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Miami’s Messi, Suarez out for MLS All-Star Game

An updated MLS roster for the match-up against Mexico’s Liga MX All-Stars at Columbus, Ohio, listed Messi and Uruguayan striker Suarez among those who would not play. (AFP/File)
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Updated 23 July 2024
AFP
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Miami’s Messi, Suarez out for MLS All-Star Game

Updated 23 July 2024
AFP

MIAMI: Argentina star Lionel Messi and Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez will miss Wednesday’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game with injuries, the league and team announced Monday.

An updated MLS roster for the match-up against Mexico’s Liga MX All-Stars at Columbus, Ohio, listed Messi and Uruguayan striker Suarez among those who would not play.

Inter Miami detailed the injuries, with Messi still sidelined after missing two MLS matches last week with a right ankle injury suffered in Argentina’s Copa America final triumph over Colombia.

“Messi will miss the All-Star Game due to an ankle injury while Luis Suarez, who recently returned from international duty after over 40 days away from the club, will miss the All-Star Game due to knee discomfort,” Inter Miami said.

It would have been the first MLS All-Star appearance for 37-year-old Messi, who joined Inter Miami last July.

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, who helped spark Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title, led Miami to last year’s inaugural Leagues Cup crown in a tournament of MLS and Mexican league squads.

But Miami said Messi’s status and that of Suarez remain in doubt for Saturday’s home match against Mexico’s Puebla, Inter’s first step in defending the Leagues Cup title.

The availability of Messi and Suarez will be determined by their “daily recovery process” according to the team statement.

Topics: Inter Miami Lionel Messi MLS All-Star Game

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Antonio Conte has Napoli back atop Serie A to end 2024 after miserable title defense last season

Updated 30 December 2024
AP
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Antonio Conte has Napoli back atop Serie A to end 2024 after miserable title defense last season

  • Juventus and Fiorentina drew 2-2 in a match that was briefly suspended because of discriminatory chants aimed at Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic
  • AC Milan drew 1-1 with visiting Roma
Updated 30 December 2024
AP

ROME: Napoli went through three different coaches during their Serie A title defense last season and ended the campaign in 10th place.

Antonio Conte was hired in July and now Napoli are ending 2024 level with Atalanta atop the Italian league again.

Substitute Giacomo Raspadori scored a late goal and Napoli beat relegation-threatened Venezia 1-0 on Sunday in their final match of the year.

Napoli trail Atalanta only on goal difference but both teams are one point ahead of defending champions Inter Milan, who have a game in hand.

“Even if I play cards with my daughter I want to win,” said Conte, who was hired to get Napoli back into the Champions League. “Personally, I don’t accept minimal goals. But we all know where we started and what the club’s objectives are.”

Atalanta drew 1-1 at Lazio on Saturday and Inter won 3-0 at Cagliari.

Also Sunday, Juventus and Fiorentina drew 2-2 in a match that was briefly suspended because of discriminatory chants aimed at Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic; and AC Milan drew 1-1 with visiting Roma.

After Luciano Spalletti coached Napoli to the Serie A title in 2022-23, Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona managed the team last season, when the Partenopei finished a whopping 41 points behind Inter.

“What happened is in the past. The present is what counts,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “It’s great to be back on top but there’s still a long way to go.”

Napoli had struggled to get the ball past Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stankovic, the son of former Lazio and Inter standout Dejan Stankovic. But Raspadori broke the deadlock in the 79th when he used one touch to fire in a loose ball from the center of the area less than 10 minutes after he came on.

“These are tough matches where it means a lot to come away with three points,” Raspadori said. “We know we’re on the right path.”

In the first half, Stankovic saved a penalty kick from Romelu Lukaku. Then in the second half Stankovic deflected a shot from Lukaku off the post.

Napoli produced 25 shots to Venezia’s four.

Napoli’s 27 goals scored are the least among the top six teams in the standings.

“The squad is improving under every point of view. We just need to score more goals,” Conte said.

Discriminatory chants aimed at Vlahovic prompt brief suspension

Discriminatory chants aimed at Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic by visiting Fiorentina fans prompted a two-minute suspension during the first half.

Vlahovic, a Serbia international who played for Fiorentina before transferring to Juventus three years ago, appeared to tell the referee about the chants. The ref then stopped play, gathered the teams and ordered a warning announcement to be made over the stadium’s public address system.

The announcement said that the match would be suspended definitively if there were more discriminatory chants.

Play then resumed.

Khephren Thuram put Juventus ahead midway through the first half. Former Juventus striker Moise Kean equalized before the break with his 15th goal across all competitions this season. Thuram added another in the second half and Fiorentina equalized again with a volley from Riccardo Sottil in the 87th.

Juventus and Fiorentina are both nine points behind the leaders.

Juventus is the only unbeaten team in the league but the Bianconeri have drawn more matches (11) than they’ve won (seven).

At the San Siro, Tijjani Reijnders put Milan ahead early on and Paulo Dybala equalized for Roma. Under-pressure Milan coach Paulo Fonseca was sent off for protests at the end of the first half.

Earlier, Torino came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Udinese.

Topics: Napoli Serie A

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Gulf Cup final rescheduled, competition organizers announce

Updated 29 December 2024
Arab News
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Gulf Cup final rescheduled, competition organizers announce

  • Committee did not give reason for change of date
  • First semifinal sees Saudi Arabia face Oman
Updated 29 December 2024
Arab News

KUWAIT CITY: The final match of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup will now be played on Saturday, Jan. 4, the Competitions Committee of the Gulf Football Federation announced on Sunday.

Originally scheduled for Jan. 3, the championship match will now take place a day later at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.

Khaled Al-Muqrin, head of the committee, said that the decision to reschedule the final had been reached during a committee meeting on Sunday and followed consultations with Gulf football federations, all of which unanimously approved the change.

The committee did not give a reason for the change of date.

While the final has been moved, the semifinal matches will proceed as planned.

The first semifinal sees Saudi Arabia face Oman on Tuesday afternoon. Later that evening, Bahrain will take on hosts Kuwait.

The Green Falcons reached the last four after a convincing 3-1 win over Group B rivals Iraq on Saturday and will hope to reach their fifth final since 2009 and secure a first Gulf Cup title since 2004.

Topics: football soccer Arabian Gulf Cup Gulf Cup 26th Gulf Cup

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Manchester City stop the rot with victory at Leicester

Updated 29 December 2024
AFP
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Manchester City stop the rot with victory at Leicester

  • Savinho and Erling Haaland struck either side of half-time
  • City ended a run of eight away games without a win
Updated 29 December 2024
AFP

LEICESTER: Manchester City provided Pep Guardiola some relief with a 2-0 victory at Leicester to secure just a second win in 14 games for the crisis-hit English champions on Sunday.
Savinho and Erling Haaland struck either side of half-time as City ended a run of eight away games without a win.
The performance was still far from the standards that Guardiola’s side have set in winning an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles.
But the effusive celebrations of Haaland’s header 16 minutes from time showed that three points was all that mattered for the visitors to at least temporarily halt their remarkable slump.
Victory lifts City up to fifth but they are still 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand.
Defeat leaves Leicester still rooted in the bottom three.
Guardiola made just one change from the 1-1 Boxing Day draw against Everton as Kevin De Bruyne replaced his Belgian international colleague Jeremy Doku.
De Bruyne’s fitness struggles have played a part in City’s slump and he immediately showed what Guardiola’s men have been missing for most of the season.
Rico Lewis picked out De Bruyne, who cushioned a cross into the path of Haaland but his low effort was well saved by Leicester’s stand-in goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
Leicester have now lost their last four games after a bright start to Ruud van Nistelrooy’s reign.
The Foxes were left to rue not taking their chances to inflict more misery on a City side still showing a clear lack of confidence.
Any time the home side crossed into City territory in the first half they appeared a major threat.
Jamie Vardy would surely have won a penalty had he not strayed offside before being brought down by Stefan Ortega, while James Justin’s header hit the post after a goalmouth scramble.
City, though, got the crucial opening goal on 21 minutes.
Stolarczyk should have done better than to parry Phil Foden’s long-range effort into the path of Savinho, who swept the rebound into the roof of the net for his first City goal.
Chances continued to come and go for Leicester early in the second half.
Justin should have levelled but his mishit finish from close range allowed Manuel Akanji to clear off the line.
Vardy then had the biggest chance to level when he prodded over Stephy Mavididi’s brilliant in-swinging cross.
However, they were hit by a City sucker punch to end the defending champions’ miserable run on the road.
Savinho was the creator this time as his cross perfectly picked out Haaland, who powered home his 19th of the season ending his four-game goal drought.

Topics: football soccer England Premier league Manchester city Leicester City

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Atalanta snatch late draw at Lazio to hold Serie A lead

Updated 29 December 2024
AFP
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Atalanta snatch late draw at Lazio to hold Serie A lead

  • Atalanta showed great character to battle back from Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s 27th-minute goal which came in an intense opening period from Lazio
Updated 29 December 2024
AFP

ROME: Atalanta kept hold of top spot in Serie A on Saturday after escaping Lazio with a 1-1 draw which kept Inter Milan at bay but ended their club-record league winning streak at 11 matches.
Marco Brescianini tapped home into an open goal with two minutes remaining to snatch a point from the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where a passionate crowd thought a big win was coming their way.
Instead Atalanta will end a historic year a point ahead of Inter, who have a game in hand, after the champions briefly drew level on points with a 3-0 win earlier at Cagliari.
Europa League holders Atalanta will lead the league even if Napoli beat Venezia on Sunday and draw level on 41 points with Gian Piero Gasperini’s side who have a significantly better goal difference than the 2023 champions.
Should two teams finish level at the top of Serie A come the end of the season they will face off in a single match to decide the destination of the Scudetto, which Atalanta have never won.
“We struggled for long periods in the first half, but we were much better in the second,” said Atalanta coach Gasperini.
“This year has been the best year in Atalanta’s history, let’s hope we can make 2025 the same.”
Atalanta showed great character to battle back from Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s 27th-minute goal which came in an intense opening period from Lazio.
The away side were initially blitzed by Lazio, with Marco Carnesecchi making two sensational stops before Matteo Guendouzi curled a great strike off the post in the 11th minute.
But as the match wore on, Atalanta, who were without injured star striker Mateo Retegui, grew into the game and deservedly drew level in front of a boisterous and hostile crowd in the Italian capital.
Brescianini netted his third goal of the season thanks largely to Ademola Lookman, who made up for earlier missing from yards out by beating Lazio’s offside trap, meeting Nicolo Zaniolo’s hooked pass and rolling across to his teammate to salvage a precious point.
Next up, Atalanta travel to play the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, where they will face Inter on Thursday.
Lautaro Martinez ended an eight-match scoring drought at Cagliari, netting the second in an engaging contest in Sardinia which Inter won with second-half goals from the Argentina striker, Alessandro Bastoni and Hakan Calhanoglu.
Inter have won their last five in Italy’s top flight, scoring 19 and conceding just once, a burst in form which has re-established Inter as favorites to retain the Scudetto.
The only thing missing for Inter were goals from captain Martinez, who hadn’t scored since November 3 before he prodded home Nicolo Barella’s cross in the 71st minute on Saturday.
“The most important thing is that Inter win. If I get a goal too, then that’s a bonus,” said Martinez.
“We work hard every day to win trophies and anyone who sets foot on the pitch will give their all for the team. We’ve just got to keep going and make 2025 like this year.”
Inter could have won by an even more convincing margin had captain Martinez not wasted great chances in each half and Cagliari goalkeeper Simone Scuffet not pulled off superb saves to deny Marcus Thuram and Barella.
But Martinez did net his seventh goal this season in all competitions and seven minutes later Calhanoglu made absolutely sure of the points from the penalty spot.
Cagliari are just inside the relegation zone after a fourth consecutive defeat for Davide Nicola’s side, a point behind Verona and Como who both play on Monday.

Topics: Serie A Atalanta Lazio

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Real Madrid the big winners at Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai

Updated 28 December 2024
Arab News
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Real Madrid the big winners at Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai

  • Vinicius Jr wins Best Men’s Player and Best Forward after year to remember on glittering evening at Atlantis, The Palm
  • Cristiano Ronaldo takes Top Goalscorer of All Time awards, joins Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on stage as part of 19th Dubai International Sports Conference
Updated 28 December 2024
Arab News

DUBAI: Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr added to his growing personal trophy collection in Dubai on Friday night, with Jude Bellingham and Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo the other big winners at the 2024 Beyond Globe Soccer Dubai Awards, held in conjunction with the 19th Dubai International Sports Conference.

Vinicius Jr went home with the Best Men’s Player and Best Forward awards after enjoying the best goalscoring season of his career in 2023-24, finishing with 24 goals and contributing nine assists in 39 matches for Real Madrid. At 23 years and 325 days, the Brazilian also broke Lionel Messi’s record as the youngest player to score in multiple Champions League finals, leading the Spaniards to their 15th European title.

“It was such a faraway dream that it seemed impossible for me,” said Vinicius Jr. “I was just a little kid who used to play barefoot in the streets of Sao Gonçalo. I grew up in a poor place, surrounded by crime, so to be here is something very important to me because I’m not only representing Brazil but all the kids out there with the same dream.”

Bellingham, meanwhile, took home the Best Midfielder and the Maradona Award following an outstanding calendar year, which saw the 21-year-old lift the LaLiga title and maiden Champions League in his first season at Los Blancos, as well as the Supercopa de Espana and UEFA Super Cup. The former Birmingham City prodigy also helped England reach the final of the European Championship, contributing with some key goals along the way.

“Thank you to Globe Soccer for inviting me to this awards ceremony,” added Bellingham. “It’s amazing to see so many great players and legends, and it’s a real privilege to win a trophy here tonight as well. It wouldn’t be possible without my teammates, my staff, and most importantly, my family. My mum, who is here tonight, is the biggest motivation in my life.”

Al-Nassr forward Ronaldo clinched the Best Middle East Player for a second successive year, as well as being awarded the prestigious Top Goalscorer of All Time accolade, with the legendary forward currently standing on 917 career goals following his most recent strike against Al-Ittihad.

“I am always happy to be here because I think you do it as a fantastic gala. You can see all the champions here. I think it’s fantastic. Congratulations to all,” said Ronaldo. “In terms of the trophy, I have to say thank you to my teammates, my team. In terms of individual, I did very well, but for me, it’s not enough. My main goal is to win a trophy for Al-Nassr.”

The 15th edition of the star-studded awards took place on Palm Jumeirah, and alongside the Real Madrid representatives and Ronaldo, this year’s event attracted a number of football stars of past and present, including Brazil and Al-Hilal forward Neymar, Barcelona and Spain winger Lamine Yamal, former England manager Fabio Capello, and Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand.

The Beyond Globe Soccer Dubai Awards garnered more than 100 million votes cast by fans from more than 200 countries and territories, eclipsing the previous record of 70 million.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancellotti won Best Coach for the second time in three years, as FC Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati retained the Best Women’s Player award. Yamal, meanwhile, was duly recognized as Emerging Player.

Earlier in the evening, Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois joined Ronaldo on stage to discuss “talented football” as part of the Dubai International Sports Conference.

“In the beginning, when I arrived at Manchester United, I was a very skillful player, dribbling a lot, and I realized that it was good for the show, but football is more than that,” Ronaldo commented. “When you have a dream to achieve big things, you need to be more effective, and this is what I planned to do. I started to see examples there in the club, like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. And I took some good ideas.

“And, as I say all the time, of course, you’re never going to be a football player if you only have talent. Talent is the main word to achieve success. But the other things, which I consider more important, are the ethics of work. I dedicated all my life to that because I know I can improve year by year.”

Other winners on the night included Al-Hilal’s Jorge Jesus, who was awarded Best Middle East Coach; while Al-Ain received Best Middle East Club and FC Barcelona were crowned Best Women’s Club once more.

“This is a landmark edition for the Globe Soccer Dubai Awards and once again I am immensely proud to see the world of football come out in force here in Dubai to recognize and celebrate the sport’s best operators and is testament to the growing reputation of the Awards itself and the appeal of Dubai as a destination,” said Tommaso Bendoni, founder and CEO of Globe Soccer.

“I would like to thank Dubai Sports Council for their valuable help and continuous support throughout the past 15 years, with a record response from fans during the voting period reinforcing our commitment to honouring the extraordinary talents that make football a global phenomenon.”

Dubai Globe Soccer Awards 2024 Winners:

Best Men’s Player: Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid and Brazil)

Best Women’s Player: Aitana Bonmati (FC Barcelona and Spain)

Best Coach: Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)

Best Middle East Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr and Portugal)

Best Middle East Coach: Jorge Jesus (Al Hilal)

Revelation Club Awards: Olympiacos FC

Best Men’s Club: Real Madrid

Best Women’s Club: FC Barcelona

Best Midfielder: Jude Bellingham (England and Real Madrid)

Best Forward: Vinicius Jr

Best Sporting Director: Piero Ausilio (Inter Milan)

Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

Best Middle East Club: Al-Ain FC

Emerging Player: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)

Maradona Award: Jude Bellingham

Top Goalscorer of all Time: Cristiano Ronaldo

Special Career Award: Alessandro Del Piero

Special Career Award: Florentino Perez

Player Career Award: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid and Belgium)

Player Career Award: Neymar Jr (Al-Hilal and Brazil)

Player Career Award: Rio Ferdinand

Topics: football real madrid Dubai Globe Soccer Awards

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