WARSAW: Kylian Mbappé appears ready to make his debut for Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said the France striker arrived in good shape following the European Championship and was adapting well to the team after a week of practice.
Mbappé “could play tomorrow,” Ancelotti said Tuesday at a news conference at the National Stadium in Warsaw where the match will be played.
The 25-year-old Mbappe is the biggest draw in the Polish capital after finally joining Madrid following a drawn-out saga with his former club, Paris Saint-Germain. He was introduced to the club’s fans at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last month but wasn’t part of the squad on their US tour while he rested after Euro 2024.
He joins a slew of world-class forward at Madrid, including Vinícius Júnior, another new signing in Brazil striker Endrick, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Arda Guler.
Ancelotti joked he had a “huge problem” and that thinking about who might play up front “has ruined my holidays.”
“The simplest thing,” the 65-year-old Ancelotti said, “is to know that good players are always going to play and are always going to bring something in.
“There are no problems for us because there are so many games. I can’t think I am going to have to count on the same 11 players for 70-something games.”
Asked whether Mbappé’s arrival had changed the atmosphere in the locker room, Ancelotti said through a translator: “It is a very clean, healthy atmosphere, the kind of atmosphere created by players who have been here like (the recently departed) Nacho Fernandez, Dani Carvajal, (Luka) Modric, (Federico) Valverde. There are no princes or kings here.”
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperino want all of Madrid’s superstars to play against his team.
“For me it is fundamental that the team play a good game without thinking about who is there and who isn’t,” Gasperini said.
“I hope the best play, because only with the strongest can you try to gain the maximum respect.”
The Italian team will start as the underdog, like they were before beating Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final to win the club’s first European title and first trophy in 61 years.
But Gasperini said Atalanta were not deterred.
“We come with our usual enthusiasm, our usual eagerness to try to impress,” he said.
The Super Cup is an annual match between the winners of last season’s Champions League and the second-tier Europa League.
Kylian Mbappé ready to make Real Madrid debut in UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta
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Kylian Mbappé ready to make Real Madrid debut in UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta
- Mbappé “could play tomorrow,” Ancelotti said
- Ancelotti joked he had a “huge problem” and that thinking about who might play up front “has ruined my holidays”
Tagovailoa urged to retire after latest concussion
MIAMI: Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa faced calls on Friday to retire from the NFL for his own health after suffering his third documented concussion.
Tagovailoa was taken out of the game in the third quarter after suffering his latest head injury as he dived into a tackle searching for a first down in Thursday’s 31-10 defeat at home to the Buffalo Bills.
The 26-year-old was down on the floor for several minutes after the hit from Bills safety Damar Hamlin but left under his own power, hobbling slightly as he talked to team staff.
The quarterback suffered two concussions — along with other scares — during a 2022 season which threw his future in the game into doubt.
But he played without any noticable issues throughout last season only to see the concerns return in week two of this campaign.
The concern is that with each concussion the risks grow of the kind of serious long term brain problems that have afflicted players in the past.
“That’s it... NFL, go ahead and do the right thing,” retired former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant wrote on X after the incident.
“Tua has had entirely way too many concussions. He needs to retire for his longevity health concerns,” he added.
Former Denver Broncos tight-end Shannon Sharpe, now a prominent television pundit, agreed that Tagovailoa should call it a day.
“Really hope Tua is ok, but he’s gotta seriously think about shutting it down,” said Sharpe on X.
“I hate saying this. His concussions are getting worse and worse, and he’s a young man with his entire life ahead of him,” he said.
On Friday, Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said if he were the player’s coach he would make it clear that he should quit.
“I’ll be honest, I would tell him to retire. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it,” he said, noting this was the third such concussion.
“It’s scary, you could see right away the players’ faces on the field, you could see the urgency to get Tua help,” he said.
But Tagovailoa’s actual coach, Mike McDaniel, said it was not the right moment for him to broach the subject of retirement.
“It would be so wrong of me to sniff that subject. It’s more in line with actually caring about the human being. You’re talking about his career. His career is his.... Bringing up his future is not in the best interests of him. I would plead with everyone that generally cares that that should be the last thing on his mind,” he said.
McDaniel said on Thursday, in the immediate aftermath of the injury, that evaluations of the injury and questions over Tagovailoa’s return should be left to medical experts.
Some have questioned whether Tagovailoa was wise to have leaned into the challenge rather than taking the safer option of sliding to avoid contact.
But JJ Watt said he couldn’t blame the quarterback from going as far as he could to make the first down.
“It is a bit of a double-standard in my opinion, everyone wants to see modern-day gladiators but they don’t want the guilt that comes along with it,” he said.
Messi set to return after two-month lay off
MIAMI: Lionel Messi is set to return to action with his club Inter Miami on Saturday after spending over two months out with an ankle injury, Miami coach Gerardo Martino said on Friday.
“Yes, he is fine,” Martino said before training Friday. “He trained (Thursday), he is in the plans for the game. After training we will figure out the strategy for him, but he is available,” added the Argentine.
Inter Miami, who lead the Eastern Conference and are top of the overall standings, host the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.
Messi injured his right ankle during the final of the Copa America on July 14 when he helped Argentina to victory over Colombia.
Since then he has missed eight MLS games for his club and this month’s World Cup qualifiers for his country.
“To get back the best player in the world to our team, which was already on a good run, we are all very happy with this situation,” said Martino.
Inter have already booked their place in the MLS Cup playoffs although their seeding will depend on how they finish the regular season which concludes on October 19.
The playoffs begin the following week and conclude with MLS Cup on December 7,
Miami’s Finnish winger Robert Taylor concurred said Messi’s return to training had given the team a boost.
“We’re already confident, but he gives us even more confidence now that he’s back training and hopefully he’s ready to play soon,” Taylor told the Miami Herald.
“He brings a lot of leadership. The way he’s competitive in training is really, really amazing to watch. He wants to win every little thing we do in training, whether it’s football tennis, rondos, small-sided games, he just wants to win everything. So that boosts everyone to try to match that level,” he said.
Taylor doesn’t expect to see any lasting impact of the injury on the record eight-times Ballon d’Or winner.
“Of course, two months is a long time, for anyone, but he’s the best player there is. So, I don’t think we’ll see much of a different Messi than we’ve seen before,” he added.
Australia smash England for 193 in 2nd T20
Cardiff, UK: Jake Fraser-McGurk top scored with 50 as Australia set England a demanding target of 194 to keep a their three-match T20 series alive in Cardiff.
England looked set for a chase in excess of 200 as the tourists made another rapid start with captain Travis Head smashing 31 off just 14 balls.
Australia were cruising along at 119-2 in the 13th over before Fraser-McGurk’s flashy innings came to an end when he was caught off the bowling of Liam Livingstone.
Just like in the opening game of the series, which Australia won by 28 runs, it was left to the English spin attacking to limit the damage.
Livingstone also took the wicket of Marcus Stoinis but was surprisingly given only three overs despite being the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2-16.
But Josh Inglis’ 42 off 26 balls put momentum back into the Aussie innings before Cameron Green and Aaron Hardie hit Sam Curran for 20 off the final over to post a total of 193/6.
Guardiola ‘happy’ Man City hearing finally set to start
- City face 80 breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018, plus a further 35 of failing to cooperate with a Premier League investigation
- “Start soon, and hopefully finish soon,” Guardiola said of the hearing at his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of Brentford’s trip to the Etihad
MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he is pleased that the club’s long-awaited hearing into 115 charges brought by the Premier League is set to start on Monday.
City face 80 breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018, plus a further 35 of failing to cooperate with a Premier League investigation.
The English champions stand accused of failing to provide accurate financial information between 2009 and 2018, including revenue from sponsors and salary details of managers and players.
City have vehemently denied any wrongdoing and Guardiola has backed his superiors when pressed about the charges in the past.
“Start soon, and hopefully finish soon,” Guardiola said of the hearing at his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of Brentford’s trip to the Etihad. “I am looking forward to the decision.
“I’m happy it’s starting on Monday. I know there will be more rumors, new specialists about the sentences.
“We’re going to see. I know what people are looking forward to, what they expect. I know what I read for many, many years. Everybody is innocent until guilt is proven. So we’ll see.”
If found guilty on some or all of the charges, City face a severe points deduction and possibly even expulsion from the Premier League.
The hearing is set to last at least two months, with a decision not expected until 2025.
The Premier League brought the charges in February 2023 but there has been a lengthy wait for the case to proceed before an independent commission.
In the meantime, City have lifted two more Premier League titles and the club’s first ever Champions League last year.
Since a 2008 takeover from Sheikh Mansour, a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family, City have been transformed into the dominant force in English football.
They have won eight of the last 13 Premier League titles, including a record four consecutive league crowns in the past four seasons.
Inter and AC Milan reject plan to renovate San Siro
- “The two clubs said no to the restructuring of San Siro proposed by (construction group) WeBuild,” Sala said after a meeting with officials of the two clubs
- The two clubs would, however, be ready to relaunch the initial project of a new stadium in the immediate vicinity of San Siro
The two clubs would, however, be ready to relaunch the initial project of a new stadium in the immediate vicinity of San Siro
MILAN: Inter and AC Milan on Friday rejected the project to modernize and restructure the iconic San Siro stadium which they share, city mayor Giuseppe Sala announced.
“The two clubs said no to the restructuring of San Siro proposed by (construction group) WeBuild,” Sala said after a meeting with officials of the two northern Italian clubs.
“They provided detailed analyzes of technical and economic feasibility and their conclusions are that this project cannot be carried out at a sustainable cost and that they do not wish to move in this direction.”
The two clubs would, however, be ready to relaunch the initial project of a new stadium in the immediate vicinity of San Siro, according to Sala.
“We are not starting from scratch on this subject, but there is resistance from local residents,” Sala pointed out.
“They must present us with a project within a fairly short time frame, but building stadiums in Italy is never easy, it is always very complex.”
To increase their commercial revenue both clubs, who have been crowned European champions 10 times between them, have announced that they wish to leave the San Siro, which is owned by the city of Milan.
Officially known as the Giuseppe-Maezza stadium, the 80,000 capacity San Siro is a spectacular concrete structure built in 1926 but which no longer meets their needs.
The two clubs also each have a stadium project in their pipeline.
Earlier this year AC Milan bought land in the suburb of San Donato Milanese, to the south-east of the city, as part of a plan to move away from the San Siro and outside the official boundaries of the city of Milan.
Reigning Serie A champions Inter have their sights set on the towns of Rozzano and Assago, just south of Milan, after having also sounded out the possibility of building on former industrial land in populous northern suburb Sesto San Giovanni.
In 2026, San Siro will host the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
It should also be the scene of the 2027 Champions League final, which according to the Italian press could be called into question amid the ongoing uncertainty over the stadium’s future.
