LONDON — Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, regarded as one of the best English players of his generation, has called time on his illustrious playing career after being named as manager of second-tier side Derby County on Friday.
The struggling Championship club said in a statement that the 35-year-old had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract.
Captain. Leader. The greatest.@WayneRooney: The Manager
This week's football wonderkid comes from the depths of the English Football League, in Manchester's industrial suburb of Rochdale.
Rochdale AFC teenager Kwadwo Baah, a tender 17 years of age, announced himself by scoring a pair of goals in Tuesday's League One match against Charlton that would make any Premier League winger envious.
Both goals came from the left wing, the opener a sublime first-time strike, and the second a powerful bottom-corner finish after a clever dribbling sequence.
There have been a few false dawns but there is growing belief that Manchester United are on the cusp of reclaiming their place as the pre-eminent force in English football.
They are top of the Premier League table after New Year's Day for the first time since Alex Ferguson's glittering dynasty ended with his retirement in 2013, since when they watched first Manchester City and then Liverpool disappear into the distance.
In its most basic form, soccer is a simple game of kicking a sphere into a designated rectangle. Despite the simplicity, this elementary sport possesses the capability to capture an infinite range of emotions and moments. This magic of the game is why we love it so much.
One of these heartwarming moments took place during Saturday’s FA Cup tie between Sheffield Wednesday and Exeter City.
LONDON — Fulham manager Scott Parker has criticised the Premier League for re-arranging his side's game at Tottenham Hotspur for Wednesday, giving him only 48 hours to prepare his players.
Fourth-placed Spurs were scheduled to face Aston Villa on Wednesday but that match was postponed after a COVID-19 outbreak forced the closure of the Midlands club's training ground.
Instead, Tottenham's home game with Fulham, itself postponed two hours before kickoff on Dec. 30 after a COVID outbreak amongst the Fulham squad, has been squeezed in.
Manchester United will host Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup after the two arch rivals were drawn together on Monday, with the game set to be played a week after their Premier League summit clash.
The two sides, who are both top of the Premier League table and go head-to-head in the league on Sunday, meet in the cup for the first time since Dirk Kuyt scored a late winner as Liverpool beat United 2-1 in January 2012. United have not beaten Liverpool since March 2018, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer yet to taste victory against Jürgen Klopp's side in four attempts.
The fate of the rescheduled Euro 2020 soccer tournament will not be decided until March but organizers UEFA are hoping that vaccination efforts will allow them to stick to their original plan for June's pan-European tournament.
The 24-nation, month-long showpiece, a major revenue generator for the continent's soccer governing body UEFA and the national federations across Europe, was postponed by 12 months after last year's COVID-19 outbreak.
Premier League Leeds United suffered the biggest upset of the FA Cup Third Round when they fell to a 3-0 defeat by fourth-tier Crawley Town on Sunday as Manchester City and Chelsea eased through.
A brilliant solo strike from Nick Tsaroulla in the 50th minute put League Two Crawley in front after a first half in which Leeds had caused them few problems.