Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i World Soccer

Looking back over almost 60 years of World Soccer, there are many examples of outrage at the latest world-record transfer. Football has a habit of repeating itself; indeed, “Nothing new under the sun” would be a good title for our Archives feature. But there is something altogether different and more troubling about the purchase by Paris Saint-Germain – or rather Qatar – of Neymar, and their attempts to bypass UEFA’s Financial Fairplay rules by taking Kylian Mbappe “on loan” from Monaco. There is something troubling about the purchase by Paris Saint- Germain – or rather Qatar – of Neymar The deals are a grubby landgrab and should surely be challenged by UEFA. But then there is little romance left in the Champions League, which we preview this month (starting page…

JUAN MATA The Manchester United midfielder launched a campaign to persuade his fellow professionals to follow his example and donate one per cent of their income to charity. SAMANTHA KERR Became the first player in America’s NWSL to score more than three goals in a game when she scored four times in the first half of Sky Blue’s 5-4 win against Seattle Reign. ANTOINE GRIEZMANN The French forward was persuaded to stay at Atletico Madrid and admitted it would be “a blow” to leave after the club’s transfer ban was upheld. DINO NDLOVU Scored the away goal that secured victory over Copenhagen and sealed Qarabag’s place in the Champions League group stage – a first for a team from Azerbaijan. EDGAR DAVIDS & PATRICK KLUIVERT The former Holland internationals joined…

Return of the pragmatists It’s very easy, perhaps particularly so in a world in which everybody always has to have an opinion on everything, to be seduced by novelty, to believe that what has just happened has changed the world forever, that a recent innovation is the new normal. When Pep Guardiola was dominating at Barcelona, preaching the doctrine of juego de posicion, it seemed both thrillingly radical and at the same time a logical evolution of the style of football Johan Cruyff had laid down as the Barca blueprint in the early 1990s. For a while, probably until Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund counter-attacked their way to victory over Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals in 2013, possession was king. Football, for a brief while, became…

“I am not saying buy 10 players. I’d love to see two or three – and not players you have to Google and say, ‘Who’s that?’” Tottenham Hotspur’s Danny Rose offers his club some transfer advice Guangzhou Evergrande may already be missing Paulinho but even fans of the Chinese Super League champions see that the Brazilian’s move to Barcelona marks a significant step in recognition for the country’s domestic club scene. Not that they wanted to sell him. “Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club remain resolute in our transfer plan of Paulinho,” read a club statement in July. “We will never sell him mid-season.” Tottenham Hotspur followers may have been surprised when Barca paid €40m for a player who struggled in London from 2013 to 2015, but the 29-yearold’s transfer was well…

How to replace Delgado? Supporters are still coming to terms with the fact that skipper Matias Delgado opted to call time on his career just one game into the new campaign. Unable to hold back the tears as he tried to explain his decision, he said he no longer had the fire to carry on. What is the back-story to the club’s new management structure ? It’s been all change at St Jakob-Park, with legendary club striker Marco Streller appointed director of sport and youthteam boss Raphael Wicky handed the first-team reins. The aim is to have at least six to eight homegrown youngsters in the senior squad. What are their chances in Europe? Twice in the last six years they have reached the last 16 of the Champions League…

Can PSG win the Champions League? Domestic success is all well and good, but PSG’s Qatari owners are impatient to lift the Champions League trophy. Coach Unai Emery had a tricky first season in charge and knows he has to deliver this term. The money men pulled out all the stops to get Neymar to the French capital so the pressure is well and truly on. Can Neymar hit the ground running? The Brazilian’s move from Barcelona served notice that PSG have the muscle and pulling power to wrestle such a player away from a footballing institution. Bitter legal wrangling has already started between the two clubs, but his early form in France suggests he’ll be a big success. Could PSG’s best signing be sporting director Antero Henrique? The 49-year-old…

Who calls the shots these days? Italian manager Antonio Conte signed an improved two-year contract during the summer, but rumours still persist of strained relations with director Marina Granovskaia, who is the key channel to owner Roman Abramovich, and sporting director Michael Emenalo. Can Chelsea compete on two fronts? Although they walked away with the Premier League in Conte’s first season, it was the club’s first campaign in 20 years with no midweek European commitment. New recruits Alvaro Morata, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko have added quality, but the summer departure of Nemanja Matic and the continued stand-off with Diego Costa have raised concerns that the squad lacks depth. Will any youngsters get a chance? This summer Chelsea sold a number of talented youngsters, including Nathaniel Chalobah (Watford), Dominic Solanke…

Could the first-timers have been handed a tougher draw? Qarabag are the first Azeri team to compete in the group stage of the Champions League following their victory over Copenhagen in the final qualifying round. But they now face an almost impossible task in a group with Atletico Madrid, Roma and Chelsea. Will international experience count for anything? The club forms the backbone of Azerbaijan’s national team and a recent World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland featured seven Qarabag players, including Brazilian-born midfielder Richard Almeida, who made his debut after being granted Azeri citizenship. What is the club’s background? The club is originally from Agdam in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region but was forced into exile in 1993 following the bloody conflict with Armenia. They now play their European matches to…

Is replacing Retsos impossible? The Piraeus club were hoping to retain 19-year-old defensive all-rounder Panagiotis Retsos for at least another couple of years, but a €15m offer, plus 20 per cent of any sell-on fee, from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen means he will almost certainly depart. Can coach Hasi deliver? Last season, Olympiakos went through no fewer than three coaches and while new boss Besnik Hasi deserves credit for qualifying for the group stage, the Kosovo-Albanian will not last long if results are not forthcoming. The word is that he was only ever a fall-back choice, with owner Evangelos Marinakis preferring Pedro Martins of Portuguese side Vitoria Guimares. How to ensure they are not Greeks bearing gifts ? About to appear in their 18th Champions League group phase, Olympiakos need…

Is there life after Monchi? There were big changes at the Sanchez Pizjuan this summer, not least with longstanding sporting director Monchi moving to Roma and Eduardo Berizzo switching from Celta Vigo to replace Jorge Sampaoli as coach. How will they cope with so many ins and outs this summer? There have been big summer changes under Monchi’s successor as sporting director, Oscar Arias. While the departure of Vitolo to Atletico Madrid (via Las Palmas) was controversial, there were lots of positive arrivals: Simon Kjaer and Sebastien Corchia in defence, Luis Muriel and Nolito up front, and the returning Jesus Navas and Ever Banega in midfield. Can Sevilla make the step up to the Champions League? After five victories in the UEFA Cup/ Europa League, including three in the last…

Is transfer inactivity a problem? Shakhtar won the Ukraine Premier League for the first time in three seasons, but did not strengthen over the summer. Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca still relies on those players, mainly from Brazil, who were signed by his predecessor Mircea Lucescu. Can Fonseca succeed without reinforcements? At the start of this season, Fonseca had serious problems with the motivation of his leading players. Marlos and Taison face little competition for places in the starting XI and their performances have suffered as a result. What would be a good European campaign? The club do not expect to get to the knock-out stage and the deterioration in the quality of their domestic league is undoubtedly a factor. Players may struggle to switch from the slow speeds of the…

Are the new ones just as good? Feyenoord won their first Dutch title in 18 years last season but paid the price for their success as many key players were snapped up by other clubs. They did some shrewd transfer business – bringing in Kevin Diks, Ridgeciano Haps, Jean-Paul Boetius and Sam Larsson – but is it enough for their first Champions League appearance since 2002? Who is first-choice keeper? In Brad Jones and Kenneth Vermeer the Rotterdam club has two number one goalkeepers. Due to injuries, coach Giovanni Van Bronckhorst didn’t have to make a judgment last year. This term he must either make a definite choice or rotate the pair. Will key players stay fit? Van Bronckhorst is desperate that striker Nicolai Jorgensen and central defenders Eric Botteghin…

Will the new faces settle in time? The Turkish champions have made a number of important acquisitions – notably Real Madrid stopper Pepe, Chilean defensive midfielder Gary Medel and Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo – but on early-season form the Black Eagles lack co-ordination. In possession they have looked hesitant, while in defensive mode they are not closing down opponents quickly enough. Can Senol Gunes work his magic? After two consecutive Turkish titles and the last eight of the Europa League last term, the 63-year-old ex-Turkey boss is absolutely revered at Vodafone Park. Has somehow dovetailed fierce competition for places with a happy camp. One step beyond? Missed out on qualification for the knockout phase last term by a single point and showed their mettle with a 3-2 victory away at…

Will a summer of distractions and setbacks take their toll? It was a close season of head-spinning turmoil with the sacking of coach Thomas Tuchel, several key players beginning long periods of rehab, the on-off transfer of marksman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the loss of French forward Ousmane Dembele to Bareclona. Will new boss Bosz settle quickly? Although not the first-choice to replace Tuchel – that was Lucien Favre – Peter Bosz, who was previously coach of Ajax, looks a good fit. Youth development and attacking football are the order of the day, and in marked contrast to the grumpy Tuchel his relaxed man-management style is having a positive effect. Has the bomb attack on the team bus last season had any lasting effect? The players were unhappy at being forced…

THE FAVOURITES A decade after their last European triumph, when they won the 2007 Champions League, Milan and their new Chinese owners will see this season’s Europa League as an ideal opportunity to put down a marker, using it as a platform for a prompt return to past glories. This summer, the Rossoneri have been piecing together a new team, bringing in top-class talent such as Juventus centreback Leonardo Bonucci, Porto striker Andre Silva, Turkish playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu from Bayer Leverkusen, Swiss defender Ricardo Rodriguez from Wolfsburg, Ivorian midfielder Franck Milan see this season’s Europa League as an ideal opportunity to put down a marker Kessie on loan from Atalanta and Villarreal stopper Mateo Musacchio. Add in a trio of teenagers – keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, striker Patrick Cutrone and midfielder…

Turkish football journalists will have far less hot copy now that iconic national coach Fatih “The Emperor” Terim has departed the scene and been replaced by the veteran Romanian, Mircea Lucescu In charge of Turkey for 11 years across three spells, Terim found himself persona non grata after he and his bodyguards were caught trashing a fast-food restaurant in the west-coast resort of Alacati in a no-holds-barred fracas that left five people injured. Terim’s son-in-law Ahmet Baran Cetin, who runs a nearby steakhouse, had reportedly been at odds over a partition wall with kebab shop owner Selahattin Aydogdu, who is the former president of the Adana Demirspor club and once sat on the Turkish FA board. “For a while, a number of non-football issues have been weighing down Terim and…

A ustrian media branded it “La Decima”, while Germany’s Kicker compared the team to Sisyphus, who in Greek mythology was forced to push a boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back and hit him – an action he repeated for eternity. For the 10th time in a row – and all since Red Bull became involved in the club in one guise or another – Salzburg were knocked out of the Champions League in the qualifying stage. This time elimination came in the third round against Rijeka, who last season ended Dinamo Zagreb’s run of 11 successive Croatian league titles. After being held 1-1 at home in the first leg, Salzburg could only manage a goalless draw in the return and went out on away goals –…

“We won’t be frightened to sanction” UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin insists that Financial Fairplay is not dead on the vine Paris Saint-German followed up signing Neymar from Barcelona and breaking the transfer world record with a “loan” deal to acquire French wonderkid Kylian Mbappe from Ligue 1 champions Monaco. The structure of the deal – officially a loan until summer 2018 when Qatar-backed PSG will pay Monaco €140m – is designed to bypass UEFA’s Financial Fairplay regulations but is bound to attract attention from Europe’s governing body over the coming months. The proposed fee for Mbappe would make the Paris-born teenager the third most expensive player in history – after Neymar and another French youngster, Ousmane Dembele, who moved from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona in a deal that could be…

“His strike took him where he wanted. In the interest of clean football, such behaviour should not be rewarded” Former Bayern Munich director of sport Matthias Sammer slams the strong-arm transfer tactics of new Barcelona recruit Ousmane Dembele 1 NIKLAS BENDTNER Rosenborg v Molde A first-time shot with the outside of his right foot that curls inside the far post. 2 CRISTIANO RONALDO Real Madrid v Barcelona Chests the ball to Isco, receives the return pass and cuts inside Gerard Pique before curling a right-foot shot into the far corner. 3 ANTHONY NWAKAEME Hapoel Be’er Sheva v Maribor Meets a dropping ball on the volley from the edge of the area. 4 CRISTIAN PELLERANO Veracruz v Pachuca After a lovely turn from Daniel Villalba, his drag-back wrong-foots his marker and…

“He says I’m not focused enough at the moment. I’ve no idea what he means” Radja Nainggolan slams national coach Roberto Martinez for leaving him out of the Belgium squad IN EUROPE STEVE McCLAREN joined Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv as a consultant, working with Jordi Cruyff – who was a player at Manchester United when the ex-England boss was Alex Ferguson’s assistant. Former Crystal Palace player and manager DOUGIE FREEDMAN returned as sporting director. Hearts director of football CRAIG LEVEIN replaced Ian Cathro as the Scottish side’s manager. Rossi takes Levski job Former Lazio boss DELIO ROSSI took charge of Levski Sofia, replacing Nikolay Mitov who left by mutual consent after the Bulgarian side were knocked out of the Europa League qualifiers. SOUTH AMERICA REINALDO RUEDA, who led Colombian…

Has the selling strategy gone too far? Three members of Benfica’s defensive unit were sold in the summer, bringing in huge transfer fees. But while it is usual for the club to lose one or two big players each season, cashing in on Ederson (Manchester City), Nelson Semedo (Barcelona) and Victor Lindelof (Manchester United) means too much quality may have been siphoned out of the team, leaving a huge hole at the back. Can they take the next step? Benfica make no secret of their goal to dominate domestically and be competitive in Europe, recovering the status that made them famous in the 1960s. The first objective has been achieved, with four straight league titles; now, with two successive qualifications for the Champions League group phase, a place in the…

Can keeper Igor Akinfeev recover from major mistakes? Akinfeev has been number one for both CSKA and the national team for more than a decade, but the keeper made crucial mistakes which ruined Russia’s hopes at the 2014 World Cup and the 2017 Confederations Cup. With CSKA having no real substitute, any instability could cause real problems in defence. Will CSKA finally sign a top forward? The club which once boasted some of the best strikers in the Russian league lacks big talent up front these day. Fans’ favourites Vagner Love and Seydou Doumbia are no longer with the club, and while Vitinho and Fyodor Chalov may eventually fill the gap, it will be difficult to progress in the Champions League without a quality forward. Will CSKA and Spartak followers…

Can they end an early-season crisis? A few months after collecting their 34th league title, Les Mauves began their new domestic campaign in abject fashion, picking up just four points from a possible 12 with disjointed, sterile performances. It has been their worst start to a season since 1998 and some feel they have lost their hunger and become complacent. How thick is coach Rene Weiler’s skin? Despite winning the title in his first year, Weiler was criticised last term for his side’s lack of panache and he is under attack again for not getting the best out of new midfield regulator Sven Kums, a former Belgian Player of the Year who was with Watford last term. Has the notion of being a “selling club” taken root? The days when…

Can they manage to stay in the hunt until January? The transfer embargo imposed by FIFA for signing under-age players runs until January 2018. By then, Atletico hope to have re-signed Diego Costa from Chelsea and will also be able to recall midfielder Vitolo, who joined from Sevilla this summer and was loaned to Las Palmas. How will Atletico adapt to life in their new stadium? Diego Simeone’s side are due to play their first competitive game in their new Wanda Metropolitano stadium in mid-September after leaving Vicente Calderon, their home for the past 51 years. The first Champions League game in the 67,000-seat arena is against Chelsea on September 27. Will Simeone give youth a chance? The transfer embargo forced the club to divert summer transfer resources into contract…

Can they lay the ghosts of last term? Under coach Max Allegri, there has been impressive progress, both as a club and a team, with Juve reaching two of the last three Champions League Finals and establishing their position on the front row of the European starting grid. However, did the comprehensive nature of their second half collapse in Cardiff to Real Madrid leave any psychological scars? Will they save all their best efforts for the Champions League? What’s another scudetto, when you’ve won the last six? The group ties with Barcelona, the side they eliminated in the quarter-finals last season and against whom they lost the 2015 Final in Berlin, may reveal much. Is there life after Bonucci and Alves? Even if Juve have a stellar attack, based around…

Can Fabio Coentrao find his mojo? Plagued by injury at Real Madrid, the leftback controversially signed for Sporting, having previously stated he would only ever play in Portugal again if it was for his previous club Benfica. Still searching for full fitness, a positive season may get him on the plane to the Russia World Cup. Can Jesus restore his reputation? The charismatic 63-year-old Jorge Jesus played a huge part in restoring Benfica to the top of the tree in Portugal before sensationally switching to Sporting in the summer of 2015. However, things have been far tougher for him in the green half of Lisbon. After coming close to ending Sporting’s 15-year wait for a title in his first season, last year’s campaign was a disaster. As Portugal’s highest paid…

Who needs Coutinho? Brazilian Philippe Coutinho was absent from Liverpool’s early season games as the club continued its stand-off with Barcelona over his transfer, and in his absence – notably in the Champions League qualifiers against Hoffenheim – the front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and summer signing Mohamed Salah performed exceptionally well. Can Liverpool compete on two fronts? Jurgen Klopp steered Liverpool back into the Champions League in his first full season in charge but last year the German benefitted from a lack of European competition. Liverpool will enjoy the advantage of a lively atmosphere at Anfield on European nights but the Champions League campaign will stretch Klopp’s squad. Can Klopp sort out the team’s defensive problems? Throughout the summer, Liverpool were desperate to sign Southampton’s Virgil Van…

Will any club ever spend as much on defenders as City did this summer? A new keeper (Ederson) and three fullbacks (Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker and Danilo) cost £152m. Boss Pep Guardiola will hope Ederson proves an adequate replacement for the exiled Joe Hart while the full-backs will offer him some much-needed dynamism on the flanks. Now that Guardiola has his players, can he deliver? Last year was the first trophy-less season in his coaching career. The new arrivals mean that he now has similar quality to his squads at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, so the pressure is on. How will UEFA view City’s latest spending spree? City’s only European trophy was the 1970 Cup-winners Cup and success in the Champions League remains the yardstick for the club’s Abu Dhabi…

How will Monaco fare after losing the spine of last year’s impressive team? With Tiemoue Bakayoko, Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy gone, and others such as Kylian Mbappe set to follow, coach Leonardo Jardim had the tough task of rebuilding his team while defending the league title against the might of PSG. As is the Monaco way, players full of potential have been brought in – but will they be able to handle the pressure? Can Radamel Falcao continue last season’s sparkling form? The Colombian scored 21 goals in 29 games last term and looks set to shoulder the main attacking burden once more. Can Monaco keep moving forward? Last season Monaco made the semifinals, beating Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City along the way. It’s hard to imagine a severely…

Has constant transfer speculation unsettled their main men? Turning down huge bids for Naby Keita and Emil Forsberg this summer was a huge statement of intent from the club but it also contains an element of risk if players are unsettled by the speculation. Keita will be off at the end of this season, joining Liverpool after they agreed to pay his £48m release clause. Can they maintain the momentum? After sensationally steering promoted RB to the runners-up spot last season, coach Ralph Hasenhuttl’s big task this term will be how to deal with the twin-challenges of domestic and European football. But if anyone can make the necessary adjustments, it is the thoughtful Austrian. Bundesliga or Europe? Conventional wisdom is that Champions League newcomers tend to put all their eggs…

Groundhog day for Spurs? After last season’s disappointment – when they lost out to Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen, and were the only seeded team not to make the last 16 – Tottenham were handed another tough draw. Will late transfer business backfire on Daniel Levy? Spurs chairman Levy is famed for running a very tight ship and likes to leave all his transfer business to the last minute. A late deal for record signing Davinson Sanchez from Ajax continued that trend, which could again make life difficult for manager Mauricio Pochettino. How will Spurs break the Wembley Stadium hoodoo? Any hope supporters had that the problems encountered when playing European games at Wembley would be less pronounced this season – with all Spurs’ home games being staged at the national…

How much would going to Russia make up for the disappointment of the 2006 campaign, when qualification was lost right at the end of what looked to be a comfortable campaign? The motivation for me is that, maybe, 2006 I thought [South African football] would be receptive to some of the things I wanted to do, but we weren’t. Maybe I was naive but I certainly think there has been a slight wind of change in the game here. I think the league has developed and the association have been saying to me they want to do certain things now, so I’m hoping we will get those things that I wanted to do the first time, finished. Hopefully that will lead to the country taking part in a major championship.…

T he group stage of the two African club competitions was thrown into disarray on the weekend of the final round of games after FIFA suspended Sudan and its three entrants – with El Hilal El Obeid later being reinstated. Al Hilal and Al Merrikh forfeited their final games in the Champions League – although both were partly responsible for their plight as they took an active role in the struggle for control of the Sudan Football Association (SFA) that led to the suspension, albeit on opposite sides of a battle for power. The FIFA ban was a result of the Sudanese government’s attempts to remove SFA president Muatasim Gafer and came just days before Al Hilal were due to host Ferroviario Beira of Mozambique and Al Merreikh were away…

EUROPE UEFA SUPER CUP Aug 8 - Skopje, Macedonia Real Madrid (Spa) 2 (Casemiro 24, Isco 52) Manchester United (Eng) 1 (Lukaku 62) HT: 1-0. Att: 30,421. Ref: Rocchi (Ita) Real Madrid: Navas - Carvajal, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Bale (Marco Asensio 74), Benzema (Cristiano Ronaldo 83), Isco (Lucas Vazquez 74). Manchester United: De Gea - Valencia, Lindelof, Smalling, Darmian, Ander Herrera (Fellaini 56), Matic, Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Lukaku, Lingard (Rashford 46). UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 3rd qualifying round (teams with asterisk entered at this stage) 1st legs - Jul 25/26; 2nd legs - Aug ½ AEK Athens* (Gre) v CSKA Moscow* (Rus) 0-2, 0-1 (agg 0-3); Astana (Kaz) v Legia Warsaw (Pol) 3-1, 0-1 (agg 3-2); Celtic (Sco) v Rosenborg (Nor) 0-0, 1-0 (agg 1-0); Club Brugge* (Blg)…

“He is very humble and takes everything with ease. It’s soon to say about the Ballon d’Or, but I think so” Lucas Vazquez (left) on team-mate Marco Asensio’s future prospects “It’s only a useful tool if it’s used sparingly. In football, not every contact in the box is a penalty” Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon says VAR decision-making is a “monster” Marco ASENSIO (Real Madrid) The 21-year-old midfielder staked his claim for a starting place this season with match-winning performances in the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona. He scored in both legs, including an astonishing volley in the second game. His goal in the first leg continued his remarkable record of scoring on his debut in every competition for Madrid. Donny VAN DE BEEK (Ajax) The highly rated 20-year-old midfielder was…

Bonucci is the transfer deal of the summer, not Neymar A monstrous fee of €222million marked out the most expensive transfer of this summer and of all time. And while it will surely weigh heavy on the shimmying shoulders and dancing feet of Neymar, its ramifications will also certainly cascade through the world of soccer. And not in a good way – as the inflated transfer fees being quoted to potential buyers since then have illustrated. Neymar’s switch was, of course, the most talked about of the latest transfer window. How could it not be in its extravagance, its controversy and its sheer folly? But the best deal of the summer? Well, that’s another matter, and judgement will have to wait for the season’s conclusion in May, with national titles…

Only Abo Rida remains from 2010 FIFA ExCo And then there was one. Egypt’s Hany Abo Rida is now the only surviving member of the FIFA Council who was in the old executive committee on December 2, 2010 – the day Sepp Blatter and his merry men voted the 2018 World Cup to Russia and 2022 to Qatar. Abo Rida was left with this singular status – one can hardly call it “honour” – after Angel Maria Villar resigned from his vicepresidency of both FIFA and UEFA following his arrest in Spain on corruption charges. Villar’s fall was dramatic. The former Athletic Bilbao and Spain midfielder had been re-elected in May as president of the Spanish federation (RFEF) for a further four-year term which would have taken him into a…

Rooney: a great talent that was never truly fulfilled It was a bitter irony that Wayne Rooney’s salient international career moment was frustrated by a crude Portuguese tackle in the 2004 European Championship quarter-finals in Lisbon. Till then Rooney seemed to be reaching the crescendo of his talent; the greatest seen of an English player since the doomed Paul Gascoigne. Now, with a record number of goals and a great profusion of caps, he has decided to retire from international football, returning to his local Everton team for which he had once been a sensationally precocious debutant. He had been only 16 when coming on at Goodison Park as a substitute against Arsenal and winning the match with a shot of phenomenal power and accuracy. Sven Goran Eriksson, then England’s…

A leksander Ceferin has a problem with Paris Saint- Germain, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe: no one will be happy with whatever he may say right now about the record-busting transfers in the context of Financial Fairplay (FFP). Ceferin stepped into the French epicentre of the financial earthquake when the European federation, over which he has presided since last September, staged its high-profile seasonal launch in Monaco with the draws for the Champions and Europa Leagues group stages. His predecessor Michel Platini – until he fell foul of disloyal payments, ethics charges and suspensions – dealt suavely with awkward issues thanks to the benefit of respect for his playing achievements layered with the enduring adoration heaped on him by the French and Italian media. Ceferin is a different character. He is…

Has Neymar done Pogba a favour? Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain means Paul Pogba is no longer the world’s most expensive player. Earlyseason signs are that the midfielder has been emboldened by losing the tag, as well as by the arrival of the combative Nemanja Matic alongside him. Will second-season syndrome work again for Jose Mourinho? United’s Portuguese manager has a proud record of winning titles in his second season. This season, with a new spine – Victor Lindelof (who will face his former Benfica team-mates), Matic and Romelu Lukaku – and the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the new year, the pressure is on to deliver. United must be careful they do not get distracted by a domestic title battle with Pep Guardiola’s City. Will the money keep rolling…

How to cope without Lewandowski? Bayern boast two elite performers in almost every position. The exception is at central striker, where there is no like-forlike alternative to Robert Lewandowski. Coach Carlo Ancelotti has used Thomas Muller in that role, though he is clearly more comfortable in a freewheeling brief. How safe is “Carletto”? Since arriving in Munich a year ago, Ancelotti’s credit levels have shrunk and last season’s solitary piece of silverware – the Bundesliga title – is regarded as the bare minimum at the Allianz Arena. This season he has the support of ex-Bayern players Willy Sagnol and Hasan Salihamidzic, who took over as assistant coach and director of sport respectively. Will they improve in Europe? Bayern are defined by the Champions League and though they were a little…

Can Brendan Rodgers uncover the real deal in “expensive bargains”? The acquisition of midfielder Olivier Ntcham from Manchester City for £4.5m was Celtic’s most expensive signing for 10 years and underlines boss Rodgers’ desire to attract quality to Parkhead. He struck gold last year by getting Moussa Dembele for £500,000 from Fulham. Can Celtic Park become a fortress? These days opponents are inspired by the atmosphere at Celtic Park rather than intimidated by it. Celtic took only one point at home in last season’s group stage and Rodgers insists that the supporters are now more patient, having “bought into our way of playing”. Can Celtic reach the last 16? Neil Lennon did it in 2012-13 and Gordon Strachan did it twice, in 2007 and 2008, and Rodgers is convinced that…

Can Roma make their mark in Europe this year? Eliminated by Porto in the qualifiers last season, the year before they were beaten 4-0 on aggregate in the second round by Real Madrid, and the year before that they were thrashed 7-1 by Bayern Munich. And this year, of course, there is no Francesco Totti to call on... How will they cope with a tough group draw? Even before the Champions League draw was made some commentators were suggesting that, of the three Italian sides in this year’s Champions League, it would be Roma who encounter the biggest problems. For many, a draw which throws them in with Chelsea and Atletico Madrid will only compound that view. Is Di Francesco the man? If you had to point to one outstanding,…

Have Barca ever had a more chaotic summer than this one? The club hierarchy was powerless to prevent Neymar joining Paris Saint- Germain after they triggered his release clause. The club were then stonewalled by Liverpool over Philippe Coutinho and held to ransom by Borussia Dortmund over Ousmane Dembele. When will Barca field La Masia graduates again? The €105m purchase of Dembele and €40m signing of Paulinho represented coach Ernesto Valverde’s desire for power and physicality over technique. It coincided with highly-rated youth graduate Sergi Samper being loaned out to Las Palmas. Can they close the gap on rivals Real Madrid? The Spanish Super Cup defeat by Real Madrid exposed the gulf between the two rivals. The front three of Messi-Suarez- Neymar kept Barca in touch, but Neymar has gone,…

Is this a new era for Spartak? Last season the 22-times national champions won their first Russian title for 16 years. They boast a new state-of-theart arena and are sponsored by one of Russia’s most powerful companies, Lukoil. However, early season defeats – 5-1 to Zenit, 2-1 to CSKA, 4-3 to Lokomotiv – left coach Massimo Carrera lamenting that some of last season’s heroes “have not finished their bottles of champagne”. Will Carrera survive? The Italian turned things around quickly after the team’s poor results in the Europa League qualifiers last season, uniting the team, lifting morale and restoring the fans’ confidence. He agreed a new contract until May 2019 but this season’s poor start may jeopardize his future, especially if things go wrong in the Champions League. Spartak have…

Are Maribor on a hiding to nothing? Darko Milanic’s side maybe the dominant team in Slovenian football, winning seven of the past nine league titles, but they only just squeezed past teams from Bosnia, Faroe Islands and Israel to take their place in the group stage. Can they pick up a first-ever win in the Champions League group stage? The Slovenians are competing at this stage of the tournament for only the second time in their history. On their first appearance, in 2014-15, they failed to win a single game and were thrashed 6-0 at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea. However, they did hold out for a draw at home to the Premier League side when veteran keeper Jasmin Handanovic saved Eden Hazard’s penalty. Can Milanic cut it as a coach…

Have the team learned from last season’s experiences? When Lorenzo Insigne put Napoli ahead against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in February, the immediate thought was: would Napoli have the steel, solidity and experience to survive the inevitable fierce Real reaction? In truth, they did not. The Spanish side equalised within 10 minutes before going on to win the game 3-1, and eventually the tie 6-2 on aggregate. Does the draw make a difference? Given that coach Maurizio Sarri will be fielding mostly the same squad as last season, it is difficult to see why Napoli should do any better this year. However, they do have a decent draw and their qualifying-round performance when beating Nice 4-0 on aggregate was mightily impressive. Is this the year to expect fireworks from…

Can Sergio Conceicao continue his team’s transformation? Conceicao arrived from Nantes in the summer and has completely changed the playing style. The former Portugal international was a big favourite during his playing days at the Estadio do Dragao and his single-minded attitude is already rubbing off on everyone at the club. Will Vincent Aboubakar finally fulfil his potential? The 25-year-old Cameroonian striker showed immense promise after joining Porto in 2014 but after being loaned to Besiktas last term his career in Portugal looked over. However, under Conceicao he looks to have rediscovered his form. Can Porto restore their once-proud reputation in Europe? A successful start to the millennium for the club saw them win the UEFA Cup, Champions League and Europa League all within a decade. Having frequently more than…

Will anyone match Zidane’s trophy haul as a coach? August’s Spanish Super Cup victory over Barcelona means Real have won all seven of the trophies they have competed for since Zinedine Zidane’s appointment: two Champions Leagues, two European Super Cups, the Club World Cup, a Spanish Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup. Can Marco Asensio breakthrough? The 21-year-old’s sensational goal in the Super Cup against Barca announced the arrival of a potential new superstar, and one who cost just a few million from Mallorca – in contrast to the millions being spent by PSG and Barcelona. Will Madrid ever have a better chance to win a record 13th European Cup? Madrid are so far ahead of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in their domestic rivalry that they are unlikely to…

Has sacking Been brought instability? Only appointed in late May, Mario Been was sacked after just three games as coach. The final straw was a 1-0 loss to Romanian outfit Viitorul Contanta. Twentyfour hours later, president Prodromos Petrides fired him and brought back former club coach Giorgos Donis. Can Donis continue a winning run? Donis did not waste any time reviving the club’s Euro prospects, turning the tables on Viitorul with a 4-0 victory in the return, then plotting a 2-0 aggregate win against Slavia Prague in the play-off round. Rumour has it that the APOEL board were not particularly keen on Donis bringing in his own backroom staff. How glad they must now be that they allowed him to do so. Can they do it again? After falling at…

Vivianne Miedema feinted left, cut right and steadied herself. Then, as nearly 30,000 orange-clad fans rose in expectation, the 20-year-old drilled a right-foot shot inside the near post to announce a new era in women’s football. As Miedema ran to celebrate with her team-mates, supporters in Twente’s De Grolsch Veste stadium in Enschede went wild with delight. With two minutes remaining, Holland had an unassailable 4-2 lead over Denmark and they would become the first team other than Germany to win the Women’s European Championship since 1993. The following day, thousands turned out to welcome the Dutch team as they enjoyed a victory parade along the canals of Utrecht, culminating with a celebration in a park that was a sea of orange. A month earlier, few in the country had…

Morocco, who were getting ready to play a final-round qualifier against Cameroon in November for one of the two African places at the 1982 World Cup, were on the cover of our September 1981 issue. Inside, Eric Weil caught up with Mario Kempes – who had won the tournament in 1978 – to find out why things had gone so wrong for the Argentinian striker over the previous three years. “They are happy memories,” said Kempes of the World Cup triumph. “Memories which are already part of history, but on which one can’t live forever. “[After the World Cup] I returned to Valencia but there’s something that needs explaining first. “We were concentrating on the national team for over two months. In all that time nothing else existed for us…

F ootball in Madagascar barely registered until this March, when the head of the Malagasy association succeeded in deposing the long-standing CAF president, Issa Hayatou. After ending Hayatou’s 27-year reign, former government minister Ahmad – who goes by a single name – pushed through a raft of controversial changes, notably expanding the African Nations Cup finals from 16 to 24 teams. However, the game on his home island is also crying out for reform. Madagascar does not have a national league. Instead, 22 regional leagues send 24 teams into what is known as the Champions League, which follows a tournament format. “The competition is too divided all over the country, so there is not one competition for the best teams who compete in one division like in the European countries,”…

HERO TRI-NATION TOURNAMENT Played in Mumbai, India Aug 19 India 2 (R Singh 37, B Singh 62) Mauritius 1 (Jocelyn 15) HT: 1-1 Aug 22 St Kitts & Nevis 1 (Rogers 87) Mauritius 1 (Sarah 19) HT: 0-1 Aug 24 India 1 (J Singh 38) St Kitts & Nevis 1 (Amory 75) HT: 1-0> HERO TRI-NATION TOURNAMENT – FINAL FRIENDLIES Friday, July 28 Jul 28 - Honiara Solomon Islands 0 Vanuatu 0 Wednesday, August 16 Aug 16 - Burton upon Trent, England Andorra 0 Qatar 1 (Assadalla 73) HT: 0-0 Tuesday, August 22 Aug 22 - Krubong Malaysia 1 (Lok pen 90+4) Syria 2 (Al Marmour 81, Muhtadi 84) HT: 0-0 Wednesday, August 23 Aug 23 - Doha Qatar 2 (Al Haidos 18, pen 65) Turkmenistan 1 (Hojayev 67) HT:…