DOHA: As the Netherlands return to the World Cup after missing out in 2018 they will be led by Virgil van Dijk, who has grown into one of the game’s best defenders.
Runners-up in 1974, 1978 and 2010, the Netherlands came within a penalty shootout of reaching a fourth World Cup final in 2014 when Louis van Gaal’s squad defied expectations to make the semifinals.
The straight-talking Van Gaal is back for a third stint in charge of the national team, courageously coming out of retirement while receiving treatment for aggressive prostate cancer.
The 71-year-old underwent 25 bouts of radiotherapy, including during training camps with the national team, and watched from a wheelchair following a bike accident as the Dutch qualified for Qatar last November.
Van Gaal, christened the ‘Iron Tulip’ in his homeland for his authoritarian style, overlooked a young Van Dijk for the 2014 finals, but the Liverpool center-back has since developed into the steel backbone around which the team is built.
Van Dijk also missed out on Euro 2020 last year after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.
So remarkably, through a combination of circumstance and misfortune, only now is the 31-year-old set to appear at his first major international tournament.
“We have to believe in our qualities and ourselves and be confident,” Van Dijk said.
“We have a fantastic manager, an experienced manager. We have players who play at the highest level, the biggest clubs in the world.”
Van Dijk’s emergence coincided with a transitional period for the Dutch, who failed to qualify for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.
The Oranje suffered a disappointing last-16 exit at Euro 2020 without the injured Van Dijk, but they are unbeaten in 15 games since the reappointment of Van Gaal in August 2021.
“We have experience, we have talent, we have a good mixture. First and foremost we have team spirit — I think that’s the start to the key to success,” said Van Dijk.
“It’s not guaranteed success of course but it’s a good way to start and we’re looking forward to the first game.”
Van Dijk became the world’s most expensive defender when Liverpool signed him for £75 million from Southampton in January 2018.
Liverpool finished runners-up to Real Madrid in the Champions League a few months later, but the Reds got their hands on European club’s football biggest prize the following season.
Van Dijk lost out on the 2019 Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi by a handful of votes but earned the recognition of his peers by winning the English PFA Players’ player of the year prize.
He played every minute during the Covid-interrupted 2019-20 campaign as Liverpool ended a 30-year wait for the English title, only for injury to then strike him down.
Van Dijk chose to give himself time to fully heal instead of rushing back for Euro 2020, but he has made up for lost time as evidenced by a recent report by global players’ union FIFPro.
It showed Van Dijk had played the most minutes of those analyzed — 7,597 in 78 games — between July 12, 2021 and October 24 this year.
The report highlighted the unprecedented demands posed by a mid-season World Cup, but in Qatar Van Dijk at least will finally get his chance on the biggest stage.
“It’s going to be a very big one against the African champions,” he said of Monday’s Group A opener against a Senegal side missing star man Sadio Mane, a close friend of Van Dijk’s.
“I’m very sad for him that he’s going to miss the tournament,” said Van Dijk. “I’m definitely going to miss seeing him out there.
“(But) we’ll do everything in our power to get a good result and start our World Cup in the best way possible.”
Van Dijk ready to lead resurgent Dutch at World Cup
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Van Dijk ready to lead resurgent Dutch at World Cup
- The straight-talking Van Gaal is back for a third stint in charge of the national team
- "We have to believe in our qualities and ourselves and be confident," Van Dijk said
Former Germany midfielder Mesut Özil retires at 34
- Özil said injuries played a role in his decision
- His immediate retirement brings an early end to his season with Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir
ISTANBUL: Former Germany midfielder Mesut Özil, who won the World Cup in 2014, retired from soccer Wednesday at the age of 34.
Özil said injuries played a role in his decision.
“I’ve had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity,” Özil wrote on social media. “But in recent weeks and months, having also suffered some injuries, it’s become more and more clear that it’s time to leave the big stage of football.”
His immediate retirement brings an early end to his season with Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir, where he made only seven appearances for the team.
Özil won the Spanish league title with Real Madrid in 2012 and the FA Cup four times with Arsenal. His international career ended abruptly in 2018 when he quit the Germany squad citing “racism and disrespect.”
That followed anti-Turkish comments from German politicians and abuse from some fans toward Özil, who has Turkish heritage, amid criticism of his decision to pose for a picture with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup.
Özil started his career in Germany with hometown club Schalke before a good spell at Werder Bremen earned him a spot on the German national team. Standout performances for Germany at the 2010 World Cup were followed by a move to Madrid. He then had an eight-year stint with Arsenal.
Özil moved to Turkish club Fenerbahce in 2021 after his relationship with Arsenal broke down. He was left out of the Arsenal squad for months before his departure following a rift with manager Mikel Arteta. The club also distanced itself from Özil for posting his support for Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China, comments which led to an Arsenal game being pulled from Chinese television.
Mallorca bans fan who racially insulted Vinícius Júnior
- The fan, reportedly a 20-year-old Mallorca season ticket holder, is accused of calling Real Madrid forward Vinícius and Villarreal midfielder Chukwueze a monkey
- Spain’s anti-violence commission has already proposed a fine of $4,300 and a 12-month ban from stadiums for the fan
MADRID: Spanish club Mallorca handed the fan who racially insulted players Vinícius Júnior and Samu Chukwueze a three-year ban from club membership on Tuesday.
The fan, reportedly a 20-year-old Mallorca season ticket holder, is accused of calling Real Madrid forward Vinícius and Villarreal midfielder Chukwueze a monkey in separate Spanish league games this year. Both Vinicius and Chukwueze are Black.
Spain’s anti-violence commission has already proposed a fine of 4,000 euros ($4,300) and a 12-month ban from stadiums for the fan, who may also face criminal charges. He was identified by club security officials.
“RCD Mallorca are against all xenophobic manifestations and will continue to work actively to eradicate this scourge,” said the club, whose president is American Andy Kohlberg.
Vinícius was also insulted after the Mallorca match when he stopped to pose for photos and sign autographs for fans.
The Brazilian has been subjected to insults since arriving in Spain five years ago, though little has been done to punish fans.
Valladolid recently suspended 12 season ticket holders while investigating their alleged verbal abuse of Vinícius.
The first trial against a fan who racially insulted a player in Spain is expected to begin this year following remarks by an Espanyol supporter against Athletic Bilbao forward Iñaki Williams a few years ago.
The Spanish league has filed several complaints to authorities for racist insults or chants against Vinícius, with some of them being shelved by prosecutors.
The league has also increased the number of overseers at matches to try to identify perpetrators, especially when Vinícius plays.
Authorities have yet to find those responsible for hanging Vinícius’ effigy from a bridge in Madrid before the derby against Atletico Madrid earlier this year.
The attacks against Vinícius increased after he began celebrating his goals by dancing.
Navratilova reveals she is ‘cancer-free’ after double diagnosis
- The former world number one revealed in January she had been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer
- Navratilova, winner of 59 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles, revealed her diagnosis had left her fearing the worst
LONDON: Martina Navratilova has revealed she is now “cancer-free” after the tennis great feared she “may not see next Christmas” following a devastating double diagnosis.
The former world number one, who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles during her long career, revealed in January she had been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.
The 66-year-old is due to undergo further preventative radiation treatment but said in an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV she should then “be good to go.”
“As far as they know I’m cancer-free,” she said in the interview due to be aired later on Tuesday, excerpts of which were reported in the British press.
Navratilova, winner of 59 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles, revealed her diagnosis had left her fearing the worst.
“I was in a total panic for three days thinking I may not see next Christmas,” she said.
“The bucket list came into my mind of all the things I wanted to do. And this may sound really shallow, but I was like, ‘OK, which kick-ass car do I really want to drive if I live like a year’?’“
Navratilova, who previously underwent treatment for early-stage breast cancer in 2010, sought medical help after noticing an enlarged lymph node in her neck, with tests subsequently confirming she had cancer.
She added: “This was the first week in December, (I’m thinking) I will see this Christmas but maybe not the next one.”
But doctors were able to tell her the throat cancer was “extremely treatable” and she had a “95-percent” chance of a full recovery.
Navratilova, a Czechoslovakia-born naturalized American, brought a new physical dimension to women’s tennis, with her powerful serve and agility at the net making her the dominant player of her era.
She won her first Wimbledon singles title in 1978 and went on to lift the trophy a record nine times — more than any other player in the men’s or women’s game.
Navratilova retired after winning the mixed doubles with Bob Bryan at the 2006 US Open shortly before her 50th birthday and has become a sought-after pundit.
Away from the courts, she has become an ardent defender of the LGBTQ cause. In 2014, she married her long-time partner Julia Lemigova.
Rashid Khan to lead strong Afghanistan squad for Pakistan series in Sharjah
- Afghanistan Cricket Board says it has selected the best available players for the T20 series
- The first bilateral series between the two neighbors will be played from March 24 to 27
KABUL: Wily spinner Rashid Khan will lead a strong 17-man Afghanistan squad in the Twenty20 international series against Pakistan starting in Sharjah this week, selectors announced Tuesday.
The three-match series, the first bilateral between the neighbors, will be played in Sharjah on March 24, 26 and 27.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive Naseeb Khan said the best available players had been chosen.
“Our team has been working hard in training camp and selectors have selected the best available players for the series,” he said in a press release.
“I am confident that our team will perform at their best and make our nation proud.”
Former captain Mohammad Nabi, who stepped down after the Twenty20 World Cup in November, is also part of the squad.
Dashing opener Hazratullah Zazai and middle-order batter Rahmat Shah have been dropped from the squad.
Left-handed opener Sediqullah Atal has been added, and could make his debut for Afghanistan in the series.
Squad: Rashid Khan (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq.
Arsenal to face Rooney-coached MLS All Star team in July
- The game will be played at Audi Field in Washington D.C., the home stadium of Rooney’s D.C. United club
WASHINGTON: Arsenal will take on an MLS select team coached by former England striker Wayne Rooney, in the annual All Star game on July 19, the league said on Tuesday.
The game will be played at Audi Field in Washington D.C, the home stadium of Rooney’s D.C. United club.
Arsenal had previously featured in the MLS All Star game in 2016 and the game will be part of their pre-season preparations.
“Our US tour last summer was very good preparation for the season, and we’re looking forward to once again visiting our amazing supporters in the US,” said Gunners manager Mikel Arteta.
“The match against the MLS All-Stars will be a good test ahead of the 2023-24 season.”
The All Star game has traditionally pitted an MLS select XI against top clubs from the European game but the past two editions have been matches against Mexican Liga-MX select sides.
The match will be broadcast globally via Apple TV as part of MLS’s new deal with the platform.
