It’s been a tale of two halves for Schalke 04 this season.
The arrival of Jürgen Klopp protégé David Wagner was hailed as a progressive step forward after a disastrous 2018-19 campaign that saw the club flirt with relegation, and that excitement was thoroughly justified through 18 games as Schalke climbed as high as fifth in the Bundesliga.
With Bayern Munich taking what’s almost certainly an unassailable lead at the top of the Bundesliga, the La Liga return date of June 11 can’t come soon enough for those thirsting for a bit of sporting drama in their lives. With 11 matches still to go for every side in Spain’s top division, the La Liga return schedule highlights the twists and turns we have lying ahead.
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale says he is still confused that his love for playing golf has caused such a stir in Spain and questioned why other elite sportsmen are not criticized for playing the game.
Despite winning four Champions League titles with Real and scoring crucial goals in three finals, Bale still divides opinion in Spain due to a perceived lack of commitment as well as a poor injury record, which the Spanish media have often blamed on his passion for playing golf in his spare time.
After beginning individual training at club facilities earlier this month, Spain moved one step closer to the resumption of LaLiga and Segunda División play after teams began training in groups of up to 10 players on Monday.
According to LaLiga president Javier Tebas, the league is still hoping to return to action on June 12, but clubs will need the approval of the government’s department of health before advancing from small groups to full training.
Regardless, Tebas said that LaLiga has taken inspiration from Germany’s successful return to the pitch.
Five players in Spain's top two divisions have tested positive for COVID-19 since clubs began testing players and staff members last week, organizing body LaLiga said in a statement on Sunday.
LaLiga said the players would remain at their homes where they would continue individual training before being tested again "in the next few days" to determine whether they can return to their club's training ground.
LaLiga has a tough decision to make if football can’t resume in Spain to finish the remainder of the current season. In France, Ligue 1 and 2 decided to end the season and award PSG the title. Awarding PSG the title wasn’t too controversial as the French giant was 12 points clear of second place with a game in hand. The logic does seem sound though, the team with the most points when the season ended gets the title. Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois doesn’t think so and has a different answer to who should be La Liga champions.
Jose Mourinho has done it all throughout his illustrious career. He’s won eight league titles across Portugal, England, Spain and Italy, won the Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan and even helped underdog Manchester United win the Europa League. But only one match ever made Jose Mourinho cry.
If you believe all of the Raul Jimenez transfer rumors, you’d be convinced the Mexican international is headed to Barcelona and then Real Madrid and for good measure back to England to play for Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Of course, these are all rumors, likely entirely baseless because what else are tabloid reporters supposed to write about at a time like this?
But Jimenez did respond to a couple of the rumors to ESPN Deportes this week.
The Spanish soccer season, halted like most major sporting competitions due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, is unlikely to return until the summer, the country's health minister Salvador Illa said on Sunday.