Category: Football

Southgate tips young Man Utd star as England's future

Manchester United star Mason Greenwood has been given a show of faith from England manager Gareth Southgate who insists the player is ready for the step up.

The academy product has received his first call up to the senior team after an impressive season where he managed to hit double figures in goals.

Greenwood became instrumental to United’s success in the second half of the season as became a regular name in the starting XI.

Up until that point, the young attacker usually got his minutes coming off the bench or in cup competitions.

Greenwood did so well at one point that some fans even felt signing Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho was not as much of a priority.

According to the FA website, Southgate said: “They’ve been involved with England’s development teams, so they are used to coming here – they are used to being part of an England team.… Read the rest

Klopp says ‘Bayern were lucky’ v PSG but explains huge respect for Hansi Flick

Jurgen Klopp has reacted to Bayern Munich’s Champions League Final victory over PSG.

On Sunday night, the Bundesliga champions beat the Ligue 1 champions to secure their sixth European Cup, thanks to a second-half goal by Frenchman Kingsley Coman.

Most of the media reaction has suggested that Bayern were dominant, but in reality, PSG had more gilt-edged chances and would have likely taken the lead if it wasn’t for the brilliance of Manuel Neuer and Kylian Mbappe’s poor finishing.

Klopp recognised as much, although did salute Hansi Flick, who has achieved an incredible amount in such a short space of time.

“It is difficult to write more history in eight months,” Klopp told ZDF of Flick.

“Hansi was lucky enough to have done such a good job as assistant coach to Niko Kovac that he was allowed to stay. And that worked quite well.

“Both finalists had an absolutely top … Read the rest

Barcelona are bracing themselves for an approach from Man United for Lionel Messi

The next few weeks at Barcelona are going to be fascinating, especially if Lionel Messi does manage to force his way out of the club.

The Argentine superstar is 33 so he probably has two or three years left at the highest level, so it does suggest that his next club will need to have a chance of immediate success.

It’s so easy to link him to Man City because of Pep Guardiola and their financial backing, but it also sounds like Man United are going to have a real run at trying to sign him.

They’ve been trying to sign a right sided forward all summer so Messi would be a perfect fit, while he would also bring a whole new level of threat that could elevate them to the elite level again.

READ MORE: Lionel Messi’s decision to quit Barcelona came after harsh words from Ronald Koeman in

… Read the rest

Pirlo: ‘I want to bring back the enthusiasm’

New Juventus coach Andrea explained that he wants to bring back enthusiasm to the team, while confirming that Paulo Dybala will stay at the club while Gonzalo Higuain is set to leave.

Pirlo gave his first official press conference as Juventus coach and offered some insight into what he wants to bring to the team and what his playing style will be.

“I want to bring back the enthusiasm, propose a proactive football with great mastery of the game,” Pirlo explained to the gathered press.

“I told the boys two things: you always have to keep the ball and when you lose it, you must get it back quickly.

“I’m convinced that I’m in the right place at the right time. Tactically we could play with four or three at the back, I have no set formations.

“Enthusiasm must be brought day by day. We need to talk to the … Read the rest

Arsecast Extra Episode 369 – 24.08.2020

Welcome to another Arsecast Extra, the Arsenal podcast, with myself and James from @gunnerblog.

On today’s show we chat about the Champions League final, the departure of Freddie Ljungberg from the coaching staff, the hiring of a specialist set-piece coach, the impending arrival of Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille, and some of the other transfer rumours doing the rounds – in particular the midfoeld players we’re linked with. James tries to pick his Community Shield team, we make our guesses at how much we’ll spend during the transfer window and how much we’ll bring in, and there are questions about some of the new players joining the Academy, worries about the lack of outgoing transfers so far, players last longer than they used to, the top BBQers at the club and loads more – including Batman waffle.

Remember, you can send us questions via which we’ll try and get to … Read the rest

Serie A giant willing to 'throw everything' to sign Man United star

Manchester United star Chris Smalling has been handed a new lifeline in his desire to join Roma according to reports.

The England international wanted to remain in Italy after a successful loan spell but ended up returning to Manchester.

United were said to be not impressed with Roma’s offers to sign Smalling and so decided to recall him, though it’s unclear whether that’s to sell him elsewhere or to use him for the next season.

However, it seems the Serie A side have not given up on the experienced defender just yet and that could see a deal happen, particularly under new owners.

The towering centre-back left last season due to the lack of game time that was promised and it doesn’t seem as though his situation at Old Trafford has changed at all.

According to Sport Witness, Il Tempo report that Roma’s new owners believe Smalling is the … Read the rest

Arsenal signing is like Van Dijk with ‘the interceptions, the positioning’ says coach

Arsenal fans have extremely high hopes for William Saliba, the Frenchman who will now be available for selection after a year on loan at St. Etienne.

The teenager is prodigiously talented and cost a fortune 12 months back, and his former youth coach Jean-Luc Vannuchi has gone as far as comparing Saliba to both Raphael Varane and Virgil van Dijk!

“My first impression was that this was the biggest man of his generation,” Vannuchi told The Daily Telegraph. “The difference between him and the other players was massive.

“When he took the ball and ran into midfield, no one could stop him. He was like a monster compared to the others. When he played with St-Etienne it looked normal for him, even though he was so young.”

“A mix of the two styles,” Vannuchi added. “Like Varane because of his speed and power, and with Van Dijk it is … Read the rest

‘Life is too short’ – Man City want to turn the page with UEFA

For years to come, the 2019/20 season which has taken over a year to complete, is bound to be talked about and remembered.

From the enforced suspension of all of the leagues because of COVID-19 to having to condense the end of the season into a period of a few weeks with games every few days, it has been totally unique.

One of the major sporting issues involved a potential Champions League ban for Manchester City after UEFA had accused them of Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches.

An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was ultimately successful for the Premier League club, and now chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, wants to draw a line under the matter.

“Life is too short to carry grudges,” he said to Manchester City’s official website and cited by BBC Sport.

“It is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world of sports … Read the rest

Announcement: Making the case for the return of a three-man defence

Juventus are living an unprecedented time as they picked a coach with no previous experience and it feels like half the roster is for sale. Therefore, it’s a moment where there are no wrong ideas regarding what the go-to tactic in the upcoming season should be, and one based on a three-man defence makes a lot of sense.

I am not a massive fan of the more crowded back-line and, with Andrea Barzagli retired and Giorgio Chiellini on his last legs, it is no longer the crutch it used to be in difficult moments. It would have to be rebuilt and the players that are not used to it will have to be indoctrinated accordingly. It would take some time, butexplosive defenders like Matthijs De Ligt and Merih Demiral should have no issue learning it quickly. Leonardo Bonucci is way better in it, as he has to do less man-marking

… Read the rest

MEmu 7.2.2

For several years now, Android has been among the many leading mobile operating systems on the earth. The set-up is similar regardless of what type of chess set is being used. This article will not be going to enter the difference in look of the Staunton chess set (the standard design for tournaments) pieces. They be sure that to place the fear of God into you once they cite an exorbitantly excessive variety of bad files have been found in your laptop. Whether you actively searched for the SPEED UP MY LAPTOP type program (as a stand alone product) or whether or not it came as part of one other application you downloaded, both method FREE has its limitations. The standard of broadcast have improved by a rise within the technology of the camera, firstly the frames per second was increased and growth to enable a greater continuity of visuals … Read the rest