Harsh lessons learnt in Asia will serve Xavi well in dream job at Barcelona

Barcelona said on Saturday they had named former midfielder and captain Xavi Hernandez as head coach on a contract until 2024. (Reuters/File Photo)
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Updated 06 November 2021
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Harsh lessons learnt in Asia will serve Xavi well in dream job at Barcelona

  • Despite often dominating possession, the Spanish coach’s Al-Sadd team lost out in big games, especially against Al-Nassr, because of mistakes and lack of killer touch upfront

 

LONDON: One wonders whether the Barcelona officials who were in Qatar this week to finalize the deal to take Xavi — in his words — “back home,” watched Al-Sadd’s AFC Champions League games against Al-Nassr from April.

That was when the Saudi Arabians gave the new boss of the Blaugrana quite a lesson, perhaps the most important lesson he will take to Europe from his 30-month stint in Asia.

That is, possession may be acred for one brought up on the Barcelona way, but in Asia, just as in Europe, teams are increasingly happy to let you have the ball in areas that will not hurt them.

At the outset, Xavi’s Al-Sadd seemed to be holding all the trump cards.

Picture the scene. On the one side, you had the Spaniard’s team that had just clinched the Qatar Stars League championship in stunning fashion. Not a match had been lost in the 22-game domestic season and there was a goal difference of plus-63. Al-Sadd had stars such as Santi Cazorla, Algerian goal-machine Baghdad Bounedjah and Brazilian midfielder Guilherme, as well as much of the Qatari team that won the 2019 Asian Cup.

On the other was Al-Nassr. The Saudi Arabian team are one of Asia’s biggest but, as April dawned, were running far below the gear that Al-Sadd found themselves in. The Riyadh club had mixed results at home, which led to the hiring of Mano Menezes in the days leading up to the start of the Champions League. The former Brazil boss became the third coach in less than six months. 

With the expansion of the continental tournament from 32 teams to 40 this year, only the team that finished top of each of the 10 groups was guaranteed a place in the knockout stage, along with the six-best runners-up. Al-Sadd arrived in Riyadh as favorites and on the back of a 22-match unbeaten run, while Al-Nassr had lost their previous two games.

Both teams started with disappointing draws. Al-Wehdat were playing in their first Champions League game and the Jordanians were delighted to hold Al-Nassr to a 0-0 draw. Al-Sadd needed a late strike from Yusuf Abdurisag to earn a 1-1 draw with Iran’s Foolad. Then came the first big meeting between the two.

It went 3-1 to Al-Nassr. It was practically the first game for Menezes and he chose to allow Xavi’s men to have most of the ball, but in areas that did not pose much of a threat. The Yellows looked more incisive and with the running of Ali Al-Hassan and Abdulfattah Asiri and the loitering presence of Abderrazak Hamdallah in attack, the nine-time Saudi Pro League champions proved to be a threat on the counter — too much for the vulnerable Al-Sadd defense to handle.

“I think the result is unfair,” Xavi said after the game. “We deserve more than this result and at least a draw, considering the performance shown by the players and the many opportunities we missed, and I will not comment on the referee’s decision and the incorrect penalty kick.”

Again, a good performance, with plenty of territorial control, but no end result.

Al-Sadd looked good in parts but the defense never looked quite solid enough to keep out Al-Nassr. Perhaps so much dominance at home was not the best preparation for Asia against teams that came from more competitive leagues.

“We were good in the first 25 minutes in the second half, and we scored the equalizer and we were close to scoring the second, but there were some mistakes in defense because of which we conceded the second goal,” Xavi said. “Football is about mistakes, and in a strong match like this we must not make these mistakes, which cost us the match. We must focus on the upcoming matches.”

Al-Sadd seemed to have learned from the mistakes when winning the next three games. That meant a final-day showdown with Al-Nassr, less than three weeks after the first meeting. As group leaders, the Qatari champions needed just a point to progress while the Saudis had to collect all three. It was the first time for the 2010 World Cup winner to be in this situation as a coach. 

Al-Nassr worked well to put Al-Sadd under pressure, to deny the players the time and space they were accustomed to having at home where most teams sat back and hoped not to concede. Once again, there was some uncertainty at the back and Al-Nassr pressing led to a goalkeeping howler in the first half that led to Hamdallah’s opener. From that point the Qataris were chasing the game, lost their heads a little, and Al-Nassr always looked like getting the win that they eventually got. The Saudi Arabian team went through while Al-Sadd missed out by the tightest of margins.

“This is football,” Xavi said. “We went out of the Champions League because of one goal and we did not give our best, but we were not very bad. This is football, it has victories and defeats. We must accept it.”

These are the kinds of lessons that Xavi was looking for when he came to the Middle East, the kinds of lessons that, if heeded, will stand him in good stead for Barcelona. Despite all the games the former midfield maestro won in Qatar, it may well be that the twin losses against Al-Nassr may be more influential in his coaching career in Europe.


Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final

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Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final

  • Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final
  • Alcaraz won in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way
LONDON: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final.
Sunday’s matchup at Center Court between the No. 1-ranked Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz marks the first time the same two men faced off in the title matches on the clay at Roland-Garros and the grass at the All England Club in the same year since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did it in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, defeated Sinner, a 22-year-old from Italy, in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris on June 8, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way.
That made Alcaraz 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, including victories in 2023 and 2024 at Wimbledon.
He also carries a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday and has beaten Sinner five times in a row.
Sinner owns three major trophies and will be playing in his fourth consecutive Slam final — but first at the All England Club.
He won the US Open last September and the Australian Open this January.
Sinner has been wearing tape and an arm sleeve to protect his right elbow since falling in the opening game of his fourth-round win on Monday. After eliminating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Sinner said he doesn’t think his elbow will be an issue on Sunday.
Play is scheduled to begin Sunday at 4 p.m. local time, which is 11 a.m. ET.
Sinner was listed Saturday as the slight money-line favorite at -110 by BetMGM Sportsbook, with Alcaraz at -105.

Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final

Updated 13 July 2025
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Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final

  • The US president is attending the final of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday

BEDMINSTER, United States: Donald Trump will on Sunday showcase his unexpected attachment to a sport in which “America First” remains a dream, for now.
The US president is attending the final of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup in his latest use of the beautiful game as a soft power political weapon.
His appearance at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, where Paris Saint-Germain face Chelsea, is very much a trial run for the World Cup final, which will take place in the same stadium next year.
Trump has made it clear he sees both tournaments, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as showpieces for what he calls the “Golden Age of America” during his second term.
The billionaire Republican’s close friendship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a frequent visitor to the White House, is also a factor in his appearance.
Trump has kept the Club World Cup trophy next to his desk in the Oval Office since Infantino dropped by in March.
But Trump’s embrace of football, or soccer as he would say, is also personal.
The president’s 19-year-old son Barron is a fan, as Infantino pointed out in a press conference at FIFA’s new office in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday.
Asked if Trump liked the game, Infantino replied: “Well I think he does. In his first term as president of the United States there was a soccer goal in the garden of the White House.
“He then explained to me that his son loved football, and that he loved the game. And of course when you are a parent, you love what your children love, so I think that he loves it.”
As a student at the New York Military Academy, Trump himself also reportedly played the game for a season.
Trump’s apparent fondness for football may seem unusual for a country where, despite growing popularity, the sport still lags behind American football, basketball and baseball.
The former reality TV star has, however, always had an eye for popularity, power and influence. And football in its own way brings all three.
Trump pointed out when Infantino visited the White House in March that the United States won the right to host the 2026 World Cup in 2018, during his first term as president.
He said he was “so sad” because he assumed he would not be president when the tournament came around — but his 2020 election loss meant that he would after all.
The FIFA Club World Cup has meanwhile proved more successful than its critics predicted, with around 2.5 million people attending games across the country and some gripping games.
Infantino, who is no stranger to dealing with hard-nosed leaders around the world, thanked Trump for his support on Saturday.
He said Trump “embraced immediately the importance of the FIFA Club World Cup, and of course of the World Cup next year.”
Infantino also joked that Trump “certainly loves as well the trophy” — whose gold-plated curves match the gilded makeover that the president has given the Oval Office.
But in typical form Trump has also mixed political controversy with his football fandom.
Hosting Italian side Juventus in the Oval Office in June, he delivered a diatribe on transgender people in sports before asking the players: “Could a woman make your team, fellas?“
Most of the players looked bemused before Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied: “We have a very good women’s team.”
“He’s being very diplomatic,” said Trump.
Trump’s hard-line immigration crackdown — part of his “America First” policy — has meanwhile sparked fears that football fans will be discouraged from coming to the United States.
In May, Vice President JD Vance said that 2026 World Cup fans were “welcome to come... but when the time is up they will have to go home.”


Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville

Updated 13 July 2025
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Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville

  • Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville

MIAMI: Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville.
Just days after he became the first player to score multiple goals in four straight MLS matches, Messi did it again as Miami continued their climb up the Eastern Conference standings after their league hiatus for the Club World Cup.
Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a trademark left-foot free-kick, which found the only gap in Nashville’s defensive wall to go past goalkeeper Joe Willis.
Miami dominated in the first half but, just four minutes after half-time, Hany Mukhtar’s header pulled Nashville level.
Messi grabbed the winner in the 62nd minute when he capitalized on a bad mistake from Willis, who misjudged a pass to tee up the Argentine for the strike.
The two goals — on the heels of his two in a 2-1 win over New England on Wednesday — took Messi’s total to 16 in 16 appearances this season, tied with Nashville’s Sam Surridge, who was unable to add to his tally of 16 on Saturday.
“There are not many words. It’s incredible what he keeps doing, breaking records now every three days, not even every weekend,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said.
“He is the standard-bearer of our team that shows us the way to compete. He is the leader.
“It’s a blessing for me to accompany this stage of his career.”
Miami were playing their third match since returning to MLS action in the wake of a month-long Club World Cup campaign that ended when they were eliminated in the last 16 by Paris Saint-Germain.
With 38 points from 19 matches, they are in fifth place in the East, five points behind leaders Philadelphia with three games in hand.
Philadelphia went top with a 2-0 victory over New York Red Bulls, Indiana Vassilev and Bruno Damiani delivering the goals.
Cincinnati slipped to second in the East on 42 points after falling 4-2 to Columbus. Nashville and Columbus both have 41 points.
Miami’s jam-packed schedule continues Wednesday against Cincinnati, with the New York Red Bulls coming up next weekend.
Mascherano knows he will have to find time to give the 38-year-old Messi some rest.
“At some point we are going to have to find a space to give him some rest, we are going to talk about it day by day,” he said.
“He is feeling good and when we think it is time to give him some rest, we will do it.”


Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis

Updated 13 July 2025
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Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis

  • The English fighter moved up in weight to make his debut at super middleweight and showed he has plenty of power for it
  • In the co-main event, Shakur Stevenson remained undefeated and defended his WBC lightweight title with a dominant performance, beating William Zepeda

NEW YORK: Hamzah Sheeraz punctuated the first boxing card held on the grounds of the US Open tennis tournament by stopping Edgar Berlanga in the fifth round Saturday night.
The English fighter moved up in weight to make his debut at super middleweight and showed he has plenty of power for it, dropping Berlanga twice in the fourth round and then pouncing quickly to start the fifth before referee David Fields stopped the fight.
Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) has been touted as a potential opponent for 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez and would not only deserve it but have a chance to win if if he looked as good as he did against Berlanga (23-2), who had boasted that he would have an easy night.
In the co-main event, Shakur Stevenson remained undefeated and defended his WBC lightweight title with a dominant performance, beating William Zepeda by unanimous decision.
One judge favored Stevenson 119-109, while the other two had it 118-110 for the 2016 Olympic silver medalist.
Stevenson (24-0) won just before Berlanga and Sheeraz fought in the final bout of the night in Louis Armstrong Stadium, the No. 2 venue at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
But it was a main event-level performance from Stevenson and the first wide victory of the night after the previous two bouts were close right to the finish.
Zepeda (33-1) landed a left hand shortly after the opening bell that drew a smile from the champion, and he was able to get inside a number of times to unload a series of shots at Stevenson. But he was often powerless to stop the flurries that were coming back at him from Stevenson’s hand speed that is up at the top of boxing.
The Ring Magazine held its second fight card in New York after staging one in Times Square in May. Tickets weren’t sold then and just a few hundred people were able to see it, creating an atmosphere where the scene was impressive but the sounds were almost non-existent, leaving fighters to say it felt like a sparring session.
This time, seats were sold and many were occupied well into the second deck of the 14,000-seat stadium, which had its retractable roof closed to create comfortable conditions on a humid day.
And the fans saw good action early in a brilliant performance from Stevenson, who has been criticized at times for a style that that seems too dependent on avoiding pain and not dishing it out.
But he seemed happy to trade Saturday and most times came out ahead when he did.
Zepeda did trap Stevenson in a corner to score with some shots in the third round, bringing his Mexican fans out of their seats, but many other times Stevenson’s quick head movement allowed him to dodge potential trouble. By the middle of the fight, Stevenson was firing off two, three, sometimes four unreturned shots
There was a title change in the previous fight, when Subriel Matias (23-2) edged Alberto Puello (24-1) by majority decision to take the WBC’s 140-pound belt.
Before that, Cuban David Morrell (12-1) got up from a fifth-round knockdown to rally late and edge Imam Khataev (10-1) by split decision in a light heavyweight bout.


Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s

Updated 13 July 2025
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Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s

LONDON: England and India accused each other of sharp practice after Zak Crawley’s conduct at Lord’s on Saturday drew an angry reaction from visiting captain Shubman Gill.
India ought to have been able to bowl two overs late in the third day’s play of the third Test after being dismissed for 387 — exactly level with England’s first-innings total.
Crawley, however, ensured there were only six deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps by twice withdrawing from his stance and then calling for the physio after the fifth ball appeared to make only minimal contact with his glove.
Tempers flared as it became evident India would not be able to bowl another over before the close, with host broadcaster Sky Sports issuing an on-air apology after a stump microphone picked up Gill swearing angrily at Crawley.
Crawley and Gill jabbed fingers at each other as they exchanged choice words, with Ben Duckett, England’s other opener, also getting involved.
Tim Southee, England’s bowling consultant, suggested Gill was guilty of double standards after delaying the end of the hosts’ innings to receive treatment on the second day, while India all-rounder Washington Sundar also held up proceedings for what appeared to be a comfort break while batting.
“I’m not sure what they were complaining about when Gill was lying down getting a massage in the middle of the day yesterday,” Southee told reporters after stumps on Saturday.
“It’s obviously part of the game. It’s always exciting to see both sides animated toward the end and it was an exciting way to finish the day. It was good to see energy from both sides.”
The former New Zealand paceman, asked about Crawley’s fitness, gave a deadpan reply by saying: “He’ll be assessed overnight. Hopefully he’ll be alright to carry on tomorrow .”
India opener KL Rahul, who scored his 10th Test century and second at Lord’s on Saturday, was far from shocked by Crawley’s behavior.
“Two overs is a no-brainer with six minutes to go,” he said. “But it was a bit of theatrics at the end.
“I know exactly what was going on; everyone knows exactly what was going on. But an opening batter will understand completely what happened in the last five minutes.”
Meanwhile, former England captain turned BBC pundit Michael Vaughan had no qualms about the flare-up.
“It’s as good a piece of time-wasting as I’ve ever seen,” he said. “India can’t complain because yesterday Gill was down with the hamstring strain... But what great drama and what a great day.”