January 7 is a special date in Atletico Madrid history.
It is 10 years to the day since Diego Simeone took charge of his first game as Atletico head coach, and the balance at the top of Spanish football started, imperceptibly at first, to shift.
In his first game back on January 7, 2012, Cholo s Atleti were held to a goalless draw by Malaga at La Rosaleda; his most recent match was on Thursday, a 5-0 Copa del Rey thrashing of Rayo Majadahonda that felt very much like an appropriate celebration of a remarkable decade.
While his football has not always enthralled, few can argue with Simeone s results and haul of eight trophies – almost a quarter of all the major silverware the club have ever won.
To celebrate the milestone, Stats Perform picked through…
Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero has played down recent rumours linking his former teammate Antonio Conte with a Turin return.
The Serie A giants aren t doing nearly as well this season as they used to until a couple of seasons ago, sitting seventh in the Italian top flight at the moment and out of the Champions League after the group stage. The situation has led to speculation about the job of Massimiliano Allegri being in danger, and Conte has been tipped to take over if the Allegri sacking comes to pass.
However, as he told the PA, Del Piero believes these stories have appeared only because Conte has done well at Juventus in the past, leading the Bianconeri to the Scudetto three times and the Italian Super Cup twice between 2011 and 2014.
Del Piero also b…
Jamie Vardy says representing England at Euro 2016 would be the pinnacle of his season after winning the Premier League with Leicester City.
The England international was inspirational to Leicester s title charge this season, banging in 24 goals in 35 appearances, just five years after playing non-league football for Halifax Town.
Now the Leicester striker is seen as a key part of Roy Hodgson s England squad, and while Vardy is not taking selection for granted, he said being a part of the squad to go to France would be his biggest achievement yet.
I think that would be the pinnacle of the season for me, Vardy told Sky Sports.
Representing your country at any time is a big deal, but to be in a tournament and to be a part of something big happening can on…
Switzerland will host the UEFA Women s European Championship in 2025, UEFA has announced.
The sixteen-team tournament will take place across eight venues in Switzerland, with the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Lisbon on Tuesday to decide the venue.
The Swiss proposal eventually overcame a Nordic bid from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden after three rounds of voting, with Poland and France s joint venture eliminated earlier in the proceedings.
As host nation, Switzerland have secured automatic qualification and will compete at their third consecutive tournament, having made their first appearance in 2017.
The tournament will be the first international competition to be held in Switzerland, home nation to both FIFA and UEFA, since the Euro 2008 men …
At the end of February 2022, Leeds United bosses had seen enough.
This has been the toughest decision I have had to make, said chairman Andrea Radrizzani at the time.
Leeds had taken just one point from six games, leaving them only two points above the relegation zone. A 4-0 home defeat by Tottenham was the final straw for Marcelo Bielsa, who was dismissed on February 27.
At the beginning of February 2023, Leeds United bosses had again seen enough as they parted company with Bielsa s successor Jesse Marsch.
Leeds have taken just three points from their past seven games, leaving them level on points with Everton in the final relegation spot, albeit having played a game fewer than the three teams below them.
Unlike Bielsa, who ended the club s lon…
UEFA on Friday ratified the four Ukrainian cities chosen to host the 2012 European championships with the final to take place in Kiev.
The four cities Kiev, Donetsk, Karkov and Lviv will host games with the final taking place in the capital on July 1, 2012.
Ukraine is co-hosting the competition with Poland where games will be held in four venues at Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan and Gdansk.
UEFA president Michel Platini, giving Ukraine the green light, said: Around three years ago we entrusted the organisation of the Euro to Poland and Ukraine.
This wasn t merely a whim but a strategic plan to open up our flagship competition to Eastern Europe.
We knew it was going to be a difficult undertaking, that there would have to be investment in infrastructure…
With the taking centre stage this weekend, all of the Premier League’s elite will not be seen again in top-flight action until January 16th.
While Manchester City might still be tipped as the standout contender to defend their domestic crown in 2024, both Arsenal and still find themselves scrapping it out in the title chase.
With many expecting things to go down to the wire, we have taken a glance at who the bookmakers have installed as the Premier League’s leading title candidates this year.
Manchester City
While might still find themselves tipped as a standout contender to make more Premier League history this season, it is fair to say that Pep Guardiola’s superstar squad have struggled to hit top gear with much stability.
However, although t…
Liverpool have agreed a deal worth £12million plus add-ons to sell Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq, the PA news agency understands.
The 33-year-old is believed to have reached a verbal agreement with the club – who are now managed by former Anfield team-mate Steven Gerrard – over a reported wage of £700,000 a week.
The Reds captain has been in Germany with the team on their pre-season tour but was left out of Jurgen Klopp’s squad to face Karlsruhe in their first friendly on Wednesday.
He has made 491 appearances since signing for Liverpool from Sunderland for £20m in 2011 and skippered the side to the Premier League title and the Champions League.
He has also won the FA Cup and two League Cups.
Last week the England LGBT…
Crystal Palace are interested in signing Eddie Nketiah from London and Premier League rivals Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Gunners are willing to offload Nketiah at the end of the season, and that the Eagles are among the clubs who are keen on the striker. They have done the most work in trying to get a deal done.
Nketiah has been on the books of Arsenal since 2015 and has come through the North London club’s youth system. The 24-year-old is now part of the first team at the Gunners, but he is a squad under manager Mikel Arteta. The England international striker has made 10 starts and 14 substitute appearances in the Premier League so far this season, scoring five goals and providing two assists in the process.
T…
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has signed a new contract with the LaLiga outfit running to the summer of 2027.
The 53-year-old Argentinian has been in the job since December 2011 and is the most successful head coach in Atletico’s history.
Simeone has overseen the club winning two league titles, one Copa del Rey and the Europa League twice, as well as two European Super Cups and one Spanish Super Cup.
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