ReportWire

Tag: Soccer

  • Orlando City moves on to Champions Cup round of 16

    Orlando City moves on to Champions Cup round of 16

    [ad_1]

    ORLANDO, Fla. — Midfielder Nico Lodeiro got the scoring started for Orlando City and added an assist as the Lions defeated Calgary FC 3-1 Tuesday night to advance to the CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16.

    The aggregate score in the round was 6-1.

    “We achieved a lot today with rotating different players,” Lions coach Oscar Pareja said. “Trying to time our week that is, as you know, difficult with the game coming, and we just played last Saturday here. So, I’m happy with the group. I think we all refreshed today with the group playing and those who have not played and the ones who have been resting. I’m happy now just thinking about the next game, and we’ll think about the next steps in CONCACAF next week.”

    Mexican soccer power Tigres UANL will travel to Orlando on March 5 for the first leg of the next series, and the second leg will be played March 12 in Monterrey, Mexico. The series will be a rematch from last year, when the Tigres advanced to the quarterfinals.

    Ramiro Enrique scored on Lodeiro’s assist in the 71st minute, and Kyle Smith finished the scoring on an assist by Facundo Torres in the 88th minute to complete the Lions’ scoring. Lodeiro, who signed with Orlando City in the offseason, got his goal on an assist by newly acquired designated player Luis Muriel in the 48th minute.

    Season-ticket members and recognized supporter groups can buy tickets to the March 5 match now. The general public can purchase tickets online starting Thursday.

    [ad_2]

    Spectrum Sports Staff

    Source link

  • Furor erupts over Ronaldo’s apparent obscene taunt in Saudi league match

    Furor erupts over Ronaldo’s apparent obscene taunt in Saudi league match

    [ad_1]

    FILE – Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo controls the ball during a friendly soccer match against Paris Saint-Germain in Osaka, western Japan, on July 25, 2023. Cristiano Ronaldo has come under heavy criticism after seemingly making an offensive gesture following Al Nassr’s 3-2 victory over Al Shabab in a Saudi Pro League match on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP, File)

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Neville’s ‘blue billion-pound bottle jobs’ line will immortalise Chelsea’s pain

    Neville’s ‘blue billion-pound bottle jobs’ line will immortalise Chelsea’s pain

    [ad_1]

    Not all losses are created equal — and no defeat in football is worse than a banter one.

    “In extra time, it’s been Klopp’s kids against the blue billion-pound bottle jobs,” said Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville, succinctly and indisputably establishing the dominant narrative of a surreal Carabao Cup final almost as soon as Virgil van Dijk’s glanced header had settled in the far corner of Djordje Petrovic’s net.

    Liverpool had not just beaten Chelsea at Wembley (again), they had done so in a manner that validated the “mentality monsters” culture that Jurgen Klopp has cultivated — apparently throughout the age groups at Kirkby as well as the first team — over the last nine years, while mercilessly exposing the fatal flaws in the lavish investment project at Stamford Bridge funded by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital over the past two.

    In the bowels of Wembley after the match, a despondent Mauricio Pochettino wearily assumed the task of pointing out the nuance in the narrative. “I don’t hear what he said but if you compare the age of the two groups, I think it is similar,” Chelsea’s head coach said when asked about Neville’s line. “Look, I have a good relationship with Gary. I don’t know how I can take his opinion, but I respect his opinion.

    “We are a young team. Nothing to compare with Liverpool because they also finished with young players. It’s impossible to compare, and he knows that the dynamics are completely different. We were playing Liverpool and Chelsea, Chelsea and Liverpool, and I don’t think it’s fair to speak in this way.”

    The youth vs experience dynamic at Wembley was not as clear-cut as Neville made out. Liverpool’s on-pitch XI had an older average age than Chelsea’s at the start of the match and at the start of extra time. Van Dijk, a 32-year-old now with 11 major trophies to his name, was the outstanding outfield player throughout and found the net with two headers worthy of winning a final, only one of which survived VAR review.


    Cole Palmer is denied by Caoimhin Kelleher (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

    But the counter-argument becomes hard to sustain when the other team includes two 19-year-olds, Bobby Clark and James McConnell, who have each played fewer than 10 professional games and another (Jayden Danns) who was making his second senior appearance. Chelsea undoubtedly lost to several kids; the more important question is: did they bottle it?

    Chelsea showed unmistakeable signs of nerves at Wembley. Axel Disasi twice ignited Liverpool transition attacks by fumbling the ball under little pressure. Malo Gusto, usually so sure-footed, controlled passes straight out of play on several occasions. Levi Colwill booted an attempted pass out to Ben Chilwell miles upfield and had to be told to calm down by Enzo Fernandez, who played sloppy passes with startling frequency.

    Further forward, Conor Gallagher wrestled with an eerily similar cocktail of bad luck and poor composure in front of goal that afflicted fellow Cobham graduate Mason Mount against the same opponents in the same stadium in 2022.


    Gallagher fluffed several chances (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

    Nevertheless, as the clock ticked towards the end of 90 minutes it was Chelsea who looked likelier winners, with Cole Palmer picking apart a Liverpool team whose legs appeared to have gone. It was at this point that Klopp made a decision that arguably no other elite coach would have made: to place the fate of a major trophy in the hands of unproven youth rather than go into retreat with experience and play for penalties.

    His choice transformed this Carabao Cup final into the spiritual sequel of Chelsea’s bizarre 4-1 win over nine-man Tottenham Hotspur in November: a situation where convincing victory is the only acceptable outcome and anything less brings total humiliation. Pochettino had to guide his team through 20 nervy, aimless minutes that night before they overcame the fear of looking ridiculous — of being on the receiving end of a banter loss — and got on with winning the game.

    Klopp’s own “it’s just who we are, mate” moment seemed to sink Chelsea into a similar mental crisis at Wembley that lasted for most of extra time, compounded by their fading energy levels. At half-time of their pitifully tentative showing in the added period all of Chilwell, Disasi and Moises Caicedo could be seen prostrate on the pitch receiving attention for cramp.

    Not losing superseded winning as Chelsea’s top priority. “The team started to feel that maybe the penalties will be good for us,” said Pochettino, making an admission of weakness that is being held against him and this group of players in the acrimonious aftermath.


    Pochettino’s face sums up the Chelsea mood (Getty Images)

    Finals define the clubs, players and coaches who contest them. Klopp has lost his fair share over the years but never through passivity, and that ironclad commitment to the idea of who Liverpool are carried the day at Wembley. Chelsea’s identity as expert winners of finals began to slip in the final years of Roman Abramovich’s ownership; this is now seven cup final defeats in their last eight visits to the national stadium, and six in a row.

    Doubts about Pochettino’s ability to reverse that trend will only intensify. In five years at Tottenham, he built impressive teams who fell just short of winning and despite his avowed emphasis on the power of positive energy, his callow Chelsea were undone by Klopp’s peerless mastery of psychological momentum.

    Liverpool at full strength are vastly better than Chelsea but they won the Carabao Cup final not through superior talent, but superior mentality, coupled with an unmistakeable sense of identity that binds the first team and academy together — in other words, things that Boehly and Clearlake’s money cannot simply buy.

    “They need to feel the pain,” Pochettino said of his Chelsea players. The pain of this banter loss will be hard to shift, immortalised by Neville’s brutal words.

    (Top image: Pochettino changes were not as effective as Klopp’s. Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

    [ad_2]

    The New York Times

    Source link

  • Nico Lodeiro brings veteran presence to Orlando City

    Nico Lodeiro brings veteran presence to Orlando City

    [ad_1]

    ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando City had a productive offseason, keeping their core roster intact while bolstering it with a few additions.

    Nico Lodeiro joins Orlando City after a historic career with Seattle Sounders that spanned eight seasons.

    The Uruguayan midfielder helped Seattle to two MLS Cups and a CONCACAF Champions League title in 2022.

    Spectrum Sports 360’s Danielle Stein sat down with Lodeiro ahead of his Orlando City debut to learn more about his decision to join the club. 

    [ad_2]

    Danielle Stein

    Source link

  • Dani Alves – from 43 trophies to four years in prison

    Dani Alves – from 43 trophies to four years in prison

    [ad_1]

    Dani Alves, who was this morning sentenced to four and a half years in prison in Spain after being found guilty of sexual assault, was, until very recently, one of global football’s golden boys.

    An exuberant, technical right-back, he was a major part of the Barcelona team that set new standards in the European game between 2008 and 2016. He played 126 times for Brazil and won 43 titles across his 22-year playing career — an astonishing number that makes him the second-most decorated footballer in history. Only Lionel Messi, his former team-mate at the Camp Nou, has more trophies to his name.

    That success, coupled with a relentlessly upbeat public persona, made Alves a hugely — almost universally — popular figure. It goes some way to explaining why his hearing, which took place over three days in a Barcelona courtroom earlier this month, was labelled “the trial of the year” in certain sections of the Spanish press. Despite its voyeuristic undertones, that epithet did capture just how spectacular Alves’ fall from grace has been.

    On December 9, 2022, Alves — 39 at the time — was on the bench as Brazil played Croatia at the World Cup in Qatar. Exactly six weeks later, he was arrested by Catalan police, accused of raping a 23-year-old woman in a private bathroom at a Barcelona nightclub on December 30, 2022.

    Those accusations have now been upheld by Catalonia’s High Court of Justice. “The court has no doubt that the vaginal penetration of the complainant took place using violence,” read a statement released by the court after this morning’s hearing.

    Alves has spent the last 13 months in a detention facility some 25km northwest of Barcelona; requests for provisional release were denied because he was considered a flight risk and there is no extradition arrangement between Brazil and Spain. After his prison sentence he will be on supervised probation for five additional years. He was also ordered to pay the victim €150,000 (£128,500; $162,700) in compensation, plus legal costs.

    Alves began his senior career at Bahia, one of the biggest clubs in Brazil’s north east. He moved to Spain at 19, joining Sevilla — initially on loan and then on a permanent deal after winning the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship with Brazil’s under-20 side.

    At the start, some questioned whether Alves had the physical strength to compete in La Liga. His interpretation of his position, though, made the doubters reconsider. Alves was technically a defender but defending was not his speciality. He was a free spirit, a de facto winger in the mould of his boyhood idol, Cafu.

    Sevilla quickly worked out that they had to harness that energy rather than curb it. Alves was encouraged to get forward, to make use of his speed and skill in the final third. He helped the Andalusians to their first European trophy in 2006, setting up the opening goal in the UEFA Cup final against Middlesborough, and was similarly influential as they retained that title in 2007. A year later, he became a Barcelona player.

    His initial eight-season spell at the Camp Nou — he later made a short, largely forgettable return during the 2021-22 season — turned Alves into a superstar. He won six Spanish league titles, three Champions Leagues and 14 other trophies during that time, rarely missing a match. You would struggle to name another full-back who came anywhere near matching his influence and consistency over the same period.

    It helped that his arrival at Barcelona coincided with that of Pep Guardiola. The Catalan’s possession-centric approach suited Alves perfectly and revealed fresh nuances in his game. His combination play with Messi in particular was one of the trademark features of what many consider the best club side of the modern era.


    Alves, right, won 23 trophies with Barcelona (Shaun Botterill – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

    Even after leaving Barcelona in 2016, Alves remained a prominent figure. He reached another Champions League final with Juventus at the age of 34 — “an extra-terrestrial,” Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci called him — and won two French titles with Paris Saint-Germain. When he returned to Brazilian club football in 2019, signing for Sao Paulo FC, 45,000 fans turned up at the Morumbi stadium to welcome him.

    That he never quite replicated his success at club level with his national team was probably to be expected. Alves played for Brazil during an extended period of flux and, bizarrely, only became a regular starter during the latter stages of his career. He would have captained the Selecao at the 2018 World Cup, only to be ruled out of the tournament due to injury. He did wear the armband the following summer, however, leading Brazil to a Copa America win on home soil.

    Alves’ attitude — chirpy, cheeky, apparently carefree — arguably won him even more admirers than his ability. A little personality can go a long way in a sport as overwhelmingly self-serious as football, and the Brazilian always seemed determined to take his onto the pitch with him rather than leave it in the changing room.

    Over time, Alves leaned into this persona, becoming a full-time cultivator of his own image. He dabbled in modelling, released a single and embraced social media. He seemed to a have tambourine or drum in his hand whenever he stepped off the Brazil team bus. He turned his description of his own character (“good crazy”) into a catchphrase. Whenever he signed an autograph, he drew a smiley face inside the capital D.


    Alves played for PSG between 2017 and 2019 (Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)

    It has become a rite of passage for footballers to publish long first-person pieces on the Players’ Tribune website. Alves has contributed two of them: one about his modest upbringing and another reflecting upon the pain of missing out on the 2018 World Cup. “Dani Alves is not going to the World Cup,” read one emblematic line, “but he is still one happy motherf*cker.”

    Later, when he moved to Sao Paulo, the same website produced a seven-part documentary about Alves’ life. In one episode he talks at length about his iconoclastic fashion sense, mugging at the camera in a series of designer jackets. In another, he discusses his relationship with music. Episode three is about Alves reconnecting with his two children from his first marriage. Its title is The Family Man.

    That strand of Alves’ reputation now lies in tatters along with all the others.

    Earlier in February, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia heard testimony relating to Alves’ “slimy attitude” from the victim’s friend, who had been present at the Sutton nightclub on the evening of the incident. While the victim’s statement was delivered in private, her testimony — previously reported by The Athletic based on evidence from earlier hearings — gave a detailed account of Alves holding her against her will in a toilet cubicle and penetrating her without her consent.


    Alves was sentenced to four and a half years in prison (ALBERTO ESTEVEZ/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

    This morning, the court upheld that version of events, concluding that Alves had “abruptly grabbed the the complainant, threw her to the floor and, preventing her from moving, penetrated her vaginally, despite the fact that the complainant said no, that she wanted to leave”.

    In a statement, the court said that “injuries to the victim (made) it more than evident that there was violence to force the victim to have sexual relations”, and that “the accused subdued the will of the victim with the use of violence”.

    The defence lawyers plan to appeal the decision.

    The emphatic nature of the verdict, however, means that it will be hard to look at Alves in the same way ever again.

    (Photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)

    [ad_2]

    The New York Times

    Source link

  • Robert Lewandowski was Barcelona’s big post-Messi gamble. It hasn’t entirely paid off

    Robert Lewandowski was Barcelona’s big post-Messi gamble. It hasn’t entirely paid off

    [ad_1]

    “Everything Robert won at Bayern Munich, the goals he scored, it was all with the aim of ending up where he is now: playing for Barcelona.”

    Robert Lewandowski’s career has been full of targets, but two summers ago he fulfilled what is fair to describe as his ultimate ambition. The quote above comes from a source very close to the 35-year-old striker — who, like all those cited in this article, preferred to speak anonymously to protect relationships.

    Signing for Barca was a longstanding aim of Lewandowski’s. But since joining for €45million (£38.5m; $48.7m at current rates) in July 2022, not everything has turned as rosily as he might have expected. This season has not been his greatest, and uncertainty has developed around his position at the club — even though this week’s Champions League round-of-16 first leg at Napoli comes as he has begun to show better form in front of goal.

    Lewandowski was the star of the show in Barcelona’s La Liga victory at Celta Vigo on Saturday, scoring a brace that included a 97th-minute winner from the penalty spot, and he now has four goals from Barca’s past three matches.

    This recent momentum, however, shows up as a rare bright spot when looking back across what has so far been a very disappointing campaign at Barcelona. Lewandowski has not been the only player underperforming, but his status as a marquee signing opens him up to extra scrutiny, and wider concerns over his suitability have been growing for some time.

    Lewandowski’s arrival at Barca was meant to signal the true starting point of a new project under Xavi. One of Europe’s most prolific goalscorers was to act as a role model for a new generation and help the club forget Lionel Messi’s traumatic departure.

    Now, that ‘project’ has essentially already folded, with Xavi to step down at the end of the season. And Lewandowski looks set for a tense transfer window in the summer, with some at the club already resolved to seeking a sale — unless he can prove the doubters wrong.

    “A lot of people believe Barcelona need to have a franchise player. A go-to man who sells shirts, represents the public image of the team and becomes a reason to attract fans to the stadium. Deep down, that was the reasoning behind Lewandowski’s signing in 2022.”

    This is how a senior club source describes the gamble Barcelona took two summers ago with Lewandowski’s signing from Bayern. The previous summer had seen the club’s biggest legend, Messi, leaving in tears, while other key figures such as Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba seemed to be reaching the final stages of their careers in Catalonia. It was decided the Camp Nou needed a new idol, and president Joan Laporta looked to Lewandowski.

    The deal to bring him did not wholly escape criticism at the time. In the summer of 2021, Barcelona decided not to extend Messi’s contract, with terms already agreed, in order to help solve the club’s financial problems. One year later, they spent €45million on a 33-year-old Lewandowski, signing him to a three-year deal with an option for a fourth. This August, he will turn 36.

    If the Messi deal had been completed, the Argentinian would have earned €20million in the first year of his new contract, before then seeing his wage increase significantly. Lewandowski’s annual salary, as an average over four years, is reportedly set at €26m.

    But Lewandowski hit the ground running. Over 2022-23, he scored 33 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions. He was La Liga’s top scorer with 23 as Barca won their first league title in four years. Despite once again suffering Champions League failure (they were eliminated at the group stage) Barca fans had some reason to hope they were seeing the start of something bigger.

    Yet, you could also see the early signs of problems beginning to build to where they are now.

    The 2022 World Cup was clearly the turning point in Lewandowski’s debut season. Before its start, he scored 13 goals in the first 15 La Liga matches of the season, also grabbing five Champions League goals.

    After coming back from a disappointing display with Poland (he scored two goals and they were knocked out in the last-16 by France), nothing was quite the same. Lewandowski lost a bit of his spark, which can be normal in a season, but as it turned out, it never really came back.

    Lewandowski played 19 more games in La Liga after Qatar 2022, scoring 10 goals, of which four came with the title already secured. Tensions in the dressing room started to appear, as well as frustration with himself. But most significant of all, it also became clear that the best version of Xavi’s Barcelona was not fully compatible with his preferred style of play.

    Barca’s Supercopa de Espana victory over Real Madrid in January 2023 is still arguably the most convincing display under Xavi’s tenure. They outclassed their Clasico rivals in a 3-1 win ignited by a tactical tweak: sacrificing one winger for another body in a four-strong midfield.

    Xavi was convinced it provided the path to follow, despite the effect it had on Lewandowski.

    “I understood this team needed more control and less transitions and that’s why we changed our approach a bit,” he said on the day Barca were crowned league champions following victory over city rivals Espanyol, in May last year.

    “We felt better controlling the ball and I prioritised the players that didn’t lose possession. That’s how I understand football, it belongs to that kind of players: the midfielders who are always able to keep the ball.“

    Lewandowski didn’t see things quite so positively. In an exclusive interview with The Athletic during Barca’s pre-season tour last summer, he described how he had been left frustrated by the change. He knew losing a winger meant fewer chances to receive balls and crosses into the box, the strongest area of his game.

    GO DEEPER

    Robert Lewandowski exclusive interview: ‘Barcelona is still the place to be’

    There was a situation to resolve here. From the team’s tactical perspective, they had to find a better fit for their star striker. From the player’s side, he needed to recover the form he showcased in 2022.

    Instead of a solution being found, things only got worse.


    Lewandowski’s four goals in three matches followed a six-match dry spell (DAX Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

    “We do not possess the quality of 2010 Barcelona, we just don’t. We need to run our socks off. If we don’t run like animals, we won’t win games. If we can’t be clinical, we need to have soul as a team. This is Barcelona, things need to change.”

    After his side’s final league match of 2023, Xavi directed his most critical words as Barca manager. They had just managed to get away with a scrappy 3-2 win against La Liga’s bottom side Almeria, in a game they were drawing 1-1 at the break.

    A few days later, it emerged that Lewandowski had come in for strong criticism from Xavi in a half-time dressing-room address that railed against a lack of intensity and aggression among his players.

    By that point, coaching staff sources had already started to describe Lewandowski’s goalscoring effectiveness as below what was expected. They also thought he had lost some of his strength in individual duels, and were concerned by his worsening link-up play.

    Comparing his La Liga stats for this season and last (according to Fbref.com), Lewandowski has a similar rate of balls miscontrolled per game (around 2.7) and aerial duels won (53.6 per cent last season; 52.8 per cent this season). But his passing success rate has decreased significantly.

    For short passes, there’s a drop from 83.9 per cent last season to 77. 7 per cent this season, while medium-range passes fall from 77.1 per cent to 71.4 per cent, and long-range passes from 65.2 per cent to 55.6 per cent.

    His expected goals (xG) data does not look too bad at this point. Over 2022-23, he scored 23 goals from 24.3 xG in La Liga, while this season he is on 12 goals from 14.6 xG.

    However, it is worth pointing out that, before his four goals from Barca’s last three league games, he was on eight goals from 12.1xG and had only scored three times in the competition since September (with two matches out injured).

    Lewandowski has so far scored 17 times and provided six assists across 33 games in all competitions this season. His match-winning strike against Celta on Saturday was his 50th for Barca.

    And yet this term Xavi has subbed him off four times with the team drawing and in need of goals (against Real Sociedad, Las Palmas, Real Betis and Villarreal). It is also clear that team-mates have been struggling to connect with him. Last season he averaged 34.3 touches per league game. His average so far this campaign is 26.7.

    Is Lewandowski entirely to blame for having slightly lower numbers at this stage of his career? Probably not — and clearly Xavi’s change of system also had an effect.

    But off the pitch, there have been issues too.


    Lewandowski and Yamal, pictured in September (Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

    Lewandowski is known to be an honest character. As soon as he believes something is wrong, he will say it. This has led to some moments of friction.

    In February last year, dressing-room sources said that after Manchester United knocked Barca out of the Europa League at Old Trafford, Lewandowski had a verbal exchange with Ansu Fati, who he criticised for being too selfish and not combining with team-mates when he had better options than to shoot.

    This season, in November against Deportivo Alaves, we also saw Lewandowski complaining to 16-year-old Lamine Yamal when the winger decided to shoot instead of crossing.

    But this friction does not reveal a fundamentally bad relationship, and no one in the dressing room has ever doubted Lewandowski’s commitment to the team. When Xavi personally told players of his decision to step down, a day after he announced it at a January post-match press conference, Lewandowski showed his appreciation for the work he had done in a tough moment for the club. Xavi was particularly moved by that.

    Hours later, Lewandowski showed he could still be counted as one of the dressing-room leaders by organising a team dinner at his home in Castelldefels, which all the first-team players attended. It was a team-building activity, held with the approval of the club, to help focus minds on the rest of the season to come.

    So what’s next for Lewandowski at Barcelona?

    With Barcelona needing to sell players before thinking about how to reshape their squad this summer (and appoint a new manager), multiple senior sources at the club say they would welcome a lucrative offer for him.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Barcelona have to sell this summer – so who might they look to move on?

    But, here — as with several others of those Barca would ideally like to move on — the power is on the player’s side. Under contract until at least 2025, he has no desire to leave. He also fully believes he is capable of overcoming his recent dip in form and returning consistently to his goalscoring best.

    Lewandowski dreamed for years of joining Barcelona, and sources close to the player say they understand how the atmosphere around the club can turn particularly bitter when things do not go to plan.

    In terms of his contract, he has one more year fully guaranteed before an option for a fourth that will be automatically triggered if he plays over 55 per cent of Barca’s games during 2024-25.

    All the same, we can expect pressure might come in the summer, in the form of media reports suggesting how beneficial his departure could be for the club’s finances. Lewandowski’s camp is fully aware of what happened with Frenkie de Jong in 2022, when Barca spent the summer trying to force him out.

    But, for the moment, despite the doubts among a coaching team that is set to depart, despite the extra tension and scrutiny his position brings, Lewandowski is in the exact place he wants to be. And for him and Barcelona, there should be no immediate concern more pressing than Wednesday’s trip to Naples.

    (Top photo: DAX Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

    [ad_2]

    The New York Times

    Source link

  • Sir Jim Ratcliffe on Man United, Old Trafford, Sheikh Jassim and Mason Greenwood: Full transcript

    Sir Jim Ratcliffe on Man United, Old Trafford, Sheikh Jassim and Mason Greenwood: Full transcript

    [ad_1]

    On Tuesday evening, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS completed their purchase of a minority stake in Manchester United, as the British billionaire acquired a 27.7 per cent stake in the Premier League club in a deal worth over $1.3bn.

    On Wednesday, Ratcliffe spoke to the written media for the first time about his decision to take a minority investment, for which he has received control of the club’s sporting operation. Inside a boardroom at INEOS’ offices in Knightsbridge, London, Ratcliffe sat at the head of the table and took questions from 13 assembled journalists from the British and international media.

    Along the way, Ratcliffe answered every question, including:

    • His ambitions to restore Manchester United to the summit of English and European football, knocking the “enemy” Liverpool and Manchester City “off their perch”
    • How INEOS will make a fresh decision this summer on the future of Mason Greenwood
    • Insight into the year-long battle to secure a stake in Manchester United, “odd affair” of Sheikh Jassim’s rival bid and how INEOS previously thought they had won the battle nine months ago, opening a bottle of champagne to celebrate at the Monaco Grand Prix in May
    • Why Manchester United have targeted Newcastle’s sporting director Dan Ashworth and the club’s battle to prise him away
    • His ambitions to create a ‘Wembley of the North’ as Manchester United seek to redevelop Old Trafford or build a new stadium, including his argument for the British state to support funding plans for the project

    Has the last decade been quite painful? 

    Sir Jim Ratcliffe: “It’s been a complete misery really in the last 11 years and it’s just frustrating if you’re a supporter during that period of time. That’s football isn’t it? It has its ups and its downs. I remember pre-(Sir Alex) Ferguson it wasn’t great for quite some time — for a more extended period of time, actually, for about 25 years.

    Is that your incentive for investing: to transform Manchester United into what it used to be?

    “Fundamentally, you want to see your club being where it should be. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world. It should be playing the best football in the world and it hasn’t been doing that for 10 or 11 years. So it’s certainly related to the decision (to invest).”

    Do you have a time frame for achieving success?

    “It’s not a light switch. it’s not one of these things that change overnight. We have to be careful we don’t rush at it, you don’t want to run to the wrong solution rather than walk to the correct solution. We have two issues: one is the longer term, getting Manchester United to where we would like to get it but there’s also the shorter term of getting the most out of the club as it stands today.

    “We would like to see the Champions League for next season if we can. The key challenge here is that, longer term, we need to do things well and properly — and thoroughly. So it’s not an overnight change. It’s going to take two or three (seasons). You have to ask the fans for some patience. I know the world these days is about instant gratification but that’s not the case with football, really. Look at Pep Guardiola at Man City; it takes time to build a squad.

    “What you need are the foundations to be in a good place for Manchester United to be successful, which means you need the right organisational structure. It means not having a coach reporting to the chief executive, for instance.

    “Then we need to populate all the key roles with people who are best in class, 10 out of 10s, and there’s clearly a lot of interest in these roles in Manchester United because it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world but also it’s one of the biggest challenges — because you’re taking it from a difficult place to hopefully where it should be at the top of the pyramid.

    “Thirdly, you need to create this environment which is driven and competitive. It is going to be intense at times, but equally it needs to have warmth and friendliness and be a supportive structure because the two things marry together well. They probably haven’t had that environment for the last 10 years. If we get those three things right, then you have to believe the results will follow.”

    “If you look at a club like Manchester City, you see they’ve got a very sensible structure. They’ve got a really driven competitive environment but there’s a bit of warmth to it. There are two clubs not very far from us who have been successful and have got some of those things right, and United don’t.”


    Ratcliffe and his INEOS company have spent £1.3billion to buy a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United (Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)

    How is a minority stake going to work? What do you get to drive?

    “We have a really good relationship with Joel and Avram (Glazer), who are the only two of the siblings that we’ve got to know and have met. And there’s a fair amount of trust between those two parties. And they obviously are very comfortable with us running the sports side of the club.

    “This is going to be a very sports-led club, it’s all going to be about performance on the pitch. I’m still a significant shareholder even in respect of all the other things in the club.

    “We’re obviously going to be on the ground, whereas the Glazer family are a fair way away. So I don’t see an issue in us being able to influence the club in all the right ways going forward, to be honest.

    “I don’t think we’re going to be taking the legal agreements out of the bottom drawer. I just hope they gather dust and we never see them. Which it should be. It should be on the basis of a relationship.

    “As long as we’re doing the right things, then I’m certain that relationship is going to go very well.

    “One of the things I’d add is that the transaction was quite challenging, as you know. We met all sorts of obstacles on the way, a lot of them in relation to hedge funds, and SEC, American (regulations) and a few with the Qataris and all those sorts of things. It obviously it was a rocky road for quite an extended period of time.

    “And the Glazers really, from the beginning, preferred ourselves to the Qatari option — which, in a way, for them was a much easier option because they could just sell the whole thing and they would have walked away and financially done quite well.

    “But they stuck with us through the whole process. Our offer was a bit more complicated and that sort of adversity, that rocky road for a year, has forged a relationship between ourselves and the other shareholders.

    “We’ve all got to know each other. You get to know people better in adversity than when the whole thing is going swimmingly.”

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    INEOS and Ratcliffe finally have the keys to Old Trafford. What does it mean for Man United?

    Did you always have confidence that you would end up here? Were there moments when you thought about walking away?

    “How long have you got? Time and time again. I remember at the Monaco Grand Prix, which was in May, we opened a bottle of very expensive champagne and all celebrated. That was in May — but that was a false dawn and we went through several more false dawns after that.

    “We had a few surprises on the way. Not at the Glazers’ making. We just kept bumping into problems, particularly with the non-executives on the board.”

    How would you rate the scale of this challenge? You are up against clubs linked to nation-states, financial fair play, it has not been a great season, etc…

    “I don’t know about the biggest thing in my career. But certainly, the biggest challenge in sport that we’ve undertaken. It’s enormous — and the club is enormous. The tentacles reach around the world. Everywhere I go in the world, it’s Manchester United. It affects an awful lot of people on the planet, and getting it right is not easy.

    “We’ve got to get so many aspects of that club right. And the right people doing the right thing at the right time and doing it well. It’s a very complex problem, football – which is surprising considering it’s just putting 11 players on a football field, and they run around. But it’s very complex getting there.”

    Part of the INEOS mantra is a compass which says you “don’t like losing money” — but you have spent so much for a 27 per cent share…

    “To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever lose money. For me, it’s not about a financial investment. The objective was to get involved and be influential in the future of Manchester United.

    “I don’t believe I’ll ever lose money in it and I’m not interested. I’ve just put that aside. It’ll sit there forever but I don’t see that the value is going to devalue. I don’t believe that. In that sense, I don’t think I’ve been financially stupid but it’s not my motivation in life at all.”

    What do you think the biggest growth is financially, in terms of the ability to grow revenue?

    “We’re really, really clear about that: it’s football-led. So if we’re successful on the pitch, then everything else will follow.

    “Manchester United (has been) a bit, I think, in the last 10 years or so, that if you’re really good in commercial and you make lots of money, then you’ll be successful in football because you’ve got lots of money to spend.

    But I think that’s flawed because it only starts for a certain while and you start to degrade the brand if you’re not careful. But we’re really clear that football will drive the club. If we’re really successful at football, then commercial will follow. And we’ll make more money.”

    And how do you take on the challenge of those nation-states? It’s now almost viewed as impossible to take them on…

    “I don’t agree with that. Firstly, the nation-state bit helps to a degree but FFP limits the degree by a considerable margin, doesn’t it? Ultimately, it becomes about how successful the club is because that dictates your FFP.

    With FPP, you have to operate the club within its own means. So clearly that means that if you’ve got a bigger club it ought to be more successful than a smaller club, by definition, because you’ve got more means that you can spend more money and recruitment.

    How much is FFP an issue for United (particularly ahead of the summer)? How patient will fans need to be with the damage that’s been done before — i.e with what’s been spent?

    “Firstly, FFP has become a new aspect of running the football club, and it’s clearly a really critical part of running a football club. And you have to think about how you can manage FFP to the benefit of the club. But ultimately, FFP says you have to operate the club within its own means. Effectively, it takes into account your prior expenditure, and the club’s spent quite heavily in the last couple of seasons. So that does impact FFP going forward because they’ve used quite a large part of their allowance.

    “I don’t know the full answer to that question at the moment. It’s obviously related to sales as well as purchases, and so we need to get our heads around that well before the summer window — there’s no question that history will impact this summer window.

    You have been heavily linked with Newcastle’s sporting director Dan Ashworth in the media in recent weeks. Would it be fair to say that identifying player sales and purchases is an area that United can make a real improvement on?

    “Recruitment in the modern game is critical. Manchester United have clearly spent a lot of money but they haven’t done as well as some other clubs. So when I was talking about being best in class in all aspects of football, recruitment is clearly top of the list.”

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Dan Ashworth – the sporting director Manchester United want to lure from Newcastle

    What do you make of the recruitment under the current manager? Because it seems like he’s had quite a lot of sway…

    “We don’t benefit too much from thinking about that. I’m thinking about getting recruitment in a good place in the future. There’s not much I can do about what’s happened in the past. Our thinking is all about how we become first in class in recruitment going forward. Which means you need the right people.”

    You talk about being best in class… is it a five-year plan or is it a 10-year plan?

    “It’s not a 10-year plan. The fans would run out of patience if it was a 10-year plan. But it’s certainly a three-year plan to get there.

    “To think that we’re going to be playing football as good as Manchester City played against Real Madrid last season by next year is not sensible. And if we give people false expectations, then they will get disappointed. So the key thing is our trajectory, so that people can see that we’re making progress. I think it’s the club’s 150-year anniversary in 2028… if our trajectory is leading to a very good place in that sort of timeframe then we’d be very happy with that. Because it’s not easy to turn Manchester United into the world’s best football team.”

    Is it the aim to win the Premier League and then the Champions League?

    “The ultimate target for Manchester United — and it’s always going to be thus, really — is that we should be challenging for the Premier League and challenging for the Champions League. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world. There are six who are probably the six biggest clubs in Europe: three in the north west (of England), two in Spain and one in Germany. United should be in that small group. It hasn’t been for a while. And so, therefore, it must be challenging for the Premier League. And if we’re not, then in a way, we’re not doing what we saying we ought to do.

    Does FFP influence your thinking about the need for a modern stadium? 

    “You have to think about how you can optimise the football club in FFP terms — and a stadium is one of those. You can increase your revenues by building a new stadium, rebuilding a stadium or putting all the facilities in. You have to think practically because money doesn’t grow on trees. The two most talked-about issues at Manchester United are number one, the football, the performance on the pitch and the second one is the stadium.

    “What we can see so far is a really good case to refurbish Old Trafford, probably about £1billion in cost. You finish up with a great stadium, it’s probably an 80,000-90,000-seater. But it’s not perfect because you’re modifying a stadium that is slap-bang up against a railway line and all that type of stuff, so it’s not an ideal world. But you finish up with a very good answer.


    The Trafford Park area around Manchester United’s stadium is a far cry from the modern surroundings of Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

    “Manchester United needs a stadium befitting one of the biggest clubs in the world and, at the moment, it’s not there. Old Trafford maybe was 20 years ago but it’s certainly not today. There’s this wider conversation with the community as to whether you could use a more ambitious project on-site as a catalyst to regenerate that Old Trafford area, which is quite an interesting area in a way because it was the heart of the Industrial Revolution — it is the oldest industrial park in Europe, it was the first industrial park in Europe. And it’s still one of the biggest ones. And they obviously built the Manchester Ship Canal to service it. That’s where all the coal came in, the cotton. And that’s why they built Old Trafford there.

    “People would finish their shift and then walk to the ground; there was no transport in those days. That’s the history of why the club is there. But today it’s a bit run-down and neglected in places. There’s a strong case for using a stadium to regenerate that area, like with the Olympics, as Sebastian Coe did with that part of east London quite successfully. City have done it and they’ve done quite a good job.”

    But both of those had some state funding… (There have been reports suggesting United may seek state support) 

    “The people in the north pay their taxes like the people in the south pay their taxes. But where’s the national stadium for football? It’s in the south. Where’s the national stadium for rugby? It’s in the south. Where’s the national stadium for tennis? It’s in the south. Where’s the national concert stadium? It’s the O2, it’s in the south. Where’s the Olympic Village? It’s in the south.

    “All of this talk about levelling up and the Northern Powerhouse. Where is the stadium in the north? How many Champions Leagues has the north west won and how many Champions Leagues has London won?

    “The answer to that is the north west has won 10 — Liverpool (six) have won more than us — and London (Chelsea) has won two. Where do you have to go if you get to the semi-final of the FA Cup and you’re a northern club? You have to schlep down to London, don’t you? So what happened to HS2, which was going to be a substantial amount of investment in the north, what happened to that? They cancelled that. And where are they going to spend that? They’re going to spend it on the rail network in London.

    “People in the north pay their taxes and there is an argument you could think about a more ambitious project in the north which would be fitting for England, for the Champions League final or the FA Cup final and acted as a catalyst to regenerate southern Manchester, which has got quite significant history in the UK.”

    Might your tax status, having relocated to Monaco, pose a challenge in the optics of requesting state support? 

    “I paid my taxes for 65 years in the UK. And then when I got to retirement age, I went down to enjoy a bit of sun. I don’t have a problem with that, I’m afraid.”

    Do you prefer a new ground or a refurbishment? 

    “In an ideal world, I think it’s a no-brainer, a stadium of the north, which would be a world-class stadium where England could play and you could have the FA Cup final and it’s not all centred around the south of England. So in an ideal world, absolutely, that’s where I would be, but you’ve got to be practical about life.”

    Is there a financial estimate of what that might be?

    “In broad terms, a refurb is one (billion) and a new stadium — both of these would include the campus so, you know, the museum’s crap and the shop is too small and you’d have the Xbox thing for entertaining the fans. So in other words, the fans could come there and do some stuff. So include the campus in both cases, in very simple terms you are talking about one versus two (billion).”

    And how long would it take to happen?

    “I think the refurb would take longer than the new one because it’s more complicated, because obviously you’re building and you have to build over a main railway line which is quite complicated and expensive.”

    And a stadium for the women’s team as well?

    “If you use that as a centre of regeneration, a bit like the Olympic Village, then I think what you probably finish up doing is Old Trafford would end up being reduced in size to a smaller facility still in the same footprint but a smaller facility which can be used for all sorts of community things, be it a concert or whatever. The ladies’ teams could play there. The academy teams could play there. Some of the local teams could play there and Old Trafford could sort of become a community asset and then you’d have this world-class stadium next door to it.”

    What’s your vision for broader control of Manchester United? Would you like to increase your stake?

    “We spent well over a year getting to where we are. We got to where we could do. I’m really pleased we are here and we are going to be able to influence the future, to be in charge of the sports side. I haven’t had the energy to think about the future or worry about it because I’m focused on the problem today — not what I might do in three, five, 10 years.”

    In the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filing, it said that if the Glazers received an offer for a complete buyout within 18 months, then they could force you to sell…

    “There’s all sorts of scenarios. We might get hit by an asteroid. There’s been lots of opportunities for someone to come in and buy United in the last 12 months.”

    What are your ambitions for the women’s team?

    “I know we have been around since Christmas but we only took over today. What I would say is that if it’s a team wearing a Manchester United badge on shirt then it’s Manchester United and they need to be focused on winning and being successful.”

    Dan Ashworth, are you confident you will get him?

    “Dan Ashworth is clearly one of the top sporting directors in the world. I have no doubt he is a very capable person. He is interested in Manchester United because it’s the biggest challenge at the biggest club in the world. It would be different at City because you’re maintaining a level. Here it’s a significant rebuilding job. He would be a very good addition. He needs to decide if he is going to make that jump.


    Dan Ashworth has been placed on gardening leave by Newcastle United (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)

    “We have had words with Newcastle, who would be disappointed. They have done really well since their new ownership. I understand why they would be disappointed, but then you can’t criticise Dan because it’s a transient industry. You can understand why Dan would be interested because it’s the ultimate challenge. We’ll have to see how it unfolds.”

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Ashworth placed on gardening leave at Newcastle amid Man Utd interest

    There have been reports of a £20million asking price. Does £20m seem strange for a sporting director?

    “A bit silly, personally. I won’t get dragged into that. What I do think is completely absurd is suggesting a man who is really good at his job sits in his garden for one and a half years. We had a very grown-up conversation with City about Omar Berrada. When things got done, we sorted it out very amicably. They could see why he wanted to take that challenge.

    “You look at Pep and when he’s done with one of his footballers: he doesn’t want them to sit in the garden for one and a half years. He doesn’t do that. That’s not the way the UK works or the law works.”

    One of the main stories at Manchester United last year was what the club would do with Mason Greenwood (who is on loan at Getafe). That is now a problem on your doorstep as you control the sporting operation…

    “I can talk about the principle. I am not going to talk about Mason. I am familiar with it. The principle is the important one. We will have other issues going forward. You are dealing with young people who have not always been brought up in the best circumstances, who have a lot of money and who don’t always have the guidance they should have.

    “What we need to do when having issues like that is understand the real effects — not the hype. Then we need to make a fair decision in light of the club’s values. That’s what we need to do and that’s how we will deal with it.”

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Man United will make fresh decision on Greenwood, says Ratcliffe

    Will that be a fresh decision then? 

    “Yes, absolutely. We will make a decision and we will justify it.”

    So it’s feasible he could still have a future at Man Utd?

    “All I can do is talk about the principle of how we will approach decisions like that.”

    What are the values you are defining? 

    “Is he the right type of footballer? Is he a good person or not?”

    We don’t want to misquote you or take this out of context… Are you saying you are not closing the door on Mason?

    “He’s a Manchester United footballer, so we are in charge of football. So the answer is ‘yeah, we have to make decisions’.

    “It’s quite clear we have to make a decision. There is no decision that’s been made. He’s on loan obviously, but he’s not the only one. We’ve got one or two footballers that we have to deal with and we have to make a decision on, so we will do that. The process will be: understand the facts, not the hype, and then try and come to a fair decision on the basis of values, which is basically: is he a good guy or not, and answer could he play sincerely for Manchester United well and would we be comfortable with it and would the fans be comfortable with it?”

    Is the INEOS ownership of French club OGC Nice an issue for playing in the Champions League if you both qualify under UEFA’s regulations? 

    “We’ve spoken to UEFA. There are no circumstances upon which an ownership of Nice would prevent Manchester United from playing in the Champions League — I’ll be crystal clear on that.

    But at the moment, the rules say you can’t…

    “It says you have to change the ownership structure. So it’s all about influence and positions on the board and that sort of thing. So, a) the rules are changing, and, b) there are shades of grey, not black and white. Manchester City will probably have the problem before we have the problem because they’ve obviously got Girona who are doing well in the Spanish La Liga.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Inside Girona’s unlikely rise: Pep Guardiola’s brother, Manchester City and table football

    You tried to buy Chelsea when they were for sale in 2022…

    “We have a collection of quite interesting sports clubs, Formula 1, America’s Cup, cycling etc. but we’ve always recognised that the biggest sport in the world is football and the Premier League is the biggest league in the world. So we’ve always had an interest in having a Premier League club — but they don’t come up very often, and at the time we had no inkling that Manchester United might ever be sold. So that’s how we finished up in that Chelsea equation.”

    Dave Brailsford is the director of sport at INEOS. Can you talk about what his role will be, how important he is and what his attributes are? Some will look at his history in cycling and query his role at United amid the criticisms…

    “Well, I think he will be critically involved in the future of Manchester United. He’s interested in elite sport and performance, which is what Manchester United is and I think he’s been very, very successful in sport in cycling, but he’s generally viewed as one of the world’s best thoughtful people on the subject of sports performance.

    “It’s for good reason. I’ve known Dave now for quite a few years. He is obsessive about performance in elite sports, and he is going to be very successful at Manchester United.”

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    What will Brailsford, Ratcliffe and Man Utd’s new faces do? And who could follow?

    Rival fans will bring up the parliamentary select committee and (his role in) questions about Team Sky previously…

    “I’m not interested in all that. Really, I’m not. You can keep harping on about the past, but I am not interested in the past. I’m interested in the future. My view is he is a really good man and is really good at his job.

    “That, for me, was all nonsense, in the past. I’m not interested.”

    Chelsea was a very busy process but there seemed to be fewer bidders for United. Why was that?

    “Good question, that.”

    There was this Qatari guy (Sheikh Jassim) that no one’s ever seen. It was very odd…

    “Still nobody’s ever seen him, actually. The Glazers never met him… he never… I’m not sure he exists!” (laughs). I would say this but there is no comparison between Chelsea and Manchester United. The scale of Manchester United is incomparable to any of the London clubs, to be honest with you.”

    The SEC filing suggested Qataris did not provide proof of funds…

    “No, they didn’t. No.”

    Were they really bidding against you, or were you potentially the only bidder?

    “I don’t know. They were they were obviously there and there was a whole host of people on the team in their squad… I didn’t ever meet them. But it was it was a very odd affair.”

    There seemed to be a lot of background briefings. Did they play clean?

    “I’m not going to comment on that. I know what the answer is.”

    They claimed the bid was a lot higher than it was…

    “Yeah, that’s correct.”

    Do Chelsea show how not to do things given their recent spending?

    “I don’t want to finish up criticising Chelsea but what I would say is that, in having bought other clubs in Lausanne and Nice, we have made a lot of cock-ups. We’ve made some really stupid decisions in both those clubs. There are a lot of organisations in the world where, if you make a mistake, you get shot, so nobody ever puts their head above the parapet.

    “But at INEOS, we don’t mind people making mistakes — but please don’t make it a second time. So with that, we’re much less than sympathetic when they make the same mistake twice. We have made mistakes in football, so I’m really pleased that we made those mistakes before we arrived here at Manchester United. If we hadn’t, this would be a much tougher job for us. Because it is huge and it’s very exposed.”

    What sort of player do you want at the club? Youngsters or superstars?

    “We’re probably still debating what precisely is the style of football we want to play. If you look at Manchester City, they know precisely what the style of football is they want to play and all 11 teams at the club play the same formula. We need to do that, but I think in terms of the nature of the players, you want Manchester United types of players: attacking football, exciting football, bringing the youth through. You want players that are committed. You want players that play 90 minutes — those are the types of players you want playing for Manchester United.

    “The academy is really, really important for us. It’s probably the most successful academy in football in terms of number of players that have come through.”

    “We’ll decide that style, plus the CEO, sporting director, probably the recruitment guys, what the style of football is and that will be the Manchester United style of football, and the coach will have to play that style. We’re not going to oscillate from a (Jose) Mourinho style to a Guardiola style. That’s not the way we’ll run the club. Otherwise, you’re changing everything all the time, you change your coach, you’ve got the wrong squad — we won’t do that.

    “In modern football, you need to decide what’s your path and stick to your path.”

    You are doing something today that has been very rare at Manchester United in recent decades: communicating. How important is it to reconnect the fans and the club? 

    “Again, I have a very simple view of a football club. It’s a community asset. The club is owned by the fans, that’s what it’s there for: for the fans. We’re guardians or stewards for a temporary period of time. I’m not going to be there forever. It is important we communicate to the fanbase. We underestimate how important an aspect it is of their life and how it affects their life.

    “On a wet Monday morning in Manchester, that’s the first thing you talk about when you go into the office or the factory: how did we do at the weekend? And you either start off with a good week or a bad week depending on how it went. It’s beholden upon us to… It’s not my job to do it on a frequent basis but it was quite important today that we are seen by the true owners, who are the fans really.”

    You are sitting in front of a jersey in here where there is a No 7 on the back and the collar up. It looks like an Eric Cantona shirt.…

    “He was a maverick, obviously. He was the catalyst for change in Ferguson’s era… and that kickstarted everything off. He was a talisman.

    “There has always been a bit of glamour attached to Manchester United which has been lacking a bit in the last few years. You’ve had George Best, Bobby Charlton, Eric the King. At the end of the day, we are in the entertainment business. You don’t want to watch bland football or characterless football. And to be honest, since Christmas, with the young lads, they have played some fantastic football. There have been some great matches.

    “I can’t remember many matches at the beginning of the season that I was really excited by. The three young lads sitting on the hoarding at the side; that was a good picture. So I think that’s the Eric point, really. We are cognisant of the fact you do need a bit of glamour in this.”

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Garnacho, Mainoo and Hojlund – the Man Utd picture that is a marketing person’s dream

    How would you assess the job Erik ten Hag has done during his time at Old Trafford?

    “I’m not going to comment on Erik ten Hag because I think it would be inappropriate to do that. But if you look at the 11 years that have gone since David Gill and Sir Alex stepped down, there have been a whole series of coaches — some of which were very good. And none of them were successful or survived for very long. And you can’t blame all the coaches.

    “The only conclusion you can draw is that the environment in which they were working didn’t work. And Erik’s been in that environment. I’m talking about the organisation, the people in the structure, and the atmosphere in the club. We have to do that bit. So I’m not really focused on the coach. I’m focused on getting that bit right. And it’s not for me to judge that anyway — I’m not a football professional.”


    Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford visited Erik ten Hag and others at the club’s Carrington training base in January (Manchester United via Getty Images)

    Have you spoken to Sir Alex Ferguson much? 

    “I have. He was the first person I met when I went up there, which I think was the second week of January. I had a meeting from 9am to 10am at his house and I left at 1pm.

    “He never stopped. He’s got a lot of experience, a lot of stories to tell and a lot of thoughts about the club.

    “I don’t think he has been encouraged to get involved but he is still very thoughtful about the club and he has an immense amount of experience. He really understands the values and traditions of the club and what it’s all about. He’s still fiercely competitive, Alex Ferguson.”

    You have mentioned Manchester City an awful lot in this conversation…

    “Well, they are one of the best teams on the planet.”

    Are they a blueprint?

    “Blueprint? (laughs) We have a lot to learn from our noisy neighbour and the other neighbour. They are the enemy at the end of the day. There is nothing I would like better than to knock both of them off their perch.

    “Equally, we are the three great northern clubs who are very close to one another. They have been in a good place for a while and there are things we can learn from both of them. They have sensible organisations, great people within the organisations, and a good, driven and elite environment that they work in. I am very respectful of them but they are still the enemy.”

    Would it help if they were found guilty of 115 breaches they are accused of by the Premier League?

    “I would not wish that upon them. I don’t understand any of that. I just want to smash them on the football field.”

    When you refer to knocking them off their perch… is that a knowing nod to Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous comments about knocking Liverpool off their perch?

    “It is, actually. He was the first one who came out with that expression. I am in the same place as Alex — 100 per cent. He was fiercely competitive and that is why he was successful. We have to be the same.

    “Queen Victoria was present at the first America’s Cup when we (the UK) challenged America in 1851. They sent a yacht across called America. We had 11 yachts and we had a race around the Isle of Wight. It was hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron. In the end, the American boat won the race. Queen Victoria turned to the commodore and said ‘Did we come second?’ And the commodore said: ‘There is no second’.”

    (Top photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)

    [ad_2]

    The New York Times

    Source link

  • ‘His legs have gone’: Unpicking the four words no footballer wants to hear

    ‘His legs have gone’: Unpicking the four words no footballer wants to hear

    [ad_1]

    Last season, it was a Brazilian midfielder at Liverpool. This season, it’s been his international team-mate at Manchester United.

    “I think Casemiro’s legs have gone,” Jamie Carragher told the Covering Liverpool podcast in October. “I noticed it last season at Anfield and I didn’t like what I saw. It took me back to watching Fabinho last year for Liverpool. I want to be the first to say it (about Casemiro). I don’t want to say it when everyone else is saying his legs have gone.”

    Regardless of who said what and when, Carragher — who played for Liverpool until he retired at age 35 — is not a lone voice in this debate, and Fabinho and Casemiro are far from the only players singled out for seemingly having lead in their boots.

    Any footballer over the age of 30 who is struggling for form leaves themselves open to that type of criticism, but in particular if they are now coming off second best in the sort of duels they used to win and playing in a way that makes it look like the game is now a split-second too quick for them.

    Casemiro, who turns 32 on Friday, was at risk of straying into that territory against Luton Town yesterday. “A serial offender who kept fouling time and time again”, was the way former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp, a pundit on UK broadcaster Sky Sports’ coverage of the match, summarised his display.

    Withdrawn at half-time, and fortunate in the eyes of many to have avoided a second yellow card, Casemiro is collecting bookings at quite a rate, even by his standards. He has now been cautioned in eight of his last 11 matches for club and country, and four out of five since returning from almost three months out with a hamstring injury in January.


    Casemiro looked off the pace at Luton (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

    What is clear is that the spotlight can be unforgiving for older players and, at times, unfair.

    Gareth McAuley, who was still playing centre-back in the Premier League at the age of 37, viewed the “legs have gone” comment as an “easy shot” when it was directed at him at West Bromwich Albion, especially given how hard he was working to keep in shape and that it was not backed up by the data he was privy to at his club.

    “I was thinking, ‘I’m doing more than people who are 10 years younger’,” the 80-cap Northern Ireland international McAuley tells The Athletic. “You think, ‘Do you know what? Show some respect’. But it’s getting even younger now: boys at 28 and 29 are being described as ‘done’.”

    Not every player has reason to feel hard done by in this situation — in some cases, they are in denial.

    One former international midfielder, not long retired from playing, was viewed by his coach as ‘undroppable’ because of his status. But others at the club felt the player had become a liability as he could no longer track runners and move fast enough.

    Some are honest enough to hold their hands up and accept that time has caught up with them – a reality that can creep up on players during a season or, in the case of Gary Neville, be revealed in one brutal moment.

    At West Brom on New Year’s Day in 2011, a 35-year-old Neville made his first start for Manchester United in two months. He describes in his autobiography how he made West Brom winger Jerome Thomas look like Cristiano Ronaldo during a deeply uncomfortable 71-minute performance in which he was lucky to avoid a red card.

    Neville recalled how Mike Phelan, United’s assistant manager at the time, wandered across for a word when the ball rolled out of play close to the dugouts.

    “You’re f***ed, aren’t you?” Phelan said.

    Neville nodded.

    Thomas, who made more than 150 appearances in the Premier League with four different clubs, remembers that game well, and also the comments Neville made later.

    “I guess that was how Gary rationalised it because he was on his way out and he didn’t feel he was at his best,” Thomas says. “I don’t want this to come across the wrong way, because Gary Neville is a legend, but what he doesn’t realise is he wasn’t the only person I was doing that to. As a left-winger, I would go into every game with the goal to either get the right-back sent off or subbed.”


    Jerome Thomas made Gary Neville realise his career was over (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

    Neville would have been dismissed on another day. Instead, he was subbed. The following morning, he told United manager Sir Alex Ferguson that he was retiring. He never played for them again.

    Sol Campbell, Neville’s former England team-mate, had a different experience before bringing the curtain down on his career.

    “My legs never went. It was just you needed the right rest period,” Campbell, whose last match was as a 36-year-old for Newcastle United in the 2010-11 Premier League, tells The Athletic. “Once I went back to Arsenal (for a second spell midway through 2009-10), I was 35 and my numbers weren’t there, but getting back to good training helped me compete with the guys. It’s difficult, though, as you get older with the recovery. It’s hard on the body.

    “If you play one game a week it’s great, but sometimes it’s four games in 10 days and that’s when you start to feel it. If you have a sympathetic manager who understands that you’re not 21 anymore, then it’s OK. So, for me, it’s not about ‘Legs gone’, it’s about recovery.”

    His legs have gone.

    “Sport, never mind football, is full of throwaway phrases like that,” says Chris Barnes, an experienced sports scientist who has worked for several professional clubs, starting with Middlesbrough in 1998.

    “Wearing the sports scientist’s hat, one of the big challenges we have in football is getting away from focusing on averages and norms and looking at players as individuals. The reality is that phrase is appropriate (for some players) and in others, maybe not so.

    “If you track a player’s journey from a physical perspective, it’s pretty widely accepted that they peak around about 26 to 28. What that means can be interpreted in a number of ways – peak is different for different players in terms of how fast they can run, their ability to do repeated high-intensity activities and so on.”

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    What age do players in different positions peak?

    Although the data never lies, it is important to not get carried away with who runs the furthest, which is to take nothing away from the evergreen James Milner, who topped the charts at the age of 37 last season.

    “Total distance is full of noise,” Barnes adds. “The Blackburn winger (Morten Gamst) Pedersen always had the highest total distance of any game, but you must look at what is effective work and what isn’t.

    “(Centre-back) Robert Huth, who was at Middlesbrough, would always come and look at how little work he’d done, because he felt his best games were performed when he made good decisions and was positionally correct and therefore the amount of work he needed to do was less. So it’s not really a ‘More is better’ situation. Football isn’t a maximal sport. It’s what typifies, if you like, the DNA, the characteristics, of a player’s game.”

    How players engage with their physical data is interesting. Some bury their head in the sand or — and this was witnessed first-hand with a Premier League centre-back during a fly-on-the-wall pre-season piece a few years back — even challenge the figures. Others go actively looking for their data, to use it as a yardstick to not just inform how hard they need to work in training, but also to ensure that the manager doesn’t have an excuse to leave them out.

    “The high-speed running and things like that, you get your data and they (the sports scientists) know exactly what you need to be hitting,” McAuley explains. “But in certain sessions as a defender, you won’t get what you need. So I could say, ‘OK, I need another 200 metres of high-speed running’, so I would go and run box-to-box to get that and keep me on the sports-science knife-edge between injury and peak condition.

    “I had (Craig) Dawson, 10 years younger than me, who was trying to take my place, so I had to make sure I was trying to be better, trying to stay quicker. In a way, that was driving me. Also, if you weren’t in the team and you’re knocking on the manager’s door, he can’t say that your data has dropped off in training and that your legs have gone.”

    SkillCorner works with around 150 clubs around the world and is at the forefront of physical data. It released some fascinating graphs on Twitter in November: the first shows the top speed of players by age during last season. In the over-30s category, Manchester City’s Kyle Walker, 33, remained the fastest player, while both Jamie Vardy and Ashley Young, who are now 37 and 38 years old respectively, were way above the average for their age.

    That said, it is also worth remembering Barnes’ comment about the importance of analysing players as individuals and against their own benchmarks rather than comparing them to others.

    Every Premier League club will have access to this kind of data and, crucially, will be able to see how a player’s physical levels go up and down over time.

    This next SkillCorner chart gives a glimpse of what that looks like — in this instance, it shows Dani Carvajal, the now 32-year-old Spain and Real Madrid right-back. Carvajal’s high-intensity activities per 90 minutes are represented game-by-game and there is also a season average, measuring what SkillCorner describes as “a player’s longitudinal physical performance”.

    Of course, there are other factors to take into consideration, especially when analysing an extended period. Managerial, tactical and positional changes can all impact the physical data gathered in matches.

    “In training, the sports scientists have a responsibility to be looking at appropriate data to give a mark on the condition of the players they’re working with, and that would involve things like recovery between bouts — heart-rate data is super-informative in things like that,” Barnes adds.

    “These high-intensity actions and efforts are the key and unlock a better understanding as to whether the qualities and characteristics of a player have changed. But you definitely have to take into account the tactical context: how the game is evolving and how coaches want it to be played.

    “It’s been widely documented how the physicality of Manchester City’s game has grown year on year with Pep Guardiola’s philosophy and Kyle Walker has been able to fit into that. If anything, it’s provided a platform for him to showcase the qualities he possesses even more.”

    “You play football with your head and your legs are there to help you.” – Johan Cruyff

    Peter Taylor was singing from that hymn sheet when he brought Roberto Mancini to Leicester City in 2001, Taylor, the club’s manager at the time, openly admitted he signed the 36-year-old Italian forward “for his football knowledge, not his legs”. Chelsea clearly felt the same way about Thiago Silva joining them at the age of 35.

    Barnes talks about how “game intelligence continues to increase” and, at times, can compensate for the ageing process, but he also points to a 2015 study that he was involved in looking at “longitudinal match performance characteristics of UK and non-UK players in the English Premier League” and the hard evidence that football at the highest level had become “seriously more demanding from the point of view of the high-intensity requirements”.

    “SkillCorner has carried on that work and brought it up to date and that has shown that the demands of competing in the game have grown again,” Barnes adds.

    “Gary Neville, Kyle Walker and Dani Carvajal are interesting examples, because they’re all right full-backs, and I would argue that full-back and striker are where this evolution has been most dramatic in terms of requirements to play the game.”


    Kyle Walker’s athleticism remains undimmed (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

    For a No 6 in the modern era, the skill set and the physical demands are huge.

    “In this position, you need a guy who wins challenges and protects everybody, but who plays football as well,” Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s manager, said last season. “Fab (Fabinho) did that for us for plenty of years (and was) absolutely brilliant. At the moment, it’s not clicking. We have to go through that.”

    Outside the club, pundits were quick to judge what had gone wrong with Fabinho. “You know when you’re a midfielder and your legs just start to go and you can’t get around the pitch as much as you would like, that’s what it seems to be,” Micah Richards, the former Manchester City defender, told BBC Sport.

    Defensively, Fabinho’s output did drop last season. According to Opta, he was recovering the ball less, winning fewer duels and not making as many interceptions, which helps explain why Liverpool were happy to cash in on him in the summer. With Casemiro, his data shows he is making fewer interceptions in the Premier League this season compared to last (down from 1.4 per game to 0.9) and winning possession on fewer occasions too (down from 8.7 per game to 6.0).

    Of course, none of those statistics can be seen in isolation. Last season at Liverpool, for example, Fabinho was far from the only player struggling for form. There is also the question of the team setup and how much that leaves a player exposed. Casemiro, in now Sky pundit Gary Neville’s words, was “absolutely torn to shreds” against Wolves in the first match of this season — a comment that was an indictment of the shape of United’s midfield as much as anything.

    In the absence of detailed physical data to prove otherwise, people will draw their own conclusions from what they see during matches (just as managers used to do before the sports-science revolution) and it doesn’t take much for a narrative to take hold, especially when a player is in their thirties.

    The sight of 20-year-old Jamal Musiala skipping away from Casemiro three times in the space of seven minutes during United’s 4-3 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League earlier in the season (albeit the Brazilian scored twice that night) provided one of those moments.

    In reality, Casemiro was always going to be an easy target for the “legs have gone” narrative, mindful of the reaction when United agreed to pay Real Madrid £70million ($88.2m at current rates) for a 30-year-old in summer 2022. Even INEOS, United’s new investors, were surprised at the numbers involved in the deal.

    As a counterpoint, it is important to remember that Casemiro performed really well for United in that debut season and with more time to get up to speed after his recent injury, and with the hugely impressive teenager Kobbie Mainoo operating in the same midfield, there is an argument he could still be an important player at Old Trafford.

    Either way, it’s a matter of time before the same four words are levelled at someone else.

    McAuley smiles. “I think that (phrase) is kind of deep-rooted in pre-sports-science football,” he adds.

    “Do the legs go? Maybe. But what I would say is that it’s the desire to keep doing it — the mental side. You can tell yourself to do anything. And with the mind and the willpower to do it, you can.”

    (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)

    [ad_2]

    The New York Times

    Source link

  • French league club Marseille has fired coach Gennaro Gattuso, AP source says

    French league club Marseille has fired coach Gennaro Gattuso, AP source says

    [ad_1]

    French league club Marseille has fired coach Gennaro Gattuso, AP source says

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • A Typical Post-Match Routine for a Professional Soccer Player – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    A Typical Post-Match Routine for a Professional Soccer Player – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    [ad_1]

    Have you ever wondered what professional soccer players do after a match?

    As fans, we simply turn off the TV or leave the stadium, but for professional players, there is a lot more that needs to be done following a match.

    Of course, every team is different, and players will have different routines, but most have a similar routine following a match that they will go through.

    This article will take a look at a few of the main activities that most professional soccer players will do after a match, whether they have won or lost.

    Keep reading to find out more.

    Cool Down

    After a period of long exercise, it is important to cool down to prevent injury and reduce stiffness. This is why players are often seen out on the pitch after a match, walking or partaking in light jogs.

    They will also stretch and sometimes have an ice bath, which can effectively reduce soreness and inflammation.

    Eat & Rehydrate

    Photo: Connor Coyne/Unsplash 

    Playing a soccer match can use up a tremendous amount of energy. This is why a post-match meal, which will usually consist of carb and protein-heavy foods, is one of the most important steps after a match. Players will also replenish lost fluids with water or sports drinks.

    Review

    Teams will always briefly review the match afterward, but the main analysis will happen in the days to come back to the training ground. It is likely that the manager will give their overview, and the team will be able to share their immediate thoughts. 

    Individual Recovery

    Some players may then require individual recovery techniques, particularly if they have an injury. Every team will have medical staff to help players with any physical and mental challenges they are struggling with after a match. 

    Rest

    Players will then be encouraged to rest, whether this is at home or in the hotel if playing an away fixture. Players should be able to put their feet up and engage in activities that will help them reduce stress and forget about the match. Many professional players enjoy playing online casino games during recovery, as these are games that are easy to play, distracting, and good fun.

    There are excellent casino games at spincasino.com/nz/, including poker, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and slots. Casinos like this have visually impressive games, smooth animations, and generous promotions to take advantage of. This period of rest and distraction can help the player to recover physically and mentally.

    Review & Training

    Players will often come into training the next day for a full debrief and review of the match. This will allow them to learn and improve as well as connect as a team.

    Typically, the focus will then shift to the next match, which will involve preparing tactically, addressing weaknesses, and training. 

    This is what a typical post-match routine looks like for a professional soccer player.
    Playing soccer professionally is a lot of hard work, and matches come around thick and fast, which means that teams need to do everything they can to get their players recovered and prepared for the next match. 

    Photo: Connor Coyne/Unsplash 

    [ad_2]

    PHLSportsNation

    Source link

  • Mbappe is leaving PSG: Thank god that’s finally over

    Mbappe is leaving PSG: Thank god that’s finally over

    [ad_1]

    Ice ages haven’t lasted as long as this.

    Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid… it has been a thing for about a decade at least.

    The Athletic was not even in existence when the pair began courting each other. Twitter was still fun (and called Twitter), Taylor Swift hadn’t heard of American football and the closest thing we got to a global pandemic was from watching Contagion.

    It has been an inexorably long saga, the very worst kind of transfer saga in fact, with endless posturing, incessant lies and spin and thousands upon thousands of stories claiming that it is finally happening.

    Well now, once and for all, it surely is. Mbappe will leave PSG and you’d have to assume that next season, he will play in the Bernabeu (assuming another club doesn’t have the opportunity to pip them and he ends up at, say, Osasuna) and the football world can concentrate on talking about other stuff like, you know, football matches.

    The world’s best player will not rot in PSG’s reserves, believe it or not. He won’t be put on gardening leave either. Instead, he’ll play for the club he’s wanted to play for forever and Real Madrid will sign the player they’ve wanted to sign forever. Imagine that.

    If you think we have had it bad here, try living in Spain where the coverage has been akin to the kind we would get for the death of a royal family member in the UK.

    In recent months, since Mbappe did not take up the option to extend his contract until 2025, things have gone feral. On TV and radio, whether Real Madrid are winning matches or losing matches, whether Jude Bellingham is scoring goals or not, whether Carlo Ancelotti is staying as manager or leaving, Mbappe news trumps the lot.


    Do not fret, the saga is almost over (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

    Ancelotti will regularly face questions about Mbappe in press conferences, which you kind of expect. But Real Madrid players, Javier Tebas (the president of La Liga), even Xavi and Joan Laporta over at Barcelona, they have all been quizzed for their Mbappe opinions. Honestly, who cares? Other than the TV producers who need to quench an insatiable need for 24/7 rolling football coverage.

    Why would anyone want to know what Laporta thinks about another club signing another player? Just ask Nick Knowles what he thinks of the UK slipping back into recession while you’re at it. It’s pointless to the point of utter saturation, a stage we reached with this on/off transfer yonks ago.

    go-deeper

    Front pages have been dominated by Mbappe in Spain for ages, focusing unremittingly on ‘the decision’.

    “Mbappe will want to play for Real Madrid,” one Marca headline screamed in April 2020. Presumably “in 2024” was in the small print.

    “Mbappe takes the step” followed in September of that year, implying he was on his way to Madrid. Presumably just on holiday.

    “The game of the summer” was last year. Maybe they meant the Ashes.

    There has even been a saga within the saga, with Madrid feeling betrayed by Mbappe when he chose to sign his last extension with PSG. Madrid fans said they wouldn’t forgive Mbappe… for choosing to stay with his current employers. Grow up.

    The journalists were at it too. Mbappe’s decision to remain in Paris was called “the biggest mistake in his career”; even if he won the Champions League and another World Cup, it wouldn’t be enough. Oh, and the fact he wanted to stay in the fifth-best league in the world indicated “he holds himself in very low esteem”.


    Mbappe in 2022 committing his future to PSG for, well, another couple of years at least (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

    That does feel like a very Real Madrid thing, though; sheer indignation at any player in the world daring to turn them down. It’s a very special kind of attitude, one that has fuelled and exacerbated the dullest soap opera storyline since Ian Beale’s weight loss struggles on Eastenders.

    There has never been a moment when it did not seem as if Mbappe was heading to Real Madrid at some point soon. It has always been when, not if — even when he tweeted “LIES” about a report saying he wanted to join Real last summer. “I have already said that I will continue at PSG where I am very happy,” he added, while doing the David Brent long nose mime.

    To be honest, we say it’s a done deal, but no doubt we should be prepared for the next chapter. Which club will Mbappe join now that he has confirmed he is leaving PSG? Within minutes of today’s news breaking, an odds comparison website sent out an email (in such a hurried fashion that the email subject mistakenly read “Kylian Mbappe set to leave Real in summer 2024”) stating there was an “implied chance of 83.3 per cent” that Mbappe was off to Madrid, but also a 3.8 per cent chance he could go to Barcelona, a move that would involve more lever pulling than an octopus running a train station.

    But for now, it feels like it’s finally over. And when we see Mbappe, at last, holding aloft that famous all-white kit, we’ll all be relieved. Unless it’s Leeds United on a Bosman from PSG in 2034.

    (Top photo: Julien de Rosa/AFP via Getty Images)

    [ad_2]

    The New York Times

    Source link

  • Republic FC focusing on youth suicide prevention, will wear 988 patch for second season

    Republic FC focusing on youth suicide prevention, will wear 988 patch for second season

    [ad_1]

    (FOX40.COM) — In late December, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Hallegere Murthy called mental health the “defining crisis of our time.”

    In 2023, over 50,000 Americans died by suicide. That number is higher than any other year on record, according to NBC.
    •Video Above: Iron Rose Football Club set to take the field in 2024

    In response to the mental health crisis, Sacramento Republic FC has decided that its players will continue to wear the 988 patch introduced by the organization last season. During the first year with 988 on the jerseys, the club reached over 600,000 people with the message that help is just three numbers away.

    “It’s both exciting and humbling to be able to continue our work with Western Health Advantage and WellSpace Health to advance the work we got started,” said Republic FC Vice President of Community Investment Scott Moak. “The 988 patch on the sleeve was tremendous, but we have more to do.”

    “Bringing attention to 988 as a lifeline helps improve the overall health of our community,” said Garry Maisel, CEO of Western Health Advantage. “The simplicity, accessibility, and responsiveness of 988 lets anyone struggling with mental health concerns know that support is just a phone call away.”

    The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was established in 2005 and switched to a simple three-digit number in 2022. Through calls, texts, and online messaging, trained counselors can assist anyone who is in crisis, experiencing emotional distress, or help friends and family with loved ones they care about.

    Last year, the club teamed up with California First Partner Jennifer Siebel-Newsom to release a 90-second PSA highlighting the simplicity behind the lifeline.

    Republic FC’s new kits featuring the 988 patch will be released later in the week. Fans will be able to order them at Shop.SacRepublicFC.com to continue to help amplify the team’s message that help is only three digits away.

    Republic FC’s season will begin on Saturday, March 9, when the club hosts Orange County SC at Heart Health Park. Kickoff from Heart Health Park is set for 7:00 p.m. and tickets are available now at SacRepublicFC.com/tickets.

    All season-long, matches can be watched on FOX40.com or in the FOX40 app.

    [ad_2]

    Aydian Ahmad

    Source link

  • Kylian Mbappe has told PSG he will leave at the end of the season, AP sources say

    Kylian Mbappe has told PSG he will leave at the end of the season, AP sources say

    [ad_1]

    Kylian Mbappe has told Paris Saint-Germain he will leave the club at the end of the season.

    The France international informed PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi he would not stay at the club when his contract expires, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

    Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because Mbappe hasn’t made his decision public yet.

    One person said Mbappe — who has previously been pursued by Real Madrid — did not indicate which club he would join next.

    PSG declined to comment, but a second person with knowledge of Mbappe’s decision said the terms of his departure were still being worked out with the club and an official statement would not come until that has been finalized.

    Mbappe — widely considered to be one of the best players in the world — will be a free agent at the end of the season after seven years with PSG.

    He informed the club last year that he would not trigger an extension to the contract he signed in 2022.

    When he signed that last deal, PSG paraded him at Parc des Princes holding up a jersey with 2025 written on it — even though the actual contract was until 2024, with an option for an extra year.

    While Madrid seems like the most probable destination for Mbappe, his departure from PSG is likely to spark a bidding war between a host of other clubs eager to sign the former World Cup winner.

    The 25-year-old Mbappe has been at PSG since 2017 after signing from Monaco in a transfer worth a reported $190 million. He arrived at the same time as Neymar, who cost PSG a world record $222 million from Barcelona.

    In 2021, PSG turned down a bid of $190 million from Real Madrid for the forward, who went on to sign his current contract the following year.

    Mbappe will be the latest superstar player to leave the French club in recent times following the departures of Lionel Messi and Neymar last year. The glittering attacking trio played together for two seasons yet couldn’t even reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League as PSG was eliminated at the last-16 stage both years, first by Real Madrid and then Bayern Munich.

    Mbappe won five French league titles with PSG, but has so far failed to lead it to success in the Champions League. When PSG reached the final in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, it lost 1-0 to Bayern as Mbappe and Neymar both failed to make an impact.

    Mbappe could still go out on a high by winning European club soccer’s biggest prize this season. He scored in PSG’s 2-0 win on Wednesday over Real Sociedad in the first leg of the round of 16, taking his record-extending club tally to 243 goals in just 290 games, including 38 in the Champions League.

    He also has 93 assists for PSG, third on the club’s all-time list.

    Mbappe’s decision brings an end to a drawn-out saga that has overshadowed his final year at the club.

    PSG has already made moves to shift its focus over the past 12 months in light of the exits of Messi and Neymar.

    After years of problems with soccer violence and falling short on the field, PSG’s fortunes improved after being taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in June 2011. PSG largely dominated French soccer with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mbappe, Neymar and Messi. But it has begun to shift away from that model with signings like Randal Kolo Muani and Bradley Barcola last year.

    Mbappe has long been viewed by Madrid as the ideal successor to Karim Benzema, who left the Spanish giant for Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia last year.

    Whether PSG can find a successor to Mbappe remains to be seen, as he will leave a giant void.

    ___

    More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

    ___

    AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire contributed from Paris.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Bet365 Celebrates Never Ordinary Campaign with Early Payout Offer

    Bet365 Celebrates Never Ordinary Campaign with Early Payout Offer

    [ad_1]

    Sports betting giant bet365 unveiled its “unrivaled” Early Payout Offer and launched a new ad to celebrate the occasion. The 30-second spot highlights the boons of the offer, which is a part of the company’s Never Ordinary campaign.

    The Never Ordinary campaign demonstrates bet365’s desire to make every bet special and is accompanied by a variety of offers fans cannot find anywhere else. Launched in August 2023, the campaign showcases the excitement the operator’s products provide to fans.

    The new addition to the campaign will see bet365 engage players with its unparalleled Early Payout Offer which provides players with the opportunity to cash out before the end of a soccer game. Once players back a team to win and that team goes two goals ahead, their selection is a winner – even if their team ends up losing the game after that.

    The Early Payout Offer applies to pre-match single and multiple bets on the standard Full Time Result market for selected soccer games.

    Bet365 invited all soccer bettors to check out its new offer and see what the fuss is all about. Additional information about the Early Payout Offer and the Never Ordinary campaign is available on bet365’s official website.

    Bet365 Continues to Supply Fans with Cutting-Edge Experiences

    A month ago, bet365 also revealed Non-Runner No Bet (NRNB) offers ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, capitalizing on the offer’s success during previous events.

    NRNB bets provide players with extra safety as their players will be voided if the horse they put their money behind ends up not showing up to the race for any reason. This level of security allows enthusiasts to wager with confidence, knowing that they will get their money back if their selection doesn’t turn up for any reason.

    In the meantime, bet365 just agreed to power Checkd Group and iD Sports Media’s new Boxing News app with free-to-play prediction games, interactive live scorecards and bet placement journeys. This notable addition will elevate the player experience, reinforcing the application.

    For reference, the Boxing News app is a digital version of the beloved boxing news outlet that has kept fans informed of the latest developments in the sport since 1909.

    [ad_2]

    Angel Hristov

    Source link

  • Angel City FC player Madison Hammond demonstrates leadership, compassion on and off the field

    Angel City FC player Madison Hammond demonstrates leadership, compassion on and off the field

    [ad_1]

    LOS ANGELES (KABC) — When Angel City FC’s Madison Hammond steps onto the field, she’s a professional soccer player, a friend, a daughter and a leader.

    The last of which she realized as a rookie, playing in Seattle in the summer of 2020. Through riots and reckoning, her team at the time went on a privilege walk, lined up as if to race, but first listening to 10 statements, taking a step forward for each that applies to them.

    “One of the statements was, take a step forward if you were raised in a two-parent household. Take a step forward if you could’ve afforded to go to college without a scholarship,” said Hammond.

    Madison, who has always felt supported, comfortable, even privileged, took three steps. Among the fewest on her team.

    “You realize, I had to do so much work to get to the exact same training session, to the exact same moment of playing professional soccer,” said Hammond.

    It was a career-defining moment that had both nothing and everything to do with the game itself.

    The now 26-year-old defender is the first Native American player in the National Women’s Soccer League.

    Her mother raised her in New Mexico’s San Felipe Pueblo, immersed in indigenous culture.

    She’s also Black, a part of her identity she’s more deliberately grown into.

    “That identity has been something I’ve reclaimed as I’ve continued growing and continued entering new spaces with a lot of impressive Black woman as well,” said Hammond.

    At Angel City, Madison finds examples on every level.

    “As a player she has evolved in the short period of time we’ve been Angel City and as a person she’s evolved,” said Angela Hucles Mangano, the club’s general manager.

    Much of Angel City’s incentive is built around community. For example, to commemorate Black History Month, the team hired SoCal native and illustrator Tyler Misha Barnett to design a limited collection, with 10% of proceeds going to a local nonprofit.

    On the field, Black History Month is a collection of personal stories, of players like Madison leading the way for the future.

    “I know what it’s like to have that power to have a voice, so if I can give younger players or even older players feel like they have a space where they have a voice and also still play the sport that we all love and we’re all here for, then I’ve done at least a little bit of my job,” said Hammond.

    Copyright © 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.

    [ad_2]

    Christiane Cordero

    Source link

  • Divine intervention? Ivorians say God is on their team’s side after ‘miracles’ at Africa Cup

    Divine intervention? Ivorians say God is on their team’s side after ‘miracles’ at Africa Cup

    [ad_1]

    ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Ivory Coast’s unlikely — some would say miraculous — progression to the Africa Cup of Nations final has convinced locals that God is on their side.

    The host nation has survived several close shaves with elimination thanks to fortune with results in other games and scarcely believable comebacks.

    Late goals in remarkable wins in the knockout round against defending champion Senegal, then Mali, have no other explanation for devout locals other than being the will of God. They’re sure now he will guide Ivory Coast to its third Africa Cup title.

    “Inshallah, God will do it, no doubt,” Simion Diakité told The Associated Press. “It’s a miracle of God.”

    Sébastien Haller, cured after recovering from an ankle injury, fired the team into the final with a 1-0 win over Congo on Wednesday.

    At the Chapelle de l’externat Saint Paul for a service hours before the match, many worshippers wore the national team’s distinctive orange jersey. The preacher, Fr. Aristide Djedje, couldn’t let the service pass without mentioning the Elephants’ semifinal that evening.

    “The way the Elephants, the national team, have been advancing is only a miracle and only God can do that,” Ange Assamoi, one of the congregation, said after the service.

    Ivory Coast’s progression has been anything but typical. Its federation fired the team’s coach after a 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea left it on the verge of elimination, then unsuccessfully tried to hire another coach when results in other games meant Ivory Coast squeezed into the last 16 with the last available qualification spot.

    The win over Senegal came despite falling behind in the fourth minute. The win against Mali came despite playing with a player less for the entire second half and extra time. Oumar Diakité (no relation to Simion) scored in extra-time stoppage-time to send Ivory Coast to the semifinals.

    Assamoi said worshipers take their own personal hopes to church, “but today we also have the match in our prayers, that God will give us victory this evening. And God will give us victory this evening.”

    Assamoi’s confidence is shared among Ivorians of different faiths.

    Sy Modeste, one of the many yellow t-shirted security men in Abidjan, said both Muslims and Christians were praying for the same thing.

    “Everybody is praying to God to win the game, and the cup,” Modeste said. “We suppose that we live in Côte d’Ivoire by grace of God. God supports us.”

    Others agreed.

    “It’s thanks to God,” said Yama Cambera, a vendor selling water and refreshments at the side of the road in Treichville, Abidjan. “We’re going to win. Côte d’Ivoire will be having a party.”

    Ivory Coast was without four important players who were suspended against Congo. But the fans were not concerned — no setback is insurmountable anymore.

    “God is supporting us. Because when you’re Ivorian, when you love your country, you have to have confidence,” said Lionelle Kuakou. “We think that the trophy will stay here in Ivory Coast because this is a country of love, of joy, of peace. We welcome everyone here and God knows, so the cup stays here, it’s not going anywhere else, it stays here with us.”

    Mosques and churches never seem far away in Ivory Coast, where Islam and Christianity are together professed by just over 80% of the population, co-existing with those who have no religion, and those who follow the animism that pervaded pre-colonial societies in West Africa.

    The various faiths get along well together in Ivory Coast. The country’s constitution calls for tolerance of all spiritual perspectives and a separation of church and state.

    During games at the tournament, many fans use the halftime break to find a quiet corner or space at the back of the stands to lay down their prayer mats and pray. Supporters kneel with their heads bowed in the same direction.

    But Ivory Coast’s interim coach Emerse Faé is not putting his faith in miracles.

    “We’d rather rely on our mental strength and to tell ourselves that we are in the right spirit. Because it was our spirit that allowed us to achieve miracles like that. But we can’t relax and hide behind the fact that we progressed thanks to a miracle, that it is a sign of destiny,” Faé said before the semifinal.

    “If we want to bring the cup home, we ourselves will have to make the efforts for it. The miracle against Mali did not just fall from the sky — the miracle came because the players believed in it to the end.”

    Ivory Coast faces three-time champion Nigeria in Sunday’s final.

    ___

    AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • The big stars with contracts expiring in 2025

    The big stars with contracts expiring in 2025

    [ad_1]

    What do Mohamed Salah, Neymar, Kevin De Bruyne, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Lionel Messi have in common? Their contracts are all expiring in 2025.

    While the summer transfer window looks set to be headlined by Kylian Mbappe and the saga of his potential switch from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid, the world’s biggest clubs will be on alert as they attempt to navigate the contract situations of some of the best players in the world.

    Who might move? Who looks likely to stay at their club? Which teams are interested in Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich, whose contracts also expire in 2025?

    The Athletic explains below.

    Mohamed Salah

    Who is the player most synonymous with Liverpool’s success during the Jurgen Klopp era, if not Salah?

    The Egypt international is out of action after suffering a hamstring injury during the Africa Cup of Nations. Still, he remains as important as ever to his club as they aim to win their second Premier League title.

    The 31-year-old was the subject of significant interest during last summer’s transfer window, with Saudi club Al Ittihad testing Liverpool’s resolve with a bid of £150million ($188m), and this saga appears likely to continue into next summer providing the prolific forward does not sign a new contract.

    GO DEEPER

    Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold contracts: What we’re hearing

    Sources close to Al Ittihad indicated they had not given up hope and were prepared to pay up to £200million for the most famous Arab footballer on the planet — a move that would place him alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar as poster boys for the Saudi Pro League. The package offered, understood to be worth around £1.5million ($1.9m) per week, around four times his current salary, would help grease the wheels, too.

    Salah appears to be in his prime years, unlike Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, whom Liverpool sold to Saudi clubs last summer, and has shown no signs of agitating for a move. However, with Liverpool’s future uncertain in light of Klopp’s upcoming summer departure, Salah may want to wait for key roles to be addressed before committing his future to the club.

    Mohamed Salah, Liverpoool


    (John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

    Neymar

    All is not well for Brazil’s biggest star in Saudi Arabia.

    Two months after joining Al Hilal from PSG in an £80million ($102m) transfer last August, he suffered an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his left knee, requiring surgery. The 32-year-old is not expected to play again this season.

    In recent weeks, he has addressed claims from Saudi supporters that he has put on weight during his injury rehabilitation, with Neymar responding in Portuguese, “Overweight, great. But fat? I don’t think so!” in a video posted on Instagram.

    Due to his unfortunate start to life in Saudi, Neymar’s long-term future is in the air. With the World Cup coming to the United States in 2026, Brazil’s record goalscorer may want another attempt to win one of the only trophies that has evaded him, potentially opening the door for a return to Europe to ensure he plays at the highest level before the tournament. A homecoming to Brazil cannot be ruled out either, nor can staying with Al Hilal, where Neymar is due to earn an estimated $300million (£235m) over two years.

    Lionel Messi

    Fresh from being named men’s player of the year at the FIFA Best Awards in January, Messi is travelling the world on a pre-season tour with Inter Miami and a few of his best friends — Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

    His decision to depart Europe for Major League Soccer before staying with PSG, returning to Barcelona or following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo and going to Saudi Arabia looks like the right one.

    While his move has been an undoubted commercial success, the prospect of rejoining his hometown club in Argentina, Newell’s Old Boys, retains its appeal.

    Messi will be 38 on the expiry of his contract, leaving the prospect of staying in Miami, returning to Rosario, or even retiring as genuine possibilities. As is customary for MLS players, his contract expires in December (the end of the American soccer season) rather than June, with an option to extend his deal until 2026, which would take him to the age of 39.

    Lionel Messi


    (Francois Nel/Getty Images)

    Joshua Kimmich

    Before Harry Kane’s arrival, Kimmich was arguably Bayern’s most important player.

    Since joining the club in 2015 from RB Leipzig, the 28-year-old has made 248 league appearances and won eight Bundesliga titles, as well as the Champions League once. With Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller approaching the end of their careers, all seemed set for Kimmich to take over the mantle as club captain and play the remainder of his career in Bavaria — which makes it more surprising that his contract situation is not yet sorted.

    Manchester City are exploring a move for the midfielder as they look for someone to play alongside Rodri, as well as providing cover for his position, but they know a deal will not be straightforward. If Kimmich does not sign a new contract with Bayern in the coming months, with negotiations yet to begin, the German giants are expected to put him up for sale in the summer. That would be a shocking development for a player that former club executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge described as “the embodiment of world class” in 2021.

    Like in 2014, when Toni Kroos was allowed to depart for Real Madrid, Bayern could lose a top-class player in his prime for under market value.

    Trent Alexander-Arnold

    Like Jamie Carragher or Steven Gerrard — up until his late-career move to the LA Galaxy — it is difficult to see Alexander-Arnold, who grew up a 10-minute drive away from Anfield, ever playing for a club other than Liverpool.

    Having been promoted to vice-captain by Klopp before the start of the season, Alexander-Arnold has grown under the extra responsibility and he looks set to wear the armband permanently in the future. With 18 months remaining on his contract, Liverpool will look to tie down the 25-year-old to a long-term deal that reflects his importance to them.

    While the departures of Klopp and his staff may complicate things slightly, given the German coach gave him his debut and has retained faith through more challenging moments in recent seasons, Alexander-Arnold is a bedrock for Liverpool to build on when they enter a new era.

    Alphonso Davies

    Alongside Kimmich and Leroy Sane, Davies rounds off the trio of world-class talents whose contracts are set to expire with Bayern in 2025.

    Still only 23, Davies broke into Bayern’s first team in 2019 at 18 and has since won five Bundesliga titles and a Champions League. He’s already considered among the best full-backs in the world and there are few players, if any, who can replicate his pace and attacking quality in his position.

    Bayern are expected to put him up for sale in the summer if they cannot agree a contract extension beforehand. Many clubs will be interested in a move this summer and Real Madrid are monitoring his situation. Considering he has started in all but one of the 27 games he has played for Bayern this season, they will not let him depart easily.


    (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

    Kevin De Bruyne

    Despite missing half of the season through injury, it has not taken long for De Bruyne to find his best form. In his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury on the season’s opening day, he scored and assisted in City’s 3-2 win against Newcastle United in January.

    On January 31, in his first start back, he assisted Julian Alvarez as City made light work of Burnley in a 3-1 win. For almost any other player with De Bruyne’s injury history, a club with City’s resources would likely be searching around Europe for his immediate replacement. Still, the Belgian is arguably the best midfielder in the world and any alternative in the same position would be a certain downgrade.

    Given De Bruyne’s age (32) and injury history, it would be irresponsible for City not to be preparing alternatives. With most clubs in Europe unable to offer a salary he would demand, there are very few realistic options available, particularly if he can put his recent injury woes behind him, and City will be keen to keep their star creator.

    Leroy Sane

    After three years in Munich, Sane has found his best career form under Thomas Tuchel. In 20 Bundesliga matches this season, he has scored eight goals and laid on 11 assists, an excellent return for the wide player who has adjusted brilliantly to the arrival of Kane.

    Yet if his contract is not renewed in the coming months, Sane will likely be put up for sale in the summer. Expect Bayern to be keen to renew his deal, given his immediate connection with Kane, but the former Manchester City man will have suitors.

    The prospect of attracting the versatile 28-year-old — a left-footed wide player capable of playing on either wing — at a cut price means top European clubs will keep an eye on his situation before this summer’s transfer window.

    Son Heung-min

    Following the departures of Hugo Lloris and Kane from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, Son has taken on the mantle as club captain and star player this season. Under Ange Postecoglou, the South Korea international has put last season’s struggles behind him — scoring 12 goals and adding five assists in 20 league games.

    Son signed his most recent deal in 2021, a four-year contract with an option to extend by a year — something Tottenham are expected to do. But this will likely be Son’s last major contract as he will turn 34 in 2026.


    (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

    Virgil van Dijk

    Since being given the captain’s armband by Klopp in pre-season, Virgil van Dijk has quietened suggestions that his prime years are behind him with some dominant performances at the heart of Liverpool’s defence. But with 18 months remaining on his contract, he and Liverpool are caught in a dilemma.

    Van Dijk is one of the Premier League’s greatest centre-backs, combining athleticism, technical quality and defensive anticipation in a way that few have ever done, making Liverpool’s decision whether to invest heavily in the future more challenging.

    He is turning 33 this summer and there will be question marks on whether he can replicate his best form as his physical qualities decline, particularly as Van Dijk is one of the club’s highest-paid players.

    With Klopp’s departure this summer, Liverpool’s future is still being determined. Asked whether he sees himself as part of the next era, Van Dijk responded: “That’s a big question. I don’t know.” He later clarified that he is still “fully committed to the club”, indicating he is not considering his long-term future while Liverpool remain in the hunt for four trophies this season.

    Ivan Toney

    It seems the right decision for all parties for Toney to depart Brentford this summer. After serving an eight-month ban for betting offences, the England striker has returned to action in excellent form, scoring two goals in two league matches — immediately picking up where he left off last season, where he was one of only three players to score 20 Premier League goals or more.

    Fortunately for suitors, Toney has made it clear he sees his long-term future away from Brentford several times.

    “You can never predict when the right time to move elsewhere is but I think it’s obvious I want to play for a top club,” Toney told Sky Sports in January. “Everybody wants to play for a top club, (one) fighting for titles. Whether it’s this January that is the right time for a club to come in and pay the right money, who knows?”

    In January, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank said it would take an “unbelievable price” to take Toney away from the west Londoners. Still, with one year remaining on his deal in the summer, it would be in the club’s best interests to facilitate a move, with their star striker seemingly seeing his future elsewhere.

    Warren Zaire-Emery

    PSG are known for producing some of the best talent in Europe. Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot, Christopher Nkunku, Patrice Evra and Nicolas Anelka have all graduated from the Parisians’ academy in the last three decades. Zaire-Emery could turn out to be the best out of the lot.

    The 17-year-old has already made his international debut, becoming the youngest player to be called up for France since 1914, scoring a goal in a 14-0 win over Gibraltar. As a versatile midfielder capable of playing as a No 6, 8 and 10, he has drawn comparison to Jude Bellingham, three years his elder. Zaire-Emery is a different type of player but they share world-class potential.

    So PSG, who are preparing for the eventual departure of Mbappe, will be keen to tie Zaire-Emery down long term. Born in Montreuil, an eastern suburb around 6km from the centre of Paris, he is the ideal face of a post-Mbappe PSG. If discussions stall, however, expect all of Europe’s top clubs to react quickly.


    (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

    Weston McKennie

    For those who followed Leeds United’s relegation from the Premier League last season, it might be a shock to see McKennie starting regularly for Juventus. Under Massimiliano Allegri, however, he has developed into a critical cog in Juventus’s midfield as they compete to win Serie A.

    With a home World Cup in 2026, McKennie will want to play regular club football to ensure he retains an important role for the United States. Clubs needing a high-energy midfielder will monitor his situation if he falls out of favour. Until then, though, McKennie looks settled and happy in Turin.

    Thiago Almada

    If Almada departs Atlanta United this summer, he will likely become the most expensive player to leave Major League Soccer in its history. The record is Miguel Almiron’s transfer from Atlanta to Newcastle United for £21million ($27m) in 2019, and Almada, already a World Cup winner with Argentina, is expected to fetch around $30m.

    Like Toney, Almada is keen to secure a move to a top European club. Eager to take advantage of a franchise-altering fee, Atlanta will facilitate a transfer, providing a club meets their valuation. They will have slightly more time than Brentford, however, as the 22-year-old’s deal expires in December 2025. Still, given the potential for a big sale, the MLS outfit will be keen not to let the value decline by allowing Almada’s contract to run down.

    Conor Gallagher

    At the beginning of 2023, Chelsea tried to sell Gallagher to Everton. Last summer, Chelsea rejected a £40million bid from West Ham. Tottenham were interested in January but a move never materialised. If Gallagher’s future is not sorted before the summer transfer window, his future may lie away from Stamford Bridge.

    As the England international is an academy-trained player, a fee received for Gallagher will count as pure profit in the club’s accounts. Having spent over £1billion since Chelsea’s owners took over in May 2022, the money will help when it comes to Profit and Sustainability rules. However, Gallagher has played regularly under Mauricio Pochettino and has worn the armband several times this season — indicating the manager’s trust in him.

    A potential departure may upset Chelsea fans, who have seen academy graduates depart frequently in recent seasons, but if there were a decision to part ways, the 23-year-old would not be short of suitors.

    (Top photos: Getty Images)



    [ad_2]

    The New York Times

    Source link

  • World Cup 2026: The biggest tournament yet and a New York final

    World Cup 2026: The biggest tournament yet and a New York final

    [ad_1]

    The United States, Canada and Mexico will host the first 48-team edition of the FIFA World Cup in 2026 — and now we know where all 104 matches in the biggest knockout tournament in soccer history will be taking place.

    New York/New Jersey will stage the final on July 19, 2026, beating out early favorites Los Angeles and Dallas to land the showpiece event in men’s global soccer.

    The 16 host cities across three countries did not know which matches they would be allocated until Gianni Infantino, president of world governing body FIFA, made the announcements in a live televised show on Sunday, saying the 2026 tournament would be “the biggest spectacle the world has ever seen”.

    Where will the three host nations play their group matches?

    The U.S. men’s national team, Mexico and Canada have all been granted automatic places at the tournament. The remaining 45 teams still need to qualify.

    “There’s going to be 48 countries that are deeply invested in how their team does at the World Cup,” USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter said after the announcement. “It’s going to be a new format and exciting for a lot of people.”

    Mexico will kick off in the World Cup’s opening match at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Thursday, June 11, then play in Guadalajara on June 18 and then back in Mexico City on June 24.

    The USMNT will start in Los Angeles on June 12, then head north to Seattle on June 19 before returning to Los Angeles on June 26.


    USMNT’s Christian Pulisic (Howard Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

    Canada will play their first match in Toronto on Friday, June 12, and then have their second and third group matches in Vancouver on June 18 and 24.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    ‘It was a hell of a battle’: How New Jersey beat Dallas to host the 2026 World Cup final

    Who were the winners and losers from the announcement?

    Well, New York/New Jersey was the big winner, with momentum having appeared to have gathered behind Dallas’ bid to host the final in recent weeks. Dallas, though, can point to hosting the most matches of any city during the tournament.

    The United States, as expected, is hosting all the knockout matches from the quarterfinals onwards but the USMNT will have to progress beyond the group stage to have a chance for fans outside of the West Coast to see them play.

    Canada’s 10 group stage games will be split down the middle between the two host cities, Toronto and Vancouver. Both cities will also host one last-32 game while Vancouver will play host to a round of 16 game.

    Mexico will open the tournament but has only 13 of the 104 matches, and only three knockout matches.

    How will it work?

    The men’s World Cup has featured 32 teams since 1998 but it’s going large for 2026 with an additional knockout round and 104 matches rather than 64.

    The 2026 tournament will feature 12 groups of four teams. The top two sides from each group will advance to the first knockout stage alongside the eight best-performing third-placed sides — 32 teams in total.

    From there there will be a round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.

    The competition will be staged across 16 stadiums, with the U.S. cities New York, Dallas, Miami, Kansas City, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco and Boston being joined by Mexican venues Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara, alongside Canadian cities Vancouver and Toronto.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Everything you need to know about the 2026 World Cup

    Who got what?

    AT&T Stadium (Dallas)

    Capacity (according to bid book): 92,967

    Matches: 9

    Breakdown: Dallas missed out on the final but did get the most matches of any city — five group-stage matches, two in the round of 32, a last 16 and a semifinal.

    World Cup


    The AT&T Stadium will host more matches than any other stadium at the 2026 World Cup (Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)

    MetLife Stadium (New York/New Jersey) 

    Capacity: 87,157

    Matches: 8

    Breakdown: Five group matches, a round of 32, a round of 16 and then the one they all wanted… the men’s World Cup final.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Who will host the 2026 World Cup final? The pros and cons of Texas and New Jersey

    Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)

    Capacity: 75,000

    Matches: 8

    Breakdown: Five group-stage matches, a round of 32, a round of 16 and the second semifinal.

    SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles)

    Capacity: 70,240

    Matches: 8

    Breakdown: Five group-stage matches, two in the round of 32 and one quarterfinal.

    World Cup


    (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

    Hard Rock Stadium (Miami)

    Capacity: 67,518

    Matches: 7

    Breakdown: Four group-stage matches, a round of 32, a quarterfinal and the third-place playoff.

    Gillette Stadium (Boston)

    Capacity: 70,000

    Matches: 7

    Breakdown: Five group-stage matches, a round of 32 and a quarterfinal.

    NRG Stadium (Houston)

    Capacity: 72,220

    Matches: 7

    Breakdown: Five group-stage matches, one round of 32 and a round of 16.

    BC Place (Vancouver)

    Capacity: 54,500

    Matches: 7

    Breakdown: Five group-stage matches (including two of Canada’s group matches), one round of 32 and a round of 16.

    Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City)

    Capacity: 76,640

    Matches: 6

    Breakdown: Four group-stage matches, one round of 32 and a quarterfinal.

    Lumen Field (Seattle)

    Capacity: 69,000

    Matches: 6

    Breakdown: Four group-stage matches, a round of 32 and a round of 16.

    BMO Field (Toronto)

    Capacity: 45,736 (expanding from current 30,000 for the tournament)

    Matches: 6

    Breakdown: Five group matches (including co-host Canada’s opening game) and a round of 32

    Levi’s Stadium (San Francisco Bay Area)

    Capacity: 70,909

    Matches: 6

    Breakdown: Five group-stage matches and one round of 32.

    Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)

    Capacity: 69, 328

    Matches: 6

    Breakdown: Five group-stage matches and a round of 16 on July 4 — the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

    Estadio Azteca (Mexico City)

    Capacity: 87,523

    Matches: 5

    Breakdown: The opening match on June 11, featuring co-hosts Mexico; two more group matches, a round of 32 match and a round of 16.

    Estadio Akron (Guadalajara)

    Capacity: 48,071

    Matches: 4

    Breakdown: Four group matches only.

    Estadio BBVA (Monterrey)

    Capacity: 53,460

    Matches: 4

    Breakdown: Three group-stage matches and a round of 16.

    What else do I need to know?

    If you like tournament football and you live in North America, you’re in the right place.

    The U.S. will host the Copa America in June and July this year, with 16 teams vying to win the final in Miami on July 14.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Complete Copa America schedule

     (Top photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)



    [ad_2]

    The New York Times

    Source link

  • After public anger over Messi’s absence in Hong Kong game, organizer withdraws application for funds

    After public anger over Messi’s absence in Hong Kong game, organizer withdraws application for funds

    [ad_1]

    HONG KONG — The organizer of a soccer match featuring Inter Miami in Hong Kong was dealing with backlash from both angry fans and the government after widespread disappointment that Lionel Messi didn’t play in the game.

    The much-hyped exhibition match on Sunday ended with fans booing Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham and demanding refunds as Messi stayed on the bench for the full 90 minutes in the game against a local team due to a hamstring strain.

    Organizers said Monday they had only been informed during halftime that Lionel Messi would not be playing and that they would withdraw an application for funding from the city government for staging the match.

    The fans’ reaction was a setback for Hong Kong officials who sought to boost the city’s image as a hub for mega events amid a slow economic recovery and Beijing’s crackdown on dissidents.

    Michel Lamunière, chairman of organizer Tatler Asia, said in a news conference on Monday evening that its contract with Inter Miami required Messi and some other stars in the team to play unless they were injured.

    Lamunière said Messi was named as a substitute in the list of ers available to come off the bench, but the club’s management later told the organizer that Messi was not fit to play due to an injury. Former Barcelona striker Luis Suarez also did not play in the game.

    Lamunière said his team had spent the second half of the match urging the club’s leadership to ask Messi to address the fans but “to no avail.”

    “Tatler Asia deeply regrets the disappointing ending to what was an exciting occasion,” he said.

    Lamunière did not apologize for the debacle or mention any refund arrangements in the brief news conference, which had no question-and-answer session for reporters.

    Tickets for the game cost up to 4,880 Hong Kong dollars ($624) each, and the government had previously approved an application from the organizers for 16 million Hong Kong dollars ($2 million) in funding. That money had yet to be paid out and the request will now be withdrawn.

    In a press briefing earlier Monday, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said the government’s funding agreement with Tatler Asia required Messi to play for at least 45 minutes, unless there were safety or health concerns.

    When the government noticed the second half did not feature Messi, it tried to follow up with the organizer but was told Messi could not play due to an injury, Yeung said.

    “We therefore immediately request them to explore other remedies such as Messi appearing in the field to interact with his fans and receiving the trophy. Unfortunately, as you all see, these did not work out,” he said.

    Inter Miami will conclude its Asian tour in Japan on Wednesday when it plays Vissel Kobe.

    ___

    AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 2026 FIFA World Cup final to be played at MetLife Stadium

    2026 FIFA World Cup final to be played at MetLife Stadium

    [ad_1]

    FIFA 2026 World Cup logo unveiled in Times Square


    FIFA 2026 World Cup logo unveiled in Times Square

    02:23

    EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.

    FIFA announced the tournament schedule on Sunday.

    The opener of the 39-day tournament will be played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on June 11.

    The U.S. Men’s National Team will play its first match at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on June 12, and then travel to Lumen Field in Seattle, before returning to SoFi for the last leg of the group stage.

    The third-place game will be at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

    Last May, FIFA unveiled the official logo for the 2026 World Cup in Times Square.

    “I’ve got soccer fever,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said at the unveiling. “I want to give FIFA a big thank you for bringing the World Cup back to New Jersey and New York. From the very beginning, our region has been at the heart of American soccer. We’re ready for the world’s biggest event. Big events are in our blood, they’re in our DNA, and they’re what we do best.”

    “New York is the greatest city in the world, so it’s only right that we’re hosting the biggest sporting event in the world,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. “New Yorkers can’t wait to welcome fans from across the globe to our city to experience our world class sights, bright lights, and our unique, diverse culture.”

    The 2026 World Cup will be played in 16 host cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and will feature 48 teams. 

    [ad_2]

    Source link