By: Sports Desk |
Updated: August 14, 2020 1:52:40 pm
RB Leipzig’s coach Julian Nagelsmann talks to his players during the Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid. (REUTERS)
After being sidelined from football at an early age of 20 due to a knee injury, Julian Nagelsmann on Friday defied the odds to become the youngest manager to reach the final four of the Champions League. He is currently 33-years-old and is younger than the current legends of the sport – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Nagelsmann’s RB Leipzig humbled Spanish side Atletico Madrid 2-1, with United States midfielder Tyler Adams scoring the match-winner in the closing minutes of the match. The German side had initially taken the lead in the 51st minute with a header from Spanish forward Dani Olmo, but a disjointed Atletico were shaken into life when record signing Joao Felix came off the bench, earning and scoring a penalty to level in the 71st. [Match Report]
Leipzig will now lock horns with Ligue 1 winners Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the semifinals, which is set to take place on August 19. While PSG boasts of a powerful lineup that includes Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, it will also be a test for Nagelsmann to match wits against his role model, manager Thomas Tuchel.
Julian Nagelsmann’s first step towards becoming a manager came when his coach at FC Augsburg II – Thomas Tuchel – appointed him as an opposition scout after a knee injury ended his playing career.
By: Sports Desk |
Updated: August 14, 2020 8:45:16 pm
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won 11 of the last 12 Ballon d’Ors between them. (Source: File)
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been at loggerheads with each other for more than a decade, trying to outscore one another and win the personal accolades like Ballon d’Or.
Playing for fierce rivals, Barcelona and Real Madrid, both the forwards dominated the scoring charts in La Liga for nine seasons from 2009 to 2018 before Ronaldo left for Italy.
Despite their history, the 33-year-old Messi brushed aside his rivalry with the Juventus talisman by recently claiming that he would pass to him if they ever played together.
“I guess so, in the end, yes,” Messi told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo in an interview.
The hypothetical situation might turn into a reality soon as Spanish journalist Guillem Balague reported on Thursday t
Manchester City have entered the race for Bayern Munich’s Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara and are believed to be offering more than Liverpool for the 29-year-old. (SportBild – via Star)
Manchester United have put the rest of their transfer business on hold while they try to sign Borussia Dortmund and England winger Jadon Sancho, 20. (Mirror)
Manchester United’s move for Sancho is in danger of collapsing with Dortmund bemused by their approach to negotiations, initially offering the winger a pay cut. (Mail)
Juventus have approached Arsenal over a possible transfer for French striker Alexandre Lacazette, 29. (CalcioMercato – in Italian)
Watford are ready to demand a club record fee of more than £40m for Senegal winger Ismaila Sarr, 22, amid interest from Liverpool and clubs around Europe. (Evening Standard)
Sarr has told media in his homeland that “everyone would love” to play for Liverpool. (Sans Limites – via Goal)
Roma could swap 23-year-old Guinea midfielder Amadou Diawara for Arsenal’s Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Torreira, 24. (Gazzetta dello Sport – via Mail)
Valencia have alerted Premier League clubs by putting all but one of their players up for sale in a bid to balance the books. (Marca – in Spanish)
Jack Grealish will hold crucial talks with Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow on his return from holiday, with Manchester United still interested in the 24-year-old English midfielder. (Mirror)
Benfica are leading the race to sign former Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen – and the 33-year-old Belgium international could be joined at the club by Uruguay and former Paris St-Germain striker Edinson Cavani, 33. (Sun)
Lyon sporting director Juninho says midfielder Houssem Aouar could leave this summer with Arsenal, Manchester City and Juventus all monitoring the 22-year-old Frenchman. (Mail)
France midfielder Paul Pogba, 27, is expecting Manchester United to open contract talks once their Europa League campaign concludes. (Sky Sports)
Everton could replace Jordan Pickford, 26, as manager Carlo Ancelotti feels the England goalkeeper is not reliable enough. (Star)
Arsenal are really keen to land Sporting Lisbon’s 17-year-old Joelson Fernandes. The Portugal Under-17 forward has been dubbed ‘the new Cristiano Ronaldo’ and the Gunners could look to offer cash plus players for his signature. (Mirror)
West Bromwich Albion and Fulham are in the running to sign Peterborough’s English striker Ivan Toney, 24. (Football Insider)
Napoli are close to signing Brazilian Gabriel Magalhaes for £22m, and are believed to have agreed personal terms for the 22-year-old Lille defender, which could enable Manchester City to buy Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly, 29, from the Italian club. (Manchester Evening News)
Tottenham are set to allow 19-year-old English midfielders Oliver Skipp and Jamie Bowden to leave on loan after signing Dane Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 25, from Southampton. (Football Insider)
Atletico Madrid have made Eibar’s Serb Marko Dmitrovic, 28, their top goalkeeping target in the transfer window, to provide back-up for Chelsea-linked Slovenian Jan Oblak, 27. (Goal)
Leicester City are one of a number of clubs linked with a move for Bournemouth’s 23-year-old winger David Brooks – but new Cherries boss Jason Tindall insists there will be no “fire sale” of the club’s star players. (Leicester Mercury)
Watford are expected to name Vladimir Ivic, 43, as their new head coach this week after the Serb left his post at Maccabi Tel-Aviv. (Times)
Manchester United Under-23s manager Neil Wood has strongly suggested France Under-17 midfielder Hannibal Mejbri, 17, will remain a part of the youth set-up next season rather than step up to the first team. (Manchester Evening News)
Thursdays Guardian focuses on Paris St-Germain’s win over Atalanta
BARCELONA (Reuters) – Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen took on Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer in a public spat last year over the Germany goalkeeper’s jersey and the confrontation will be played out on the pitch in Friday’s Champions League quarter-final.
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – Euro 2020 Qualifier – Germany Training – Paul-Janes-Stadion, Dusseldorf, Germany – November 15, 2019 Germany’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Manuel Neuer during training REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo
Only Lionel Messi can rival Ter Stegen, 28, for the title of Barca’s most decisive player in the last few seasons, but his heroics for his club have not been enough to overhaul Neuer, 34, on the international stage.
Neuer was sidelined for eight months in the build-up to the 2018 world cup but slid right back into the team at Ter Stegen’s expense in time for the tournament, where Germany had their worst display since 1938 a
Reports circulating in the media suggest that Juventus are keen to offload the wages of either Paulo Dybala or Cristiano Ronaldo, with one prominent reporter stating that Ronaldo has been OFFERED to former rival club Barcelona.
Ronaldo, who helped Juventus to their ninth successive Scudetto last season, has enjoyed two fruitful years in Turin, but reports suggest that the club’s hierarchy are growing weary of the Portuguese great’s reported €2.5 million per month ($3 million) salary, and are considering floating their prized asset on the transfer market in order to get his wages off their books.
Similar reports also suggest that another of the club’s top earners, Paulo Dybala, could be on his way out of the club, but that only one of the big-name stars will likely leave the club in the coming weeks.
Despite his advancing age, Ronaldo remains one of the most potent forces in world football and would be an attractiv
Ironically, this dramatic Ronaldo scene originally played out just over a week after Serena Williams’ now-infamous US Open 2018 final loss to Naomi Osaka. Back in 2018 Ronaldo’s tears and frustration were painted as slightly over the top – but justified – the reaction of an athlete who carried the weight of an entire sporting franchise on his shoulders. Williams was not afforded the same concession.
The 23 time Grand Slam winner’s controversial defeat, following three code violations – one of which was smashing her racket, the last for verbally abusing the umpire – was described as a “meltdown”, “outburst”, “shocking” and Williams “blowing her top”. At the time, Williams accused umpire Carlos Ramos of sexism for delivering the letter of the law, arguin
Ten years ago this summer, the Miami Heat signed then-free agent LeBron James, which set in motion the creation of the NBA’s most famous Big Three. James and fellow free agent signing Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade to form what would later become known as the Heatles. A decade on, could Paris Saint-Germain be about to follow in the Heat’s footsteps?
Cristiano Ronaldo, at the relatively ripe age of 35-years old, still remains one of the best players in world football, which is why recent rumors of a possible transfer to Paris Saint-Germain are unsurprising. There are very few teams that would not benefit from the addition of CR7, even at this late stage in his illustrious career.
The rumors were first reported last week by France Football and have gained traction following Juventus’ surprising last 16 Champions League exit at the hands of Lyon on Friday.
Juventus won the Italian Serie A for the ninth time in succession this year, but the Champions League will have been the primary goal and the very reason why Ronaldo was signed for a reported $120 million from Real Madrid in 2018. Failure to advance past the round of 16 will be considered an embarrassment and could lead to both the club and player re-evaluating their options.
This is where PSG comes in. Playing-wise, the move makes sense as it allows CR7 to coast to a title in the league (the French league is much less competitive than other top leagues) while focusing his efforts on the Champions League. Winning European football’s ultimate crown has always been PSG’s goal since the Qatari takeover in 2011, and adding a fully focused Ronaldo could be the final piece to get them there. Additionally, winning the Champions League as the star of a third team would only help Ronaldo in the GOAT discussions.
From a marketing and brand-building standpoint, the transfer is entirely logical. If Ronaldo were to move to PSG, Nike
General view of match balls on the pitch.
REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
MADRID (Reuters) – The Spanish national team will meet European champions Portugal in a friendly in October to prepare for their UEFA Nations League games later in the month, the team said in a statement on Monday.
Spain will visit Portugal on Oct. 7 for the friendly before continuing the
Pirlo spent four years at Juventus as a player, from 2011-15
On Saturday, Juventus broke the internet, in Italy at least, when they announced the sacking of Maurizio Sarri as head coach and the hiring of Andrea Pirlo – the man without an ounce of coaching experience on his CV.
Pirlo, accustomed to making headlines as a legendary player for, among others, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus, is now making headlines as a manager when he hasn’t even submitted his final thesis to be called a qualified coach.
Pirlo? Really? The man who started chapter nine of his autobiography with the words: “I wouldn’t bet a single cent on me becoming a manager though. It’s not a job I’m attracted to. There are too many worries…”
It’s one thing to have taken on the role of Juve’s under-23 coach 10 days ago – a job without pressure – and quite another to take charge of Cristiano Ronaldo and company, while satisfying the obsessions of a side desperate for European success before the veterans retire.
Yet Pirlo is used to surprising us. Can the man nicknamed Maestro continue to impress us as a coach like he managed as a player?
Why Pirlo?
Since Juventus lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid in 2017, things have become a little stale.
They introduced Cristiano Ronaldo to excite the world and promote the Juve brand, and yet Max Allegri’s 2018-19 team looked more boring than ever.
They brought in Sarri and Juve did not only continue to be boring, but they were now without the warrior spirit.
Chairman Andrea Agnelli realised he needs to gamble. He felt Antonio Conte was a gamble that worked, while Allegri was the hated Milan coach and yet his arrival bought even more joy.
So perhaps Pirlo, the former Milan maestro and Juventus legend, could bring back the Juve soul that made the team so fun to watch in the earlier seasons of this dynasty.
Juventus have made it clear they want to continue promoting the Juventus brand – the Juve lifestyle if you wish – to bring in a st
