Egypt s 44-year-old goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary celebrated becoming the oldest player in Africa Cup of Nations history with a clean sheet as his side played out a goalless Group D draw with Mali in Port Gentil.
El-Hadary started on the bench, but an apparent shoulder injury for Ahmed El-Shenawy handed him his moment of history midway through the first period.
A four-time winner of this tournament, the 148-cap veteran will have been pleased by the lack of work sent his way by an industrious Mali side, who made most of the early running but lacked a clinical touch to match their endeavours.
Since the last of El-Hadary s AFCON titles in 2010, Egypt have failed to qualify and, although star man Mohamed Salah failed to shine, head coach Hector Cuper will be pleased to …
Erik ten Hag has been taking charge of Manchester United Under-21s in a bid to ease young players pathway to the first team.
Ten Hag was renowned for developing young players in his previous role at Ajax, and the Dutchman has looked to replicate that in his first season at Old Trafford.
Alejandro Garnacho has enjoyed a breakthrough into the first team, while Kobbie Mainoo and Zidane Iqbal have been named on the bench over the festive period.
Ten Hag – who coached Bayern Munich s second team earlier in his career – believes United s under-21 side was neglected before he took charge at the end of last season.
For me, cooperation between all the different departments is crucial to get the right culture in a club, Ten Hag said.
Like at Ajax, whe…
Beckham wrote on Instagram: Keep fighting Boss. Sending prayers and love to Cathy [Ferguson s wife] and the whole family.
Rooney was signed by Ferguson from Everton a year after Beckham s departure and went on to become United s all-time leading scorer after the iconic manager s 2013 departure.
He said on his Twitter account: Get well soon Boss. Thoughts with all the family at this sad time.
Get well soon Boss. Thoughts with all the family at this sad time.
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney)
League Managers Association (LMA) chairman Howard Wilkinson joined the former United pair in offering support to Ferguson s family, while hoping for a speedy recovery .
His statement said: I was extremely sorry to hear the news about Alex this evenin…
Atletico Madrid did win against Real Sociedad thanks to a goal from Filipe Luis, but arguably the biggest moment in the match came when Fernando Torres produced what will definitely be remembered as one of his biggest misses ever.
He has a couple of blunders in his career thus far and that miss against Manchester United in 2011 stand as the biggest of them all:
Still, the latest one is a serious contender as well!
Have a look:
Fernando Torres, still got it after all these years:
— Yu (@YucciMane)
…
RB Leipzig head coach Julian Nagelsmann compared Brian Brobbey to Inter star Romelu Lukaku after the Bundesliga side agreed to sign the Ajax sensation.
Brobbey will join Nagelsmann s Leipzig on a free transfer at the end of the season after agreeing a four-year deal until 2025.
Eredivisie giants Ajax were determined to keep Brobbey, but the 19-year-old Dutch forward opted to leave for Leipzig.
Brobbey, who made his senior debut for Ajax in October, has scored twice in seven substitute appearances in Eredivisie this season, while he has netted as many goals during the 2020-21 Europa League campaign.
Nagelsmann compared Brobbey to in-form Inter forward Lukaku after being asked about the similarities between the two players.
It is always very tough …
According to , Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti is interested in bringing Paris Saint-Germain s Angel Di Maria to Naples.
The former Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich boss has even made a telephone call directly to Di Maria, the report claims. Apparently, Ancelotti is looking for an experienced, creative player who can go past opponents and deliver the ball from wide positions, and the 30-year-old Di Maria fits the bill.
The Argentina international started his career in his homeland with Rosario Central and played two seasons for Benfica, before his glory days with Real Madrid began. During his four-year stint in the Spanish capital, the winger won one La Liga title, two Copa del Rey trophies and the 2013/14 Champions League under Ancelotti. However, he en…
Didier Drogba has designs on winning a fifth FA Cup as he prepares to return to the competition with Chelsea this weekend.
The veteran striker scored what proved to be the winner in the 2007, 2010 and 2012 FA Cup finals, as well as being on target in the 2009 showpiece against Everton.
And the 36-year-old is keen to extend his FA Cup fairytale this season, with Chelsea starting their road to Wembley in the third round when Watford make the short trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
With Chelsea joint top of the Premier League, through to the League Cup semi-finals and into the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, Jose Mourinho s men are chasing a historic quadruple.
We have to do it together. We want to achieve something great and I think that is wh…
One of the transfers that might have gone under the radar on has definitely been Lazar Markovic’s move to Fulham.
The Serbian winger ended his Liverpool nightmare as he moves to London where he’ll hope to get his career back on track and help Cottagers stay up.
The 24-year-old has been with Liverpool since 2014 after joining from Benfica but he only made 34 appearances in more than four years. Markovic spent most of time at Anfield out on loan never quite managing to reach the expectations.
He joins Cottagers on a permanent transfer and arrives on ‘good recommendations’ from Aleksandar Mitrovic who played with Markovic at Partizan Belgrade.
Markovic arrives as a direct replacement for Aboubakar Kamara who joins Yeni Malatyaspor on loan.
M…
Cesar Azpilicueta is adamant his Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard has the capability to the best player in the world if he learns to be more aggressive in the penalty area.
Ever since joining from Lille in 2012, Hazard has consistently been regarded as one of the Premier League s elite players.
The Belgium star has reached double figures for Premier League goals in four of the last five seasons, while he has also impressed as a creative force.
Hazard s start to the new season has attracted plenty of praise, with the 27-year-old netting five times in as many games, despite making just three starts.
Azpilicueta is confident Hazard can maintain such form ahead of Sunday s away clash with West Ham, and feels the tricky attacker has not hit his ceiling yet.
…
Slaven Bilic challenged injury-plagued striker Andy Carroll to stay fit if he is to earn a new deal at West Ham.
Carroll has struggled with injuries throughout his career and the nine-time England international last made at least 20 league starts in 2012-13.
The 28-year-old last struck at least 10 times in the Premier League in 2010-11, but is contracted until mid-2019.
However, Bilic said Carroll needed to prove he could stay healthy if he wanted a long-term future at West Ham.
Andy has got two years left, and this is to be fair is his season to be fit, to stay fit, the Croatian said.
If we are talking about his contract, the question mark about him is his fitness, how much he is available during the season.
— West Ham Unite…