Carole Roberts | footballjournalism.co.uk

How does the coronavirus affect football around the world?

COVID-19 has been rocking the world in recent weeks. All the top national championships in Europe being postponed seem to be just a part of the problem that the football world is facing.

Recently, the European Football Association (UEFA) has decided to postpone Euro 2020 to 2021, a move that is expected to help the national championships in Europe “troubleshoot” when it is possible to extend the season to June and July.

Postponing Euro, UEFA face any difficulties?

According to The Athletic, UEFA may have to accept an estimated loss of more than 300 million Euros if postponed the most prestigious team level tournament in the old continent to 2021. Also according to The Athletic, UEFA does not want to incur this loss but will demand compensation from national clubs and championships.

Which scenario for the football tournaments?

The decision of UEFA to postpone Euro to 2021 has helped the organizing committee of the national championships in Europe partly to make the plan of extending the season to summer vacation possible, but it should be stressed that This option can only be realized if the Covid-19 pandemic is pushed back in the near future.

In Italy, the country most heavily affected in Europe, the Football Association of the country (FIGC) soon considered the worst case is that the season can not continue anymore.

Football leagues in the UK

With the huge payout of the TV rights being paid if the season is to end soon, it is clear that the FA’s preferred option is still to bring the Premier League tournament safely to the end, despite the situation of the remaining 92 matches of the season to compete without the audience.

Meanwhile, the credit cards are banned for betting in the UK, including betting on Premier League. This situation promises to help the UK effectively manage gambling in this country.

The Liverpool people naturally objected strongly to the cancellation of the results this season and used the rankings last season as a basis to determine the teams for the European Cup.

Elsewhere, clubs leading the Championship say they are willing to sue the Premier League organizers if they cancel the results this season or keep the results but without the relegation team, there will be no rate to rise next season.

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Premier League can isolated 20 teams to play the remain rounds

Carole RobertsApril 2, 2020April 2, 2020

The Premier League organization is discussing a plan to gather teams in a safe location to play the remaining nine rounds of the 2019-2020 season.

The plan is called “World Cup-style”, and it is likely that the area focusing on competition is central England and London. The remaining 92 matches will take place in June and July, in non-spectator fields.

All matches will be broadcast live like the World Cup

This option is getting more and more support, according to Independent. It helps solve three problems, including regular medical checks against Covid-19, reducing the risk of infection from outside agents, and completing the entire season.

The British government also leaned on this option because it would bring entertaining moments to the people during the home isolation by Covid-19.

To complete this plan, all members of the teams, TV stations and journalists will be isolated and under strict medical examination, before entering the venue. The last nine rounds of the Premier League will take place continuously, over a period of six to eight weeks, with a density of no more than five matches a day.

Logistics is the biggest challenge in this plan. In addition to the entire tournament service system that must live separately, the problems that arise when the tournament takes place also do not have satisfactory answers.

Political factors are part of the reason this World Cup-style show is easy to come true, according to Independent. If Covid-19 was controlled, England needed a push to make life return to normal. In the land of fog, nothing is more meaningful now than the return of the number one football tournament.

On the player side, their mood was stable. Almost assured complete the entire season, and play the ball in the field without the audience. They also predetermined that they may have to play in training grounds, instead of stadiums, for ease of management.

The idea of ”World Cup style” scheduling was started in early March when the Premier League announced the postponement of the tournament for the first time. However, it is especially noticeable these days when this tournament needs absolute safety, amid the high number of nCoV infections in the UK.

In Football News, Premier League

Chelsea beat Arsenal to win the £ 30 million defender

Carole RobertsMarch 25, 2020March 30, 2020

Updated news, the latest world football event on March 29 is directly affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.

Chelsea are approaching Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes, worth £ 30 million.

The 22-year-old also drew attention from Arsenal and Everton, but Chelsea dominated by reaching a fee agreement with Lille.

According to Eurosport reporter Manu Lonjon, the transfer is almost complete. Gabriel has impressed with Lille after 24 games in Ligue 1 this season, as well as in the Champions League with 2 times against Chelsea.

Chelsea aim for the Real Madrid full-back

Chelsea asked Real Madrid about wing-back Achraf Hakimi. The 21-year-old spent the season on loan at Dortmund and is one of the standout stars in the Bundesliga.

But the loan deal between the two clubs had no option of buying at the end of the season and that made Chelsea interested.

Real Madrid’s original plan was to bring Hakimi to the first team next season but coach Zinedine Zidane will make a final decision. The Moroccan plays primarily as a right-back but can also be a left-back or a winger.

Inter striker “green light” for Barca

According to Sport Mediaset, Lautaro Martinez has agreed to move to Barca next summer but must ask the Catalan club to make an appropriate offer for Inter.

The Argentinian striker has a release clause worth € 111 million but Barca can negotiate by adding players.

Chelsea, Real Madrid and Man City are also thought to be targeting Martinez, who has scored 16 goals in 31 matches this season.

The former Real Madrid goalkeeper paid a fortune to fly home

Faced with tensions caused by the epidemic in France, former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas decided to leave Paris to return to his native Costa Rica by private jet.

In turn Navas “fled” from France

According to ESPN, the PSG goalkeeper and his wife Andrea Salas and their three children took a private flight on the night of March 27 when they had to pay a total of $ 200,000 with three small children from Paris to San Jose.

Dybala receives good news from the family

Paulo Dybala received good news from Argentina when all the Juventus striker’s family had tested negative for COVID-19. Gustavo’s brother, Alicia’s mother and Dybala’s sister-in-law were all checked at a hospital in Cordoba.

Dybala is being treated for COVID-19

Dybala, meanwhile, still has to undergo further screening and isolation for about a week due to COVID-19 treatment

Former Barca goalkeeper infected with COVID-19

Former Barcelona goalkeeper Rustu Recber was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19. This information was confirmed by his wife on social networks.

“I regret to say that my husband was hospitalized with the diagnosis of COVID-19. Everything was fine when he suddenly developed symptoms very quickly and we were still in a state of shock. These are important and difficult times, ”announced Rustu’s wife.

The former Turkish goalkeeper played with Valdes, Ronaldinho and Saviola in Rijkaard’s squad in the 2003/04 season.

In Football News

Messi was warned about the recovery time when returning to play

Carole RobertsMarch 18, 2020March 23, 2020

Physical experts have warned Messi about the recovery time needed when returning to play after a long break from the COVID-19 epidemic.

Lionel Messi and his La Liga colleagues took a break from playing for more than 10 days after the organizers decided to postpone the tournament to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Currently, all have to isolate themselves at home and train separately to maintain fitness.

Even so, it took Messi and his colleagues a few weeks to regain their best form after a long break from COVID-19. That is the warning of the leading physical experts in La Liga. The solution, in this case, is to organize friendly matches for 10 days, or 2 weeks before the Spanish championship returns.

Paulino Granero, CSKA Moscow’s physical coach and the Russian team, said: “I have one thing that is very clear, Messi is the best player and plays a very different football than everyone. it will take several weeks to return to being the usual Messi.”

“You asked why that is? Simply put, Messi’s special technical moves can only be done when he is in the best condition because these are not the basic techniques that other players often use.

According to coach Granero, an important factor determining the quality of a team is the link between the players. Therefore, if a team wants to regain good form after at least 15 days of rest, they need to go through at least 1 match to regain the feeling of playing football and help the body adapt to the intensity of movement like always.

Physical coach Dani Pastor of Real Mallorca also added: “There are situations of dispute on the pitch that the players will not be in the gym, home garden or parking lot. When the game is over, the players will lack the competition to keep up their normal form.”

In Football News

Ronaldinho in prison for the drug-related crime and money laundering?

Carole RobertsMarch 13, 2020March 17, 2020

Ronaldinho was accused by the Paraguay Prosecutor’s Office of being involved in a drug trafficking and money laundering criminal organization.

Ronaldinho was detained last week on charges of using a fake passport to enter Paraguay. But the latest disclosure by Reuters shows that the incident is much more serious.

The Paraguayan prosecutor’s office is investigating allegations that Ronaldinho was involved in a money-laundering criminal organization that “enchanted” about $ 400 million in “dirty money” in the country over the past five years. In particular, the focal point is a Brazilian businesswoman, Dalia Lopez, a “Strong Donor” who has very good relations with Brazilian and Paraguayan politicians.

Dalia is the founder of the Fraternidad Angelical Charity Foundation and invites Ronaldinho to Paraguay to attend an event of the foundation. The paparazzi captured the scene of the Ronaldinho brothers accompanying their fellow businesswoman when the three landed at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport on March 4.

Prosecutor Osmar Legal, who led the investigation, said: “Dalia may be involved in a money-laundering plan and this means that we must investigate all those who are involved with her, including Ronaldinho. That is why we insist on detaining Ronaldinho for investigation”.

Their main hypothesis was that they had created fake documents to enter Paraguay and eventually they would be used for some commercial projects or illegal investments. In it, Ronaldinho may appear as an ambassador in Dalia’s charity project.

Currently, the investigating agency is checking the phone of the Ronaldinho brothers in hopes of finding evidence to clear up the case. Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto de Assis had previously offered $ 1.6 million in bail to escape custody, but were not approved.

Not only was she accused of money laundering, but Dalia businesswoman was also suspected of tax evasion and having done business with drug criminals. Paraguayan police have issued orders to pursue Dalia and called on Brazilian authorities to assist with the investigation of this, particularly serious case. In addition to the Ronaldinho brothers, 14 others have been summoned, or are being detained for involvement in the case.

In Football News

Postponed UAE match against Malaysia in World Cup qualifier 2022 by Covid-19

Carole RobertsMarch 2, 2020March 8, 2020

The match between the host of UAE welcoming Malaysia in Dubai on March 26 under Group G of the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup will certainly be postponed due to the outbreak of Covid-19, according to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

The information has been confirmed by Malaysia team manager Yusoff Mahadi in Metro Daily. The official said that Malaysia will train at Bukit Jalil to be ready to face Vietnam in the next round of Group G qualifying for the second round of the 2022 World Cup on March 31.

“Games that are not severely affected by Covid-19 still have obstacles, but only countries with restricted travel can be postponed. Without national travel restrictions like Vietnam and Malaysia, it looks like the match between the two teams will continue as usual. Unless the Covid-19 epidemic becomes more serious in our country, the government will probably make decisions”, Datuk Yusoff told Metro Daily. The official added that, so far, FAM has remained Haven’t received any information from the government about travel restrictions.

According to Datuk Yusoff, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will meet on March 2 to give notice of the postponement of the Malaysia-UAE match and some other matches from teams from West Asia in the second round of World Cup 2022 and the Asian Cup 2023 final.

Earlier, Bahrain – a country in West Asia, sent an apology to FAM for canceling a friendly match at home to Malaysia on March 21 for fear of disease. In addition to the above matches, the outbreak of Covid-19 has affected many Asian teams in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers such as Japan, Korea, China … In particular, AFC’s March 2 day meeting in Malaysia will Discuss the schedule before making a decision to postpone some matches to prevent the risk of Covid-19 infection.

Currently, in the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup Malaysia (9 points) is second in Group G after Vietnam (11 points) but ahead of Thailand (8 points), UAE (6 points, playing less than 1 match), Indonesia (0 points).

In Football News

The mask of Real Madrid is removed (Part 2)

Carole RobertsFebruary 24, 2020March 1, 2020

Before Levante, “Los Blancos” competed, but no player knew how to put the ball into the net. Hazard or Benzema had a chance, but the final phase was not smooth. Real also constantly cornered Levante with 35 balls hanging into the penalty area, but the sharp points could not take advantage of the success.

Football is not a game based on losing more than numbers. The outcome of a match based heavily on moments. For Real, dropping points against Celta Vigo and Levante shows they are unstable at the most important moments of the season.

Holding the gold but letting the gold fall, Real should blame himself after the defeat against Levante. They missed the opportunity to maintain a distance with Barca, the team once fell into crisis with internal conflicts. When entering the El Clasico game next week, La Liga’s order was repeated, with Barca above Real.

Real take anything against turbulent week?

Wearing a sorrowful face, Zidane replied to Movistar: “Hazard has an ankle injury. We will conduct more tests, but his situation looks bad”. Before entering the El Clasico match, Real will face Man City in the Champions League with full of instability.

Hazard is not sure how to play because of injury. Not only that, Benzema has shown signs of losing form. Since the beginning of 2020, the French striker has only scored 2 goals in the last 9 matches. Looking at the French striker who was deviated in the processing phase, one saw a lack of confidence in the 32-year-old star.

Losing Hazard, “Zizou” and Vinicius instead. As for Benzema, who is in decline, the French legend could not find any suitable card. It is also the appearance of Real when playing Man City at the Bernabeu on February 27. A team with crippled attack and lack of killer instinct in the penalty area.

According to Forbes writer Jason Pettigrov, Real is also facing a physical problem from the 70th minute. They are said to be the most vulnerable at the moment, because the players are tired due to their age. The moment Jose Luis Morales of Levante hit the net with Thibaut Courtois, they all saw how exhausted Luka Modric was in the accompanying phase.

Real are wearing a pair of unsteady feet into the week of judgment for fate. Their big and unique fulcrum lies in the defense. All expected Courtois to have a brilliant match and not make the same mistake as before Levante.

The roles of Sergio Ramos and Casemiro are also important. They must command the defense system in front of the fast and virtual way of Man City. Once a solid defensive wall is created, “Los Blancos” can pray for the miracle to happen. It could be a header from Ramos, or a masterpiece from Casemiro.

For Real, their masks were removed, and revealed their true form. However, the prestige of a giant in the Champions League, and the Bernabeu fulcrum can become a factor for “Los Blancos” to cling to Man City.

In Football News, Football Teams, Premier League

The mask of Real Madrid is removed (Part 1)

Carole RobertsFebruary 19, 2020February 24, 2020

4 After a series of daydreaming dreams of overthrowing Barca, Real Madrid returned to the ground with its old form. It is an unstable team.

The first warnings soon appeared with the representative of Madrid after the shock of being removed from the Cope del Rey before Real Sociedad. That defeat originated in a series of matches that could make “Los Blancos” face another season of throwing away. Everything collapsed too quickly with Zinedine Zidane and his students.

In Ciudad de Valencia, the Real’s mask is removed. They still cannot live without Cristiano Ronaldo. “Los Blancos” released 19 shots on goal of Levante, of which 7 were hit but no goal was scored. The Royal team is missing a killer instinct.

This story is nothing new. Without Ronaldo, the “White Vulture” lost a superb machine of goals. Karim Benzema or Eden Hazard, although still or can not replace the Portuguese superstar, the author of many goals throughout nearly a decade of kicking for the Bernabeu team.

On the day Real collapsed, from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, Ronaldo fired regularly at the age of 35. He had 25 goals in 30 matches in all competitions. The difference between CR7 and Benzema, Hazard or any of Real’s players lies in stability, an important factor to help a team step up the La Liga throne.

Marca journalist Jose Felix Diaz described, “Real has not found a cure for depression for more than a year and a half”. Even when Benzema, who was expected to fill the void left by Ronaldo, worked hard, his level could not be compared to the famous number 7 at a time.

“Real do not be too happy when Benzema scored continuously because the stability of Karim always leaves doubts”, former AS Editor-in-chief Alfredo Relano once predicted. That is absolutely right! Stability has never been on the strong list of Benzema, who has played four consecutive games.

According to AS journalist Tomas Roncero, Real is living in the nostalgia of Ronaldo. Number 7 always knows how to make a difference with goals. As for Real now, Benzema is fluttering, Luka Jovic has not shown the value of 60 million euros. Rodrygo is still very young, while Hazard needs more time to adapt.

In Football News

Indonesia was officially awarded FIFA to host the U.20 World Cup in 2021

Carole RobertsFebruary 12, 2020February 17, 2020

The football atmosphere in Southeast Asia will be more bustling in the next 2 years when FIFA has officially announced to choose Indonesia as the host of the U.20 World Cup finals in 2021, although the country still has many worries in stopping violence in football.

According to the announcement on the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) website, the decision to host the World Cup finals in 2021 was announced directly by FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the FIFA Council meeting in Shanghai (China) October 24. Earlier, in the shortlist in the race to host the event, Indonesia faced Brazil and Peru. However, PSSI’s bid presentation was well received by FIFA despite Indonesia’s concerns about violence in football.

“Thank God, our hard work paid off. Our presentation has been evaluated and welcomed by FIFA. PSSI would like to thank President Joko Widodo for his great support to PSSI. The appreciation also goes to the relevant state agencies and local leaders who are committed to helping PSSI realize the dream of hosting the U.20 World Cup in 2021”, PSSI Secretary-General Ratu Tisha Destria was happy to share.

In fact, in a bid to run the event, Indonesia’s only weakness was the issue of football violence and internal power disputes at PSSI over the years. Latest, in the second round of Group G qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, losing to Malaysia 2-3 at Bung Karno at 5.9, Indonesia was faced with a severe penalty. Meanwhile, in every other aspect, the country of ten thousand islands meets very good criteria for hosting a World Cup, especially when the country successfully organized ASIAD last year.

The victory of Indonesia is also a push for the ambition of Southeast Asian countries towards the race to host the 2034 World Cup, including Vietnam. Earlier, a number of Southeast Asian countries also planned to hold a meeting to provide feasible options for bids to officially race to host the biggest football festival on the planet.

In Football News

The Golden Boy of MU gave up playing football

Carole RobertsFebruary 3, 2020February 9, 2020

The player who received a lot of expectation from Sir Alex Ferguson said goodbye to the football world.

The 2008 Golden Boy Anderson announced his retirement at the age of 31, a somewhat young age compared to professional senior players. Most recently, the Brazilian arrived at Adan Demirspor Club in Turkey’s Second Division. However, according to Sport Witness, the board of directors has announced that Anderson has just decided to end his career here.

The most memorable time in Anderson’s career was 8 years with MU. At Old Trafford, Anderson played 181 times for Man Utd, scored 9 goals, made 21 assists and 14 yellow cards.

Anderson won the Golden Boy title in his first season playing for Manchester United, proving Sir Alex Ferguson’s great eye-gaze. The legendary MU coach found the youngster’s talent that year when he and Porto won the Portuguese championship twice in a row, although not many appearances.

Unfortunately, later Anderson could not reach his full potential and was forever a prodigy. Sir Alex has given him a lot of favor and created conditions for him to grow, as evidenced by his patients to him at MU 8 seasons. But to this point, the impression that Anderson left for MU fans is when he comes on the field with a shirt with the wrong name (‘Andesron’).

In March 2015, A nderson officially left MU when he failed to find a place in Louis van Gaal’s squad. He returned to his hometown of Brazil to join Internacional with a 4-year contract. But the bright young player once could not make an impression here, after 3 seasons he has only 52 appearances. Before the end of his contract, Internacional promptly sent him out to Adan Demirspor, where he also played only 11 games before the end of his career.

Anderson has an unsatisfactory career, but he can be proud to have won many titles.