International Football
Ozil, Draxler, Gomez Out Of England Clash
Germany will be without Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and Mario Gomez for Wednesday’s friendly match with England, Joachim Low has confirmed.
Arsenal star Ozil has failed to recover from the hamstring problem that kept him out of the Gunners’ last Premier League match against West Brom.
Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder Draxler and Wolfsburg striker Gomez will also sit out the match with minor injuries.
Head coach Low, who has already seen Manuel Neuer return to Bayern Munich for treatment on a calf problem, would not say whether the attacking trio will be available for Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan.
“Neuer is injured, Ozil has muscular problems, Draxler has a slight muscular problem. Gomez also has a slight injury,” he told a news conference. “They won’t play.”
Germany surrendered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to England when they last met in a pre-Euro 2016 friendly in Berlin last March.
Low believes England are going through a transition phase under Gareth Southgate in the wake of their shock defeat to Iceland in the finals last year, but is wary of the danger they could pose on the counter-attack.
“England are in flux,” he said. “They now look for more of a possession game. They have very good players, good on the counter.”
Lukas Podolski, who will play his final international match at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday, added: “I don’t know what the difference is between Germany and England.
“We have had a great coach for the past 10 years. We started on a path in 2004.
“Club football is very strong in England, they have a lot of good young individual players.”
Carlo Ancelotti will become Brazil’s manager after leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season, the Brazilian FA (CBF) said on Monday.
The 65-year-old Ancelotti has enjoyed four hugely successful years in his second tenure at the Spanish giants, but they are set to finish this season without a trophy.
“The president of CBF Ednaldo Rodrigues has announced on Monday the signing of Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti,” it said in a statement.
“Bringing Carlo Ancelotti to coach Brazil is more than a strategic move. It is a statement to the world that we are determined to regain football’s top spot,” Rodrigues said in the statement.
“He is the greatest coach in history and now he is at the helm of the greatest national team on the planet. Together, we will write new chapters in the glorious history of Brazilian football.”
Brazilian soccer sources said Ancelotti will sign a one-year deal to become the world’s highest-paid national team coach ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with the option to extend his contract. Real have yet to announce Ancelotti’s departure.
He is set to be replaced by former Real midfielder Xabi Alonso, with sources close to the 41-year-old former Spain international saying he has agreed a three-year deal.
Alonso, 43, who announced earlier this month that he was leaving Bayer Leverkusen after guiding them to a domestic double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 14 to July 14, club sources said.
Ancelotti had a year remaining on his contract but Real’s underwhelming season and his desire to coach Brazil have led to a mutual agreement to part ways, the sources added.
Second-placed Real are seven points adrift of Barcelona, who could secure the league title on Wednesday without kicking a ball if Real fail to win at home to Mallorca.
Regardless of Real’s result, a Barca victory in the city derby away to Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the title.
-Reuters
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Zamalek ended Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro’s contract by mutual consent, the Egyptian soccer club said on Wednesday, after less than three months in charge due to poor results.
“An agreement has been reached between Zamalek and coach Jose Peseiro to mutually terminate the contract,” the club said on Facebook. “We wish you the best in your future endeavours.”
Former Porto and Sporting Lisbon coach Peseiro, 65, joined Zamalek on February 14 to become only the fifth coach to lead both Egyptian rivals, Zamalek and Al-Ahly.
However, Zamalek, the defending champions, were eliminated from the CAF Confederation Cup and the Egyptian League Cup under Peseiro, and a poor run in the league saw them slip to third place, seven points adrift of leaders Pyramids.
Peseiro has previously coached the national teams of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, as well as the Saudi club Al-Hilal and United Arab Emirates’ teams Al Wahda and Sharjah.
-Reuters
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International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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