Latest news with #Hincapie
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chelsea Have Set Their Sights On This Bundesliga Defender: Should Maresca Get Him On Board?
In a recent report, Fichajes revealed that Chelsea have set their sights on Bayer 04 Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie this summer. It has been stated that the Blues are eyeing a move to bring the Ecuadorian centre-back to Stamford Bridge in this transfer window. Hincapie's Impressive Form In German Football Hincapie enjoyed a good run of form at the German club in the previous campaign when he put in a series of impressive displays for them in the final third. The Ecuadorian talent took part in 45 matches for Bayer 04 Leverkusen last season, scoring three goals and earning two assists in multiple competitions. The 23-year-old gave a good account of himself on the defensive end of the field as he made 52 tackles, 40 blocks and 32 interceptions in the Bundesliga. He was even accurate with his ball distribution after completing 87.9% of his attempted passes in the German first division (stats via His current contract at the German club will run out in the summer of 2029. Hence, it won't be easy for Chelsea to get a deal done for him on the cheap in this transfer window. GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR – JUNE 05: Piero Hincapié of Ecuador reacts during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Ecuador and Brazil at Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo on June 05, 2025 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. (Photo by) Should Chelsea Boss Enzo Maresca Get Hincapie On Board? Hincapie is a solid tackler of the ball and can scan the danger well to make some timely interceptions for his team inside his half. He usually clears his lines when the opposition are on the front foot. The Ecuadorian sensation excels at playing his way out from the back. Hincapie is primarily a centre-back but can also play as a left-back or as a left-sided wide player if needed. However, it remains to be seen whether he can make a smooth transition to life in the Premier League if the Blues manage to snap him up this month. We can expect Hincapie to add more bite and steel to Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca's defence. He has what it takes to challenge for a regular first-team spot at the West London club this season. At 23, Hincapie has his best years ahead of him, which makes him a good choice for the Blues to consider this summer. All in all, Maresca should think about going all out to get him on board before the end of this transfer period.
The Age
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Lance Armstrong is back, but he should be banned from any association with cycling
Nonetheless, that indelible image of Armstrong kickin' back in his study, seven framed yellow jerseys still hanging on the wall, years after his name was stricken from the record books. Defiance, in the face of certainty and reason. Why is any of this relevant in 2025? Pogačar was a seven-year-old the last time Armstrong stood victorious, cloaked in yellow on the Champs-Élysées. Because Armstrong is back (if indeed he ever went away). Not as a cyclist. Not as a coach or a team owner. But as a sponsor. As someone who wants to hitch his trailer to the commerciality of pro cycling. Armstrong these days has shape-shifted to becoming a podcaster. His podcast, THEMOVE, on professional cycling, triathlon and other endurance sports, fairly kills it. Apparently. One of Armstrong's joint venturers on this new media is George Hincapie. A former teammate of Armstrong's, whose name appears not less than 287 times in USADA's reasoned decision concerning Armstrong (I counted), because Hincapie's sworn testimony, including regarding his own use of prohibited substances, was one of the evidentiary planks on which Armstrong was banned for life. Hincapie had retired by August 2012. For his part, he nonetheless was suspended for six months in late 2012 for his misconduct. His personal results achieved in past Tours de France while he was doping were expunged. But now, in addition to being a podcaster, Hincapie is the owner of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling. A new US team with the stated aim of eventually, but within a short timeframe, obtaining a first division pro licence from cycling's international federation, the UCI. That licence would in turn permit Modern Adventure's entry to pro cycling's greatest single-day races and grand tours. The Tour de France included. The question then becomes one of how can this be allowed to happen? How could Armstrong's podcast insignia have the potential to be splashed across the livery of a pro cycling team that might one day compete on the sport's biggest stage? USADA's sanction of a period of lifetime ineligibility and disqualification of all competitive results that Armstrong achieved, since 1998, remains in force. No appeal has shifted that life sentence. Ineligibility by definition in anti-doping terms means that a person so sanctioned is barred, on account of their anti-doping rule violations, for a specified period of time from participating in any competition or other activity. If Armstrong had been sanctioned for his misconduct not as an athlete but as a coach, manager or other non-athlete personnel, his lifetime ban would be caught by the prohibited association rules appearing in the WADA Code. Those make it a separate offence for an athlete to continue to associate with a coach, for example, who is serving a ban for doping. But because Armstrong was sanctioned as an athlete, and not a coach, those prohibited association rules don't apply. Which is an endpoint that highlights a glaring gap in WADA's rules. USADA's reasoned decision is constructed on the foundation of witness statements and affidavits received from more than two dozen fellow professional cyclists and non-riding staff from Armstrong's US Postal team. Fairly put, Armstrong wasn't merely a doper. If he were, he'd not have been banned for life. Instead, Armstrong was a conniving standover merchant who demanded not only that his misdeeds be smothered, but that many other cyclists faithfully commit to an orchestrated and systemic doping program under a code of silence – otherwise they would be cut from his team. USADA's reasoned decision records that Armstrong 'acted with the help of a small army of enablers, including doping doctors, drug smugglers, and others within and outside the sport and on his team'. What the USADA determination says next though, is more telling: 'the evidence is also clear that Armstrong had ultimate control over not only his own personal drug use, which was extensive, but also over the doping culture of his team. Final responsibility for decisions to hire and retain a director, doctors and other staff committed to running a team-wide doping program ultimately flowed to him.' USADA goes on, 'His goal led him to depend on EPO [Erythropoietin; a natural hormone produced by the kidney that stimulates the production of red blood cells], testosterone and blood transfusions but also, more ruthlessly, to expect and to require that his teammates would likewise use drugs to support his goals if not their own. 'The evidence is overwhelming that Lance Armstrong did not just use performance-enhancing drugs, he supplied them to his teammates … [and] he also required that they adhere to the doping program outlined for them or be replaced.' Armstrong wasn't just a menacing coach exercising power over trusting, young and inexperienced athletes susceptible to subtle manipulation. If he were, the prohibited association provisions of the WADA Code would see to it that Armstrong couldn't sponsor a pro cycling team. Loading Armstrong was much worse. He strong-armed and bullied with impunity. He demanded of others that they also must break all the rules, lest he'd smash their career to smithereens. He exercised greater power over his fellow athletes than team principals, coaches and doctors ever could on their own. You could forgive Armstrong for his own doping: he's hardly Robinson Crusoe after all. What can't however, be forgotten is the malevolent intent; the single-minded viciousness and the destructive consequences inflicted by him, on countless others caught in his orbit. Whether you can forgive Armstrong for all that is one thing. It's quite another though, to countenance the idea that he somehow be a sponsor of anyone's future success.
Sydney Morning Herald
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Lance Armstrong is back, but he should be banned from any association with cycling
Nonetheless, that indelible image of Armstrong kickin' back in his study, seven framed yellow jerseys still hanging on the wall, years after his name was stricken from the record books. Defiance, in the face of certainty and reason. Why is any of this relevant in 2025? Pogačar was a seven-year-old the last time Armstrong stood victorious, cloaked in yellow on the Champs-Élysées. Because Armstrong is back (if indeed he ever went away). Not as a cyclist. Not as a coach or a team owner. But as a sponsor. As someone who wants to hitch his trailer to the commerciality of pro cycling. Armstrong these days has shape-shifted to becoming a podcaster. His podcast, THEMOVE, on professional cycling, triathlon and other endurance sports, fairly kills it. Apparently. One of Armstrong's joint venturers on this new media is George Hincapie. A former teammate of Armstrong's, whose name appears not less than 287 times in USADA's reasoned decision concerning Armstrong (I counted), because Hincapie's sworn testimony, including regarding his own use of prohibited substances, was one of the evidentiary planks on which Armstrong was banned for life. Hincapie had retired by August 2012. For his part, he nonetheless was suspended for six months in late 2012 for his misconduct. His personal results achieved in past Tours de France while he was doping were expunged. But now, in addition to being a podcaster, Hincapie is the owner of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling. A new US team with the stated aim of eventually, but within a short timeframe, obtaining a first division pro licence from cycling's international federation, the UCI. That licence would in turn permit Modern Adventure's entry to pro cycling's greatest single-day races and grand tours. The Tour de France included. The question then becomes one of how can this be allowed to happen? How could Armstrong's podcast insignia have the potential to be splashed across the livery of a pro cycling team that might one day compete on the sport's biggest stage? USADA's sanction of a period of lifetime ineligibility and disqualification of all competitive results that Armstrong achieved, since 1998, remains in force. No appeal has shifted that life sentence. Ineligibility by definition in anti-doping terms means that a person so sanctioned is barred, on account of their anti-doping rule violations, for a specified period of time from participating in any competition or other activity. If Armstrong had been sanctioned for his misconduct not as an athlete but as a coach, manager or other non-athlete personnel, his lifetime ban would be caught by the prohibited association rules appearing in the WADA Code. Those make it a separate offence for an athlete to continue to associate with a coach, for example, who is serving a ban for doping. But because Armstrong was sanctioned as an athlete, and not a coach, those prohibited association rules don't apply. Which is an endpoint that highlights a glaring gap in WADA's rules. USADA's reasoned decision is constructed on the foundation of witness statements and affidavits received from more than two dozen fellow professional cyclists and non-riding staff from Armstrong's US Postal team. Fairly put, Armstrong wasn't merely a doper. If he were, he'd not have been banned for life. Instead, Armstrong was a conniving standover merchant who demanded not only that his misdeeds be smothered, but that many other cyclists faithfully commit to an orchestrated and systemic doping program under a code of silence – otherwise they would be cut from his team. USADA's reasoned decision records that Armstrong 'acted with the help of a small army of enablers, including doping doctors, drug smugglers, and others within and outside the sport and on his team'. What the USADA determination says next though, is more telling: 'the evidence is also clear that Armstrong had ultimate control over not only his own personal drug use, which was extensive, but also over the doping culture of his team. Final responsibility for decisions to hire and retain a director, doctors and other staff committed to running a team-wide doping program ultimately flowed to him.' USADA goes on, 'His goal led him to depend on EPO [Erythropoietin; a natural hormone produced by the kidney that stimulates the production of red blood cells], testosterone and blood transfusions but also, more ruthlessly, to expect and to require that his teammates would likewise use drugs to support his goals if not their own. 'The evidence is overwhelming that Lance Armstrong did not just use performance-enhancing drugs, he supplied them to his teammates … [and] he also required that they adhere to the doping program outlined for them or be replaced.' Armstrong wasn't just a menacing coach exercising power over trusting, young and inexperienced athletes susceptible to subtle manipulation. If he were, the prohibited association provisions of the WADA Code would see to it that Armstrong couldn't sponsor a pro cycling team. Loading Armstrong was much worse. He strong-armed and bullied with impunity. He demanded of others that they also must break all the rules, lest he'd smash their career to smithereens. He exercised greater power over his fellow athletes than team principals, coaches and doctors ever could on their own. You could forgive Armstrong for his own doping: he's hardly Robinson Crusoe after all. What can't however, be forgotten is the malevolent intent; the single-minded viciousness and the destructive consequences inflicted by him, on countless others caught in his orbit. Whether you can forgive Armstrong for all that is one thing. It's quite another though, to countenance the idea that he somehow be a sponsor of anyone's future success.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bayer Leverkusen defender pushing club to negotiate Real Madrid transfer
Real Madrid are all set to confirm the appointment of Xabi Alonso as their new manager, with the Spanish tactician having already announced his departure from Bayer Leverkusen. Ever since it became clear that Alonso would be headed to the Santiago Bernabeu, a number of players from Leverkusen have been touted as potential targets for Los Blancos. Advertisement The most prominent player has been Florian Wirtz, a long-time target for Real Madrid, although it appears like he might be bound for Bayern Munich. Another ward of Alonso being linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu from the BayArena his Piero Hincapie, with Real Madrid in the market for defensive reinforcements. Hincapie pressuring Leverkusen to negotiate Building on that, El Chiringuito TV now reports that Hincapie is putting pressure on Bayer Leverkusen to negotiate his transfer to Real Madrid in the summer. Having joined the club back in 2021, Hincapie has grown into a permanent fixture in the defensive line for Die Werkself. Hincapie eager to follow Alonso to Real Madrid. (Photo by) The 23-year-old Ecuadorian international has a contract with Leverkusen that runs until 2029, having signed it as recently as December last year. Advertisement That gives Leverkusen the edge in any negotiations with interested parties over his transfer. Real Madrid, for their part, have admired Hincapie for some time now and the imminent arrival of Alonso has only served to further fuel the speculations of a transfer interest. However, as has been made abundantly clear, Dean Huijsen of AFC Bournemouth is the absolute priority for Real Madrid when it comes to reinforcing the centre-back department. In fact, earlier today, it was suggested that a move for the 20-year-old Spanish international was getting closer after a recent meeting between the club officials and the youngster's agents. So, while Hincapie might be yearning for a move to Real Madrid, as things stand, it does not seem like the club are looking to make a play for his signing this summer.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Barcelona add Bundesliga and Serie A defenders to summer shortlist
Barcelona add Bundesliga and Serie A defenders to summer shortlist Barcelona are expected to be busy summer, and while the signing of a right-back is on the agenda, they are also looking centrally do in their bid to strengthen the options that head coach Hansi Flick has at his disposal. Advertisement Barcelona sporting director Deco will be tasked with addressing the needs of Flick's squad, of which the most pressing positions are left wing and right-back. It also appears that central defence is an area that the Catalan club would like to strengthen – in particular, a new left-sided centre-back is desired. Flick has made it clear that he likes to use a left-footed central defender on the left side, which is a reason for Inigo Martinez being preferred to Ronald Araujo. But with the former Real Sociedad and Athletic Club player turning 34 next month, he will need to be replaced in the coming years. And in terms of successors, Barcelona have identified two at this stage – with Diario AS reporting that Piero Hincapie and Jhon Lucumi are both on the shortlist that Deco has compiled. Image via Getty Images Barcelona scouted Lucumi during Bologna's recent 1-1 draw against Napoli, and in December, they held informal discussions with the representatives of the Colombian international. But at this stage, it is Bayer Leverkusen man Hincapie that is believed to be the club's preferred target for the left centre-back position. Advertisement Hincapie was wanted by Atletico Madrid last summer, but Los Colchoneros have cooled their interest in him – and instead, they are reported to be looking at Lucumi alongside Barcelona, as well as the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli and AS Roma. It remains to be seen whether Barcelona target the signing of Hincapie or Lucumi this summer, but it is a good idea to start thinking about the addition of a new left-sided central defender given that it is a position that they will soon need.
