International Football
Ballon d’Or shortlist; it’s Messi versus Man United and Liverpool stars
The full list of 30 names competing to win the Ballon d’Or has been published with Lionel Messi in contention to win his seventh crown.
The Paris Saint-Germain star, who left Barcelona this summer after 21 years at the club to join the Ligue 1 giants, has already won the award six times in his illustrious career.
But while the 34-year-old is the favourite to add to his collection, the Argentine magician could face competition from several Premier League stars.
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, who finished in fourth in the 2019 edition, has been tipped to rival Messi for the award.
The Egyptian is the sole member from Liverpool this year after Jurgen Klopp’s side put in a disappointing title defence.
Just under half of the nominees on the 30-man shortlist are playing in the Premier League, with Chelsea and Manchester City each having five players represented.
The Blues have had four members of their Champions League-winning squad nominated, with Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mason Mount making the cut.
Their £97.5million summer signing Romelu Lukaku has also made the list, having scored 24 goals in the Serie A last season to help Inter Milan win the Serie A for the first time in 10 years.
But there was no place for Edouard Mendy, despite keeping 10 clean sheets in his 12 Champions League matches, with Italy’s Euro 2020 winning stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma the only goalkeeper on the list.
Man City have continued their tradition with having a player nominated every year since Pep Guardiola took over.
Guardiola’s side won the Premier League for the third time in four years and reached the Champions League final before a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea.
Ruben Dias, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden have all been included after a strong year for the English champions.
Manchester United ’s Portuguese duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes have been recognised for their efforts.
nd Harry Kane, who scored 23 goals in the Premier League to win the Golden Boot last season, is the only other English player included along with Mount and Sterling.
Robert Lewandowski is also thought to be vying with his fellow attackers for the gong, after scoring an incredible 41 goals in the Bundesliga last season to break Gerd Muller’s record.
However, the award was not presented in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning Lewandowski could miss out on his maiden Ballon d’Or trophy.
The full 30-man shortlist for the 2021 Ballon d’Or:
- Cesar Azpilicueta (Spain/Chelsea)
- Nicolo Barella (Italy/Inter Milan)
- Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid)
- Leonardo Bonucci (Italy/Juventus)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City)
- Giorgio Chiellini (Italy/Juventus)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Manchester United & Juventus)
- Ruben Dias (Portugal/Manchester City)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy/PSG)
- Bruno Fernandes (Portugal/Manchester United)
- Phil Foden (England/Manchester City)
- Erling Haaland (Norway/Borussia Dortmund)
- Harry Kane (England/Tottenham)
- Jorginho (Italy/Chelsea)
- N’Golo Kante (France/Chelsea)
- Simon Kjaer (Denmark/AC Milan)
- Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich)
- Romelu Lukaku (Belgium/Chelsea & Inter Milan)
- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City)
- Lautaro Martinez (Argentina/Inter Milan)
- Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG)
- Lionel Messi (Argentina/PSG & Barcelona)
- Luka Modric (Croatia/Real Madrid)
- Gerard Moreno (Spain/Villarreal)
- Mason Mount (England/Chelsea)
- Neymar (Brazil/PSG)
- Pedri (Spain/Barcelona)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool)
- Raheem Sterling (England/Manchester City)
- Luis Suarez (Uruguay/Atletico Madrid)
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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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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