LONDON: Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter was named West Ham’s new manager on Thursday on a two-and-a-half-year contract, the club said, a day after sacking Julen Lopetegui.
Potter, 49, has been out of management since he was sacked by Chelsea in April 2023, just seven months into a five-year contract. He won 12 of his 31 matches in charge.
The Hammers are 14th in the Premier League, seven points above the relegation zone, after six wins in 20 league matches during former Spain and Real Madrid coach Lopetegui’s ill-fated tenure.
A 4-1 hammering at champions Manchester City on Saturday was the final straw for the London club.
“I am delighted to be here,” said Potter.
“It was important to me that I waited until a job came along that I felt was right for me, and equally that I was the right fit for the club I am joining.
“That is the feeling I have with West Ham United.”
Potter began his managerial career at Swedish club Ostersund and had successful spells with Swansea and Brighton before taking over at Stamford Bridge.
His first match will be when West Ham face Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round on Friday prior to Premier League matches against Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Lopetegui was the fifth Premier League manager to lose his job this season, following the sackings of Erik ten Hag (Manchester United), Steve Cooper (Leicester), Gary O’Neil (Wolves) and Russell Martin (Southampton).
West Ham were among the biggest spenders in the Premier League in the summer transfer window, splashing out around £125 million ($155 million) on players including Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug.
“My conversations with the chairman and the board have been very positive and constructive,” said Potter.
“We share the same values of hard work and high energy to create the solid foundations that can produce success.
“And we are on the same wavelength in terms of what is needed in the short term and then how we want to move the Club forward in the medium to long term.”
Potter named West Ham boss after Lopetegui sacking
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Potter named West Ham boss after Lopetegui sacking
- Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter was named West Ham’s new manager on Thursday on a two-and-a-half-year contract, the club said, a day after sacking Julen Lopetegui
Goodison Park to become home of Everton’s women’s team from next season
- Instead of Goodison Park being demolished, it will host Women’s Super League matches
LIVERPOOL, England: Goodison Park will become the home of Everton’s women’s team from next season, the English club said Tuesday.
Everton’s men’s team is preparing to bid an emotional farewell to its long-time stadium ahead of a move to the newly built, 53,000-seat venue at Bramley-Moore Dock ahead of the start of next season.
Instead of Goodison Park being demolished, it will host Women’s Super League matches, with the women’s side moving from its nearby current home in Walton Hall Park.
“This move is a testament to where the women’s game is right now and, more importantly, where it is heading,” Everton captain Megan Finnigan said. “Goodison is a magical stadium with a deep heritage and close ties to the local community.
“Leading the team out for that first home match of next season will be nothing short of a career highlight — and the prospect of what Everton Women can become with such an iconic ground to call our home is hugely exciting.”
The decision follows a review of the Goodison Legacy project — launched in 2020 — by the Friedkin Group following its takeover of the club in December.
Goodison Park will also stage some academy matches, while there will be a program of stadium upgrades ahead of the new season.
It has been the home of the men’s team since 1892.
Southampton will be the visitor for the team’s final match there on Sunday.
Lula says Brazil has ‘capable’ coaches, reacting to Ancelotti hire
- “What I think is that we have coaches in Brazil capable of leading the Selecao,” Lula said
- He had expressed skepticism in the past about the potential appointment of Ancelotti
BRASILIA: Brazil doesn’t need foreigners to coach its national football team, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday following the appointment of Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti to head the Selecao.
Italian Ancelotti on Monday became the first non-Brazilian since 1965 to take the reins of Brazil’s national team, which he is hoping to lead to World Cup glory next year.
“Honestly, I have nothing against him being a foreigner... What I think is that we have coaches in Brazil capable of leading the Selecao,” Lula told journalists in China, according to a video circulated in Brazilian media.
A football enthusiast, Lula had expressed skepticism in the past about the potential appointment of Ancelotti, which had been on the cards for years.
“He has never been Italy’s national coach... Why does he not resolve the problems of Italy, which did not even qualify for the 2022 World Cup?” the president said in 2023.
On Tuesday, he described Ancelotti as a “great technician” and said he hoped the Italian “can help the Brazilian team, first to qualify for the World Cup, and then, if possible, to win it.”
The Selecao is placed fourth in the qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup that will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
It has 21 points from 14 matches, less than Ecuador, Uruguay and world champions Argentina.
The top six Latin American teams will qualify for the 2026 event.
Sinner moves through gears to reach Italian Open quarters
- Italian Sinner bested 17th seed Cerundolo 7-6 (7/2), 6-3
- Sinner had to battle through the first set against spirited Cerundolo
ROME: Jannik Sinner came through the first true test of his comeback from a doping ban with Tuesday’s straight-sets win over Francisco Cerundolo which took the world number one into the Italian Open quarter-finals.
Italian Sinner bested 17th seed Cerundolo 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 in a match which was delayed by a couple of hours due to a torrential downpour to set up a last-eight clash with either Casper Ruud or Jaume Munar.
Cerundolo knocked out Sinner in the last 16 the last time he played here in 2023, but that was before the 23-year-old had became the tournament-winning machine he is today.
Sinner is finding his feet in Rome, his first tournament since the end of a three-month suspension accepted in February from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following two positive tests for traces of clostebol in March last year.
His true target is the French Open which follows his home event and he showed some signs of rediscovering the form which has won him three Grand Slams and last year’s ATP Finals.
Sinner had to battle through the first set against spirited Cerundolo but once he prevailed in the tie-break he built up an unassailable lead by winning four games in a row in the second.
The packed center court stands hailed their hero after he took the win at the fourth time of asking and continue his bid for a first Rome title.
The rain which delayed Sinner’s match had a much bigger impact on his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti, who reached the last eight after having to wait nearly three hours at match point before he could finish off his victory over Daniil Medvedev.
World number nine Musetti will face either reigning Rome champion Alexander Zverev in the last eight after seeing off Medvedev 7-5, 6-4.
Musetti held his nerve to win on the first point after the long break and made sure that his first week in the top 10 of the world rankings would bring another solid run in a big tournament, after he reached the final in Monte Carlo and the last four in Madrid.
Organizers later said that Musetti would have to pull out of his doubles campaign alongside Lorenzo Sonego due to an injury to his right arm.
Fellow Italian Jasmine Paolini was playing on center court at the same time as the first part of Musetti’s match but managed to complete her comeback from a set down to beat Diana Shnaider 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 6-2 just before the worst of the weather hit.
Paolini is the first Italian woman to reach the Rome semifinals since 2014, when her doubles partner Sara Errani got to the final only to be soundly beaten by Serena Williams.
Earlier Carlos Alcaraz beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in a hugely entertaining opening match of the day on center court.
Third seed Alcaraz had never lost a set in his previous four meetings with Khachanov but was forced to fight to get past Russia’s Khachanov.
The Spaniard took his 12th clay-court win of the year to set up a clash in the last eight with fifth seed Jack Draper, a winner over France’s Corentin Moutet.
“It was tiring. You know the match was really tough. I had to run. I had to run a lot,” said Alcaraz.
“I didn’t play well. I just fought and I’m just really happy about it.”
Alcaraz needs to get to the Rome semis not just for a chance at his third title of the season but also to secure a top-two seeding at the French Open which begins later this month.
Professional Fighters League launches an MMA division in Australia and New Zealand
- The PLF is partnering with the streaming service Stan and Australia’s Nine Network in a broadcasting deal that covers subscription, pay-per-view and free-to-air TV
SYDNEY: The Professional Fighters League has launched a new international division in Australia and New Zealand to showcase mixed martial arts competitors in the Oceania region.
The PFL Pacific was launched in Sydney on Tuesday, expanding the league’s reach into the southern hemisphere.
“It has been a priority of ours to bring the Professional Fighters League to Australia and the Pacific region,” PFL chief executive Peter Murray said in a statement. “With the launch of PFL Pacific, we’re also building a foundation for long-term growth and aiming to crown more Aussie champions than any other league over the next three years.”
The PLF is partnering with the streaming service Stan and Australia’s Nine Network in a broadcasting deal that covers subscription, pay-per-view and free-to-air TV.
The first PFL Pacific tournament will take place next year across four live events featuring regional fighters in single-elimination brackets and using the league’s “win and advance” format.
The PFL Pacific launch was days after it emerged former France and Manchester United player Patrice Evra’s PFL Europe debut scheduled for May 23 had been postponed.
The 43-year-old Evra, who retired from soccer in 2019, has been training in combat alongside MMA star Cedric Doumbe.
Whittaker to face De Ridder at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi
- Headline bout takes place at Yas Island’s Etihad Arena on July 26
ABU DHABI: The UFC, the mixed martial arts organization — in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism — makes a return to the UAE’s capital with a highly anticipated middleweight fight, No. 5-ranked Robert Whittaker taking on rising star Reinier de Ridder on Saturday, July 26, at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
Former champion Whittaker (27-8-0, fighting out of New South Wales, Australia) is one of the UFC’s most respected middleweights, rising to prominence with standout victories over Yoel Romero, Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori. Whittaker looks to return in impressive fashion with a dominant performance against the Dutchman.
De Ridder (20-2-0, fighting out of Breda, Netherlands) has swiftly established himself as one of the UFC’s most promising middleweight contenders. Since joining the promotion in late 2024 he has showcased his elite grappling and finishing abilities. Most recently, he delivered a statement win by handing Bo Nickal his first professional defeat. De Ridder is rapidly ascending the middleweight ranks and aims to continue his winning streak with victory over the former champion.
On the same card, Nikita Krylov (30-10-0, fighting out of Kislovodsk, Russia) faces Bogdan Guskov (17-3-0, fighting out of Dukent, Uzbekistan) in a light heavyweight matchup.
Ramazan Temirov (19-3-0, fighting out of Karshi, Uzbekistan) takes on Asu Almabayev (21-3-0, fighting out of Almaty, Kazakhstan) in what promises to be a thrilling flyweight bout.
And Ibo Aslan (14-2-0, fighting out of Istanbul, Turkiye) meets American Billy Elekana (7-2-0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada) in a light heavyweight bout that is expected to produce fireworks.
Tickets are now available via etihadarena.ae and Ticketmaster.ae.
