Alberto Moreno: ‘I Used to Think Attack, Attack, Attack – but I Have Changed’

 Alberto Moreno congratulates his close friend Philippe Coutinho after the Brazilian scored at Leicester in September. ‘If I get to decide, Philippe’s not going,’ Moreno says. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
Alberto Moreno congratulates his close friend Philippe Coutinho after the Brazilian scored at Leicester in September. ‘If I get to decide, Philippe’s not going,’ Moreno says. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
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Alberto Moreno: ‘I Used to Think Attack, Attack, Attack – but I Have Changed’

 Alberto Moreno congratulates his close friend Philippe Coutinho after the Brazilian scored at Leicester in September. ‘If I get to decide, Philippe’s not going,’ Moreno says. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
Alberto Moreno congratulates his close friend Philippe Coutinho after the Brazilian scored at Leicester in September. ‘If I get to decide, Philippe’s not going,’ Moreno says. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

“Alberto Moreno is 100% back” Jürgen Klopp said this summer and you can see it. You can hear it, too, with every joke, every giggle, every time he bursts out laughing. After a year he describes as “very bad”, in which there were times he felt “down” and only his baby daughter, Carla, could be guaranteed to coax a smile from him, life in Liverpool is good again. As for mornings at Melwood, they are even better. There are reasons to be cheerful and he is cheerful, all right. Not least because he has one fewer problem now. Well, two.

The best thing about being back is not the sense of satisfaction in overcoming, the feeling of redemption, or the sound of silence, critics falling quiet; it is not the return to the Champions League or to the Spain squad after three and a half years, although he was delighted to take an “unexpected” call. It is not even the proud return home, when Liverpool play Sevilla in the Champions League on Tuesday, Moreno heading back to a place that “smells different”, the boy from here doing well over there. Now, at least; now, at last. No, he smiles: it’s that Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah are someone else’s problem. Someone like Sevilla.

Mention their names and, more than words, Moreno makes noises. “Pfff,” “Ooh.” “Wow.” “I wouldn’t want to face Mané and Salah,” he says, puffing out his cheeks. “It must be … pfff.” You would think he speaks from daily experience, forced to face them each morning, but here is the rub, another reason why the benefits of being back go beyond match day. “No,” he grins, “when the manager picks teams, I’m usually with them. The best thing about starting this season is playing on their side.” And with that, Moreno falls about again.

He is joking but, for the man who admits reaching a point where he feared whatever he did he would be “useless”, just how much things have changed, and how fast, has come into focus lately. Last week he returned to the Spain squad, the smile spread across his face as he described playing in Russia on Tuesday as “like making my debut all over again”. On Tuesday, he returns to the Sánchez Pizjuán, where it all began and where his boyhood hero plays. He still has a photo of himself, aged 11, alongside Jesús Navas. This time, he will be up against him.

It is tempting to see symbolism in the trip to the Pizjuán, to see his return there representing his return, full stop: an opportunity to close the circle against the team he faced the night when many considered his Liverpool career was over.

Moreno won the Europa League with Sevilla in 2014. In 2016 he lost the Europa League final against Sevilla – and for some it really was him that lost it. The verdict after a 1-0 half-time lead became a 3-1 defeat was in: guilty. Jamie Carragher deleted a tweet that pleaded with Liverpool to “sign a fucking left-back”, but not before thousands had seen it. Mark Lawrenson said bluntly: “He can’t defend.” One match report called him “brainless”, giving him two out of 10; another described him as “hopeless”; it was a “horror show” said a third.

The reactions might have been exaggerated but when a BBC report stated: “He’ll surely be replaced,” they were not exactly going out on a limb. He did not leave but he did not play, either. James Milner played at left-back, a converted midfielder trusted more, and in the whole of last season Moreno started two league games. Then, in the summer, Liverpool signed Andy Robertson from Hull.

But it was not the end; that signing might have sparked something in Moreno but he had already sought to turn his situation around. He describes himself as a fighter and says he “loves Liverpool”; he did not want to go and he did not give up. “I went to see Klopp a few times to ask what I could do and he said: ‘Alberto, you’re doing well but I can’t change.’ At the end of the season I asked myself: ‘Alberto, what can you change? What can you do?’” Having resisted, held on, the answer, as it turned out, was for the one-time winger who wanted to emulate Diego Capel, Antonio Puerta and Jesús Navas to rebel against his nature.

Something shifted; this summer a bid from Napoli was rejected. In early August, Klopp said pre-season had brought “new players” and Moreno was one of them. Soon it seemed he was right: he has started nine league games and all six matches in Europe, becoming one of Liverpool’s most consistent performers. Had he really been a new player, he would surely be talked about as a shrewd signing. Meet him and he is the same as ever; watch him and he is not.

By his own admission, he has changed; by his own hand, too – although he is swift to credit those around him, from family to team‑mates, coaching staff to the club’s nutritionist, Mona Nemmer, who has even found a place for a taste of Seville on Merseyside.

“We really notice the change,” Moreno says. “The first couple of years, there would be ice creams, cakes, sauces, ketchups, which isn’t good. If a player needs to eat something particular, she lets him. You tell her what you want – olive oil, say – and she’ll do all she can to include it. What I really miss is jamón ibérico, sea food, fish. Mona prepares a lot of things for you and the truth is we’re very happy with her.

“I always talk about my family, my daughter, my parents, how much they have helped me and it’s true,” he says, “but in the end, it’s the player who does it, who changes the situation. He’s the one that goes out there in front of I-don’t-know-how‑many-thousand people.

“Last year was useful for me: to think, to change things, to say to myself: ‘Alberto, what can you do better?’ And the first thing was: defend. I’m a defender. And I’ve changed that. I’m more focused; I think you can see that – and thankfully I haven’t made any mistakes. Maybe in my first few years at Liverpool, I was always thinking: ‘Attack, attack, attack.’ Confidence is vital for a footballer but I’m [also] more settled, more focused: now I’m like: ‘First, let’s defend, keep a clean sheet and, then, let’s go forward.’”

Moreno pulls a face and grins, imitating a man battling his instincts, reining himself in, then he starts laughing again. “It’s true I’m always there, with that urge to go up the pitch. But you have to be focused. There are times I want to go but the first thing I do is look. And if there are two attackers there then there have to be three of us, so I stay. If there’s another one of us, maybe I can go. It’s about choosing the right moment and I think I am attacking less but better – even if it’s true that there’s always that thing in my head: ‘attack’. Then I’ve got Lovren and Klavan there. They’re the ones going: ‘Alberto, stay!’ ‘You can go!’ ‘Help!’”

He has got Klopp too. “He has a big personality, madre mía!” Moreno says, bursting out laughing when it is suggested the 45 minutes he spends on the other touchline, furthest away, must be a relief. “You hear him less!” he says with a grin, adding: “Well, you can hear him wherever you are and you’re always listening for instructions. He’s emotional, passionate: he really feels football, lives for football. Day to day, he’s super-happy, nice, close, but at the hour of truth, match day, pfff … he’s the most serious man in the world and he wants us to be ‘plugged in’. I wouldn’t like to see him angry.”

But surely you must have? “Yes, and it’s not nice! What angers him is seeing how his players aren’t playing as he wants. I’m sure all coaches are like that but with him it’s like his blood is boiling.”

Moreno pulls another face, with gritted teeth. “It boils and he pulls a face that’s like: ‘Lads, let’s be who we are, let’s play football.’ There are times we play badly in the first half and he can’t believe it: he gets wound up if he sees that his team doesn’t react, like he laughs so as not to hit someone. In every game there’s a moment when someone’s out of position or they make a mistake; we’re humans, that happens. It’s more about attitude, if he sees his players are not giving everything, if they’re not running, if they’re not pressuring …

“In training, the sessions are led by Zeljko Buvac and Klopp gives him freedom to decide what tactics to employ. Then there’s Peter Krawietz, who does most of the strategy. But Klopp is emotional, he can’t just stand there watching – and when the staff play, he plays up front – so he always takes part, always intervenes. Last season I asked him: ‘What can I do to improve?’ And he helped, of course, but he wasn’t especially close. This season, being a starter, he’s closer to me: he corrects my mistakes, improves me more. I’m much happier than last season.”

Perhaps it helps that his best friend has stayed, too but Moreno does not know how much longer Philippe Coutinho will be at Anfield and his position is not a comfortable one. “I have told him, eh,” he says. “I’ve said: ‘Brother, don’t go.’ But in the end, a player has to make the decision himself. I can’t tell you what he said to me, of course, because it’s something that’s very personal, but we’ve talked.

“He’s my friend and always will be, we get on very well, and of course [I will support him whatever his decision]. I don’t know what will happen. If it was down to me, I’d love him close to me for life, always enjoying seeing him play football, which is a wonder. It’s a privilege. It’s an honour to share a dressing room with him. He’s top, top. I see him train every day and he does things I’ve never seen before.” Moreno starts waving his hands as if performing a magic trick: “Things with the ball, touches, dribbles …”

Surely whatever happens in the long term, Liverpool cannot let him go in January? “If I get to decide, Philippe’s not going. But I can’t interfere. It’s Liverpool, Barcelona and him, and they decide. He’s a big piece at Liverpool. Every fan, everyone who watches Liverpool, everyone who understands football knows that. They know that if he goes, it will leave a big hole. But we’re Liverpool. We have a great squad and we won’t stop being Liverpool.”

And Liverpool, he says, can win something. “We have the team, but it has to come off. We got knocked out of the Carabao Cup, so one of the options has gone. And [Manchester] City have quite a lead in the league. But dreaming is free, so why not? I’ve been here for four years and I’m desperate to win something; it’s taking its time. But we have a good team, so dream, let’s dream. We have a great team, we’re very dangerous up front, we’re a side everyone would prefer to avoid. I don’t think anyone in the Champions League wants to face Liverpool.”

He wouldn’t want to, not with Salah there. The man whose very name, like that of Mané, brings appreciative noises. “He could be the signing of the season, for sure: his numbers are incredible,” Moreno says. “He’s scoring almost every game, providing assists, doing loads of work for the team. As a defender I wouldn’t want to face Mané and Salah. Having players like that, so fast, always running in behind the defenders: behind, behind, behind … the defender’s jodido, screwed.”

Moreno’s not, not any more. “I’m on their team now,” he says, laughing.

(The Guardian)



Messi Picks MLS's Inter Miami

A mural depicting Argentine football player Lionel Messi is pictured in Miami on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Giorgio Viera / AFP)
A mural depicting Argentine football player Lionel Messi is pictured in Miami on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Giorgio Viera / AFP)
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Messi Picks MLS's Inter Miami

A mural depicting Argentine football player Lionel Messi is pictured in Miami on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Giorgio Viera / AFP)
A mural depicting Argentine football player Lionel Messi is pictured in Miami on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Giorgio Viera / AFP)

Lionel Messi has pulled off his latest stunning feat: He is headed to Major League Soccer and joining Inter Miami.

After months — years, even — of speculation, Messi on Wednesday finally revealed his decision to join a Miami franchise that has been led by another global soccer icon, David Beckham, since its inception but has yet to make any real splashes on the field.

That likely will soon change. One of Inter Miami’s owners, Jorge Mas, tweeted out a photo of a darkly silhouetted Messi jersey shortly before the Argentinian great revealed his decision in interviews with Spanish news outlets Mundo Deportivo and Sport.

It was widely believed that Messi eventually would choose to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

But in the end, he made the call that surprised many. Messi is joining MLS. He said in the interviews Wednesday that some final details still need to be worked out, but that he has made the call to “continue my path” in Miami.

“After winning the World Cup and not being able to return to Barcelona, it was my turn to go to the league of the United States to live football in another way,” Messi said.

Messi’s next matches are likely to be exhibitions with Argentina against Australia on June 15 at Beijing and at Indonesia in Jakarta four days later — and then his Inter Miami debut figures to be sometime in July.

“We are pleased that Lionel Messi has stated that he intends to join Inter Miami and Major League Soccer this summer,” read a statement from MLS. “Although work remains to finalize a formal agreement, we look forward to welcoming one of the greatest soccer players of all time to our league.”

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner — the trophy given annually to the world's best player — makes his move after two years with Paris Saint-Germain. At 35, Messi has nothing left to prove in the game and filled the only significant unchecked box on his resume back in December by leading Argentina to the World Cup title.

Messi has more than 800 goals in his career for club and country, making him one of the greatest scorers in the sport’s history. In more than 17 years of representing Argentina on the international stage, he has scored 102 goals against 38 different national team opponents — 16 of those goals coming on US soil. He scored twice in last year’s World Cup final against France, a match that ended 3-3 with Argentina prevailing 4-2 on penalty kicks.


UAE: National Sports Strategy 2031 Reflects Importance of Sports Sector

Sheikh Ahmed said the new strategy reflects the importance the leadership places on the growth of the sports sector. WAM
Sheikh Ahmed said the new strategy reflects the importance the leadership places on the growth of the sports sector. WAM
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UAE: National Sports Strategy 2031 Reflects Importance of Sports Sector

Sheikh Ahmed said the new strategy reflects the importance the leadership places on the growth of the sports sector. WAM
Sheikh Ahmed said the new strategy reflects the importance the leadership places on the growth of the sports sector. WAM

Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and President of the UAE National Olympic Committee (NOC), hailed the decision of the UAE Cabinet chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to approve the National Sports Strategy 2031.

Sheikh Ahmed said the new strategy reflects the importance the leadership places on the growth of the sports sector and its role in advancing the nation’s prosperity and welfare.

He praised the strategy, which seeks to implement 17 initiatives in the coming years. The objectives of these initiatives include developing sports professionals, discovering talented athletes in schools, upgrading the sports education methodology, enhancing regulations governing the sector, and raising the proportion of people practicing diverse sports to 71% of the population.

He also said that efforts to develop sports professionals are aligned with the NOC’s efforts to prepare professional athletes for major regional and international competitions, in accordance with the criteria set by the Committee.

He further said the Committee’s efforts have been instrumental in increasing the proportion of people practicing different sports to 71% of the population by 2031.

The NOC has launched many initiatives to promote sports in the community, he added.


Reports: Inter Miami in the Mix for Lionel Messi 

Aerial view of a mural painting depicting Argentine football star Lionel Messi at the Villa del Parque train station in Buenos Aires taken on June 6, 2023. (AFP)
Aerial view of a mural painting depicting Argentine football star Lionel Messi at the Villa del Parque train station in Buenos Aires taken on June 6, 2023. (AFP)
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Reports: Inter Miami in the Mix for Lionel Messi 

Aerial view of a mural painting depicting Argentine football star Lionel Messi at the Villa del Parque train station in Buenos Aires taken on June 6, 2023. (AFP)
Aerial view of a mural painting depicting Argentine football star Lionel Messi at the Villa del Parque train station in Buenos Aires taken on June 6, 2023. (AFP)

Global superstar Lionel Messi may be headed to Major League Soccer this summer.

 

Messi, who has been linked to Inter Miami for some time, can choose his next team as a free transfer when his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires at the end of June.

 

Messi has offers from Miami, his former club FC Barcelona and Saudi club Al-Hilal, but Miami is the likeliest landing spot because Barcelona can't guarantee a deal until it sells a player, according to reports from Argentinian and Spanish outlets.

 

The website SPORT reported last week that Miami offered Messi $54 million per year for four years. Spanish journalist Guillem Balague said Sunday that Miami's offer to Messi included complex sponsorship deals with brands like Apple and Adidas to help pay him top dollar.

 

Then, Apple TV+ announced Tuesday that it secured the rights to a four-part documentary about Messi's career. Apple TV+ is also in the first year of a TV rights deal with MLS.

 

In 2022 Messi's camp denied a report that Messi would come to Inter Miami and receive a 35 percent ownership stake in the club after his PSG contract expired.

 

Messi, who turns 36 in June, had 16 goals and 16 assists for PSG in Ligue 1 action in 2022-23. He's also less than one year removed from leading Argentina to a World Cup victory.


Gladbach Name Seoane as New Head Coach

10 September 2022, Berlin: Gerardo Seoane, then Bayer Leverkusen's coach, is pictured before the start of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympiastadion. (dpa)
10 September 2022, Berlin: Gerardo Seoane, then Bayer Leverkusen's coach, is pictured before the start of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympiastadion. (dpa)
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Gladbach Name Seoane as New Head Coach

10 September 2022, Berlin: Gerardo Seoane, then Bayer Leverkusen's coach, is pictured before the start of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympiastadion. (dpa)
10 September 2022, Berlin: Gerardo Seoane, then Bayer Leverkusen's coach, is pictured before the start of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympiastadion. (dpa)

Borussia Moenchengladbach have appointed former Bayer Leverkusen manager Gerardo Seoane as their new head coach, the Bundesliga club said.

Gladbach parted ways with manager Daniel Farke after one season, having finished the campaign 10th and seven points adrift of the European qualification places.

Seoane, 44, has signed a three-year contract with Gladbach.

Seoane, who coached Leverkusen from July 2021 to October 2022, was in charge of Young Boys in his native Switzerland, with whom he won three consecutive league titles and one domestic cup trophy.

"Seoane has been successful for several clubs over the past few years. He's a young coach, but one with lots of experience," Gladbach's managing director for sport Roland Virkus said.

"He plays the style of football we want to see here. We're pleased that he's our new head coach at Borussia Moenchengladbach."


Man City’s Stones Exudes Confidence Ahead of Champions League Final 

Football - Champions League - Final - Manchester City Media Day - Etihad Campus, Manchester, Britain - June 6, 2023 Manchester City's John Stones during training. (Reuters)
Football - Champions League - Final - Manchester City Media Day - Etihad Campus, Manchester, Britain - June 6, 2023 Manchester City's John Stones during training. (Reuters)
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Man City’s Stones Exudes Confidence Ahead of Champions League Final 

Football - Champions League - Final - Manchester City Media Day - Etihad Campus, Manchester, Britain - June 6, 2023 Manchester City's John Stones during training. (Reuters)
Football - Champions League - Final - Manchester City Media Day - Etihad Campus, Manchester, Britain - June 6, 2023 Manchester City's John Stones during training. (Reuters)

Manchester City are more composed and confident ahead of Saturday's Champions League final against Inter Milan after facing setbacks in the previous campaigns, defender John Stones said as the Premier League champions chase a historic treble.

The 29-year-old England international and his team mates can achieve sporting immortality in Istanbul, where City can be crowned European champions for the first time and match arch-rivals Manchester United's treble in 1999.

Stones, who experienced the disappointment of losing the 2021 Champions League final to Chelsea, said they need to ensure history does not repeat itself.

"Don't (let it) happen again, first and foremost. It was somewhere where we had never been before and a situation we had never been in," Stones told Sky Sports.

"Now, being through that difficult time, coming out on the losing side was super hard and hit home hard. That's one of the biggest feelings that sticks with you, and you don't want to feel that again.

"We have seemed a lot calmer and confident going into this game. Knowing that we should believe in ourselves and in what we have achieved already and how we're playing, there are so many factors that come into play."

Having secured the Premier League and FA Cup, City are favorites to triumph over Inter as they eye their first taste of European glory


Benzema Becomes Saudi League’s Latest Star After Signing with Al-Ittihad

Karim Benzema poses with members of the Saudi Arabian football team Al-Ittihad organization in this handout photo obtained by Reuters June 6, 2023. (Al-Ittihad/Handout via Reuters)
Karim Benzema poses with members of the Saudi Arabian football team Al-Ittihad organization in this handout photo obtained by Reuters June 6, 2023. (Al-Ittihad/Handout via Reuters)
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Benzema Becomes Saudi League’s Latest Star After Signing with Al-Ittihad

Karim Benzema poses with members of the Saudi Arabian football team Al-Ittihad organization in this handout photo obtained by Reuters June 6, 2023. (Al-Ittihad/Handout via Reuters)
Karim Benzema poses with members of the Saudi Arabian football team Al-Ittihad organization in this handout photo obtained by Reuters June 6, 2023. (Al-Ittihad/Handout via Reuters)

Karim Benzema has become the latest football star to move to Saudi Arabia after signing with the national champion Al-Ittihad on Tuesday.

Benzema, who left Real Madrid after 14 years and 648 games, is set to play against his former Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in January.

Al-Ittihad posted a video on Twitter of Benzema signing a contract until 2026.

“I am excited to see you in Jeddah,” the French striker said in the video.

The 35-year-old Benzema had been with Madrid since 2009 and won a club record 25 titles, including five Champions League trophies. His last season with Madrid saw him captain the team to victory in the Copa del Rey final but Madrid finished second to Barcelona in the Spanish league and lost in the semifinals of the Champions League.

He bid farewell to the fans after scoring in his final Madrid game on Sunday, a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao.

Al-Ittihad, from the port city of Jeddah, won its first Saudi league title since 2009 last month after overhauling Ronaldo's Al-Nassr from the capital city of Riyadh, which had led for much of the season.

The team is coached by Nuno Espirito Santo, who previously coached Wolverhampton and Tottenham in the English Premier League.


Unlikely Champions League Finalist Inter Milan Out to Upset Manchester City 

Inter Milan's players train during a media day ahead of the Champions League final, at the Suning training center, in Appiano Gentile, northern Italy, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP)
Inter Milan's players train during a media day ahead of the Champions League final, at the Suning training center, in Appiano Gentile, northern Italy, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP)
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Unlikely Champions League Finalist Inter Milan Out to Upset Manchester City 

Inter Milan's players train during a media day ahead of the Champions League final, at the Suning training center, in Appiano Gentile, northern Italy, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP)
Inter Milan's players train during a media day ahead of the Champions League final, at the Suning training center, in Appiano Gentile, northern Italy, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP)

With its massive spending power, Manchester City's run to the Champions League final has hardly come as a surprise.

The same cannot be said for Inter Milan, City's opponent on Saturday in Istanbul.

While Inter is one of European soccer's most storied teams, it enters the game as an outsider, having somewhat surprisingly reached the final. After all, Inter is the third best team in Italy, a league that has long-since lost its shine after being considered the ultimate destination for the world's best players in the 1990s.

Inter finished the season 18 points behind league champion Napoli, the team many expected to go far before losing to AC Milan in the quarterfinals.

Inter went on to beat its city rival in the semifinals to advance to the final of European club soccer's elite competition for the first time in 13 years.

To put that achievement into context, this was the first time it had even been in the quarterfinals since 2011, when it was the defending champion. But it is also a club that has tasted success in recent years after winning the Italian league in 2021, back-to-back Italian Cups in 2022 and 2023, and the Italian Super Cup this season.

“Manchester City have won two trophies (this season), but so have Inter. They will be facing an opponent who deserve to be in Istanbul as much as they do,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said.

The power in European soccer has shifted considerably since Inter last won the trophy in 2010.

Back then City was still waiting for its first major piece of silverware since 1976. But backed by Abu Dhabi's ruling family, it has since gone on to win 16 more trophies, including seven Premier League titles.

This year City is bidding to become only the second English team to win the three biggest trophies in one season — the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Only Inter can stop City from emulating Manchester United's treble from 1999.

Looking at the respective two teams on paper, some may consider it a mismatch.

While City has superstar signings like Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne, Inter has a mishmash of players who have managed to reboot or prolong their careers at the club.

Edin Dzeko, for instance, is 37 years old and left City eight years ago, having been part of its first title-winning team under Abu Dhabi ownership in 2012. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is 34 and disappointed at both Manchester United and Arsenal. Matteo Darmian, 33, also failed to make a major impact at United.

Romelu Lukaku was generally considered to have flopped after big money transfers for United and Chelsea, but is one of Inter's players with genuine star appeal. Likewise Lautaro Martinez, who won the World Cup with Argentina in December when he scored the winning penalty in the final shootout against France.

But whereas Inter once had the pulling power to lure players like the Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Luis Figo, it cannot compete with the spending power of City, which has assembled arguably the strongest squad in club soccer.

Inter has suffered as Italian soccer has been overshadowed by the Premier League, which has enormous popularity around the world and benefits from massive broadcast revenues.

Inter is owned by Retail giant Suning and reported a loss of $285 million for the 2020-21 financial year, which was the highest ever for a top-flight Italian club. That was largely blamed on the impact of COVID-19 and the fact it had to play inside empty stadiums.

In May 2021, it also secured a financing deal with American investment fund Oaktree Capital that reportedly entailed a cash injection of $336 million.

Win or lose, Inter's run to the final should be lucrative.

Last year's winner Real Madrid received $146.4 million in prize money, while runner-up Liverpool earned $131.4 million from UEFA’s Champions League prize fund of $2.2 billion.

But Inter's fans will be dreaming of a fourth European Cup.

Inter was the last Italian team to win the trophy, when Jose Mourinho guided it to a treble of trophies along with the league title and the Italian Cup.

Inzaghi is the coach now, even though his position looked under threat as recently as April.

After an unlikely route to the final, he is aiming to pull off the biggest shock of all against a City team that looks unstoppable.


I Don’t Support the War, I Don’t Support Lukashenko, Says Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts after winning her quarter final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts after winning her quarter final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP)
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I Don’t Support the War, I Don’t Support Lukashenko, Says Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts after winning her quarter final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts after winning her quarter final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP)

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the world tennis number two, said on Tuesday she did not want her country to be in any conflict and did not support the war in Ukraine.

"I don't want my country to be in any conflict, I don't support the war," Sabalenka told a press conference after her quarter-final victory against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at the French Open.

"I don't support war, meaning I don't support (Belarus President) Alexander Lukashenko right now."

Sabalenka did not attend her two previous press conferences last week, citing mental health reasons and saying she did not feel safe after being grilled about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", and Belarus being used as a staging ground for Russian troops.

"I really felt bad not coming here. I couldn't sleep. Like all those bad feelings was in my head, I couldn't fall asleep. I felt really bad not coming here," Sabalenka explained, although she did not regret skipping her media duties.

"I don't regret the decisions. I felt really disrespected, and I felt really bad. I mean, Grand Slam, it's enough pressure to handle, and I just tried to focus on myself, on my game," she said.

"I really hope that you guys will understand me, my feelings. You know that I really respect all of you... You can ask whatever you want. You will get all the information.

"But in the last press conference, I felt like my press conference became a political TV show, and I'm not expert in politics. I'm just a tennis player."


Son Jun-ho Selected for South Korean Soccer Team Despite Being Detained in China 

In this file photo taken on November 22, 2022 South Korea's midfielder Son Jun-ho gives a press conference before a training session at Al Egla Training Site 5 in Doha during the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on November 22, 2022 South Korea's midfielder Son Jun-ho gives a press conference before a training session at Al Egla Training Site 5 in Doha during the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament. (AFP)
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Son Jun-ho Selected for South Korean Soccer Team Despite Being Detained in China 

In this file photo taken on November 22, 2022 South Korea's midfielder Son Jun-ho gives a press conference before a training session at Al Egla Training Site 5 in Doha during the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on November 22, 2022 South Korea's midfielder Son Jun-ho gives a press conference before a training session at Al Egla Training Site 5 in Doha during the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament. (AFP)

The selection of Son Jun-ho despite his detention in China took the focus off Premier League star Son Heung-min for once when South Korea’s soccer roster was unveiled.

Son Jun-ho, who plays for Shandong Taishan and won the 2021 Chinese championship with the Jinan-based club, has been held by Chinese authorities for almost four weeks since he was detained at Shanghai Airport last month.

Yet he was picked by South Korea’s head coach Jurgen Klinsmann this week for two international friendlies against Peru and El Salvador on June 16 and 20.

Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Son, who represented South Korea at the World Cup last year in Qatar, was being investigated on suspicion of taking bribes.

Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post last month reported that the bribery allegations concerned suspected match-fixing involving coach Hao Wei.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said despite visits by officials to China, it has collected little information about the nature of the allegations against the 31-year-old midfielder.

Despite, or because of, the lack of clarity, Klinsmann called him up for international duty.

“We don’t know his state of mind, we don’t know what physical state he is in, but I think it’s important to show Jun-ho support (so) he feels we’re right there behind him,” Klinsmann said in Seoul on Monday. “Obviously, we’re all shocked with the situation. We really hope and pray that he gets released. But it’s not in our hands. He’s on the list in case something happens.”

Klinsmann, the former US head coach who was appointed to the South Korean job in February, selected the player in his first two games in charge against Colombia and Uruguay in March.

But with doubt over his ability to report for national team duty, Klinsmann added that there was scope for flexibility with the squad.

“Our roster you see today might not be the roster you see next week,” he said. “It’s an open situation.”

According to reports in China, Son is the first foreign player to be caught up in the latest attempts by Beijing authorities to clean up the highest levels of Chinese soccer.

Son played seven seasons with South Korea’s Pohang Steelers and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors before joining Shandong Taishan in 2021 on a four-year contract.


French Open 2023: Alcaraz and Djokovic Could Set up a Semifinal Matchup; Sabalenka Plays Svitolina

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory over Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their men's singles match on day eight of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris on June 4, 2023. (AFP)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory over Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their men's singles match on day eight of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris on June 4, 2023. (AFP)
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French Open 2023: Alcaraz and Djokovic Could Set up a Semifinal Matchup; Sabalenka Plays Svitolina

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory over Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their men's singles match on day eight of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris on June 4, 2023. (AFP)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory over Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their men's singles match on day eight of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris on June 4, 2023. (AFP)

The tennis world has been waiting for a showdown between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. It will happen at the French Open if both can win their quarterfinals.

First Djokovic, the 22-time Grand Slam champion who is seeded No. 3, plays No. 11 Karen Khachanov in Court Philippe Chatrier on Tuesday. Then, at night, No. 1 Alcaraz, who won last year's US Open, takes on No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, a two-time runner-up at major tournaments.

The winners of those two matches will face each other in the semifinals.

Alcaraz, 20, and Djokovic, 36, have had one previous match on tour. Alcaraz won at the clay-court Madrid Masters last year.

In Tuesday's women's quarterfinals, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will play Elina Svitolina, and 2021 French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova goes up against Karolina Muchova.

Sabalenka is from Belarus, and Svitolina — playing in her first major since becoming a mother — is from Ukraine. Belarus aided Russia in its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the war continues. Like other players from Ukraine, including Sabalenka's first-round opponent last week, Svitolina has not been shaking hands with players from Belarus or Russia after matches.

Coco Gauff set up a quarterfinal against Iga Swiatek — a rematch of the 2022 French Open final, won by Swiatek. Another quarterfinal Wednesday will be Ons Jabeur vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia.

The men's bracket will have these quarterfinals: No. 4 Casper Ruud against No. 6 Holger Rune, and No. 22 Alexander Zverev vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry.