French legend Zinedine Zidane takes charge of Real Madrid for the first time when Deportivo la Coruna visit what is expected to be a sold out Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

The Madrid fans turned out in their thousands to welcome Zidane at his first training session on Tuesday, hours after he replaced the sacked Rafael Benitez, who paid the price for his unpopularity with the club's stars and fans alike after just seven months in the job.

Sheffield United manager Nigel Adkins believes his third tier underdogs should dare to dream as they bid to claim another famous scalp against Manchester United in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

The Blades have built up an impressive reputation as cup fighters in recent seasons, reaching the FA Cup semi-final two seasons ago and last season reaching the last four of the League Cup.

Arsenal's sights are set on the Premier League title but Gunners defender Calum Chambers says the possibility of becoming the first club in the modern era to lift the FA Cup for a third successive season will fire their defense of the trophy.

Arsene Wenger's side face Sunderland in the third round at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday eight months after their 4-0 victory over Aston Villa in last season's final.

Gabon and Borussia Dortmund star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on Thursday upstaged favorite Yaya Toure to win a first African Player of the Year Award.

In a vote of coaches and technical directors of Confederation of African Football (CAF) member-nations, Aubameyang tallied 143 points ahead of Manchester City and Ivory Coast star Toure, who scored 136 points and was bidding for a fifth successive award.

Hollywood funnyman and football fan Will Ferrell was introduced Thursday as the latest addition to the ownership group of Major League Soccer expansion franchise Los Angeles Football Club.

"This is not a joke," Ferrell said upon his introduction by U.S. footballing legend and fellow co-owner Mia Hamm at a press conference at Los Angeles' Union Station.

Tyler Alexander, one of the founding fathers of the McLaren Formula One empire, died on Thursday at the age of 76, the British team announced.

American-born Alexander worked shoulder-to-shoulder with team founder Bruce McLaren in the 1960s and was involved in various projects before retiring in 2008.

Manchester United have ended Adnan Januzaj's season-long loan deal with Borussia Dortmund early, the Premier League side announced on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Belgium international returns to Old Trafford having barely played in the Bundesliga with both clubs agreeing it was in the player's best interests to end the arrangement.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has said that he is determined to hold on to Andy Carroll despite reports that the big striker is set for a transfer.

Both Sunderland, and Carroll's former club Newcastle have been cited as possible buyers for the 27-year-old player whose career has been blighted by regular injuries.

AC Milan are a quality side but are suffering many psychological problems, Bologna coach Roberto Donadoni said after his team's shock 1-0 win at the San Siro on Wednesday.

"They have some problems, many of which are psychological," Donadoni told the Milan Channel after steering his side to their first win of 2016 and their third in four consecutive games.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique compared Espanyol's roughhouse tactics to the NFL after the visitors had two men sent-off in the second bad-tempered Catalan derby in four days as Barca came from behind to win 4-1 in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

Hernan Perez and Papakouli Diop were shown red cards in a four-minute spell in the second-half with Barca already leading 3-1 thanks to a Lionel Messi double.