The cars were on fire and there was no driver at the wheel. For the president of Pescara, a rotten six months was capped with the firing of the manager who brought Serie A football back to the provincial town, the torching of his property by disillusioned fans, and a last gasp, hail Mary attempt to save the club’s position by turning to one of Italy’s most notorious cult leaders, Zdenek Zeman.
Citing a desire to not be the coach that’s guilty of retiring Francesco Totti, Roma’s Luciano Spalletti has threatened to quit if Totti is not offered another one-year contract extension this summer.
The 40-year-old Roman has neither confirmed nor denied a desire to play next season, but the future of the personal embodiment of the club trumps all other focuses, according to Spalletti.
Chivas beat Club America Saturday in the Superclasico, with an Angel Zaldivar penalty the difference between the two sides. The real story of the game, though, was Club America manager Ricardo La Volpe making a tackle on Chivas' Jesus Sanchez.
La Volpe was rightly sent off.
I have to admit, it was a pretty good tackle. Not bad for a 65-year-old!
Arsene Wenger has confirmed that he will not walk out on Arsenal this season, but his future at the club remains in the balance with his contract set to expire in the summer. The BBC has reported that the 67-year-old and the club will come to a mutual agreement in the summer, but Wenger has made it clear that regardless of what happens, he will still be coaching next year.
Antonio Conte will kill any of us if he's in the right mood. He said so himself in an interview with Sky Sports Italia.
“Look Paolo, in such moments I am capable of killing anybody.”
When Antonio Conte almost killed his assistant pic.twitter.com/BV95Abo964
It may be only the beginning of February, but Chelsea are already looking set to run away with the Premier League title this season.
In the span of four days, Arsenal let slip any hopes they had of overtaking Chelsea for the Premier League title, and in typical Arsenal fashion. Despite being eight points behind Chelsea before the midweek fixtures, Arsenal had a chance to put some pressure on the Blues at the top. The Gunners were taking on mid-table side Watford at the Emirates Stadium while Chelsea traveled to Anfield to face top-four contenders Liverpool.
In the summer of 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson, who had managed the club since 1986, announced his retirement from Manchester United, taking 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions League titles with him.
The Red Devils attempted to continue their unmatched level of success with the hiring of David Moyes, who’d managed Everton with aplomb for over 10 years. Moyes’ first and only season at the helm was an unmitigated disaster.
Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner worked as the Borussia Dortmund reserve team manager from 2011-2015 with Jurgen Klopp coaching the senior side. When Klopp was handed the task of managing Liverpool, Wagner was offered the role at Huddersfield in the English Championship.
Wagner, like Klopp, is in his 40s, wears nice glasses and is a bit emotional. On Sunday, Wagner reacted to his side’s late game-winning goal against Leeds United by running the length of the pitch to celebrate with his players.
Real Madrid’s 3-0 victory over Real Sociedad has silenced many critics, especially after both Sevilla and Barcelona dropped points. Real now have a four-point lead with a game in hand at the top of La Liga. But such is the nature of the beast at the Santiago Bernabeu that Zinedine Zidane is still facing questions over a poor January that included a stretch of one win in five matches and elimination from the Copa del Rey.