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GOOD, BAD & UGLY RAYS OF LIGHT

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THE BEST HE’S EVER HAD

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SUSTAINING GLORY

TACTICS

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BUNDESLIGA RESTART

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REFORMATTING THE BEST HE’S EVER HAD THE PLAY-OFFS FRANCE

SERIE A COACH SWAP JUVENTUS

LAMPARD’S ONE ON ONE FUTURE STEVE NASH RONALDO LIMA ALLYSON JUVENTUS CHAMPMAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE READY

2019/2020 PREVIEW TACTICS

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TEAM • STARS • FIXTURES • PREDICTIONS • PLAYERS TO WATCH

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english premier league english premier league 20 PREMIER GLORY 12 SIR SEASON 24 ALEX PREVIEW FERGUSON 16 THE LAMPARD'S BLUES 28 GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY 18 THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY 20 AROUND serie a THE LEAGUE 32 RACE TO THE HARDWARE serie a - JUVENTUS 36 SPOTLIGHT 26 MASSIMO SEASON PREVIEW 38 CELLINO 30 THE ALL GOOD, CHANGE? 38 THE BAD & THE UGLY 32 THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY 34 AROUND THE LEAGUE

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44 SPOTLIGHT - THOMAS PARTEY laSPOTLIGHT liga - JAN OBLAK 48 40 SEASON PREVIEW 50 ONE ON ONE - STEVE NASH 44 COVER STORY: ON HIS SHOULDERS 52 ONE ON ONE - RONALDO 46 THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY 54 GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY 48 THE AROUND THE LEAGUE

bundesliga bundesliga 58 BUNDESLIGA RETURNS

54 SEASON PREVIEW 62 THEUGLY UGLY 58 THE THEGOOD, GOOD,THE THEBAD BAD,&THE

mls MLS 66 TORONTO FC FOCUS 64 70 68 74 70 76

MAJOR LEAGUE CHANGE SPOTLIGHT - DAVID BECKHAM GERMAN IMPORTS D.C. UNITEDBOYS FOCUS WELCOME THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

SUMMER 2019 NWSL 76 WINNERS AND LOSERS

78 ONE - ALLYSHA CHAPMAN 78 ONE THE ON DIFFERENCE MAKERS 80 NWSL UPDATE

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SPOTLIGHT - FRANCE THE DIFFERENCE MAKERS PITCH TO BOSS, WHERE ARE THEY NOW? CONCACAF REVIEW GREAT GAMES REVISITED

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ONE ON ONE

MARCO ASENSIO PAULINHO

GOLDEN BOY

MAKING A COMEBACK

MILAN CASHES IN ON GOLDEN KEEPER

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BARCA BLUES

DEPARTURES AND INJURIES

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PAGE 44 PARTEY TIME

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FIRST WORD

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? T he legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once famously declared ‘football is not a matter of life and death…it’s much more important than

that.’

The Scotsman was obviously being facetious. Having grown up in a small Ayrshire mining town, stealing bread and vegetables from nearby farms due to the overwhelming hunger, Shankly was hardly unaware of the very real human suffering that puts the insignificance of 22 people kicking a ball around into perspective. It’s a reality that has now hit hard across the globe. With tens of thousands of people losing their lives, the decision to shut down major leagues across the planet seems not only correct, but of very little significance.

One day football will return - it’s already back under way in several nations – and it’s worth considering now just how it will look when those 22 are once again kicking a ball around, but how we’ll feel about the sport we all love now we’ve realised that it really isn’t a matter of life and death.

Will we find, perhaps, that we can’t really remember why we were so consumed by football in the first place? Of course we miss the game, and seeing players take to the pitch once again should provide a welcome distraction in what is now a very uncertain world.

It was significant to note that in Italy many ultras – the most fanatical and devoted of all fans – were set steadfastly against plans to resume Serie A. The same was true in Germany, while a poll in the Observer newspaper in the UK found only around one-third of football fans wanted games to resume immediately.

The most optimistic estimates say games will be behind closed doors until at least the beginning of 2021, meaning most fans won’t have stepped foot inside a stadium for the best part of a year. Of course many watch on television, but – as anyone who watched Serie A, the Champions League or the Europa League in early March will tell you – football without spectators is a strange, cold and bloodless thing. Can the sport retain its hold on our attentions when the only accompanying sounds will be the shouts of players and managers, the only sight outside the pitch empty seats or, worse, cardboard cut-outs of fans?

Having no actual football being played has laid bare the machinations that often go on behind the scenes, with the unedifying spectacle of clubs bickering over league positions and governing bodies scrambling for television money while hospitals are at breaking point and people are dying.

Having gone cold turkey for months, how many of us will find our football addiction has been broken?

Maybe we can look to another legendary European Cup winning manager for guidance. Arrigo Sacchi, whose Milan side revolutionised the game as we know it, once described football as ‘the most important of the least important things in life.’ In the context of a global pandemic of course football pales into irrelevance – but that doesn’t mean it has no relevance.

In the end football is not just 22 men or women kicking a ball around a pitch. It’s discussing last night’s match with a parent over a coffee. It’s drinking a beer with your friends before walking to the stadium. It’s embracing strangers as the ball hits the back of the net, walking into a bar hundreds of miles from home and feeling you’re among your tribe, lending your voice to thousands of others to create a roar of primal emotion. Football isn’t life and death, it’s everything that comes in between. Love, joy, pain, pain, anger, boredom, excitement.

Perhaps rather than finding we never missed it, we’ll rediscover what made us fall in love with the game in the first place.

One day, in 2021 or beyond, you’ll climb the

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Can sport still hold our attention with no fans?

steps at the stadium and see the brilliant green of the pitch as though it was the first time, or you’ll catch the eye of a regular at your favourite bar just before kick-off and something unspoken will pass between you. You’ll hear a whistle, the roar of a crowd. Then 22 people will kick a ball about and once again it’ll seem like the most important thing in the world.

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

ABOVE: Fans could be locked out until 2021 RIGHT: Bill Shankly’s famous quote has been put into perspective

GABY MCKAY ASKS WHAT WILL COME NEXT FOR FOOTBALL – AND IF THE GAME’S HOLD OVER MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD WILL BE BROKEN?

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NEYMAR SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT IN PARIS

ALMOST THREE YEARS ON FROM HIS WORLD RECORD MOVE TO PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN, NEYMAR HAS HAD DECIDEDLY MIXED FORTUNES. STEPHEN DONOVAN ASSESSES IF HIS TIME IN FRANCE HAS BEEN A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE

T

he last decade saw a dramatic acceleration in the continually evolving world of football. It brought major reforms at the top of governing bodies, the introduction of goal-line technology and video assistant referees, and the ever increasing prevalence of social media. But above all, none of these changes have been more pronounced than the rapid and plainly staggering rise in transfer fees.

Even at a time when UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations had come into effect, the market has grown at a relentless pace. Still, nobody could have expected Paris SaintGermain to smash the world transfer record to an almost unthinkable degree when they paid £200m to sign Neymar from Barcelona

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SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

in the summer of 2017, underlining their intent to become Europe’s leading force.

As for Neymar himself, it brought the opportunity to become the main man and stake his own claim to be the world’s best player. Already worshipped as a hero in his native Brazil, he’d been part of an exceptional front three at Barcelona, along with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Yet for all of his brilliance while at Camp Nou, he was always in Messi’s shadow and left trailing behind the Argentine in the battle for the Ballon D’Or. It was that which persuaded Neymar to take the decisive step. Playing alongside Messi, it had appeared unlikely that he could win the Ballon D’Or at Barcelona and

Despite some excellent contributions, Neymar has had a frustrating time at PSG

‘WITH PSG, THERE WAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD A SIDE AND ENSURE THAT HIS STAR QUALITY WAS THE ONE THAT SHONE THROUGH’ gain the kind of recognition he so craved.

With PSG, there was the opportunity to lead a side and ensure that his star quality was the one that shone through. It was particularly important for him, heading towards the peak years of his career.

Despite Barcelona’s initial reluctance to sell, Neymar ultimately forced their hand after being given the incentive of a contract worth €45m per year, and leading the charge to fulfil Les Parisiens’ sky-high ambitions. Along with the arrival of the equally gifted Kylian Mbappe, it looked to be the signing that would propel the French giants to long-awaited Champions League success, especially with Neymar having been the star of the show when Barcelona pulled off their incredible comeback to beat PSG in the last 16 during the previous season.

Yet in the three years since, they have not even come close to achieving that. The club has still never passed the quarterfinal stage, and indeed this season is the first time they have even made it to the last eight of the competition since 2016.

PSG have instead earned a reputation for choking on the big occasion, one they’re desperate to shed.

For Neymar, it has been a turbulent three years, marked by regular flashes of brilliance and the occasional falling out.

The fee and the unprecedented amount of attention surrounding the transfer that took him to the Parc des Princes inevitably brought huge expectations, and it’s fair to say that the jury is still out over whether the move has been a success.

A record of 69 goals and 39 assists in a total of 80 appearances for the club is undeniably brilliant, and confirms the quality he possesses. However, PSG’s overwhelming dominance of domestic football in France is such that they’re now

WHAT'S NEXT? Neymar’s future is a topic of intense speculation. Stephen Donovan asks what could be next for the world’s most expensive player Over the course of the last year, Neymar has made it abundantly clear through both his words and his actions that he is unhappy at Paris Saint-Germain and is desperate to leave, perhaps for a return to Barcelona, where he spent four magnificently successful years before his record-breaking move in 2017.

However, with a contract that still has over two years left to run, securing a move away might be easier said then done.

Barcelona are likely to renew their attempts to bring Neymar back to Camp Nou in the months to come, but once again it would take a gigantic sum of money to even tempt PSG to sell. Meanwhile, the reigning Ligue 1 champions are planning to stave off any interest by offering the player a new deal said to be worth up to £33m per year.

Even that kind of money might not be enough to sway Neymar this time, and his hopes for a reunion with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez may yet come to fruition. There is also talk that Real Madrid could be planning a sensational move, but the focus for the Brazilian in the immediate future should be to try and bring the Champions League to the French capital and at least ensure that his time at the club is not looked back upon as a total failure.

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

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NEYMAR SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT IN PARIS

CONTINUED

‘IT HAS BEEN A TURBULENT 3 YEARS, MARKED BY REGULAR FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE AND THE OCCASIONAL FALLING OUT’

primarily judged on their performances in Europe, where they haven’t delivered. To blame this on Neymar would however be harsh, as in the previous two campaigns he wasn’t even on the field when his side were eliminated.

Both of those occasions were due to injury, which partly sums up his time in Paris. The 28-year-old has spent various spells on the sidelines, playing no more than 30 games in a single season. He was available for the knockout stages of the Champions League this time around and the difference he made was apparent, scoring in both legs as PSG came from behind to defeat Borussia Dortmund.

Should the competition resume in 2020, Neymar still has the opportunity to guarantee a lasting legacy at PSG if he can help them end their agonising wait for the biggest prize in club football. After holders Liverpool were eliminated, the competition appears to be extremely wide open with no clear favourites. PSG have as talented a squad as anyone else, so if they play to their ability there’s no reason why they can’t win it.

If they were to do so, it would be a delightful end to a turbulent period in Neymar’s career. All the goodwill between he and the club seemed to diminish last summer amid widespread suggestions of a falling out with management staff and even some of his teammates.

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SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

FACT FILE NAME: Neymar da Silva Santos Junior BORN: February 5, 1992 (Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil) HT/WT: 1.75m/68 kg POSITION: Forward CLUB: Paris Saint-Germain SEASON CLUB 2008-09 Santos 2009-10 Santos 2010-11 Santos 2011-12 Santos 2012-13 Santo 2013-14 Barcelona 2014-15 Barcelona 2015-16 Barcelona 2016-17 Barcelona 2017-18 PSG 2018-19 PSG 2019-20 PSG

APPS GLS 33 10 33 17 34 19 33 24 1 0 41 15 51 39 49 31 45 20 30 28 28 23 22 18

Neymar left Barcelona partly to escape Lionel Messi’s shadow, but the two could yet be reunited

There have been several reports of a rift between Neymar and the PSG management, including Thomas Tuchel

WHAT'S NEXT? When Paris Saint-Germain signed Neymar in 2017, it was the third time during the last decade that the world transfer record was broken. Stephen Donovan looks at how his predecessors have fared Becoming the world’s most expensive footballer can be a burden as well as an honour. It leads to inflated expectations from supporters and the media alike, with critics ready to leap upon the merest signs of hardship. Given the sheer size of the fee which took him to Paris Saint-Germain, current record holder Neymar has had to contend with attention like never before, and has subsequently experienced mixed fortunes.

When Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid in 2009 for what now seems a relatively modest £80m, it just appeared to be an exceptional amount of money for an exceptional player, but in the years that have followed the money within football has continued to rise, leading the value of players to increase immeasurably.

Ronaldo went on to cement his status as arguably the world’s best player, but in 2013 his fee was eclipsed when Real paid £86m for Gareth Bale, who’s gone on to be instrumental in four Champions League triumphs. For all of his achievements at the Bernabeu, the Welshman has endured a bumpy relationship with supporters, and also Coach Zinedine Zidane, who has repeatedly fuelled speculation about his future.

In 2016, it was the turn of Manchester United to set the pace, bringing Paul Pogba back to the club for £89. He’s gone on to fare no better than Neymar, as his side have gone on to enjoy very limited success, while rumours of unrest have never been far away. If that proves anything, it is that a record transfer doesn’t necessarily ensure success.upon as a total failure.

It all began when he turned down a new contract in April 2019, citing a number of minor issues, including unfulfilled promises

by PSG, a lack of warmth towards him from the club’s supporters, a perceived lack of protection from referees and a dispute with fellow striker Edinson Cavani over who should take penalties.

He even failed to turn up to the first day of pre-season training back in July, and weeks later he was forcibly removed from a team photograph by Mbappe, an incident that was later downplayed. As recently as February, his public criticism of coach Thomas Tuchel’s decision to leave him out of the team for a cup match prompted reports that he’d refused to train.

For some time now, a return to Barcelona has looked a distinct possibility after Neymar himself expressed regret at his decision to leave. In a drawn out saga last summer, the Spanish champions made a series of bids, and PSG indicated that they were open to a potential deal if the right offer was made, but unsurprisingly money was an obstacle and he was forced to stay in spite of his wishes.

As well as representing a dramatic U-turn just two years after his record signing, it would have rendered his time in France as an expensive failure. As it is, it can still be salvaged once football exits its current suspension, with all to play for in the Champions League.

The Champions League is the prize that PSG have waited years to get the hands on, without success

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

11

DEFAULT CHAMP By: James Nalton

THE WINNERS

FINAL STANDINGS

CLUB PTS Paris Saint-Germain Marseille Rennes Lille Nice Reims Lyon Montpellier Monaco Strasbourg Angers Bordeaux Nantes Brest Mets Dijon St. Etienne Nimes Amiens Toulouse

68 56 50 49 41 41 40 40 40 39 38 37 37 34 34 30 30 27 23 13

Uefa Champions League: 1st - 3rd Europa League: 4th Relegation: 19th, 20th

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SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

PIONS Paris Saint Germain players celebrate with the league winner trophy during a ceremony after the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Dijon FCO at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, 18 May 2019 (re-issued on 30 april 2020).

The Professional Football League (LFP) of France, on 30 April 2020, accepted the Government's order to end the 2019/2020 season and proclaimed champion Paris Saint-Germain, who was leading the table when the competition was stopped because of COVID -19.

P

aris Saint-Germain were declared champions after the government pushed the French soccer leagues into cancelling their seasons, but deciding who would win the league title was the least of the worries of French soccer

clubs.

The Prime Minister of France, Edouard Philippe, announced that 2019/20 sporting seasons would not be able to continue until September, prompting the LFP (French football league) to end the current campaign.

The leagues were looking to restart in June, targeting a July finish, but this was rendered impossible following Philippe’s announcement, and even games behind closed doors were not considered, as is the case in the German Bundesliga.

As the 2019/20 campaign was called off, the French top-flight still had ten games to play, or 11 in the case of PSG and Strasbourg. Any decisions on promotion, relegation, European qualification, and the crowning of champions were eventually made using a points per

“WE FEEL HARD DONE BY, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE WE, AS A CLUB, HAD BIG ASPIRATIONS AND WE WANTED TO BE IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.”

FINAL GOAL SCORING LEADERS PLAYER GLS Kylian Mbappe Wissam Ben Yedder Moussa Dembele Victor Osimhen Neymar Jr. Mauro Icardi Habib Diallo Kasper Dolberg Dario Benedetto M'baye Niang Denis Bouanga Andy Delort Islam Slimani Memphis Depay Dimitri Payet Serhou Guirassy Adrien Thomasson Angel Di Maria Ludovic Ajorque Adrien Hunou

18 18 16 13 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8

Kylian Mbappe

Wissam Ben Yedder

Memphis Depay

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

13

THE WINNERS game system.

PSG have won the league in France for seven of the past eight seasons, only interrupted by a Monaco triumph in 2017.

The recency of the Paris club’s dominance is highlighted by the fact they only have nine league titles in total, and the 19-year gap between their second league title, won in 1994, and their third in 2013 which saw the start of this new superiority.

With a game in hand and having opened a 12-point gap with ahead of Marseille before soccer was halted due to the coronavirus, there can be little argument that the side from the capital should be crowned champions, even though they were yet to secure it mathematically.

Their goal difference of +51, 36 goals ahead of their nearest challengers in this column of the league table, is a further demonstration of their dominance, and their 75 goals scored in 27 games this season gives them an average of 2.78 goals per game.

The majority of the league’s standout players don PSG’s red and blue shirt each week, with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar up there with the best players in world soccer.

The pair are supported by other high-profile names including Angel Di Maria, Mauro Icardi, Marquinhos, Marco Veratti, Thiago Silva, and former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Mbappe leads the scoring charts alongside Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder, with Neymar and Icardi also in double figures for the season. Di Maria tops the Ligue 1 assists column with 14, twice as many as Yoann Court of Brest and Monaco’s Islam Slimani who are tied for second with seven assists each.

As a team, they have the most prolific attack in the league with their 75 goals putting them 31 ahead of Monaco, their nearest challengers in this regard. They only have the second-best defence in the league, having conceded 24 in 27 games, but this combined with that free-scoring attack has seen them win 22 of those games.

Below PSG is where the real issues of this season’s premature finish lie. The most immediate concerns are those of Rennes and Lille who will believe they would have been able to recover the six- and sevenpoint gap between themselves and secondplace Marseille.

For Rennes, it is the difference between a place in the lucrative Champions League group stage and having to go through a tricky qualifying round. For Lille, it means they miss out on the Champions League spot they would have been fighting for had the league been able to continue.

“We feel hard done by, obviously, because we, as a club, had big aspirations and we wanted to be in the Champions League,” Lille captain Jose Fonte told TalkSport.

“These are unprecedented times. There are people dying and there are big decisions to be made. The French government stepped in and made this tough decision, I’m sure, in the best interests of the country and everyone.

“But I’m not sure if you can just finish the league with 10 games to go, 30 points to play for, and just say these people are the champions, these people go to the Champions League, and so on.”

Fifth-plce Reims were eight points off Lille, but will also argue this gap could have been closed, and a challenge for that Europa League spot mounted. And if Reims can say this, then so can several other teams, as there was a gap of just four points between Reims in fifth and Nantes in 13th.

Seventh-place Lyon boasted the secondbest goal difference in Ligue 1, and their president Jean-Michel Aulas confirmed to L’Équipe du Soir that they will seek legal action against the LFP’s decision to end the season early.

At the bottom of the table, Amiens were only four points of safety, but have been relegated along with Toulouse based on points per game.

Amiens have launched a petition calling for the LFP to reverse the decision which they

14

believe removes any sporting integrity from the league.

“Since I have been in football, I have never experienced a shock like this,” Amiens manager Luka Elsner told Le Courrier Picard.

“Generally, we are the masters of our destiny and of our performances in football, but here, I was not expecting such a rapid decision.

“It is like being plunged by a sword, a clean cut. I fall from the clouds and I am very hurt. In sport, the basic principle is that opportunities are equal at the start and are the same at the end.

“If the decision is not made by action on the pitch, you cannot talk about sporting fairness. We are going to fight this decision through all the possible channels.”

It’s not an ideal way to win a league title but, as these numbers and names demonstrate, PSG topping the league was an easy prediction to make prior to the season, and it will be an easy one to make ahead of the next, whenever that may be.

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

SPOTLIGHT

THE ORIGINS

EUROPE’S TOP CLUB COMPETITIONS HAVE GONE THROUGH SOME DRASTIC CHANGES DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. CIRO DI BRITA LOOKS AT THE EARLY INCARNATIONS OF THE TWO TOURNAMENTS AND HOW THEIR MODERN FORMATS CAME TO BE.

THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The Champions League as we now know it came into being in the 1992-1993 season, replacing the old European Cup, which was a two-legged straight knockout competition that had run from 1955.

However, the last edition of European Cup did feature a group stage which saw the two group winners, Sampdoria and Barcelona, face off in the decider. The Catalans won 1-0 in extra-time thanks to a Ronald Koeman free-kick.

Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi led the way in the formation of the Champions League.

The businessman and future Italian Prime Minister was one of many who had hoped to launch a European Super League, which would expand the revenue streams for his two main investments – the TV channel Canale 5 and his beloved Rossoneri.

When Serie A champions Napoli met La Liga winners Real Madrid in the first round of the 1987-1988 competition, Berlusconi bemoaned the fact that, whatever the outcome, the broadcasters were losing one of the biggest pulls of television viewing figures in the early stages of the tournament. He decried it as ‘not modern thinking’ and argued a massive change was needed to the format of the prestigious competition.

Berlusconi wanted more games for the big teams from Europe’s biggest leagues without knock-out rounds, which would guarantee a steady stream of income.

His idea of a Super League was rejected.

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ABOVE: Silvio Berlusconi’s influence was vital in the creation of the Champions League

CUP WINNERS’ CUP FINAL ROLL CALL Some of the game’s most prestigious names are on the list of past winners of the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup… Season Final 1960-61 Fiorentina vs. Rangers 1961-62 Atletico Madrid vs. Fiorentina

1962-63 Tottenham vs. Atletico Madrid 1963-64 Sporting CP vs. MTK Hungaria 1964-65 West Ham vs. 1860 Munich 1965-66 Borussia Dortmund vs. Liverpool 1966-67 Bayern Munich vs. Rangers

1967-68 Milan vs. Hamburg

1968-69 Slovan Bratislava vs. Barcelona

1969-70 Manchester City vs. Gornik Zabrze 1970-71 Chelsea vs. Real Madrid

1971-72 Rangers vs. Dynamo Moscow

1972-73 Milan vs. Leeds United

1973-74 Magdeburg vs. Milan

1974-75 Dynamo Kyiv vs. Ferencvaros

1975-76 Anderlecht vs. West Ham

1976-77 Hamburg vs. Anderlecht

1977-78 Anderlecht vs. Austria Wien 1978-79 Barcelona vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf 1979-80 Valencia vs. Arsenal 1980-81 Dinamo Tbilisi vs. Carl Zeiss Jena 1981-82 Barcelona vs. Standard Liege 1982-83 Aberdeen vs. Real Madrid 1983-84 Juventus vs. Porto 1984-85 Everton vs. Rapid Wien 1985-86 Dynamo Kyiv vs. Atletico Madrid 1986-87 Ajax vs. Lokomotive Leipzig 1987-88 Mechelen vs. Ajax 1988-89 Barcelona vs. Sampdoria 1989-90 Sampdoria vs. Anderlecht 1990-91 Manchester United vs. Barcelona 1991-92 Werder Bremen vs. Monaco 1992-93 Parma vs. Royal Antwerp 1993-94 Arsenal vs. Parma 1994-95 Real Zaragoza vs. Arsenal 1995-96 Paris Saint-Germain vs. Rapid Wien 1996-97 Barcelona vs. PSG 1997-98 Chelsea vs. Stuttgart 1998-99 Lazio vs. Mallorca

“EUROPE’S PREMIER FOOTBALL COMPETITION HAD BEEN A STRAIGHT KNOCK-OUT TOURNAMENT FEATURING SOLELY THE WINNERS OF EACH NATION’S DOMESTIC LEAGUE.” But amid the threat of the clubs forming a break-away competition, UEFA agreed to change the format to a group stage to placate the growing unrest around the continent’s big leagues.

The breakup of the Soviet Union and the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1992 saw the amount of teams qualifying for the competition expanded from 32 to 36, which also for the first time included the winners from Israel and the Faroe Islands. Within the next year that number would rise to 42.

That debut season saw Milan and Olympique de Marseille top their respective groups to compete for the trophy in the showpiece final at the Olympiastadion in Munich. A Basil Boli header from a corner decided the game for L’OM, who would become the first and to date only French winners of the competition.

Until the 1991-1992 season Europe’s premier football competition had been a straight knock-out tournament featuring solely the winners of each nation’s domestic league.

The European Cup was inspired in part by the South American Championship of Champions, which in itself is seen as a forerunner of the Copa Libertadores, the Challenge Cup, which was a tournament played between 1897 and 1911 open to all the clubs of the former Austrian-Hungarian Empire, and the Mitropa Cup. In 1997 the competition took on another huge alteration when UEFA expanded the format to six groups from the previous four, while also including teams that had finished runners-up in the top eight-ranked leagues around the continent. Between 1999 and 2003 the top four of the four highest ranked nations qualified for the tournament and competed in two group stages. By now, the competition started to have that Super

League feel that had been, and once again become, a contentious talking point.

Currently the top four ranked leagues – Spain, England, Italy and Germany – send the teams that finished from first to fourth in their respective divisions to take part in eight groups and three two-legged knockout rounds before the final. But that format could change when the contract for TV rights runs out in 2024.

Real Madrid have the most trophies, with 13 to their name, Milan are in second place with seven while holders Liverpool lifted their sixth title against Tottenham Hotspur in last season’s final.

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KEY DATES ROUND OF 16*: DATE TBA QUARTER FINALS: DATE TBA SEMI FINALS: DATE TBA

Score 4-2 3-0 5-1 1-0 2-0 2-1 1-0 2-0 3-2 2-1 2-1 3-2 1-0 2-0 2-0 4-2 2-0 4-0 4-3 0-0 (5-4 PEN) 2-1 2-1 2-1 2-1 3-1 3-0 1-0 1-0 2-0 2-0 2-1 2-0 3-1 1-0 2-1 1-0 1-0 1-0 2-1

ABOVE: Lazio vs Mallorca, 1999 BOTTOM: Jose Mourinho’s Porto were the last club from outside England, Spain Italy or Germany to win the Champions League in 2004 TOP AND BOTTOM LEFT: Real Madrid are the most decorated club in the competition

FINALS: DATE TBA (Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul)

*ROUND OF 16 WILL NEED TO RESUME WHEN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESTARTS

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SPOTLIGHT

INTER-CITIES FAIRS CUP FINAL ROLL CALL The Inter-Cities Cup is a long-forgotten competition that, in its day, saw some of Europe’s biggest teams compete – and a London XI made up of clubs from the capital in the first-ever final…

Season Final 1955-58 Barcelona vs. London XI 1958-60 Barcelona vs. Birmingham City 1960-61 Roma vs. Birmingham City 1961-62 Valencia vs. Barcelona 1962-63 Valencia vs. Dinamo Zagreb 1963-64 Real Zaragoza vs. Valencia 1964-65 Ferencvaros vs. Juventus 1965-66 Barcelona vs. Real Zaragoza 1966-67 Dinamo Zagreb vs. Leeds United 1967-68 Leeds United vs. Ferencvaros 1968-69 Newcastle vs. Ujpesti Dozsa 1969-70 Arsenal vs. Anderlecht 1970-71 Leeds vs. Juventus

Score 8-2 (Agg) 4-1 (Agg) 4-2 (Agg) 7-3 (Agg) 4-1 (Agg) 2-1 1-0 4-3 (Agg) 2-0 (Agg) 1-0 (Agg) 6-2 (Agg) 4-3 (Agg) 3-3 (Agg)*

*Leeds wins on away goals

THE EUROPA LEAGUE

The Europa League – formerly the UEFA Cup – is Europe’s second tier club competition. It first kicked-off in the 1971-1972 season which saw an all English final, where Tottenham Hotspur defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 over two legs.

The UEFA Cup was preceded by the InterCities Fairs Cup, which was a non-UEFA organised competition that ran between 1955 and 1971 and grew from 11 competing teams to 64 in its final edition. The InterCities Fairs Cup was set up to promote international trade and was initially only open to teams from cities that hosted fairs, while also sticking to the rule of one city, one team. Over the years the tournament expanded to include the runners-up of each nation’s domestic leagues. In 1999 the old Cup Winners’ Cup – which saw the winners of each nation’s domestic cup meeting in a European competition – was abolished and merged with the UEFA Cup. The 2009-2010 season was when the UEFA Cup rebranded itself into the Europa League, which may have been a possible attempt to mirror the flagship competition, the Champions League. Prior to 2004 the UEFA Cup had been a straight two-legged

knock-out affair, considered by some to be harder to win than the Champions League.

In that competition, the group stage format gave clubs a much greater margin for error – to the delight of the broadcasters, who didn’t want the big teams eliminated for two bad games.

The current format has come under increased criticism in recent years with some bemoaning the fact that the thirdplaced teams from the Champions League group stage drop down into the knock-out rounds. The argument is that it belittles the purity of the tournament and hampers the opportunities of the smaller sides – while rewarding failure.

With a perceived lack of interest from some of the clubs of those big leagues, UEFA’s governing body decided to add an extra incentive to winning the competition, with the winners now qualifying directly for the following season’s Campions League group stage.

The current holders of the trophy are Chelsea, who won their second title when they defeated local rivals Arsenal 4-1 in last season’s final, while Sevilla have hoisted the cup on five occasions, making them the most decorated club in the competition’s history.

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KEY DATES ROUND OF 16: DATE TBA QUARTER AND SEMI FINAL DRAW: DATE TBA QUARTER FINAL: DATE TBA SEMI FINAL: DATE TBA FINAL: DATE TBA (Gdansk Stadium)

*ROUND OF 16 WILL NEED TO RESUME WHEN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESTARTS

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ABOVE: Leeds vs Juventus 1971 ABOVE (BOTTOM): Arsenal vs.

Anderlecht, 1970 TOP AND BOTTOM LEFT: Chelsea are the current holders of the Europa League

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ALL THE GLORY

PREMIER GLORY THERE IS PERHAPS NOTHING MORE GRIPPING THAN A TENSE PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE RACE, AND THROUGHOUT THE YEARS WE’VE BEEN BLESSED WITH SOME NAIL-BITING FINISHES IN ENGLAND’S TOP TIER. THE FOOTBALL FAITHFUL HARRY DIAMOND BRING US BACK TO THRILL OF VICTORY.

DESPITE LOSING AT ANFIELD, BLACKBURN ROVERS WERE CROWNED CHAMPIONS IN 1995

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he prospect of two or more teams competing to the final stages of the campaign makes for enthralling viewing for football fans, as the anticipation and pressure builds in what is now commonly referred to as squeakybum-time.

We’ve decided to look back at some of the greatest conclusions to a Premier League season, the occasions the destination of the league title has been undecided heading into the final day of the campaign.

Here are the eight times the Premier League title went down to the wire:

1994/95

The early seasons of the Premier League era saw Blackburn Rovers emerge as a real force in English football, the Lancashire side backed by the millions of Jack Walker and propelled by the goals of British transferrecord signing Alan Shearer.

After finishing fourth and second in the first two seasons of the newly-formed Premier League, there was a growing sense of belief around Ewood Park that the club could secure a first league title since 1914.

Standing in the club’s way, however, were Manchester United, the club having broken a 26-year wait for a top-flight crown with back-to-back league titles under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson.

What ensued was a gripping title race between the defending champions and the financially backed Rovers, though it was the latter who led for much of the campaign and headed into the final day two points

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clear.

Blackburn headed to Liverpool on the final day of the season, though the fixture was seen as an advantage given Rovers were coached by Reds legend Kenny Dalglish and the Merseyside club’s rivalry with title rivals United.

Any suggestions Liverpool would lie down were swiftly removed, as the hosts came from behind to win at Anfield – leaving Blackburn reliant on United’s result away at West Ham. Ferguson’s side could only muster a 1-1 draw at Upton Park in a game that saw chance after chance squandered, however, Blackburn’s final day defeat proved meaningless as they were crowned champions for the first time in 81 years.

1995/96

“I would love it if we beat them” are the iconic words of Magpies manager Kevin Keegan as the title race with Manchester United came closer and closer to its climax, words that will forever be associated with the former Newcastle boss after his side’s epic tussle with the Red Devils during the mid-nineties.

One of the most iconic seasons of the Premier League era and a campaign that saw United once again compete for dominance in English football, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side challenged by an entertaining Newcastle, team under the guidance of the aforementioned Keegan.

Newcastle, boasting the likes of David Ginola, Les Ferdinand and Peter Beardsley

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ABOVE: Blackburn and their hardware in 1995 BOTTOM RIGHT: Kevin Keegan with Sir Alex Ferguson, 1996

amongst their ranks, raced into an early lead at the summit and looked set to end their long wait for silverware after opening up a 12-point advantage by mid-January.

What looked like a title procession soon turned into a title race, however, as the wheels began to fall off for the Magpies following the turn of the new year and United began to claw their way back into contention.

Five defeats in just eight games, including defeat to United at St James’ Park and 4-3 loss to Liverpool in an Anfield epic, saw Newcastle falter away.

United needed to lose on the final day at Middlesbrough to give Newcastle any hope of reclaiming top spot, but a 3-0 victory secured the club’s third title in four seasons and set up a second domestic double for the Red Devils.

1998/99

The 1998/99 season saw Manchester United make history with an unprecedented treble-winning campaign, Ferguson’s side lifting the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League to immortalise themselves in footballing folklore.

Their season, however, saw them run agonisingly close for each of their major prizes, including in the Premier League title race against an Arsenal side who had won the domestic double the previous year and an emerging Chelsea outfit.

The 1998/99 campaign was arguably peak United vs Arsenal, the two teams perhaps as evenly matched as any title contenders in the league’s history and a Chelsea side – largely forgotten but who lost just three games all season – following behind.

United led for much of the second half of the season but a late collapse at Liverpool – that saw former captain Paul Ince come back to haunt the club and equalise late on before celebrating exuberantly – handed Arsenal the initiative.

The Gunners, however, would stumble themselves in losing to Leeds to take the title race to the final day, where United knew victory over Tottenham would see them wrestle the title back from north London.

Final day jitters saw Spurs open the scoring at Old Trafford, but goals from David Beckham and Andy Cole secured a comeback victory and crowned United champions – sealing the club’s first trophy and setting the foundation for a 10 day period that would change their history forever.

Manchester United holding up the UEFA Champions League Trophy as part of their 1999 treble.

Sir Alex Ferguson holding up the FA Cup, as part of Manchester United's 1999 Treble.

UNITED MADE IT DOUBLE AGONY FOR THE BLUES AND A HISTORIC DOUBLE BY BEATING THE WEST LONDONERS IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL ON PENALTIES JUST TEN DAYS LATER.

Ronaldo and temmates celebrate the double, while winning the Champions League, 2008

2007/08

A season which saw Manchester United and Chelsea go head-to-head for the game’s biggest prizes, the two taking the title race to the final day of the season before contesting the first ever all-English Champions League final in Moscow.

The two sides had shared each of the previous three titles and were once again the leading contenders in England’s top tier, whilst Arsenal were also firmly in the race for much of the campaign after beginning the season in electric form.

Chelsea and United met at Stamford Bridge with just three games remaining, where Michael Ballack’s double – including a late penalty – saw the west London side move level with their rivals ahead of the final two fixtures of the season.

Victories in the penultimate games saw the two sides head into the final day level on points, though United’s vastly superior goal difference meant the Red Devils would be crowned champions with three points at Wigan.

Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs secured back-to-back titles for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side as Chelsea laboured to a 1-1 draw at home to Bolton, whilst United made it double agony for the Blues and a historic double by beating the west Londoners in the Champions League final on penalties just ten days later.

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ALL THE GLORY 2009/10

Two years later and it was once again Manchester United and Chelsea contesting for the Premier League title, the former trailing the latter by just a single point heading into the final ten games of the season.

The two sides would compile identical records across the run-in to take the title race to the final day of the campaign, a win for Chelsea at Old Trafford in early April proving crucial in the destination of the title.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Blues had impressed with their free-scoring approach and despite a defeat at Tottenham with three games remaining, held their nerve to win the title in emphatic style.

Chelsea finished the season with comfortable victories over Stoke, Liverpool and Wigan, the latter an 8-0 final day thrashing at Stamford Bridge that ended any hopes of United securing a fourth consecutive league title.

Ancelotti’s side would complete a domestic double to conclude a memorable debut season for the Italian in English football, Didier Drogba scoring the only goal as Portsmouth were beaten 1-0 at Wembley.

Drogba scores the only goal on the day that Chelsea clinched the title

2011/12

Each of the previously mentioned seasons have had their own form of final day drama and tension, but nothing compares to the final day of the 2011/12 season that saw Sergio Aguero score the most iconic goal of the Premier League era.

Manchester City had emerged as a competitive force at the top of the Premier League following their billionaire takeover four years earlier, but the ‘noisy neighbours’ from the blue half of the city trailed perennial winners United by eight points with just six games to go.

United, however, uncharacteristically wobbled, losing at Wigan before drawing 4-4 with Everton at Old Trafford. Vincent Kompany then headed the only goal of the game in a Manchester derby victory for City in late April and suddenly the initiative was with the emerging force of the division.

Both sides were level heading into the final day but, courtesy of a superior goal difference, Roberto Mancini’s side only needed t beat relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers to secure a first league title since the sixties.

What seemed like a straightforward afternoon proved anything but.

United had one hand on the title after beating Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light, as City faltered under the pressure a title race that went down to the wire, trailing to 10-man QPR as the game entered stoppage-time.

Edin Dzeko’s headed equaliser raised hope but appeared too little too late, until Aguero fired home a winner to dramatically snatch the title in arguably the Premier League’s greatest moment.

The iconic celebration of the iconic goal

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AGUERO FIRED HOME A WINNER TO DRAMATICALLY SNATCH THE TITLE IN ARGUABLY THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S GREATEST MOMENT.

2013/14

“This does not f****** slip” – the words of Steven Gerrard that will forever haunt the Liverpool captain.

Liverpool were riding a wave of momentum towards a first league title in nearly three decades in 2014, Brendan Rodgers side having registered a 10th successive league victory after defeating title rivals Manchester City at Anfield in April 2014.

Inspired by the devastating partnership of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in attack, Merseyside was awash with anticipation as the club’s long wait for a league title came ever closer to an end.

What occurred, however, was the cruelest twist of fate, Gerrard slipping to allow Demba Ba to score in defeat to Chelsea, handing City back the title initiative courtesy of a superior goal difference with just two games remaining.

In their very next fixture, a gung-ho Liverpool squandered a three-goal lead to draw at Crystal Palace, whilst City’s flawless six-game winning run to finish the season ensured the Premier League title remained the missing medal in Gerrard’s silverware collection.

“THIS DOES NOT F****** SLIP” Gerard only needed an EPL title to complete his collection of hardware

2018/19

Last season once again saw Merseyside and Manchester rivalries renewed as Liverpool and City once again went toe-to-toe for the league title, setting unprecedented standards at the top of the division to establish themselves as the dominant forces in English football.

Liverpool headed into the New Year with a seven point advantage after City’s wobbles over the festive period, but defeat at the Etihad – the Reds only defeat of the league season – offered Pep Guardiola’s side hopes of retaining their title.

Between March and May, the leadership changed hands eleven times as both teams charged towards the finish line, though there was precious little drama in terms of slips as both sides racked up victory after victory.

City finished the season with a 14-game winning run as Liverpool registered a steak of 12 successive victories, the former finishing just a point ahead of their title rivals as both sides won on the final day of the season.

Liverpool finished the campaign on a club record 97 points, the highest tally of any runner-up in history and enough to win the title in 25 of the past 27 Premier League seasons.

Manchester City won back-to-back titles.

Liverpool were the most successful runner-ups in EPL history.

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SIR ALEX SPOTLIGHT

SIR ALEX'S MEN HIS RECORD-BREAKING COLLECTION OF SILVERWARE INCLUDES WINNING 13 LEAGUE TITLES, FIVE FA CUPS AND TWO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TROPHIES, OVERSEEING AN OFTENFLAWLESS TRANSITION BETWEEN TITLE-WINNING SIDES AND TAKING CHARGE OF SOME OF THE FINEST PLAYERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE. 24

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T

he most successful manager in the history of English football, Sir Alex Ferguson brought unprecedented success to Manchester United during a 26-year career at Old Trafford.

The football faithful Harry Diamond Breaks it down His record-breaking collection of silverware includes winning 13 league titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League trophies, overseeing an often-flawless transition between title-winning sides and taking charge of some of the finest players in the history of the Premier League.

We’ve decided to look back at the players who made the most appearances under the legendary manager, here is Sir Alex Ferguson’s most used XI: GOALKEEPER: PETER SCHMEICHEL – 362 appearances Ferguson recognised the importance of a great goalkeeper to any side and was responsible for signing three of the club’s very best in Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar and David de Gea, though it is the former that earns his inclusion in this side courtesy of 362 appearances under the Scot.

Regarded by many as the best goalkeeper in Premier League history and amongst the finest the game has seen, Schmeichel won five league titles in seven seasons at Old Trafford, winning two domestic doubles and forming part of the side which won a historic treble in 1999.

The former Denmark international was named as the Premier League’s Player of the Season during the 1995/96 season and remains the only goalkeeper in history to have won the award.

RIGHT-BACK: GARY NEVILLE – 598 appearances One of a host of academy graduates to emerge at a similar time and form the basis of Ferguson’s great sides, Neville spent his entire career at Manchester United and made 598 appearances in all competitions.

A committed and dedicated professional, Neville’s relentless work-rate saw him establish himself as the best right-back in the Premier League for a period and later saw him named as club captain following the departure of Roy Keane to Celtic.

Amongst the most decorated players in the history of English football, Neville won 20 major honours during a glittering career at Old Trafford, including eight league titles and the Champions League twice.

CENTRE-BACK: RIO FERDINAND – 432 appearances Ferdinand’s performances for rivals Leeds persuaded Ferguson to make the centreback the most expensive defender in football history in the summer of 2002,

Peter Schmeichel

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SIR ALEX SPOTLIGHT though it would prove money well spent despite smashing the British transfer record.

Quick, powerful and possessing unshakeable composure, Ferdinand is rightfully regarded amongst the very best defenders the Premier League has seen and he spent over a decade at Old Trafford, making 432 appearances in all competitions under Ferguson before the latter’s retirement in 2013.

Forming one of the division’s great centreback partnerships alongside Nemanja Vidic, his list of accolades includes six league titles and the 2008 Champions League, as well as five inclusions in the PFA Team of the Year as a United player.

CENTRE-BACK: JOHN O’SHEA – 394 appearances Perhaps a surprise inclusion amongst Ferguson’s most used XI but a player whose consistency and versatility was rewarded with 394 appearances under the Manchester United great.

O’Shea won 14 trophies across ten seasons as a first-team regular at Old Trafford, establishing himself as one of the most decorated Irish footballers of all-time before leaving for Sunderland in 2011.

Comfortable playing across the backline and even in midfield on occasion, O’Shea also enhanced his status amongst the Red Devils’ supporters in fine – if somewhat uncharacteristic – style, memorably netting a sumptuous chip against Arsenal at Highbury and a stoppage-time winner against Liverpool at Anfield.

John O'shea

Denis Irwin

LEFT-BACK: DENIS IRWIN – 450 appearances Rarely has a player played with such remarkable consistency as the former Ireland international, Irwin an ever-reliable performer at full-back for over a decade at Manchester United.

Irwin played his part in the club’s early successes of the Premier League era and won seven league titles, including two domestic doubles and the Red Devils’ aforementioned treble-winning season in 1999.

Solid defensively and a potent attacking threat, Irwin’s natural two-footedness and ability from set-pieces made him an invaluable squad member during the greatest period of Ferguson’s tenure.

RIGHT-WING: DAVID BECKHAM – 387 appearances One part of a midfield quarter who would dominate both at home and abroad, Beckham was an unrivalled crosser of a football at his peak and is regarded amongst the finest dead-ball specialists the game has seen.

Part of the club’s fabled ‘Class of ’92’ contingent, Beckham emerged from the club’s academy system to establish himself as a superstar of world football, his technical brilliance and celebrity status helping the former England captain transcend the game.

Winner of six league titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League during his 387 appearances under Ferguson, Beckham was also named as runner-up for the Ballon d’Or and for the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice.

No player in Premier League history has ever scored more free-kicks than ‘Becks’, who finished as the leading assist provider in the division on three occasions before his move to Real Madrid in 2003.

MIDFIELD: ROY KEANE – 469 appearances The deterioration of Keane’s relationship with Ferguson is a sad end to an era that brought unprecedented success to Manchester United, the Irishman the onfield embodiment of his manager and the most inspirational player of Fergie’s Old Trafford dynasty.

A dynamic presence of energy and fullblooded commitment, Keane is one of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history and became the driving force

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behind Ferguson’s greatest sides, winning a PFA Player’s Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year double in 2000.

The joint-most decorated Irish footballer of all-time, he made 469 appearances in all competitions and became United’s most successful ever captain, winning 17 major honours during a glittering Red Devils career.

MIDFIELD: V – 709 appearances Scholes’ ability to play a variety of roles to the very highest level have seen him showered with praise from his footballing peers, a player’s favourite who established himself as one of the greatest in the history of England’s most successful side.

The Oldham-born star was blessed with a flawless technique and ability to see the picture around him, evolving from an attacking forward talent into a deeplying playmaker in his later years, with generational greats such as Xavi and Zinedine Zidane gushing in their admiration for the understated star.

Scholes would spend his entire career with the club and make 718 appearances in all competitions, his list of accolades including 11 league titles, three FA Cups and two Champions League titles.

Roy Keane

LEFT-WING: RYAN GIGGS – 905 appearances Few players have caused as much excitement coming through the academy ranks as Ryan Giggs, the fleet-footed winger described as the club’s best prospect since George Best following his emergence as a teenager at Old Trafford.

Giggs would deliver on that vast potential and then some during an unprecedented career of success and longevity at Manchester United, becoming the most decorated player in the history of the English game.

As his career progressed, he would evolve from a flying winger into a more central role, his list of honours including a barely believable 13 league titles, in addition to four FA Cups, three League Cups and two Champions League titles.

No player in history has ever made more than his 963 appearances in a United shirt, his longevity and quality leaving him with 162 Premier League assists – the most in the division’s history.

FORWARD: WAYNE ROONEY – 402 appearances Rooney burst onto the scene as a precociously talented teenager at Everton, a boy in a man’s body who quickly established himself as the most exciting young talent in English football.

Ferguson swiftly recognised the talents of the latest ‘boy wonder’ and made Rooney the most expensive teenager in football

Paul Scholes

Ryan Giggs

history, and Rooney would star under his guidance despite some rocky moments in the duo’s relationship.

He would win five league titles and the Champions League amongst a host of major honours, making 402 appearances under Ferguson and later becoming one of just two Englishman alongside Michael Carrick to win a league title, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup. His 253 goals for the club would see him eclipse Sir Bobby Charlton as United’s record goalscorer, whilst he would also surpass the same player to become the greatest goalscorer in the history of the England national side.

FORWARD: OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER 365 appearances The man currently following in Ferguson’s footsteps in the Old Trafford hotseat, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made 365 appearances in all competitions under the managerial great to earn his inclusion in this most used XI. Solskjaer arrived as an unheralded talent from Norwegian side Molde before quickly proving to be a bargain buy, spending over a decade at the club and earning the moniker ‘Baby-faced Assassin’ for his boyish looks and ruthless nature in front of goal.

Solskjaer made 365 appearances in all competitions for Ferguson and scored 126 goals, developing a reputation as a supersub for his ability to influence proceedings off the bench.

That reputation was most evident in scoring arguably the most iconic goal in the club’s history, a late, late winner as United came from behind to score twice in stoppagetime and beat Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Wayne Rooney

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RAY OF LIGHT THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

TABLE SO FAR...

CLUB PTS Liverpool Manchester City Leicester City Chelsea Manchester United Wolverhampton Wanderers Sheffield United Tottenham Hotspur Arsenal Burnley Crystal Palace Everton Newcastle United Southampton Brighton and Hove Albion West Ham United Watford Bournemouth Aston Villa Norwich City

82 57 53 48 45 43 43 41 40 39 39 37 35 34 29 27 27 27 25 21

Uefa Champions League: 1st - 4th Europa League: 5th Relegation: 18th, 19th, 20th

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THE GOOD

Rays of light amid the coronavirus pandemic have been hard to find.

There’s something to be said for the way communities have come together, but the circumstances are heart-breaking and the aberrations stand out in the most grotesque manner.

The Premier League and its clubs have not always covered themselves in glory, and the argument about restarting the competition has been unsavoury. But that’s mostly confined to the boardrooms. The actual players and managers, and the charitable arms of the clubs, have done some extraordinary work.

From calling supporters to check in on their physical and mental well-being, to delivering groceries to fans who are unable to get a home delivery from the store or go out themselves, acts of kindness have been prolific and much-welcomed.

It’s unfair to single out one club over another – every team has done something positive during the stressful weeks and months of the pandemic. The machinations over restarting the Premier League have rumbled on in the background, often shrouded in secrecy or leaked to the press to further the agenda of one club or another but the people who actually make football what it is – the players and the coaches – have on the whole been a credit to their sport and their communities.

There have been aberrations – no industry with as many people in it as football will have a perfect record at any time, never mind one as unusual and frightening as this – but that shouldn’t be allowed to detract from or obscure the good. Even when football was used as a pawn by politicians eager to distract the public’s attention from their own failings, football stood tall and, if anything, should emerge from the pandemic with an enhanced reputation.

BELOW: Premier League players such as Jordan Hendersen have launched an initiative to work with NHS Charities Together while the coronavirus crisis continues in the UK.

"FROM CALLING SUPPORTERS TO CHECK IN ON THEIR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING, TO DELIVERING GROCERIES TO FANS WHO ARE UNABLE TO GET A HOME DELIVERY FROM THE STORE OR GO OUT THEMSELVES, ACTS OF KINDNESS HAVE BEEN PROLIFIC AND MUCH-WELCOMED."

GOING UP GOING DOWN

Alex Shearer for England 1996

GOING UP They say nostalgia is a thing of the past – not in the coronavirus shutdown world of the Premier League it isn’t.

Clubs have been entertaining their fans with live streams of great games of yesteryear – and one broadcaster replayed the whole of Euro 96. There’s plenty to keep the history buffs occupied, at least.

GOING DOWN The wave of nostalgia is a doubleedged sword. For those old enough to remember what it was like before every league around the world was available to watch, the bi-annual international tournaments had a mystique that’s lacking today.

There’s less excitement seeing Lionel Messi every four years for Argentina than there was Diego Maradona, when you can see him every weekend for Barcelona.

Lionel Messi

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THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

THE OWNER, CHAIRMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OR OTHER HIGHRANKING OFFICIAL OF ANY CLUB THAT LOOKS AT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AS A CHANCE TO AVOID RELEGATION AND CONDITIONS THEIR REACTION TO TALK OF A RESTART BASED ON THAT HAS BADLY SKEWED PRIORITIES. THE BAD

Football is not a matter of life and death; the coronavirus is. Ultimately, when the final toll of the pandemic is taken, its impact on one club’s trophy haul shouldn’t be worthy of consideration. Yet, from a purely sporting perspective, the possibility of Liverpool being unable to win the Premier League title on the pitch is a shame.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were tremendous in the 2019-20 campaign, right up until the moment the league was suspended. If events had moved at a different pace – or if Liverpool had beaten Watford at the start of March – the Reds would likely already be champions. Their celebrations would have been cut awfully short, but celebrations there still would have been.

As the Premier League, the government of the United Kingdom and other relevant bodies spent the early weeks of May arguing over how, or even if, to restart the competition, a number of possibilities emerged. Some proposals had Liverpool winning the title, one way or another.

Others had the season called off and voided completely, with no title awarded. That idea

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– specifically, not awarding the title – should have been dismissed out of hand.

Liverpool were clearly the best team in the Premier League in 2019-20. They had a 15-point lead after 29 games, with Manchester City a distant second – and City’s game in hand doesn’t change much.

Even if Pep Guardiola’s side had gone on to win that fixture, it was only delaying the inevitable.

There appeared a will to restart the Premier League, somehow, from the league itself and the government. Everyone else, except the broadcasters, was split on the matter.

If the Premier League does end as it stood in mid-March then Liverpool should be confirmed as champions, even if the 2019-20 season carries an asterisk in the record books. Anyone who saw Klopp’s team knows they have been worthy of the accolade.

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Liverpooll were leading the way when this virus put a stop to the seaspn.

Liverpool fans protect themselevs from the COVID-19 pandemic with masks

THE UGLY

There are people in every walk of life who will encounter a bad situation and find a way to make it worse. Football, English football in particular, has plenty of them – and the postponement of the Premier League amid the coronavirus pandemic allowed them to come to the fore.

Perhaps it’s futile to expect partisanship to be removed from football. Indeed, the game’s very nature encourages it. We all want our team to come out on top. But there comes a time when who comes out on top isn’t the point. If this isn’t it, then who knows when that time will be.

It’s not the social media trolls, the supporters revelling in the idea that Liverpool’s brilliant season may go unrewarded, that are the problem. They don’t matter. They have no say or influence over when, if and how the Premier League restarts. It’s some of the people that do have say and influence that is the real concern.

Seeking to exploit a crisis for your own ends is low behaviour. The owner, chairman, chief executive or other high-ranking official of any club that looks at the Covid-19

pandemic as a chance to avoid relegation and conditions their reaction to talk of a restart based on that has badly skewed priorities. There’s a time to act in your club’s best interest at the expense of others, and a time to see a bigger picture. What’s arguably most important is the emotional intelligence to know when that time comes.

The pandemic isn’t about one club avoid relegation. It isn’t even about one club being crowned champions, even if Liverpool missing out on the title would be a sporting shame. It’s about the health of the players, staff and supporters. Any club official who values their team’s league next season over the health of players, staff and supporters is putting a price on those people – equivalent to whatever the cost of relegation would be.

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SCUDETTO S RACE TO THE HARDWARE

LAZIO, AND ANTONIO CONTE’S INTER, ARE THE BIGGEST THREAT TO JUVENTUS SINCE MAURIZIO SARRI’S NAPOLI IN THE 2017/18 SEASON.

I

n 2005-2006 footballing giants Juventus were the disgrace of football.

The Old Lady, amid the Calciopoli scandal, were forcefully relegated to the second tier of Italian football, leading to a mass exodus of high-profile players.

The man that was appointed to kick start their revival back then, is now one of the two biggest threats to their reclaimed nineyear dominance.

Lazio, and Antonio Conte’s Inter, are the biggest threat to Juventus since Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli in the 2017/18 season.

Back then, Sarri was gaining glowing reviews for Sarriball in Naples, pushing Juventus within inches of the title. Fastforward two years and he is at the helm of Juventus – making for a blockbuster, soapopera-like narrative.

It is Lazio who sit a point behind Juventus, with the Nerazzurri nine behind with a game in hand on the top two after the chaos of the coronavirus forced the last round of games to be played behind closed doors.

Although, the crucial 1st vs 3rd tie was

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devoid of the Turin noise, it was certainly not lacking importance.

The heat was on Sarri after a tumultuous night in Lyon, which is why the Derby d’Italia victory was a welcome breather and Sarri’s most important in his short reign so far.

Juventus claimed a much-needed win in a surreal top-of-the-table clash, but they have looked largely unconvincing this season.

There have been alarming factors that will leave a lot for Sarri to ponder during the current suspension of football.

Even Jurgen Klopp is baffled at Juve’s shortcomings with the squad they can call upon: “I can’t work out why they aren’t ten points ahead in Serie A,” he said.

The proof was in the pudding in Sarri’s post-match rant about movement and his team’s inability to move the ball quickly against Lyon, which is the biggest obstacle Juventus face.

The players either don’t understand or are finding it very difficult to come to terms with Sarriball. Sarri’s conference screamed of a man losing patience — and with the

SHOWDOWN IN 2005-2006 FOOTBALLING GIANTS JUVENTUS WERE THE DISGRACE OF FOOTBALL.

Champions League and Serie A reaching an important phase, his team doesn’t look like a Sarri-managed team. This is an ageing squad, which is showing, as the mobility and fluidity is a complete juxtaposition to Sarri’s Napoli.

Under Max Allegri, the team was capable of finding an early goal then closing games out professionally. Against teams such as Hellas Verona, for example (their last league loss), they looked rigid, tepid, eerily similar to Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United.

Square pegs in round holes.

An example of erroneous tactics was the brilliant use of Mattia Zaccagni against Juan Cuadrado in their last league loss. Cuadrado is not a natural full-back, and time and again he was constantly exposed, and Verona deserved their victory.

Sarri is notoriously stubborn and holds his tactics as gospel. If it wasn’t for Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics, Juve would be plunged into danger.

With Ronaldo’s fabulous solo effort vs Verona, he masterfully got Juventus out of jail once again, creating something from

ABOVE: Buffon playing for Italy in 2006.

ABOVE LEFT: Former Juventus FC general manager Luciano Moggi is seen in the court of Naples, Italy, 08 November 2011, on the last day of the 'Calciopoli' trial.

RIGHT: Maurizio Sarri as the coach of Napoli in 2018 TOP (OPPOSITE PAGE): Antonio Conte BOTTOM (OPPOSITE PAGE): Lazio’s Ramos Marchi (L) and Lazio’s Gil Patricio Gabarron

nothing. He has staggeringly scored 21 of their 48 goals this season. You would expect more from a team with Higuain and Dybala to call upon.

Taking all this into account, Conte will be relishing the challenge to maintain a title challenge till the death. Another manager who has stuck to his tactics but is reaping the benefits rather than feeling frustrated.

Operating in a typical 3-5-2 formation, with Conte gesticulating furiously on the touchline, it has been trademark Conte.

Inter failed two crucial acid tests to their two title-chasing rivals away at Lazio and Juventus recently, dealing a major blow to their title ambitions. It could be seen as knocking the stuffing out of them and possibly spoiling Conte’s record of maiden title wins at major European clubs. Despite this, the work done in his short tenure must be applauded, as his Midas touch is clear to see throughout the team.

Watching Inter this season provides throwbacks to his Juventus or Chelsea sides; determined, steely, miserly, the players invoke their manager’s fiery passion.

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RACE TO THE HARDWARE Leading the line is a resurgent Romelu Lukaku, who is playing like a man possessed with a point to prove, he has formed a deadly and likeable partnership with Lautaro Martinez, whose performances have led him to be heavily courted by Europe’s top suitors.

The summary of Luakaku’s season was on show in his impressive Milan derby performance. Lung-busting runs against defenders with menacing pace, consistently bulldozing players off the ball.

Andrea Pirlo was quoted as saying “He [Conte] makes you play better than you can.”

Thinking back to players such as Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso in Conte’s Chelsea reign, one can’t help but look at the transformation of Antonio Candreva and Stefan De Vrij and draw similar parallels.

Conte has succeeded in dragging players who were waning, (Marcel Brozovic) or looking lost (Milan Skriniar), hitting the reboot button, and benefitting from giving them a renowned sense of drive. This ethos fits with the shrewd manner in which Inter operated in the market, assembling a posse of ex-Premier League players frustrated or on the fringes to instil a new joie de vivre in them.

Inter added valuable experience and guile to the squad which will be useful in their current situation, needing to dust themselves off and go again. As Conte said himself, other than Diego Godin, none of the squad had won a league title in Europe’s big leagues.

There is a theme of redemption in the air in one way or another for many team members and even for the manager, who was rather unfairly sacked at Chelsea and now faces his previous employers.

Conte has been vocal in the press, calling fans who want to remove his star from the Juventus Hall of Fame as ‘ignorant’, clearly showing there is no love lost on his part.

Although Juventus may have stalled Inter and Conte’s momentum for the time being, they will be wary of a fired-up, opportunistic Conte preying on Juventus’ shortcomings. As the surprising underdog he can be menacing, as he showed in England.

This brings us to Lazio and their electric title charge. Helmed by Simone Inzaghi who has built the team over four years with an assured 3-5-2 formation, their season so far is a result of what can be achieved once patience and time are given to a manager — a rare case in football these days.

Inzaghi has coached Lazio to be relentless and versatile going forward. Boasting the best defence in the league, plus their brilliant, constant movement, enables them to be a tactical football chameleon, making them hard to beat and tough to defend against.

Similar to Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United, Lazio can use Stefan Radu and the pacey Luis Felipe as overlapping, ball-playing centre-backs, coupled with the tireless wing-backs, Manuel Lazarri and Senad Lulic, to overload attacks and provide options for crosses.

With the defence marshalled by the standout centre-back Francesco Acerbi, they can play out from the back, beating the press by providing short passes to Luis Alberto who has thrived in a deeper role this year as the top assist getter in the league.

Alternatively, Lazio frequently use long balls to make the most of Sergej MilinkovicSavic’s physical presence, able to use the direct route allowing the Serbian to hold the ball up and begin the move in an instant, with former Liverpool man Lucas Leiva providing extra defensive cover.

The much-revered Milinkovic Savic, who no doubt will be chased in the transfer window, has enjoyed a brilliant return to form. Able to fulfil his defensive duties and be a vital threat up front having a better understanding of being a key cog in the Lazio team.

Inzaghi has Europe’s most in-form and arguably complete forward to call upon in

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LAZIO FREQUENTLY USE LONG BALLS TO MAKE THE MOST OF SERGEJ MILINKOVICSAVIC’S PHYSICAL PRESENCE.

TOP: Sergej MilinkovicSavic ABOVE: Ciro Immobile and coach Inzaghi, on hot pursuit of Juventus ABOVE (MIDDLE): However, Ronaldo and Juventus still remain the favourites

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

Ciro Immobile. Usurping the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Leonel Messi, and Ronaldo, he has a staggering 27 league goals and leads the race in Europe’s Golden Shoe. It is turning out to be an unstoppable and special season for King Ciro.

Immobile completes the trifecta of topquality forwards for the three clubs, and he is the pick of the lot.

It took Immobile a few dwindling seasons after his breakthrough year with Torino in 2013/14 to become the recharged, driving force for the Biancocelesti scoring 94 times in 131 league games.

Magnificent in the air and icy cool with his finishing, his runs off the ball have made him a lethal and complete centre forward.

His manager shares this trait of imperturbability. As Lazio scored the second against Inter Milan cameras panned to Inzaghi on the touchline gesturing for calmness. He realises Lazio must keep their feet firmly on the ground.

Lazio announced their title challenge was to be taken seriously with major scalps against Juventus and Inter this season, showing

in big games they can stand up and be counted. Even needing to grind out results in games where they don’t play well, which was on display in the Rome Derby where they managed to clinch a point despite not being totally at the races.

There has been frequent mention of Sven Goran Eriksen’s last Scudetto-clinching starstudded Lazio side, which Simone Inzaghi was part of. How momentous it would be if he were to be able to continue and produce the same result this year.

Juventus rightfully remain the favourites, having the guile which comes from winning many previous titles, while Ronaldo relishes situations such as these. There are chinks in the armour, though, and this season, like no other, will have Juventus looking over their shoulders with Inzaghi and Conte in hot pursuit.

With the coronavirus looming over football and just about everything else, it would be a crying shame if the season were to end unresolved as, finally, Serie A fans have an enthralling title race that they have been clamouring for.

TRANSITIONING JUVENTUS SPOTLIGHT

JUVENTUS HIRED A COACH LIKE MAURIZIO SARRI ONLY TO PROVIDE HIM NONE OF THE PLAYERS HE NEEDED FOR HIS FOOTBALL, EXPLAINS KAUSTUBH PANDEY, SO WHY WOULD PEP GUARDIOLA BE ANY DIFFERENT?

IT CERTAINLY IS TAKING LONGER THAN EXPECTED FOR SARRI TO GET THIS JUVENTUS SIDE TO PLAY HOW HE WANTS THEM TO.

T

he Maurizio Sarri era was always meant to have a transition period.

For a club that has been into playing a more pragmatic brand of football over the previous decade, changing into another extreme was always going to take time. As things stand, it certainly is taking longer than expected for Sarri to get this Juventus side to play how he wants them to.

Even though there was always a general acceptance from fans about the need to give the Neapolitan some breathing room, things have been frustrating. The recent defeat to Lyon was a key indication that instead of moving forward, Sarri’s men often look like Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve.

It isn’t just the Lyon performance that confirmed it. It has been the story of the season and it has been letting them down consistently.

It is often like a ride back to last season when the Old Lady were drab in circulation from midfield. It was sluggish and there was too much emphasis on wing-play, not realising how a flair player like Paulo Dybala thrives on freedom. The outball to Cristiano Ronaldo would more or less work, getting the team goals on a regular basis.

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But Allegri’s Bianconeri were exposed in the Champions League against Ajax - a much more dynamic outfit under Erik ten Hag. The Lyon defeat was similar. Rudi Garcia might be a familiar foe to Juve, but his team was much more dynamic than Sarri’s.

Houssem Aouar - who can easily be in Turin next season, ran the show from attacking midfield. Juve were left to keep passing the ball around with very limited movement and a desolate hope that something might be conjured up. But just like against Ajax, nothing magically appeared. To many, it was hardly a surprise.

Bar a little period around the turn of the year, that is how Juventus have been.

They’re lacking the cohesion on the ball that opens up the opposition. Sarri’s system doesn’t just rely on intelligent passing, but there is also a need to smart movement off the ball from the third potential ball receiver. Both aspects are equally crucial to unlocking defences, something that has hardly happened against multiple lesser sides.

They’ve scraped through wins against Verona, Brescia, Sampdoria, Genoa, SPAL and Bologna. A Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gave them a win against Napoli. A

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Sarri and Ronaldo

G JUVE late Dybala winner got them three points against Milan. A dependency on individual performances from the likes of Ronaldo, Dybala and even Juan Cuadrado has been mirrored by the side creating an xG of only 47.16. That is less than Atalanta, Roma and Lazio. The overperformance of 0.87 only shows that their situation is very much deserved.

Sarri has had to change his shape to a 4-31-2 instead of using his traditional 4-3-3.

That has increased the adaptation time period. The issues in midfield have gone up a notch because Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey have been in and out of the side.

Blaise Matuidi has been struggling because of a lack of technical quality, leaving Sarri to miss Rabiot and Ramsey more than he should ideally.

But that, in itself, shows where Juventus have gone wrong. If Fabio Paratici knew about the style that Sarri would bring to the table, the summer transfer business should have matched his approach. But it didn’t. Ramsey and Rabiot were signed on free transfer deals but it was unlike how a club like Liverpool would do business.

Ramsey has had infinite fitness issues in the past, while Rabiot hadn’t played first-team football in the whole of the second-half of the 2018-19 season. A top club like Juventus isn’t meant to recruit without too much background research.

Dybala, who has been a saviour on multiple occasions, was being pushed out despite having the supreme technical ability that Sarri’s system thrives on. In a parallel universe, he could have been at Tottenham or Manchester United today. The club was looking to sell multiple players to get enough money to sign Mauro Icardi. That too resulted in failure, as the Argentine joined Rabiot’s former club on loan.

With Miralem Pjanic struggling in recent games and Federico Bernardeschi yet to contribute to a single Serie A goal, Paratici and Pavel Nedved should know that they have failed Sarri in many ways. The transfer policy in the summer was aimed at making capital gains instead of supporting a manager who was meant to ride a transition. But they thought otherwise. The results of that left Sarri to talk about how he can’t get ‘Juventus to understand’ his methods when the blame lies elsewhere.

This is the same club that takes pride in going after Pep Guardiola. As glamorous as it might sound, Paratici and co have shown nothing to prove that they can back a manager who plays like Juventus have never played before. Sarri has fallen victim to that. The people running the club should realise it and correct themselves in the summer instead of changing the manager.

This article originally appeared on footballitalia.net, the home of Italian football.

Blaise Matuidi has been struggling under the new systems

Aaron Ramsey is settling into the new formation

Federico Bernardeschi has yet to contribute to a Serie A goal

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MASSIMO CELLINO

THE ADVENTURES OF

MASSIMO CELLINO

BY JOE FISCHETTI.

M

assimo Cellino has once again been in the news, this time for his insistence that, due to COVID-19, the Serie A season should

be ended.

With Brescia sitting in last place in Serie A, nine points off safety, many concluded Cellino was simply trying to prevent his club from being relegated.

The outspoken owner responded to the criticism, saying he would happily go back to Serie B to protect all those involved.

Cellino himself would later contract the virus.

This is only the latest drama in the colourful football club owner’s career over the last 22 years.

CAGLIARI Cellino bought his first club in 1998 — Cagliari Calcio.

At the age of 36, he immediately became the youngest owner in Serie A. During his time at Cagliari, there were plenty of highs, but also plenty of lows. Little did we know, this would be the norm for Cellino throughout his career in football.

After two years in charge, Cagliari were relegated to Serie B where they spent the

next four seasons. After winning promotion back to Serie A, they remained in the top flight for the remainder of Cellino’s time with the club.

During that time, Cagliari also made it to the Coppa Italia semi-finals twice. Despite the success the club had on the pitch, Cellino will likely be remembered for his offthe-field antics.

The eccentric owner is notoriously superstitious, particularly with respect to the number 17 which is considered unlucky in Italian tradition. Cellino had seat 17 at the Stadio Sant’Elia replaced with 16B. In 1999, he permitted new signing Francesco Modesto to wear the number 17, but the following June, with Cagliari sitting 11th in Serie B with no hope of promotion, Cellino cursed Modesto and banned the number.

Beyond the superstitions, Cellino earned himself the nickname il mangia-allenatori — the manager-eater — having fired 36 managers during his 22-year tenure with the club. In 2014, two months after taking over at Leeds United, Cellino sold Cagliari to Tommaso Giulini and the Fluorsid Group for a reported €45m.

THE ECCENTRIC OWNER IS NOTORIOUSLY SUPERSTITIOUS, PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO THE NUMBER 17 38

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LEEDS UNITED On February 7, 2014, Cellino’s family consortium, Eleonora Sport Ltd, acquired 75% of Leeds United, subject to the approval of the Football League.

Cellino immediately found himself at the centre of controversy. On March 24, 2014, the Football League rejected the deal, as Cellino had failed their owner’s test, and gave him 28 days to resign from the club.

The Italian appealed the decision, and two weeks later the decision was overturned.

Though Cellino had previously been convicted of evading €390,000 in import duties on a yacht, he was already in the process of appealing the conviction so the courts ruled he could not be deemed “dishonest” until further reasons were made available by the Italian courts.

This rocky start was a sign of things to come. Later in the year, the Italian courts found him guilty of tax evasion.

According to the Gaurdian, Cellino “set up a bogus corporate screen” as part of a “Machiavellian simulation” to avoid paying import tax on the yacht.

The charge resulted in a one-year ban

BOTTOM RIGHT (OPPOSITE PAGE): Massimo at a Cagliari Press Conference ABOVE: Corini - red carded & fired BOTTOM RIGHT: Massino and Mario Balotelli

from the Football League. The ban was subsequently extended to May 8, 2015, the day after the end of the 2014/15 campaign, for Cellino’s failure to provide the court documents in a timely manner.

Upon his return, Cellino picked up right where he had left off, continuing to give credence to his nickname. During his three years with the club, he fired seven different coaches. One of those was Dave Hockaday, who lasted only 70 days with Leeds during the 2014/15 campaign.

Despite his short term, Hockaday had plenty of amusing anecdotes about his former boss to share with the Gaurdian, from phone calls in the middle of the night to spies at training to unusual player decisions, including rejecting the notion of signing then Celtic’s Virgil Van Dijk.

Only three years after acquiring the club, Cellino decided to move on, as Leeds fans protested against his ownership. In January 2017 he sold 50% of the club to Andrea Radrizzani, before selling the balance in May of the same year.

BRESCIA Shortly after selling Leeds, Cellino returned to Italy and acquired Brescia Calcio. He immediately indulged in his favourite pastime — firing managers. Just weeks after taking over, he fired Pasquale Marino and replaced him with Roberto Boscaglia, who had started the season as manager before Cellino bought the club.

However, after a 13th place finish in Serie B, Boscaglia was fired for the second time that season. A few managers later, Engenio Corini led Brescia to a Serie B title and a return to Serie A for the first time in nearly a decade.

Unfortunately, Corini’s success would not carry over into the top flight. After a slow start to the season, Corini was be replaced

by Fabio Grosso. But Corini would not be gone for long. Grosso lasted only three matches, losing all three and failing to record a single goal before losing his job.

Cellino brought back Corini, only to fire him again a few months later.

When the Serie A campaign resumes, Brescia are expected to be relegated back to Serie B. That can only mean one thing — il mangia-allenitori will continue his firing ways

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THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

WELCOME RETUR TABLE SO FAR...

Paolo Dybala has recovered from COVID-19

CLUB PTS Juventus Lazio Inter Milan Atalanta Roma Napoli AC Milan Verona Parma Bologna Sassuolo Cagliari Fiorentina Udinese Torino Sampdoria Genoa Lecce Spal Brescia

63 62 54 48 45 39 36 35 35 34 32 32 30 28 27 26 25 25 18 16

Uefa Champions League: 1st - 4th Europa League: 5th, 6th Relegation: 18th, 19th, 20th

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RN

THE GOOD

In a boost for his family and club, Paulo Dybala revealed he had fully recovered from COVID-19 in the first week of May, seven weeks after first testing positive for the virus. The Argentine and his partner, Oriana Sabatini, initially refuted the claims he had contracted coronavirus, but the Juventus ace confirmed the situation March 27 to the Bianconeri’s official YouTube channel.

The 26-year-old is in supreme physical condition and detailed his struggles, admitting he suffered with breathing and his muscles ached whilst in isolation, in a stark reminder to a generation of 20-somethings who felt they would be immune to the virus. The Bianconeri fan favourite followed Blaise Matuidi and Daniele Rugani in contracting the disease and was given the green light to begin individual exercise shortly after his announcement.

Rugani was the first top-flight footballer in Italy to fall ill, before a spate of clubs in the division became affected. Sampdoria saw

Manolo Gabbiadini, Albin Ekdal, Antonino La Gumina, Morten Thorsby, Fabio Depaoli and Bartosz Bereszynski all develop the virus but, thankfully, each returned to full health.

In further uplifting news, Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello was also cleared to start light training. The stopper endured a similar timeframe to Dybala and it was a timely boost for the people of Bergamo who have suffered so dearly during the global pandemic.

Elsewhere, legendary figure Paolo Maldini also got the better of COVID-19. Maldini and his son, Rossoneri youth graduate Daniel, battled the virus with the Milan icon candid about his experience. The elder Maldini revealed he felt fatigued throughout, and unable to exercise for longer than 10 minutes a fortnight after contracting the illness.

Fast forward 21 days and the Maldini family were finally able to enjoy a bike ride through the city as father and son geared up for a return to their sporting lives.

IN A BOOST FOR HIS FAMILY AND CLUB, PAULO DYBALA REVEALED HE HAD FULLY RECOVERED FROM COVID-19 IN THE FIRST WEEK OF MAY, SEVEN WEEKS AFTER FIRST TESTING POSITIVE FOR THE VIRUS.

GOING UP GOING DOWN Davide Santon

GOING UP Roma defender Davide Santon earned praise for giving up four months full pay amid the COVID-19 pandemic Santon led the way before his teammates and coaching staff followed suit and the Lupi’s act of kindness was rightfully applauded, particularly when certain governments in Europe have, in no uncertain terms, urged footballers take significant pay cuts as a means of distracting attention from their own shortcomings.

GOING DOWN Hirving Lozano arrived to much fanfare last summer, shattering Napoli’s transfer record in the process. The Mexico international was a revelation at the 2018 World Cup and his signature was viewed as a real coup for the Partenopei with Manchester United said to be keen admirers.

Unfortunately for Lozano, he has struggled to settle in Italy and is likely to be moved on after just one campaign at San Paolo.

Hirving Lozano

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THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

MILAN SKRINIAR, WHO ABRUPTLY LEFT THE FIELD AFTER JUST 17 MINUTES, THOUGH NO MEMBER OF THE SERIE A TITLE CHALLENGERS’ SQUAD CONFIRMED THEY HAD THE VIRUS

Sandro Tonali

THE BAD

Brescia returned to Serie A in 2019 as champions of Italy’s second tier and had one objective: to maintain their top flight status. Le Rondinelle largely went with the same group that scooped the title with a small number of acquisitions to boost the ranks.

President Massimo Cellino bowed to the natives’ demands and signed hometown hero Mario Balotelli, who would make an emotional return to his boyhood club after leaving Marseille on a free transfer. The deal suited all parties. Brescia had a striker capable of netting double figures and the player finally got the move he had longed for.

The former Milan and Inter forward achieved a credible five strikes from 19 appearances before the COVID-19 pandemic put an abrupt halt to proceedings, though his club were rooted to the bottom of the table and odds-on favourites to suffer relegation.

Balotelli expected top billing in Lombardy but quickly found himself upstaged by Sandro Tonali. The prodigiously talented

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midfielder has the world at his feet and his performances have attracted the attention of Liverpool, Barcelona, Juventus and the Nerazzurri.

Tonali is likely to be advised to stay in his homeland with the Bianconeri rumoured to be at the front of the queue for the 20-year-old dubbed the ‘next Andrea Pirlo’, but the full Italy international need only look at Stefano Sensi.

Sensi was plucked from Sassuolo by Antonio Conte and was Inter’s standout performer before suffering injury, and

by January, lost his place altogether to winter recruit Christian Eriksen. Manuel Locatelli is another example, as the former Rossoneri youth graduate has, predictably, also attracted the Juventus and Nerazzurri hierarchies after a string of good performances for Sassuolo.

Tonali, and, to a lesser degree, Locatelli, must choose wisely between sparing game time and regular football with the former better suited to either a loan, or remaining with Brescia if their current employers can somehow stave off the drop.

Romelu Lukaku

THE UGLY

Inter hotshot Romelu Lukaku has enjoyed a fine debut season at the club following his move from Manchester United last summer, but caused controversy during an Instagram Live with Belgian TV presenter Kat Kerkhofs in April. The attacker suggested ‘23 out of 25 players were ill’ with coronavirus symptoms in January and was swiftly reprimanded for his comments by a bemused Nerazzurri hierarchy.

Lukaku cited teammate Milan Skriniar, who abruptly left the field after just 17 minutes, though no member of the Serie A title challengers’ squad confirmed they had the virus and, fortunately for everyone connected with the club, no members of personnel has since tested positive.

The 27-year-old of course lives in Milan, the capital of Lombardy, which has been the worst hit region in the country with over 14,000 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic. Regrettably, this sum accounts for nearly 50% of Italy’s total death haul and the natives were understandably upset given the local climate.

The all-time record goalscorer for Belgium is no stranger to speaking his mind and

there was no love lost on his way out of Old Trafford. Lukaku failed to justify his mammoth £75m price tag after Jose Mourinho signed him from Everton in 2017 and was often found wanting in the big games. He also raised the ire of his club then through his use of social media.

The Inter No. 9 tweeted confidential club information regarding players’ max speed during training, much to the dismay of Luke Shaw, in particular, who was perceived to be the slowest in the camp.

The Antwerp native swiftly removed the post, but not before the Englishman could respond and Juan Mata, one of the nicest men in the sport, intervened and defended the left-back. Statistically, Lukaku’s numbers rival the very best in Europe, and Inter will hope he will do his talking solely on the pitch going forward.

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PARTEY TIME THOMAS PARTEY SPOTLIGHT

“FANS AND PUNDITS BEGAN TO TRULY NOTICE WHAT PARTEY BROUGHT TO THIS ATLETICO MADRID TEAM WHEN THEY TOPPLED CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINNERS LIVERPOOL.”

L

ittle more than a footnote in Atletico Madrid's 2016 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid was the fleeting appearance of Thomas Partey, deep into extra-time. Four minutes out of 120 might not seem like much, but still shows a great deal of faith from Diego Simeone in a young midfielder who only made his debut for the club six months earlier.

Four years later he is paying back that trust with impressive performances in league and European games this season, accelerating his ascent from squad player to one of Europe's most sought-after box-tobox midfielders. This summer, Partey will become a household name.

His rise has been rapid. The 26-year-old popped up with a valuable late winner against Eibar in September and caught the eye in the Madrid derby with a composed performance in the 0-0 draw in the same month. But continentally, fans and pundits began to truly notice what he brought to this Atleti team when they toppled Champions League winners Liverpool in the spring, and the feared attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino failed to register a single shot in the first leg.

Having played a big part in stiffing two of

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FIVE AFRICAN STARS WHO PLAYED FOR ARSENAL If Thomas Partey does make the move to the Emirates Stadium, he’ll join a prestigious list of African players at Arsenal. Daryl Hammond picks five from across the continent…

LAUREN (2000-2006, 242 APPEARANCES) After impressing in Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations win, Lauren signed from Mallorca in 2000. The full-back won seven trophies with Arsenal, most notably the Premier League title as part of the Invincibles side in 2003-04, making the PFA Team of the Year in the same season.

EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR (2006-2009, 142 APPEARANCES) The relationship between Emmanuel Adebayor and Arsenal turned sour following his move to Manchester City, and later when he joined rivals Tottenham Hotspur. But during his four seasons at the club, Adebayor showed a lethal goalscoring touch, particularly in the 2007-08 campaign, when he scored 30 goals in all competitions.

NWANKWO KANU (1998-2004, 197 APPEARANCES) In front of goal he may have been outshone by Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry, but the 6ft 5in Nigerian is still regarded as a cult hero among Arsenal fans, thanks to the elegance of his play and trademark two-finger salute celebration.

PIERRE EMERICK-AUBAMEYANG (2018-PRESENT, 97 APPEARANCES) Gabon’s finest also leads the line for Arsenal. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been the club’s top scorer over the past two years, winning the Premier League Golden Boot last season and scoring 61 goals in less than 100 games.

He was also named club captain in the 2019-20 season.

Europe's best teams, naturally many gushed over his defensive qualities. Standing at over 6ft with a hulking frame to match, one would expect the Ghanaian to excel in the role of midfield destroyer. And he does. Fleet of foot with great strength and awareness, he takes to his primary role of winning the ball back with aplomb.

But those attributes also lend themselves rather well to getting forward. Like Frenkie de Jong today, or Yaya Toure once did, Partey sometimes picks the ball up from deep and in a swift action blows past players. Journalist Kevin Garside once praised Toure as "a beast in ballet shoes" and though he's no Lionel Messi, at times Partey wouldn't look out of place in a Tchaikovsky, with his quick thinking and a finesse that belies his frame.

Thomas ranks among La Liga's best this season for both recoveries and passes in to the final third, playing a vital role in starting or restarting the attack, winning the ball back with a stretch of his long limbs, or taking a pass on the half-turn and picking out a forward pass out wide.

Perhaps in the biggest mark against him while playing for the Rojiblancos is his fruitlessness when it comes to the stats that win games. In four-and-a-half seasons

at the club, he has never scored more than three goals, and has only one assist this campaign.

Thomas carries a greater goal threat playing for Ghana, for whom he has scored 10 goals in 27 appearances, including a hat-trick against Congo in World Cup qualification.

Such attributes, coupled with a £45m release clause, leaves no great mystery as to why he has reportedly drawn interest from Juventus, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. But the club he has been most strongly linked with is Arsenal.

For years Gunners fans have bemoaned the lack of steel in their midfield, nostalgic for physically imposing but technically gifted players such as Patrick Viera and Gilberto Silva from yesteryear, and Partey fits the bill. But what incentive does Thomas have to reciprocate that interest, having finally become a key cog in the team he joined as a teenager after years in and out of favour?

A year after joining the club from Ghana in 2012, he was shipped on loan twice to Mallorca and Almeria, with the task of breaking in a title-winning side a Herculean one.

Other midfielders at the club, such as Koke and Saul Niguez, had both the quality and

TOP LEFT (OPPOSITE PAGE): A brief appearance in the 2016 Champions League final was a portent of things to come for Thomas Partey

KOLO TOURE (2002-2009, 326 APPEARANCES) Kolo Toure spent most of his career in Britain, winning three league titles with three different sides, but his journey started in England with Arsenal. The second invincible on this list, he played in all but one match of the Gunners’ successful 2004 league campaign, alongside Sol Campbell.

TOP: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ABOVE: Kolo Toure RIGHT: Emmanuel Adebayor

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PARTEY TIME THOMAS PARTEY SPOTLIGHT

CONTINUED

Partey’s emergence has only been surpassed by the likes of Erling Braut Haaland, who took the Champions League by storm

versatility to keep him out the side over the years. Club legend Gabi still produced in his later years and Rodri was an instant hit at the heart of Simeone's midfield before he was sold a last year to Manchester City.

Partey racked up appearances, but sat on the bench for finals and big games. Only now is he among the first names on the team-sheet, playing the third-most game of any Atletico player this season. “If he had come from an English or German team, he would be [lauded] but he's from the academy and he's just Thomas,” believes Simeone. “He has been working for many years, non-stop.”

The appreciation is mutual, as the Ghanaian – like many in the Atleti squad – is smitten by the charm and passion of the Argentine coach. “Simeone is like a teacher, like a father to the players, it helps us a lot,” he has said. “Atletico is like my home, the place where I want to always be, it’s like my family.”

However, his actual father tells a rather different story, hinting heavily that a move to England might interest his son. True, during Partey's youth, the Premier League was king in Ghana, especially with Michael Essien playing at Chelsea. Arsenal were still among the best and most attractive

“ATLETICO IS LIKE MY HOME, THE PLACE WHERE I WANT TO ALWAYS BE, IT’S LIKE MY FAMILY.”

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BREAKOUT CHAMPIONS LEAGUE STARS OF 2019-20

“LIKE MOST CLUBS ARE FEELING ADVERSE FINANCIAL EFFECTS…A SALE IS AN ATTRACTIVE PROPOSITION TO ATLETICO.”

Thomas Partey is not the only player to start making headlines for his performances in Europe. Here are five players whose stock has shot up this season.

ERLLING BRAUT HAALAND (RED BULLS SALZBURG/BORUSSIA DORTMUND) 12 months ago, few had heard of the Norwegian striker. Now he is considered among the best young players in Europe, scoring 10 goals in his debut Champions League season for Red Bull Salzburg. Borussia Dortmund quickly became the envy of Europe’s top clubs when they landed the 19-year-old in January.

ACHRAF HAKIMI (BORUSSIA DORTMUND) Borussia Dortmund will do all they can to keep loanee Achraf Hakimi beyond his two-year spell, but it won’t be easy should the stellar season he is enjoying continue. While his partnership on the right-hand side has scooped him plenty of assists, it’s his eye for goal that has been most prominent in the Champions League this season, scoring four goals – and part of why Real Madrid want him back.

TAKUMI MINAMINO (RED BULL SALZBURG/LIVERPOOL) While former teammate Haaland enjoyed most of the spotlight, Takumi Minamino shone brightly enough to get a mid-season move to European champions Liverpool. He produced for the Austrians, scoring two goals and getting three assists in the group stage, with the goal he scored at Anfield likely playing a part in his winter destination.

RENAN LODI (ATLETICO MADRID) Since his arrival this season, the Brazilian has made the departures of Filipe Luis and Lucas Hernandez more bearable. Already impressing in La Liga, he like Partey, shone in the Champions League against Liverpool, neutralising the threat of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

JOSIP ILICIC (ATALANTA) At 32-years-old, some may consider the Slovenia forward as too old to be a breakout star. But after helping Atalanta secure a historic Champions League berth, he and the Italian side have defied expectations by going as far as the quarter-finals, scoring five goals in his very first Champions League season, including four in one game against Valencia.

teams in the game. But a lot can change in a decade or two.

The North London club have not won a title since 2004 and look in no position to challenge for one anytime soon. Champions League football will likely elude them for at least another year and speculation still runs rife around the future of top goalscorer and captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose contract expires next summer.

So what else could motivate Partey to seek a move away from a team that just beat the European champions to one who were knocked out of the Europa League

by Olympicos? Well, money is a compelling factor, and the Gunners could comfortably better the reported £45k-a-week contract he signed with Atleti in 2018.

Like many modern transfer sagas, one could dismiss Partey's interest in a switch simply as a ploy to bump him up to a salary that better reflects his current ability, with his

father inconspicuous about how big a part money might play.

Atletico have been prudent, getting high earners such as Diego Godin, Filipe Luis and Juanfran off the books, and getting £107m from Barcelona for Antoine Griezmann certainly helped the coffers. But it was still an expensive summer for the club, spending over £200m on players. They are still making payments on their new stadium and like most clubs are feeling the adverse financial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, making a sale an attractive proposition.

Having pointed the finger at others for underestimating his midfielder, Simeone cannot succumb to the same reasoning. He knows what Thomas Partey brings more than most. A player who might not show up in the stats, but shows up on the pitch. And for Arsenal, his transfer would be a bargain, but for Atletico a mistake.

TOP: It was his performance against Champions League holders Liverpool that made Europe take notice ABOVE: Josip Ilicic RIGHT: Renan Lodi

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JAN OBLAK SH JAN OBLAK SPOTLIGHT

FROM TOUGH BEGINNINGS IN SLOVENIA TO CLOSE FRIENDS IN THE NBA, ATLETI’S STAR SHOT-STOPPER IS A UNDOUBTEDLY A FASCINATING CHARACTER.

HIT AFTER 1. HE WASN’T AN IMMEDIATE JOINING ATLETI best He may now be one of the very -time four a and d worl the in ers goalkeep ga’s LaLi for hy Trop ora Zam winner of the a starter top goalkeeper, but Jan wasn’t tico de from the very beginning at Atlé up to the back a as out ed start He Madrid.

Moya after el Ang el Migu ed more experienc a LaLiga his €16 million 2014 transfer – time – record for a goalkeeper at the ed cup play only he lly Initia fica. from Ben m slot -tea first his d ente matches but cem e for the after coming on as a substitut League tie injured Moya in a Champions h 2015.

Marc in en rkus Leve r Baye against . back ed He’s never look

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2. AS A YOUTH PLAYER HE CYC LED A MARATHON A DAY TO GET TO TRAINING Jan started out his career at Olim pija Ljubljana, attracting the attentio n of Europe’s biggest clubs. It was n’t an easy experience for him, though, as he lived quite some distance away from the club’s training ground. He had to cycl e to training each day, with the journey ther e and back equating to the length of a mara thon, more or less (26.2 miles, or 42 kilom etres).

AL 3. HIS SISTER IS A PROFESSION BASKETBALL PLAYER family, with Oblak comes from a sporting ently a point curr k Obla Teja r siste r his olde team and nal natio n enia Slov guard for the Republic.

ZVVZ USK Praha in the Czech gary, Slovakia, Teja previously played in Hun . Oblak’s enia Slov e nativ her and Poland as a ball foot ed play also father, Matjaž, l. goalkeeper at an amateur leve

HOT STOPPER 4. NBA SENSATION LUKA DON ČIĆ IS A CLOSE FRIEND Along with Oblak, NBA phenom Luka Dončić is one of the other lead ing stars of Slovenian sport. The Dallas Mav ericks star and the LaLiga goalkeeper have developed a strong friendship over the year s, in particular when they both lived in Madrid (Dončić starred for Real Madrid’s basketball side between 2015 and 2018) and would often meet up to spend time together.

THE 5. HE HAS HIS OWN SONG AT WANDA METROPOLITANO t creative in Atleti fans are among the mos own song for their ted crea have and LaLiga Gypsy Kings the to s lyric the Jan, adapting every day I hit Djobi, Djoba. “Obli, Oblak, nd the Wanda love you more” rings out arou y. chda mat y ever o litan Metropo

Jan Oblak and good friend Luka Doncic

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ONE ON ONE WIT ONE ON ONE

ON GROWING UP A FOOTBALL FAN AND BEING FAR MORE INTO FOOTBALL THAN BASKETBALL NOWADAYS I actually grew up in Canada and I was fortunate enough to play 18-plus years in the NBA. But although I made a career in basketball, my first word was ‘goal.’ My parents were from London and we grew up in a football crazy household with British parents on the west coast of Canada.

I think my love for the game has just been such a part of my personality, even throughout my NBA career. People here know me as a huge soccer fan and a former player as a kid. I got the opportunity through TNT and Bleacher Report to be an analyst and journalist when it comes to football. So really, it’s what I do. I watch football, I play football. I haven’t played basketball for six years, since I retired. I do still love basketball and I do still watch some, but I watch some 90%-plus more football than I do basketball now.

ON MOVING INTO OWNERSHIP, INVOLVEMENT IN THE RCD MALLORCA PROJECT I really got lucky in a sense. I had an incredibly long and successful basketball career that’s allowed me to pick and choose what I want to do when I retire. I had the opportunity to get into ownership with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS. I had an opportunity obviously to be involved with RCD Mallorca, which is a dream come true.

It’s not something you ever think is going to happen, someone approaches you and says “Hey, we’re thinking about buying a Spanish football team, would you like to be a part of it with us?” That’s not the kind of thing you can necessarily write down as a goal, so it was a really fortuitous opportunity.

Mallorca was probably the third opportunity we looked at in Spain. We really liked what we saw. Thought it was a fantastic place with a great history and that there was a winner to be built there. They’d won before.

They’d won the Copa del Rey in fairly recent times, been a stalwart in LaLiga, a Champions League team at one stage so we thought this was a tremendous story to become a part of.

ON REMARKABLE SUCCESSIVE PROMOTIONS FROM THE THIRD TIER TO LALIGA SANTANDER I think when we went from third [tier] to second [tier], we weren’t saying “OK, we’ve got to get up to the first tier now.” We were thinking OK, we’re back in segunda. Let’s continue to build our culture, continue to grow our academy. Let’s solidify, let’s stay in the division, let’s not go back down.

We’d just had the traumatising experience of going down into the third division two seasons prior. It was a conservative approach.

Halfway through the year you’re sniffing around the playoff picture. You’re thinking, this couldn’t be true, could it? Could we stick around the rest of the year? Surely enough, in the second half of the year the team builds momentum and confidence. We start winning all our home matches and put ourselves in a position where we’re going to make the playoffs. By the end of the year, when it actually became a reality, when we were going to playoff to play in LaLiga,

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TH STEVE NASH it was incredible. I get goose bumps just thinking about how exciting it was and how proud we were of the club.

We won the first playoff against Albacete.

In the second and final playoff against RC Deportivo, a big and historic club that had a big budget that season. We lost the first leg in La Coruña 2-0. We went home with slim hopes that we could find our way into the division. But there was always a feeling about our team that we wouldn’t give up and had a little something special about us: the players, the connectivity, the feeling that we could continue to battle and fight and create an opportunity. We had a party here in Hermosa Beach, we invited all our friends and had t-shirts made, had the match put up on the big screen. Of course, the rest is history. We scored three incredible goals. Manolo Reina made a €50million save in the last 10-15 minutes, I still don’t know how he did it. My wife had a baby a week or two later so I couldn’t go otherwise I’d have been there. So, we were pretty upset and jealous that we weren’t there, but euphoria and the feelings of pride and excitement were incredible, even from thousands and thousands of miles away.

ON MALLORCA THIS SEASON, THEIR CHANCES OF SURVIVAL AND THE LONGTERM VISION The first match I went to was at the Camp Nou against Barcelona. It was an incredible experience. Even seeing Messi blast three goals into the back of the net. It’s an incredible reward for our players to play in a cathedral like the Camp Nou, to watch the greatest player of all time. Six of our regular starters played in the third division. It’s a just reward for their competitiveness, their desire, their passion, that they’re getting the chance to play against the top players in the world in some of the most historic stadiums in the world. This is where we want to be and where we want to build our club from.

We realise that having the lowest budget in the league we’re going to be fighting all the way to the end to survive and stay in the division. But there’s incredible motivation, not only for the players, for their career, but for the club and our ability to grow. If we stay in the division our budget grows, our experience grows. We’re able to invest in infrastructure and playing staff. Staying in the division is pivotal for our plans, but when you have the lowest budget in the league by quite a distance, you need a little bit of something extra. You need to be better than other teams in culture, connectivity, team spirit. Fortunately, we’re strong in those areas so I believe in our team. But football, as we’ve learned the last few years, is crazy and anything can happen.

"I ACTUALLY GREW UP IN CANADA AND I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO PLAY 18-PLUS YEARS IN THE NBA."

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ONE ON ONE RONALDO ONE ON ONE

RONALDO NAZARIO ON LALIGA’S 90TH ANNIVERSARY: LEAVING BARCELONA, REAL MADRID AND REAL VALLADOLID I had signed a contract renewal at the end of the season. I went away on international duty with Brazil and five days later they called me to say that the renewal was off.

It was never in my hands. I wanted to stay but the club didn’t value me as I felt they should so it was ultimately out of my hands.

I played with Roberto Carlos in the national team and he would always talk to me about what it meant to play for Real Madrid. That really stayed with me.

Years later, I wanted to see that for myself. I came to Real Madrid, and I found that it was a much bigger club than even what Roberto Carlos told me and what I had imagined!

The expectations on the ‘galacticos’ was huge. We provided a lot of flair. We were a winning generation, a generation that changed the way of doing business in football.

Here at Real Valladolid, we shouldn’t be a regional club. We should first be a national club, then an international club.

From Florentino I learned a lot. I was a key part of his ‘galacticos’ project. I try to apply his ideas here too. They’re still innovative, even today.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO INTERVIEW ABOVE 52

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STRIKING RIVAL THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

TABLE SO FAR...

Will Gerard Moreno pass Messi in goals this year?

CLUB PTS Barcelona Real Madrid Sevilla Real Sociedad Getafe Atletico Madrid Valencia Villarreal Granada Athletic Bilbao Osasuna Real Betis Levante Alaves Real Valladolid Eibar Celta Vigo Real Mallorca Leganes Espanyol

58 56 47 46 46 45 42 38 38 37 34 33 33 32 29 27 26 25 23 20

Uefa Champions League: 1st - 4th Europa League: 5th, 6th, 7th Relegation: 18th, 19th, 20th

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LS

THE GOOD

La Liga’s top scorer list has been dominated by the Lionel Messi–Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly in the past decade. The sheer goalscoring brilliance of the pair has raised the bar season on season in Spain, with 30 or more league goals scored by one or both of them every season since 2010.

This has placed greater attention on the Zarra Trophy, as a rival to the Pichichi Trophy, named after legendary Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra. Where the Pichichi is awarded to the league’s top scorer, the Zarra was created in 2006 to recognise Spaniards.

David Villa was the early dominant force during his time with Valencia and Barcelona, while Celta Vigo’s Iago Aspas has been the key man in recent seasons, with three successive wins since 2017 and 61 goals in three years.

Messi is leading the way for the Pichichi this season, with 19 goals in 22 games, but his rivals have come from a host of Spanish strikers for the first time in

years. Gerard Moreno, Roger Marti and Lucas Perez were all linked with moves to Barcelona in January, prior to the arrival of Martin Braithwaite, and the trio went into lockdown in joint third on the list on 11 goals.

Messi, and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, still have the advantage in the Golden Boot race, but the rise of Spanish strikers has proved massively popular with neutral fans this season. With the resumption of the La Liga season still under review, all three could have an opportunity to push Messi and Benzema until the end of the campaign.

Former Espanyol man Moreno looks the most likely to break Aspas’ streak and potentially challenge Messi in the 11 games still to play. Villarreal are still in the running for a European spot, with a four-point gap between themselves and rivals Valencia.

Even if Messi does pull away from the chasing pack when the season restarts, the rebirth in Spanish scorers looks set to continue.

FORMER ESPANYOL MAN MORENO LOOKS THE MOST LIKELY TO BREAK ASPAS’ STREAK AND POTENTIALLY CHALLENGE MESSI IN THE 11 GAMES STILL TO PLAY.

GOING UP GOING DOWN Imanol Alguacil

GOING UP Real Sociedad put together an impressive set of results prior to the La Liga suspension, with five league wins in 2020 moving them into the top four.

Imanol Alguacil’s side face a tough run-in, but if they hold their nerve, the Basques can secure a Champions League return for the first time since 2013.

GOING DOWN La Liga’s basement side Espanyol have been in relegation trouble for months, and the season restart is likely to confirm their fate in due course.

Abelardo Fernandez’s side are six points from safety, and they look short of the necessary confidence to turn it around and a first relegation since 1993 is on the cards.

Abelardo Fernandez

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THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

THE LACK OF A EUROPEAN CHALLENGE IS LIKELY TO LEAD TO SERIOUS QUESTIONS OVER RUBI’S FUTURE AHEAD OF NEXT SEASON AND THE CLUB ARE REPORTEDLY ALREADY LOOKING AT REPLACING HIM.

THE BAD

Real Betis opted to hand new coach Rubi a sizeable transfer budget at the start of the 2019-20 season, with the aim of securing the right players to break into the top four and the Champions League.

However, despite spending over €80m on new players, the former Espanyol coach has struggled to match expectations, with the club languishing in mid table prior to the coronavirus La Liga suspension.

Nabil Fekir and Borja Iglesias were the big-name arrivals at the club, alongside fullback pair Emerson and Alex Moreno. But, despite the positivity surrounding the new faces, the Andalucians have been unable to maintain consistent results in 2019-20 and just two La Liga wins in 2020 had them in 12th in the table. This has seriously dented their prospects of any sort of European football in 2020-21, with even a Europa League place now an unlikely scenario for next season.

Goals have been a real issue for Los Verdiblancos in 2019-20, with Fekir netting seven, and Iglesias registering just three in an injury-disrupted campaign. That has

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meant the ageless Joaquin has one again led the club in the scoring stakes, with eight goals from midfield, despite turning 39 this summer.

The lack of a European challenge is likely to lead to serious questions over Rubi’s future ahead of next season and the club are reportedly already looking at replacing him.

His current contract runs up until the end of the 2021-22 campaign but the prospect of missing out on Europe has caused concern within the club over his long-term suitability for the job at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, despite taking Espanyol into continental competition a year ago.

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

Martin Braithwaite Joan Francesc Ferrer 'Rubi'

THE UGLY

Barcelona’s controversial February move for Leganes striker Martin Braithwaite caused outrage for fans across the Spanish top flight. Months later, the outcry is set to be reignited.

La Blaugrana were permitted to sign the Denmark international outside of a transfer window after Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez were ruled out for the season due to long-term injuries. They triggered the contract release clause in his contract – the one mandated in every player’s contract by the league – and got their man after being granted permission for the extraordinary signing.

La Liga and Barcelona were criticised by Leganes coach Javier Aguirre after the Madrid side were not allowed to sign a replacement for Braithwaite despite being deprived of one of their key players in the middle of a relegation battle.

Braithwaite made three appearances for the Catalan giants prior to the La Liga suspension, however the situation is set to become more complicated when the league restarts. Uruguay international Suarez has confirmed he will be fit to return when the

season does after recovering from surgery during the lockdown, while Dembele remains sidelined.

Suarez’s comeback will give Quique Setien’s side a boost in the season run-in, in both La Liga and the Champions League. But having him available directly contradicts what Barca argued when being allowed to sign Braithwaite outside the transfer window.

The club said – in good faith – that Suarez would not play again until 2020-21, but now that doesn’t appear to be the case.

If Suarez plays a key role in a successful title defence for Barca, then there is the prospect of a legal challenge – not only from Leganes, but the sides Barca beat to the championship. The Catalans may lean on the decision being correct at the time it was made, but the league could yet have a case to answer.

Football in the immediate aftermath of the coronavirus restart is not going to be the right time or the right platform for a public spat between the league, Barca and a number of aggrieved clubs. But if, as Aguirre predicted when Braithwaite was sold, Leganes are relegated at the end

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REBOOT BUNDESLIGA RETURNS

BY: JAMES NALTON

IN NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, THE GERMAN BUNDESLIGA IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING OF EUROPE’S TOP LEAGUES. EACH CLUB BOASTS ITS OWN FAN CULTURE AND SUPPORTERS PACK THE STANDS EACH WEEKEND GIVING THE GERMAN TOP FLIGHT THE HIGHEST AVERAGE ATTENDANCE FIGURES IN THE WORLD.

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F

rom Bremen in the north to Freiburg im Breisgau in the south, the country is awash with vibrant soccer, passionate support, and famous, storied clubs.

The North Rhine-Westphalia region is packed full of some of the country’s best sides and biggest rivalries, including perhaps the biggest of them all, Dortmund versus Schalke, while to the east in the capital, Union Berlin’s promotion from the 2.

Bundesliga last season has given Germany its first top-flight Berlin derby.

Then the big hitters. In the southern state of Bavaria lie the giants of German soccer, Bayern Munich. The Rekordmeister, or record champions. The defending champions. The team everyone in Germany wants to beat.

But these aren’t normal circumstances. The coronavirus crisis has put a stop to soccer across the globe, with all but a couple of leagues being put on hold. The way back to the pitch is filled with obstacles provided by this invisible threat, but it looks like the Bundesliga will be the first to try to overcome them.

Christian Seifert, CEO of the DFL (the German Football League), believes that the steps they are taking to ensure the 2019/20 season can be finished could be a blueprint for other soccer leagues and other sports.

Though the league is returning, it will be doing so without one of its biggest attractions. The fans. During this period the phrase ‘football without fans is nothing’ will take on even more significance.

One of German soccer's main selling points is the atmosphere provided in the stadiums, week-in, week-out. The Bundesliga mixes the compact, tightly packed stadiums of

BELOW: Leipzig fans hold banners during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Bayer 04 Leverkusen RIGHT: Fans of Schalke display many flags during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Schalke 04 and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

"FROM BREMEN IN THE NORTH TO FREIBURG IM BREISGAU IN THE SOUTH, THE COUNTRY IS AWASH WITH VIBRANT SOCCER, PASSIONATE SUPPORT, AND FAMOUS, STORIED CLUBS."

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English soccer with its unique fan culture, fuelled by the fact that supporters and members still have a big say in how these clubs are run. This makes for some of the best atmospheres in the world game, and it will not be the same without them.

But there will still be plenty of entertainment on the pitch for fans around the world looking for their live soccer fix.

The game itself will still be a big attraction.

A whole host of stars from across the globe will return to our screens, representing these historic clubs as one of the most exciting and competitive Bundesliga campaigns reaches the business end of the season.

Can one of the challengers topple Bayern?

And which of those five teams will make into the four available Champions League qualification spots? Can all but relegated Werder Bremen and Paderborn perform a miracle and stay up? And which of the six or seven teams still with a realistic chance of securing the final Europa League qualification spot will make it?

On top of all this, there is that battle in the capital which continues in the league table even when they are not facing each other.

If it was suggested before the season that Union Berlin would finish above city rivals Hertha, it might have been laughed at, but the side from Köpenick established a midtable position above their rivals when the most common prediction for them at the start of the season was relegation.

Individual stars include Canada’s Alphonso Davies who, even at just 19 years old is well on the way to becoming one of his country’s best-ever players. After moving to Bayern from Vancouver Whitecaps, he has been performing his attacking duties as an eye-catching, forward-thinking left-back, who is ideal for the defending champions’ dominant style.

Two of the brightest prospects from the United States and England respectively, also ply their trade in the league in the shape of Borussia Dortmund pair Giovanni Reyna and Jadon Sancho. Alongside Norwegian striking sensation Erling Haaland, they form one of the most exciting attacks in Europe, ably supported by 27-year-old Belgian, Thorgan Hazard.

Elsewhere, RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner

"CAN ONE OF THE CHALLENGERS TOPPLE BAYERN? AND WHICH OF THOSE FIVE TEAMS WILL MAKE INTO THE FOUR AVAILABLE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION SPOTS?"

is the most wanted man in Europe, and the 24-year-old German is regularly linked with a move to English Premier League side Liverpool. He is just four goals behind Bundesliga top scorer, Bayern's Robert Lewandowski, and all eyes will be on him as he returns to action for one of the titlechallenging clubs looking to end Bayern’s dominance.

Such dominance from the Rekordmeister can be viewed as a negative, and it is true that the Bundesliga would benefit from new champions with Bayern having claimed the title for the previous seven seasons, but that dominance will only make it all the sweeter for whoever does manage to steal their crown.

And this season, a number of teams are having a go. Four sides sit within eight points of the predictable league leaders from Bavaria, with the last team other than Bayern to lift the Meisterschale, Borussia Dortmund, just four points off the top as the league restarted.

RB Leipzig, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Bayer Leverkusen are also in pursuit, and a swing of three wins would be enough for any of these teams to claim the top spot.

As of now, with soccer stolen from both the match-going fan and the armchair fan, many just want the game to return and are happy to see it do so behind closed doors for a short period of time.

It will not be the same, and the armchair fan will miss the atmosphere provided by the match-going supporter, but any attempt to play artificial noise into a stadium would be an insult to fans across the world.

If all goes to plan, the season will be finished by the end of June, but there are a number of things which could still go wrong, delaying the season even further or meaning it will have to be finished early without all games having been played, as has been the case in France, the Netherlands, and other leagues.

These games behind closed doors, or Geisterspiel (ghost games) as they are succinctly termed in German, are an attempt to bring back the live version of the game fans have been craving for the last couple of months, even though the circumstances in which it will return remain far from ideal.

BELOW: Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the 1-0 lead during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg TOP LEFT: Borussia, led by Reus, and their fans are looking to de-thrown Bayenr TOP RIGHT: Union Berlin were predicted to be relegated this year, however, they are securing themselves a mid-table performance.

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

LEADING THE PACK GOING UP GOING DOWN

Union Berlin

THE GOOD

The Bundesliga paved the way for a potential return to football for the top European sides as the competition was able to restart before the end of May – at a time when other countries were still arguing over how, when and if their tournaments could return.

DFB and Bundesliga officials opted to suspend the top two divisions of football in the country on March 25, following Game Week 25 of the 2019-20 season. The league has been at the forefront of restart pledges, ahead of rivals in England, Spain and Italy, with a commitment to completing the campaign and ensure European participation next season.

Clubs have facilitated coronavirus testing for all players and staff members, alongside health authority supervision of virus prevention measures at training facilities and stadiums. German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave the green light for this, alongside federal state mayors and health advisors, but all within strict health parameters for the remainder of the season. The big loser from the return will be match-going fans however, with games behind

closed doors the only feasible scenario in the coming months.

The eyes of the footballing world will be on Germany’s restart programme, with other leagues looking for an acceptable roadmap for their own returns.

With nine games to go at the point the league restarted, there is still plenty to play for in terms of the title race and European spots. Bayern had a four-point lead at the top of the table when play was postponed and that should be enough to see them over the line as champions. But there will be a four-way scrap for the Champions League places below as Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen fight it out.

At the bottom, Werder Bremen look set to drop out of the league for the first time since 1982, alongside Paderborn. Mainz and Fortuna Dusseldorf are likely face off to avoid being the top-flight side heading into a relegation play off.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

GOING UP Despite major struggles at the start of the season, Bundesliga new boys Union Berlin have steadied in 2020.

Prior to the coronavirus shutdown, Urs Fischer’s side hauled themselves to 11th in the table, and a strong run following the 2019-20 resumption could put them in the running for a European spot.

GOING DOWN Werder Bremen’s situation has grabbed the attention in terms of big clubs sliding towards the relegation trap door this season. But they are not the only high-profile side looking over their shoulder ahead of the restart.

Jurgen Klopp’s former side Mainz have built up a cushion ahead of the bottom three, but with a tough run of games to come they could easily get sucked back into trouble.

Mainz

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THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

BAYERN’S COLDNESS TOWARDS COUTINHO MEANS BARCA WILL NOW HAVE TO LOWER THEIR ASKING PRICE, WITH RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO CLUBS SUFFERING A BLOW.

THE BAD

If Werder Bremen are relegated to the second tier, it would represent the most high-profile demotion in Germany in over two decades. Stuttgart’s relegation 12 months ago was treated with shock, alongside the decline of Hamburg in 2018, but Werder’s drop has been nothing short of dramatic.

Florian Kohfeldt’s appointment at the start of the 2019-20 raised eyebrows within the club’s fan-base, due do his lack of senior management experience.

And Despite being presented with mid-season opportunities to bring in a relegation firefighter, the club opted to stick with Kohfeldt, despite his side winning just four games in 2019-20.Their seemingly-irreversible run of poor form means relegation will almost certainly be confirmed shortly after the season resumes.

Eight points adrift of safety, with nine games to play paints a bleak picture for Kohfeldt and his players. Key matches against relegation rivals Mainz and Paderborn will decide their fate, but dates with three of the top five just adds to the

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sense of impending gloom at the club. Both coach and squad look unlikely to be able to spark a dramatic comeback, with the glory days of Otto Rehhagel in the mid-1990s now appearing to be ancient history.

Further salt could be rubbed into the wounds if the club opts to sell their star assets as part of a financial downsizing this summer. Defender Omer Toprak has already agreed a deal to make his move to Borussia Dortmund into a permanent one. Toprak’s Turkish international teammate Nuri Sahin is likely to be released when his contract expires in the summer, with Davy Klaassen also unlikely to hang around in the second division.

Uber experienced forward Claudio Pizarro will also leave on a free, and call time on his playing career, at the ripe age of 41.

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

Werder Bremen Philippe Coutinho

THE UGLY

Philippe Coutinho’s loan move from Barcelona to Bayern Munich at the start of the 2019-20 campaign was agreed to be the right step for all parties – Barca, Bayern and the player himself.

The Brazil international struggled to show his creative best at Camp Nou following a big money move from Liverpool in 2018.

A season away from the glare of the Spanish media was thought of as the ideal environment for Coutinho to rebuild his career, with the Bavarian giants offered a quick fix to the retirements of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

However, the move has not gone to plan for anyone, and Coutinho’s career stands at a vital crossroads this summer.

The 27-year old has been criticised by former Bayern players and Bundesliga football journalists for failing to adapt to the particular demands of German football.

The club have made it clear they will not be activating a €120m purchase clause on him, despite La Blaugrana happy to sell and recoup the majority of their original investment.

Bayern’s lack of interest in a transfer has

created a mess, with Barcelona quietly confident they would agree to a deal, and already having the transfer fee earmarked for other targets. The lack of clarity over the situation has now caused a Premier League scramble, with Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United Everton and Chelsea all linked with a move.

Bayern’s coldness towards Coutinho means Barca will now have to lower their asking price, with relations between the two clubs suffering a blow. This negativity could influence future dealings between the two clubs, even as reports link a host of players with swapping Bavaria for Catalonia.

Marc Ter Stegen is rumoured to be Bayern’s first-choice long-term replacement for Manuel Neuer, while former Barca star Thiago Alcantara has also been linked with a return to Spain. But the Coutinho situation has thrown doubt over all relations between the clubs.

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

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THE XI TORONTO FC FOCUS

MARCO D’ONOFRIO LOOKS BACK ON THE HISTORY OF TORONTO FC, AND PICKS THE CLUB’S GREATEST EVER XI AND COACH…

GOALKEEPER: STEFAN FREI

While he has started all three MLS Cups in which Toronto FC have featured, all three appearances have been for the opposition Seattle Sounders. Nonetheless, Frei remains a hero in Toronto for his brilliance in the early years of the club.

Largely responsible for the first trophy in TFC history – the 2009 Canadian Championship – it’ll always be a mystery as to how much more Toronto would have won had the Swiss-American never left the club.

Frei made 96 appearances for the Reds, with a club-record 27 clean sheets.

Stefan Frei

RIGHT-BACK: STEVEN BEITASHOUR The Iran international was the best rightback in the league during his time in Toronto, helping the club reach the MLS Cup final twice in his only two seasons with the club. His ability to play in an advanced role afforded head coach Greg Vanney the luxury of being able to deploy a back three or back four depending on their opponents.

While only in Toronto for two years, he still managed to make an impressive 51 appearances for the club and was an integral part of the squad.

CENTRE-BACK: DREW MOOR

Moor signed as a free agent in Toronto in 2015, with the club desperate to shore up its defensive woes. While Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore had provided the spark of offence up front the club had always lacked, it was Moor who brought balance and stability to a club who were eliminated in the knockout-round of the playoffs the season prior.

The American was a leader both on and off the pitch, with the club reaching the MLS Cup final in Moor’s first two seasons with the squad.

Drew Moor

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Steven Beitashour

CENTRE-BACK: CHRIS MAVINGA

Mavinga was Moor’s partner in the heart of Toronto FC’s defence during their incredible 2017 treble-winning season. The Frenchman is currently in his fourth season with the club and remains a steady presence for the team in the back.

Injuries prevented Mavinga from playing much during the 2018 campaign – a season in which the club really struggled without the 28-year-old, missing out on the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Chris Mavinga

LEFT-BACK: JUSTIN MORROW

While it was Morrow’s penalty-kick that rattled off the crossbar – ultimately costing Toronto the MLS Cup in 2016 – the American has become one of the best fullbacks in MLS during his time with the club.

He has appeared in three MLS Cup finals with the team and played a crucial role in the treble-winning side in 2017.

Only hometown hero Jonathon Osorio has more appearances for the club than the 216 games Morrow has featured in.

CENTRE-MIDFIELD: TORSTEN FRINGS

The former Germany international was the fourth Designated Player in club history, but the first big name and still had plenty left to give when he arrived in MLS. Although he played on a couple of abysmal teams during his time with the club, he was one of the few bright spots for fans and a constant professional both on and off the pitch.

While only with the two club for two seasons, Frings was named club captain, providing strong leadership for players and fans alike.

Justin Morrow

Torsten Frings

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TORONTO FC FOCUS Michael Bradley

“MICHAEL BRADLEY HAS BEEN EVERYTHING THAT WAS HOPED FOR AND MORE WHEN HE WAS SIGNED IN 2014.”

CENTRE-MIDFIELD: MICHAEL BRADLEY

The club’s longest-serving captain has been everything that was hoped for and more when signed him alongside Jermain Defoe back in 2014. The team were hoping the pair would deliver all kinds of silverware and while the Englishman is long gone, Bradley is now in his second contract with the team and has led the club to three MLS Cup appearances and a CONCACAF Champions League final. He has become the heartbeat of the franchise and the ambassador the club always needed.

‘Your City, Your Legacy, Our Captain Forever’ read the banner in BMO Field’s South End in honour of the United States international in what could have been his penultimate home game for the club. Thankfully, he eventually signed an extension.

ATTACKING MIDFIELD: ALEJANDRO POZUELO

Put in the difficult situation of trying to replace Toronto FC’s previous No.10 Sebastian Giovinco, Pozuelo never let the pressure affect him on the pitch and never seem concerned about having to live up to high expectations. Scoring two fantastic goals on his debut, he had fans forgetting about the Italian immediately.

With Jozy Altidore out injured, it was Pozuelo’s brilliance that almost singlehandedly carried TFC to their third MLS Cup final in four years. While the club fell just short of the league’s most prestigious prize, Pozuelo has proven himself to be a legitimate superstar in MLS.

Alejandro Pozuelo

ATTACKING MIDFIELD: VICTOR VAZQUEZ

The Spaniard’s arrival was the missing piece in the 2017 treble-winning puzzle for the Reds. While Toronto FC were able to reach the MLS Cup final in 2016, the team in 2017 were unstoppable. Vazquez was the midfield maestro who helped pull the strings to create arguably the greatest team the league has ever known.

His time with the club wasn’t particularly long – only two seasons – but he remains tied with Ryan Johnson in seventh for most goals in club history with 18.

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Victor Vazquez

“VICTOR VAZQUEZ’S ARRIVAL WAS THE MISSING PIECE IN THE 2017 TREBLEWINNING PUZZLE FOR THE REDS.”

“SEBASTIAN GIOVINCO IS BOTH THE CLUB’S ALL-TIME GOALSCORING AND ASSIST LEADER.”

ON THE BENCH DWAYNE DE ROSARIO Things didn’t exactly end the way De Rosario wanted them to during his first stint with the club, but thankfully he got the opportunity to come back in 2014 to make things right before calling it an MLS career.

De Rosario helped TFC secure their first trophy ever, and had it not been for so much competition for a place in the starting line-up, the Canadian icon would have been a lock.

JONATHAN OSORIO The hardest player to leave out of the starting line-up. The Canada international has made more appearances for his hometown club than any other player in team history and was a big part in Toronto FC’s resurgence.

One of the few holdovers from the real dark days, Osorio has become a symbol of the club and a hero to fans.

ALEX BONO After solidifying his place as the starting goalkeeper in 2017 and helping the club win an MLS Cup, Bono looked set for big things and a bright future.

Unfortunately, his career took a real downturn towards the end of 2018 and he hasn’t been the same since.

Bono may have been replaced as the starter, but he remains the only goalkeeper to make 100 appearances for the Reds.

JERMAIN DEFOE The Englishman was the ‘big deal’ that was supposed to lead the club to the Promised Land. While he lived up to the part while he was here, he completely lost interest in the team and league once he was left out of the 2014 England World Cup squad.

Sebastian Giovinco

ATTACKING MIDFIELD: SEBASTIAN GIOVINCO

The Atomic Ant shocked the world when he opted to leave Italian champions Juventus to join MLS’ perennial losers Toronto FC back in 2015. His signing not only changed the reputation and image of the club, but it also transformed the league forever.

The only player in club history to be named the Landon Donovan MLS MVP, he was the best player in all CONCACAF for a portion of his time in Toronto. Giovinco also became part of TFC folklore when he arrived on an afternoon flight from Rome, where he had played with the Italy national team the day before, and still managed to score a breathtaking goal to put the Reds into the playoffs for the first time in history that same night.

He is both the club’s all-time goalscoring and assist leader.

STRIKER: JOZY ALTIDORE

The American formed one of the greatest partnerships the league has ever seen, playing alongside Giovinco up front and terrifying opposing defences. While staying healthy can sometimes be a problem for the veteran, when he is on the pitch, he is nearly unplayable. With 72 goals for the Reds, only the Atomic Ant has more.

However, considering Altidore’s current deal runs through 2022, expect the 30-yearold to be TFC’s all-time leading goalscorer when all is said and done on his time in Toronto.

Jozy Altidore

STEVEN CALDWELL The Scotland international was not around when the club finally got to the glory days, but still a played a massive role in the club’s history.

Bradley’s predecessor as captain, Caldwell provided a plethora of experience and knowledge to a club that was desperately lacking it at the time.

JIM BRENNAN The club’s first captain remains the only defender in team history to be named to the MLS All-Star Game. Brennan was known as the Iron Man during his time in Toronto, for his dedication to the club and his commitment for getting into the starting line-up.

THE COACH: GREG VANNEY Prior to the arrival of Greg Vanney, this spot would have been left empty as it had been a complete coaching carousel in Toronto. Indeed, Vanney was announced as the team’s ninth head coach in only their eighth season of play, and many had expected the former defender’s time in Toronto to be shortlived as well.

In his five full seasons with the club, Vanney has guided a team that had never reached the postseason before him to the playoffs four times, reaching the MLS Cup final on three of those occasions.

All images from Les Jones, Covershots. Covershots specializes in soccer photography. It has been covering Canadian & international soccer since 1979 including 8 World Cups & the 2012 Olympics. An archive of photographs is available covering men & women, amateur & pro, junior & senior, NASL to MLS, plus vintage photos & memorabilia back to 1880. Also available, an impressive book on Canadian soccer, “SOCCER: Canada’s National Sport” by Les Jones, former Chairman of the Soccer Hall of Fame. Contact lesjones.covershots@gmail.com or 416 691-1555 for questions or comments.

DAVID BECKHAM SPOTLIGHT

A BRIEF HISTORY OF… D CONTINUED

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DAVID BECKHAM THE NEW GALACTICO A deterioration in Beckham’s relationship with United manager Ferguson – which culminated in a flying boot causing a nasty cut near Beckham’s eyelid – led to the England captain leaving Old Trafford and joining the Galacticos of Real Madrid.

New teammates included Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Raul and Roberto Carlos.

LA LIGA GLORY Despite the searing quality throughout the squad, Madrid failed to win La Liga in Beckham’s first three years at Santiago Bernabeu. The England captain was dropped by Los Blancos boss Fabio Capello early in the 2006-07 campaign, and his departure from the Spanish capital was announced in January 2007.

Capello said he’d never play for the club again, but reversed his decision with Beckham playing a key role in landing the league title in his final game for Madrid.

FROM GALACTICO TO GALAXY Beckham’s destination after Madrid was something of a surprise given his age, as he was still only 32 when he headed stateside.

However, his arrival in Los Angeles sparked a whole new level of interest in MLS, with the likes of Thierry Henry following him to the US in subsequent years.

There was success on the pitch too, as LA Galaxy won back-to-back MLS Cup titles in 2011 and 2012.

THE FINAL ACT After a couple of loan stints at Milan and convincing Capello of his worth once again – this time in an England shirt to enable him to amass 115 international caps – Beckham left the Galaxy in 2013 to join Paris SaintGermain on a five-month contract.

He donated the entirety of his wages to a local children’s charity, and added a 10th league title to his collection by retiring amid emotional scenes at the Parisian club.

FROM PLAYER TO OWNER Part of Beckham’s deal in joining LA Galaxy gave him an option to purchase an MLS franchise for a knockdown price of $25m when his playing days came to an end. He took up this option to become the driving force behind the new Club Internacional de Futbol Miami franchise, with the former footballer now the president and co-owner.

Inter Miami made their MLS debut in March of this year, around 13 months after Beckham became a shareholder in the Salford City club jointly owned by fellow members of the Class of 92.

CAPELL O SAID HE’D NEVER PLAY FO R THE CLU B AGAI N, BUT REV ERSED H IS DECISIO N.

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DAVID BECKHAM SPOTLIGHT

A BRIEF HISTORY OF… D DAVID BECKHAM WAS A BRILLIANT, TRAILBLAZING PLAYER – AND AFTER A CAREER OF HIGHS AND LOWS, SITS AS PRESIDENT OF AN MLS FRANCHISE. OLI COATES LOOKS THROUGH GOLDEN BALLS’ CAREER.

FACT FILE NAME: David Beckham BORN: May 2, 1975 (Leytonstone, England) HT / WT: 1.80m / 74kg POSITION: Midfielder CLUBS: Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain

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SEASON CLUB 1994-95 P. North End 1994-95 Man. United 1995-96 Man. United 1996-97 Man. United 1997-98 Man. United 1998-99 Man. United 1999-.00 Man. United 2000-01 Man. United 2001-02 Man. United 2002-03 Man. United 2003-04 Real Madrid 2004-05 Real Madrid 2005-06 Real Madrid 2006-07 Real Madrid 2007 LA Galaxy 2008 LA Galaxy 2008-09 Milan (loan) 2009 LA Galaxy 2009-10 Milan (loan) 2010 LA Galaxy 2011 LA Galaxy 2012 LA Galaxy 2012-13 PSG

APPS GLS 5 2 4 0 33 7 36 8 37 9 34 6 31 6 31 9 28 11 31 6 32 3 30 4 31 3 23 3 5 0 25 5 18 2 11 2 11 0 7 2 26 2 24 7 10 0

INTERNATIONAL STATS YEAR APPS 1996 3 1997 9 1998 8 1999 7 2000 10 2001 10 2002 9 2003 9 2004 12 2005 9 2006 8 2007 5 2008 8 2009 8

GLS 0 0 1 0 0 5 3 4 2 1 1 0 0 0

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

DAVID BECKHAM YOU CAN'T WIN ANYTHING WITH KIDS On the opening day of the 1995-96 Premier League season, deposed champions Manchester United lost 3-1 away to Aston Villa. A 20-year-old David Beckham scored a rasping late consolation for the Red Devils, but pundit Alan Hansen famously declared after the match that ‘you can’t win anything with kids.’

Experienced players Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis had all left the club over the summer, but little did Hansen know Alex Ferguson was replacing them with a special group of youngsters who had won the 1992 FA Youth Cup. HALFWAY TO HEROISM Along with the returning Eric Cantona, the Class of 92 – as they would later become known – helped United secure a second Premier League and FA Cup double in three years in 1996. On the opening day of the 1996-97 campaign, Beckham really announced himself on the global stage.

His breath-taking goal from behind the halfway line catapulted him to a level of fame rarely seen before, solidified by the start of his relationship with Spice Girl and future wife Victoria the following year.

THE RED MIST It was all going so well for Beckham – until his sending off in the last 16 of the 1998 World Cup. A prone Becks kicked out at the wily Diego Simeone, who tumbled to the ground and saw his rival sent off.

Beckham was vilified by the British press and public after England were knocked out on penalties, with burning effigies seen hanging outside pubs in the country.

TREBLE WINNER There was no recrimination at Manchester United, however. Alex Ferguson and the club took their man under their wings, and Beckham rewarded them with an astonishing season of football. Those bending crosses and free-kicks were an integral part of United’s unprecedented 1999 treble-winning campaign, as the Reds secured an historic sweep of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. NATIONAL REDEMPTION Always adored in Manchester, Beckham’s stock with England fans recovered enough for him to be handed the national team captaincy in 2000. The following year, the midfielder sent England to the 2002 World Cup finals with an epic injury-time free-kick against Greece. Fittingly the game was held at Old Trafford, the crowd and country went wild.

Beckham captained his country at the finals and scored an emotionally-charged winning penalty against Argentina to win a crucial group game.

N A L A T I D BUT PUN Y L S U O M FA E HANSEN H T R E T F A D E R A L C DE U O Y ‘ T A H MATCH T ING H T Y N A IN W T ’ N A C ’ .

S D I K H WIT

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TWENTY-F

d.c. united focus

THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT BEING THE FIRST TO DO SOMETHING. THERE IS THE NEWNESS TO IT, THE SENSE OF BEING THE ONLY PERSON OR GROUP TO COMPLETE SOMETHING, THE IDEA THAT YOU ARE UNEQUIVOCALLY THE BEST BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE HAS DONE IT. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AFTER BECOMING THE FIRST MLS TEAM TO LIFT THE CUP D.C. UNITED STILL STANDS VERY MUCH AT THE HEART OF THE LEAGUE AND NORTH AMERICAN SOCCER. THE QUESTION IS: HOW CAN THEY GET BACK TO THE TOP?

BY SEAN MASLIN

The history of D.C. United can really be broken into three acts.

ACT ONE

This is what we would call the Golden Years (1996-2004) - a time period where the club was firmly at the top of MLS and one of the top clubs in the Americas. Four MLS Cups, two Supporters Shields, a US Open Cup, and a CONCACAF Champions Cup (the predecessor to the CONCACAF Champions League) is a pretty hefty haul. Their roster was also pretty stacked with Jaime Moreno, Marco Etcheverry, Raul Diaz Arce, Eddie Pope, Jeff Agoos, Ben Olsen and John Harkes forming the core. Bruce Arena, Earnie Stewart, Roy Lassister, and many, many more legendary players and coaches came through the club creating a culture of winning and some very lofty expectations.

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Above: United won the Open Cup in their first season MLS and just 10 days after winning the inaugural MLS Cup trophy in 1996 Right: Open Cup Winners - 2013

They also had a massive homefield advantage in RFK Stadium. The former home of the Washington Redskins had for years served as the capital of American soccer, playing host to the 1994 World Cup, the NASL Soccer Bowl, hundreds of United States Men’s National Team games, and too many legends to list. Yet it was United that brought out the Barra. With players such as Diaz Arce (El Salvador), and Etcheverry and Moreno (Bolivia) United were able to tap into the massive Latin American community in the Washington D.C. Metro arrive.

Everyone knew that the design of RFK Stadium allowed for the stadium to shake.

With United and with supporters groups like La Barra Brava and District Ultras the stadium bounced.

FIVE YEARS ON ACT THREE

United eventually did get a new stadium entering Act III, or the Audi era. While there were certainly some missteps at the start of this new era make no mistake about it: Audi Field marked a new era in D.C. United. That new era brought about new sponsorship, better stadium food, better seats, and some fellow named Wayne Rooney. In just two short years Wazza changed the culture and atmosphere at United bringing back the expectations for the club that set them apart in the early years. His time may not have brought trophies but the lasting memories have certainly set the tone.

So how does United build on this third Act? On the field the club made several strong additions in the offseason in Edison Flores and Julian Gressel, giving them more midfield options than they have had in years. Off of the field, the club brought back the Hall of Tradition and safe standing two items to make Audi Field feel more like their home and less like a rental. The club has also done an incredible amount of work in the D.C. Community, working with organizations like the nonprofit D.C. Scores to bring soccer and education to underprivileged families. All of these activities lead to the possibility that perhaps Act III might be their best yet.

ACT TWO

Above: Dwayne de Rosario - December 2012 Below: Wayne Rooney - August 2018

Roughly from about 2005 to 2017 an era that could best be called the Adu Era. While Freddy Adu was certainly not the cause for United’s maladies during this time his signing certainly marked a shift in the club. While Moreno and Olsen continued on with D.C., others like Etcheverry, Diaz Arce, and Pope all moved on.

Younger players like Santino Quaranta, Cristian Gomez, Luciano Emilio, Andy Najar, and Bill Hamid all joined giving the club’s supporters plenty to cheer for. But as the league was adding new clubs with new ideas and greater resources United struggled to keep up. Their three Supporters Shields and two U.S. Open Cups were certainly welcomed additions to the trophy case. But those peaks were met with incredible valleys including a three-win 2013 campaign.

What’s interesting though is that while United supporters remember the great seasons they often also look back fondly upon the tough times as well. While that 2013 season is remembered for the three wins it is also remembered for their quixotic run to a U.S. Open Cup Final where a Lewis Neal goal and some incredible Hamid saves gave D.C. the ultimate underdog victory over Real Salt Lake. D.C.’s follow-up campaign gave them a first place showing in the Eastern Conference with a ragtag group of MLS veterans in Bobby Boswell, Chris Rolfe, Fabian Espindola, and Sean Franklin.

Very often when talks about acts in a play there are subplots that connect each part. For United that was unequivocally the stadium. While RFK certainly provided a homefield advantage its infrastructure was creaky at best and at worst a disaster waiting to happen. It wasn’t uncommon to see cats, rats, or raccoons deep in the stadium. Falling pieces of concrete and broken seats made for a unique aesthetic but not exactly a lucrative one. The club for years attempted to build their own stadium with multiple stops and starts to match the everrotating ownership.

Photos Courtesy: Major League Soccer SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

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ELEVATED MLS THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

MLS Unites is a league-wide effort set up by both Major League Soccer and the Major League Soccer Player Association to help identify the good work the players, coaches, clubs and fans have been doing during the COVID-19 outbreak.

THE EAST, SO FAR...

THE WEST, SO FAR...

CLUB PTS

CLUB PTS

Atlanta United FC Montreal Impact New York Red Bulls Toronto FC Columbus Crew D.C. United Chicago Fire New England Revolution Orlando City SC Philadelphia Union FC Cincinnati Inter Miami CF New York City FC

THE GOOD

6 4 4 4 4 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

MLS Unites is a league-wide effort set up by both Major League Soccer and the Major League Soccer Player Association to help identify the good work the players, coaches, clubs and fans have been doing during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The venture was initiated to celebrate and give a platform to the positive stories of the league and bring light to the amazing work carried out by people on the front line to help those in need and the general public.

It’s something MLS and all of its member clubs have been keen to showcase.

“Bringing together our Major League Soccer community, all while staying apart, is the spirit of ‘MLS Unites,’” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “During this challenging moment in history, I know we can count on the MLS family to come together when we need each other most.

Together with our fans, players, teams and partners, we will shine a light on what can be done, and on the heroes leading the way.”

The three-pronged approach of MLS Unites is intended to educate, entertain and elevate. MLS has gone out of its way to work with the health authorities, including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] in the United States

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Sporting Kansas City Minnesota United FC Colorado Rapids FC Dallas Los Angeles FC Seattle Sounders FC Vancouver Whitecaps Portland Timbers Real Salt Lake Los Angeles Galaxy San Jose Earthquakes Houston Dynamo Nashville SC

and Health Canada to provide information on coronavirus. Mental health has also been incorporated, with both current and former players and coaches getting involved.

Entertainment has come from a focus on eSports and stay-at-home challenges, and insights into the lives of players and coaches away from football. MLS has also offered classic matches and recommended football books and movies to help pass the time.

And last but not least is elevation – a Community Heroes program that is still to be fully unveiled. But MLS and its clubs have been sharing the stories of the people on the front line, including healthcare workers and small business owners, as well as charitable acts by players, owners and coaches in the league.

THE BAD

In leagues with promotion and relegation the phrase ‘too good to go down’ is uttered every season about those teams who, on paper, look like they’ll be safe from the drop but, who, inevitably, succumb to demotion.

Perhaps football in the United States needs to introduce its own version of the motto, since it appears the United States Women’s National Team has been too good to win, just not on the field. After taking their

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PERHAPS FOOTBALL IN THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO INTRODUCE ITS OWN VERSION OF THE MOTTO

GOING UP GOING DOWN

Players are now allowed to participate in individual, voluntary training

equal pay claim to the courts and suing U.S Soccer for damages, the plaintiffs lost their challenge of gender discrimination.

The predictable trolls revelled in the women’s defeat in the courts as social media, the place were all good things go to get turned into memes, was awash with barely coherent comments. But, shock of shocks, they all missed the point about why the USWNT lost their case. It wasn’t because the women’s team is inherently inferior to the men’s, and therefore gets paid less. It’s because they are better.

Thanks to the United States Men’s National Team performing below expectations for the last few years, the men earned slightly less than was expected. And because the women performed better than expected, they earned slightly more. That meant the teams’ respective earnings were much closer than usual – because the men failed to produce while the women became world champions.

It’s an ugly situation as the players fight the management in court, and the players are appealing the decision to throw out the gender discrimination aspect of their legal challenge. The lawsuit has already seen USSF President Carlos Codeiro resign over language used in the legal documents, and all indications are that it will get worse before it gets better. This is far from over.

coronavirus, even if they have been able to avoid contracting the virus themselves.

Perhaps they know someone who has got it and recovered, or got it and not recovered.

Maybe they have a relative working in healthcare, putting themselves at great risk in the name of helping others. It’s impossible not to have been effected, even in a small way.

What COVID-19 has done is show us what matters most. For as much as we love football, it’s essentially meaningless, especially at a time like this. Yes, we wish MLS and other leagues around the world were still playing, but not at the risk of anyone’s health. Football – all sport – brings people together in ways few other pastimes can, and that’s why we want it back. But public health has to come first, and that should be remembered.

So when MLS does resume, and players are getting into fights on the pitch, or clubs are panicking and sacking their coach after a few bad results, there’ll be plenty of ugliness to get into. Until then, remember what really matters.

ABOVE: Megan Rapinoe

GOING UP With coronavirus having essentially ended all sport across the globe, during the first week of May some MLS clubs were at least able to return to training.

It wasn’t training as they’d previously known it, but the signs were encouraging. The steps are small, but it was a step towards seeing the league return.

GOING DOWN This isn’t a criticism at all, in fact it’s the best decision the league has made for a long, long time, but the decision to postpone MLS until June meant that we only managed to see two rounds of match days before the break. While this isn’t a bad thing, it’s something that fans dearly miss.

Pozuelo, TFC

THE UGLY

Frankly, it feels churlish to talk about MLS in too negative a manner at the moment. The league is far from perfect and will never be flawless – no league anywhere in the world, in any sport for that matter, can lay claim to that.

But there have been precious few boneheaded comments made lately, barely any dumb decisions from MLS players or management. Obviously, nothing is happening on the pitch. Off it, the overwhelming majority of actions from clubs, coaches, players and management have been positive, trying to help in a situation that has left a lot of people feeling helpless.

Everyone has been effected by the

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NWSL ONE ON ONE

ONE ON ONE WITH A

It has been an interesting time for players across the world but in particular for players in the National Women’s Soccer League.

After beginning preseason training and the season just weeks away from kicking, play was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With individual training now starting up again across the league players, coaches, and teams are having to kickstart their season again under new circumstances.

Our own Sean Maslin spoke with Allysha Chapman of the Houston Dash and the Canadian Women’s National Team about resuming her training with the Dash and her experience in getting ready for the season while at home. Allysha has played professionally for the last nine seasons, joining the Dash in 2018. In addition, she has been capped by CANWNT 68 times, including at the 2016 Summer Olympics and at two World Cups.

CAN

SEAN MASLIN: SO THE DASH STARTED INDIVIDUAL TRAINING THIS WEEK. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK AND HOW DO YOU FEEL THINGS ARE GOING SO FAR? ALLYSHA CHAPMAN: It is a step in the right direction. It is nice to actually be able to use a quality field and even though we don’t get to train with small groups or teammates it is still nice that we get to go to our training facilities and use our fields. It is kind of hard to come up with some things to do when it is just the two of us, but it is definitely nice to be back.

SM: HOW HAVE THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS CHANGED THE WAY THAT YOU GET READY AND PREPARE FOR TRAINING? AC: So we have to get there a little bit early just to check-in and we have to go through a symptom checklist and have our temperature taken. We also have to wear a mask when going to and from the field. If a ball gets kicked off of our field, then a field marshal has to go and get it-we are not allowed to go onto other people’s areas.

SM: DURING THE SHUTDOWN WHAT WAS THE TRAINING AND WORKOUT PLAN LIKE WITH THE DASH? AC: We did have a lot of Zoom Meetings.

We would get together once or twice every two weeks and have a trivia night or, as we would call it, Forced Family Fun [Laughs].

We have also had Zoom Meetings with inspirational speakers and individual plan meetings as well as unit connects with just the defenders. So, there have been a lot of meetings [Laughs].

As far as physical training I have still been following my K Soccer training plan and it just gets tweaked and changed as the start of the season was pushed back. I have been doing a lot of running and I have a pretty good home gym set up.

SM: WHILE AT HOME DID YOU PICK ANY NEW HOBBIES OR FINISH OFF ANY NEW BOOKS OR TV SHOWS? AC: So when this all started I signed up to foster dogs and have been doing that this entire time. I have had eight so far which has taken up a bunch of my time.

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Allysha Chapman

Houston Dash (USA)

ALLYSHA CHAPMAN SM: THE DASH MADE A LOT OF CHANGES IN THE OFFSEASON. HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT YOUR TEAM GOING INTO THE SEASON AND THE CHANCE OF HAVING A STRONG YEAR? AC: I am really excited about the season ahead because I think because James [Clarkson, head coach of the Houston Dash] was more guided towards making sure we are going to compete and he really picked up some good pieces that will be key for us this year. Everybody on the team is really excited, there are a lot of fresh faces, and I think it is definitely going to be a much better season than last year.

"WE HAVE ALSO HAD ZOOM MEETINGS WITH INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKERS AND INDIVIDUAL PLAN MEETINGS AS WELL AS UNIT CONNECTS WITH JUST THE DEFENDERS. SO, THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF MEETINGS [LAUGHS]."

SM: HOW DID YOU GET INTO SOCCER? AC: Growing up, my parents put a lot of emphasis on sports. The first sport that I actually tried was T-Ball when I was four and I absolutely hated it. I just had way too much energy for it so the next year they put me into soccer and I just loved it. I scored a lot of goals so that is maybe why I loved it although I don’t score too many goals nowadays [Laughs]. But I have been playing soccer since I was five and I have loved it ever since then.

SM: GROWING UP, WHAT PLAYERS DID YOU LOOK UP TO? AC: So my family was a hockey family growing up. I would watch the [Toronto Maple] Leafs constantly and so the player I looked up to was Tie Domi because he was undersized and always in the penalty box. It is kind of weird but I always kind of looked up to him.

SM: WHAT IS A COOLER FEELING: GETTING THE CHANCE TO PLAY IN A WORLD CUP IN CANADA OR MEDALING AT THE 2016 SUMMER OLYMPICS? AC: You can’t really beat the 2016 Summer Olympics. That was a pretty unreal experience. Being able to sweep our group, which is kind of unheard of in Canadian, I think was pretty special.

SM: A LOT OF KIDS RIGHT NOW ARE STUCK HOME AND NOT ABLE TO PLAY WITH THEIR TEAMMATES. IF YOU COULD GIVE THEM ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WHAT WOULD IT BE? AC: If you have a ball, you can use it. You can find room in your living room, in your background, or in a park and as long as you are keeping your social distance from people, I would say get out there and get touches on the ball. That is the most important thing for me when I don’t touch the ball I lose it a little bit. So, make sure you get your touches on the ball, get on to FaceTime with your friends and teammates, and try to do everything that you can to get you through this difficult time.

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NWSL UPdate

NWSL BREAKOUT

2020

was supposed to be another breakout year for the National Women’s Soccer League.

After a year of growth both on and off of the pitch the NWSL was looking to capitalize on their incredible 2019 run with an even better 2020. While the league is still working out the details on exactly how it will return to play make no mistake about it: it is still doing everything it can to make this a breakout campaign.

The NWSL, much like the rest of the sporting world, are currently in the ‘wait and see’ phase as to when can be started.

But they are perhaps in the most unique position from the rest of the footballing world in that their 2020 campaign has yet to even begin. While players were at the tail end of training camp no regular season matches had been played when the league announced a moratorium on training in late March.

Of course the first question that always seems to be asked about sports and our current state of affairs is : when will they restart? There really isn’t an exact answer at this point although there does seem to be at least a roadmap for the NWSL to restart.

The league did announce that starting May 6 players could begin individual workouts under their “Return to Play Phase Protocol” an action plan developed by the league and their medical task force. Clubs such as the Houston Dash and Orlando Pride were able to start their trainings while clubs such as the Washington Spirit are still waiting for restrictions to be lifted in their jurisdictions.

The next step would be the resumption of full team training. The difficulty in making that jump is that training will need to occur for all nine teams at the same time. Given the different levels of restrictions in place that may be a bit of a challenge. While the good news is that the leagues size makes it a bit easier to create a unified plan, it is still nine different clubs with nine different state and local regulations to consider. There seems to be some consensus that a June 1st start date for team trainings is feasible but as with many things when it comes to this epidemic that is certainly not set in stone.

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Of course once training does begin there is a second question that needs to be answered: When will the season begin and what will it look like? As mentioned before the NWSL is in a unique position in that it never actually started its regular season so it is working with a clean slate. Since it is a nine team league creating a schedule isn’t likely to be as difficult as say Major League Soccer. It also gives them the flexibility of possibly playing matches in the summer behind closed doors with the hope of reopening games to fans in the fall-winter.

How realistic the odds are of bringing back fans in the fall will play a huge role in determining the season structure. The NWSL is highly dependent upon the money it receives at the gate and from in-game purchases such as food, alcohol, and apparel. While their television deal with CBS Sports and their major sponsorship deals with Budweiser and Dove Soap certainly help. But the league still operates on a very modest budget that is subsidized by the U.S. Soccer Federation and the Canadian Soccer Association.

In terms of how the season will be structured there seem to be two options on the table: play the season in full and move games into the fall and winter either in one or multiple locations or play an extended tournament at likely one location. Of the two, the tournament option seems to be the most likely. With the odds of playing in front of fans remote at this point clubs will look to consolidate their expenses with travel being a massive cost. Gathering all teams and players in one location will also help in managing testing and security protocols and in theory reducing the risk of an outbreak.

There are also opportunities for growth from this option. During the summer months soccer has gained a foothold in the sporting landscape here in North America due to the lack of other options available. Whether it is attending games or watching from home the summer months have proven to be a good space for the NWSL to develop their brand. Given the lack of other options available it is the perfect opportunity for the league to

CLUBS THROUGHOUT THIS PANDEMIC HAVE SHOWN THAT THEY ARE COMFORTABLE AT ADAPTING.

Portland Thorns FC.

T YEAR OL Reign.

make advances in developing their television audience and courting sponsors, two areas that are critical to their long-term success.

Perhaps the best news no matter what option the NWSL takes is that the league and their clubs throughout this pandemic have shown that they are comfortable at adapting. While many leagues have shut down their social media or stuck to tried and true marketing concepts the NWSL has been leading the way in terms of maintaining and growing their audience. Whether it is setting up player interviews with local youth teams, online skill sessions, or classic game replays on Twitch with players their teams and players are at the forefront of fan engagement.

What will be interesting to see is how they continue to think outside of the box when matches begin.

Utah Royals FC

FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT CHRISTEN PRESS

1.) She comes from a family of athletesGrowing up the Press household did not have a shortage of athletic talent. Both of Christen’s parents were student athletes at Dartmouth University with her father Channing playing college football and her mother Tracy playing tennis. Her two sisters Channing and Tyler were also exceptional student-athletes earning college scholarships to Villanova and Harvard. Christen herself had an exceptional college career, playing four years at Stanford University and earning the Hermann Trophy for top player in Division I in 2010.

2.) She uses meditation to help manage stress- Being a professional athlete comes with all sorts of pressures and managing those pressures can be challenging.

Throughout her career Christen has used Vedic meditation to help her find balance.

Vedic meditation calls for the individual to sit down for 20 minutes twice a day an focus on a mantra or goal. She has credited meditation for helping her career telling ESPNW in August 2016, “"I think that there is a chance I wouldn't be here. I'm a pretty determined person, even when I was totally neurotic, so there is part of me that is like, 'I would be here, and I would just be grinding this out until the death of me.' But I think it's a totally different experience coming here and being confident in who I am, being a person that isn't disrupted by small setbacks.”

3.) She is redesigning the fashion worldIn 2018 Press, along with her USWNT teammates Tobin Heath, Megan Klingenberg, and Megan Rapinoe founded re-inc. Re-Inc is a lifestyle that according to their website, “exist to boldly re-imagine the status quochampioning equity, creativity, progress, and art.”

4.) She loves nature- Christen has spoken at length through the years about the outdoors and her love of hiking and going to the beach.

She was born in Los Angeles, California and lived most of her life on the West Coast so plenty of opportunities for beaches and the great outdoors.

5.) Her goto pregame is an omeletteChristen likes to go all out with her pregame pulling together omelettes that include veggies, meats, and cheeses.

Photos Courtesy: NWSL SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

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CHASING GLO

EURO / WC FRANCE SPOTLIGHT

FRANCE WEREN’T EXPECTED TO WIN WORLD CUP 1998, JUST HOST IT. THEY CAME OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT AS WORLD CHAMPIONS, BUT THEIR DECLINE WAS RAPID. NICK VALERIO RECOUNTS WHAT SHOULD BE A CAUTIONARY TALE...

D

idier Deschamps will belatedly lead his stars to next summer’s European Championship hoping to replicate his own remarkable feat some 20 years ago. The Frenchman famously lifted the World Cup on home soil in 1998 before adding more silverware to his collection at Euro 2000.

Deschamps has played a significant role in each of Les Bleus’ three international triumphs and the landscape of France – both from a sporting and national perspective – was to change forever after the stunning 3-0 scoreline against Brazil in Paris. The natives went into the tournament with no great belief, with Aimé Jacquet’s troops ranked a lowly 18th in the FIFA world rankings. But the issues weren’t only on the pitch.

From a political standing, leader of the far-right party the National Front, JeanMarie Le Pen, made ugly comments about the ‘Frenchness’ of some of the non-white players chosen to represent France at the tournament. France was already one of the most racially divided countries in Europe and the lack of patriotism was only heightened by the politician. But France coasted through the group stage and optimism quietly grew, as Le Pen’s disgraceful attempts at sabotage were to backfire in spectacular fashion.

Renowned football writer Julien Laurens cited the tense quarter-final duel with Italy as the turning point. The nation started to believe the impossible was possible, and, above all else, the assortment of players from immigrant backgrounds helped France evolve in to a harmonious multicultural country united by sport and national pride.

The rest, as they say, is history, and France went from not fancied to much-fancied overnight. With glory, though, came increased expectation, and the world champions were suddenly the benchmark for the sport.

Roger Lemerre succeeded his friend Jacquet shortly after as lives changed for the men involved. Zinedine Zidane, the twogoal hero in the final and the poster boy for a new and diverse France, signed for Real Madrid in 2001, winning six major titles.

Robert Pires spent a further two seasons with Marseille but the Ligue 1 outfit knew they could not keep hold of their talisman after his dazzling World Cup performances and Arsenal enjoyed the silky midfielder’s best years. Pires was soon joined by Henry, arguably the Gunners’ greatest-ever player, while David Trezeguet and Lilian Thuram sealed transfers to the Bianconeri in 2000 and 2001 respectively.

Avid viewers of the beautiful game were witnessing a golden generation at their very best. France went in to Euro 2000 as the deserved favourites with Zidane, Pires, Henry, Trezeguet and Patrick Vieira, blended with the experience of Fabien Barthez, Thuram, Bixente Lizarazu and Emmanuel Petit all in the ranks. The World Cup holders advanced to the knockout-phase of the competition and did it the hard way,

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WORLD CUP

CHAMPIONS 1998, 2018 RUNNER-UP 2006 THIRD PLACE 1958, 1986

EURO CHAMPIONS 1984, 2000 RUNNER-UP 2016 THIRD PLACE N/A

ORY

BELOW (MAIN): France holding up the 1998 World Cup Trophy BOTTOM RIGHT: Henry playing for France in the 2002 World Cup

“WITH GLORY, THOUGH, CAME INCREASED EXPECTATION, AND THE WORLD CHAMPIONS WERE SUDDENLY THE BENCHMARK FOR THE SPORT.”

RED FACED HOLDERS France’s ignominious exit in 2002 isn’t the only time the World Cup holders have been embarrassed at the next tournament…

France’s humiliating World Cup showing in Japan and South Korea may have been the first of the 21st century but there have been a number of defences since which have ended in similar fashion. Indeed, Les Bleus lost out to Marcello Lippi’s Italy in the 2006 showpiece final but the charismatic Azzurri boss stubbornly refused to add any flair to his squad four years later in South Africa.

Lippi went for workmanlike over flair to disastrous consequences. Alessandro Matri and Marco Di Vaio hit 39 goals between them, in comparison to Vincenzo Iaquinta and Alberto Gilardino who struck 19 combined, but it was the latter who took their places on the plane.

The four-time World Cup winners finished bottom of their group, and the 1-1 draw with tournament newbies New Zealand still ranks as Italy’s worst result in the competition’s history.

One win from three group games was not enough for Spain to reach the Round of 16 in 2014 as La Roja were outclassed by Chile and Netherlands in Group B. The 2010 winners were humbled by Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben as the Dutch ran out 5-1 winners in their opening game and a number of retirements were quickly announced as Vicente Del Bosque’s deposed champions packed their bags.

Germany endured a similar fate at the most recent World Cup. Die Mannschaft, widely regarded as the most consistent nation in the history of the tournament, crashed out at the first time of asking, shocking the watching world in the process. Joachim Low’s squad were astonishingly beaten by Mexico and South Korea and, like their European peers Spain and Italy, needed a reset.

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EURO / WC FRANCE SPOTLIGHT

“FRANCE’S SECOND EUROPEAN TITLE WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE END.” toppling Spain and Portugal before meeting Italy for the trophy in Rotterdam.

In truth, Les Bleus had luck on their side as they equalised in the 93rd minute of regulation time as Dino Zoff closed in on the Henri Delaunay Trophy. Trezeguet’s golden goal broke the hearts of Italy but France’s second European title was the beginning of the end, ironically, for this group of world-beaters whose sharp, collective decline was as rapid as their success.

Les Bleus automatically qualified as holders for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea and suffered without any meaningful football for two years. The cutting edge in the squad began to fade as the world champions lost to Belgium, ranked 23rd in the standings, and drew with Russia, who were 27th, in the build-up to the competition.

The holders crashed out in humiliating fashion, failing to score in 270 minutes of action and finished bottom in a

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group alongside Senegal, Denmark and Uruguay, three respectable but not elite footballing nations. The inquest began as soon as the final whistle went against the Scandinavians, with Lemerre swiftly dismissed, but there were a number of factors that led to France bowing out early.

First and foremost, the glaring failure to replace Deschamps and Laurent Blanc.

The duo accumulated 200 caps between them and retired at Euro 2000. Deschamps was not the flashiest but he allowed the attackers to go out and express themselves, while his compatriot was a leader and regarded as one of the best in his position to the very end of his career.

Frank Leboeuf was 34 during the tournament and while a good defender, was never in the same bracket as Blanc, Thuram or Marcel Desailly. Youri Djorkaeff and Lizarazu also came in for stinging criticism for being past their best.

The talent in the youth sector was there.

William Gallas, Olivier Kapo, Bruno Cheyrou

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ABOVE: Didier Deschamps became a world champion as a player…

TOP RIGHT: Didier Deschamps lifting the World Cup as coach in 2018 …and as a coach 20 years later RIGHT: Big celebrations in 2018 ABOVE LEFT (inset): But Deschamps has to learn from Roger Lemerre about the dangers of letting a successful side stand still

and Philippe Mexès were all pushing for inclusion but Lemerre failed to adapt and evolve. The inability to get a tune out of Henry, Trezeguet and Djibril Cisse, the three top scorers in the Premier League, Serie A and Ligue 1 respectively, did not reflect well on Lemerre either.

To a small extent, the outgoing tactician did deserve some sympathy. Lemerre was without Zidane for the opening two games after the playmaker tore a thigh muscle less than a week before the curtain raiser with Senegal. Djorkaeff deputised for his colleague but buckled under the responsibility.

To make matters worse, Pires suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury domestically, and was ruled out altogether. Lemerre lost his two key playmakers and by the time Zizou returned for the final group game, France were as good as out. The No. 10 was rushed back with very evident strapping on his quadriceps and was operating at barely half his full capacity.

LE MERRY-GOROUND France’s coaching appointments before finding success with Didier Deschamps produced a definite mixed bag of results.

In-between Roger Lemerre and Didier Deschamps have been three other custodians in Les Bleus’ dugout.

Jacques Santini took over after the debacle in 2002 and steadied the ship with 22 victories from 28 official fixtures. The respected Frenchman ushered in a new era, bringing in Sidney Govou, Benoit Pedretti, Louis Saha and Mickaël Landreau to the senior squad.

Santini guided his country to a last eight finish at Euro 2004, before surprisingly moving to English outfit Tottenham Hotspur, where he was not particularly successful.

Raymond Domenech was next in the hot-seat and his tenure was memorable to say the least. While Domenech claimed silver at the 2006 World Cup, he will be remembered as the manager on the receiving end of a shocking player revolt.

The tactician engaged in a war of words with star forward Nicolas Anelka after the Group A tie with Mexico in 2010, one which resulted in the Chelsea ace being removed from the French party.

Patrice Evra led the mutiny on behalf of his teammates, voicing his displeasure to the national federation as the squad refused to train in support of their compatriot. It proved in vain as the disgraced Blues were on the next plane home anyway. There were also reports Domenech considered a player’s star sign when deciding whether or not to call him into the squad – Scorpios were particularly unwelcome.

Laurent Blanc was next in line after three stellar seasons at Bordeaux. The 54-year-old won the title in his second term and also topped a Champions League group including Bayern Munich and Juventus the following year. Les Bleus were beaten by eventual Euro 2012 victors Spain in the quarter-finals and that proved to be the legendary centre-back’s final act as head coach before compatriot Deschamps followed in his footsteps.

Was there a lack of appetite after three years of success? Vieira, and to a lesser extent Henry and Sylvain Wiltord, all admitted to being physically exhausted after a long club season with the Gunners.

The Premier League is one of, if not the most competitive league where every fixture is a battle. Eight of the travelling party plied their trade in England and unfortunately for Lemerre, each were instrumental or crucial first-teamers for the national team.

Deschamps is unlikely to make the same mistakes as his former coach, having been so closely involved with the national team for the best part of 20 years. The 51-year-old went on to win the game’s most prestigious honour in Russia as manager and will go in search of a quite extraordinary double-double with Les Bleus next July.

Roger Lemerre failed to adapt and evolve.

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Pitch to Boss in focus WHERE ARE THEY NOW

THE FORMER NETHERLANDS INTERNATIONAL BECAME FIRST TEAM COACH IN SUMMER 2015 AT FEYENOORD, THE ROTTERDAM CLUB WHERE HE STARTED AND FINISHED HIS PLAYING CAREER.

Jonathan Woodgate

Giovammi Van Bronckhorst

T

here’s many former LaLiga stars currently using the experience and skills picked during their time in Spanish football in managerial and coaching careers all around the world.

The list is almost unrivalled: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Diego Simeone (Atletico de Madrid), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Rafa Benítez (Dalian Pro), Xavi Hernández (Al Sadd), Míchel (Pumas UNAM), ‘Guti’ (UD Almeria), Raúl González (Real Madrid Castilla), Van Nistelrooy (PSV U19), Unai Emery, Mauricio Pochettino, Quique Sánchez Flores, Laurent Blanc, Ernesto Valverde, Mark van Bommel, Aitor Karanka, Clarence Seedorf… but here are five more with very special stories.

1. GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST – FC BARCELONA TO FEYENOORD All the lessons learned winning two LaLiga titles with FC Barcelona in the early 2000s as an attack-minded left back have definitely proved useful for Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s coaching career. The former Netherlands international became first

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team coach in summer 2015 at Feyenoord, the Rotterdam club where he started and finished his playing career. His first season brought the KNVB Cup trophy, while the following year he led the club to its first Eredivisie title in 18 years, a historic achievement. Last January he was announced as manager of Chinese club Guangzhou R&F. 2. JONATHAN WOODGATE REAL MADRID TO MIDDLESBROUGH Jonathan Woodgate’s spell at Real Madrid famously did not get off to a great start, with an own goal and red card on his LaLiga debut. However, when fit and available the classy defender made a valuable contribution to Los Blancos 2005/06 campaign, with the team keeping seven clean sheets in his eight other games. The following summer he joined hometown club Middlesbrough, where he also returned after hanging up his boots to begin his coaching career in 2017. Last summer, Woodgate was named first team manager at Boro, and he took December’s Championship Manager of the Month award.

3. JORDI CRUYFF CAMP NOU TO ECUADOR Son of Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff, Jordi made his LaLiga debut in September 1994 against R. Sporting. The winger or attacking midfielder scored 22 LaLiga goals across spells at FC Barcelona, RC Celta, RCD Espanyol and most successfully D. Alaves, where he helped the Basque club reach the 2001 UEFA Cup final only to lose 5-4 in agonizing fashion to Liverpool. Cruyff also represented Manchester United, Metallurg Donetsk and the Netherlands national team [nine senior caps] during his playing career. He has since worked in Malta, Cyprus, China and Israel, where he oversaw three consecutive league titles as sporting director at Maccabi Tel Aviv. In January 2020 he was appointed Ecuador senior international manager.

4. DIEGO FORLAN PICHICHI TO PEÑAROL One of the very few players in history to have won LaLiga’s Pichichi top scorer prize with two different clubs, Diego Forlan clinched it at Villarreal CF in 2004/05 and Atletico de Madrid in 2008/09. A strike rate of 128 goals in 240 LaLiga games counts among the very best. A long playing career also brought goals scored in England, Italy, Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong, and appearing at three World Cups and a 2011 Copa America triumph during 112 caps for Uruguay’s senior team. In December 2019, Forlan returned to his former Uruguayan club Peñarol to start his managerial career.

Jordi Cruyff

5. FABIO CANNAVARO – SANTIAGO BERNABEU TO CHINA 2006 was quite a year for Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro, who won the World Cup in Germany, signed for Real Madrid and was then awarded the Ballon D’Or. Cannavaro won two LaLiga titles during his three years in the Spanish capital, where he continued a strong relationship with mentor Fabio Capello. His first managerial job was at Dubai club Al-Ahli, where he won UAE Pro League and UAE League Cup titles. He also won the China League One title with Tianjin Quanjian, guided Guangzhou Evergrande to the Chinese Superleague title last year, and even took charge of the China national team for a time in 2019.

Diego Forlan

Fabio Cannavaro

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GREAT GAME in focus GREAT GAMES REVISITED

LIVERPOOL’S EPIC ENCOUNTERS WITH NEWCASTLE IN THE MID-1990S REGULARLY TOP LISTS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S GREATEST EVER GAMES. DAVID WHITWORTH EXPLAINS WHY…

S

ome things are indelibly etched in the minds of football fans of a certain generation. Anyone old enough to remember the 1970 World Cup will remember Gordon Banks’ save from Pele, and 16 years later it was Diego Maradona eliminating England with two very different but equally memorable, goals. A decade later and the rise of the Premier League meant domestic football stood alongside the international game, and April 3 1996 was the date of a fixture that resonates as deeply with those of a certain age as any World Cup moment.

Newcastle’s trip to Anfield that night was the third contest between the two teams that season. The Magpies had already won on Merseyside in the League Cup, and taken the points when the sides met in the league at St James’ Park. It was third against second – Liverpool, having played a game more, had 59 points to Newcastle’s 64, but had lost only once in their last 22 games.

That was the prior fixture, a 1-0 reverse at Nottingham Forest.

Trying in vain to close a three-point gap on Manchester United, Newcastle went

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to Anfield in mixed form. They’d won only once in their last five games, losing three, the latest of which was a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal. But with the best part of a month of the season still to play – and two games in hand on Sir Alex Ferguson’s United – Newcastle were not ready to give up on the title. What happened at Anfield would, though, play a significant role in the destination of the trophy.

The match was relentless, played at a pace more usually seen on a basketball court.

Liverpool took the lead inside two minutes through Robbie Fowler, and Newcastle equalised after 10 through Les Ferdinand via an assist from the electrifying Faustino Asprilla. The visitors were in front less than five minutes later as David Ginola converted a crisp left-foot strike.

Peter Beardsley and Steve McManaman passed up chances to get on the score sheet before half-time, and it was Fowler who was next to score as the local lad drilled home an instinctive finish. Parity lasted barely two minutes before Asprilla caught David James in No Man’s Land, but that was the end of the Newcastle scoring.

ES REVISITED

Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle [Premier League, 1996]

D N A E L T S A NEWC D L U O W L O LIVERPO N O S A E S E H FINISH T D N A D N O C STILL IN SE , Y L E V I T C E P THIRD RES IN A G A L L A T AND DO I ER. T A L S H T N 11 MO

Stan Collymore nabbed the Reds’ second equaliser of the evening by converting a sumptuous Jason McAteer cross at the back post just past the hour mark as the baying crowd approached fever pitch. Fittingly, the move of the match brought the decisive moment, and it was Collymore again on the end of it.

John Barnes and Ian Rush exchanged passes, opening up space on the Liverpool left. Barnes stroked the ball into the path of Collymore, who met it emphatically. After 92 minutes of pulsating action, the points were Liverpool’s – and a month later, the title was United’s. Newcastle’s brilliantly cavalier manager, Kevin Keegan, had to know as much as he slumped over an advertising hoarding in what has become the defining image of the contest.

Newcastle and Liverpool would finish the season still in second and third respectively, and do it all again 11 months later. But it is the first instalment of their double-header that lives longest in the memory.

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TACTICS TALK tactics

RUNNING WINS S upporters are often known to demand that their players give every last ounce out on the pitch, and a sure bet to earn fans' favourite status is by running yourself into the ground from the first whistle to the last.

This running is often done without a player having any real idea about where they're going and lacks any real purpose, but the general belief is that running is guaranteed to get you in the supporters' good books.

But, is there really any direct correlation between covering miles on the ground and on-field success?

The LaLiga - Mediacoach sports investigation department, in collaboration with the University of Extremadura, has taken a scientific approach to analysing the relationship between distances travelled at high intensity during matches and the final standings from the last four LaLiga Santander seasons. The results of this study corroborate the fans' desire to see their heroes put in the hard yards. The teams at the top end of the table have been shown to cover more ground at above 24 km/hr than the sides beneath them.

However, let's not get carried away here and urge players to simply tear around the pitch like headless chickens. The first important point to make is that the relationship between distance covered and being in the upper echelons of the table applies only when running at a pace of over 24 km/hr. When the intensity drops below this speed, the aforementioned correlation is not produced.

One example that highlights this relationship perfectly is current LaLiga leaders, FC Barcelona. The Catalan giants are amongst the sides that complete the lowest average distance per game.

However, if we look solely at the ground covered at high intensity (> 24 km/hr), the Azulgranas rank comfortably above the league average.

The technical-tactical explanation behind this phenomenon is strikingly obvious to Ricardo Resta, director of LaLiga's sporting department & Mediacoach: "The most decisive moments in games are completed at maximum intensity." Indeed, when a player's heartbeat races, they receive a burst of adrenaline that helps them to complete the move and potentially secure glory for their team. Teammates make darting runs as they look to escape the attentions of defenders and get in behind the backline, whose job it is to prevent any shots from coming in on goal. All of this happens in tenths of a second, during which everyone is operating at breakneck speed.

"We mustn't forget the defensive side of things," notes Roberto Lopez, the coordinator of the Mediacoach and LaLiga sporting investigation project. "Tracking back at high intensity to cover gaps left behind after a team has been dispossessed and recovering a defensive position are

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LALIGA SCIENTIFICALLY ANALYZES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DISTANCE TRAVELED AND THE FINAL RESULT IN THE LAST FOUR SEASONS OF LALIGA SANTANDER. FC BARCELONA IS ONE OF THE TEAMS THAT TRAVELS THE LEAST TOTAL DISTANCE, BUT HAS THE MOST METERS TRAVELED AT HIGH INTENSITY

Eden Hazard

essential to countering the opposition's attacks. This activity is also one that's carried out at above 24 km/hr," reveals Lรณpez.

"Of the 94 minutes that a game lasts on average, the ball is only in play for 56 of those minutes. Of the total distance covered, just 3% is travelled at over 24 km/ hr," notes Fabio Nevado, a technical football analyst at LaLiga.

The Mediacoach team are in little doubt about the issue of whether running furthest holds the key to securing success.

Silvestre Jos, Mediacoach product manager, concludes that, "It's not a question of the amount of yards covered but rather the quality of those yards. High-impact attacking and defensive play is produced at over 24 km/hr. Those are the moments when the result of the games is on the line."

The group of investigators from the University of Extremadura, headed up by Tomas Garcia, will present the results of this research at the 5th International Congress of Training Optimization and Sport and Physical Readaptation, to be held on the 29 and 30 May. The researchers involved in the study are: Jose Carlos Ponce, Jesus Diaz, Miguel Angel Lopez, Ivan Ramirez and Juan Jose Pulido.

Lionel Messi

"THE MOST DECISIVE MOMENTS IN GAMES ARE COMPLETED AT MAXIMUM INTENSITY."

WINNING MATTERS T here is no better feeling in sport than the joy of winning and throughout Premier League history we’ve seen some dominant teams in England’s top tier, but which players have secured three points on the most occasions?

We’ve decided to look at the most successful individual players in terms of victories, though only players to have played over 100 fixtures in the Premier League have been included.

Here are the five players with the highest win percentage in Premier League history:

MICHAEL BALLACK – 70.5% The Chelsea of the mid-noughties were a formidable outfit as they established themselves as a dominant force in the English game, the billions of Roman Abramovich having attracted a number of Europe’s finest footballers to Stamford Bridge.

The Premier League may not have seen the very best of Michael Ballack but the midfielder certainly made an impression during an impressive four-year spell at Chelsea, winning a clean sweep of domestic honours in English football including playing his part in a double-winning season under Carlo Ancelotti.

Chelsea finished in the league’s top three in each of the German’s seasons at the Blues, including that title-winning season that saw Ancelotti’s free-scoring side set a new record for most goals scored.

Ballack finished his Chelsea career with four major honours and 25 goals in 166 appearances, in addition to winning 70.5% of his 107 Premier League fixtures.

Mohamed Salah

Nemanja Vidic

NEMANJA VIDIC – 70.6% Nemanja Vidic is recognised as one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history following a stellar career at Manchester United, the Serbian centreback forming part of the spine of Sir Alex Ferguson’s last great side at Old Trafford.

Vidic won five league titles and the Champions League amongst his honours during a glittering career in English football, forming a solid defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand during a golden period for the Red Devils.

That quintet of league titles also included three in succession between 2007 and 2009, Vidic winning an incredible 149 of his 211 Premier League fixtures before leaving to join Inter Milan in 2014.

A serial winner at Manchester United, Vidic boasts the fourth best win percentage in the division’s history.

CLAUDE MAKELELE – 70.8% Defensive-minded players are often rarely acclaimed like their attacking counterparts but Makelele’s importance was such that he had an entire midfield role renamed in his honour.

The former France international’s contribution had been somewhat overlooked by the hierarchy at Real Madrid but the loss of the Spanish giants was certainly Chelsea’s gain, Makelele playing an influential role in the club’s first successes of the Roman Abramovich era.

Initially signed by Claudio Ranieri before thriving under Jose Mourinho, the midfielder helped the west London side to back-to-back league titles, providing the defensive assurance to allow the likes of Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba to thrive ahead of him.

The first of those titles saw Chelsea secure a then record 95 points and concede just 15 goals all season, before dominating once more the following year to retain their crown.

Makelele spent five seasons at the club and won 102 of his 144 league fixtures, a win percentage of 70.8%.

"SALAH HAS ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS ONE OF THE FINEST FORWARDS IN WORLD FOOTBALL"

Michael Ballack

PAULO FERREIRA – 72.3% Another of the players who formed part of the dominant Chelsea side during Jose Mourinho’s first spell at the club, Ferreira became his compatriot’s first signing in English football having helped the ‘Special One’ to Champions League success with Portuguese side Porto.

The former Portugal international spent almost a decade at the capital club and won 11 major honours, including three league titles and the club’s first ever Champions League triumph in 2012.

The right-back’s game time became limited after the success of his initial seasons at Stamford Bridge, though he retained a win percentage of 72.3% – the second highest of any player in Premier League history to have played more than a century of games.

That figure is boosted by those back-toback titles under Mourinho, in addition to a domestic double winning campaign under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti in 2010.

MOHAMED SALAH – 73.5% The player with the highest win percentage in Premier League history is current Liverpool forward Salah, the Egyptian having played a hugely influential role in the club’s rise of recent seasons.

Salah began his career in English football with an underwhelming spell at Chelsea that delivered just 13 league appearances, later rebuilding his career in Italian football before a big-money move to Merseyside in 2017.

Since then Salah has established himself as one of the finest forwards in world football, winning back-to-back Premier League Golden Boots for a Liverpool side who have gone from strength to strength under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp.

The Reds finished as runners-up last season despite losing just once all season and tallying a club record 97 points, before closing in on an elusive league title with a record-breaking start to the 2019/20 campaign, registering the best start of any side in the history of Europe’s top five leagues.

Salah’s current record stands at 83 wins from his 113 Premier League fixtures, a win percentage of 73.5%.

By: Harry Diamond The Football Faithful

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TACTICS TALK tactics

THIS IS HOW A FOOTBALL TEAM THINKS AS A GROUP LALIGA'S TOOL, MEDIACOACH, SYNTHESIZES HOW A TEAM THINKS COLLECTIVELY AND REVEALS HOW TO CREATE A COMBINATORIAL GAME PATTERN FOR LALIGA TEAMS

A

nalyzing a football team's style of play is not as simple as looking at a few statistics together. For example, if, instead of comparing each team to the rest of the league's sides, we were to carry out an analysis that compares each team with itself, the end result would be what we call a team's identifiability. And Mediacoach, the advanced analysis tool that LaLiga provides to its 42 clubs, has developed a set of indicators that can more accurately section and analyze the teams' brains. How a team thinks in a group way. This is how it is calculated and used:

• STEP 1: divide the pitch into several sections: 2, 4, 6, 8 and so on and so forth.

Each of the pitch sections represents a matrix.

"Nowadays it is virtually impossible to find a field of knowledge that has not been subject to changes brought about by science. Football couldn't not be a part of that", commented Fabio Nevado, a Mediacoach football analyst.

Network science allows us to discover the behaviour of a team's passing network model. Pitch networks consists of a matrix that features the different passes made

during the course of a game, which are interconnected according to where they begin and end. To create a pitch network, the pitch is divided up into any given number of zones and the initial position of passes and where it ends up is recorded.

This is how a passing network is built, with each zone that the pitch has been divided into representing a node in the pitch network.

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• STEP 2: establish the passing network created between the various zones of the different matrices.

• STEP 3: bring all of the matrices together to create the team's combination play pattern in each game.

• STEP 4: remove all of the moves that did not end in goals, shots or a goalscoring opportunity.

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• STEP 5: you now have the optimum combination play model for your team.

"If you're able to impose your optimum model, whilst, at the same time, neutralizing your opposition's optimum model, your chances of securing the three points increase significantly", notes Roberto Lopez, the coordinator of the Mediacoach and LaLiga sporting investigation project.

The investigation group, headed up by J.M.Buldu and working in collaboration with Medicoach, began their team identifiability analysis by looking at the 2018/19 season.

The pitch could be divided up endlessly and that is why there is not a single pitch network for each team in each match. The pitch networks depend on the levels in which the pitch is divided i.e. different pitch passing networks are generated according to the number of nodes created.

After analysing all of the games played over the course of the season, the passing networks of each team were compared in order to study which pitch division and which scale best suited each team's passing network. There are some teams for whom particular scales better reflect their playing style, their consistency, whilst for others a greater number of scales are appropriate.

The fun thing about this process is that, after comparing the matrices of each team's passing networks, we can work out how consistent the style is, in other words, how similar an individual team's passing networks are. This analysis offers a valuable insight into whether the team tends to

display repeat behaviour and whether it follows a particular playing style in games.

In addition, the passing network can be compared between the different LaLiga teams. This second level of comparison enables us to gain information about the identifiability of a team's passing network when compared to the rest of the teams i.e. how different this team's passing network is in comparison with the other sides. This analysis allows for different styles to be compared, even within the same game, and to determine which of the two teams managed to impose their style.

The good thing is that this analysis can be carried out for every LaLiga game and it is

Besides these three outfits, whose potential as clubs allows them to impose themselves on their opponents, SD Eibar's behaviour as a visiting side is of note, with the Basque outfit managing to impose their style in 13 games, whilst nobody succeeded in imposing their style on the Armeros in any of the rest of the team's away trips.

Meanwhile, no away team managed to

therefore possible to determine which team was able to impose its style, although this has no bearing at all on the outcome of the game.

To offer a summary of last season (the 2018/19 campaign), it is striking that the three teams that led the way in the league table, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and AtlĂŠtico Madrid, were also the sides that imposed their styles on the highest number of occasions, both at home and on the road, with a pretty significant margin on the rest of the competition's teams.

impose their style at Ipurua, whilst Jose Luis Mendilibar's charges successfully imposed their playing style in eight of their home fixtures.

Under the tutelage of Setien, Real Betis also managed to impose their style in 13 games on home soil and in 10 games on the road. Meanwhile, FC Barcelona and the aformentioned SD Eibar were the only

visiting sides who imposed their style at the Benito Villamarin. game to the opposition and the match context. In this regard, Bordalas's Getafe CF are real standout performers, with neither of the two teams involved in the majority of the Madrilenians' fixtures able to impose their playing style on proceedings.

Real Betis Celebrating

Real Madrid Celebrating

Barcelona Training

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90th

MINUTE quotes

JESE AWARDED MEDAL

FRANCE - Jese Rodriguez has been awarded a Ligue 1 winners medal despite being out on loan at Sporting CP. French league regulations require a player to play at least one minute of football in order to be awarded a medal, and prior to his loan move at the end of August, Jese came on for Choupo-Moting in the 90th minute in a game against Metz.

PSG have been awarded the title after the league’s governing body decided to end the season following a ban on all sporting events in the country until September. This is now Jese Rodriguez’s second league title win after playing just one game, having previously done so in 2011/12 with Real Madrid.

USWNT ROADBLOCK

NORTH AMERICA - The US women’s national team have hit a roadblock in their case on equal pay after a federal judge in California ruled against the players on a number of claims. The players plan to appeal the decision. The lawsuit was launched against US Soccer Federation back in March 2019, with the players seeking over $66 million in damages under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Their allegations of discriminatory working conditions will proceed to court in the meantime, scheduled to take place in mid-June.

“For CR7, it must be boring to hear that I am the real Ronaldo. People cannot be compared. Cristiano will remain in football history for the goals and for the continuity he has achieved. He will remain one of the best, like Messi.” – Ronaldo’s response

INTER'S MONEY PROBLEMS

ITALY - Inter may run into some financial problems in the near future with the possibility of Mauro Icardi returning from his loan at Paris SaintGermain. With the Ligue 1 season now cancelled, PSG will be affected financially by the decision, and may therefore be unable to sign Icardi permanently. This would see Inter lose out on the €80 million agreement made between the two clubs as well as burden them with an additional €14 million a season in wages. A significant dent would be made to their budget, one that would have to be filled by selling one of their soughtafter star players: Lautaro Martinez or Milan Skriniar, if they are unable to find another suitor for Icardi.

on being called the ‘Real Ronaldo’ when asked by Fabio Cannavaro on an Instagram Live.

“We had a week off in January, we returned to work and I swear that 23 out of 25 players were ill. I am not kidding.

We played against Radja Nainggolan’s Cagliari and after about 25 minutes, one of our defenders [Skriniar] had to leave the pitch. He could not continue and almost fainted.

Everyone was coughing and had a fever…We never did the Covid-19 tests at that moment, so we’ll never know for sure.”

• Not since Wayne Rooney (34) in 2011-12 has an Englishman scored more goals in a single campaign for Manchester United than Marcus Rashford (19).

• Lionel Messi scored his first professional goal on May 1, 2005 against Albacete.

• The youngest player to feature in a Premier League game is Harvey Elliot, who at 16 years and 30 days debuted for Fulham against Wolverhampton in May 2019.

ILLITERATE FRANK

– Inter striker Romelu Lukaku thinks

that coronavirus may have spread through the team back in January as many fell ill.

MORE SUBS ?

WORLD - FIFA has proposed a temporary change to the laws for the end of the season which would allow clubs to make five substitutions in a game. Given the amount of games remaining and the short amount of time to finish the season, there will be a compact schedule. Teams will have to play twice a week for several weeks to ensure all games are completed. A high number of matches in a short time frame means there is an increased risk of injury for the players and so FIFA have proposed this new law. In order for this to go into effect it needs to be approved by the International Football Association Board. If approved, it will then be up to the individual leagues to decide on whether or not to implement the changes.

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DID YOU KNOW?

SOCCER360 SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION - MAY/JUNE 2020

ITALY - Fiorentina’s Franck Ribery has had an interesting quarantine. The French winger was mocked online by a television star, portraying him as stupid and illiterate and is now thinking of suing. It’s not all bad though as the Frenchman also received some praise. A French rapper named Kofs has labelled Ribery a hero after stepping in to rescue the musician’s mother who showed symptoms of coronavirus. He flew her from Algiers to her home in Marseille, and paid for her medical treatment. On top of that, he has also donated €50,000 to hospitals in Florence, where he now lives.

DUTCH COURAGE

NETHERLANDS - The Eredivisie 2019/20 season has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte decided to ban professional football until September. Given the circumstances, the league has decided there will be no champion and no team will be relegated. Both Ajax and AZ Alkmaar were level on points at the top of the table, with Ajax leading on goal difference.

The French league were also forced into making a similar decision after sporting events were banned until September. However, they decided to crown PSG as champions, relegate the bottom two clubs to Ligue 2 and promote the top two teams from Ligue 2.

NO PHLEGM, THANK YOU

WORLD - Spitting could be banned if and when football returns.

FIFA’s Medical Committee chairman warned that the practice could spread coronavirus on the football pitch. The offence may be punishable by a yellow card. Monitoring it though will be a difficult task as it has become common practice amongst footballers. It will also be interesting to see what other measures will be put in place as the players obviously won’t be able to socially distance themselves from each other.

PLEASE FORGIVE ME

#PLAYERSTOGETHER

ENGLAND - The Premier League has launched an online FIFA tournament to help raise funds for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) with the prize fund being donated to the #PlayersTogether initiative. This initiative was created by Premier League players as a collective way of generating funds for the NHS and distributing them where they are needed most. The competition involves Premier League footballers and special guests representing all 20 clubs. The inaugural invitational tournament saw Wolverhampton’s Diogo Jota crowned champion, defeating Trent Alexander-Arnold in the final. The Portuguese forward won the title with a Golden Goal by Raul Jimenez.

ENGLAND - Images and videos of Everton striker Moise Kean’s house party during a national lockdown went viral on social media leaving the club fuming. Everton released an official statement condemning Kean’s actions and stressed the importance of following government guidelines. Kean wasn’t the only one disobeying lockdown rules with Manchester City’s Kyle Walker caught hosting an adult party, and was subsequently fined £250,000 by the club, Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish apologized for visiting a friend’s house and Jose Mourinho upset Tottenham by hosting a training session with three players at a park in North London.

LEBRON BIASED

ENGLAND - LeBron James was asked by a fan during an Instagram Q&A who he enjoyed watching most in football. The Los Angeles Laker initially responded with every player in Jurgen Klopp’s squad, after all he is a minority owner of Liverpool. He then listed his five favourite and unsurprisingly, Messi and Ronaldo are in that list. Joining them are Paris Saint-Germain duo, Neymar and Mbappe with AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic rounding out the top five.

THE GREATEST

SPAIN - Lionel Messi has a wall in his home gym dedicated to the great Muhammad Ali. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner posted footage of his workout during lockdown on social media, and you can clearly see a number of Muhammad Ali photos behind him, including some of his greatest moments in the ring. Messi has shown his admiration for Ali before, wearing Ali shirts on a number of occasions including to one of his contract renewals with Barcelona.

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NEW NAME FOR NOU

ITALY - Alki David, Mike Tyson’s business partner, claims he is in talks for a record breaking deal to buy the naming rights for the Camp Nou. Barcelona recently announced that for the first time in their history they would be selling the naming rights to their stadium.

The money from any deal will go to charity in order to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. Alki, who owns a CBD business with Tyson, hinted that the deal would be worth more than £25 million for the rights. The initial term for the stadium naming rights is just for next season.

ARE YOU UP FOR IT?

ENGLAND - Manchester United are hiring. The Red Devils are looking for a superfan to help run their social media channels and will reportedly be paid a salary of £100,000. The ‘Head of Social Media’ will be tasked with communicating to over 1.1 billion online fans. The club is looking for someone with significant social media experience, someone who is analytical, organized and creative.

“When we get any young lads that come down from the Academy, we always deliberately try to give them a high-ish number. We don’t like to give them a low number in case they sort of think they’ve made it straight away, if you know what I mean…I think he’s so laidback that he’s obviously been given the number and thought, ‘Yeah, that’ll do me, I’ll keep that,’ and not realized how iconic its become over the years.” – Liverpool’s kit

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

ITALY - If and when football returns, the matches will no doubt be played behind closed doors. Because of this, some clubs are considering the idea of using fake crowd noises in order to minimize the loss of home advantage. This technique was used during Valencia’s Champions League second-leg tie against Atalanta. Playing audio over the sound system though won’t solve the other concern of empty seats. In order to tackle this problem, some clubs are looking into covering them.

AUDI FORGET??

management coordinator Lee Radcliffe on Trent AlexanderArnold’s laidback nature regarding his shirt number and why he still wears it.

“Well you know what, we’ve got great opportunities down in Miami. We’ve been contacted by a lot of different players over possibly coming to join the team. As with any owner, you really want the best players and if we have the opportunity to bring in players like Cristiano or Leo… I have such admiration for them as athletes, if we could bring those players in then great.” – David Beckham on the possibility of bringing in Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to Inter Miami and Major League Soccer.

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GERMANY - Bayern Munich star Kinglsey Coman could be fined by the club for driving his £174,000 McLaren to training instead of his Audi. Per the club’s sponsorship deal with Audi, the players are required to arrive to training in their customary Audi vehicles. Coman’s teammates Philippe Coutinho and Niklas Sule were also spotted driving different vehicles, prompting the club’s sporting director to threaten fining the players for not adhering to club rules. The fine for this infringement is believed to be £43,500.

Coman has since apologized to both the club and Audi.

£500M REVAMP??

SPAIN - Real Madrid have shared a video of how the new Santiago Bernabeu Stadium will look after its £500 million revamp. The video shows the retractable roof and 360-degree video screen that will be part of the renovations, while also showing the leisure and entertainment facilities as well as the luxurious private boxes. The club say that construction should be completed by October 2022. In the meantime, if LaLiga returns, Real Madrid will play their remaining games away from the Bernebeu, moving to the Alfredo di Stefano stadium, where their youth team play their games, as they look to take advantage of closed doors to start the renovations.

THEATRE OF BRICKS

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ENGLAND - In celebration of Old Trafford’s 110 year anniversary, LEGO have released a 3898-piece model of ‘ Theatre of Bricks’. The replica model features authentic details including the Munich memorial clock as well as the United Trinity statue. For any Manchester United fan, this could be the perfect activity to pass some time during lockdown. The product can be purchased on LEGO’s official website.

WE’LL STRAIGHTEN IT OUT.

LIFETIME MEMBER

PORTUGAL - Cristiano Ronaldo has been made a lifetime member of his boyhood club while he was quarantining in Portugal. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner began his career as a youth player with CD Nacional on the island of Madeira. The 35-yearold was presented a lifetime membership by the second-division club by former Nacional coach Pedro Talhinhas. While Ronaldo only spent two years in Nacional’s youth system, before moving to Sporting CP, his presence is very much felt across the island. He has his personal museum, a hotel named after him and the infamous bronze statue once stood outside Madeira airport, before being replaced with a better version.

DID YOU KNOW? • Alphonso Davies has the highest successful take on rate this season in the Bundesliga amongst all players with at least 100 take ons.

• Schalke are unbeaten this season in all seven matches Suat Serdar has scored.

KIT DESIGN VIRTUAL LIVE EVENT COMPETITION

ITALY - AC Milan partnered with Roc Nation to stage a virtual live event paying tribute to workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic in Italy and beyond. The event was hosted by Grammy Award winning producer DJ Khaled and included performances by Alicia Keys, Kelly Rowland, Robin Thicke and others. The funds raised throughout the event went towards the global humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief and Milan’s philanthropic foundation, Fondazione Milan.

ITALY - Italian Serie B side Pescara Calcio launched a kit-design competition during Italy’s lockdown to help children avoid boredom. After receiving hundreds of applications, six-year-old Luigi D’Agostino’s design won. Luigi’s design features a dolphin, which is the club’s symbol, playing with a ball and a rainbow on the team’s traditional blue.

The winning kit will be the club’s official pregame jersey and will feature “By Luigi” on the sleeve.

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SOCCER VIOLENCE - FIXED

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GERMANY - Borussia Monchengladbach fans ordered more than 8000 cardboard cut-outs of themselves to fill the stadium in the event that the Bundesliga returns behind closed doors. Unable to attend the stadium and show their support in the usual way, Gladbach fans have participated in great numbers to the clubs ‘Stay at home. Be in the stands’ campaign. For just €19, a fan can get a cardboard version of themselves installed in the stands, with the proceeds going to local charities.

quotes

VIRTUAL TICKETS

“I’m trying not to eat a lot.

I’m trying not to go into the pantry to eat a lot of buns, but it’s not easy.” – Eden Hazard

GERMANY - A German lower league soccer club raised more than €70,000 to help keep them afloat during the lockdown. BFC Dynamo, based in Berlin, created a virtual matchday on FIFA 20 for their fans, where the club took on “FC Corona Covid-19.” The money raised will help the club through the difficult financial times they are currently facing due to the lack of matchday revenue. Over 4000 people watched the live broadcast on YouTube with fans purchasing virtual tickets priced between €1 and €50.

has admitted that he’s struggling to keep to his diet plan while in quarantine.

DINNER WITH BECKS

“The club has told us that they will appeal the decision, and they are 100% convinced that they are in the right. We’ll wait and see what happens. Once there’s a final decision I will look at it. Two years would be long. One year is something I might be able to cope with.”

NORTH AMERICA - David Beckham is giving fans a chance to play a five-a-side charity match with him and raise funds to help feed those in need during the current pandemic. The offer is part of the “All In Challenge” where athletes and celebrities come up with special fan experiences to raise money for charities.

Alongside a game of five-a-side, the winner will also have lunch with Beckham and watch an Inter Miami game from the owner’s suite. Austin FC co-owner Matthew McConaughey and LAFC co-owner Will Ferrell are also participating, offering a chance to watch a match with them in the owner’s box.

– Kevin De Bruyne hinted that he

may leave Manchester City if their two-year Champions League ban is upheld.

DID YOU KNOW? • Josef Martinez is one of five players to win both the MLS regular season and MLS Cup MVP awards in the same season.

• Los Angeles Galaxy and Toronto FC are the only two teams to keep a clean sheet in multiple MLS Cup Finals.

WHINING WAYNE

NORTH AMERICA -Wayne Rooney has come out and expressed his dislike of the U.S. style trade system, saying MLS owners are “taking advantage” of American players. Rooney, who spent a year and a half at D.C. United said that while the trade system may work with other American leagues, players in Major League Soccer do not earn enough for the system to be fair.

Athletes in the MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL get paid millions of dollars, so they can afford to move around if traded, whereas in MLS, the salaries are much lower.

KAISERSLAUTERN E-MAIL

“Football comes first, but I want to be an actor eventually.

I like entertaining people, and TikTok gives me the platform to do so.” – Bayern Munich rising star, Alphonso Davies, wants to pursue a career in acting after he retires from football.

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GERMANY - Eintracht Frankfurt and Germany international goalkeeper Kevin Trapp revealed that his professional footballing career all started from an email.

The 29-year-old revealed in an interview that he sent an email to Kaiserslautern after seeing an advert for trials on the club’s website. Kevin, after attending a match between Kaiserslautern and Gladbach, decided to visit the Kaiserslautern website to see if there were any opportunities available and noticed that they were conducting trials. Unfortunately, the club got back to him and told him that it was not possible, but they would contact him in case the opportunity arose again. A year later, they did. He took part in training sessions, put in some good performances and his career took off from there.

LIGA MX & MLS COMBINED

NORTH AMERICA - Alejandro Irarragorri, owner of both Santos Laguna and Atlas of Liga MX, believes that a North American superleague would be beneficial for both Liga MX and MLS in the long term. Irarragorri believes that Major League Soccer model offers an example of sustainable growth, able to attract new ownership groups easier than Liga MX. There have been talks of a combined league for a few years now, and with Liga MX and MLS becoming official partners in 2018 it may very well become reality in the future.

TRIPPED UP

ENGLAND - England and Atletico Madrid defender Kieran Trippier has been charged by the English Football Association for a breach of its betting rules. The alleged misconduct occurred in July 2019. Trippier is adamant that he has not placed any football related bets or received and financial benefit from others betting. One charge relates to players betting on aspects of games or information, including transfers, team selection or the employment of managers. The second charge relates to providing football related information obtained through his position which is not publicly available at the time for betting purposes.

HE'S NOT DEAD, YET

GERMANY - Former Schalke youth player Hiannick Kamba was presumed dead four years ago after reportedly being killed in a car crash on a trip to his home country, DR Congo. However, he was recently found alive in Germany and now finds himself in the centre of a fraud investigation. At the time of his “passing”, Kamba was playing for eighth-tier side VfB Huls, who paid tribute to the player and mourned his death. Kamba’s ex-wife is being investigated for fraud after reportedly cashing in on a six-figure life insurance payment, with Kamba himself set to be a witness in the investigation, claiming he had no idea of his wife’s actions.

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MR. FIXIT

SPAIN - Angel Vizcay, former Osasuna executive, has been sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison for match-fixing. He was found guilty of sporting fraud, misappropriation and falsifying documents and accounts.

Vizcay was one of nine people found guilty of conspiring to fix matches in order to help Osasuna avoid relegation during the 2013/14 campaign. Included in the nine are former Real Betis players Antonio Amaya and Xabier Torres, who have each been handed a one year prison sentence, a €900,000 fine, and have been disqualified from football for two years. The sentences can be appealed in Spain’s Supreme Court.

BEER IS GOOD

SPAIN - Samir Nasri was given a lot of freedom while he was at Sevilla by his former coach Jorge Sampaoli. The Argentine manager had no problem with Nasri going out drinking and to nightclubs as long as he performed on the pitch. In fact, Nasri revealed that Sampaoli used that as a selling point to convince him to join the team. It worked.

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DON'T TELL THE WIFE

SPAIN - Martin Braithwaite joined Barcelona from Leganes for €18 million back in February after the Catalans were granted special permission to do so following the injury to Ousmane Dembele. While the move may have surprised some, none were more surprised than Martin’s friends and family. Upon hearing of Barcelona’s initial interest through his agents, Martin decided not to tell anyone to avoid being distracted from his Leganes duty, plus he didn’t want to get people excited. He didn’t even tell his wife, who only found out about it a few days before signing through the media after it was leaked.

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“I really like the league.

It’s grown so much over the years… The clubs are improving, also the facilities are improving and the stadiums are improving. It’s a league that’s on the up and still rising, and I think a lot more players want to come over to America now to play.

I’d definitely be interested in it. I love going to Los Angeles on holiday.” – Gareth Bale

VROOM, VROOM - QUIETLY

GERMANY - Motorsport racing, like football, has been put on hold amid the coronavirus outbreak. To make up for the lack of racing, and to keep fans engaged, Formula 1 has launched a Virtual Grand Prix series for the cancelled race weekends. For every weekend a race was scheduled, Formula 1 hosts a Virtual GP in its stead. The 20 participants, representing the 10 teams, include a number of current F1 drivers, athletes, celebrities and racers from other series.

A few footballers have taken part in the series, with Thibaut Courtois, Ciro Immobile, AC Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli, Sergio Aguero and Barcelona’s Arthur Melo all vying for a podium. Unfortunately, and perhaps unsurprisingly, none of them managed to finish in the top 10.

BMO MEAL DONATION

NORTH AMERICA - BMO Field, the home of Toronto FC, is playing a big role in supporting the city’s front-line healthcare workers and the city’s most vulnerable people. Their ownership group, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, have launched a meal donation program where they are able to make 13,000 meals per day during the current pandemic. BMO Field’s food preparation facilities are being used to help prep the meals, with a number of employees joining to provide manpower. A number of other MLS clubs have also launched initiatives to support the local fight, from selling masks to raise funds to setting up relief funds to provide financial assistance and provide food for the hungry.

expresses his interest in playing in Major League Soccer in the future.

BUILD MUST GO ON

NORTH AMERICA - Despite the Coronavirus outbreak, construction of FC Cincinnati’s new West End Stadium is ongoing. There have been no delays in construction, meaning the stadium is still set to open in 2021. The $250 million project will have a capacity between 25,000 and 26,000. Given the current situation and the uncertain economic climate, the club’s executives are spending a lot of time strategizing and making adjustments to the final design.

“We are two points behind Barcelona, so it’s still possible we can be champions. If they decide to stop the competition and Barcelona are named champions, I wouldn’t find it completely right. They drew once against us and lost once, so we showed them that we’re a better team.” – Thibaut Courtois does not believe Barcelona should be crowned champions if LaLiga cannot continue.

DIFFERENT SHOTS

WORLD - While most people are spending their lockdown at home with family, Tottenham forward Son Heung-Min returned to South Korea to undergo a mandatory four-week training with the military. All men from South Korea must complete military service by the age of 28. Son, who turns 28 in July, earned exemption from the mandatory 21-month service after leading his country to gold at the 2018 Asian Games. However, he is still required to serve for four weeks and has decided to do so while football is in lockdown.

GOOD TO GO

DID YOU KNOW? • Josef Martinez is one of five players to win both the MLS regular season and MLS Cup MVP awards in the same season.

• Los Angeles Galaxy and Toronto FC are the only two teams to keep a clean sheet in multiple MLS Cup Finals.

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GERMANY - The Bundesliga has been given the green light to resume by German chancellor Angela Merkel. The German government has agreed to the return of the Bundesliga in the second half of May, with the league announcing an official restart date of May 16th. The German football league also revealed that over 1700 tests have been carried out on players and staff between the top two tiers of football. The current standings see Bayern Munich on top, four points clear of Borussia Dortmund with RB Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach rounding out the top four.

IT'S DISGUSTING !

ENGLAND - Angel Di Maria’s wife did not enjoy her time in Manchester. Jorgelina confessed that she begged her husband not to sign for Manchester United and that she hated living there, claiming the people are weird and that the food is disgusting.

Luckily for her, Di Maria’s time at Old Trafford lasted just one year before heading to Paris Saint-Germain.

Di Maria also didn’t seem to enjoy his time at the club, hitting out at them on a number of occasions since his exit. One of his PSG teammates said that Di Maria can’t even watch United on TV.

XAVING A GOOD TIME

NORTH AMERICA - Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi believes Lionel Messi will play into his late 30s. The pair enjoyed huge success at Barcelona, winning seven LaLiga titles and four Champions League trophies together.

Despite his age, Messi has shown no signs of slowing down, having scored 24 goals already this season. Regardless of when that day comes, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner will go down as one of the greatest footballers of all time.

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NEW MAN UTD PLAYER RESPONSIBLITIES

ENGLAND - The return of football means new protocols will have to be followed and new habits will have to be formed. For Manchester United this means the players will have more responsibilities. The players have to arrive to training alone, work in small groups, and then shower at home. They will also be required to take their own kits home and wash them there, as the laundry facilities are not available at the club. This may be a bit of an adjustment for some, especially if they’ve gotten used to being pampered.

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A COUPLE OF MY FAVOURITES

WORLD - Cesc Fabregas, during a Q&A on twitter revealed the best teammates he’s played with during his career. The 32-year-old has played for Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea and now finds himself at Monaco in Ligue 1. Fabregas has played alongside some truly world-class players over his career so it must have been difficult to single out just one teammate from each team. Nonetheless, the Spaniard replied to the fans question with Thierry Henry at Arsenal, Lionel Messi at Barcelona, Eden Hazard at Chelsea and Radamel Falcao at Monaco.

POSTPONED

SPAIN - The Spanish Football Association are backing the postponement of the Copa del Rey final between Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Sociedad until it is safe for fans to attend. The two Basque clubs released a joint statement clarifying their desire to postpone the match until a date suitable for fans to be in attendance. This is the first time two Basque based clubs have made the final and since it’s a derby, it’s natural that the clubs and fans would want to experience it together. The Spanish FA have assured that the final will be held at the right time during 2020 or 2021, before the end of the next season.

WE'RE WATCHING

SPAIN - Eight LaLiga clubs, including Barcelona, Atletico de Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla, will have their transfer activity monitored by the Spanish state after activating ERTEs. An ERTE is a temporary redundancy scheme in Spain which is activated by a state of emergency where businesses lose access to their profits. This means that businesses must rely on state aid to pay their employees. Since eight clubs took advantage of the program, their transfer activity will now need to be sanctioned by the Spanish state with the Ministry of Labour and Finance inspecting the finances.

The other 12 clubs decided to not use the ERTEs, instead agreeing to salary reductions with their senior players without impacting other areas of the club.

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90th

MINUTE quotes VIDAL STATISTIC

SPAIN - Could Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal be headed to Major League Soccer? There are a number of growing reports that the Chilean wants to leave the Camp Nou, especially after falling down the pecking order this season. While Vidal has been rumoured with a reunion with Antonio Conte at Inter, the 32-year-old reposted an Instagram post about the impact he would have on MLS if he moved to the United States. He quickly deleted the post after speculation over his future increased on social media. Vidal’s current deal with Barcelona expires June 2021.

NO CASH - STOP WORK

SPAIN - Villarreal have decided to delay the scheduled redevelopment of their home stadium this summer. The stadium was due to undergo significant renovations before the start of the 2020/21 season, which included the expansion of one of the stands. The main reason for work being suspended by the club is due to the financial impact of the covid-19 pandemic, and since each area of the redevelopment is dependent on each other, it would be too costly to proceed ahead with construction.

“FIFA like everyone else. I tried Call of Duty with a bunch of people, but my level is way lower than the other guys so I quit.” – Colorado Rapids striker Kei Kamara on what video games he's been playing while on lockdown.

PRISON FOR RONALDINHO

“I have some advice for him, before learning Italian, he should review the general concepts of respect, as there are colleagues who, despite the many difficulties of the moment, are trying to finish the season in a professional way, putting the good of Milan to their professional pride.” – Paolo Maldini hits out

WORLD - Ronaldinho and his brother were arrested in Paraguay in March for attempting to enter the country using falsified Paraguayan passports. The fake passport listed Ronaldinho’s correct name, birthplace, and birthdate, but it falsely stated that he is a naturalized citizen of Paraguay. His trip to the country was allegedly to promote a charity that provides medical assistance to low-income children, while also to promote his book. The pair spent over a month in prison before posting a $1.6 million bail. They remain on house arrest in the capital until the authorities conclude their investigation. While in prison, Ronaldinho participated in and won a futsal tournament.

at Ralf Rangnick for requesting full managerial powers in order to accept a role at the club. Gazidis is looking to bring the German onboard for yet another project reset at AC Milan, where Rangnick is asking for full managerial powers in both the sports and technical areas.

WE'LL TAKE YOU

WORLD - The Algerian Football Federation may approach Real Madrid goalkeeper Luca Zidane over switching his allegiances from France. The French born keeper has represented Les Blues at every youth level from U16 to U20. According to reports, Algeria manager Daniel Belmadi has already met with the 21-year-old, who is eligible to represent the North African country through his father. Luca is currently on loan at second division side Racing Santander with his Real Madrid contract expiring in June.

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PAY UP !

NEW STADIUM

ITALY - Inter and Milan recently presented plans for their new stadium which includes restyling the existing Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Two different projects have been presented to the city of Milan for consideration. Both projects would build the new stadium in what is currently a parking lot while repurposing the existing stadium to become part of the overall project. These new proposals come after a number of conditions were added in November. The projects include around 106,000 square meters of green space, almost double what it currently is, filled with running tracks, an outdoor gym and five-a-side pitches.

ITALY - Sampdoria have reported Sporting CP to FIFA over an unpaid sell-on fee of €4.6 million from Bruno Fernandes’ transfer to Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes spent one season at the Blucerchiati before moving to Portugal in the summer of 2017. During those negotiations, the two clubs agreed to a sell on fee, one that Sampdoria have yet to receive. However, the Lisbon-based club maintain that they do not owe anything because Fernandes signed a new contract in 2018, rendering the previous one obsolete and thus the sell-on clause is no longer valid.

FOREIGN MONEY

ITALY - Serie A may see some foreign investment in its future.

According to reports, two private equity groups are in separate talks to invest in the Lega Serie A. One of these groups, CVC Capital Partners, are interested in purchasing a 20 per cent stake in the league for €2 billion, valuing the entire league at €10 billion. This would give them a role in selling broadcasting rights.

The other interested party, Blackstone, are ready to lend money to clubs to help them cover their costs during the lockdown and suspension of fixtures.

DIFFERENT BALLS

ITALY - Justin Kluivert of AS Roma has revealed that he wanted to become a tennis player before deciding to pursue a career in football and follow in his father’s footsteps. He spent much of his childhood dreaming about playing tennis, but with his father and brother playing football frequently, he automatically became passionate about it. Kluivert signed for Roma in July 2018 from Ajax for €17.5 million.

DID YOU KNOW? • Fabio Quagliarella has scored double digit goals in eight Serie A seasons. He is currently one goal away from making it nine.

• Lazio has scored more goals (20) than any other Serie A opponent this season from a dead ball situation.

• Real Madrid have won the last seven Champions League finals they’ve appeared in.

LET'S FIND THESE KIDS

IDIOT FRIENDS

GERMANY - Hertha Berlin have suspended Salomon Kalou with immediate effect after filming himself breaking hygiene rules and singing a song about coronavirus. The video showed him fist-bumping teammates, barging into colleague’s swab tests and complaining about a pay cut all while singing a song about the contagion. The 34-year-old has since apologized for his actions.

THE BIGGEST GAME

ITALY - Atalanta captain Papu Gomez has helped launch a new charity project called The Biggest Game, with athletes from all over the world, and from different sports, donating items. Over 100 athletes have joined the cause. The project was set up with Shirtum and is an online raffle for whatever items the athletes have decided to donate. Items donated include, original jerseys and shoes. Some participants include Giorgio Chiellini, Virgil van Dijk, Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta, and Dani Alves.

ITALY - About a year ago AS Roma started a social media campaign to help find missing young people, calling it the ‘Football Cares’ initiative. Each transfer announcement was accompanied by a missing person case, in an effort to spread awareness and hopefully reunite the missing kids with their loved ones. Now over 50 clubs have been inspired by this and on May 25, International Missing Children’s Day, FIFA, the European Club Association and others have decided to follow suit and use their social media.

IT'S NOT FAIR

ITALY - Sinisa Mihajlovic has reached out to UEFA insisting that Sporting CP have not paid the €3 million he’s owed for unfair dismissal, and so should be frozen from participating in European competitions. Mihajlovic was hired by Sporting in June 2018 but was then fired less than nine days later following a boardroom coup within the club. After some back and forth, the current Bologna coach won the case in the employment tribunal and Sporting CP were ordered to pay €3 million in compensation.

ROMAN UPSET

ITALY - Alessandro Florenzi recently spoke about the infamous night in Rome, when they overturned a 4-1 deficit to defeat Barcelona and advance to the Champions League semi-finals. Speaking of that night, the full-back revealed that following the first leg all but one of them believed they could progress.

The only one who didn’t believe, was the one who scored the decisive goal.

Manolas nodding in a corner, knocking Barcelona out on away goals.

WORLD - Despite the European Championship being postponed to June 2021, it will still be called Euro 2020.

The decision was made in order to “not generate additional amounts of waste.” A number of branded material has already been produced. The tournament will mark the 60th anniversary of the European Championships as the first event was held in 1960.

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THE LAST WORD

TIME FOR REFORM T

he world will probably have changed forever after the coronavirus pandemic has passed, but it’s up to all of us now to make sure we take the positives from this dire situation and come out the other side with a renewed appraisal for what is truly important. That does not mean football or sport in general is not important, quite the contrary. It’s about appreciating the joy something brings and recognising how we can make it better for everyone involved.

I personally hope we come out of this with businesses realising working from home is entirely feasible with modern technology, which in turn will cut down costly, time-consuming and environmentally-damaging commutes, not to mention take off some of the insane premium that is given to real estate in big cities. I desperately want us to start truly paying healthcare and essential workers the wages they deserve and reward them with far more than just applause once a week.

In terms of football, I can only hope we cut some of the ridiculous excess around the sport and learn to live within our means. It cannot be possible that clubs are prepared to pay millions in transfer fees, along with agent commissions, only to be on the verge of bankruptcy if one TV rights payment is missed. Financial Fair Play is too open to interpretation and ripe for abuse. There remain sides who build their success on a house of cards that could come crashing down at any minute, and others who scrape by constantly on the knife edge of economic oblivion.

The rush to get players to cut their salaries the moment sport ground to a halt was pure populism, blaming the young men who we make stars. If they are paid those wages, it’s because the clubs believe they’ll bring in even more money in revenue whether through performances, image rights or sponsorship deals. Their agents only ask for what the market tells them they can get. It’s a bit rich for Presidents or the media to treat them like selfish, greedy figures when they are the ones obsessed with making a big splash on the transfer market rather than building a long-term project. Throw money at the problem and then ask for it back. Well done the Premier League players who refused to simply hand over their salaries without knowing where that money would go, instead banding together to contribute to local health services and charities themselves. They knew it’d do little other than protect the pockets of the club owners, who were busy furloughing staff left, right and centre.

Who knows when we’ll have fans back in the stands?

“We should take the lessons of the lockdown all over the globe to get football back to basics.”

No, we should take the lessons of the lockdown all over the globe to get football back to basics, cut off the fat and focus on what makes this the most popular sport in the world. That means fewer games, fewer clubs and fewer tournaments. I’m looking at you, Nations League, along with whatever the League Cup is called nowadays in England and the proposed third UEFA club competition that will somehow be even less interesting or prestigious than the Europa League. Cut the domestic divisions down to 16 teams, 18 maximum, so there is genuine competition and you don’t automatically know who is getting relegated within the first two months of the season. Keep transfer fees down and pass the savings on to the fans by reducing the ridiculous cost of tickets. If clubs are weak or unable to make themselves a viable business, then merge to create something that can last. The fans will be annoyed at first, but that’s better than disappearing entirely or pinning all your hopes on some oil-rich and morality-deficient owner to come swooping in. They always fly off again the moment they get bored or something else comes along to act as a giant tax dodge.

Let us reward the virtuous clubs who run on their own steam, nurture talent in their youth academies and connect with the community they are based in. Atalanta have shown it’s a model that works, reaching the Champions League quarterfinals. Bergamo was the city hit hardest in Italy by the COVID-19 outbreak and some epidemiologists point to the AtalantaValencia Round of 16 match at San Siro as one of the main flashpoints for the spread of the virus. Around 40,000 travelled to Milan for that game, returning to Bergamo a mass of celebrating, hugging and kissing for the 4-1 victory, staying up well into the night to fill the streets and mark an historic occasion. They weren’t to know what would happen, that just over a month later they’d see a convoy of military trucks driving down the main road, carrying coffins to other regions because the local crematorium was overwhelmed.

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THE FORCED LOCKDOWN CAN BE AN IDEAL OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY WHAT HAS GONE WRONG WITH THE SPORT AND HOW IT CAN BE MADE MORE SUSTAINABLE, ARGUES SUSY CAMPANALE

The financial hit of the lockdown means the end of insane transfer fees

Some even suggested giving Atalanta the Serie A title as a sign of rebirth in Bergamo, but they wouldn’t have accepted it anyway. We will see those fans, players and staff get back out there on to the football pitch, all together in their impressive newly-refurbished stadium, and it will be the greatest victory of all.

Clubs must learn to be self-sufficient and not rely on TV rights or foreign investors

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