LONDON: Five years after being snubbed for the Manchester United job immediately after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho has once again been unceremoniously rejected by the club after two-and-a-half fractious and tumultuous years at the helm.
And the truth is, it was an inevitable divorce.
Since the middle of last season, Mourinho had been involved in a power struggle with senior members of the playing squad, openly criticized board members for a lack of backing in the transfer window and the majority of fans had started to turn on the so-called “Special One” and his tactics.
And while they would never do so publicly, no doubt several of the players who had fallen foul of Mourinho’s wrath were privately breathing a sigh of relief when the club announced that Mourinho had left the club with “immediate effect” on Tuesday.
Indeed, the player Mourinho clashed with the most — £89 million ($112 million) midfielder Paul Pogba — deleted a controversial social media post of himself smiling after the news broke.
That controversy was a microcosm of the French World Cup winner’s stormy relationship with Mourinho.
But the former Juventus player, who retuned to Manchester United having already been with the club during the Ferguson era, was repeatedly criticized by Mourinho during his reign and Pogba was stripped of the United vice-captaincy earlier this season.
The pair were captured having a frosty exchange on the training ground as Mourinho grew angry with his key midfielder’s lethargic performances, dropping him on several occasions to spark talk he would be sold by the end of the season.
And even on the pitch, the writing has been on the wall for a while.
A string of uninspiring performances since the season started saw Mourinho come in for criticism from all sides, as the Portuguese became more and more embittered and paranoid in his dealings with the media.
The final straw for the club was Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool, who United usurped as the biggest club in England under Ferguson’s 27-year reign. And the Scot was seen shaking his head as he watched his dynasty unravel in front of his eyes at the hands of United’s bitterest of rivals.
While the Merseyside club battle it out for the Premier League title with Manchester City and Tottenham — all playing a refreshing, exciting brand of football — United find themselves 19 points adrift of the summit and struggling to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Mourinho’s stagnant, defensive approach jarred with supporters, some of whom have only known the rampant attack-minded approach the club used to such devastating efficacy under Ferguson.
Mourinho was brought in to bring back those glory days after David Moyes and then Dutchman Louis van Gaal struggled to step out of Ferguson’s shadow.
And despite first-season League Cup and Europa League titles, he has failed miserably since. And he has bought himself little good grace with fans and officials, finding new excuses and ways to blame each latest defeat on his players, while ungraciously reminding critics of previous successes at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
But this ignominious end for Mourinho in what he called his “dream job” leaves him at a crossroads in his career. Few clubs will have been inspired by his playing style with a highly-talented team, even fewer will want to deal with the off-field tantrums and constant bickering.
Having arrived in English football as a breath of fresh air, he leaves it (for now) like a foul odor. With the prospect of no club to manage, no trophies to win and no teams to build, Mourinho is now much less the “Special One,” and more and more likely to be the “Tainted One.”
Jose Mourinho’s sacking leaves the ‘Special One’ at a career crossroads
Jose Mourinho’s sacking leaves the ‘Special One’ at a career crossroads
- Since the middle of last season, Mourinho had been involved in a power struggle with senior members of the playing squad
- A string of uninspiring performances since the season started saw Mourinho come in for criticism from all sides
Omar Al-Somah hopes to revisit old glories with Saudi Pro League return
- The Syrian forward, who had a hugely successful spell with Al-Ahli from 2014 to 2022, has joined Al-Orobah at the age of 35
DUBAI: It was something like old times this week when renowned Syrian footballer Omar Al-Somar accepted an offer from Al-Orobah to play in the Saudi Pro League.
The player’s highlights at Al-Ahli, from May 2014 to August 2022, when he left for Qatar’s Al-Arabi initially on loan, included a record-breaking 144 goals in 180 Roshn Saudi League runouts and four major trophies.
In Jeddah, he was the fearsome center forward, standing 6 feet 4 inches and boasting the footwork of a ballerina. He had the grace to chest down and bicycle kick in March 2019’s unforgettable derby strike against Al-Ittihad, and the raw power to smash home countless free-kicks.
This richly talented figure has towered over the competition for almost a decade — literally and figuratively. An eye for the extravagant allied with ruthless finishing made him a poster boy for professional football in the Kingdom.
This, however, was before December 2022’s seismic announcement of Portugal megastar Cristiano Ronaldo’s recruitment and the rapid expansion of horizons that followed. It was also after an uncharacteristically meek contribution to the previous season’s unprecedented relegation for his team.
As the professional era’s unparalleled top scorer, Al-Somah’s exalted position in Saudi football is secure. The focus now is on what his return as a 35-year old on a free transfer can deliver for a club precariously positioned around the relegation zone, and which has netted only nine times in 14 outings during their top-flight return to date.
Ahead of Friday’s potential debut at Al-Khaleej, the celebrated attacker had an unequivocal retort to those who say you should never return to the scene of past glories.
“I’m delighted to be back in Saudi Arabia and back in the RSL,” said Al-Somah, according to Saudi Pro League’s official website. “It’s an honor to put on the shirt of Al-Orobah Football Club. I promise to do my best to live up to the expectations of everyone and add real value to the team.”
He added: “I’m really grateful for the fans who welcomed me in Al-Jouf and I’m honored to be among them. I look forward to my first match in Al-Jouf in two weeks’ time [the Jan. 22 encounter against Al-Qadsiah]. We need the fans to stand by us and push us forward in the next few months.”
Al-Somah held a tight grip on the RSL Golden Boot in three-consecutive seasons from 2014-17, plus played an oversized role in Al-Ahli that in the 2015-16 season ended a 32-year wait for another top-flight crown.
He bestrode a generation defined by spiky Saudi Arabia hitman Nasser Al-Shamrani, Al-Hilal’s beloved Bafetimbi Gomis and a prolific Abderrazak Hamdallah.
A much-changed league awaits him.
Previously, it was unheard of for promoted sides to stack prominent players. But his teammates now include the likes of ex-France defender Kurt Zouma, Iceland’s experienced Premier League campaigner Johann Berg Gudmundsson, former Barcelona youngster Cristian Tello and Ivory Coast’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations winner Jean Michael Seri.
This is before you look at the world-class signings made by the likes of champions Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Qadsiah, Al-Ettifaq and the rest.
Elite center-backs such as Aymeric Laporte, Merih Demiral, Kalidou Koulibaly and Nacho must be conquered by Al-Somah if Al-Orobah are to get the goals they need. It is a sporting challenge many levels above what came before.
A further note of caution is that he barely cracked double figures during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 RSL campaigns as Al-Ahli’s travails and personal injury problems gripped.
Success did, however, follow in Qatar.
A brace against all-conquering Al-Sadd in the 2022-23 Emir Cup final ended Al-Arabi’s 30-year trophy drought. Only Kenya and Al-Duhail’s Michael Olunga (22 goals) bettered Al-Somah’s Qatar Stars League tally (19 goals).
Last season’s superb top-flight record came in at 17 strikes from 22 matches.
But Al-Somah has not been seen in action since August. Just 89 minutes and one goal were recorded in three appearances. This absence was extended to the international arena, with his last caps coming in June.
Understandable ring rust must be brushed off — and fast. It is testament to residual belief in his unique abilities, however, that Al-Orobah were forced to fight for this coveted signature.
Of the options he had available, Al-Somah said: “I had multiple offers, but this was the one I felt most comfortable with, and my heart went for Al-Orobah.”
Experience is the attribute which defines the club’s winter refit. Al-Somah joins a side now led by 63-year-old former Iraq, Jordan and Bahrain tactician Adnan Hamad. More tweaks may follow in the weeks ahead.
Any advantage will be sought in the battle to avoid demotion. Match week 15 began with 11th-placed Al-Ettifaq only three points above Al-Wehda in the final relegation spot.
Al-Somah’s Saudi record can never be questioned. Neither can the output during most of his Qatar spell at an Al-Arabi team that failed to gain silverware in the 21st century before he arrived.
The Syria icon departed the Roshn Saudi League after an unsuccessful scrap against relegation at Al-Ahli and rejoins via Al-Orobah with the same task at hand.
With a palpable determination to succeed, he is striking the right tone to see his standing enhanced rather than diminished during the remainder of this season.
It would be in character to witness a trademark torrent of goals, keep a grateful Al-Orobah up and cement an unmatched reputation that straddles different eras.
Teams owners Tom Brady, Will Smith and Didier Drogba prepare for E1 Jeddah Grand Prix
- The UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, the world’s only all-electric racing boat championship, starts its second season Jan. 24-25
- 2024 winner Team Brady prepare to defend crown against Team Drogba, Team Rafa and Racing Team Aoki
JEDDAH: Just under a week remains for Tom Brady, Will Smith, Didier Drogba, Virat Kohli and a host of other celebrity owners to prepare their teams for this season’s UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, which begins with the Jeddah GP.
The all-electric RaceBird boats took to the Red Sea waters off Jeddah for the E1 Championship’s global debut in February 2024, and the season concluded with Team Brady crowned the 2024 Champions of the Water.
Qualifying for the 2025 E1 Jeddah GP takes place on Friday, Jan. 24, and is followed on Saturday by the main race, presented in partnership with the Kingdom’s Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation.
Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Salman, president of the SWSDF, said: “For owners, pilots, organizers and fans, the countdown is on for the start of what will be a fascinating UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF at the Jeddah GP.
“This is where relentless innovation, marine preservation, and exhilarating races all come together, unveiling a new season for the Championship.
“In such a spectacular setting, this popular event highlights Saudi Arabia’s commitment to pioneering sustainable sports and furthering its reputation as a global hub for innovation and eco-tourism.”
The teams, each featuring male and female pilots sharing driving duties, are owned by celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment.
They include Smith (Westbrook Racing), Marc Anthony (Team Miami powered by Magnus), Steve Aoki (Racing Team Aoki), Brady (Team Brady), Kohli (Team Blue Rising), Drogba (Team Drogba), Rafael Nadal (Team Rafa) and Marcelo Claure (Team Brazil by Claure).
In its first season, E1 races took place in Venice, Monaco, Puerto Banus and Lake Como.
Longines World’s Best James McDonald set for Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge
- John Velazquez, Hollie Doyle, Christophe Soumillon and Rachel King among strong IJC field at King Abdulaziz Racecourse next month
RIYADH: Recently crowned Longines World’s Best Jockey James McDonald will line up at the 2025 International Jockeys’ Challenge at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 21, the day before he bids for Saudi Cup glory aboard Romantic Warrior.
It is the first time the globetrotting New Zealander, who has ridden 106 Group 1 winners in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the UK and Japan, will compete in Saudi Arabia.
McDonald has forged a much-lauded partnership with the record-breaking, three-time Hong Kong Cup winner Romantic Warrior. Following the IJC he will attempt to guide the world’s highest-earning racehorse to victory in the $20m Saudi Cup on Feb. 22.
An array of global stars headlines this year’s IJC, with seven male and seven female riders.
John Velazquez, who has well over 6,000 winners in the USA to his name, including six Classic victories, will make his debut after riding on Saudi Cup night last year.
Another global superstar making his IJC debut is Christophe Soumillon. The Belgian has taken a handful of rides at King Abdulaziz Racecourse over the years, with a single success back in 2004.
Top British rider Hollie Doyle, a dual Group 1 winner in the UK and Ireland last year, returns to ride in her second IJC after competing in 2021. She will be joined by four-time British Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy, who finished third in last year’s Group 3 Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap aboard Giavellotto before going on to guide the Marco Botti charge to success in last month’s Group 1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin.
Australia-based British rider Rachel King is no stranger to the big stage. A multiple Group 1-winning jockey in Australia, she also recently secured a Group 3 victory in Japan.
Maryline Eon will return to defend her IJC title, having claimed the prize last year when finishing seven points clear of Saudi Arabia-based rider Camilo Ospina. She will be joined by the winner of the inaugural IJC in 2020, Germany-based Sibylle Vogt, who will be competing in her third IJC.
The UAE-based Irish rider Tadhg O’Shea, whose biggest success to date came on 2024 Dubai World Cup champion Laurel River, will make his IJC debut.
McDonald’s New Zealand compatriot, Kelly Myers, is another riding in the IJC for the first time and will be joined by 22-year-old Canada-based Sofia Vives and Japan’s Manami Nagashina, also 22 years old. Both Vives and Nagashina come to the Kingdom on the back of outstanding seasons, where both celebrated their first Graded successes.
The IJC line up will be completed by two leading Saudi Arabia-based riders to be announced at a later date.
Riders will compete for points across the four IJC races, with the jockey that amasses the most points emerging victorious. In each race, 15 points will be awarded for first place, 10 for second, seven for third, four for fourth and the fifth placed rider will receive two points.
The first two IJC races will be run on the dirt track at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, while legs three and four will take place on the turf track. Each race is worth a total of $400,000.
Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons set for Baseball United Series in Dubai
- The 3-game series will have the league’s 2 UAE-based franchises play in February at Baseball United Ballpark, part of the Sevens Sports and Entertainment Complex
DUBAI: Baseball United, the first professional league dedicated to the Middle East and South Asia, has announced its first event of 2025 which will have its two UAE franchises face-off next month.
The three-game UAE Series will feature the Dubai-based Arabia Wolves and Abu Dhabi’s Mid East Falcons. The games take place from Feb. 14 to 16 at Baseball United Ballpark, which forms part of The Sevens Sports and Entertainment Complex in Dubai.
The UAE Series will mark the first time Baseball United’s franchises take the field, as well as the first time a professional baseball club competes in the Middle East.
The two franchises have rosters made up of former Major League Baseball players, including former New York Yankees stars Robinson Cano and Didi Gregorius for the Wolves, and former San Francisco Giants standouts Pablo Sandoval and Alejandro De Aza for the Falcons.
The UAE Series will mark the third marquee event hosted by Baseball United in Dubai, following the successful Baseball United Dubai All-Star Showcase in November 2023, and the recent Baseball United Arab Classic in November 2024.
All UAE Series games will be hosted at Baseball United’s new ballpark — the first professional baseball field in the region.
“Thanks to the hard work of our team, and the inspired collaboration with partners, we closed out last year with several historic milestones,” said Kash Shaikh, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Baseball United.
“We built the first ballpark in the history of the region, we hosted the largest national team tournament in the history of the region, and we launched our official merchandise program at retail and online.
“Next month, we are making history again. Our two UAE-based franchises — the first professional baseball franchises in the history of the Middle East — will take the field for the first time. I’m so excited for our fans in Dubai and around the world to finally see the Wolves and Falcons in action.”
Each team will feature five prospects from the region playing at professional level for the first time. The prospects were selected based on their performance at the Baseball United Arab Classic, as well as via Baseball United’s regional scouting program.
Baseball United’s franchises are made up of professional players from around the world.
The league’s inaugural draft was held in October 2023, with 70 percent of selected players originally drafted by Major League Baseball teams. This includes former MLB All-Stars Cano, Sandoval, Bartolo Colon, and Jair Jurrjens, and four-time Gold Glove Winner Andrelton Simmons.
In addition to the Wolves and Falcons, Baseball United has announced the Mumbai Cobras and the Karachi Monarchs as its two other founding franchises.
Baseball United was co-founded by Shaikh, John Miedreich, and MLB Hall of Famers Barry Larkin and Mariano Rivera in November of 2022.
Its ownership group now includes 20 MLB legends, including Hall of Famer, Adrian Beltre and stars Felix Hernandez, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, Ronald Acuna Jr., Robinson Chirinos, and Cano.
Tickets are on sale on Platinumlist. Games will be broadcast across the Middle East and streamed for free on baseballunited.com.
Isak fires Newcastle into Premier League top four, Moyes misery
- The striker is just the fourth different player to score in eight successive Premier League appearances
LONDON: Alexander Isak fired Newcastle into the Premier League’s top four on Wednesday, scoring twice in a 3-0 cruise against Wolves as David Moyes endured a miserable return to the Everton dugout.
Red-hot Isak found the net for the eighth league match in a row as the Magpies leapfrogged faltering Chelsea into fourth spot in the table.
The Swedish international put the home side ahead in the 34th minute when his shot took a huge deflection off Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, leaving Jose Sa wrong-footed.
The striker is just the fourth different player to score in eight successive Premier League appearances, after Jamie Vardy (twice for Leicester), Ruud van Nistelrooy (twice for Manchester United), and Daniel Sturridge (for Liverpool).
Isak doubled Newcastle’s lead shortly before the hour mark, controlling Bruno Guimaraes’ pass before firing home for his 15th league goal of the season and Anthony Gordon added a third.
Eddie Howe’s men, who have now won six straight league games, have recovered strongly from a lengthy poor spell to make a powerful case for a Champions League spot next season.
Taking advantage of the faltering form of Manchester City and Chelsea, they are just three points behind third-placed Nottingham Forest.
Moyes, in the first game of his second spell in charge of Everton, watched his toothless side lose 1-0 to Aston Villa at Goodison Park.
Ollie Watkins broke the deadlock in the 51st minute, slotting past England teammate Jordan Pickford after he was sent clear by Morgan Rogers.
Everton huffed and puffed but showed a lack of creativity — unsurprising for a team who have scored just 15 league goals in their 20 matches this season.
The result lifts Unai Emery’s Villa to seventh in the table but Everton remain in deep trouble, just one point above the relegation zone in 16th spot.
The Liverpool club’s new owners, the American-based Friedkin Group, sacked Sean Dyche last week and brought back 61-year-old Moyes, who enjoyed success during an 11-year stint at Goodison Park from 2002 to 2013.
But the Toffees, ever-present in the top flight since 1954, have battled relegation for the past three seasons and are once again in deep trouble.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester suffered their sixth straight league defeat, losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace to leave the Foxes second from bottom of the table.
Jean-Philippe Mateta put the visitors ahead early in the second half and Marc Guehi made the points safe with a late second.
Arsenal, winless in three matches in all competitions, are hosting injury-hit Tottenham in the late kick-off on Wednesday.
