Latest news with #Calzada
Fox Sports
6 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
2025 Kentucky Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 52nd in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Kentucky Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 52nd in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 9:05 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Kentucky lands in my Ultimate 136. Kentucky Wildcats ranking: 52 Last year's ranking: 28 Top player: QB Zach Calzada: 38 career games (Incarnate Word and Texas A&M) going 23-9 as a starter; has thrown for 8,707 yards and 73 TDs in his collegiate career. [Kentucky's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: It's hard to find another SEC coach who likes SEC transfers more than Mark Stoops. This year he'll field former Texas A&M QB Calzada (by way of Incarnate Word), Oklahoma RB Seth McGowan (by way of New Mexico State), Alabama WR Kendrick Law and Oklahoma WR J.J. Hester. ADVERTISEMENT I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that Calzada and Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) are the only two QBs playing this year who have beaten No. 1-ranked Alabama, and Calzada did it with Nick Saban on the sideline. Stoops will need that kind of mojo after a 4-8 season that left many Kentucky fans wondering just how it got that bad this fast? Well, I'll tell you: The Wildcats are just 2-12 against SEC opponents in their last 14 home games and 7-18 against opponents for whom it just means more since 2022. Perhaps this is the time to remind UK fans that Texas, Florida, Tennessee and Ole Miss all come to Lexington in 2025. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] Kentucky Win Total Odds: Over 4.5 (-105) Under 4.5 (-115) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Kentucky Wildcats share
Business Recorder
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Business Recorder
Simone Inzaghi defends manner of exit from Inter to Saudi club
MIAMI: Former Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi has shrugged off criticism over the manner of his move to Saudi club Al-Hilal. Inzaghi takes charge of his new club for the first time on Wednesday when they face Real Madrid in the Club World Cup in Miami. Al-Hilal's chief executive officer Esteve Calzada told the BBC on Wednesday that the move had been decided before Inter's 5-0 Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain. 'It might look like it's something that came quickly, but it's the result of hard work particularly from our chairman, who was always very clear he would be our number one option,' said Calzada. Man Utd CEO Berrada sticking to 2028 Premier League title aim 'He was playing a massive match and asked (us) to keep things aside until after the final… it was decided but not signed before the final, just because out of respect he asked us to wait, which is certainly fair enough.' The Champions League final was held on May 31 and Inzaghi was announced as the Al-Hilal coach four days later. Calzada's comments prompted Italian media reports speculating whether the coach's impending move had influenced Inter's players and their performance. At the pre-match press conference, Inzaghi was asked about those reports. 'Today, as has often been the case during my four years at Inter, I heard and listened to everything,' said the coach. 'If this (criticism) was the price I had to pay for my four years at Inter, I am happy to pay it, but it is nothing compared to the good I have received from everyone. I am talking about Inter, the fans, the management, the players and Inter,' he added. 'I know I will miss it, I will miss everything, even this. Even the most unfair accusations that have been made over the past four years. 'But I have been really happy, I have given my all and worked closely with the club and the management. In short, I think they too, for the good of Inter, were convinced that the right thing to do was for our paths to separate, with a lot of pain on everyone's part,' he said. Inzaghi defended his choice of moving from a top European club to the emerging Saudi Pro League. 'I accepted the challenge and stepped out of my comfort zone after several years at Inter. I want to change my way of thinking, my style of play, and try new things. There was no other team I wanted to coach. So I chose Al Hilal,' he added.
Malaysian Reserve
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Malaysian Reserve
Inzaghi defends manner of exit from Inter to Saudi club
FORMER Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi has shrugged off criticism over the manner of his move to Saudi club Al-Hilal. Inzaghi takes charge of his new club for the first time on Wednesday when they face Real Madrid in the Club World Cup in Miami. Al-Hilal's chief executive officer Esteve Calzada told the BBC on Wednesday that the move had been decided before Inter's 5-0 Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain. 'It might look like it's something that came quickly, but it's the result of hard work particularly from our chairman, who was always very clear he would be our number one option,' said Calzada. 'He was playing a massive match and asked (us) to keep things aside until after the final… it was decided but not signed before the final, just because out of respect he asked us to wait, which is certainly fair enough.' The Champions League final was held on May 31 and Inzaghi was announced as the Al-Hilal coach four days later. Calzada's comments prompted Italian media reports speculating whether the coach's impending move had influenced Inter's players and their performance. At the pre-match press conference, Inzaghi was asked about those reports. 'Today, as has often been the case during my four years at Inter, I heard and listened to everything,' said the coach. 'If this (criticism) was the price I had to pay for my four years at Inter, I am happy to pay it, but it is nothing compared to the good I have received from everyone. I am talking about Inter, the fans, the management, the players and Inter,' he added. 'I know I will miss it, I will miss everything, even this. Even the most unfair accusations that have been made over the past four years. 'But I have been really happy, I have given my all and worked closely with the club and the management. In short, I think they too, for the good of Inter, were convinced that the right thing to do was for our paths to separate, with a lot of pain on everyone's part,' he said. Inzaghi defended his choice of moving from a top European club to the emerging Saudi Pro League. 'I accepted the challenge and stepped out of my comfort zone after several years at Inter. I want to change my way of thinking, my style of play, and try new things. There was no other team I wanted to coach. So I chose Al Hilal,' he added. — AFP
France 24
18-06-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Inzaghi defends manner of exit from Inter to Saudi club
Inzaghi takes charge of his new club for the first time on Wednesday when they face Real Madrid in the Club World Cup in Miami. Al-Hilal's chief executive officer Esteve Calzada told the BBC on Wednesday that the move had been decided before Inter's 5-0 Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain. "It might look like it's something that came quickly, but it's the result of hard work particularly from our chairman, who was always very clear he would be our number one option," said Calzada. "He was playing a massive match and asked (us) to keep things aside until after the final... it was decided but not signed before the final, just because out of respect he asked us to wait, which is certainly fair enough." The Champions League final was held on May 31 and Inzaghi was announced as the Al-Hilal coach four days later. Calzada's comments prompted Italian media reports speculating whether the coach's impending move had influenced Inter's players and their performance. At the pre-match press conference, Inzaghi was asked about those reports. "Today, as has often been the case during my four years at Inter, I heard and listened to everything," said the coach. "If this (criticism) was the price I had to pay for my four years at Inter, I am happy to pay it, but it is nothing compared to the good I have received from everyone. I am talking about Inter, the fans, the management, the players and Inter," he added. "I know I will miss it, I will miss everything, even this. Even the most unfair accusations that have been made over the past four years. "But I have been really happy, I have given my all and worked closely with the club and the management. In short, I think they too, for the good of Inter, were convinced that the right thing to do was for our paths to separate, with a lot of pain on everyone's part," he said. Inzaghi defended his choice of moving from a top European club to the emerging Saudi Pro League. "I accepted the challenge and stepped out of my comfort zone after several years at Inter. I want to change my way of thinking, my style of play, and try new things. There was no other team I wanted to coach. So I chose Al Hilal," he added.
Daily Mirror
17-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Fresh Darwin Nunez hint dropped as club boss responds after Liverpool name price
Darwin Nunez continues to be linked with a move to Saudi Arabia with one of the Pro League's clubs interested in him making clear they are ready to do business this summer Al Hilal chief executive Esteve Calzada has said the club is targeting 'the biggest players' in the transfer window amid interest in Liverpool's Darwin Nunez – but he has warned that they need to see the desire in star names before agreeing to sign them. Liverpool are said to be willing to accept an offer in the region of £50m to sell Nunez this summer - just months after they rejected a more lucrative proposal for the striker from Saudi Arabia. Nunez, 25, is expected to leave Anfield after a disappointing campaign in front of goal for the newly minted Premier League champions. And there have already been discussions over a potential move away, according to reports elsewhere. But should Al Hilal pursue a deal for the Uruguayan striker in the coming weeks, Calzada has made it clear that they will not be just throwing away money for the sake of it. "We are targeting the biggest players,' Calzada, who is presently in the United States for the Club World Cup, told BBC Sport"We are very ambitious, but we need to see hunger from the player himself and the transaction needs to work out both ways. "The only thing we've been trying to remind players and agents is that yes, we are from Saudi, but we don't print notes here! "My role as CEO is to make sure we run the club efficiently, so that we can have the biggest budget possible to have big players, but not at any cost. "That's why sometimes we basically walk away from negotiations, because we still want players extremely keen on coming, and not only looking for the money." Calzada also responded to suggestions that his club were interested in a short-term loan deal for Cristiano Ronaldo from Al Nassr, so he could appear at Gianni Infantino's new and controversial competition. But Calzada rubbished the idea of the Portugal star joining from his club's biggest rivals. He added: "As much as I respect Ronaldo as a huge player, as we all recognise he is, it's certainly completely counter-intuitive that you bring the biggest player of your biggest opponent to play with you. Even more when it's only for three to four weeks. "We've been trying to see if we can reinforce the team. But some players were with a mindset of 'holidays already', some players were sometimes just asking for too much money, and we're aware that our team is extremely competitive. "We'll go into the traditional transfer window after the tournament still with the biggest ambitions to see if we can reinforce the team even more."
