He is friends with Pep Guardiola, he shares the Manchester City manager s purist vision of how football should be played, and Erik ten Hag is on the brink of leading Ajax to the Champions League final.
Ajax have upset the odds repeatedly this season but there is now little doubt Ten Hag s men are the real deal, last week s 1-0 first leg win away to Tottenham their fourth consecutive victory on the road in the Champions League.
Real Madrid perished to the Dutch giants in the round of 16 and Cristiano Ronaldo s Juventus did not learn lessons from the three-time defending champions being chastened, crashing out in a thrilling quarter-final in front of their own fans despite being among the tournament favourites.
Ajax are now just two games away from winni…
Steven Taylor could be set to leave Newcastle United at the end of the season, .
Aside from a brief loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers over a decade ago, the defender has spent his entire career with the North East outfit, joining them as a school boy back in 1995.
Since making his Newcastle debut as a substitute in a European tie against RCD Mallorca back in March 2004, the thirty year old has racked up over two hundred and sixty appearances for his home-town club in all competitions, scoring fifteen goals.
He was part of the squad that were relegated to the Championship in 2009, and Newcastle’s defeat to Southampton at the weekend moved them a step closer to once again sealing that fate once again.
Rafa Benitez’s side currently sit nineteenth in …
Cristiano Ronaldo hopes Jose Mourinho can bring the feel-good factor back to Manchester United and revealed he would have no problem working with his fellow Portuguese in the future.
Ronaldo won three Premier League titles and a Champions League at Old Trafford before moving to Real Madrid for what was then world record £80 million fee in 2009, linking up with Mourinho when he took over at Santiago Bernabeu a year later.
The pair won one La Liga crown together but reportedly had a strained relationship prior to Mourinho leaving the club in 2013.
The former Chelsea boss is now set to take over at United, following the disappointing reigns of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, and Ronaldo is hoping he can improve the club s fortunes.
He told Spanish televisi…
Amad Diallo starred as Manchester United beat Real Betis 3-2 in a pre-season friendly in San Diego on Wednesday.
Marcus Rashford, Diallo and Casemiro completed the first-half comeback after Iker Losada s early goal, while Diego Llorente pulled another one back just after the hour mark.
Rashford limped off the pitch after being on the end of a heavy tackle in the second half, while Antony only lasted 23 minutes after his introduction off the bench.
Jadon Sancho had an early goal ruled out for offside before Tom Heaton s fumble gave Losada the chance to poke Betis in front.
However, Diallo was brought down in the box minutes later by Romain Perraud, and Rashford coolly converted from the spot before the Ivorian put the Red Devils in front with a drilled eff…
Philipp Lahm will be added to Bayern Munich s Hall of Fame after claiming the Bundesliga title for an eighth time in his distinguished career ahead of his impending retirement.
Bayern s captain will make his final career appearance against Freiburg at the Allianz Arena on Saturday having been at the club for his entire career, barring a two-year loan spell at Stuttgart.
Lahm, who skippered Germany in their World Cup triumph in 2014, will become the first Bayern player to join the Hall of Fame since legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn in 2008.
Philipp Lahm is one of the most deserving players in the recent history of Bayern, said club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Both on the pitch and off it in his role as captain, he has been a truly important pers…
Republic of Ireland midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn believes footballers cannot shy away from the spotlight if they want to escalate the growth of the women’s game.
The 33-year-old is one of 23 women selected by manager Vera Pauw to represent the Republic in their first World Cup, a monumental moment that has drawn unprecedented attention to the team and individual players.
The full World Cup experience comes with corresponding changes off the pitch – more photo shoots and social media followers among them – a fact of life Littlejohn encouraged the players at this Australia and New Zealand-hosted tournament to embrace like England’s Lionesses after their Euro 2022 victory blasted them into their country’s consciousness.
Havin’ the craic |
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Graham Arnold believes his Australia side can deliver this World Cup s latest upset win when they face Lionel Messi s Argentina on Saturday.
There have been no shortage of shocks at this tournament, with the Socceroos Group D defeat of Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark among them.
That victory set up a last-16 tie against Argentina, who were themselves on the wrong end of a surprise result when they lost their opening game to Saudi Arabia.
Australia have enjoyed some success against La Albiceleste in the past, too. Coach Arnold was part of the only senior Socceroos team to beat Argentina back in 1988, although their Olympic team added another triumph last July.
I just think Argentina bring the best out of Australia, said Arnold on the eve of this latest m…
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Newcastle are set to welcome Manchester United to St James Park on Sunday afternoon in what should be an interesting eighth-round Premier League match.
Newcastle
Having parted ways with Rafa Benitez in controversial circumstances and replaced him with Steve Bruce this summer, Newcastle haven t exactly had a dream start under the new manager. After seven rounds, they sit second from the wrong end of the table, with only Watford below.
Although it s not really a disaster to lose to Arsenal or Liverpool, their run of games includes defeats to the freshly promoted Norwich City, and a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Leciester City last week. They did, on the other hand, manage to pull off a great surprise by beating Tottenham Hotspur …
While all eyes might have fallen on Allianz Field in the early hours of Sunday, Wayne Rooney could only mark his MLS return with a sluggish 2-0 loss away at Minnesota.
Although there might have been much excitement when it was announced that DC United s former attacking star would be taking permanent charge in Washington, the ex-England skipper faces a huge task.
Failing to ask any questions away at the Loons and still firmly in the midst of an MLS nightmare, a double from the red-hot Amanuel Reynoso on either side of the interval wrapped up all three points for Minnesota.
In a showdown between two sides battling it out at opposite ends of their respective Conferences, we have taken a look at the main talking points from Sunday s meeting in Saint Paul.
Who …
Lautaro Martinez s agent said he has had no discussions with Europe s biggest clubs about a transfer, though admitted the Inter star would relish the chance to play regularly with Lionel Messi.
Martinez s form for Inter has seen him linked to Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea, with the Argentinian having scored 16 times in 31 appearances across all competitions.
His list of admirers includes international colleague Messi, who called the 22-year-old spectacular , and his Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez.
Martinez s agent, Alberto Yaque, conceded linking up with Messi on a regular basis is something any player would want.
Who would not like to play with Messi? Yaque told Planeta 947.
Speaking of the games they played in the national team, he said…