LONDON: The man who helped underpin much of Liverpool’s success under Jurgen Klopp is returning to oversee the restructuring of the English club when the German manager leaves at the end of the season.
Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s former sporting director, will take up the role of “chief executive of football” at Fenway Sports Group — the US-based conglomerate whose portfolio of sports teams includes Liverpool.
His tasks will include hiring a sporting director at Liverpool who will be responsible for identifying a replacement for Klopp, who said in January that he will be stepping down after nearly nine years as manager. Among those linked with the upcoming vacancy is Xabi Alonso, who currently coaches German league leader Bayer Leverkusen and used to play for Liverpool.
Edwards will also oversee FSG’s purchase of another soccer club, he said in a statement published by FSG, which also owns the Boston Red Sox.
Edwards left Liverpool in 2022 after an 11-year association with the team, which included time as sporting director from 2015-22 when he oversaw the signings of Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker, and Virgil van Dijk. Klopp, who joined in late 2015, has led Liverpool to the Premier League and Champions League titles in that period, as well as multiple domestic cups.
Edwards has rejected numerous offers to return to soccer after leaving Liverpool and has been doing consultancy work with sports advisory firm Ludonautics. FSG said Edwards will no longer be working for Ludonautics.
FSG President Mike Gordon described Edwards as “one of the most formidable executive talents in world football.”
“He returns to us in a role with greater seniority than he held previously and with a wider remit,” Gordon said. “It was clear when we initially reached out to him that a broader scope would be a key motivating factor for any potential return to the industry. In this regard — and many others — his ambitions matched ours.”
Edwards replaces Gordon as FSG’s day-to-day decision maker on all soccer matters and said one of the biggest factors in agreeing to return was “the commitment to acquire and oversee an additional club, growing this area of their organization.”
“I believe that to remain competitive, investment and expansion of the current football portfolio is necessary,” Edwards said.
Liverpool’s restructuring in the post-Jurgen Klopp era will be overseen by Michael Edwards
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Liverpool’s restructuring in the post-Jurgen Klopp era will be overseen by Michael Edwards
- Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s former sporting director, will take up the role of “chief executive of football”
- His tasks will include hiring a sporting director at Liverpool
Neres’ double leads Napoli to Super Cup glory in Riyadh
- Napoli defeats first-time participants Bologna in Italian Super Cup final at Al-Awwal Park
- In semifinals Napoli beat AC Milan, while Bologna edged Inter Milan on penalties
RIYADH: It was a night to remember for David Neres. Arriving in Riyadh on Monday looking to cement a regular starting role, the Brazilian winger delivered in emphatic fashion by scoring twice to lead Napoli to the title and win the Man of the Match award.
Neres, who netted his first brace for the club a month ago against Atalanta in Serie A, will have given Napoli’s coaching staff plenty to think about after his decisive performances in the four-team tournament.
Napoli were made to work for their breakthrough. Bologna kept them at bay for the opening half hour, with Neres and Rasmus Hojlund managing to break past the lines on more than one occasion, only to be denied by Torborjn Heggem and Jhon Lucumi.
Semifinal hero Federico Ravaglia’s composure was on show as he protected Bologna between the posts, but he was finally beaten in the 39th minute by a moment of quality, as Neres curled his strike into the corner to give Napoli the lead.
Napoli maintained control after the break, showcasing their passing combinations in front of the energetic Riyadh crowd while searching for a second.
That goal arrived in the 57th minute, with Neres once again at the heart of it. The winger won possession from Lucumi on the edge of the box before clipping it over Ravaglia to extend Napoli’s lead.
Neres also came centimeters away from completing a hat-trick, racing forward on the counter following a through-ball to Hojlund, but the latter’s pass across the box proved a tad too powerful for the Brazilian to convert.
When Neres was withdrawn 15 minutes later, the stadium rose to applaud his performance because he carried Napoli to their first Super Cup title in over a decade.
Napoli nearly added a third, when in the 87th minute Matteo Politano was found right in front of the open net only to lift his effort narrowly over the crossbar.
The victory, Napoli’s maiden triumph in Riyadh, represents their third Italian Super Cup title, following previous triumphs in 1990 and 2014. It was a fitting moment of redemption after their injury-time defeat to Inter Milan at Al-Awwal Park in the 2023 final.
The game was the sixth Italian Super Cup hosted in the Kingdom, with Napoli becoming the fourth winner after Juventus (2018, 2019), Inter Milan (2022, 2023) and AC Milan (2024/25).
