Martín Zubimendi isn’t tired of the constant comparisons to Xabi Alonso but he reckons Xabi Alonso might be. “He’s an idol, a role model, so I’m delighted that he says nice things about me,” the Real Sociedad midfielder says, smiling not blushing, the attempt to embarrass him with eulogies from his hero, the footballer he most admires, having failed. The words are welcome, on one side at least. “Thing is, I think it’s the other way round,” he says. “I get asked about him so much he must get bored of hearing me talk about him. He’ll be tired of me going on about how good he is.”
If the responses are inevitable, the questions are too. “Martín has the mark of Zubieta,” Alonso once said, and he knows. Zubieta is the R…
Former Tottenham defender and Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear has died at the age of 77, has family have announced in a statement.
Dublin-born Kinnear, who won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup as a player with Tottenham, went on to manage Luton, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle among others.
A statement said: “We are sad to announce that Joe passed away peacefully this afternoon surrounded by his family.”
His wife Bonnie revealed in 2021 that her husband had been living with dementia since 2015.
Kinnear, who won 26 caps with the Republic of Ireland during his career, joined Tottenham as a teenager in 1963 before making his debut in 1966.
He spent the next decade at White Hart Lane, lifting the FA Cup in 1967, the UEFA Cup in 1972 and the Leagu…
The triumphant return of Rodrigo is an indication of the growing strength of the Atletico Madrid academy, which is typically given little attention compared to those of rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Atletico are reported to have paid around €20million to bring Rodrigo back to the capital, the midfielder having developed into a Spain international during his time at Villarreal.
And Rodrigo s return comes at the ideal time as he slots in as the ideal replacement for Gabi, the club captain having departed for Al Sadd at the age of 35 following Atleti s Europa League triumph.
Rodrigo is far from the only Atletico academy product who could line up against Real Madrid in Wednesday s UEFA Super Cup in Tallinn.
We’re at the airport and we’re rocking o…
This match up of the money men sees table topping Chelsea attempt to take a full three points off faltering Manchester City
Chelsea have one major doubt for this game with Pter Cech looking doubtful for up to a month, although rumours are circulating that despite reports, he may even be able to play in this match. Much will depend on his ability to make the game, with Chgelsea s reserve Keepers short of match practice and confidence. Chelsea also have high profile absencees through Joe Cole and Boswinga, the ability of Chelsea being able to attack down the flanks being diminished through the loss of these two. Michael Essien s absence also remains a problem for Chelsea, but their squad size usually means that big players aren t missed.
The Cracks are beginning to show a…
Verdict: Away win
Best odds:
Bookmaker:
Napoli travels to Cagliari searching for the 3rd win in Serie A following a shocking start with a defeat in the opening round against Verona. The game will be played Sunday afternoon at Unipol Domus, where over 16000 fans will back the host to break the ice and record the first win against Napoli since 2009.
Cagliari
Taking Cagliari from 14th place in Serie B to a dramatic last Summer promotion achieved after an intense play-off win against Bari, Claudio Ranieri became a legend for the Islanders. Although returning to the first stage of Italian football was a great performance, Cagliari had a reality check after ending the previous term under a real relegation threat.
However, the vast experience, knowl…
Only 16 teams remain alive on the race to claim the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League title. The completion of the Round of 32 had to wait until Friday following the match between RB Salzburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, and the Bundesliga side notched a spot in the next stage of the tournament.
Here is the full round of fixtures for the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League Round Of 16:
Sevilla (Spain) vs AS Roma (Italy)
Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany) vs FC Basel (Switzerland)
Istanbul Basaksehir (Turkey) vs FC Copenhagen (Denmark)
LASK Linz (Austria) vs Manchester United (England)
Inter Milan (Italy) vs Getafe (Spain)
Wolfsburg (Germany) vs Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Rangers (Scotland) vs Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Olympiacos (Greece) vs Wolv…
David Beckham joined Paris St Germain on a five-month deal on this day in 2013 and announced he would donate his entire salary to a local children’s charity.
The former England captain joined the Ligue 1 leaders as a free agent after his five-and-a-half-year spell at Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy ended in December.
While Beckham’s wage was unknown, the total of his charitable donation was believed to be in the region of £2million.
“That’s one of the things we are very excited about and proud to do,” Beckham said. “It’s something exciting and something I’m not sure has been done before.”
The former Manchester United, AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder explained how PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti and sporting director Leandro had persuade…
The touchdown market has become one of the most popular and potentially profitable props in the NFL betting world. Each week, we’re going to throw down four to five units as we try to uncover some of the best weekly NFL TD props and dig into the matchups that surround them.
We’re coming off just our second losing week of the season but are still up 6.67units on the season. We have a great mix of touchdown props for Week 9 that range from -125 up to +350. Without further ado, we bring you our Week 9 player TD props.
NFL Week 9 touchdown props
- Hill anytime TD (+225)
- Scott anytime TD (+240)
- Sweeney anytime TD (+350)
- Chubb anytime TD (-125)
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
Best …
The New York Giants and Tennessee Titans are on opposite ends of many projections from sharp bettors heading into the 2022 NFL season.
The overhaul in the head office and the hiring of Brian Daboll as head coach had stock in New York on the rise this offseason, while Tennessee is pegged for regression after earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC last year.
However, the G-Men’s improvements could be stunted by a slow transition to this new playbook and injuries once again plaguing this team, after finishing 2021 as one of the most injured rosters in the NFL.
This has the spread for this non-conference opener bobbing around a dead number of -5.5 with bettors now gun shy on New York but not exactly trusting Tennessee.
I run down the spr…
The New York Jets and the New York Giants will renew their annual preseason rivalry on Saturday as the two teams meet up at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Jets have put in a strong defensive effort so far in the preseason, though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to beat them 13-6 last weekend. The Giants are 1-1 so far, and are coming off of a 21-19 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Saturday’s game will get Jets fans their first chance to see Aaron Rodgers in action for New York. We’ll take a look at how that might impact the NFL Odds and give you a free NFL picks and predictions for Jets vs. Giants on August 26.
Jets vs Giants odds
Jets vs Giants predictions
The New York …