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The National
7 days ago
- General
- The National
History beckons for UAE as Cosmin Olaroiu arrives with World Cup qualification teasingly close
In a region where football fans are so highly skilled at tifos, the one Sharjah's fans made to see off their coach in his last match was pleasingly rudimentary. Not for them the elaborate choreographies of the giant Saudi Arabian clubs, or even their UAE Pro League counterparts – and visitors on the last day of the season – Al Wasl. Instead, they went for the tried and trusted option of some black emulsion on a big white sheet. It was the thought that counted, though, and the language used. ' Ai parasit echipa, dar alintrat in istorie,' Sharjah's fans had written, using the manager's mother tongue of Romanian. Translated, it means: You left the team but you made history. He certainly did that. Cosmin Olaroiu capped a trophy laden stint at the club by taking them to the AFC Champions League Two title in Singapore in May. That made them just the second club from the UAE – after two-time Champions League winners Al Ain – to lift a major continental title. A little over two weeks later, Olaroiu is on the brink of history again, and he has not even taken charge of his new side yet. Once the powers-that-be had decided to dismiss Paulo Bento as coach of the UAE national team back in March, there only ever felt like one viable option. Bento's side had just kept alive their chances of automatic World Cup qualification at the very last in Riyadh. But Sultan Adil's late, late stoppage time winner over North Korea still failed to save the Portuguese coach's job. The following morning, it was announced he was gone, despite there just being two matches left in this phase of Asian qualifying. The UAE trail second-placed Uzbekistan, who they face at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, by four points, with six still to play for. Win, and they would need to better whatever result the Uzbeks achieve at home to Qatar on Tuesday when they face Kyrgyzstan at the same time to qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup. Clearly, the odds are against the national team. Given the situation they are in, the next man in after Bento needed to be the ultimate alpha. All of which meant it could only be Olaroiu. The hard-faced, no nonsense, serial winner believes it can be done. Which means everyone else must, too. 'They have to,' Olaroiu said. 'They have to be positive, and they have to believe. If you don't believe, you don't have any chance. 'Now we have this new journey, and when we go there everybody in this team should believe in it. They should believe they can make the dream of this nation come true. 'I think it is one of the countries of the world with one of the biggest improvements and developments in the last [few] years. We should keep pace also in football. This is our mission.' The can-do attitude marks quite the contrast to the final throes of the Bento regime. Back in March, it felt as though the former Portugal manager had been fighting vainly for appreciation, after a downturn in performances. 'We hope to have a different atmosphere in June because I think that is a good way to show the country supports the team with acts and not just words,' Bento said after the win against North Korea, just hours before he was officially axed. Now June has arrived, and the atmosphere is entirely different. The UAE FA have flooded their social media feeds with upbeat slogans. They have hired advertising space on billboards on major roads and in shopping malls. All the domestic clubs have joined the mission with goodwill gestures. And, with it being the Eid holiday weekend, Thursday is likely to be frenzied at the Al Nahyan Stadium. Olaroiu, for his part, has had less than two weeks with his new charges. It means if he is to bring about success immediately, he will have to rely more on the power of personality than granular planning. He may know the six-man cohort of Sharjah players in the squad the best, but his expertise is not limited to them. Olaroiu has brought trophies to three UAE clubs in the past: Al Ain, Shabab Al Ahli and Sharjah. 'It is not about only Sharjah players, it is about all the players,' Olaroiu said. 'They are players who have value and players who have quality. I think they will come with the hope and belief they can do it.' Olaroiu has been recruited on a two-year contract. The national team are guaranteed a place in October's six-team repechage tournament, which for sides who miss out on a top two place in this phase of Asian qualifying. One significant feature of his successes at domestic level was the tight bond he created with his players. A notable example of that came in the aftermath of Sharjah's 2-1 win over Lion City Sailors in the Champions League Two final in Singapore. While his players celebrated, Olaroiu tenderly looked after the two young sons of Caio Lucas, the striker who will likely be his talisman at national team level, too. Whether Olaroiu can strike up such a deep affection with his new players and their families when – because of the nature of the job – he sees them so much less remains to be seen. But Lucas is optimistic it can be done. 'We have to be like a family,' Lucas said. 'It doesn't matter how, but we have to do our best inside the pitch to make our fans happy. 'Whenever we go inside the pitch it is to win, and this will be no different. When we speak about the national team, the coach [has] the best players in the league. 'I think we have a chance to qualify and we are going there to do our best and make our fans happy.'
New York Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Crystal Palace's FA Cup final tifo went viral. It brought two brothers closer together
The question came almost as a statement. 'You were on the display, weren't you?' Even in a Liverpool pub, Dominic and Nathan Wealleans are instantly recognisable. It has been a whirlwind week for the two brothers from Rainhill, a village in St Helens, Merseyside. Before kick off at the FA Cup final, a picture of the pair embracing was used in the Crystal Palace tifo at the west end of Wembley. It went viral. Advertisement That display, spread across the central block of the lower tier in the Palace end, had been the iconic image from celebrations with their dad Mark after Darren Ambrose's incredible 40-yard goal in the League Cup quarter-final win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2011. Mark passed away in February 2017, aged just 49, five months after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. A picture, taken from a supporter in the row behind who recognised the brothers was picked up across social media, and the days that followed the team's victory were spent dashing from one television studio to another, onto local and national radio, and then back north for Palace's final game of the season at Liverpool. They followed that by being invited as VIP guests to the winners' party and parade at Selhurst Park on Monday. The Athletic joined them in the away end at Anfield as they explained how Palace's success and the tifo paved the way for a reconciliation. The Scouse accents in the lower tier of the Anfield Road end might have drawn suspicious looks, but the Palace shirts were sufficient to allay any fears that the pair should have been among the home contingent. Nathan is usually more animated, but when Ismaila Sarr puts Palace ahead after nine minutes, they both explode into life. Several opportunities look promising for Palace on the attack in the first half, and they both watch on in anticipation of a second goal. Dean Henderson saves well from Luis Diaz. Dominic has to stretch to see over the heads of those in front of him before they join in with the chant of 'England's No 1'. At half-time they head down to the concourse. It's an opportunity to reflect on the week. 'It's been incredible,' Nathan says. 'Any time I talk to my friends, I finish the conversation with: 'We've just won the FA Cup though, so it doesn't matter,'' says Dominic. 'When we have our own kids, the fact that we can show them a key part of Palace history and they'll recognise the faces on it makes me so proud and happy.' Advertisement Nathan describes feeling 'every emotion all at once'. 'It was sadness from realising what's happened and also just a massive feeling of joy like that he (their dad) is still cared about, not just by us, but also by a lot of fans. To win it (the FA Cup) just solidifies us in Palace history.' They were unaware before the game that the tifo would depict them and, due to the balloons and flags, it was only when they had a tap on the shoulder and were asked, 'Is this you?' that it struck them. 'It felt like he was there with us,' Nathan says. 'We could feel him in the crowd celebrating every corner, every free kick. It was a good feeling that I've not had in a long, long time.' Back at Anfield for the second half, Nathan explains how he likes to watch games from a more analytical perspective, despite his brother being the football coach of the pair, but also how it becomes impossible not to throw himself into the emotional side of things and sing, chant and shout. He joins in as the Palace fans sing 'Pride of south London', and bellows 'Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom' after Jean-Philippe Mateta is substituted. When Ryan Gravenberch fouls Daichi Kamada, they both vehemently demand his sending off, waving imaginary red cards, and referee Darren England obliges. Dominic, who cheered mockingly minutes earlier as Gravenberch was booked for simulation, switches into coaching mode — he is in charge of an under-14 side — and analyses how the substitutions from Liverpool manager Arne Slot meant Gravenberch was isolated, while Nathan excitedly asks whether the Liverpool midfielder will miss the opening game of the season. When Eddie Nketiah goes down deep into Liverpool's half, Nathan is insistent that it is a foul. Dominic, on the other hand, appeals in the knowledge that it would be soft at best. Nothing is awarded. Advertisement They taunt Trent Alexander-Arnold with a rendition of 'You're just a s*** Joel Ward', with Dominic saying he would like to see the departing Palace veteran on the pitch. A heavy touch from Sarr breaks down a Palace attack, which prompts Nathan to point out that, although he's had an outstanding season, this issue can, on occasion, let him down. When Mohamed Salah equalises and the home support burst into life for the first time in the game, Nathan choruses: 'We forgot you were here'. There is frustration from Dominic as Nketiah fails to throw himself at a dangerous cross, while Kamada's overhit pass prompts the same response from Nathan. 'He's just run out of juice,' says Dominic as Daniel Munoz fails to drive on with a minute remaining. He sings Matheus Franca's song as the Brazilian carries the ball forward, only to shoot at goalkeeper Alisson, with Nathan having put his hand to his mouth in anticipation. They serenade the Palace players at the final whistle and make their way out of the ground in preparation for another long trip down to London for the parade and celebrations, where they were introduced to supporters as VIP guests for the final part of the afternoon. Palace supporting actor and comedian Ben Bailey-Smith welcomed them on stage, discussed how he could relate to their story after losing his own father, asked them to describe how they were feeling and then led them to sing the Elvis Presley song 'Can't Help Falling in Love'. Retreat a little over a week and all that would have felt nothing more than a fanciful dream. 'I don't think Palace has ever made me feel that good,' Dominic says of the cup victory. 'Dad would have celebrated so hard. We would have spent the evening in a pub as a family, and he would not have been able to remove the smile from his face for the rest of his life.' In the 2013 Championship play-off final win over Watford, Dominic explains how their dad could not bear to watch when Kevin Phillips stepped up to take the winning penalty. 'I always thought I'd never understand how you couldn't watch that moment,' he says. 'But at 1-0 in the later stages of the game (against City), I felt like I didn't want to watch it.' Nathan chose not to watch Mateta's penalty in the semi-final and was unable to bring himself to watch Omar Marmoush step up for City's spot kick in the final. Their social media feeds have inevitably blown up. 'I'd never seen so many photos of myself,' Dominic admits, while Nathan says people have messaged him saying, 'I'm not even a Palace fan, but this story's really put a lump in my throat'. Advertisement 'The reason it's gone viral is because so many people watched it without someone. We're just the lucky ones. When Ambrose scored, the camera cut to us.' 'He'd love the fact that he was the face of the tifo,' says Dominic, who had been to his dad's grave on the morning of the final. 'It would have been everywhere. He would have probably had it printed.' They disagree over whether they would have wanted the tifo to be the same even if their dad was still alive. 'Even though our story is because he isn't here, if he was it'd be better if it were someone else who's had a similar story to show the Palace spirit,' Nathan says. 'I'd want the tifo still because that clip went viral when he was still here,' counters Dominic. 'I would have loved to have the moment and feeling with him. I wouldn't swap it for anything.' Their story has captured the imagination of people across the world. It now resonates even more. The pair had drifted apart after their dad died with life stepping in the way; university, travelling. Emotionally and physically, they were distant. But after one special day at Wembley, they are together again. 'Being the only two Palace fans I know from Liverpool,' Dominic says, 'growing up with our dad, going to games… there's no one else I'd rather watch that final with (than Nathan). Absolutely not.' 'It was rocky because we've had our differences throughout the years,' Nathan says when asked what it means to have shared this moment with his brother. 'We've had a lot of downs, some ups, but once we saw each other, it was just pretty much: 'Whatever happened in the past, this is Wembley, this is our day, let's enjoy it as much as we can'. 'Then, when the tifo (was revealed), we celebrated together because it's… it is us. We have to celebrate that together, that doesn't happen to an average person, ever. Advertisement 'Mum's probably fuming because she's spent the past eight years trying to get us to be friends with each other, and dad just does it in one game. He has probably somehow managed to get us closer just through his powerful ways. It was the only way I think we could have ever got closer.' The future of the tifo, they say, is subject to discussions with the Holmesdale Fanatics (the Crystal Palace ultras group). But, rest assured, they are desperately trying to persuade the Fanatics to hand it over. That would be the ultimate memento.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
How emotive tifo gave Palace fans belief of cup final win
When Crystal Palace supporters unveiled a giant tifo during the club's historic FA Cup final win against Manchester City on Saturday, two fans inside Wembley froze on the themselves displayed on the banner were brothers Nathan and Dominic Wealleans, who were pictured celebrating in disbelief with their father in family were celebrating a thunderous 35-yard Darren Ambrose strike, as the Eagles beat Manchester United in the 2011 League Cup the brothers' father Mark lost his life to cancer in 2017, the image has become a symbol of lost loved ones for Palace after Palace's 1-0 win, which secured the the club's first major trophy, Dominic said seeing the tifo gave him belief his side would cause an upset."We just froze, thinking 'have they actually done this?'" said Dominic."It's not for us, it's for the club, but what that moment meant for us two just made me feel this is Palace's day today, this is the day we do it."We were getting hugs, handshakes, high-fives, the lot. It was amazing, something so special to be a part of."The brothers, who were part of around 30,000 fans in the Palace end at Wembley, were aware before the game a tifo had been made but didn't know they would be displayed on it."I had no idea it was going to be us," said Nathan."I thought it was going to be something to do with a player retiring this season. Then out of nowhere someone told us and then we broke down in tears as soon as we saw."It was special, it shows there's still a real love for not just my dad, but all the loved ones who love Palace and didn't get to see it. All of them now know we're on the next step."
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How Crystal Palace won the FA Cup: A tearjerking tifo, lucky cufflinks and Glasner's masterplan
It was late on Friday evening that the Holmesdale Fanatics, Crystal Palace's ultras group, uploaded a picture to their X feed. It showed the group, clad in their usual black shirts but with faces blurred out, posing in front of an empty Wembley Stadium. They had been permitted entry to set up their tifo, a display for which £45,000 had been raised by supporters, and the picture was accompanied by a simple message. Advertisement Precisely what the group had spent so many hours preparing only became clear the following afternoon, moments before kick-off at the FA Cup final against Manchester City. As the smoke from the red and blue flares cleared, the display was unfurled: above a banner reading 'Wembley will shake. And it will be beautiful' was the tifo, showing a man clutching his two sons tightly to his body in either arm, in euphoric tears. It was a message to show how much following a football club means, to demonstrate the bond between father and son, parent and child. It was a recreation of a clip captured by TV cameras after Darren Ambrose's stunning 40-yard strike for Palace against Manchester United in the 2011-12 EFL Cup quarter-final, showing the celebrations of Mark Wealleans and his sons, Dominic and Nathan. Mark died from cancer in 2017, but for Dominic and Nathan, those memories have endured. This was a new, albeit different, special moment to add to those they had shared with their dad. 'Because of the flags and the smoke, we couldn't even see anything,' Dominic told The Athletic. 'When I saw it, I just broke down. I was just like, 'Oh my god'. I had no idea, I did not expect it at all. 'All the memories of Palace as a kid were rushing through me. I had my head in my hands crying and me and Nathan gave each other a massive hug. My dad would say to my mum: 'I'll never see Palace win a trophy, but my boys will'. Little did he know, but he was at Wembley as well on Saturday. It's like we felt the win for him.' That moment set the tone for the most glorious day in Crystal Palace's 119-year history — a triumph of spirit, skill, stamina and even the odd curious superstition. This is the story of how they did it. This may have been the most significant match for Palace since their 2016 FA Cup final, but manager Oliver Glasner was determined for it not to feel that way. He had kept his players' schedule as regular as possible: a light session on Monday for those who played in the 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur the day before, with those who had not featured undergoing a more intense session and then building up over the week. Advertisement On Friday afternoon, Glasner had a joint media briefing with captain Marc Guehi at the Beckenham training ground. Afterwards, there had been genuine alarm from Glasner, who had made a beeline for his usual post-press conference pastry, only to find there were none left. 'Where is the pastry?' he asked, desperately looking around the room. As far as superstitions go, this was a serious one. One of Palace's media team sought to find one, to no avail, before Glasner was eventually presented with one in the club's canteen. On Friday afternoon, staff and players travelled by coach across London from their Beckenham training ground to the Landmark hotel in Marylebone. That had also served as the club's base before the semi-final victory over Aston Villa. There were no grand speeches in the hotel, no tubthumping messages of how important this was for the club or how this might be the time for heroes. Instead, it was business as usual. The team meal, the usual conversations and, on Saturday morning, a walk around Baker Street to get the blood pumping before they boarded the team bus for Wembley, a half-hour drive away. If the players were intent on sticking to their set routines, chairman Steve Parish was the opposite. He chose not to drive to Wembley himself, as he would ordinarily have done, or take the London Underground, as he did on the way to the semi-final win over Aston Villa. Instead, he opted to be chauffeured, wearing a suit with the club's crest on it and a pair of shoes he had never worn before. He did, however, have one familiar item: a pair of cufflinks bearing the Stoke City club crest. Parish had bought them from the Stoke club shop before Palace defeated them 2-1 in December 2015, a late Lee Chung-yong winner sending the club to their highest ever Premier League placing at the time (fifth). Parish had forgotten his cufflinks that day and has since considered them his lucky charm. Having intermittently misplaced them, he recently found them again in a pair of suit trousers and opted to wear them to Wembley. Advertisement Co-owner John Textor landed in London on the morning of the game, having watched Lyon's women defeat their Paris Saint-Germain counterparts on Friday evening, before travelling to his Chelsea home and driving to Wembley. Unusually, all four of Palace's general partners — also including Josh Harris and David Blitzer — were together to watch the game in the Royal Box. Also present was former sporting director Dougie Freedman, whose shrewd work in the transfer market had effectively built the team Glasner picked at Wembley. Freedman left Palace for Saudi club Al Diriyah in March but had been invited back to share in the festivities. That was not all. Just as they had been in the semi-final, three former Palace managers — Steve Coppell, who led Palace out in their first FA Cup final in 1990, Alan Smith and Roy Hodgson — were in attendance. They were joined by Gareth Southgate, the ex-Palace captain and England manager. Even Frank de Boer, the former Netherlands international whose disastrous 77-day spell in charge in 2017 left Palace in danger of relegation, could be seen in Wembley's media area. The stage was set. Glasner had no doubt. 'I said to Pep afterwards, if we meet again, you can't play in this system because we will solve it.' Those comments were made to reporters after Palace had been thrashed 5-2 by City in the Premier League in April. At the time, they felt dangerous, hubristic even given the quality that City could offer, but maybe Guardiola had heeded them. The City manager went with four attacking players in his starting line-up — Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush, Savinho and Jeremy Doku. Glasner was aware that City had played with four attackers against Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham earlier this season, but conceded Guardiola had surprised him. Advertisement Glasner, however, was determined not to rip up Palace's approach. For the Austrian, it was a case of being consistent and disciplined and defensively diligent, just as they had been throughout a competition in which they conceded only one goal, to Millwall's Wes Harding in the fifth round. Palace duly soaked up the pressure, with City taking 88 per cent possession in the early stages of the game, but then, in the 16th minute, Palace used that familiar counter-attacking tactic to open City up with their first significant foray forwards — a rapid, intelligent move that they have perfected over the course of the season. Jean-Philippe Mateta held the ball up, played a one-two with Daichi Kamada and then set Daniel Munoz free down the right. His low cross was met first-time by Eberechi Eze and that was it. A goal. An FA Cup-winning goal. There were further chances in a similar vein, with final balls just being too heavy or the move being snuffed out in the nick of time, but City were relentless and continued to dominate possession. Palace were content to push them out wide and keep them wide. 'We analysed that when we gift them the pocket, they're so good,' Glasner told the BBC. 'So (we had to) be patient, wait for the right moments. Let them cross, we can defend it. That's what we learned from the 5-2 defeat — when we gift them the pocket, we will lose. 'It looks like you always want to jump and go (counter-attack), which is what we usually want to do. But be patient and wait for the solutions. We knew in transition and the build-up we could create an overload.' So much for the plan, but for Palace to prevail, they also needed individual moments of brilliance, which, like Glasner's tactics, were also the result of careful preparations. On the morning of the final, back at the Landmark, goalkeeper Dean Henderson had a last-minute debrief with goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely, discussing City's possible penalty takers and instilling the information into his head. Then, Remi Matthews, Palace's third-choice goalkeeper, entered his room: he'd had a premonition that Henderson would have a 'worldie' and save a penalty. Advertisement In the 36th minute, Henderson got the chance to make Matthews' premonition come true. Tyrick Mitchell's foul on Bernardo Silva had given City a penalty and Marmoush, to the surprise of Palace's staff, who had expected Haaland or De Bruyne to step up, seized the ball. Henderson told reporters after the game that Marmoush's style was to 'beat 'keepers for pace that side (the goalkeeper's right) every time', although there may have been another factor at play in his decision to dive that way. In 2017, while on loan at Shrewsbury Town from Manchester United, Henderson had sprung to his right at Wembley to keep out a penalty from Rotherham United's David Ball in the League One play-off final. Either way, Henderson's instinct on Saturday was correct, the pinnacle of a superb performance that featured at least three other high-class saves from Haaland, Doku and Claudio Echeverri, even if City's resentment at the lack of a red card for denying Haaland a goalscoring opportunity by handling outside his area midway through the first half was well founded. That was not the only flashpoint. There was an altercation between Palace assistant manager Paddy McCarthy and one of the City medical staff in the second period, while Henderson's time-wasting in the second half sufficiently irked Guardiola for him to have words with the goalkeeper at full time. Henderson's response was to point out that there were 10 minutes of stoppage time added on. As City's final attack broke down with 30 seconds remaining, relief washed over the Palace end, the sun shimmered on Wembley's upper tier, and a chorus of their classic chant 'Ole, ole, ole, Eagles, Eagles' rang around the stadium. Glasner turned to the fans, applauded and encouraged them to continue, to raise the volume even higher. Then, the final whistle blew, and ecstasy flowed, along with the tears. After the cup had been presented and the on-field celebrations had finally wound down, Palace's players reassembled in the dressing room, with each getting a bottle of beer and Champagne. Kamada was the first to get changed into his suit. Glasner told the players that they had been working for this moment. He reminded them that he had said during the mid-season training camp in Marbella that they had the opportunity to do something special, that he had a feeling they could win the FA Cup, and spoke to them of his pride at their achievement. Advertisement Joel Ward, who celebrated promotion to the Premier League with Palace at Wembley in 2013 and who will leave the club after 13 years this summer, told the players that this was not their ceiling, that they have more to give, more to achieve. 'I told the players now after the game… I'm not the guy with the biggest talents, but I got a feeling for this group of players during the season that we can achieve incredible things,' Glasner said in his post-match press conference. Earlier, Parish had congratulated Glasner, thanking him for what he had done for the club. The manager responded in kind. Glasner also shared an embrace with Textor as he walked up to the Royal Box and the pair later spoke about the Austrian's journey to this point, with Textor having played a significant role in bringing him to Palace. Parish, whose eight-year-old son was a mascot for the game alongside Ward's son, had also shared an unlikely embrace with Textor — with whom he has not always been in harmony since the American's investment in the club in 2019 — after Eze's goal. At the final whistle, all the general partners had hugged as political differences were put aside and forgotten for the day. The players made their way to their families in the stands. Jefferson Lerma's relatives remained there long after many had left, while Henderson went to his brothers Callum and Kai to share an emotional moment in memory of their father, who died from cancer last year. Staff and players then moved on to Wembley's Boxpark, just a few hundred yards from the stadium. The two exceptions were Guehi and Adam Wharton, who had both been taken to hospital for precautionary concussion checks after being struck in the face by the ball in separate second-half incidents. Guehi's eyes had swollen so badly he could hardly see as he went up to accept the trophy, while Wharton — who had not made it up the Wembley steps to receive his medal — later posted a drily humorous picture on his Instagram account from his hospital bed. At Boxpark, Parish lifted the cup and led a rendition of the club's famous 'We Love You' chant, while Will Hughes downed a pint and Henderson sang a new song, to the tune of Shakira's Waka Waka, that was echoing around the Palace end shortly after full time: 'Twelfth again, who gives a f***? We won the FA Cup.' Advertisement The team coach then took them to the Mistress of Mayfair nightclub, where they celebrated long into the early hours of the morning. Parish treated the crowd to a version of the song Rapper's Delight, while Trevoh Chalobah, the Chelsea defender who spent the first half of the season on loan at Palace, made an appearance, as did Jonny Williams, the former Palace midfielder and another member of the 2013 promotion-winning squad. Training was cancelled on Sunday, but the squad were due to report back on Monday before facing Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Tuesday, with Glasner refusing an extra day off because he wants to earn a point to take Palace to 50 points, their highest-ever Premier League total. 'For someone like Oliver, you have to remember it doesn't happen by accident,' Parish told reporters. 'He wants to win things. He wants to give people joy and he's given me a lot of joy back in football and really helped me believe that we could do this. 'Sometimes, maybe I've been part of that lack of belief. I never even imagined that we would get to a final and then there was always that glorious failure tag. But that's what Oliver has done. Even this week, I was telling people we're gonna win, we're gonna win.' Glasner's confidence in his squad throughout the season has enveloped his players, wrapping them into a tight bond to withstand the trials of the campaign, guiding them through the difficult days. If that acted as a shield, as he has previously described it, then Palace's supporters were the sword with which they conquered City. This was one for those who had suffered the most difficult days in the club's history — three administrations, defeats in two previous cup finals, desperately staving off relegation from the second tier on the final day when going down would have put the club's future in grave peril. This was one for those who couldn't make it to north-west London, to those, such as Mark Wealleans, who were not there to see it but to whose families the love had been passed down. Era after era, from generation to generation. After so many years, this was their glorious reward: a first major trophy and the chance to compete in the Europa League for the first time. They made Wembley shake. And it was beautiful. (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Demetrius Robinson)
Washington Post
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Bayern Munich bids goodbye to Thomas Müller. He shouts, 'Let us play!'
MUNICH — Bayern Munich fans have paid tribute to Thomas Müller before his last home game for the club on Saturday. The supporters behind one of the goals displayed a huge red and white tifo with a picture of Müller and his name in giant letters, and a banner above it saying, 'For 25 years everything for our colors!'
