Tag Futebol

Will Celtic clinch yet another domestic treble?

Last weekend, the Hoops were presented with the Scottish Premiership trophy, their 13th in just 14 seasons, following a dramatic 1-1 draw with St Mirren, in which James Forrest scored a 94th minute equaliser, meaning he’s now netted in 16 successive seasons.

This forthcoming Saturday, the Celts will convene on Hampden, taking on Aberdeen in the 140th Scottish Cup Final, firm favourites for victory, having already steamrollered the Dons 6-0 in November, 5-1 in February and then 5-1 again, this time at Pittodrie, as recently as last Wednesday.

Should Brendan Rodgers’ side prevail in Mount Florida, it would secure Celtic’s sixth treble in just nine seasons, having only won three trebles in their first 122 seasons in existence beforehand.

Ahead of the final, is one unsung Celtic hero becoming reminiscent of a star from the not too distant past?

Giorgos Giakoumakis' Celtic career

Giorgos Giakoumakis has been in the news this week after revealing to the Daily Record that he “would love to play for Celtic again”, adding “I don’t know if that’s a utopia or if it could happen… when you’ve already been there, you know exactly what it means”.

The Greek international arrived in Glasgow in the summer of 2021 for a reported fee of £2.5m, having won the Eredivisie Golden Boot, an achievement made all the more impressive by the fact his team VVV-Venlo were actually relegated that season.

Well, Giakoumakis would actually make it back-to-back golden boots, sharing the Premiership award with Regan Charles-Cook, bagging 13 league goals during his debut campaign in Scotland, netting 26 times in just 57 appearances in hoops overall, thereby averaging a goal every 97 minutes.

However, unable to regularly usurp Kyōgo Furuhashi in Ange Postecoglou’s pecking order, Giakoumakis departed after just 18 months in Glasgow, sold to Atlanta United for around £4.3m in February 2023.

The centre-forward then spent just one season in Major League Soccer, quickly moving to current club Cruz Azul for around £7.5m, thereby becoming los Cementeros’ fourth-most expensive signing of all time.

With Giakoumakis now plying his trade in Liga MX, a return to Parkhead does seem unlikely. The Glasgow giants do already boast a like-minded number nine in the form of Adam Idah, who’s notched 20 times this season, but is it another member of the current squad showcasing similar prolific qualities?

Celtic's new super sub

Fair to say, after arriving from Gangwon FC for around £2m in the summer of 2023, Yang Hyun-jun didn’t make much of an immediate impression, scoring just one goal in his first 48 appearances for the Cetls.

However, since mid-January, he has scored five times in only 16 outings, most recently on target during the 5-1 win at Aberdeen last mid-week.

In March, Yang bagged a brace off the bench at St Mirren, after which Rodgers credited his upturn in form with the fact “his girlfriend is here at the moment”, jokingly adding that he’ll do everything he can to make sure she “can stay in the country”.

So is Yang – who former club president Kim Byung-ji claimed “could easily become a world-class player like Son Heung-min” – really Celtic’s new super sub? Let’s take a look at the numbers to find out.

Georgios Giakoumakis

26

6

23%

Yang Hyun-Jun

6

3

50%

Adam Idah

20

8

40%

Daizen Maeda

33

1

3%

Jota

5

2

40%

Nicolas Kühn

21

4

19%

James Forrest

1

1

100%

Note: Table includes Giakoumakis’ Celtic career. All other players are 24/25 only.

As the table shows, none of Celtic’s forwards – not even Idah – score a higher proportion of their goals off the bench than Yang, a trait associated with Giakoumakis from his time in hoops.

So, having already scored against Aberdeen home and away this season, if Celtic need a goal in Saturday’s Scottish Cup Final, the South Korean could be the man Rodgers turns to.

Celtic could sign record-breaking star who'd be their next Giakoumakis

Celtic could find Giorgos Giakoumakis 2.0 by swooping for this star in the summer.

ByDan Emery May 21, 2025

Liverpool fell to a 3-1 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this afternoon, with Arne Slot’s side failing to impress after their Premier League triumph last weekend.

A goal from Enzo Fernández, an own goal from Jarell Quansah and Cole Palmer’s late penalty secured all three points for Enzo Maresca’s side in their hunt for a Champions League place.

Virgil van Dijk’s header provided a late consolation goal for the Reds, but it wasn’t to be for the heavily rotated side in West London – with the manager giving numerous fringe players the chance to impress.

With the title in the bag, it was an excellent opportunity for Slot to evaluate the players at his disposal, giving him a clearer picture of what’s needed ahead of what’s likely to be a huge summer.

Whilst some players took their chance with both hands, many failed to grasp the opportunity handed in their direction – putting their future at Anfield in huge jeopardy.

Liverpool’s poor performers against Chelsea

Midfielder Curtis Jones was handed a rare start for Liverpool as part of the reshuffle, but was unable to extract his highest levels of performance – looking way off the high standards he’s set for himself.

The 24-year-old featured for the entire of the contest, only completing 33% of the dribbles he attempted, along with a 36% duel success rate – showcasing his lack of impact on the clash.

He wasn’t the only player to disappoint at the Bridge, with centre-back Quansah scoring an own goal and giving away the penalty that led to Palmer’s stoppage-time effort.

His disappointing showing didn’t end there, winning just two of the six duels he contested, whilst committing two fouls which led to him being booked.

However, despite the showings of the aforementioned duo, one other first team member failed to deliver in the capital – with Slot desperately needing to sell him in the coming months.

The Liverpool star who needs to be sold after Chelsea

Slot has done a remarkable job in 2024/25 to lead Liverpool to the success they’ve endured, a feat that was unthinkable when he took the reins from Jürgen Klopp last summer.

The Dutchman has lost just three league matches out of a possible 35, showcasing the incredible job he’s done, with only one of the losses coming on home soil.

However, the real task awaits him in 2025/26, needing to sustain the levels they’ve produced this year if they are to have any chances of making it back-to-back titles.

If they are to achieve their goal, changes will need to be made, including the sale of striker Diogo Jota, who’s been unable to impress over the last couple of months.

The Portuguese international was handed a start against the Blues this afternoon, but like so often this campaign, he failed to deliver – undoubtedly contributing to the defeat.

He featured for 58 minutes before being withdrawn, understandably so given his lack of impact during his near hour spent on the field.

Jota only registered a measly tally of 13 touches – the lowest of any player who started the game – whilst only posting a tally of four passes, showcasing how quiet and ineffective he was.

Minutes played

58

Touches

13

Passes completed

4/5 (80%)

Dribbles completed

0/1 (0%)

Ground duels won

2/8 (25%)

Fouls committed

4

Shots on target

0

His poor showing didn’t stop there, failing to complete any of the dribbles he attempted, whilst only coming out on top in 25% of the ground duels he entered.

The forward also committed four fouls, and was unable to direct any of his efforts on goal, subsequently struggling to provide the goods needed within the final third.

As a result of his dismal showing, the striker was handed a dismal 5/10 match rating by the Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle – further showcasing how disappointing he was throughout.

Given his showing, Slot must be left with no choice but to sell Jota this summer, desperately needing another forward to help them in their ambitions of retaining their title.

He and Quansah need to be the first out of the door, with the pair’s potential exit allowing for added investment across various areas of the squad – handing the depth needed for another title charge.

He'd be amazing with Gravenberch: Liverpool preparing £34m bid for new CM

Liverpool could make a shrewd addition to their midfield this summer.

ByAngus Sinclair May 4, 2025

Tottenham Hotspur face the very real possibility of losing star defender Cristian Romero this summer, amid interest from La Liga, with chairman Daniel Levy and co already identifying an “interesting” replacement for the World Cup winner.

Cristian Romero's strong links to Atlético Madrid

Romero is almost certainly a target for Atlético Madrid and Diego Simeone this summer, going by the plethora of reports linking Spurs’ defender with a switch to the Wanda Metropolitano.

Tottenham plan "surprise" move for Chelsea star as Maresca sanctions exit

The Lilywhites are big fans.

ByEmilio Galantini Apr 8, 2025

Broadcast giant Sky Sports have backed Atletico’s serious interest in Romero, while some reports even claim that Simeone has personally reached out to the 26-year-old in an effort to present him with the Spanish side’s project.

Tottenham were hoping to agree a new contract with Romero, but it is now believed that the South American is “pushing” to leave N17 amid interest from Atlético, prompting Levy to postpone all new contract talks (Graeme Bailey).

Wolves (away)

April 13th

Nottingham Forest (home)

April 21st

Liverpool (away)

April 27th

West Ham (away)

May 3rd

Crystal Palace (home)

May 10th

While the former Atalanta star is apparently keen to embark on a new chapter away from the north London side, Spurs won’t be selling him to Atlético or any other interested party on the cheap.

It is believed by some that Tottenham want around £60 million to sell Romero, so Atlético would need to fork out a hefty sum as Levy eyes a profit off his exit. Simeone may also face competition from his cross-town rivals, as it has also been reported that Real Madrid are considering Romero as an option to reinforce their own backline.

The centre-back was a sore miss for Ange Postecoglou before he finally came back from injury, and he’d be a sore miss next season unless Levy can find an adept replacement.

Tottenham identify "interesting" target to replace Cristian Romero

According to reports in Spain, Spurs could actually raid Atalanta again for Romero’s heir. Indeed, it is believed Tottenham have identified Isak Hien as a potentially “interesting” option, and the club are acting “quickly” to draw up their ideal transfer targets for the centre-back position ahead of next season.

Hien, who’s started 22 Serie A matches under Gian Piero Gasperini this season, has averaged an impressive 90% passing accuracy out of the back and Atalanta’s joint-highest number of blocks on average (WhoScored).

The Sweden international would also cost around £26 million for any club interested in his signing this summer, just over a year and a half after Atalanta signed him from Hellas Verona for just £8 million.

Hien’s value has more than tripled in just a season, highlighting how much he’s impressed, and perhaps why Tottenham are thinking of him to fill the potential Romero void.

He has proved himself a clear-headed captain, able to manage the many personalities in the country’s cricket, but he’s currently staring down the biggest test of his captaincy

Mohammad Isam29-May-2024Delhi, November 6, 2023. Sri Lanka are 135 for 4 against Bangladesh when Angelo Mathews saunters in looking at his helmet strap. Najmul Hossain Shanto notices something that will change cricketing relations between the two sides forever. He tells his captain, Shakib Al Hasan, that if he were to appeal, Mathews could be dismissed timed-out. Shakib does a double take but then goes to umpire Marais Erasmus. The rest is history.It takes courage to stand up in the hierarchical inner world of Bangladesh cricket, and it was perhaps a sign of Shanto’s burgeoning confidence and his leadership qualities that Shakib was open to taking inputs from him. Shanto improved significantly in 2023, emerging from a five-year slump in which he was barely hanging on to his place in the team. He also grew in stature in the side, first by becoming a reliable No. 3, and by the time the Delhi game came around, ascendinging to the vice-captaincy.In 2023 he scored 1650 runs at an average of 42.30, a stark jump in his stocks, compared to the 1603 runs at 22.90 he made between 2017 and the end of 2022.Related

Hathurusinghe pleased with bowlers for taking 'ownership of the situation'

Shoriful Islam splits webbing on bowling hand in warm-up game

Captain Shanto moulds Bangladesh in his forthright image

Najmul Hossain Shanto named Bangladesh captain in all formats

Mushfiqur lauds Shanto's leadership qualities: 'It was a one-man show tonight'

Impressed by his form last year, the BCB made him captain shortly after Bangladesh’s disastrous 2023 World Cup. Shanto’s comeback from the doldrums of five years had impressed some in the board, but the BCB also wanted to take the pulse of the Bangladesh dressing room by placing a new captain in charge and seeing how the senior cricketers, especially, responded.Appointing a captain outside of Bangladesh’s big five – Shakib, Tamim, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim – has been problematic over the years. Mominul Haque led them to the miraculous Mt Maunganui Test win against New Zealand but within six months he was out, unable to handle the pressure. Litton Das captained Bangladesh to the ODI series win against India in 2022, but he then admitted to the BCB that he was not looking forward to leading long-term.Shanto’s stopgap captaincy in the Tests and white-ball matches against New Zealand last year even impressed their taskmaster coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Subsequently the BCB appointed Shanto full-time captain in all formats earlier this year.Mischief managed: Shanto’s shrewd eye for detail caused Angelo Mathews’ timed-out dismissal in the 2023 ODI World Cup•Associated PressHis leadership credentials were tested hard just a week before the T20 World Cup, when Bangladesh played USA for the first time and lost the T20I series 2-1. Shanto’s batting form had taken a dip, and coupled with the loss, the pressure is well and truly on him to turn things around, and fast, for the team.

****

We meet on a relatively mild morning in Dhaka, the day after Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe in the fourth T20I in Mirpur earlier this month. I mention to Shanto his save on the boundary in the 19th over that ultimately made the difference for his side. He couldn’t hold on to Blessing Muzarabani’s lofted shot towards wide long-off, but his boundary-line juggling saved at least four runs. Bangladesh won by five.Shanto doesn’t quite agree with me and quickly changes the topic, a subtle reinforcement of his “team first” mantra.”The team culture is better now,” he says when I ask how his team-mates have reacted to his captaincy. “I think it is important for everyone to know that when we lose a match these days, we don’t go down emotionally. In the same way, when we win these days, we don’t jump high into the sky. We try to evaluate how we can play better even after we win the game. We also try to pick the positives when we lose.”This is how we are trying to grow the team culture in the last six or seven months. I think every player tries to help each other. For example, you will always see Taskin [Ahmed] helping the other bowlers. Even someone as young as Rishad [Hossain] tries to help the senior team-mates in the field.”Shanto looks up to Shakib and MS Dhoni, two very different captains, as his leadership role models.”I like Shakib ‘s captaincy. He is very attacking, taking brave decisions. I think it has helped me as a captain so far. I have been successful emulating him in many ways.Shanto has the confidence of famously hard-to-please coach Chandika Hathurusinghe•AFP/Getty Images”I also admire MS Dhoni’s captaincy. From what I could see on TV, he is very calm in tough moments. I don’t know what goes on inside him. He makes clear decisions. They could be right or wrong, but he makes them calmly.”Shanto learned the value of having a calm head on one’s shoulders in the World Cup last year. Apart from leading the side for a couple of games due to an injury to Shakib, Shanto’s form took a hit as the team management shuffled him and everyone else around in the batting order in a madcap strategy.”I think a captain has to remain calm at these big events. People will have huge expectations, so without focusing on those things, I want to focus on motivating my team. I also have to look to contribute as a batter. It will take the team to a better position if I can execute the plans without thinking too much,” he says.He is also trying to keep his batting and captaincy separate, which is easier said than done, especially in a high-pressure environment like Bangladesh cricket.”When I am batting out there, I think like a batter. I don’t think that I have to score all the runs just because I am the captain. I feel like a captain when I am fielding: who to bowl at what time. I also have to handle a lot of things off the field. I am enjoying those responsibilities,” he says.Challenges came early in Shanto’s life. Khaled Mashud, the former Bangladesh captain, first saw Shanto as a 12-year-old in the nets at his cricket academy in Rajshahi.”He had a tough time travelling every day,” Mashud says. “He lived far away. He used to cycle for two or three kilometres from his home to reach the main road, where he left the cycle in a shop. From there he would take the bus to come to Rajshahi city. And then he needed an auto-rickshaw ride to get to the academy.”He never missed a day of practice, come rain or shine. He was very hardworking and talented from a very young age.”I have loved watching Shanto grow into such a good cricketer. He has made lots of sacrifices. He has given his all to come to this stage. I want to see him become a top-level performer who has a long career. I think he has it in him. He is aware of the arithmetic of scoring runs.”Shanto seems to have successfully navigated the challenges of captaining a team of big-name players•AFP/Getty ImagesAfter his time under Mashud’s tutelage, Shanto spent the last eight years working with Khaled Mahmud, another former Bangladesh captain and the coach of Abahani Limited, for whom Shanto has been playing in the Dhaka Premier League since 2016.Mahmud thinks Shanto is a once-in-a-generation cricketer in the mould of Michael Hussey.”I call him a full-time cricketer,” he says. “He doesn’t think about anything other than cricket. He always wants to improve. He is a calm, sensible person. He keeps things under control. He is captaincy material.”Shanto spends hours in the nets under the watchful eyes of Mahmud at the Shere Bangla National Stadium and listens to his advice keenly. During his lean years from 2018 to 2021, Mahmud championed him to the BCB and to Bangladesh’s team management.”He has to work much harder to express himself fully. Captaining Bangladesh is not easy. I always tell him that he has to make his own decisions,” Mahmud says. “The coach will only play a supporting role. At the end of the day, it will be your decision that counts. If you make a wrong decision, you can reconcile it with yourself. If the coach or someone else is heavily involved, you won’t be able to.”He is a confident guy, but consistency is becoming a hurdle for him. I spoke to him recently. I told him that it looks like you are in a lot of hurry in the middle. It is not written anywhere that you have to hit a six every ball in T20s.”When Shanto’s form dipped between 2018 and 2022, Mahmud was impressed by how he kept hitting the nets and sharpening his fielding.”It was such a tough time for him, the way he was trolled on social media. I used to tell him that you have to prove it in the middle. He vowed to come back strongly. He trained hard on his skills and fitness. He is a gun fielder and a fast mover on the ground. I think those tough times really made him the cricketer he is today,” says Mahmud.Shanto knows exactly when the tide turned for him – at the 2022 T20 World Cup, where he struck two fifties. No one else saw it as a major achievement at the time, but for Shanto it meant the world. His training methods were finally yielding results.Shanto made 71 against Zimbabwe and 54 against Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup, which he sees as a turning point in his career after a years-long batting slump•ICC via Getty”I wasn’t that confident before the T20 World Cup. I worked very hard on my skills and they improved a lot. Once I realised that, it gave me confidence. I changed my thought process, which helped me do well in that tournament.”When I was playing in the World Cup, I got positive results. If it hadn’t been that way, it would have been difficult. The most important thing is to keep improving my skills. It gives a better mentality. I can believe in myself,” he says.Shanto’s opposite number during the Zimbabwe series, Sikandar Raza, a keen observer of Bangladesh cricket, says Shanto needs support to build himself into his captaincy. Interestingly the Bangladesh captain is the player Raza has bowled to the most in T20Is.”Every captain has their ideology and philosophy,” says Raza “If I have the wellbeing of everyone in my team at heart, then my captaincy will become easier. If I am only thinking about myself, captaincy is hard.”I hope Bangladesh give him time. Allow him to make mistakes. He has won some series, he has lost some series. That’s how a captain is formed. His personal performance will play a huge role in him making the right decisions.”Mashud, who led Bangladesh during some of their worst times, famously the 2003 World Cup, believes Shanto will be best served if he enjoys the upcoming challenge of the T20 World Cup.”Bangladesh captaincy, or captaincy in any team for that matter, is tough when you don’t have the right soldiers,” Mashud says. “It is not like Shanto is leading a team like India. He has to lead like he has nothing to lose but also enjoy his time in the middle. The likes of [Towhid] Hridoy, Tanzid [Hasan] and Rishad can suddenly become match-winners. Shanto should look to best utilise them. He shouldn’t worry too much about what people are saying or what’s happening outside.”Ahead of his biggest assignment, Shanto reflects on his early days in Rajshahi. He believes that getting out of his neighbourhood to become a cricketer was an achievement in itself, but as he rose rapidly through the age-group ranks and into the world of international cricket, his goals got bigger.”I wouldn’t have reached where I have without Allah’s blessings. Where I grew up, nobody had any idea that cricket could be taken up as a profession. You have to love the game and then you have to do hard work with honesty. I faced a lot of noise from people around me in my early days. They didn’t trust me, or believe in me. I had to practise correctly and work hard every day. I believed in myself strongly. If a cricketer does these things, they can do even better than me,” he says.

“Forty-five would be a target which I would want to achieve,” he says after putting Mumbai in the driver’s seat

Himanshu Agrawal08-Jun-2022You could argue that Shams Mulani would have the fielders to thank for two of his five wickets against Uttarakhand on the third day’s play in Alur. But in fact, only one would ideally fall into that category.Bowling from around the wicket to left-hand opener Kamal Singh, he bowled full and just outside off, inviting the slog sweep from the batter. Kamal found Tushar Deshpande at deep midwicket, who took a sharp, low catch despite losing balance while falling forward. That was Mulani’s first wicket of the day.His third came when Prithvi Shaw dived full stretch to his right at first slip, and snaffled Dikshanshu Negi one handed in a remarkable effort. Again, it would be Shaw who would rather be lauded.But Mulani still deserves credit. Starting the day around the wicket to both right- and left-hand batters, he soon switched to an over-the-wicket angle when he saw nothing was working from around. Of course he had Kamal caught from around, but that was actually down to Deshpande’s catch.There was some rough outside the right-hand batter’s leg stump, which Mulani’s angle from over the wicket could exploit. Rough would mean extra bounce despite this being a black-soil pitch where, as Mulani points out, the ball doesn’t get up as much as it does on red-soil ones.That is exactly where he landed the ball for Negi, who went for a flick to a tossed-up ball on leg stump, but ended up getting a leading edge to Shaw at slip. So an accurate Mulani pitching it in the right area was as much responsible for the wicket as was Shaw.And that is also how he dismissed Shivam Khurana, who became his fifth wicket of the day. Coming from over the stumps with a slip and a leg slip stationed, he landed one in the rough outside the right-hand batter’s leg stump again. Khurana went for a half-hearted sweep, as the extra bounce did him in, with the ball taking the higher side of the bat to leg slip.Mulani had conceded 23 off his first 32 balls, including two sixes and a four, but eventually finished with 5 for 39 off 12 overs. And apart from the rough, there were some cracks on the pitch too, which he had spotted, knowing well enough that they would provide some turn for him.Mulani needed to execute, and he did that almost perfectly.File photo: Shams Mulani (third from right) has five five-wicket hauls in four Ranji Trophy games so far•PTI In all of his wickets other than Kamal’s, there was loop, dip and turn; or at least two of them. When he had Swapnil Singh caught by Shaw at first slip, he gave the ball good flight on a full length outside off, as the ball took the outside edge while almost dying on to the batter; that, he said, was his favourite for the day.And when Mulani cleaned up Agrim Tiwari, he fired one pretty full and once again bang on the rough on leg stump, as the tailender swung but missed, with the ball turning away to instead hit off stump.That was the craft Mulani displayed on a two-day old pitch which suddenly seemed dead and unresponsive the moment Mumbai came out to bat in the second innings, as well as when they batted in the first. In Mumbai’s second innings, Uttarakhand’s left-arm spinners Mayank Mishra and Swapnil bowled a combined 34 overs, tallying 1 for 131 at nearly four runs an over.And before Wednesday, Mulani brought with him a bagful of wickets from this Ranji season already. Before the tournament was split by the IPL, he had already pocketed four five-wicket hauls; twice in three matches, he had grabbed a ten-for. With 29 wickets, he easily sat atop the wicket-taking charts.That lead was pushed further with five more against Uttarakhand, but he rates his performance of 6 for 107 and 5 for 60 against Goa as the one he most enjoyed among them all. Mumbai won on the final day, as Mulani also hit 50 in the second innings.”We had to bundle them out in 60-odd overs. That was the best [among all five-fors this season],” he recalls.With a first-innings lead already obtained and with Mumbai a mammoth 794 ahead after day three in Alur, they are almost certain of a semi-final spot. And despite 34 wickets in the Ranji Trophy thus far this season, Mulani is not done yet.”Forty-five would be a target which I would want to achieve,” he says.Not to forget, 34 is the number for just Ranji. Mulani also won the Col CK Nayudu Under-25 tournament with Mumbai, where he picked 32 wickets – including five five-wicket hauls, and three ten-wicket match hauls – and he remembers the count too, like it were all yesterday.In April 2021, Mulani was called up by Delhi Capitals as a short-term Covid-19 replacement for Axar Patel. He didn’t get a chance then, and hasn’t played in the IPL since.But if this form and such application continues, Mulani might soon be in demand beyond Mumbai’s domestic circles.

Blackwood’s average, Holder’s wins as captains and other statistical highlights from the first Test

Bharath Seervi12-Jul-20205-4 – West Indies’ win record against England in Tests since 2015. Against all other teams, they have won only seven Tests in 34 matches combined. They have a 50% win record against England and just 20.59% against other teams. Jason Holder has won four of his six Tests as captain against England.