TheNewsGuru

Tag: Coach

  • ‘NFF shouldn’t mourn me after my death but just pay my money’

    ‘NFF shouldn’t mourn me after my death but just pay my money’

    Godwin Izilein, a former coach of the Super Falcons, has pleaded with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) leadership to pay to him his outstanding match bonuses of 28,750 dollars (about N12 million).

    Izilein, who made the plea while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Benin, also said NFF should not mourn him at his death.

    The coach, who once handled the Golden Eaglets, said it was regrettable that the football governing body was yet to pay him match bonuses of 28,750 dollars 17 years after.

    “The unpaid allowances are my reward for taking the female national team to Johannesburg in South Africa in 2004 where Nigeria won the African Women Championship (AWC).

    “I don’t know what my offence is that they have refused to pay me this money. I have written and personally met with heads of NFF at different times. Yet, the story remains the same.

    “The last time was when I met the present NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, in the presence of Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo, where I again tabled the matter.

    “Though he (Pinnick) expressed shock that I was yet to be paid, but he promised to do something quickly about it. However, up until now, two years after, the story is still the same.

    “But I am only interested in my money, not an addition. I don’t know if it has now become a crime to serve one’s fatherland. Or, why will I be pursuing what I labored for after 17 years?

    “I should be honoured while I am still alive and not when I am gone. NFF should honour me now by paying me the money and not cry and write glowing tributes when I am dead,” Izilein declared.”

  • BREAKING: Chelsea appoints Thomas Tuchel Manager hours after Lampard’s sack

    BREAKING: Chelsea appoints Thomas Tuchel Manager hours after Lampard’s sack

    Chelsea FC has confirmed the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as manager.

    He replaces Frank Lampard, who was sacked on Tuesday following a string of bad runs in the EPL.

    A statement on the website of the club said Tuchel has signed an 18-month contract with the possibility of an extension.

    He said: ‘I would like to thank Chelsea FC for their confidence in me and my staff.

    ‘We all have the greatest respect for Frank Lampard’s work and the legacy he created at Chelsea.

    “At the same time, I cannot wait to meet my new team and compete in the most exciting league in football. I am grateful to now be part of the Chelsea family – it feels amazing!’

    Director Marina Granovskaia added: ‘It is never easy to change Head Coach in the middle of the season but we are very happy to secure one of Europe’s best coaches in Thomas Tuchel.

    “There is still much to play for and much to achieve, this season and beyond. We welcome Thomas to the Club.”

    Tuchel will take his first training session this evening and will be in the dugout for tomorrow’s Premier League game against Wolves.

  • Diego Forlan sacked by hometown club after 11 games

    Diego Forlan sacked by hometown club after 11 games

    Former Manchester United and Uruguay international striker Diego Forlan has been sacked as head coach of Penarol after just 11 matches in charge of his boyhood club.

    The announcement came a day after Penarol’s 2-0 home defeat to Wanderers, a result that left them seventh in the Uruguayan first division standings.

    “Penarol thanks Diego Forlan for his contribution during these eight months in charge of the first team,” the Montevideo club said in a tweet posted late Monday.

    Forlan guided Penarol to four wins, three draws and four defeats after assuming the managerial role last December. His spell was interrupted by a five-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The 41-year-old expressed gratitude to the club he first joined as an 11-year-old.

    “Thank you for the opportunity you gave me, it made me proud to lead Club Atletico Penarol,” he said on Twitter. “To the players, thank you very much for your patience, your respect, your dedication and your teachings.

    “To all those who work day in, day out, and in silence, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Finally, thanks to the fans for the love. I have no regrets.”

    Forlan, who was capped 112 times for Uruguay, retired from football in August last year after a professional career spanning more than two decades.

    Voted the best player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, in which the Celeste reached the semifinals, he was also a key member of the Uruguay team that won the 2011 Copa America in Argentina.

    Forlan’s career included spells at Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Villarreal. He returned to Penarol as a player in 2015 and 2016, scoring eight goals in 30 league outings.

    Penarol finished runners-up in last year’s first division title race after losing 1-0 to champions Nacional in the competition decider. Enditem

  • Coach leaves club two days after promotion to La Liga

    Coach leaves club two days after promotion to La Liga

    In spite of guiding Elche back to the Spanish La Liga after a five-year absence, Juan Jose Rojo Martin, known as “Pacheta”, will not lead the team into the Spanish top-flight.

    “The coach and the club are going their separate ways, ending a glorious and triumphant cycle which will go down in the memory of our fans forever,” Elche said in a statement on Tuesday.

    Pacheta’s contract with the club expired at the end of the season, although it was not clear why it was not renewed.

    He took over a club in financial ruin and in Spain’s third tier in February 2018 and earned promotion from the Segunda Division B in his first campaign.

    The side, who had the fifth-lowest budget in Spain’s second tier, then won the most unlikely of promotions to the top-flight.

    They beat Girona 1-0 in Sunday’s play-off final second leg with a goal deep in stoppage time.

    Elche had sneaked into the play-offs on the last day of the season at the expense of Fuenlabrada.

    Fuenlabrada’s preparations were torpedoed by 28 players and staff testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

    1. “In almost three seasons the team went from Segunda B to Primera, a meteoric rise achieved by a coach who is now part of a golden age in the club’s history,” Elche said in its statement.
  • Barcelona sack coach Setien after horrible loss to Bayern Munich

    Barcelona sack coach Setien after horrible loss to Bayern Munich

    FC Barcelona have sacked coach Quique Setien and brought presidential elections forward to March 2021, the club said on Monday.

    This has come three days after the Spanish side were hammered 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

    Setien, 61, was appointed in January after the club sacked two-time league winner Ernesto Valverde despite his side sitting top of the La Liga on goal difference.

    But after Barca were condemned to their heaviest defeat in European competition on Friday, Setien was also sacked after only seven months in charge.

    He oversaw the club’s first trophy-less season in 12 years.

    Barca finished second in La Liga behind champions Real Madrid and were knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage by Athletic Bilbao.

    “This is the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days,” added Barca’s statement on Setien.

    According to widespread Spanish media reports, Netherlands coach and former Barca defender Ronald Koeman is set to be named as Setien’s successor.

    The statement was released more than nine hours after president Josep Maria Bartomeu and directors had begun a board meeting.

    It also said the club’s hierarchy had decided against calling an election imminently in the wake of the defeat against Bayern Munich, as many fans and influential voices had demanded.

    “The board understand that an immediate call for elections is not feasible, given that the league season will begin on the weekend of Sept. 12, 2020, and the situation arising from the COVID-19 crisis – both economically and socially,” added the statement.

    “Consequently, the club will continue to implement the plan to reverse the sporting and economic situation, based on profound changes to the first team, plus a redefined budget to deal with the new situation caused by COVID-19, before the end of the current mandate.”

    As at Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna, FC Barcelona presidents are voted for by club members.

    Bartomeu won the last election, held in 2015, but is barred from running in the next round of elections as he has already served two consecutive mandates.

    He was named president in 2014 after the resignation of Sandro Rosell.

    Victor Font is the front-runner for the election, while former president Joan Laporta has also declared his intention to run.

  • Djokovic’s coach tests positive for COVID-19

    Djokovic’s coach tests positive for COVID-19

    Novak Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic has tested positive for coronavirus having previously returned two negative tests.

    Ivanisevic was the tournament director for the Adria Tour’s Croatian leg in Zadar, which saw its final cancelled after Grigor Dimitrov’s positive coronavirus case.

    The Covid-19 outbreak also saw Djokovic and wife Jelena test positive, as well as Borna Coric, Viktor Troicki, Dimitrov’s coach Chris Gro and Djokovic’s fitness coach Marko Paniki.

    Ivanisevic defended Djokovic, who apologised for holding the tournament, after the abandonment of the Adria Tour.

    “Everybody is smart now, and they are attacking Novak. He tried to do a great thing, a humanitarian thing. We were locked down for three months. He organized this tour,” Ivanisevic told the New York Times as he defended Djokovic.

  • Phil Neville to leave England women’s coaching role

    Phil Neville to leave England women’s coaching role

    England women’s head coach Phil Neville will leave the job in July 2021 at the end of his contract, the English Football Association (FA) said in a statement on Friday.

    Neville took the job in January 2018 and guided the team to the World Cup semi-finals in France last year.

    He was set to lead England in the Women’s Euros on home soil next year, as well as the British team at the Tokyo Olympics.

    Both events have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has shut down world sports.

    “In (the) light of the impact of current global events on the sports calendar and in the best interests of the England women’s team, both parties were in agreement that our shared priority was to ensure the Lionesses have continuity of coaching.

    “This is as we go into the home Euro and we look towards the 2023 World Cup,” FA director of women’s football Sue Campbell said.

    “Once football returns after this difficult period, Phil will continue his work with the Lionesses on the further development of his squad.

    “I will support him fully with that important task while moving forward with the crucial succession planning process.

    “We’ll now discuss next steps with the British Olympic Association and the home nations with regard to Team GB Football and we’re not in a position to make any further comment at this time.”

    Neville has struggled to get the best out of his players since the World Cup, with England losing seven of their last 11 games.

    Neville said he was looking forward to returning to work with the team as soon as possible.

    “We have a fantastic squad of players and there is plenty to work on as we look to progress as a team going into 2021,” the former Manchester United and England defender said.

  • Juve coach, players accept coronavirus pay freeze

    Juve coach, players accept coronavirus pay freeze

    Juventus’ players and manager Maurizio Sarri have agreed to their pay being stopped for four months to save the club an estimated 90m euros (£80.7m) during the coronavirus pandemic.

    All sport in Italy has been suspended until at least 3 April.

    The Juve squad, which includes Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey, will not be paid their full salaries in March, April, May and June.

    They top Serie A by a point from Lazio.

    Should football resume in the country, which has been the hardest hit by coronavirus in Europe, Juventus will look again at the situation “in good faith”.

    “Juventus would like to thank the players and the coach for their commitment at a difficult time for everyone,” said a statement by the club, champions of Italy for the past eight seasons.

  • Yobo doesn’t need experience to be Super Eagles coach – Bosso

    Yobo doesn’t need experience to be Super Eagles coach – Bosso

    President of Nigeria Football Coaches Association, says former Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo does not need coaching experience to succeed as Super Eagles assistant coach.

    Bosso made the assertion against the backdrop of raging criticism trailling the Nigeria Football Federation ‘s (NFF) recent appointment of Yobo as replacement for Imama Amapakabo, an assistant coach of Super Eagles.

    Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja, Bosso maintained that Yobo’s experience as a player and knowledge of the game would come even as he learns on the job.

    “Most of the Super Eagles players basically are based in Europe, he is used to those places, the Super Eagles players on ground will also give him respect because he’s an ex-international and has captained the team,” Bosso said.

    He said three basic criteria were required before appointing a national team coach, which include: playing experience, certification and work experience and Yobo ticks the first two boxes.

    According to him, there is no much coaching required at the Super Eagles level but more of coordinating, tactics and management of players.

    ” I can tell you that at the Super Eagles level, there is no much coaching, it’s mainly coordinating, tactics and management of players unlike in the age-grade teams,” he said.

    The former U-20 national coach called on fans and football stakeholders to support the Super Eagles technical crew led by Gernot Rohr as they seek to turn around the team.

    NAN reports that Yobo, 39, had 101 caps for the Super Eagles and featured in three World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments before retiring in 2014.

  • Montenegro fire Serbian coach over Kosovo qualifier boycott

    Montenegro fire Serbian coach over Kosovo qualifier boycott

    Montenegro have fired their Serbian coach, Ljubisa Tumbakovic, after he pulled out of Friday’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Kosovo, the country’s football association (FSCG) said on Saturday

    “The FSCG executive board made an unanimous decision to relieve Tumbakovic of his duties after he decided not to be in charge of the national team for the match.

    “Apart from being an unpleasant surprise, Tumbakovic’s move also constitutes a breach of his professional duties stipulated by his contract.

    “The executive board also regrets that pressure from certain circles resulted in players Filip Stojkovic and Mirko Ivanic also pulling out of the fixture.

    “Things which have nothing to do with sports, have defeated sports and football on this occasion.”, the FSCG said on its official website.

    Podgorica daily Vijesti suggested that pressure from fan groups from Serbia prompted Tumbakovic, as well as Stojkovic and Ivanic, who are both Serbian-born, to skip the match against Kosovo.

    None of the three were immediately available for comment.

    Kosovo, whose population is more than 90 percent ethnic Albanian, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and has since been recognised as a sovereign nation by more than 110 countries.

    A group of nations, including Serbia, China, five EU members and Russia, have refused to recognise it.

    The Group A match, played behind closed doors at Buducnost stadium after Montenegro were given a crowd ban for racist incidents in their 5-1 defeat by England at the same venue in March, ended in a 1-1 draw.