GOAL US presents CWC XI: Key observations from the conclusion of the group stage, and a look ahead to the knockouts

You'd be forgiven for being a bit blurry-eyed during the second week of the Club World Cup. Major tournaments – yes, we're calling this a major tournament now – sometimes get like that. There's a bit of a mid-group tedium. Results sort of matter, sort of don't.

Everyone is basically waiting for the last matchday. And it delivered. The final games of the group stage properly ironed things out. The pretenders are all gone, while the real teams with real quality showed that they really want to win.

Mostly, though, this was charmingly about football heritage, with the names that you grew up watching or playing FIFA with showing they can still kick a ball a bit. Does the world still need Sergio Ramos, 39, kicking the living daylights out of strikers? TBD. But it sure is loads of fun to watch him do it for a Mexican side in 100-degree weather.

Elsewhere, Pep Guardiola realized he can coach a team to play very good football again, and Xabi Alonso is doing some tactically groovy things with Real Madrid.

GOAL US presents theClub World Cup XI, with key observations at the conclusion of the group stage.

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  1These guys are still playing?

  Isn't it lovely, watching the old lads kick a ball just a little longer? Sergio Ramos is nearly 40, and his time at the top is well over. Angel Di Maria convinced everyone that he was going to leave Benfica, but then decided by himself that he fancied one last summer. Luis Suarez, Luka Modric, Thomas Muller – they're all still here in the Club World Cup, doing their thing.

  And they have all made an impact. Ramos is still a madman who likes to crunch attackers for fun. Di Maria can still do silly things with a football. Suarez – more on him later – still has moments of magic. Meanwhile, Modric and Muller remain magnificent, aging with such grace.

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  2Luis Suarez has (maybe) still got it!

  Those who religiously watch MLS every week will tell you that Suarez isn't the player he once was. Watching him now actually physically hurts knees. He cannot move like he used to. But every now and then, he does something magical. He scored a vintage goal for Miami against Palmeiras to round off the group stage, and kept the Herons in the tournament – the only MLS club to make that claim – with one characteristic moment of ricocheting genius.

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  3Man City are scary again

  Who among us really doubted that Man City would figure this out? Give Pep Guardiola a ton of cash and he will do something scary with it. City have toyed with their lineup this tournament, and spent a fair bit of time at the beach, too (turns out Guardiola still has a decent first touch).

  But they've also been devastatingly good at football, something they proved with an absolute shellacking of Juventus on Thursday night. Rodri is back, Omar Marmoush looks good, Erling Haaland kick ball good, and Phil Foden is humming again. Football is probably more boring when City are good. Get ready for a Premier League snoozefest.

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  4I wanna play the beautiful game out in Brazil

  Everyone suggested that South American teams would be good at the CWC. But who actually truly believed it? Sure, the trendy guys and European vets spit out platitudes about "no easy games" and "treating everyone with respect." But these lot weren't supposed to be beating PSG and topping groups.

  Plot twist: they're all here – and all four are really rather good. You'd back Flamengo against Bayern, while Fluminense have a real shot against Inter, too. It would be wonderful to have a Brazilian team in the semis, and that could quite comfortably be a reality now. Take that, Eurosnobs.

In a tightly-fought contest, the depth of England’s options proved telling even though the side retains a number of holes

George Dobell at the Ageas Bowl02-Sep-20182:00

Compton: India couldn’t find someone to match Curran

It was, in the end, the allrounders who made the difference.So England may have a fragile top-order, an unreliable slip cordon and almost no idea what their optimum batting line-up should be but, so great was the depth in their batting, and so plentiful were the options in their bowling, they had enough to secure a series victory over the No.1 rated Test side with a game in hand.Take the first innings of this game at the Ageas Bowl. England were 86 for 6 at one stage. But whereas they might, in the past, have had to rely on Andy Caddick, Ryan Sidebottom or Sajid Mahmood to come in at No. 8 and try to engineer some sort of recovery, now they have Sam Curran.It was a similar story in Birmingham. England were 87 for 7 and leading by just 100 at one stage in their second innings. But then Curran came out and struck a run-a-ball 63 to help England build the total that helped them to an eventual 31-run win.At other times England were grateful for Chris Woakes, who struck their first century of the series from No. 7 at Lord’s, Ben Stokes, who produced a match-clinching spell at Edgbaston and an admirably defiant effort in the second innings in Southampton and Moeen Ali, who has the versatility to plug holes almost wherever they are found and who made an important contribution in the first innings in Southampton. All of them can be considered fine allrounders; all of them produced key contributions with bat and ball at times in this series.It meant that, whatever inroads India made with the new ball, England were – Trent Bridge apart – hard to kill off. There always seemed to be someone to lead a recovery; someone to eke out a few more runs; someone to do just enough to turn a couple of games in England’s favour. It is telling that, of the three batsmen who have scored 250 runs in the series, two are England allrounders: Curran and Jos Buttler. It’s not really that England’s batting has been better than India’s; just that there has been more of it.Perhaps the same could be said of their bowling. That all-round strength also allowed England an unusual amount of options. Whereas India were hugely inconvenienced when R Ashwin suffered something of a modest game in Southampton, England tended to have another option to make amends for such issues. So when Adil Rashid struggled with his length in this match, they were able to rely on Moeen- who they continue to insist is their second spinner – who finished with nine wickets in the match. And when they needed a breakthrough in the first innings, they were able to turn to Stokes – the seventh choice bowler – to produce a whole-hearted and skilful spell. It meant there was no let-up in the pressure the India batsmen faced. No weak link that could be exploited.”I felt like had huge amounts of options,” Joe Root said. “I had points of difference in our attack. We had the ball spinning both ways, we had some left-arm angle and three fantastic seam bowlers who all do very different things. I felt I always had something different to turn to.”There were other factors beyond England’s control. India’s insufficient preparation at the start of the tour may have allowed England an advantage in the first couple of Tests – the tourists have adapted far better to the conditions now – while Virat Kohli has yet to win a toss in the series. In this Test and at Lord’s, in particular, that was significant.One day, too, he may reflect on his decision not to utilise the heavy roller ahead of either of India’s innings in Southampton as an error. With the pitch starting slightly damp, the ball made a few indentations on the first day. Most captains in county cricket would have seized on the chance to use the heavy roller to flatten those indentations out. Kohli, perhaps reasoning that the surface could break up if he did so, used only the light one and was then subjected to the uneven bounce that accounted for KL Rahul, at least, in the fourth innings. Perhaps, had he had that county stint at Surrey as was originally planned, he might have known that the chances of any pitch in England breaking up under a heavy roller are minimal to the point of non-existence.Graphic: Home comforts•ESPNcricinfo LtdMost of all, it does have to be acknowledged that England were playing in conditions – and with a ball – that suits them perfectly. Despite the dry summer, this Test series has been played on pitches providing a remarkable amount of seam movement, while the Duke’s ball – and the skill of those using it – has also produced plenty of swing. There’s nothing wrong in utilising home advantage, but it should be understood that England have done so to an unusually extreme degree. It doesn’t mean England could be considered favourites – or anything like it – when they next travel to India.So it would be foolish to allow this success to mask the flaws within this England side. While Root has a point when he points out the tough conditions with which the top-order batsmen of both sides have had to contend, he might also reflect that his opening batsmen didn’t score many runs in Australia or New Zealand, either. But for a couple of huge scores on a couple of flat pitches, Alastair Cook hasn’t scored runs in a long time. And but for a dropped catch on debut, Keaton Jennings would be averaging in the teens after 11 Tests. There will still be days – and surfaces – when they require bowlers of greater pace and there will still be days when the limitations of their spin attack – and the manner their batsmen play it – will be highlighted.”Of course you’re always looking to get better and at areas you want to improve,” Root said. “We want to make sure we’re starting well with the bat and that’s going to continue to be a big focus for us as a team.”But you’ve also got to be realistic about the conditions we’ve been playing in. There’s been some fine bowling from both teams. The two seam attacks are very high-class.”All of which is true. But, with the series already won, it might make sense to look at other top-order options at The Oval. Rory Burns really has done everything that could have been asked of him to win a chance instead of Jennings. If Alastair Cook were to take the opportunity to announce his retirement ahead of the game, it might provide a suitable opportunity for him to be sent-off in the style deserving of a man who has scored a record amount of Test runs for England. The team will undoubtedly require far greater contributions from their openers if they are to challenge in Sri Lanka or the Caribbean. Neither Cook or Jennings can say they have lacked opportunity.With Stokes clearly carrying a knee injury and Woakes still recovering from his quad strain, it might make sense to allow them to miss the game, too. The likes of Olly Stone and Jamie Overton could be tried if England want to add some pace to their attack, though it seems unlikely such an option will be taken.Whatever they decide to do for The Oval, England have a chance on both winter tours simply because of that all-round depth. And if they could just find a stronger top-order and start to hold a few catches – the early signs of the re-jigged slip cordon in Southampton were encouraging – they really could rise up the Test rankings quite swiftly.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s girls came up short in the big final at the MCG, but there’s plenty to look forward to from them in the future

Srinivas S18-Mar-2020Dear Indian women’s cricket team,The 2020 women’s T20 World Cup has been a dream, and like many dreams do, yours ended in a nightmarish final against the best team in the format. There is no shame in that.Your captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, she of the sweet timing and monstrous sixes, which were missing during the tournament, has said that the everyone in the team need to continue to believe in themselves and that she believes in the team. This is a cliché that is regularly spouted by losing captains, but those words from Kaur sounded like the ones that come from a true leader. And we believe in the team too — among the ‘we’, many thousands of fans who, I suspect, started following women’s cricket only in the last few years. I am one of those fans, but I now see in the Indian women’s cricket team the Indian team. Whether it was the capitulation of Virat Kohli’s men in the recent Tests in New Zealand, or the comprehensive defeat suffered by Kaur’s women against Australia in front of more than 86000 spectators — they hurt equally. Victory in each case would have been equally sweet.An admission: the first women’s cricket match that I watched fully was the 2017 World Cup final at Lord’s between India and England, a riveting contest of punches and counterpunches in which you, India, should have prevailed. The heartbreak I felt after the match, I realised, was as intense as the prayers that had preceded it. I even wrote a long piece a few days after the final, recounting the important moments in the contest and my own responses to them, to get the emotion out of my system. While writing the piece, I realised two things: there were two Indian cricket teams, not one; and there was precious little I knew about one of those teams. I also wondered how much hurt you must be experiencing, having gone so far, despite few opportunities (at least compared to men), only to fall short.Two-and-a-half years on, there is still so much that I do not know about you (or women cricketers in general), but I read a lot more. The profile that did in November 2018 on your captain, Kaur, was, for example, the first long biographical piece that I read about a female cricketer: it offered rich insights into the socio-cultural fabric and the support system that have made her the cricketer she is today. Shortly afterwards, there was an interview with your vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, which also appeared on . Apart from these focused articles on high-profile individuals, there is a lot more coverage of women’s cricket in general. Even the Indian film industry has caught on to the trend, with the 2018 Tamil film highlighting the meteoric rise of a female cricketer (played by actor Aishwarya Rajesh) from an obscure sun-beaten village in Tamil Nadu.Sportswomen cannot thrive in a vacuum anymore than sportsmen can, which is why I am glad that your performances are receiving a lot more attention than they used to. We now know, thanks to the media, that Poonam Yadav, your talismanic legspinner, had a great T20 World Cup. If the tournament had not been televised, however, not many would have been able to witness Yadav’s slow magic that deceived the best in the air. Moreover, if writers had not thought it worth their while to write about Yadav’s craft, it would not have got the critical attention and acclaim that it has now received.There are many important systematic issues that remain to be addressed of course, among them a proper cricket calendar for you and (following the example of Australia) equal pay. The cricket climate is also crying out for a Women’s IPL. The fact that someone like Sunil Gavaskar has thrown his weight behind the idea is proof of that (in case one was required). You also need and deserve long-term coaches and support staff as well as a more streamlined domestic system, which would act as a natural feeder to the national team.It is difficult, perhaps even absurd, to imagine that the aforementioned changes will happen overnight. The hope though is that the changes will happen soon, revealing a clearer trajectory towards excellence for Indian girls who wish to take up cricket. In the meantime, fans like me will continue to believe in your team. We believe that your first global trophy is not too far away.Yours sincerely,
Srinivas S
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MatériaMais Notícias

da poker： O São Paulo encerrou a preparação para enfrentar o Tigre (ARG), em duelo que acontecerá nesta terça-feira (27), às 21h30, no Morumbi, pela última rodada do Grupo D da Copa Sul-Americana. Na primeira posição da chave, com 13 pontos conquistados, o Tricolor está a três de distância dos argentinos, com um saldo positivo de sete gols, primeiro critério de desempate.

da pinnacle： Para os tricolores apaixonados: produtos a partir de R$39,90 na FutFanatics!

Por conta da situação confortável, o técnico Dorival Júnior deve escalar uma equipe alternativa para o confronto. Um setor que deve ser modificado é a defesa. Com Arboleda e Beraldo vindo de uma grande sequência de jogos, a tendência é que a dupla seja poupada. Alan Franco deve receber uma oportunidade entre os titulares. O outro zagueiro é uma incógnita, já que Diego Costa, desfalque diante do Cruzeiro devido a um trauma na coxa direita, participou da atividade com os companheiros, mas é dúvida.

+ Clique aqui e veja como apostar no Brasileirão

O técnico Dorival Júnior abriu o dia exibindo um vídeo para os jogadores. Na sequência, já no gramado, houve o aquecimento comandado pelos preparadores físicos seguido de um treino tático posicional para os prováveis titulares, além um ensaio de bolas paradas. Os demais fizeram um trabalho técnico em espaço reduzido, seguido de complemento físico.

Uma provável ecalação do São Paulo tem: Rafael, Raí Ramos, Beraldo (Diego Costa), Alan Franco e Caio Paulista; Luan, Gabriel Neves, Rodriguinho e Marcos Paulo; Luciano e Juan (David).

Dean Huijsen’s father cheekily mocked Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City ahead of Real Madrid’s Club World Cup quarter-final.

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• Don Huijsen reposted a viral Club World Cup meme
• Barca, Atleti and City mocked in satirical bracket
• Post included fake teams like “Al-TV” and “Remote Control”

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Don Huijsen, the father of Madrid defender Dean, took a playful jab at the three clubs by reposting a satirical Club World Cup bracket on Instagram, mocking their absence from the knockout stages. The meme humorously paired them with fictional teams like "Al-Sofa" and "Remote Control" in a dig at them being made to watch the rest of the tournament from home, while Madrid gear up for a clash with Borussia Dortmund.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The post added fuel to long-standing rivalries, especially between Madrid and Barcelona, who were not involved in the tournament this year. With the Club World Cup spotlight on Los Blancos, fan banter has escalated across social platforms.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Madrid defender Huijsen is one of the team's breakout stars of the Club World Cup and has adapted quickly under new coach Xabi Alonso. His performances have drawn praise following his transfer from Bournemouth.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Los Blancos will take on Dortmund in the Club World Cup quarter-final in New York, with the winner going on to face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich.

Manchester United have now thundered into the race for a “world-class” £84m forward, having expressed a concrete interest in securing his signature in the summer, according to a report.

Man Utd set sights on winger to replace Garnacho

While Man United managed to sign off the 2024-25 campaign on a high note, securing a 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford, the Europa League final defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao will remain fresh in the memory for supporters.

As such, it is difficult to be too positive ahead of the summer, with the Red Devils’ summer transfer plans likely to be affected by the lack of Champions League football, and Gary Neville has expressed concerns they may choose to cash-in on some of their young players to raise funds.

Neville said: “I know it’s become a thing now whereby people sell players from their academy to facilitate PSR and financial fair play, but if Manchester United start to sell academy players to raise funds to bring in other players, I think that’s the thin end of the wedge.

Man Utd also ready to pay £44m release clause for "king of kings" after Cunha

The Red Devils are now willing to trigger the release clause for another striker to partner up with Cunha at Old Trafford.

ByDominic Lund May 26, 2025

Alejandro Garnacho is one of the youth products that could be on his way out, with Arsenal now being contacted over the possibility of signing the Argentine, and if the 20-year-old does end up being sold, it is likely a replacement will be necessary.

According to a report from TEAMtalk, Man United may now have just the player in mind, having thundered into the race for AC Milan star Rafael Leao, who is looking increasingly likely to exit the San Siro this summer, with a £84m fee being touted.

United have now registered a concrete interest in signing Leao, who could be on his way out due to the lack of European football on offer at Milan, with Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Barcelona also keen.

"World-class" Leao could be Garnacho upgrade

It is unclear whether the 25-year-old would be interested in a move to Old Trafford, given that Ruben Amorim’s side will not be playing in Europe next season either, but the allure of playing for one of the world’s biggest clubs could be tempting for the winger.

Should the Red Devils manage to get a deal over the line, there are plenty of signs he could be an upgrade on Garnacho at left-wing, having outperformed the starlet across a number of key statistics for wingers over the past year. Leao also loves current Man Utd captain Bruno Fernandes, having called him a “maestro” in the past while on international duty together.

Statistic per 90

Rafael Leao

Alejandro Garnacho

Non-penalty goals

0.32

0.20

Assists

0.26

0.17

Successful take-ons

2.83

1.31

Having also been lauded as “world-class” by football writer Carlo Garganese in the past, Leao could be a fantastic signing for Man United this summer, but a move to Old Trafford could be a tough sell after the Europa League final defeat.

قرر الجهاز الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، بقيادة البلجيكي يانيك فيريرا، استبعاد أحد اللاعبين من التشكيل الأساسي، قبل دقائق قليلة من انطلاق المواجهة المرتقبة أمام غزل المحلة ضمن منافسات الجولة العاشرة من بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

وتنطلق مباراة الزمالك وغزل المحلة في تمام الخامسة مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، حيث يسعى الزمالك إلى استعادة توازنه بعد سلسلة من النتائج المتذبذبة، كان آخرها التعادل أمام الجونة والخسارة أمام الأهلي.

طالع أيضًا | خاص | إستريلا البرتغالي يواصل هجومه على الزمالك بسبب صفقة شيكو بانزا

ويأمل الفريق الأبيض في تحقيق الفوز للعودة إلى طريق الانتصارات واستعادة صدارة جدول الترتيب من نادي المصري، بينما يدخل غزل المحلة اللقاء باحثًا عن الخروج من أزمته الحالية بعد تعادله مع المقاولون العرب وخسارته أمام المصري في آخر جولتين.

وعلم بطولات، أن الجهاز الفني قرر استبعاد لاعب الوسط نبيل عماد دونجا من التشكيل الأساسي، وذلك بعد أن تعرض لإصابة بشد عضلي خلال عمليات الإحماء التي تسبق المباراة.

ويحتل الزمالك المركز الثاني في جدول الدوري برصيد 17 نقطة، فيما يأتي غزل المحلة في المركز الرابع عشر برصيد 10 نقاط.

From Eastbourne to the MCG to the polling booth, Pakistan’s prime minister has always relished a challenge

Paul Edwards14-Jul-2020That CB Fry should once have been offered the throne of Albania is seen as another eccentric feature of an already eccentric life. It has become a quiz question. That Imran Khan should have wanted to become prime minister of Pakistan is viewed as almost a natural ambition from a man whose thirst for achievement appears unslakeable. It has become a reality.Other world-class cricketers have also sought to make a difference to life outside the game when they retire. All too often their plans founder as they struggle to cope with environments in which 6000 Test runs or 200 wickets do not seal contracts or persuade investors. After a few years they are content to return to the worlds they know and in which they lead fulfilling lives. They are reassured to see pictures from their pomp on the front of the cricket papers and in time they might have a pavilion named after them. Imran has had his face on the cover of magazine and has built a cancer hospital in memory of his mother.The Pakistani establishment told him he couldn’t build such a hospital and then they said he couldn’t run an institution in which about 75% of cancer sufferers receive free treatment. He did both things. They took him nearly ten years. “I have never not believed I am going to win,” he told Mike Atherton in 2016.ALSO READ: Odd Men In – Bill Farrimond and ‘Hopper’ LevettSome cricketers attend their county’s annual reunions and are pleased to be recognised by members who reminisce about the best days of distant summers. Imran has done so much since he retired in 1992 – virtually none of it connected to cricket – that a few junior players, even in Pakistan, might take a moment or two to recall that their prime minister once captained the national team on the greatest day in its history. Then they will recall photographs of a floodlit Melbourne Cricket Ground on a late March evening in 1992 and their captain in his lime-green shirt holding aloft a Waterford crystal trophy and saying how this victory over England should help him achieve his other ambitions. Nobody but Imran knew it at the time but he had played his last match. He was 39 and the best cricketer his country had ever produced now turned his formidable attention to other things.Imran’s continuing desire to fulfil his ambitions outside the game was perhaps sharpened by his being born into his country’s sporting aristocracy. Why achieve only the obviously achievable? Two of his cousins, Javed Burki and Majid Khan, were Oxbridge Blues and both captained Pakistan. (When Imran followed them as skipper of the national team, he dropped Majid from the side on the morning of his first Test in charge in 1982. There is as much steel as suavity in his character.) The family’s affluence ensured that he attended Aitchison College, which is Pakistan’s most famous school and was situated a short distance from the family home in the quiet Lahore suburb of Zaman Park. The high-quality coaching and excellent facilities at Aitchison helped to develop Imran’s burgeoning talent and on the strength of 11 first-class games he was included in the party to tour England in 1971. He was 18 years old.If his first trip to England proved to Imran that he was not yet ready for international cricket, it at least introduced him to the country where he would play the majority of his 382 first-class matches. He completed his secondary education at Worcester’s Royal Grammar School and spent three years at Oxford, captaining the university in his second year and playing for Worcestershire when term had ended. Having once been an inswing bowler who could score a few runs, he was gradually becoming a proper all-rounder whose top-order batting could change games and whose fast bowling included a wicked bouncer. The leap in his delivery stride made you catch breath, especially, perhaps, if you were female.Imran Khan is hoisted up by his team-mates after winning the World Cup•Tony Feder/Getty ImagesSome Oxford contemporaries said Imran was aloof but all of them appreciated his strength of will once he was resolved on a course of action. That determination would be revealed in other ways. Having represented Worcestershire for one full season and been capped when his century and 13 wickets set up an innings victory against Lancashire, he moved to Sussex the following year in 1977 so that he could be nearer London, where his increasingly active social life was based. (For many years the gossip columnists would be as interested in his doings as cricket correspondents. Mercifully the two groups have rarely overlapped.)He was banned for the 1978 Pakistan tour of England because he had joined Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket but he would later declare that his two Australian summers had been time well spent: Mike Procter had advised him on his run-up while John Snow had shown him how turning his left shoulder more towards fine leg would help his outswing.Before long Snow’s own county would be the beneficiary of those coaching clinics. Imran helped Sussex win two knockout trophies and had a leg-before appeal not been turned down in 1981 he might have been in the first Sussex side to win the County Championship. He did not want for self-confidence that summer, a trait noted by his skipper Johnny Barclay during the game against Derbyshire at Eastbourne where the visitors had five wickets in hand and a lead of over 230 on the final afternoon. A draw seemed in prospect. Imran decided he should bowl…”Imran immediately trapped Steele lbw and, a man inspired, wiped out the rest of the batting. Four wickets in five balls, all bowled or lbw. Rarely have I seen such a devastating spell of bowling with an old ball.

Imran Khan is one of those very few people who has a sense of personal greatness and personal destiny… He is the nearest thing cricket has produced to a world historical figurePeter Oborne

‘That was clever bowling,’ he said, as we left the field. ‘Now I want to bat… I want to bat high in the order, I feel it is my day, we must beat this lot. I think I shall bat at four. The others won’t mind.'”Imran made 107 not out, reaching his century with 11 fours and three sixes in 88 minutes. By the end of the match, nobody gave a monkey’s where he had batted, not least the large crowd on the last day of Eastbourne Week. Yet this determination to wrench a game of cricket into a shape of his own devising would be seen again on the game’s far larger stages. Most notably, perhaps, it would be seen in Test series against the mighty West Indian and Australian sides of the 1980s, against whom Imran led Pakistan in six series, winning one, drawing three and losing only in Australia (where he had helped New South Wales win the Sheffield Shield in 1983-84.) Imran instilled a sense of common purpose into a Pakistani team whose capacity to tear itself apart had often seemed unbounded.If anybody had doubted the new skipper’s resolve they were quickly disabused of their misgivings when he declared with Javed Miandad on 280 in the fourth Test against India at Hyderabad in January 1983. The match was won by an innings deep in the fifth day, a result which sealed a series victory. Imran’s approach to the various tasks of leadership was established. Then again it hardly harmed the cause that he had players of the quality of Miandad, Abdul Qadir and Wasim Akram in his side.And if defeats in three successive World Cup semi-finals were lowlights in his international career, first series wins in both India and England in 1987 were quite the opposite. Imran took ten wickets at Headingley to secure Pakistan’s only victory in the second of those five-match series and then made 118 at The Oval to ensure the overall victory was secure.Imran Khan addresses a political rally•Getty ImagesThere were many other days of glory and each of his millions of fans in Pakistan had their favourite. Despite a stress fracture in his left leg which prevented him bowling for three years Imran finished his career with 362 Test wickets and 1287 in all first-class games. There were also 17,771 first-class runs and 117 catches. But sitting in the garden of his home in 2016 he had to be persuaded to talk about his cricket by Atherton. After all it was a long time ago and there are other things in life. More important things, though he did not say this.”I always wanted to leave cricket once I had finished playing,” he said, “I think the potential of a human being only grows when we challenge ourselves. Once life becomes easy it is all downhill. Once I was no longer challenged I always felt I would decay. I never wanted to take the easy road and stay in cricket… In life to succeed you have to have total passion and total commitment. Everything else takes second place… The day I left cricket it was over for me.”He has not been inured to the controversies of his country’s cricketing past. He deeply regrets the match-fixing committed by other players and admits that he once changed the condition of a ball with a bottle-top. But those things, too, are in the past. Now there are hospitals to oversee and a country to run. When Pakistan’s wealthy élite refused to help him construct a memorial to his mother, he went to the people and asked if they could help. His place in sporting history is for others to judge. No one is better placed to do so than Peter Oborne, who, with Richard Heller, has written one of the two fine histories of Pakistan’s cricket.”Imran Khan is one of those very few people who has a sense of personal greatness and personal destiny,” Oborne said. “That destiny first of all manifested itself in an amazing cricket career when he forged a national team and made it the best in the world. And then it forged itself in this enormous monument to his mother: the great hospital which is still there. And then in a political career. [He] is the nearest thing cricket has produced to a world historical figure.”The gossip columnists have long been replaced by political journalists. Armed guards stand at the entrance to Imran’s house and accompany him wherever he goes. His Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice) party is in power and is the subject of constant scrutiny. Its aim is to build a modern, egalitarian, democratic country, still Islamic, and with a welfare state. Most former cricketers are content to cast their vote every five years or so. Odd Men In

Al-Hilal want to sign a new striker and have lined up Arsenal target Benjamin Sesko as a potential addition to their squad.

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Al-Hilal consider Sesko moveArsenal switched attention to GyokeresRB Leipzig star valued at £77mFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Al-Hilal are searching for a new striker this summer, having encountered issues in their pursuit of Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian is now expected to remain with Turkish side Galatasaray, though some work needs to be done by the Super Lig giants to reach Napoli's asking price. Sesko had been a target for Arsenal as Mikel Arteta's side assessed strikers to bring to the Emirates Stadium, but the Gunners are thought to instead be closing in on a deal for Viktor Gyokeres.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

With Osimhen probably out of the picture, Al-Hilal need to target other candidates. understand they will up their pursuit of Sesko once they have wrapped up a deal for AC Milan defender Theo Hernandez, though they will have to stump up close to Leipzig's valuation of £77 million (€89.3 million/$104.7 million).

DID YOU KNOW?

Al-Hilal have one of the most star-studded squads in the Saudi Pro League following a couple of years of heavy investment. They already have Aleksandar Mitrovic up front but want another lethal forward to boost Simone Inzaghi's squad, which also includes Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Joao Cancelo.

AFPWHAT NEXT FOR AL-HILAL?

Al-Hilal have run into some obstacles during the summer transfer window but their recent victory over Manchester City at the Club World Cup shows how they've improved and players may well be keen to swap Europe for the Middle East, not least because of the lucrative contracts on offer.

Barry Ferguson has three more matches left to manage as the interim head coach of Glasgow Rangers before he moves on from Ibrox this summer.

The former Scotland international came in to replace Philippe Clement earlier this year and has only won four of his 12 games in charge of Rangers to date, drawing his most recent clash in the Old Firm derby.

Ferguson, therefore, has not done much to suggest that the new owners, when they complete their takeover, should be looking to hand him the role on a full-time basis moving forward.

In fact, TEAMtalk recently reported that the 49ers want to appoint a fresh face with no prior connection to Rangers, which immediately rules out Ferguson, who has now played for and managed the Light Blues.

The outlet added that Steven Gerrard is also out of the running, because of that stance, and will not be returning to Ibrox for a second stint in the dugout.

Whilst the 49ers will not be pursuing a move for the out-of-contract English tactician, they should be looking for a manager who can be their own version of the Liverpool legend.

Why the 49ers should want their own Steven Gerrard

Back in the summer of 2018, Rangers, who were aiming to put Celtic’s dominant run of league titles to a stop, confirmed the appointment of Gerrard on a four-year contract.

Prior to that summer, the Hoops had won seven Scottish Premiership titles in as many seasons and the Gers needed a manager who could wrestle back control of the league.

Gerrard was a risky appointment, as he had not managed a first-team game by that point, and it was not a move that instantly worked out for the Light Blues, because the English boss needed time to develop a style and to build a squad that was ready to win the title.

Rangers finished in second place, behind Celtic, in the manager’s first two seasons at Ibrox, before they went on to win the division in the 2020/21 campaign, going unbeaten in the process.

Matches

38

12

Wins

32

8

Draws

6

3

Defeats

0

1

Points

102

27

Points per game

2.68

2.25

League position

1st (Champions)

1st

As you can see in the table above, Gerrard’s side won 32 of their 38 matches that season to clinch the Premiership crown and to stop Celtic from winning ten in a row.

The Light Blues then won eight of their first 12 matches in the following season, taking them to the top of the table, before the manager decided to pursue an opportunity with Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, Rangers have finished second in all four of their seasons without Gerrard at the helm, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale, Philippe Clement, and Barry Ferguson have all failed to deliver a title to the Ibrox faithful.

The 49ers should, therefore, want to find their own version of the English boss because they now face the same task that the club faced in 2018: stopping Celtic’s title dominance.

Why Rangers should target Frank Lampard

Back in October 2023, when Beale was relieved of his duties, Sky Sports reported that Frank Lampard had shown an interest in the available post at Ibrox.

Almost two years later, the 49ers must target the English manager to see if he would be interested in the job this time around, should Coventry fail to earn promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.

It seems unlikely that he would want to ditch the Sky Blues if they make their way to the top-flight in England, but Rangers must attempt to convince Lampard to make the move to Scotland if Coventry do not join Leeds United and Burnley in the top division.

The 46-year-old tactician, who typically deploys a 4-2-3-1 formation, joined the Sky Blues when they were 17th in the Championship and level on points with the bottom three and led them to a fifth-placed finish, to secure a place in the play-offs.

Speaking on talkSPORT recently, pundit Jermaine Jenas hailed Lampard’s ability to work through criticism and claimed that he has done a “pretty special” job at Coventry, which is hard to argue against when you look at the images above.

The former Chelsea midfielder, who played alongside Gerrard at international level for England in their playing days, has had mixed success throughout his managerial career, but is currently thriving at the CBS Arena.

24/25

Championship (Coventry)

29

1.79

5th

22/23

Premier League (Chelsea)

9

0.56

12th

22/23

Premier League (Everton)

20

0.75

19th

21/22

Premier League (Everton)

18

1.11

16th

20/21

Premier League (Chelsea)

19

1.53

9th

19/20

Premier League (Chelsea)

38

1.74

4th

18/19

Championship (Derby County)

46

1.61

6th

As you can see in the table above, Lampard enjoyed early success with sixth and fourth place finishes with Derby County and Chelsea, before being sacked by the Premier League giants and by Everton.

He then endured a dismal interim spell at Chelsea after Graham Potter’s dismissal at Stamford Bridge, earning just 0.56 points per game across nine matches, before taking the Coventry job earlier this season.

Whilst managing at the top of the Premier League may be a step too far for him at this moment in time, Lampard has finished in the play-off positions in both of his seasons in the Championship with Derby and Coventry, which shows that he can motivate and set up a team to win consistently.

Couple that with the respect that his playing career earns him, and there is a compelling argument to suggest that he could be the 49ers’ own version of Gerrard in the new era at Ibrox, as another manager on the up who has something to prove rather than someone who has been there and done it and may not have the same motivation.

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ByDan Emery May 8, 2025

Like Gerrard, Lampard is yet to win a league title and the prospect of doing that at Ibrox could be an attractive and highly-motivating factor for him, which is why the 49ers could tempt him to leave Coventry if his side fails to win the play-offs.

The English tactician has shown promise at Championship level and has proven that he can galvanise a losing team and turn it into a winning one, which is, in essence, what Rangers are in need of.