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Gennaro Gattuso has revealed he was distraught to miss out on the Tottenham Hotspur job before Nuno Espirito Santo was given the role.

The Lowdown: Gattuso a target

Former AC Milan and Napoli boss Gattuso was approached by Spurs to take over from Jose Mourinho (via TEAMtalk), who was sacked in April.

However, after discussions had progressed, Daniel Levy and co decided to go in another direction (via The Daily Mail).

The Latest: Gattuso shares disappointment

Speaking to Italian outlet Il Messaggero (via theworldgame.sbs), Gattuso shared his disappointment at being overlooked. He said:

“It was a huge disappointment, but I wasn’t described the way I am and there was nothing I could do,” Gattuso told Il Messaggero.

“I am sorry I could not defend myself and explain that I am not the person they were talking about in England.

“I had to accept a story that hurts more than any defeat or dismissal, in a moment when we don’t want to understand how dangerous the internet can be.”

The Verdict: Spurs went with safer choice

As a player, Gattuso was one of the best midfielders in the world, winning countless trophies with AC Milan as well as the World Cup with Italy in 2006. While his managerial career has not yet hit the same heights, he has still done relatively well, even managing to win the Coppa Italia with Napoli.

The 43-year-old is outspoken – just as he was as a player – and he has rarely settled at any club of which he has been in charge (sportskeeda.com). Nuno, meanwhile, appears to be the safer choice. He has managed in the Premier League and has not been followed by controversy. Only time will tell whether Levy made the right decision.

In other news, Tottenham make a bid for this Euro 2020 winner.

CANBERRA, Dec 9 AAP – The England team’s injury woes have continued with captain Nasser Hussain being ruled out of Tuesday’s one-day game against the Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra

09-Dec-2002CANBERRA, Dec 9 AAP – The England team’s injury woes have continued with captain Nasser Hussain being ruled out of Tuesday’s one-day game against the Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra.Hussain has been ruled out with a thigh injury, though English officials say he’s in no danger of missing Friday night’s opening one-day international against Australia at the SCG.Out-of-form opener Marcus Trescothick will lock horns with PM’s XI captain Mark Waugh in Hussain’s absence.Trescothick on Monday said the English side was optimistic it could pick up its first win of the tour tomorrow and gain a much needed confidence boost ahead of the clash with Australia.”We’re looking very closely into winning our first game,” Trescothick said.”We would hope it would be tomorrow. I think we’re okay, I don’t think there’s a major problem with team spirit.”The wheels aren’t off yet.”

Crystal Palace have reportedly entered the race to sign West Bromwich Albion midfielder Matheus Pereira.

What’s the story?

According to The Athletic, Palace are interested in signing the 25-year-old this summer as Patrick Vieira’s revolution at Selhurst Park begins to take shape.

However, he won’t come cheap. A recent report in the Express & Star claimed that the Baggies are likely to demand around £30m for Pereira, with several Premier League clubs credited with an interest in the Brazilian.

Fans will be absolutely buzzing

The South American creative talent had a fabulous 2020/21 campaign despite West Brom’s constant struggles near the foot of the table.

Pereira’s one-man show at times last season earned numerous admirers, including BBC pundit and former Everton midfielder Leon Osman, who praised his set-piece delivery.

“It’s a wonderful corner. We’ve seen Matheus Pereira try this a few times. He tries to find it under the crossbar, inside the goal frame, to see if anyone gets on the end of it,” said Osman.

“Matt Phillips made himself a handful for the goalkeeper, but it’s a wonderful delivery from Pereira.”

After bagging 11 goals and providing six assists in 33 top-flight appearances, it’s easy to understand why Palace are interested in signing the attacking midfielder, and news of their interest will surely have the club’s supporters absolutely buzzing.

Following the exciting signings of Michael Olise and Marc Guehi, a new wave of hope and optimism is starting to build at the south London club.

Vieira will still need significant additions ahead of the upcoming campaign in order to have the foundations for a successful season, but adding Pereira to Palace’s ranks would be a major boost to their survival plans.

The West Brom ace matched Palace’s top goalscorer for league goals in the recently concluded campaign, equalled their most proficient assister, and made more key passes (1.8) per league game than any member of the first-team squad, as per WhoScored.

Therefore, a large section of the fans will be urging chairman Steve Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman to make a move for Pereira over the coming months.

With the highly-rated Eberechi Eze set for an extended spell on the sidelines through injury, Pereira could be the perfect replacement, and Palace could really do with his services next season.

And, in other news…Imagine him and Zaha: Parish can seal dream Palace duo by signing “unreal” marksman 

MatériaMais Notícias

Com vaga garantida para a semifinal do Campeonato Carioca, independente do resultado da Taça Rio, Abel Braga quer aproveitar a boa fase do time reserva, vitorioso nas duas partidas que jogou neste ano, e analisar o desempenho dos atletas, que não vinham recebendo muitas oportunidades.

Ainda no primeiro turno, contra o Volta Redonda, o técnico optou por entrar em campo com a garotada. Na partida, o Fluminense saiu com vitória por 3 a 0, com gols de Reginaldo e Richarlison (2). Neste domingo, contra o Boavista, os meninos voltaram a jogar e venceram por 2 a 0, com gols de Renato e Richarlison.

Até agora o time formado por jogadores da reserva venceu as duas partidas que disputou sem sofrer nenhum gol. Com o resultado, o técnico Abel Braga se sente confiante e aproveita para testar os jogadores ainda inexperientes. Parece que está dando certo. Devido à tática do treinador, o time de titulares pode se entregar ainda mais à Copa do Brasil e à Sul-Americana, que está prestes a começar. Segundo João Mércio Gomes, setorista do Tricolor, a Taça Rio pode não mudar o futuro do Fluminense, então é uma boa hora para analisar o desempenho dos atletas que foram promovidos recentemente.

– Grande parte do elenco é inexperiente e Abel sabe bem a hora de testar os garotos. A Taça Rio, neste momento, não faz diferença para o Fluminense. Promover a entrada dos reservas – grande parte recém-promovida da base – é a melhor estratégia. O grupo é limitado. Não há reservas para Léo na lateral-esquerda nem para Douglas, como segundo volante. As entradas de Calazans e Wendel foram boas sacadas do treinador. Pode dar muito certo. Ou não. De qualquer forma, essa é a hora ideal para testar os jovens e os ‘esquecidos’ do elenco.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Fabuloso chegou. Às 9h20 desta terça-feira, Luis Fabiano apareceu no Aeroporto Santos Dumont, no Centro do Rio de Janeiro, para cerca de 1.500 torcedores, segundo divulgado pela Polícia Militar. O desembarque do novo atacante do Vasco foi marcado por muita agitação desde cedo, com os primeiros membros da torcida chegando ao local pouco depois das 7h.

Algumas organizadas foram vistas durante a festa. Bandeiras e instrumentos musicais foram utilizados pelos torcedores para recepcionar Luis Fabiano, que literalmente foi parou nos braços do povo. Uma barreira de segurança chegou a ser montada para evitar confusão, mas assim que Fabuloso apareceu na pista lateral do Santos Dumont, não teve quem segurasse a euforia.

O clima foi típico de uma final de Copa do Mundo. Em suas primeiras palavras como novo reforço do Vasco em solo fluminense, Luis Fabiano destacou ao site oficial a emoção de vestir a camisa do Cruz-Maltino. Do aeroporto, Fabuloso seguiu para São Januário, onde participou de uma cerimônia íntima com o presidente Eurico Miranda e se reuniu com sócios-torcedores.

– Primeiramente gostaria de agradecer a recepção maravilhosa da torcida do Vasco no aeroporto. É uma coisa que ficará guardada para a minha carreira. Certeza que fiz a escolha certa – afirmou Luis Fabiano, que teve a sua novela com o Vasco em uma duração de quase quatro meses por conta da demora em entrar em acordo com o Tianjin Quanjian, da China, pela rescisão. A Ponte Preta era outra equipe interessada no jogador.

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Luis Fabiano será apresentado como novo reforço do Vasco aos jornalistas na sede náutica do clube, na Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, no início desta tarde. Na sequência, retorna para São Januário para o primeiro treinamento ao lado dos companheiros. A atividade é aberta para a torcida a partir das 15h, com entrada dos sócios pela social e de torcedores em geral pelo portão 9.

According to Football Insider, there are a trio of English clubs interested in signing Glasgow Rangers defender Borna Barisic.

The Lowdown: Gers players attracting attention

The past campaign was a magnificent one for all involved at Ibrox as the Gers won the Premiership, their first major trophy in 10 years, without losing a single game in the competition (BBC).

As such, the 55-time Scottish champions’ players are likely to attract plenty of attention from the rest of the continent over the summer.

The Latest: PL trio eye Barisic

Now, it is being reported that three Premier League sides, Arsenal, Wolves and Aston Villa are all interesting in signing Barisic.

The clubs were set to assess the 28-year-old during Croatia’s opening Euro 2020 clash with England, but Barisic was unable to play due to injury.

The Verdict: Deserving of interest

While there were plenty of star performers for Steven Gerrard throughout the 2020/21 campaign, few were as important to the side’s success as Barisic. He made 50 appearances in all competitions for the Gers, and showed his attacking threat by scoring five goals and providing a further 14 assists (Transfermarkt).

Reportedly valued at £12m (The Athletic), Gerrard has been aware of Barisic’s ability for a while – he called him “magic” after a goal the left-back scored in 2019 (via the42.ie). As the Gers target a Champions League run next term, Gerrard will be wanting to hold on to his best players, like Barisic. However, it is likely the interest in his services will continue until the end of the transfer window.

In other news, Rangers fans were livid at this SPFL development.

Gauteng Cricket Board chief executive Thabo Moseki is to fly to England this week to bring back the remains of Walter Masimula who died suddenly in his sleep on Thursday night. A memorial service is planned later this week once Masimula’s body is back in South Africa.Although the results of a post mortem have still to be released, it is understood that Masimula is believed to have died of natural causes at the age of 26. The news of his death, the details of which have only gradually been revealed, has been greeted with shock and disbelief in South Africa.Masimula was playing club cricket for Brooks Cricket Club in the Surrey Leage and was coaching at King Edward’s School in Witley when he died.In many respects Masimula blazed a trail in South African cricket, capturing the headlines some years before Makhaya Ntini and Mfuneko Ngam came through as fully-fledged Test cricketers.He emerged from the development programmes put into place in South Africa during the 1980s and went on to become something of a symbol for the newly-formed United Cricket Board and then a first-class cricketer in his own right.As a 16-year-old Masimula, from a humble background in the Johannesburg township of Alexandra, was wheeled out before a succession of visiting dignitaries as an example of the latent talent that, given sufficient time and attention, South Africa might be able to tap into.Like many promising young fast bowlers, Masimula never quite fulfilled his early promise. While slippery, he lacked genuine pace and he was to settle for line and length as his major assets.Masimula came through the provincial under age groups at a time when his team-mates were almost exclusively white. He represented the old Transvaal from under 13 onwards and in 1995 he toured England with the South African under 19 team with Makhaya Ntini as a team-mate.During England’s 1999/2000 tour of South Africa he represented a combined Northerns/Gauteng XI against the tourists and by the end of the 2001/2002 he had 18 first-class appearances for Gauteng to his credit.His unexpected death has stunned friends and team-mates in England and South Africa.Gauteng captain Clive Eksteen said: “He was a great guy, a wholehearted competitor and a pleasure to have around. We’re all very shocked and saddened by the news.”Bronwyn Wilkinson, spokesperson for the UCB, said Masimula’s death had come as a great shock for South African cricket. "He was a very popular cricketer, well liked by his team-mates, opponents and administrators. The UCB would like to offer sincere condolences to his family and his many friends."In some respects Masimula’s career has been overshadowed by the achievements of Ntini and Ngam. In terms of beaking down stereotypes and prejudices, though, Masimula will be seen to have played a crucial role in South African cricket.

Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny has hailed a touching gesture from Luke Ayling towards his Whites teammate Kalvin Phillips.

The Lowdown: Phillips prepares for Euro 2020 duty

Phillips is currently on England duty, hoping to make his mark in a major tournament by taking his club form with him onto the international stage.

Leeds fans will be desperate for the 25-year-old to impress, but his teammates are no different, especially in Ayling’s case.

The right-back has bought an England shirt with Phillips’ name on it, in what is a lovely gesture that outlines how close the pair are.

The Latest: Kenny discusses Ayling gesture

Speaking to Football Insider, Kenny spoke glowingly about Ayling, lauding the Leeds hero for his efforts:

“I thought this was great. It shows the togetherness in the dressing room. They are close them two and I’m sure Ayling will be wearing that shirt while the Euros are on.

“It would be funny if you were in a beer garden watching the game and you saw that, wouldn’t it?”

The Verdict: Unrivalled team spirit

This perfectly sums up the team spirit that Marcelo Bielsa has created at Elland Road, with players genuinely desperate for their teammates to do well.

That togetherness has played a huge part in Leeds’ success in recent years, with their willingness to fight for each other and run until the final whistle arguably the best in the Premier League.

The fact that Ayling is clearly so happy for Phillips, despite not getting selceted to play at the Euros himself, speaks volumes about him as a person and about the unity in the Leeds squad.

In other news, one pundit is keen on Leeds signing a British midfielder this summer. Find out who it is here. 

The legendary Sir Garfield Sobers heads a distinguished list of formerTest players earmarked to be among the tutors for the first batch ofstudents at the Shell Cricket Academy of St. George’s University.Academy director Dr. Rudi Webster said it was also hoped that otherslike Sir Everton Weekes, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, DavidHolford, Joey Carew, Gus Logie, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh wouldbe available at some stage during the three-month programme startingon May 15.One of greatest and most neglected assets here in the Caribbean is ourformer Test players, Webster said.We don’t realise what a gold mine we have in that area and itirritates me to hear people say that ex-cricketers don’t know anythingabout coaching or they don’t know anything about the game.What Sir Garfield Sobers has forgotten, most of these young peoplewouldn’t know.In addition to the former West Indies Test players, Webster hassecured the services of current Test leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarineand two Australian coaches who were behind the success of championstate side Queensland for the past two seasons.The state’s coach Bennett King and assistant coach Terry Oliver willbe here three weeks during the second month of the programme, which isgeared towards 24 of the region’s promising cricketers between theages of 18 and 23.The 35-year King, a former Australia Under-19 player, was assistantcoach for a few seasons before taking over from current national coachJohn Buchanan, while Oliver is regional cricket manager withQueensland Cricket where he is also state co-ordinator of specialprogrammes.Bob Woolmer, who enjoyed great success as coach of South Africa, alsoexpressed an interest in playing a part in the academy, but dutieswith English county Warwickshire will prevent him from doing so.The former West Indies players are expected to join the set-up in thelast month.It was already disclosed that two Cuban coaches would be coming,mainly to deal with fielding and fitness, and there will also be thepresence of a renowned sports psychologist from Havana.The wide-ranging programme focuses on several areas, but it has beenbroken down into four main pillars: fitness, technical, tactical andmental.The main thing that I am trying to achieve at the academy is to tryand get those youngsters to start thinking for themselves, becausethis is the weakness in our cricket, Webster said.We do not think very well under pressure. A lot of the training willbe teaching these guys how to deal with pressure and how to managetheir thinking and things like concentration and stuff like that.

كشفت صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية، رد فعل نادي ريال مدريد، حول نبأ صحيفة “ليكيب” الفرنسية، والتي ذكرت أن برشلونة يريد التعاقد مع الدولي الفرنسي كيليان مبابي من صفوف باريس سان جيرمان.

ليكيب قالت في عددها الصادر صباح اليوم الجمعة، قد ذكرت أن برشلونة يُخطط للقاء مع مبابي، يتواجد فيه مدرب النادي الكتالوني تشافي هرنانديز.

مبابي عقده ينتهي مع باريس سان جيرمان في نهاية الموسم الجاري، 30  يونيو ونجم بي اس جي، حريص على الرحيل، إذ يرغب في الانتقال إلى نادي أحلامه ريال مدريد.

وقالت الصحيفة في تقريرها: “في ريال مدريد لم يتفاعل أحد مع هذه الأنباء، حيث يرى النادي بأنه تسريب من باريس سان جيرمان نفسه، في محاولة أخيرة لزعزعة الاستقرار”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. نيكو: فوز الكلاسيكو أمام ريال مدريد نقطة تحول لبرشلونة للتتويج بالليجا

وأضافت الصحيفة أن ريال مدريد يعلم مقدار الضغط المُستمر على مبابي من قبل مسؤولي باريس سان جيرمان من أجل التجديد، حيث يحاول النادي الباريسي بشتى الطرق إبعاد مبابي عن سانتياجو برنابيو”.

وأشارت الصحيفة إلى أن برشلونة أيضًا لا ينوى الدخول في حرب مع ريال مدريد من أجل التعاقد مع مبابي، حيث يعلم النادي الكتالوني أن الفرنسي يريد فقط شيء واحد وهو ارتداء قميص المرينجي.

وأكدت الصحيفة أن ريال مدريد هادئ ولم يتغير أي شيء من جانب النادي بالنسبة لـ مبابي، لأن إدارة المرينجي تعلم ما هي درجة التزام الفرنسي تجاه المرينجي.