Other Leagues
Chest pains land former Manchester United and Man City striker Tevez in hospital

Former football star Carlos Tevez has been hospitalised in his homeland, Argentina, after experiencing chest pains.
The 40-year-old is currently in charge of Argentinian outfit Independiente, but is known for his decorated footballing career.
Tevez played his trade most notably for Premier League giants Manchester City and Man United.
A statement was issued confirming Tevez had been admitted to the hospital. It read: “Our coach, Carlos Tevez, went to the La Trinidad Hospital in San Isidro with chest pain. They carried out the corresponding tests and they were satisfactory.
“Today he will continue with a series of tests scheduled in advance as part of a general check-up. Carlos Tevez will be hospitalised as a precaution until the corresponding tests are completed.”
Tevez assumed the role of head coach for Independiente in August 2023, and in December, he extended his contract with the club until 2026. This decision came after he transformed them from relegation contenders last season to contenders for trophies. The club currently sits in sixth position in the Argentine Primera Division.
Father-of-three Tevez made 201 appearances in the Premier League, finding the net 84 times, during his stints with West Ham, Man United, and Man City. He clinched two top flight titles and a Champions League trophy during his time with the Red Devils before switching sides to join the Sky Blues. There, he added another Premier League title to his collection.
After his tenure at Man City, he moved to Juventus before making a return to Argentina with Boca Juniors, where he ultimately retired in 2021. It remains uncertain whether he will be able to attend a club training session scheduled for later today.
The hospital where he is scheduled to undergo additional tests has been identified as the Finochietto Hospital in Buenos Aires. It is understood that Tevez struggles with high blood pressure and routinely undergoes medical examinations.
Speculation arose regarding his future as Independiente coach when he abruptly suspended a press conference following the club’s elimination from a cup competition earlier this month. Tevez, won 76 caps for Argentina between 2004 and 2015, was also hurried to the hospital last year after a domestic accident.
-Insidethegames
Other Leagues
Mourinho gets strong winning start at Benfica

Jose Mourinho got off to a strong start in his first game as manager of Benfica as his side eased to a comfortable 3-0 win over AVS Futebol SAD in a Primeira Liga clash.
Mourinho, who left Turkey’s Fenerbahce last month, was appointed Benfica manager on Thursday, a day after Bruno Lage was sacked following their shock 3-2 Champions League defeat by Qarabag.
Heorhiy Sudakov opened the scoring for Benfica on the stroke of half-time, before Vangelis Pavlidis and Franjo Ivanovic sealed the three points on Saturday.
Despite the win, the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United boss was quick to keep expectations in check.
“We worked for an hour and a half yesterday,” the 62-year-old told reporters.
“I thank the players for their professionalism, their passion for the club, but at the same time for the way they welcomed me, the way I felt they were embracing what we were working on, and that’s it.
“If we had lost, it would obviously have been a disaster in terms of points. Winning isn’t phenomenal, but it was the best thing we could do, they needed to win after losing two points and after a psychologically heavy defeat.
“I told them after the game, it was good, but it was nothing extraordinary, hurry up, tomorrow there’s training in the morning.”
Benfica are second in the Portuguese top-flight standings with 13 points from five matches.
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Other Leagues
Mourinho heading to Benfica where it all began after 25-year journey

A quarter of a century after waving Jose Mourinho out of the door, Benfica look to have finally coaxed the ‘Special One’ back — gambling that the sorcery which lit up Porto and dazzled Europe can now be summoned in Lisbon red.
Few recall that before Porto acclaimed him, Mourinho’s first managerial baptism came at Benfica back in 2000 in a tumultuous three-month stint that ended with fans chanting his name as he walked away.
Now, at 62, the prodigal son is set to return to Lisbon, Portuguese TV station RTP reported on Wednesday, amidst the wreckage of a 3-2 home collapse against Azerbaijan side Qarabag, who turned a two-goal deficit into a Champions League scalp.
Ironically, Benfica knocked Mourinho’s former employers Fenerbahce out of Europe barely a fortnight before the Turks bundled him out of a job.
Mourinho’s accomplishments are well known.
The Portuguese, who was born in the coastal town of Setubal, a half-hour’s drive from Lisbon, is widely regarded as one of the best coaches of his generation.
He has claimed league titles in four countries and is one of six managers to lift the European Cup with two clubs as well as the only coach to win all three current UEFA club competitions.
Mourinho’s brief stint after being appointed Benfica manager in 2000 was nothing short of dramatic but it was also crucial as he started building a name and legacy that has kept the club’s fans dreaming of what could have been for over two decades.
Hired in September that year to replace Jupp Heynckes after a dismal start to the season, with two wins out of five games under the German, Mourinho arrived at a club in political turmoil with presidential elections looming and a broken changing room.
Working alongside assistant Carlos Mozer, a former Benfica and Brazil great as a defender, Mourinho managed to block the outside noise from his players and transformed the struggling squad, culminating in a stunning 3-0 victory over heavily favoured local rivals Sporting that left fans jubilant.
But the honeymoon was short-lived. Despite a record of six wins, three draws and two defeats in 11 matches, Mourinho departed just two days after that triumph due to disagreements with newly-elected president Manuel Vilarinho.
“It is a very sad day for us, the day we end our contractual relationship with Benfica,” Mourinho announced on December 5, 2000, in a press room filled with fans chanting his name.
“(Before Mourinho) Benfica played terribly … We had a rubbish team; even I could have played, or at least been a regular substitute,” Vilarinho told reporters.
“And Mr Mourinho, who is an excellent coach and leader of men, almost a wizard, manages to change those mentalities.
“Mr Mourinho beat Sporting 3-0 … And this is a Saturday. On Monday, we have a board meeting and Mr. Mourinho says this: ‘Either you renew my contract for another year or tomorrow I won’t be coaching any more’.
“And he left … I think he never liked me, I don’t know why, he must have thought I didn’t like him,” Vilarinho added, trying to explain how Benfica allowed Mourinho to leave.
Mourinho went on to manage lowly Uniao Leira for a season before joining Porto and leading the Northern Portugal side to unprecedented success by winning back-to-back league titles, a Portuguese Cup, the 2003 UEFA Cup and Champions League in 2004.
After two decades of a roller-coaster career at Chelsea, Inter Milan, where he won the Champions League, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, AS Roma and Fenerbahce, he is heading home to finish a job that is 25 years overdue.
-Reuters
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Other Leagues
League Football Returns to War-Torn Sudan After Two-Year Hiatus

Domestic football has resumed in Sudan for the first time in over two years, as the country launches a one-month competition featuring eight top clubs to determine its national champions amid ongoing conflict.
The return of league action comes despite the devastating civil war that has gripped Sudan since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The conflict has claimed more than 150,000 lives and displaced around 12 million people, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis.
Among the teams participating in the makeshift tournament are Sudan’s football giants, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, who have dominated the domestic scene since the national league’s inception in 1965, winning all but four of the titles between them.
During the height of the conflict, both clubs were forced to relocate operations to Mauritania in West Africa, where they played league matches last season.
Al Hilal emerged champions in that campaign while hosting their continental fixtures on neutral ground due to security concerns.
Now back on Sudanese soil, both teams have kicked off their campaigns in the newly introduced Sudanese Elite Championship, which will determine the clubs eligible for the 2025/26 CAF continental competitions.
Matches are being staged in the relatively safer cities of Ad-Damer, located 430 kilometres from the embattled capital Khartoum, and Atbara, about 320 kilometres north.
Al Hilal began their campaign with a win over Al Merghani Kassala, while Al Merrikh also secured victory, edging Ahly Madani 1–0 over the weekend. Their much-anticipated derby clash is scheduled for the final day of the competition on July 22.
The other clubs in the competition are Zamalek, Umm Rawaba, Al Amal Atbara, Hay Al Wadi Nyala, and Merrikh Al Abyad. Each team will play the others once, with seven rounds of fixtures to be completed over the month.
Despite the return of league football, Sudan’s national team remains in limbo, having not played a home match since March 2023.
The Falcons of Jediane are set to compete at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and are also in contention for a historic first appearance at the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
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