Southampton’s new manager, highly regarded for his man-management and tactical nous, obsesses about the damage victory can inflict on players’ hungerThere were around 40 people on the coaching course Mauricio Pellegrino took when he was a player at Valencia in 1999 and he wanted to know what it was that moved them to be there, so he did something he has done ever since football took him from his home in the Argentinian pampas: he asked and he listened. There were all sorts of reasons but surprisingly few matched his. For some, it was just something to do. For others, it was about money, just a job. Not for Pellegrino. He asked a friend there whether he would take it...
Florentino Pérez has said that his club are not contemplating Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure but one day they will have to, and his equivocal tone suggests they are keeping their options open this summer“That’s not something I am contemplating.” The phrase was repeated often but that did not make it any more true. On Monday night Real Madrid’s president, Florentino Pérez, insisted he was not even thinking about a series of scenarios that he certainly is thinking about. He has to. As he said himself: “Things happen and you look for the best solution for everyone.” What happened was that the Portuguese daily A Bola broke the story that Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Spain; the question now is whether that...
From Real Madrid’s historic double to a bottom three in a league of their own, via explosive managerial cameos and that statue, it’s the annual awardsLuka Modric went to lift the trophy but there was nothing in his hands, just a look on his face that said it all. Beside him, Gareth Bale was giggling. Real Madrid won the league, shouting, embracing and leaping around the pitch at the Rosaleda where they had just defeated Málaga on the final day, but there was something missing. “What do you mean, no trophy?” the Croatian asked Madrid’s press officer. “They’ll hand it out at the start of next season,” came the reply. “So now we celebrate here, we go back to the...
From another Scudetto triumph for Juventus to Crotone’s miraculous escape, we revisit Papu Gómez’s armbands, Joe Hart’s gaffes and the grace of TottiThis might have been another year of European heartbreak for Juventus, but domestically it was the same old story. The Bianconeri won Serie A for the sixth consecutive season, and collected their third straight Coppa Italia as well. No team had ever won either trophy so many times in succession. They have made the unprecedented look routine.And yet, this season was not lacking in drama. To the contrary, there was something wild about this campaign right from the start. There were 32 goals scored (not to mention three red cards) on the opening weekend alone. The final tally...
Despite eventually learning self-control, Pepe is certainly no angel. But as he leaves Real Madrid, a touch sadly, it is time to acknowledge just how good a player he becameThe very last time Pepe put on his Real Madrid kit and ran on to the pitch, it wasn’t to play. Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira joined team-mates in celebrations at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday evening wearing all white, knowing that he will not be back. The day before, he had been left out of the squad for the Champions League final at the Millennium Stadium; the night after, he finally confirmed what had long been an open secret: “It’s clear that I won’t be continuing at Madrid,” he said. There...