Latest news with #Roberto De Zerbi
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Marseille puts Rabiot and Rowe on transfer list for reported locker room fight
MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Marseille's season is already in turmoil after France midfielder Adrien Rabiot and England Under-21 forward Jonathan Rowe were put on the transfer list Tuesday and told to leave the club for 'unacceptable behavior.' The pair reportedly argued and fought in the locker room after Friday's 1-0 loss to Rennes, which prevailed with a stoppage-time goal despite being down to 10 players in their Ligue 1 season opener. Marseille's move puts doubt into team-building plans for coach Roberto De Zerbi just one week before the 1993 Champions League winner takes part in the draw for this season's competition. 'This decision was taken due to unacceptable behavior in the dressing room after the match against Rennes,' Marseille said in a statement. Rabiot and Rowe have been exiled 'in agreement with the technical staff and in accordance with the club's internal code of conduct,' said the club whose majority owner is American businessman Frank McCourt, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner. Marseille qualified for the Champions League by finishing runner-up to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 in De Zerbi's first season at the club. The 30-year-old joined as a free agent last September after his contract expired at Juventus. Weeks earlier, Rowe had moved from English second-tier Norwich on an initial loan deal that was made permanent before this season. The transfer window in Europe closes Sept. 1. ___ AP soccer:
Associated Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Marseille puts Rabiot and Rowe on transfer list for reported locker room fight
MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Marseille's season is already in turmoil after France midfielder Adrien Rabiot and England Under-21 forward Jonathan Rowe were put on the transfer list Tuesday and told to leave the club for 'unacceptable behavior.' The pair reportedly argued and fought in the locker room after Friday's 1-0 loss to Rennes, which prevailed with a stoppage-time goal despite being down to 10 players in their Ligue 1 season opener. Marseille's move puts doubt into team-building plans for coach Roberto De Zerbi just one week before the 1993 Champions League winner takes part in the draw for this season's competition. 'This decision was taken due to unacceptable behavior in the dressing room after the match against Rennes,' Marseille said in a statement. Rabiot and Rowe have been exiled 'in agreement with the technical staff and in accordance with the club's internal code of conduct,' said the club whose majority owner is American businessman Frank McCourt, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner. Marseille qualified for the Champions League by finishing runner-up to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 in De Zerbi's first season at the club. The 30-year-old joined as a free agent last September after his contract expired at Juventus. Weeks earlier, Rowe had moved from English second-tier Norwich on an initial loan deal that was made permanent before this season. The transfer window in Europe closes Sept. 1. ___ AP soccer:
The National
06-08-2025
- Sport
- The National
Layth Gulzar and Anwar Moutawafiq: The Englishmen chasing their dreams in Abu Dhabi with Al Jazira
Twice in the past 11 months, Al Jazira have raided English football for talented teenagers, who they hope can evolve into key players in Abu Dhabi. While the journeys of 18-year-old Layth Gulzar and 19-year-old Anwar Moutawafiq have been markedly different, both are now teammates in Jazira's U21 side and knocking on the door of the senior team. For Gulzar, the decision to join Jazira was a particularly tough one, fraught with emotion. The midfielder had been at Brighton and Hove Albion for 11 years and was well regarded at the English Premier League club. He trained regularly with the first team under former coach Roberto De Zerbi and appeared to be heading towards a senior debut. 'It was amazing at Brighton,' Gulzar tells The National. 'I saw how the club grew from the Championship – evolving into a big Premier League team that got into Europe. 'It really changed once De Zerbi came in. The brand of football was unbelievable, something we'd never really seen before. For me personally, it was a great experience to be able to train with them. 'The philosophy of the academy changed. The style of play they wanted meant you had to play with a lot of courage and it really developed the technical and tactical side of my game. In the U18s, we used to play the same style that De Zerbi played, or now Fabian [Hurzeler].' Gulzar fondly recalls playing with the likes of Billy Gilmour, Carlos Baleba and Joao Pedro at Brighton's Amex Elite Football Performance Centre. But it is De Zerbi whose influence the teenage midfielder has most valued. 'He used to always come and watch U18s and U21s sessions whenever he could and I felt like me and him got on quite well,' Gulzar remembers. 'I've never seen someone at that high of a level tactically. Now he's excelling at Marseille and I think he can be one of the best managers in the world, if he isn't already.' Gulzar's pathway to first-team football was seemingly laid out at Brighton, but he opted to make a surprising switch to the UAE in January. 'I just wanted a new challenge and, for me, the Middle East was a no-brainer – not just from a footballing perspective, but what it provides off the pitch,' Gulzar explains. 'As a Muslim, I see how it's very family orientated and religion comes first – that was really appealing for me. 'It felt like a great opportunity for me to push forward and establish myself as a first-team player and possibly become one of the biggest players in the region.' Gulzar has quickly settled in Abu Dhabi, with Jazira U23s coach Neil Taylor – the ex-Aston Villa and Wales defender – proving to be an encouraging mentor, while the club has facilitated regular visits from his family. 'It was a bit daunting as I haven't had a transfer before,' Gulzar says. 'To go to a completely different place, different style of football – it was nerve-racking but I'm very glad I made the decision. 'The club enabled me to come in and feel confident from the get-go. It's been different going from Brighton with the youth teams to now trying to really play for the first-team but this next season is a big one for me. I want to make my debut and establish myself in the side.' Gulzar is not alone in this ambition. Playing alongside him for Jazira's U23s this season has been Anwar Moutawafiq, a player whose route to Abu Dhabi could not have been more different to his compatriot. Moutawafiq never made it to a professional academy in England and, despite securing trials at several Football League clubs, a permanent contract always remained elusive. But Jazira saw something in the defender after he impressed on a trial in January 2024 and, a few months later, decided to sign him from Cheshunt FC, a non-league team who narrowly avoided relegation to the eighth tier of English football last season. Moutawafiq admits he was 'shocked' when he initially heard of the interest from the three-time UAE Pro League champions but was determined to take his chance. 'I thought to myself, this is a one-time opportunity so I took the opportunity to go out there [to Jazira] on trial and I think I had three assists and a goal,' he recalls. 'It was a challenge because I was still quite young to move seven hours away from home. But I thought to myself, 'everything comes with sacrifices' and it's a chance that I had to take with both hands.' Moutawafiq did just that after signing permanently with Jazira, impressing for the U21s and U23s in 2024-25 – and even training with the first team. In September, he was named among the substitutes for Jazira's UAE League Cup second-leg against Al-Bataeh. 'It was a big step moving from a semi-professional player to a professional player but it's a feeling that you dream of as a kid,' Moutawafiq says. 'When I got the call to go and train with the first team in my first month it was just a bit of a surreal feeling – being around players who have played at a certain level like [Mohamed] Elneny and [Nabil] Fekir. 'You can learn from them and can thrive off of them. They're good to have around as they're always picking you up – telling you what's good, what's not good; it's like a blessing to play with them.' Moutawafiq has played a supportive role himself in recent months, helping Gulzar – who is a year younger than him – settle in at Jazira and quickly striking up a friendship with his compatriot. Both players are from British Muslim families, with Gulzar having Pakistani heritage while Moutawafiq's father is Moroccan. 'Our strengths together are really good to have,' Moutawafiq says. 'Layth has differences to me on the pitch; I have aggression from men's football while Layth is more likely to get the ball and spray it. Though don't get me wrong, Layth can be aggressive and I can spray a pass too! 'We get on well because we grew up similarly. He's always someone that I know I can speak to and I know that he feels comfortable speaking to me. That's really nice to have.'
