Latest news with #Malaga
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Jones names 12 uncapped players in Wales U21s squad
Matty Jones has included eight players that featured in Wales' recent senior training camp in Spain for his under-21s' friendly against Norway next has named a 21-player squad which includes the likes of Lewys Benjamin, Joel Cotterill, Cian Ashford and Kai Andrews for the contest with Norway on 6 June (15:00 BST).Sam Parker, Dylan Lawlor, Rhys Thomas and Luey Giles - who also had the chance to impress senior boss Craig Bellamy earlier this month - have also been selected for the U21s fixture in squad featured 12 uncapped players, including Cardiff City's Luke Armstrong, Troy Perrett and Tanatswa Nyakuhwa along with Manchester City's Rhys Thomas. The fixture in Spain will be Wales' final match before they begin their U21 Euro 2027 qualifying campaign at home to the group's top seeds Denmark on 8 September. Wales U21s squad Evan Watts (Swansea City), Lewys Benjamin (Wolves), Luke Armstrong (Cardiff City), Archie Harris (AFC Bournemouth), Luey Giles (Cardiff City), Zac Williams (Crewe Alexandra), Ben Hammond (Nottingham Forest), Thierry Katsukunya (Aston Villa), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City), Sam Parker (Swansea City), Alex Williams (West Bromwich Albion), Rhys Thomas (Man City), Joel Cotterill (Swansea City), Kai Andrews (Coventry City), Jonathan Bland (Barnsley), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), Troy Perrett (Cardiff City), Cian Ashford (Cardiff City), Tanatswa Nyakuhwa (Cardiff City), Cameron Congreve (Swansea City), Chris Popov (Leicester City).
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Old foes and his football father - why this is Maresca's final
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is facing an old friend and battling a former foe. The Italian is genuinely delighted the Conference League final against Real Betis pits him against his 'football dad' Manuel Pellegrini, who first encouraged him to become a coach while playing for Malaga in 2011 and gave him his break among his coaching staff at West Ham seven years later. With Pellegrini now in charge of Betis, Maresca watched the final 30 minutes of the Spanish side's semi-final win over Fiorentina after Chelsea had comfortably saw off Swedish club Djurgarden. But while he has a friend and father figure in the opposing dugout, Maresca expects Betis supporters to boo him after excelling during his playing career at city rivals Sevilla. There will also be tension of a different kind among the Chelsea support in Poland. While ownership and sporting directors plan to evaluate Maresca after the end of the 2025-26 season, effectively giving him another year, winning a first trophy will be important to convince Blues fans of his worth. That's why this is Maresca's final: one of emotion, joy and implications for his future. "If I know how he thinks, he probably also knows how I think," said Maresca of the opposition boss. "So I don't think it gives us an advantage in this final." This game is very much master versus apprentice. In an interview while managing Manchester City's Under-21s in 2020, Maresca said: "Manuel was both the coach and the person who convinced me to try be a coach myself when I finished playing." Maresca revealed the Chilean planted the seed when he was playing in midfield for Malaga that he could be a good coach one day. It was in a season where Pellgrini guided Malaga from the relegation zone to fourth in La Liga to qualify for the Champions League, in a team which featured his current assistant Willy Caballero in goal. To this day, Maresca is in touch with Pellegrini on a regular basis. The Italian sent a "short message" to his mentor saying, "see you in the final" before the league phase started and they have been in touch multiple times this season, finally crossing paths again in Wroclaw as both teams conducted open training sessions. When asked what one lesson he learned from Pellegrini, Maresca said: "I've learned many things from Manuel. But if I choose one, he taught me to treat my players as my sons. I have four sons, but I have 25 others in the dressing room. "It is one of many things I have learned from him. We both know each other pretty well." When asked if children must obey their father, Pellegrini added: "When children grow up, parents no longer have any authority. He learned from many people, he was also with Pep Guardiola. He will have and is already having a great career. "It reflects his ability and the intention to study and learn that he always has." Mentions of Guardiola show just how well Pellegrini knows Maresca. Having also worked under Carlo Ancelotti and Marcello Lippi as a player at Juventus, he will know that one of Maresca's biggest inspirations was facing Guardiola's Barcelona team in 2008 while at Sevilla. Ever since that day, the box-to-box midfielder knew what kind of coach he wanted to be. That's why he joined Guardiola's coaching staff in 2020. Maresca says that educated him greatly. He managed the Under-23 side, briefly leaving for an ill-fated spell at Parma, before returning to become Guardiola's assistant. He was influential in adding a tactical evolution, pushing for central defenders like John Stones, to play an inverted full-back role, stepping into midfield, rather than make overlapping runs, to help outnumber teams in the middle of the pitch. That partnership of Guardiola and Maresca helped City to win a historic treble in 2023, before he joined Leicester to help lead them to the Championship title the following season. Maresca was adored by fans of Betis' fierce rivals Sevilla and is very likely to be booed at the Wroclaw Stadium. Nicknamed El Capo, 'The Boss' by Sevilla fans, he was a key midfield force as they won two Europa League trophies, a Uefa Super Cup and the Copa del Rey, before being pushed out of the club by former Tottenham manager Juande Ramos. "I played four years for Sevilla, that is a big derby against Betis," Maresca added. "We also won the derby 1-0, and I scored a goal (an early penalty). I know that they don't like me, they don't love me. "I met my wife in Seville, she's from Seville. My first son born in Seville. I played for Seville, but no doubt that I want to win the final." Chelsea's fitness coach Marcos Alvarez is also from Seville and supports Betis, but spent the best part of his two decades long career with their rivals at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, where Maresca was still playing. But Maresca insists he wants to win the final for Chelsea, not for Sevilla. "All my focus is only on Chelsea," he said. "As for Betis, I think they have done really well, beating important teams in Spain. They are a dangerous team because of what the coach wants and the quality of the players they have." Chelsea plan to keep Maresca regardless of the outcome of the final. They have given him a five-year deal in a bid for stability, following a spell of hiring and firing managers since the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital takeover in 2022. The Blues have already drawn up transfer plans with Maresca staying in mind - putting a striker and right-footed left winger as their top priorities, with a central defender signing a potential extra option. The club has also instructed the academy and even Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, also owned by BlueCo, to play a similar style of play to Maresca. That will become the club's identity as they want players to seamlessly transition when promoted from academy to first team, or when moved between England and France. Chelsea know they need to follow a similar model to Arsenal and Liverpool to be successful - admiring the respective rebuilds conducted by Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp. Winning Europe's third-tier competition, the only continental prize Chelsea have not claimed, it seen as a worthy next step on that path. Maresca said: "The message in the last 48 hours has been, we did something important. But if we want to confirm that we are becoming an important club, we need to show the desire to win the title and to win the game. "It's a final. And it's a game that we want to win at any cost. It was already a good season but it can become a very good season if we finish top four, top five, and if we are able to win the final. "Chelsea can become the first club in Europe to win all the European competitions and because we continue to build the winner mentality." Latest Chelsea news, analysis and fan views Get Chelsea news sent straight to your phone
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The British pensioners who live in Spain's 'zombieland' airport after Airbnb boom priced them out of retirement abroad
John Brownwood is getting ready to go to sleep for the night, finishing the chapter of the book he's reading and repositioning his pillow for heightened comfort. The only unusual aspect of this otherwise mundane routine is that the 69-year-old retiree is not at home in bed but on a bench in the departure lounge of Malaga's Pablo Picasso airport.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘Emotional' Nadal honoured with Roland Garros farewell ceremony
Just a few seconds into the first standing ovation on an unforgettable day inside Court Philippe‑Chatrier, Rafael Nadal's composure had already crumbled. It did not return for the remainder of the afternoon as he was celebrated in an emotional, elaborate tribute following his retirement from professional tennis last November, marking the end of one of the greatest sporting careers in history. 'I have been very, very emotional,' Nadal said afterwards. 'I think it was perfect, honestly. I couldn't expect a more emotional day.' Advertisement Related: Farewell, Rafael Nadal: it was my pleasure to know one of sport's most gracious champions | Kevin Mitchell A year ago, Nadal's career at Roland Garros came to an end after a tight, first-round defeat by Alexander Zverev. Although he knew it would probably be his final act as a professional player, Nadal had opted against receiving a real farewell ceremony after his defeat as he was not 100% certain he would end his career. He ultimately chose to end it at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga after Spain were defeated by the Netherlands. Regardless of where Nadal officially ended his career, Roland Garros was always going to be his final destination. He retired with an incredible 112-4 record here, winning the title 14 times and establishing a level of dominance almost unheard of at the highest level of the most prominent, global professional sports. 'To win 14 grand slams [titles] in the same place, here in Roland Garros, that can happen,' Nadal said, smiling. 'But it's gonna take a while, at least 30 more years.' Shortly after Lorenzo Musetti's mercifully straightforward victory against Yannick Hanfmann, the main event began. The French Tennis Federation had provided the majority of spectators on Court Philippe-Chatrier with orange shirts that read 'Merci Rafa'. A small minority at the top level of the stadium, meanwhile, were gifted a white shirt, which the organisers had strategically arranged so that the crowd spelled out: '14 RG' alongside the image of a trophy on one side and 'Rafa' bracketed by two hearts on the other. Nadal, wearing a black suit, was ushered on to the court towards a lectern in the middle of the service line. Advertisement He worked through a pre-prepared trilingual speech, navigating French, English and Spanish. He was accompanied in the audience by a large contingent of his family, including his parents, his uncle Toni, who coached him from his childhood to the record books, his wife Mery and their two‑year-old son, Rafael. He addressed each of them directly throughout the speech. Other familiar faces, such as Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, were present in the crowd. Towards the end of the ceremony, Nadal was joined on the court by his three greatest rivals, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Nadal said: 'To have my three biggest rivals there in the court with me meant a lot, no? And at the same time it's a great message for the world, I think, that best rivals, toughest rivalries probably in the history of our sport, are able to be good colleagues, to respect each other. You don't need to hate the opponent to try to beat him with all your forces.' As he discussed his rivals later in a lengthy press conference, Nadal found himself thinking about Murray. The pair had not been in touch for a while until last month when, immediately after Arsenal defeated Real Madrid, Nadal received a message from Murray. Nadal, a diehard Real Madrid fan, pulled out the phone and read Murray's message out: 'I'm gonna read [Murray's text], because it's quite good: 'Hey, Rafa, haven't spoken to you in a while. Just checking in to make sure you are OK.' So honestly, it took me like five seconds to realise what I was reading, because at the beginning, I said: 'OK, he's such a nice guy. He's asking about how I'm doing, family.' After five seconds, I said: 'This always was [the] British sense of humour,' Nadal, said laughing. 'By the way, I didn't text him back when PSG beat Arsenal.' After 40 minutes, the ceremony ended with a final emotional trigger for Nadal as Gilles Moretton and Amélie Mauresmo, the FFT president and the Roland Garros tournament director respectively, unveiled a plaque on-court with Nadal's footprint and signature. Court Philippe‑Chatrier will bear his footprint forever. 'It has been unforgettable, plenty of emotions for a guy like me that, I don't love these kind of things because I'm still a little bit shy for all this stuff,' Nadal said. 'I don't like a lot to be the centre of attention for these things. It was enough when I was playing tennis. But I enjoyed it, honestly. I suffered a little bit with the emotions, but I enjoyed a lot.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Inside Enzo Maresca's close relationship with his 'football dad' Manuel Pellegrini as pair face off in Europa Conference League final
Football's latest master and apprentice relationship that you hadn't heard of has come into the spotlight - as Enzo Maresca 's Chelsea face off against Manuel Pelligrini's Real Betis in the Conference League final on Wednesday. The pair's close relationship began in 2011 when Pelligrini signed Maresca at Malaga. It didn't take long for Pelligrini to notice more than just a good midfielder in the Italian. 'Enzo played for me at Malaga and I was immediately impressed with the way he looked at the game in great detail,' Pelligrini said. Their partnership blossomed, and the result was a standout season for both. Malaga achieved Champions League qualification for the first time in the club's history; Maresca was a standout performer for Pellegrini throughout the campaign. 'Manuel was both the coach and the person who convinced me to try and be a coach myself when I finished playing,' Maresca told the Manchester City website in 2020. 'I was still working as a player with him at Malaga and one day, during a chat with him, he said to me: "You have to try to become a coach because I think you think you can become a good coach." 'It was just a chat - but from that day onwards I started to think that maybe I did have a future as a coach.' While Pellegrini enjoyed a successful period with City, Maresca's playing career began to tail off, making only 72 appearances over his next five seasons. His coaching career began almost immediately after retirement, taking backroom roles at Serie B club Ascoli, and Sevilla, within a year of hanging up his boots. When Pelligrini was replaced by Guardiola at City, Maresca publicly supported him. 'For me, Pelligrini is one of the best coaches in Europe. He'll find another job - I'm not worried about that,' he told the BBC in 2016. Pelligrini did find another job - at West Ham - and immediately appointed Maresca to be his assistant. The Chilean's tenure in charge was lackluster at best; he only managed a season and a half before a mid-season dismissal as the Hammers boss. But it was here that Maresca's stock as a coach began to rise. He was highly regarded around the club; legend Mark Noble described his training sessions to the club hierarchy as 'different class'. He was credited with devising the tactics for Pelligrini before games, including for West Ham's impressive 1-0 victory away at Stamford Bridge. It was a win that managed to keep his mentor in the job for another three weeks. Specualtion arose that Maresca could soon become the West Ham manager himself. 'He'll go to the very top. We all used to talk about it. The players had no doubt he would develop into one of the best coaches around,' said then-Hammers winger Robert Snodgrass. 'At West Ham it was right at the start of his coaching journey – but he was a mastermind.' Snodgrass saw his prediction come true when Maresca was appointed Chelsea boss at the beginning of this season. The Conference League marked the first possible meeting for the pair. A matchup in the final was something Pellegrini dreamt about earlier in the campaign. 'I sent him a message telling him that we would see you in the final,' Pelligrini told Football Espana after the knockout stage draw in February. 'I didn't care who the opponent was. I wish it hadn't been Chelsea more than anything because of the friendship I have with Enzo Maresca. If we meet in the final, all the better.' Maresca echoed Pelligrini's sentiment at the Conference League final media day this week. 'I spoke with Manuel yesterday, to be honest, because we are so close. I see him as a professional Dad.' Maresca will be hoping he is the student who can outwit the teacher when he faces off against his dear friend in the opposite dugout on Wednesday night.
