Some days he would go before training, others after training and there were days he went before and after training, but every day without fail Ronald Araújo would head to the bullring. He was 19, recently arrived in Spain, and what he wanted most was to fit in. The bullring is a small cage with portable metal panels on wheels, relentlessly receiving and returning endless passes, and it became his place. Because if everything was different, ask the Uruguayan to name the hardest thing about moving to Barcelona as a teenager 6,000 miles from home and his response is simple: “the ball”.
“Football happened fast,” Araújo says. “At 17, I was still in my little home town, playing for the local team, Huracán Rivera. At 17, I went to Mont…
Judging by the numbers, Brazil were one of the better sides during the 2019 Copa America group stage. La Selecao cruised their way in Group A, going undefeated (W2, D1) while scoring the most goals (eight) and keeping three clean sheets. It’s hard to deny they should be considered as contenders for the title, especially considering they’re playing at home.
Several players have stood out for their recent performances. Philippe Coutinho has contributed directly in three goals (two goals, one assist), Casemiro and Dani Alves have looked impressive, and names such as Alisson and Thiago Silva have added steady performances at the back. But one player that has caught lots of attention has been Everton. No one expected him to play a prominent role for Tite in this tournament, but …
Emile Smith Rowe already feels at home at Fulham, as the former Arsenal man looks to continue his positive start to the season at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Smith Rowe left Arsenal after 14 years at the club to join Marco Silva s team in a deal reportedly worth up to £35million last month, and he has wasted no time in making an impact.
He has contributed to goals in each of his first three home games with Fulham (two goals, one assist), scoring their second goal in Saturday s 3-1 victory over Newcastle United.
Ahead of this week s trip to the City Ground to face Forest, who are one point better off than Fulham and still unbeaten, Smith Rowe said he was delighted with his start.
I couldn t be happier, we just had another really good performance and …
Gianluigi Donnarumma was Italy s hero as he saved from Bukayo Saka to clinch a 3-2 penalty shootout victory over England after a 1-1 draw in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
Jordan Pickford saved two of Italy s spot-kicks, yet it was his counterpart who came up with the goods to clinch the Azzurri s second European Championship title.
It was a night that started so well for England, with Luke Shaw scoring the quickest goal in a Euro final.
Yet mounting Italy pressure told when Leonardo Bonucci scored midway through the second half, and after late substitutes Marcus Rashford hit the post and Jadon Sancho failed to beat Donnarumma in the shootout, Saka fell foul of Italy s goalkeeper as England suffered heartbreak on home soil.
It could hardly have sta…
Roberto Mancini believes he and Gianluca Vialli came full circle at Wembley Stadium, making amends for Sampdoria s European Cup final defeat against Barcelona by succeeding with Italy against England in the Euro 2020 final.
Mancini guided his country to their first European Championship triumph since 1968 with a shoot-out victory over Gareth Southgate s men, courtesy of Gianluigi Donnarumma s penalty-saving heroics.
Tasked with rebuilding after failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2018, Mancini led his side to a 34-game unbeaten run that culminated in the Euro 2020 success.
After the failure of 2018, the first year in which the Azzurri had failed to reach a World Cup since 1958, Mancini told SPORT1 Italy was down .
You [Italy] immediately felt…
Frank Lampard scored a brace in Chelsea s 2-1 win at Everton yesterday
In yesterday’s Premier League games Chelsea won 2-1 at Everton’s Goodison Park. The home side made a strong start and were in the lead after less than two minutes.
Victor Anichebe’s powerful header struck the crossbar and South African midfielder Steven Pienaar was on hand to fire past Petr Cech in the Blues goal.
The Toffee’s were unlucky not to double their lead soon afterwards. Croatian striker Nikica Jelavic curled a superb free-kick over the Chelsea wall, only to see the ball strike the post and bounce clear.
Everton dominated the early exchanges and Petr Cech superbly denied Jelavic a second goal for the home side.
Chelsea slowly came back into the game and got t…
Two teams facing crossroads in 2021 will square off to begin the NFL betting season, with the Minnesota Vikings heading to Ohio to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
Embattled head coach Mike Zimmer and Minnesota have seemingly been reaching the end of their current cycle for several years now, but with a win total Over/Under of 9, oddsmakers expect them to be in the playoff picture yet again. Third-year head coach Zac Taylor and Cincinnati, meanwhile, will try to finally get a long-needed rebuild off the ground.
Read on for our free Vikings vs. Bengals picks and predictions, with kickoff set for September 12.
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It’s primetime, and that means another dose of Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos, who head to SoFi Stadium as 4.5-point dogs to take on the Los Angeles Chargers.
Wilson will look to silence critics, and that could be beneficial to bettors while both teams could have success on the ground Monday night.
Find out in my free NFL player prop picks for Monday Night Football between the Broncos vs. Chargers.
Be sure to also check out Jason Logan’s full betting preview for this matchup.
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Taylor Swift could have plenty of new material for another album.
The Grammy Award-winning recording artist is rumored to be dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The two superstars have been frontpage news since Swift was spotted attending the Chiefs’ home game on Sunday alongside Kelce’s mother Donna.
Taylor Swift chatting it up with Travis Kelce’s mom, Donna ??(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/n2Ez2LkWFm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 24, 2023
The Chiefs rolled to victory against the Chicago Bears that day as -12.5 point favorites, with Kelce finding the end zone once for his new lady.
Perhaps we all should have seen this coming back in 2019 when Swift sang, “We were a fresh page on…
After a brief hiatus last week, the Sack and Tackle Props column is back in action for Week 14 odds. Yours truly took a trip to Vegas, but now I’m ready to dive into the NFL odds for defensive player props.
Speaking of Sin City, I have a play on this week’s game in Vegas as the Raiders face a Vikings safety that has been filling up the stat sheet.
I’m also riding a red-hot Bucs rookie and backing Dolphins end Bradley Chubb in a juicy Monday Night matchup versus Tennessee. Here are my best free sack and tackle NFL picks for Week 14.
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