Barcelona are in no hurry to find Xavi Hernandez’s successor, according to club sporting director Deco. In January, Xavi announced that he will be stepping down as Barça head coach at the end of the season after a string of disappointing results. Deco has denied recent reports that Barça have begun their search for a new manager and have already made a shortlist of candidates. “We don’t talk about that because we are not looking for a coach, it is not the time,” Deco told Catalunya Radio. “The season is not over. There is a lot we have ahead of us.” Xavi will be…
Author: ROSEMARY UGIOMOH
Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended for one match after appearing to make an obscene gesturefollowing Al Nassr’s 3-2 win over Al Shabab, the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of the Saudi Football Federation (SAFF) said on Wednesday. After the final whistle on Sunday, social media videos captured Ronaldo cupping his ear before repeatedly pumping his hand forward in front of his pelvic area. The action appeared to be directed at the rival Al Shabab supporters. In the background, chants of “Messi” could be heard, referencing Ronaldo’s long-term football rival from Argentina. The committee said the Portuguese star would have to pay a fine of 10,000 Saudi…
Kylian Mbappé has yet to make his signing with Real Madrid, but the forward is already making requests to the Spanish club. The 25-year-old wants the La Liga side to recruit one of his closest friends at Paris Saint-Germain to fill the right-back need. El Chiringuito (h/t Defensa Central) reports that Mbappé has asked Florentino Pérez to make an effort this year to bring Hakimi to Real Madrid. Furthermore, their reporting notes that the PSG defender is crazy to return to Los Blancos. No other media have confirmed this information, but it would fit with the search that the Merengue club is…
Wayne Rooney has said he is keen to make a swift return to management following his sacking by Birmingham City in January and outlined his ambitions to manage either Manchester United or Evertonin the “next 10 years.” The former United and England forward was fired just three months into his three-and-a-half year deal at Birmingham — a period in which the club lost nine times in fifteen games. Despite that harrowing experience, Rooney remains undeterred from management. “Managing Manchester United or Everton is the aim, these big jobs are where you want to get to,” Rooney said on Match of the Day, where he was working as…
Nigeria’s Under-18 women’s handball team, began their campaign for honours at the Intercontinental Phase of the 2024 International Handball Federation (IHF) Trophy, with a heartwarming defeat of Guadalupe, on Wednesday. Having led 16-9 at halftime, the African Under-18 gold medalists never looked back, and kept their noses in front for a hugely deserved 28-23 victory. The Coach Shittu Adewunmi Agboola tutored side started out with the determination that made them African Champions in the IHF Trophy, and the victory would have sent out early warning signals to rival teams, at the tournament holding in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The second half was…
Rangers Int’l FC of Enugu powered into the top three of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), on a day midweek fixtures were characterized by the top two sides, Lobi Stars of Makurdi, and Remo Stars of Ikenne, ‘contrived’ to lose their Day 22 games, on the road. Remo Stars lost 0-1 to Enugu Rangers, for whom Augustine Agu Kenechukwu got the solitary goal in the 56th minute, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, aka the Cathedral. The win is the third, in as many games for the Flying Antelopes in the 2nd round of the league, and the Coal City…
A brilliant Victor Osimhen hat-trick helped Napoli put their away-day blues firmly behind them as they romped to a clinical 6-1 win against struggling Sassuolo. The Neroverdi had failed to find the back of the net in their last three Serie A matches against Napoli – the law of averages, therefore, suggested that they would avoid a record-breaking fourth successive game without scoring against the Partenopei. In the end, it took them fewer than 16 minutes to do so when, during a rare foray forward from the hosts, Hamed Traorè’s soft clearance fell to Uroš Račić 20 yards from…
Barcelona has officially revoked Dani Alves’ status as a club legend following the recent finalization of his sentence for sexual assault. As reported by SPORT, the decision was made by the La Liga giants in light of the court’s verdict. Last week, a Spanish court sentenced former Brazil international footballer Dani Alves to four and a half years in prison after finding him guilty of raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022. It also ordered the three-time Champions League winner to five years’ probation after he served his jail term, and demanded he pay 150,000 euros…
Tokyo Olympics 100m finalist, Enoch Adegoke, has set a target to break multiple records at the 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana. As per report by BSNSports.com.ng, the 2019 African U20 100m champion expressed readiness to surpass his Personal Best and eye a record-breaking future. Recall that Adegoke made history in 2021 as the first Nigerian man in 25 years to run in the final of the 100m event at the Olympics after Davidson Ezinwa in 1996. Speaking on the injury which derailed his ambition of finishing among the three medalists at the Summer Olympics-Tokyo 2020, Adegoke said it was an…
Banyana Banyana forward Jermaine Seoposenwe has said the team would go all out against Nigeria to secure a ticket to the 2024 Olympics Women’s Football Tournament. Speaking after the team edged Tanzania 2-0 at Mbombela Stadium in Mbombela on Tuesday to set up a fourth and final round qualification clash with Nigeria, the Monterrey of Mexico forward agreed that facing Nigeria will be difficult but that her team will do all they can to prevail against the record nine-time African champions. Seoposenwe, who was honoured after the match for earning her 100th cap for Banyana, hinged their hopes on unity…