Bielsa edging closer to Athletic Bilbao return as presidential candidate vows to appoint former Leed
Athletic Bilbao will appoint Marcelo Bielsa as their new coach if Inaki Arechabaleta becomes the club s new president following the club s elections on June 24th.
Bielsa previously coached Athletic between 2011 and 2013, and led the Basque side to the finals of the Europa League and Copa del Rey in his first season in charge.
Athletic lost both matches, however – to Atletico Madrid and Barcelona respectively – and a disappointing season in 2012-13 hindered by the loss of key midfielder Javi Martinez and Fernando Llorente s desire to leave the club resulted in Bielsa leaving.
The enigmatic 66-year-old has been out of work since he was dismissed by Leeds United in February, after three-and-a-half years at Elland Road.
Bielsa remains a fan favourite wit…
Gabriel Martinelli got the winner as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 2-1 to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season.
Douglas Luiz s goal direct from a corner – the Brazil international s second such strike this term – had cancelled out compatriot Gabriel Jesus first-half opener at Emirates Stadium.
Emiliano Martinez was at fault for Jesus goal and despite a number of fine saves, attracted the blame again for Martinelli s strike three minutes after Villa s equaliser.
Playing against his former club, Martinez flapped at Martinelli s volley as Arsenal ensured they won five in a row to start a top-flight campaign for only the fourth time in the club s history.
Martinez was on hand to deny Jesus inside ten minutes before a Martin Odegaard�…
In May 2004, as Rafael Benitez and his Valencia team celebrated a LaLiga and UEFA Cup double, it was truly a bright period in the club s history.
Between 1999 and 2004, Los Che won two league titles and also reached two Champions League finals, losing both to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, but it was an impressive achievement to be there in the first place, before beating Marseille 2-0 in the 2003-04 UEFA Cup final in Gothenburg.
It was not exactly all downhill from there either.
Granted, no further league titles have been forthcoming in the almost 19 years since, but in an era where the imposing pair of Barcelona and Real Madrid have only grown further, while Atletico Madrid became another formidable foe, that Valencia have had eight top-four finishes in that ti…
The recent feelgood factor around Manchester United was bolstered by Anthony Martial signing a new four-and-a-half-year contract on Thursday.
United made Martial the most expensive teenager in football history when they signed him from Monaco in 2015.
Although he had an instant impact, it has not always been plain sailing for the 23-year-old France international, but he is among a cluster of creative talents at Old Trafford who have appeared revitalised under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Here, we look at Martial s highs and lows since joining the 20-time English champions.
Dream debut against Liverpool
There was a degree of Anthony who? flippancy after Louis van Gaal sanctioned the signing of Martial for an initial £36million. But he …
Bruno Labbadia has returned to Stuttgart for a second spell in charge, with the club s former coach signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.
The German, most recently in charge of Hertha Berlin before his dismissal in January last year, previously led the Bundesliga side between 2010 and 2013.
He now returns for a sophomore stint with the club mired in the relegation zone, having claimed just three wins in the top-flight this season, succeeding caretaker Michael Wimmer.
Labbadia, a journeyman player who was a member of Bayern Munich s 1993-94 Bundesliga-winning squad, spoke of his delight at returning to the team on a contract through 2025.
Everyone knows VfB are not just another club to me, he told the club s website. I spent a very important period of my co…
Marcus Rashford hit the winner and played a part – some might say – in Manchester United s first goal as the Red Devils beat City in Saturday s derby.
The in-form England international moved into early-career Cristiano Ronaldo territory by scoring in a seventh consecutive game for United, who have won nine in a row across all competitions.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Liverpool s campaign continued to unravel as they were battered 3-0 at Brighton and Hove Albion, and their neighbours Everton remain in deep relegation trouble after a home loss to fellow strugglers Southampton.
Another derby saw Nottingham Forest get the better of Leicester City, with Steve Cooper s team beginning to get a foothold in mid-table.
With the help of Opta data, Stats Per…
FC Augsburg midfielder Arne Engels wants to join Celtic, according to . The report has claimed that Engels, who can also operate as a right-back or as a right-winger, has told his friends that he wants to make the move to Celtic Park in the summer transfer window.
Football Insider has reported that Celtic have opened preliminary talks over a deal for the 20-year-old Belgian and are now preparing to formalise their interest. The Hoops reportedly view Engels as a potential replacement for Matt O’Riley, who is expected to leave the defending Scottish Premiership champions before the end of the summer transfer window.
Engels has been on the books of Augsburg since January 2023 when he joined from Club NXT. The young Belgian scored three goals and gave five assists in 32 B…
Scotland meet Georgia in the Euro 2024 qualifiers at Hampden on Tuesday.
Steve Clarke’s men lead Group A after beating Norway in Oslo on Saturday to make it three wins from three.
Here are some of the main talking points ahead of the match.
Halfway to Germany?
ძდ: კვიპროსი 1 -2 საქართველო FT: Cyprus 1 -2
We head to Scotland next, to take on the Group leaders.
This is how the standings look after this evening s games (taken from ).
— Georgia • GFF (@GeorgiaGff)
A Scotland victory would put them eight points clear in Group A and leave them needing a maximum of five points from their final four matches to finish ahead of Georgia and Norway, their most realistic rivals in the race…
Southampton suffered Premier League relegation after Aleksandar Mitrovic returned from his eight-match ban with a bang to help Fulham secure a 2-0 win at St Mary’s.
Second-half finishes from Carlos Vinicius and substitute Mitrovic inflicted a club-record 24th defeat of the season on the division’s bottom club to leave them eight points from safety with just two fixtures remaining.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – a Saints fan – was among those in attendance on the south coast as the hosts’ 11-season stay in the top flight ended in tame fashion.
A heart-breaking moment, as our relegation is confirmed.
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC)
He witnessed a team lacking confidence, ideas and urgency produce another feeble performance of a miserab…
The Canadian Olympic Committee have confirmed that two members of the women s coaching staff have been sent home from the Paris Olympics following a drone incident ahead of their opening game against New Zealand.
Head coach Bev Priestman, who led Canada to their maiden gold medal success in Tokyo, has also voluntarily withdrawn from coaching her team’s Group A opener in Saint-Etienne on Thursday.
FIFA said it has opened disciplinary proceedings against Canada Soccer after New Zealand s women s team said their training session on Monday had been disrupted by a drone ahead of their encounter.
Jasmine Mander, Priestman s assistant, was sent home along with unaccredited analyst Joseph Lombardi following the incident.
Lombardi is the director of the Natio…