MERCEDES-BENZ INTELLIGENT AERODYNAMIC AUTOMOBILE CHANGES SHAPE WITH THE PUSH OF A BUTTON

If you thought retractable spoilers were cool, 
you’re going to love Mercedes-Benz’s 
Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile, also 
known as Concept IAA. 

                                                             

The sleek one-off, described by Mercedes as a “digital transformer,” is a showcase of the brand’s aerodynamic prowess, as it boasts a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.19. For reference, the Porsche 911 Turbo — which is by no means an open parachute — has a figure of 0.31 Cd.

To accomplish this unprecedented level of slipperiness, Mercedes employed a dynamic, adaptable body structure that literally changes shape with the push of a button. When prompted, eight segments at the car’s rear extend by about 15 inches to reduce turbulence, and special flaps on the bumper activate to improve airflow around the nose and front fenders. Even the wheels — called Active Rims — reduce their indentation to become completely flat, allowing air to slip evenly down the car’s sides without interruption.

“The Concept IAA applies intelligent innovations to resolve the conflicting aims of functionality and aesthetics and shows that we still have plenty of ideas on how to achieve further improvements in efficiency,” said Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.
Left to its own devices, the car will undergo this transformation automatically when it reaches 80 kph (49.7 mph).

Related: 

Brabus leaves reasonable behind and builds an 838-horsepower Mercedes-AMG G63

Whatever configuration the Concept IAA is in, the vehicle’s minimalist design is certainly no chore to look at. Outside, the four-door boasts a classic sports car silhouette, with a long hood, flared wheel arches, and a set-back greenhouse presenting a classically athletic profile. Inside, the ultra-modern IAA takes cues from the S-Class with its two-part screen, but adds unique cut glass and aluminum finishes to embody the luxury sedan of the future.

The Concept IAA is currently being showcased at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Opinion: Greece’s government has only itself to blame for Sunday’s election

Protesters wave a Greek flag during an anti-austerity rally in June 2015.

Greece’s election on Sunday is the third time its citizens have gone to the polls this year, and unfortunately this new election was not unexpected.

The Syriza-led government has played its hand badly, failing to extract significant concessions from its eurozone paymasters. Syriza’s performance suggests a lack of preparedness and a poor understanding of the seriousness of their predicament. The cacophony of voices and an excessive desire for the limelight was unhelpful in what were always going to be difficult negotiations.

The assumption that the European Union would respect both the democratic process and the new Greek government’s mandate was optimistic. Consider that in 2011, then-Prime Minister George Papandreou’s attempted plebiscite on austerity policies in 2011 was dismissed by the eurozone as “disruptive,” leading to the appointment of an unelected technocrat, Lucas Papademos, palatable to Brussels.


In late 2014, Pierre Moscovici, the EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, visited Athens declaring support for Antonio Samaras, the beleaguered Greek prime minister, who was willing to continue the EU-dictated policies, describing Syriza’s position as suicidal. After Syriza won election, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble stated that elections changed nothing, warning that things would become difficult if Greece took a different path. This position was reiterated by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker more recently: “There can be no democratic choice against the European treaties.”

Default and withdrawal from the euro simultaneously would have offered Greece the best chance of long-term recovery.
Syriza’s negotiation tactics, portrayed as sophisticated game theory moves, were incoherent. Digressions into side issues such as return of German war plunder, whatever the merits of the claim, were distractions. The repeated reference to the 1953 London agreements forgiving German debts was irrelevant. The Cold War reasoning which led the Allies to behave generously towards Germany was inapplicable.

The Greeks also gave up their trump card even before the negotiations commenced. The threat of a Greek default and withdrawal from the euro EURUSD, -0.3372%  simultaneously would have rattled the eurozone and offered Greece the best chance of long-term recovery.

Repudiation of existing debt or redenomination in new drachmas would inflict significant losses on creditors. The European Central Bank and the European Financial Stability Facility would presumably have to seek actual funds from eurozone guarantors, contradicting the often-stated lack of risk of the bailout arrangements and the absence of taxpayer exposure.

While extremely painful, this move would arguably leave Greece no worse off. Importantly, Greece would reclaim sovereignty and control over its currency and interest rates. This would ultimately allow Greece to devalue to regain competitiveness. In addition, it would help reverse capital outflows.

The government’s decision against this option reflects multiple factors. A Greek default within the eurozone has always been favored by former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. Greece’s electorate awarded Syriza a schizophrenic mandate to eliminate austerity but stay within the euro. Middle- and upper-class Greeks want to continue to receive pensions and payments in hard euros rather than in more volatile drachma.

The surrender of this potent threat created, from the outset, a paradox. Greeks feared a “Grexit” more than the lenders, leaving the government with minimal leverage and bargaining power.

Compounding the weakness was the failure to anticipate and prepare contingency plans for coping with capital flight. The reliance of Greek banks on ECB funding was ignored. Both problems had been obvious from before the 2015 election.

Predictably, as the outflow accelerated with post-election uncertainty, the absence of restrictions on withdrawals and outward remittances fatally increased reliance on ECB emergency funding. With the ECB tightening collateral rules and controlling funding to Greek banks, the risk of a complete collapse of the banking system further reduced the government’s bargaining position.

In order to continue to meet repayment obligations, the Greek government commandeered local government reserves and balances of other public-sector organizations, as well as delaying tax refunds and payments to suppliers. These actions to placate its creditors smacked of desperation and a government lacking control, which eroded popular support. Many local authorities did not comply, preferring to spend the money rather than hand it over.

The Greek government’s appropriation of funds earmarked for specific purposes alienated even its own supporters. Only the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party is now promising real change.

As the Greek government failed to achieve its objectives, it played the victim, convincing itself that the nation was faultless and the rest of Europe, led by Germany, wanted to punish Greece. Syriza would have done well to heed German statesman Otto von Bismarck’s advice: “Woe to the statesman whose arguments for entering a war are not as convincing at its end as they were at the beginning.”

Boeing: World’s first all-electric propulsion satellite begins operations

The world’s first all-electric propulsion satellite, built by Boeing for Bermuda-based ABS, is now operational after an on-orbit handover on August 31. The ABS-3A, a 702SP (small platform) satellite, expands ABS’ communications services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“The operational ABS-3A satellite and ABS-2A, launching in early 2016, will further strengthen and solidify our global expansion and offer flexible capacity to our growing fleet,” said Tom Choi, CEO of ABS. “We believe Boeing’s innovative portfolio can help us to affordably grow now and in the future.”

The ABS-3A spacecraft was the world’s first all-electric propulsion satellite to be built and launched – part of a stacked pair launched in March with a 702SP satellite built for Eutelsat, based in Paris. The spacecraft’s all-electric xenon-ion propulsion system contains a sufficient quantity of the inert, non-hazardous element xenon to extend the satellite’s operations beyond the expected spacecraft design life of 15 years.

“With a successful launch, testing and execution of orbit operations, we were able to deliver the first 702SP to ABS about one month earlier than planned,” said Mark Spiwak, president, Boeing Satellite Systems International. “The 702SP product line was designed to bring the latest technology into the hands of customers seeking adaptable and affordable solutions. In addition, the 702SP’s patented dual-launch capability helps customers share launch costs, which can significantly lower overall expenses for a satellite owner.”

Boeing is under contract to build a second 702SP satellite for ABS, designated ABS-2A, which will be delivered and launched early next year.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Defense, Space & Security is a $31 billion business with 53,000 employees worldwide.

Opera 32 introduces VPN as a 'universal right' Such secure. So Scandi. Wow

OPERA SOFTWARE has announced a crop of additional functionality for its desktop edition which graduates today to become Opera 32.
The Norwegian browser firm has a relatively small but very loyal market share of 1.27 percent. It has benefited in recent years from increased compatibility owing to a change to the open source Chromium base, making it the biggest Chromium browser apart from Chrome itself.
Front and centre is the integration of SurfEasy, the VPN service bought by Opera in March. Customers can now run completely anonymous browsing sessions from within Opera 32.
Other browsers offer 'anonymous browsing', but this does not protect your browsing of robot sex doll sites from your ISP or your search engine. With a VPN you can be sure that whatever you get up to is secret.
Opera product manager Zhenis Beisekov said in the Opera Blog: "Your security online has always been our highest concern. We want to move it another step forward, because we believe that privacy online is a universal right."
Other new features include the addition of password syncing between browsers, which joins the existing shared tabs, bookmarks and data.
Bookmarks get a new tree-view designed to make it easier to find stuff in your bookmarks, and maybe give them the tidy up they've needed all these years.
Visually, Opera 32 gains animated background themes to allow further personalisation. A short snatch of video or a gif animation can become part of your brower, and you can even add one of your own to the Opera catalogue, if you're artistically inclined.
Opera recently announced a major update to its Mini browser for smaller devices, which offers a data compression option that maintains the integrity of the page content for the first time, making it ideal for roaming and low bandwidth areas. µ

Facebook update means you can never have a quiet night-in again

FACEBOOK is switching on Read Receipts for its Event pages – and single-handedly quashing all your excuses to never leave the house.

Facebook could be set to roll out its Read Receipts to Event Pages

Ever had a friend send an event invitation that you read, then ignored because you had no interest in going?
Well, Facebook is rolling out a new feature which promises to make these type of event invites a social minefield.

The hugely popular social network is introducing read receipts – the small ticks and accompanying timestamp currently used within Facebook Messenger to informs everyone you have seen the content – to its event pages.

In a nutshell, it means that using "oh, that was this weekend? I must have missed the invite," as an excuse is now dead.

Facebook confirmed to the Daily Dot it is “piloting the ability for private event hosts and guests to know whether their friends they invited have seen the event”.

The US firm believes the introduction will help event organisers message the right people.


But it could make for some fairly awkward family gatherings.

Luckily the social network might decide against rolling out the feature to users worldwide.

However one new feature which is definitely rolling out across Facebook in the coming weeks, is a "Dislike" button.

Falque: Messi is from another planet

Roma midfielder Iago Falque believes all Barcelona’s players are ‘phenomena’ but Lionel Messi is ‘from another planet’.

The 25-year-old came through the Catalan side’s famous youth system, but was unable to break into the first team.

Following spells at Juventus, Tottenham Hotspur and Villarreal, the Spaniard enjoyed a fantastic season for Genoa last term, and earned a move to the Giallorossi this summer.

The Lupi will meet Barça at Stadio Olimpico tomorrow, and Falque spoke to Esports Cope about the match.

“Barcelona is my home, I was always treated well,” the left-winger explained.

“I have no ill-feelings toward the club, I always had an excellent relationship with [Coach] Luis Enrique.

“We have a lot of respect for Barcelona, they’re European champions. The key always has been and always will be Messi.

“All their other players are phenomena, but he’s an alien. He’s from a different planet.”

DE ROSSI: HARD WORK THE KEY AGAINST BARÇA

09/15/2015

Daniele De Rossi believes Roma will have to work hard in Wednesday's Champions League game against Barcelona. The Giallorossi midfielder assessed the threat Luis Enrique's side pose during the pre-match press conference. He pointed to Messi as the chief danger as "he always beats a player and that's why we have to be balanced and compact between the lines."
Here is what the midifielder said on the eve of the game.

Can you get a result tomorrow if you manage to nullify Messi?

“Barcelona are a special side in that, as well as being the best team, they also boast the best player around. It's doubly difficult coming up against a team like the Blaugrana, as they have both a great playing style and exceptional individuals. Our aim is not simply to stop them but to work hard during the match and help one another out. Messi almost always beats a man, that's why we have to stay compact and organized."


Last year's defeat to Bayern left lasting psychological damage. Could the same happen tomorrow?


“Last season's match against the Germans was an unusual game. But Bayern and Barcelona are definitely on a similar level. They're two of the most dominant teams in the world. Part of our efforts to qualify will be decided tomorrow. We know it will be important, as oppposed to crucial, and we cannot think that it will have an impact on our position in the standings and our efforts in the league. Serie A and the Champions League are two separate things, just like last year, although it definitely hit us hard losing like that at home."


Were Roma not patient enough with Luis Enrique or was he not ready yet?


"He resigned so we can't really blame the club. The 2011-12 season was a tricky campaign and people judged it in a certain way, as is often the case in Rome. He also didn't get much support from the media because perhaps it didn't suit their agenda. Since he left, he's shown he's not a mug like many people made him out to be and he's been successful. Yes, he has a great squad to work with but I'm happy for him and his staff because they're lovely people. Besides tomorrow, I'll always cheer him on."


You've been compared to Gerrard and Lampard in the past but can you now see a bit of Mascherano in yourself, in that you can also cover at the back?


"The Gerrard and Lampard comparisons were made by Lippi and then I kept on looking up to them. Barcelona have a host of stars and Mascherano has developed in a way I could in the future. He has dominated both in Spain and Europe in midfield and defense. It would be great if I could emulate him. This is more a tactical matter and depends on the team's needs. The coach and players know I'll play wherever I'm needed. If I can perform well like I did against Juventus, I'm happy."


What have you made of the Curva's recent protests?


“I'm trying to get a clearer picture before I comment, as I often have in the past during my career. I don't want to appeal to anyone and there's no issue, as long as the protests remain civilized. Obviously it's nice for us when the stadium is full of flags and color, but we managed to win against Juve. Theirs is a more than acceptable way of protesting and it's only fair we respect those who make their point in a civilized fashion."


Does it annoy you that you've once again been labeled as a dirty player after the red card you received on international duty?


"I haven't read much of what's been written to be honest as I know what I'm faced with in situations like these. I saw some interesting statistics about the number of red cards I've been shown for Roma and the national team and it didn't seem that many. But obviously you can't expect a pat on the back when you react like that. You try to live with it and not do it again. I've said many times, every now and then I see red. I've finished loads of matches without being sent off and I've also picked up cards for normal fouls. When I've made mistakes they've also been highlighted on TV and I can't blame anyone else. That's the way it works and I can't get upset about it at 32 years of age."

Marco van Basten, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Grafite and Yacine Brahimi have all made their mark on matchday one in the past; who could catch the eye this season?

Asmir Begović (Chelsea)

Paulo Dybala (Juventus)Alex Teixeira (Shakhtar Donetsk)Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg)Asmir Begović (Chelsea)Ángel Di María (Paris)Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moskva)Edin Džeko (Roma)José Luis Gayá (Valencia)Johannes Geis (Schalke)Aleksandr Hleb (BATE)Anthony Martial (Manchester United)Marko Pjaca (Dinamo Zagreb)Rafinha (Barcelona)Lars Stindl (Mönchengladbach)Luciano Vietto (Atlético)Vitolo (Sevilla)Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kyiv)
Next



There are always heroes unearthed on UEFA Champions League matchday one. There was Marco van Basten's four-goal haul in 1992, Zlatan Ibrahimović's match-winning double on his competition debut for Ajax a decade later. Grafite hit a hat-trick for Wolfsburg in 2009 and Yacine Brahimi introduced himself to Porto in style 12 months ago. UEFA.com looks at the players with extra reason to impress in the coming weeks and months.


Alex Teixeira (Shakhtar Donetsk)
The Brazilian, 25, decided against leaving the club at Mircea Lucescu's personal request and, with nine goals in seven league appearances this season, has continued to lead the line to great effect since Luiz Adriano's departure.

Max Arnold (Wolfsburg)
A promising attacking midfielder, the 21-year-old should get plenty of playing time following the departure of Kevin De Bruyne.

Asmir Begović (Chelsea)
Thibaut Courtois' injury is likely to rule the Belgian out for most of the group stage so the 28-year-old Begović – whose European experience amounts to five UEFA Europa League appearances for Stoke in 2010/11 – has a chance to impress.


Madrid win 'La Decima'
Ángel Di María (Paris Saint-Germain)
After three successive quarter-final exits, the French treble winners invested a reported €65m in the Argentinian, who played a starring role in Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League final victory in 2014.

Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moskva)
After a barren spell at Roma, the Ivorian has returned to CSKA on loan and was pivotal in the play-off victory over Sporting Club. He has formed a formidable strike partnership with Ahmed Musa.

Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Only Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann scored more left-foot goals in the top five European leagues last term and, having swapped Palermo for Juventus, will be looking to showcase his talents in Europe.

Edin Džeko (Roma)
The Giallorossi fans are already in love with the Bosnian striker, even more after he scored in the victory against Juventus in Serie A. Will he give Roma an extra dimension in Europe?


1992: Van Basten's one-man show
José Luis Gayá (Valencia)
The 20-year-old was the breakout player in Spain last season, impressing from left-back with darting runs and intelligent play.

Aleksandr Hleb (BATE Borisov)
Now 34, the former Arsenal and Barcelona star has returned for a third spell with BATE, promising another glimpse of his perfect vision and passing for the Belarusian champions.

Anthony Martial (Manchester United)
The teenage striker marked his debut with a fine solo goal against Liverpool on Saturday and made seven UEFA Champions League appearances for Monaco last season, putting in a particularly impressive performance in the round of 16 first leg at Arsenal.


Classic opening day matches
Marko Pjaca (Dinamo Zagreb)
This fast, skilful 20-year-old can play as an attacking midfielder, winger or forward and has already become one of his club's key performers.

Rafinha (Barcelona)
Thiago Alcántara's younger brother now has the chance to show his worth following the departure of Pedro and can expect a decent run in the team.

Lars Stindl (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Hannover's creative force for several years, the 27-year-old has settled in quickly at Mönchengladbach, linking up with Thorgan Hazard (Eden's younger brother).

Luciano Vietto (Atlético Madrid)
The Argentinian lit up Villarreal's UEFA Europa League campaign last term with his tricky feet, pace and eye for goal and will relish the challenge of taking on Europe's best defences.

Vitolo (Sevilla)
The Spain international spearheaded Sevilla's triumphant UEFA Europa League adventure last season and is now preparing for his first ever UEFA Champions League campaign.

Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kyiv)
A spectacular striker at the peak of his form, Yarmolenko rejected some lucrative transfer offers from English clubs this summer to stay and try to lead Dynamo into round of 16.

Who will you be watching out for? Let us know @championsleague using #UCL

Raymond Van der Gouw surprised at David de Gea's contract extension.

The Manchester United goalkeeper was widely expected to complete a move to Real Madrid in the summer only for the deal to fall through, and the Dutchman is pleased he has stayed



Former Manchester United goalkeeper Raymond van der Gouw admits that he was surprised when David de Gea extended his contract at Old Trafford but has hailed the Spaniard as a "top-class goalkeeper".

De Gea was on the verge of a move to Real Madrid on transfer deadline day in Spain, only for the transfer to fall through in farcical circumstances at the eleventh hour.

The keeper duly signed a new four-year deal with the Premier League club and Van der Gouw, who spent six years at Old Trafford, is delighted with the sequence of events, though he admits that the Spaniard's u-turn took him aback.

Speaking exclusively to Goal, he said: "It's a good thing. I was surprised that he renewed his contract at United. This transfer soap opera did take a surprising turn at the last moment but I'm sure there was a good reason."

De Gea will be 28 when his current deal expires and Van der Gouw has backed the goalkeeper to continue to improve in the coming years - whichever club he ends up at.

"For a goalkeeper that's still very young," he added.

"He arrived when he was young and he got the chance to adapt to the life in England. Every season he gets better."

De Gea made his first start of the season for United in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Liverpool, after Sergio Romero had been preferred by Louis van Gaal for the first six games of 2015-16.

Van der Gouw, though, expects De Gea to keep hold of the No.1 spot after committing his future to the club.

"Now he must return strong and grow back in a role as first goalkeeper again. De Gea is the No.1, otherwise United wouldn't have given him a new contract."

Steve McManaman: 'I don't think Real Madrid have strengthened enough'

STEVE MCMANAMAN, UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE, REAL MADRID, BARCELONA, BAYERN MÜNCHEN


FFT's Chris Flanagan previews the Champions League campaign ahead with El Macca – and gets the former Madrid man's top tip for the title...
Steve McManaman once scored in a Champions League semi final between Real Madrid and Barcelona, but he is surprised by one thing: Europe's two biggest clubs have still never met in the final.
If the competition is sometimes accused of throwing up the same fixtures year after year, arguably the biggest final of all is yet to happen – 60 years after the European Cup was first launched.
NEW ISSUE Champions League! Rakitic, Willian, Thiago exclusives and much more
They met in the semi-finals as far back as 1960, with Barcelona gaining revenge for that defeat by beating their rivals in the first round a season later. Barça won a semi-final in 2011, nine years after McManaman had netted at the Nou Camp as Real secured their passage into the final.



Just when a Real-Barça final looked set to happen last season, Juventus shocked the Madrid side in the last four. Still we wait for the ultimate El Clasico.
"I'm surprised it still hasn't happened," McManaman tells FFT. "It could have happened a lot over the last five or six years. No doubt it will soon enough, as long as they keep avoiding each other earlier in the draw.
"It should have happened last season. Real should have got to the final, they should have beaten Juventus. They made quite amateur mistakes against Juve – the foul for the penalty in the first leg, even the foul for the free-kick that led to Juventus's goal in the second leg. I wouldn't expect that to happen again."

I think Real will be OK but have they strengthened their team this year? To a certain extent they haven't really. Now a pundit for BT Sport, McManaman won two Champions League titles with Real, who host Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night.

But the former England international worries his old club haven't added to their squad significantly this summer. Barcelona, meanwhile, have been unable to do so because of a transfer embargo that will only be lifted in January.

"I think Real will be OK but have they strengthened their team this year? To a certain extent they haven't really," McManaman says. "I still think their best team is with Luka Modric in it. The fact that Benzema and Modric were injured really affected Real last season. If they stay fit they'll always go a long way because they've got too many good players.

"Barça can't strengthen until January and their squad looks a little bit threadbare now they've lost Pedro and Xavi, really experienced players. They've brought a couple of kids through.
"A lot of the time last year Barcelona were quite fortunate with injuries. Their big three stayed fit most of the year and you need to keep your main men fit. If Cristiano Ronaldo gets injured and misses five or six games in the Champions League, Real are going to struggle."
Real failed to sign David de Gea before the transfer window closed, just missing the deadline after a deal was agreed for the Manchester United goalkeeper to move to the Bernabeu.
Keylor Navas, who had been due to move the other way, and Kiko Casilla are now Real's only experienced options in that position but McManaman is not concerned about the goalkeeping options at Rafa Benitez's disposal.

"I don't necessarily think it will be a problem for them," he affirms. "It left a bad taste in everyone's mouth that the De Gea transfer didn't happen. I don't think anyone came out of it looking good.
"Keylor Navas is probably happy enough to just to forget about it and get on with things because it seemed he was being forced out.
"But Navas is playing well, he saved a penalty recently against Betis – and Real have been very strong defensively under Rafa at the start of the season."


On Bayern;

“They've brought in Douglas Costa and signed Arturo Vidal from Juventus, and it will take a good team to knock them out
Interestingly, McManaman's tip to win the Champions League this year is not Real or Barça. It's Bayern Munich.
"I think Bayern have invested really well in the summer," he says. "I went over to watch them a couple of times last year and I think the amount of injuries they had, certainly in the latter part of the campaign, really affected them.
"Whether they're going to have the same luck with injuries this season, that's another thing, because Franck Ribery is still struggling.
"But the fact that Arjen Robben should be back, that they've brought in Douglas Costa and signed Arturo Vidal from Juventus, they've got a really good squad and it will take a good team to knock them out.

"I fully expect the English teams to do a lot better than they did last year too, certainly the likes of Manchester City.
"They'll go a long way this year because they've got so many different players now, players with a lot of speed. Their acquisitions have been really good."

Liverpool looking to replace Brendan Rogers with Jurgen Klopp

Former Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp would be the perfect manager for Liverpool, according to Didi Hamann.

The pressure on current manager Brendan Rodgers is growing due to a difficult start to the season, which has followed a disappointing 2014-15 campaign in which Liverpool missed out on Champions League football.

Hamann feels Rodgers still has the club's backing, yet is adamant that Klopp would be the perfect replacement if Liverpool were to part ways with their current manager.

"Klopp would be a great fit at Liverpool," Hamann was quoted as saying by the Evening Standard. 

"The pressure in Liverpool gets bigger. The fans are on the barricades. But the manager is backed by the club.

"And the question is whether Klopp would move there during the season. Had they asked before the season, I am 99 per cent sure that he would have joined them."

Klopp, who left Dortmund this summer after seven years in charge, has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich but Hamann feels the reigning Bundesliga champions would not be right for the 48-year-old.


"Many people say that he will take over Bayern on July 1, 2016, but I don't know whether he's a fit there," he concluded.

Gerrard: Barca and Real will be after Coutinho

Steven Gerrard fears Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho will follow in the footsteps of Luis Suarez by moving to Barcelona or Real Madrid within a few seasons.

Coutinho has excelled since joining from Inter Milan in an £8.5million deal two years ago, earning accolade last season as Liverpool’s Player of the Year and inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year.

Yet former Reds captain Gerrard believes the 23-year-old’s progress will eventually alert La Liga’s top teams to his services, as he saw with the move of Suarez to Barcelona in July 2014.

"Philippe is wonderfully gifted and I expect him to become Liverpool's leading player," he wrote in his new autobiography, My Story , which is being serialised in The Daily Mail .

“Many Liverpool fans already regard him as our main man.

“He has just signed a new deal and he and his wife - who are a lovely couple - seem settled here.

“But I also know that the Spanish giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid, will come looking for Philippe in a few more seasons, just like they did with Luis.

“And that’s when it will get tricky for Liverpool because the lure to go to one of those two clubs is so strong for any South American or Spanish player.

“Until that happens, Liverpool should really treasure Philippe.”

Report: Barcelona, Neymar to negotiate contract extension this week

The hottest fake transfer rumor of the summer window was the supposed gigantic offer from Manchester United to sign Barcelona superstar Neymar. The English papers were all over the story, going as far as to say that the Brazilian was ready to accept the offer and move to the Red Devils. As we all know, it was all crap and Neymar will stay in Catalonia for many, many years to come. He's now ready to make it official.

Reports from Catalan media claim that the player and his father are set to meet with president Josep Maria Bartomeu at the club's offices this week to finally negotiate a contract extension. Neymar Sr. has already left Brazil and will reportedly be with his son at Stadio Olimpico, where Barça make their UEFA Champions League debut against AS Roma.
As soon as the game is over and the plane returns home, both parties will have a meeting to strike a deal that will keep Neymar until 2022, with an option to sign for an extra year. Neymar's release clause will get increased, and his wages will make him the highest paid footballer on Barça's roster not named Lionel Messi. If everything goes well, the agreement will be made official and public by the end of next week, according to the reports.
If that happens, we can be happy and reassured that our present and future will remain in a Blaugrana uniform for a long time.