Supporters of champions Atlético Madrid and second division winners Espanyol could at last see their teams in action“I had waited a long time to live this moment,” Marcelino García Toral said, speaking for so many. Since he took over from Gaizka Garitano in January, the Athletic Club manager has won the Spanish Super Cup, been at two Copa del Rey finals and seen his team beat Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, but he hadn’t seen this. This, he said when at last the place they call the cathedral had fallen quiet again, was “extraordinary.”Saturday evening and along Pozas – less a street, more a portal drawing football fans to the ground – people were spilling out of bars. On...
Supporters of champions Atlético Madrid and second division winners Espanyol could at last see their teams in action“I had waited a long time to live this moment,” Marcelino García Toral said, speaking for so many. Since he took over from Gaizka Garitano in January, the Athletic Club manager has won the Spanish Super Cup, been at two Copa del Rey finals and seen his team beat Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, but he hadn’t seen this. This, he said when at last the place they call the cathedral had fallen quiet again, was “extraordinary.” Related: Real Madrid extend Karim Benzema’s contract and insert €1bn release clause This photo from @sidlowe outside San Mamés last night is one of our...
They had been away for 11 years, but the forgotten club of Germany’s football heartlands fully enjoyed their gala dayThey streamed down the streets in blue and white, gravitating to the Castroper Strasse where trams drop right outside the Ruhrstadion and the smell of grilling sausages hits you as soon as the double doors open. “The euphoria was palpable throughout the city,” said Thomas Reis. They had waited for this, and how they deserved it. Related: Depay earns Barcelona point against Athletic; Freiburg shock Dortmund Who enjoyed yesterday? #meinVfL #BOCM05 pic.twitter.com/PttRcL6ZtbBayern Munich paid emotional tribute to the great Gerd Müller ahead of their first home game of the season against Köln, led by chairman Herbert Hainer and his predecessor (and...
The striker returns to Chelsea a better and more experienced player in his prime – and with the title in his sightsWhen Sir Alex Ferguson signed Robin van Persie he knew the Dutchman could score the goals needed to take Manchester United to the title, and he proved his manager right in his first season. Thomas Tuchel is hoping Romelu Lukaku will do the same for Chelsea, as the £97.5m final piece in the jigsaw at Stamford Bridge.The Belgian has proven his capabilities everywhere he has been throughout his career, rarely experiencing a barren spell despite sometimes not being first choice. Lukaku’s form at Internazionale helped to lead them to their first Serie A title in 11 years, ending the...
Success at the Euros and Olympics has created a feelgood factor but high-profile departures have damaged the league’s statusItaly has never known a sporting summer like it. After Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri delivered on his vow to win Euro 2020, the Olympians followed up with a record 40 medals and 10 golds in Tokyo. Fabio Capello spoke for many: “I have never felt so Italian as I do right now.”Will the feelgood factor carry over into a new Serie A season? Or has Italy’s top football league been diminished by the departures of too many leading lights? The Internazionale team who ended Juventus’s nine-year reign as champions have since bid farewell to Antonio Conte, Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi. Their city...