Latest news with #Abba
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Watch moment former Celtic star Greg Taylor stuns PAOK team-mates as he belts out Abba tune for his initiation song
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT has become one of the rites of passage for any new signing. And Greg Taylor didn't shirk the challenge when put on the spot by his new PAOK pals to come up with an initiation song. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 2 Greg Taylor belts out the Abba song Credit: INSTAGRAM @paok_fc 2 His team-mates were loving it Credit: INSTAGRAM @paok_fc Images shared on the Greek outfit's social media channels show the Scotland man and former Celtic star bravely going up on stage and belting out a lusty version of 'Gimme Gimme Gimme! (A man after midnight). It's a belter of a song - known the world over - and the Scot's team-mates certainly seemed to enjoy his rendition, introduced by "no-one will understand but I will sing!" The caption on the video read simply: "Preseason rituals! It's singing time for the newcomers! Good job, mate!" Taylor has been a smash hit with PAOK boss so far - impressing on the club's Dutch training camp after completing a move to the Thessaloniki club in the summer after six years at Celtic which saw him win 11 major honours. He was praised as a 'super player' by his new boss Razvan Lucescu after making his debut in a 2-1 defeat to Ajax at the Dutch side's academy ground, De Toekomst. His fellow former Celtic full back Jonjoe Kenny also made his first appearance, winning praise for his display. Lucescu said: 'Greg Taylor is just a super player and we also have Jonjoe Kenny, who showed a lot of intensity and energy. 'They both showed they will be very comfortable in our team and both already looked at home. 'Both of them have fitted in well to the team and I am happy with their preparations for our first game of the season. 'There is still a lot of work to be done to prepare, but I am very pleased with the way the players have adapted to their new club. They will be big players for us this season.' Celtic star Daizen Maeda spotted doing press-ups in technical area after being subbed-off against Sporting Lisbon Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
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The Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘Fear England?' No, this Sweden team believes Women's Euros 2025 is their year
The night of 26 July 2022 brought mixed emotions for Abba's Bjorn Ulvaeus. On one hand, Sweden had just been thrashed 4-0 by England in the Euro 2022 semi-finals. On the other, he had just been informed that the Lionesses played the Abba anthem ' Does Your Mother Know ' in the dressing room, after Alessia Russo 's back-heel sent England through to the Wembley final on a frenzied evening at Bramall Lane. Ulvaeus said it made the humbling defeat to England at least a little more bearable. It explains why Abba has not been banned from England's pre-match playlist just yet, as captain and dressing room DJ Leah Williamson confirmed this week. After all, those are the vibes and emotions that the holders want to recapture as they target a return to the semi-finals. Instead, it is Sweden who need to change the record as they face the Lionesses once again in the knockout stages of a major tournament. The phrase 'always the bridesmaid, never the bride' follows Sweden as resolutely as the country's Soft Hooligans, the nosiest, most colourful fans at Euro 2025 so far. Sweden's loyal supporters turn out in their yellow and blue in hope rather than expectation, and have learned that the hard way. If there is any expectation, it's that Sweden may again reach the latter stages of a major tournament only to fall short: their resume over the past decade includes two defeats in Olympic final, two defeats in World Cup semi-finals, and that Euros semi-final defeat to England three years ago. 'We haven't talked about it as a squad,' said Sweden's head coach Peter Gerhardsson. 'I don't think anyone is waking up at 3:30am in the morning screaming about the 4-0 to England.' It was Ella Toone, though, who said 'Sweden should fear us' after England's 6-1 win over Wales, as the Lionesses found some momentum ahead of the knockout stages. 'We respect England and the team they have and everything they have achieved so far,' Sweden's captain Kosovare Asllani responded. 'Fear? No. We don't have the word fear in our dictionary. We look up the word courage.' That isn't to say Sweden are viewing themselves as underdogs. 'We're flying under the radar and it suits us,' Asllani continued. 'Obviously we think that we are one of the best teams in the world, due to the results we've had from the tournaments, but people rarely speak about us as someone that can win the gold. We don't think about it too much, but I think definitely people should talk about us more.' Williamson said the lack of conversation around their quarter-final opponents was 'slightly disrespectful' and believes they 'deserve more recognition" but Sweden's 4-1 win over Germany and their impressive results in the group stages has gone some way to changing that. Sweden are also unbeaten in a year, since losing to France in Euro 2025 qualifying, and the more relevant results with England ahead of this quarter-final were the more relevant results were the 1-1 and 0-0 draws during that same qualifying campaign. There is very little between the teams, and a lot of familiarity too. Williamson will be marking her Arsenal team-mate and Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius. Lucy Bronze plays next to winger Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and centre-back Nathalie Bjorn with Chelsea. If 'proper England' has become the phrase of England's tournament, there are many in the Sweden squad who have the experience of English football and embrace the 'physical' side of the game. 'We want to go out and play our football intensely, physically,' Asllani said. The Sweden captain, who helped the London City Lionesses to promotion to the Women's Super League last season, said her team will 'fight until the end' and 'run until we collapse'. Sweden will also look to bombard England with crosses and may attempt to crowd Hannah Hampton's box when delivering inswinging set-pieces. They are also a dangerous team in transitions, as Germany found out in their 4-1 defeat at Zurich's Stadion Letzigrund, which will host the quarter-final against England. "When you have a team who work for each other like Sweden, then you don't need to necessarily have a crazy standout threat because everyone plays their roles,' Williamson explained this week. 'I feel like the collective is our strength,' Asllani said. 'That is what's taken us here.' And the belief within the Sweden camp is growing that this may be their year at last. Rytting-Kaneryd, the speedy winger who Bronze said can 'run through walls', said following the win over Germany that 'something feels different' at Euro 2025. Asllani has two Olympic silvers on her shelf at home, to add to two bronzes from the World Cup. Sweden are hungry for a different colour. 'We have been at this stage almost every championship so we are used to it,' Asllani said. 'The fun starts now.'
North Wales Chronicle
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
The winner takes it all but Leah Williamson won't ‘banish Abba' for Sweden clash
The Swedish band's 'Does Your Mother Know' became a key track on the Williamson-curated dressing room playlist during England's triumphant Euro 2022 campaign, where they beat Sweden 4-0 in the last four – a defeat made 'easier to bear' by the use of the song, according to Abba's own Bjorn Ulvaeus. It was a closer affair when they met in the qualifiers for this tournament, drawing twice, including the goalless July 2024 stalemate that was enough for England to book a direct place in the finals. A post shared by ABBA Voyage (@abbavoyage) Hearing some Swedish fans had claimed Abba were better than the Beatles, and therefore Sweden would beat England, Williamson replied: 'I don't (agree with that) I'm afraid. One might be easier to dance to, but no. 'I don't think that will be on the playlist, but it worked in 2022 so I don't want to banish Abba completely.' The England centre-back is gearing up for a battle with Arsenal team-mate Stina Blackstenius. In May, the Swedish forward struck in the winning goal in Lisbon, where the Gunners lifted the Champions League trophy with a 1-0 victory over heavy favourites Barcelona. Blackstenius has already contributed two goals at these Euros for Group C winners Sweden, but is just one of the threats on what Williamson feels is a 'very organised team' that 'work for each other' and 'deserve a bit more recognition'. 'Stina is an incredibly powerful footballer,' said Williamson. 'I think she's very intelligent with her runs, she's a hard player to play against in that respect. I was celebrating her success at Arsenal, and not so much now. 'So we'll see, but she's a great player and she has been for many years now, so her experience speaks for itself.' Despite their familiarity, an international tournament is a rare chance for the club-mates to properly battle it out. 'It's different,' explained Williamson. 'Obviously playing against each other in training (it's) maybe in a drill with restrictions, but it's very rare that I'll play against her in this setting. 'So I enjoy it. I like Stina, so it's tough to just remove all that to then just go at it, and you don't want to focus too much (on it). 'There's loads of different things that come into play when you play against a team-mate, but I think I've know Stina long enough now that it's kind of fun. 'I know who she is, and it's time for us to focus on us.' Williamson captained England to the trophy at Wembley in 2022 but missed the World Cup after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in April 2023, just months before the tournament. She added: 'I was part of that squad, and I will forever be proud to have been part of that squad, but we don't want it to be the only one. 'It's a constant driver. You want to do more. You always want to do more, and I'd like to say that on that day I felt as happy as I ever felt, and that probably would have been enough for me, but the next day it creeps around and everybody wants more all the time.'
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
The winner takes it all but Leah Williamson won't ‘banish Abba' for Sweden clash
The Swedish band's 'Does Your Mother Know' became a key track on the Williamson-curated dressing room playlist during England's triumphant Euro 2022 campaign, where they beat Sweden 4-0 in the last four – a defeat made 'easier to bear' by the use of the song, according to Abba's own Bjorn Ulvaeus. It was a closer affair when they met in the qualifiers for this tournament, drawing twice, including the goalless July 2024 stalemate that was enough for England to book a direct place in the finals. Hearing some Swedish fans had claimed Abba were better than the Beatles, and therefore Sweden would beat England, Williamson replied: 'I don't (agree with that) I'm afraid. One might be easier to dance to, but no. 'I don't think that will be on the playlist, but it worked in 2022 so I don't want to banish Abba completely.' The England centre-back is gearing up for a battle with Arsenal team-mate Stina Blackstenius. In May, the Swedish forward struck in the winning goal in Lisbon, where the Gunners lifted the Champions League trophy with a 1-0 victory over heavy favourites Barcelona. Blackstenius has already contributed two goals at these Euros for Group C winners Sweden, but is just one of the threats on what Williamson feels is a 'very organised team' that 'work for each other' and 'deserve a bit more recognition'. Williamson and Blackstenius are Arsenal team-mates (Zac Goodwin/PA) 'Stina is an incredibly powerful footballer,' said Williamson. 'I think she's very intelligent with her runs, she's a hard player to play against in that respect. I was celebrating her success at Arsenal, and not so much now. 'So we'll see, but she's a great player and she has been for many years now, so her experience speaks for itself.' Despite their familiarity, an international tournament is a rare chance for the club-mates to properly battle it out. 'It's different,' explained Williamson. 'Obviously playing against each other in training (it's) maybe in a drill with restrictions, but it's very rare that I'll play against her in this setting. 'So I enjoy it. I like Stina, so it's tough to just remove all that to then just go at it, and you don't want to focus too much (on it). 'There's loads of different things that come into play when you play against a team-mate, but I think I've know Stina long enough now that it's kind of fun. 'I know who she is, and it's time for us to focus on us.' Williamson captained England to the trophy at Wembley in 2022 but missed the World Cup after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in April 2023, just months before the tournament. She added: 'I was part of that squad, and I will forever be proud to have been part of that squad, but we don't want it to be the only one. 'It's a constant driver. You want to do more. You always want to do more, and I'd like to say that on that day I felt as happy as I ever felt, and that probably would have been enough for me, but the next day it creeps around and everybody wants more all the time.'
Rhyl Journal
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
The winner takes it all but Leah Williamson won't ‘banish Abba' for Sweden clash
The Swedish band's 'Does Your Mother Know' became a key track on the Williamson-curated dressing room playlist during England's triumphant Euro 2022 campaign, where they beat Sweden 4-0 in the last four – a defeat made 'easier to bear' by the use of the song, according to Abba's own Bjorn Ulvaeus. It was a closer affair when they met in the qualifiers for this tournament, drawing twice, including the goalless July 2024 stalemate that was enough for England to book a direct place in the finals. A post shared by ABBA Voyage (@abbavoyage) Hearing some Swedish fans had claimed Abba were better than the Beatles, and therefore Sweden would beat England, Williamson replied: 'I don't (agree with that) I'm afraid. One might be easier to dance to, but no. 'I don't think that will be on the playlist, but it worked in 2022 so I don't want to banish Abba completely.' The England centre-back is gearing up for a battle with Arsenal team-mate Stina Blackstenius. In May, the Swedish forward struck in the winning goal in Lisbon, where the Gunners lifted the Champions League trophy with a 1-0 victory over heavy favourites Barcelona. Blackstenius has already contributed two goals at these Euros for Group C winners Sweden, but is just one of the threats on what Williamson feels is a 'very organised team' that 'work for each other' and 'deserve a bit more recognition'. 'Stina is an incredibly powerful footballer,' said Williamson. 'I think she's very intelligent with her runs, she's a hard player to play against in that respect. I was celebrating her success at Arsenal, and not so much now. 'So we'll see, but she's a great player and she has been for many years now, so her experience speaks for itself.' Despite their familiarity, an international tournament is a rare chance for the club-mates to properly battle it out. 'It's different,' explained Williamson. 'Obviously playing against each other in training (it's) maybe in a drill with restrictions, but it's very rare that I'll play against her in this setting. 'So I enjoy it. I like Stina, so it's tough to just remove all that to then just go at it, and you don't want to focus too much (on it). 'There's loads of different things that come into play when you play against a team-mate, but I think I've know Stina long enough now that it's kind of fun. 'I know who she is, and it's time for us to focus on us.' Williamson captained England to the trophy at Wembley in 2022 but missed the World Cup after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in April 2023, just months before the tournament. She added: 'I was part of that squad, and I will forever be proud to have been part of that squad, but we don't want it to be the only one. 'It's a constant driver. You want to do more. You always want to do more, and I'd like to say that on that day I felt as happy as I ever felt, and that probably would have been enough for me, but the next day it creeps around and everybody wants more all the time.'
