Begiristain leaves role as Manchester City director of football
The 60-year-old Spaniard has been a major part of a trophy-laden period for City during which it won seven Premier League titles, two FA Cups, a Champions League, and a Club World Cup.
READ: West Ham midfielder Paqueta cleared of alleged betting breaches by English FA
Begiristain previously served as Barcelona's director of football for seven years until 2010.
His departure from Etihad has raised questions about manager Pep Guardiola's future at the club.
Begiristain and Guardiola have worked closely together at City. The 54-year-old Guardiola's current contract ends after this season and the Spaniard's plans remain uncertain.
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Believing in belief: Mohammed Siraj goes the ‘Ted Lasso' way
Believe. If the popular television series 'Ted Lasso' had to be summed up with one word, it would be: believe. For the uninitiated, Ted Lasso is a fictional character in the eponymous show who comes from the USA to take over a Premier League club in England, created on the back of a viral promotional campaign for the league. Ted Lasso's belief system is, well, belief. Very early in the series, he puts up a handwritten sign on the top of the wall at the entrance to his office in the dressing room. The sign becomes a central plot point of the entire show, going from a goofy thing to getting ripped apart for a good reason, then getting ripped apart in anger, then getting pieced together in an emotional final flourish. Believe: that word is also central to the singularly unique cricketer that is Mohammed Siraj. Previously, it wasn't about him. He made that word popular because of his admiration for Jasprit Bumrah. After India's T20 World Cup triumph, he said in a post-match chat, eyes filled with tears: 'I only believe on Jassi bhai because game changer player he is – only one Jasprit Bumrah.' But, in a way, it was also about him; you would be hard-pressed to find a cricketer who celebrates the successes of his teammates more than Siraj. Siraj today… — Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) August 4, 2025 And at The Oval, where he was now the protagonist, it was that word that once again rang truest. Siraj said that when he woke up on Monday, he believed completely that he would be a game-changer for his side. 'When I woke up this morning [at 6am and not his usual 8am], I told myself I would change the game. I opened Google, downloaded a 'believe' image [with Cristiano Ronaldo's image], and put that as my phone wallpaper.' He believed. He manifested. He ran in hard one more time on the 25th day of action in a five-match Test series where he was the last pacer standing. He didn't always succeed, but he never stopped trying. In the end, that's all an athlete can strive for. It couldn't have been more Ted Lasso-coded. Siraj and Ted Lasso might be different people – for starters, only one of them is real – but some similarities are unmissable. Both men overflow with positive energy when things are not necessarily going their way. Siraj doesn't hide his emotions on the field. He lives every moment like any of us would. As we saw after that 'dropped' catch of Harry Brook on Day 4 in the final Test. 'After yesterday's incident, I thought the match was gone. Had we got Harry Brook out before lunch, things would have been different. There would have been no fifth day. That was a game-changing moment. But we came back strongly after that,' Siraj said. The images said the story: where Siraj was as dumbfounded and disappointed as some of the Indian fans just behind him. And then after the heartbreak at Lord's. As the ball trickled onto the stumps from the middle of his bat, he sank to his knees. In the Instagram post after that match, he wrote: 'Some matches stay with you, not for the outcome, but for what they teach.' It was fitting then that Siraj was at the heart of India's stirring fightback late on Day 4 and for one mesmerising hour on Day 5. He had bowled more deliveries than anyone else across the five matches, but somehow found a spring in his steps to go for another spell. According to Cricviz, Siraj's 1,118 deliveries were bowled across 47 spells in this series, and not one of them was slower than 131kph. The wicket-taking delivery that clinched the match for India – a thrilling yorker to Gus Atkinson when every fielder apart from the wicketkeeper was patrolling the boundary and he found the only possible way to take the wicket – was clocked at 143kph, his fifth fastest ball of the entire series. Like Ted Lasso, Siraj's defining quality might not be that of being a genius. It's simpler, more primal. Lasso wasn't a Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola (the latter actually plays a cameo in the series, spoiler alert, and becomes a fan of Lasso). Heck, takes his time to even understand the rules of the sport he has known as soccer all his life. And Siraj, at the heart of his art, is about keeping things simple. 'My only plan was to bowl consistently at one spot and to move the ball in and out from there. I didn't want to try too much because that could have released the pressure,' he'd go on to say. But the thing with belief, is that it cannot be just an intangible. It has to truly come from within. Mid-way through the series, Ted Lasso tears down the sign that he had put up, but follows that up with another speech. The show had its detractors for being too positive, for depicting unrealistic niceness. But what follows from Jason Sudeikis, the actor playing the coach, is perhaps the best summation of what Siraj willed himself on to achieve at The Oval. 'You know what I wanna mess around with? The belief that I matter… regardless of what I do or don't achieve. Or the belief that we all deserve to be loved, whether we've been hurt or maybe we've hurt somebody else. Or what about the belief of hope? Yeah? That's what I want to mess with. Believing that things can get better. That I can get better. That we will get better. Oh man. To believe in yourself. To believe in one another. Man, that's fundamental to being alive. And look, if you can do that, if each of you can truly do that, can't nobody rip that apart.' Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. ... Read More
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Fans furious over constant dillydallying over Messi's visit to Kerala
'The next announcement may be about Lionel Messi coming to Kerala to play cricket—why, maybe even hockey,' said Ahammed Salih of the Malappuram Argentina WhatsApp Koottayma, rather caustically. He was furious about Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman's latest announcement that the proposed visit of the Argentina national team to Kerala had been called off. This is the second time in less than two months that fans have been left crestfallen over Messi's visit to Kerala. 'We were planning to organise a football tournament to mark Messi's visit to Kerala. We were also determined to watch him play, no matter where the matches were held. The constant announcements and retractions amount to playing with the sentiments of football fans,' fretted Mr. Salih. Initially, fans were left disappointed when the itinerary released by the Argentina Football Federation (AFC) in May did not include a stopover in Kerala, contrary to Mr. Abdurahiman's announcement in November last year that the Argentina national football team featuring Messi would play two exhibition matches against Japan and Qatar in Kerala in 2025. The blame was then placed on the Kochi-based company, with Mr. Abdurahiman saying it was up to the company, which had an agreement with the AFC, to explain. However, less than a month later, in June, the Minister raised fresh hopes through a Facebook post saying, 'Messi is coming,' which he has now retracted. This time, he has placed the blame on the AFC, accusing it of going back on its promise to visit Kerala in October after accepting money. Yedhukrishnan R., executive committee member of Penya del Barca Kerala, the official supporters' club of Spanish football giant FC Barcelona, where Messi played during his peak years and won multiple titles, including the Champions League, said he had been sceptical about the proposed visit of the Argentina team and Messi to Kerala from the outset. 'Either the State government or the sponsor made the announcements each time. There was no official word from the AFC at any point. However, had the visit really happened, it would have drawn an even bigger crowd than what was seen during the late Maradona's visit to Kerala,' he said. K.V. Sanjay, a Maradu native working in Muscat, was downcast as his idol's visit back home was called off yet again. 'A bunch of us friends here in Muscat were planning to come home just to watch Messi. We had decided to apply for leave and book air tickets once the matches were announced,' he said.
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First Post
7 hours ago
- First Post
'I don't want to be called Rafa's successor': When Carlos Alcaraz said he didn't want to be compared to Rafael Nadal
Carlos Alcaraz stirred headlines with his Netflix documentary where he said he doesn't want to be called Rafael Nadal's successor. Despite criticism for his lifestyle, Alcaraz has silenced doubters with major wins in 2025, including the French Open and Italian Open titles. read more Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz made headlines earlier this year for what he said in his Netflix documentary Carlos Alcaraz: My Way. In the series, the 22-year-old said that he doesn't want to be compared to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal anymore. 'I don't want to be called Rafa's successor. I want to be called Carlos Alcaraz Garfia,' he said, making it clear that while he respects Nadal but he wants to be known for his own achievements. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, Nadal supported Alcaraz's words. He said that comparisons can be tiring for young players and may add unnecessary pressure. 'When you're young and they're constantly comparing you to some professional that's been on the circuit for many years, there are times you get tired of hearing it,' he said. 'This leads to an excess of pressure and in the end, I think it can distort your daily life and even confuse you,' he added. The documentary also gave fans a look at Alcaraz's personal life. It showed that the young star sometimes finds it difficult to balance tennis with life off the court. He admitted to partying in Ibiza after losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 French Open semifinals. 'I went there to reventar (burst)… I made the most of it because I knew I might not get another three days like that,' Alcaraz said. He also shared that his biggest fear is tennis becoming an obligation rather than a passion. The documentary brought mixed reactions. Some fans and players, like Roberto Bautista Agut, criticised Alcaraz's lifestyle. But Nadal once again defended the youngster. He said the documentary gave the wrong idea and didn't reflect who Alcaraz truly is. 'I think the documentary doesn't reflect his personality or the way he lives his career. He doesn't come across as a tennis player who trains, but as someone who likes to party, who needs it, who isn't very professional. It's just not true,' Nadal said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Carlos is a great professional. He's a person who works very hard to bring his tennis and his physique to the highest level. I think the documentary was approached in the wrong way, because people's perception is different from what his real life,' he added. Despite all the talk, Alcaraz has proven himself on the court this year. He won the Italian Open and followed it up with a second consecutive win at the French Open. He beat rival Jannik Sinner in the finals of both tournaments. However, Sinner got his revenge at Wimbledon, where Alcaraz lost to him. Now, with the US Open coming up, all eyes will again be on Alcaraz. The tournament will begin on August 24 and will end on September 7.
