HERZOGENAURACH, Germany: An emotional Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann said Saturday the team’s “belief in ourselves has returned” despite a 2-1 extra-time elimination by Spain in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.
Germany pushed Spain all the way in Stuttgart on Friday, coming from a goal down to send the game into extra time when Florian Wirtz scored an 89th-minute equalizer.
The host nation had a penalty claim denied late before conceding a Mikel Merino goal in the 119th minute.
The tearful coach praised the team after almost a decade of failures at major tournaments and said the performances, built on passionate home support, had bridged gaps between fans and the national team.
“The faith has grown, (the fans) believe in us again,” Nagelsmann told reporters at Germany’s base camp in the Bavarian village of Herzogenaurach.
“A few months ago it would have been unthinkable for us to come back from a goal down.
“You can tell I’m fighting back tears because it was very emotional. I’ve always said we need the fans behind us across the country.
“From March onwards, it was clear that the fans felt something. When we see the videos of fans, it’s emotional. We would have liked to have given the supporters even more.”
Nagelsmann took over in September after Hansi Flick became the first coach in Germany history to be sacked.
After two successive World Cup group stage eliminations and a last 16 loss to England at the Euros in 2021, Germany won just three of 11 games in 2023, giving rise to fears of a disastrous showing on home soil.
The 36-year-old coach however steadied the ship, bringing in a host of new players and dropping several big names from the squad.
Friday’s loss was Germany’s first defeat in 2024 after an eight-game run which included wins over France, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Asked if he had successfully reset the nation’s hopes, Nagelsmann said: “I think we all saw that the hard drive has been cleaned.
“I don’t know if it has definitely been completely erased, but it definitely has been cleaned.
“We are much more solid and our belief in ourselves has grown.”
Considered young for a national coach, the former Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig manager was only given a nine-month contract when appointed.
In April, the coach however extended his deal by two years, taking him past the 2026 World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Speaking immediately after the match, Nagelsmann said “we want to become world champions” and on Saturday told reporters he wishes the next major tournament was sooner.
“That’s the bitter thing about being a national coach, there’s too much time between tournaments for you to get back on the attack.
“I’m very happy I extended my deal. I’m looking forward to attacking again but I need a couple of days before I’m ready.”
Emotional Nagelsmann lauds returned belief despite Germany’s Euros exit
https://arab.news/4pb3r
Emotional Nagelsmann lauds returned belief despite Germany’s Euros exit
- “A few months ago it would have been unthinkable for us to come back from a goal down,” Julian Nagelsmann said
- “From March onwards, it was clear that the fans felt something. When we see the videos of fans, it’s emotional. We would have liked to have given the supporters even more“
CONMEBOL open probe into violent clashes at end of Copa semifinal
MIAMI: Copa America organizers CONMEBOL have opened a disciplinary investigation into the “acts of violence” at the end of Wednesday’s semifinal between Uruguay and Colombia in Charlotte.
Uruguay’s Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez was among the players who waded into the stands at the Bank of America Stadium and exchanged punches with fans during what CONMEBOL called “unacceptable” scenes.
Uruguay central defender Jose Maria Gimenez said players had leapt into the melee out of concern for the safety of family members and loved ones watching the game in that section of the ground.
Uruguay are scheduled to face Canada, at the same stadium, in the third place game on Saturday and it remains to be seen if any of their players are suspended for that game.
“In light of the acts of violence that occurred at the end of the match between the national teams of Uruguay and Colombia, the Disciplinary Unit of CONMEBOL has decided to open an investigation to clarify the sequence of events and the responsibilities of those involved,” the South American confederation said.
CONMEBOL said they would not accept any repeat of the incidents, which saw fighting between the two sets of supporters, for Sunday’s final between Argentina and Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
“On the eve of our Copa America final, we want to reaffirm and warn that no action that tarnishes a global football celebration will be tolerated, involving both the protagonists and the fans present in the stadium for a final viewed by hundreds of millions of spectators worldwide.
“It is unacceptable that an incident like this turns passion into violence. Therefore, no behavior that violates the spirit of the sport and the world’s most beautiful spectacle, which belongs to the whole family, will be tolerated,” they added.
Gimenez said that the players had got involved to protect their family members and was critical of the local police in the venue.
“Our family was in danger. We had to go to the stands to take out our loved ones, with tiny newborn babies,” the Atletico Madrid player said.
“There was not a single police officer... I hope those who are organizing this are a little more careful with the families,” he said.
As well as the incidents in the stands, there were also clashes on the field at the final whistle involving players from both teams.
SPL outlines priorities for player acquisitions, club development before new season
- League remains committed to providing a supportive, centralized approach to transfers
- Clubs continue to attract top-tier talents to their administrative ranks
RIYADH: The Saudi Pro League, in collaboration with all 18 clubs, announced on Thursday its comprehensive preparations and key priorities for the upcoming summer transfer window and the 2024-25 season.
As part of the Player Acquisition Center of Excellence program, which was launched in 2023, the SPL held meetings with all top-flight clubs in the final months of last season to understand more fully their targets and requirements. The program was launched as one of seven in the SPL’s transformation strategy.
The SPL remains committed to providing a supportive and centralized approach to transfers. This includes assisting clubs with squad mapping and player care by offering expertise, governance, and sustainability measures.
The SPL’s priorities for the season and transfer window include supporting existing contracts by prioritizing current deals to ensure the success of players by providing the necessary resources.
Other aims include strategic acquisitions to address clubs’ technical gaps and secure top talent.
Another priority is its sustainability policy, which is to ensure players are signed for technical needs, supported for success, and fairly valued.
Off the pitch, the SPL clubs continue to attract top-tier talents to their administrative ranks.
Al-Shabab recently appointed Domenico Teti as sporting director, while Al-Nassr appointed Fernando Hierro. Both sporting directors join Esteve Calzada, Al-Hilal’s CEO; Ron Gourlay, Al-Ahli’s CEO; Lee Congerton, Al-Ahli’s sporting director; Ramon Planes, Al-Ittihad’s sporting director; and James Bisgrove, Al-Qadsiah’s CEO, as new appointments ahead of the new season.
In addition, the SPL has conducted a series of workshops with partner leagues in Europe and Asia to further develop areas of cooperation and mutual benefit. Discussions have covered topics such as mutual promotion, broadcast development, and alignment on transfer window dates.
The Player Acquisition Center of Excellence program, according to the SPL, serves as a collaborative tool with clubs to enhance their acquisition capabilities.
The program has so far recruited 97 players and reviewed over 200 contracts, significantly reducing contract termination costs and lowering the average age of signed players from 29 to 27.5 years. The ultimate aim is to focus on signing players under the age of 21.
FIFA uses Pakistan’s ‘Blockbuster’ song to showcase French football star Mbappe’s on-field skills
- FIFA posts Mbappe highlights on TikTok using Pakistani song “Blockbuster” as background music
- Groovy song has gone viral since its release in May, garnering over 19 million views on YouTube
ISLAMABAD: The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) this week paid tribute to French football star Kylian Mbappe, showcasing his on-field skills in a TikTok video that featured the hit Pakistani song “Blockbuster” as background music.
Mbappe, considered one of the greats of the game, failed to see France to the final of the ongoing Euro Cup 2024 after his side lost to Spain 2-1 in the semifinal of the tournament on Wednesday. France disappointed fans by completing fewer passes than Spain and keeping possession of the ball only 41 percent throughout the game.
On Tuesday, FIFA posted a video on TikTok highlighting Mbappe’s on-field heroics over the years. Pakistani TikTok users were delighted to see the football governing body used the hit Coke Studio song “Blockbuster” from their country as background music for the reel.
The groovy, upbeat song featuring singer Umair Butt, rapper Faris Sharif and a Lahore-based musical group “The Gharwi Group,” has gone viral since it was released last month. The hit song has garnered over 19 million views on YouTube since it was released in May.
“Mbappe’s “BLOCKBUSTER” entry,” FIFA wrote as the caption on the TikTok post, referencing the Pakistani song.
The song’s music producer Zulfiqar Khan or “Xulfi” as he is popularly known in Pakistan, shared the FIFA post on his social media handles.
“From Coke Studio Pakistan to FIFA’s global stage — our ‘Blockbuster’ just made an appearance with Mbappe on FIFA’s official TikTok page! This feels surreal,” Khan wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
“Our voice, our beats transcending boundaries, creating timelines once deemed improbable. Congratulations Pakistan. This is wonderful and this is huge.”
This is not the first time FIFA has used Pakistani songs in its social media posts. Last month, the football body used famed Pakistani folk singer Arif Lohar’s 2023 hit “Aa” to mark football icon Lionel Messi’s 37th birthday in a social media post.
FIFA AND PAKISTAN’S HASSAN ALI
On Sunday, FIFA referenced a viral video of Pakistani cricketer Hasan Ali as it paid tribute to English footballer Bukayo Ayoyinka Temidayo Saka.
A snippet from an interview featuring Ali went viral last year in which he praised Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam. His sentence, “King karlega [the King will do it]” for Azam went viral, triggering thousands of memes and social media posts.
On Sunday, FIFA posted a photo of Saka on Instagram with the caption: “Saka karlega [Saka will do it]” in a reference to Ali’s famous dialogue.
One year after failed bid, Bayern Munich finally sign Portugal midfielder Palhinha
- Palhinha joins Bayern from English Premier League club Fulham for a reported fee of nearly $54.2 million
- Bayern board sporting director Max Eberl said: "João really wanted to come to Bayern, and we need players like that"
MUNICH: A year after a high-profile failure to sign Portugal midfielder João Palhinha, Bayern Munich finally made the deal happen on Thursday.
Palhinha joins Bayern from English Premier League club Fulham for a reported fee of nearly 50 million euros ($54.2 million) on a contract through June 2028, the Bavarian club announced.
Palhinha, who helped Portugal to the quarterfinals at the European Championship, is the latest signing in a Bayern rebuild after the club's first season without a trophy since 2012.
“Palhinha was highly sought after by FC Bayern even last summer, and rightly so. It was important that we never lost touch,” Bayern board sporting director Max Eberl said." João really wanted to come to Bayern, and we need players like that. He’s an important building block for our future."
Bayern seemed sure to sign the player last year and the midfielder even traveled to Munich for a medical but the deal — reportedly worth 65 million euros ($70 million) at the time — collapsed just before the end of the transfer window.
Thomas Tuchel, Bayern coach at the time, was keen to sign a more defensive-minded midfielder like Palhinha in a squad packed with midfielders like Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka who liked to make attacking runs into the opponent's box.
Two weeks after that, Palhinha signed a new contract at Fulham through the 2027-28 season.
Palhinha is the third new signing to be confirmed at Bayern since Vincent Kompany was hired as coach in May, after Stuttgart defender Hiroki Ito and Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise. Bayern have yet to sell any of their current first-team players in this transfer window.
French referee François Letexier picked to handle Spain-England final of Euro 2024
- Letexier has refereed three games at Euro 2024 including Spain’s 4-1 win over Georgia in the round of 16
- There was no video review controversy in any of Letexier’s games, including the 2-2 draw between Albania and Croatia
BERLIN: French referee François Letexier was picked by UEFA to handle the European Championship final between Spain and England.
At 35, he’s one of the youngest referees to take charge of a major final. The game is on Sunday at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
The referees for the past three men’s Euros finals were 48, 41 and 41 at the time.
Letexier has refereed three games at Euro 2024 including Spain’s 4-1 win over Georgia in the round of 16.
In those games, he did not award a penalty kick and did not send off any player. He showed just 10 yellow cards, including one for Serbia forward Aleksandar Mitrovic, who was judged to have dived in the penalty area in a 0-0 draw against Denmark.
There was no video review controversy in any of Letexier’s games, including the 2-2 draw between Albania and Croatia.
The VAR specialist for the final is also French, Jérôme Brisard.
Letexier rarely shows red cards, with just one in the nine games he handled in the Champions League or Europa League last season from the group stage onward. That was to Bayern Munich’s French defender Dayot Upamecano.
His previous highest profile games for UEFA this season include Real Madrid and Manchester City drawing 3-3 in the Champions League quarterfinals, Bayer Leverkusen winning at Roma 2-0 in the Europa League semifinals, and the season-opening Super Cup last August between Man City and Sevilla.
Letexier joined the FIFA list of referees for international games seven years ago.
The fourth official for the final will be Szymon Marciniak of Poland, the referee at the 2022 World Cup final and 2023 Champions League final who had a controversial season.
Marciniak and his match officials team made consequential stoppage-time decisions in Champions League games between Bayern and Real Madrid in the semifinals and Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle in the group stage.
