Month: July 2019

The forward has returned to training, but the recording of his interview for Brazilian television may not air

Neymar has returned to training with Paris Saint-Germain, but a television interview with the forward may now not be aired in his native Brazil after the recording was stolen.

The world’s most expensive footballer did not report to training last week as expected, leading PSG to release a strongly worded statement criticising him.

Neymar’s official website published photographs on social media of him back at work, yet the 27-year-old continues to be engrossed in controversy.

He had recorded an interview with Brazilian television network Band in which he was expected to talk about his future at PSG, with a return to Barcelona rumoured.

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However, on Monday, Band said the car where the recording of the interview was being stored had been stolen.

A statement from Sao Paulo civil police office confirmed a vehicle belonging to the journalist who interviewed Neymar had gone missing.

It is the latest twist in a summer of speculation for Neymar, as his future with the Ligue 1 champions has become clouded.

PSG had hinted at possible exit for the Brazil star when club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi declared “nobdody forced him to sign” when questions of his future with the French giants arose in June.

Those hints were confirmed last week when new PSG sporting director Leonardo admitted Neymar could leave, provided the club received a suitable offer for the forward they paid a €222 million (£200m/$250m) fee for back in 2017.

Leonardo also confirmed the club had engaged in “superficial talks” with Barcelona over a potential deal, but the Liga champions had not made a formal offer.

Rumours heated up even more this past weekend, when Kia Joorabchian, agent to Philippe Coutinho, accused the club of attempting to negotiate a swap deal of his client for Neymar despite assurances from Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu there would be no sale of the ex-Liverpool man.

Neymar himself only added fuel to the fire when he posted a video to Instagram which displayed an image of him in a Barca shirt, along with a biblical verse.

The star man also declared his greatest footballing memory was being part of Barca’s historic Champions League comeback against PSG, though his father, Neymar Sr., has since said it was not intended to disrespect the French club. 

The experienced defender has been heavily linked with a move to the Italian side in recent weeks and could depart Spurs for a relatively nominal fee

Roma director Gianluca Petrachi has confirmed the club are interested in signing Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld, but has insisted they are not using Franco Baldini as an intermediate to negotiate on their behalf.

It was reported last week that Baldini, who previously worked as a director of football for Roma and operated as technical director for Spurs between 2013-2015, was in London negotiating a deal which could see Alderweireld move to the Italian club.

The Belgian centre-back has long been linked with a move away from the London outfit and he even missed long spells of 2017-18 campaign with rumours he was on his way out of the club.

However, that did not transpire and Alderweireld went on to play a pivotal role in Tottenham’s run to the Champions League final last season, featuring in all but one of their European games.

It has since been reported that the 30-year-old has a relatively low release clause of just £25 million ($32m), which Roma could meet in the coming days.

When asked about Baldini’s recent trip to London and Alderweireld’s purported buy-out clause, Petrachi said: “Baldini can be a resource for us.

“I realise there is a release clause for Alderweireld, but Baldini has a strong rapport with Spurs directors, he worked there for many years and can support Roma in signing Alderweireld.

“If you want to say that Baldini negotiates on our behalf, then that is incorrect. I want it to be clear that he is of support to Roma and in the specific case of Alderweireld is an idea to help us save a bit of money. We’d be happy if we could sign him tomorrow without paying the release clause.

“I don’t like to talk about specific players, but obviously with Ivan Marcano and Kostas Manolas sold, we need two centre-backs and that is the priority. We are working on several fronts and have clear ideas on what we intend to do.”

The Roma director was also asked about the recent claims that Nicolo Zaniolo and Alessandro Florenzi are available for transfer, something he denied.

“It’s not right that every word we say gets built up into some giant story,” said Petrachi. “I understand your point of view, but I never put Zaniolo on the market.

“I can’t rule anything out either, because nobody thought Juventus would sell Zinedine Zidane and yet they did. What I can say is that today Zaniolo is not on the market. We evaluate everything, but must also be clear.”

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“As for Florenzi, he is the captain of Roma and I never put him on the market. If offers arrive, they will be evaluated, but I never called anyone to say he was available.”

Former Magpies star Chris Waddle is surprised to see the ex-Sunderland boss walking away from Sheffield Wednesday to take the reins on Tyneside

Steve Bruce has been warned that he faces a “massive challenge” if he does become the man to succeed Rafa Benitez at Newcastle.

The Magpies are seemingly edging ever closer to bringing a Northumberland native back to the north east, with it widely reported that Bruce has handed in his resignation at Hillsborough.

A compensation package is also said to have been agreed between the Magpies and Owls.

The path appears to be clear for Bruce, who has previously worked at the likes of Sunderland and Aston Villa, to return to a Premier League dugout.

He will, however, face a tough test appeasing a loyal Benitez fan base at St James’ Park, with former Magpies star Chris Waddle expecting there to be a few bumps in the road.

He told The Mirror: “The Newcastle job is a massive ­challenge for Steve Bruce.

“Don’t get me wrong, Newcastle are a huge club, but he’s having to follow ­Benitez, who has been one of the most popular ­managers they’ve ever had.

“So he’s got his work cut out – it’s the biggest job he’s taken on.”

Ex-England international Waddle added on the choices made by Newcastle and former Manchester United defender Bruce: “I would have thought that Old Trafford would have been the job he has always wanted.

“He’s managed Sunderland too, of course, which the Newcastle fans will pick up on very quickly.

“I don’t think he’s scared of a c­hallenge, and he’s had some success at a few clubs, and not much success at others.

“I like the bloke. He talks a lot of sense and wants his players to work hard. He knows the Geordie public, which will stand him in good stead.

“If he keeps Newcastle up, he will have done well. But he’s not daft – if it isn’t working out, he’ll ­expect a lot of pressure from the fans and the owner.”

Newcastle have found themselves back in the market for a new manager after failing to reach an agreement with Benitez regarding an extension to his contract.

The former Liverpool and Chelsea boss has since signed a lucrative deal with Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang.

WIMBLEDON, England — Clutching her trophy 20 minutes after becoming Wimbledon’s champion, Simona Halep checked out the board inside Centre Court that lists tournament winners. Below all of the mentions of Serena Williams, her opponent in Saturday’s final, there already was inscribed: “Miss S Halep.”

Halep was not concerned with preventing Williams from winning a 24th Grand Slam title. All Halep cared about was winning her first at the All England Club. And she played pretty much perfectly.

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On top of her game right from start to finish, Halep overwhelmed Williams 6-2, 6-2 in stunning fashion for her second major championship. The whole thing took less than an hour as Williams lost her third Slam final in a row as she tries to equal Margaret Court’s record for most major trophies in tennis history.

“I’m very sure,” Halep said, “that was the best match of my life.”

The Spanish striker endured a rough spell at Stamford Bridge and is now looking to reignite his career back in his homeland

Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata has revealed that returning to the club he began his career with is ‘the best thing that could have happened’ for his career.

The 26-year-old began his footballing career in Los Rojiblancos’ youth system in 2005 before breaking through to the first-team with local rivals Real Madrid in 2010.

Morata re-joined Atletico on loan in January 2019 after struggling to make a regular impact with Chelsea, and the clubs agreed a deal this summer that sees the move become permanent in July 2020.

The Spain international has been keen to stress how much his return to Los Rojiblancos means, telling EFE: “Atletico are the best thing that could have happened to me.

“It would mean so much to me to win titles with Atleti, even more than anything I’ve won in the past because this is different.”

Morata netted six goals in 17 appearances across all competitions during the second half of the season for Diego Simeone’s side.

This season however, the striker will have to shoulder a larger chunk of the goalscoring burden after 21-goal forward Antoine Griezmann completed his move to Barcelona on Friday.

“Big players have left, especially big characters,” Morata added.

“I wish they could still be here, but everyone has their own circumstances and has their own trajectory.

“[Griezmann] is a top top player, I don’t need to tell you how big he is.

“He’s been one of the best players that Atleti have had in recent times.”

Morata enjoyed his best goalscoring season with Real Madrid during the 2016-17 season as the club lifted the Champions League and La Liga, with the Spaniard coming off the bench late on as they defeated his former club Juventus 4-1 in the final.

The Spaniard scored 20 goals in 43 appearances that season before moving on to join Chelsea, where he would go on to net 15 goals in 48 appearances across all competitions.

His goalscoring record worsened somewhat under Maurizio Sarri the following season however, with his tally reaching nine goals in 24 appearances before the Blues shipped the striker off to Atletico in the January transfer window.

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The overall Mexican champion will be decided in the Campeon de Campeones match between the Apertura and Clausura winners in Los Angeles on Sunday

Two of Mexico’s biggest clubs go head-to-head in the final game of the domestic calendar on Sunday, as Los Angeles hosts the Campeon de Campeones.

Club America, winners of the early-season Apertura tournament, will start as slight underdogs against Clausura champions Tigres UANL.

Tigres had never won the final before their first title in 2016 but have now won each of the last three, while America are the joint second-most successful club in this competition with five wins to their name.

Game	Club America vs Tigres UANL
Date	Sunday, July 14
Time	2:15am BST / 9:15pm ET
Stream (US)	fubo TV (7-day free trial)

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TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch

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In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

US TV channel	Online stream
Univision	fubo TV (7-day free trial)

The game isn’t available to watch on TV or via stream in the United Kingdom (UK).

UK TV channel	Online stream
N/A	N/A

Squads & Team News

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Position	Club America squad
Goalkeepers	Marchesin, Jimenez, Zamudio.
Defenders	Aguilar, Vargas, Sanchez, Alvarez, Valdez, Aguilera, Reyes, Ortega, Leon.
Midfielders	Rodriguez, dos Santos, Ibarguen, Uribe, Benedetti, Cordova, Lopez, Gonzalez, Garcia, Ibarra, Rodriguez, Aguilar, Moreno.
Forwards	Menez, Martinez, Castillo, Martin, Diaz, Gonzalez.

Manager Miguel Herrera could be without a number of key players due to their participation in this summer’s Copa America. New signing Giovani dos Santos is similarly unavailable.

Possible Club America XI: Marchesin, Sanchez, Aguilera, Valdez, Aguilar, Gonzalez, Cordova, Imbarguen, Menez, Ibarra, Castillo.

Position	Tigres UANL squad
Goalkeepers	Guzman, Fernandez, Ortega.
Defenders	Ayala, Jimenez, Salcedo, Torres Nilo, Sanchez, Venegas, Meza, Cruz, Diaz, Rodriguez, Tercero, Kolodziejczak.
Midfielders	Carioca, Zelarayan, Torres, Pizarro, Aquini, Damm, Quinones, Duenas, Carna, Garcia, Sierra, Tamay, Duran, Fernandez.
Forwards	Gignac, Vargas, Valencia, Quinones, da Silva.

Ricardo Ferretti could also be picking from a below-strength squad, with several key players still being rested after the Copa America and Gold Cup but Frenchman Andre-Pierre Gignac should lead the line after scoring 21 goals throughout the regular league season.

Possible Tigres XI: Guzman; Rodríguez, Ayala, Torres Nilo, Dueñas, Damm, Carioca, Pizarro, Aquino, Vargas, Gignac.

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Betting & Match Odds

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Tigres are 7/5 favourites to win this match with bet365. America can be backed at 19/10, while a draw is available at 23/10.

Click here to see all of bet365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.

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Match Preview

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Perhaps surprisingly given their stature in the Mexican game, these two sides have only ever met in the Campeon de Campeones once before.

That was way back in 1976, when the title was contested between the league and cup champion, and America won 2-0. That was just their second title, though they have moved to five since then.

As winners of the last three, Tigres will be feeling confident of rising to the occasion but this will be a slightly strange occasion. With so many first-team players rested after the Copa America and Gold Cup, it may well have the feeling of a pre-season friendly.

Still, America fans will have to wait a little longer to see their new star man Giovani dos Santos in action as he works his way back to full fitness following an injury-hit final season with the LA Galaxy.

“We are continuing to try and accelerate his return,” said manager Miguel Herrera. “However, we don’t want to throw him in there before he is ready and risk an injury.”

Opposite number Ricardo Ferretti is looking forward to the occasion but doesn’t think losing would take any of the gloss off their Clausura title, won after a two-legged final against Club Leon.

Like America in the Apertura, they finished second in the league season but eventually prevailed in the end-of-season play-offs.

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“The trophy is a recognition to what was done in the two tournaments,” Ferretti said. 

“There must be a winner, but it does not mean that the loser has done it wrong, it is a prize for both for what was done the previous year”.

The French World Cup winner revealed his new shirt number at his unveiling at the Camp Nou on Sunday

New Barcelona signing Antoine Griezmann will wear the number 17 shirt for the La Liga champions in his debut season at the Camp Nou.

His squad number was revealed during the player’s unveiling in Catalonia following the forward’s controversial big-money move from Atletico Madrid this week.

In the hours that followed his €120 million (£107m/$134m) switch, rumours began to surface that the 28-year-old would be given the No. 7 shirt currently occupied by the club’s record signing, Philippe Coutinho.

However, those whispers were put to bed on Sunday when the French World Cup winner was presented to the media ahead of his first scheduled training session with his new team-mates on Monday.

He will then form part of the squad that will travel to Japan ahead of two friendlies against Chelsea (July 23) and Vissel Kobe (July 27).

Speaking at his unveiling ceremony, Griezmann said: “I’m very happy, I’m very excited and I’m looking forward to working with the squad and meeting my new team-mates.

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“It’s a new challenge and new targets. These are important things and I hope I can do as well as I can.

“All of them – La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League. They’re the club’s goals and my goals.

“With Sam [Umtiti] and Ousmane [Dembele], I have a very good relationship with both of them. I look forward to seeing them.”

The former Real Sociedad striker also revealed his excitement at the prospect of playing with club legend Lionel Messi, who finished last season as La Liga’s top scorer with 36 goals.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what Messi is like on a day-to-day basis in training,” he said. 

“Playing next to him will be an incredible joy.”

The deal has been the subject of much dispute from Atletico, who claim they are set to open legal proceedings after negotiations, and a subsequent agreement, between the player and Barca allegedly took place when Griezmann’s buyout clause remained at €200m.

They also questioned the conduct of both Barca and the player after it was reported that the two parties had been in negotiations and reached an agreement while Diego Simeone’s side were still fighting for La Liga and the Champions League.

The young defender was thrust into the first team with Argentina at this summer’s tournament, and his compatriot couldn’t have been happier for him

Erik Lamela thinks his Tottenham teammate Juan Foyth proved his character with Argentina at the Copa America this summer, and hopes it is just the start of a long international career.

The 21-year-old defender had only three senior caps to his name before the tournament in Brazil and wasn’t expecting to play a big part.

But he ended up securing a vital role in the team, and despite playing out of his most natural position at right-back, he held his own in Argentina’s last four games as they ended up with a third-place finish.

“He’s a young player who always wants to train hard and play,” Lamela told the club’s website.

“He always shows very good character and I’m so happy for him – what a way to finish the season!

“It’s important for him. He’s young and developing well. He still has a lot of time. I’m so happy for him and will always try to help him as much as I can.

“To be there, the pressure is big in Argentina. The team always has to win. Juan has big character and I believe in him.

“He is a player who is always confident, I can see that in every training session, in every game. I hope it’s the start of his career in the national team.”

After initially struggling to adapt to life in the Premier League, Lamela showed the strength of his own character to battle through the doubts and establish himself as an important part of the Spurs squad.

Now 27, he could make his 200th Tottenham appearance in the coming season, which will be his seventh in English football.

Having played an important role in helping Foyth settle in north London, fellow Argentine and Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping he can make a big contribution in the coming years.

Signed from Estudiantes in 2017, he has taken his first steps into the first team, making eight appearances in his first season and 15 last campaign.

Foyth’s exploits at right-back during the Copa America may help him stake a claim for more first-team football at Spurs, with Kieran Trippier’s future in the position in doubt.

The youngster will see his long-term future at centre-back, but his adaptability will no doubt be appreciated by Pochettino as Spurs prepare to fight on four fronts once again this season.

Reality, as we see it is pretty pliable. If we can create a virtual reality simulation, indistinguishable from reality, can we even guess what reality is, in the first place?

“Reality,” Albert Einstein reminds us, “is an illusion, albeit a persistent one.”

Rizwan Virk, a computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in common with other scientists has a slightly different take on reality. It’s not our “perception,” he says. “Reality, is information,” data-collected, and rendered into pixels-the most basic units of the pictures, we see. Millions of pixels give us a kind of replication or reality on our televisions and computer screens.

Take a digital photograph and zoom in as close as you can. Those tiny dots you can see are pixels. Those will be invisible with the next big step in virtual reality, the evolution of “8K Ultra High Definition” imagery.

We have to think about the people who will populate the virtual world-the computer generated characters. Did you know today’s screen stars are an endangered species? Maybe, they’ll be part of the Sixth Great Extinction. Technology is creating “virtual actors” to replace them.

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As science advances exponentially, the choice between living in a real or simulated world may just be around the corner

It’s late. The wrought iron gates of the cemetery stand just ahead, but what’s on your mind right now is the rain, falling in sheets and getting home as fast as you can. Your car is back there, hung up in a ditch where you skidded off the road, braking to avoid the washout. The quickest way home-the shortcut through the cemetery, then back to the main road.

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“Abandon hope all ye who enter here” flashes through your mind. You struggle up and over the cemetery gate, and trudge on, finding your way through the low lying mist. Wait is something moving just up there, among the headstones? That’s nuts. Nobody would be out this late, in a storm. But that something is moving and you can see clearly, a lost face, pale and ashen, a face of terror and madness. You feel your guts get tight. This is unreal. But wait. Don’t be afraid. You’re in control. You’re in virtual reality-where anything can happen. Let your imagination soar. You could be the hero of your own life’s epic adventure.

“The only limitation is what we have bonded to our imaginations, so dinosaurs, or outer space, or aliens, anything that is under our imaginations could be realized, to certain degrees of virtual reality,” says Henry YK Lau, associate dean, (Innovation) at Hong Kong University’s Faculty of Engineering.

The shape of things to come

The future presents a pretty cloudy picture-a specter even. You know-things like robots taking jobs-millions and millions out of work-bitter, alienated and nothing to do? You might even think, we’re living in an age of monsters: exotic diseases able to spread around the world, mass extinction and yikes! scientists say an asteroid could wipe out everything; reasons to want to escape to a place that feels safe, like virtual reality. So, we asked the experts: could we, someday, choose between life in reality or in virtual reality?

“Sure. In my book I lay out what I call the Road to the Simulation Point, which consists of stages of technology or gates that would have to be crossed. (We have reached) what I would call stage 5 (of 10), so we’re half way there,” says Rizwan Virk, a computer scientist, engineer, and executive director of Play Labs, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His book, The Simulation Hypothesis, published in March, is a current bestseller on Amazon.com. Virk predicts that inside a century, science will produce a simulation game, indistinguishable from reality.