Tag Futebol

Coventry City duo Michael Rose and Fankaty Dabo are closing in on a return to full fitness as the newly promoted Championship club return to training.

After a superb 2019/2020 campaign which saw them gain promotion from League One to the Championship, the Sky Blues have returned to training as they look to prepare for a stint in England’s second flight.

Boss Mark Robins has been busy this summer in making two signings already, completing deals for Gustavo Hamer and Julien Dacosta.

Other arrivals are expected with former Aston Villa midfielder Callum O’Hare been linked with a move, having spoken to former teammate Jordan Shipley recently.

Returning to training ahead of the 2020/2021 season on Monday, Robins put his players through their paces at the Ryton-on-Dunsmore training ground.

Two players who did not attend the session, however, were Rose and Dabo, who continued to do recovery work the club’s gymnasium.

The full extent of the injuries suffered by both over the recent break are unknown, but it is understood both are closing in on a return to full fitness.

The Sky Blues have two weeks of training to prepare for their first pre-season friendly which comes against Scottish Premiership side Rangers at Ibrox on July 25.

Rose and Dabo are both key players for Coventry and they will be integral to the club’s Championship stint next term. Indeed, the former made 31 League One appearances last term whilst the latter was involved 32 times (Transfermarkt).

Having them back fit will be a huge boost for the Sky Blues as they embark on a season in the second tier.

How well do you think Coventry City will get on in the Championship? Let us know in the comments section below…

One of the big decisions that Newcastle’s prospective new owners will have to make, is what to do with current manager Steve Bruce.

The 59-year-old took over from Rafa Benitez on a permanent basis last summer, and has led them to a respectable 13th place in the Premier League, just six points behind eight-placed Tottenham.

But with a takeover, talks of more high-profile managers have started to dominate the discussions, and according to Italian journalist, Nicolo Schira, the Magpies have set their sights on the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri to lead the new era.

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Whilst Pochettino certainly makes sense in terms of rebuilding this side, going after Allegri would quite simply be an insult to former Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez.

The latter became known during his time at St James’ Park for digging out results, and not being afraid to put men behind the ball and concede possession for the vast majority of the game.

He became a real fans favourite on Tyneside, and whilst his defensive approach may not be everyone’s cup of tea, he got the team performing to its absolute maximum – a 2-1 home win over Manchester City back in January 2019 when the Magpies had just 24% of the possession was the epitome of that.

So if Newcastle are to contemplate going after a manager who is defensively sound, then Benitez should be the man, not Allegri.

The Italian is also well-renowned for being someone who puts keeping a clean sheet first, but quite simply wouldn’t arrive at St James’ Park with quite the same fanfare as Benitez.

And unlike the Spaniard, Allegri has had his struggles in European competitions, failing to win the Champions League title in his reign as Juventus manager, despite walking through Serie A. Benitez of course won European football’s showpiece trophy back with Liverpool, and also helped Chelsea lift the Europa League too.

So if the Magpies’ new owners want to appoint a manager who has European pedigree and has a keen eye for remaining defensively solid, then they should be looking at Benitez instead of Allegri.

His previous connection with the club means the Spaniard would already have a large share of goodwill with the supporters, and they will give him all the time to world to succeed, something that may not happen with an outsider like Allegri.

Appointing Allegri could be the Saudi consortium’s first major mistake at the club.

Former Leeds United and Coventry City forward Noel Whelan has said that West Ham United should look to sell Felipe Anderson this summer, in an interview with Football Insider.

What did he say?

The Hammers signed Anderson from Lazio in the summer of 2018 for £36m and made a good impression in his first season, scoring nine goals and proving four assists in 36 Premier League appearances.

However, he has been restricted to just 19 league starts this term, managing just one goal and four assists in the process.

New West Ham boss David Moyes has left him on the bench for the club’s last three fixtures and Whelan said that Anderson often leaves his side playing with 10 men when he is not on form.

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“Felipe Anderson is a great player,” he told Football Insider.

“On his day he is a game-winner but you have to trust players. You have to be able to trust a player throughout the course of a season. You cannot be carrying flair players.

“They have to do the other side of the games as well – it is required. If you cannot do that you are playing with ten men at times.

“He is alright when he is on the ball but it is whether you can do the work off the ball. It looks to me like David Moyes does not think he can do that.

“We know what he can do on the ball and there is brilliance in that kid but can he track back and defend? If you cannot do it there is a default in a player that needs to be worked on or sold.”

Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn has got many supporters talking after an image emerged on social media showing the Scotsman’s brand new haircut.

Footballers have a lot of time on their hands at the moment, due to the game being suspended indefinitely in England due to a global pandemic which has forced parts of the world to shut down (Sky Sports).

It seems that McGinn has used part of his spare time to get a new trim. The 25-year-old usually sports a full head of hair and no beard, but he has now gone the opposite way round. Indeed, the image doing the rounds shows him with a fully shaven head but with a beard, quite a different look than he normally has and you can see it below:

The midfielder had a fantastic start to life in the Premier League with the Villans and he managed to score three goals and provide two assists in his first 11 appearances. His form did then dip a little before he picked up an ankle injury which has forced him to miss their last 10 league outings (Transfermarkt). He will hope to return to the team when football eventually restarts.

Loads of Villa fans were reacting to the image of McGinn on Twitter, here is what some had to say…

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رد مدرب فريق تشيلسي السابق فرانك لامبارد على التصريحات التي أدلى بها اللاعب جورجينيو بشأنه في الفترة الأخيرة.

وكانت إدارة تشيلسي قد قررت الإطاحة بـ لامبارد من منصبه في يناير الماضي، لسوء النتائج.

وصرح جورجينيو مؤخرًا بأن لامبارد لم يكن مستعدًا بعد لتدريب نادِ مثل تشيلسي (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

ومن جانبه، قال لامبارد: “ستكون دائمًا هناك حقيقة كمدرب عندما تغادر النادي، بأن يكون هناك بعض اللاعبين الذين لم يلعبوا كثيرًا وقد يكون لديهم شعور أو حكم على طريقة عملك ويمكنهم أن يفعلوا ذلك”.

وأضاف: “بالنسبة لي، يجب أن أتوقع ذلك بقدر ما أتوقع التصريحات الجيدة من لاعبين إيجابيين حقًا بشأن طريقة عملك، ليس لدي مشكلة كبيرة في ذلك”.

وواصل: “لقد رأيت بعض التصريحات التي تقول أنني توليت هذه الوظيفة بناءً على قرار من قلبي، أنا لم أفعل ذلك على الإطلاق، أنا لا أتخذ أي قرارات مهنية من قلبي، ربما أكون عكس ذلك تمامًا، سوف أتفحص الأمور مائة مرة في رأسي، لكنني بالتأكيد لم أفعل ذلك بقلبي”.

وتابع: “لقد تناولت بنظرة براغماتية (ما هو الوضع؟ حسنًا، هذا هو تشيلسي، أنا ذاهب من نادي ديربي إلى تشيلسي)، لا يوجد العديد من المدربين الذين سيفعلون، فلنقم بذلك بشكل صحيح”.

وأردف: “بعد عامي في ديربي، كنت واضحًا تمامًا أنني أريد الذهاب إلى تشيلسي، وجعلتهم يحركون الكرة بشكل أسرع، ويخترقون المساحات بشكل أسرع، كنت أرغب في القيام بخططي ومحاولة ضم بعض اللاعبين الشباب إلى الفريق، أنا فعلت ذلك، لم أصل إلى نهاية الأمر، لكنني أعتقد بالتأكيد أنني قمت بالعديد من الأشياء التي يمكنني أن أفتخر بها”.

وأوضح: “أشعر بالفخر لما قمت به في وظيفتي، كنت أرغب في البقاء لفترة أطول، كنت أرغب في تحقيق نجاح ملموس حقيقي وهو الفوز بالكؤوس والبطولات، لكن هذا لم يحدث”.

واختتم: “آمل أن أكون قد وضعت أسسًا قوية للمستقبل، وفي سياق المكان الذي أردت أن تذهب إليه مسيرتي التدريبية، كانت تجربة رائعة”.

يرى ماسون مونت لاعب فريق تشيلسي إنهم كانوا قادرين على تسجيل أكثر من خمسة أهداف خلال مواجهة ريال مدريد اليوم، في دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وتلاقى الفريقان في إياب نصف نهائي البطولة في ملعب ستامفورد بريدج، حيث فاز تشيلسي بهدفين دون رد. أهداف مباراة تشيلسي وريال مدريد

وتأهل تشيلسي إلى نهائي البطولة، حيث انتهت مباراة الذهاب بهدف لمثله.

وقال مونت في تصريحات نشرها الموقع الرسمي للبطولة: “كان يجب أن نسجل خمسة أهداف على الأرجح، كان ينبغي أن يكون لدي هدف قبل حوالي 20 دقيقة من تسجيلنا الهدف الأول، كان يمكنك أن ترى مدى أهمية الهدف الذي جاء في النهاية بالنسبة لنا”.

وأضاف: “لا تزال هناك مباراة واحدة متبقية في البطولة، نخوض كل مباراة من أجل تحقيق الفوز، لم نفز بأي شيء حتى الآن، نتمنى أن نتمكن من الفوز، ستكون مباراة رائعة”.

وواصل: “لا يمكنني أن أصف ما حدث بالكلمات، لقد كان أداءً رائعًا الليلة في مباراة صعبة، نعرف كيف هو ريال مدريد، كنا نعلم أنهم سيأتون إلى هنا وسيقدمون كل شيء لديهم”.

وتابع: “هدف فيرنر؟ لقد قلت له لابد أن الكرة قد شعرت بأن هناك قوة داخلية جعلتها تسقط قبل أن يسددها، كلنا كنا نرغب في ذلك”.

واختتم: “لقد واجهنا مانشستر سيتي ثلاث مرات هذا الموسم بالفعل، ستكون مباراة مذهلة أمامهم في النهائي”.

أحرز الدولي النيجيري صامويل تشوكويزي، جناح فريق فياريال، الهدف الأول في مرمى برشلونة بالدوري الإسباني.

برشلونة يواجه فياريال على ملعب “لا سيراميكا”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الثانية والثلاثين من الليجا (طالع المباراة مباشرةٍ لحظة بلحظة).

هدف تشوكويزي جاء في الدقيقة 26، بعد تمريرة من باو توريس، حصل النيجيري على الكرة، وتوغل من وسط الميدان، ثم رواغ الدفاع وحارس مرمى برشلونة، وسدد الكرة في مرمى شتيجن. شاهد هدف فياريال الاول في مرمي برشلونة

وبعد دقيقتين، تمكن الفرنسي، أنطوان جريزمان من إحراز هدف التعادل لـ برشلونة، بعدما تلقى كرة طويلة من أوسكار مينجويزا، ثم دخل منطقة الجزاء وأرسل الكرة “لوب” في مرمى أسينخو. شاهد هدف جريزمان الرائع في مرمي فياريال

تحدث بيتسو موسيماني المدير الفني لفريق الكرة الأول بالنادي الأهلي عن مواجهة الزمالك التي أقيمت مساء اليوم، مؤكدًا أن حارس المرمى علي لطفي يعد رجل اللقاء.

وكان استاد القاهرة قد استضاف مباراة الأهلي والزمالك في الجولة الرابعة من عمر الدوري المصري الممتاز، والتي انتهت بفوز الشياطين الحمر بهدفين مقابل هدف.

وقال موسيماني في تصريحات بالمؤتمر الصحفي عقب اللقاء: “مباريات الزمالك تكون حماسية ومضغوطة، وكل جمهور يريد أن يفتخر بناديه”.

 وأضاف: “ما حدث طبيعة المباريات كلها، تسيدنا أول 20 دقيقة وسعينا إلى تقريب الخطوط وفعلنا ما أردنا، وما تدربنا عليه إلى أن سجلنا”.

وواصل: “كل المباريات تشهد متغيرات مثل الأمواج، والزمالك استطاع أن يسجل هدف التعادل، نواجه فريق كبير ومدرب لديه خبرات كبيرة”.

طالع.. فيديو | الأهلي يفوز على الزمالك بثنائية محمد شريف ويقترب من صدارة الدوري

وتابع: “حزين من الهدف الذي دخل مرمانا لأننا تدربنا عليه كثيرًا وكيفية تجنبه، وحذرت اللاعبين منه، وهو نفس الهدف الذي دخل مرمانا في مباراة نهائي إفريقيا، ولكن محمد شريف رد بهدف رائع”.

واستكمل: “لا نشكو من الغيابات وتدربنا جيدًا، لكن التراجع في نهاية اللقاء سببه الغيابات التي نعاني منها، ورجل المباراة هو علي لطفي”.

واستطرد: “لم تحدث أي أزمة مع باتريس كارتيرون، من حوله وجهوا لي السباب بالبرتغالية، وفهمت كلامهم فرديت عليهم”.

واستكمل: “يجب أن تكون محترف وتتقبل ما يحدث في الملعب، ويجب أن تتمتع بالهدوء بعد المباريات، أنا أحترم كارتيرون ولم يحدث بيننا مشاكل”.

وواصل: “حاولت أن أدير المبارة ودفعت بأكرم توفيق في الجهة اليمنى ووليد سليمان في الجهة اليسرى للتغلب على غياب علي معلول ومحمود وحيد”.

وأكد: “نحن النادي الأهلي، لا يجب أن نشكو ونؤدي بأي لاعب، قلت إن علي لطفي رجل المباراة ولدينا مصطفى شوبير ولا نحتاج إلى حارس ثالث”.

وأتم: “نلعب بدون راحة، وما يحدث لا يحدث في العالم أجمعه، تلاحم مواسم دون راحة، وعلمت أن أحدهم تحدث أن أزمة الإصابات في الأحمال، أنا أسعى لإراحة اللاعبين لكي أتغلب على ضغط المباريات”.

واختتم: “شريف يؤدي دوره ويسجل أهدافًا للأهلي ومصر، لذلك هو موجود معنا”.

These last couple of weeks have been a real rollercoaster ride for the boys from the Spanish capital.

Zinedine Zidane finally got the ball rolling over in La Liga, successfully racing through a great series of games only to solidify himself and Real Madrid as the league leaders at the very peak of the mountain.

One thing that is worrying, however, is the Galacticos’ form in Europe, and that does come as a surprise considering that Real Madrid are pretty well known for their Champions League exploits, having won three crowns in a row under Zidane in recent times.

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But this Real Madrid is still far away from the one that made history in Europe a couple of years back.

One big difference between that Los Blancos side and the ones we’re watching right now concerns the performances of their key players and veterans, which are, in their case, one and the same thing.

Most of their most important pieces within the squad are, in fact, players over 30 – Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and of course, Luka Modric.

The 34-year-old Croatian sensation is slowly getting on and maybe it was his presence that Real missed the most at the very start of their new campaign in 2019. After all, Modric – valued at £18m by Transfermarkt – has been absent for a number of big games already and not to mention that we are talking about a player who broke the duopoly of Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s own legend, Cristiano Ronaldo, by snatching away that Ballon d’Or last year.

Any team would miss such a player if he was suddenly taken away from them, and Los Blancos are no exception.

But after missing four games due to injury and one game due to red card suspension, the Croatian midfielder is finally back and ready to rock and roll. He made his full return against Club Brugge just the other night but as we now already know, that clash was everything but a success for the Galacticos.

And yes, coming back from a 2-0 deficit is definitely praise-worthy but suffering so much and relying on miraculous goals to even tally a single point at the Santiago Bernabeu is already cause for major concern.

Modric, for all his brilliance, was not really firing on all cylinders either.

Of course, we have to take into account the fact that he just returned to full fitness and that game marked his big comeback. Sure, he did play 22 minutes in the Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid prior to that but that was just testing the waters and making a cameo appearance at best.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Against Brugge, Modric tallied two shots, two key passes and also helped out defensively with three tackles and two interceptions. Those are already some solid figures and they might suggest the 34-year-old is slowly but surely returning to his very best.

And that will be crucial for the weekend’s game and moving forward in general.

Real Madrid are welcoming Granada at the Santiago Bernabeu and after that disappointing draw with the Belgian side, the Madrid crowd will surely be aching for a big performance from their team.

Not to mention that their Saturday guests are currently sitting just below the Whites in the table with 13 points under their belts.

That makes winning this game that much more important and Modric’s performance has to absolutely be top-notch if they want to get all three points on the day.

In Modric’s absence, however, Toni Kroos was the one to step up and led the team through some dark times.

The German midfielder was dropping masterclasses left, right and centre but now that his dancing partner in the middle of the pitch is finally back on the podium, the two can tango together.

If anyone is going to help Real Madrid get out of the gutters and towards the stars, then it’s Modric.

It will, however, have to be a team effort and while the 34-year-old Croatian can do a lot, he won’t be able to do it all by himself. He’s had a couple of games to get back into his rhythm but now, Zidane will need him to lead once more.

Let’s see if he can do it this Saturday already.

In today’s Everton roundup, we take a look at what’s going on surrounding the Toffees. Tim Cahill discusses Everton’s problems after the loss to Sheffield United, Marco Silva believes his side looked ‘nervous’ in the defeat, and scouts are sent out to report on Yussef Poulson.

Cahill on Everton

Report: During his appearance on BBC’s Match of the Day, former Everton man Cahill was critical of his old team, saying: “Sheffield United forced Everton out wide. They had bodies around the ball. Anywhere there was danger, it got snuffed out by Chris Wilder’s men.

“Everton had to play sideways into areas where Sheffield United wanted them. They wanted to show them outside and Everton were static up front. There was no creativity for Everton. There were 30 crosses in the game. If you do that you would like to think you could get your head on one of them.”

Verdict: Cahill’s worries are clear to see. Silva’s men have scored just five league goals so far this season, three of which came in one game in the win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. As a result, the Toffees have now gone three out of the six league games without scoring and familiar problems emerged against the Blades.

The statistics show that the Toffees had 70% of the ball and registered 16 shots. However, only three of them were on target. Silva believes his side ‘didn’t deserve the result’, but with no real threat throughout the game and just high statistics to their name, it is hard to agree with the Everton boss.

Club keeping an eye on Poulson

Report: As reported by the Express, the Toffees have sent scouts out to Germany to report on RB Leipzig man Yussuf Poulsen. The report suggests Silva has ordered his scouts to make another check on the forward, after watching him last year.

Verdict: As previously mentioned, scoring goals has been a real problem for Everton so far this season, and Poulsen could well be the solution. He netted 15 in the Bundesliga during the last campaign, and although he’s totted up just one in the German top flight so far this term, he’s also applied two assists – and provided a setup in the Champions League.

Capable of playing across the front three, as he’s done already this season, his mixture of goals and creativity could solve a few key problems for the Merseysides in the final third. Of course, Silva will need to get to January to actually benefit from the 25-year-old’s attacking prowess, which is by no means guaranteed based on Everton’s start to the campaign.

‘No reason to play football so nervous’, says Silva

Report: As told by the Daily Mail, the Everton boss was disappointed and highly critical of his side’s loss to the Blades: “After we scored the own goal, even if in my opinion it looked like a foul on Jordan Pickford, we didn’t have reasons to play football so nervous for the 50 minutes after that. No reason.

“We were seven months unbeaten at home, we had won our last six games here and the supporters were behind us but we didn’t perform in the second half. You can’t handle normal pressure and make the right decisions if you are so nervous.”

Verdict: After now failing to score in three out of six league games, and conceding nine goals, Silva needs to turn things around. Last season, Everton ended up finishing eighth, but after bringing in the likes of Moise Kean, Alex Iwobi and Fabian Delph during the summer, improvement this time around is needed.

The picture of Goodison Park towards the end of the defeat at the weekend told you all you need to know. Hundreds of fans had left after Lys Mousset’s late goal, whilst Everton finished the game with a number of forwards on the pitch but still only registered three shots on target throughout the 90 minutes.

Right now it seems Silva is just one or two negative results away from a crisis and with the champions up next, things could get messy very quickly at Goodison Park.