The trouble with underdog stories at the Club World Cup
The PIF – which appears intent on clawing its mitts over sport – is the investment arm of a journalist-killing state and chaired by the big man himself, Mohammed bin Salman. The fund is also an official partner of Copa Gianni while a PIF subsidiary bought a $1bn stake in Dazn, the tournament broadcaster, earlier this year. They didn't get Mbappé but they still nabbed Neymar. Al-Hilal may have delivered a sporting upset – 'We knew we had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and we were great,' proclaimed Inzaghi – but this isn't a plucky underdog story. And no, that doesn't make City a group of saints.
It's finally summer time for Pep Guardiola, though a nagging feeling will follow, the question left to be answered on how these few weeks in the USA USA USA will impact his side next season/this season (the lines feel blurred with this tournament). Prior to the Al-Hilal match he had wondered out loud if his club will be 'destroyed' by the Copa Gianni when their regular commitments resume. An extra couple of weeks on the beach – the final is still another 12 days away – could end up being a decent consolation.
Plenty of powerhouses remain, though they remain stuck on one side of the draw; PSG have Bayern in the quarters, with the winner potentially facing Real Madrid in the semi-finals. Chelsea supporters should perhaps allow themselves to believe; they must beat Palmeiras if they want to set up a possible semi-final clash with Al-Hilal. The gaudy wastefulness of a project that has turned Brighton into a de-facto academy against the pillar of a behemoth propaganda machine. Let the beautiful game commence.
Join Beau Dure from 8pm BST for very hot MBM coverage of Real Madrid 3-1 Juventus in the last 16 of Copa Gianni.
The incongruity of the situation escapes no one – except, of course, Gianni Infantino and his flatterers. From his ivory tower, which he tours around the world, the president shows no concern for the fate the international calendar reserves for top players. His [Copa Gianni] proves, to the point of absurdity, that it is urgent to stop this game of massacre' – France's professional footballers' union (UNFP) hits out at the Fifa overlord amid growing concern over fixture congestion and player welfare, including that from Fifpro, which has called on half-time breaks being extended to 20 minutes in extreme heat.
If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around, does it make a sound? If a football team loses in a competition, and no one is watching, is it a shock?' – Darren Leathley.
From yesterday's full email edition, many thanks for sharing with us the tale of Dorking's Marc White and his dire attempt to recreate the Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club (kids, ask your nan why that was even a thing). Can I just point out that due to the consequent ban, your caption on that photo of the guy clearly standing on a touchline shouldn't be 'he'll be here all week'. That's the one place he won't be for a bit' – Jon Millard.
Re: this news story. 'Footage of three-a-side game shows humanoids struggling to kick the ball or stay upright.' The best Football Daily headline opportunity ever provided by Big Website! I don't know where to begin' – Nigel Sanders.
Re: yesterday's Memory Lane (full email edition). It's a shame we can't see the car in front of Charlie George's 'fancy motor'. I'd love to see him manoeuvre out of what looks like a very tight spot. Maybe friend of the newsletter Max Rushden could give him some tips' – David Bell.
Please send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today's winner of our letter o' the day competition is … David Bell, who gets some Football Weekly merch. We'll be in touch. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here.
Get Euro 2025-ready with this lovely David Squires-infused wallchart.
Complete the sequence: Rob Edwards, Ian Burchnall, Duncan Ferguson, David Horseman, Troy Deeney, Steve Cotterill … xxxx?
The answer, of course, is Robbie Savage, who has just been appointed as the latest permanent manager of Forest Green Rovers. The National League side missed out on promotion back to the EFL last season and have poached the former Wales international from Macclesfield FC, who won the Northern Premier League under Savage, collecting 109 points and scoring 109 goals on the way to promotion to National League North. 'I feel I have an opportunity to develop a squad to create an attacking brand of football – an aggressive form of football to try and get Forest Green back into the EFL,' roared Savage, who will compete against compatriot Mark Hughes and his Carlisle United side in the fifth tier at the New Lawn. 'I want a fast, exciting style but the most important thing is to win games.'
Fluminense are through to the Copa Gianni quarter-finals after dumping out Inter 2-0, courtesy of Germán Cano's early goal and a mighty strike from Hércules. 'I was thinking about Milan,' declared Thiago Silva, who used to play for the Rossoneri. 'I'm sure [their] fans will be happy about Inter's defeat and our victory.' As for the Bigger Cup runners-up, skipper Lautaro Martínez didn't hold back. 'I want to fight for the major titles. Anyone who wants to stay at Inter, fine, let's fight. But anyone who doesn't want to stay can leave,' he sniiffed.
England's Beth Mead reckons the Lionesses are well prepared to cope with the heatwave that awaits them in Switzerland after flying out from a heatwave at home. 'We've trained really hard, the intensity has been great and our recovery strategies that we've put in place have been really good so – fingers crossed – it's prepared us as best as we can be for when we get there,' she cheered.
Tammy Abrahams is swapping Roma for Beskitas. 'Hello Black Eagles, I'm coming for you. See you at the airport today,' he tooted.
Jørgen Strand Larsen's loan at Wolves has become a permanent move from Celta Vigo.
Hull City owner Acun Ilicali (six permanent managers and counting since taking over in January 2022) claims that Sky Sports will be following him next season. Asked what his expectations were for latest incumbent, Sergej Jakirovic, he replied: 'Top 10. I believe in myself and my staff. Top 10 and then we will see.'
And new Wolfsburg boss Paul Simonis – nicknamed the 'Gouda Guardiola' – says he's a big fan of the real thing after arriving from Go Ahead Eagles. 'I really like … not because he looks like [me] … but I really like Pep Guardiola,' cooed Simonis. 'I was already bald before he was bald. What I like about these guys is how the players talk about them. If you take good care of them, they will pay you back.'
Sophie Downey shares her Women's Euros memories in an extract from the latest edition of our sister email.
Sophie also picks out six contenders to be top scorer at Euro 2025, while our writers make their wider predictions for what's going to happen.
'What we have, in essence, is the professional athlete reimagined as a kind of plutocratic demigod, able to construct entire new realities around themselves.' It's Jonathan Liew on Cristiano Ronaldo's new Saudi deal.
Egyptian creators racked up 14m views on YouTube with Copa Gianni highlights … posted before kick-off. Alexios Mantzarlis has more.
Dani Carvajal misses his family. The good news, he tells Sid Lowe, is that in return he's about to become reacquainted with something he has missed as much.
Why a search for unpredictability lies behind Chelsea's transfer strategy. By Jacob Steinberg.
David Hytner heads to Brentford and hears more about their promotion of Keith Andrews and the ongoing Bryan Mbeumo saga.
And the Rumour Mill has scoured the gossip pages so that you don't have to, bringing news of Manchester United's latest purported striker target.
It's on the toasty side, both outside and inside Football Daily Towers, so let's all cool down vicariously through Diego Maradona and some ice lollies at a 1983 photoshoot. See, you feel less hot already.
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BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
Club World Cup 'devaluing' football
The Club World Cup is devaluing football because players cannot perform properly, according to Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Maheta Molango. High temperatures have impacted players, while low crowds have also been a factor in Fifa's extended competition in to be substituted during their 1-0 defeat by Real Madrid, with their last-16 game in Miami on Tuesday played in temperatures reaching 30C and humidity of 70%.Borussia Dortmund's substitutes also spent the first half of their game against Mamelodi Sundowns last month watching from the dressing room because of the heat. Six matches have had to be suspended because of thunderstorms, including a two-hour delay in Chelsea's last-16 win over means, less than a year before the start of the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, Molango is worried by how the competition is impacting the players and the sport."We're devaluing the product and it's a shame because if I'm a US fan and that's my first exposure to soccer, that's not good," he said."We need to be mindful we're competing with other sports and they're very good at entertainment. Then it becomes a very poor comparison."We've reached a stage where the quality is dropping, because there's no way you can have a good game if you play at 4pm in Mexico. "It's impossible, because the players themselves say to you 'I cannot. I need to manage my efforts" - which would mean what you see on the pitch is not good, the audiences drop, it's as simple as that. This is all about money."My hope is that people now, even from a pure business perspective, will see that it does not make sense."Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called the competition "the worst idea ever implemented in football", and days before the tournament, global players' union Fifpro released a report saying players should be allowed at least a four-week off-season break."It's this feeling of accumulation of competitions that just do not talk to each other and create a calendar that is just nonsensical," added Molango. "Let's see what happens in October, November [to players] - that's when you're going to start seeing because you pay the price. This Club World Cup gives us a chance to start looking at the bigger picture." Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola understood Klopp's position, but felt competing in the Club World Cup was the price of success. "Would I love to have two months to prepare for next season? Yes. Would I love to be refreshed for next season? Yes. But it is what it is," he said, before City were knocked out by Al Hilal on Tuesday. Legal action against Fifa continues Fifa has also defended itself with senior sources from the governing body telling BBC Sport last month the protection of player welfare has been at the core of decision-making, pointing to initiatives such as additional substitutes and permanent concussion the competition has contributed to further congestion in the fixture calendar were firmly dismissed, with a source saying it was "not caused by the Club World Cup".It was pointed out a maximum of seven Club World Cup games will be played by two teams every four years, with the slot for the competition replacing the one previously used for the Fifa Confederations extended competition was a main trigger for a joint legal action last year by the PFA, along with the French and Italian players' unions, against Fifa over the "overloaded and unworkable" football calendar. A hearing on that is likely to be held early next year. It came before the top European leagues and players' union Fifpro filed a legal complaint against Fifa with the European Commission over what it claims is an "abuse of dominance" by world football's governing body."This is much more of a political one. It's fair to say we are pretty confident the Commission will show an interest in probably taking the case, which is unusual," Molango added."Quite a few kind of sports cases are brought in front of the Commission and normally they don't get involved in those type of cases. In this instance, based on what we've seen so far, we're pretty confident."
BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Chelsea is for 'winners only'
Defender Levi Colwill says Chelsea should be a club for "winners only" and says he has been dissatisfied with his own performances. The 22-year-old is already regarded as one of the leaders at Stamford Bridge by manager Enzo Maresca and his peers in the dressing room. Colwill has started all but one of Chelsea's Club World Cup matches, and was clear when asked whether they could win the tournament before their quarter-final against Palmeiras on Friday in Philadelphia."Yeah, why not?" before adding: "We all know how big this club is and how the culture of the club has always been to win. We're just trying to reinforce that to the young boys, to the boys coming in, that this club is for winners only. "That's what we all need to do and strive towards."Despite being a regular starter for Chelsea, Colwill said he struggled in the 2024-25 season. Asked what he needs to improve, he replied: "There's a lot I would say. We could be here for ages, to be honest. "I know I am nowhere near where I would like to be in the future. There are so many areas of my game that aren't good enough. "I think I've seen that this season. Of course, defending one v one has been tough this season and just being on the ball. I'm good at times when I'm trying to make passes and there are other times where I've been a bit lazy and you can tell. "If you want to be the best and strive for the best things possible, you've got to be hard on yourself."Not a Chelsea fan? Find and follow your clubColwill also revealed he has struggled when on England duty but has followed the advice of a staff member to read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear to help him cope with different environments. Having been in all but one of England's squads over the past 12 months, Colwill hopes to add to his single appearance under Thomas Tuchel, a defeat against Senegal last month, to ensure he is well placed to make the World Cup next summer. "Of course it is going to be a huge season for me," he said. "Chelsea are back in the Champions League, we've got the Premier League where we want to push on and do better than we did this season. "Looking at the end of the season with the World Cup, it will be a big aim to be there."
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
UPenn finds ‘shameful' loophole to still celebrate trans swimmer Lia Thomas
The University of Pennsylvania have made use of a loophole in order to celebrate Lia Thomas ' records, despite seemingly bowing to Donald Trump 's Department of Education (DOE) by agreeing to resolve alleged Title IX violations. The DOE announced Tuesday that Penn is adopting strict definitions for male and female competitors under White House guidelines, adding that the school will ban trans athletes from women's competitions and erase Thomas from the school's record books. Furthermore, swimmers impacted by Thomas' inclusion in women's NCAA competitions will receive a personal apology from Penn and be retroactively awarded records and titles. However, despite wiping Thomas from the official record books, a special note appeared at the bottom of the web page for UPenn's women's swimming team. It read: 'NOTE: Competing under eligibility rules in effect at the time, Lia Thomas set program records in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle during the 2021-22 season'. On her individual profile, UPenn recognize that Thomas was 'part of Penn's 400 free relay that set a program record at the Ivy Championships'. Penn's record books now make mention Lia Thomas in an end note at the bottom of a page Thomas won a national title as a woman in the 500 free while tying for fifth in the 200 free at the 2022 NCAA Finals with Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has since become the face of the movement to ban trans athletes from female sports. The NCAA previously allowed each sports to govern transgender inclusion, generally deferring to national governing bodies or International Olympic criteria. The fate of Thomas' NCAA is now in question. The Ivy League institution's decision to wipe Thomas from the record books came after the Trump administration suspended $175 million in federal funding to Penn. 'Penn remains committed to fostering a community that is welcoming, inclusive, and open to all students, faculty, and staff,' University of Pennsylvania president J. Larry Jameson said in a statement. 'I share this commitment, just as I remain dedicated to preserving and advancing the University's vital and enduring mission. 'We have now brought to a close an investigation that, if unresolved, could have had significant and lasting implications for the University of Pennsylvania.' Daily Mail has reached out to Thomas' spokesperson for comment. It was under that pervious NCAA structure that Thomas was allowed to compete despite originally swimming as a man before receiving hormone replace therapy. She returned as a woman in 2021 after meeting the NCAA's hormone requirements at the time. Thomas won a national title as a woman in the 500 free while tying for fifth in the 200 free at the 2022 NCAA Finals with Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines (pictured) Since then, the NCAA has changed its policy to conform with Trump's February 5 executive order aiming to ban transgender athletes from girls and women's sports. The NCAA changed its policy on February 6 after Trump signed an executive order on banning transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports. Thomas was banned from competing in elite women's races ahead of the Olympics by The Court of Arbitration for Sport panel, which ruled that she was ineligible to challenge World Aquatics policy on trans athletes. Thomas is, arguably, the most visible trans athlete in the debate over their presence in women's and girls' sports. Growing up in Austin, Texas, Thomas began swimming at age 5 and only got better with the passing years. At Westlake High School, which produced Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Drew Brees and Nick Foles, Thomas earned a sixth-place finish among teenage boys at the Texas state championships. Colleges quickly took notice. Thomas ultimately followed her brother to Penn's swim team, where she began focusing on distance races – and her growing unease with her own body. She'd already begun questioning her gender in high school, but those feelings only intensified at the Ivy League college in Philadelphia. While competing under her birth name, Will, Thomas recorded the sixth-fastest national time in the men's 1,000-yard freestyle in 2017 (57.55 seconds), and had several other impressive performances in the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle. Thomas was even better the following year, finishing second at the Ivy League Championships in the men's 500 freestyle, 1,000 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle. But although Thomas was still racing as a man in the spring 2019, she was already beginning to identify as a woman. In fact, Thomas came out to her family as transgender a year earlier, in the summer of 2018. To Thomas, transitioning was the right answer. Not only was she comfortable with her new body, but her family, friends, teammates and coaches remained largely supportive of her decision. She was still competing as a man in 2019-20, occasionally wearing a women's swimsuit, but her times suffered dramatically due to HRT treatment. Ultimately Thomas raced in only four of eight regular-season events that year, and outside of a win in the 500 freestyle against Villanova, was a non factor for the Quakers. With her testosterone levels dropping, Thomas decided to move to the women's division, not just for herself, but for other trans athletes facing the same obstacles. There was, of course, some pushback. Even LGBTQ+ icon Martina Navratilova took issue with the trans swimmer, reposting a article on Twitter and writing: 'It is not fair for women to race against transgender Lia Thomas.' In January of 2022, the NCAA announced it would defer to the rules of each sport's governing body when it came to trans athletes in women's sports. USA Swimming followed by updating its own criteria, requiring trans women to have minuscule testosterone levels for 36 months in order to compete in the women's division. Regardless, Thomas remained eligible while posting the best 200-meter freestyle time in the country as the NCAA was beginning its own transition from the imperial to the metric system.
