IN ENGLISH
Leicester City manager, Ruud van Nistelrooy says he is astonished by the amount of interest in him after his brief spell as Manchester United boss.
The former Netherlands striker replaced Steve Cooper on a deal until 2027, but said he could have gone elsewhere.
He was in interim charge for four games at Old Trafford, following the sacking of Erik ten Hag, before leaving when Ruben Amorim was appointed last month.
Leicester moved quickly to bring the 48-year-old to King Power Stadium, and Van Nistelrooy confirmed he had options.
Van Nistelrooy took over with Leicester 16th in the Premier League, a point above the bottom three, before Tuesday’s visit of West Ham.
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Seven Manchester City players are among eleven Premier League stars nominated for the 2024 Fifpro team of the year.
Only Real Madrid has more players nominated with eight, including France forward Kylian Mbappe, who joined the Spanish club from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
Chelsea forward Cole Palmer has been shortlisted for the first time, while Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez also earns a spot among the nominations, and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has not been included.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi and Al Nassr’s Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo are the only two players from the list of twenty-six who play outside of Europe.
Global players’ union Fifpro say over twenty-one thousand men’s players from seventy countries have voted
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Manchester City captain, Kyle Walker has assured the club’s supporters that the defending champions will battle until the very last whistle in this season’s Premier League title race.
The England defender helped City win the league in each of the past four seasons and six of the past seven.
Sunday’s two-nil loss at leaders Liverpool was City’s sixth defeat in seven games and left the team eleven points adrift of top spot in fifth place.
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Plymouth Argyle boss, Wayne Rooney says last week has been the toughest of his managerial career.
The Pilgrims conceded ten goals in two games following Tuesday’s six-one loss at Norwich City with Saturday’s four-nil defeat at Bristol City.
The results have left the former England captain’s side two points and one place above the Championship relegation zone with a goal difference eight worse than any other side in the division.
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Manchester United will be without Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo for the clash against Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday.
Ruben Amorim will face his toughest test since replacing Erik ten Hag when his side travels to London.
Unfortunately he will not have Martinez and Mainoo available to include in his squad after the pair picked up yellow cards in United’s fixture against Everton, earning them a one-match suspension each.
Mainoo was booked in the 49th minute when he brought down Dwight McNeil just outside the United eighteen yard box.
Martinez received a caution two minutes later when he pulled back Toffees striker Beto, who looked to get on the end of a through-ball.
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England women will be without injured duo Chloe Kelly and Fran Kirby for the friendly against Switzerland women on Tuesday.
Forward Kelly is going through concussion protocols while midfielder Kirby has a calf injury after both players came off the bench during Saturday’s goalless draw with the United States.
England women manager Sarina Wiegman said the team would make many changes as the team continue to try out things in its preparation for Euro 2025.
Among those who will feature is Chelsea defender Millie Bright, who was left on the bench for the goalless draw at Wembley.
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IN NIGERIA
Super Eagles interim Coach, Augustine Eguavoen has called up thirty players to camp as the Nigeria Football Federation, steps up its efforts to secure qualification for the Super Eagles B team for next year’s African Nations Championship.
The tournament, in its 8th edition, has been reserved exclusively for footballers plying their trade with clubs in their country’s domestic Leagues and possessing standard contracts.
Kano Pillars midfielder Rabiu Ali, Nasarawa United defender Victor Collins, Remo Stars goalkeeper Kayode Bankole, Rivers United defender Steven Mayo, and Abia Warriors forward Sunday Megwo are among the players called up.
All invited players have been instructed to report to the Remo Stars Sports Institute in Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State, by Wednesday, 4th December 2024.
The team will then begin preparations for the first leg of its qualification fixture against Ghana’s Black Stars B, scheduled for Sunday, 22nd December, at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The second leg will take place at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Saturday, 28th December.
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Nigerian international, Jerome Adams says it will be a big honour to play for the Super Eagles.
Adams was a member of the Flying Eagles squad to the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The forward has impressed at club level over the years, but he is yet to be invited to the Super Eagles.
The 24-year-old is however hopeful he will get the chance to represent the three-time African champions in future.
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Enyimba International FC’s Technical Adviser, Yemi Olarenwaju, says the club is poised to pick up the three points against Rangers International of Enugu on Tuesday.
Olarenwaju said the game against Rangers was an important one, given the rivalry between the two clubs.
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Southampton coach, Martin Russell says his decision to retain Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu is due to the fact that no club showed interest in signing him in the summer transfer window.
Onuachu made six appearances and bagged one yellow card this ongoing season for Southampton in the Premier League.
However, Russell noted that if Onuachu is happy to remain with the club, he will be willing to have him.
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Boxer promoter, Ben Shalom believes a heavyweight clash between Nigeria’s Efe Ajagba and Martin Bakole would be “a great fight” as both camps work towards finalising the IBF title eliminator bout.
The IBF has ordered No.4-ranked Bakole to face No.7-ranked Ajagba after both Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang opted to face each other instead of the Congolese fighter, leaving him without an opponent for his next fight.
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OTHER LEAGUES
Real Mallorca coach, Jagoba Arrasate says he expects a difficult game against Barcelona ahead of Tuesday’s La Liga clash.
Hansi Flick’s side remain top of the La Liga table, but the team suffered a two-one defeat to Las Palmas, while Mallorca will enter the intriguing contest off the back of a two-one home success over Valencia.
Arrasate stated that Barcelona would be in top form when facing his team.
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Bayern Munich manager, Vincent Kompany says Harry Kane could play again this year despite the England captain limping off during Saturday’s Bundesliga draw against Borussia Dortmund.
Kane will miss Tuesday’s German Cup tie against holders Bayer Leverkusen but Kompany is upbeat about the striker playing again before the winter break that begins on 22nd December.
Kane made a fine start to the season, scoring twenty goals in nineteen appearances across all competitions.
Kompany said he has the talent in his squad to cover Kane’s absence.
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Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove is awake and alert after being admitted to intensive care in hospital on Sunday following his collapse on the pitch during his side’s Serie A match against Inter Milan.
The match was suspended after the incident in the16th minute before later being abandoned.
The midfielder joined Fiorentina on a season-long loan from Roma in August, with a view to make the deal permanent.
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Guinean Prime minister, Oury Bah says at least fifty-six people have been killed in a crush at a football match in Guinea’s second-largest city, Nzérékoré.
Some reports indicate that events unravelled following a decision by the referee, who sent off two players from the visiting team, Labé, and awarded a controversial penalty kick.
Bah announced that an investigation was underway to identify those responsible, describing the events as tragic and extending his condolences to the grieving families.
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Romanian football lost a legend and a role model on Monday as European Cup-winning goalkeeper Helmut Duckadam died at the age of sixty-five.
Nicknamed the ‘Hero of Seville’, Duckadam helped Steaua Bucharest upset Barcelona to become European champions in 1986.
Duckadam saved all four of Barcelona’s penalties as Steaua won the shootout two-nil, after the final finished goalless after extra time.
It remains the only major European trophy won by a Romanian club.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Tennis, Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has paid an emotional goodbye to tennis after a farewell exhibition match against Novak Djokovic in Argentina.
The 36-year-old won his sole major title in 2009 but his career was blighted by injuries.
The Argentine fractured his knee in 2019 – an injury that he says has left him with daily pain – and played in his final tournament in 2022.
He participated in ‘The Last Challenge’ in Buenos Aires against long-time rival and good friend Djokovic and about fifteen thousand watched Del Potro win 6-4, 7-5.
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In Formula one, McLaren have called for an inquiry into the penalty Lando Norris was given for ignoring yellow flags during the Qatar Grand Prix.
Team principal Andrea Stella said the decision to give Norris a ten second stop-and-go penalty the severest that can be handed out other than a disqualification “lacked any specificity and proportion”.
The decision dropped Norris from second place, and a close fight with the leader and eventual winner Max Verstappen, to an eventual 10th place.
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In Cricket, Jacob Bethell says he will have asked to bat at number three on his Test debut had he not been given the surprise invitation to do so by England.
The 21-year-old made an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls, including the winning runs, in England’s eight-wicket defeat of New Zealand in the first Test in Christchurch.
Bethell had never previously batted above number four in his first-class career.
Bethell, initially on the New Zealand tour as batting cover, was put in line for his Test debut after an injury to wicketkeeper Jordan Cox.
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In Rugby, A new logo for the men’s Six Nations which aims to encapsulate the electrifying action of the tournament has attracted derision from many fans.
Organisers unveiled the rebranding of the tournament on Saturday, with an orange ball symbol and ‘M6N’ in the foreground, saying it was inspired by the vital spark of connection created by the Six Nations.
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In Athletics, the father of Olympic five thousand metres champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen will stand trial next year after being charged with alleged physical and mental abuse of his son.
Jakob, and his brothers Filip, and Henrik, who are also Olympic athletes, last year made public claims that their father, who was their coach until 2022, had been violent.
Gjert Ingebrigtsen, who denies any criminal guilt, was previously charged with physical abuse by Norwegian police in April.
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Ipswich Town vs Crystal Palace
Leicester City vs West Ham United
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IN SPANISH LA LIGA
Mallorca vs Barcelona
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IN SPANISH COPA DEL REY, SECOND ROUND
Real Ávila vs Real Valladolid
Barbastro vs Espanyol
Real Zaragoza vs Granada
Salamanca UDS vs Celta Vigo
Europa vs Las Palmas
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IN COPPA ITALIA, ROUND, LAST SIXTEEN
Bologna vs Monza
AC Milan vs Sassuolo
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
There may be people that have more talent than you, but there is no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do…..Words from Derek Jeter.
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