Latest news with #ex-France
Daily Mirror
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Marcus Rashford's transfer plan slammed as 'running away from his problems'
Marcus Rashford is believed to be chasing a move to Barcelona after impressing during his Aston Villa loan spell but has been urged to consider staying in England Marcus Rashford has been told he is "running away from his problems" by chasing a move to Barcelona. Rashford has been in fine form since moving to Aston Villa on loan, having sought an escape from Manchester United, where he didn't see eye-to-eye with head coach Ruben Amorim. The England forward may have played his last game under Unai Emery at Villa as he is currently sidelined with by injury and cannot play against his parent club on the final day of the season. Despite revitalising his career at Villa Park, the 27-year-old is understood to be keen on a permanent switch to Barcelona. Mundo Deportivo has reported that Rashford is now under the representation of Pini Zahavi, an agent with strong links to Barca, who also represents head coach Hansi Flick and Robert Lewandowski. However, ex-Chelsea star Florent Malouda has cast doubt over whether a La Liga move would address the issues that have marred Rashford's career in recent years. He suggests that a permanent transfer to Villa might be more beneficial. "I don't see any future for him at Manchester United, to be honest," Malouda, who played for from 2007 to 2013, told Racing Tipster. "Because of the history, because of how many changes he had, and also because of how many times people were disappointed with him. People were waiting for things to suddenly happen again, and then nothing did. "So I don't think Ruben Amorim will plan something around Marcus Rashford right now. I think Aston Villa is the kind of club that gives you the opportunity to build yourself back, build your confidence back, because I think there's a problem." Malouda suggested that Rashford's recent struggles are his own doing, rather than a product of the environment at United, where he has played under a succession of managers. The ex-France international added: "Talking about his body language, it's how you show that you are passionate and you want it more than anything. And it's not about the club. "I believe every player should show their commitment, even when it's hard, when it's not happening. You should not give up and you should at the end overcome challenges. So for Marcus Rashford to move again, it would be like running away from his problems."
Daily Mirror
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Ex-Arsenal star calls out Martin Odegaard for performance as captain
Arsenal have not achieved what they hoped this season and captain Martin Odegaard has endured a difficult season despite the Gunners reaching the Champions League semi-final Martin Odegaard has not been a strong enough leader at Arsenal this season, according to former Gunners star Bacary Sagna. The ex-France international believes the midfield star's standards have dropped this season with increased difficulties at the club. Arsenal have failed to win silverware once again this season after being knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain. The north London side still need to secure their place in the top four after failing to establish a title race against Liverpool, being knocked out of the FA Cup at the first attempt and reaching the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup. Odegaard's presence was missed early in the season when he was ruled out by injury. The ex-Real Madrid ace has failed to recapture his form as the Gunners have relied on him for creativity however. Sagna does not believe Odegaard is solely responsible for his decline however. The 42-year-old would not take the captain's armband from the Denmark star and believes Arsenal not having a No.9 has had an impact. 'It's a tricky one because Martin Odegaard hasn't been playing well this season. Although sometimes there's more behind it. I don't care too much about personal situations but his influence in the club will decrease. 'I don't think the issue is due to the captaincy. Captaincy is given to a player who has good qualities and a strong personality. However, the way the games have been going – I don't think he has been [a strong enough leader]. He isn't as efficient as before. 'If you play without a number nine, it's much more difficult because the captain must organise the game and a lot of the time, he is standing by himself. There is nobody to assist in front of him. I would not remove captaincy from him because he remains a top player." Following defeat to PSG, Odegaard has suggested Arsenal were not good enough in either box to go through. The 26-year-old wants his team to take the pain forward to drive success. "We gave it a proper go," said Odegaard. "We started the game really well. We were on the front foot, had the momentum, a few big chances but in the end it wasn't enough. "Between the boxes we did well, inside the two over the two games we weren't good enough. Credit to their goalkeeper who made amazing saves. It wasn't enough and that's painful. "In the boxes, especially today what we did with the ball between the boxes we dominated the ball and took the control of the game from the start. We were not strong enough in the boxes and that's where we lost it. "It's painful, we wanted to do the big thing, a big goal in the league and the Champions League. Massive disappointment but we have to stay strong and together. Take the lessons, take the pain and use it to come back stronger. "We have to learn from this. We did a lot of good things but it's not enough. In front of goal is where games are decided and that's where we have to be sharper. We have to use this pain in a good way."
The 42
07-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Carbery and McNamara play their part in Bordeaux's rise
WHEN JOEY CARBERY suffered a hand injury on his Top 14 debut for Bordeaux back in September, he could scarcely believe it. The out-half had upped sticks from Munster to enjoy a fresh start in France. After years of his body breaking down at the worst times and the struggles for selection and form that resulted, things were surely going to be different with Union Bordeaux Bègles [UBB]. So it must have been deeply frustrating to suffer an injury he's had to deal with before. And yet, Carbery already sensed at that stage that the move to Bordeaux had been a great decision. It's a beautiful city. Carbery's wife and son, who soon turns one, moved over with him and the memories they're making will undoubtedly last a lifetime. Carbery probably also appreciated from early on that he had joined a special rugby club on the rise. Bordeaux sell out the Stade Chaban Delmas for every home game, welcoming in a vocal crowd of more than 32,000 people. UBB have cleverly assembled an excellent squad in recent years, with long-serving president Laurent Marti continuing to ensure the necessary resources are in place. It must be a thrill to be part of a squad including players like Damian Penaud, Matthieu Jalibert, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Yoram Moefana, Pete Samu, Guido Petti, Ben Tameifuna, and rising stars such as Nicolas Depoortère. Carbery was another piece of the jigsaw because Bordeaux were looking for another strong out-half to complement France international Jalibert. Carbery's versatility was another attractive factor, as was his international experience. Only Petti, Jonny Gray, and Penaud in the UBB squad have more Test caps than Carbery's 37. Former France hooker Yannick Bru joined as head coach in the summer of 2023, bringing Irish attack specialist Noel McNamara with him. It was nice for Carbery to have a familiar face to welcome him to Bordeaux at the start of the season. Noel McNamara has made a big impression in Bordeaux. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Also on the UBB coaching staff are former Toulouse back row Shaun Sowerby [forwards], ex-France prop Jean-Baptiste Poux [scrum], former France scrum-half Christophe Laussucq [defence], ex-Springbok Heini Adams [skills], and former France S&C specialist Thibault Giroud. It's a highly-regarded coaching set-up. Carbery knew all of this when he agreed to join Bordeaux, of course, but seeing the quality on a day-to-day basis is undoubtedly exciting. Advertisement He finally got his second appearance for the club in early November when he returned from injury at out-half and it has been a happy run for Carbery ever since, leading to his cameo off the bench for the closing 11 minutes of last weekend's Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulouse. 29-year-old Carbery has played his part in this run to the final, starting the pool win away to Ulster at out-half, then starting at fullback in the pool victory over the Sharks, as well as coming off the bench in a win against Leicester. He impressed at number 10 against Ulster in the Round of 16 before missing out on involvement in the quarter-final against his former club, Munster, as Bordeaux opted for a 6/2 bench split in the quarter-final. Carbery will be hoping there are no thoughts of that for the final against Northampton. Carbery has had nine Top 14 starts this season, with eight at out-half and one at number 15, as well as coming off the bench five times. All in all, it has been a busy and happy opening campaign, with the best possibly ahead. As well as reaching the Champions Cup final, UBB sit second in the Top 14 with four regular-season games remaining. Toulon are only two match points behind, so Bru's men have to get their foot back on the accelerator after back-to-back domestic defeats to Pau and La Rochelle. A top-two finish would mean avoiding the barrages phase of the knock-outs and going straight into the semi-finals. It's a huge focus for Bordeaux. Their scintillating attack means they can be confident of doing damage against any team, while last weekend's win over an admittedly depleted Toulouse shows that Bordeaux also have the forward might to out-muscle teams in high-stakes knock-out rugby. Bordeaux have a highly talented squad. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO The characteristic, stunning transition tries by Samu and Bielle-Biarrey were highlights, but Bordeaux must have taken immense satisfaction from overpowering Toulouse for their last two tries through Pierre Bochaton and Tameifuna. Last year's Top 14 final defeat to les Toulousains, a 59-3 hammering, is increasingly in the rearview mirror. Attack coach McNamara obviously has serious weapons to work with, yet he has done an excellent job of providing some clever plans without getting in the way of or inhibiting that talent. His starter players from set-piece have always been inventive and we've seen more examples of that with Bordeaux. Meanwhile, their phase-play attack has shape without being robotic. McNamara's system gets the best out of one thing that Bordeaux have in abundance – sheer speed. Bielle-Biarrey, Jalibert, Penaud, Romain Buros and co. are lightning quick in the backs, and forwards like Samu, Marko Gazzotti, Maxime Lamothe, Sipili Falatea are mobile and explosive. UBB can go from standing still to top gear in the blink of an eye. McNamara has harnessed that quality well. His coaching journey has been an intriguing one, all the more given his lack of a playing background. Glenstal, Clongowes, UCD, Ireland U20s, North Harbour in New Zealand, the Leinster academy, the Sharks of South Africa, and now Bordeaux. It's a rich, varied CV. A former teacher, McNamara worked hard on his French from day one and speaks it well enough to appear on French TV. That effort to integrate never goes unappreciated in France, particularly given that some foreign coaches don't push themselves to learn. But it is McNamara's coaching quality that has made the biggest impression and while many would like to see him back in Irish rugby, the Clare man has signed on with UBB until the summer of 2027. He and Carbery will now hope to claim Champions Cup winners' medals in Cardiff in three weekends. It would be a second such medal for Carbery, who was on the bench for Leinster in the 2018 final against Racing 92. The Bordeaux duo will wish a few of their compatriots well the night before in Cardiff. Bath will take on Lyon in the Challenge Cup final, with former Leinster lock Ross Molony, ex-Ireland second row Quinn Roux, and former Ulster hooker Niall Annett part of former Munster boss Johann van Graan's squad. Ross Molony has settled in well with Bath. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Roux started in the second row in last weekend's semi-final win over Edinburgh, while Molony and Annett both came off the bench, the hooker scoring a try. 31-year-old second row Molony has played 20 games so far in his first season with Bath, 11 of them in the starting team, and team-mates like Finn Russell have spoken positively about his knowledge and the standards he sets among the squad. Annett, a former Ireland U20 captain, has forged an excellent career in England, firstly by becoming a much-loved figure at Worcester before joining Bath in 2022. The 34-year-old has played 21 times this season, with six starts in the number two shirt. The last of Roux's 16 Ireland caps came in 2020. The former Leinster and Connacht man moved to Bath the same summer as Annett. The 34-year-old remains a powerful presence and has racked up 18 starts in the second row for van Graan's side this season. Bath are favourites to win the Premiership. They have a 15-point lead with three regular-season games left. They will have to negotiate a semi-final and final, of course, but after last year's defeat to Northampton in the decider, many expect them to get over the line this time. Before that, van Graan, whose staff includes former Munster defence coach JP Ferreira, will plan to lead Bath to Challenge Cup glory. They won the Premiership Rugby Cup in March, ending a 17-year trophy drought. Molony, Roux, and Annett hope to help them to bigger and better achievements in the near future.
Wales Online
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Rugby commentators in awe as Six Nations star scores incredible 80m try straight from kick-off
Rugby commentators in awe as Six Nations star scores incredible 80m try straight from kick-off The winger exchanged passes with 33-cap Australia star Pete Samu for a sensational score. This was the moment Louis Bielle-Biarrey ripped Toulouse apart. (Image: Premier Sports. ) France star Louis Bielle-Biarrey scord one of the tries of the season in the Champions Cup. The 21-year-old, who was the top try-scorer in the Six Nations, started for Bordeaux-Begles against Toulouse in the semi-final. The try in question started out with the wide man receiving a pass immediately after the second half restart, while behind his own 22-metre line. The young winger stepped on the gas and used a smart step to burn around two would-be tacklers. Being closed down, he found Wallabies international Pete Samu on the inside. The back-row ran a smart line between the last two defenders, sucking them in, before flicking an offload out the back door into Bielle-Biarrey, who ran a superb diverging line into the newly-created space to cruise in for the try. The commentary team from Premier Sports were blown away, especially after ex-France star Benjamin Kayser's comments that started the second half. "They normally run out of steam in the second half, so we'll see how they handle it," said Kayser. Article continues below "Nicely done to start the second half, let's get going," began Ryle Nugent. "And let's get going quickly again! Bielle-Biarrey, Bordeaux, Samu, Bielle-Biarrey! Are you not entertained?" "Why didn't you ask me that question 20 seconds later?!," exclaimed Kayser. "I would have changed my answer totally! This is them telling you: 'Look, we are fine! We are absolutely fine. We are up for it and we are not going to step off the gas. We are not going to do what Benjamin Kayser says. We are just going to step on it even more for our delight'". You can watch the footage below. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. Content cannot be displayed without consent Bordeaux went on to win the game 35-18 thanks to tries from Samu, Bielle-Biarrey (two), Pierre Bochaton and Ben Tameifuna. They have now booked their place in their first-ever Investec Champions Cup final. The Top 14 big-hitters will play against English Premiership club Northampton Saints at the home of Welsh rugby - the Principality Stadium. Article continues below Saints pulled off a shock victory against Irish heavyweights Leinster on Saturday evening, with Tommy Freeman (three), Henry Pollock and James Ramm helping to secure their victory. Speaking about Bielle-Biarrey's performance among other players, head coach Yannick Bru said: "So many of the guys had an amazing game. Matthieu Jalibert, Max Lucu, Louis (Bielle-Biarrey), Pete Samu all put in unbelievable shifts, so it's impossible to single out any one of them. "The guys showed up all over the pitch today, and it was really in the closing stages that we exploited their weaknesses".
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Video: Ex-Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder attends Fabregas-Vieira reunion in Serie A
Former Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra is in attendance at Como-Genoa at the Stadio Sinigaglia, watching a reunion between Cesc Fabregas and Patrick Vieira. Diarra is the latest star arriving at Lake Como to watch the Azzurri in action. Advertisement Today, he's in the stands at the Stadio Sinigaglia alongside F1 driver Pierre Gasly. Diarra is a former teammate of Fabregas at Arsenal, where he played in the 2007-08 campaign, making 12 appearances. The ex-France international also played for Chelsea and Real Madrid. Today's Como vs Genoa marks a reunion between ex-Arsenal stars Fabregas and Vieira although the ex-Juventus midfielder is suspended for today's fixture. You can follow live updates on the Football Italia LIVEBLOG.
