Sports News

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Davide Astori: Fiorentina captain and Italy international dies at the age of 31

Fiorentina captain and Italy international Davide Astori has died at the age of 31.
The defender died following a "sudden illness", his club confirmed on their official Twitter feed.
Fiorentina were scheduled to play Udinese in Serie A on Sunday afternoon but the game and all other Serie A fixtures were called off.
Astori, capped 14 times by Italy, joined Fiorentina in 2016 from Cagliari and had made 58 appearances for them.
Cagliari postponed their game against Genoa on Sunday morning.
"Fiorentina are profoundly shocked to have to announce the death of captain Davide Astori after a sudden illness," Fiorentina said.
"Given this terrible and delicate situation we appeal to everyone's sensitivity at this time, above all out of respect for his family."
Astori, who leaves a wife and two-year-old daughter, came through the youth system at AC Milan before joining Cagliari in 2008.
He spent eight years at the club and had loan spells at Roma and Fiorentina before moving permanently to the latter two years ago.

Full Report

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Have you ever seen a more blatant dive than this?

Universidad de Concepcion forward Jean Meneses pulls off a blatant dive in the Chilean Primera Division to win his side a late penalty in a 2-1 victory over Colo Colo.

VIDEO

[Mel]

Have you ever seen a more blatant dive than this?

Terrible. But it seems that FIFA and the FA won't do anything about in our game. Even some players and TV pundits says it is all part of the game nowadays. To me it is cheating and it is one of the reasons my love of the game has sadly diminished

[boatbuilder]

Congratulations to Mohamed 'Mo' Salah of Liverpool on being nominated the PFA "Players' Player of the Year 2018".

A worthy winner - then again I might be a little biased.

[boatbuilder]

Maria Bueno: Brazilian star of 1960s women's tennis dies

South America's most successful female tennis player, Maria Bueno of Brazil, has died at the age of 78.
Bueno won 19 major titles during her career in the 1950s and 60s, including three Wimbledon singles titles and four US championships.
She had recently been admitted to hospital suffering from mouth cancer.
A self-taught prodigy, she brought grace to the game and was a dominant force, BBC Americas editor Leonardo Rocha writes.
However, her career was shortened by elbow problems, which she blamed on the heavy wooden rackets of the time.
Brazilian President Michel Temer has led tributes to the star, tweeting that she would be remembered as "the number one of tennis in the hearts of all Brazilians".

Full report

[Trigger]

Matthew Marsh: English 16-year-old joins Barcelona's basketball team

"I first managed to dunk just before my 12th birthday," says Matthew Marsh.
Marsh, one of British basketball's rising stars, was a shade over six foot at the time.
Four years later - and now standing at 6ft 11in - the 16-year-old is preparing to leave home in Cornwall and join FC Barcelona Basketball - one of Europe's top teams.
He is likely to rub shoulders with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as the basketball side is part of the same set up that runs the football club. Their arena, Palau Blaugrana, is located right next to Camp Nou.
The oldest club in Spain's top flight, they are one of 16 teams in the EuroLeague - the top tier of basketball on this side of the Atlantic.
But Marsh's ambition is to get to the highest level of the sport he loves - starting with the Spanish side's youth set up before aiming to break into their senior team.
"The NBA is a dream," he said. "To go out to America and be part of the NBA and all the crowds and stuff would be amazing."
BBC Sport

[boatbuilder]

Jimmy McIlroy: Former Burnley & Northern Ireland forward dies

Former Burnley and Northern Ireland forward Jimmy McIlroy has died at the age of 86.
McIlroy played 497 games for the Clarets between 1950 and 1962, winning the old First Division title in 1960.
He made 55 appearances for his country, scoring 10 goals between 1951 and 1965, and helped them reach the World Cup quarter-finals in 1958.
Burnley said they were "deeply saddened to learn of the death of our greatest ever player".
A club statement added: "A giant of a man. The thoughts of everyone connected with the club are with his family and friends at this sad time."
McIlroy started his career at Northern Irish club Glentoran in 1949 before moving to England with Burnley one year later. He went on to score 131 goals during a time the club describe as their "golden age".
Having won the league the year before, the Clarets reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1961, losing 5-4 on aggregate to Hamburg, and in the following season they finished as league and FA Cup runners-up.
After leaving Burnley in 1962, McIlroy made 116 league appearances for Stoke before moving to Oldham and retiring from playing in 1967.
He was appointed Oldham manager in 1965 but left in 1968, and also took charge of Bolton for a brief period in 1970.
At the World Cup in 1958, McIlroy and his Northern Ireland team-mates, captained by Tottenham great Danny Blanchflower, were beaten 4-0 by France in the last eight.
An Irish Football Association statement read: "The association is saddened to hear of the death of Jimmy McIlroy, one of Northern Ireland's greatest ever players. He was one of the heroes of the 1958 squad."
Burnley's Turf Moor stadium has a stand named after McIlroy and he was given a testimonial by the club in 2009.
In 2011, he was made an MBE for services to football and to charity, deciding to receive the honour at Turf Moor instead of travelling to Buckingham Palace.
In the years following his retirement from football, he worked as a writer for local newspaper the Burnley Express.

BBC Sport

I certainly remember watching him play during the 1960's

[boatbuilder]

England Women beat Wales Women 3-0 to reach the Women's 2019 World Cup Finals in France

England secured their place at the 2019 World Cup with a superb second-half display to break the resistance of a determined Wales side.
Second-half goals from Toni Duggan, Jill Scott and Nikita Parris in Newport saw England book their passage to France as Wales' own impressive campaign was dealt a disappointing blow.
A squad filled with amateur players, Wales did not lose any of their other qualifiers and went an incredible 687 minutes without conceding in Group 1 before Duggan's goal.
But they were second best to Phil Neville's side, who stuck at their task before finding a more clinical edge after the break.
The result means the Lionesses are guaranteed to be group winners even before their final qualifier in Kazakhstan, while Wales must rely on other results going their way to get a second chance via the play-offs.

Full Report

Congratulations to them. Maybe they will do what the men didn't this year.

[boatbuilder]

Ex-England and Ipswich Town player Kevin Beattie dies

Former England and Ipswich Town footballer Kevin Beattie has died of a suspected heart attack aged 64.
Beattie played for Ipswich during their most successful spell and was widely regarded as one of the club's greatest players.
His manager at Ipswich, Sir Bobby Robson, described the defender as the best English player he had ever seen.
He died at home early on Sunday, the day after broadcasting live for BBC Radio Suffolk.
"Beat" arrived at Portman Road as a 15 year old and progressed through the youth ranks, making his debut against Manchester United in 1972.
Beattie went on to make 296 appearances for the club, scoring 32 goals and consistently finished at the top of supporters' polls as Ipswich Town's top player of all time.
He was a PFA Young Player of the Year, an FA Cup and Uefa Cup winner and won nine caps for England.
A pundit on BBC Radio Suffolk, he remained in the role following his conviction in 2012 for not declaring the job while on benefits.
On Saturday afternoon, he broadcast from the studio for his regular slot on the Life's a Pitch show.
He laughed and joked with presenter Mark Murphy and praised the support of Ipswich Town fans during a discussion about improving the atmosphere at Portman Road.

Full report

How very sad. RIP Kevin Beattie

[boatbuilder]

Anthony Joshua stops Alexander Povetkin to retain world heavyweight titles

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/45616241

[boatbuilder]

World Cup 2030: Government would back UK and Ireland bid

The government says it would back a joint bid to host the 2030 Fifa World Cup in the UK and Ireland.
The football associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland are considering putting forward a proposal to stage the tournament.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said: "The decision on whether to bid is for the football associations to make.
"If they decide to go forward, they can count on this government's full support."
The football associations of England and Wales released statements on Friday confirming the five national governing bodies are "in discussions about the feasibility of bidding to be the European candidate" to host the event.
The last major men's football tournament played in the UK was the 1996 European Championship, which England hosted 30 years after staging its only World Cup.

BBC Sport

[Dave]

Fulham appoint Claudio Ranieri as manager after sacking Slavisa Jokanovic.

Fulham have appointed Claudio Ranieri as their manager after sacking Slavisa Jokanovic. The Italian, who led Leicester to the Premier League title in 2016 and has also managed Chelsea, takes over with the club bottom of the Premier League.
Jokanovic has been dismissed after taking five points from 12 matches this season. The Serb led Fulham to promotion last season.
Fulham said Ranieri had signed a “multi-year contract” and their owner, Shahid Khan, said: “Claudio is risk-free and ready-made for the Premier League, and particularly so for what we need at this moment at Fulham.

Guardian Article.

Well I'm off to the bookies tomorrow, a tenner on Fulham to win the Premiership next year. At a thousand to one I'll be laughing all the way to the bank or maybe not.

[boatbuilder]

The draw has been made for football's 2020 Euro qualifiers. This is the groupings:

Group A: England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo.
Group B: Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, Luxembourg.
Group C: Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Belarus.
Group D: Switzerland, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Georgia, Gibraltar.
Group E: Croatia, Wales, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan.
Group F: Spain, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands, Malta.
Group G: Poland, Austria, Israel, Slovenia, Macedonia, Latvia.
Group H: France, Iceland, Turkey, Albania, Moldova, Andorra.
Group I: Belgium, Russia, Scotland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, San Marino.
Group J: Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, Greece, Armenia, Liechtenstein.

The Euro 2020 qualifiers will take place between March and November 2019, with the winner and runner-up of each group going through directly.
The qualifying process is condensed because of this year's Uefa Nations League group games, with England and Scotland guaranteed a Euro 2020 play-off place - should they fail to qualify via their regular qualifying group - after winning their Nations League section.
Wembley will stage both the semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020, as well as three group games and a last-16 match.

BBC Sports News

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I was saddened to read this just now. Peter Thompson was probably one of the greatest wingers of his era. I watched him many, many times in the years after he signed for Liverpool, for what was then their record signing fee of £37,000, in 1963 (equivalent to £750,000 today).

Peter Thompson: Former Liverpool, Preston and Bolton winger dies ages 76

Former Liverpool, Preston and Bolton winger Peter Thompson has died aged 76.
Thompson scored 54 goals in 416 appearances for the Reds between 1963 and 1973, and won two First Division titles under Bill Shankly.
He helped Liverpool win the FA Cup for the first time in 1965 and reach the European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1966.
He was capped 16 times by England under World Cup-winning manager Sir Alf Ramsey.
Thompson was named in Ramsey's initial 28-man squads for the 1966 and 1970 World Cups but was cut from the final 22 for both tournaments.
Liverpool said they were "deeply saddened" by his passing and described Thompson as "a shining light for much of Bill Shankly's reign as Reds manager".
Shankly, who died in 1981, once said of Thompson: "He could run forever, but more importantly in football he could run with the ball - probably the hardest thing to do.
"He could run every minute of every game, every week, every year better than anybody else.
"His work-rate was outstanding, his fitness unequalled, his balance like a ballet dancer. I have no hesitation in placing Peter up among the all-time greats - alongside such players as Tom Finney, Stanley Matthews and George Best."
Born in Carlisle, Thompson started his career at Preston, becoming a first-team regular at 17 before going on to score 20 goals in 121 appearances.
Following his 10-year spell at Anfield, he joined Bolton in 1973 before retiring in 1978.

BBC Sport

[boatbuilder]

Liverpool's James Milner sent off by his old primary school teacher Jon Moss!

James Milner claimed an unwanted slice of football history at Anfield yesterday - when he was sent off by his old primary school teacher!
The Liverpool full-back didn't even pause for confirmation when he fouled Wilfried Zaha in the 89th minute of yesterday's Premier League thriller at Anfield.
Having already been cautioned, he appeared to know referee Jon Moss would have no hesitation in showing a second yellow card.
But then he had a unique insight into the likely reaction of the Premier League referee, having been coached by the future referee at Westbrook Primary School in Horsforth, Yorkshire.
Milner later attended Horsforth School where he was described as a first class student leaving with 11 GCSE's and an award for his outstanding performance in PE.
His discipline yesterday was not quite as impressive, Milner receiving a red card which will see him suspended for the Reds home match with Leicester in 10 days' time. And evidence later surfaced on social media of Moss and Milner's time together in the same junior school team.
Evidence is sketchy but Milner may have become the first footballer to be sent off by his old schoolteacher.

MSN and Liverpool Echo