Coaching

BARCELONA — With Barcelona's glory days rapidly becoming a fading memory, presidential hopeful Victor Font believes luring former midfield great Xavi Hernandez back to the club would spark another golden age for the Catalans.

Xavi, one of the architects of Barca's decade-long rule of world football, is the coach of Qatari side Al Sadd but has agreed to play a leading role back with Barca if Font wins the club's election on Jan. 24.

While Font expects to see Xavi, 40, in the Barca dugout at some point, he is equally enthusiastic about the long term role he can play.

When Bolton Wanderers and Salford City faced off in a League Two tussle on the outskirts of Manchester on Friday, the match featured two sides that had converged on the lowest level of the English Football League. It was a match over a decade in the making as the sides were once eight divisions apart in English football. 

During the 2007-08 season, Bolton was a Premier League club and featured in the Europa League, while Salford played in the North West Counties League Division One, the country's ninth tier.

Derby County have parted ways with manager Phillip Cocu after a disappointing start to the season, the Championship (second-tier) club said on Saturday.

Former Dutch international Cocu took charge of Derby last year following the departure of Frank Lampard and guided the club to a 10th-place finish.

But Derby have won just once in 11 Championship games this season and sit bottom of the table with six points.

AMSTERDAM — Netherlands coach Frank de Boer and his key striker Memphis Depay both insisted there was no alarm over the lack of goals from the Dutch team ahead of Sunday’s key Nations League tie against Bosnia in Amsterdam.

The Netherlands have netted only three goals in six internationals this year but Depay said the goals were certain to return.

“They will return, I have full confidence in that,” he told a news conference on Saturday.

Is Frank Lampard anti-American? Jesse Marsch appeared to make such claims last week, but now the Chelsea boss is hitting back at the accusations.

Marsch, who coaches RB Salzburg, laid some heavy accusations at his fellow coach on a recent podcast. The Wisconsin native essentially claimed Lampard had anti-American bias over his treatment of Christian Pulisic upon his arrival at Chelsea.

Former U.S. women's national soccer team coach Jill Ellis talked informally with D.C. United last week about the club's head-coaching vacancy, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

According to the newspaper, Ellis is believed to be the first woman ever viewed as a candidate to become the head coach of a Major League Soccer team. It's an idea The18 floated last year.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has overseen a stunning start to the season by his side.

Through the first three months of the season, Rangers have conceded just four goals. Not until Week 8 did any Scottish Premier League side manage to breach the Gers' defense and score. After 17 games, Gerrard's side has won 15 and kept a stunning 14 clean sheets in the process. It is now the sole remaining unbeaten team across the top divisions of England and Scotland.  

17 games
15 wins
14 clean sheets

We at The18 figured it was true, but at least now we have one of the brightest minds in world football saying it too.