O Botafogo segue na busca de um volante. Nas últimas semanas, o Alvinegro fez uma proposta ao Resende mostrando interesse na contratação de João Felipe, de 19 anos. O Gigante do Vale, porém, recusou a realidade apresentada pelo clube de General Severiano.
+ Com poucas certezas e muitas dúvidas, Botafogo sai do Carioca sem ainda ter um time ideal
O plano do Glorioso seria, inicialmente, aproveitar João Felipe na equipe sub-20, mas com o jogador sendo observado semanalmente pelo profissional, treinando nos intervalos dos jogos da base e com relatórios. Estes foram os casos, por exemplo, de Kayque e Paulo Victor, que vieram do Nova Iguaçu e atualmente estão totalmente envolvidos no time principal.
A diretoria do Botafogo procurou diretamente o Resende mostrando interesse no jogador, que já possui vínculo profissional com a equipe. O Gigante do Vale, contudo, recusou a proposta apresentada pelo Alvinegro. O nome de João Felipe continua no radar do Glorioso, que pode intensificar o interesse.
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João Felipe planejava passar por um mês de testes no Lyon, que possui parceria com o Resende, ainda no ano passado, mas ele não conseguiu ir à França por conta da pandemia do coronavírus. O jogador e o estafe ainda não foram avisados sobre possíveis novas datas destes treinos na Europa em 2021, mas o Resende aguarda a chance aparecer novamente.
Com esta oportunidade de treinamentos no Lyon, a prioridade do Gigante do Vale é que João Felipe tenha a oportunidade de mostrar serviço na França. Vale lembrar que ainda não há nada certo e que o atleta, neste momento, está sendo aproveitado pelo time sub-20 do Resende para manter ritmo de jogo.
O volante atuou em nove partidas do Resende no último Campeonato Carioca, marcando dois gols. O jogador chamou a atenção do Botafogo, que tenta aproveitar a oportunidade de mercado – antes, contudo, precisa convencer o Gigante do Vale a liberar o jogador.
Liverpool fielded a strong line-up against Sparta Prague on Thursday night, with a few eyebrows raised given Jurgen Klopp's side headed into the contest with a sizeable advantage after winning 5-1 in the first leg in the Czech Republic.
Still, a 6-1 drubbing over the hapless visitors issued an ominous statement of intent for Liverpool's Europa League opponents, with the Reds the clear bookmakers' favourites to secure the one major trophy that has evaded Klopp's tenure.
A dominant showing saw two goals from Cody Gakpo and more from Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Bobby Clark ending infinitesimal Czech hopes of a comeback with an unrelenting opening.
Liverpool now prepare for a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday, and while many supporters would have wished for greater rotation, further starts for the teenage talents that have been so impressive in recent weeks, this exercise in sharpness and fluency was clearly performed with sights set on prevailing against Erik ten Hag's side.
Some almost certain to start at the weekend were left out, with Virgil van Dijk introduced for the final half-hour and Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister unused substitutes.
Mac Allister will partner up with Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai in the engine room in what means Clark must return to the bench, but what a breakthrough the dynamic midfielder has forged over recent fixtures.
Bobby Clark's game vs Sparta Prague in numbers
Liverpool's injury-hit squad has called upon the teenage ranks of late and they have certainly stepped up to the plate. Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley were the seasonal trailblazers but Clark has since followed and cemented himself at the forefront of the academy hopefuls.
Liverpool player Bobby Clark warming up.
On Thursday night, the 19-year-old bagged a goal – his first as a professional – and assist apiece and received praise from reporter Keifer MacDonald for his "flawless" display, demonstrating his value in Klopp's first team once again.
The performance now takes Clark up to 11 senior appearances for the Reds in 2023/24 and there's more than a slight sense that there is so much still to come from this talented teenager, who joined from Newcastle United as a 16-year-old back in 2021.
Minutes played
73'
Goals
1
Assists
1
Touches
64
Accurate passes
49/53 (92%)
Key passes
1
Duels won
4/5
While Clark grows with each passing game, a poor performance on Thursday night would have done little to dissuade Liverpool in their plan for the player, fashioned into an all-action midfielder after spending his early years further forward, out wide or as the ten.
More important was Gakpo's game, with the Dutch attacker struggling to perform across recent weeks as Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz, conversely, have achieved their finest form of the season.
Cody Gakpo's performance vs Sparta Prague
Gakpo started on the left wing against Sparta Prague but he roamed around the field and impressed with his dynamism and crispness, complementing his brace with 43 accurate passes from 46 attempts, making one key pass and taking 64 touches in total, as per Sofascore.
He did win just one of his nine contested duels on the evening, but this does not negate a promising performance and a return to goalscoring form, taking his 2023/24 tally to 13 goals from 41 appearances, with five assists too.
Writing in his post-match player ratings, the Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle handed Gakpo an 8/10 score after his striking success, stating: 'Confidence-boosting showing down the left flank and did well to tuck away the fourth goal and clever flick for the sixth. Denied hat-trick by one wayward finish and a good save.'
Nunez opened the scoring in what has been a remarkable polishing, sharpening, of raw qualities over recent months and with Salah, who bagged a goal and supplied a hat-trick of assists, immovable in Klopp's frontline, Gakpo faces a fight to cement a regular starting berth.
Nonetheless, he has been good this season and it's easy to forget that he has been a victim of his own versatility, playing six or more fixtures across four different positions, including central midfield.
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He remains a valuable member of the squad but there's no question that he was in need of a boost, and his two-goal haul over Železná Sparta has proved that he is capable of overcoming bumps in the road.
Cody Gakpo's season in numbers
Gakpo, aged 24, joined Liverpool in testing condition over 14 months ago, signing from PSV Eindhoven for £35m in January 2023 after an impressive World Cup with the Netherlands, though he arrived at an Anfield side in crisis and struggled to make an impact initially.
That said, he's looked far more promising during his first full campaign and has been utilised across a wealth of different positions to plug gaps and aid Liverpool's fight for silverware across every front – a conquest yet to unravel across any one competition.
Premier League
26
12
5
3
Europa League
6
5
4
2
Carabao Cup
6
5
4
0
FA Cup
3
3
0
0
His total return is decent but his Premier League term is slightly modest, though just 12 of his 26 fixtures in the top-flight have come from the outset, regularly featuring in different roles.
He's played up front with the greatest regularity, and as per FBref, the £120k-per-week ace ranks among the top 20% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 9% for pass completion, the top 5% for progressive passes, the top 17% for shot-creating actions, progressive carries and successful take-ons, the top 4% for tackles and the top 9% for interceptions per 90.
This noteworthy spread of metrics highlights Gakpo's protean footballing ability and also the elite technical skills that make him such an underrated member of the squad.
Liverpool's Cody Gakpo.
Admittedly, he hasn't been perfect this season but perhaps his influence goes under the radar sometimes; perhaps his skill set brings the best out of his teammates, making intelligent runs and flicking clever touches and crafting impactful passes.
Gakpo will hold himself accountable for some questionable recent form but he stepped up with a starring display against Sparta Prague and has reaffirmed his importance for Klopp as he chases down further silverware in his final season at Liverpool.
Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't hold back the tears after missing a penalty in the first half of extra-time against Slovenia.
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Ronaldo broke down after missing a penalty
Fans mocked Portugal legend on social media
Selecao set to face France in the quarter-final
WHAT HAPPENED?
The stage was set for the 39-year-old to score a record-breaking goal and guide his team to the quarter-final of Euro 2024 as Portugal earned a penalty towards the end of the first half of extra-time against Slovenia. Ronaldo, however, missed the opportunity to score in sixth straight European Championship as Jan Oblak parried away his spot-kick.
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WHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING
The Al-Nassr could not hold back tears during the half-time hurdle as he was found weeping inconsolably near the dugout. Fans, however, mocked the legendary footballer as he produced yet another underwhelming performance in the ongoing Euros.
A handle named Ehix urged Ronaldo to retire as he wrote on X: "And he misses the penalty….. It's time to call it a day, Ronaldo."
Matthew Corke shared a funny GIF as he wrote in the caption: "Ronaldo missing a dodgy penalty."
Another fan wrote: "Bruno’s one of the best penalty takers in the world Ronaldo had no business taking that but pride comes before the fall."
Tommy found amusement in Ronaldo's misery as he wrote: "I'm sorry but there is nothing funnier than Cristiano Ronaldo crying."
A fan named Josh Boyes claimed Ronaldo is finished, as he wrote: "Ronaldo’s crying cos he knows he’s finished. Can’t do it anymore."
Brian Gallagher questioned the decision to award Portugal the penalty as he posted: "Justice done with the save. Never in a million years was that a penalty. Still, it did bring us the sight of Ronaldo in tears, so swings and roundabouts."
James Fisher posted: "Wtf is going on with Ronaldo, can’t be crying like that during the game!"
A handle named Pagan Min pointed out that the star player is now holding Portugal back as the post read: "Ronaldo is old now and he should realize that. He is holding his team back and whatever happens next in this match Ronaldo has to think the better of his team than just trying to score a goal. Portugal deserves better."
A fan named Neil Gibbons accurately predicted that the ex-Manchester United would miss the penalty as he wrote: "Lovely to think there are millions of us watching this Portugal game united by nothing more than the hope that Ronaldo doesn't score."
Journalist Ross McCafferty took a dig at the Al-Nassr captain as he wrote: "I'll tell you something that's not so funny – right now Cristiano Ronaldo is sitting on the halfway line crying like a little girl!"
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
The former Manchester United attacker made amends for his miss when he finally found the back of the net during the penalty shootout as the Selecao picked up a 3-0 win in the tie-breaker to book a quarter-final berth. Earlier in the second half of extra time, Benjamin Sesko had a golden opportunity to finish off the game as he found himself one-on-one with Diogo Costa from a counter-attack, however, he failed to keep his cool and put the ball into the back of the net.
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WHAT NEXT FOR PORTUGAL?
Ronaldo and Co will now meet Kylian Mbappe's France in a blockbuster Euro 2024 quarter-final clash on Friday.
كشف الاتحاد الآسيوي لكرة القدم، النقاب عن التشكيل المثالي بالجولة الثانية من منافسات دوري أبطال آسيا (النخبة).
وتقام منافسات دوري أبطال آسيا في نسخته الجديدة، بشكل الدوري على أن يلعب كل فريق 8 مواجهات، 4 على ملعبه و4 خارج ملعبه، على أن يتأهل أفضل ثمانية فرق إلى دور الـ16.
فيديو | بمشاركة تريزيجيه وبن شرقي.. الريان يخسر أمام النصر في دوري أبطال آسيا
وأسدل قبل أيام الستار على مباريات الجولة الثانية التي شهدت تحقيق النصر السعودي فوزًا على الريان القطري وانتصار أهلي جدة على نظيرالوصل الإماراتي.
وشهد التشكيل الأمثل للجولة الثانية حضور 3 لاعبين من أندية الدوري السعودي وهم ثنائي الأهلي رياض محرز وإيبانيز، بجانب ساديو ماني لاعب النصر.
وغاب عن التشكيلة لاعبو الهلال رغم الفوز على الشرطة بخماسية في لقاء الجولة الثانية من المسابقة الآسيوية. التشكيل الأمثل للجولة الثانية في دوري أبطال آسيا
حراسة المرم: بيونج جوك يوونج
خط الدفاع: ساكاي- كورتيس جود- إيبانيز- لوكاس موراجيس.
خط الوسط: رياض محرز- كوتا واتانابي- خوان مونييز- ساديو ماني.
خط الهجوم: خوسيلو- أندرسون لوبيز.
فريق الجولة الثانية من #دوري_أبطال_آسيا_النخبة 🔝
هل يتواجد لاعب من فريقك؟ 🌟 pic.twitter.com/2zFhNnC4Jx
O Corinthians vive a indefinição sobre quando voltará a atuar pelo Paulistão, pois ainda não houve a liberação das autoridades para a retomada dos eventos esportivos no estado de São Paulo. Mas, mesmo assim, o clube terá que tomar uma decisão importante até a décima rodada, quando termina o prazo para inscrições de jogadores na fase de grupos do estadual. Restam quatro lugares na lista A a serem preenchidos.
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TABELA > Veja classificação e simulador do Paulistão-2021 clicando aqui
GALERIA >Saiba quais jogadores do Corinthians mais participaram de gols em 2021
Na última terça-feira, a Federação Paulista de Futebol informou que prorrogou o prazo de inscrições, que iria até a próxima sexta (9 de abril), e agora a data-limite acompanhará a rodada que estava prevista no período, ou seja, a 10ª. Sendo assim, os clubes terão mais tempo para definirem seus elencos para o restante do torneio.
A esperança do torcedor do Timão é que com esse novo prazo para a inclusão de novos atletas na lista A do Paulistão, o clube possa contratar algum reforço para o elenco, mas, se depender das movimentações dos bastidores, essa é uma possibilidade bastante remota, para não dizer quase impossível.
Obviamente, não está descartada uma contratação pontual, mas a paralisação do campeonato, o agravamento da pandemia e os já conhecidos problemas financeiros do Alvinegro são fatores que afastam as chances de um novo jogador vestir a camisa do Corinthians em um futuro próximo. Ainda que comissão técnica e diretoria admitam a necessidade de reforçar o elenco, todas as partes sabem da dificuldade de fechar qualquer acordo neste momento.
Até aqui, 22 das 26 vagas foram preenchidas na lista A do Corinthians no Paulistão. Nela estão os atletas que nasceram antes do ano 2000, ou seja, abrange a grande maioria das peças do elenco principal, mas as opções de Mancini já se encerraram nesse universo, uma vez que aqueles que ficaram não fazem mais parte dos planos, como é o caso de Everaldo, que deve sair.
Assim, os quatro espaços restantes nessa seleção tendem a ser preenchidos pela base corintiana e um dos agraciados pode ser o jovem Mandaca, que teve seu contrato regularizado nesta semana e já pode ser inscrito na competição. Apesar de ter nascido em 2001 (depois de 2000), ele não poderia entrar na lista B, pois ainda não tem um ano completo de Corinthians, pré-requisito para estar nessa listagem alternativa, que não tem data-limite e nem restrição de número.
O cenário mais provável neste momento é o do Corinthians passando pela 10ª rodada sem preencher as 26 vagas na lista A do Paulistão. Com isso, a base deve mesmo ser o grande reforço para esta primeira fase do estadual, que terá um calendário apertado por conta da paralisação e permitirá a rodagem do elenco com os jovens, algo que a diretoria colocou como prioridade em 2021.
Caso se classifique para a fase de mata-mata do campeonato, o Corinthians poderá substituir até quatro jogadores da lista A se houver reforços no elenco. Até lá, Mancini só poderá utilizar aqueles atletas inscritos até a data limite, ou incluir mais atletas das categorias de base na lista B, que seguirá aberta.
Confira as listas de inscritos do Timão até este momento do Paulistão:
LISTA A Goleiro: Cássio e Caíque França Laterais: Fagner e Fábio Santos Zagueiros: Bruno Méndez, Gil, Jemerson, Raul Gustavo e João Victor Meias: Luan, Araos, Camacho, Cantillo, Cazares, Gabriel, Mateus Vital, Otero, Ramiro e Roni Atacantes: Gustavo Silva, Jô e Léo Natel
LISTA B (atletas nascidos no ano 2000 em diante e que tenham pelo menos um ano nas categorias de base do clube) Goleiros: Guilherme Castellani, Matheus Donelli, Alan e Yago Laterais: Lucas Piton e Guilherme Biro Meias: Gabriel Pereira, Matheus Araújo, Vitinho e Xavier Atacantes: Adson, Antony, Cauê, Felipe Augusto e Rodrigo Varanda
England captain Harry Kane has been having some fun after a busy season by playing pranks on customers with the help of comedian Josh Weller.
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Kane turns joker at O2 Arena with TOCA SocialWinds up fans with practical jokesStriker set to captain England at Euro 2024WHAT HAPPENED?
England and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has shown off his lighter side after teaming up with comedian Josh Weller and TOCA Social to prank customers at a football experience based at London's O2 Arena. Kane became the "impractical joker" at a remote location in Munich as he directed Weller in a series of pranks that saw drinks orders go awry, dismal shots on goal followed by wild celebrations and general chaos reign before Kane's behind-the-scenes role was finally revealed.
AdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPWHAT WAS SAID
Kane was under no illusions at all that the duo's pranks were likely to cause chaos as he primed his co-conspirator Weller before they got started.
Kane: "Josh, are you ready for prank one?"
Weller: "Alright, let's go and get punched in the face."
Kane. "Hopefully it won't be that bad. Let's get this started, let's wind some people up."
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DID YOU KNOW?
Kane won the European Golden Shoe for the first time in his career this season. The striker scored 36 times for Bayern to top the list ahead of Serhou Guirassy, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
Chelsea have been offered the chance to sign a new striker who shares the same agent as Reece James, as the Blues look at a late January addition.
Chelsea striker rumours
Mauricio Pochettino currently has Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja as his two senior centre-forward options, although the former of the two is currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
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During that time, there has also been plenty of talk about Broja’s future, with reports suggesting Chelsea would be open to selling for £35m as Crystal Palace, Fulham, West Ham and Wolves all circle. Despite this, Pochettino has recently come out and backed the Albanian, putting his faith in the 22-year-old and comparing him to Harry Kane’s situation earlier in his career.
“All the biggest strikers needed time when they were young. They need to find their own balance. But I still believe that he has the potential to be an amazing striker.
“The process takes time. I always compare it to Harry Kane. He went on loan to Leyton Orient, Norwich and spent time finding his real balance. In our first six months, he started to perform only in December and January, and that’s when we started to see his real potential.
“He’s a player that suffered a big injury last season, he needs to put that big idea behind him, always that is difficult. And we are at Chelsea, he is trying to deliver while compared with the biggest strikers like [Didier] Drogba, [Jimmy Floyd] Hasselbaink or others. That’s always difficult for a young guy.”
Even if Broja remained at the club, there is still an argument that a third centre-forward could be needed, and there hasn’t been a shortage of rumoured targets.
The likes of Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres have been linked as big-money targets, while as short-term solutions, AZ Alkmaar’s Vangelis Pavlidis, Zenit St Petersburg’s Mateo Cassierra, Cercle Brugge’s Kevin Denkey and Atletico Mineiro’s Paulinho have been offered to Chelsea.
Another new forward could now be of interest to the Blues following a transfer update in the last 48 hours.
Chelsea offered Callum Wilson
According to talkSPORT, Callum Wilson has been ‘offered to Chelsea and West Ham for a bargain fee as Newcastle look to cash in before the January transfer window shuts’.
The report claims that Newcastle ‘could be forced to consider offers of between £18million and £20m for Wilson to help ease their concerns over breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules.’
Stamford Bridge could therefore be his next destination, and Wilson is a forward who has netted twice at the stadium before. Wilson, who shares the same agent as James, would arrive with plenty of Premier League experience after making more than 200 appearances in the competition and may still have years of top-flight football left in him at the age of 31.
Eddie Howe is also a big fan of the striker after working with Wilson at Bournemouth and Newcastle, saying last year:
"He's been incredible and I feel that his performance was right up there with one of the best I've seen him play, purely from a tactical perspective.
"He has to lead the press and the one we bounce off initially. He kept going right until the end and his goalscoring record is excellent. I'm delighted for him, he's a huge player for us and a big presence in the dressing room."
Tom Latham will captain a shadow New Zealand squad in their three World Cup warm-up matches against Australia in Brisbane next month.With nine of the World Cup 15 playing in the IPL and Ross Taylor signing a deal with Nottinghamshire, the 13-man squad for the trip across the Tasman includes just five of the players who will be heading to England later in May.Latham is joined by Henry Nicholls, Matt Henry, Jimmy Neesham and Tom Blundell from those named in the World Cup squad.While Australia, who name their World Cup squad on Monday, will call back IPL players for the three matches, New Zealand allow their players a full stint in India and are using the time in Brisbane as a chance for fringe players to impress. Apart from Will Young all the squad have international experience.”It’s an exciting challenge ahead of this group who I know will relish the chance to take on the Australians at home,” selector Gavin Larsen said. “The matches will be a stern test and provide quality preparation for those players bound for England and a great opportunity for the rest of the squad to show their wares.”Tim Seifert, who narrowly missed the cut for the World Cup when Blundell was preferred as back-up wicketkeeper, was not considered for the trip due to his finger injury. Adam Milne and Corey Anderson, both part of the 2015 World Cup, are also injured.Todd Astle, who lost out to Ish Sodhi in the main squad, will head to Brisbane as will Doug Bracewell who would be a possible World Cup call-up if any of the incumbent allrounders got injured.The three matches, which won’t be official ODIs, taken place on May 5, 7 and 9 at Allan Border Field. The New Zealand players then return home for a few days before making the trip to England.New Zealand squad Tom Latham, Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell, Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Hamish Rutherford, Blair Tickner, George Worker, Will Young
The Indian captain has also sounded a warning about not slipping into ‘bad habits’ during the IPL, which could affect players’ World Cup readiness
Varun Shetty in Visakhapatnam23-Feb-20195:54
Stoinis is one player who can make big impact – Kohli
India captain Virat Kohli spoke of the specific challenges to overcome as the team hits the final stretch before the World Cup in May. Among them, he said, was the lack of ODIs India have scheduled.As things stand, India will play their last international series before the World Cup – two T20Is and five ODIs – against Australia over the next few weeks, before the IPL season starts on March 23. While stating that game-time was important and that India would try to use the situations in the T20Is to gain confidence, Kohli said more ODIs would have been logical.”We stick by what the nation wants to do”
Firstly, all our sincere condolences to the families of all the soldiers who lost their lives. The Indian team and the whole set-up was shocked with what happened and are really sad with what happened. Our stand is simple: we stick by what the nation wants to do and what the BCCI decides to do. That is basically our opinion. Whatever the government and the board decide, we will go by that and we will respect that. That is our stand on the issue.
“Yeah, that [a few more ODIs] would have been ideal. More, I would say logical,” Kohli said on the eve of the first T20I in Visakhapatnam. “But you know that’s the way series are compiled nowadays and we have to more or less play that. Also because we are playing so much T20 cricket in the IPL so probably a couple of more ODIs would have been more beneficial. For both the teams, not just us. But look, we have to utilise what’s in front of us as best as possible. We’re going to look to get into the right kind of frame of mind as a team.”Getting into the right frame will be particularly tricky for India because of the unrelenting amount of T20 games coming their way. All other boards would have finished their respective T20 leagues by the time IPL begins and while the tournament will feature some of the world ‘s top cricketers, most will not have the workloads of India’s cricketers because of the IPL’s rules for team composition. In essence, the Indian players will go into the World Cup having done more effort than most to be prepared – a prospect Kohli spelled out for them.”All the people who are going to be part of the World Cup squad, they have to make sure that their games don’t go too much away from the one-day mould of things. That means we will have to be very wary of the bad habits that might creep in during the IPL. We need 15 people who are confident and mentally happy about where their game is at that particular moment,” Kohli said.”That will take a consistent effort from all the players during the IPL to keep a check on that. The moment we enter the nets and create bad habits, and you lose momentum, you lose batting form, it is very difficult to get it back in a tournament like the World Cup. So from that point of view, everyone will have to protect that mindset and be aligned towards what the team requires of them.”One of the reasons for India’s recent success has been their squad depth, which routinely allows them to rest senior players. Kohli himself last played in a T20I in November 2018, as did Jasprit Bumrah, and India have in the past shown no qualms in dropping a multitude of big names. For instance, in the Nidahas Trophy that was held ahead of the IPL last year, they left out Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav. The squads to play Australia, however, are more or less full strength and slightly off brand for a board that is big on workload management. This could potentially mean handing over workload management duties to the players themselves, along with their IPL franchises.”Again, the amount you practice, with the amount of travel during the IPL and the number of games in different conditions, in different temperatures, it is going to be challenging, to be honest. But as a cricketer, you have to map out how many practice sessions you really need. If you are hitting the ball well, there is no need to go to a practice session and tire yourself out for three hours, whereas you can utilise that particular phase to rest and recover even more.”I think those things need to be kept in mind. If your team is in a great position during the tournament, you don’t mind taking 2-3 games off also,” Kohli said. “It all depends on how you feel physically but everyone has to be really honest about it to themselves and accordingly see how they feel and not push themselves to the limit that might hamper the Indian team later on. I think we will all have to take responsibility for that.”With the Indian summer steadily creeping in, and seven matches to come over 17 days, their responsibilities have already begun.
A Liverpool legend is believed to be "turning heads" at the club as his reputation continues to rise, ahead of what could be a very popular return to Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool future
The Reds have enjoyed a wonderful period under Jurgen Klopp, who arrived at the club in October 2015, and has inspired the Reds to so much trophy success. The German ended Liverpool's long and painful wait for a Premier League title back in 2019/20, following a remarkable season that saw his team only drop two points in the opening 27 fixtures, and he has also tasted Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup success.
There will come a time when Klopp eventually leaves his post as manager, however, in what will be a sad day for anyone of a Reds persuasion, and the Liverpool boss' current deal expires at the end of the 2025/26 season.
It remains to be seen if the 56-year-old will end up extending his stay – many no doubt hope that he will – but the club will surely be thinking about eventual successors for the legendary German, ensuring they bring in the right person to take the team forward.
Liverpool eyeing Xabi Alonso as next manager
Speaking to Give Me Sport, journalist Ben Jacobs admitted that Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso is seen as a potential replacement for Klopp one day, with the Spaniard excelling at Bayer Leverkusen currently.
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso.
"My understanding is that Alonso is obviously focused on Bayer Leverkusen and not getting ahead of himself, they’re top of the Bundesliga at the time of recording.
"He's done absolutely phenomenally at that football club, so everyone else is talking about Alonso's future, but Alonso himself is only focused at the moment on Leverkusen and rightly so, because to get a top manager job, you don't put yourself in the shop window after 11 league games, you put yourself in the shop window at the end of a season or seasons when you've won silverware.
"But there's no doubt that Alonso is turning heads at the moment and that includes with two of his former clubs, Liverpool, and Real Madrid. I think less so Bayern Munich at this stage, because Thomas Tuchel is starting to settle, but obviously, if a vacancy ever opens there, then we know that Alonso will be linked with it as well. But the Liverpool possibility is maybe the most interesting."
Alonso certainly looks like a brilliant young manager who is already making waves in the game, considering he has guided Leverkusen to the top of the Bundesliga table, only failing to win one of their first 11 matches.
Xabi Alonso Liverpool stats
Total
Appearances
210
Goals
18
Assists
20
The 41-year-old was such a popular figure at Liverpool in his playing days, not only possessing endless quality, but also understanding what it means to represent a club of such tradition and stature. His influence in the 2005 Champions League final will never be forgotten, with his rebound effort from a penalty miss making it 3-3 on the night against AC Milan.
Assuming the classy Alonso continues to thrive in the coming years, he definitely looks like a standout current option to be Klopp's eventual replacement, although the majority of Reds fans will hope that the latter remains in charge well beyond 2026.