Ahead of Juventus’ Champions League clash against Lokomotiv Moscow at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke to the media about the club’s direction under new manager Maurizio Sarri and his form at the age of 34, while also issuing a stern rebuke to critics that claim he’s somehow holding back both Juve and Portugal with his predatory play.
On Sunday, during a crunch Euro 2020 qualifier between Wales and Croatia in Cardiff, there was a terrifying moment in the 14th minute when highly touted Welsh winger Daniel James — somewhat stooping to win a header in the middle of the park — caught a flying knee to the back of the head from Croatian defender Domagoj Vida.
Jimmy Butler was never really in contention for the United States squad at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He played his part in helping Team USA to gold at the 2016 Olympics, and the 30-year-old must now adjust to life in Miami after being traded by Philadelphia. So you can’t really blame him for missing out on America’s shambolic seventh-place showing and going to Barcelona instead.
In time, the coaching tree that expands out from Pep Guardiola is going to be massive. Some will fail (like if Mikel Arteta had taken the job at Newcastle), but the Spanish tactician’s otherworldly training methods will almost certainly be absorbed and even expanded upon by some future coaching Übermensch that worked under Guardiola for a long period.
Jimmy Conrad has transitioned nicely from a career as 2005 MLS Defender of the Year to a prominent YouTuber. Though 42, he’s got the content creation skills of a 20-year-old Twitch streamer, which is a compliment.
It’s been a while since Lionel Messi’s last in-depth interview with a major news outlet, but one has just landed today from Barcelona-based daily SPORT.
Count Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo among the legion of Parisians happy Neymar did not bolt the French capital to return to Spain this summer. But she’s not content with Neymar sticking with Paris Saint-Germain — she wants the big-eared trophy.
Wayne Rooney has recently criticized the fact that MLS must still fly commercial flights to the majority of its destinations. Meanwhile NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB players get to enjoy the sweet luxury of not being crammed into a flight with strangers while their legs are suffocated from Foxborough to San Jose. No, they get private jets and charter flights to and from all destinations, but MLS stars are forced to fly commercially, complete with layovers and all.
Back on June 1 in Madrid, Liverpool was the beneficiary of eagle-eyed referee Damir Skomina’s decision to punish Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko for a controversial handball in the first minute of the 2019 Champions League Final. It was Mohamed Salah who stepped up to the spot to give Liverpool a lead it would never relinquish, so you could probably be led to assume that Salah is in favor of meticulous, hairsplitting decisions — the kind that VAR is all about.
You’d be wrong.