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gamergirl929 · 4 years

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Forehead Kisses (USWNT x Reader)

Anonymous Request: USWNT/Reader... R cares a lot for the team, so every time she is on the pitch with them and one of them gets injured, she gives them a forehead kiss (side note: very underrated kiss). After a rough match along with interviews and fans asking how they can be taken seriously if they get kiss every time they get hurt. The team snaps at R and so she doesn’t give them kisses anymore and is sad. The next match R gets seriously injured and the team feels guilty and sad. They end up making up at the doc

This fic is pretty angsty, but I hope you guys enjoy nonetheless!

Kelley can’t help but smile as you lean down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, the defender chuckling as she’s helped to her feet.

Kissing your teammate’s foreheads had become your thing, each and every single time they’d went down, at practice, during a game, a drunken night out, you’d kiss their foreheads each and every time lovingly.

You’d loved your teammates so much, more than anything and wanted to show them just how much.

Your teammates had gotten used to your doting some even waiting for you to kiss their foreheads before they would get up off the pitch, if you were in the game of course, if not, you would blow them a kiss.

The current match had been particularly hard, England had always been a formidable foe, extremely violent and had to combat on field.

You were covered in sweat, your teammates were covered in sweat, nursing soreness in their legs from multiple tackles and fouls that weren’t being called.

Still, each and every time your teammates went down, the got a forehead kiss, even if it was a begrudging one.

By the end of the game everyone was tired, sore and wanted nothing more than to go to the locker room and collapse in the air-conditioned room.

But unfortunately, interviews were a thing, and some of the team needed to take part in said interviews.

Finally, after interviews were all said and done, the team had gathered in the locker room, but you couldn’t have imagined what was about to happen.

“You know, the reporters have a point...”

You pick your head up, the silence being broken by Megan’s voice.

“We’re no longer seen as a force to be reckoned with and I’m sorry to say it Y/N, but that’s partially your fault...”

You pick your head up, eyes wide.

“Wh-Why me?”

“You can’t come up and kiss us on the forehead every time we go down, we can’t be seen as weaklings.” Carli gripes and you glance away.

You frown, glancing at Kelley who shrugs sadly.

“She isn’t wrong you know.”

You feel your heart seize in your chest, tears welling up in your eyes as you glance around the room, none of your teammates coming to your aid.

“They’re right Y/N, if we want to be seen as a dominant force, you can’t do that anymore.” Tobin mumbles and you glance away, staring down at your cleated feet.

You close your eyes, missing the fact that Christen has literally slapped Tobin, hard in the thigh, the forward turning to her with wide eyes.

You slowly nod your head.

“Okay, I won’t do it anymore.” You shrug, moving to your feet and grabbing your things before leaving the locker room, tears streaming down your cheeks as the door slams shut.

Sonnett moves to her feet, shaking her head.

“You can’t blame her for how we did today, it’s not all her fault.”

The locker room door opens and the final member of the team, Alex Morgan walks in, her brows furrowed.

“What happened...?” She asks, noting the guilty looks on her teammate’s faces. “Where’s Y/N?” She asks, worried and Kelley sighs.

“I think we just made a huge mistake.”

Alex’s eyes narrow.

“What the hell did you guys do?”

***

No matter what they do, you remain silent on the bus ride home, refusing to talk to any and all of your teammates.

Alex needless to say, is incredibly pissed, the woman glaring at each and every one of her teammates when she sees the heartbroken look on your face.

Even when you get to the hotel you remain silent, your teammates trying and failing yet again to get you to speak to them.

You stand your ground, slipping off the bus first and immediately heading upstairs to the room you share with Tierna, the team giving up in their attempts to talk to you.

Alex turns to the others, shaking her head.

“You’re right, you made a HUGE mistake.”

***

The team had to get used to you remaining entirely silent, on the way to events, during dinner, you’d even started to miss team bonding time, but the most noticeable change was you’d completely stopped kissing them on their forehead’s when they went down on field.

Kelley had even stayed down on the field, pouting, but it was to no avail, you didn't kiss her forehead, you didn’t kiss anyone’s forehead and you wouldn’t anymore.

You didn’t want your frien- Teammates to be seen as weak.

You remained silent in the locker room as you prepared for the game, head down as you fiddled with your cleat’s strings.

The silence in the locker room was deafening, yes, some of the team were talking among themselves but it wasn’t the same without your bright and cheery voice, telling them how much you were proud to be on their team and telling them how great they were.

But now, you were entirely silent.

It was time for the team to head out to the tunnel, and you rose to your feet, head down as you followed your teammates.

Once you’re in the tunnel a hand on your shoulder makes you freeze, immediately jerking your arm away from whoever it was and turning around to see the glassy eyes of Kelley O’Hara, the woman frowning, her head hanging in shame when she sees the look on your face.

“Good luck today kid.” She whispers and you wordlessly turn away, facing forward.

Kelley’s gaze drops to her feet, her heart aching in her chest.

You other teammates had seen the exchange, Kelley turned around with a sad frown, wondering if there was any way things would be the same with you ever again.

***

The match, much like the England one had been pretty heavy, your teammates taking heavy hits, as well as yourself, ending up flat on the turf a number of times, but each and every time someone who was on your team tried to help you up, you ignored their outstretched hand and got up on your own.

Not only were the fans surprised when you didn’t rush over to console your teammates, but your opponents had noticed it as well, some even glancing your way when one of your teammates went down for a mere minute.

The whistle blew and the first half ended, your face covered in sweat as you made your way to the locker room.

You kept your head down, oblivious to anything going on around you, uncaring that your teammates were eyeing you in concern, burning holes into your back.

The second you get in the locker room you flop down on the bench closest to your locker, wiping your face off with your jersey.

A few moments later you’re handed a cool towel by Christen, the woman giving you a soft smile as you take it.

You don’t smile back.

Tactic talks remain the same, but you stay silent, even under the watchful eyes of not only Vlatko but each and every player on the team.

Vlatko dismisses the team back out onto the field and you’re the first one out, your back to the team, the team who watches you go sadly.

“I don’t think things will ever been the same between us again... Will they?” Megan mumbles and Alex scoffs.

“No, it won’t, because you all broke her heart, what the fuck did you expect?” Alex says harshly as she moves to her feet and leaves the locker room, leaving her guilty team behind.

***

The 80th minute is when everything changes, instead of you rushing to your fallen teammate, your teammates are rushing towards you in worry.

Kelley’s brown orbs widen when she sees you go down, but it’s what happens after that makes her heart stop.

The ball one of the Canadian players was going for rolls out of the way, instead, their cleated foot slamming directly into the side of your head.

“Y/N!” She cries out, your teammates all rushing towards you, but you’re unaware considering you’re completely unconscious thanks to the boot to the head.

By the time Kelley gets to you, Alex has your head in her lap, Megan tapping your cheek.

“Come on kid, wake up... Please?” She sniffles, but you remain unresponsive, Tobin’s bottom lip trembles as she glares up at the Canadian player responsible, Jessie Flemming who has tears running down her cheeks.

“I’m so so sorry, please tell her I’m sorry...” She says hysterically and Tobin sighs, knowing the girl was beating herself up more than she ever could.

“Come on Y/N, please wake up.” Emily shakes you, but you remain still.

“Move.” The medical team pushes their way through the players to get to you, strapping you to a stretcher and taking you off field, where your other teammates surround you in worry.

Christen turns Vlatko’s way, but he shakes his head.

“We need you Christen, you’re about to be subbed on...”

“I don’t give a flying fu-

“Let me go, sub me off.” Megan rushes to the sideline and Vlatko is quick to do so, the official displaying Christen and Megan’s numbers before Megan chases after the medical staff.

“I’ll let you know what happens!”

***

Megan stares down at you worriedly, only turning around when the door opens and over a dozen sweaty women file in, frowning sadly when they see you’re still unconscious, stitches visible considering a bit of your hair had been shaved off on the side of your head where Jessie’s cleated foot had connected.

“She hasn’t woken up?” Alex asks and Megan shakes her head, frowning sadly.

Sonnett makes her way to the bed and cups your cheek.

“You’ve gotta wake up bud...” She whispers sadly.

Alex makes her way towards the bed, Christen following behind with Tobin and the others.

“Please kid... Wake up.” Tobin tucks a loose strand of hair behind your ear, swallowing hard.

“This is why we don’t be rude to each other... In case anything like this happens.” Alex says sadly.

Kelley’s the first to break, tears running down her cheeks.

“I feel so guilty.” She mumbles sadly. “We should’ve never treated her like that... No matter how frustrated we were.”

“It wasn’t her fault England was so tough... And we took it out on her.” Carli hangs her head in shame, Crystal patting her back.

“We have to do everything we can to make it up to her...” Ashlyn says and Ali nods, patting her back.

“We will, even if it pisses her off.” Lindsey murmurs and everyone chuckles.

“You’ve got a lot of making up to do.”

Everyone turns to you, tears welling up in their eyes when they see your eyes flutter open, brows furrowing in pain at the light above your head.

Your pain is brought into stark relief and you groan loudly, tears gathering in your eyes as your head throbs.

“Hey! Can we get a doctor in here!?” Kelley yells from the hallway and you wince, tears slipping from the corners of your eyes.

“It’s okay, don’t cry.” Christen whispers as she wipes your tears away.

“Excuse me, Y/N? Can you hear me?” Who you suspect is the doctor asks and you grumble.

“Yeah, you’re yelling really loud.” You wince, your teammates cringing.

They’re immediately pushed back so the nurses and staff can get to you, everyone scurrying around you checking vital signs and what not.

In the midst of it all, your teammates are pulled outside of the room.

“I know you are all very worried about your teammate, but I unfortunately have to ask that some of you to leave, we can’t have all of you in the room at once.”

Everyone’s eyes narrow, the tiny nurse worried that she’s about to get a verbal thrashing from over a dozen women.

“Just let us talk to her and then we can figure out who stays...” Christen smiles and the nurse nods.

“I think that can be arranged.”

***

“You guys broke my heart.” You mumble tiredly, the pain medication completely ridding you of your filter.

“We know, and we’re sorry.” Megan frowns and you shake your head.

“No, you don’t...” You yawn sadly.

“I have trouble trusting people... And when anyone says anything bad to me, it’s hard to get over...” You swallow hard, tears forming in your eyes.

“It will take a long time for me to gain that trust back.”

“D-Don’t cry.” Kelley frowns, taking your hand, Tobin reaching to place her hand on the top of yours while Megan and Carli do the same on the other side.

“We’ll do whatever we have to do to make it up to you...” Carli frowns, gently caressing your hand, Megan, Tobin and Kelley nod.

“We all will.”

“We promise.”

Kelley sniffles.

“Even if it takes a lifetime.” She shrugs and you smile softly, Alex gently running her fingers through your hair.

“We’ll make it up to you too.” Sonnett nods, Christen quickly nodding in agreement.

“We should’ve said something, but we didn’t.”

“We’ll do whatever it takes.” Mallory says sadly and you nod, yawning.

“I know you will.”

A sudden knock on the door has your teammates all turning away from you and towards the open door where they’re all surprised to see Jessie Flemming standing, a glass vase full of flowers in hand.

“Y/N... Can I come in?” She asks and you nod, your teammates parting so the woman in red can make her way towards the bed.

You bite your bottom lip, a smile stretching across your face as you look up at the girl who glances away in shame.

“I’m so sorry Y/N... I-I-I didn’t mean to hurt you... I just-”

You cut the girl off by placing a gentle hand on her forearm, her cheeks flushing pink.

“It’s okay, it was just an accident.”

Your teammates watch the silent exchange between the two of you and back towards the door, a number of them sending you winks and thumbs ups before they leave.

You shake your head.

It would take a lot of making up to do, but you were sure things would get back to the way they were eventually.

#uswnt #uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #uswnt imagines #gif is not mine

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ivalice-tifalucis · 4 years

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Alright speaking of football, I really and completely dive back into this again. I notice the last time I watch football religiously (like waking up at early morning almost every week just to watch Barca’s game) which was around 2013, I wasn’t active on tumblr yet. I did occassionally reblogged football stuffs. I watched important games like few El Clasicos or Champions League finals. I did sporadic live blogging during the last World Cup. But now that I’m back like really back I notice things are different.

First, women’s football. I once ramble in someone’s post about the inequality of women’s football compare to men in USWNT. I said that women’s football didn’t really develop until 1970s while men’s football was starting to develop since 1900s and so it will take time for women’s football to get more developed. The difference that I notice is that now more mainstream media especially in England, where the center of football is, promotes their women’s team more. I notice Barca also do that for quite a while now, I just couldn’t believe that others do the same!! What I love even more is that if you take a look at let’s say Barca Femeni (who just got a new stadium fyi) or Liverpool’s women videos on youtube, the comments are mostly positive and most come from fanboys. They wish the female team all the best and to succeed, even include them in some banter. People also discuss how to improve women’s football since no matter what female will always going to be physically inferior than men and football is very physically demanding. Like many people suggest that women’s football need to have different regulation with the game. This shows that people care about female football. People also comment on footballers daughter who was just playfully kicking ball with “wow imagine if she becomes a footballer too” like these kinds of comments and discussions didn’t exist 5 years ago.

Second, the wheels are turning. Like a circle of life, there’s also circle of football domination. Last time I’m in, Barca was still a club that everyone are afraid of. Today, we are so poor it makes me sad. Liverpool comeback is just one of those moment. No, not the worst football club yet. We’re just becoming clown now, it’s embarassing. La Masia is also such a mess. That little boy Takefusa Kubo is now Real Madrid young player???!!! I hope we will get better soon (after the board members sacked!!!). I even missed out that Real Madrid won 3 UCL in a row (I only notice 2 until I went to Bernabeu tour and realized they have 13 trophies now 😑). Premier League dynamic has changed a lot. No more big 4 teams, they now have Leicester City too as dark horse. I was shocked when my brother told me they were about to win Premier League like what even the hell was that club?! Manchester United is sucking hard, Chelsea is shifting from rich club who buy everything to so so club to club who grow talents, Liverpool is only few weeks away from ending their 30 years of no league title (no longer a club who only talk about history), Manchester City is undisputedly giant crazy rich team along side PSG. Arsenal is the only one who stay the same, because Arsenal. Germany is suddenly not so good anymore.

Third, best player in the world. Apparently my favorite players are now old and soon will retire (some even have). The banter has shifted to discussion and general consensus that *insert player A* is great player instead of trying to compare A with B. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo fans have finally find consensus that both players are the best ever. Sergio Ramos is now the best defender ever??? (Make sense tho the guy captained Real Madrid who won 3 UCL in a row, forget the fact that he loves collecting red card so much). Gerard Pique also the best now. Neymar since his departure to PSG has become mediocre, sad. Frenkie de Jong, I root for him to be successful. Who else hmm... Jamie Vardy is top scorer (I like him in a way that his life is motivating that sometime good things don’t come immediately like his life and career is quite insane for pro footballer standard, he supposed to not even become a football superstar!!). Mohamed Salah, I heard a lot about him because I have a cousin who is Liverpool die hard fan and media talk about him, he’s great (and sorta feel proud for him because he’s conservative moslem from Egypt, sadly a politically unstable country, and arab which is great for representation. He manages to lift the image of arab people and moslem especially around Merseyside just by being great). Another talent from Liverpool would be Virgil van Dijk that gd soft tall man and good defender but most important is Trent Alexander-Arnold (corner taken quickly which breaks my heart and amaze me at the same time). Kevin de Bruyne is what Pep really love in midfielder and indeed what a talent he is. Erling Haaland is looking good, I hope he’s not just one season wonder. Manuel Neuer is no longer as good as he used to be since terrible injury (now I understand his bloop in WC 2018) but now there are more sweeper keeper just not as crazy as him. He definitely set standards for future goalkeepers.

Fourth, retired players. One by one, players that I watched while growing up have retired. I saw Puyol and Xavi retired. Then Iker Casillas, the most recent one to retired after heart surgery scare last year, now a candidate for RFEF President. Iniesta is soom gonna be retired. David Villa, Fernando Torres. My favorite Spain NT players are now all retired ☹️. Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Robben, Mertesacker. Mertesacker is now Arsenal youth coach??!!! Mikel Arteta is now Arsenal’s coach. Other star players from Premier League like Frank Lampard (now Chelsea’s manager), Steven Gerrard, all have retired and become football manager. And a bit unrelated because I never actually see him playing (because I only start properly watch football since 2010 and by that time he had retired and I only heard stories) but Gary Neville as Valencia’s manager for short time?? 😂 (of course I would know that’s important information for all Carraville shippers). Everytime I hear news about footballer retirement I would be reminded again that I’m old.

Fifth, shipping. If you don’t notice this already, I now ship Jamie Carragher with Gary Neville which is not surprising since I always low key ship Gerard Pique with Sergio Ramos anyway. Apparently I always have a thing with pinning rivaling defenders who are hot headed, reckless, and hate each other at first until one day they don’t. And I swear that’s the most random ever. I’m not even Liverpool fan and never really into Man United (although my brother is sorta fan because he knows much about MU). But it all starts from me going around Liverpool’s tag on tumblr and found Carra’s instagram live. After watching all of their videos in Sky Sports on youtube, consider my self as a carraville. I even always try to find live streaming from Sky Sports for every Premier League matches that I watch. I must say, they’re the ones that make me want to go back to football fandom again.

All in all, I will never stop loving FC Barcelona. I may watch other games, less Barca games maybe because they’re not that enjoyable to watch these days. But now I understand, the feeling of watching Barca loses is different. It just so heartbreaking 😭 my heart only belong to that team. I’m so happy I finally got to be in Camp Nou even though I just lost my wallet at that time.

#my ramblings #story of my life #football #men’s football #soccer #fc barcelona #lionel messi #premier league #liverpool fc #manchester city #manchester united #carraville #real madrid

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rafaelnadalfans · 5 years

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Rafael Nadal rued missing out on the Wimbledon final after losing to great rival Roger Federer and admitted his chances of adding a third title on the grass of the All England Club are receding.

The 33-year-old Spaniard, who remains two off Federer’s Grand Slam record title haul of 20, has two Wimbledon crowns to his name.

But he said his game on Friday was never at the level required to repeat his epic win in his first championship victory over Federer 11 years ago.

Rafa, who won his 12th French Open trophy in June, ended up on the wrong end of a 7-6 (7/3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat.

“I am sad for the loss because for me it was another opportunity,” he said.

“But at the same time I created another opportunity to be in another final of a Grand Slam.

“Just accept that was not my day. I played a great event. I take this in a positive way.

“At the same time, today is sad because for me I know chances are not forever.

“Last year I had chances here (he lost in five sets to Djokovic in the semi-final), I had another one, and I was not able to convert to win it one more time here.”

Spain’s Rafael Nadal speaks during a press conference at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2019 after losing his semi-final match against Switzerland’s Roger Federer. (Photo by Adam WARNER / various sources / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read ADAM WARNER/AFP/Getty Images)

Rafa, who suffered his first loss to Federer in a Grand Slam semi-final after winning on the previous four occasions, said it was a wonderful experience to be part of the great rivalry with fellow 30-somethings Federer and Djokovic.

Indeed — Andy Murray aside on two occasions — no other player apart from them has lifted the Wimbledon trophy since Australian Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.

“We spoke about that one thousand times,” said Rafa.

“The same time is great to be part of this rivalry, be in the middle of these three players that achieved that much in this sport in the same era.”

If the increasingly harassed ‘NextGen’ group of players — who speak of the unbearable pressure they feel in trying to break up the trio’s dominance — were hoping for light at the end of the tunnel Nadal offered none.

“It is something that is going to be difficult to see again,” he said.

“We are not done, so… Things continue. Just another episode this afternoon.

“Of course, as I said the other day, we know that every time there are less chances to play against each other in these high quality matches.

“Was another chance this afternoon.”

Rafa said defeat was tough but graciously congratulated Federer on being the better player on the day.

Rafa said 37-year-old Federer’s qualities remain undimmed and constant.

“The same like all my career, no?” he said. “He is always able to do the most difficult things easy.

“He’s able to move inside the court quicker than anyone.

“He puts pressure on the opponent all the time because he has the ability to take the ball earlier than anybody else.

“That’s probably the most difficult thing to make that happen, and he is able to do it so well.”

Source: AFP

Rafael Nadal after Wimbledon loss to Roger Federer: We are not done Rafael Nadal rued missing out on the Wimbledon final after losing to great rival Roger Federer and admitted his chances of adding a third title on the grass of the All England Club are receding.

#Fedal #Rafael Nadal #Roger Federer #tennis #Wimbledon

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jermaine-main · 5 years

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A love letter to Ajax, Europe's most exciting team

In Engeland they are deeply impressed by the accomplishments of this young, talented Ajax team.

It resulted in a love letter to 'butterfly' Ajax - in The Telegraph, one of Britain's biggest newspapers - going viral.

Ajax is winning hearts.

"They are doing the impossible"

This is a love letter, a tribute to a team that has made me fall in love with football again and a club who have reminded us all that something pure remains unsullied in the beautiful game.

You may not fully appreciate how special Ajax are, not yet. You will probably be unaware of the journey this famous Dutch club has been on, the thinking behind the process that has brought them to the brink of a Champions League final for the first time in 23 years.

Ajax are amazing and I do not use those words lightly. They play with freedom of expression, they play like a team born in Amsterdam, that most artistic and rebellious of cities where you are allowed to indulge; where hedonism is a way of life and your creativity is nurtured and encouraged. If ever a football team symbolised its home city, it is Ajax.

It is an incredible team, not just a joy to behold, but remarkable because this is simply not supposed to happen in the modern game.

What makes them special, so unique, is that this Ajax team will not build a dynasty, they will not dominate. Ajax are like a butterfly, beautiful, bewitching, but already dying. Almost from the moment they spread their wings in Europe this season, long before they knocked out Real Madrid and Juventus in the knockout stage, they knew they were reaching the end of their time together.

They are a team to be cherished because these are already their final days. In the summer, this Ajax team will be broken up, their best players scattered around Europe’s biggest clubs, spread all over the continent depending on who offers the most money to entice them away.

And consider this too – Ajax have produced more players, developed in their academy for three or more years, currently playing in Europe's top divisions than any other club in the world. This is not new, what is different, is that for once they have been allowed to grow and develop together. For the time being at least.

Speak to anyone connected with Ajax they will tell you it is inevitable the team will be torn apart. There is sadness, but it is fleeting because this team has made people proud.

It is a team designed to play to win, to never take a backward step, a team which intends to dominate, not merely to survive, even though that is what the club has been forced to do.

Watch Ajax play and you will see and you will, I’m sure, fall in love. The youngest side to reach the knockout stage of this year’s Champions League has also been by far the best to watch.

The style of football has been likened to playing in the middle of whirlwind, such is the speed and power of those in Ajax shirts, they come at you with such unrelenting ferocity.

They pass and move with a speed not seen for years. Players with good technical ability, able to play in a variety of positions. They are the embodiment of the Total Football values that Dutch football has always prided itself on. They deserve their place alongside all the great Ajax sides of yesteryear, but they have done it in an era when it was supposed to be impossible for them to compete.

Ajax have built this side from a mixture of homegrown talent and bargain buys. The most expensive players, Dusan Tadic, signed from Southampton for around £10m last summer and winger David Neres, signed for around the same amount from Sao Paulo two years ago, are a Premier League reject and a player who spent his first season in the development squad.

It is a team forged from the arrogance and swagger of youth, whether it is midfielder Frenkie de Jong – who has already signed for Barcelona for £75m and will leave in the summer – or centre back and captain, the 19-year-old Matthijs de Ligt, a target for every major club in Europe who scored the winning goal against Juventus, everywhere you look there is an Ajax youngster blossoming.

Ajax built this team from the bottom up. They did not poach the best players, they did not buy the established stars everyone wanted. They built a team with their own vision and hard work, mainly in their own academy. They constructed an awesome side because they believed in their ability to produce and nurture their own players

Ajax may be a famous old name, but they are paupers these days, a relic from a more egalitarian age when all the big clubs, from all the European leagues, could dream of conquering the continent.

Those days were supposed to be gone. We are now in the era of the Super Clubs, when oil-rich nation own football clubs and multi-billionaires jostle with each other for international prestige. We are, if you look across Europe, at a point where the same big teams win their domestic leagues year after year, in Germany, France, Scotland, Italy and beyond. Even in England, the richest club, Manchester City could win the quadruple.

Ajax had supposedly been left behind, but this is a club where supporters do not chant excitedly about one of their own wearing the red and white shirt, they expect it.

Ajax’s wage bill last season was less than Aston Villa, Cardiff, Middlesbrough and Wolves when they were in the Championship last season. It was also beneath Celtic’s – a club with an equally grand history and reputation. It has gone up a little this season, but it will still be lower than every Premier League team.

This time last year, Ajax feared the time had come for their best players to leave, but the club asked the likes of de Jong, de Ligt, Hakim Ziyech and Donny van de Beek to give them another season. Only striker Justin Kluivert, son of Patrick, did not listen, leaving for Roma where he has struggled for first team football.

The rest stayed put, promising the club that had launched their careers, one more year. One more season to win the Dutch league, to win silverware together and surely all of us most now hope it is the biggest prize of all that is paraded through the streets of Amsterdam in June.

Ajax, champions of Europe, would be an even better fairytale than Leicester City winning the Premier League.

--- I'm speechless. Amen. ---

#ajax amsterdam #afc ajax #ajax #love letters #the telegraph #luke edwards #the netherlands #netherlands #holland #football

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pastourprimesports-blog · 5 years

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NFL Divisional Round Preview: By: Teej

It is a sad time of the year, but also the best time of the year! It is true its NFL playoff season, however that also means we are close to the end of the NFL season, only 11 total games left.

Quick recap from the wild card weekend, ready go. Eagles got a couple fingers on a last second field goal, Chargers forced a sack fumble to advance (Thank god), Colts dominated the Texans, and the Cowboys ran past the Seahawks. Now on to this week, where teams are playing to advance to the AFC & NFC championship games. All 4 match-ups are projected to be great games; all 8 teams are coming in hot into the playoffs.

AFC Match Ups

Colts at Chiefs (Saturday 4:35 pm)

The Indianapolis Colts come in at 10-6 after the regular season and starting 1-5. They are the first team to ever make the playoffs with a starting record of 1-5. The Colts are hot on both sides of the ball, defensively they have Darius Leonard who many think should without a doubt be Defensive Rookie of the year, he did after all make the All Pro Team (but not the Pro Bowl, not sure how that happens) The Colts also have a brick wall at the offensive line led by their 2018 1st round pick Quenton Nelson; or as he recently stated in an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show 2.0” you may also call him “Mean Son-of-a-Bitch”. Though they are young on both sides of the ball, they are complete on both sides of the ball. They have veteran leadership as well, Andrew Luck is fully back, as well a veteran presence in special teams with Adam Vinatieri.

The Kansa City Chiefs have been red hot all season, mainly due to this seasons soon to be MVP Patrick Mahomes II. Mahomes and the Chiefs finished the season 12-4 even with the 27th ranked defense; to be honest their defense is terrible, no two ways about it. The Chiefs did get their former all pro safety Eric Berry for only 2 games this season and is questionable for Sunday. The Chiefs need all the help they can get on that side of the ball. O and if you haven’t heard the Chiefs simply don’t win home playoff games, they have not won a home playoff game since Joe Montana did back in 1994. This is why I am taking the Colts in this game both to cover the spread (-5.5) as well as to win the game straight up.

Chargers at Patriots (Sunday 1:05 pm)

The LA Chargers come in to this game off a win against the Ravens where they stacked the box and shut down the high school offense of the Baltimore Ravens. They almost let it slip through their hands in the 4th quarter, but were able to stop the Ravens final drive with a forced fumble. The Chargers may be the deepest team left in the playoffs. They have young super stars on both sides of the ball as well has veterans, the Charges led the league with 7 pro bowlers, led by their captain and leader Philip Rivers who is trying to earn his first trip to the Super bowl and earn a ring like his two 2004 1st round counter parts . The Chargers are expected to have Melvin Gordon back for this game though he may not be 100% he is still a game changer, as well as are the Chargers wide receivers which just may be the deepest in the league, especially now that they are getting their promising young star tight end Hunter Henry back this Sunday. Their defense also is full of Talent from their D-line all the way back to their secondary. With stars at Defensive end (Joey Bosa), linebacker (Melvin Ingram), and Safety (Derwin James), these three super stars are the reason I am taking the Chargers on Sunday (-4).

As a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan its very rare for me to ever cheer for the New England Patriots, for obvious reason (Jesse caught it). Today is no different, I will not be rooting for the Patriots this weekend, nor do I think they have enough on either side of the ball to win. The one thing that the Patriots do have on their side is home field advantage (again) and the best coach and quarterback of all time. With these two people one the Patriots sideline you can never fully count out the Patriots. With that being said I don’t see how the Patriots have a chance to advance past this round. The destiny that I have come to hate may finally come to an end. Brady is not getting any younger, nor is Rob Gronkowski who has been dominate for so long but this year he has often looked very slow and beaten down. With Gronk looking slow, the Patriots having recently cut Josh Gordon (he got high again) and not much defensive depth, they are having to rely on Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan as well as pass catchers out of the back field (James White, Rex Burkhead). While they have a stud rookie running back in Sony Michael, I truly don’t think that is enough. However you can never count out Tom and Bill (God damnit just retire)

Cowboys at Rams (Saturday 8:15 pm)

Dallas comes in off a big win versus the Seattle Seahawks last week, where the offense ran through two weapons. Those weapons are Amari Cooper, and the NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott, both offensive weapons went over 100+ scrimmage yards. I see that trend to continue for one of these young starts this week. I would fully expect Elliott to have 100+ scrimmage yards against the Rams; this offense goes through him this is no secret. Simply this game will come down to the Dallas Cowboys run game and the Rams front 7.

The LA Rams come in off their bye week they earn witha record of 13-3 where they were red hot all through the season, every football fan will remember their record breaking Monday night game versus the Chiefs with the final of 54-51 in favor of the Rams. The Rams are stacked on both sides of the ball, with their defense being led by Defensive player of the Year Aaron Donald. Some names fans may recognize on the defense besides Donald are Suh, Donte Fowler, Joyner, Peters, Shields, and Aqib Talib, unfortunately these names have not produced . In fact their defense has been by far their weakest link. Their offense is high powered but, Goff can be thrown off his game with just a little bit of pressure; they have arguably the best offensive weapon in Todd Gurley, as well as weapons at wide receiver in Brandin Cooks, and Robert Woods. The Rams surely miss their young star slot receiver Cooper Kupp however, who has been out since 10 with a torn ACL. With all that being said I do not see the Cowboys being able to keep up with the high powered Rams offense. Take the Rams to win but I would not take the Rams +7.

Eagles at Saints (Sunday 4:40 pm)

Philadelphia’s savior Big dick Nick is back into the playoffs again, they got past the Bears and now onto the New Orleans Saints. Well for all the Eagle fans I am sad to say Nick Foles magic will run out in the “Big Easy”. Though the offense has played better with Nick Foles under center, with the line blocking longer and giving Foles more time to launch deep balls to Jeffrey, as well as the reemergence of Darren Sproles. The Eagles defensive has been plague with injuries this season. No place has been hit harder by injuries than their defensive backs, they have gone through cornerbacks faster than I go through 2 ply after a night of beer and Taco Bell. Expect their Cornerbacks and Safeties to get bullied by Drew Bress and Michael Thomas.

“WHO DAT, WHO DAT SAY THEY GONNA BEAT THEM SAINTS” well I got some news it will not be the Eagles. The Saints come in off a bye and this gave the Saints much needed time to rest up and get healthy. The Saints were rolling early and throughout the season but their offense seemed to take a step back late. I fully expect the Saints to be healthy, prepared and ready to roll against the Eagles. The Saints have two great running backs in Ingram and Kamara, as well a young stud at wide out Michael Thomas, the Saints are also getting Tedd Ginn back this week which could open the Saints offense even more than it already was. The Saints defense turn around their season midway this year and we are seeing what we expected from them based off last year’s stats. Between the Saints weapons on offense and the Saints defense turning their season around expect them to cover (+8).

Hope you’ll sit back and enjoy the games both Saturday and Sunday, enjoy a couple of brews while watching. Here is to the Patriots being out this round!

#nfl #football #pops #pastourprimesports #teej

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tkmedia · 3 years

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Gerrard ended Rangers' title drought. Can he end their Champions League exile?

3:30 AM ETSteven Gerrard is a winner again, and he is determined to make up for lost time by winning over and over as Rangers manager. And he wants the pressure and expectancy that comes with it, too.Having ended the Glasgow club's 10-year wait for the Scottish title last season by delivering a record 55th domestic championship, the former Liverpool and England captain admits he had almost forgotten the sensation of lifting a major trophy, having last done so as a player in the 2011-12 EFL Cup final with Liverpool.2 RelatedBut as Rangers prepare to begin the defence of their Scottish Premiership crown with a 2021-22 season opener against Livingston at Ibrox on Saturday, in an exclusive interview with ESPN, Gerrard says that last season's success served as a personal reminder of the rewards of winning and reinforced his desire to ensure that he and Rangers become serial winners again."I hadn't won for a long time," Gerrard told ESPN. "For the majority of my career, I had always competed at the back end of seasons to try to win trophies, but it has been well documented that I never won the Premier League as a player and then I went off to LA (Galaxy) and started doing my coaching badges at Liverpool's youth team, so a lot of time had passed by without the opportunity to compete. I took this job just over three years ago now and it gave me the opportunity again to try to compete and get that winning feeling back from a personal point of view."And the wait was certainly worth it because it felt ever so good . It was a big relief, obviously, to get that first big trophy in the bag, but just reminiscing and thinking back over my playing career, to feel that winning feeling again and get a winners' medal over your neck, it was absolutely top class."But if you look at previous managers here, like Graeme Souness, Walter Smith and the guys that have gone before me, one trophy is never enough. The demand and responsibility is always to add to the success."- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only) - Don't have ESPN? Get instant accessGerrard's achievement with Rangers last season went beyond merely guiding the club to the top of the pile in Scotland. In doing so, Rangers not only drew a line under the most turbulent decade in the club's history, when they were demoted to the fourth and bottom tier of Scottish football in 2012 and forced to fight back to the top as punishment for the financial mismanagement of previous owners, but they also prevented bitter rivals Celtic from creating history by winning 10 consecutive titles.The pressure on Gerrard and his players was intense at the start of last season, but despite the potential ignominy of failing to stop Celtic from achieving 10 in a row, Rangers would emerge as champions without suffering a single league defeat, amassing 102 points in the process. They finished 25 points clear of runners-up Celtic and ensured that the balance of power in Glasgow swung firmly back to Ibrox from Celtic Park.But for Gerrard, the only value of last season is its use as a launchpad for more success rather than an opportunity to wallow in the past."I think at Rangers you are always trying to reset the remit," he said. "Since I first came here (in summer 2018), we have completed a lot of the challenges that were set for me, my staff and the players, but the goalposts always move at a club that has experienced the kind of success that Rangers have."We've had incredible success, we made history last year, but it's about parking that up now and looking to build on that.play0:54Rangers manager Steven Gerrard says he would never take the Everton job, but wasn't surprised former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez did."I think this job comes with huge pressure every single season, no matter whether it is a success. There are always things to improve on, you always reset and get ready to go again. The pressure never changes, I don't feel under any other pressure than I did on day one really."My job every day comes with that responsibility to try to make this club better, and keep striving for success. We've got targets now set for the end of the season and that is to try to be as dominant as we can and get as much silverware we can to add to last year."At 41, Gerrard is clearly at the outset of a career in management that many believe will ultimately see him take charge of Liverpool or England. His success with Rangers last season has done little to diminish the perception within the game that Gerrard will become a leading manager at the very highest level."I can't control any media speculation about my position," he said. "I don't welcome it, I don't add to it. All I do is focus on the job I have here and I'm very flattered and grateful for the position."I'm very happy here, I've said it on numerous occasions, it's a huge club, I'm settled, I'm happy and I can continue to develop and keep trying to push this team forward."There is no sense with Gerrard that he is remotely interested in cutting short his time in Scotland. He told ESPN that succeeding Carlo Ancelotti at Everton was "never a possibility," while there were no moves by his friends or representatives to connect him with the vacancy at Tottenham Hotspur this summer.Contracted to Rangers until the end of the 2023-24 season, it appears that Gerrard believes he has unfinished business at Ibrox and is in no rush to look elsewhere. He enjoys the pressure of the job and admits he actually relishes the challenge that comes with being a central figure at a huge club.Steven Gerrard ended Rangers' 10-year wait for a Scottish Premiership title. Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images"It depends how you look at that pressure," he said. "You can either shrink by the thought of it and let it weigh you down, or you can see it as a challenge, put your shoulders back and try and embrace it."It is something that you want and demand for yourself. For me, I would always want to be in a position where the pressure and responsibility is big because it means you are in a top job and that, if you are good enough to win in that position, the feeling and the experience can be up there with the best things that ever happen to you."We have become the team that everybody wants to knock off the top, so we will have to try to defend that with our lives and also attack the next one with everything we've got."This season, the challenge facing Gerrard is simple: keep winning. But on top of the expectation of domestic success, Gerrard must also restore Rangers to the Champions League.The club hasn't played in the competition since losing a third-qualifying-round tie against Malmo in August 2011, but they renew acquaintances with the Swedish champions at the same stage of the tournament next month, aiming to win that tie and seal a place in the playoff round, which is the gateway to the group stages. On paper, Rangers are two steps away from the group stages, but Gerrard, a Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005, insists that his team must clear two big obstacles before contemplating the prospect of glamour ties against the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and his old club, Liverpool.Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and others to bring you the latest highlights and debate the biggest storylines. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only). "Very big obstacles," Gerrard said. "The Champions League is obviously a level up from the Europa League, so we have to be ready for that. It's going to be a tough challenge to get into that final round of qualifying, but for me, with experience you always worry about what is front of you, so the focus is very much on trying to overcome Malmo."It's been a case of us trying to grow as a group from a European point of view. Obviously, there was a major setback here before I joined the club in terms of qualification (Rangers lost to Luxembourg-based minnows Progres Niederkorn in 2017), but the club needs Europe financially and the fans also expect the team to deliver in Europe. We've had three really exciting journeys in Europe over the last three seasons, twice reaching the Europa League last 16, but it's all about raising the bar and trying to go that one or two steps further."For now, however, the focus is on the start of the new Premiership season. Celtic, under new coach Ange Postecoglou, will be the biggest threat to Rangers' hopes of defending their title -- no team outside of Glasgow's big two has won the Scottish championship since Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen in 1985.But having ended Rangers' long title drought in front of empty stadiums last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gerrard admits that one way to make this season better than the last is by winning the title again with supporters able to watch every kick along the way."The only tinge of sadness and frustration I had (last season) was that we couldn't celebrate in front of a full house at Ibrox, but obviously the scenes and experience of doing it was very much enjoyable," he said. "But life is how it is at the moment and we have to respect the virus and the situation that everyone is in, abide by all the rules that are put in front of us and try to do what we need to do."It just makes you that extra bit determined to go and do it again when things are hopefully back to normal and the crowds are in the stadium, when the experience will be even more enjoyable." Read the full article

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boloorsportsmania · 3 years

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#861 Root and co removes each and every stem and root of Indian attack in DEAD FLAT Chepauk pitch; Root shines with 20th century in 100th test match; Became first player to score century in 98-100 test matches; Pakistan hold edge against SA in 2nd test match; Nortke, Hasan Ali , Babar Azam and Ashraf shine; ManCity continue to rule EPL; ManU thrash Southampton; Liverpool shocked by Brighton; Australian open draw is out and more...:-)

India vs England test series finally kick started in Chennai on 5-Feb. 2 things kept me guessing. One was the pitch and other was Indian team composition. Chennai was producing sporting pitches till 2001. Post that it has produced dead flat pitches which is sad to see. 2006 match against SA, 2012 match against Aus and England and finally 2016 match against England were all huge run fest. 200 and 300 have been scored on this ground. Sehwag and Karun nair both scored triple centuries here. Nothing changed in Chepauk as once again they produced flat pitch. When sporting pitches is played across India and over the world, it is sad to see them repeat this again and again. England won the toss and chose to bat. India have lost toss in 6 of last 7 test matches. As far as team composition goes, there were 2 surprises. Nadeem played ahead of Kuldeep which was strange. If Axar had been fit, they would have played Ash, Kuldeep and Axar. But with Axar being injured, India think tank went ahead with more batting depth. Other surprise was no place for Siraj. Ishant and Bumrah were the pacers selected. Ball did not swing from ball one. Burns and Sibley played well and cautiously to start of with. Just before lunch on day 1, Burns was dismissed by Ash trying to reverse sweep. England 63-1. Bumrah trapped Lawrence for duck soon after. England 63-2. India looked good when they went to lunch at 66-2. Post lunch, Root and Sibley didn’t give even hint of a chance. England went to tea at 140-2. Post tea, they batted more freely. Root looked in ominous touch. He was making batting look easy. Pitch was flat but his batting was all class. He brought about his 2oth century in his 100th match. He became first played to score century in 98th, 99th and 100th match. He became 3rd England batsmen to score century in 100th test match. Both took England past 250 with ease as well. Just when it looked like England would have another session without a wicket falling, Bumrah dismissed Sibley for 87 with an beautiful yorker. Yorker seem to be the only delivery which looked like taking wicket on this pitch till 4th day. Bumrah could have dismissed Stokes early on 2nd day but yorker just missed stumps by a whisker. Bowlers need luck on such pitches but India were having none. They were keeping it tight but wickets were not falling. Stokes and Root took England past 300. Stokes upped the ante post that. He also scored a fifty. Against the run of play Nadeem dismissed Stokes for 82. England 387-4. Root and Pope took England past 400. Root also scored double century in the process. He and Pope took England past 450. India dismissed both in quick succession. England were reduced from 473-4 to 477-6. Root made a stunning 218 from 377 balls. Butler and Bess took England past 500. Ishant dismissed Butler and Archer of consecutive deliveries. England 525-8. They could have been 9 down but Rohit dropped a sitter of Bess. England ended day at 555-8. They would look to score past 600 and then declare or else might get out. This is the first time any team has scored 500+ runs under Virat’s captaincy. Since he took over full captaincy in 2015-16, India has not conceded 500+ in first innings to any team. Such has been domination of Indian bowlers. No team has declared against India in first innings since Virat took over captaincy. This match would hurt him. In such a pitch, very little can a captain do. Closest India got to dismissing Root, Sibley or Stokes was runout. This pitch is not good for international cricket. It puts so much importance to toss. Teams batting first will have massive favor. India need to bat till end of 4th day once they get a chance to draw the game. Winning this match is out of question for India now. Hope Rohit does what Karun or Sehwag does as this pitch will suit him.

In 2nd test, SA reduced Pakistan to 22-3. Babar then took charge. He and Alam took Pakistan past 100. They ended day 1 at 145-3. Both were dismissed soon after on day 2. Pakistan 149-5. Babar made 77. Faheem Ashraf played brilliantly with bottom order to take Pakistan to a total of 272. He was unbeaten at 78. Nortje starred with 5-fer. Nobody from SA got going. Hasan Ali’s 5-fer helped Pakistan dismiss SA for 201 in first innings. He was reverse swinging ball brilliantly. Bavuma was top scorer with 44 for SA52 run stand between Mulder and Bavuma saved SA from humiliation. Rabada dismissed Imran Butt early for duck. Maharaj got SA back to the game when he dismissed Abid and babar. Pakistan 45-3. Maharaj has dismissed Babar in 3 of 4 innings played in this series. Linde bolwed well to reduce Pakistan to 76-5. Rizwan and Ashraf saved Pakistan from further slide with 52 run stand. Ashraf was dismissed by Linde just before close of play. Pakistan ended day 3 at 129-6 with 200 run lead. Chasing anything beyond 230 would be tough on this pitch. Advantage Pakistan for now.

In EPL, ManU thumped Southampton 9-0. Eight different players scored goals for ManU. ManCity outclassed Burnley 2-0 to maintain 3 point lead over ManU with an additional game in hand. Jesus and Sterling scored goals for ManCity. Leicester City beat Fulham 2-0. Shock of the week was when Brighton beat Liverpool 1-0. Alzate scored the lone goal for Brighton. Chelsea beat Spurs 1-0. This is 3rd consecutive defeat for Spurs. Mourinho would be under pressure after this.

Australian open draw is out. Potential Mens QF would be Djokovic vs Zverev , Thiem vs Schwartzman, Medvedev vs Rublev and Nadal vs Tsitsipas. Djokovic could face Thiem in SF and Nadal could face Medvedev. Without Federer, draw is slightly open but Djokovic should be favorite to win his 18th slam. In ladies draw, potential QF could be Barty vs Pliskova, Kenin vs Svitolina, Andreescu vs Osaka and Sabalenka vs Halep. Cant wait for Australian open to start.

#boloorsportsmania #Joe Root #Sibley #Stokes #Babar Azam #Nortje #Ashraf #Hasan Ali #Sterling #Jesus

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airlea-sicarius · 6 years

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Remembrance Sunday

It’s the day where the British people remember the lives lost to war. A ceremony happens in London, where the Prime Minister, Shadow Minister, the Royal Family, veterans and many more place poppy reefs upon the memorial. Units of past wars and current march down the long road. You have those in wheelchairs from losing limbs, those who are only few remaining.

It is a day where the country is on hold. Truly a day of rest.

At 11pm, you have a two minute silence to think of those lost, to respect those who may have lost loved ones, to respect the fallen.

It is a day or mourning.

When I was growing up, I didn’t understand it. As I got older, I knew why it was there. Both my primary and secondary school are vigilant with having the two minute silence if Armistice day (11th November) is on a school day. At 11am, it is a ghost school for two minutes, and then it comes back to life.

Remembrance Sunday either falls on Armistice day, or it is the Sunday after (if Armistice day is on a weekday, Remembrance Sunday is the following Sunday).

How war carries the idea of romanticism has baffled me, for all I could link was the idea of heroes and sacrifice, people risking their lives because Gravilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and the Germans didn’t like that. Because Hitler wanted World Domination - an d he would have won if he hadn’t betrayed the Russians.

But now that I know that I’ve lost people to WW1 (my dad’s side of the family was basically wiped out), I feel that the romanticism is about being able to tell yur children, of being able to connect to your ancestors through holding their medals.

I’ll never have that chance. My hands will never shake at the burden of holding a memory of soldier in my hand, silver star of metal stained with blood from where his sacrifice was made. I’ll never have that special connection. I’ll never be able to carry the same amount of pride as my father did when he held that medal. Because it was sold by one of his younger brothers. My dad ut tie with them after that...

He was born in 1946 to a farming family and life was very different, his father pretty much abusive. My father had enough of them despite the joys he had experienced. Because that medal was given to him, only for him to be forced to give it away. His father cut some of his fingers off so he wouldn’t fight in WW2. He didn’t care about any of it. He wasn’t...human He was selfish even outside of that, didn’t see the point in charities or in helping the homeless and others in suffering.

I’m told he’s where my brother gets it from.

To The Fallen is the one poem that breaks me. It was written in 1914, just a few weeks after the outbreak of WW1 and we had already lost good men to German guns.

The fourth Stanza is known as the Ode of Rememberence. It is repeated at rememberence Sunday.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.

The Last Post will forever be what haunts me. It echoes the final letters the fallen write to loved ones, the last goodbyes as the vaulted over the trenches. It echoes the sadness of the trumpets who cry for their players, who cry for England and her citizens. It cries for those who cannot. It is a lullaby to those who have passed to war.

It makes the sob no one can bring themselves to make.

People who lost their lives will only be remembered as soldiers, not for humble or extravagent lives, not for misbehaviour or good behaviour. But for making a sacrifice, even if they were conscripted.

The last memorial for the likes of me would be to look after those who are still fighting now, and equally importantly, their families. - Harry Patch, last survivor of WW1, - ‘The Last Fighting Tommy’ - 17th June 1898, 25th July 2009, 111 years.

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upshotre · 5 years

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From Football to Golf- Osaze turns handicap 4 golfer after retirement

Football is a truly global game and Osaze Odemwingie knows that better than most. Born in Tashkent, the capital of modern-day Uzbekistan, to a Nigerian father and a Russian mother, he played for clubs in seven different countries, spread across three continents. “I was very driven career-wise and I love this game,” Odemwingie says. “I don’t know why some people can’t settle in another country. The dressing room is full of boys – it’s always lively and you can always find someone to get close to and have a bond with. “I never struggled to adapt. I really enjoyed the football itself and that was the language that was more important than anything.” After spending the first 18 months of his life in the Soviet Union, Odemwingie and his parents left for Nigeria. Seven years later they returned to Russia, going from Tashkent to Chelny, where their son’s career started in earnest as he was recruited to the CSKA Moscow academy. Then, at the age of 17, he moved back to Nigeria again, turning professional with Bendel Insurance, where he scored 19 goals in 53 league appearances. “My parents had finished their studies, and salaries for doctors were not great in Russia at that time. With their degrees, Nigeria was more appealing and they could do more work. That was the main reason, but also my dad believed that my career would progress better through Nigeria than Russia so we went and he was right.” Odemwingie earned a call up to the Nigeria squad in April 2002, winning his first cap against Kenya, and signed for La Louvière that same summer. He won the Belgian Cup in his first season and by 2004 had impressed enough to get a move to Lille, where he believes he played his best football. “The Premier League was the toughest challenge and the hardest place to get good numbers, but I think I was probably sharpest at Lille in terms of movement, speed and goals. “I was more mature in the Premier League, but Lille was a great time as well. We played in the Champions League and knocked Manchester United out of the group one year. We beat AC Milan away at the San Siro to get through to the next round and I scored.” After two years of competing with Europe’s best, Lille slipped to mid-table in Odemwingie’s final season as the squad started to be picked apart. Kader Keita and Mathieu Bodmer left to join a dominant Lyon while Odemwingie went to Lokomotiv Moscow. There had been interest from Roma and Werder Bremen, but the Russian side made the decisive move. “There were a few options that I could have waited for, but the first team that put money down on the table for Lille was Lokomotiv Moscow and they accepted it. “I thought it was a step back maybe in terms of the league, but they always played in European competitions. It was also a chance to live with my mom again because at the age of 14 I left. She moved back to Moscow then and she’s still working very hard to this day. She loves her job.” Lokomotiv won the Russian Cup the year that Odemwingie arrived, but they didn’t enjoy great success during his time there. Regardless, he enjoyed being back in the place where it all began. “I love Russia. It’s my country. I grew up there. There were some negative parts, but it’s my motherland and I love it. I always kept in touch with my classmates and I just returned from there recently. I love the language, the cinema and the jokes. Moscow is a top city.” Unfortunately, Odemwingie’s departure from Lokomotiv brought some of the worst elements of Russian society to the fore. Racist banners targeting the striker were displayed by supporters following his move to West Bromwich Albion. Odemwingie is keen to stress that racism is far from unique to Russia, as the rise in incidents of abuse in England, both in stadiums and on social media, has shown. “Russia has a bad reputation, but we see today that it’s everywhere in the world. It’s a crowd mentality. It’s aggression, it’s alcohol, it’s youths misbehaving. I think it’s everywhere around the world. Of course it wasn’t great to experience that, but sadly it’s a problem in industries like football where there is a lot of money and a lot of envy. “But if you go to those same countries the general population are pretty tolerant and welcoming. Russia is no worse than any other country in Europe where we read headlines of racial abuse going on.” Move to England Although Odemwingie ended up at West Brom, it was actually local rivals Birmingham City who were the first club to make an offer for him ahead of the 2010 World Cup. Lokomotiv held firm as they thought that a good tournament would boost his value, but Nigeria crashed out at the group stage. So with one year left on his contract, West Bromwere able to pick Odemwingie up on the cheap. He soon became their star man. “I believed in myself. A lot of people were saying that it was the wrong club, that they go up and then they come down, but I have a strong intuition generally. I had a good feeling about the move and when I was signing the contract the sporting director said, ‘If you score goals here, everything else will fall into place.’ “I happened to score the winner on my debut within two days of joining the club, and I won Player of the Month for the first complete month I played in England. I settled into the league well.” It was an ideal start and he scored 15 goals that season as West Brom were rescued from the threat of relegation by Roy Hodgson, eventually rising to 11th place. Odemwingie was again named Player of the Month for April. He would repeat the trick once more in his second season after bagging a hat-trick against Wolves on the way to a top-half finish. “It’s a dream league. It’s so simple yet so complicated. Coming from Russia, where you’d sometimes spend three days in the clubhouse before home games, I couldn’t believe that in England you’d just drive up to the stadium on the day like it’s Sunday league,” he laughs. “But as soon as I arrived at The Hawthorns for the first time I started seeing the fans walking up and I could feel that there was something in the air in the dressing room. There was a lot of music playing and the players were so relaxed. It was like the quiet before the storm when I walked out on the pitch. They gave me a great reception straight away.” Eagerly embraced by Albion supporters on his arrival, Odemwingie’s relationship with them soured in his third season as he grew frustrated at a lack of playing time and looked to move elsewhere. “Steve Clarke came in as manager. I have a lot of respect for Steve, but he has his own managerial style and at the time it wasn’t something I liked. He often put me on the bench without saying anything, even if my last game had been fantastic. This was something new I had to deal with and I think if we had more communication maybe I’d have been less angry about it. “He moved me out of my striking role onto the wing. In my first two seasons I’d been top scorer for a reason, because I played through the middle. I had to deal with that at the same time as being one of the players they rotated. “There was all this talk that I wanted to leave because Queens Park Rangers were giving out big contracts, and that it was money-motivated, but the summer before I’d had massive offers from the Middle East and I never even gave them a single thought. “I thought I still had a lot to offer the game and the Brazil World Cup was around the corner so I needed to be playing. I was a bit angry that the club never protected my image. They made people think that money was my motivation, but that was never the case.” QPR truth The saga reached a slightly absurd climax when Odemwingie was interviewed in his car outside Loftus Road on transfer deadline day in January 2013, having driven down in the hope that an agreement could be reached. It never was as Junior Hoilett belatedly pulled out of a potential swap. “If all parties that took part in that whole situation would have said exactly what happened then everyone would have understood. But nobody spoke about it because it wasn’t in their interests to do so. I took the hit myself. I was that close that they prepared a shirt with my name on. “From what I knew, we had agreed everything. They were working on bringing Junior Hoilett to West Brom and apparently him changing his mind at the last minute is what killed the deal. I wasn’t aware of that; otherwise I wouldn’t have gone anywhere.” Odemwingie criticised the club publicly for what transpired and was fined two weeks’ wages. He was eventually integrated back into the first team but felt stung by the way perceptions of him had changed. “It was annoying to listen to West Brom fans singing that I was greedy when people inside the club knew what was going on between me and a few of my colleagues and Steve Clarke. They knew my ambitions and I always gave my best in games. It was a bit sad that, as they say in England, they hung me out to dry. “It was a sad story, but most importantly my relationship with the club survived the hit. I played for them with honesty and I loved it there. I can’t forget them singing to me throughout the games. You can’t blame fans – they see, they read, they react. I could absolutely understand their anger.” The wounds gradually healed, leaving Odemwingie and the Albion supporters to focus on the good times instead, but a parting of the ways was still in everyone’s best interests. Following a short and somewhat disappointing spell at promoted Cardiff City, Odemwingie found the fresh start and redemption he was looking for at Stoke. “I was happy to return closer to Birmingham. I lived there and I was settled there. I was happy to join Stoke and it was really nice that people didn’t judge me based on what they’d heard. When I walked into the dressing room, nobody was putting my attitude under the microscope. “At Stoke, the dressing room was really fun. I hit the ground running thanks to Mark Hughes, who trusted me, and the supporters sang the song – ‘He scores goals.’” They continued to do so even though Odemwingie missed a lot of football after he suffered a cruciate ligament injury when stretching to keep the ball in play during a win over Manchester City. The backing he received was much appreciated. “That was something that I’ll never forget. When I needed fans the most in my career they were absolutely there for me.” With opportunities scarce following his return from injury, Odemwingie went on loan to Bristol City and then spent a few months at Rotherham United after being released by Stoke. When that contract came to an end, he embarked on a new adventure on the other side of the world. “I only recovered from a calf injury in April and the leagues everywhere were finishing. I had this offer on the table from Madura United in Indonesia. The only place I knew there was Bali and the town was really close. I thought it would be good to retire in a beautiful place.” It was a fun final swansong for Odemwingie, who scored 15 goals in 22 games, but he didn’t officially hang up his boots until earlier this year. Tempted to prolong his career, and confident that he could still perform in the Championship at the age of 38, it was a difficult decision. For now the former Nigeria international is excelling at another sport. He only started playing golf when he came to England but is already down to a handicap of four. A regular at his local club and in various tournaments, sometimes alongside other ex-footballers, he’s seeing how far he can go. There are other ambitions too, including coaching and completing a degree. “I’m happy that I’ve retired and I’m looking forward to the next part of my life,” he says. “I will be doing my coaching badges slowly and starting my education. “The next five years I’m going to dedicate to education and pursue a degree just to tick that box. I have an urge to study, probably because my parents are doctors and it’s somewhere in my genes, calling me to do something outside of sport.”

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mayramoss-blog1 · 6 years

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FIFA World Cup Power Rankings: The Best and the Worst from the Round of 16

After a last 16 that produced a continuous flow of drama, goals, grit and glory, here are the World Cup power rankings going into the quarter final stage...

16. Spain

Undoubtedly the biggest losers from the last 16, Spain had looked electric in that opening encounter with Portugal, but depreciated further and further in their following three games, culminating in the ignominious penalty shoot-out defeat to Russia.

Despite their domination of the ball, it was a deserved result. For all Isco's flair and Costa's brutishness, their incision was nowhere to be seen. With Iniesta drawing the curtain on his international career, and more likely to follow, it could be the end of Spain as we know it.

A sad end for one of the most influential teams of the 21st century, but one that had come back for one encore too many, eventually morphing into a tribute band of their former selves.

15. Switzerland

As harsh as it sounds, I've never felt less sorry for a departing nation at a World Cup. They were turgid. Thank god I don't have to see one more long range effort from Granit Xhaka.

14. Mexico

La Quinta Partido. La Quinta Partido. You've got to feel sorry for the Mexicans in some sense, but they simply never looked like toppling Brazil, and wrenching the last 16 monkey off their back.

Once again they have provided us with ample thrills at a World Cup, but ultimately too many spills.

13. Colombia

It's hard not to not feel sorry for the Colombians. Jingoism aside, they did not objectively deserve to beat England.

They could've very well had three players sent off - Wilmar Barrios for his headbutting antics, Falcao for his unrelenting remonstrating, Carlos Sanchez for his foul for the penalty and subsequent screaming match with the referee - and played with a general nastiness fit for Chile 1962, not Russia 2018.

12. Argentina

Perhaps the most complex loss for Argentina at this World Cup, they at once deserved to be thrashed and to progress.

Though the French could've realistically scored six or seven, and Kylian Mbappe ran Otamendi and co. truly ragged for the duration, had they converted that last minute chance you would've backed them wholeheartedly over a Les Blues side who, despite their attacking verve, seem eager to crumble whenever possible.

Regardless, their opponents were and are the better team, and while Messi's despair is a bitter pill to swallow, the seminal passing of the torch to Mbappe no doubt eased its ingestion.

11. Portugal

Despite coming up against the most competent side at the competition, Portugal were stilted, as was the angry man above.

Props to Bernardo Silva, who was exceptional in defeat, but to no one else. Actually, Manuel Fernandes as well, just because he shot every time he got the ball, regardless of location. That's what every last minute sub should do.

10. Denmark

Juxtaposing Colombia are the brave, brave Danes, who gave everything in their clash with Croatia, but fell at the final hurdle in spite of Kasper Schmeichel's never-ending heroics.

Far from falling foul to the ghostly anonymity that his first name elicits, the keeper rose to the occasion with Thor-like endeavour, and was the unluckiest of an unlucky bunch to be on the losing side.

9. Japan

Poor plucky Japan, they were sensational for 65 minutes, but in the end they just couldn't cope with the combined combative presence of Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku and...Nacer Chadli.

That's by far the worst part, going out to a last gasp winner courtesy of a West Brom misfit. So, so cruel.

8. Sweden

As predicted by yours truly, Sweden are now World Cup quarter finalists, and worthy ones too. In their smouldering wake lie two four time World Cup winners and a three time World Cup finalist. That's pedigree.

They should be feared accordingly.

7. Russia

Hang on. So Russia are good? This is getting confusing now.

6. Croatia

The tournament's darlings so far, Croatia were inept at times against Denmark, but stepped up when it counted and remain many people's quasi-hipster's pick for outright winners.

Even if he missed the resulting penalty, Modric's defence splitting pass to play in Rebic at the final minute showed just how dangerous they can be when the game is stretched. They've also now got the bottle to go with their substantial skill.

5. Belgium

What you are about to read will never be repeated: fair play to Roberto Martinez. The Spaniard made a brazen decision to bring on Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli in the 65th minute, and it completely changed the game.

Having said that, Brazil await, and that's his fault. So we're back to reality.

4. England

No words. As penalties drew ever closer, I was wallowing in, among other things, the prospect of being unjustly forced to write the obituary for this exponentially likeable team.

But I don't have to. I don't have to. I still can't believe it. England winning on penalties is the dictionary definition of unbelievable. But this team have defied history, none more so than their overseer Gareth Southgate. Just give that man a knighthood already.

3. Brazil

In the end it was fairly comfortable for Brazil, but yet again they didn't half make hard work of it for 50 minutes. However, the fact that it was 50 minutes and not 80 or 90 suggests the progress they're making.

While I remain slightly unconvinced, people seem to forget that historically World Cup winners rarely blaze their way to the trophy. More often than not, it is a stutter that only breaks into a canter by the semi final stages, and has enough left in the tank to snatch the final.

The Selecao have a glint of this archetype in their eye, but they've also got more than a speckle of under-achievers in there too.

2. France

For all the individual flair and talent that was on display against La Albiceleste on Saturday - with Mbappe and Pavard producing moments of blistering skill and Pogba, Kante and Matuidi operating close to their peaks - there's still something dodgy about this France team.

As previously mentioned, they could've and should've thrashed their opponents, and yet were an outstretched leg away from being taken to extra time. Perhaps that's the nature of international knockout football. Or, perhaps that's what happens when you have a group of unerring quality but no tactical nous to glue them together as a truly cohesive unit.

We'll find out.

1. Uruguay

You can have your Nacho's, your Pavard's, your Quaresma's, even your Di Maria's. I don't care. Cavani's first goal, involving the greatest one two in World Cup history, was my favourite goal scored at the tournament so far.

It epitomised everything that makes Uruguay the deserved top-dog heading into the last eight. In direct contrast to their quarter final opponents, they are the very definition of a team - as cohesive a unit as you're likely to see in International football.

Their centre back pairing remains the best around, and their centre forward pairing isn't far behind (providing Cavani stays fit). Of course, their unity is aided by having the longest serving manager in international football right now, but there's also an inextinguishable and instinctive will to win within them that isn't replicated anywhere else.

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celticnoise · 4 years

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Friday night saw the final collapse of an empire.

It was not the first empire to rise and fall at the Camp Nou and it will not be the last.

But it was the most glittering, the most glorious, the most impressive.

Over its course it has produced Champions League winning teams which ranked amongst the finest ever to play the game, and it gave us the world’s greatest ever footballer.

Along the way, the core of that team won a World Cup and a Euros for Spain.

It gave us one of the most frightening, and prolific, forward threes of all time. It dazzled and delighted. When Barcelona were on form they were the most destructive football force the club game has ever seen, capable of dismantling any opponent, no matter their calibre.

Were there shock defeats along the way? Of course there were, and we inflicted one of the most famous, at Celtic Park, on that incredible night in November 2012. Yet the team we beat recovered to go on and become ever more dominant and impressive.

Little by little, the cracks had begun to show.

In 2017 they were hammered 4-0 by Paris St Germain, a defeat that was conveniently – and foolishly – set aside in the aftermath of the incredible comeback in front of their home supporters. They ought to have heeded the warnings, but they didn’t and in the very next round Juventus took three off them in Italy.

There was to be no comeback from that.

That summer, they had a chance to do a rebuild, and failed to. That hubris met its nemesis in Rome, as they travelled there with a 4-1 lead from the home tie only to fall, spectacularly, to a 3-0 reversal which knocked them out of the great competition once more.

And last season it was the turn of Liverpool to ruin everything, after Barcelona rolled into Anfield with a 3-0 lead and somehow contrived, again, to crash out of the tournament. These ignominies were not all a series of freakish coincidences; they were the warnings that things needed to change, that the club needed rebooting, that the glory days were over.

Those warnings, too, went unheeded and on Friday came the greatest reversal of them all, a profoundly numbing lesson, which the word “rout” doesn’t truly do justice. Barcelona, the great swaggering conquerors, were annihilated by Bayern Munich who found the net eight times and could have run up the score even higher.

No football empire has been so thoroughly crushed since Brazil’s brutal humiliation at the hands of Germany, on their own turf, in the World Cup Semi Final of 2014.

There are lessons here for those who wish to heed them, those who want to learn in a way Barcelona failed to.

When Germany was routed 5-1 by England in Munich in 2001, the entire national game was upended and football rebuilt from the youth coaching all the way up. The national team had been in decline for years; that was the turning point, which led, in no small part, to the thrashing of Brazil thirteen years later, and the winning of a World Cup.

Catastrophe can only be averted if decline is recognised and measures to reverse it are put in place.

Managed transition between one era and the next is how football dynasties are built. Barcelona relied on the same core of players for far too long; that is the first step towards disaster, and it was evident for a number of years before the final collapse last week.

There are no signs of our club being on a similar trajectory. We continue to win things.

We continue to dominate in Scotland. Brown may be looking a little leggy but he’s the oldest player of what is still a very young squad. And whilst there are a core group of players here, the personnel have undergone a lot of rotation over the last couple of years.

This team of ours has been fabulous over the years, but when we say goodbye to someone like Lustig or Simunovic or, eventually, Forrest or McGregor it will not simply be that we want the money or we want to free up wages.

There is no such thing as “managed decline”, it’s only decline that goes a little slower than the other kinds. The objective should be to manage your way out of it, not to control the descent. Say whatever you like about Brendan Rodgers, but he knew that.

He was clearly planning to move Celtic from one iteration to another … I hope Lennon has the same plan.

Time is still on our side here. Our squad is young enough that there are years left in these players, and one of the problems Barcelona had the other night was an ageing midfield and central defence which was overwhelmed by Bayern’s pace and power.

Yet even youth is no guarantee that a team will continue to perform if it’s kept together too long. The master at this stuff was Alex Ferguson, who’s Manchester United teams were in constant flux, changing from one form to another as time marched on.

Paul Brennan at CQN has talked about how this Celtic side will most probably break up at the end of this season whether we win the title or not. Ten in a row is what some players have stayed for, he said, and that others will be shipped out as we look to the future.

This would not be a disaster, as long as the plan was in place for the next great era of our club.

One of our biggest problems in recent years was that we allowed the defence to stagnate; last season we signed four fullbacks and a central defender because that was the area of neglect and where we needed to make the biggest changes.

That’s a positive sign, although we should never have left it until a full-scale rebuilding of the defence was necessary. This year, we need to see smarter transfer business … and the signs are good so far that we’re going to get our recruitment right.

The solidity of our club, the core of players who the rest have been built around, is one of the reasons for our success, of course. Teams grow together, but they also start to slide together. It may be the right thing – it almost certainly will be – that this one starts to break up before the decline begins.

It will be sad to see it, but it is necessary.

The alternative is to watch as it starts, and perhaps to realise too late that the slide has become a full-scale collapse. Barcelona have just learned one of the hardest lessons I’ve ever seen handed out in football. This one, they cannot ignore … and neither should we.

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