Luis Enrique
Sergio Ramos to leave Real Madrid this summer
Real Madrid have confirmed that club captain Sergio Ramos will leave this summer. Ramos, 35, is out of contract at Real this summer, and had been expected to sign a new deal. The centre-back’s usual summer transfer dalliances with the likes of Manchester United have usually been a smokescreen to negotiate better terms at the Bernabeu. However, this time Ramos is officially on the lookout for a new club, with the defender leaving the team he has been with since 2005. Ramos arrived at the Bernabeu 16 years ago following a switch from Sevilla and went on to have a glittering career. He won five La Liga titles, four Champions League crowns as well as the Copa Del Rey twice. It was during his time in the Spanish capital that he also won the 2010 World Cup with Spain along with back-to-back Euro...
Euro 2020: Spain boss rues missed chances but defends game plan
Spain coach Luis Enrique rued missed chances from his side in their 0-0 European Championship draw with Sweden on Monday, insisting he will not be changing his style of play despite getting off to a disappointing start in the tournament. It was a familiar story for Spain, who enjoyed 85 per cent possession in Seville, the highest figure for a team in a European Championship fixture since 1980 when Opta started recording the data. “We were by far the better team, the opposition tried to hang back, we completely controlled the game and tried to generate as many chances as possible,” Luis Enrique told a news conference. “We were up against a physically strong team. We did have the chances to win the game. What went wrong was that we did not take these chances.” The Spain coach was also keen t...
IFFHS: Diego Simeone the best club coach of the decade
Diego Simeone’s consistency at Atletico Madrid has been rewarded. The International Federation of Football and History Stats (IFFHS) have put the Argentine ahead of managers like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. This will be talked about for a while. The IFFHS have voted Cholo Simeone as the best coach of the latest decade (2011-20). Ahead of Pep Guardiola (Man City) and Champions League winners like Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) and Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), who win three straight Champions Leagues, the IFFHS have gone for the Argentine’s consistency. After arriving at Atletico in 2011, he took a struggling Atleti to Champions League regulars. He has won 203 matches, drawn 118 and lost 82, as well as seven titles. A La Liga title, a Copa del Rey, two Europa Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and...
UEFA Nations League: France draw Belgium, Italy to face Spain in semi-finals
The draw for the UEFA Nations League finals has been conducted, with World Cup holders France set to square off against world number ones Belgium while hosts Italy face Spain next October. The European governing body rubber-stamped Milan and Turin as the cities set to welcome the second edition of the tournament’s showpiece last four event on Thursday, confirming that the Group 1A winners would be on home soil. Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri will welcome La Roja under the stewardship of Luis Enrique to San Siro on October 6, while Didier Deschamps’ Bleus will face Les Diables Rouges led by Roberto Martinez at Allianz Stadium a day later. The winners will then meet in Milan three days later on October 10, with the third-place play-off unfolding in Turin upon the same date. The second semi-final ...
Gareth Bale: Real Madrid blocked my return to Premier League
Gareth Bale has accused Real Madrid of making it “very difficult” to leave the Spanish club as the Wales forward looks to end his Bernabeu exile. Bale is out of favour with Real manager Zinedine Zidane and played just 48 minutes of Madrid’s 12 games when the Spanish season resumed after the coronavirus lockdown. Zidane, who has feuded with Bale throughout his two spells in charge, said the winger did not want to play in last season’s Champions League last-16 second-leg tie at Manchester City. Bale has two years left on his Real contract, but there appears little chance he will force his way into the manager’s plans. The 31-year-old almost joined Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning in 2019 before Real pulled the plug on the deal, a decision that still irks Bale. “I think the club needs...
