Liverpool top UEFA Champions League merchandise search: Data

The data showed that Liverpool dominated all other Champions League clubs with a monthly average of 169,600 searches worldwide. (Reuters/File Photo)
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Updated 08 July 2022
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Liverpool top UEFA Champions League merchandise search: Data

  • Having reached the Champions League final for the third time in five years this past season, their recent success on the football field is reflected in their popularity

LONDON: Analysis released this week has revealed that Liverpool are the most popular UEFA Champions League team in the world when it comes to Google searches for club merchandise.

Research, conducted by football ticket marketplace FootballTicketpad.com, analyzed global search data to compare merchandise searches for each club that has qualified for the 2022/23 Champions League. 

The data showed that Liverpool dominated all other Champions League clubs with a monthly average of 169,600 searches worldwide.

Having reached the Champions League final for the third time in five years this past season, their recent success on the football field is reflected in their popularity. The Reds top the lists for words “merchandise,” “kit,” “jersey,” and “tracksuit,” with 5,700, 38,000, 47,000, and 6,900 respectively. 

In second place was Italian powerhouse, Juventus. Known affectionately as ‘The Old Lady’, they have a total global search volume of 120,600. Since undergoing a complete rebrand in 2017, the club have marketed themselves as more of a lifestyle brand which is shown in the number of searches for ‘Juventus store’, which contributes to over half of their total search volume with 61,000. 

Coming in at third is another English club, Chelsea. Despite recent sanctions on the sale of club merchandise — which have now been lifted due to the sale of the club to an American consortium — the Blues remain one of the most popular clubs in the world with 115,100 searches worldwide for their products, with “kit” and “jersey,” making up 70,000 of total searches. 

Rounding out the top five are Spanish supergiants Real Madrid and Barcelona. With 87,300 and 85,400 global searches respectively, Los Blancos edge out the Blaugrana in El Clasico of club merchandise. The word “jersey” made up the majority of their search volumes with 43,000 for Real Madrid and 34,000 for Barcelona.

At number eight is Manchester City with only 46,200 total searches worldwide. Although the club has achieved domestic success since their 2008 takeover by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi, City are yet to capture the Champions League trophy which could be affecting their global appeal.

A spokesperson for FootballTicketpad.com commented on the findings: “Liverpool have had great success over the last few years, which has no doubt helped propel them to the top of the merchandise table.

They continue: “It’s impressive that they’ve beaten out both Real Madrid and Barcelona, while it’s fascinating to see that despite their domestic dominance, Manchester City don’t make the top five.

“Both Ajax and Inter Milan are ahead in merchandise popularity. The club will be looking to change that with the recent addition of Erling Haaland, whose name is likely to feature on plenty of City fans’ kits over the coming season.”

The analysis was conducted by FootballTicketpad.com, a ticket marketplace where fans can buy and sell tickets for football matches worldwide.


Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura says he will play next season at age 58

Updated 4 sec ago
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Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura says he will play next season at age 58

Miura will turn 58 in February
He intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka

TOKYO: Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura is several generations older than his teammates. His contemporaries retired decades ago. Lionel Messi is 37, and Cristiano Ronaldo is 39 — mere youngsters compared to Miura.
Miura will turn 58 in February, and the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported this week that he intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka. It will be his 40th season playing in professional soccer.
Miura is widely listed as the oldest active professional soccer player.
Miura scored 55 goals in 89 appearances and was a star with Japan’s national team in the 1990s.
He has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Brazilian club Santos, a side made famous by Brazilian star Pelé.

Japan beat Indonesia 4-0 to extend group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying

Updated 9 min 39 sec ago
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Japan beat Indonesia 4-0 to extend group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying

  • Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round.
  • Australia, Saudi Arabia and China all have 6 points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with 3

JAKARTA: Japan defeated Indonesia 4-0 on Friday to move seven points clear at the top of Group C in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Two goals in each half mean the Samurai Blue stays on course for an eighth successive World Cup appearance.
After a bright start from the home team, the 78,000 fans at a sold-out Gelora Bung Karno Stadium were silenced after 35 minutes as Daichi Kamada broke down the left and sent a cross which defender Justin Hubner put into his own net from close range.
Takumi Minamino then scored from inside the area off Kaoru Mitoma’s pass to extend the lead five minutes before the break.
Hidemasa Motira took advantage of an errant pass from Indonesia’s goalkeeper to make it 3-0 early in the second half and Yukinari Sugawara rounded out the scoring in the 69th minute.
Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round. Australia, Saudi Arabia and China all have six points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with three.
The top two from each of the three groups will be guaranteed a place at the World Cup, with the third- and fourth-place teams progressing to the next stage.
 


Pogba and Juventus end contract mutually before he returns from doping ban

Updated 15 November 2024
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Pogba and Juventus end contract mutually before he returns from doping ban

  • The Serie A club never seemed overly enthusiastic about welcoming Pogba back
  • “Juventus Football Club and Paul Pogba announce that they have reached a mutual agreement for the termination of their contract as of Nov. 30, 2024,” the Bianconeri said

TURIN, Italy: Paul Pogba will no longer be a Juventus player from next month.
Juventus announced on Friday they came to “a mutual agreement” with Pogba to cancel his contract despite the France World Cup winner having a ban for doping slashed last month.
The Serie A club never seemed overly enthusiastic about welcoming Pogba back after his four-year ban for doping was reduced to 18 months following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The 31-year-old Pogba, who will be free to resume his career in March 2025, had said he was ready to give up money to play for Juventus again.
“Juventus Football Club and Paul Pogba announce that they have reached a mutual agreement for the termination of their contract as of Nov. 30, 2024,” the Bianconeri said in a brief statement. “The club wish Paul the very best for his professional future.”
Pogba tested positive for testosterone in August last year and the Juventus midfielder was handed the maximum punishment by Italy’s anti-doping court.
But CAS judges cut Pogba’s ban as they acknowledged a lack of intent and said his positive test was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida.
Pogba’s contract with Juventus was set to expire in June 2026.
“My time at Juventus has come to an end. It has been a privilege to pull on the shirt of the Bianconeri and to share so many special memories together,” Pogba said in a statement.
“I cherish the memories we made. They live on. Even in the most difficult moments over the past year, your support was crucial and I want to thank Juve fans around the world for their compassion.”
Pogba was the most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros ($113 million) in 2016.
He starred in France’s World Cup triumph in 2018 and returned to Juventus as a free agent in 2022. But injuries limited him to just eight Serie A appearances in his second spell at the club before his ban last year.
“I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career and to stepping out on the pitch with my next club,” Pogba added.


Ruben Amorim has declared his mission for Man United

Updated 15 November 2024
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Ruben Amorim has declared his mission for Man United

  • Amorim said on Friday, “I will try to do everything to put this club in the place that it belongs. And I believe a lot that we are going to succeed”
  • “We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games”

MANCHESTER, England: Ruben Amorim has told Manchester United fans he will do everything to bring the good times back to the 20-time English champion.
United’s new coach has been charged with ending more than a decade of decline at Old Trafford since former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and their Premier League dominance fizzled out.
Amorim — hired from Sporting Lisbon this month — is embracing the challenge and said on Friday, “I will try to do everything to put this club in the place that it belongs. And I believe a lot that we are going to succeed.”

The 39-year-old Portuguese is the sixth permanent manager/coach since Ferguson retired after winning his 13th league title.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag all failed to return United to the summit of English and European soccer in a period when Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have dominated domestically.
It is unlikely Amorim will change that after coming in partway through a season in which United made their worst league start since 1986.
“We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games,” Amorim told United’s in-house channel. “But the most important thing for me is identity. So, since day one we will start with our identity.”
Asked what could be expected from his team in the first weeks of his reign, he added: “I want to say beautiful things to you, but I’m really honest. But what I can say is that I think you will see an idea.”


Green Falcons arrive in Jakarta for World Cup Asian qualifier against Indonesia

Updated 15 November 2024
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Green Falcons arrive in Jakarta for World Cup Asian qualifier against Indonesia

  • Saudi national football team to hold closed training session before facing hosts on Nov. 19

JAKARTA: The Saudi national football team will train behind closed doors in Jakarta on Saturday in preparation for their 2026 World Cup Asian qualifier match against Indonesia next Tuesday.
The Green Falcons arrived in the Indonesian capital on Friday and are scheduled to face off against the hosts on Nov. 19 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, as part of the sixth round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The national team delegation was welcomed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport by the Saudi Ambassador Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Amoudi.
Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation, expressed his appreciation to the embassy for the warm reception and the facilities provided to the team following their arrival from Melbourne.
The Green Falcons will hold a closed training session on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Gelora Jakarta Stadium.