Latest news with #DiStefano
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Toronto Maple Leafs face mounting pressure to replace Mitch Marner after free agency failures
The Toronto Maple Leafs are under pressure to find a top-six replacement (Getty Images) The Toronto Maple Leafs are officially on the clock. After trading away star winger Mitch Marner in a blockbuster sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, the Leafs are scrambling to fill the massive void left by his departure—and time is quickly running out. Insider warns Leafs can't afford to wait while the trade market heats up T oronto entered free agency eyeing top-six replacements but came up short on several key targets. Both Nikolaj Ehlers and Brock Boeser—widely viewed as ideal candidates to slot alongside Auston Matthews—opted to sign elsewhere, despite Toronto's competitive offers. Ehlers landed with the Hurricanes on a six-year, $51 million deal, while Boeser stayed loyal to Vancouver, rejecting more money from the Leafs. TSN's Mike DiStefano didn't sugarcoat the urgency surrounding the situation. 'Obviously, that's a big hole, right, for the Maple Leafs, and they've got to fill that Mitch Marner hole,' DiStefano said on OverDrive. He acknowledged that while Matias Maccelli—one of Toronto's recent additions—has potential, 'That's not gonna replace 100 points. That's not gonna replace your top penalty killer, the guy who controls your power play. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo ' With few high-end wingers remaining on the open market, DiStefano believes General Manager Brad Treliving must now shift focus to the trade market. 'I'm curious to see what Brad Treliving has up his sleeve to make that placement,' he added. So far, the return for Marner—center Nicolas Roy—is underwhelming when measured against the superstar's production. Roy notched 31 points last season and is unlikely to provide the scoring punch Toronto urgently needs. Meanwhile, the team still has $4.9 million in cap space, but that figure may not be enough to land the kind of impact player they need without making further roster moves. Also Read: NHL Contract Extension: Golden Knights begin talks to make Jack Eichel highest-paid player in franchise history If the Leafs want to stay competitive in the Eastern Conference and keep Matthews in championship contention mode, the front office must act decisively—and soon. With the trade market quickly tightening, Toronto's path forward will likely define its 2025-26 campaign. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Business Upturn
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
5 hyped football transfers that never happened
By Aman Shukla Published on July 4, 2025, 20:20 IST The transfer window in football is like a soap opera—full of drama, wild rumors, and moments that make you scream, 'How did that not happen?!' Fans get hyped, jerseys are mocked up, and then… nothing. Some of the biggest names in the game have been at the center of these almost-deals that leave us dreaming of what could've been. From Nico Williams' recent Barcelona heartbreak to a legend nearly joining a small English club, here are five transfers that got the world talking but never crossed the finish line. 1. Nico Williams to Barcelona (2025) Oh, man, the Nico Williams saga this summer had us all glued to our phones. The 22-year-old Athletic Bilbao winger was the guy everyone wanted after he lit up Euro 2024 with Spain. Barcelona fans were already picturing him tearing down the wing with Lamine Yamal, his buddy from the national team. Word was, Barca had his signature all but locked in—personal terms agreed, €58 million release clause ready to be paid. It felt like a done deal, with some even calling it '150% certain.' But then, classic Barcelona: their money troubles reared up. La Liga's salary cap rules threw a wrench in the plans, and some last-minute demands from Williams' agent didn't help. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich were circling, but Nico stayed put in Bilbao, saying he's happy there. Honestly, it's a gut-punch for Barca fans who were ready to see him light up the Camp Nou. 2. Zinedine Zidane to Blackburn Rovers (1995) This one's straight out of a fever dream. Picture Zinedine Zidane, the guy who'd become a football god, signing for Blackburn Rovers. Yep, Blackburn . Back in '95, fresh off their Premier League title, Rovers were sniffing around for talent. Their scouts spotted a young Zizou at Bordeaux, and the assistant coach was begging the club to snap him up. But the chairman, Jack Walker, dropped the most legendary line in transfer history: 'Why sign Zidane when we've got Tim Sherwood?' Oof. Blackburn passed, and Zidane went on to dazzle at Juventus and Real Madrid, winning everything from World Cups to Ballon d'Ors. Rovers fans still wince thinking about what might've been if their club had taken the leap. 3. Alfredo Di Stefano to Barcelona (1953) This story is wild, even by today's standards. Alfredo Di Stefano, the guy who'd make Real Madrid untouchable, was this close to signing for Barcelona. The Catalans had a deal with River Plate, who owned his rights, and thought they'd bagged the Argentine superstar. But Real Madrid, not ones to miss out, struck their own deal with Millonarios, where Di Stefano was playing in Colombia. It turned into a proper mess, with both clubs claiming him. Then, get this: the Spanish authorities, with a nudge from Franco's regime, suggested Di Stefano split time between the two clubs, playing a season for each. Barcelona said, 'Nah, we're out,' and Real swooped in. Di Stefano became the heart of Madrid's five straight European Cups. Barca fans still talk about this one as the ultimate 'what if' that changed their rivalry forever. 4. Rivaldo to Bolton Wanderers (2004) Okay, imagine Rivaldo, the 1999 Ballon d'Or winner, strutting his stuff at Bolton Wanderers. Sounds bonkers, right? But in 2004, it nearly happened. Bolton, managed by the larger-than-life Sam Allardyce, were punching above their weight in the Premier League with players like Jay-Jay Okocha. They set their sights on Rivaldo, who'd just left Barcelona and had a brief stint at AC Milan. The Brazilian legend was genuinely up for it, charmed by Allardyce's vision of leading Bolton to Europe. Talks got serious, and Rivaldo was hyping up the move. Then, poof—it fell apart, and no one's quite sure why. Maybe it was money, maybe cold feet. Either way, the idea of Rivaldo in a Bolton kit is one of football's craziest near-misses. 5. Steven Gerrard to Chelsea (2005) Stevie G in a Chelsea shirt? It's the stuff of nightmares for Liverpool fans. Back in 2005, after Liverpool's epic Champions League comeback in Istanbul, Steven Gerrard was the hottest property in football. But he was frustrated with contract talks at Anfield, and Chelsea, flush with cash and Jose Mourinho's swagger, came calling. Gerrard admitted he was tempted—Chelsea were building an empire, and the idea of winning titles with them was hard to ignore. The rumor mill went into overdrive, and for a moment, it looked like he might actually go. In the end, his love for Liverpool and the Kop's adoration kept him home. He stayed a one-club legend, but imagine the chaos if he'd ended up at Stamford Bridge. Ahmedabad Plane Crash BarcelonaFootball transferNico Williams Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Epic stats after an epic night in Milan
An unforgettable night at San Siro - full of drama and plot twists - ended with Internazionale knocking out Barcelona to reach the Champions League final. The Italians reached their seventh European Cup/Champions League final with a rugged and intelligent victory over the highly-talented Catalans and there are a host of fascinating statistics to enjoy as the dust settles on what will go down as one of the greatest semi-finals in the competition's illustrious history. Here are the pick of them! (Un)lucky for some Advertisement Let's kick off with the number of goals scored in the tie: a 3-3 draw in Catalonia preceding last night's 4-3 success for the Nerazzurri in Milan. This marks only the second time in the entire history of the Champions League that a semi-final ended with 13 goals scored on aggregate. Only the Liverpool and Roma semi-final in the 2017/2018 edition (5-2 for the Reds in the first leg and 4-2 for the Giallorossi in the return) can match last night in terms of sheer goals scored. In fact, across all of the knockout rounds in the modern Champions League era (i.e. from the 1992/1993 season), 13 goals have only been hit on only one other occasion: when Bayern Munich thrashed Sporting 12-1 on aggregate in the round of 16 in 2008/2009. Dumfries, the unlikely protagonist Absolutely key for Simone Inzaghi's victors, right-back Denzel Dumfries was the main outlet of the Nerazzurri attack over the two legs against Barcelona. The Dutch full-back was decisive in Catalonia and Milan and achieved an unprecedented feat for a player in his position in the process. Advertisement With two goals and an assist in Barcelona, and two more assists at the San Siro, Dumfries recorded five direct goal involvements in the semi-final stage, a feat achieved by precious few in the history of the Champions League. The only one who has actually surpassed the Dutchman in this context is the legendary Alessandro Del Piero, who scored four goals and provided two assists for Juventus in knockout matches against Monaco in the 1997/1998 season. An honourable mention also goes to Brazilian Roberto Firmino, who scored two goals and supplied three assists over two legs against Roma in 2017/2018. Experience tells in the end With an average age of over 26-years-old, Inter have an experienced squad and they reaped the benefits in the semi-final in decisive moments. In stoppage time, when the Italians were losing 3-2, 37-year-old defender Francesco Acerbi appeared seemingly from nowhere to blast Dumfries' cross into the back of the net to force extra time. Advertisement That goal from Acerbi brought up another important milestone in the history of the Champions League. The number 15 became the third-oldest player to score in a semi-final in Europe's premier competition, only legends such as Ryan Giggs and Di Stefano netting goals at more advanced stages in their careers. Here's the list of the 'Top 5' old boys! - 37 years, 10 months: Di Stefano (1964) - 37 years, 4 months: Giggs (2011) - 37 years, 2 months: Acerbi (2025) - 37 years, 1 month, 23 days: Dzeko (2023) - 37 years, 1 month, 5 days: Puskas (1964) Inzaghi's moment Simone Inzaghi went through every conceivable emotion last night during Inter's rollercoaster win and he also clocked up an historic stat. Advertisement A finalist with Inter in the 2022/2023 season, the Italian is now only the second coach to reach two Champions League finals with the Nerazzurri (after legendary Argentine coach Helenio Herrera, who reached and won back-to-back finals in 1963/1964 and 1964/1965). Raphinha's remarkable record Despite having to swallow the bitter pill of elimination, Raphinha certainly left his mark on this season's competition. After his strike last night, the Brazilian reached a total of 21 goal involvements in the current edition of Europe's premier club competition: 13 goals and eight assists. To highlight the magnitude of this achievement, only Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo (17 goals and four assists) has had such a decisive season in terms of goal involvements in the Champions League. Advertisement However, in Ronaldo's case there was a happy ending: CR7 scored in the final as he led Real Madrid to a 4-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in the 2013/14 final. Raphinha is currently the Champions League's top scorer in 2024/25, alongside Guirassy of Dortmund, and also tops the assist charts.
New York Times
04-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
From Kylian Mbappe to Cristiano Ronaldo, why Real Madrid fans whistle their own players
When even Kylian Mbappe is whistled by the Bernabeu, you get a sense of just how demanding Real Madrid's fanbase is. Mbappe, the 2018 World Cup winner and Madrid's top scorer this season, was targeted in his team's 1-0 win against Athletic Club in April, which followed their Champions League quarter-final elimination by Arsenal. Advertisement He is not alone. Other star players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas and Alfredo Di Stefano have all been whistled at some point by the Spanish club's fans. So what is behind it and what does it tell us about the pressures of playing for Madrid? In England, players are booed; in Spain, they are whistled. It goes beyond football to the world of bullfighting, which has deep roots in Spain. When the performance of the 'corrida' (bullfight in Spanish) does not go well, spectators often voice their disapproval in this way. Nowhere is whistling more common than Madrid, Spain's capital which, historically, has a more demanding character than other cities. There are examples of it happening in Real Madrid matches since 1920, including with forward Gaspar Rubio. The journalist and historian Alberto Cosin referred to Rubio as a 'fickle and fractious character' who was sometimes 'booed and whistled' in an article for Spanish outlet La Galerna in 2015. When Rubio took an unauthorised trip to Cuba and Mexico and returned in 1932 to play in a game against Athletic, Cosin writes that 'he received huge whistles when he took to the field'. But the first notable cases actually come from Madrid's first great era of success in the 1950s, when they won the first five European Cups in a row. Until last year, Francisco 'Paco' Gento was the only player to win six European Cup/Champions League finals (Dani Carvajal and Luka Modric have since joined him in that feat). But his style of play meant he did not experience an easy start to life at the Bernabeu. The Spanish winger was described by fans at the time as being so quick that he often left the ball behind him, meaning fans despaired when he lost possession. At one point Madrid considered sending him back to Racing Santander, the club they had signed him from, only for the iconic Di Stefano to vouch for him to the club's president, Santiago Bernabeu. Even Di Stefano, Madrid's all-time top scorer with 308 goals until first Raul and then Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema overtook him, knew what it was like to be whistled at the Bernabeu. In December 1962, a newspaper advertising campaign superimposed a woman's legs with stockings on Di Stefano with the tagline: 'If I were my wife, I would wear Berkshire stockings.' The reaction in Spain — a conservative society, still under the rule of the dictator General Franco — was so outraged that Madrid had to pay the company 150,000 pesetas (around €900 in today's currency) to stop using the image. Advertisement Even so, when Di Stefano next played at the Bernabeu he was greeted with resounding whistles. His response? Two key goals in a 3-2 win against Athletic Club. According to Jorge Valdano, who represented Madrid as a player, manager and general manager, the media pressure around the club creates high expectations among fans. Now a pundit, he also suffered whistles in the 1980s. 'It has to do not only with the people but with the atmosphere at Real Madrid, with the media coverage and the weight of the week that someone spends at Real Madrid,' Valdano, now 69, tells The Athletic. 'While I was playing for Madrid, sometimes going to Argentina felt like a relief. 'It's not that in Argentina I didn't have any demands because finishing second in a World Cup was already a failure. But the weight of the week wasn't the same as the one you suffered at Real Madrid, which forces you to be in a permanent state of alert. That's why I always say that Madrid's players run in self-defence. 'I played for four or five months with the whole stadium against me, I had Jose Maria Garcia (a radio journalist known for his tough criticism) against me, but it didn't change my game. Then I completed the best season of my life by winning the league, UEFA Cup and World Cup (in 1986).' In that same decade, another club legend in Michel Gonzalez received the same treatment. The midfielder was part of the famous 'Quinta del Buitre' generation, led by striker Emilio Butragueno and consisting of five stars from the club's academy. In one match against Espanyol in June 1989, Michel decided he could no longer stand the fans' whistles and left the pitch in protest. Madrid had already won La Liga but had lost their European Cup semi-final against Milan 6-1 on aggregate, with Michel singled out by the fans. 'When I go to football, I go to enjoy myself,' he told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser in a 1989 interview with Valdano himself. 'The day of Espanyol I couldn't take it any more and I left. 'I understand that it's wrong, but I was very disappointed. It was a day of celebration and even on that day they didn't forgive me. It's like if your father scolds you every day, and on your wedding day too. I'm a professional, but when I go on the pitch I feel like a Madridista (Madrid fan) and it hurts me that they persecute me like that.' Michel said in that interview that he wanted to leave the club — although he only ended up departing in 1996, having made 559 appearances and scored 178 goals. But why do fans express their disapproval by whistling, specifically? For Sara Martinez de Espejo, a psychologist specialising in sport and high performance who works with La Liga side Leganes, it is a result of fans thinking they can impact the match. 'A mirror effect is generated with idols of the past,' she tells The Athletic. 'They create a yardstick and if the current players don't match the required level of character and quality, the fans get angry. Advertisement 'The fans believe that they have an influence. Sometimes they do it consciously or unconsciously as a form of psychological pressure. Players may snap out of it in response to that provocation but it is not always a good strategy.' In more recent times, even Ronaldo — Madrid's all-time top scorer with 450 goals from 2009-2018 — had to put up with it. The Portugal forward was whistled by a section of the Bernabeu stands after miscontrolling a ball in a match against Real Sociedad in 2017. He did not take it well, with Spanish TV footage showing him calling fans 'Filhos de p***' (sons of b****es) in Portuguese. Then-captain Sergio Ramos appeared to tell Ronaldo to calm down and he ended up scoring and assisting in a 3-0 win. Gareth Bale repeatedly experienced the same treatment as his nine-year stay in the Spanish capital gradually turned sour after his world-record move in 2013. In 2022, then-Madrid midfielder Casemiro said fans were 'whistling at the history of this club' when they targeted the Welshman. 'The first time I was a bit like, 'Oh, what is this?',' Bale told the Erik Anders Lang podcast in 2020. 'You would expect your fans to get behind you and try and make you do better because it will make them happy, but it seems that they do the opposite. They just whistle you, which makes you feel worse.' Before that, the Bernabeu played a part in Jose Mourinho's fractious tenure as manager from 2010-2013. He was whistled in a match against Athletic Club, only reacting when he heard chants against him from the south end of the ground, where the ultras (Madrid's most vocal supporters) were located, telling them to be quiet. '(Zinedine) Zidane has been whistled here, Ronaldo (Nazario) and Cristiano Ronaldo have been whistled here. Why can't I be whistled?' he told his post-match press conference. 'There is a first time for almost everything and it has happened to me. It's OK.' Advertisement The story did not end there. At the end of 2012, during a difficult start to the season, Mourinho told fans to get to the ground early before a match against Atletico Madrid so they could applaud or whistle him as they saw fit. It was the Portuguese's attempt to draw the sting of the situation, having grown weary at what he told reporters had become the 'national sport' of criticising him, but when he emerged onto the Bernabeu pitch, the ground was half empty. Despite some whistles, the majority of those present applauded him. Legendary homegrown goalkeeper Casillas was also suffering at the time due to his frosty relations with Mourinho — he was benched by the coach amid accusations he was leaking information to the press, something he vehemently denied. Yet criticism of Casillas continued even after Mourinho left and went into overdrive in what would end up being his final season at the club in 2014-15. During a game against Valencia practically all the fans in the Bernabeu whistled him whenever he touched the ball — especially after Valencia went 2-0 up (Madrid went on to draw 2-2). 'Whistle whatever you want, for f***'s sake,' was Casillas' reaction, captured by Spanish TV. Valdano thinks that the players who come up from Madrid's academy have it even harder than signings from elsewhere. 'When in the youth ranks you put on the Madrid shirt and go to play in the neighbourhoods of Madrid you have to put up with the aggressiveness of the people, the aggressiveness that always falls on the big boys,' he says. 'I remember an 11-year-old kid at a youth tournament talking in an interview and they told him he was going to play in Barcelona, in a very tough environment and the kid said, 'No problem with that, we're used to it'. Putting on this shirt puts you under a high level of pressure from day one.' That pressure is just as intense now. Expectations in Madrid remain sky-high and there is even more necessity to be successful, given the club's outlay on a Bernabeu rebuild worth at least €1.76billion (£1.5bn/$2bn) and a cast of galacticos including Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham. This season, fans have made their voices heard as Carlo Ancelotti's team have struggled to match their achievements of winning La Liga and the Champions League last season. After the 5-2 thrashing in the Supercopa de Espana final against Barcelona, Ancelotti, midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and right-back Lucas Vazquez were whistled when their names were called out on the Bernabeu loudspeakers in their following game against Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey. Madrid almost blew a 2-0 lead in that game before winning 5-2 in extra time, with Ancelotti calling the whistles 'an acceptable wake-up call.' Advertisement Vinicius Jr heard whistles in another match against Valencia in which he was replaced with the score at 1-1. Afterwards, against Athletic Club, he scored a goal that was later disallowed, but chose not to celebrate with the fans. Mbappe has faced whistles on several occasions this season, although it was particularly noticeable after the Champions League exit to Arsenal. The Frenchman was suspended for the following game against Athletic but, when a picture of him was shown on the TV screens in the ground, a significant section of the crowd showed their dissatisfaction. 'The psychological impact on players exists 100 per cent, but it depends what they are like,' says Martinez de Espejo. 'It can provoke anticipatory anxiety, which is the anxiety of failing in fear of the reaction of the crowd. It can also provoke self-doubt, which is when the player doubts his actions and some become emotionally distanced, which is a defence mechanism.' Then again, Valdano says that is just the way it goes with supporters who are so used to glory. 'There is a rush to condemn players,' says Valdano. 'But that's the story: at the Bernabeu, nobody gets off the hook.'
