Sports

Chelsea agree on terms with ex-PSG boss as next manager – Reports

Published

2 years ago

May 14, 2023

Mauricio Pochettino

Chelsea agree on terms with ex-PSG boss as next manager – Reports

Chelsea are on the verge of hiring former Paris Saint Germain (PSG) boss, Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager after agreeing terms with him, reports say on Sunday.

Pochettino is reportedly set to join Chelsea at the end of this season as he returns to the Premier League four years after his sacking by Tottenham.

The Argentine will replace interim manager Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly bids to get his troubled club back on track after a dismal season.

Pochettino will be Chelsea’s sixth permanent manager in five years after Boehly sacked Thomas Tuchel in September and then axed Graham Potter in April.

Pochettino, who has also managed in the Premier League with Southampton, left Paris Saint Germain in July 2022 and was replaced by Christophe Galtier.

Pochettino guided Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2019 when they finished as runners-up to Liverpool.

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He also led the north Londoners a second place finish in the Premier League in 2017 and the League Cup final in 2015, missing out on the silverware to Chelsea on both occasions.

Despite failing to end a Tottenham trophy drought that stretches back to 2008, Pochettino was widely admired by his players.

Tottenham striker Harry Kane recently bemoaned the change in the club’s culture since the Argentine’s exit.

Following his Tottenham stint, the 51-year-old took over at French side Paris Saint Germain in January 2021.

They finished second in Ligue 1 in 2022, winning the Coupe de France and the Trophee des Champions, which were the first trophies of Pochettino’s managerial career.

Pochettino led PSG to the French title in his second season but departed after failing to make an impact in the Champions League, with a last-16 capitulation against Real Madrid especially damaging to his reign.

Considered for the Manchester United job before Erik ten Hag’s appointment last year, Pochettino will arrive in west London to find a club in crisis.

Chelsea, who last won the title in 2017, are currently 11th in the Premier League.

They have won just one of their past 11 games and look set to miss out on European competition next season.

With three games left, the Blues are in danger of finishing in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first time since 1996.

Boehly’s spending spree on over £550 million ($685 million) of new signings since buying the club from Roman Abramovich last year has failed to have the desired effect.

Chelsea crashed out of both domestic cups and lost limply against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, with Boehly reportedly telling the players their season was “embarrassing” during a dressing room speech immediately after a home defeat against Brighton.

Lampard lost the first six matches of his second spell as Chelsea boss before a victory against Bournemouth and then a draw with lowly Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Chelsea agree on terms with ex-PSG boss as next manager – Reports

Sports

BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025

Published

10 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

Super Eagles players

BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have secured their qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, following Libya’s 1-0 victory over Rwanda in Kigali.

This result leaves Rwanda with five points from five matches, rendering them unable to surpass Nigeria in the standings, even if they win their upcoming match against the Super Eagles in Uyo.

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Currently, Nigeria leads Group D with 10 points, followed by Benin with six points, Rwanda with five, and Libya at the bottom with four points.

Sports

Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul

Published

20 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul

Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul

Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Friday for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxing world.

Tyson, who terrorised the heavyweight division during an imperious reign in the late 1980s, is lacing up the gloves once more to take on Youtuber Jake Paul, 27, in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.

The fight, which will be comprised of eight two-minute rounds, was initially due to take place in July but was postponed in May after Tyson required medical treatment on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles after vomiting blood due to a bleeding ulcer.

That gory mid-air emergency has provided another piece of ammunition for the numerous critics who have condemned Friday’s contest as a macabre circus act that poses an unacceptable level of risk for Tyson, who last graced a professional ring in 2005, when he was beaten via a technical knockout after quitting on his stool against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.

– ‘It shouldn’t be happening’ –

“Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson retired from boxing, and was shot to pieces, right? I mean, completely shot,” the prominent British fight promoter Eddie Hearn said this week.

“If anyone thinks that Mike Tyson should be in a ring at this age, you either have absolutely no emotional feelings toward the man, or you’re an idiot. It shouldn’t be happening.”

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Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments.

“Mike Tyson is 58 years of age and he shouldn’t be fighting,” Warren said after the bout was announced. “It’s as simple as that.

“Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that it is ridiculous. You can be on a motorway stuck in a traffic jam and you get to the end of it and all it is is people who have stopped to look at a crash — and that’s what this is.”

Tyson, who US reports say is being paid around $20 million for Friday’s contest, has brushed off the concerns for his wellbeing, insisting when critics from the boxing world are motivated by jealousy.

“I’m beautiful, that’s all I can say,” he said earlier this year. “The people who said that wish they were up here. No-one else can do this.”

At an open workout in Texas this week, Tyson declared that a gruelling training camp had left him with the conviction “that I’m tougher than I believed I was.”

“When I agreed to this fight and started training, I thought ‘What was I thinking of?’ But I’ve finished the process. The fight is the party. All the hard work is done.”

At a final press conference in Texas on Wednesday, a stony-faced Tyson pointedly declined to engage in the pre-fight hype.

“I’m just ready to fight,” he said. “I’m looking forward to fighting.”

– Injury fears –

A global audience of several million watching on Netflix, and tens of thousands inside the AT&T Stadium, will be watching on Friday to see whether Tyson’s hard work pays off.

His opponent Paul — who was born six months before Tyson bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their infamous 1997 rematch — rose to prominence as a Youtuber, before turning his attention to boxing.

Since his first fight against a fellow Youtuber in 2018, Paul’s opponents have included a basketball player, mixed martial arts fighters and other professional boxers. In 11 fights he has won 10 (seven by knockout) and lost one.

“I feel really good, sharp, powerful and explosive. It’s going to be a short night for Mike,” Paul said at Tuesday’s open workout, where he appeared wearing a bizarre head-dress in the form of a rooster.

It goes without saying that a prime, 1980s-era Tyson would almost certainly have dealt with Paul within a few minutes.

Does he retain enough residue of the talent and destructive power that made him the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1986, at the age of 20 years and four months? Bob Arum, the legendary 92-year-old boxing promoter who has seen it all, is unequivocal.

“The answer is no,” Arum told Secondsout.com last month. “A 58-year-old guy, no matter how good they were, no matter how athletic they were, are not gonna be able to fight.

“You can’t throw punches like you’re supposed to, you can’t do a lot of things. I hope Mike doesn’t get hurt, but I really give him relatively no chance.”

Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul

Sports

Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested

Published

2 days ago

November 13, 2024

Trends Admin

South African Football Association (SAFA) President Danny Jordaan

Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested

South African Football Association (SAFA) President Danny Jordaan was arrested on Wednesday amid allegations that he misused the organization’s funds for personal purposes, as reported by local media.

Jordaan, renowned for his pivotal role in securing South Africa as the host for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, sought to block his arrest on Tuesday by filing an urgent application.

However, the Johannesburg High Court is scheduled to hear his case only on Thursday, leaving him vulnerable to arrest.

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The arrest stems from a raid by police on the SAFA offices in March, after which police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said the allegations are that “between 2014 and 2018, the president of SAFA used the organisation’s resources for his personal gain, including hiring a private security company for his personal protection and a public relations company, without authorisation from the SAFA board.”

Jordaan, 73, and his reported co-accused, SAFA chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo and businessman Trevor Neethling, are due to appear in court later on Wednesday.

Neither Jordaan nor SAFA responded to a request for comment from Reuters, but in his affidavit to court seeking to block his arrest, he denies any wrongdoing.