CELEBRITY
GOOGLE HONOURS THE ENGLISH MAN WHO COULD HAVE COACHED NIGERIA
The name Frank Soo may not easily ring bell in Nigeria. But he was the English coach that Sir Stanley Rous who later became FIFA President recommended in 1958 to coach Nigeria when the then Nigeria Football Association made a request.
But Soo after initial interest, declined, opting for another job with Scunthorpe United, a second division club in the United Kingdom. In his place, Nigeria went for Eric Jones, also an Englishman.
Frank Soo, who is the first and only player of Asian heritage to represent England’s national football team, has been honoured by Google in the UK on Saturday (May 9) on the anniversary of his debut for his country.
It was in similar vein that Nigeria’s Samuel Okwaraji was honoured last year May on the occasion of his posthumous birthday. Stephen Keshi also had similar hnour last year during the anniversary of his death.
Soo, born in Derbyshire to a Chinese father and English mother in 1914, became a trailblazing figure in the sport after signing for Stoke as a teenager in 1933.
The first player of Chinese descent to play in the English Football League, he later became the first non-white player selected by England for a wartime friendly against Wales in 1942.
Often referred to as England’s forgotten footballer, Soo would go on to make nine international appearances – although none were recognised as official caps during World War II.
In collaboration with the Frank Soo Foundation, Google created a Doodle of Soo on their UK homepage to honour his memory and celebrate his inspiring legacy.
Soo, who captained Stanley Matthews while playing for Stoke, also turned out for Leicester, Luton and Chelmsford City.
He left England to take over as coach of Padova in Italy’s Serie A in the early 1950s before a lengthy spell in Scandinavia with a number of different clubs.
Soo also led Norway at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. He eventually returned to England and died in 1991 at the age of 76.
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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