Blog (Page 213)

It’s incredible that a gold sphere with a fairly romantic name means so much around the globe; the Ballon d’Or, despite the simplicity it comes down to, is the pinnacle of recognition throughout the beautiful game. Each year, the best footballers in the world gather and await the verdict of top journalists from the 100 nations ranked highest by FIFA to find out if they’ve received that aforementioned, remarkably weighted gold sphere. These days, we’re used to seeing players from gargantuan European clubs take to the stage during football’s most coveted ceremonial evening – indeed, this year’s favourite is talismanic Real Madrid and France heroRead More →

Chivas de Guadalajara confirmed Fernando Hierro will be the team’s new Sporting Director, replacing Ricardo Pelaez. The team parted ways with Pelaez after a disappointing 2022 Liga MX Apertura campaign, concluding the regular season in ninth before losing to Puebla in the playoffs reclassification match.  Hierro will now take over, arriving with plenty of time to make changes before the 2023 Clausura tournament kicks off on January 6. “Excited, is the word, with the new challenge, it will be a fantastic experience, there are different motivations and Chivas is one of them, we know what the club and identity means, it is different from theRead More →

The unprecedented 2022 World Cup in Qatar is fast approaching with domestic leagues across Europe poised to come to a standstill. The hosts get the tournament underway on 20 November as they take on Ecuador in Group A. England’s campaign, meanwhile, begins a day later against IR Iran. Despite enduring a pitiful UEFA Nations League campaign in 2022, the Three Lions head into the World Cup as one of the favourites to go all the way. Gareth Southgate has a myriad of luxuries at his disposal in what could be his last major tournament as England boss. The harmony within the national team squad hasRead More →

The 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony is right around the corner with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema emerging as the clear favourite to take home the award. The Frenchman enjoyed a stellar 2021/22 campaign which saw Los Blancos secure a memorable double under the tutelage of Carlo Ancelotti. Benzema was the heartbeat of the side, with his 27 La Liga goals and 15 Champions League strikes thrusting Real to glory in both competitions. The 34-year-old is the understandable favourite for the crown, but France Football have a knack of surprising the masses on awards night. Here are some instances in Ballon d’Or history when, perhaps, theRead More →

Another slew of fixtures down, another not-at-all questionable team of the week. You’re welcome, football fans. Joining us today are three Liverpool players, the Premier League’s favourite example of nominative determinism and, er, Dominic Solanke. Strap in, folks. Here are 90min’s star performers from Gameweek 11. Save after save! 🧤#AvlChe pic.twitter.com/2fftV6hF0l — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 16, 2022 The Kepa Arrizabalaga redemption arc is officially GO. The £71.6 million signing (still the world record for a goalkeeper) has been a figure of ridicule for almost the entirety of his Chelsea career to date but has now made three starts out of three in the PremierRead More →

Carlo Ancelotti has admitted his delight at banishing the demons of last season’s Clasico defeat following Real Madrid’s comfortable 3-1 victory over Barcelona on home soil. The Santiago Bernabeu hosted a shock 4-0 victory for Barcelona in March last season, for which Ancelotti accepted the blame after he deployed Luka Modric in an unconventional false-nine role and completely disrupted the balance of his side. They were missing star striker Karim Benzema that night but, with the Frenchman available this time around, he started up top and Modric retained his usual midfield role, and the lack of tinkering worked to perfection as goals from Benzema, ValverdeRead More →

Graham Potter is keen on reuniting with Leandro Trossard at Chelsea, while the Seagulls’ former sporting director Dan Ashworth also wants to bring the Belgian to Newcastle, 90min understands. Trossard has a contract at Brighton running until 2024, and while the club want to tie him down to a new deal, he isn’t short of suitors. Potter, who utilised Trossard in a number of different roles during his time at the Amex Stadium, wants to bring the versatile winger to Stamford Bridge having previously signed him from Genk in 2019. However, 90min also understands that Brighton’s former sporting director Ashworth, now in charge at Newcastle,Read More →

Marko Arnautovic rejected the chance to join Manchester United from Bologna this summer, his agent has sensationally claimed. The 33-year-old was linked with a surprise move to Old Trafford in August, but United were thought to have backed away from the deal after baulking at his £8m price tag. There was also significant unrest from United’s supporters over the proposed move, with many feeling that the Austrian was not the right profile of player for manager Erik ten Hag to be targeting. But those version of events have been questioned by Arnautovic’s agent, Tiziano Pasquali, after he told Sky Italy that it was his clientRead More →

The New York Red Bulls are out of the MLS Cup playoffs after losing 1-2 to FC Cincinnati on Saturday at Red Bull Arena.  Despite getting the early lead with a stunning strike by Lewis Morgan, a penalty by Lucho Acosta and late goal by Brandon Vazquez eventually eliminated the New York side from contention.  As the team heads into the offseason, head coach Gerhard Struber admitted the Red Bulls will use the loss as an opportunity to grow.  “It’s a big learning moment, a moment to grow, it’s a big hit in the face. We can see that we cannot always hold our level,”Read More →

Bayern Munich made light work of SC Freiburg in a dominant 5-0 victory on Sunday, leapfrogging their visitors in the Bundesliga table in doing so. It took just 13 minutes for Serge Gnabry to fire Bayern ahead at the Allianz Arena, sharply heading in a rebound following a fine save from Leroy Sane’s initial effort. Julian Nagelsmann’s side were suddenly performing like champions once again, having gone into the game seventh in the table. Gnabry almost made it a brace for himself after 21 minutes, forcing a save out of Freiburg goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who put in an inspired performance all things considered. But forRead More →