Superstar Christiano Ronaldo’s move to Arabia’s Al Nassr makes him new face of Middle East football
The arrival of football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as the newest member of the state-owned club Al Nassr marks an enormous step forward in the desert country’s foray into top-level sport. The five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or and five-time winner of the European Champions League...
Man United boss Erik Ten Hag has exorcised evil spirits at Old Trafford, now Red Devils are firing on all cylinders
Manchester United are very much starting to look like their old selves. After a decade of drift and decline, Erik ten Hag increasingly looks the perfect man to restore former strength. While Premier League title talk is premature, United are certainly going about their business in a manner that speaks...
Iranian rights matter: Or since the World Cup is over, the world has moved on and Tehran tyranny must reign?
It’s two weeks since Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup and a month since Iran – aka Team Melli – left Qatar after losing to the USA in their final group match. In the context of the continuing disaster in Iranian society and politics, the World Cup is an irrelevance....
Man United emphatic win over Bournemouth has Red Devils dreaming again after ‘Ronaldo situation’ chaos
Gary Neville has backed Manchester United to qualify for next season’s Champions League, insisting he would be surprised if they didn’t finish in the top-four. Erik ten Hag’s in-form side moved just a point behind second-placed Manchester City following their 3-0 victory over Bournemouth on Tuesday night. Goals from Casemiro,...
Beautiful game’s deity? A reporter once asked Pele if his fame was comparable to that of Jesus Christ
Commissioned to produce a portrait of Pele in 1977, artist Andy Warhol quipped: “Pele was one of the few who contradicted my theory: Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.” It nicely sums up the adulation for the footballer widely considered the greatest to ever take...
Man United players say the exit of poisonous Ronaldo restored feel-good mood at Old Trafford
Manchester United’s future may lie in their forward line’s past. They have long thought as much. It is just that they had picked the wrong part of their past. However, a feel-good mood is returning and the Red Devils are getting ready to pounce. There was the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer...
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter underlines an undeniable fact: Tale evil maid attack on ideas
Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter is particularly hard to swallow because every report of internal chaos reminds us that we may have sacrificed the most promising mode of online communication invented in decades by failing to identify it for what it was back when we had the chance. Musk’s purchase...
Making fascism great again: In Trump’s America, democracy rested and kakistocracy became a pursuit
Scholars have long debated the distinction between fascism and authoritarianism. Fascist states create an all-engulfing power that rules over every facet of political and social life. Elections are abolished; mass arrests occur without habeas corpus; all opposition media are shut down; freedoms of speech and assembly are curtailed; courts, if...
Fascism: While voters did not stop pro-Trump true believers from office, democracy remains on trial in US
Just in case you didn’t notice, authoritarianism was on the ballot in the 2022 midterm elections. An unprecedented majority of candidates from one of the nation’s two major political parties were committed to undemocratic policies and outcomes. You would have to go back to the Democratic Party-dominated segregationist South of...
World Cup break did not help Spurs recharge, they’re still the imponderables they’ve been in past six years
Spurs at home, you say? On Boxing Day? A lunchtime kick-off? And eight days after the end of the World Cup? With Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero rested and Fraser Forster making his first appearance in goal for them and Richarlison injured? You can only imagine the extent to which...
