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      Women’s football team ‘refuse to play’ after controversial signing of transgender goalie

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      A WOMEN’S football team appears to have refused to play after their controversial signing of a trans goalie.Sutton United were due to field Blair Hamilton, a 6ft biological male, against Ebbsfleet on Sunday.A women’s football match was postponed after outrage over Sutton United’s signing of a 34-year-old transgender goalkeeperTrans goalkeeper Blair Hamilton has faced protests during spells at two other teamsBut Sutton postponed within three hours of the 2pm kick-off saying they could not field a team but offered no further explanation.However, it is understood the cancellation was related to disquiet about newly signed Hamilton.The lofty keeper, who appeared for the University of Aberdeen’s men’s side and Saltdean United Women, has faced protests during spells at two other teams.Ebbsfleet’s chief executive Damian Irvine said of the postponement: “Very disappointed to be advised this by Sutton United Women.READ MORE ON FOOTBALL“A full hour later, they’ve advised their own fans so I’m so sorry for those planning on setting off. We do our best to promote and support the sport but this doesn’t help.”Sutton were approached for comment yesterday.In 2022, their trans manager Lucy Clark, 51, floated the possibility of a team fielding only trans players, saying: “How good is that?”Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies condemned Hamilton’s signing as “irresponsible and dangerous”.Most read in FootballShe said on X: “If you’re prepared to play in a football team fielding males, you’re prepared to go along with cheating and an increased risk of injury to opponents.”Landmark Legal Changes: TRANS Athletes Banned? More

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      Man City jokers sick of all Erling Haaland’s hat-tricks as they sign ‘f*** off’ on match ball

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      ERLING Haaland’s Man City team-mates are sick of signing the match ball after he nets another hat-trick — because he scores so many.Prem stars keep the ball if they achieve the feat — and teammates sign it as a memento.Erling Haaland’s Man City team-mates showed they were fed up with his hat-tricks by scrawling ‘f*** off’ in black marker on the match ballErling scored another hat-trick at West Ham on SaturdayCredit: ReutersBut one City player showed they were fed up of the tradition by scrawling “f*** off” in black marker after Erling’s latest hat-trick at West Ham on Saturday.The 24-year-old Norwegian posted a selfie with it on his private jet.It was his second of the season after he also hit one against Ipswich.On that match ball, one of his colleagues scrawled: “I’m sick of writing these match balls.”READ MORE IN FOOTBALLCity fans speculated over who the serial marker fiend is — with most pointing the finger at Jack Grealish.One joked: “This can only be Jack. Someone has to bring Haaland down a peg or two.”Erling has 11 hat-tricks since joining City in 2022.The ace has smashed home seven goals in three games – four more than any other player – in his best ever start to a season.Most read in FootballSpeaking after hitting the treble, Haaland said: “I feel good, I feel energised.“I had a long vacation and pre-season. Now I’m ready for more.”How to stop Erling Haaland: Five tactics every Premier League team must use vs Man CityErling has 11 hat-tricks since joining City in 2022Credit: Getty More

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      I would like to go to Sven-Goran Eriksson’s funeral, says ex Nancy Dell’Olio as she insists he would want her there

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      SVEN-Goran Eriksson’s ex Nancy Dell’Olio insists he would want her at his funeral.The Italian lawyer, 63, said in her first interview since the former England football manager’s death: “If they invite me, I will go. I would like to go.Sven-Goran Eriksson’s ex Nancy Dell’Olio insists he would want her at his funeralCredit: Instagram @nancydellolioDell’Olio was in a relationship with Eriksson from 1998 to 2007Credit: Enterprise“But even if I do not go, I have arranged a Mass for him here in Italy. I will say my goodbye. I will pray for Sven.”Sven’s death was announced on Sunday at the age of 76 after he battled pancreatic cancer.Nancy and Sven split up some 15 years ago, but she told the Daily Mail: “I’m surprised by my reaction. It’s difficult not to cry. “My phone has been inundated with messages but I couldn’t look at them at first. ”I just needed to be alone with my thoughts.READ MORE ON SVEN-GORAN“It’s odd, the mix of emotions, but it has hit me that Sven is dead. It is over.”She remembered a pancreatic cancer specialist telling her to get Sven to go to him in Boston, US, before she then called him to talk about it. She said: “I told myself I would not be upset when I heard his voice.”I would not cry, like I am doing now. I would not be dramatic. I would be factual.”Most read in FootballBut she fell apart as soon as she heard his voice, adding: “I could tell that Sven was smiling on the other end of the phone.I begged him, was begging him, to go to Boston. ” David Beckham shares heartbreaking tribute video after tragic death of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson“He said: ‘Come on, Nancy, it is OK.I have to trust my doctors.’“It was a beautiful moment. I was crying, like I am crying now, but he tried to make it disappear, make it OK.”Following the former England manager’s death, Nancy said: ‘I’m surprised by my reaction. It’s difficult not to cry’Credit: Enterprise More

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      Federico Chiesa’s stunning WAG Lucia Bramani wows in white bikini as she prepares to move to Liverpool

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      MODEL Lucia Bramani looks in a different league as she prepares for a new life in England.The Italian, 23, whose new hubby Federico Chiesa has signed for Liverpool from Juventus, posed in a white bikini for Pain-de-Sucre.Lucia Bramani stunned as she modelled a white bikiniCredit: Capture Media AgencyLucia’s husband Federico Chiesa has signed for Liverpool from JuventusCredit: GettyShe tied the knot with the 26-year-old forward last month. Lucia posted on Instagram: “New chapter for you, for me, for us. Always by your side.”Chiesa’s signing means the Premier League will be graced by a Wag already described as the ‘most beautiful girl fans have ever seen’.She is the amazing Lucia Bramani, and SunSport invites you to find out more about the stunner below.Read more on Lucia BramaniOnly last month, Chiesa and Lucia, 23, walked down the aisle in an incredible Tuscany wedding.They said their ‘I do’s’ at the Cathedral of Grosseto in front of friends and family, including Manuel Locatelli’s wife Thessa Lacovich, and Michela Persico, the Wag of Daniele Rugani.After the ceremony, the couple were whisked away in a Ferrari to a party at the Castello di Vicarello.He cut a dapper figure in an elegant dark grey suit, while the bride opted for a simple, elegant dress.Most read in FootballJuventus star Federico Chiesa leaves Turnin on private flight for transfer deal with Liverpool More

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      Eye-watering sum Man City goal machine Erling Haaland earning off the pitch through image rights revealed

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      GOAL machine Erling Haaland is also netting a fortune off the pitch through his image rights.The Man City megastar, 24, built up £12million in assets for the 12 months to last December.Erling Haaland has built up £12million in assets for the 12 months to last DecemberCredit: InstagramAccounts filed for his company York Promotions show it has £7million of cash in the bank with £5million still owed to the towering Norwegian by big-name brands.The business was so flush that nearly £7million more in earnings was deferred by a year.Erling runs the company with his dad and manager Alfie, 51, who also played for Man City.Top tax accountant Julia Hoyle – an associate of Haaland’s late agent Mino Raiola – is also listed as a director.read more on Erling HaalandPaperwork showed the company had also bought “an interest” in two planes for £2.1million and paid out £1.1million to an unnamed director.Haaland is said to have signed with Nike for more than ten years with the total cost of the deal reaching an unprecedented £200m.The cash boost comes on top of his huge £1.2million-a-month base salary with the Premier League champions, where he scored 36 goals in his debut season.Business-savvy Haaland previously set up the investment vehicle Pillage 3 AS in Luxembourg to manage his dealings in Europe.Most read in FootballErling haaland’s bizarre new therapy More

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      ‘I threw me f***ing dinner at him & said: ‘Want to say something now, big ears?’ Vinnie Jones on feud with Gary Lineker

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      FOOTBALL’S most notorious hardman Vinnie Jones is glad to have turned his back on his “lunatic” heavy-drinking past that featured brushes with the law in its wilder moments.Twelve years sober, the 59-year-old former Wimbledon midfielder who became a Hollywood star reveals all is now “quiet” in his life with new partner Emma Ford on his West Sussex farm.Vinnie Jones is glad to have turned his back on his ‘lunatic’ heavy-drinking pastCredit: Perou/WBD/discovery+.Vinnie is filming an advert for the British Heart FoundationCredit: SuppliedBut when I meet the actor at his former club’s stadium, where he is filming an advert for the British Heart Foundation charity, there is still a mischievous glint in his eye.Memories of a three-decade feud with Gary Lineker suggest that although he is no longer in Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang of wildman players, there may still be a bit of the Crazy Gang left in the man who was sent off 12 times in his career.Last week Gary told how the only player who had had a “pop” at him over critical comments he had made on Match Of The Day was Vinnie.And according to the man himself, it was far more than a “pop”.READ MORE ON VINNIE JONESVinnie — whose best-known roles include 1998 crime caper Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and this year’s hit Netflix series The Gentlemen — recalls how Gary “said he’d rather watch [now-defunct teletext service] Ceefax than watch Wimbledon”.Vinnie was not amused, and said: “If I’d got hold of him I’d have ripped him a f***ing new ahole.Christmas list“So when I saw him in a hotel in Dublin, I threw me f***ing dinner at him and said, ‘Well, you want to say something now, big ears?’”The 1995 set-to also involved Vinnie throwing slices of toast at Gary.Most read in FootballBut the Ceefax putdown was not Gary’s only snipe at the Crazy Gang, and a year later he said that Vinnie was “no benefit to the game”.The club then hit back at former England striker Gary, saying he had the “charisma of a jellyfish”.Vinnie Jones shares major update on beloved Discovery+ show In the Country after one series on air Three years later all appeared to be well when the pair appeared together in a Walkers crisps advert.But today Vinnie says with a grin: “He’s not on my Christmas card list. I’m sure I’m not on his.”The in-demand actor — who has a second series of The Gentlemen coming up as well as Paramount+ fly-on-the-wall documentary series Vinnie Jones In The Country — admits he was too aggressive in the old days.And he reveals it was Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones who turned his life around.Vinnie’s problems started when he was 12, with the divorce of his parents Peter and Glenda.He said: “It was my first kind of trauma in my life, because it wasn’t common then. It was looked down on.“I had a lot of aggression as a young man. And when I went to a psychologist, we pinpointed it back to the aggression, mental health and frustration.“Put that in a glass and put beer with it, and then you’ve got a fing lunatic on your hands.”Grabbing Gazza’s gooliesWhen Vinnie became a semi-pro player with non-league Wealdstone in 1984, aged 19, there was an ingrained drinking culture in football.Four years later, after signing for Wimbledon in 1986, he became a household name when he famously grabbed Paul Gascoigne’s private parts during a match against Newcastle United.After he retired from football a decade later aged 34 he made his movie debut in Lock, Stock and headed to Los Angeles.There he formed a celebrity football team called Hollywood United, whose players included Steve Jones and Robbie Williams.The hard-drinking party lifestyle continued, until ex-punk wildman Steve told him some home truths.Vinnie recalls: “We’d had a good drink one night and I phoned Steve. I said, ‘I haven’t got a problem’. He went, ‘Yeah, you have’. He knew.He said, ‘we’ve all got a dog.’ He said, ‘yours is a big bastard. You’ve got to control it. You’ve got to keep it in the kennelVinnie on advice he received from Guy Ritchie“Steve’s 30, 40 years sober now. And he was the one I turned to.”But on the rocky road to quitting alcohol he fell off the wagon, and it was Lock, Stock director Guy Ritchie who helped him, with an alcohol analogy about his “dog” being out of control.Vinnie recalls: “He said, ‘We’ve all got a dog. Yours is a big bd. You’ve got to control it. You’ve got to keep it in the kennel’.Jones had a long-running feud with Gary LinekerCredit: PA:Press Association“That helped me, what Guy said.”Now sober, Vinnie is glad to have put past dramas behind him, such as doing community service for a drunken air rage incident in 2003.He says: “When you’re getting a shower at nine o’clock at night and crash out and go to sleep, you know you’ve had a great day, you ain’t caused any bks.“There ain’t no copper coming round the next morning. You ain’t speed-dialling the florist on a Monday morning to send flowers to people you’ve upset.“And your morals are intact, aren’t they?”Vinnie’s level-headedness is even more remarkable given the heartache he has faced in the past decade.In July 2019 his wife Tanya died aged 53 after suffering cancer.It was her health problems that first got him involved with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in 2012.Tanya’s heart had stopped while giving birth to daughter Kaley and she had needed a heart transplant.Vinnie says: “We definitely had a connection with heart troubles. We’ve had our fair share.”Vinnie met Tanya when they were both 12, when they became next-door neighbours in Watford, Herts, and he says: “We dated at 16.”Wimbledon footballer Vinnie with the FA Cup in 1988Credit: News Group Newspapers LtdVinnie with partner TanyaCredit: RexBut they both found other partners.Tanya gave birth to Kaley in 1987 with her footballer husband Steve Terry, and Vinnie had a son, Aaron, with his then-girlfriend Mylene Elliston in 1991.However, the relationships did not last, and eventually he and Tanya got together and married in 1994.The first thing I do is make my bed in the morning. I’ve got that level, absolutely pristine it isVinnieIn his first advert for the BHF he urged people to perform life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, on anyone who had suffered a cardiac arrest by pushing down “hard and fast” on their chest in time to the Bee Gees song Stayin’ Alive.That campaign, he says, “saved a lot of lives” and now he hopes to encourage 270,000 people to learn the five steps of CPR through a new social media advert.Titled Every Minute Matters, it was made in conjunction with bookie Sky Bet, which is donating £10,000 to the charity for every stoppage-time winner scored this season.The quieter lifeAfter Tanya died, Vinnie said it would be an “impossibility” for him to wed again because their marriage had been “perfect”.However, he has grown close to personal assistant Emma, 47, who works on his TV show Vinnie Jones In The Country.Together they tackle all the problems that come with running a farm.Vinnie has not commented publicly on the relationship, but when asked if he is going to settle down with Emma he replies: “It’ll all be nice and quiet. Everything’s nice and quiet at the farm, put it that way.”At the moment it is harvest time, so they have their hands full getting the crops in.He continues: “It’s my favourite time of the year, the harvest. I love it when they cut all the corn.“I’ll jump on the tractor and help the lads bale in. It’s great.”He reveals that he has sold his Los Angeles home and only has a pad at a golf club in Palm Springs, where he spends three months of the year.In January the former wild man of football will turn 60, but there will be no big party with his old mates Guy, Steve and Brad Pitt.He says: “The old Vinnie would have had a big bash. I’m done with it all really.READ MORE SUN STORIES“I like being in Sussex, where I’m out of the bubble. I’m off the radar.”Vinnie Jones and Emma Ford In The CountryCredit: Discovery +Vinnie Jones and Frank Leboeuf with Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, who Vinnie says turned his life aroundCredit: FirsttouchonlineGrant Rollings with VinnieCredit: Supplied More

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      How former teacher Sven-Goran Eriksson became ice cool England hero and unlikely playboy – before tragic cancer battle  

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      THE scoreline still makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end: Germany 1, England 5.In the dugout, masterminding the demolition of the old sporting enemy that day, was a thoughtful Swede who stayed ice cool amid the pandemonium around him.Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has died aged 76Credit: ReutersSven with Italian former girlfriend Nancy Dell’OlioCredit: Rex FeaturesEngland’s first foreign manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, seemed like nothing would ruffle him.Few would have guessed — from his owlish exterior at least — that away from the football pitch he led such a tumultuous personal life.That crazy night in Munich in 2001, now part of English footballing folklore, proved something of a high watermark for Sven and his Golden Generation of players.His three international tournaments with England all ended at the quarter-finals.READ MORE ON FOOTBALLBroken metatarsals, bodged penalties and a Ronaldinho free kick that looked to be a mis-hit denied him sporting immortality.And his time as Three Lions coach will be remembered as much for his shenanigans off the pitch as his successes on it.With receding grey hair, rimless specs and a demeanour seemingly as chilly as a Scandinavian fjord, he didn’t seem like a ladies’ man.Yet appearances were very deceptive.Most read in FootballHis glam Italian former girlfriend Nancy Dell’Olio wrote breathlessly of their first meeting: “The attraction was electric before we touched — but one touch was all it took.”And there were affairs with Britain’s other famous Swede Ulrika Jonsson and FA secretary Faria Alam — both while he was still dating Nancy.Elk huntingSven, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 76, landed the Three Lions job after Kevin Keegan quit the post after England lost 1-0 to Germany in October 2000. David Beckham shares heartbreaking tribute video after tragic death of former England manager Sven-Goran ErikssonTerry Venables — who had guided England to the Euro 96 semi-final — was overlooked. Instead, the FA chose Sven, who had won Italy’s Serie A with Lazio but was largely unknown in Britain.The elevation of a foreigner to the top job in the motherland of football was not welcomed by all.One leading sports writer complained that England had “sold our birthright” to a “nation of seven million skiers and hammer throwers who spend half their lives in darkness”.When Eriksson’s name was announced, I was dispatched by The Sun to his remote home village of Torsby, set in thick pine forest not far from Sweden’s border with Norway.Many of the 4,000-odd inhabitants of the village, where temperatures can drop to -30C, were as well versed in elk hunting as they were in football.Some said that, away from footie, Sven enjoyed Tibetan poetry and tennis — quite a departure from the usual lifestyle of the English game.Known as Svennis in Torsby, the truck driver’s son had worked as a sports teacher before a short-lived career as a pro footballer.A solid, right-footed defender for teams in Sweden’s lower leagues, Sven was forced to retire in 1975 after an injury, aged just 27.After the appointment of Tord Grip — one of his old managers and later his No2 at England — at part-timers Degerfors in Sweden’s third division, he asked Sven to be his assistant.The pair aped the English game, playing 4-4-2 formations.When Grip took over as boss of the Swedish national team, Sven was given the Degerfors top job.A boyhood Liverpool fan, he later said: “I was always drawn to the physical strength and commitment of the English game. It was my model in the early days in Sweden.”In March this year he achieved a life-long dream when he was invited to Liverpool’s Anfield ground to manage the club’s Legends veterans for a day, and led the side to a 4-2 win against Ajax Legends.At Degerfors he brought in a sports psychologist and the side won promotion.He was on his way.In 1979, when he was just 30, Swedish giants Gothenburg gave him the manager’s job, and three years later they won the Uefa Cup.In 1982 he left his homeland for successful stints at Benfica in Portugal — twice — plus Italian sides Roma, Fiorentina and Lazio, before securing the England job.In 1977 he had married Ann-Christine Pettersson, daughter of the principal of a teacher-training college where he had been a student.They had two children, Lina, now a charity worker, and Johan, a football agent.The couple divorced in 1994, then in 1998, while at Lazio, Sven was introduced to a raven-haired Italian with a taste in plunging necklines.The Swede was a boyhood Liverpool fanCredit: Sunday TimesA young Sven Goran Eriksson in uniformCredit: Nina PerssonMarried lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio later recalled her first impression when she met Sven at a Tuscan spa resort was that he appeared “quite distinguished but nothing special”.She added: “Later he told me that he was completely transfixed from the first moment he saw me.”Sven invited her to lunch and Nancy later said she had “hated” deceiving her husband Gianfranco, also a lawyer and a friend of Sven’s.Eventually Sven asked her to leave her husband, and they broke the news to Gianfranco together.At Christmas 1999 Sven produced “a beautiful diamond engagement ring” and they seemed set for a happy marriage.Yet Nancy later wrote in her life story My Beautiful Game: “Little did I know that even stormier waters were lying just ahead.”England had come calling for Sven in October 2000.He was one of world football’s sharpest and most decorated managers, with the BBC calling him “the man with the Midas touch”.Sven said of what has been called an impossible job: “All England managers have been declared idiots at some times in their career, even Sir Alf Ramsey.England’s ‘first lady’“I knew what to expect. I didn’t take the job for the money or the weather. I took it because it’s England.”He and Nancy moved into a luxury home overlooking London’s Regent’s Park and she later described herself as “the first lady of English football”.His first game in charge — a friendly against Spain at Villa Park in February 2001 — saw England win 3-0.Victories against Finland, Albania, Mexico and Greece followed, with Sven the first England manager to win his first five games.Then, on September 1, 2001, came a far greater challenge — the might of Germany in a World Cup qualifier at the Olympic Stadium in Munich.The Germans had only ever lost one World Cup qualifier at home.Since losing to England in the 1966 final, they had beaten the Three Lions at tournaments in 1970, 1990 and 1996.Yet Sven’s England destroyed them, with the fifth goal scored by Liverpool’s Emile Heskey, who had a reputation for being goal shy.To this day England fans still chant to the tune of the Village People’s Go West: “5-1 — even Heskey scored.”Then automatic qualification for the 2002 World Cup was secured ahead of Germany with a 2-2 draw with Greece at Old Trafford.Yet in April 2002, with the World Cup just weeks away, came news that left many flabbergasted.Sven had been having an affair behind Nancy’s back with Ulrika Jonsson, who was 19 years his junior.But the TV presenter later said: “This was no great passionate affair.“It was devoid of passion. He had all this power and money, yet he was the weakest man I have ever met.”The pair had met when she had asked for his autograph at a party thrown by Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell.It was devoid of passion. He had all this power and money, yet he was the weakest man I have ever metUlrika on SvenUlrika added: “When news of our affair broke he didn’t confirm what went on between us.“This meant I was left high and dry, even to the point that people believed I had made it up to get Press attention. That really angered me.”Yet Nancy stayed with Sven, despite the affair.Ulrika added: “I sensed he feared her. He admitted to me that she loved the attention she was getting from the media, so it’s little wonder if she didn’t want to give that up.”In the group stage of the 2002 World Cup England beat Argentina — in one of international football’s biggest grudge matches.In the quarter final against Brazil England scored first, then Brazil equalised in injury time.SGE played for Swedish division III team SK SifhallaCredit: Pressens BildWhen Sven was just 30, Swedish giants Gothenburg offered him the manager’s jobCredit: EmpicsGareth Southgate — then a player — allegedly said of Sven’s half-time talk: “We needed Winston Churchill but got Iain Duncan Smith [referring to the “quiet man” former Tory leader].As Sven stood on impassively in the second half, Brazil won it with a fluke free kick from Ronaldinho that wrong-footed goalie David Seaman.It was best summed up with what became a Sven catchphrase: “First half good, second half not so good.”Perhaps the most glorious missed chance for Sven and English football was Euro 2004 in Portugal, when teen sensation Wayne Rooney limped off with a cracked metatarsal in the quarter-final with the host nation.England went on to lose on penalties.That year Sven had a fling with another far younger woman — ex-model Faria Alam, an FA secretary.She later said: “After he’d filled the dishwasher, he led me upstairs to his bedroom. He didn’t have the mindset of a super-rich man.“He was saying how he did yoga and things like that. And I just fell in love with him, I guess.”Sven with ex wife Ann-Christine and son Johan in 1980Credit: Pressens BildMatters were complicated by the fact that Faria had also had a fling with FA chief executive Mark Palios.Yet again, Nancy stayed with Sven, who later admitted there were other lovers, including a singer, a Romanian ex-gymnast and a Swedish employee of Scandinavian Airlines.In January 2006 it was announced he would leave his £4.5million-a-year job after that summer’s World Cup.The tournament again ended in failure at the quarter-finals and will largely be remembered for Sven perhaps wisely allowing the Wags to grab centre stage.But his record of 40 wins and 17 draws in 67 fixtures was not matched by his successors until Gareth Southgate’s reign.Don’t be sorry, smile. Thank you for everything – coaches, players, the crowds, it’s been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live itSven’s farewellLater management roles included stints with Manchester City, Notts County and Leicester City, as well as the Mexican, Ivory Coast and Philippines national teams.His turbulent relationship with Nancy also ended.Sven saw out his days back in Sweden with long-term partner Yaniseth Bravo Mendoza, a Panamanian former nightclub dancer 21 years his junior who he met outside a bar in Mexico City.In January he revealed he had terminal cancer.In a poignant Amazon documentary, he said of his impen-ding death: “Don’t be sorry, smile.“Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds, it’s been fantastic.READ MORE SUN STORIES“Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it.”A maxim he certainly abided by.Sven posing at the front of a motorbikeCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdThe coach had an affair with fellow Swede Ulrika JonssonCredit: PA:Press AssociationThe Swedish football manager with partner Yaniseth Alcides during the Sports Gala 2024Credit: RexThe footie icon had an affair with FA secretary Faria Alam while he was still dating NancyCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdSven led England to a 5-1 win against Germany in 2001Credit: Getty Images – GettyMichael Owen scored a hattrick during Sven’s demolition of Germany in MunichShrewd Swede’s greatest gamesBy Thomas GodfreySVEN’S Three Lions teams left fans with some spine-tingling memories.5-1 vs Germany, 2001Boss recalled out-of-form Michael Owen who scored a hat-trick. Skipper Steven Gerrard and Liverpool’s Emile Heskey also netted to stun 60,000 home fans in Munich.Becks free kick, 2001Sven kept David Beckham on against Greece and was rewarded when he lashed home a 93rd-minute free kick for a 2-2 draw and 2002 World Cup qualification.Argentina KO’d, 2002Four years on from being sent off against our bitter rivals, Beckham’s penalty secured a 1-0 win and eliminated them.Argies encore, 2005Michael Owen scored two late goals in 3-2 friendly win in GenevaRooney rescue, 2004Wayne Rooney, then 18, scored twice in a comeback 4-2 Euros group stage win over Croatia. More

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      Football ace paying struggling ex just £8 a MONTH child maintenance leaving her to raise son on Pot Noodles

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      A FOOTBALL star paid a struggling ex-girlfriend £8-a-month maintenance payments — leaving her to raise their son on Pot Noodles.The ex-player, a regular on TV, radio and computer games, hid his assets, she alleges, to make sure he was adjudged to qualify for nil rate child support.A football star paid a struggling ex-girlfriend £8-a-month maintenance payments — leaving her to raise their son on Pot Noodles (stock image)Credit: GettyShe claims the player, who spent part of his more than 20-year career in the Championship, owes hundreds of thousands for the upkeep of their boy, now 14. She says records show he earns less than £7 a week.The girlfriend said: “My son has had to eat £1.80 packet noodles for dinner on really hard days. He once asked me for an ice cream, I couldn’t afford it. It broke my heart.“He’s had to wear clothes that are too small. He wanted to go to boxing and basketball but I can’t afford the fees. Anything I earn goes towards him and my house.”Read More on SportThe couple dated for two years before she became pregnant.She said: “The mask fell. He said, ‘You can’t be pregnant, I’m married’. I was stunned.”She says she foolishly accepted the ex-player’s offer of £10,000 not to take their finance row to a tribunal.She added: “But I expected the basic child maintenance to continue, which to my surprise was abruptly stopped. Most read in Football”Officials tell me their records show he is earning less than £7 a week, so he can send what he wants. “He comes across as a jovial guy. His hypocrisy is jaw-dropping.” More