Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i World Soccer

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“I fully understand it is important for us as referees to maintain our composure throughout the game and always engage with players in a professional manner…I can only apologise to Alan and Ipswich Town”Referee Darren Drysdale after squaring up to Alan Judge CLAUDINHO (Red Bull Bragantino) Best Player, Best Newcomer, Best Midfielder and top goalscorer: not a bad haul of awards from the 2020 Brazilian season for Claudinho, who has enjoyed an explosive campaign in the country’s top flight, a year after helping Bragantino achieve promotion. His 18 goals took the Serie A new boys to a tenth-place finish, while the awards that he earned in the process puts him in the company of Carlos Tevez, Neymar and Gabriel Jesus as the league’s best player. In January the 24-year-old signed…

When Manchester City drew1-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion on December 15, 2020, it seemed possible that this was, against an admittedly high bar, the worst side Pep Guardiola had ever managed. They seemed sluggish and unimaginative, the snap that had once characterised their press entirely absent. Two months later they were top of the Premier League having won every game they’d played since that draw, and the talk was of a possible quadruple. Which suggests, perhaps, how easy it is to be lured into snap judgements, to be sucked in by football’s habitual narrative that when a slide begins it can be halted only by the sacrifice of the manager. But that’s not to say that the worries about City in the early part of the season were…

EUROPEAN SPORTS MEDIA SEASON RANKINGS Cumulative votes through the season GOALKEEPERS Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) 21 Ederson (Manchester City) 12 Edouard Mendy (Chelsea) 5 Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan) 4 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) 3 David De Gea (Manchester United) 3 Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) 2 Samir Handanovic (Internazionale) 2 Antonio Adan (Sporting) 2 Andrea Consigli (Sassuolo) 1 Alex Remiro (Real Sociedad) 1 Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg) 1 David Marshall (Derby County) 1 Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur) 1 Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) 1 Alisson (Liverpool) 1 Bernd Leno (Arsenal) 1 Mike Maignan (Lille) 1 Bono (Sevilla) 1 Andreas Linde (Molde) 1 DEFENDERS Ruben Dias (Manchester City) 18 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) 14 Joao Cancelo (Manchester City) 14 John Stones (Manchester City) 13 Theo Hernandez (Milan) 11 Angelino (RB Leipzig) 10 Mario Hermoso (Atletico Madrid)…

Red Bull Salzburg have not always been the most popular of clubs since the energy drinks manufacturer took charge in 2005. In particular, its disdain for tradition – changing the team colours from the purple to corporate red and white, while also trying to wipe out the club’s history antagonised the fans so much that some formed a breakaway club. But there is also no denying that Salzburg have since become one of the most successful clubs in scouting and developing players from around the world. In the last few years, they have nurtured raw talents such as Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland, Naby Keita, Takumi Minamino, Dayot Upamecano and Dominik Szoboszlai before sending them on their way to the Bundesliga or Premier League for huge profits. “Between winning the Africa…

It would be fair to assume that the Eredivisie top scorer award would automatically go to an Ajax or PSV player every season. But you’d be wrong: in seven out of the last ten campaigns, players from modest clubs like Heracles (Cyriel Dessers, 2020), Vitesse (Wilfried Bony, 2013), Heerenveen (Alfred Finnbogason, 2014 and Bas Dost, 2012) NEC Nijmegen (Bjorn Vleminckx, 2011) and AZ (Vincent Janssen, 2016 and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, 2018) have all topped the charts. This season is unlikely to be an exception, with Giorgos Giakoumakis of VVV-Venlo miles ahead of the rest. By mid-February, the Greek striker had already netted 22 goals with his nearest challenger, PSV winger Donyell Malen, on 13. What makes it even more remarkable is that the 26-year-old had never been a prolific goalscorer before;…

2006 marked a significant turning point in the history of football in Ivory Coast. Having spent decades as relative minnows on the world scene, the West Africans began the year by reaching the final of the Africa Cup of Nations – losing on penalties to Egypt – before appearing at their first-ever World Cup in the summer. It was to be the first of three consecutive qualifications, before their crowning achievement in 2015: victory in the Africa Cup of Nations. Subsequent failures to go beyond the AFCON quarter-finals, or reach Russia 2018, demonstrate just how much their unprecedented golden age owed to a superb generation of talent. Yet, if it were not for the vision and innovation of a little-known Frenchman, those stars may not have emerged, and the golden…

What led to Flora becoming the most successful club in Estonia? I would come up with three aspects. Firstly, we have created an attractive environment for players to be part of. Secondly, we choose players by weighing up both their skills and personal characteristics. Finally, we possess a clear sporting vision. This helps us to reach our goals. How was your philosophy born? At one point, we understood that there was enough talent in Estonia. You just had to be able to see it and work with it. This is probably the same way everywhere. It’s interesting to give young people like myself a chance by supporting them in realising their goals. Last year we had one of the youngest teams in the Europa League play-offs. As for other personnel,…

Jules KOUNDE Sevilla In a sentence Probably the most accomplished young centre-back in Europe at the moment; a rear-guard rock blessed with sensational offensive qualities as well. What they say “He’s still young. It’s up to him to keep up the momentum he has built with his club and the Under-21s. One day or another, he could be in a position to be called up to our senior team” France coach Didier Deschamps “Jules is a young player of great talent. Above and beyond his physical and technical attributes, he also has what I consider to be the most important thing of all at the highest level – the mind. That’s the key. How he learns and develops” Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui The story so far Born in Paris on…

It has been a mixed season for Real Madrid, although you have been one of the regular starters. How do you feel 2020-21 has gone so far? Consistency is the key to success at the very highest level and we need to find more. There have been games where we have played close to our highest level but we need to do that on a more consistent basis. If we do that then we can have a successful season. I am confident but it is important that we just take things game by game. By focusing on the next game and being as best prepared as you can – that is how you win titles. The season will end with the European Championship – how excited are you about playing…

The completion of a first major tournament since the onset of COVID-19 is a feather in the cap of African football. But the jury is still out on whether the African Nations Championship (CHAN) really serves any purpose or has much of a future in an increasingly crowded calendar. The 16-team tournament is contested by national teams made up only of home-based players and is designed to give opportunity to those denied international football by the growing number of overseas-based professionals who dominate the ranks of Africa’s national teams. It is also an indicator of sorts as to who has the strongest league on the continent and Morocco’s successful defence of their title is evidence of the quality of their domestic competition. But Egypt do not enter this competition, South…

Braian Samudio tried to swap his shirt with Bugra Cagliyan, but the Eskisehirspor player pushed him away. Having lost 3-0 to Rizespor, the16-year-old’s actions were not those of a petulant teenager. Nor was he concerned about coronavirus. “When I saw the video, I thought he did it because he did not have another one”, says Arslan Kurt, an Eskisehir local. After footage went viral, Eskisehirspor issued a statement asserting they did not have a shortage of shirts. A picture later emerged of Samudio with Bugra’s kit, but many remained unconvinced. Eskisehirspor are currently in debt to the tune of 234 million Turkish Lira (around €26 million). Players have not been paid for several months. For a while the training ground had no hot water, while vehicles registered in the club’s…

There has been much talk recently about an ushering in of a new era, with rising stars Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland set to replace Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the new megastars of the game. This may become true over time, and both have already made a major mark to show that this is more than a distinct possibility – not least Mbappe, who already has a World Cup in his trophy cabinet and upstaged Messi with a Champions League hat-trick when they met at the Nou Camp recently. That being said, Leo and Cristiano are far from finished, and you only need to look at further examples of footballers in their thirties who are continuing to make such a big impact to see that there could be…

How do you persuade Lionel Messi to leave his beloved Barcelona and jink his superstar magic in the colours of your club? That’s the question exercising the power-brokers of European football heading towards the summer transfer window. They are arriving at different answers. The first move came from Paris Saint-Germain, positioning themselves as the Romeo of sport and standing under the balcony declaring profound love for Juliet. A succession of players including Neymar, Angel Di Maria and Marco Verratti spoke openly of their desire for Messi to join them in Paris. It had the feel of a theatrical production, not least when France Football magazine merrily mocked up a picture of Messi in a PSG shirt a couple of weeks before they were due to meet Barcelona in the Champions…

It says much about 23-year-old, Canada-born England international, Fikayo Tomori, that within weeks of his arrival on loan from Chelsea, commentators and fans alike were already suggesting that Milan should work hard to hold on to him when his loan terminates in June. Before January, Tomori was littleknown in Italy, but announced his arrival with some impressive early displays, starting with a 2-1 Coppa Italia defeat to city rivals Internazionale. Those early performances have been enough to convince critics in Gazzetta dello Sport and La Repubblica that the loanee could have a bright future in Italian football. Tomori’s peer group have also reacted very positively to his arrival at Milanello. “I have to say that I didn’t know him, but you can see immediately that he is a good player,”…

For a defender who seemed so sure-footed and confident of where he, and everyone else, was at any given time, Fabio Cannavaro has rarely looked in control in either of his two spells as coach of China’s biggest club, Guangzhou FC. Take recent events, for example. There was some discussion as to whether the 2006 World Cup-winning captain would still be in charge of the team formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande (the “Evergrande” suffix has been dropped, with Chinese football authorities seeking to remove corporate titles from club names to encourage more communitymindedness) for the 2021 season. It was only in February when Cannavaro appeared in the club’s video to wish fans in China’s third-biggest city a prosperous Year of the Ox that there was confidence he would be in…

This campaign has been much better for you than last season – what do you put that down to? Do you feel more settled in Madrid now? In football nothing is given to you – you have to work hard to see the rewards. The first season was a new league for me, but I knew if I kept working hard I would see the rewards and show what I was capable of. The coach and all of my team-mates have been a big help for me as well. Was it difficult to move to Spain with such a large price tag? When there is that sort of fee there is always going to be much talk in the media, and I guess with that comes a lot of pressure.…

Saturday January 30 SAUDI ARABIA: Al Nassr claim their second consecutive Saudi Super Cup title after defeating Al Hilal 3-0 at the King Fahd International Stadium. BRAZIL: In an all-Brazilian final, Palmeiras beat Santos 1-0 to win the 2020 Copa Libertadores, with Breno Lopes scoring the winner nine minutes into stoppage time. SOUTH AFRICA: In the Soweto derby, Orlando Pirates defeat arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs 2-1. Sunday January 31 FRANCE: PSG concede two goals in the last ten minutes to lose 3-2 at Lorient, while Lille maintain their title pursuit with a1-0 win over Dijon. NETHERLANDS: In a big day at the top of the Eredivisie, Ajax beat AZ 3-0, while Feyenoord win 3-1 at home to PSV. SPAIN: Lionel Messi scores his 650th goal for Barcelona in a 2-1 La…

KYRIL LOUIS-DREYFUS English football’s youngest-ever chairman at the age of 23, Louis-Dreyfus, son of Russianborn Swiss billionaire Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, took charge of Sunderland in February. The Black Cats, one of the biggest clubs outside England’s top tier, were also handed another boost with the news that the salary cap for Leagues One and Two would be scrapped. RHYAN GRANT The Sydney FC defender had become one of the A-League’s most distinctive sights due to his flowing mullet. That is until he shaved it off as part of the World’s Greatest Shave, raising over AUS$20,000. Plenty of his fellow players in the league chipped in, including Dylan Wenzel-Halls, the Brisbane Roar striker who notably tugged on Grant’s hair in a past clash. WIDZEW LODZ FANS Having gone out of business in…

The 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States might just be one of those flagship events that beams a signal far beyond the realms of sport, media and marketing. Mass vaccination roll-outs notwithstanding, COVID-19 and its consequential fall-out will be a factor in daily life around the globe for many months and almost certainly years to come. No one dare be caught guessing when stadia will return to full capacity. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has envisioned such a blue sky dream for next year’s World Cup in Qatar but, whatever his legal qualifications, his bona fides as soothsayer or virologist are limited. By the time society is infected by a sense of security, rather than coronavirus, the expanded 2026 World Cup is more likely to be the…

“Being part of the history of this club is a jewel in a coach’s journey. This jewel is unique in France. It’s impossible not to love this club”Andre Villas-Boas’ parting message to Marseille fans IN EUROPE Bayern Munich confirmed that this summer they will sign defenders DAYOT UPAMECANO from RB Leipzig (€42.5m) and OMAR RICHARDS from English Championship side Reading. Borussia Monchengladbach coach MARCO ROSE will also switch Bundesliga clubs this summer, after Borussia Dortmund confirmed his appointment. Meanwhile, Dortmund’s rivals Schalke appointed DIMITRIOS GRAMMOZIS as head coach, their fifth managerial change of the season. RB Leipzig completed the permanent signing of on-loan left-back ANGELINO from Manchester City. Marseille hired a replacement for Andre-Villas Boas, recruiting former Chile, Sevilla and Argentina coach JORGE SAMPAOLI. In the English Football League, Bristol…

It was Glasgow’s Sliding Doors moment. Steven Gerrard went in one direction, Neil Lennon in the other. The two men, who are neighbours in the city’s west end, had deeply contrasting fates. With Rangers putting the finishing touches to their remarkable Scottish Premiership season, Gerrard was being lauded while Lennon was terminated. Just 36 hours before Rangers clinched a place in the last16 of the Europa League – for the second season running – by hammering Belgian side Antwerp 9-5 on aggregate, Lennon was being sacked by Celtic some 21 years after his arrival there as a player. Lennon won five titles as a Celtic player, and five more in two spells as a manager, so you would have got long odds on Gerrard being the last man standing when…

After years of uncertainty and off-the-pitch issues, CSKA Sofia appeared to finally be returning to relative calm in 2020-21. For the first time in a decade, Bulgaria’s most successful club had qualified for the Europa League group stage, and had a serious chance of preventing Ludogorets from winning a tenth league title in a row. Then, a football bomb exploded. Owners Grisha Ganchev and Julian Indzhov announced they would step down after one of the club’s fan groups, “the Offenders”, criticised the club’s transfer policy following the departure of Gambia striker Ali Sowe. The fans’ concern was understandable: not only was Sowe the club’s top scorer with14 goals in all competitions, including five in Europe, his league tally of eight accounted for a third of the team’s entire output. When…

The final day of the 2020 Brazilian Championship, when amid heartstopping drama Flamengo finished a point ahead of Internacional to win the title for the second year running, was also marked by a peak in Brazil’s coronavirus death toll – the largest since July 29, when the action was just days from getting underway. This, then, was the COVID cup. All the teams suffered spurts of the virus. Santos striker Raniel went down with thrombosis soon after he had “recovered,” worrying evidence of the risks that are being run. The pandemic changed the dates of the competition; instead of May-December, the matches were played between early August and the end of February. The games came thick and fast, extending into high summer, with gruelling 4pm kick-offs. In such circumstances it…

The year was nearing its end and triumphant names around Europe had already lifted their silverware. But in Estonia’s capital Tallinn, celebrations were just underway. FC Flora, the country’s most successful club, had achieved something unique. In 2020, Flora did things their way. In pursuit of a13th Meistriliiga trophy, they placed all their trust in homegrown players. It paid off too, as they won their second consecutive league championship. But this was no one-off experiment. By investing in local talent each year, Flora hope to bring about a new dawn in Estonian football. To put their methods into perspective, champions from lesser-populated European nations such as Liechtenstein and Luxembourg regularly participate in the fluid exchange of players across Europe. Even teams further down the Estonian first division are plugged into…

In his younger days, Stephen Bradley was a wanted man. Having made his name as a talented schoolboy at dublin clubs Jobstown Celtic, Maryland Boys and lourdes Celtic, he made the journey to england to try to find a club, just like so many young Irish players before him. “I went on trial to around 15 different clubs,” Bradley recalls. “Manchester United, liverpool, Manchester City – you name them, I was there. I was on trial at Chelsea when I was ten years old.” Eventually, the young midfielder joined arsenal in 2000, having been approached by an Irish legend. “It was liam Brady, who was head of the arsenal academy, that spotted me playing in a dublin and district Schoolboys training camp. “Liam was great to work with and overall…

On reflection, Argentina’s 6-0 defeat to United States in the SheBelieves Cup could have been a lot worse, as a 27-1 shot count underlined. It was certainly neither a disgrace nor a surprise. In the home corner the world champions, undefeated in 36 matches with 32 wins in their previous 33 outings. In the away corner a team that went into the tournament having not played for 15 months. That absence from the international arena would have been even longer had Japan not pulled out of the SBC due to COVID. US Soccer Federation scrambled for a replacement and wound up with Argentina, at 31st in the world comfortably the lowest-ranked team to feature in the tournament’s six-year history. As it was La Albiceleste showed the spirit they displayed at…

COVID-19 has further exacerbated the difference between the minnows and the maestros in world football,” says St. Lucia men’s national senior team coach Jamaal Shabazz. In the Caribbean, the World Cup qualifying campaign is easily the most illustrious competition that most islanders get to see. It is the only time that fully professional players from nations like Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica turn up at the arrivals lounge. For the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying series though, the region’s hopes of glorious contests against CONCACAF’s top guns look gloomy, as football has taken a backseat to the pandemic. At the moment, “the beautiful game” is in the trunk. All over the world, business has made concessions to the coronavirus. The problem is, in the Caribbean, football is considered…

EUROPE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2020-21 Round of 16 - Leg 1 Feb 16 - Barcelona Barcelona1 (Messi 27 pen) PSG 4 (Mbappe 32, 65, 85, Kean 70) HT: 1-1. Ref: Kuipers (Ned) Feb 16 - Budapest RB Leipzig 0 Liverpool 2 (Salah 53, Mane 58) HT: 0-0. Ref: Vincic (Svk) Feb17 - Porto Porto 2 (Taremi 2, Marega 46) Juventus1 (Chiesa 82) HT: 1-0. Ref: Cerro Grande (Esp) Feb 17 - Seville Sevilla 2 (Suso 7, De Jong 84) B. Dortmund 3 (Dahoud19, Haaland, 27, 43) HT: 1-3. Ref: Makkelie (Ned) Feb 23 - Bucharest Atletico Madrid 0 Chelsea1 (Giroud 68) HT: 0-0. Ref: Brych (Ger) Feb 23 - Rome Lazio1 (Correa 49) Bayern Munich 4 (Lewandowski 9, Musiala 24, Sane 42, Acerbi 47 og) HT: 0-3. Ref: Grinfeld (Isr) Feb…