More stories

  • in

    Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel reveals he’s out to take ‘world-class’ Jose Mourinho’s scalp in Tottenham showdown

    THOMAS TUCHEL will make one giant leap for ‘manager-kind’ when he faces Jose Mourinho for the first time tonight.
    Chelsea’s new German coach has come a long way from his days at Mainz 05 to compete against one of the world’s best across a dugout at Tottenham.

    Thomas Tuchel had plenty of generous words for his counterpart MourinhoCredit: Getty Images – Getty

    Tuchel said: “When I started my career he was so far away, like the Moon from the Earth. He could not be a role model at all.
    “He is one of the best managers in the world. He creates a squad in Tottenham that is always very competitive, very strong. That will be the challenge.
    “Jose is a winner and I want to implement the same in my teams.
    “It’s very clear what he stands for. He builds competitive teams, he builds strong teams. He has built a Tottenham squad with characters like Sissoko and Hojbjerg who support the defence, super-competitive, disciplined hard-working guys.

    “Up front normally it’s Son, Harry Kane, Bergwijn, Lamela, they have outstanding quality and speed.
    “I have the biggest respect for him because he is building teams on the highest level to compete and win game after game. That’s what he’s doing at Tottenham.
    “We’re doing it in our style with our beliefs. Everything is allowed.
    There are many ways to succeed. He has had an outstanding career as a world-class coach and we are here to beat him, this is the challenge we are up for.”

    Spurs have lost their last two gamesCredit: AFP

    Mourinho has wasted no time trying to unsettle Tuchel, whose temper led to rifts at previous club Paris Saint-Germain.
    First Mourinho claimed it is easy to run mega-rich PSG because the French title is pretty much handed to them every season.
    Tuchel stopped short of admitting it’s a doddle in France.
    But he did admit: “I absolutely agree. The culture and approach to football is totally different.
    “It was a big challenge for me to adapt in a foreign league to a capital club in Paris, to a new language, to the club culture from Dortmund. And now again, this is a challenge for me and this is absolutely what I wanted to experience.
    “Jose’s right, it is a big difference. It’s not a matter of what is better or what is worse it’s just if it fits and right now this fits perfectly for me. I feel absolutely comfortable.
    “It’s Tottenham v Chelsea and not me against Jose. I’m very happy to compete with a strong team against his side, I’m very happy to arrive with a squad with our quality, our mentality, with the atmosphere that we are in right now.”

    I also will prefer a gin and tonic and not a beer if we win against Tottenham
    Thomas Tuchel

    Tuchel is virtually teetotal but revealed he will toast victory on Thursday night with a tipple and a bowl of pasta.
    He said: “I try to be vegetarian but if I have good pasta with bolognese I forget that. I also will prefer a gin and tonic and not a beer if we win against Tottenham. I am not a beer guy, not a wine guy. My alcohol consumption is close to zero but we can celebrate.”
    Chelsea will make late checks on forward Kai Havertz and defender Kurt Zouma after both ended training early yesterday.
    ⚽ Read our Chelsea live blog for the very latest news from the Bridge

    Premier League clubs pay tribute to Captain Tom Moore after coronavirus hero tragically passed away aged 100 More

  • in

    Man Utd and Liverpool face grilling over their role in breakaway European Super League plans

    BOTH Liverpool and Manchester United face a virtual grilling on Thursday over alleged involvement in plans for a breakaway European Super League.
    LaLiga chief Javier Tebas’ claims that United owner Joel Glazer and Anfield’s John Henry have been colluding with Real Madrid, AC Milan and Fifa boss Gianni Infantino have struck a chord with Prem rivals.

    Spanish top-flight supremo Javier Tebas claimed Man Utd and Liverpool plotted with Fifa President Gianni Infantino over a new league

    Glazer is not expected to attend today’s virtual meeting of the 20 shareholder clubs, leaving United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward in the line of fire.
    Woodward has maintained he is working with Uefa to help formulate the future shape of European football.
    The United boss is part of a committee, which has been convened by Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin to design the new model.
    Prem clubs, especially those outside the Big Six who risk being locked out of the breakaway closed-shop elite, accuse the North-West giants of playing both sides.

    Plans for a formal launch of the Super League concept, worth an initial £3.5billion between the 15 “founder clubs”, have been put on hold amid issues over the structure of the proposed competition.
    But the divisive issue, along with big questions for League chief Richard Masters over the pace of a “Strategic Review” into the Prem’s future, will dominate the meeting.
    FRENCH FARCE
    FRENCH football is facing a financial crisis after Ligue 1 chiefs failed to find a big enough bidder for TV rights.
    Ligue 1 attracted bids from Amazon, Discovery and DAZN for live rights to 80 per cent of games after original bid winner Mediapro was stripped of them in December.

    Mediapro had promised £717million a year — but the deal was scrapped as the money did not appear.
    But all new bids were rejected as they failed to meet the bottom line, leaving clubs looking at a financial black hole.
    BIG SAILS PITCH

    FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
    SAILING’S greatest test of mind and body is looking for sponsors to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
    A vibrant video showcasing the Ocean Globe Race, launched as the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973 and then sponsored by Volvo, has been produced ahead of the 2023 event.
    The global reach of the race, which has outlawed modern digital aids, ensures huge exposure for those companies involved.

    Simon Jordan says the Glazers are at fault for the problems at Man Utd More

  • in

    James Rodriguez’s model girlfriend Shannon de Lima sizzles in a bikini

    SHANNON de Lima is on the ropes — but footie ace lover James Rodriguez’s season with Everton is going better.
    The Venezuelan beauty, 32, was snapped modelling a bikini on a beach for Agua Bendita.

    Stunning Shannon de Lima, 32, shows off her incredible figure as she poses in a bikiniCredit: Agua Bendita

    The model posed on a beach for brand Agua BenditaCredit: Instagram / @shadelima

    She and the Colombian international, 29, have a son.
    The couple have been dating since 2018.

    Meanwhile, James is preparing to face Leeds United tonight as Everton — known as the Toffees — eye a top-four spot.
    It all sounds pretty sweet.

    The Premier League match kicks off at 7:30pm.

    The girlfriend of footie ace James Rodriguez, 29, hopes to give him some luck as he prepares to face Leeds United tonightCredit: Getty Images – Getty

    The Venezuelan beauty and the international ace have a son together Credit: Instagram / @shadelima

    The pair have been dating since 2018Credit: Getty – Contributor

    The Premier League match kicks off at 7:30pmCredit: Alamy Live News

    Maura Higgins struts her stuff in lingerie and suspenders in sexy Ann Summers ad
    GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk More

  • in

    Ben Davies set for Liverpool audition vs Brighton as fellow deadline day transfer Ozan Kabak waits in wings

    JURGEN KLOPP might as well have been sitting on a film director’s chair and calling for lights, camera, action.
    Having plucked wannabes Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak from obscurity, he made an immediate demand that his deadline-day signings strut their stuff on the big stage.

    Reds’ boss Jurgen Klopp admits signing Ben Davies from Preston is a Hollywood-style dramatic leap, but it is born from a defensive crisisCredit: PA:Press Association

    Turkey centre-back Ozan Kabak has joined Liverpool on loan from SchalkeCredit: Getty Images – Getty

    One of Liverpool’s two new defenders — likely to be Davies — will tonight begin their audition to prove Klopp was right in adding them to the Anfield cast list.
    Klopp admitted that were it not for the rearguard crises that sees Joel Matip out for the season along with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, he would not have had to make a £500,000 down payment on Davies from Preston.
    Kabak was already on his radar but he would have preferred waiting until the summer before giving the young Turk, 20, a call at Schalke.

    Some clubs still splashed out despite Covid-19
    Now Davies, 25, and Kabak, who flew into Merseyside yesterday, are waiting in the wings for their Liverpool debuts.

    Boss Klopp said: “Yes, Ozan is pretty young and Ben is coming from the Championship. They arrive  here on different pathways.
    “You don’t have to watch a Hollywood movie to see such stories. But I’m a big fan of chances and giving chances.
    “Whatever they did before was what made me sign them. Now they must do more and playing in a team like ours can help them flourish.”
    Klopp insists that when £75million Van Dijk recovers along with the man who had been his near–automatic partner in central defence, Gomez, it will be an “open race” for places.

    The reality, though, is  there will only be one spot up for grabs given how important Van Dijk is to the team.
    Kabak, who arrives on a £1m loan deal, may have more to prove because  he is coming from a team that has given up 49 goals in 19 Bundesliga games this season.
    Yet he did start out at Galatasaray before moving to Stuttgart and then a £12m switch to Schalke.

    Jurgen Klopp is contemplating early debuts for his two new defendersCredit: PA:Press Association
    If Klopp wants to keep him at Anfield permanently after this season, he would cost a further £18m.
    The Reds boss is determined to give Kabak every chance and said: “He’s had really tough years with his teams.
    “But even in the struggle against relegation he has had a really good season.
    “Ben is a very interesting signing, a smart footballer who knows how  to defend
    “Once we realised  that we had to take action because of the problems we’ve had, we looked across all the leagues in Europe and in the Championship we found a very  competitive player.”
    It was a bizarre dream come true for Davies, who admitted: “The whole experience of signing for a club like Liverpool has been surreal.
    “It’s been mad, mental, but it’s a huge opportunity.
    “And once you get your head around it, I’d be silly to let it wash up or not make the most of it.”
    His first opportunity is likely to come against the Seagulls and Klopp knows he has to go with the flow.

    FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
    The German added: “They are coming in at the deep end but starting together wouldn’t be too cool.
    “You search for stability and we have not had that — but we don’t live in an ideal world so they will be coming in at the deep end.”
     LIVERPOOL (likely): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Henderson, Davies, Robertson; Thiago, Wijnaldum, Milner; Salah, Firmino, Mane.

    Jurgen Klopp discusses Liverpool’s game against West Ham and his players More

  • in

    Solskjaer wants Man Utd to stop being ‘nice lads’ and start putting more pressure on referees

    OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER wants his players to get nasty and start putting refs under pressure.
    The Manchester United boss revealed a delegate’s report confirmed officials blundered in their recent 2-1 home defeat to Sheffield United.

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants his players to show a nastier sideCredit: Getty Images – Getty

    And Solskjaer wants to see his stars putting more heat on officials to get decisions overturned with the help of the VAR.
    He said: “The momentum shifted for us with the Sheffield United game. I’ve got the delegate’s report from the referee and the two decisions were wrong.
    “They’ve admitted their goal should have been disallowed and our goal should have stood. That’s a big, big momentum changer for us.
    “We are a bunch of nice lads. Maybe we should have made more of a fuss about it.

    “Maybe we should have hung on to that or made them look at it before the game started again.
    “So those are things we have to learn from and use as motivation or energy.”
    The Blades had opened the scoring through a Kean Bryan header on 23 minutes but goalkeeper David De Gea had been pushed by Billy Sharp as he went to punch clear.
    Both ref Peter Bankes and VAR David Coote ruled in the visitors’ favour.

    FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE

    Manchester United have displayed a ferocious nature in the pastCredit: Sportsphoto

    Shortly afterwards Anthony Martial looked to have equalised but Harry Maguire was penalised for his challenge on Blades keeper Aaron Ramsdale.
    Now Solskjaer wants to use that sense of injustice as a motivation.
    He said: “Whenever a team feels unfairly treated there will be a reaction.”

    Manchester United might have to show some ferocity if they want to push for the titleCredit: Getty Images – Getty
    Solskjaer says the decisions belie the theory that United are favoured by officials.
    He also cited their opening-day defeat to Crystal Palace when Victor Lindelof was harshly adjudged to have handled for a penalty.
    Solskjaer, whose side host Southampton tonight, said: “There has been a narrative for too long about the decisions we have got for us.
    “But that doesn’t change where we are now. We just move on.”
    ⚽ Read our Man United live blog for the latest news from Old Trafford

    Solskjaer slams ‘disgusting’ racist abuse of Man Utd duo Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial on social media More

  • in

    Ben Davies’ former youth coach believes Liverpool new-boy has talent to earn England call-up after transfer

    BEN DAVIES may only have been bought by Liverpool at Asda price.
    His shock switch from Preston cost £500,000 — although the deal has £1.1million in possible add–ons, which include him getting capped for England.

    Davies, 25, has made 145 appearances for PrestonCredit: Rex Features

    Davies grew up at Furness Rovers in Barrow

    Yet up at Wilkie Road in Barrow they are used to seeing youngsters move on and play for their country.
    Such as England’s Georgia Stanway, who once acted as a mascot in the Furness Rovers five–a-side team in which Davies starred.
    Manchester City’s Stanway is a 19–cap midfield star for the Lionesses, having also made her way through the West Lancs League club — whose seniors pitch is owned by the supermarket giants.
    Davies’ former manager at the tiny outfit believes the central defender now also has the platform to play on the biggest stage.

    Graham Fraser, head of IT at Barrow Town Hall, coached Davies from the age of six until he moved to the Preston academy as an 11-year-old.
    He proudly declared: “I remember at a presentation for Ben’s team I said I had him and another lad as brilliant left–sided centre-backs.
    “That night I predicted that one or both of them would go on to play for England one day.
    “And Ben’s in exactly the right place to do that.

    FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE

    Davies, left, had a number of loan spells on his way to the topCredit: PA:Press Association

    “His attitude was always first class, quite apart from his ability — and there’s another thing.
    “Barrow’s a lovely place to grow up in but it’s a long drive off the M6 just to get here.
    “If you want to make it as a footballer at a big club, you have to do the miles — and that’s what Ben and his parents Steve and Gill did when he went to Preston.”
    Davies, 25, said: “For five years my mum and dad got me through to Preston for training and at times it didn’t look like it would be a success long term.
    “But credit to everyone, we all stuck in there and didn’t give up.”

    Georgia Stanway played for England at the Women’s World Cup 2019Credit: EPA

    Sepp van den Berg is set to head to Preston as part of the dealCredit: Rex Features
    Fraser always saw that determination to succeed — just as he did in Georgia — adding: “At Furness Rovers, the first thing was to give everybody a game. But then certain individuals stand out.
    “Georgia played with the boys team and they hated it because she was a terrier, going around kicking half of them in training.
    “Ben’s done us proud here, just like she has done.
    “Fingers crossed now, that after making that speech a few years ago, I’m proved right and he becomes the second England player to come from here.”
    Davies has had to bide his time to get a big break, going out on loan at York, Tranmere, Southport, Newport and Fleetwood.

    At our level, he’s looked like a Rolls-Royce
    Peter Ridsdale

    And North End adviser Peter Ridsdale backs the belief that Davies has the class to become a big star.
    The former Leeds chairman said: “At our level, he’s looked like a Rolls-Royce.
    “From the young man’s point of view, he’s been outstanding for us and to have a chance to play for a club like Liverpool I think is brilliant.”
    Dutch youngster Sepp van den Berg, 19, will head the other way to join Preston on loan, while the Championship club also negotiated a 20 per cent sell–on clause for Davies.
    Furness chairman Steve Liddicott wishes his club had done the same.
    He laughed: “My son Ross, who’s next door to our club at Barrow as goalkeeper coach, rang me when he heard about Ben’s move.
    “He said, ‘Do we have a clause to get some money on him?’
    “Ross was just joking, of course, but Ben always had that look of someone who’d make it to the top.
    “And to think that one of our former lads will be playing in the Premier League is worth all the money in the world to a club like ours.”

    Jurgen Klopp discusses Liverpool’s game against West Ham and his players More

  • in

    Epic Bale to epic fail.. Tottenham legend Gareth looks done under manager Jose Mourinho

    THE training-ground footage emerged a couple of weeks ago, via Tottenham’s in-house TV channel.
    Jose Mourinho can be heard, off-camera, saying: “You want to stay here? Or go to Madrid and play no football?”

    Gareth Bale is enduring a difficult season under Jose Mourinho after returning to TottenhamCredit: AFP

    The Spurs boss was apparently telling his backroom staff what he had said in a meeting with Gareth Bale, 31, on loan from Real Madrid, but also playing remarkably little football under Mourinho.
    Only a cynic would suggest Mourinho might have been pleased that this clip found the light of day.
    Just as those same cynics might have wondered about Mourinho giving a training-ground rebuke to Paul Pogba in front of TV cameras when the pair were in the midst of one of their fall-outs at Manchester United — with the Frenchman having just been stripped of his status as vice-captain.
    Then we had Mourinho branding Dele Alli as ‘lazy’ during Tottenham’s Amazon documentary — as well as footage of an argument with Danny Rose in the manager’s office — before Dele and Rose were both frozen out.

    These things happen in football. And I am sure you can think of several instances of other elite managers criticising players on camera at their club’s training base.
    Although, curiously enough, I cannot. But when Bale was handed his second Premier League start of the season — leading the line at Brighton on Sunday, in the absence of Harry Kane — he might not have felt inclined to run through Lewis Dunk-shaped brick walls for his manager.
    After Spurs had been outplayed in a 1-0 defeat which gave the Seagulls their first home league win in 15 attempts, Mourinho claimed he went away with ‘positive feelings’ because of his team’s work-rate in the final 30 minutes.
    Bale was substituted in the 61st minute. You do the arithmetic.

    FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE

    The Welshman had looked way off the pace, under-motivated and, it was suggested on Sky’s commentary, eager to be substituted.
    It all fitted the narrative, favoured in Madrid, of Bale as a busted flush, more interested in golf and coasting towards retirement.
    Although Bale is regarded at Spurs, and within the Wales national squad, as a hugely popular team-mate and a good professional — it is not an opinion shared by Real manager Zinedine Zidane.
    Bale is not the archetypal Mourinho favourite — not a football obsessive with a never-say-die attitude.
    But he had enough talent and motivation to become one of the most decorated British footballers of all time, winning four Champions League titles.
    There was always a belief that Mourinho was indifferent about taking Bale on loan — despite having tried to sign him while in charge at the Bernabeu.
    And a feeling that these were two men of vast celebrity, whose best days were past.
    It was difficult to imagine Mourinho as the man to cajole Bale, who had suffered plenty of injury issues in Madrid, back to world-class heights.

    Mourinho heard giving Gareth Bale brutal warning in training about being sent back to Real Madrid to ‘play no football’
    BENCH BECKONS
    But you could still have imagined Bale, at least, as a very useful squad player for Spurs.
    Not after Sunday’s fiasco, though. Now it would be a surprise if Bale starts another Premier League match under Mourinho.
    The return of the prodigal son had lifted spirits at the Lane in September — even though Mourinho’s side tossed away a three-goal lead against West Ham after Bale arrived as a late sub for his second Spurs debut.
    Now the idea that Bale might come to the fore later in the season seems to have been torpedoed and his remarkable career could be drifting towards a premature and unsatisfactory end.
    Mourinho’s predecessor, Mauricio Pochettino, was seriously annoyed when Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola once referred to his Spurs side as ‘the Harry Kane team’.
    Yet that term looks more appropriate now than it did under Pochettino.
    When Kane was withdrawn at half-time, having suffered injuries to both ankles during Tottenham’s comprehensive 3-1 defeat by Liverpool last Thursday, you immediately feared for Spurs.
    That was a truly horrible night for the club — Kane’s injury, a defensive shambles and a half-time tantrum from Serge Aurier, who joins Bale, Dele and Rose on a crowded Mourinho naughty step.

    Bale’s return was a nostalgic feelgood story for Spurs fans — yet Mourinho was never likely to revel in sentimentality.
    Dave Kidd

    Two months ago, Spurs defeated Arsenal 2-0 to go top of the Premier League table, leaving their North London rivals in the bottom six.
    Tonight, Arsenal can go above Tottenham with victory over Wolves — and even though the Gunners will have played two games more, that is some turnaround.
    Earlier this season, Spurs looked impressive — if not thrilling — in a Mourinho blueprint.
    Kane and Son Heung-min were dangerous on the counter-attack, in front of a muscular midfield and a well-drilled defence.
    But having thrust themselves into a title race, Spurs were too one-dimensional to stay the course.
    And they were never good enough to ostracise players as talented as Bale and Dele.
    On Thursday, Chelsea arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, looking a more serious proposition under new boss Thomas Tuchel.
    Mourinho has a decent recent record in ‘Big Six’ matches — having defeated both Manchester clubs as well as Arsenal.

    And while his team are involved in three cup competitions, including a Carabao Cup final against Manchester City in April, Mourinho will not be in peril.
    But since that North London derby victory on December 6, Spurs have won just twice in nine Premier League matches.
    Against Chelsea, Mourinho will surely start with his useful back-up striker Carlos Vinicius, rather than Bale.
    And perhaps this all-time great British footballer will go back to Madrid and play no football until his contract expires in 2022.
    But Bale’s uneasy relationship with Mourinho says as much about Tottenham’s manager as it does about the player.
    Bale’s return was a nostalgic feelgood story for Spurs fans — yet Mourinho was never likely to revel in sentimentality.
    As those watching Spurs TV might have accidentally overheard.
    Tweet @davekidd_

    Bale has certainly not hit the heights he managed during his first spell in North LondonCredit: AFP

    Ramos is one of Real Madrid’s top earners but is demanding more to stay on for a further two years, claim reports More