Messi magic captivates USA
He has already scored 10 targets, gained a trophy and brought Inter Miami to a different remaining. And Lionel Messi is simply getting began. Inter Miami are but to play their first MLS match with Messi within the pink staff shirt however the feeling that he’ll haul them by the bootstraps from the underside of the Eastern Conference is rising each day. Miami journey to New York Red Bulls this weekend for Messi’s MLS debut.
Miami haven’t misplaced the eight video games they’ve performed after Messi joined with former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. It seemed like they’d when Cincinnati took a two-goal lead within the US Open Cup semi-final on Wednesday. Then, Messi produced two assists, the second deep in stoppage-time to take the sport to extra-time. The first help was from a free-kick and the following an extended ball into the penalty space. When open play ended 3-3, Messi transformed the primary penalty as Miami gained the shootout 5-4 to make the ultimate towards Houston subsequent month.
Exactly how a lot Messi needs to be a part of Inter Miami was evident when earlier than the shootout, he gathered the staff in a huddle. “He’s a leader on the pitch and with the group he’s shown it for a long time, not only here with Miami but also with Argentina,” stated Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino.
Such has been Messi-mania within the USA that for his first sport followers travelled from Ecuador and Argentina, in keeping with an AP report. There was Serena Williams and LeBron James, Kim Kardashian too in attendance. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and 2022 World Cup winner obliged all of them with a tasty free-kick objective within the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.
With USA internet hosting Copa America in 2024 and the World Cup in 2026, Messi’s arrival this 12 months is important. It might take the next of soccer to a unique stage almost 50 years after Pele made the game standard in USA. “This will be up there with the biggest moves in American sporting history,” David Beckham, president and co-owner of Inter Miami, instructed The Athletic.
Contract until: 2025 winter. Worth:$50-$60m. He stated: “I got here right here with the will to get the identical outcomes I’d achieved beforehand in my sporting profession.”
No starting trouble for Kane
Werder Bremen didn’t forget. Especially when the game was not theirs to win. Uli Hoeness’ comment from 2017 that no player was worth €100m was thrown back at Bayern Munich last Saturday when the Bundesliga champions opened the season in pursuit of a 12th straight league title. With a 4-0 win. Factoring in the strength of the pound, Harry Kane cost more than what Hoeness, a World Cup winner with West Germany who spent 49 years at Bayern including eight as president, promised to never waste on a player.
At a time Bundesliga is known to sell for a big profit to England and Spain (think Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Josko Gvardiol, Christopher Nkunku, Dominic Szoboszlai), Bayern have turned the dial by signing a star. With a goal and an assist, Kane has hit the ground running, in the way Robert Lewandowski, the man he has been hired to replace, did at Barcelona last season. Bremen were never expected to be a strong challenge; they haven’t beaten Bayern since 2008. But scoring in your first game, albeit one that took a slight deflection, and providing the kind of assist for Leroy Sane Bayern hope Kane will all season, will help him settle down. Kane, mind you, has changed clubs for the first time in the past 19 years.
“He is making all the players better as they see how attentive he is,” said Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel of the England captain. At Chelsea, Tuchel has seen what Kane can do when he dropped to feed the wide players. And no one doubts his ability to score, not after 213 Premier League goals in 320 games which puts him behind only Alan Shearer. On his first night, Kane had done both. The quest for a major trophy – the reason Kane said he came to Bayern – has begun well. Maybe there will be a few golden boots too. He wears No.9 after all.
Contract till: June 2027. Worth: €100m plus add-ons. He said: “This club is defined by its winning mentality – it feels very good to be here.”
Jude joy at Real
“Goal de Bellingham, goal de Bellingham” the commentator screams in the clip La Liga shared on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The 46-second clip was the highlight of the Bellingham show on Saturday, against Almeria. He had two goals and an assist for Vinicius Jr to seal a comeback 3-1 win. The first goal was an opportunistic finish, the second off a header. Add his volleyed goal against Athletic Club, off a David Alaba corner-kick, and that is three goals and an assist in two games. That’s a start at Madrid better than Cristiano Ronaldo. “It feels like Jude Bellingham has been a Real Madrid player for a long time; he is out of the ordinary,” said Real manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Bellingham, the first English player at Real since David Beckham left in 2007, is good. He is skillful, strong and can play on any part of the pitch and you get it why the comparisons with Zinedine Zidane don’t stop. And for a midfielder, he has a good header which pretty much completes the package. The Real midfield was once ruled by Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro. That’s a tough trio to replace and though Modric and Kroos are still there they are not going to run the team for the next 10 years. But Real have planned for this. So, enter Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Bellingham and Federico Valverde. That is a group that can run the midfield for some time.
Borussia Dortmund have retired Bellingham’s No.22 shirt, proof of how good he was. But it has also been said that some players were not too upset to see him go. On the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, it was pointed out that Bellingham was known to make his displeasure clear on the field when a pass went astray and that didn’t endear him to his mates. The standard at Real is expected to be higher. If there is a worry, it is this: like Erling Haaland, Bellingham is prone to injuries. Haaland’s first season didn’t go too badly. Bellingham and Real wouldn’t mind a similar outcome.
Contract till: June 2029. Worth: €103m plus add-ons. He said: “When you ask me what my biggest ambitions are in the game, it’s to win everything. And I’m not afraid to say that.”
Happy feet in goal
He could do little when Pedro Porro and then Pape Sarr struck the framework and even less when Lisandro Martinez’s deflection became the self-goal that was the insurance goal. By signing Andre Onana, Manchester United thought they had solved one major problem: having a goalkeeper comfortable with his feet like Liverpool’s Alisson, Manchester City’s Ederson and David Raya who has joined Arsenal to provide depth to their goalkeeping department, to say nothing of his ability to pass the ball.
The start could have been better but neither the defeat at Spurs nor the unconvincing win against Wolves is down to the goalkeeper. Manchester United have problems in midfield, the defence has not been convincing and scoring remains a problem.
Onana’s ability to pass, to be able to receive one and circulate the ball under pressure is why he has been got to Manchester United. The departure of David de Gea, Hugo Lloris saying he wants to move and the arrival of Mark Flekken (Brentford) and Bart Verbruggen (Brighton) marks a significant shift in goalkeepers in the Premier League.
Goalkeepers’ possession-retention has increased from around 43% between 2003-10 to 67% last term, as per Sky Sports. They are now expected to take out opposition lines with their passes, as Onana did in the 2022-23 Champions League final. “With him something will change in our game,” Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has said
Ten hag knows all about Onana having worked with him for over years at Ajax. He knows that there can be the odd mistake – Onana barging into Wolves’ Sasa Kalajdzic could have led to a penalty – but is willing to take the gamble on a keeper described by the UEFA technical committee as a holding midfielder in the Champions League final.
Contract till: June 2028. Worth: €51, plus add-ons. He said: “To join Manchester United is an incredible honour and I have worked hard all my life to get to this moment, overcoming many obstacles along the way.”
Pulisic magic at Milan
Christian Pulisic’s career was going nowhere at Chelsea so he moved. He had one goal last term and two starts since January 5 at a club he spent four seasons with. It had begun well alright with the forward getting 11 goals and 10 assists in 34 games in 2019-20 but things really hit rock-bottom after the World Cup. Pulisic wasn’t creative enough for Premier League was pretty much the consensus.
With Chelsea’s new owners looking at making long-term deals with young players, Pulisic, 24, was moved along with N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, among others. He is among the 10 new players at AC Milan and Pulisic has the company of former Chelsea teammates Olivier Giroud, Fikayo Timori and Loftus-Cheek. USA teammate Yunus Musah too has joined and so bedding-in should not be a problem.
If the start is anything to go by, Pulisic is already feeling at home. He had a goal and helped set up another n the 2-0 win against Bologna. Pulisic scored with a powerful right-footer from range after cutting in. This was after his cross from the right was relayed to Giroud for Milan’s first goal.
“I just remember driving at the back four and seeing Oli playing a nice one-two and then the only option was to shoot and it was a perfect finish,” stated Pulisic about his objective.
“The new guys have are available with a variety of enthusiasm,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli stated. “These are talented players. They don’t need time to develop, they’re ready because they’re coming from good teams and have a lot of experience…”
Contract until: June 2027. Worth: €22m plus add-ons. He stated: “I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like at home. I was able to experience it last season when we (Chelsea) played against Milan and it’s going to be nice to have the fans on my side this time.”
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
