Congolese club claimed glory in Africa’s premier women’s club competition but tournament struggled for crowds This certainly wasn’t on my bingo card. Coming into the fourth edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League, expectations were that the continental title would be retained by Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa or regained...
Khéphren Thuram on father Lilian: ‘It’s a beautiful thing – listening to him makes me grow’
The Juventus midfielder discusses his father’s activism, what Thierry Henry always told him and how Douglas Luiz views the challenge of facing Aston Villa “I don’t know if it was destiny,” says a beaming Khéphren Thuram over a video call from Turin, but all the same he can glimpse a...
Nostalgic Serie A five-a-side teams: picking a lineup for … Genoa
The club last won Serie A a century ago but modern-day icons, led up front by Diego Milito, deserve their place Stephen Kasiewicz for The Gentleman Ultra It is de rigueur to ignore the heroes of the past to focus on the stars of the present when selecting any all-time...
Carla Ward: ‘People hang on Emma Hayes’s every word, and rightly so – she’s the best’
The former Aston Villa manager on helping USA to Olympic glory, pushing herself to the limit and a return to the dugout Fully in “holiday mode”, Carla Ward had enjoyed a few drinks when the surprise phone call came from Emma Hayes. The USA head coach was asking her to...
Noah Lyles: ‘America has a winner’s mentality. That’s the good and the bad’
The Olympic 100m champion plays a starring role in the second season of Netflix documentary Sprint. And he is still as outspoken as ever Shortly after crossing the finish line in the 200m final at this summer’s Olympics, Noah Lyles collapsed to the ground out of breath. He lingered there,...
Frank Lampard edges closer to dugout return as Coventry’s next manager
Former Derby and Chelsea coach to replace Mark Robins ‘Next appointment is very important,’ says owner King Frank Lampard is closing on a return to management with Coventry, 18 months after exiting Chelsea. Lampard is expected to succeed Mark Robins, who was sacked after almost eight years in charge, with...
Mbappé finds rhythm in preferred position before Madrid visit Liverpool
Frenchman gets another chance to make his mark on the left after ending his mini-scoring drought “The story of my career,” Kylian Mbappé called it, which it wasn’t really and would make his career surprisingly average, but at least he was polite. A little political perhaps, too. After Real Madrid’s...
Can Daniel Jones be saved with the right team and offense?
The former Giants quarterback had his career in New York cut short. But that doesn’t mean he can’t reinvent himself elsewhere In each of the last three seasons, a quarterback who was highly drafted but did not initially fulfill started to flourish in a new location with the right offense...
David Coote: FA investigating claims referee discussed giving yellow card
FA says ‘very serious’ allegations being looked at urgently Coote denies wrongdoing, says his integrity not in doubt The Football Association is investigating allegations that the referee David Coote discussed giving a yellow card before a game. The allegations centre on an exchange of messages before and after Coote refereed...
Ilkay Gündogan describes Manchester City’s miserable form as ‘inexplicable’
City let slip three-goal lead at home to Feyenoord Guardiola issues statement after ‘self-harm’ reference A baffled Ilkay Gündogan described Manchester City’s form as “inexplicable” after they let a 3-0 lead with 75 minutes gone evaporate into a 3-3 draw against Feyenoord in Tuesday’s Champions League game at the Etihad....