Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2023 i World Soccer

42 European goals scored for Liverpool by Mohamed Salah after he found the net in the Champions League against Real Madrid, a new club record. 41 Years, four months and 23 days, the age at which Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic became Milan’s oldest player of all time, overtaking Alessandro Costacurta’s record. 181 Manchester United clean sheets kept by goalkeeper David de Gea after the Carabao Cup final victory over Newcastle United, overtaking Peter Schmeichel’s club record. 24 Number of games it took for Cremonese to finally win their first Serie A match of the season after a shock 2-1 victory over Jose Mourinho’s Roma. 8 Red cards shown during the Campeonato Paranaense state clash between title rivals Athletico Paranaense and Coritiba after a stoppage-time brawl. 3 Spakenburg are only the third…

“I am homosexual and I no longer want to hide myself”Czech Republic and Sparta Prague midfielder Jakub Jankto becomes the first current men’s international footballer to publicly come out as gay “John Motson was the voice of a footballing generation – steering us through the twists and turns of FA Cup runs, the highs and lows of World Cups and, of course, Saturday nights on Match of the Day”BBC director-general Tim Davie EUROPE Premier League sides Southampton and Leeds United both appointed new Spanish managers, with RUBEN SELLES taking the Saints job and ex-Watford boss JAVI GRACIA arriving at Elland Road. In the Football League, NEIL WARNOCK came out of retirement to take charge of Huddersfield Town. Elsewhere, GARETH AINSWORTH left Wycombe Wanderers to take over at QPR, with MATT…

You have made a remarkable ascent from youth coach at Sporting’s academy to Angola’s national team coach in a short space of time. How did that come about? At Sporting in 2015, we received a visit from the president of the Angolan club Primeiro Agosto, who came to look at the facilities. I was in the gym at the time and he came in, took some pictures, and then we started a conversation about what he was doing there. He had been looking at academies across Europe to build one for his club in Luanda. The next day I was invited to meet him and within weeks I had accepted a job there; when you’ve been in the same job for14 years, you need another challenge. I went to Luanda…

The final two rounds of the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League will see some exciting and decisive matches, particularly in League A, where three-team groups provide a fine line between qualification and relegation. LEAGUE A The four group winners qualify for the Nations League finals at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and also for this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup finals. The runners-up also qualify for the Gold Cup and the third-placed side go down. In most groups in League A, the sides going into the final round at the bottom look unlikely to survive. The greatest excitement is in Group D. The USA were the only CONCACAF team to emerge from the group stage at the World Cup, but they enter the Nations League final round in danger of elimination.…

Both Esperance of Tunisia and Morocco’s Raja Casablanca produced a100 per cent record at the halfway point of the group phase of the African Champions League, effectively already booking their berths in the last eight of the continent’s top club competition with three matches still to play. Mamelodi Sundowns were also looking odds on for yet another spot in the quarter-finals, but last season’s two finalists – winners Wydad Casablanca and runners-up Al Ahly – are having to scramble after they both lost their opening group games. The pair have a game in hand, however, after their opening weekend matches were both postponed due to their participation in the Club World Cup in Morocco. Wydad, after being eliminated by Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia at their own tournament, lost their…

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Commentators occupy a unique space in the hearts, minds and memories of football fans. Often, it is only when they pass away – as John Motson did in February, at the age of 77 – that we realise the extent to which they have provided the soundtrack to dozens of football memories going back decades. When the news of Motson’s death was announced, social media was awash with clips of some of the most famous moments from the last 50 years – all described by the commentator’s iconic voice. “The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club!” he erupted after Wimbledon defeated Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final. “Oh this is getting better and better and better!” he exclaimed during England’s 5-1 win over Germany in 2001, one of…

That was the week that was. On the Monday Premier League lawyers hit Manchester City with100-plus alleged breaches of financial regulations; next day neighbours United were subject to speculation of a Qatari buyout; one day more and the European Super League spectre was revived; finally, on the Saturday, Real Madrid reclaimed the official world club crown by defeating Al Hilal in Morocco. Power games on and off the pitch and following the money. All in a dateline sequence the major themes of elite club football: financial imbalance, multinational ownership, super league mischief and FIFA’s bid to hijack club cash. This has left European federation UEFA – depending on your point of view – either trying to preserve administrative and competitive sanity, or attempting, Canute-like, to hold back an irresistible surge…

As a player you won the European Championship in England in 1984, and as a coach you won Olympic Gold in England in 2012. Do you consider England to be your lucky country? I would say football is my lucky sport, more so. The best sport of all. But yes, I was very excited to go to Wembley Stadium in 2012 with the United States national team. That was a very exciting time for me and for women’s football. It was great. At the European Championship in1984 you were the top scorer and player of the tournament. It remains Sweden’s only major international title – was the final your best day as a player? I think so. In later years, the coach changed my position. All the way up to…

A homecoming match for Morocco against Brazil is a fitting tribute to the country that reached the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar, but it also means that Africa’s new top-ranked team will not play a competitive game again until mid-year. The next two rounds of Africa Cup of Nations qualification at the end of March will feature 44 of the continent’s national teams but not the Moroccans, who were due to play a double header against Zimbabwe in Group K but whose opponents are still banned by FIFA after their government closed down the football association amid allegations of corruption and sexual harassment. It has been more than a year of isolation now for Zimbabwe as the stand-off with FIFA continues. Moroccan supporters have been itching for a homecoming opportunity…

When Eldor Shomurodov came on in the dying minutes of Roma’s 2022 Europa Conference League final victory over Feyenoord, he became the first Uzbek to win a UEFA title. The White Wolves striker, who averages a goal every other game at international level, blazed a trail for his countrymen when he joined Genoa in 2020 and was snapped up a year later by Roma for €17.5 million. The only other Uzbek to play in Serie A was the little-known Ilyos Zeytulayev, who signed for Juventus in 2000 but failed to make a breakthrough and made most of his appearances in the second tier, often on loan. Now, after 34 Roma appearances but just three goals, Shomurodov is also out on loan albeit still in Serie A at Spezia. Western European…

“The 2030 World Cup is not just another World Cup, it deserves a celebration with recognition for 100 years”CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez formally announces the combined bid from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile to host the 2030 World Cup ■ ENGLAND Change afoot for English game The wheels have been set in motion for an independent regulator to oversee English football. As a result of recommendations made by last year’s fan-led review, the British government have now outlined plans for a new regulator to address and oversee a number of issues in the game. “The English game remains one of the UK’s greatest cultural exports,” said a government statement announcing the proposed legislation. “That is why the government is today taking the necessary and targeted steps to ensure that continues…

Harry Kane had already begun to make his mark when he lined up for Tottenham against Chelsea on New Year’s Day 2015. There’d been some promising appearances in the Europa League – including the game against Asteras Tripoli in which he scored a hat-trick and ended up going in goal for the final minutes, letting in a goal after fumbling a free-kick. He had scored a last-minute winner against Aston Villa that Mauricio Pochettino said had saved his job, and then had scored in three consecutive 2-1 wins through December. But it was in that big clash, against the then-Premier League leaders Chelsea, on the first day of 2015 that really underlined what a talent he was. I remember the conversation I had with another journalist before kick-off. Both of…

In one of the most important periods in Canada’s football history, with the CONCACAF nation ending their 36-year wait for World Cup qualification in Qatar and co-hosting duties to come in 2026, the Canadian Premier League (CPL) represents a major step forward by providing the country with a professional league. Having faced down challenges such as COVID and the dissolution of FC Edmonton, the CPL has evolved and developed since its inception in 2019. Amid all of this, one thing has always remained the same as the league enters its fifth campaign: Forge FC’s status as standard setters. The format of the competition is an eight-team league, with the top four advancing to play-offs to compete for the North Star Shield trophy. Of the four seasons that have been played…

Luciano RODRIGUEZ Liverpool In a sentence The essence of the South American Under-20 Championship: a player who spent last year in the Uruguayan second division and now appears on the wish list of European giants. What they say “I congratulate you for the great goals and for the great tournament that you are playing. I’m full of admiration for the commitment and the quality that you are showing.” Luis Suarez, Uruguay legend The story so far Luciano was born in Montevideo on July 16 – a special date for Uruguayans because it is the anniversary of the 1950 World Cup victory – along with twin brother Emiliano, a reserve striker in the Under-20 squad. The pair came through Uruguay’s renowned Baby Football – a smaller pitch, smaller side youth game…

PORTUGAL Roberto Martinez “I want to thank the president of the Portuguese Federation (FPF). He said I was not his first choice; I was his only choice!” Those were the words of Jose Mourinho, the man not appointed Portugal’s new coach, just days after Roberto Martinez had been unveiled, signing a four-year contract with the Selecao. Even before Mourinho’s typically mischievous remarks, it was an open secret that the Roma coach had been the top target of FPF head Fernando Gomes, but he could not be coaxed away from the Italian capital. Even so, with Portuguese managers in vogue around Europe and several available such as Andre Villas-Boas, Nuno Espirito Santo and Paulo Sousa, opting for a foreign manager came as a big surprise. The appointment of Martinez is an…

Two years of ugly, painful revelations about the abusive coaching culture that operated in the NWSL’s shadows have horrified supporters and sponsors, brought down a raft of coaches, including previously lauded names, and forced administrative change. Hoping for an end to the scandals may be wishful thinking. Already this year, championship-winning Portland Thorns have fired assistant coach Sophie Clough and athletic trainer Pierre Soubrier. Clough was found to have made “inappropriate and unwanted physical contact” with a player, “kissing her neck at the team’s championship celebration”, while Soubrier was axed for administering a medication containing codeine – a controlled substance – to two players, one “without her informed consent”. The husband of star player Crystal Dunn, Soubrier now faces an inquiry by state regulators. The NWSL is just the tip…

What better way to raise the curtain on the Euro 2024 qualifying process than a pair of epic encounters on matchday one: England travelling to Naples for a potentially volcanic clash with Italy, and France hosting the Dutch in a heavyweight head-to-head at the Stade de France in Paris. A perusal of the history books suggests that the Dutch will be up against it in the French capital. They have lost five of their last six matches against Les Bleus and have not won on Gallic soil for a whopping 87 years (a 6-1 win back in 1936). For the French, fresh from achieving a commendable silver medal at the World Cup, the time has come for a changing of the guard in defence. Arguably the two most important individuals…

WORLD 2022 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP First Round Feb 1 – Tangier Al Ahly (Egy) 3 (El Shahat 45+2, Sherif 56, Tau 86) Auckland City (Nzl) 0 Al Ahly: El Shenawy – Hany, Metwalli, Abdelmonem, Maaloul; El Shahat (Mohamed 75), Fathi (Attia 80), Dieng, El Solia (Magdy Afsha 83), Abdel Kader (Tau 75); Sherif (Kahraba 80). Auckland City: Tracey – Murati, Mitchell, Boxall, Lobo (Vale 71); Manickum (Lee 78), Garriga (Drake 78), Den Heijer, Howieson, Tade (Gillion 55); De Vries (Kilkolly 71). Sent off: Mitchell 90+7. Second Round Feb 4 – Rabat Wydad (Mar) 1 (El Amloud 52) Al Hilal (Ksa) 1 (Kanno 90+3 pen) AET. Al Hilal win 5-3 on penalties Wydad: Tagnaouti – El Amloud, Farhane, Zola, Attiat Allah; Daoudi, Jabrane, Jaadi (Sambou 95); Bouhra (Ounajem 74), Lamkel…

Chelsea 4 Barcelona 2 2004-05 Champions League, Stamford Bridge Speaking to World Soccer at a BT Sport event, former England and Chelsea superstar Joe Cole looks back on the games for club and country that he cherishes more than any other… When you play in a Champions League final, that is the pinnacle. You walk past that trophy on your way out onto the pitch and it hits home how far you have gone. This is what you want when you start your career, but the idea that you will get to a Champions League final seems hard to believe. I did that in 2008 with Chelsea, but I can’t look back on it as the best game of my career because we lost to Manchester United in Moscow. For…