Latest news with #BiggerCup
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
PSG and Inter prepare to serve up a continental treat in Bigger Cup final
PARIS, MILAN, MUNICH With the 2024-25 season in Uefa-land drawing to its glamorous close, is there a better time to assess how the whole thing went down with everything considered in the round? Yes! But Football Daily doesn't publish on Sunday morning, so let's make the best of a bad lot. And it's been a good year for English football all right. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United went to the artistic and creative mecca of Bilbao and staged what can only be described as a dirty protest, a Chelsea squad worth £1,400,000,000 struggled against (though eventually steamrollered) a team collectively priced at 0.96% of a Mykhailo Mudryk, and it's fair to say the rest of the continent will be extremely glad to see the back of us. Advertisement It was a close-run thing that there's no English representation in Saturday's Bigger Cup final, mind you. Paris Saint-Germain may have reached tomorrow's mega-game by beating all four Premier League contenders, but it wouldn't have taken too much for matters to pan out in a very different way altogether. Perhaps if Manchester City hadn't, for a couple of John Bondian months, reverted to their 1977-2009 norm? Perhaps if Willian Pacho hadn't been able to clear Ian Maatsen's fine volley off the line during the last knockings at Villa Park? What if Liverpool's analytics department had told Jürgen Klopp to cool his boots over Darwin Núñez? And how about a world in which Mikel Arteta didn't spend his life obsessing over WWE-style corner routines and turned the attackers loose instead? Give the old open play a quick go? See what happens? Eh? The slim margins. And so it's fair to say the rest of the continent will be extremely glad to see the back of us. And yet, having said all that, Internazionale aren't necessarily guaranteed to bring big smiles to the big event either. Anyone who speaks fondly of their 1964 and 1965 champions, Helenio Herrera, catenaccio, liberos and all, are trying way too hard, lying both to you and themselves. There's a reason even some Rangers fans were cock-a-hoop when Celtic's Lisbon Lions did their thing. Inter's 2010 winners, meanwhile, are solely remembered these days for driving Barcelona up the wall and round the bend, the final that year almost an afterthought for José Mourinho, his main goal of breaking Po' Pep's noggin already achieved. Although to be scrupulously fair, Romelu Lukaku provided some primetime Saturday-night light entertainment two years ago when keeping goal for Manchester City. So it's swings and roundabouts. This year Inter could finally feature in a showpiece to remember, as anyone who watched their latest iteration's gloriously batty defenestration of Barcelona in the semi-finals can attest. Admittedly their 7-6 aggregate win denied everyone the dream final showdown of Lamine Yamal and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but it'd be churlish to deny Inter their destiny after their role in that instant classic, two matches that scraped the sky before finally breaking into heaven when Francesco Acerbi, 83½, celebrated his campaign-saving stunner with a joyous Fred-Astaire-style mid-air heel-click. Anything similarly thrilling and life-affirming tomorrow – e.g. Davide Frattesi pulling off exactly the same celebration but backwards and in high heels – and it'll be an occasion to remember. We're not there for a start, so have fun, Europe! LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE Follow England 4-2 Portugal in the Women's Nations League with Xaymaca Awoyungbo tonight (7.45pm BST). And don't forget to join us for Bigger Cup buildup on Saturday, before PSG 1-2 Inter (aet) live with Scott Murray (8pm BST). QUOTE OF THE DAY 'It doesn't take a genius to work out that every attacking stat for Arsenal is down from what it was last year when they finished second. Then they finished second again. Whether it was the manager, or whether it was the top brass whose decision was it to go into the season without having a striker, it's cost them dearly because they never really put up a serious fight to Liverpool' – Alan Shearer gets his chat on with Alexander Abnos, and appears to fancy a gig with AFTV. FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS 'How do Chelsea fans feel about a £1bn+ investment yielding the Conference League trophy? To paraphrase Tina Turner, Wroclaw Got To Do With It?' – Peter Oh. Advertisement 'Re: Thursday's Football Daily main story – 'I would rather defecate in [my] own hands and clap' will be my new method of refusal to various people for sundry suggestions from now on' – Simon McMenamin. 'Can we say Chelsea have Delap in their hands now?' – Krishna Moorthy. Send letters to Today's prizeless letter o' the day winner is … Rollover. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here. TRENT v BRUNO? Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bruno Fernandes have had plenty of battles down the years. For the record it's W6 D5 L3 for the Liverpool right-back against Manchester United, while Fernandes has won just a single game in nine Premier League appearances when facing their fierce rivals. But who knows? Their next head-to-head could be an unexpected showdown in next month's Club World Cup. After reports of being only prepared to pay Liverpool in cured meats and Panini stickers to get TAA in time for the big bash in the USA USA USA, Real are now willing to line Liverpool's pockets with a boo-calming £10m when the transfer window opens on Sunday. Fernandes, meanwhile, is pondering whether taking a monstrous wage offer from Al-Hilal is a better option than losing friendlies to pub teams in Malaysia. Real Madrid face the Saudi side in the Club World Cup, so if Fernandes does do one, it's on: Trent v Bruno on 18 June in Miami. NEWS, BITS AND BOBS A former Royal Marine has appeared in court accused of driving into and injuring fans at Liverpool's Premier League victory parade on Monday. Paul Doyle, 53, appeared at Liverpool magistrates court on Friday charged with offences including wounding and causing grievous bodily harm to six people. Advertisement West Ham have been fined £120,000 for homophobic chanting by fans during their 2-1 Premier League loss at Chelsea in February. The club accepted the FA charge of misconduct and have vowed to ban those involved from future matches. Milan have reappointed Massimiliano Allegri as head coach, one day after sacking Sergio Conceição. Allegri won the scudetto in 2010-11 during his previous spell in charge at San Siro, and takes over a side with no European football next season. Elsewhere in Italy, Raffaele Palladino has left his role as Fiorentina manager by mutual consent, just three weeks after signing a contract extension until 2027. Kelly Simmons, the former FA director of professional women's football, has said Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe's remarks about Manchester United's WSL side 'send a signal … about what he thinks about women, not just the women's game.' Advertisement Chelsea are poised to add Liam Delap to their attacking ranks after triggering the Ipswich hot-shot's £30m release clause. Having successfully kept Mohamed Salah on board amid Saudi interest, Liverpool have turned around to find Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal sidling up to Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez respectively. Manchester United have spoiled our fun by ending their post-season Asia tour with a win. Chido Obi scored twice in a 3-1 friendly win over a Hong Kong XI. And fancy another trophy, Spurs fans? Tottenham will face either PSG or Inter in the Uefa Super Cup final on 13 August at Udinese's Stadio Friuli. STILL WANT MORE? Not so long ago, Michelle Agyemang was a ballgirl for Sarina Wiegman's first England game at Wembley. Now the Arsenal star is chasing a place in the Euro 2025 squad, as she tells Tom Garry. Advertisement Tom also got his chat on with Esme Morgan, the England and Washington Spirit defender who's hobnobbed with diplomats and adopted a kitten. Xaymaca Awoyungbo takes in the Unity Cup, a tournament at Brentford's Gtech Stadium for London's diaspora communities to celebrate. PSG have enjoyed a youthful, crowd-pleasing regeneration this season, but a Bigger Cup win for them is still an even bigger win for Qatar, writes Barney Ronay. Philipp Lahm is looking forward to a France v Italy final on Saturday after years of Spanish and English teams making the big game. In Switzerland, third-tier Biel-Bienne are taking on the mighty Basel/Basle/Barrrrl in the Cup final. Michael Yokhin charts their journey from bankruptcy to the big game. MEMORY LANE On this day in 1979: a big Cup final in Munich, won by Nottingham Forest after Brian Clough's side beat Malmö 1-0, Trevor Francis scoring the only goal. John Robertson (pictured left) got the winner when Forest defeated Hamburg to retain the title 12 months later in Madrid. WELCOME, EAST KILBRIDE
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
PSG and Inter prepare to serve up a continental treat in Bigger Cup final
With the 2024-25 season in Uefa-land drawing to its glamorous close, is there a better time to assess how the whole thing went down with everything considered in the round? Yes! But Football Daily doesn't publish on Sunday morning, so let's make the best of a bad lot. And it's been a good year for English football all right. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United went to the artistic and creative mecca of Bilbao and staged what can only be described as a dirty protest, a Chelsea squad worth £1,400,000,000 struggled against (though eventually steamrollered) a team collectively priced at 0.96% of a Mykhailo Mudryk, and it's fair to say the rest of the continent will be extremely glad to see the back of us. It was a close-run thing that there's no English representation in Saturday's Bigger Cup final, mind you. Paris Saint-Germain may have reached tomorrow's mega-game by beating all four Premier League contenders, but it wouldn't have taken too much for matters to pan out in a very different way altogether. Perhaps if Manchester City hadn't, for a couple of John Bondian months, reverted to their 1977-2009 norm? Perhaps if Willian Pacho hadn't been able to clear Ian Maatsen's fine volley off the line during the last knockings at Villa Park? What if Liverpool's analytics department had told Jürgen Klopp to cool his boots over Darwin Núñez? And how about a world in which Mikel Arteta didn't spend his life obsessing over WWE-style corner routines and turned the attackers loose instead? Give the old open play a quick go? See what happens? Eh? The slim margins. And so it's fair to say the rest of the continent will be extremely glad to see the back of us. And yet, having said all that, Internazionale aren't necessarily guaranteed to bring big smiles to the big event either. Anyone who speaks fondly of their 1964 and 1965 champions, Helenio Herrera, catenaccio, liberos and all, are trying way too hard, lying both to you and themselves. There's a reason even some Rangers fans were cock-a-hoop when Celtic's Lisbon Lions did their thing. Inter's 2010 winners, meanwhile, are solely remembered these days for driving Barcelona up the wall and round the bend, the final that year almost an afterthought for José Mourinho, his main goal of breaking Po' Pep's noggin already achieved. Although to be scrupulously fair, Romelu Lukaku provided some primetime Saturday-night light entertainment two years ago when keeping goal for Manchester City. So it's swings and roundabouts. This year Inter could finally feature in a showpiece to remember, as anyone who watched their latest iteration's gloriously batty defenestration of Barcelona in the semi-finals can attest. Admittedly their 7-6 aggregate win denied everyone the dream final showdown of Lamine Yamal and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but it'd be churlish to deny Inter their destiny after their role in that instant classic, two matches that scraped the sky before finally breaking into heaven when Francesco Acerbi, 83½, celebrated his campaign-saving stunner with a joyous Fred-Astaire-style mid-air heel-click. Anything similarly thrilling and life-affirming tomorrow – e.g. Davide Frattesi pulling off exactly the same celebration but backwards and in high heels – and it'll be an occasion to remember. We're not there for a start, so have fun, Europe! Follow England 4-2 Portugal in the Women's Nations League with Xaymaca Awoyungbo tonight (7.45pm BST). And don't forget to join us for Bigger Cup buildup on Saturday, before PSG 1-2 Inter (aet) live with Scott Murray (8pm BST). 'It doesn't take a genius to work out that every attacking stat for Arsenal is down from what it was last year when they finished second. Then they finished second again. Whether it was the manager, or whether it was the top brass whose decision was it to go into the season without having a striker, it's cost them dearly because they never really put up a serious fight to Liverpool' – Alan Shearer gets his chat on with Alexander Abnos, and appears to fancy a gig with AFTV. 'How do Chelsea fans feel about a £1bn+ investment yielding the Conference League trophy? To paraphrase Tina Turner, Wroclaw Got To Do With It?' – Peter Oh. 'Re: Thursday's Football Daily main story – 'I would rather defecate in [my] own hands and clap' will be my new method of refusal to various people for sundry suggestions from now on' – Simon McMenamin. 'Can we say Chelsea have Delap in their hands now?' – Krishna Moorthy. Send letters to Today's prizeless letter o' the day winner is … Rollover. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bruno Fernandes have had plenty of battles down the years. For the record it's W6 D5 L3 for the Liverpool right-back against Manchester United, while Fernandes has won just a single game in nine Premier League appearances when facing their fierce rivals. But who knows? Their next head-to-head could be an unexpected showdown in next month's Club World Cup. After reports of being only prepared to pay Liverpool in cured meats and Panini stickers to get TAA in time for the big bash in the USA USA USA, Real are now willing to line Liverpool's pockets with a boo-calming £10m when the transfer window opens on Sunday. Fernandes, meanwhile, is pondering whether taking a monstrous wage offer from Al-Hilal is a better option than losing friendlies to pub teams in Malaysia. Real Madrid face the Saudi side in the Club World Cup, so if Fernandes does do one, it's on: Trent v Bruno on 18 June in Miami. A former Royal Marine has appeared in court accused of driving into and injuring fans at Liverpool's Premier League victory parade on Monday. Paul Doyle, 53, appeared at Liverpool magistrates court on Friday charged with offences including wounding and causing grievous bodily harm to six people. West Ham have been fined £120,000 for homophobic chanting by fans during their 2-1 Premier League loss at Chelsea in February. The club accepted the FA charge of misconduct and have vowed to ban those involved from future matches. Milan have reappointed Massimiliano Allegri as head coach, one day after sacking Sergio Conceição. Allegri won the scudetto in 2010-11 during his previous spell in charge at San Siro, and takes over a side with no European football next season. Elsewhere in Italy, Raffaele Palladino has left his role as Fiorentina manager by mutual consent, just three weeks after signing a contract extension until 2027. Kelly Simmons, the former FA director of professional women's football, has said Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe's remarks about Manchester United's WSL side 'send a signal … about what he thinks about women, not just the women's game.' Chelsea are poised to add Liam Delap to their attacking ranks after triggering the Ipswich hot-shot's £30m release clause. Having successfully kept Mohamed Salah on board amid Saudi interest, Liverpool have turned around to find Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal sidling up to Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez respectively. Manchester United have spoiled our fun by ending their post-season Asia tour with a win. Chido Obi scored twice in a 3-1 friendly win over a Hong Kong XI. And fancy another trophy, Spurs fans? Tottenham will face either PSG or Inter in the Uefa Super Cup final on 13 August at Udinese's Stadio Friuli. Not so long ago, Michelle Agyemang was a ballgirl for Sarina Wiegman's first England game at Wembley. Now the Arsenal star is chasing a place in the Euro 2025 squad, as she tells Tom Garry. Tom also got his chat on with Esme Morgan, the England and Washington Spirit defender who's hobnobbed with diplomats and adopted a kitten. Xaymaca Awoyungbo takes in the Unity Cup, a tournament at Brentford's Gtech Stadium for London's diaspora communities to celebrate. PSG have enjoyed a youthful, crowd-pleasing regeneration this season, but a Bigger Cup win for them is still an even bigger win for Qatar, writes Barney Ronay. Philipp Lahm is looking forward to a France v Italy final on Saturday after years of Spanish and English teams making the big game. In Switzerland, third-tier Biel-Bienne are taking on the mighty Basel/Basle/Barrrrl in the Cup final. Michael Yokhin charts their journey from bankruptcy to the big game. On this day in 1979: a big Cup final in Munich, won by Nottingham Forest after Brian Clough's side beat Malmö 1-0, Trevor Francis scoring the only goal. John Robertson (pictured left) got the winner when Forest defeated Hamburg to retain the title 12 months later in Madrid.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mic drop: Rio Ferdinand leaves TNT Sports for ‘new chapter'
In the preliminaries before kick-off between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes last month, TNT Sports landed something of a coup. Having got celebrity Villa fan Prince William to agree to a pre-match interview, Rio Ferdinand and Ally McCoist were dispatched to ask His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge for his thoughts on how the game might unfold. While both former footballers have reached an age where they no longer have forelocks worthy of the name left to tug, Rio was so impressed with William's knowledge of gegenpressing, xG and heat maps that he issued a stark warning to the heir to the throne. 'Do not go into a punditry job because I could be out of the game,' he joked, as those armchair viewers the length and breadth of the country who are forced to pay top dollar for TNT subscriptions if they want to watch European football dared to dream. While there is no evidence to suggest that Prince William subsequently sent an equerry to hand one's curriculum vitae into the network's personnel department in the hope of earning a place in the gantry alongside Darren Fletcher and Lucy Ward on co-comms, today it was revealed that Rio is out of the punditry game anyway. The former Manchester United defender has quit TNT after a decade's service to focus on making YouTube videos in which he says 'geezer' a lot, hawking branded snapbacks and chilling with his family. His final outing with Woodsy, Resh, Fletch, Sav, Luce, Coisty, Jules, Crouchy and Owen Hargreaves will be at the Bigger Cup final between PSG and Inter at the Allianz Arena. It is to be hoped he marks the occasion by engineering another one of those ludicrous scenarios where he makes sure the cameras are rolling before studiously not stepping on a club-branded carpet in a preposterously performative show of respect. 'Since retiring from football, it has been a privilege talking about the game I love for a decade for sports fans watching BT Sport and TNT Sports,' he announced in a statement on his Social Media Disgraces. 'I want to acknowledge the tremendous support from the team behind the scenes, whose hard work often goes unseen but has been essential to our success. As I turn the page to the next chapter, I carry with me countless memories. I am excited about what the future holds, spending more time with my family, focusing on Rio Ferdinand Presents and my other business interests.' Whether it was stating the bland and blindingly obvious at great and tedious length, repeatedly parroting 'Ballon d'Or!' at the top of his voice in praise of a player who would go on to be overlooked for the award in question, or abandoning any small pretence at professionalism by reducing the commentary of a recent dramatic finale to the status of FanZone homage, Ferdinand has carved out a unique and lucrative niche in the punditry pantheon over the past decade. While TNT have yet to announce how they plan to fill the gaping void that will be left by the absence of his searing football insight and top-tier banter, subscribers can at least rest easy, safe in the knowledge that the inevitable montage of his 'best bits' shown at the end of Saturday night's Bigger Cup broadcast should be mercifully brief. [Mikel Arteta] had time to get a nine, he had time … Manchester United played five finals in the last five years. The United that everyone laughs at played five finals. In the last three years of building that building, you didn't reach a final, so I do understand when people ask the question. Surely you should compete for a trophy, being in the final?' – Thierry Henry doesn't hold back in outlining frustrations at Arsenal's failure to sign a goalscorer, reach a final or win a trophy this season. 'Entries on The Knowledge are always worth reading, but the clip showing Jeff Astle's tap-in against Leeds after an outrageous non-offside call was especially entertaining. The referee's howler was the main feature, of course, but three cameos really made it memorable: the old chap in the St John's ambulance uniform, chuckling away at Astle's celebration; Don Revie showing untameable outrage by the old-school method of pursing his lips and shaking his head; and the highlight, a fleeting shot of a man in a suit, who could only be Arthur Scargill, being hauled off the pitch protesting against the injustice of it all. Glory days indeed' – Charles Antaki. 'Re Tuesday's Football Daily, can I be amongst the first of 1,057 pedants to point out that Chelsea came fourth, not fifth' – Matthew Purchase (and 1,056 others). Send letters to . Today's prizeless letter o' the day winner is … Charles Antaki. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed . This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, .
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mic drop: Rio Ferdinand leaves TNT Sports for ‘new chapter'
FRAZZLED FERDINAND In the preliminaries before kick-off between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes last month, TNT Sports landed something of a coup. Having got celebrity Villa fan Prince William to agree to a pre-match interview, Rio Ferdinand and Ally McCoist were dispatched to ask His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge for his thoughts on how the game might unfold. While both former footballers have reached an age where they no longer have forelocks worthy of the name left to tug, Rio was so impressed with William's knowledge of gegenpressing, xG and heat maps that he issued a stark warning to the heir to the throne. 'Do not go into a punditry job because I could be out of the game,' he joked, as those armchair viewers the length and breadth of the country who are forced to pay top dollar for TNT subscriptions if they want to watch European football dared to dream. Advertisement While there is no evidence to suggest that Prince William subsequently sent an equerry to hand one's curriculum vitae into the network's personnel department in the hope of earning a place in the gantry alongside Darren Fletcher and Lucy Ward on co-comms, today it was revealed that Rio is out of the punditry game anyway. The former Manchester United defender has quit TNT after a decade's service to focus on making YouTube videos in which he says 'geezer' a lot, hawking branded snapbacks and chilling with his family. His final outing with Woodsy, Resh, Fletch, Sav, Luce, Coisty, Jules, Crouchy and Owen Hargreaves will be at the Bigger Cup final between PSG and Inter at the Allianz Arena. It is to be hoped he marks the occasion by engineering another one of those ludicrous scenarios where he makes sure the cameras are rolling before studiously not stepping on a club-branded carpet in a preposterously performative show of respect. 'Since retiring from football, it has been a privilege talking about the game I love for a decade for sports fans watching BT Sport and TNT Sports,' he announced in a statement on his Social Media Disgraces. 'I want to acknowledge the tremendous support from the team behind the scenes, whose hard work often goes unseen but has been essential to our success. As I turn the page to the next chapter, I carry with me countless memories. I am excited about what the future holds, spending more time with my family, focusing on Rio Ferdinand Presents and my other business interests.' Whether it was stating the bland and blindingly obvious at great and tedious length, repeatedly parroting 'Ballon d'Or!' at the top of his voice in praise of a player who would go on to be overlooked for the award in question, or abandoning any small pretence at professionalism by reducing the commentary of a recent dramatic finale to the status of FanZone homage, Ferdinand has carved out a unique and lucrative niche in the punditry pantheon over the past decade. While TNT have yet to announce how they plan to fill the gaping void that will be left by the absence of his searing football insight and top-tier banter, subscribers can at least rest easy, safe in the knowledge that the inevitable montage of his 'best bits' shown at the end of Saturday night's Bigger Cup broadcast should be mercifully brief. QUOTE OF THE DAY [Mikel Arteta] had time to get a nine, he had time … Manchester United played five finals in the last five years. The United that everyone laughs at played five finals. In the last three years of building that building, you didn't reach a final, so I do understand when people ask the question. Surely you should compete for a trophy, being in the final?' – Thierry Henry doesn't hold back in outlining frustrations at Arsenal's failure to sign a goalscorer, reach a final or win a trophy this season. FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS 'Entries on The Knowledge are always worth reading, but the clip showing Jeff Astle's tap-in against Leeds after an outrageous non-offside call was especially entertaining. The referee's howler was the main feature, of course, but three cameos really made it memorable: the old chap in the St John's ambulance uniform, chuckling away at Astle's celebration; Don Revie showing untameable outrage by the old-school method of pursing his lips and shaking his head; and the highlight, a fleeting shot of a man in a suit, who could only be Arthur Scargill, being hauled off the pitch protesting against the injustice of it all. Glory days indeed' – Charles Antaki. Advertisement 'Re Tuesday's Football Daily, can I be amongst the first of 1,057 pedants to point out that Chelsea came fourth, not fifth' – Matthew Purchase (and 1,056 others). Send letters to Today's prizeless letter o' the day winner is … Charles Antaki. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here. NEWS, BITS AND BOBS Manchester United's season just somehow got a little worse: Ruben Amorim's side have lost 1-0 to Asean All-Stars, a team made up of south-east Asia internationals and selected players from the regional leagues, on their post-season tour of Kuala Lumpur. Advertisement Don't worry, though, United fans: the club are poised to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves after triggering his £62.5m release clause. Enzo Maresca said that he had no knowledge of Mykhailo Mudryk, who was provisionally suspended by the Football Association after failing a doping test last December, turning up in Wroclaw before Chelsea's Tin Pot final against Real Betis. 'To be honest, I just … I don't know, he is here or is coming?' queried the baffled Maresca. Arsenal are close to signing Martín Zubimendi, one-time Liverpool target and Spain Euro 2024 hero, to further add to Mikel Arteta's midfield options. Predictable transfer news: Ajax's Jordan Henderson is linked with an emotional return to Sunderland, where he again might team up with a Bellingham. The Black Cats hope to keep Jobe, amid much interest. Advertisement Arne Slot pulled out of the League Managers Association's annual awards dinner in London on Tuesday after the appalling incident at the end of Liverpool's Premier League victory parade. Former Rangers, Liverpool and Stoke left-half, Willie Stevenson, one-time publican of the Kings Head, Macclesfield, has died at the age 85. Stevenson's spell at Anfield included league title successes in both 1964 and 1966, the 1965 FA Cup, the first in Liverpool history. 'The thoughts of everyone at Rangers are with Willie's family and friends at this sad time', read a Rangers statement. No Mary Earps but a potential bounty of £1.7m if the Lionesses defend their Euros title this summer. Millie Bright has meanwhile confirmed her absence from the England training camp was for reasons of burnout. 'I think mentally and physically I'm at my limits, which is why I'm not at camp,' sighed the Chelsea player. Liverpool have received inquiries from Brentford, West Ham and Leeds regarding the goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher and allowed John Heitinga to open talks with Ajax about becoming their new head coach. Advertisement And Internazionale, the scamps, will wear their third strip in Saturday's Bigger Cup final in Munich, a golden yellow shirt with black details and black shorts combination that rather resembles Borussia Dortmund. STILL WANT MORE? It's the season's end but you all know what that means. Yes, the transfer window is poised to fly open, and as ever Big Website has a transfer interactive for both the women and the men, as well as a club-by-club guide of the transfers from the top five leagues in Europe. If that wasn't snazzy enough for you, have a go on our all-singing, all-dancing Premier League 2024-25 picture essay: here's Jonny Weeks' story of the season in 100 photos. Advertisement Robbie Keane is a champion, as he continues his world tour of offbeat assignments by leading Ferencvaros to a seventh consecutive league title for Hungary's footballing powerhouse. That his team held off Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban's club, Puskas Akademia, makes for a heady brew, as Tom Mortimer reports. Jacob Steinberg's Tin Pot final preview looks at how Chelsea can become the first English team to win all four European trophies – and why much of their manager's strategy is rooted in chess. Arsenal's Lisbon lioness, Stina Blackstenius, is profiled by Tom Garry, retracing her steps from Linköping to Lisbon to Arsenal hero status. 'This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.' What did Cristiano Ronaldo mean by that? Will he play in the Fifa Club World Cup? John Duerden wonders what happens next for CR7. MEMORY LANE On this day in 2011, Wayne Rooney scores for Manchester United against Barcelona, becoming the sixth and last Englishman to score in a Champions League final, following Teddy Sheringham, Steve McManaman, Steven Gerrard, Sol Campbell and Frank Lampard. United would go on to lose to a Barça team Sir Alex Ferguson afterwards admitted 'are the best team we've faced', as Lionel Messi and David Villa smashed the Catalan side to victory. NO SWEETS, NO ICE CREAM
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Come Dine With Ange: Tottenham's tasty prophecy
LADS, IT'S UNITED You won, [Ange]. Enjoy [Bigger Vase], I hope it makes you happy. Dear lord, what a sad little [final]. You ruined my night completely so you could have [Bigger Vase] and I hope now you can spend it on lessons in [tactics] and [recruitment]. Because [your team] had all the [season] of a reversing dump truck without any tyres on. So Ange, take your [Bigger Vase] and get off my [TV screen]. Advertisement Watching the Bigger Vase final might have been more painful than Charlie Nicholas' Sky Sports News b@nter, but you have to hand it to Ange Postecoglou. In one swoop, with one absolutely abysmal goal, the Australian has won Tottenham Hotspur's first trophy in 17 years, secured Bigger Cup qualification and delivered on his promise that he 'always wins a trophy in my second season'. Being bold and coming good on a footballing prophecy is bada$$, whichever way you cut it. We loved Brian Clough for his bravado and brash quotes but only because he could back it up. When José Mourinho announced he was 'the Special One', shortly before laying waste to the rest of the Premier League, we all nodded along afterwards with a begrudging respect. Heck, even when Sean Dyche suggested on co-commentary for this year's FA Cup final that Crystal Palace should 'hit it up to the big man' to beat Manchester City's press, 10 seconds before they went long to Jean-Philippe Mateta who set up their winning goal, Football Daily sat back in awe. So fair play to Big Ange. 'All I've done in my career is win,' roared Postecoglou, as he channelled the vibes of Carlo Ancelotti atop a rooftop bus, wearing sunnies and smoking a cigar. 'Even Daniel [Levy, Spurs' chairman] said: 'We've gone for winners [in the past] and now we have Ange.' Mate, I'm a winner. All I know is I'm going to go back to my hotel room, open a bottle of scotch, have a couple of quiet ones and prepare for a big parade on Friday. I don't feel like I've completed the job yet, we're still building. The moment I took the job, I wanted to win something. We've done that. It's the toughest thing I've ever done.' Watching that final was genuinely one of the toughest things Football Daily has done, but at least the celebrations and shenanigans were worth staying up for. James Maddison had a lovely pop at Roy Keane in his post-match interview. Archie Gray showed exceptional ball knowledge by doing the Ronaldinho/Bigger Cup anthem lip-licking meme (Gray was three when Ronnie originally did that). You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be touched by Son Heung-min sobbing uncontrollably into the shoulder of his father and renowned taskmaster, Dad Heung-min Son Woong-jung, after the final whistle with the first club trophy of the South Korean's career. Just as they have been all season, Manchester United were dreadful and deserved nothing from the contest, with Ruben Amorim admitting afterwards his head was on the chopping block. 'I have nothing to show to the fans,' shrugged the Portuguese. 'If the board and fans feel I am not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any conversation about compensation, but I will not quit.' Football isn't always the beautiful game. Sometimes you just need to win, and that's what Spurs did. Congratulations to them and good luck next season in Bigger Cup. Based upon whatever that was in Bilbao, they might need it. QUOTE OF THE DAY 'Obviously it's hard for everyone. Our season was sh!t. We didn't beat anyone in the league. We lacked a lot of things' – Alejandro Garnacho brings some understatement to his funky analysis of Manchester United's season. FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS Re: yesterday's Football Daily letters. It doesn't seem to have occurred to your other 1,056 readers that, far from making the Premier League a laughing stock, the fact that that the 16th and 17th 'best' in the Greatest League in the World™ competed in the final for the second best Euro trophy shows the strength in depth and talent within that league. In fact, if one wants to be unkind, you could say that all of the other 'European' clubs in the competition must have been rubbish if they couldn't prevent this from happening' – Martin Bleasdale (and no others). Someone please give me the Manchester United manager job please. If I do nothing, absolutely nothing, they will still finish better than this year. And I get to watch 38 games from the dugout, chewing gum, throwing tantrums, fighting with the officials, gesticulating wildly, giving interviews. And I am ready to take 20% of Ruben Amorim's salary. That is a huge amount saved for Big Sir Jim' – Krishna Moorthy. For Spurs, a trophy. For United, atrophy' – Mark McFadden. Not sure if I've been in an alternate dimension, but bravo to the Magpies, Eagles and now the, erm, C0cks on ending their respective avian trophy droughts. Special mention to Spurs (and Manchester United) for their part in the most awful, inept match I've seen in some time. As someone watching Luton all season (and thus being a connoisseur of such things) that's quite the achievement' – Kevin Goddard. Advertisement Send letters to Today's letter o' the day winner is … Martin Bleasdale, who lands some Football Weekly merch. We'll be in touch. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here. RECOMMENDED LISTENING The Football Weekly pod squad are back for an extra dose of aural entertainment as they pick over Bigger Vase final. SHRIMPLY THE BEST A year ago, Southend United seemed trapped in a years-long doomloop of winding-up hearings, financial crisis, failed stadium projects and footballing decline. Then in July salvation finally came when a consortium led by the Australian IT millionaire Justin Rees completed a takeover from the long-distrusted Ron Martin. Fast forward 10 months and the Shrimpers are off to Wembley for the National League playoff final after squeaking past Forest Green on penalties at the New Lawn on Wednesday. Having led through Ben Goodliffe's header early in the second half, Southend found themselves staring at defeat after Ryan Inniss scored to take the tie to extra time and Emmanuel Osadebe promptly put Forest Green ahead on 94 minutes. Step forward Jack Bridge, who levelled with four minutes remaining after a neat move to set up penalties. Gus Scott-Morriss then proved the match-winner, keeping his cool after two missed Forest Green penalties to slot home and seal a 4-2 shootout win. It was all a rich reward for Southend's manager, Kevin Maher, who has been in charge since 2021 and stuck with the club through numerous crises. Not that he saw the winning moment. 'I watched most of [the penalties] but I couldn't watch the last one,' he exclaimed. Maher's side will meet Oldham, another club who have emerged from financial crisis in recent years, on 1 June in what could be one of the season's more feelgood finals. NEWS, BITS AND BOBS Five Valladolid fans who abused Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior have been given suspended prison sentences, in what La Liga described as a landmark ruling that condemned racist insults hurled in a stadium as a hate crime. Advertisement You had one job dept: Uefa has offered its 'sincerest apologies' after Aleksander Ceferin ran out of medals during Spurs' ceremony. Three players, including captain Son Heung-min, had to wait to receive their baubles later on. Ruben Amorim will be handed almost £100m to rebuild Manchester United, although most of that could be spent on signing Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha and striker Liam Delap from Ipswich. It's no Mickey Mouse competition – but Women's Bigger Cup will be shown live on Disney+ from next season in the UK and across Europe. Police and hospital staff in Liverpool have urged fans not to bring flares to the club's title parade, after a number of children suffered burn injuries following the victory over Tottenham last month. Advertisement AFC Whyteleafe have been crowned champions of the Combined Counties Premier South, despite finishing third in the table. Whyteleafe, who lost the FA Vase final earlier this month, earned top spot and promotion after Jersey Bulls and Redhill were both docked three points for fielding an ineligible player. And TV's Jeff Stelling has resigned as honorary president of Hartlepool United in protest at owner Raj Singh's handling of negotiations to sell up. The club issued a lengthy statement on Wednesday evening in which they claimed an agreement with one potential buyer was reached in March, but that proof of funds for next season had yet to be deposited, while also revealing a plan to poll season-ticket holders over whether or not Singh should resume control. 'Supporters have been left in an intolerable position with a perceived threat to the future of the club should they not support the current owner,' sniffed Stelling. 'Let's remember it was him who wanted to stop funding the club. Yet now he seems almost affronted that others want to take over … I will always love this club and wish all our fans the best.' MOVING THE GOALPOSTS Barcelona are big favourites to beat Arsenal in the Women's Big Cup final, but this season hasn't been all plain sailing. Alex Ibaceta has more in this extract from the latest edition of Moving the Goalposts. STILL WANT MORE? What happens to a one-man team when that player goes missing? Jamie Jackson reflects on a miserable night for Bruno Fernandes in Bilbao. Advertisement Meanwhile, Max Rushden soaks up a Tottenham trophy from the other side of the world, Jonathan Wilson looks back at a baffling final and David Hytner casts his eye into the future for Ange. 'When I got the diagnosis they asked me how many footballs I headed': Dean Windass talks to Nick Ames about dementia, charity work and his most famous goal. Extremely loud and incredibly scouse: a contender for headline of the year, and an enjoyable long read on Jamie Carragher's rise to the top of the punditry pyramid. Smoke cannons! Rolling substitutions! Goals, goals, goals! Tom Garry was in Estoril to see World Sevens kick off in a big moment for the women's game. Advertisement And what's at stake on the final day? Andy Hunter outlines the race for Bigger Cup places, a complicated twist and how 10 Premier League teams could be in Europe next term. Nurse! MEMORY LANE It's that victory parade time of year, so here's a glimpse back to May 1987 as Coventry fans use the Lady Godiva statue as a vantage point while awaiting the team's celebratory jaunt around the city following their famous FA Cup win. POOL LOOPY
