L’Equipe
Dutch FA opens talks with Louis van Gaal over return to national team
Louis van Gaal has moved a step closer to returning as Netherlands coach for a third time after meeting with Dutch football association officials to discuss the job, local media reported on Friday. The reports said the 69-year-old held talks at his home in Portugal on Thursday with KNVB directors Nico-Jan Hoogma and Eric Gudde, who are responsible for the choice of a new coach after Frank de Boer’s resignation. De Boer resigned after their Euro 2020 last-16 defeat to Czech Republic on June 27 and the KNVB said it would move swiftly to find a replacement, with the team set to resume their World Cup qualification campaign in September. Van Gaal, who officially retired in 2019 but stepped away from the game two years earlier after leaving Manchester United, had two previous spells at the helm...
PSG president: Super League didn’t have the interests of football at heart
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi says the Super League project was not in football’s best interests, insisting the Champions League must be protected. PSG were not among the 12 founding members of the competition, which pledged to break away from UEFA and compete with or replace the Champions League. The plan collapsed within days of its announcement, as football’s governing bodies and fan protests convinced nine clubs to pull out and Al-Khelaifi believes football is better off without the controversial idea. “Football has been around for years and years. The Super League did not have at heart to defend the interests of football,” he told AFP. “You can envisage changes but not break the tradition that every club can hope to achieve their dreams. “All teams must have the opp...
FIFA supremo urges restraint in punishing Super League clubs
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says he is not in favour of sanctions against the 12 clubs that tried to launch a European Super League, preferring “dialogue” on football reform. The plan to create a closed competition was “unacceptable” and “unimaginable”, the world football boss told French sports daily L’Equipe in an interview published on Wednesday. “Certain actions should have consequences, and everyone must assume their responsibilities,” said Infantino, who has publically joined the opposition to the project. “But you always have to be careful when you talk about sanctions. “It’s said quickly that you have to punish. It’s even popular — or populist — sometimes. “By punishing a club, for example, you are also punishing players, coaches and fans, who have nothing to do with it.” He sa...
Moses Simon makes Ligue 1 Team of Week
Moses Simon has earned his first selection this season in the French Ligue 1 Team of Week by L’Equipe after a superlative showing for FC Nantes. At the weekend, the Super Eagles winger scored a goal and provided an assist for Nantes to win 4-1 at Brest and boost their hopes of escaping relegation. He has now scored six goals in a very troubled campaign for ‘The Canaries’ during which they sacked two coaches. Nantes will be hoping for more from their Nigeria star to stay up with three rounds of matches to the end of the season. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards ...
Alexandre Lacazette pledges future to Arsenal amid Juventus links
Alexandre Lacazette has said that he has no intention of departing Arsenal while the club has an exciting future under boss Mikel Arteta. After taking over from Unai Emery midway through the 2019-20 campaign, Pep Guardiola’s former assistant at Manchester City has led the Gunners to FA Cup and Community Shield glory. While there has previously been speculation about the future of their France international forward, he has been happy to decisively push that to one side. “I’m at Arsenal. I signed a five-year contract to improve and win titles. I’ve got two years left and I’m determined to stay,” he said to L’Equipe. When asked if that is his final decision, he replied: “From me, yes.” Meanwhile, the 29-year-old has insisted that he knows nothing about links to the likes of Juventus and Atlet...
Neymar, Angel di Maria, Leandro contract coronavirus
Neymar has tested positive for Covid-19 alongside Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes. According to L’Equipe, they are the three unnamed players the club revealed had contracted the virus today. Neymar and Paredes have been holidaying on the party island Ibiza and the news plunges the club in crisis just eight days out from their first game of the season. The French champs have had an extended rest after they made it to the Champions League final in Lisbon. The Ligue 1 season started on August 21 but PSG is not due to play until they travel to Lens on Thursday, September 10. But that fixture could now be in jeopardy, with players to be tested regularly in the coming days. The Premier League has also been rocked by a surge of Covid-19 cases thought to be relate...
