Soccer

Tromso 2 ( 3 – 2 ) Byasen , Norway on The 21st of May, 2013 at four Podcast:
Tromso 2 ( 3 – 2 ) Byasen , Norway on The 21st of May, 2013 at four Podcast:
15 minutes ago
Click here to have the Fiver sent to your inbox every weekday at 5pm, or if your usual copy has stopped arrivingROMANCING THE STONEFlorentino Pérez walked into the Valdebebas training ground canteen and, though he could not see his face,...
Click here to have the Fiver sent to your inbox every weekday at 5pm, or if your usual copy has stopped arrivingROMANCING THE STONEFlorentino Pérez walked into the Valdebebas training ground canteen and, though he could not see his face, spotted him immediately. How could he not? Even after all these years he was unmistakeable. In a corner of the empty room there he was, sitting at his Special table, his Special back turned to him, his Special fingers toying absentmindedly at his Special coffee cup. Pérez felt the sour rush of tears as he noticed the Real Madrid jacket hanging on the back of his chair. José Mourinho had made no sign that he had heard his club president walk in, at least, no sign to the casual observer. But Pérez knew he knew. The tiniest hunch in the shoulder, the subtlest change in the atmosphere. After three years, you pick up on things others don't."José, I …"It was a scene both men had played over in their minds: the meaning-laden gestures, the pregnant pauses, the cadence of each sentence, the weight of every word. Yet these things never quite work out exactly as planned. Dress rehearsals can't prepare you for the final act. Pérez took an urgent, awkward step towards the manager. His carefully polished shoe bunted the leg of table, which rocked then toppled, and the slap of its plastic frame on the Linoleum echoed through the empty room.As the clatter died away Mourinho, at last, turned, the makings of a smile playing across his face but the pain all too obvious in those Special eyes. Pérez would reflect later than he had never seen the man look so tired – tired to his bones, to his sinews, to the core of his being – but at the time there was just relief, relief that it was started. The end had its beginning."You always were so clumsy, Florentino. It's OK. We both know why we're here. It was fun while it lasted, but …"The next two words, two bullets that would bury their points into the souls of the two men never to be prized out, caught in his throat. Their enormity, their finality, kept them just out of reach, even now. Even here, at the end of things. A clock ticked. A door creaked in some distant, unseen corridor. Noises from another universe, another reality billions of miles away from the here, the now. It was time." … it's over.""Yes, José. It's over."They had expected the words to clang into the empty space, throw painful echoes back. They had expected their ears to ring with the fizzing of their psychological shrapnel. Instead there was silence. Silence and, in each of their hearts, a lightening, a lifting of the load. Mourinho stood now to face the president and Pérez, so shamed by the weakness of his own tears as they had begun to burn their way down his cheeks, saw that the manager too was crying Special tears.Nearly there. It was almost over. Pérez knew that this time it was he who must speak, he who must say the words, he who must send them spinning over this final hurdle. He owed the manager that much."Just one more thing José. I [sob] don't want [blub] to pay the [sniff] £16.9m contract break clause." The effort was too much. Pérez buried his face in his hands and wept, but through the shoulder-juddering spasms the reply rang clearly."And I [sniff] don't want to [sob] pay the [blub] £16.9m contract break clause either."Through the tears it was Pérez's turn to smile, an expression that dominoed its way on to the Special face of the man standing now just a yard away. The irony was not lost on either of them – that here, at their parting, they were as one once more."Then … then let none of us pay. Let that be our gift … our gift to the other."Mourinho nodded, wiped a sleeve across his face, lifted his chin, opened his arms.One last lingering embrace, and through it each tried to say with their arms all the things they could never say with their voices – the good times, the trophies, the thank yous, the goodbyes. They came apart."Go. Go back to them. Go now. Go … and be happy."QUOTE OF THE DAY
23 minutes ago
By Chris Wright There was a good reason they called him “Duncan Disorderly” you know! Having signed for Rangers in the July of 1993, Ferguson’s Ibrox career started fairly dismally as the target man, being routinely pl...
By Chris Wright There was a good reason they called him “Duncan Disorderly” you know! Having signed for Rangers in the July of 1993, Ferguson’s Ibrox career started fairly dismally as the target man, being routinely played on the left wing, contributed little in the way of form or goals. Injuries played their part in Dunc’s stuttering start, as did a lack of discipline – no surprise there then. With three assault convictions already to his name: one for belting a policeman at a taxi rank, one for kicking a fan on crutches…at a taxi rank and one for a brawl with a fisherman in a pub in Anstruther. Lo and behold, Ferguson’s 1993/94 season would end with him racking up his fourth. During Rangers’ 4-0 win over Raith Rovers at Ibrox on 16th April, Ferguson tangled with defender Jock McStay in the corner until losing his rag with the Raith right-back and subsequently stuck a textbook “Glasgow Kiss” on him, knocking him to the floor… Although Ferguson escaped without punishment at the time after both the referee and the linesman conspired to miss the butt on McStay, things eventually caught up with him when the Raith defender reported the assault to the police after the game. Big Dunc was on probation at the time due to his previous convictions and, as a result, was sent down for three months in 1995 after losing his appeal. He served 44 days in Glasgow’s notorious Barlinnie prison, which later inspired Finnish composer Osmo Tapio Räihälä to write a short symphony called ‘Barlinnie Nine’ about the rowdy Scottish striker. Of his work, Räihälä said: “I got the idea for it when he was facing jail and had just become something of a cult figure for Everton. It takes into account the contradictions in him: he has an aggressive side but there is a lyrical undertone to him, as the fact that he keeps pigeons shows.” Give it a listen here. Beautiful. Really captures the pigeony-ness at the core of Big Dunc. More in Pies’ Classic Moments series… Roy Essandoh Answers Wycombe Wanderers’ Ceefax Advert For Striker, 2001 Ian Woan Scores Two Exquisite Freekicks Against Tottenham In The FA Cup, 1996 Eric Cantona Launches Into ‘Assassin Tackle’ On Michel Der Zakarian, 1988 ‘Maggie Thatcher, Your Boys Took A Helluva Beating!’, 1981 Chris Waddles Launches Assault On French Pop Charts (With Help From Basile Boli), 1991
26 minutes ago
The Udinese striker has been linked with a move to both Serie A giants of late but insists that he is happy to stay at the Friuli Luis Muriel insists he wants to remain with Udinese for another two seasons, despite being the interest of ...
The Udinese striker has been linked with a move to both Serie A giants of late but insists that he is happy to stay at the Friuli Luis Muriel insists he wants to remain with Udinese for another two seasons, despite being the interest of some of Italy’s biggest clubs. Juventus and AC Milan have been tracking the Colombian’s progress after his breakthrough campaign at Stadio Friuli. Muriel, though, is happy to say under the tutelage of coach Francesco Guidolin for the foreseeable future after a season he believes met both his personal and team targets. “I want to grow and improve as a player,” he said to La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I want to stay in Udine for another couple of years. I have learnt so much here from boss Francesco Guidolin who helped me during my moments of difficulty. “Scoring 10 goals was the objective and I got 11, so that is very satisfying. I managed to achieve two targets, seeing as the other was to help Udinese qualify for next season’s Europa League. “The partnership [with Antonio Di Natale in attack] has gone well and Toto has taught me a lot. He tells me a lot of things out there on the pitch.” Muriel’s 11 Serie A goals and three assists came in 22 appearances, just 15 of which were starts as he struggled with injury issues for much of the year.
27 minutes ago
Auxerre striker Yaya Sanogo has confirmed he is looking forward to linking up with Arsenal next season. read more
Auxerre striker Yaya Sanogo has confirmed he is looking forward to linking up with Arsenal next season. read more
30 minutes ago
Real Madrid fans express mixed feelings about José Mourinho's exit from the club a year before his contract runs out
Real Madrid fans express mixed feelings about José Mourinho's exit from the club a year before his contract runs out
36 minutes ago
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva intends to continue his good run of form for Liverpool into next season providing he can steer clear of injury over the summer. read more
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva intends to continue his good run of form for Liverpool into next season providing he can steer clear of injury over the summer. read more
38 minutes ago
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will battle throughout the summer to keep his squad together. read more
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will battle throughout the summer to keep his squad together. read more
about 1 hour ago
According to reports Tony Pulis is set to leave as manager of Stoke City following talks with chairman Peter Coates on Tuesday. read more
According to reports Tony Pulis is set to leave as manager of Stoke City following talks with chairman Peter Coates on Tuesday. read more
about 1 hour ago
• Manager heading for exit after meeting chairman Peter Coates• Disappointing end to season led to speculation about futureStoke manager Tony Pulis is set to leave the club after almost seven years in charge, according to a Stoke Sentine...
• Manager heading for exit after meeting chairman Peter Coates• Disappointing end to season led to speculation about futureStoke manager Tony Pulis is set to leave the club after almost seven years in charge, according to a Stoke Sentinel report.The 55-year-old's future has been the subject of speculation for a few weeks after a disappointing end to the season. Pulis had a meeting with chairman Peter Coates on Tuesday morning at which it appears a decision was taken to make a change."Just heard that Tony Pulis has left Stoke," tweeted recently retired Stoke forward Michael Owen. "No denying he did a great job getting them to the Premier League and keeping them there."Pulis, who after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes' promotion to the Manchester United job is the second-longest serving manager in the country, would leave Stoke in a far better position than he found them. Within two years of taking over for his second spell in charge he won promotion to the Premier League, where they have never finished below 14th.He also led them to their first FA Cup final and consequently into the Europa League. However, a poor run in the second half of this season - during which the Potters won just three of their last 19 league matches and briefly raised relegation fears - saw them finish with their lowest Premier League points tally.Also Pulis's style of football has often criticised for being over-physical and relying too heavily on the long ball.Tony PulisStoke Cityguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
about 1 hour ago