England men’s team borrow leaf from women’s national team success, hire foreigner for Three Lions
One concern is that Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern team didn’t look much like that last season when they were beaten to the Bundesliga title for the first time in 12 campaigns. Neither did his Chelsea or PSG teams towards the end. At those three clubs, and indeed Dortmund and Mainz before that, he left in strained circumstances.
While England have hired a winner, it’s no guarantee in international football Thomas Tuchel will replicate club success
Gareth Southgate was always cast in some quarters as the reason England kept falling just short, which, after decades of falling a long way short, seemed strange. Whatever the undoubted qualities he brought to the job, it was always assumed by his critics that any half-decent coach who operates in the top half of the Premier League or the later stages of the Champions League would bring all of those plus, crucially, the hard-nosed winning mentality and hard-wired tactical expertise of a Pep Guardiola, a Carlo Ancelotti or a Jurgen Klopp.
Drab England considers hiring Man City manager Pep Guardiola, but what happens to Southgate’s ‘English DNA’ hype?
We can argue all day about whether Guardiola’s style would translate into international football, whether the England manager has enough time with the players to teach such a structured game, and whether Guardiola himself would want to leave Manchester City for a job that would pay him a fraction of his current salary.
Cameroon grab Cup of Nations finals place with win against Kenya, whose run in qualifiers may have ended
The victory moves Cameroon to 10 points from four games in the pool and ensured they cannot finish outside of the top two, which is enough to secure a place at the finals in Morocco.
Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich eclipses world record by nearly two minutes at Chicago Marathon
Television commentators were astonished as she grinded through the course, comparing her attempt at a sub-2:10 marathon to the moon landing, and she only seemed to gain momentum as she sprinted through the final two miles.
Athletics Integrity Unit provisionally suspends Kenyan cross country runner Anyango for doping
The 24-year-old Emmaculate Anyango Achol became the second woman to complete a 10km race in under 29 minutes (28:57), finishing second behind fellow Kenyan Agnes Jebet Ngetich, who set a world record with a time of 28:46 in Valencia in January.
Devils on the cross: After drab start to new season, focus now falls on Ten Hag’s capacity to bring sunlight to dull Man United
More than once, the ball dribbled out into touch from the boot of a United player trying to get a move going. Those that did find a red shirt were often off target. In one counter-attack before the interval, Joshua Zirkzee laid off to Marcus Rashford but put the ball behind his run. All Rashford could do was pivot and slam a return pass into a Spurs defender. He showed his frustration by flapping his arms.
One of greatest African basketballers to ever feature in NBA, Dikembe Mutombo, dies at 58
Dikembe Mutombo last played during the 2008-09 season, devoting his time after retirement to charitable and humanitarian causes. He spoke nine languages and founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, concentrating on improving health, education and quality of life for the people in the Congo.
Man City’s 115 sins: Five-time EPL champions face punitive penalties for lack of progress in probe
Executives point out the contradiction in City’s public statement, where they said they welcomed the chance to present their irrefutable evidence but, at the same time, the Premier League charges include allegations that the club obstructed the investigation. City, for example, headed to court to question the league’s jurisdiction to investigate it and then once more, this time with the Premier League, to prevent any details from becoming public.
From historicisms, rat-stabbers, lions, devils to birds, gods and colours: How nicknames inspire football teams
The Bahamas, aka ‘The Rake and Scrape Boys’, are named after a famous local dance. Demonstration here. It would be a travesty if Egypt were called anything other than ‘The Pharaohs’, while Thailand are menacingly nicknamed ‘The War Elephants’, with the country known for its historical use of those animals in battle.
