd" situation, analysts say.

At Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, for example, Wenda Harris Millard was supposed to oversee media, while co-CEO Robin Marino held responsibility for marketing. That lasted just 10 months, with Millard quitting in early 2009 after frequent clashes with Marino and company founder Stewart.

At Citigroup, a co-CEO arrangement between John Reed and Sandy Weill, two strong personalities who publicly jousted, fell apart when Reed left in 2000.

"Co-CEO structures are typically not ideal," said Bill Kreher, an analyst at Edward Jones, who says most companies need the decisiveness that a single strong-willed leader offers.

But at Oracle, because the duo has already worked together for years, "we don't see the day-to-day changing," Kreher said.

Catz, trained in finance and law, was a Wall Street banker from 1986 until she joined Oracle in 1999 and has been a central figure in Oracle's many acquisitions. Sales-oriented Hurd spent 25 years at computer and ATM pioneer NCR Corp before joining Hewlett-Packard, where he was CEO from 2005 until 2010.

Still, many analysts believe a single CEO will eventually replace Ellison, be it Catz, Hurd, or perhaps another executive such as Oracle software head Thomas Kurian.

Reverting to a single CEO would bring Oracle in line with other software companies that have tried the dual track but subsequently abandoned it.

Enterprise-software company Workday said in May that co-founder and co-CEO David Duffield would step down as co-CEO, leaving the role to Aneel Bhusri. Also in May, German software giant SAP, a key competitor of Oracle, ended a co-CEO arrangement when Jim Hagemann Snabe stepped down.

"It has to be executed right, and you have to have the right working relationship to make it work," Derrick Wood, an analyst at Susquehanna, said of the dual-CEO track.

Cases where it succeeds often include a founder who acts as the visionary alongside a co-CEO who serves as the operations head, such as at retailer Whole Foods Market and fast-food restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill. That almost fits the situation at Oracle, except operations will be run by two people.

Having three, including Ellison, at the top makes Oracle analogous to Korea's Samsung Electronics. Last year, Samsung gave consumer-electronics head Yoon Boo-Keun and mobile chief J.K. Shiin co-CEO titles, joining existing CEO Kwon Oh-hyun.

The co-CEO arrangement is more common in Europe, notes Harvard Business School professor emeritus Joseph Bower. Deutsche Bank and its co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen are a prominent example.

"The downside in terms of confusion is obvious," said Bower. But "if they work well together, essentially you've vastly expanded the bandwidth of the CEO."

(Reporting by Sarah McBride; Editing by Dan Grebler)

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: 'Hundreds of thousands' of orders placed for Alibaba in debut: NYSE

04:08 No comments

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top New York Stock Exchange executive on Friday said on CNBC that "hundreds of thousands of orders" for shares of Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. (BABA.N) had been placed ahead of the stock's trading debut, expected later in the morning.

In an interview on CNBC, Scott Cutler, head of the NYSE's global listing business, said an initial indicative pricing range for the stock would be posted shortly.

Brokerage TD Ameritrade told Reuters that half the orders in its orderbook on Friday morning were for Alibaba.

NYSE officials said all systems were operating smoothly and all other listed issues were trading normally.

(Reporting By Dan Burns Editing of W Simon)

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