The Spanish FA president’s departure is a matter of time after an extraordinary week which changed the entire nationExactly a week after Spain won their second World Cup, the footballer who scored the goal which secured their first spoke out. On Sunday morning, Andrés Iniesta added his voice to those that had accumulated ever more rapidly over the previous days and hours, starting with the 23 players who had become champions in Sydney and the 12 that had not, ultimately sacrificing the moment of their lives for their principles, the pursuit of improvement. “We can’t tolerate the behaviour which has overshadowed this huge feat,” Iniesta wrote. “I can’t imagine how the players feel seeing that what is being talked about...
Like his new club, the Germany wing-back has taken a hard road to the top and both can sense a big opportunity this season“I’m knackered,” Robin Gosens told Sky. “But very, very happy.” What started out looking like the most forgiving, gentle induction into life together for him and Union Berlin didn’t turn out quite like that. It was something far more satisfying instead.Gosens had waited a long time for this, his full Bundesliga debut, just like Union have spent a long while working themselves into this position. No longer the underdog but the ogre, they ruthlessly crushed the hopes of Darmstadt in the promoted club’s first game at their Böllenfalltor home since arriving back in the big time. Union...
The American has grabbed headlines with goals in his first two Serie A games but other new recruits are making an impact tooChristian Pulisic is listed on the Milan website as weighing 73kg or 161lb, but Rafael Leão lifted him off the floor like a dad with his kid at school sports day, hugging him right up into the air. When you have been carrying a team’s attack for as long as the Portuguese has, anything else feels light by comparison.Leão has been Milan’s top scorer and assist-provider in Serie A for two seasons running – though he did share the first of those titles with Olivier Giroud in 2021-22 – a blessing and a curse for his team. He...
Juventus, Inter, Lazio, Milan and Atalanta are queuing up for a crack at the Scudetto after a summer of change in ItalyThe post-Scudetto cleanup in Naples took more than a month, local authorities reporting they had gathered up enough banners and blue and white ribbons to cover the length of 400 football pitches. Those were just the ones hung on public property. In bars, restaurants and the windows of homes all over the city, Napoli’s first Serie A title in 33 years will continue to be celebrated as long as there are people to remember it.Now, though, they must defend their crown. Easier said than done: Italy has had a different champion in each of the past four seasons. A...
They may have won 11 straight Bundesliga titles but all has not been well in Bavaria where the scrutiny is always intenseAll of a sudden none of it matters. Not a frustrating summer in the transfer market, with the lack of a sporting director often apparent. Not missing out on Declan Rice. Not even the uncertainty over the goalkeeping position. Harry Kane’s impending arrival at the Allianz Arena is a moment of triumph for Bayern Munich, and they are right to celebrate it.How badly Bayern have needed this, on so many levels. Not necessarily on a statistical one – the team scored 92 Bundesliga goals last season, compared with 97 in 2021-22, a negligible difference in light of the exit...