History

Relegation-threatened Leeds United have sacked manager Javi Gracia and appointed veteran coach Sam Allardyce until the end of the season, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.

With four games left, only a superior goal difference is keeping 17th-placed Leeds out of the relegation zone after taking only one point from their last five games.

Allardyce will be the club's third coach this season after American Jesse Marsch was sacked in February.

The old LaLiga logo wasn't perfect. It was guilty of what I consider a cardinal sin: containing that damn generic soccer ball that's way too heavy-handed in getting its point across. 

But LaLiga had established a powerful brand identity with its iconic color wheel over the past 30 years, and when news broke of an all-new LaLiga logo for the 2023-24 season, the initial thought was concerning how the league would reimagine and update the famous design while retaining some sense of history. 

Arsenal will need to be brave and at their very best if they are to snap their winless run at Anfield, manager Mikel Arteta said on Friday, as the Premier League leaders look to maintain their eight-point lead over Manchester City in the title race.

Arsenal have not won at Anfield in the Premier League since 2012, a game in which Arteta played. Since then they have suffered heavy defeats, including two 5-1 losses.

In a shocking twist to Chelsea’s managerial merry-go-round, the London club is talking to former player and manager Frank Lampard for a potential reunion. Lampard would be a caretaker manager until the end of the season as the club figures out a long-term manager.

Lampard oversaw Chelsea from July 2019 through January 2021 when he was replaced by Thomas Tuchel. Lampard then spent a year managing Everton from January 2022 until January 2023. He was sacked after Everton sat 19th in the league.

PARIS - Hervé Renard has been named France women's coach until 2024 and will lead the team at this year's World Cup, the French federation (FFF) said on Thursday.

The 54-year-old Frenchman resigned as coach of the Saudi Arabia men's team this week after leading them to last year's World Cup in Qatar where they pulled off a shock group-stage win over eventual champions Argentina.

In an unexpected twist, Julie Ertz was named on the 26-player roster for the United States women’s national team’s pair of friendly games vs. Ireland in early April. If Ertz appears in either game, it will be her first appearance for club or country since the bronze medal match in the Tokyo Olympics on Aug. 5, 2021.

Ertz has been away from the game for over a year and a half due to injuries and the birth of her child, Madden, in August 2022.