Chelsea have confirmed that Antonio Conte will be their next permanent manager, taking over in the summer after Italys Euro 2016 campaign.
[b]Percy Miller Jersey[/b] . He will take charge of a side likely to be without European football next season and seemingly with plenty of issues to resolve.We take a look at five things on the Italians to-do list when he arrives at Stamford Bridge, and before... Will Conte fit? What should we expect from the new Chelsea boss? Resolve John Terrys futureChelsea look set to lose one of their most experienced and decorated players in the summer unless John Terry signs a new deal. The 35-year-old said in January that he will be leaving Stamford Bridge when his current contract expires as the club is moving in a different direction.But is that the direction Conte wants to go? Speaking on Sky Sports in February, Graeme Souness says he cannot imagine why the club would not want Terry to stay. John Terry is out of contract in the summer I cannot believe that John Terry will not be here next year, Souness said. I cant think of one reason why you wouldnt want him here. You can go and spend all the money you want, 50 or 60 million pounds, you can buy the very best centre-half out there, but he is not going to come into the Chelsea dressing room and have the same influence. It would be a mistake at every level for me if you get rid of John Terry.There have been reports that Conte is open to keeping Terry and former Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins told Sky Sports News HQ that he thinks the Italian will want to use his experience and pick his brains.However, if he does depart then it would leave a huge hole for Conte to fill. Chelsea appoint Conte Chelsea have confirmed Antonio Conte will become their new head coach Help Hazard get back to his bestIts hard to remember many other players whose level has nosedived so dramatically in such a short space of time. From PFA Player of the Year in 2014/15, Eden Hazard has struggled badly for form and fitness this season and is yet to score a Premier League goal.He also appears to have been tempted by a move away from Stamford Bridge, saying in February that it would be hard to turn down a move to Paris Saint-Germain. Eden Hazard has struggled for form and fitness this season Although interim Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink thinks Hazard can return to his best form, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson thinks he should be sold if the price is right.Id drop him off if I could get £60m for him. Hes had one good year and this season hes been bordering on atrocious. If you can get the money, youd take it all day long. You dont know if he will turn out to be a one-season wonder and you cant take that chance.With a contract until 2020, it seems unlikely that Chelsea will let the Belgian leave unless they receive a substantial offer. Instead it will be down to Conte to find a way of rejuvenating the 25-year-old and transforming him into one of the clubs top players again.Get a grip on transfer policyJose Mourinho might have taken the fall for Chelseas poor season, but the Portuguese could point to a lack of support in the transfer window as one of the reasons for the below-par results.While signings were made, none of Radamel Falcao, Abdul Rahman Baba, Papy Djilobodji or Pedro have hit the mark. The same could be said of Alexandre Pato, who joined on loan in January and only made his debut at the weekend. Who should Chelsea sell? Paul Merson looks at which players Chelsea should keep It is clear that significant changes are needed, but will Conte be able to overhaul the squad without the lure of European football next season?Sky in Italy reporter Augusto de Bartolo thinks the former Juventus boss will make three or four additions, among them potentially Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan.At Juventus, to protect Paul Pogba he had Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio or Arturo Vidal. For this reason, I think Conte will try to buy a player that will be useful for that. It could be Radja Nainggolan, from AS Roma, who Conte admires, says De Bartolo. Will Conte look to sign Radja Nainggolan? Conte will also need to address the striking issues. While Diego Costas dip in form could not be foreseen, Chelsea should have had better back-ups in place than Loic Remy and Falcao.They need to buy another forward in the summer because it cant just be Costa, says Merson.Give youth a chanceIt might not be a short-term fix, but giving more youngsters more of a chance might prevent Chelsea losing talented players as they did with Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne, both of whom are excelling after leaving Stamford Bridge due to a lack of opportunities.Certainly Conte will have plenty of players to work with. Chelsea have a host of youngsters out on loan around Europe as well as the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Matt Miazga and Bertrand Traore already in the squad. Will Ruben Loftus-Cheek get a chance under Conte? How the Italian balances development with signings could be key to Chelseas future. At least by the time he arrives he might have more of an idea what he is working with, as Hiddink has said he plans to give some of the youngsters more first-team minutes before the end of the season.That could help the Italian to decide who stays at Stamford Bridge and who heads out on loan.Look at all the loansWith over 30 players out on loan, Conte will have decisions aplenty to make in the summer.Will Patrick Bamford be sent out on a sixth loan? Will Juan Cuadrado be recalled from Juventus? Is Michael Hector ready to play Premier League football? Mohamed Salah looks unlikely to return from Italy but Victor Moses future will need to be resolved as it is understood West Ham will not be turning his loan move into a permanent deal. Victor Moses looks set to return from his season-long loan at West Ham Like with the youngsters already at the club, it will be a balancing act for Conte, but one thing is for sure: Chelsea can do without bringing in any more loan signings themselves.Perhaps seeing how Falcao and Pato have flopped will bring about a shift in the Blues transfer policy. Also See: Who should Chelsea keep? Conte: A view from Italy How will Conte fit? Hiddink: Time for Chelsea kids
[b]Al Jefferson Jersey[/b] . "He came up to me and said, I want to train," said Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen. The 26-year-old midfielder is expected to play Saturday night when Toronto hosts D.C. United, returning to his Major League Soccer squad with mixed feelings about the Americans World Cup run -- sad that it ended when it did but proud of his teams performance.
[b]Bobby Phills Jersey[/b] . -- Kael Mouillierat scored three times and set up one more as the St.MONTREAL -- Injuries, a battle with cancer and struggles to make the playoffs marked his 13 years in Montreal, but for the generation of fans who grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s, Saku Koivu was the face of the Canadiens. The memories flooded back Wednesday when the gifted and dauntless centre announced his retirement after 18 NHL seasons, including 10 years as the Canadiens captain. The 39-year-old played his final five seasons with the Anaheim Ducks skating alongside fellow Finnish great Teemu Selanne, but his career will mostly be remembered for the great highs and devastating lows he experienced in Montreal. "Looking back at my 22 years of pro hockey, first in Finland and then in the NHL, I feel truly blessed and fulfilled," Koivu said in a statement released through the NHL Players Association. "I have been contemplating retirement for quite some time and am very confident in my decision at this time and place." The Turku, Finland native played 1,124 NHL games and had 255 goals and 577 assists. He competed at four Olympics, two World Cups and seven IIHF world championships, winning a gold medal for Finland in 1995. The Canadiens, the Ducks and even rival clubs like the Ottawa Senators sent out tweets congratulating Koivu on his career. But his NHL figures are modest considering what he may have produced had his career not been marred by a succession of knee injuries, his 2001-02 bout with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and a horrific eye injury in 2006 that left him with restricted peripheral vision. And his career may have been much different had he landed in Montreal at any other time but the fall of 1995. Drafted 21st overall in 1993 on advice from scout J.C. Tremblay, Koivu stayed two seasons with TPS Turku before jumping to the NHL. Less than two weeks into his rookie campaign, general manager Serge Savard and coach Jacques Demers were fired and replaced by an inexperienced management team led by GM Rejean Houle and coach Mario Tremblay. In December, Tremblay left Patrick Roy in the net for nine goals in a 12-1 loss to Detroit and the superstar goalie demanded a trade. He and captain Mike Keane were sent to Colorado a few days later in one of the worst trades in Canadiens history. The former dynasty, which Savard had at least maintained as a contender with Stanley Cups wins in 1986 and 1993, went into a downward spiral that took a decade to reverse. Later that same season, the Canadiens moved out of the historic Montreal Forum into their new home, then called the Molson Centre. One of the bright spots in that era was Koivu, the plucky little centre whose leadership qualities were evident from his earliest years. In only his second season, Koivu was among the league scoring leaders with 13 goals and 25 assists in early December when he suffered the first of his serious knee injuries. On Sept. 30, 1999, he succeeded Vincent Damphousse to become the first European captain in Canadiens history. The big blow came just before training camp in 2001, when cancer was found in his abdomen. Remarkably, he was able to return near the end of the regular season. The thundering ovation when he stepped onto the ice for the first time since his illness went on and on, and Koivu was visible moved. Then he sealed the bond he had forged with Bell Centre fans by not only playing in all 12 playoff games that spring, but sharing the team lead with 10 post-season points. He was given the 2002 Masterton Trophy for dedication, sportsmanship and perseverance, and followed that by playing all 82 games in 2002-03, collecting a career-high 71 points. The cancer moved him to start the Saku Koivu foundation, which raised $8 million for a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner for the Montreal General Hospital. In 2007, he got the King Clancy award for his humanitarian efforts. "My time in Montreal was special beyond playing hockey," Koivu added in his statement. "Thank you to the fans and lovely people of Montreal for your support and love, and for providing my family and me with wonderful memories that we will always cherish as well as the immense support during my illness. "Thank you with all my heart to Dr. and Mrs. David Mulder and Dr. and Mrs. Blair Whittemore and the staff at Montreal General Hospital for saving my life." Another setback came in the second round of the 2006 playoffs against Carolina, when he was headed to the net with the puck but the Hurricanes Justin Williams tried to lift his stick and got him square on the left eye instead. He rushed from the ice with blood streaming from the eye and was taken to hospital. But no matter the injury, Koivu kept coming back and playing with the same intensity, even if the knee braces left him without some of the quickness of his early seasons. There were bad times as well. He bristled at criticism for not learning French, which some felt was required of a Canadiens captain at the time, and he was not happy that a photographer sneaked into the hosspital to take a picture of his damaged eye.
[b]P. J. Brown Jersey[/b]. But for most fans, he was a hero. The Canadiens cleaned house after the 2008-09 campaign, and it included letting Koivu go to the Ducks as a free agent. It ended a 10-year tenure as captain, tied for the longest in team history with the legendary Jean Beliveau. Fans had to wait every other year for the Ducks to visit so they could greet him with their "Sa-Ku Sa-Ku" chants. His former teammates took to twitter to comment on his retirement, including defenceman Sheldon Souray, who wrote: "Saku Koivu is a MAN among men. He was an inspiration, a mentor, a friend, and an unbelievable competitor. He showed me what it meant to be a professional in a city that didnt expect anything less than excellence. He set the bar high both on and off the ice and truly showed the world what the word courage meant." Added former Ducks teammate Matt Beleskey: "Saku Koivu, one of the most dedicated and hard working players I have ever had the pleasure to play with. His compete level was outstanding!" Koivu thanked the Turku coach who helped hone his skills, Vladimir Jurzinov, and his agent for most of his career Don Baizley, who died of cancer in June, 2013. As well as the Canadiens, he thanked his parents, his wife Hanna and their two children. He also thanked the Ducks, who opted not to bring him back for a 19th NHL campaign. "I am grateful to them for allowing me to experience NHL hockey in California," Koivu said. "Orange County has truly been a blessing for us." The one thing missing from Koivus career was a Stanley Cup, but he picked up plenty of prizes. He won four Olympic medals, including silver in 2006 in what may have been the most impressive performance of his career, four world championship medals and a World Cup silver medal. Koivu said the seed was planted a year ago when retirement thoughts first cropped into his mind although he still needed all this off-season to make sure it was the right one. "Looking back, my retirement process started a year ago in the summer," Koivu said Wednesday. "It used to be easy to get up and go for a run and get back in shape, skate in August and prepare for camp. But it was the first time in my career where it was like, `Man, its not as easy anymore. Then when we started the season, I found myself asking the question a little too often, `Why am I here? Is this still worth it? Whats the purpose of still playing? You have your family and kids, you miss their activities … obviously you push those thoughts away in the middle of the season and focus on the games, but thats how I felt that I was coming towards the end of my career." Koivu said another contributing factor was the concussion he suffered last November and December when he missed a chunk of the season. Finally, when the Ducks were eliminated by the Kings in Game 7 last spring, Koivu remembers hugging his pal Teemu Selanne who had made it clear it would be his last season. "I said to him, `I feel so privileged that I played with you, and he said, `I feel the same, but your last season is ahead of you," Koivu recalled Selanne saying. "I said, `Teemu, I really feel like this might be it for both of us. And that feeling just grew stronger and stronger throughout the summer." The Ducks decision not to tender Koivu a contract offer after the season also led to Koivus decision to retire but he didnt have any interest of moving his family elsewhere and playing for another team. Looking back on his career, Koivu takes pride in having played so long given how his career and his life was threatened in 2001-02 by cancer. "My first 4-5 years in the league, I had some unfortunate injuries with the shoulder and knees and then at 27, 28 years old going through the cancer and missing almost a complete year … to have played in 1,100-plus games and playing some 10-plus years after all that, it really feels amazing," said Koivu. "I feel so fortunate about it. Had somebody told me that back then I would have said, `Absolutely no way that thats possible. When I first told the doctor after my chemo that I wanted to come back and play that year, he said, `Youre insane. Maybe youre never going to play because we dont know how the treatments and everything will have an effect on you. Being here in 2014, its pretty amazing." Koivu will use this year to simply spend more time with family but says coaching one day in pro hockey is a possibility for him. His wife and him also have to decide whether theyll raise their kids in California or in Finland, a decision they havent taken yet. "Ive always been fascinated about coaching," said Koivu. "But thats too quick right now. Right now its about spending time with the kids and family. Ill be an assistant coach for my son who is eight years old. But Im pretty sure that hockey is going to play some kind of role in my life later on." ' ' '
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