Barcelona Manager Xavi ‘Very Happy’ with Rejuvenated Dembele

Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona controls the ball during the second half of a preseason friendly against Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium on July 19, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona controls the ball during the second half of a preseason friendly against Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium on July 19, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Barcelona Manager Xavi ‘Very Happy’ with Rejuvenated Dembele

Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona controls the ball during the second half of a preseason friendly against Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium on July 19, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona controls the ball during the second half of a preseason friendly against Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium on July 19, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said forward Ousmane Dembele is a player reborn after the France international scored twice in the LaLiga club's 2-2 pre-season draw with Serie A side Juventus on Tuesday at the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Dembele opened the scoring in the 34th minute with a fine solo effort, dribbling past Juan Cuadrado and Alex Sandro before drilling a fierce shot past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, but his goal was cancelled out by Moise Kean's equaliser in the 39th minute.

Dembele immediately restored Barcelona's lead, scoring his second just a minute later, only for Kean to once again draw Juventus level with a second-half strike.

Speaking after the match, Xavi lavished praise on the 25-year-old Dembele, who has struggled to make an impact since joining Barcelona in 2017, saying he has shown a marked improvement in the eight months since Xavi took charge in November last year.

"He has shown what he is capable of. He is different, special. There are not many of this type," Xavi told reporters on Tuesday. "He gives us a lot with the way we play.

"Not everyone has the ability to make a difference in the world of soccer and he does. He is involved and he shows it. I don't know the Dembele from before November, I don't know him. I am very happy with this one."

Barcelona, who finished second in LaLiga last season, kick off their league campaign at home to Rayo Vallecano on Aug. 13.



Japanese Forward ‘King Kazu’ Turns 58 and Prepares for His 40th Season in Professional Football 

Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura speaks to reporters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) 
Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura speaks to reporters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) 
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Japanese Forward ‘King Kazu’ Turns 58 and Prepares for His 40th Season in Professional Football 

Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura speaks to reporters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) 
Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura speaks to reporters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) 

Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura turned 58 on Wednesday.

Happy Birthday to the player known as "King Kazu."

But there's more to celebrate.

He's also set to start his 40th season in professional soccer, the oldest player in the Japanese Football League.

Miura plays for Japanese fourth-division team Suzuka, on loan from second-division club Yokohama.

Suzuka was set to begin training this week with the season to open next month.

"Retiring isn't an option. I want to play as many minutes as I can in games," Miura said late last year at a news conference, quoted by Japanese news agency Kyodo.

Miura has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Santos in Brazil, a club made famous by Brazilian star Pelé.

In 2017 at age 50, he became the oldest player to score in a professional match. That topped the record held by highly decorated England international Stanley Matthews.

Miura was one of the first big names in Japanese football. He scored 55 goals in 89 appearance and was a star with Japan's national team in the 1990s.