Abel Ferreira praises Chelsea: 'They were better than Palmeiras'
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Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Transfer window: Firmino signs with Al Sadd until 2027!
After Al-Ahli, Firmino joins Al Sadd on a two-year deal! Firmino / @ The summer transfer activity for Qatari club Al Sadd has culminated with the signing of renowned Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino, who makes the move from Saudi club Al-Ahli Jeddah. After Al-Ahli, Firmino joins Al Sadd on a two-year deal! The Qatari club took to their official X account to share a striking video of the player's welcome, showing Firmino in the Al Sadd jersey with the simple caption: "Firmino is an Al Sadd player." This transfer underlines Al Sadd's ambition to bolster their attacking line with an experienced forward. Firmino will wear the number 9 shirt and is set to become one of the cornerstones of the squad for the upcoming season, with his contract running through to the summer of 2027. With an outstanding career behind him, Firmino was a pivotal figure in Liverpool's attack, helping the English club clinch the Premier League title. He then enjoyed a successful spell with Al-Ahli, where he netted 21 goals and provided 17 assists, playing a crucial role in leading the Saudi club to their first AFC Elite Champions League title. On the international stage, Firmino has earned 55 caps for Brazil, scoring 17 goals.
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Legend' Sweeney enters decade of service at Exeter
"I think at one stage we had one radiator in the building that worked," recalls Pierce Sweeney as he enters his tenth season at Exeter City. The Grecians' captain is a rare breed in modern football having spent nearly a decade at one club - a period that has seen incredible change at Exeter City. From a leaky - and cold - wooden building at the side of a bumpy training ground to a modern multi-million pound facility, and two new stands at St James Park, Sweeney has been a constant. The Irishman joined as a fresh-faced 20-year-old defender from Reading in 2016 and has gone on to play 391 games for City, scoring 22 goals, and winning promotion to League One in 2022. "I've reared my family here, I own a house down here. So I don't think I'll ever leave the place unless something really, really attractive comes my way in the latter end of my career, which I highly doubt will happen," Sweeney says in his broad Irish accent. "This is home for me now, and I kind of turned from a young inexperienced boy to an old age pensioner." Sweeney is a man who never takes life too seriously off the field - always ready with a smile and a joke. But on the pitch there is a steel and determination to his game that has made him one of the most consistent defenders in League One. He has played under three managers at Exeter - a rare feat for a club that does not change head coach that often. His current boss Gary Caldwell has no doubt how important he is to the team - and the club. "For all we take the micky out of him, myself, the staff, he is a brilliant character. He has been a brilliant servant for this football club," Caldwell says. "He is one of the few players I think you can call a legend at the football club for what he's done and the journey, that not just the club, but he has been on since he's been here. "So to be able to celebrate that I think is really important." 'We've come on leaps and bounds' That celebration has been going throughout the summer and culminates on Saturday when Sweeney has his testimonial match against Swansea City at St James Park in Exeter's final pre-season game. Sweeney has played alongside the likes of Ollie Watkins, Jay Stansfield and Ethan Ampadu - whose big transfer fees have gone a long way to turning fan-owned Exeter into a financially sustainable club in League One. "The football club's done really well with picking and choosing when they spend money on the facilities," Sweeney - who briefly left Exeter in June 2021 to join a financially troubled Swindon Town before returning less than a month later - tells BBC Radio Devon. "I've spoken to a good few players who have come here from different football clubs and even they say the facilities are top for League One level and some in the Championship aren't as good as what we have here. "We've come on leaps and bounds, but I think the facilities aside, I think the way the football club is run now is a million miles away from where we used to be, and I think that's spearheaded from the manager. "The manager probably gives the board headaches of what he wants every year or every month, but that's only for the benefit of the club. "He's an ambitious man and he can see where the football club can get to. "There's still more room for improvement. We can always improve and I think it's important that we don't stop." Sweeney's career at Exeter has had its fair share of ups and downs. He has lost three League Two play-off finals at Wembley - defeat by Blackpool in his debut season in 2017, Coventry City a year later, and then Northampton Town in an empty national stadium in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. But there have also been highs as well - not least winning automatic promotion in 2022 as well as some memorable runs in both the FA and EFL Cups. "It was probably a blessing in disguise that we probably didn't win them," Sweeney says as he looks back on the Wembley defeats. "I think where we were when we got automatic promotion, I think the club was in a far better position than we were for the play-off games. "My personal opinion is that we probably wouldn't be coming into our fourth season back then in League One." He adds: "Wembley's an unbelievable place when you win. It's the worst place in the world when you lose. I've been unfortunate to experience that three times now. "It wasn't a nice feeling, but I've definitely taken that on board with me ever since and kind of used it as fuel, and hopefully the next time we go to Wembley we can finish the job." Sweeney's toughest personal battle came last season when he missed the second half of the campaign after picking up a calf injury in December and then having surgery to fix a long-standing hip problem. And even though he is celebrating his testimonial this season - and has no intention of leaving the club - he appreciates how hard the world of football is. "I've been out for the longest period of my career and it's been it's been a tough offseason. I've been on my own doing rehab and tough times mentally, " he says. "I want to play as many games as I can and try and earn myself a new contract at the end of the next season. "I'm 31 in September, so I'm no spring chicken. I need to get back fully fit and get back into the team, and hopefully earn myself a new contract and go from there."
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
O'Connor expects 'ferocious challenge' from Donegal
Kerry manager Jack O'Connor is expecting "a ferocious challenge" from Donegal in Sunday's All-Ireland football final. O'Connor is bidding to lead The Kingdom to Sam Maguire for a fifth time in his third spell as boss of his native county. On each of the previous four occasions, Kerry have also won the league and yet again, they are bidding for the double having accounted for Mayo in the Division One final in late March. Earlier in that campaign, Kerry fell two a two-point defeat to Donegal in Killarney but it's now when teams are hitting their peak and O'Connor has been impressed with how the Tir Chonaill men have raised the bar throughout the summer. "They seem to be peaking at the right time and have a lot of weapons all over the field," he said. "We're expecting a huge challenge and it will take a massive performance from us to get the job done. "They have a lot of threats, something like 13 different scorers against Meath. We won't be zooming in on any individuals. It's their collective and the fact they can hurt you from so many different areas is their strength." Kerry bounced back from a defeat to Meath in the All-Ireland group stages to rebuild through to the knockout phase, beginning with victory over Cavan. They would go on to defeat further Ulster opposition in Armagh and Tyrone to reach Sunday's showpiece and O'Connor feels that semi-final win over the Red Hands is a good reflection of what his team can do. "It's a very intense season and there's bound to be a blip somewhere - that was ours," he said of the Meath defeat. "That's taking nothing from Meath as I thought they played particularly well and we were down a good share of important players, but we managed to regroup and get our season back on track the following week against Cavan and every week since. "There were two big challenges, particularly the Armagh game where we didn't know what we were facing. We just hit a great patch in the second half of that game. "The Tyrone game was truer reflection as we struggled early on but after that we were quite steady and that's what we will be looking for the next day." Kerry have come up short against Armagh and Tyrone in All-Ireland finals during the 2000s, but they did defeat Donegal in the 2014 final. Those previous games against Ulster teams carry no significance according to Kerry captain Gavin White who is only concerned about the task at hand. "It's not something we talk about," White said. "We're just thinking about Donegal and the task ahead of us. Their results over the last couple of games speak for themselves. "It's a tough assignment but great to be in an All-Ireland final."
