Latest news with #FabioCapello
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Anton Ferdinand tells all on his racial abuse row with John Terry in emotional podcast - as he reveals it felt like 'me versus football' and faced racism at almost every stadium amid legal battle
Anton Ferdinand has opened up on his historic racial abuse row with John Terry, claiming the fall-out left him feeling like it was 'me versus football'. The former Premier League star says he was made to feel like he was the guilty party and that he suffered more racial abuse as a result of the saga. In 2011, Ferdinand claimed Terry had used racially-charged language towards him during a match between QPR and Chelsea at Loftus Road. He admits he did not hear it at the time, but video footage led to Terry being alleged to have called Ferdinand a 'f****** black ****'. Terry was charged of racial abuse in a criminal law case but was cleared in court. He insisted he had said to Ferdinand: 'Oi, Anton, do you think I called you a black ****?' Nevertheless, Terry was stripped of the England captaincy and as hit with a four-match ban and fined £220,000 by the Football Association. Fabio Capello resigned as England manager as he disagreed with the FA's decision to defrock Terry of the armband. Now, speaking to the How Do You Cope? podcast, Ferdinand, 40, has given his recount of the day and subsequent events - including the role his mother Janice, who died in 2017, played in restraining him from confronting Terry after full time. 'On the pitch I did not hear one bit of racism. It was caught on camera on Sky Sports,' he began. 'I didn't know anything about it while the game was going on. If I had have heard it, while the game was going on, I would've have done anything, but in the tunnel after the game we would've been fighting. 'It was only when I went up to my box at Loftus Road and my mum said, "Anton, are you alright?" I was like: "Yeah, of course, we've just beat Chelsea, I'm unbelievable." My mum went: "Did John Terry racially abuse you?" "No." My wife said: "You better have a look at this and handed me her brother's phone. 'I looked at it, saw it clear as day what was said, gave it back. I'd had a conversation with John Terry just before I came up, he'd called me in to see if I knew anything about it, I didn't know anything about it, I said I'll see you at Shaun Wright-Phillips' birthday this evening, embraced him, and walked to my box. 'I saw it, gave it back, started walking back to the dressing room because I was about to confront him. The only person who could stop me happened to be at the game, which was my mum. She shouted at the top of her voice and asked me to come back. Just out of pure respect for my mum, I turned around and came back because I was boiling with so much anger. 'She said to me: "Anton, I've raised you, I know what you want to do. But if you do do that, you're going to become the problem, so don't." 'I turned on my phone, an old-school Blackberry curve, and so much information was trying to come through it that it just turned off. It's never turned on since.' He added: The FA were in contact to come and sit down with me. I had to give a statement. When I was in the meeting for that statement, that's the day I realised I was in trouble. 'They were questioning me like I had done something wrong. 'Anything that happened negatively towards Chelsea, towards John Terry, towards England... it wasn't just about Chelsea, it was about England, so every club was involved in this. It was always my fault. '(Terry) got stripped of the armband. I didn't ask them to strip him - the FA took that upon themselves. Do I think it was the right decision? One hundred percent. 'I got booed everywhere I went. The only place I didn't get booed was Sunderland, because I'd played for them and the fans know me personally, and West Ham because West Ham knew me as a nine year old kid all the way until the first team. Everywhere else in the country I got booed and hammered and heard a racial slur. 'It was me versus football, it felt like it. While he was talking and making statement after statement in the press, I was told I couldn't speak. "Don't speak, it's going to hinder the FA's hearing and conclusion." 'I didn't want the police to get involved - I wanted football to deal with it because it was a footballing matter. Let the footballing people deal with it. But the CPS people got involved and I wasn't allowed to speak because it could jeopardise the court case. 'I was having to be tight-lipped which I really struggled with.' Ferdinand posted a tweet that said 'the door was still open to chat' and asked Terry to call him Terry was charged for using racist language by the CPS in December 2011 and he pleaded not guilty when his trial started eight months later, before being acquitted. The FA then charged him for using 'abusive and/or insulting words or behaviour' which 'included a reference to the ethnic origin and or race of Ferdinand'. The five-time Premier League winner opted not to appeal the decision and subsequently apologised for the 'language used'. In a statement, Terry said: 'After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgment. He added: 'Although I'm disappointed with the FA judgment, I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any walk of life.' Terry added during his interview with Jordan that he had also attempted to speak to Anton about the incident in 2011. 'I tried to make contact with Anton that evening after the game,' he said. 'And I basically got shut down instantly from all of them. 'I knew Anton, we were mates, we knew each other and always got on well. Obviously, I got on well with Rio. We could have done something that was more powerful than what came about in the end. And that's probably my disappointment because it's [racism] is in the game. 'Clearly in the stadiums and all of that now that we need to get out for sure. We could have done something very powerful as a group of players, not only us but everybody else I think at the time.'
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Everton date for first competitive Hill Dickinson Stadium fixture confirmed
Everton have discovered the date for their first competitive game at Hill Dickinson Stadium. The match will take place on Sunday, August 24 at 2pm (BST) and be shown live on Sky Sports. The Blues will welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to their new state-of-the-art facility on that day. Everton start their Premier League campaign the Monday before (August 18) against Leeds United at Elland Road. Advertisement Everton men's team played their final match at Goodison Park back in May, bringing an end to a 134-year association with the famous stadium. The club's women's team will move into Goodison for the 2025-26 campaign. READ MORE: Thierno Barry sends emotional farewell message as £27.5m Everton transfer announcement nears READ MORE: Everton let striker leave for free after 'bargain' transfer predicted Champions League run The Blues will play a friendly against AS Roma on Saturday, August 9. There will also be a legends game taking place straight after, with Fabio Capello and Peter Reid confirmed as guest managers. Advertisement It has already been a busy summer for Everton as they build up to life at the new stadium. Key players Idrissa Gueye and Jarrad Branthwaite have agreed new contracts, as have club captain Seamus Coleman and Michael Keane. The Blues have already completed a permanent deal for Carlos Alcaraz after triggering the £12million clause in last season's loan agreement. They are also close to agreeing a deal for Thierno Barry, who is set to join in an initial £27.5million switch from Villarreal.
Forbes
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Why Juventus Cannot Afford To Repeat The Dean Huijsen Mistake Again
Kenan Yildiz and Dean Huijsen pose for a photograph following the FIFA Club World Cup match between ... More Real Madrid and Juventus (Photo by Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) Juventus have rightly been widely criticised for ignoring the quality of Dean Huijsen, looking on as the young defender signed for Real Madrid just 10 months after being sold by the Turin giants. Any number of analysts and pundits – as well as former players and coaches – have weighed in on the subject, asking how a player of such obvious quality managed to play just 12 minutes for the Juve first team. 'I am surprised that Juventus didn't see the clear potential of the boy,' Fabio Capello – who managed both Juve and Real Madrid told La Gazzetta dello Sport this week. 'Huijsen didn't just suddenly become good. If he's playing for Real Madrid at 20, he's surely good enough for Juventus.' Dean Huijsen's three-year spell at Juventus Indeed, it should have been incredibly obvious that Huijsen was an emerging talent. Juventus signed the Málaga youth product back in 2021. Impressing in the Bianconeri academy, he was sent to represent the club's Next Gen team in Italian football's third tier in January 2023. Quickly rewarded with a new contract, Huijsen made his first team debut in October 2023. Introduced as a 78th-minute substitute in a 1-0 win over AC Milan at San Siro should be the start of a story of Juve's next great defender, but rather than follow in the illustrious footsteps of Gaetano Scirea, Andrea Barzagli or Giorgio Chiellini, he would never be given a second chance. Instead, just three months after that maiden outing, Huijsen was sent on loan to AS Roma. Then boss Daniele De Rossi would not make the same mistake as Juve, handing the youngster his debut the very next day with the 6ft 5' (1.96m) defender making an immediate impact. Going on to make 14 appearances for the Giallorossi, he would return to Juventus at the end of the season amid promises of a regular run in the first team under new boss Thiago Motta. But the club would quickly renege on those plans, seeking to cash in on the emerging talent rather than using Huijsen to plug some very obvious gaps in their own ailing backline. Leaving Juventus for the Premier League "Did Juventus treat me badly? Maybe,' Huijsen told Marca recently. 'I went on loan to Roma, then came back, and I can understand that they wanted to sell me. But I arrived on the first day after the summer break, and they told me I had to leave, though they said they wouldn't force me. "And then, yes, they did force me. They made me train alone and things like that. It was a bit unpleasant, especially since I had been there for three years, since the U17s, and I just wanted a chance with Juve's first team. 'The truth is that football is sometimes tough. Was I a little sad, angry? Yes. But the situation didn't change, and that's how it is. If they thought I was a good opportunity for a sale, then I accepted it." Clearly that was the opinion of Cristiano Giuntoli, who has since lost his job as Juve's Sporting Director. Thiago Motta is gone too, with the pair spending far more money on central defenders than they made from selling Huijsen to Bournemouth for €15.2 million ($17.90 million). A disaster of epic proportions for Juventus Since pocketing that money from the Premier League side, Juve have signed Pierre Kalulu from AC Milan (a total of €17.3 million/$20.38 million), Juan Cabal from Hellas Verona (€12.8 million/$15.08 million) and Lloyd Kelly from Newcastle United for €20 million ($23.55 million). With a further €4 million ($4.71 million) handed to Chelsea to take Renato Veiga on a six-month loan, the total amount Juve have spent on central defenders since selling Huijsen stands at €54.1 million ($63.72 million). Meanwhile, Huijsen has gone from strength to strength. After 36 appearances for Bournemouth and making his international debut for Spain, Real Madrid have paid an incredible €59.5 million ($70.08 million) to sign him, meaning the Cherries have made a €44.3 million ($52.17 million) profit. It has echoes of a very similar mistake made with Cristian Romero. Signed from Genoa, the Argentina international never played a single minute for Juventus before was loaned to Atalanta for €2 million ($2.36 million) with an option to sign him outright for a further €16 million ($18.84 million) back in 2020. Romero was named Serie A's Defender of the Year for an excellent 12 months in Bergamo, the club exercising their right to buy him only to immediately sell him to Tottenham for €50 million ($58.89 million). Yet Juventus clearly failed to improve their process and have repeated the same errors in judgement. As discussed in this previous column, a combination of injuries to Gleison Bremer, Juan Cabal and Federico Gatti left Juventus to face Real Madrid at the FIFA Club World Cup with Kelly – who has been a huge flop – alongside proven failure Daniele Rugani. That would be painful enough, but to lose to the Spanish giants fielding a player they gave up must be a major lesson for the Serie A side, who need to learn to recognise elite level talent when they have it in front of them. Selling Dean Huijsen was a mistake that Juventus can never repeat.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Italian legend tips Real Madrid trio as potential Ballon d'Or winners
As Real Madrid get set to take on Juventus tonight in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, the game promises to be a special one for a certain Fabio Capello. The legendary Italian tactician enjoyed a successful stint as Real Madrid manager, winning two league titles in both the seasons he was in charge in 1996/97 and 2006/07. Advertisement Between 2004 and 2006, Capello was also the manager of the Juventus first-team setup. As such, tonight's clash will see two of his former teams collide on the field. Capello speaks ahead of Club World Cup clash While he will not be in attendance in the USA for the match, Capello spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t AS) ahead of tonight's encounter between Real Madrid and Juventus. During the chat, the former Italy manager was full of praise for Real Madrid's terrific trio of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Jr., hailing them as potential Ballon d'Or winners. Potential Ballon d'Or winners according to Capello. (Photo by) Advertisement 'Vinicius, Mbappe, and Bellingham are three potential Ballon d'Or winners,' he said. Capello also went on to speak highly of former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti for the job he had done to get the best out of the aforementioned trio. 'Many said Ancelotti relied solely on individual talent, but he's actually been excellent at leveraging his players' talents. Now we'll see how Xabi Alonso performs, as he certainly has the personality to succeed in Madrid,' added Capello. The former manager also expressed his surprise and disappointment about Juventus letting go of Dean Huijsen, who has now signed for Real Madrid and is already looking like a brilliant addition. 'I'm surprised Juve didn't understand the kid's obvious potential. Huijsen can't have suddenly become good. If he's playing for Real Madrid at 20, he should have been at Juve even more,' said Capello.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fabio Capello: 'Gasperini will need time.'
Former Roma manager Fabio Capello discussed Roma's appointment of Gian Piero Gasperini. In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Capello urged Roma fans and the club to have patience and allow Gasperini to work on his methods. Advertisement 'Gasp will inevitably need some time to make his players understand his ideas and methods,' said Capello .'Which are very different from Ranieri's.' 'I'm very curious about his adventure in Rome,' he added. 'The first match of the new season with Bologna should be interesting and unpredictable. Roma will immediately face a super well-oiled and top-level team, like that of Vincenzo Italiano, which is now a solid reality in our football.'
