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Manchester United have been known for their ability to develop youth talent into key first-team members, as seen by the current side and teams over the years gone by.

Kobbie Mainoo is just one player who’s been able to make the jump seamlessly, wasting no time in making an immediate impact with his boyhood club.

The 19-year-old made a name for himself during the previous campaign under Erik ten Hag, making his first-ever Premier League start in the meeting with Everton – claiming the Man of the Match award for his display.

The midfielder has gone from strength to strength in recent months, becoming a vital member of United’s squad, ending up with a total of 32 appearances in all competitions by the end of 2023/24.

Such displays led to an England call-up to Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024, as the Three Lions fell at the final hurdle, suffering defeat against Spain in the final.

Mainoo isn’t the only academy player currently plying his trade under new boss Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford, with one sensation already impressing under the 39-year-old.

Alejandro Garnacho’s stats for Manchester United

After arriving from Atlético Madrid back in 2020, winger Alejandro Garnacho originally linked up with the United academy setup, before making the step up into the first-team.

After a couple of years with the U18 and U21 side, he would make his senior debut for the Red Devils off the bench in the meeting with Chelsea back in April 2022.

It would be the following campaign that would allow him to become a dependable option for new boss Ten Hag, registering nine goal contributions in his debut season as a professional – a really solid return for a 19-year-old.

Garnacho endured his best-ever year last time out, notching 15 goals and assists, helping the Red Devils claim the FA Cup after scoring alongside fellow academy graduate Mainoo, preventing their noisy neighbours from a third trophy that campaign.

The now 20-year-old has continued his excellent form into the current season, notching 12 goal contributions in 20 appearances – including a goal within the first minute of the latest Europa League clash last night.

His goal was the second of the Amorim era, showcasing he has the ability to become a vital player during the 39-year-old’s reign in the North West.

However, he wasn’t the original academy graduate who was seen as a potential world-beater, with one former United ace coming through the youth system with real hype around him – but ultimately failed to deliver.

The player who was United’s original Garnacho

Not many United supporters would’ve recognised the name of Tahith Chong after joining the academy as a 16-year-old from Dutch side Feyenoord.

However, the attacker quickly demonstrated his talent, featuring at U18 level before becoming a regular in the U23 side between 2018 and 2020, making 33 appearances, scoring 16 times – earning his first-team debut during the aforementioned period.

Chong would get his opportunity off the bench for the first time in the FA Cup victory over Reading at Old Trafford back in January 2019, before also being involved in the memorable comeback win in the Champions League against PSG.

22. Sergio Romero

20. Diogo Dalot

36. Matteo Darmian

4. Phil Jones

18. Ashley Young (C)

39. Scott McTominay

15. Andreas Pereira

17. Fred

8. Juan Mata

9. Romelu Lukaku

7. Alexis Sanchez

He would make a total of 16 appearances for the Red Devils, before various loans at Werder Bremen and Club Brugge, joining Championship side Birmingham City on a permanent basis for just £1.5m in the summer of 2022.

The attacker has since departed the Blues to join Luton Town as they attempted to complete the impossible and survive relegation in the Premier League last season – notching five goals that season, taking his tally to 11 since leaving the Red Devils a couple of years ago.

It’s safe to say that the youngster – who was even likened to compatriot Arjen Robben in his youth, while also idolizing a certain Ryan Giggs – never managed to reach his full potential at United, with the move elsewhere potentially getting his once-promising career back on track.

He was seen as a “big talent” a couple of years ago – in the words of former Birmingham boss Lee Bowyer – but at 24, he needs to get a move on if he is to reach the top level of European football as many expected him to as a teenager.

Bellingham 2.0: Man Utd want to sign exciting £120m star in the making

Ruben Amorim already appears to be eyeing up new additions for Manchester United.

ByEthan Lamb Nov 28, 2024

Unai Emery’s transfer business during his time in charge of Aston Villa has been excellent. Not only has he moved on players such as Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz for lavish fees, but he has brought in players who have wonderful futures in the game.

It marks a change from the recruitment that had occurred under previous manager Steven Gerrard, with several players failing to live up to their hype.

Steven Gerrard’s recruitment at Aston Villa

The former Rangers manager took charge in November 2021, tasked with leading Villa to the European spots. Gerrard made a few decent signings during the January 2022 transfer window, bringing in players such as Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne, who made solid impacts.

That summer, Coutinho’s loan deal was made permanent, before the likes of Robin Olsen, Leander Dendoncker, and Diego Carlos were signed ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Out of these players, only Carlos is still featuring for the first team, but what once looked like an impressive signing has potentially turned into a financial mistake…

How much Aston Villa spent on Diego Carlos

The Brazilian defender cost the club £26m in 2022, but he suffered a serious injury on his first Premier League start for Villa, ruling him out for the majority of his debut season.

He returned to full fitness last term, making 38 appearances in all competitions, yet Carlos has fallen down the pecking order this season, starting just seven times in all competitions under Emery.

The £100k-per-week defender has struggled in the Premier League. Across four games in the top flight, the centre-back has won just 1.3 total duels per game – a success rate of 31% – while losing possession six times per game and making only 0.5 tackles each game.

Diego Carlos’ stats in the PL this season
Pass success rate	91%
Average touches per game	66.5
Total duels won per game	1.3
Tackles per game	0.5
Clearances per game	4
Possession lost per game	6
Via Sofascore

Hardly the statistics of a player at the top of their game. Will Emery consider his future when the January transfer window rolls around in a couple of months? Especially as he can call on several other players who appear to be favoured in his position.

These performances haven’t exactly done wonders for his current market value since joining the Midlands side, as it has dipped drastically over the previous two years…

Diego Carlos’ current market value at Aston Villa

Spending £26m on a player when the club had no European income was a risky piece of business and, in this regard, it has not paid off.

Indeed, according to Football Transfers, Carlos is currently valued at just €4.5m (£3.7m), clearly representing a massive drop from the fee Gerrard spent to secure his signature.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

Emery must now ruthlessly ditch him from the squad in January, although Villa may have to take a huge loss on the defender, as his current market value does not suggest that any team is likely to spend £26m on him now.

This works out as a staggering 86% decrease from the original £26m fee in just over two years, proving that it hasn’t been the best piece of transfer business conducted by the club in recent years.

Aston Villa can make Duran more unplayable by signing "insanely good" star

Aston Villa’s young marksman and their target could form a deadly partnership

By
Joe Nuttall

Nov 1, 2024

Zimbabwe know they are capable of upsetting a top-eight side or two, but their first priority at the World Cup is to avoid embarrassment against Ireland or UAE

Firdose Moonda09-Feb-2015Cricket’s big (read: Test-playing) teams use matches against smaller outfits to take a breather or experiment, even during a major tournament. Zimbabwe will use those fixtures to reassure themselves they still belong among the elite.”The most important games are Ireland and the UAE,” Craig Ervine said. “If we lose one of those, it makes the task of getting to the quarterfinals ten times harder. But if we can win both of those and hopefully cause an upset with one of the others, it gives us a chance.”That succinct analysis reveals much of what we need to know about the Zimbabwean mindset. They’re not among the top eight, they’re not among the cute and cuddlies – Ireland, Afghanistan, Nepal or the UAE – bubbling under, they’re stuck in an awful limbo between jumping off the edge and being pushed and it makes competing in a World Cup a test of character and skill.Zimbabwe are not supposed to be so concerned with Associate nations because they are supposed to beat them and beat them comfortably. But there remains the real possibility that they may not, which is why Zimbabwe’s first focus is on the teams ranked below them, rather than punching above their weight. “It’s beating those smaller teams first before we can have any sight of beating a bigger team,” Sean Williams confirmed, while Brendan Taylor called the penultimate group stage match against Ireland “the biggest game for us.”Taylor acknowledged that his harsh reality is that even if Zimbabwe win against the two teams they do not want lose against, it may not be enough to secure a spot in the knockouts. In 2011, they were victorious over Canada and Kenya, but lost to all of Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and were booted out. They need to beat one of the big boys to get through and Taylor has identified “West Indies or Pakistan” as teams they fancy themselves against, although he knows it will take a performance bigger than the sum of all Zimbabwe’s individual parts to do that.They have only delivered one example of that in the last year, beating Australia in the triangular series at home, despite threatening to pull off a few more recently. “What disappointed me the most was after how well we bowled at South Africa in two of the games, the way we batted,” Taylor said. “That was frustrating because if one guy just put his hand up, we would have got two wins there.”Zimbabwe bowled South Africa out for the first time since the 1999 World Cup in August last year during their bilateral series in Bulawayo and again in the triangular series involving Australia. Both times, they restricted South Africa to under 260 but they failed to chase 258 and 232 when none of their batsman took responsibility in a line-up that collapsed.Who does Taylor think will do it this time? “I’d like to say myself; well, myself and a few others,” he said. “We are batting to No.8 now, we used to bat to No.7. It might leave us a bit thin when it comes to bowlers but on these smaller grounds, I think it will be quite high scoring and the team that bats the best is giving themselves a better chance.”Zimbabwe’s line-up has been bolstered by the inclusion Solomon Mire, who has taken the role of finisher off Elton Chigumbura’s hands. “Elton hits the ball far but Solomon hits the ball harder. He is really good to watch,” Taylor said. Mire was a rookie at the Melbourne Renegades, played in the Dhaka Premier League and is in good form, with 68 from 32 balls and 39 from 23 balls in two of the three games Zimbabwe played against Northern Districts last week. Zimbabwe won all three games, although two of them were close contests, and had what Ervine said was “the best practice we could have asked for.”Despite squeezing past the New Zealand domestic side by 22 runs in the first match and 11 runs in the third – the second game saw Zimbabwe win by eight wickets in more dominant fashion – Zimbabwe posted over 200 twice and over 300 once and developed a rhythm to their batting. “We have a good pattern now. We have the guys at the top, with Sean Williams coming back it strengthens the middle order and towards the end we’ve got Solomon and Elton, who are quite explosive,” Ervine said.It also gave them a glimpse of how their bowling is holding up on batsmen-friendly surfaces. Williams believes they lack for a “wicket-taking” spinner, especially since Prosper Utseya was banned from bowling spin because of an illegal action. Utseya is in the squad and will bowl medium-pace but Chigumbura admitted a slew of allrounders makes it tricky for him to manage the attack and his own bowling will “play a big part when it comes to the balance of the team,” so he will be doing a lot of it.”Prosper’s situation didn’t help us. He was our banker in the middle overs but Sean Williams has proven to be very handy for us and Tafadzwa Kamungozi is quite economical. I think the fifth bowler is a tricky one,” Taylor said. “If we can sneak a few overs our of Sikandar Raza and maybe Hamilton Masakadza we should get through but you have to be careful on smaller grounds where big teams will look to target that fifth bowler.”It was beginning to look as though Zimbabwe were working through that in their warm-up match against New Zealand. Raza and Masakadza and Kamungozi each got a wicket, Tinashe Panyangara and Chigumbura got two apiece and Zimbabwe had the co-hosts on the ropes at 157 for 7 when the match was called off. Zimbabwe will never know whether that was good enough to cause what they now consider an upset against a top-eight team but it suggests they can surprise. If they listen to their captain and understand that “not panicking too early will be key in this tournament,” they may surprise when it really matters.

Hosts retain sliver of hope of avoiding relegation on back of solid opening stand against Hampshire

ECB Reporters Network26-Sep-2022Warwickshire retained their sliver of hope of avoiding relegation from LV=Insurance County Championship Division One with a solid start with the bat on the opening day against Hampshire at Edgbaston.First team coach Mark Robinson admitted before the match that Warwickshire need “a lot to go our way” for them to stay up. First and foremost they have to win with plentiful batting points and they laid a decent platform by reaching 138 for 2 on a day stripped of 55 overs by rain and bad light.After the first session was lost to the weather, openers Rob Yates (77 not out, 129 balls) and Dom Sibley (54, 109) added 129 in 38 overs against a Hampshire attack missing spearhead Kyle Abbot (58 Championship wickets at 19.68 this season) due to a knee injury.The visitors chose to bowl but enjoyed no early success, despite some help from the pitch. Their bowling was not bad, and a shade unlucky at times, but perhaps lacked a bit of sparkle, an understandable legacy of the shock implosion of their title challenge against Kent last week.There was no joy for Keith Barker against the team for whom he took 359 first class wickets and helped to the 2012 County Championship title. Yates was particularly fluent from the off and reached 50 from 90 balls with his tenth four, flicked through mid-wicket off Barker.The scoring rate remained reasonably brisk, as was required with Warwickshire needing every possible batting point. Sibley, on his farewell appearance at Edgbaston before rejoining Surrey, followed to his half-century from 105 balls and the pair posted Warwickshire’s first century opening stand since the first game of the season.The breakthrough finally arrived when Sibley tickled a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper Aneurin Donald off Ian Holland. Holland immediately struck again when Alex Davies offered no shot to a ball which struck off stump but Sam Hain met the hat-trick ball with the middle of a forward defensive bat and bad light soon closed back in to lop off the last 14 overs.Warwickshire are without India all-rounder Jayant Yadav, who has returned home after being called up for the Rest of India squad, but have welcomed back fast bowler Liam Norwell from injury.

With under two years left on his current contract, Rangers are now reportedly the top suitors in the race to replace James Tavernier by signing a League One defender in 2025.

Rangers transfer news

It’s been a season full of bad news so far for the Gers, who find themselves third and nine points adrift of both Aberdeen and Cetlic who have formed an unexpected title race in the Scottish Premiership. As the top two continue to go stride for stride, Rangers’ return to form hasn’t seen them regain their place in the top two in a campaign which already looks destined to end in failure from a league perspective.

Only adding to their woes recently was Rangers’ finance report which revealed an operating loss of £17.2m, which is set to limit Philippe Clement when searching for much-needed reinforcements in 2025. Suddenly, transfer targets such as Darius Olaru no longer seem viable in a major blow for the Scottish giants.

That’s not to say there’s not a single piece of positive news, however, with the Gers recently linked to a reinforcement who may be slightly more affordable than the European star.

According to Rangers News, Rangers are now the top suitors in the race to sign Ryan Barnett ahead of Championship sides Preston North End and Stoke City. The right-back has impressed for Wrexham in League One to earn the attention of those at Ibrox, who have been keeping tabs on the 25-year-old. Now, they could line up a move to sign an heir to Tavernier’s right-back throne in Glasgow.

Cerny upgrade: Rangers eyeing up move for "immense" star

Glasgow Rangers are reportedly interested in a deal to sign the young forward.

ByDan Emery Nov 13, 2024

The Rangers captain is on course to leave as a free agent in 2026 and the Scottish side would be saving themselves a lot of trouble by finding a replacement in either January or the summer transfer window rather than moving with panic in 2026.

"Tremendous" Barnett is good enough to replace Tavernier

Replacing a modern-day Rangers legend would be no easy task, but Barnett’s form suggests that he’d be more than capable of stepping up at Ibrox. The Wrexham right-back has five assists and one goal to his name in 16 appearances in all competitions so far this season, which is more goal involvements than Tavernier’s five in 20 appearances in the current campaign.

It’s recent form that would not have caught Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson by suprise given his previous praise for Barnett. Speaking after his side defeated Notts County 1-0 back in February, Parkinson told the club’s official YouTube channel: “If they go to a back four, Cameron will be up against Barney (Ryan Barnett), you know centre half playing left back.

“Give the ball to Barney because he’s tremendous in those situations and he produced some real good quality first half and second half.”

Unlike some of Rangers’ recruitment last summer, meanwhile, Barnett is not a player waiting to reach his peak, he is in it at this very moment. As the Gers potentially line up a 2025 move, the right-back should be high on Clement’s shortlist of targets.

Currently on course to lose Mohamed Salah at the end of his current contract next summer, Liverpool could now use the connection between new assistant coach John Heitinga and one £85m winger to land a 2025 deal.

Liverpool transfer news

With Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Salah all on course to leave as free agents in the summer unless they manage to agree fresh deals, it’s no surprise that the rumours over just who the Reds could turn to have been coming thick and fast. The likes of Arda Guler have already been linked to Anfield, with the winger reportedly no longer considered untouchable at Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, young Nantes defender Nathan Zeze has also been linked with a move to Merseyside, as Liverpool look to replace Van Dijk. After missing out on Leny Yoro to Manchester United last summer, those at Anfield will be desperately hoping to avoid a repeat in the case of Zeze, who has reportedly attracted the interest of a number of clubs.

When it comes to welcoming a reinforcement, however, the Reds could yet look slightly closer to home and put their own contacts to good use. According to Anfield Watch, Liverpool could now use Heitinga’s connection with Mohammed Kudus to land an £85m deal for the West Ham United star next summer.

Signed for £600k: Liverpool struck gold offloading star for 8100% more

Liverpool made the right call in offloading the talent.

ByEthan Lamb Oct 26, 2024

By triggering his hefty £85m release clause, Liverpool would be signing a player who may replace Salah for years to come and one that is already reportedly on Arne Slot’s shortlist.

What’s more, the winger himself has already admitted his desire to have worked with Heitinga for longer than he did after enjoying success under the current Liverpool assistant at both Ajax and West Ham last season.

Kudus told reporters, as relayed by Anfield Watch: “I felt very good under Heitinga. He is the best trainer I had at Ajax. Apart from the training, I have a lot of respect for him in terms of standards and values. Personally, I would have loved to work with him longer.”

"Strong" Kudus could replace Salah

Whilst Kudus hasn’t exactly picked up where he left off in the last campaign to endure a disappointing start under new West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui, which last weekend’s reckless red card against Tottenham Hotspur far from helped, the potential is still there. Last season, the former Ajax man was one of the Premier League’s best signings and that narrative hasn’t changed and will remain the case if he joins Liverpool.

Proving his quality to perform at the highest level last season, the 24-year-old managed 18 goals and a further seven assists in a stunning season which earned the praise of teammate Aaron Cresswell, who said via BBC Sport: “I’ve just trained with him and you don’t want to go anywhere near him. I’m up against him all the time and I’m like: ‘Mo, go on over to the left!’

“He’s a top, top talent and I think we haven’t seen the best of him yet. I won’t go near him in training because I know if I’m going to try to knock him off the ball I had better make sure he’s not looking and doesn’t see me coming. You just can’t get near him. He’s so strong, so quick, so sharp.”

Perhaps looking to get one over on Manchester City off the pitch, Arsenal are now reportedly racing to sign an attacking midfielder who’s been compared to Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk.

Arsenal transfer news

The Gunners have once again put themselves in contention to challenge champions Manchester City for the Premier League title, but things have been far from smooth sailing for Mikel Arteta’s side in the current campaign. Even last time out against Southampton, they were forced to come from behind to rescue all three points in another successful test of their mentality.

Now into the second international break of the season, Arsenal will be hoping to get the return of the injured Martin Odegaard sooner rather than later in a period that has shown just how important the Norway international is to Arteta’s side.

Imagine him & Havertz: Arsenal chasing Henry-esque £50m-rated star

He would add further quality to the Gunners’ already potent frontline.

ByEthan Lamb Oct 12, 2024

It begs the question as to whether they could do with a backup option and a question that may well be answered next summer, as per recent reports. According to Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, Arsenal are now racing to sign Georgiy Sudakov from Shakhtar Donetsk ahead of both Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

In a deal that could see the North London giants splash the cash in the summer of 2025, Sudakov could arrive to add crucial depth and compete with the likes of Odegaard for a place in Arteta’s side.

Still just 22 years old, whilst the attacking midfielder has been compared to Mudryk, who also starred for Shakhtar before moving to London, he’ll be hoping to eclipse his struggling compatriot if he completes a move to the Premier League. Mudryk has, of course, failed to make the desired impact at Chelsea and currently remains a transfer flop at Stamford Bridge.

"Exciting" Sudakov is one to watch

Healthy competition for places is no bad thing, just ask both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. And now, Arteta could get the chance to add another player ready to compete for a place in the form of Sudakov. The Ukraine international has impressed many around Europe after following last season’s 10 goals and six assists in 34 appearances last season by netting seven and assisting twice in just 10 games to make a lightning start to the current campaign.

Among those impressed throughout the early stages of his is analyst Ben Mattinson, who dubbed Sudakov an “exciting attacking midfielder with so much creativity” back in March.

When next summer arrives and some of the Premier League’s top clubs do battle for Sudakov’s signature, Arsenal may well be desperately hoping to avoid losing out on one of football’s next top players to their rivals.

For 173 balls, Dimuth Karunaratne defied India. In constructing a fine 14th Test century, he showed his team-mates hitting your way out of trouble wasn’t the only way to succeed on a tough Bengaluru track that offered sharp turn and variable bounce. Then he got a pearl from Jasprit Bumrah that breached his defences.Even someone as well set as he was couldn’t quite judge the extent of late inward movement on that full delivery, and that was that for Sri Lanka. In the face of a relentless attack, the others proved to be sitting ducks as their high-risk, high-returns strategy fell flat.India wrapped up an emphatic 2-0 series win inside two sessions on the third day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The series lasted all of six days, with Sri Lanka’s 208 all out in their final innings being their highest total of the lot.The innings promised a lot more, especially after Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis started the day positively. While Mendis’s aggression wasn’t much of a surprise, Karunaratne tried to take a leaf out of Shreyas Iyer’s book early in the day, repeatedly stepping out to negate Jadeja from the rough.In the very first over, he also attempted an uncharacteristic reverse sweep. This wasn’t the stonewaller Karunaratne, who has methodically constructed knocks to be the highest run-getter among openers since 2018. This was Karunaratne trying to throw the oppositions spinners off their settings in the face of a challenging surface.This approach rubbed off on Mendis too, as he stepped out and took R Ashwin on at the other end. The first eight overs of the day produced 42, and suddenly India were searching for answers, even if they knew one wicket could open the doors.In this period, what worked for Sri Lanka was their clarity in committing themselves fully forward or going right back to play the ball. The odd ball scooting low or jumping from the rough didn’t seem to bother them much. Mendis raised his 12th half-century off just 57 balls.R Ashwin had Dhananjaya de Silva caught by Hanuma Vihari at short leg to go past Dale Steyn on the most-Test-wickets chart•BCCI

But the party didn’t last long as he ran down the pitch, only to be deceived by Ashwin’s guile. Stepping out to smother the spin, he was done in by the skid off the pitch as Rishabh Pant effected an excellent stumping. This helped Ashwin equal Dale Steyn’s tally of 439 Test wickets, a day after he went past Kapil Dev’s tally of 434.On a surface that turns big, the most dangerous delivery can often be the one that doesn’t turn. Angelo Mathews found out as much the hard way, stabbing at a Jadeja delivery outside the line only for the ball to sneak through and flatten the stumps. From there on, Sri Lanka were in free fall.Dhanajaya de Silva was out to sharp turn as he lobbed a catch to Hanuma Vihari at short leg as Ashwin went past Steyn. Niroshan Dickwella survived a DRS call for caught behind, but his tendency to run down the pitch and play big shots cost him as he was done in by Axar Patel’s flatter trajectory to be stumped.As all this played out at one end, Karunaratne shelved his enterprising avatar and brought out the hard grind, also to good effect. He played with soft hands, played with his bat close to the body and ensured he didn’t let the spinners dictate terms. The same could hardly be said about the rest of the line-up. Charith Asalanka was the next to go as he lobbed a simple catch to backward short leg.As Karunaratne approached his century, he started to take chances as he was running out of partners. Once into the nineties, he reverse swept for two runs, then brought out a conventional sweep in front of square for four and then, having got to 99 via three singles, brought out a neat flick to the backward-square-leg fence off Bumrah to reach his hundred.No sooner had he celebrated getting to the landmark in what was a terrific knock, did Bumrah bounce back to get him with that magic ball. On “tail dismantle” mode, Bumrah took one more – Suranga Lakmal’s last innings in Test cricket ending with his stumps disturbed – to finish with a match haul of eight. The tame end wasn’t entirely unexpected, but Sri Lanka would be the first to admit they ought to have applied themselves better.This was among the easier series wins for India at home lately and, while clinically dismantling their opponents, they’d ticked plenty of boxes to end a dominant home season on a high. The season had begun with New Zealand being handed defeat across formats, and ended with Sri Lanka being given the same treatment, West Indies having fared no better in between.

تتوالى الأنباء بشأن عقوبة أنطونيو روديجر مدافع ريال مدريد، عقب ما بدر منه تجاه دي بورجوس، حكم مباراة الكلاسيكو أمام برشلونة أمس السبت.

والتقى برشلونة وريال مدريد في الكلاسيكو بنهائي كأس ملك إسبانيا على ملعب “لا كارتوخا” في إشبيلية.

وحقق برشلونة الفوز بثلاثية لهدفين أمام ريال مدريد، ليتوج بطلاً لكأس ملك إسبانيا للموسم الجاري.

وفي نهاية المباراة، ألقى أنطونيو روديجر قطعة ثلج على حكم المباراة، معربًا عن انفعاله من قراراته، وأشهر دي بورجوس بطاقة حمراء في وجه مدافع ريال مدريد.

وتذكر صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية، في تقرير لها، أن لجنة الانضباط قد تُخفف من عقوبة روديجر بسبب اعتذاره من الحكم اليوم في حسابه على إنستجرام.

وحرص روديجر عبر يومياته على “إنستجرام”، الاعتذار عن تصرفه تجاه دي بورجوس (طالع التفاصيل).

وأشارت “آس” إلى أنه رغم إمكانية تخفيف العقوبة، لكن من شبه المؤكد غياب روديجر عن كلاسيكو الدوري أمام برشلونة.

ويخوض ريال مدريد مباراة أمام سيلتا فيجو يوم الأحد القادم، بمنافسات الليجا، ثم يواجه برشلونة في الكلاسيكو يوم الأحد الموافق 11 مايو.

روديجر ليس اللاعب الوحيد الذي حصل على البطاقة الحمراء بعد المباراة، حيث أشهرها الحكم أيضًا لثنائي ريال مدريد، جود بيلينجهام ولوكاس فاسكيز.

وتفيد “آس” أن ريال مدريد سيركز على القرار المتعلق ببيلينجهام ولوكاس فاسكيز، على الرغم من أن العقوبات المتوقعة عليهما ستكون أقل من تلك التي سيتلقاها روديجر.

وأفاد الحكم في تقريره بشأن بيلينجهام: “توجه نحو موقعنا بموقف عدواني، واضطر زملائه إلى كبحه”.

وعن فاسكيز، أوضح حكم المباراة: “لاحتجاجه على أحد قراراتنا، ودخوله إلى أرض الملعب لعدة أمتار والقيام بحركات تشير إلى عدم الموافقة”.

ولن يتلقى بيلينجهام وفاسكيز عقوبة الإيقاف لأربع مباريات أو أكثر، عقوبة بيلينجهام من المتوقع أن تكون بين مباراتين وثلاث مباريات لأن المادة 124، الخاصة بازدراء الحكم، من المرجح أن يتم تطبيقها.

وفيما يتعلق بفاسكيز، إيقافه سيكون لمباراة واحدة أو اثنتين، لأنه أظهر موقفًا أقل عدوانية.

Daniel Vettori still loves the game, but he is uncertain whether the game still loves him

David Hopps in Cardiff09-Jun-2013″When you are away from the game it probably rejuvenates your love for it.” That assessment came from Daniel Vettori as he contemplated his lengthy absence from the fray. Against Sri Lanka, in New Zealand’s first game in the Champions Trophy, Vettori finally made his return. One wonders how rejuvenated his love feels now.Vettori still loves the game, but he is uncertain whether the game still loves him. These days it gives him so much hardship. Back on the field, in his first ODI for 27 months, he gazed into its eyes, hoping his love would not go unrequited, but the game gave him mixed messages, flattering him for all it was worth, without ever suggesting that things were how they used to be.”Tell me you need me, tell me we’ll grow old together, tell me I’m still the one,” Vettori said to the game. And, in his first over, the game assured him he was still a superhero. “I’ve made you a used, dry pitch, your favourite,” said the game. But as he ran in to bowl, his body thicker these days, his movements more cumbersome, he still feared the game was looking elsewhere.He came on for the eighth over, his appetite whetted by the presence of Mahela Jayawardene, who he had picked off regularly over the years. They had first come up against each other in an ODI in Napier in 2001 and Vettori got him lbw. The habit was still ingrained in what had been his 273rd and last ODI – the World Cup semi-final in Colombo – when Jayawardene was lbw to his third ball. “Memories like that can help get you through,” said the game.New Zealand lost that match, another near miss in a major tournament, and immediately afterwards Vettori announced that he would take a prolonged rest from ODIs to prolong his Test career. He has been resting, or retiring or recuperating ever since: different words, but all signifying that the years were passing by and he was no longer on the field.This time, in Cardiff, his third ball turned and skimmed past Jayawardene’s outside edge. The next ball, tossed up higher, slid through Jayawardene’s defences and struck him on the back pad. Vettori begged the umpire, Bruce Oxenford, for the lbw decision and when it came Jayawardene knew, in his heart, that there was little point in a review.At the end of the over, Vettori was withdrawn from the attack, his immediate job done. He returned later and, in all, conceded only 16 runs in six overs, conceding boundaries to Angelo Mathews, a full toss bashed through midwicket, and to Lahiru Thirimanne, a slog sweep in the same direction. After such a lengthy lay-off, he could not have asked for much more.His spectacles glinted and tongue lolled from his mouth, with the intense concentration of a student sitting finals, just as it had always done. He demanded respect; he might have lost his litheness, but he will never lose his game sense. He took a catch too, back-pedalling five yards to clutch a routine skier from Thisara Perera at mid-on.”I’m still the one, tell me you’ll never let me go,” Vettori told the game. But the game could not be entirely oblivious to the heavy strapping on his right arm, a more ungainly approach to the crease and his limping gait at mid-on. It had heard too, about the mesh implanted into his groin earlier this year to address another injury concern. Then there was the hand pressed into the thigh whenever he bent down to field, a legacy of years of back trouble, once an endearing idiosyncracy, now a reminder of his growing vulnerability.His ambitions once stretched no further than becoming a pharmacist, after taking a degree in health sciences, but it is likely that no amounts of pills or potions will spare him now.There was a time when the game almost loved him without limits. Back in 2009, he dominated for New Zealand with bat and ball, but even then the side he led was poor and, as much as people spoke about his nous and praised him for holding New Zealand cricket together, he was landed with one of the worst captaincy records in New Zealand’s history. They even lost 4-0 in a one-day series in Bangladesh.It was good to see him back, but he did not look fit. New Zealand will give serious thought to resting him against Australia in Birmingham and keeping him for what could be more spin-friendly conditions back in Cardiff against England on Friday. But his return did not give much credence to his wish to stick around long enough for the 2015 World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand. This tournament might yet become his farewell.Most disturbing was his response when Mitchell McCleneghan bowled Mathews round his legs. He clapped his hands in delight, but hobbled in to join the celebratory huddle so slowly that by the time he arrived, the wisecracks had already ended. The achilles injury that has prevented two earlier attempts at a comeback in England this summer still seems with him.Neither will there be many times when New Zealand will wish to field two spinners, as they did today. One of Vettori’s great achievements has been to build such a record in a country with a climate not conducive to spin bowling. Nathan McCullum, who has advanced his one-day career in Vettori’s absence, has a worse bowling average, but he is a stronger batsman, and busy and purposeful in the field.But at least Vettori was spinning a cricket ball again. It was better than spinning apples. In IPL this year, about the only time he came to anybody’s attention was when he joined Sir Richard Hadlee to appear in a promotional video for New Zealand apples, complete with a powerful rock music soundtrack. Vettori tried to look tough and mean, as if spinning apples was the challenge he had been seeking all his life, but it was his head that must have been spinning.In between times, he grew a bushy brown beard, which is the sort of thing you do to pass the time in India hotel rooms when there is no cricket to be had. He was clean-shaven for his comeback, 34-years-old yet strangely full of excitement and trepidation.He came in to bat with New Zealand rocking at 70 for 5, but was unable to turn the game. He made five in an uncomfortable 15-ball stay and then fell lbw to Lasith Malinga. Replays showed that he had got an inside edge, and he knew it, but New Zealand had already used up their review.”That’s not fair,” Vettori told the game. But the game was looking away.