Today's sad announcement that Jimmy Greaves had died aged 81 was not wholly unexpected.
The record Tottenham goalscorer (266 goals) and fourth-highest England marksman (44 goals) had been ill for some time.
A stroke in 2015 had left him speechless and wheelchair-bound and he had spent time in hospital last year.
The East Londoner had all the gifts for being a goal poacher - two good and quick feet, a hawk's eye and a bloodhound's nose for the target. For those reasons, he scored a whopping 357 top-flight goals in England between 1957 and 1971 for Chelsea, Spurs, and West Ham.
Across Europe's top leagues, only Cristiano Ronaldohas netted more in his career.
After 125 goals for Chelsea, a brief sojourn for Milan in Serie A brought an impressive nine strikes in 12 games but Greaves failed hopelessly to adapt to a different culture and hurried back home to sign for Spurs, where he became their record goalscorer and won two F.A. Cups and one European Cup Winners' Cup.
He played at two World Cups, famously catching an encroaching dog at Chile 1962 and playing in England's three first-round matches in '66.
Subsequently dropped by Alf Ramsey, Greaves' miserable face at the final whistle as England won the Jules Rimet trophy, was unforgettable. He did not attend the after party and his perceived failure lived with him. 43 years later, in 2009, he was at last awarded a winners' medal.
He had famously battled alcoholism and bankruptcy in the 1970s as his career petered out but conquered both to reinvent himself in the '80s as a pally, vaudevillian pundit alongside the laughing Ian St John, who passed away earlier this year, on ITV's Saint & Greavsie show, cementing a different Jimmy Greaves into the minds of a younger generation who had never seen him play.
In later years he would periodically appear in the tabloids with reactionary political opinions or would admit he had fallen so out of love with football that he preferred watching cricket and rugby instead.
In his final year he at last achieved national recognition with an MBE. He remains in football history as a pure goal machine, probably the best England has ever made.
A schoolteacher of mine told us, "If the ball ever fell to him in the box, Greaves would always get it in."
How fitting that today his two main former clubs, Spurs and Chelsea, play each other in London.
A COMBINED AGE OF 99 IS NO OBSTACLE TO FOOTBALLING GLORY
Last time I was in Colombia, two years ago, my wife's little nephew Felipe told me a joke:
"Why didn't Messi want to baptize his son? - Because he didn't want him to be a Cristiano" (it works better in Spanish).
The thing was, Felipe had no interest in football, but the fame of the two titans of the modern game had found its way into the eight year old's jokes cabinet.
The Argentine and the Portuguese have bestrode the sport for the past decade as outstanding individuals at excellent clubs, although have struggled to translate their greatness to their national teams.
Lionel Messi seemed embossed into the crest of FC Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo looked similarly chiselled into the keystone of Real Madrid. But CR7 upped sticks for Juventus three seasons ago and last month rejoined Manchester United, while Messi has stunned the world by swapping the Camp Nou for the Parc des Princes.
This week, both legends played in the Champions League. Neither won, but Ronaldo scored and Messi played his 150th game in the competition and his first for Paris Saint-Germain.
After their aeons of Spanish booty had become a defining narrative, you have to pinch yourself to realise neither is playing in La Liga anymore, after scoring 785 goals between them. Who are the biggest stars in Spain now? Gareth Bale, Antoine Griezmann or maybe the 36 year-old Luka Modric?
Using the Arsene Wenger forensic approach to transfers, when you sell your prize assets as soon as their value starts to diminish, offloading Messi & Ronaldo made perfect financial sense for the two giant clubs because the men in question are no spring chickens at 34 and 36 respectively.
But CR7 made a mockery of age on Saturday by netting two goals on his Man Utd return debut, outsprinting and outthinking much younger opponents. Three goals in his first two games for the Red Devils hint at many more to come.
The Madeiran veteran was also top scorer in Serie A last season and at Euro 2020, aged closer to 40 than 30. Messi, too, has plenty of gas left in the tank and a mind as fast as any footballer's. Last night he caused panic in the Brugge defence with his familiar dribbles and hit the bar for the Parisians with a typically powerful snapshot.
So why sell them now? For money of course, or the lack of it as reality has finally seemed to catch up with the two Spanish behemoths, whose serial indebtedness epitomised the ‘too big to fail' motto of irresponsible corporatism. Last season alone, Barcelona incurred a debt of half a billion Euros, more than enough to sink any normal business. Their total debt is more than double that.
La Liga is getting tougher with this reckless management and tightening salary requirements, which Barça boss Joan Laporta said meant Messi's wage packet alone would have constituted 110% of his club's total salary pot. Even a 50% salary reduction, the maximum legally allowed, would have left the blaugrana breaching the league rules.
Covid must also have been a factor, as a season without ticket revenue has hit football clubs as it has other businesses in the wallet. It was no coincidence that the desperate and ultimately doomed attempt at a breakaway league occurred during the pandemic.
The egregious Real owner Florentino Perez's plea of poverty was met with suitable derision but had a grain of truth, if he was planning on another summer spending spree despite having taken no money through the turnstiles.
Ronaldo’s €60 million salary of was also a drain on Juventus, who are roughly €400 million in the red, but unlike Messi who seemed glued to Catalonia and left only in tears, the Portuguese was apparently happy to depart Turin having finished fourth in Serie A and been knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter finals.
The Madeiran felt the need for yet more trophies in his twilight so he could end his career on a high and he felt there was more chance of that happening in England.
It is the end of a golden era for Spanish football, but Messi moving to France and Ronaldo back to England have enlivened those particular leagues unexpectedly.
From the perspectives of Paris and Manchester, there is plenty here to celebrate, as there is for the neutrals, who can enjoy two genuine greats in their enduring sunsets.
Leo Messi is playing alongside Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Sergio Ramos and finally won the Copa America this summer.
Messi and Ronaldo themselves have long been assured of seats in footballing Valhalla. Let us see how end their storied careers at new clubs and for the last time, at a World Cup finals next year in Qatar.
Fifa's World Rankings for September 2021 were published on September 16 at FIFA HQ in Zurich, Switzerland.
Belgium who exited Euro 2020 in the quarterfinals are still top followed by Brazil and England. England are presently in their highest position since September 2012.
France who lost in the round of 16 at Eiro 2020 to Switzerland fall to fourth. Euro 2020 winners Italy, Copa America winners Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, and Denmark round out the top 10.
Senegal are the top African team in 20th place. Wales remain in 19th with the USA now in 13th spot. Australia are in 32nd place; Japan drop to 26th position down two from August. Near neighbors South Korea are 36th in the list. Scotland are 45th. The Republic of Ireland are in 50th place, Northern Ireland are up to 47th.
1 Belgium
2 Brazil
3 England
4 France
5 Italy 6 Argentina 7 Spain 8 Portugal 9 Mexico
10 Denmark
11 The Netherlands
12 Uruguay
13 USA
14 Germany
15 Switzerland
16 Colombia
17 Croatia
18 Sweden 19 Wales
20 Senegal
Premier League launches Boot Out Piracy campaign in Hong Kong for a second year
The Premier League today launches the second season of its 'Boot Out Piracy' campaign in Hong Kong to raise awareness of the dangers of viewing pirate content, as well as the compromised viewing experience offered by illegal streams.
The campaign highlights the risks that fans face by watching Premier League matches via unauthorised websites or streaming devices, including potential exposure to malicious malware or ransomware, which increases their risk of data theft and fraud.
Their viewing experience is also likely to be disrupted by broken links, pop-up ads and delays.
The campaign will run across digital platforms, with content featuring some of the Premier League's top players including Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-Min.
This is the second time the campaign will run in Hong Kong, having first launched at the start of the 2020/2021 season. Outside of Hong Kong, 'Boot Out Piracy' will also run in Malaysia, Indonesia and, for the first time, Singapore.
Premier League General Counsel Kevin Plumb said: "We are launching the 'Boot Out Piracy' campaign in Hong Kong for the second year in a row to continue building awareness of the risks involved in watching Premier League matches via illegal streams. We know these sites often contain malicious content and it is important passionate Hong Kong football fans realise that watching Premier League matches through these operators brings security risks and an unreliable viewing experience.
"We are working together with our broadcast partners and local authorities in Hong Kong and throughout Asia to protect fans from accessing pirate sites so they can watch our matches in the best and safest way. Educating fans on the dangers of viewing pirated content is a core part of our anti-piracy programme as well as the significant legal actions we undertake such as blocking sites and the prosecution of sellers of illegal streaming devices."
External research has shown a clear link between watching pirated content - including pirated Premier League content - and cybersecurity issues. According to research findings from intellectual property and data analytics company, White Bullet Solutions, 60 per cent of the most popular pirate websites in Hong Kong for illegally watching Premier League content carried advertisements considered risky, containing either fraud, malware, adult or gambling content.
White Bullet Solutions founder and chief executive officer Peter Szyszko said: "It is important for people to understand that visiting pirate websites or using pirate apps will greatly increase the risk of falling victim to cybercrime. The type of malware and ransomware we find on pirate websites and apps can be very serious - visiting them can put at risk all sorts of personal or financial information. Our clear message to consumers would be to think twice before taking a big risk and searching for an illegal stream."
Raising awareness among fans of the risks posed by illegal streams is just one part of the Premier League's comprehensive anti-piracy work in the region. Since the establishment of its Asia-Pacific office more than two years ago, the Premier League has initiated blocking action against illegal websites in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, and has worked closely with local authorities to bring criminal action against website operators and suppliers of illicit streaming devices across the region, including in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The League is also a member of the Coalition Against Piracy which represents the creative industries across Asia-Pacific.
The 'Boot Out Piracy' campaign was developed with creative agency DDB Worldwide.
In Hong Kong, the campaign is a collaboration between the Premier League and local broadcast partner, Now TV, the Pay TV Platform under PCCW Media Limited.
Derek Choi, Head of Pay TV, PCCW Media Limited said: "We are very supportive of the Premier League's anti-piracy work in Hong Kong and the wider region. As the official broadcaster of the Premier League in Hong Kong, we are committed to providing Hong Kong's community of passionate football fans with a high-quality viewing experience of all 380 Premier League matches on both Now TV and Now E OTT Platform, with selected matches available live in 4K too."
CRISTIANO RONALDO IS REVVED UP AGAIN AT OLD TRAFFORD
Cristiano Ronaldo back in red
The faithful always want a second coming, but usually die without it ever happening.
But later today, the impossible becomes reality. The god who left for the stars has answered the prayers and returned.
Of the eight Premier League games kicking off tomorrow, there is no question that most eyes and ears will be trained to Manchester United v Newcastle United at three o'clock.
Cristiano Ronaldo has double the 18 years he had when he first stepped out on the turf for Alex Ferguson in 2003. His subsequent achievements, too many to mention, but he has won everything he has aimed for except the World Cup, place him in the pantheon of the greatest.
Perhaps the highest accolades of all were bagging last year's capocannoniere (league top scorer) trophy in Serie A with a phenomenal 29 goals for Juventus, and becoming the top scorer at Euro 2020, aged 36.
As a model professional obsessed with fitness and performance more than any other player, Ronaldo does not have a standard footballer's body or mind, which belies his advanced years.
He is the epitome of the self-made star, whose iron discipline and rigorous regimes saw him mature from a young wing wizard into a consummate centre forward with power and prowess in the air and rapier speed in the box, where he devours chances, as well as a specialist at free kicks, where he perfected a lethal technique.
Ronaldo can appear overly serious for our liking, at worse a robotic narcissist, in stark contrast with the boyishly charming Lionel Messi, the other outstanding player of his generation.
But his human side, evident in his love for his family and work for charity, was also to the fore when he admitted his fondness for his former club and its legendary manager Fergie were behind his return.
He may not be a complete sporting personality like Muhammad Ali was, but he remains, as the title of a recent BBC documentary on him said, impossible to ignore. As Ronaldo himself explained, "the numbers say everything."
Indeed they do and has there ever been such excitement at signing a man who will be 37 in a few months?
This event is an embrace of youth's unforgettable first-time feelings and a validation of dreams. Joining Manchester City would not have had anything so romantic about it. Some say you should never go back in life - nah, whatever.
Ronaldo's unexpected return to Old Trafford has created a real buzz across English football, and is a boost for the league after Messi chose France for his next chapter.
Most of us never expected the perma-tanned Madeiran to swap southern Europe for the rainy north-west of England after so many years in the sun, but we underestimated his love for Manchester and his youth as well as his need for fresh challenges and new silverware.
At both Real Madrid and in Turin he came, saw and conquered all right but got increasingly frustrated with colleagues around him while his employers worried about the drag of his salary on the club finances.
Amid the fervour in the red half of Manchester, it is important to remember Ronaldo has not come back 'home' to go gently into that good night. The Portuguese is a ruthless winner and has returned to bag more trophies, sensing the Red Devils are catching fire again under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
While the new dynamic with his former teammate will be fascinating, so too will his presence in the dressing room with senior players like Edinson Cavani and Paul Pogba. One senses his name is just too big for him not to be looked up to by all the others or not given free rein in the starting eleven.
When he began in Manchester back in 2003 he was an aspiring teenager, deferring to the established players. Now his presence will tower over all the others.
Ruud Gullitt made a disastrous return to Milan in 1994 when his leader's attitude met with a hostile new dressing room. Ronaldo will surely not make the same error as his desire for glory in his twilight years is too fierce.
Pity Newcastle this afternoon. The poor magpies seem to have landed in a no-win situation through no fault of their own.
Today will be the day of the homecoming king. CR7 has turned the clock back twelve years.
A TRIO OF UEFA QUALIFIERS IN THE RACE FOR QATAR 2022
Qatar 2022
The first European international action since Euro 2020 has been a welcome return to normal service after the empty stadia of the summer and the fire and fury of the final day in London.
After the belated Euros, they halfway point in the World Cup qualifiers reminds us that Qatar 2022 is only 14 months away, a wake-up call that places are up for grabs.
With only the first in each qualifying group guaranteed a place in the finals, as it stands the UEFA representatives at the World Cup finals next year will be:
PORTUGAL, SPAIN, ITALY, FRANCE, BELGIUM, DENMARK, ITALY, NETHERLANDS, CROATIA, ENGLAND and GERMANY.
That is pretty much the usual suspects, but there will also be three other European qualifiers, drawn from a repechage featuring the ten second-place sides and two Nations League group winners.
The Azzurri surprisingly drew twice, still hungover from their glorious summer perhaps, but woke up by thumping Lithuania 5-0 in their third joust. Top of their group, Italy could still be pipped at the post by Switzerland for automatic qualification for Qatar.
Losing Euro finalists England have scored ten in three games with one in reply, picking up more smoothly from their ultimately unsuccessful summer campaign.
The Three Lions' 4-0 win in Budapest was an impressive scoreline but what on earth were Hungary doing sitting back from the start instead of tapping into the raucous crowd in the Ferenk Puskas Arena which had helped them so much in the Euros?
The Road to Qatar
Parking the bus and hoping for a lucky break makes sense if you are the calibre of Andorra, Gibraltar, Lichtenstein et al but not if you took points off France and Germany only a few weeks ago.
Gareth Southgate's star waned a little when England conceded an injury-time equaliser against Poland this evening, having oddly passed on making any substitutions to use up the dying seconds.
Of the other Euro stars, semi-finalists Denmark are the only side with maximum points from the first six games. Seven points clear of Scotland, the Roligans can reasonably start planning a winter getaway in the Middle East next year.
Spain, Euro 2020 semi-finalists, looked set to be leapfrogged on top of Group B by Sweden, who beat La Roja 2-1 in Stockholm, inflicting La Roja's first World Cup qualifying loss since 1993, but the Scandinavians surprisingly lost 2-1 at home to Greece on Wednesday to leave the gap at four points with two games in hand.
The most unlikely second-placed team in the UEFA qualifiers is probably Armenia in Group J, four points behind Germany after home wins over Iceland and Romania, but a disappointing home draw against Liechtenstein.
With only the group winners guaranteed a place in Qatar, Group G is finely poised with the Dutch and Norwegians level on points, as is the case in Group H with Croatia and Russia tied at the top.
Portugal, with the evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo aiming for a final World Cup next year, lead Serbia by two points in Group A.
Fifa's World Rankings for August 2021 were published on August 12 at FIFA HQ in Zurich, Switzerland.
There is quite a lot of change in the top 20 positions from May following Euro 2020 and Copa America. Belgium who exited Euro 2020 in the quarterfinals are still top followed by Brazil and France who lost in the round of 16 to Switzerland. England, Euro 2020 winners Italy, Copa America winners Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, USA.
Senegal are the top African team in 21st place. England remains in 4th. Wales are 19th with the USA in 10th spot. Australia are in 35th place; Japan are in 24th position. Near neighbors South Korea are 36th in the list. Scotland are 49th. The Republic of Ireland are in 47th place, Northern Ireland are 51st.
1 Belgium
2 Brazil 3 France 4 England 5 Italy 6 Argentina 7 Spain 8 Portugal 9 Mexico 10 USA 11 Denmark 12 The Netherlands 13 Uruguay 14 Switzerland 15 Colombia 16 Germany 17 Sweden 18 Croatia 19 Wales 20 Chile
LFC Foundation and Right To Play Launch Bangkok COVID-19 Emergency Appeal
LFC Foundation and global children’s charity Right To Play are urgently seeking funding for their Side by Side communities in Thailand, as the country experiences a devastating fourth wave of Coronavirus.
The Reds official charity, LFC Foundation, and Right To Play work in partnership to deliver the Side by Side programme, which uses the power of sport and play to help vulnerable children in Liverpool and Bangkok.
The need for support is more important than ever in these challenging times as the devastating impact of the pandemic continues to make children and their families lives harder every single day.
Thailand is currently experiencing a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daily cases are now exceeding 17,000 and total infections sit at over 500,000 cases with less than 10 percent of the 66 million population vaccinated.
Among the hardest hit regions is Bangkok, including the communities of Suanploo, Haroon, Rongmoo and Rim Thang Rotfai Sai Tha Rua, where Right To Play and LFC Foundation are working with vulnerable children and communities.
In these communities, many people live a hand-to-mouth existence, and for many a positive COVID-19 case in their family means they cannot earn a living if they isolate themselves according to COVID-19 measures.
Not only are there significant health risks in the cramped communities, but worryingly, children and parents have reported to Right To Play that they do not have enough food.
Right To Play and LFC Foundation are asking fans to stand Side by Side with them to help raise £50,000 so they can continue to support vulnerable children and families in Thailand.
The appeal, which is live now, is open until 31 August 2021.
Right To Play and LFC Foundation will use the funds and support the Side by Side communities by providing:
Dry food packages to families including rice, noodles, canned fish, beans and washing powder
COVID-19 prevention supplies to households, such as disinfectant sprays, masks and test kits
Online activities for children so they can continue to learn remotely
Play at home kits for children so they can take part in fun activities at home and alleviate psychological stress.
After successfully defended the Hong Kong Premier League title in May, Kitchee played recently in the AFC Champions League 2021 (“ACL 2021”) in Thailand and finished with 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, with 11 points against teams from Japan, Thailand and China. History was made for Hong Kong as this is the best-ever results by any local club in this prestigious Asian club competition. It successfully demonstrated the improving level of Hong Kong football in Asia.
Interim Head Coach
Armed with this experience, Kitchee aims to make it through to the knockout stage in future ACL competitions which will require all-round improving performance from their young players.
The Club expanded the coaching team immediately after ACL 2021, with each member taking on more refined responsibilities focusing in improving young players.
To this end, Alex Chu Chi-kwong, Head Coach of Kitchee First Team, will temporarily step down from the First Team and return to his original position as Director of Football until the start of ACL 2022 with a strict focus on developing individual training programmes for the Club’s young players so that they may be better equipped for the upcoming ACL competitions.
Meanwhile, Kim Dong-jin, Assistant Coach of First Team, has been named the Interim Head Coach for Kitchee in the Hong Kong Premier League for the coming season.
Kitchee has won many local titles in recent years, including 8 league titles in the last 11 years. Alex was in charge of Kitchee’s first team on 5 of those 8 winning seasons, and he was awarded the “Best Coach of the Year” three times since the Hong Kong Premier League was formed in 2014.
Alex is also a prominent figure in Kitchee Academy, which develops and nurtures talents like Matthew Orr, Law Tsz-chun, Cheng Chin-lung, Ho Chun-ting, Clement Benhaddouche, and Ngan Cheuk-pan. These players all joined the Club for more than a decade and have been promoted to the First Team. Alex will take on this important task of implementing individual training programmes for our upcoming young players so that more young players will be ready for future ACL competitions.
Kim Dong-jin, Kitchee’s Interim Head Coach from Korea, played as a central defender and left-back in his professional career. In 2006-2009, Kim joined Zenit Saint Petersberg for three seasons and won several titles, including the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 2008.
Apart from Zenit Saint Petersberg, Kim also played for FC Seoul and Ulsan Hyundai in K-league. With over 60 international caps for Korea, Kim participated in two World Cups and two Olympics. In the season 2017-2018, Kim joined Kitchee and subsequently helped the Club to win the treble in two consecutive seasons. On 24 July 2019, Kim ended his 18-year professional career and made his final appearance as a footballer at the game against Manchester City for Kitchee, at which time he started his coaching career.
With Kim’s extensive experience, the Club is confident that the First Team will remain dominant in the domestic league and be ready to achieve greatness by shaping the players for the AFC Champions League 2022 and beyond.
Kitchee will start the pre-season training on 11 August at the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre with players returning from their respective summer break and quarantine in the coming week. The team will have several pre-season friendlies to warm up in before the season begins on 18 September.
