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      New Netflix doc follows Messi, Ronaldo and Bale during Qatar World Cup – with bitter toxic feud laid bare

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      THEY are the men who held the hopes of nations in their hands.From Thiago Silva to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to England’s Harry Kane and Wales hero Gareth Bale, it is the dream of every country’s captain to win football’s World Cup.
      Netflix docuseries Captains Of The World takes a look at the pressure put on the men tasked with leading their teams to victory – like Argentina’s Lionel MessiCredit: Getty
      Most have their hopes crushed – but the winners take their place in history.
      Now new Netflix docuseries, Captains Of The World, takes a closer look at the pressure put on the handful of men tasked with leading their teams to victory.
      The six-part show follows captains and coaches during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
      We look at how some of football’s most famous names fought for their country’s pride in a bid to lift the famous gold trophy.
      READ MORE WORLD CUP
      LIONEL MESSI
      Argentina
      RANKED one of the world’s greatest players, Lionel Messi dreamed of emulating his hero Diego Maradona.
      He missed his idol, after Maradona died in November 2020 of a heart attack.
      He said: “It’s really weird not having him here, not seeing him in the stands, not seeing people going crazy when he shows up.
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      “He made everyone feel something ­special. This is my last chance to achieve my greatest dream, but this is a World Cup and it’s really tough.”
      Argentina went through to the semis after an explosive win in a penalty shootout against the Netherlands.
      The match was marked by tempers boiling over in an ongoing feud between Messi and Dutch head coach Louis van Gaal.
      The pair shared bad blood over van Gaal’s treatment of Messi’s mentor and Argentine footballing icon Juan Roman Riquelme when the Dutchman managed Barcelona.
      Messi was left fuming after van Gaal “disrespected” his team by claiming the play-maker didn’t contribute to the game when the other side had the ball.
      After scoring Argentina’s second goal, Messi channelled Riquelme’s mocking victory celebration before calling Netherlands goal scorer Wout Weghorst an idiot in a bad-tempered post-match outburst in the tunnel.
      Messi said: “It was a really tough game. We were facing a great team. We have a very good group of players. They know how to fight when the going gets tough.
      “They (the Netherlands) talked a lot before the game and I didn’t like it.
      “The player in the number 19 shirt (Weghorst) kept provoking us. Bumping into us, and saying things from the start.
      “I don’t think that behaviour belongs in football.
      “I was really angry before the match because a coach like van Gaal . . .  I felt he had disrespected the Argentinian team.”
      Messi fulfilled his World Cup mission after leading Argentina to victory over France in a spectacular final.
      He scored twice in the 3-3 match before scoring again from the spot as Argentina won on penalties.
      He said: “It’s very hard to explain how you feel at that moment. All that energy.”
      Asked if he had any advice for his young­er self, he said: “Enjoy football, keep doing what you do, because that’s what matters the most and the rest will come.”
      GARETH BALE
      Wales
      BALE led Wales to their first World Cup since 1958 and told how much-loved former manager Gary Speed, who took his own life in 2011, aged 42, still inspires the nation.
      On reaching Qatar he said: “The proudest thing you can do as an athlete is to represent your country.
      Gareth Bale led Wales to their first World Cup since 1958Credit: Netflix
      “To be playing for Wales and taking them to the World Cup, for it to become a reality is surreal.
      “Whenever I meet up with Wales it feels like home.
      “I know everyone sees that I’m quiet, but I like to joke around and get people going. It’s about us as a team, trying to do as best we can.”
      He said the team still talk about Gary Speed, adding: “We still speak about him. Everyone involved will tell you how grateful the whole nation is.
      “If he hadn’t come in at that moment, we might not be where we are now, we might not have had that foundation built for us to really kick on and achieve what we’ve achieved.”
      HARRY KANE
      England
      TOP scorer Kane went up against his Spurs team-mate Hugo Lloris in the quarter-final.
      Kane missed a penalty which saw England crash out when they lost 2-1 to France.
      Harry Kane explains that it’s always important to control your emotions during a tournamentCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      But the England talisman never lost hope until the last moment.
      He said: “We’re level-headed, we know what we need to do to go far in this tournament. It’s important you control your emotions.
      “We’re not just here to reach the quarter-final and we have to believe if we want to go all the way.”
      On penalties he said: “I like to have the ball in my hands, stay calm.
      “I always kind of know where I’m going to put the penalty, focus on that.”
      Lloris says of Kane’s miss: “That’s football.”
      England boss Gareth Southgate said: “England always think they should be winning. History would tell us that’s not really the case.”
      CRISTIANO RONALDO
      Portugal
      RONALDO hoped his fifth World Cup finals would see him get his hands on the trophy at last.
      He got off to a rocky start after it was rumoured he threatened to quit after being benched for two games.
      Ronaldo says that he’s felt the same pressure as everCredit: Netflix
      Although he made appearances as a substitute, it didn’t prevent Portugal from being beaten by Morocco in one of the big shocks.
      He said: “Everyone wants to win but there can only be one winner.
      “If you asked me if I finished my career today, would I be happy? Yes of course! But a World Cup win could be fun.”
      Of his shredded dreams after a quarter-final exit, he said: “Some people like me, some people don’t, but I’m proud of everything I’ve done. It wouldn’t be fair for me to ask for more.
      “I don’t chase records, records chase me. Pressure? Every player feels pressure. There’s been pressure ever since I left Madeira aged 11.”
      THIAGO SILVA
      Brazil
      AN emotional Silva told how he was left “hurt” after pre-tournament favourites Brazil were knocked out by Croatia in the quarter-finals.
      But he said he had already won the biggest battle of his life after winning a fight for survival against tuberculosis aged 21 in 2005.
      Silva tells of being ‘hurt’ after Brazil’s loss to Croatia in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finalsCredit: Getty
      The Chelsea defender said: “People say Thiago is weak for having emotions. I wouldn’t have got where I am today by being mentally weak.
      “I had to be strong in one of the biggest battles of my life. I left Brazil when I was young . . . I trained and trained with a painful chest.
      “The doctor held the X-ray up and you could see there was a huge hole in my lung.
      “If we had waited any longer for diagnosis there would be no cure.
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      “Going through tuberculosis left me with scars that will never heal.
      “When people say I’ve won a lot of ­trophies, the biggest achievement of my life was overcoming that.” More

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      Dave Kidd: VAR does NOT need to be reformed, it should be SCRAPPED… and Calvert-Lewin red was the breaking point

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      DCL, VAR, WTF! Sometimes one single incident is so absurd that it has the capacity to bring down an entire house of cards.And when Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin was handed a straight red card in Thursday’s FA Cup third-round clash with Crystal Palace, VAR might just have reached its breaking point.
      Dominic Calvert-Lewin was sent off by VAR for this challenge on ThursdayCredit: Getty
      Referee Chris Kavanagh was showed slow-motion footage when called over the the VAR screenCredit: AFP
      Calvert-Lewin executed an excellent tackle on Palace’s Nathaniel Clyne, top-flight referee Chris Kavanagh correctly judged that the challenge was not even a foul and yet, 30 seconds later, he was sent to his monitor and advised to dismiss the England forward.
      There was no ‘excessive force’ in the challenge, Calvert-Lewin was not ‘endangering an opponent’ and he actually won the ball with a neat piece of skill close to the Palace box.
      Yet not just one but TWO Premier League referees, in the VAR hub at Stockley Park, decided Kavanagh had made a ‘clear and obvious error’.
      Then the on-field ref — provoked by slow-motion replays — failed to trust his own judgment and refused to uphold his original decision.
      Read More Football News
      To add to this farce, VAR is in operation for FA Cup matches played at Premier League stadiums and not for those hosted by EFL clubs.
      Yet for those games staged at top-flight clubs, such as Palace, ‘support VARs’ have also been appointed, meaning VAR Craig Pawson was assisted by Michael Salisbury.
      This undermines the often-stated lie by VAR cheerleaders that ‘it is not the technology but the personnel’ which is to blame for the system’s disastrous application.
      Because the fact is that the more human beings that are involved in any decision, the greater the capacity for human error.
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      VAR must now be scrapped, says Dave KiddCredit: Reuters

      Too many cooks spoil the broth. Too many referees spoil a football match. Now Palace v Everton was a stinker, which ended 0-0 despite Sean Dyche’s side being reduced to ten men.
      And presumably Calvert-Lewin’s three-match ban for a straight red will be rescinded on appeal.
      But while minimal harm was done, this was the clearest possible case of VAR not just failing to improve decision-making but making it actively worse.
      The Luis Diaz offside decision which sentenced Liverpool to their only Premier League defeat of the season at Tottenham in October was more damaging and more ridiculous.
      Too many cooks spoil the broth. Too many referees spoil a football match. Dave Kidd
      But that was a catastrophic one-off failure of process from VAR Darren England, which led to an incorrect on-field decision being upheld.
      The Calvert-Lewin incident was a glaring example of how slow-motion replays persuade highly experienced referees to disbelieve their own eyes.
      And of how the procedure of a VAR sending a referee to his monitor is a charade, given that 99 per cent of the time, this leads to an on-field official overturning his decision.
      Perhaps the Calvert-Lewin incident will lessen, or even end, the use of slo-mo replays.
      But what we really need is for pundits and prominent journalists to stop parroting the phrase ‘VAR will never be scrapped’.
      These are invariably people who never pay to attend matches and fail to fully comprehend how VAR interferes with the joyful spontaneity of football — a sport in which so many refereeing decisions are subjective, meaning the idea of absolute justice will always be impossible.
      Why can’t VAR be scrapped?
      And how is it helpful to keep saying ‘VAR will never be scrapped’, when most people want it scrapped and it absolutely could be scrapped.
      Arguing against technology does not automatically make you a member of the Flat Earth Society howling at the moon.Dave Kidd
      This is an extension of a dangerous ‘computer says no’ culture.
      Just watch ITV1’s brilliant drama Mr Bates v The Post Office to understand the extraordinary scale of human misery caused by a faulty computer system — and by the inability of apparently sensible people to believe that technology can possibly be wrong.
      Likewise, try to get some common sense out of Barclays Bank over their draconian mortgage policies.
      Organisations like the Post Office and Barclays destroy people’s lives by following a ‘computer says no’ mantra.
      Read more on The Sun
      VAR only destroys football matches. But the principle is the same.
      Until we realise that arguing against technology does not automatically make you a member of the Flat Earth Society howling at the moon, then we will never reach the blindingly obvious conclusion that VAR does not need to be reformed, it must be scrapped. More

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      Footie love rat lies about age & height on dating profile after affair with dominatrix destroyed his relationship

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      FOOTIE love-rat Jermaine Pennant has been caught offside again — fibbing about his age and height as he hunts for dates.The ex-Liverpool star, dumped by his reality TV partner for cheating with a dominatrix in May last year, says on his Hinge profile that he is 34.
      Jermaine Pennant has been caught offside yet again — with fibs spotted on a dating app profileCredit: Rex Features
      His Hinge profile states he has lost six years and gained two inchesCredit: Supplied
      But he has lost six years — he was born in January 1983 and will be 41 in nine days.
      The 5ft 8in former winger also wrongly lists his height as 5ft 10in.
      There is also no mention of his colourful personal life, including a string of broken relationships, allegations of cheating and his self-confessed reluctance to be faithful.
      A source said: “Jermaine has a cheeky side to him but lying about his age and height is not a great start when he’s trying to impress women.”
      READ MORE ON JERMAINE PENNANT
      The talkSPORT pundit is looking for dates again after we revealed last month that he had split from TV star Jess Impiazzi, 34.
      She was told by pals that he had taken the flame-haired dominatrix to his hotel room during a stag do in Ibiza.
      But he seems to have forgotten his wild ways on his Hinge profile in which he lists his simple pleasures as “sofa, movie, wine”.
      He may also be understating it a little when he asks potential hook-ups, “Don’t be boring live a little.”
      Most read in Football
      Jermaine, who has appeared on Celebrity SAS and Celebrity Big Brother, also shares a series of holiday snaps in which he is decked out in shorts, a shirt and sunglasses.
      Another sober image shows him in a smart suit and tie.
      But if anyone takes him on, they might struggle to tame one of football’s wildest spirits.
      At 15, he was sold by Notts County to Arsenal for £2million — a then-record for a trainee.
      His career never quite reached the expected heights and in 2005 he was jailed for drink-driving and played while electronically tagged.
      Off the field, he dated glamour models and actresses — but, by his own admission, struggled to remain faithful.
      In January last year, he was declared bankrupt and living in Jess’s apartment in Surrey.
      Friends hoped he was finally settling down and the couple were having fertility treatment as they tried for a baby.
      Read more on The Sun
      Jess, who appeared in Towie and Ex on The Beach, even tried to move on from his alleged stag do fling in Ibiza — but said she soon suspected he was sending flirty messages to other women and ended their two-year relationship.
      In 2022, Jermaine revealed he had ADHD, which he blamed for his impulsive actions.
      Reality star Jess Impiazzi split from Jermaine after she suspected he was sending flirty messages to other womenCredit: PA
      Jermaine previously played for LiverpoolCredit: Getty More

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      Karren Brady: It’s a case of Deja Roo as Wayne Rooney follows England pals Gerrard and Lampard onto managerial scrapheap

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      WITHOUT question the most important item on a football club agenda is the choice of manager, more fashionably a head coach.The team will stand or fall by this decision. Wayne Rooney at Birmingham was the latest to confirm that getting the chop could also be as brutally swift as the slide of the guillotine.
      Wayne Rooney was given the boot by Birmingham after a horror run of formCredit: Reuters
      He must have been aware that it might. After all, it had happened to two of his former England team-mates, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, who found that being great footballers was no defence against managerial botch-ups.
      Rooney was the last of the turn-of-century Three Musketeers to slip off the manager’s saddle, after only two wins in 15 Championship games.
      Vastly popular at Everton and Manchester United, the rest of the country wasn’t far behind in delight at his ability to score stacks of goals combined with thrilling ball skills.
      Birmingham fans were just as admiring, at least until the new American owners accompanied his appointment by ruthlessly sacking the relatively successful John Eustace, a local boy, after he led them to sixth in the Championship.
      Read More Football
      There can be fewer jobs as stressful, unpredictable and unrelenting than being a football boss where only two things are guaranteed — the sack or a move to a bigger club.
      The man in charge must be trusted by players, staff and chairman. He has to be deeply knowledgeable in all things football. And most of all he must be a leader.
      The fact that he was a great footballer hardly matters.
      So where did our golden boys go wrong? My guess is that, above all, the players didn’t get it. Simply weren’t on the same wavelength.
      Most read in Football
      Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard is feeling the heat – managing out in SaudiCredit: Getty
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      I remember an England player telling me that in training their star man was challenged by the coach to hit the bar from 15 yards out.
      He tried twice and failed.
      The coach placed the ball in the same spot and struck the bar first time. “Easy as that,” he said, striding away.
      The victim was undermined. And the coach didn’t last too long.
      Is it fair to say that Rooney seemed the most unlikely of the three to make an outstanding manager? But you never know.
      Did mouthy Brian Clough strike many people as a possible double European Cup winner?
      I am told by football oracles that Rooney did a sound job at Derby and his trouble at St Andrew’s was introducing a fresh style too quickly.
      Birmingham City have enormous potential. The way forward is by meticulous planning and an ambitious boss of humbler origin is crucial, unless Pep Guardiola is up for a new challenge.
      Read more on The Sun
      Had they studied a list of previous appointments, they would have been aware of a similar farce at the club when Gary Rowett was axed for Gianfranco Zola in 2016.
      The Italian star lasted slightly longer than Rooney. Not so much ‘deja vu’ as ‘deja Blues’.
      Frank Lampard has not found managing as easy as he seemed to make playingCredit: Getty More

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      Sunderland footballer Jack Diamond claims he refused sex with rape accuser after she ‘got on top of me’

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      A CHAMPIONSHIP footballer accused of raping a woman told a court that he had refused sex with her.Sunderland winger Jack Diamond, 23, told a jury that his alleged victim was in a “huff” when he told her to stop after she “got on top of me”.
      Sunderland footballer Jack Diamond claims he refused sex with rape accuser after she ‘got on top of me’Credit: NCJMedia
      Diamond denied rape and assault by penetration at Newcastle crown courtCredit: Getty
      He explained that he did so because he feared things were “getting a bit too serious”.
      Diamond, who had previously been in a long relationship, said he kissed her later to “comfort” her and she told him, ‘I think the moment has gone’ and left.
      The footballer, who met the girl on dating site Tinder, is alleged to have attacked her at the home he shared with team-mate Anthony Patterson.
      He said he did feel regretful about his “immaturity” towards relationships at the time.
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      Diamond, of Washington, Tyne & Wear, denies rape and assault by penetration at Newcastle crown court.
      The trial continues. More

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      Footie fan stripped of season ticket in three-year ban after sick taunt about Munich air crash

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      A FOOTBALL fan was today banned from matches for three years for a sick taunt about the Munich air disaster which went viral.Newcastle United supporter James Blake, 42, “photobombed” a YouTuber’s report at the club’s Carabao Cup clash with Manchester City in September.
      A clip went viral of Newcastle United supporter James Blake making a sick taunt about the 1958 Munich air crash, in which eight Manchester United players diedCredit: North News & Pictures
      Blake — who had been drinking heavily and was wearing a replica Newcastle shirt — yelled: “Hello! What about Man United, eh? Air disasters, air disasters.”
      Prosecutor Steven Davis said: “You will see a person address the camera when he is approached from behind by a man and a young child and he makes the comment.”
      Eight Manchester United players were among 23 people who died in 1958 when a plane crashed during take-off in then-West Germany.
      Painter and decorator Blake was stripped of his season ticket by Newcastle after his arrest.
      READ MORE BEAUTIFUL GAME
      Dave Parish, mitigating, said: “He is deeply remorseful and frankly ashamed by this behaviour.
      “He accepts he was highly intoxicated at the time.”
      Blake, of North Shields, admitted using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress at North Tyneside magistrates’ court.
      He was fined £400, ordered to pay a total of £780 and banned for three years from all football matches in England and Wales.
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      23 people died when a plane took off in then-West Germany, with eight of them being Manchester United playersCredit: PA More

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      Jack Grealish burglars tried to raid mansion a month before £1m attack but were scared off

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      BURGLARS responsible for the £1million raid on Jack Grealish’s mansion were scared off by cops a month earlier, we can reveal.The gang got spooked when a police car drove past as they prepared to break in.
      BURGLARS responsible for the £1million raid on Jack Grealish’s mansion were scared off by cops a month earlier, we can revealCredit: Getty
      Sasha Attwood, pictured with Man City and England ace Jack, was in at the time of the raid and raised the alarm but the gang escaped after less than three minutesCredit: Instagram
      They first targeted the Man City midfield ace’s £5.6million mansion while he played against RB Leipzig on November 28 in the Champions League.
      But they did not know Grealish, 28, and girlfriend Sasha Attwood, 27, were yet to move in.
      They fled the scene when a police car coincidentally cruised by as they lay in wait down a quiet village lane near Knutsford, Cheshire.
      They returned on December 27, grabbing watches and gems worth £1million while Jack played in City’s 3-1 win at Everton.
      READ MORE ON THE RAID
      Sasha and members of Jack’s family were in at the time and raised the alarm but the gang escaped after less than three minutes, according to an underworld source.
      They said the burglary was carried out with the approval of a Salford gang and the stolen items will be sold in Spain.
      They added: “These lads are good at what they do. They never spend longer than a couple of minutes in a house because they automatically assume an alarm has been triggered the moment they gain entry. They don’t want to hurt or threaten anyone as they know that will increase their jail sentence if they are caught.”
      Police are probing whether the raid was an inside job linked to other targeted footie stars. The source said: “If you’re a tradesman and work for footballers, once in with one you’re in with them all as they pass them on to teammates and say, ‘Use my guy’.
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      “So the police are trying to see if there is any pattern of a tradesman or particular company working at burgled properties.”
      A Cheshire Police spokesman said: “No arrests have been made at this time and enquiries are ongoing.” More

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      Man City ace Erling Haaland sells private plane worth £3million

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      ERLING Haaland has stopped playing on the wing this season — after selling his private plane.The Man City star, 23, has been snapped all over Europe on board the Piper Malibu, which he owned with former footie international dad Alfie, 51, and two partners.
      Erling Haaland has stopped playing on the wing this season — after selling his private planeCredit: PA
      The Piper M600 is now £3million to buy newCredit: Piper
      But Norwegian striker Haaland has ditched the plane which cost just under £2million in 2021.
      The buyer, gun silencer tycoon Eckhoff Johansen, 47, said he had paid substantially more than the 2021 price.
      The Piper M600 is now £3million to buy new.
      Haaland and his dad held a 37.5 per cent stake in the company which owned the six-seater.
      Read More on Football
      A source told The Sun: “Erling and Alfie have had fun in their plane.
      “But they’re both multi-millionaires who can ­afford to charter a ­private plane without the hassle of ownership.”
      “It’s a bonus that they appear to have sold it for more than they paid for it – that’s good business!”
      Haaland has spent Christmas recovering from a stress injury to his foot which has kept him out of the City side for weeks.
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