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Times
30 minutes ago
- Times
Ballon d'Or nominee Scott McTominay is best Scottish success in 40 years
It's all about the company you keep. There he was, Scott McTominay, rubbing shoulders with Jonny Evans, Altay Bayindir and Toby Collyer while barely anyone paid attention. The day of his last active service as a Manchester United player and he was in with the substitutes yet again. There or thereabouts, neither essential nor indispensable. An option. A solid squad guy. The story of his United career as far as too many managers were concerned. McTominay saw a wee bit of the action that day last August, given the last 11 minutes when Bruno Fernandes had done his bit in a league game at the Amex Stadium. Brighton & Hove Albion scored a 90th-minute winner and that was it, the flat and unheralded end of McTominay after a 22-year association with United. There were just over 250 appearances over nine seasons and many more debates about whether a) you needed a guy like him to win a league or b) having someone like him suggested you never would. Some respect and some ridicule. By the time United were being battered 3-0 at home by Liverpool a week later, their spare-part, overlooked talent had begun the gear change to end them all. Now? Scott McTominay, Ballon d'Or nominee, officially one of the best footballers in Europe, a line to make a United fan choke on their cornflakes. A nomination as the final act and recognition of a debut season that became absurdly fantastic and rewarding. A guy could get lost in Naples, drowned by the fanaticism and pressure of delivering for one of the most suffocating and intense fanbases in football. Instead McTominay rose to become an icon, a figure far greater than most could have imagined possible across the years when English football largely dismissed him as a limited utility guy, useful to have around without being front-of-house material. Italy got the surging, unbridled McTominay 2.0. A dozen goals in 34 league games for Napoli, and the city that idolises Diego Maradona happily made headspace for a new darling. Barely a week went by without news emerging of some startling new McTominay goal or triumph. He is a Serie A champion, the most valuable player of the Italian league season, the recipient of player and goal of the month awards, and now he has a puncher's chance in the Ballon d'Or. Perhaps this will be the year of Ousmane Dembélé as a driving force for Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. The Barcelona pair Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are heavyweight candidates too. The Premier League is represented by Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah from Liverpool, Arsenal pair Declan Rice and Viktor Gyokeres, Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Chelsea's Cole Palmer. England men Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are on the list too. In terms of sheer impact and emergence over the season, only the 18-year-old Yamal surpasses McTominay. It's about the company you keep. It seems reasonable to wonder if he will ever stop growing. Over the course of a couple of years, about a decade ago, he spurted from a runtish 5ft 6in to a strapping 6ft 4in. It was the making of him as a footballer. At 28 he has grown again, in profile and celebrity this time. This news underlines his status as the biggest star in the Scotland team — sorry Andy Robertson, sorry John McGinn — and by one measure the biggest success story the country has produced in nearly four decades. OK, 'produced' is doing some heavy lifting given he was born and raised in Lancaster and has never played a minute in Scottish club football, but his dad, Frank, from Helensburgh, shaped where his boy's allegiances lie. The old European Footballer of the Year award, as it was known, has been won only once by a Scottish player. After Denis Law's great achievement in 1964, Jim Baxter, Jimmy Johnstone, Billy Bremner, Graeme Souness and Gordon Strachan all received subsequent nominations and Kenny Dalglish was runner-up in 1983. The last Scot to get on the shortlist was Ally McCoist in 1987. That's why McTominay's nomination is a big deal. It's amusing to think that when the first approach came from Napoli the depth of his connection to United — he has always been painstakingly respectful since his departure — meant there must have been a moment when he considered staying there. Maybe give it one more go, maybe see if Erik ten Hag could be convinced. Not every move works out, not everyone gets a reward for uprooting and throwing themselves headfirst into an entirely unfamiliar culture, but McTominay's decision transformed his career and his life. Let's just assume that as he sits with his feet up of an evening, looking out as the sun sets across the Bay of Naples, he isn't losing too much sleep about whether he ought to have stuck around at Carrington. Of course, letting a Ballon d'Or contender go for just £25million and then having their worst season in years felt very Manchester United. He is his own man now. Last month he rocked up at Wimbledon, cutting a dash in cream slacks, a navy blue blazer and sunglasses. He has always been image-conscious and no doubt he'll cut an immaculate figure and look similarly Hollywood at the Ballon d'Or ceremony on September 22. Scots and Neapolitans will be together in willing him on. One lot, you can guess which, proudly shouting: 'Gaun yersel, big man!' Nominees for 2025 Ballon d'Or award Men's nominees Ousmane Dembélé (PSG & France) Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG & Italy) Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid & England) Désiré Doué (PSG & France) Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan & Netherlands) Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund & Guinea) Erling Haaland (Man City & Norway) Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal & Sweden) Achraf Hakimi (PSG & Morocco) Harry Kane (Bayern Munich & England) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG & Georgia) Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland) Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool & Argentina) Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan & Argentina) Scott McTominay (Napoli & Scotland) Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid & France) Nuno Mendes (PSG & Portugal) João Neves (PSG & Portugal) Pedri (Barcelona & Spain) Cole Palmer (Chelsea & England) Michael Olise (Bayern Munich & France) Raphinha (Barcelona & Brazil) Declan Rice (Arsenal & England) Fabián Ruiz (PSG & Spain) Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands) Vinícius Jr (Real Madrid & Brazil) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt) Florian Wirtz (Liverpool & Germany) Vitinha (PSG & Portugal) Lamine Yamal (Barcelona & Spain) Women's nominees Lucy Bronze (Chelsea & England) Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride & Zambia) Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona & Spain) Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea & France) Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal & Spain) Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich & Germany) Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit & Italy) Steph Catley (Arsenal & Australia) Melchie Dumornay (Lyon & Haiti) Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current & Malawi) Emily Fox (Arsenal & USA) Cristiana Girelli (Juventus & Italy) Esther González (Gotham & Spain) Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona & Norway) Patri Guijarro (Barcelona & Spain) Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras & Brazil) Hannah Hampton (Chelsea & England) Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich & Denmark) Lindsey Heaps (Lyon & USA) Chloe Kelly (Arsenal & England) Marta (Orlando Pride & Brazil) Frida Leonhardsen Maanum (Arsenal & Norway) Ewa Pajor (Barcelona & Poland) Clara Mateo (Paris FC & France) Alessia Russo (Arsenal & England) Clàudia Pina (Barcelona & Spain) Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain) Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea & Sweden) Caroline Weir (Real Madrid & Scotland) Leah Williamson (Arsenal & England) Men's coach of the year nominees Antonio Conte (Napoli) Luis Enrique (Paris St-Germain) Hansi Flick (Barcelona) Enzo Maresca (Chelsea) Arne Slot (Liverpool) Women's coach of the year nominees Sonia Bompastor (Chelsea) Arthur Elias (Brazil) Justine Madugu (Nigeria) Renee Slegers (Arsenal) Sarina Wiegman (England) Men's club of the year nominees Barcelona (Spain) Botafogo (Brazil) Chelsea (England) Liverpool (England) Paris St-Germain (France) Women's club of the year nominees Arsenal (England) Barcelona (Spain) Chelsea (England) OL Lyonnes (France) Orlando Pride (United States)
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside the mad and dangerous world of Superbikes where 'gladiator' riders dice with death
It's been a weekend of unremitting heat at the UK round of the Superbike World Championship — motorsport which makes F1 look like a sedentary Sunday afternoon drive — and, at the end, the outstanding racer tells me about life and death. Toprak Razgatlioglu is motorcycle racing's most compelling character since Valentino Rossi — riding on the edge just like the Italian, and Barry Sheene decades before him.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Steve Tandy: I found out about Louis Rees-Zammit's return from my daughter
Good news has been a scarce commodity in Welsh rugby and the new national head coach only heard about the welcome return of Louis Rees-Zammit when he was informed by his 14-year-old daughter. 'She was telling me, 'Zammo's back,' ' Steve Tandy said. 'I'm like, 'Quick, give me the phone!' ' Confirmation that Rees-Zammit, the 24-year-old wing, would be ending his attempt to break into the NFL to renew his rugby union career came last week, six days before Tandy's first public engagement in his new role on Thursday. As his job entails reviving the fortunes of a Wales side who recently ended an 18-match losing streak with a narrow victory over Japan, taking over a squad painfully short on experience, the return of a wing who exhibited world-class qualities came as a considerable early fillip to the Tandy era. 'It's a great boost to the game, to fans and to coaches,' he said. 'The excitement that Zammo brings just by coming back is great for the game. Everyone will like getting Zammo back in the mix.' Rees-Zammit's time away from the sport neatly encapsulates the grim period that Wales endured under Warren Gatland, Tandy's permanent predecessor, and Matt Sherratt, who took interim charge after Gatland left during the Six Nations. The last of the wing's 32 caps was the first of that ignominious 18-match streak, the 2023 World Cup quarter-final defeat by Argentina, and in the 18-month spell that he was trying his hand in the NFL, Wales won only one game. Having previously played for Gloucester, Rees-Zammit has yet to determine which club he will join, but as his tally of caps exceeds the 25 required by WRU rules, he will not need to sign up with a Welsh region to resume his international career. As he prepares to begin his tenure with autumn internationals against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa, Tandy would not discount the possibility of a swift Wales return for Rees-Zammit. 'You wouldn't rule anything out,' he said. 'Zammo, I'm pretty sure, will be in outstanding physical condition. We've got some outstanding back-three boys, but adding Zammo makes it even more competitive.' Tandy, 45, is making his own return to Welsh rugby after a substantial time away. Hailing from Tonmawr, near Neath, he was a hard-nosed flanker for Ospreys, becoming head coach shortly after his retirement. He subsequently specialised in defence, first with the Waratahs in Australia before beginning the six-year stint with Scotland, working under Gregor Townsend, that ended with his recent appointment back home in Wales. During his time with Scotland, he acted as defence coach for the British & Irish Lions on their 2021 tour to South Africa and he is determined to make bringing a harder edge to a Wales defence that conceded 25 tries in five Six Nations matches last season his priority. 'Coming from a defensive background, you want something really robust and resilient around that,' he said. 'We're going to be really tough in that area. But I want our group to have ambition, that if there's something to play, they go and play. I want them to believe that when they go out there, they can go and express themselves. But we definitely want that robust nature around the [defence], because that does fundamentally underpin outstanding teams.' The recent Lions squad that toured Australia featured only two Wales players and, once Tomos Williams had returned home with injury, Jac Morgan was the solitary Welshman. Increasing this representation for the Lions tour to New Zealand in 2029 would be a measure of the progress Tandy has made with the side from their position as 12th in the world rankings. Along with Morgan and Williams, players such as Dewi Lake, the hooker who captained the side in Japan, and Dafydd Jenkins, the lock who missed the tour through injury, will be pillars around whom Tandy can build. 'I'd love to see the next time it comes around, us getting more [in the Lions squad],' Tandy said. 'A lot of that will be underpinned by how well connected we get with the players, how we can accelerate their development. We've got lots of talent and we can get to that point of putting more people in the shop window for the next Lions tour.' The word 'development' is a crucial aspect in Tandy's appointment. Wales's slump was precipitated by losing so many experienced players in a short period, so fast-tracking promising young players to become comfortable on the international stage will be as much part of his role as the blending of elite performers. 'We have to nurture them, we have to coach them, we have to be around them more than probably any time before because they are a young group,' Tandy said. 'It's about building incrementally, there's no magic wand. We understand where we're at.' Tandy has yet to appoint his assistant coaches and will do so in conjunction with Dave Reddin, the former England rugby and FA performance expert recently appointed as the WRU's director of rugby and elite performance. This being Welsh rugby, there will also be political elements for the new pairing to negotiate, especially as there is a widespread acceptance that the recent results were not a mere blip, but a reflection of a professional structure that is not fit for purpose. The WRU announced last month that it was conducting formal consultations that could lead to the number of regional sides being reduced from four to either three or two. 'We've got to build something that suits us, not following anyone else,' Tandy said. 'I'm coming into this with my eyes wide open.'
