Pope meets Italian Serie A champs Napoli
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV welcomed Italy's newly crowned Serie A champions Napoli to the Vatican on Tuesday, joking about his own soccer allegiances. Napoli won their fourth 'Scudetto' on Friday with a 2-0 home victory over Cagliari, edging out Inter Milan by one point in a nail-biting end to the season.
The team, captained by Italian international Giovanni Di Lorenzo, arrived for their papal audience a day after a triumphant open-top bus parade through central Naples. 'The press says I am an AS Roma fan, but you are welcome! This is what the press says. Not everything you read in the press is true,' the pope said, according to a transcript.
Leo, the first pope to come from the US, follows and practices sports, including tennis. People who know him have described him to the media as an AS Roma supporter.
Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis gave him a blue Napoli jersey signed by players, bearing the number 10 and his name in Italian, 'Papa Leone XIV'. 'You are a number 10, so you are a great striker', De Laurentiis said. Leo replied with a chuckle and a simple 'thank you'.
Coach Antonio Conte, whom De Laurentiis introduced as 'deeply Catholic', knelt down and kissed the pope's hand, before Leo told him he had seen him many times on TV. In a short speech, the pontiff stressed the importance of team spirit and collaboration, and sport's educational value, especially for young people.
Winning comes 'at the end of a long journey, where what matters the most is not a one-time exploit or the extraordinary performance of one champion', he said. 'The championship is won by the team, and when I say 'team' I mean the players, the coach with the whole squad, and the club,' he added. — Reuters
Leo ended his remarks giving his blessings to players and club officials, and offering congratulations, also on behalf of his personal cook. 'She is from Naples and she says: best wishes! She would like to be here too, Mrs Rosa, (she is) a big fan', the pope said. — Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
6 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Club World Cup prize money does not mean more pressure: Maresca
PHILADELPHIA: Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has insisted that the club's owners are not putting extra pressure on him to win the Club World Cup as a result of the enormous financial incentives on offer at FIFA's new tournament. World football's governing body has dangled the carrot of a total $1 billion in prize money to the 32 competing teams in the United States. If Chelsea, as one of the 12 European representatives, go on to win the trophy on July 13, they can take home around $125 million (£92.4m) as a cash reward. That could give the Stamford Bridge side a considerable advantage over many of their English and European rivals going forward into next season. However, Maresca claims money has not come up in discussions with the club's hierarchy around the ongoing competition. 'The owners just want the best for us and for the players game by game and they are not talking about the final prize or the final reward in terms of money,' the Italian told reporters in Philadelphia ahead of Tuesday's match against Esperance of Tunis. 'They never put pressure on me or the players in terms of we need to win this tournament because of the money.' Chelsea must avoid defeat against the Tunisian four-time African champions in order to qualify for the last 16 from Group D. That is after they were beaten 3-1 by Brazilian giants Flamengo in their last game, when Maresca appeared to prioritize tactical experiments over the need for results. Playing Cole Palmer on the right of a front three was not a success, as the England international struggled to make a big impact on the game. 'Off the ball Cole was defending a little more wide, but the position on the ball was exactly the same position as during the season,' Maresca explained. 'If it is a good moment or not to try new things, I don't know. But we also are here to think about the future, and to try different systems. 'Last year we played three or four different systems during the season. The idea is to continue to evolve and improve, and to try different things.' Heat factor Philadelphia is sweating under a fierce heatwave at the moment, and while the 9:00 pm local time kick-off on Wednesday should mean that is not a huge factor for the game itself, it has made preparations tricky. 'It is almost impossible to train because of the weather. Now we are just trying to save energy for the game,' said Maresca, who is likely to rotate his squad and make numerous changes to the starting line-up. Striker Nicolas Jackson is suspended after being sent off against Flamengo having come on as a substitute only a few minutes earlier. Chelsea won their opening match at the tournament, defeating Los Angeles FC 2-0 in Atlanta, before the reverse at the hands of Flamengo. Esperance bounced back from a defeat to the Brazilians as they beat LAFC 1-0 in Nashville in their last outing—that is the only victory so far in six matches at this Club World Cup for a North African team. If Chelsea go through they will head to Charlotte for a last-16 tie on Saturday against the winners of Group C, which could be Bayern Munich. 'If we go through we can talk about Bayern,' said Maresca. 'In this moment it has to be about tomorrow. Football is full of surprises.' Maher Kanzari, the coach of the Tunisian champions, said his team were ready for a 'historical' battle against the Blues. 'We are prepared and we have to fulfil the expectations of our technical team, of our fans, of the Tunisian public. It will be a historical game,' he said. 'We will be well prepared, especially mentally. Everyone is waiting for this game and we are really proud of what we have achieved so far. 'Hopefully we will do what it takes.' — AFP
Kuwait Times
7 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Marc Marquez wins Italian MotoGP
MUGELLO: Marc Marquez won the Italian MotoGP on Sunday to complete a perfect weekend at Mugello and continue his bid for a seventh elite world title. The Ducati rider came through a brilliant early battle with his brother Alex, in second, and teammate Francesco Bagnaia to extend his championship lead over his sibling to 40 points after also winning Saturday's sprint race. The 32-year-old started on pole but didn't have it all his own way, not securing first place until lap nine as he, Alex Marquez and Bagnaia exchanged the lead with some thrilling riding. But he claimed his fifth win from nine Grands Prix in what has been a dream first campaign with Ducati's factory team, and his first victory at Mugello since 2014. 'I already understand this morning that it was a super special for them (Ducati), even for me because I feel part of them, and yes super happy,' he said. 'We managed the race in the beginning, Pecco and Alex, they know that a few times I'm struggling a bit then they attack me. 'I was calm and then when the tyres dropped a bit I started to give everything, and yeah happy to take the 37 points in this amazing weekend.' Marc Marquez has now won the sprint and main race at the Thailand, Argentina, Qatar, Aragon and Italian MotoGPs so far in 2025. He is already red-hot favourite to draw level with great rival Valentino Rossi on seven world crowns, and move one behind all-time record winner Giacomo Agostini. That would be a bitter pill to swallow for retired Rossi who has openly called Marquez a 'dirty' rider who actively worked to stop him from winning what would have been his eighth world title a decade ago. Italian motorcycling fans still blame Marquez for crashing into Rossi in that year's penultimate Malaysian MotoGP, even though their hero was the one punished by having to start the final race of 2015 at the back of the grid, virtually guaranteeing Lorenzo the title. Marc Marquez was loudly booed by a significant portion of the Mugello crowd after Saturday's sprint race to the point that team manager Davide Tardozzi stormed over to the stands to tell fans to 'shut up'. But on Sunday the local supporters cheered him on the podium after he pulled even further away from local hero Bagnaia, a two-time world champion who is now 110 points off the pace in the standings after finishing fourth. Bagnaia had won the previous three races at his home track of Mugello but ended up losing a podium place to Fabio Di Giannantonio, who rides for Ducati satellite team VR46 Racing, with two laps remaining. It was a frustrating day on home soil for Bagnaia, and the latest disappointing result in a season in which he has been eclipsed by Marc Marquez. — AFP
Arab Times
7 days ago
- Arab Times
Al Ain and Wydad Casablanca exit Club World Cup
NEW YORK, June 22 (Xinhua): Manchester City and Juventus reached the last 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup while Real Madrid moved closer with a gritty win over Pachuca despite playing nearly the entire match with 10 men. Pachuca, Al Ain, and Wydad Casablanca joined previously eliminated Auckland City, Ulsan, Urawa Red Diamonds, and Los Angeles FC in exiting the tournament in the United States. In Philadelphia, 20-year-old Turkiye international forward Kenan Yildiz scored twice as Juventus routed Morocco's Wydad Casablanca 4-1 to clinch a knockout phase spot with a game to spare. Abdelmounaim Boutouil gifted the Italian club the lead with a sixth-minute own goal, and Yildiz doubled the advantage by thumping a 20-yard effort into the top-right corner. Thembinkosi Lorch narrowed the deficit, lifting a shot over goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio after Nordin Amrabat's defense-splitting pass. The impressive Yildiz made it 3-1 as he wrong-footed Boutouil before calmly side-footing into the far corner. Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic put the result beyond doubt by converting a 94th-minute penalty after being fouled by Guilherme Ferreira. Juventus now has six points from its two games, while Wydad is eliminated irrespective of its last group-stage fixture against Al Ain. In Charlotte, Real Madrid registered its first win of the tournament with a 3-1 defeat of Mexican side Pachuca. The Spanish giants were reduced to 10 men in the seventh minute after Raul Asencio was shown a straight red card for pulling down Salomon Rondon when the Venezuela international was through on goal. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Real Madrid took the lead through Jude Bellingham, who charged into the box after Fran Garcia's pass before lashing low into the far corner. Arda Guler doubled the lead with a clinical finish after combining with Gonzalo Garcia, and Federico Valverde made it 3-0 by volleying home at the far post following Brahim Diaz's lofted pass. Pachuca pulled one back through Elias Montiel's deflected strike 10 minutes from time. The victory lifted Real Madrid to the top of Group H with four points, while Pachuca is last and cannot advance to the next stage. In Atlanta, Ilkay Gundogan struck twice as Manchester City trounced Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 6-0. Claudio Echeverri, Oscar Bobb, Rayan Cherki, and Erling Haaland were also on target - the latter from the penalty spot - as City secured its place in the next round. Al Ain had only 26% of the possession and managed only one shot on target, sealing its early exit from the competition. In Sunday's other fixture, Austria's RB Salzburg drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. Al Hilal had 58 percent of the total possession but managed only four shots on target, while Salzburg had six attempts saved by Morocco international goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. The result leaves Salzburg second in Group H with four points, two ahead of third-placed Al Hilal.
