Pep Guardiola has been known to readily remind journalists in his news conferences that he understands how to cope with an injury crisis.
The Manchester City manager likes to recall his first Champions League final, when Barcelona faced a rampant Manchester United in Rome with Yaya Toure at centre-back, Carles Puyol shunted out to right-back and veteran Sylvinho in the other wide defensive position.
Barca dazzled during a 2-0 win that sent one of the greatest club teams in history on their way into the stratosphere.
So, when all Guardiola s senior City centre-backs were injured this season, no problem. Defensive midfielders Fernandinho and Rodri could play there and they did exactly that during back-to-back wins over Crystal Palace and Atalanta.
It…
Former Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has replaced the sacked Niko Kovac as Wolfsburg head coach on a long-term contract.
The 56-year-old Austrian, who has previously managed RB Leipzig and Ingolstadt in the Bundesliga, had been out of work since leaving Premier League side Saints in November 2022.
Wolfsburg said Hasenhuttl would be unveiled as boss at a Monday press conference before overseeing his first training session on Tuesday, with a view to delivering an overdue win after recent results led to the dismissal of Croatian coach Kovac on Sunday.
Welcome, Ralph Hasenhüttl!
The Austrian takes over as head coach at the Wolves and signs a long-term contract.
— VfL Wolfsburg EN/US (@VfLWolfsburg_EN)
Kovac, 52, took over at the Vol…
Everton have reached an agreement with Manchester City about the transfer of Fabian Delph, according to The Times journalist .
The Merseyside Blues apparently believe the former Aston Villa captain would bring leadership to their team, but he also might be perceived as a potential replacement for Idrissa Gana Gueye, who is a long-standing target for Paris Saint-Germain.
Having started out at Leeds United, Delph joined Aston Villa in the summer of 2009, and eventually earned the captain s armband. His subsequent move to Manchester City, in 2015, sparked a lot of controversy as he first failed to report to a medical with the current Premier League champions and then appeared to confirm he would be staying at the Villa Park. However, it soon became clear that he had change…
Back when Pep Guardiola was in his playing pomp and Zinedine Zidane was plotting his path towards the summit of the European game, elite clubs loved to look towards Brazilian brilliance to supply a vital measure of Champions League pizzazz.
Guardiola could delight in picking out the lethal Romario from midfield. Where he trod for Barcelona, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho duly followed.
Pep has a special feeling for Brazilian players, Guardiola s former assistant and newly appointed Flamengo boss Domenec Torrent told Globoesporte earlier this year.
In fact, he has a preference for Brazilians because they are very versatile and can adapt to any type of football.
It was little surprise to see Brazil internationals at the heart of Guardiola s plans for Fr…
Angel Di Maria should continue playing in Europe for another one or two seasons despite his uncertain future with Paris Saint-Germain.
That is the view of Di Maria s father Miguel as the winger reviews his career options.
Di Maria is expected to leave PSG when his contract expires at the end of the season.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player has only started four times in Ligue 1 since the start of 2022 and his importance to the team appears to be diminishing.
Di Maria has three goals and three assists from 20 league appearances this season, but his father Miguel believes he still has more to do in Europe and should remain there with the World Cup approaching.
I would like him to play one or two more years in Europe and then come …
Joan Laporta has won the race to become Barcelona s new president, with the 58-year-old seeing off competition from Victor Font and Antoni Freixa.
Laporta, who held the post from 2003 to 2010, was the favourite to come out on top in Sunday s election, and those predictions proved correct.
An exit poll conducted by Catalan television station TV3 projected Laporta to succeed with 58.3 per cent of the vote over Font (31.3) and Freixa (9.3).
The final figures were not too far off – Laporta claiming 54.28 per cent of the vote (30,184 votes). In total, there were 51,983 valid votes.
2021 ELECTION
Joan Laporta, new president of FC Barcelona
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Lionel Messi and fellow first-team stars Sergio Busquets…
Unai Emery claimed a record-breaking fourth UEFA Cup/Europa League title after Villarreal upstaged Manchester United for their first major European crown.
Villarreal conquered United in the Europa League final following a marathon 11-10 penalty shoot-out in Gdansk, where the match finished 1-1 after extra time.
Gerard Moreno s first-half opener was cancelled out by United star Edinson Cavani in the 55th minute and the showdown was decided on penalties.
United goalkeeper David de Gea missed the only penalty of a lengthy shoot-out as Emery became the first head coach to win either the UEFA Cup or Europa League four times, surpassing Giovanni Trapattoni.
4 Unai Emery has become the first manager to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League four times (2013-14, 2014-15,…
With all eyes falling on Munich on Friday night, Germany opened this summer’s European Championships with a thumping 5-1 victory against a sorry Scotland.
The tone was set in an electric Allianz Arena after just 10 minutes as Bayern Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz waltzed on to the ball to steer in the opener.
Jamal Musiala’s ferocious strike almost punctured Angus Gunn’s net, as well as the hearts of the mass of stunned Scots behind the goal, just nine minutes later.
With the flood gates firmly open from the start, Kai Havertz slammed in the third from the penalty spot with Ryan Porteous’ red card leaving Scotland with the tallest of mountains to climb.
With a huge gulf in class from the opening whistle, Julian Nagelsmann’s men didn’t take thei…
Ralf Rangnick is convinced Manchester United s season is not over despite Tuesday s 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid dumping them out of the Champions League.
United claimed a commendable – albeit fortunate – 1-1 draw in Madrid last month as they looked to reach the quarter-finals for only the third time since finishing as runners-up in 2010-11.
While they were dominant over Atletico in the return leg at Old Trafford, United found their visitors immensely difficult to break down.
A Renan Lodi header just before half-time ultimately proved decisive and left United with little to play for over the rest of the season.
While they are not out of the hunt for a top-four spot in the Premier League just yet, the Red Devils trail Arsenal by a point and …
Stefano Pioli explained that his Milan side avoided discussing Inter s earlier win ahead of facing Genoa.
Milan claimed a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Rafael Leao and Junior Messias in San Siro on Friday.
Their game came hot on the heels of Inter s 3-1 victory at Spezia, a result that had seen the reigning champions briefly move into top spot in Serie A.
However, Milan got the job done, winning for the first time in three games to restore their two-point advantage with five matches left, though Inter do have a game in hand.
Milan are attempting to win their first Serie A title since 2010-11 and Pioli noted that although he knew Inter had won, his side had not discussed the possible ramifications.
I knew their result, but we didn t talk a…