Category: Sports News

Jose Mourinho turned down Lyon’s approach to become their new manager because he has already found another club, according to president Jean-Michel Aulas.

We had some fairly flattering exchanges over text, Aulas stated. “It was nice for everyone. He did not accept our proposal to meet because he has already chosen another club.

Ligue 1 heavyweights Lyon sacked Sylvinho on Monday after just one win in his last nine matches at the helm and Aulas had identified Mourinho as a target to take the helm.

Sylvinho’s arrival coincided with the return of club icon Juninho Pernambucano as sporting director in pre-season. 

Aulas confirmed the decision to dismiss the former Manchester City and Barcelona defender came from Juninho, with Sylvinho’s perceived negative brand of football doing little to endear himself.

Filled by Theresah Mensah.

Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed Arsene Wenger as an absolute legend” at a special tribute night for the former Arsenal boss.

The pair crossed swords several times during their careers as they dominated English football in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

But addressing his old adversary via video at the annual Nordoff Robbins charity award dinner, Ferguson said: The career you had as a manager at Arsenal was absolutely fantastic – an absolute legend.

I loved the competition against you. We had some great times and it’s wonderful you’re getting this award tonight. So good luck, my blessing with you.

Wenger was named a Legend of Football at the event which celebrated his career, with the Frenchman enjoying a 21-year tenure with the Gunners, guiding them to three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups and seven Community Shields.

Filled by Theresah Mensah.

Paulo Dybala has reaffirmed his commitment to Juventus after a summer in which he came close to a move away from Turin.

Dybala has been reintegrated back into Maurizio Sarri’s squad, however, and has helped Juve to make a strong start to the season. The reigning Italian champions are top of Serie A and unbeaten in all competitions.

They also beat title rivals Inter at San Siro on Sunday, with Dybala and fellow former castaway Gonzalo Higuain both on the scoresheet. Dybala scored a fantastic opener barely five minutes in, smashing into the far corner past the desperate dive of Samir Handanovic.

Dybala has claimed that he always wanted to stay and fight for his place at Juve, saying.I have not experienced an easy summer. Obviously hearing your name linked with every team you don’t want to go to is not a nice thing, but this is football.

Before the market started I had already done an interview in which I said I wanted to stay in Turin, then I never spoke again, not even at the Copa America.

I think it’s more important to talk on the field, with facts. You never know how the market goes until the last day, but I wanted to stay here, I wanted to continue my career at Juventus.

I think I can still give so much to this shirt and I’m very happy with what I showed against Inter.

Filled by Theresah Mensah.

Mauricio Pochettino has said that he still has a very good relationship with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, despite his side’s disappointing start to the season.

After their 3-0 defeat to Brighton at the weekend – a game in which, to make matters worse, Hugo Lloris sustained a serious elbow injury – Spurs have won two of their last five games in the Premier League and are currently ninth in the table.

Speaking at the Aspire Academy global summit in Qatar, Pochettino suggested that he and Levy still share strong mutual respect.

We maintain a very good relationship and it is extraordinary to have that support, I have always told him that, in addition to my chairman, I consider him a friend.

Football is not a drama, it is passion and we cannot separate it from emotions, he went on, but neither can we make a sport as fantastic as this one [all about] the latest result.

We must learn from defeats to be able to exceed our limits and that begins by accepting that you don’t always win and that the opponent also works hard and [has] merits.

You must always react with dignity to the result, regardless of whether it is good or bad.

Filled by Theresah Mensah.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has made contact with representatives of Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli with a view to having the young Brazilian snub the country of his birth and instead pledge his allegiance to the Italy national team.

Martinelli was born in the Brazilian city of Guarulhos in the state of Sao Paolo, but it has emerged that he is eligible for an Italian passport through his father, and the Azzurri are keen to sign up the 18-year-old as he has not yet turned out for the Selecao.

Brazil national team coach Tite did actually call-up the youngster to join pre-tournament training ahead of the 2019 Copa America, which Brazil went on to win, but the trip was merely to have Martinelli and a select few other starlets get experience in a national team set-up.

Tite’s former right-hand man, Edu, is now director of football at Arsenal, could well step in to convince the player to reject Italy’s proposal, though it is understood that Martinelli has not yet ruled anything out.

Filled by Theresah Mensah. |DFM|DIKODER.COM|

Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus inflicted a first defeat of the season on Inter Milan in Serie A after leaving the San Siro Stadium with a 2-1 win on Sunday.

Ronaldo was heavily involved in the winning goal, combining with Rodrigo Bentancur to setup substitute Gonzalo Higuain for an 80th-minute winner after Lautaro Martinez had scored from the penalty spot to answer Paulo Dybala’s opener for the visitors.

The result has sent the Bianconeri to the top of the table and ruined Inter boss Antonio Conte’s first match against his former club.

Juve’s positive lineup, featuring Ronaldo and Dybala up top with Federico Bernardeschi positioned behind, was rewarded with an early goal when Dybala converted a low shot in the fourth minute.

The finish emboldened the visitors, who poured forward in numbers, moving the ball imaginatively and at pace. Ronaldo went close on nine minutes when he drifted in from the left and crashed a shot off the bar.

Inter were showing signs of nerves, but a mistake at the back helped them get back into the game. Matthijs de Ligt was flagged for handball, and the video assistant referee confirmed the infraction along with the award of a penalty to Martinez.

The Argentinian made no mistake from the spot to continue a prolific recent run. Signed from Racing Club in 2018, Martinez has been gaining admirers for his all-action displays:

Filed by: Theresah Mensah.

Unai Emery insists that his English is good enough to communicate his ideas clearly to his Arsenal players after 18-year-old winger Bukayo Saka claimed 10 days ago that he turns to assistant first-team coach Freddie Ljungberg for clarification when he does not understand the manager.

”Last year on the first day I spoke to them [in] very bad [English], more than today, as you hear in the press conference,” Emery said. “Now my English is, from one to 10, maybe a six. But at six I think the players can understand me. But if not, some help is good.”

Emery assistant Juan Carlos Carcedo generally speaks to the group as a whole, while Ljungberg, first-team coach Pablo Villanueva and goalkeeping coach Javi Garcia work one-to-one. “But it is normally with every player, not only Bukayo Saka. Also, I spoke to Saka alone in my office and prepared sometimes some videos. I have also done videos with English players, Spanish players, German players, French players.”

He has a long way to go before he reaches the native-speaker standard of Hector Bellerin, who arrived at Arsenal from Barcelona eight years ago and spoke confidently at the Oxford Union last year. But he admits that the return of Bellerin to the first-team squad after injury will help both the team’s play on the field and the head coach’s job of it.

Filled by Theresah Mensah.