List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has admitted goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher needs to leave Liverpool this summer if he is to fulfil his potential. The 24-year-old will meet up with his international colleagues ahead of the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar later this month and resume his battle with Gavin Bazunu for the role of Ireland’s number one. However, the man who played in the Reds’ 2022 Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea is still firmly in the shadow of Brazilian star Alisson Becker at Anfield and made just four club appearances for his club last season, and Kenny expects him to seek pastures new before the new campaign gets under way. He said: “I would fully expect that. It’s not right normally to speak about a player moving, but he’s at the stage where he’s behind probably one of the best goalkeepers in the world and it’s not going to get any easier. “He can’t afford not playing. He knows that and he’s known that for a while. It’s not easy. There’s a process you go through with a club like that and I think and it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to move in the summer, and he knows that. “I think he’s ready to go and play regularly because he needs to. It’s hard to leave Liverpool, it’s such an iconic club, but he’s not so young now. He’s 24 and he needs to play and he knows that.” Kenny faces something of a conundrum with his keepers, with Kelleher, Bazunu and Mark Travers all at Premier League clubs, but struggling for regular football. Bazunu, 21, lost his place at Southampton as they fought, ultimately unsuccessfully, to stave off relegation, although his international manager is optimistic his confidence will not be affected by that experience. Kenny said: “He’s done remarkable, really, in a short career, Gavin as well. For one so young, he’s done remarkably well. He’s always looked very confident playing for us.” Full-back Matt Doherty is another man who has been starved of football this season having made just two brief appearances as a substitute for Atletico Madrid since joining them from Tottenham in January. Kenny said: “I’m sure when he took that move, he knew he would find it hard for games, but he thought he would play an amount of games, for sure. He couldn’t have envisaged that he wouldn’t play at all. That was frustrating for him and tough mentally to deal with.” Kenny has been forced to omit Rotherham striker Chiedozie Ogbene from his 25-man squad for the games against Greece in Athens on June 16 and Gibraltar in Dublin three days later after he failed to recover from a hamstring injury. However, 18-year-old Brighton counterpart Evan Ferguson will report for a nine-day training camp in Antalya full of confidence at the end of his breakthrough season. Kenny said: “He’s taken everything in his stride, he’s a single-minded individual and nothing has fazed him. He seems to be able to adapt to whatever the occasion demands.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fiorentina aim to take out frustration on West Ham in Conference League final Cameron Norrie hoping to have Jon Bon Jovi’s support at Wimbledon Ireland dig in after England seamer Stuart Broad rips through top order

Fiorentina will look to take their Coppa Italia frustrations out on West Ham in next week’s Europa Conference League final. The Viola, seeking a first major trophy since 2001, have reached two finals this season but missed their first opportunity to end that wait for silverware when they were beaten 2-1 by Inter Milan last week, with Lautaro Martinez’s brace cancelling out an early Nicolas Gonzalez strike. That has added to Fiorentina’s motivation going into Wednesday’s final against the Hammers in Prague on Wednesday. Goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano, speaking to Sky Sports Italia at a media day on Thursday, said: “We must face all games in the best way knowing that the final is very important for us and the city. It’s the game of the season in Prague. “It will be different from the Coppa Italia final. We’ll face a different opponent. But we played a great game against Inter and I am sure the same will happen with West Ham. This is our certainty, we’ll give our all to win the trophy.” Coach Vincenzo Italiano said the key to success would be cutting out the mistakes that cost Fiorentina against Inter. “We’ve had a great season, and we deserved the chance to play for this trophy, we are aware of our strength but we know that every error makes the difference in a final,” said Italiano. “Every detail matters and we want to give joy to our fans.” Fiorentina sit ninth in Serie A going into their final league fixture away to Sassuolo on Friday night, before all attention turns to West Ham. Asked about David Moyes’ side, Italiano said: “They haven’t done well in the league, but they have a very competitive team with top-class players and a competent coach. We must focus on ourselves and be free in our minds.” For last week’s goalscorer Gonzalez, losing to Inter is not the only disappointment he has endured this season. The 25-year-old midfielder has been capped 22 times by Argentina but missed out on their World Cup squad, watching on from home as his team-mates lifted the trophy in Qatar. Wednesday’s final gives him a much-needed opportunity to win a medal himself. “We are experiencing so many emotions, I am happy to have reached two finals,” he said. “We lost the first one, but now there is another big game and we want to win. “Some things hurt me last year, especially not going to the World Cup. I wasn’t fit, but some thought it was a fake injury. I never did it, I always want to be 100 per cent when I play football. We have 90 minutes and we want to make the difference.”

There is set to be a coronation at in Glasgow this weekend but when the celebrations die down, the message from Ange Postecoglou will remain the same. The only difference is whether that message stays with Celtic, or goes elsewhere. Tottenham are circling. A decision looms. Amid a party of green and white, Postecoglou would be forgiven for taking a sweeping look at what he has built in the two years since he arrived at Celtic Park unheralded, second-choice and without a previous position in European football. The doubters have long since been silenced by the ties that have been forged between fans and manager, and a team constructed in Postecoglou’s image that is blazing a trail towards one of the most successful seasons in the club’s history. But then, with a sharp, gruff bark, Celtic will snap into action in the manner the Australian demands, powered on by the gems he has helped unearth. Celtic play with ferocity, fuelled by the defiance of a manager who has taken an unwanted hand and produced a team that not only sweeps aside all before it domestically, but excites and enthrals while doing so. Postecoglou lives by the ethos that football should be that way, and a philosophy that a club should give back to its people. In Glasgow, Celtic fans love him for it - it helps, too, that a second consecutive league title has been sealed and a domestic treble is likely to follow in Saturday’s Scottish Cup final. Such success for Celtic is nothing new given their dominance over the past decade, but this side stands for something more. One may argue that Celtic’s 11th title in 12 seasons is a reflection of woeful lack of competitiveness of the Scottish top-flight, but that has been the case for some time and Postecoglou’s side have elevated the standard. Under Postecoglou, Celtic are a vision of breathless, attacking football. The defence of their Premiership title was sealed with four games to spare but it has felt like a one-horse race since they thrashed Rangers 4-0 in September. While Rangers have regressed, sacking Giovanni van Bronckhorst midway through the season, now unconvincing under Michael Beale, Celtic’s improvement has been relentless. It’s what Postecoglou promised as he stood on the pitch at Celtic Park after lifting his first Premiership title last May, and his team have delivered. “We never stop”, is the ethos that rings around Celtic these days, set by Postecoglou when he walked through the door in the summer of 2021. The club needed energy and drive but the situation Postecoglou inherited was unenviable. That may sound ridiculous, given Celtic had won an unprecedented quadruple treble of domestic honours before enduring a trophyless season the year before Postecoglou arrived. It spelled the end for Neil Lennon midway through the campaign, before the club’s protracted pursuit of Eddie Howe led down a blind alley. Celtic looked leaderless and desperate. After Howe turned Celtic down, whoever took the job was suddenly faced with the sizable task of rebuilding the squad in one summer. Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie were sold to the wealth of the Premier League, Olivier Ntcham to the Championship, while captain Scott Brown ended his 14-year stay at the club and joined Aberdeen. Amid the uncertainty and Rangers’ first league title since 2011 - which stopped Celtic’s attempts to win a historic 10 in a row - the feeling on both halves of Glasgow was there had been a distinct power shift. When Postecoglou was unveiled there were stern warnings of the difficulties of the job he had walked into, as well as scepticism over whether he was ready for such a position. Postecoglou had the experience and his managerial CV featured league titles with the Brisbane Roar and the Yokohama Marinos in Japan, as well as leading Australia to the Asia Cup, but to some it was not the ‘right’ experience given the part of the world those honours were won. There was ridicule when it emerged that Celtic had to apply to Uefa for a special exemption as Postecoglou did not hold the required European coaching licence. But those who rushed to dismiss Postecoglou’s track record once he arrived in Scotland had failed to do their research. Postecoglou did not just win leagues but the football they played had a transformational impact on them, particularly in Australia and then later Japan. Still, and just like Arsene Wenger when he arrived in the Premier League from Japanese side Nagoya Grampus, Postecoglou’s past was received with prejudice that bordered on British and European arrogance. Yet throughout this career, the football his teams played had left their mark, and he was about to do the same in the Scottish Premiership. Those early days at Celtic’s Lennoxtown training base set the tone. As Postecoglou gathered his players and began to instil the fundamentals of his approach, there was one phrase that rang repeatedly until it was drilled into the psyche of the side: “We never stop”. Postecoglou wanted Celtic to be unrelenting, with constant movement and rotation. The full-backs would tuck inside and the central midfielders would push out wide, while a narrow but fluid front three buzzed around and interchanged positions. Postecoglou is intense, direct - and he wanted Celtic to be the same with and without the ball. There were some early set-backs. Postecoglou’s first competitive games were against the Danish side Midtjylland in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League. Given the importance of Champions League finances for Celtic, Postecoglou was immediately faced with a must-win tie but Celtic were beaten and consigned to the Europa League after a 2-1 defeat in Denmark. By mid-September, Celtic had already lost three times in the league - the opening day trip to Hearts, the first Old Firm of the season to champions Rangers, and then a 1-0 defeat at Livingston. Yet they would not suffer another in the Premiership that season, finishing with a 32-game unbeaten run. Already, the early signs of Postecoglou’s free-flowing, attacking football were evident and it soon became apparent that goals would be a near-guarantee. The Celtic fans coined Postecoglou’s philosophy as ‘Angeball’ - an appreciation of the manager’s demand to play football in the right way, to excite and build a team they could enjoy as well as take pride in. The night it all changed came in early February as Rangers arrived at Celtic Park with a two-point lead in the table. But in a crystallisation of Posecolgou’s vision, Celtic were rampant and blitzed a Rangers side who would reach the Europa League final that May, leading 3-0 by half time. Already the balance of power in Glasgow was beginning to shift again and Celtic didn’t look back. As they reclaimed the Premiership title on the penultimate weekend of the season, Postecoglou’s status among the congregation was unimpeachable. Postecoglou is a manager who seeks total authority and his desire to take control over the playing style extended to the club’s recruitment, which was a significant responsibility given the extent of the rebuilding job. But after Celtic recouped around £40m by selling Edouard to Crystal Palace, Ajer to Brentford and Christie to Bournemouth, they overhauled their squad and made it better for less. Like with Postecoglou, Celtic found quality and value in the places where no one else was looking, and it was the Australian’s extensive experience of those markets that allowed Celtic to revolutionise their approach to transfers. The jewel in the crown and the signing that changed everything was the Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi, who Postecoglu knew from facing the Vissel Kobe forward in the J-League. Kyogo arrived for £4.5m and hit 20 goals in his debut season, while he has reached 30 this campaign and is set to sweep the individual awards in Scotland. His instant impact paved the way for Celtic to sign the industrious and skilful Reo Hatate for £1.5m and the versatile finisher Daizen Maeda for £1.6m. The Japanese trio have transformed Celtic and Postecoglou’s ability to immediately get a tune out of his new signings has been key to their astonishing success in the market. The list of hits are impressive and so too are the prices. The winger Jota signed for £6m from Benfica after a dazzling first season on loan. The same can be said for the defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, £6m after a loan from Tottenham, who has formed a formidable partnership with Carl Starfelt - £4m from Rubin Kazan. Matt O’Riley was plucked from MK Dons at £1.5m and looks an excellent young midfield talent. The former England and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, now 35, has proved a shrewd and important signing at £1m. With the exception of the elder statesman Hart, those prices will be doubled, trebled, even quadrupled now. When right back Josko Juranovic was sold to Union Berlin for £7.5m following his performances for Croatia at the World Cup he was swiftly replaced by Alasdair Johnson at £3.5m, who himself caught the eye for Canada in Qatar. It displayed Celtic’s newfound propensity for efficiency in the transfer market, but Postecoglou has also found improvement in the players he inherited. Callum McGregor, the longest serving player in the side, has gone up another level and did not look out of place against Spain’s midfield at Hampden earlier this year. It is no surprise that there is not a sacking that goes by in the Premier League without Postecoglou’s name being mentioned among the candidates. The Australian plays attractive football under a clear tactical system, understands the transfer market, and improves players - managerial qualities every Premier League club is desperate for. According to The Independent, Postecoglou’s name is at the top of Tottenham’s wishlist, with the club planning on holding talks after the Scottish Cup final. Tottenham’s interest will be a test of Celtic’s resolve and Postecoglou’s ambition to resist them. There are clear improvements for Celtic to make in the Champions League, though, and that will be where he can take them next. For now, Celtic will hope to crown their treble with a victory against Inverness at Hampden on Saturday. With each trophy, the bond and emotional attachment between Celtic and Postecoglou grows stronger, but so too does the determination to keep moving forward. Read More Tottenham set two-week target to confirm managerial appointment Tottenham identify new first choice for manager after Arne Slot snub ‘We never stop’: How Ange Postecoglou became Tottenham’s first choice Callum McGregor rescues point for Celtic from dramatic draw with St Mirren The differences between old allies Ten Hag and Guardiola that will decide cup final

Lionel Messi is leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season after two years at the club

As mixed martial arts continue to attract interest from investors, some of them are even trying it out.

The San Antonio Spurs have the No. 1 pick and there is no mystery about who Gregg Popovich and company are going to bring in to revive the Alamo City

By Karolos Grohmann PARIS Fourth seed Elena Rybakina booked her third round spot with a 6-3 6-3 victory

VIDEO: Francisco Lindor double play bothers Phillies broadcasters.

The NFL has expanded The Smart Heart Sports Coalition to 26 member organizations as it continues to advocate for all 50 states to adopt policies that will prevent high school students from fatal outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest

Lionel Messi will leave Paris St Germain at the end of the season, manager Christophe Galtier has confirmed. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will make his last appearance for the club in their final Ligue 1 outing of the campaign against Clermont on Saturday. The 35-year-old’s departure after two years at PSG had long been anticipated and it was officially communicated by Galtier at a press conference on Thursday. Saturday will be his last game at the Parc des Princes Christophe Galtier said of Lionel Messi “I will take away that I have had the privilege of coaching the best football player ever, Leo Messi,” said Galtier in remarks published on the club’s website, psg.fr. “Saturday will be his last game at the Parc des Princes. I hope he will be welcomed in the best way possible.” Messi left Barcelona for PSG amid a financial crisis at the Catalan club in 2021. The Argentinian World Cup winner has helped the Parisians to two Ligue 1 titles but, despite some impressive statistics this season, his relationship with the club appeared to have soured. Last month, he was suspended for two weeks after making an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia. He has since been linked with a future move to the Middle East country, as well as the United States and a return to Barcelona. Galtier was keen to pay tribute to his on-field contributions. He said: “He has always been available, always present in the training sessions. “Despite the remarks or criticisms that I don’t think were justified at all, he has always been at the service of the team, both as a provider of assists and as a goalscorer. “He is 35 years old, there was a World Cup in the middle of the season. His stats outside of the World Cup, correct me if I am wrong, but I think he is on 21 goals and 22 assists, which means he has (contributed) 43 times this season.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ireland dig in after England seamer Stuart Broad rips through top order Uefa awaits reports following Jose Mourinho’s rant at referee Anthony Taylor ‘One of the best young players in the world’: Lauren James commits future to Chelsea

Elena Rybakina's comfort on clay is improving as she showed while easing into the third round at the French Open by beating another Czech teenager

Our old friend Ryan Glasspiegel broke some news last night in revealing Shannon Sharpe is moving on from Undisputed and Fox Sports. This ends a six-year on-scre