Igor Tudor's first impressions
Juventus arrived in the United States a few hours ago, ready to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup. The Bianconeri coach, Igor Tudor, spoke upon arrival.
"There is excitement because it's our first time in this competition. Juventus always has the same ambition—to win—and that's what we want to try to do, while always maintaining our humility. We know that the FIFA Club World Cup features the best teams in the world, but we haven't come here just to take part. Now we need to quickly adapt to the weather conditions in the United States and the time zone, because we'll be playing in just a few days."
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New York Times
16 minutes ago
- New York Times
Jury out on Club World Cup after Bayern's 10-0 win, Poch shows he's not a ‘mannequin'
The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic's daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox. Hello! A 10-0 rinsing wasn't on our bingo list. Maybe this is the Club World Cup creating 'a new era for soccer'. On the way: 🏟️ Inside the CWC's first weekend 🇺🇸 Poch shows he's no 'mannequin' 🤝 Frank and Spurs: a good fit? 👀 The best Wirtz goal you'll see The opening-night crowd was nowhere near as bad as FIFA feared, only slightly below capacity. The first weekend broke a record. Gianni Infantino got to rub shoulders with David Beckham (now a British knight of the realm), Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) and Roberto Baggio (all above). And the sun came out. Advertisement The Club World Cup is up and running, with a walk-out anthem from singer Robbie Williams, no less. But no amount of sideshows can change the fact that the reputation of a tournament FIFA rather forced upon the sport depends on the standard of the football, plain and simple. Which is where the jury is out. Take that record-breaking moment, for example. It comprised a 10-0 win for Bayern Munich over New Zealand's Auckland City yesterday, the widest scoreline the Club World Cup has seen in all of its 25 years. Auckland are amateurs and, in that respect, full marks to FIFA for inclusivity. But what purpose is served by exposing them to hammerings from Europe's elite, aside from making the Kiwis richer? And is Auckland getting richer a good thing anyway? Because while they were completely outclassed in Cincinnati, we're talking about New Zealand's dominant team by far, one who will only get stronger domestically now. Bayern's supporters weren't sold and they rolled out a protest banner with the message: 'Football is more poorly governed than before. Smash FIFA!' I'm guessing 'Hopeium' — the slogan on Robbie Williams' T-shirt — was more in line with Infantino's tastes. Bayern's goals made up for a lack of them in two other matches. Egypt's Al Ahly did a job on Lionel Messi in game one, pinning him down at Miami's Hard Rock stadium as well as teams tend to. Sure, he hit the post and saw a late effort tipped onto the crossbar (above), but it took a penalty save from Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari to hold Al Ahly to a 0-0 draw. Miami relying on Messi is nothing new, but they were afflicted by a lack of imaginative ideas beyond giving the ageing Argentinian the ball. While FIFA was fairly brash in ensuring that Messi would be a face of the Club World Cup, they ought not to count on Miami going deep into the competition. Advertisement That's because the other Group A fixture, between Brazil's Palmeiras and Portugal's Porto, also finished goalless, leaving the section wide open. The coaches of both teams criticised the pitch they were asked to play on at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — creating echoes of last year's Copa America — and their complaints underline the challenge ahead of FIFA as it tries to ensure that surfaces allocated for next year's World Cup are adequate or better. Sadly for MLS, Seattle Sounders fared worse than Miami. A 2-1 defeat to Botafogo leaves them in a position where losing next time out, against Atletico Madrid on Thursday, will confirm their elimination. Not that Atletico are in particularly fine fettle. Bayern's goals made up for a lack of them in two other matches. Egypt's Al Ahly did a job on Lionel Messi in game one, pinning him down at Miami's Hard Rock stadium as well as teams tend to. Sure, he hit the post and saw a late effort tipped onto the crossbar (above), but it took a penalty save from Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari to hold Al Ahly to a 0-0 draw. Miami relying on Messi is nothing new, but they were afflicted by a lack of imaginative ideas beyond giving the ageing Argentinian the ball. While FIFA was fairly brash in ensuring that Messi would be a face of the Club World Cup, they ought not to count on Miami going deep into the competition. That's because the other Group A fixture, between Brazil's Palmeiras and Portugal's Porto, also finished goalless, leaving the section wide open. The coaches of both teams criticised the pitch they were asked to play on at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — creating echoes of last year's Copa America — and their complaints underline the challenge ahead of FIFA as it tries to ensure that surfaces allocated for next year's World Cup are adequate or better. Advertisement Sadly for MLS, Seattle Sounders fared worse than Miami. A 2-1 defeat to Botafogo leaves them in a position where losing next time out, against Atletico Madrid on Thursday, will confirm their elimination. Not that Atletico are in particularly fine fettle. Issue two for FIFA ahead of the 2026 World Cup: searing summer heat. It was positively baking at Pasadena's Rose Bowl — around 32 degrees Celsius (90°F) — as Paris Saint-Germain stuck four unanswered goals past Atletico. On the flip side, the attendance was impressive, up over 80,000. PSG look like they have no ceiling at present. They look indefatigable, too, and to some extent, the initial weekend of the Club World Cup reminded me of the expanded Champions League PSG have just won. After an unconvincing start, that tournament got better as it went on, which might well be what happens in the States. And at the end of it, the wealthiest clubs walked off with even more cash — something we're about to witness again. Catch a match (Times ET/UK. All Club World Cup matches are shown on DAZN in the U.S. and UK, as well as other channels stated) FIFA Club World Cup: Group C: Boca Juniors vs Benfica, 6pm/11pm — Channel 5 (UK); Group D: Chelsea vs LAFC, 3pm/8pm — TBS, Fubo (U.S.), Channel 5 (UK); Flamengo vs Esperance Sportive de Tunis, 9pm/2am. Were the USMNT not consumed by introspection, last night's 5-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago would have passed as a regulation start to their Gold Cup campaign. They were supposed to win and they did, with a fair amount of ease. But the tribulations of Mauricio Pochettino and defeat after defeat in four previous outings made you wonder if the U.S. squad had a result like this in them. As Paul Tenorio writes, the Gold Cup had to start with a bang to wash away some of the internal drama. Pochettino said himself that yesterday's victory was an antidote to 'negative things'. Advertisement Which isn't to say all of the negativity is cured. Before kick-off, Pochettino had responded to a CBS interview by Christian Pulisic, in which the forward explained why he was sitting out of the Gold Cup (having offered to play in friendlies leading up to it, a proposal Pochettino rejected). 'I respect and understand him,' Pochettino said. 'But I don't need him to understand our decision. I am the head coach. I am not a mannequin.' You can read the full quotes here and you'll probably draw the same conclusion as me: that the relationship between boss and star man needs some cultivating. The standout line from our inside read on Thomas Frank's appointment as Tottenham Hotspur's new head coach was the revelation that Brentford made no attempt to talk him out of leaving them. It's incredibly on-brand. Brentford's entire strategy, going back more than a decade, is based on an acceptance that talented individuals who come to them will go onto bigger things, ideally for a decent profit. Depending on who you believe, Spurs are paying between £5m and £10m for Frank's signature — a healthy wedge for a coach. Frank has a big ally at Tottenham in technical director Johan Lange. Regardless of whether he lasts there for seven-plus years, as he did as Brentford boss, Frank's the archetypal project manager. He once said his fear about quitting Brentford was the risk of finding 'weeds' in the grass elsewhere, and there are plenty at Spurs. But the timing feels right, for all concerned. After showing so much promise, bits began dropping off Atletico Madrid towards the end of the season. The main trophies got away from them and judging by Alexander Sorloth's miss against PSG yesterday — enough to drop Diego Simeone to his knees — their tired bodies are crying out for some sand to go with the sun.
Associated Press
24 minutes ago
- Associated Press
German regulator pushes for more fan control of soccer clubs like Bayer Leverkusen
BONN, Germany (AP) — Top German soccer clubs including Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig face the prospect of handing over more control to fans after a regulator intervened. A statement Monday from Germany's antitrust regulator, the Federal Cartel Office, said it wants to see tighter enforcement of the rule known as 50-plus-1 which requires a soccer club's membership to have majority voting rights over how the team is run. The regulator said recent European court rulings suggest permanent exemptions from 50-plus-1 for last year's champion Leverkusen and fellow top-tier club Wolfsburg seem 'no longer possible.' It said efforts should be made in the future to ensure the club's professional soccer operations come under the control of membership organizations, but didn't name any deadline. Leverkusen and Wolfsburg were founded as workers' teams at major companies which own the clubs, with pharmaceutical giant Bayer at Leverkusen, and car manufacturer Volkswagen at Wolfsburg. Their long-term involvement led to the clubs getting exemptions from 50-plus-1. The regulator also said the German men's soccer league needs to ensure the clubs it oversees 'offer their fans the opportunity to become a new full member with voting rights.' That appears to affect Leipzig and its relationship with drinks giant Red Bull, though they weren't directly named by the regulator in Tuesday's statement. The club was founded by Red Bull in 2009 and is part of its international network of soccer clubs. It grants voting rights to far fewer people than most German clubs. Local media reported that only 23 members had the right to vote at Leipzig as of last year. ___ AP soccer:
New York Times
32 minutes ago
- New York Times
Why committing fouls is a necessary evil for Thunder's league-best defense
This moment was created for Lu Dort. Protecting a one-point lead with under two and a half minutes remaining in what amounted to a do-or-die Game 4, the Oklahoma City Thunder's brawny firecracker stayed on brand, picking up Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton full-court. Such is Dort's forte. Haliburton proceeded with caution, avoiding the breakneck pace that Indiana tormented opposing defenses with all year. Before getting to half court, he pitched the ball ahead to Pascal Siakam, but getting rid of the rock did not get rid of Dort. Advertisement Dort watched the ball traverse over his noggin but did not divert his focus from Haliburton. Like an NFL cornerback in press coverage at the line of scrimmage, he jammed Haliburton at half court, extending two hands into the All-NBA guard's chest. The contact halted any forward progress and forced Haliburton to run east or west to get the ball. Haliburton still hoped to go north-south. But Dort, per usual, slid himself in the way. The press coverage at the half-court line allowed the Thunder's All-Defensive First Team guard to get between Haliburton and Siakam as they tried a dribble handoff. The purpose of the action was to slingshot the Pacers' offensive engine downhill toward the rim. But Dort plowed through the 6-foot-8 forward like he wasn't even there. He crowded Haliburton as he received the ball. Haliburton could not turn the corner, so he kicked it back to Siakam and let his teammate probe Oklahoma City's defense on the other side of the floor. As the Pacers worked their pass-heavy offense from side to side, Dort denied Haliburton from getting the ball back in his hands, which encouraged Haliburton to retreat out to the half-court line. And there, Haliburton and Dort stood and waited as the Pacers looked for a shot with just over two minutes remaining in Friday's match, an eventual Thunder victory that tied the NBA Finals at two games apiece. With 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock, Haliburton made his break for the ball. Naturally, Dort was ready. As Haliburton tried to grab it, Dort gave him a bump with his left hand and once again forced himself between the passer and receiver of the dribble handoff. In this instance, Dort got his left hand on the ball and tipped it into the backcourt for what turned into a clutch-time steal that added a point to Oklahoma City's lead. After the game, when referee talk dominated the public discourse, this play drew an awful lot of attention on social media. — Young Simba (@the2kmessiah) June 14, 2025 From the opposite baseline, it appeared as though Dort's physicality crossed the line. But the Thunder had already dictated the terms of the game with their relentless physicality. If it crossed the line, so be it. After all, this isn't just Dort's brand. It's also the Thunder's. Dort may not have picked up a foul on this particular play, part of a special second-half suffocation of Haliburton, but there are other moments like this when an official blows the whistle. The Thunder will take the fouls, whether from him, from fellow perimeter pests Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace, or from rim protectors Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren. Advertisement In Oklahoma City, where the Thunder will bash offenses into submission, fouls are baked into the recipe, a necessary evil inside the league's top defense. 'It's kind of the cost of doing business with physicality. … A lot of it for us is learning which ones we don't give,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'Like, a guy gathers the ball, is about to take a tough shot — (Pacers guard Andrew) Nembhard is good at that. You get caught with your hands in there. He knows how to sell those calls or get those calls. He deserves the calls. If you're reaching in late, he's about to shoot a long 2, those are the ones you wanna lay off of. But some of them is just the cost of physicality.' The Thunder are in exclusive company, not just because of their success but also because of their style. Historically, the best defenses can get stops without fouling. But Oklahoma City engulfs basketball's gaudiest attacks not in spite of its hacking but because of it. 'You gotta look at the other stuff,' Caruso told The Athletic. 'The turnover creation, the rebound rate, transition, those are the things that we win. We might give up something with fouls, but we are OK being aggressive and setting the tone that way when we don't give up the other stuff.' The Thunder are kleptomaniacs. After leading the league in takeaways during the regular season, their defensive turnover rate has somehow increased during the playoffs. Elite competition, whether it's Haliburton or Anthony Edwards or Nikola Jokić on the other side, has not hindered what has been the NBA's top defense all year. Oklahoma City allowed the fewest points per possession of any team during the regular season and has stayed atop the league during the playoffs, as well. It makes the Thunder one of only two defenses since the NBA began tracking per-possession data in 1996 to lead the league in defensive efficiency, but also finish bottom five in free-throw rate (free-throw attempts per 100 possessions) allowed. The other is the 2008 Boston Celtics, who famously smashed their way to a title during Year 1 of a big three that included Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Advertisement In other words, the Thunder foul a ton but don't give up many points. And the last squad that pulled off this strategy to the same extreme got a championship out of it. 'We're going to play the way that we do,' Dort said. 'We're going to be aggressive.' The first possession of an OKC game often includes some player swiping at another. Early, hard fouls or the patented swarming of the paint that's become the team's staple set a Thunder-friendly baseline from the jump, since refs can't send players to the line each possession. They aren't the only team deploying this strategy. In fact, never before has what's normally been a staple among the best defensive teams — guarding without fouling — been flipped on its head so aggressively. Other teams around the league are adopting similar identities, including the only other one that's still alive. The Pacers have played their best defense of the season during a playoff run that has included victories over the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks. Add in a matchup with the Thunder, and that's four opponents that finished inside the top 10 in points per possession during the regular season. Indiana has humbled each of those top-notch offenses. It stifles ball movement. Its perimeter defenders, led by Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, provide the Dort treatment. It limits efficient shot selection. Even in a Game 4 victory, the Thunder couldn't get into their offense against the Pacers, when OKC dished out only 10 assists and attempted just 17 3-pointers. Meanwhile, one trend stands out: As the Pacers' defense has ramped up, so has its foul rate. The Pacers have fouled significantly more during the playoffs than they did during the regular season, when fouling is supposed to decrease. They now own the highest free-throw rate allowed out of all 16 playoff teams. Advertisement 'I think it's because of the way they are pressuring the way they are,' Daigneault said. 'They're incredibly physical on the perimeter. They're getting the ball up the floor. They're pursuing over screens. And it's disrupted the plays, but the trade-off of that is you end up getting whistles.' If anyone knows, it's Daigneault. But he and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle aren't the only ones. The first defensive possession of every Orlando Magic game this season was indistinguishable from a brawl. Orlando would strategically come out swinging, similar to Oklahoma City, in the hopes of setting that baseline. The Magic ended the season second in points allowed per possession and 30th in free-throw rate allowed. They are the only team since 1996 to finish dead last in that stat and still own a top-five defense. They are willing to concede the free throws, just like the Thunder. Midway through the first quarter of Game 4, Siakam sprang on a fast break. Two OKC wings, Williams and Aaron Wiggins, stood in front of him, blocking the lane to the hoop. Siakam lofted the ball behind him to microwave scorer Bennedict Mathurin, who was in a position to attack. That's when the Thunder did what they do best. Williams angled in front of Mathurin as Caruso throttled the length of the court to catch the dribbler from behind. Both defenders reached for the ball. In their best moments, which come often, the Thunder look like an angry colony of bees. But in this case, Mathurin got stung. Williams swiped him on the arm while going for the ball. Two free throws. The Thunder bets that a turnover will occur just often enough to justify a foul like this one. It's a mathematical equation. The Thunder's defensive rating would have been 3.3 points per 100 possessions worse had they turned over opponents at a league-average rate instead of a league-best one (assuming their opponent scores at a league-average rate), a gap that doesn't even take into account all the misses that OKC's freneticism causes. Advertisement It might not sound like much, but 3.3 points per 100 was the difference between the second-ranked Magic's defense and the 10th-ranked Detroit Pistons. It was the difference between the Pistons' defense and the 24th-ranked Charlotte Hornets. So the Thunder live with the fouls, not because they are impossible to fix, but because they are a product of their success. 'A lot of times, they just let us rock,' Williams said. 'If we have fouls that we can learn from or we're trying to do the right thing and we foul, we try to learn from those, but they try not to get too involved because it's part of our identity a little bit.' — The Athletic's Sam Amick contributed to this story.
