A Reluctant Peacemaker: The First Hours of War and Secret Flights For fourteen years the owner of Chelsea lived a familiar football routine—signing players, lifting trophies, visiting Stamford Bridge. Everything changed on the morning of 24 February 2022. Within half a day of the outbreak of hos...
Doubt and Pain: When a Leader Has No Time to Heal Ahead of Game 6, it seemed the Thunder needed only to step onto the floor and collect the trophy. The Pacers had dropped two straight, and their maestro Tyrese Haliburton was battling a sharp calf pain—during the regular season he would have sat at...
Praise From a Defensive Legend Monterrey’s “bronze wall” centre-back Sergio Ramos, who for years made the back line of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team impenetrable, shared his admiration for Barcelona’s young winger Lamine Yamal. At a pre-match press conference the 38-year-old captain of...
Historic Debut of the Innovation On the pitch in Jeddah, it was not only the showdown between South Korea’s Ulsan HD and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns that went into the history books; French referee Clément Turpin did as well. It was in this match that the official first applied the new...
Diplomacy Before the Opening Whistle A few hours before the Club World Cup semi-final, in which the Turin side routed Emirati club Al Ain 5–0, part of the Juventus delegation found itself not on the training ground but in the White House. The guests were accompanied by FIFA president Gianni Infant...
Coach’s Debut: First Strokes of a New Era Xabi Alonso stepped to the touchline for the first time as Real Madrid’s head coach and immediately plunged into the atmosphere of the FIFA Club World Cup. His side opened the group phase against Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal and took control of the ball from...
Not Just Anyone, but the Best: The Journey From Overlooked High Schooler to NCAA Star When city high-school championships were held in Hamilton, Canada, the name of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not appear on the shortlist of top prospects. Coaches praised his wingspan and coordination but sighed at...
Having begun preparations for the new season well before the official transfer window opens, the Trabzonspor board is working tirelessly to reinforce key positions. The top priority is a long-term solution up front: completing the permanent signing of centre-forward Paul Onuachu, who excelled in las...
1. When Lightning Strikes Twice: The Roots of the Comparison Any attempt to peer beyond the horizon of an NBA season is like playing “Name That Tune” with your ears covered: an injury to a star can shatter even the most crystal-clear forecasts in an instant. Yet the parallels between today’s you...
Unexpected Move by Galatasaray: Promise David The Istanbul giant, in addition to Victor Osimhen and Jonathan David, has begun negotiations for Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise’s 23 -year-old Canadian forward Promise David. On the eve of the new season, Galatasaray aims to strengthen its attacki...
