‘This is crazy, ridiculous' – Robbie Keane slams ‘five locals' rule in Hungarian league
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Irish Independent
25 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
‘We've only half the job done' – Athlone's Shauna Brennan targets Champions League progression with tough four-day turnaround
A reward for Wednesday's 4-0 trouncing of Welsh side Cardiff City was another qualifier, also at home, against a more experienced Agram from Croatia, where the winners of that one-legged tie will move into the semi-final stage of the qualification rounds, where likes of Roma and Sparta Prague are already through with a bye. Athlone's players were all making their Champions League debuts against Cardiff and they are keen to extend their European season as far as possible. "It'll definitely be a different challenge on Saturday and we're expecting that. We know that we've only half the job done. Wednesday means nothing without Saturday so that's our focus,' says Athlone's Galway-born Shauna Brennan. "We know they're going to be a new challenge, they're going to be a good side. They've won the Croatian League but we'll look at their key players and we'll be ready for whatever comes at us.' Town's home ground was packed for the Cardiff game and another sell-out is expected for the visit of the Croatians as Brennan says that – despite the gloss of that 4-0 scoreline – the crowd did play a role. 'We haven't had a crowd like that before. It was a record crowd so it was great to see the support from everybody in Athlone to actually sell out the stadium. We were hoping it would be a sell out but obviously that depends on the fans and it was great to see them all come out and they're in blue and black,' she says. "I think it helped us in the first 10 minutes. We hit the ground running and I think the crowd really got behind us to do that and it helped us to win them tackles, the cheers from the crowd. They definitely did help us to get up for the game and be ready.' With a debate within the game overall about recovery and a mandated rest period between games, it's a big ask for the Athlone players – many of whom are part-time – to turn around and play two Champions League ties in four days. "It's tough,' says Brennan, who parked her Gaelic football career with Galway to focus on soccer with Athlone. 'We do have a lot of players that are full-time in Athlone but then there's the likes of myself and some of the other girls that are working or in college. "We stayed up on Wednesday night to get our recovery in and we'll do a light session on Friday night, a walkthrough probably and we'll be ready to go.'
The 42
35 minutes ago
- The 42
Brendan Rodgers: 'Someone else' will be Celtic manager if club does not keep building
BRENDAN RODGERS HAS delivered a clear message to the Celtic board – show ambition to drive the club forward or he will not extend his contract. Rodgers is entering the final season of his three-year deal and told principal shareholder Dermot Desmond and chief executive Michael Nicholson that he is not interested in performing a maintenance job. The Celtic manager reiterated he would be going nowhere of his own volition before his contract expires but his long-term future remains unclear. Asked about his contract situation ahead of Celtic's Scottish Premiership opener against St Mirren on Sunday, Rodgers said: 'Dermot and Michael and I had a conversation over the summer on where we were at. 'I said: 'I'm very happy here'. There's conditions we want to be able to improve and be better because I'm not the type of manager that's good at maintaining anything. If it's just something to maintain, I'm not the manager of Celtic. It'll be someone else. Advertisement 'But to build and grow and develop and push, then of course I love being at Celtic. 'I'm not the one that's going to sit here and just maintain levels. My commitment here to Celtic is this is a really fast-moving club and you have to keep moving, move quickly. 'It's one of the biggest clubs in world football. It has a demand and an expectation on it and the only way you get better within that is by improving and developing.' Rodgers stressed he was not saying the club had to match his own ambition. 'I don't want to be really arrogant to say that,' he said. 'Celtic clearly has an expectation and should have an expectation because of the size of the club we are, and what the demands are here. 'What I'm saying, for clarity, I love being here. And, yes, there's been some challenges on and off the pitch since I've arrived, but that's management, that's coaching. But in the main, I've absolutely loved it here and I will continue to do so however long that is. But like I said, there has to be that ambition from everyone. 'In terms of my situation, I'm relaxed on it only because I know what I give every single day. And if the club choose to offer (a contract) and see that as the way forward, great. If not, it doesn't really matter to me in relation to what I give to the job. 'My ambition is for Celtic. It's not for me. My ambition is for Celtic to be the best that it can be. 'I've been in the game quite a long time now. So I think I understand what we need to succeed. We did that last year. We brought in certain players that helped our profile when we moved into the Champions League. And those players really helped us in the Champions League. 'So my ambition now is to keep us going in that direction. And that's what our conversations are about.' Rodgers has stressed the need to bolster their attacking options in recent weeks. Shin Yamada arrived as a belated replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi but the sale of Nicolas Kuhn to Como has compounded a lack of wide players following the long-term knee injury Jota suffered in May. Rodgers said: 'There's no doubt I would have liked to have had players in now, but it's not the case. I'm not going to kill my own joy and overthink. I focus on what's here. We know the work that we need to do and it's my responsibility to convince the club that we really need them. 'Clearly, I'm not doing that job as well as maybe what I can, but I will continue to pursue that because it's something that's really important for us.'
The 42
36 minutes ago
- The 42
Tottenham eye Bayern star, Forest sign Swiss winger for €39 million
Updated at 20.33 TOTTENHAM HAVE opened talks with Bayern Munich over the potential loan signing of Joao Palhinha, the PA news agency understands. Palhinha joined Bayern from Fulham last summer in a deal worth up to £47.4million (€55 million), but endured a difficult debut campaign in Germany. The Portugal midfielder struggled with injury problems and only made six starts in the Bundesliga when fit under Bayern boss Vincent Kompany, which has opened the door for a temporary move back to London with Tottenham. Spurs have plenty of options in midfield, but have multiple competitions to deal with in the 2025-26 season after their Europa League victory in May secured Champions League qualification and the addition of Palhinha would be a boost for new head coach Thomas Frank. Palhinha, who turned 30 earlier this month, was linked with a transfer to Tottenham before he signed for Bayern. The former Sporting Lisbon midfielder enjoyed a successful two years at Fulham, where he made 79 appearances and scored eight times to become a fan favourite at Craven Cottage. Spurs secured the services of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham at the start of July, but failed in their pursuit of Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White and will now hope to land Palhinha on a season-long loan. Dan Ndoye (file pic). Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest have signed Switzerland winger Dan Ndoye from Bologna. The 24-year-old, who scored nine goals in a total of 41 appearances for Bologna last season, including their winner in the Coppa Italia final, has agreed a five-year deal. Advertisement Ndoye arrives for a fee reported to be around £34 million (€39 million). Ndoye said: 'I am really happy to have signed for the club. It is a really exciting time at Forest and I knew straight away that I wanted to be a part of the project. 'It's a really ambitious team with a fantastic history and I can't wait to get started.' Ndoye featured in all eight of Bologna's Champions League matches last season and has made 22 senior appearances for his country. He began his professional career in France with Nice and, after spending two seasons on loan at Basel, he joined Bologna in the summer of 2023. Forest's chief football officer Ross Wilson said: 'Dan is an exciting new addition to our squad and a player we have tracked extensively over a long period of time. 'We are delighted that he joins Nottingham Forest and continues his own ambitious journey here with us.' Ndoye is Forest's third summer signing following the arrivals of striker Igor Jesus and defender Jair Cunha, both from Brazilian side Botafogo, earlier this month, while England winger Morgan Gibbs-White signed a new three-year deal with the club last week, having been linked with a move to Tottenham. In addition, Txiki Begiristain has left his role as director of football at Manchester City after 13 years with the club. Begiristain announced he would be leaving the club in October 2024, and Hugo Viana is set to take over his role ahead of the new season. The 60-year-old joined City back in 2012 and saw the club achieve 21 trophies during his reign, including seven Premier League titles, two FA Cups and their first Champions League. City will celebrate Begiristain's achievements around the Manchester derby on 14 September, where he will be the special guest for the match. Begiristain spent seven years as Barcelona's technical director between 2003 and 2010 before joining City and played an important role during Pep Guardiola's time in Spain as well as in England. Guardiola previously said a part of him will leave when Begiristain decides to walk away. He said: 'Part of me is leaving, I would say. 'A friend of mine and one of the architects of one of the best teams ever from Barcelona, and now here.' Finally, Napoli striker Victor Osimhen on Thursday completed his permanent move to Turkish champions Galatasaray in a €75 million four-year deal. A key figure in Napoli's 2023 title triumph, Osimhen spent last season on loan at Galatasaray, scoring 26 goals in 30 league games as the Istanbul club claimed their 25th Super Lig crown. He was absent as Napoli, the freshly crowned Serie A champions, resumed training at the start of the week as the finer details of the deal were concluded. Napoli coach Antonio Conte seemingly did not have the 26-year-old in his plans for his side's Scudetto defence next term. Negotiations with Galatasaray had been ongoing for several weeks, but up to Thursday had stalled over the terms of payment for the transfer. Napoli recently recruited Kevin De Bruyne from Premier League club Manchester City. Osimhen becomes Galatasaray's most expensive ever player.
