Zidane’s son switches allegiance to Algeria and looks to play in World Cup
(corrects year to 2006 in final paragraph)
Spain Sport News
Rodri a question mark for City’s Premier League clash with Arsenal
MANCHESTER: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is a doubt for Sunday’s trip to Arsenal due to fitness concerns in what is sure to be a blockbuster clash. City will arrive in North London on a wave of momentum after back-to-back wins over Manchester United and Napoli, but Rodri came off after an hour against the Serie A leaders in Thursday’s Champions League match, raising concerns about his fitness. Guardiola said the Spain midfielder will be assessed ahead of Sunday’s game when asked if he would play. “I don’t know yet, but he was so smart (to request a substitution against Napoli on Thursday). We’ll see, day-by-day,” Guardiola added. “The training (on Wednesday), he didn’t feel comfortable, but said, ‘No, no, I will be fine, and he played extraordinarily.
Slot thanks Everton for solidarity after Jota tragedy
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Arne Slot thanked Everton for the support they showed their Merseyside rivals after Diogo Jota’s tragic death in July. Jota died at the age of 28 in a car accident in Spain, plunging Liverpool into mourning just weeks after they celebrated winning the Premier League title. The Portuguese’s final goal came in the last Merseyside derby in a 1-0 Liverpool win in April. Everton make the trip back to Anfield on Saturday and on Friday Slot took the opportunity to praise the respect between the clubs despite their intense rivalry. “They are a good team and there is rivalry but what I also liked and what I want to emphasize is — what they did when Diogo passed away,” he told reporters on Friday. “They showed their respect and in these moments of time, it is so nice to see that in tragedies that the rivalry is still there but the respect to both is still there.” Despite cruising to the title last season, Liverpool transformed their squad with a record spend of nearly £450 million ($612 million) for an English club in one transfer window. The scale of change has shown in some disjointed performances from Slot’s men, but they have still managed to win all five of their Premier League and Champions League games so far thanks to late winners in every match. “I prefer the situation of winning the games and pointing out that we can still improve things, compared to losing games,” added Slot. The Dutch coach is confident that his new signings will have no problem adjusting to the intensity of the Merseyside derby thanks to their previous experience of big games at club and international level. “For the new ones it is not for the first time that they play in circumstances where there are a lot of rivalries
Barca to play Champions League clash v PSG at Lluis Companys
Barcelona will play their highly-anticipated Champions League group stage match against holders Paris St Germain at the 55,926-capacity Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic on October 1, the Spanish club announced on Friday.
Barcelona to play PSG at the Olympic Stadium in Champions League as Camp Nou still not ready
BARCELONA: Barcelona’s upcoming Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain will be played at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, its home for the previous two seasons, the Spanish club said Friday. Barcelona had hoped to return to a newly renovated Camp Nou at the start of this season, but delays in construction have forced it to play elsewhere. The club has decided that it will host PSG at the 55,000-seat Olympic Stadium after it had been forced to face Valencia in its first home game of the Spanish league season at its tiny Estadi Johan Cruyff, which only seats 6,000 and is located outside the city. Barcelona will also play Getafe in the Spanish league on Sunday at the Johan Cruyff stadium, where its women’s team plays most of its games. European champion PSG will visit Barcelona on Oct.
Arsenal Executive Vice-Chair Lewis leaves club, Garlick named CEO
Arsenal announced a major boardroom reshuffle on Friday, with Executive Vice-Chair Tim Lewis leaving the Premier League club and Managing Director Richard Garlick promoted to Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Lewis, who was appointed Executive Vice-Chair in March 2023, has been advising Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) since 2007 and joined Arsenal’s board as Director in September 2020. Garlick, who arrived at Arsenal in 2021 as Director of Football Operations, has served as Managing Director for the past year. “Rich has made an enormous impact on all fronts as we continue to strive to win major trophies, be financially sustainable and put our supporters at the heart of everything,” Arsenal Co-Chair Josh Kroenke said. “At this moment, we would like to thank Tim for his continued dedication and commitment to Arsenal in a period of transformational change for the club. “He has played a pivotal role and ensured we are in a great position to continue to deliver our strategy in our ambition to win major trophies.” Arsenal have finished runners-up in the last three Premier League seasons, with their league title drought now 21 years. They again recruited heavily in the close season, adding the center-forward fans have long called for in Sweden’s Viktor Gyokeres, bolstering the attack with England’s Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze and signing Spanish defender Cristhian Mosquera.
Atletico de Madrid owners in advanced talks to sell majority stake to Apollo, sources say
LONDON : Owners of Atletico de Madrid are in advanced talks to sell a majority stake in the top-tier Spanish soccer club to Apollo Global Management, according to three people with knowledge of the deal.
Spain return to top of FIFA rankings, Germany drop outside top 10
Euro 2024 champions Spain have climbed to the top of the FIFA rankings for the first time in 11 years while Germany dropped out of the top 10, world soccer's governing body said.