Dortmund head into Champions League final with an older, tougher team instead of young talents

Dortmund head into Champions League final with an older, tougher team instead of young talents
Borussia Dortmund’s Emre Can, Niclas Fullkrug and teammates attend a team training session in Cologne on May 28, 2024, ahead of their Champions League final against Real Madrid in London on Saturday. (AP)
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Updated 29 May 2024
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Dortmund head into Champions League final with an older, tougher team instead of young talents

Dortmund head into Champions League final with an older, tougher team instead of young talents
  • This Dortmund team are different, though. They are built around older players making the most of second chances after career setbacks
  • “We have our own story,” coach Edin Terzic said

DORTMUND: Borussia Dortmund are world soccer’s finishing school no longer.
A club renowned for readying talented youngsters like Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland for the big stage are now on that stage itself, facing Real Madrid — and Bellingham — in the Champions League final Saturday.
This Dortmund team are different, though. They are built around older players making the most of second chances after career setbacks.
“We have our own story,” coach Edin Terzic said Wednesday. “We have the story of ups and downs of the last years. We are one of the teams that is selling players by the end of the season. We are a team that builds up to compete every year, but now we are there, and we are facing teams that are built to win the Champions League.”
And then there’s Jadon Sancho.
The former England national team forward has revived his career since rejoining Dortmund on loan in January from Manchester United, where he hadn’t played since August amid a rift with manager Erik ten Hag.
The final at Wembley will be the last game of Sancho’s loan, but Dortmund hope they will also start fresh talks on keeping him.
“We are so proud, we are so happy that he’s in our team at the moment and I can see his smile every day, I can see his performance on the pitch every day,” sporting director Sebastian Kehl said.
“So, I think he will be very important for us on Saturday. He will show the world that Jadon Sancho is really back.”
Kehl said Dortmund plan “discussions” about the 24-year-old Sancho’s future, but only after Saturday’s game. “He’s still under contract with Man United, so nobody knows what’s going on there,” Kehl added. “We’re going to have discussions, but after the final.”
Sancho isn’t the only Dortmund player who has been rejected elsewhere. Defender Mats Hummels and midfielder Emre Can were both left out of the German national team squad for their home European Championship, and Sancho wasn’t picked for England.
The Champions League gives them the chance to show they remain competitive at the top level — and maybe even earn a dramatic recall for Euro 2024.
The 30-year-old Can suggested he and Sancho could be inspired by that rejection when they play against Madrid.
“He’s not happy about it, of course. Me also, I’m not in the German squad, I’m not happy about it,” Can said. “Of course, it gives you maybe the extra motivation to show the coaches in national teams that we deserve to be there. That’s what we will try on Saturday.”
Only two Dortmund players made the Germany squad for Euro 2024, including striker Niclas Füllkrug, who spent much of his career in the second division before finally breaking through at 29 with Werder Bremen and making his national team debut in 2022.
Forward Sébastien Haller is in the Champions League final less than two years on from a diagnosis of testicular cancer which left him needing chemotherapy and surgery before he returned to action with Dortmund. He’s seeking his second trophy of the season after scoring the winning goal in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast in February.
Dortmund do have some promising young players, but winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and striker Youssoufa Moukoko, both 19-year-olds, have typically been on the bench in the Champions League this season and 21-year-old American Gio Reyna was loaned out to Nottingham Forest.
There isn’t an obvious successor to Bellingham, who was sold for up to 130 million euros ($139 million at the time) to Madrid last year, or Haaland, who earlier moved to Manchester City for 60 million euros ($63 million at the time) and won the Champions League last year.
Sporting director Kehl himself has unfinished business in the Champions League. Dortmund are in the final for the first time since 2013, when they lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich, also at Wembley. Kehl, then a midfielder, was on the bench in that game.
Dortmund are coming off their worst Bundesliga season in nine years with a fifth-place finish, but have shown in the Champions League that their grizzled, battle-scarred squad can peak in crucial games. There’s been a healthy dose of luck, too, after Dortmund survived Paris Saint-Germain repeatedly hitting the post and crossbar in the semifinals.
A year after dropping the Bundesliga title in the final minutes of the season, Dortmund are aiming to end this campaign on a triumph.
“There is one more game left and it’s the biggest game in European club competition,” Terzic said. “This is waiting for us, and we have to show that we are ready to go for it.”


Raphinha extends Barca deal until 2028

Raphinha extends Barca deal until 2028
Updated 22 May 2025
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Raphinha extends Barca deal until 2028

Raphinha extends Barca deal until 2028
  • “Barcelona and Raphinha have reached an agreement for the renewal of his contract,” said the Catalan giants
  • Raphinha, a candidate to win the Ballon d’Or, has scored 34 goals and provided 25 assists

BARCELONA: Barcelona winger Raphinha signed a contract extension until 2028 on Thursday after a spectacular season.

The Brazilian, whose previous deal was set to expire in 2027, was vital as Barcelona won a domestic treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.

“Barcelona and Raphinha have reached an agreement for the renewal of his contract, which will link him to the club until June 30, 2028,” said the Catalan giants in a statement.

Raphinha, a candidate to win the Ballon d’Or, has scored 34 goals and provided 25 assists in 56 matches across all competitions.

The 28-year-old is the joint top goalscorer in the Champions League with 13, but Barcelona were knocked out in a thrilling semifinal tie against Inter Milan.

He netted a hat-trick in Barca’s group stage win over Bayern Munich and a brace in the recent Clasico win over Real Madrid which took Barca to the verge of their La Liga conquest.

Raphinha’s contract renewal follows coach Hansi Flick’s on Wednesday, with the German penning a new deal until 2027.

Teenage winger Lamine Yamal, 17, is also expected to sign a new contract in the coming weeks.

His agent Jorge Mendes told reporters “he will renew (his deal) soon,” after having lunch with Yamal on the outskirts of Barcelona on Thursday.

Raphinha and Yamal have been devastating on the flanks for Barcelona, either side of veteran striker Robert Lewandowski.

The Catalans have scored 99 goals in 37 La Liga matches and are hoping to pass a century on Sunday when they visit Athletic Bilbao in the last match of the season.

Raphinha arrived in 2022 from Leeds United for around £55 million ($74 million) and helped Barcelona win La Liga in his first season.

However he came close to leaving the club after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, but was convinced to stay by Flick.


Pulisic leads list of US absentees for Gold Cup

Pulisic leads list of US absentees for Gold Cup
Updated 22 May 2025
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Pulisic leads list of US absentees for Gold Cup

Pulisic leads list of US absentees for Gold Cup
  • Pulisic plans to take a break following a demanding season with his Serie A club
  • Fellow Milan midfielder Yunus Musah and Fulham defender Antonee Robinson were also left out of the squad

ROME: AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic will miss next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, leading a group of notable absentees from Mauricio Pochettino’s 27-man US squad announced on Thursday.

Pulisic plans to take a break following a demanding season with his Serie A club, where he featured in 49 matches across all competitions, tallying up 17 goals and 12 assists, while dealing with some minor injuries.

“Christian and his team approached the federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played in the past two years at both the club and international level with very little break,” US Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker said in a statement.

“We made the collective decision that this is the right moment for him to get the rest he needs. The objective is to ensure he’s fully prepared to perform at the highest level next season.”

Fellow Milan midfielder Yunus Musah and Fulham defender Antonee Robinson were also left out of the squad, while Juventus pair Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, along with Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna, will be unavailable due to their clubs’ participation in the Club World Cup in the US which starts on June 15.

Defenders Alex Freeman and Quinn Sullivan, midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and forward Damion Down have all received their first senior call-ups.

“As we continue preparations for the World Cup, this is a fantastic opportunity to work with this group of players for an extended period and it’s important we take advantage of every moment,” Argentine manager Pochettino said.

“Of course, we want to win and to perform in a very good way. These players have earned the chance to compete for our fans and to show their quality and mentality.”

The US host Turkiye on June 7 before facing Switzerland three days later, with both friendlies serving as warm-ups ahead of the Gold Cup which runs from June 14 to July 6 in the US and Canada.


PSG sporting director Campos extends contract to 2030

PSG sporting director Campos extends contract to 2030
Updated 22 May 2025
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PSG sporting director Campos extends contract to 2030

PSG sporting director Campos extends contract to 2030
  • Campos “will oversee the sports strategy of the whole QSI group“
  • His existing deal was due to expire at the end of this season

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Luis Campos has extended his contract with the French giants in a boost to the club ahead of the upcoming Champions League final.

In a statement issued on Thursday, PSG’s owners Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) announced that Campos had renewed his contract “for an additional five years until 2030.”

Campos, who is from Portugal and began working with PSG in an official role of football adviser in 2022, “will oversee the sports strategy of the whole QSI group.”

That includes Braga, who finished fourth in this season’s Portuguese league and in whom QSI holds a minority stake.

Campos’s existing deal was due to expire at the end of this season and the announcement is welcome news for PSG as they prepare for the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Munich on May 31.

Before that they face Reims in the French Cup final on Saturday as they bid to complete a clean sweep of the domestic honors in France for the second season running.

Campos previously worked at Monaco and at Lille and has overseen the successful squad rebuild at PSG following the shift away from the superstar approach that led to the signings of Neymar and Lionel Messi.


Spurs edge Manchester United to win Europa League and end trophy drought

Spurs edge Manchester United to win Europa League and end trophy drought
Updated 22 May 2025
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Spurs edge Manchester United to win Europa League and end trophy drought

Spurs edge Manchester United to win Europa League and end trophy drought
  • The Spurs, who had not won European silverware since 1984, will play in next season’s Champions League

BILBAO: Brennan Johnson’s scrambled goal ended a 17-year Tottenham trophy drought with a battling 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
Spurs, who had not won European silverware since 1984, will play in next season’s Champions League, while failing to qualify for it is a severe financial set-back for Manchester United.
Despite their triumph in Bilbao, manager Ange Postecoglou’s future is still on the line following a shambolic domestic campaign, with Spurs sitting a place below United in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.
The Australian furiously insisted he was “not a clown” on the eve of the final and had the last laugh on a nerve-racking night at the San Mames, as he made good on his claim to always win a trophy in his second season in charge of a club.
“This is what it’s all about, this club hasn’t won a trophy for 17 years, honestly, this is what it means, it means so much,” Wales winger Johnson told TNT Sports.
“Ever since I came here it’s been (people saying) ‘Tottenham are a good team, but they never get it done’ — we got it done!“
Fans came from far and wide to pack Athletic Bilbao’s stadium, some taking quite preposterous routes and sleeping in cars to avoid eye-watering prices, but they could not escape a final lacking in quality.
It was a match between teams languishing in 16th and 17th place respectively after dismal Premier League campaigns and that was the essence of it too, played at high intensity but with low confidence, and a prize on the line so big it overawed.
There were a large number of turnovers, neither side keeping the ball with any ease, moves ending in panicked defending and balls being thumped to safety, or a litany of clumsy fouls.
Harry Maguire blocked well from Tottenham’s Pape Sarr early on after Johnson nipped in ahead of Luke Shaw to break in down the right.
Manchester United fans chanted Ruben Amorim’s name, backing their Portuguese coach despite the club’s worst Premier League season in half a century.
At the other end, 22-year-old United winger Amad Diallo, one of the few players high on self-belief, flashed a shot across goal and then left Destiny Udogie spinning, trying in vain to find him as he dribbled past.
Spurs made the breakthrough after 42 minutes and, perhaps fittingly, it came in the form of an extremely scrappy goal.
Tottenham midfielder Sarr, who had completed just a single pass to this point, curled in a cross to the near post for Johnson.
The winger’s attempted flick bounced off Shaw’s shoulder, brushed Johnson’s boot again and crossed the goal-line in slow motion with Andre Onana unable to claw it out with a desperate arm.
Spurs sat back in the second half, trying to protect their slender advantage and look for opportunities to strike again on the counter-attack.
They nearly found one when Yves Bissouma played in Dominic Solanke, but the striker could not control the pass and the chance went to waste.
Manchester United almost equalized when Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario came off his line but failed to claim a set-piece pounded forward from deep.
The ball dropped for Rasmus Hojlund but his header over the stranded Spurs stopper was sensationally cleared in acrobatic fashion by Micky van de Ven.
Spurs sent on captain Son Heung-min for the ragged Richarlison, with the South Korean international a surprising non-starter.
Manchester United turned to Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee to try and dig them out of their hole, but fell to a fourth defeat against Spurs this season.
Shaw had a chance to redeem himself at the end for his part in Johnson’s goal but his header was pushed to safety by Vicario.
Amorim said winning the trophy would not solve United’s many deep-lying problems but could set the club up well for the future, however United leave Bilbao without even that.
For the first time since the 2014-15 season they will not play European football next term.


Liverpool to unveil new Heysel memorial marking 40th anniversary of disaster

Liverpool to unveil new Heysel memorial marking 40th anniversary of disaster
Updated 21 May 2025
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Liverpool to unveil new Heysel memorial marking 40th anniversary of disaster

Liverpool to unveil new Heysel memorial marking 40th anniversary of disaster
  • "Titled 'Forever Bound', the new memorial will replace the existing plaque
  • The memorial will be unveiled later in the English summer

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool will unveil a new memorial at Anfield to mark the 40th anniversary of the Heysel Stadium disaster where 39 supporters were killed, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.

The fans, mainly Italian Juventus supporters, were killed when a wall collapsed after Liverpool fans charged them before the European Cup final in Brussels in 1985.

More than 600 were also injured in one of the worst disasters in soccer stadiums, leading to a five-year ban for English clubs from European competition.


"Titled 'Forever Bound', the new memorial will replace the existing plaque currently situated on the wall of the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand and will move to a new location at the stadium," Liverpool said in a statement.

"The newly designed memorial will feature two scarves knotted together and gently tied - symbolising the unity and solidarity between the two clubs and the bond formed through shared grief and mutual respect in the aftermath of the disaster."

Liverpool said the plans for the new memorial were shared with Juventus and the families who lost loved ones.

The memorial will be unveiled later in the English summer. Juventus are unveiling their own near their Allianz Stadium on May 29, the anniversary of the disaster.

"To see a new memorial created with such care means a lot and it's incredibly important to have a fitting tribute to remember the 39 fans who lost their lives," the Liverpool statement cited Ian Rush, who played for both clubs and also witnessed the tragedy in 1985, as saying.

"We must never forget why this matters and why we continue to stand together in solidarity, all these years later."