International Football

Fever Over Ronaldo at El Clasico Miami

Published

7 years ago

July 25, 2017

Soccer fans in Miami, US are hoping Cristiano Ronaldo will feature in Saturday’s highly anticipated El Clasico, a clash of the two Spanish giants, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in Miami.

According to a report Sports Village Square has gathered from Miami Herald, the burning question on the lips of avid soccer followers had been: “Ronaldo show up?”

Until now, it was initially unclear if Ronaldo would be returning to Manchester United. But he has now confirmed he would be staying with the La Liga giants. Fans are awaiting another potential struggle for supremacy between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as their clubs clash in what is dubbed “El Clasico Miani” at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Madrid superstar, who has 107 million Instagram followers and many fans in South Florida, was not in Santa Clara, California, with his team on Sunday for their International Champions Cup opener against Manchester United.

Some speculated that his absence was either to avoid playing against his former club, Manchester United or he was preparing to return to the Premier League side. He is also not expected for Wednesday’s game against Manchester City in Los Angeles.

But ICC officials are in contact with Ronaldo and his handlers, and they remain optimistic that he will make it to Miami for Saturday’s game.

“We are doing everything we can to get him here,” said Daniel Stillman, the CEO of the ICC. “We are still hopeful that he will make it.”

Ronaldo, 32, has been on an extended summer vacation after a long season with Real Madrid, the June 8 birth of his twins, and a run to the June 28 semifinals of Confederations Cup in Russia with Portugal’s national team. He also is scheduled to testify July 31 at a tax fraud hearing in Spain, leading to rumors that he would not be able to fit El Clasico Miami into his schedule.

Ronaldo spent this past weekend in Asia, fulfilling commercial obligations. He was in Singapore on Friday meeting with friend and billionaire Peter Lim, who owns Spanish club Valencia and also owns Mint Media, which owns Ronaldo’s non-Real Madrid image rights. On Saturday, he went to Shanghai for an endorsement event, and also visited Beijing.

He was reportedly back in Madrid on Monday, but his plans the rest of the week are unknown. The Real Madrid and Barcelona teams and their entourages are due to arrive in Miami on Thursday, after playing games in California on Wednesday night. They will be staying within blocks of each other in downtown Miami.

The Barcelona roster for the U.S. tour includes Argentine megastar Lionel Messi (76.4 million Instagram followers), Brazilian star Neymar (who is being wooed by Paris Saint-Germain), Uruguay standout Luis Suarez, and Spaniards Gerard Pique and Andres Iniesta.

Among the Real Madrid stars due to be at the game Saturday are Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Wales star Gareth Bale, Crotian Luka Modric, Karim Benzema of France, and Toni Kroos of Germany.

A sellout crowd of 64,767 is expected at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday for the match. A few thousand tickets remained as of Monday afternoon.

More than 40,000 are expected for Wednesday’s game between French club Paris Saint-Germain and Italian team Juventus. PSG has been based in Miami for a week, and held an autograph session Sunday at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which was attended by 300-400 fans, and open training session Monday morning at Barry University.

A crowd of 25,000-plus is expected at the stadium Friday night for Barcelona and Real Madrid training sessions, with tickets ranging from $20-$30. Barcelona is practicing from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Real Madrid trains from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

Casa Clasico, a free fan fest at Bayfront Park downtown with live music and soccer interactive activities, is open Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

International Football

Two Moroccan football players lost at sea, says club official

Published

3 weeks ago

July 8, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Abdellatif Akhrif, IRT player reported missing off the coast of M'diq this Saturday, July 6, 2024. © COPYRIGHT: IRT

Two Moroccan players from top-flight soccer side Ittihad Tanger have been missing at sea since Saturday after strong currents drifted their small yacht, a club official said on Sunday.

They were in a group of five players from the club who went cruising off the northern city of Tangier when strong currents and heavy winds drifted their yacht away as they were swimming in deep waters, club deputy president Anass Mrabet told Reuters.

“Three players have already been rescued on Saturday, while research is still ongoing for the missing Salman Harraq and Abdellatif Akhrif,” he said.

The players did not have buoys on them when they jumped from the small yacht to swim, he said citing recounts by rescued players.

While Akhrif, 24, is already a full member of the squad, Harraq, 18, was about to move up to the senior team this year, Mrabet added.

Ittihad Tanger have been in the Moroccan top flight since 2015 and won the league title for the first and only time in their history in the 2017-18 season. However, they have struggled in the lower half of the standings in recent years.

-Reuters

International Football

FIFA launches ‘Football Manager’ World Cup with $100,000 in prize money

Published

4 weeks ago

June 27, 2024

Kunle Solaja

FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development and former soccer manager Arsene Wenger speaks during the 74th FIFA Congress at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, in Bangkok, Thailand, May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

FIFA will host its first ever FIFAe World Cup of Football Manager this year to crown the best virtual manager on the highly-popular video game, world soccer’s governing body said on Thursday.

FIFA is partnering with Sports Interactive, the developers of the game that has sold millions of copies and has also been used by several football clubs to scout players and opponents thanks to its extensive database.

Players will compete for $100,000 in prize money in the final event from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.

“This competition requires participants to demonstrate a profound understanding of football strategy and tactics,” said former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is the ambassador for the esports event.

“Success demands not only mastery of game mechanics but also in-depth football knowledge, making this format a fascinating blend.”

FIFA said in the inaugural year of the event, selected member associations will be invited to be represented at the final event.

Member associations from all six confederations are expected to be invited while players can sign up on FIFA’s website.

-Reuters

International Football

Former Italy international Roberto Baggio robbed at gunpoint

Published

1 month ago

June 21, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Former Italy international Roberto Baggio was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint at his home in northern Italy while watching his country’s match against Spain in the Euro 2024 tournament on Thursday, local police said.

Burglars broke into Baggio’s house near Vicenza, hit him on the head with a gun butt and locked him and his family in a room while they stole jewellery, watches and cash, daily Il Corriere della Sera reported. It said he suffered a deep wound.

“Luckily, the violence I suffered only resulted in a few stitches, bruises and a lot of fear. Now it is to overcome the fear,” Baggio was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA.

Baggio, 57, played for clubs including Juventus (JUVE.MI), opens new tab, AC Milan and Inter Milan. He also played 56 times for Italy, scoring 27 goals, and is widely seen as one of his country’s all-time greats.

After the robbery, Baggio, widely known as the “divine ponytail”, was treated at a local hospital where he received stitches for the head wound, Italian media reported.

Italy lost to Spain 1-0 on Thursday and now must avoid defeat by Croatia to guarantee progression in the tournament.

-Reuters