David Sullivan: ‘I Feel I Haven’t Done Well Enough. Nobody’s Done Well Enough’

 David Sullivan may bring in a director of football at West Ham. ‘There’s one very good one in the Premier League,’ he says. ‘I would seriously think about taking him on.’ Photograph: Andy Hooper/ANL/Rex/Shutterstock
David Sullivan may bring in a director of football at West Ham. ‘There’s one very good one in the Premier League,’ he says. ‘I would seriously think about taking him on.’ Photograph: Andy Hooper/ANL/Rex/Shutterstock
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David Sullivan: ‘I Feel I Haven’t Done Well Enough. Nobody’s Done Well Enough’

 David Sullivan may bring in a director of football at West Ham. ‘There’s one very good one in the Premier League,’ he says. ‘I would seriously think about taking him on.’ Photograph: Andy Hooper/ANL/Rex/Shutterstock
David Sullivan may bring in a director of football at West Ham. ‘There’s one very good one in the Premier League,’ he says. ‘I would seriously think about taking him on.’ Photograph: Andy Hooper/ANL/Rex/Shutterstock

“I feel like I haven’t done well enough,” David Sullivan says as he considers how swiftly and brutally West Ham United’s grand ambitions have unravelled after 18 troubled months in their huge new stadium. “Nobody’s done well enough. I work my socks off but sometimes it’s not good enough.”

West Ham’s co-owner pauses, giving himself time to reflect on everything that has happened since the move to the London Stadium, and it is clear he is hurting. Those who have worked closely with Sullivan respect his intelligence and they talk of a West Ham fanatic.

But there are other points of view. One former executive describes Sullivan as dictatorial and argues that West Ham are the most dysfunctional club in the Premier League. There is a feeling they need to focus more on analytics, sports science and recruitment and, while David Gold and Karren Brady are influential figures, Sullivan has the power to execute change. He is the one blamed by many supporters for the club’s woes.

In that context it is to Sullivan’s credit he has agreed to speak. It is a month since he replaced Slaven Bilic with David Moyes on a six-month deal but West Ham’s relegation fears have not eased before they host Chelsea on Saturday and there were anti-board chants during the recent defeat by Watford.

“I think we’re the most honest, open people you’ll ever deal with,” Sullivan says, however, and he denies he has any plans to sell the club. “David Gold is 81, it’s his whole life. He has nothing in his life except West Ham. He has no hobbies. He has a family but he has one granddaughter. I love football and I want to be nowhere else but West Ham. We’re not in it for a quick buck.”

Those comments lend weight to the theory that Sullivan will hand control to his sons one day. Jack became the managing director of West Ham Ladies in the summer, while Dave Jr started working at the club this week.

“Jack’s learning his trade,” Sullivan says. “He was desperate to do it. He worked in every department at West Ham for a week. He knows everyone. He has opinions on everybody.” Could Jack be chairman in the future? “Possibly. Or Dave. Or both of them. We’ll see. They may get bored with it. Jack’s going to make mistakes. He’s 18. I make mistakes and I’m 68.”

Sullivan’s critics feel he has made too many but he rejects the suggestion the facilities at the training ground in Rush Green are not up to scratch, saying £4.8m has been spent on six new pitches, and responds to questions about Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium by pointing out West Ham have made tickets affordable to young fans. “I think Daniel Levy has done a fantastic job at Tottenham,” he says. “But his cheapest season ticket price will be three times ours. There might be a tiny little corner with 200 kids he calls the family stand. Maybe we should have gone a different route and borrowed it all. We would have bankrupted the club.”

However, Sullivan admits he is not entirely happy with the 57,000-capacity London Stadium, revealing the club is pushing for it to look and feel more like West Ham’s home. “We’re about £10m a year better off,” he says. “It’s not going to change our lives.”

So why bother moving? “I just think we feel like a big club,” Sullivan says. “Not a tinpot club. When players come to look at West Ham, they look at where you play.”

But West Ham’s critics would say they are not showing proper ambition and Sullivan is contrite when reminded about all the times he has spoken about qualifying for the Champions League. “I’m sure there’s 100 things I’ve said that I regret,” he says. “I didn’t realise how hard that task was. The money going into the top six is getting bigger.”

Now Sullivan says West Ham, who had a season in the Championship after going down in 2011, are even money to be relegated this season. “It’s going to be very damaging if it happens,” he says. “We’d have to do whatever it takes to keep the club afloat. If we go down, we’ll come straight back up. We always come straight back up. We had to put £30m in the last time.”

While Sullivan was right to sack Bilic, whose squad was not fit enough, the situation was allowed to persist for too long. He begged the Croat to shake up his fitness team but Bilic would not listen. “I should have got rid of him in the summer,” he says. “But beating Tottenham in the last home game and beating Burnley was just enough. My family gave me such grief for not doing it. I thought he’d sorted things out.”

That reluctance to act wasted time and exposes West Ham’s muddle. Following the thread is tricky. Sullivan is referred to as the club’s director of football in the most recent set of accounts – with no one to scrutinise him – but he is surprised to hear that. “Well, I’m not really the director of football,” he says. “I never go to the training ground. The manager had a policy of wanting older, proven Premier League players. That gives you an old squad and players who you’ve seen the best of.”

It is said Sullivan takes an active role in identifying transfers but he claims he mostly signed Bilic’s targets. “I’m very involved with physically bringing in the players,” he says. “I’m not involved in the strategy. The manager said he wanted Fonte from Southampton and Snodgrass from Hull. My kids begged me not to sign them.”

Sullivan goes on to take the credit for signing Manuel Lanzini, Ashley Fletcher and Havard Nordtveit but he adds that Bilic wanted Marko Arnautovic, Joe Hart, Javier Hernández and Pablo Zabaleta. “I regret it in a way, the first year I was more involved and the next two years I was less involved. We’ve let the manager pick who he wants.

“Maybe going forward we won’t. We have to take a look at the age of the players we’re signing. We will have to bring in two or three in January. They won’t be old journeymen, they will be young players. They won’t be 32.”

West Ham have broken their transfer record in the last two summers, spending £20m on André Ayew and £24m on Arnautovic, but their squad has holes and Sullivan is thinking about hiring a director of football. After all, someone performing that role could have challenged Bilic’s training methods at an early stage. “There’s one very good one in the Premier League,” he says. “I would seriously think about taking him on in due course and I know he would come because he’s approached me.

“But I also want to sign the next Mr Stones, who Everton got for £500,000. He was found by David Moyes and Tony Henry, our current head of scouting. Tony is frustrated because we’ve signed who the manager wants. We’ve put names up to the manager and he’s said he won’t take a chance on people straight from South America.”

The conversation turns to whether Sullivan, who anticipates improvement under Moyes, has undermined his managers by talking too much. Bilic was deeply unhappy when West Ham failed to sign William Carvalho from Sporting Lisbon last summer. In a farcical episode Sullivan released a statement detailing how close he was to a deal for the midfielder, revealed Bilic had turned down Grzegorz Krychowiak and Renato Sanches and threatened Sporting with a lawsuit after the Portuguese side said there was no offer for Carvalho.

The two clubs made up this week, although Sullivan is still keen to tell his side of the story. “We’re not liars and we did make an offer,” he says. “The manager came to me and said he had an agent working on this who assures me if we give the player 70 or 80 grand a week and pay €25m to Sporting Lisbon, they will take the deal. I’ve gone in with a €20m offer. They said no.

“I told Slaven that I was going in with €25m. They said: ‘We want €35m guaranteed plus another €15m of achievable add-ons.’ I told Slaven that all we had was €25m and even that’s a stretch. I did what Slaven wanted and his agent couldn’t deliver. If he had said at the start it was €35m plus €15m of achievable add-ons, I would have said that I couldn’t do it.”

Sanches and Krychowiak have not impressed at Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion respectively, though. “The manager was probably proven right on those two,” Sullivan says. “Maybe I shouldn’t have made it public.”

Sullivan still thinks Krychowiak is a fantastic player, though, and he tells a story about the time he let Sam Allardyce know that Chelsea would listen to a £10m offer for Romelu Lukaku. “I asked Sam if he fancied Lukaku,” he says. “Sam said he’d take him on loan but he wouldn’t buy him for that. Again I’ve supported the manager.”

The phone on Sullivan’s desk is starting to ring with increasing persistence. Henry has arrived to discuss transfer plans. There are deals to be done and a relegation battle to be won, but Sullivan is still dreaming. “We have to get in the top six eventually,” he says. “We’ve had a go and it hasn’t worked. We’ll keep having a go. We’ll keep changing the model and try different things. We dare to dream.”

Bloomberg



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.