Spanish club, Real Sociedad’s incredible gesture to a homeless man is hitting the headlines.
The club has offered a job to Ruben Vitoriano, a homeless man who slept in the doorway of the Basque club’s Anoeta Stadium with his dog Mundo for the last eight months
Ruben who has roamed the streets of San Sebastian for three years now has a roof over his head. He has also joined the Basque club’s ground maintenance team and has agreed an initial two-month contract.
He told Marca, “I thought they were such good people. After so much time, hope is lost.”
Victor Valdes launches dating app
Just like other sportsmen, former Barcelona goalkeeper, Victor Valdes is also preparing for life after football.
The Middlesbrough skipper has partnered with a Barcelona-based startup group called Tramontana Adventure and launched his own mobile dating app called “Hola Dating.” He hopes to release the app in the Android Play Store and iOS App Store pretty soon.
“We think that in the dating world, you can feel attracted to someone on the bus, the metro, in a cafe, or in a college or club. But, you don’t necessarily have the courage to approach them and break the ice. Therefore you need this app.
“Here I’m on the app and the system says ‘Hola’ and gives me a brown-orange colour. The system is giving me a completely random colour. Then, I show this message to the person I want to start a conversation with and that person can search for me and my profile thanks to the colour I’ve shown them. So then, we can start a conversation in a private channel.” The 34 year-old explained in a video uploaded on Twitter.
Jose Mourinho charged with misconduct
Can Mourinho ever stay out of trouble?
The Manchester United boss has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association for comments made about referee Anthony Taylor before Manchester United v Liverpool game. Managers are not supposed to make comments about referees prior to matches but Mourinho being who he is questioned the integrity of the official ahead of the match saying ‘I feel that it will be difficult for him to have a very good performance.’
And when he saw that punishment from the FA was imminent, he chipped in “I did not really want to say too much more on the matter. I have learned a lesson… by being punished so many times for my words about referees”.
However the FA have released a statement today to confirm they’ve charged the former Chelsea manager and he has until 31st October to appeal the ban and could face a fine if he’s found guilty.
Coach Gernot Rohr meets with Super Eagles players in London
Nigeria national team handler, Gernot Rohr visited Chelsea and Arsenal’s training grounds as he continues his tour to meet his squad ahead of November 26’s #WCQ2018.
The German met with Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger and Mike Emenalo, Mikel Obi and Odion Ighalo.
Robin Van Persie honoured for reaching 100 Holland Caps
Dutch Forward, Robin Van Persie has been honoured for reaching 100 caps for the Holland national team. The former Arsenal player hit the milestone after appearing in the final minutes of a 2–1 away win over Kazakhstan in Euro 2016 qualifying in October 2015. Now the country’s all-time leading goalscorer with 50 goals, the 33 year-old excitedly shared his awards with his fans on Instagram.
“Happy to have received the UEFA #100th commemoration cap, the KNVB golden plate and the UEFA 100 Club medal at home. ‘Proud I had the opportunity to be able to receive this. It has been a milestone in my career. Thank you KNVB, UEFA, FIFA for organizing great matches and amazing tournaments and to all of those who have been there and supported me along the way.” The Fenerbahce player wrote
Osaze Odemwingie speaks on his move to Rotherham United
Nigerian forward, Osaze Odemwingie has spoken about his move to English Championship side, Rotherham United. The former Stoke City forward who joined the new club following the expiration of his contract at Stoke City said the process was fast-tracked because Kenny Jackett believes in him.
The 35 year-old told Rotherdam website “It went quickly. Only a few days ago I got in touch with the manager Kenny Jackett.”
“Knowing him, he is a manager that believes in you and that gives me a lot of positivity. He obviously believes in me and thinks I can do a job for him, so I am looking forward to a new start and doing my best for the team.
“I love pressure as a player, I love situations like this, and a lot of times I have delivered, I hope it will be the same in this club. I want to play out of my skin because there is a level that I want to get back to and the only way to get back to that is to do my best and work really hard.
“It has been a while but I have tried to stay fit and keep on top of things. I have had a few training sessions in the last few days and I feel ready to go, I don’t think it will take me long to get back to my best.”
Guardiola reiterates faith in Aguero
Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola has spoken up about the future of Sergio Aguero, maintaining that he is still a vital part of the team. The Spaniard rubbished reports making rounds that he has fallen out with the Argentine and has now found another replacement. Aguero was excluded from his UCL lineup against Barca last week but starred in Sunday’s draw against Southampton.
At a press conference, Guardiola said:
“I want to be clear again. I am so happy with Sergio and hopefully he can stay for a long time here. I want from deep in my heart he can stay here and play with us.
“I want to be clear again. I am so happy with Sergio and hopefully he can stay for a long time here. I want from deep in my heart he can stay here and play with us. He is a special player, he is a striker who scores millions of goals in his career. I know for strikers it depends on the moment, but we cannot forget how many goals he scores for us.”
Ballon d’Or shortlist: France Football explains Eden Hazard's omission
Chelsea star, Eden Hazard’s exclusion from the just released 2015/2016 Ballon d’Or shortlist raised a lot of eyebrows. Apparently, the Belgian’s strings of underwhelming performances last season was the chief reason his name was shockingly omitted from the list.
The 25 year-old has improved greatly under the new manager, Antonio Conte and has already matched his Premier League goal tally from last season.
“If there was only one put forward, it would probably be him. Seeing Eden Hazard away from this list can be an anomaly. There is nothing in view of the insipid performances of the Belgian during most of 2016. After 22nd place in 2013, 21st in 2014 and a very nice eighth position last year, Hazard restarts from zero.” France Football explained.
See who won what at the 2015/2016 La Liga Awards
A total of 17 awards were handed out at the 2015/2016 edition of the La Liga awards. See the list of winners below
Best Goalkeeper – Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Best Defender – Diego Godwin (Atletico Madrid)
Best Midfielder – Luca Modrid (Real Madrid)
Best Striker – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Best Coach – Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
Best Newcomer – Marco Asensio (RCD Espanyol)
La Liga World Player – Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Fans’ Five Star Player – Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
La Liga 11213 Award Winners
Best Goalkeeper – Isaac Becerra (Girona FC)
Best Defender – Floran Lejuene (Girona FC)
Best Midfielder – Jose Campana (AD Alcoron)
Best Striker – Sergio Leon (Elche CF)
Best Coach – Asier Garitano (CD Leganes)
Best Newcomer – Jose Naranjo (Nastic)
La Liga World Player – Alexander Szymanowski (CD Leganes)
Liga Iberdrola Award Winner
Top Goalscorer – Jenni Hermoso
Meet the 30-men vying for the 2016 Ballon d’Or award.
Another Ballon d’Or award is upon us. And perennial rivals, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are in the front seat. Noticeably, there’s an increase in this year’s number of nominees (23-30). The list will be whittled down to three, and the winner and the final placings will be revealed on Dec. 13 by France Football
30-man Shortlist
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City),
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund),
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid),
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus),
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid),
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City),
Paulo Dybala (Juventus),
Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid),
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid),
Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli/Juventus),
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester United),
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona),
Koke (Atletico Madrid),
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid),
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich),
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham),
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City),
Lionel Messi (Barcelona),
Luka Modric (Real Madrid),
Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich),
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich),
Neymar (Barcelona),
Dimitri Payet (West Ham),
Pepe (Real Madrid),
Paul Pogba (Juventus/Manchester United),
Rui Patricio (Sporting),
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid),
Luis Suarez (Barcelona),
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City),
Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich)