Category Archives: Football

How the Guardian ranked the 100 best male footballers in the world 2021

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Thomas Hitzlsperger, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Roque Júnior are three of the 219 judges on the panel for our 10th list

It is that time of the year again when we prepare to present our list of the 100 best male footballers in the world. This will be our 10th list and notable football figures such as Luiz Felipe Scolari, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Roque Júnior joined the judges’ panel for the anniversary.

Former players such as Javier Zanetti, Franky Vercauteren and Emre Belozoglu also join a selection of coaches, broadcasters, reporters, correspondents and editors from around the world to form a knowledgable and truly global jury.

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Patrick Assoumou Eyi, leading football coach in Gabon, accused of raping boys

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  • Claims made against former coach of under-17 national team
  • Allegations submitted to Fifa by the players union Fifpro

A long-serving coach in Gabon is facing claims he raped, groomed and exploited young players, the Guardian can reveal.

Alleged victims claim that Patrick Assoumou Eyi – known as “Capello” – abused boys in his previous role as head coach of Gabon’s under-17 team and in his current role as technical director for La Ligue de l’Estuaire, the country’s highest league. One former player who was coached by Eyi said that the coach would lure alleged victims to his home, which he called the “Garden of Eden”.

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Premier League announces record 42 positive Covid cases in week’s testing

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  • Manchester United waiting for ruling on game at Brentford
  • Covid pass to be mandatory but not every fan will be checked

A carefully crafted sense of stability around English football began to crumble on Monday night as record positive tests and the possibility of more postponements confirmed the return of Covid‑19 as a threat to the game.

Forty-two Premier League players and officials tested positive for the virus in the seven days that ended on Sunday, a record since testing began and more than three times the 12 of the previous week. Manchester United are among the teams hit, with the club on Monday closing the first‑team area their training centre for 24 hours and delaying travel to London as they waited for a decision from the league on whether their match against Brentford on Tuesday can go ahead.

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How Maradona inspired Paolo Sorrentino’s film about Naples, Hand of God – and inadvertently saved his life

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The Italian director’s new, semi-autobiographical film reveals a charming and rarely seen side of his home city

‘This, for me, is the most beautiful place on Earth,” Paolo Sorrentino told Filippo Scotti, the actor playing the director’s younger self in his latest film, as their 1980s Riva speedboat chopped the waves of the Bay of Naples. Their view stretched from the precipitous peninsula of Sorrento all the way west towards Posillipo. The two promontories flank the sprawling port city, offering a warm embrace to all those who disembark there. Sorrentino’s new film, the Hand of God, opens with that same view: the sun-mottled bay, whose peace is disturbed by the sound of four Rivas as they speed towards the shore. The film is both a love letter to, and a portal into, Paolo Sorrentino’s Naples.

In cinemas now and on Netflix this week, The Hand of God sees the Academy award-winning director return to his home city for the first time since One Man Up, his 2001 debut. Sorrentino tells the story of his own coming of age, up to the moment when his life is shattered by the death of his parents in a tragic accident. Sorrentino’s story is a tale of great grief, loss and perseverance, set in a middle-class part of Naples, a far cry from the impoverished neighbourhoods shown in the city’s other recent portraits: Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend or the mafia-focused Gomorrah series.

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Former head of Barcelona’s youth system accused of sexual abuse of children

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  • Albert Benaiges was coach at Barça academy from 1992 to 2012
  • Benaiges denies accusations of more than 60 witnesses

Albert Benaiges, the former head of FC Barcelona’s youth system and the man who was credited with having discovered Andrés Iniesta, has been accused of sexual abuse of children in his charge over 20 years, accusations the 71-year-old strongly denies.

According to an investigation carried out by the Catalan newspaper Ara, more than 60 witnesses have come forward to detail his actions when he was a PE teacher at a school in the Les Corts neighbourhood of Barcelona during the 1980s and 1990s. One former student has made a formal statement to the police and others are expected to follow.

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Golden generation survivor Steven Gerrard is writing his own origin story | Barney Ronay

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Driven by his league title failure as a player, Aston Villa’s head coach has become a compelling prospect as a manager

There is an interesting, and no doubt very common phenomenon called parasocial interaction. This is where people feel they have an intimate, reciprocal relationship with a famous person, a belief that by consuming images of that person, by thinking about them, the mirror becomes a two-way glass; that they can see you too.

We all get this to some extent, right down to the entry-level version where you glimpse a famous person in the street and, as you walk past, automatically say hello-all-right-how’s-it-going-bro-safe-see-you-later-ha-ha-ha-be-lucky-how’s-Tanya, because obviously you must know them, and then five paces down the road realise it was Howard from Take That.

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England fan disorder at Euro 2020 final almost led to deaths, review finds

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  • Casey report refers to series of ‘near misses’ at Wembley
  • It also points to planning failures on day of ‘national shame’

Unprecedented disorder at the Euro 2020 final was a “near miss”, with deaths and life-changing injuries only narrowly avoided, according to an independent report into events described as a “national shame”.

Lady Louise Casey published her 129-page review on Friday into the incidents that overwhelmed Wembley stadium on 11 July. While she concludes that primary blame for the mass of public disorder must lie with the protagonists, there is also blame for both the FA and the police, whom she says were too slow to respond to trouble that began early in the day.

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The road to reform: have things improved for Qatar’s World Cup migrant workers?

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A year before kick off, workers claim companies are refusing to enforce sweeping new labour laws created to stamp out human rights abuses

When Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup in 2010, the triumphant Gulf state unveiled plans to host the most spectacular of all World Cup tournaments and began an ambitious building plan of state-of-the-art stadiums, luxury hotels and a sparkling new metro.

Yet, over the next decade, the brutal conditions in which hundreds of thousands of migrant workers toiled in searing heat to build Qatar’s World Cup vision has been exposed, with investigations into the forced labour , debt bondage and worker death toll causing international outrage.

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Manchester United board decide to sack Solskjær at emergency meeting

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  • Joel Glazer agrees to decision after 4-1 loss to Watford
  • Parting of ways set to be termed as mutual agreement

Manchester United’s board decided to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjær at an emergency meeting on Saturday night and Joel Glazer, the co-chairman who heads the American family’s ownership, has agreed to rubber-stamp the move.

A meeting, which lasted several hours, was called after the team’s chastening 4-1 defeat at Watford. The plan is for an announcement to avoid describing Solskjær as sacked and refer to a mutual agreement. Compensation and other final touches were being attended to after the board completed their discussions.

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New racism scandal rocks English football

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Diversity report alleges that the FA’s referee system is obstructing black and Asian people from reaching elite levels of the game

English football has been rocked by a fresh racism scandal after black and Asian referees revealed the scale of abuse and prejudice that, they say, is holding them back.

A dossier compiled by match officials, and seen by the Observer, alleges that racism in the Football Association’s refereeing system is undermining efforts by black and Asian people to reach the highest levels of the game.

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David Lacey obituary

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Guardian sports writer whose wit and talent redefined what a football column could be

It is not customary to look forward to Monday mornings but, in the heyday of the Guardian’s print sales in the late 1970s and 80s, many readers relished Monday’s paper more than anything else.

On a features page would be Posy Simmonds’ weekly dissection of middle-class life. And, further back, stretched across the width of the main sports page, David Lacey would offer his weekly dissection of football. Like Posy’s cartoon strip, this was one of the great institutions of British journalism.

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‘We have fallen into a trap’: for hotel staff Qatar’s World Cup dream is a nightmare

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Exclusive: Seduced by salary promises, workers at Fifa-endorsed hotels allege they have been exploited and abused

When Fifa executives step on to the asphalt in Doha next November for the start of the 2022 World Cup finals, their next stop is likely to be the check-in at one of Qatar’s glittering array of opulent hotels, built to provide the most luxurious possible backdrop to the biggest sporting event on earth.

Now, with a year to go before the first match, fans who want to emulate the lifestyle of the sporting elite can head to Fifa’s hospitality website to plan their stay in the host nation. There they can scroll through a catalogue of exclusive, Fifa-endorsed accommodation, from boutique hotels to five-star resorts.

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Pride and poverty: Qatar’s World Cup fever tempered by legacy of labour abuses

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With a year to go, the new stadiums, hotels and roads are finished and locals are excited, but the low-paid workers who built them are ambivalent

When asked if he’s looking forward to the World Cup, Mohamed, an Indian salesman, grins as he casts his fishing line off the promenade in the heart of Qatar’s capital, Doha. “Very much,” he says. “I love cricket!”

With a year to go until the football World Cup kicks off, Mohamed’s response may have the event’s organisers worried. After all, about 70% of Qatar’s population are from the cricket-loving subcontinent.

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Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini charged with fraud in Switzerland over £1.35m payment

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  • Former Fifa officials expected to stand trial at federal court
  • Prosecutors say payment ‘unlawfully enriched Platini’

Former Fifa officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss prosecutors on Tuesday after investigating a controversial payment of 2m Swiss francs (about £1.35m) for six years.

The 85-year-old Blatter and 65-year-old former France international Platini now face a trial within months at federal criminal court in Bellinzona.

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The men who built Qatar’s World Cup dream deserve some of David Beckham’s pay packet | Pete Pattisson

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The ex-England star’s deal for his ambassador role is in marked contrast to the wages of the host nation’s migrant workers

I doubt Nirmala Pakrin knows who David Beckham is, but she knows about Qatar.

Her husband, Rupchandra Rumba, a 24-year-old from Nepal, died in 2019, gasping for breath in a squalid camp for labourers on the outskirts of Doha, while working for a contractor on one of the new World Cup stadiums.

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Calum Chambers’ instant impact sends Arsenal on way to Leeds win

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When Mikel Arteta scanned a well-stocked substitutes’ bench for potential matchwinners, Calum Chambers’ face would not have leapt out. So it was a turnup for the books that his defender, who had not kicked a competitive ball in anger for two months and has barely appeared in a matchday squad since, breached Leeds within seconds of coming on and sparked an ultimately straightforward win. Chambers just about beat Illan Meslier with his first touch and Arsenal’s progression to the quarter-finals was in little doubt thereafter.

Chambers had only been deployed because Ben White felt unable to continue after feeling unwell. His intervention was the cue for Arsenal to take complete control of a previously sterile game and their second goal was a reminder of another talent whose career sits at a crossroads. Eddie Nketiah’s only previous football this season had come in the third round of this competition, against AFC Wimbledon; he scored in that game and squeezed in another here, although the path to salvaging a long-term future in north London still appears rocky for a player who needs regular starts at 22.

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Experts frustrated as German footballer says he has not had Covid jab

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Immunologists say Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich is mistaken and vaccine misunderstandings persist

German immunologists have warned that fundamental misunderstandings about the way vaccines work persist among the population, after the Bayern Munich and Germany footballer Joshua Kimmich confirmed over the weekend that he had declined to receive a Covid jab due to concerns over long-term side-effects.

“I have concerns about the lack of long-term studies,” the 26-year-old told Sky Sport. “I am of course aware of my responsibility. I follow all hygiene measures and get tested every two to three days. Everyone should make the decision for themselves.”

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Police investigating after Palace fans display banner at Newcastle match

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  • Fans attacked Premier League approval of Newcastle takeover
  • Police responding to complaint that the banner was ‘offensive’

Police are carrying out inquiries into a banner unveiled by Crystal Palace fans before Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle.

The banner, depicting an image of the club’s new Saudi Arabian owners, PIF, about to behead a magpie as faceless fans in the background sang: “We’ve got our club back,” was unfurled by Palace supporters before the 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park.

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How Hope Powell became a football legend: ‘I’m not afraid of anybody’

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She was kicked off her school team for being a girl – then played for her country and became manager of the women’s team at 31. She discusses how she helped put women’s football firmly on the map

When Hope Powell reminisces about the childhood that she spent scurrying across the streets of south London, she thinks of football. Perhaps that is no surprise: over the past 40 years, it has given her a career of firsts – after a trophy-laden playing career, she became England’s first female coach, first Black coach and youngest coach. Today, the 54-year-old is the manager of Brighton in the rapidly growing Women’s Super League (WSL).

Over the course of Powell’s career, the women’s game has evolved beyond recognition. Her football education began in the late 70s, just a few years after the Football Association lifted its ban on women’s football, in 1971. She idolised Kevin Keegan and Ray Wilkins, but had no female players to look up to. She and her brothers would knock on the doors of their friends’ houses, then take to the football cages on her council estate for games of rush goalie to 3-a-side.

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