9 h. ago Luka Modric’s Milan move proves that a slower Serie A still has plenty of cachet | Jonathan Wilson

Ballon d’Or winner becomes the latest veteran, after Kevin De Bruyne, to be pulled in by Italian game’s leisurely pace of lifeLuka Modric will turn 40 in September. He has played 930 games over the course of a career and has won seven league titles and six Champions Leagues. He even broke the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly to claim the Ballon d’Or after inspiring Croatia to the World Cup final in 2018.He rarely lasts a full 90 minutes these days, didn’t start a game during the Club World Cup and was spared the indignity of coming on for his Madrid farewell with the semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain long since lost. He could have retired five years ago and still been one of the most respected players in the history of the game but, his eyes on next summer’s World Cup, when his contract at Real Madrid expired Modric chose to join Milan. Continue reading...

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29 h. ago Theleo Aasgaard on his Rangers transfer chance and Shaun Maloney influence

He idolised Steven Gerrard and Luka Modric but it's the former Wigan boss that gave his career a jolt

Politics

29 h. ago Thelo Aasgaard on his Rangers transfer chance and Shaun Maloney influence

He idolised Steven Gerrard and Luka Modric but it's the former Wigan boss that gave his career a jolt

Politics

5 d. ago British figure skating duo set for Milan hoping to prove there is more to pairs

British team Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby are on a mission to prove there is more to their sport than step sequences and Bolero’s.

Politics

5 d. ago ‘Extraordinary’ Luka Modric to join AC Milan after leaving Real Madrid

The Croatian midfielder will bring his 13-year spell in the Spanish capital to an end after the Club World Cup

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5 d. ago Luka Modric joining Milan from Real Madrid after Club World Cup, Allegri confirms

Manager describes 39-year-old as ‘extraordinary player’Allegri says Maignan and Leão seem willing to stayReal Madrid’s captain Luka Modric will join Milan after the Club World Cup, the Serie A club’s manager, Massimiliano Allegri, confirmed on Monday.The 39-year-old midfielder announced in May that he would be leaving Madrid after the tournament. Madrid face Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals on Wednesday, with the final scheduled for Sunday. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago The US national team lost regional superiority, but gained some World Cup hope

The US lost a final but gained competitive options at multiple positions, which should make some entrenched yet absent stars nervous. Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson hereIn the end, the status quo went unchanged. Mexico won its second consecutive Concacaf Gold Cup trophy in a heated final with the United States in Houston’s NRG Stadium on Sunday. The oddly angular cup will be tucked into Mexico’s federation trophy case next to El Tri’s first Concacaf Nations League title, lifted in March. The program was unquestionably on top of Concacaf before the Gold Cup – now that it’s over, they still are.If anything is changing, it’s the momentum in Mexico’s favor. The 2-1 victory over the United States men’s national team was the first time the Mexicans vanquished their arch-rivals in six years – minus one day. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Chelsea: Massimiliano Allegri confirms Mike Maignan to stay at AC Milan as Luka Modric arrival date revealed

The deal fell through on deadline day

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3 w. ago Fifa’s embrace of cult of celebrity reveals a fundamental tension at the heart of the game | Jonathan Wilson

The individual walk-ons at Club World Cup underline Fifa’s failure to understand that football is a team sport – just ask PSGIt is in the details that the truest picture emerges. Quite aside from the endless politicking, the forever-war with Uefa, the consorting with autocrats and the intriguing broadcast rights and partnership deals, there has been, not a new, but growing sense during the Club World Cup that Fifa doesn’t really get football. There is something cargo-cultish about it, creating outcomes without engaging in processes.Perhaps that is inevitable with Gianni Infantino’s style of leadership; like all populists, he is big on vision and short on practical reality. It was there in the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams. Continue reading...

Sport

3 w. ago Swansea City's powerful pull, the European factor and Luka Modric's role in it all

Swansea has become a significantly more appealing destination for players in recent weeks

Politics

3 w. ago Harry Darling confirms Swansea City exit despite Luka Modric intervention

The centre-back is now expected to join Norwich on a free transfer

Politics

3 w. ago No kings, few fans: USA’s year of World Cups gets off to a flat start

Fifa’s much-hyped Club World Cup and Concacaf’s Gold Cup opened to crowds far short of what organizers might have hopedSign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson hereThat the two events should coincide was so perfect as to almost feel heavy-handed. Donald Trump’s comically underattended military parade lurched through Washington DC at the exact same time on Saturday as the overwrought opening ceremony unspooled for Fifa’s beleaguered Club World Cup, in a definitely-not-full Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.Trump’s jingoistic birthday bust contrasted painfully with the multimillion-strong turnout at the “No Kings” anti-Trump rallies that gathered all over the country. The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, meanwhile – or “Johnny”, as Trump pronounces the name of one of his favorite allies in the sports world – had promised the opening match of the swollen tournament he forced down the soccer world’s throat would be sold out. Instead, attendance between Inter Miami and Al Ahly, a fitting 0-0 st...

Politics

3 w. ago Gareth Bale to front stunning takeover of EFL club as 'behind the scenes' talks begin

Gareth Bale could make a stunning return to football by following in the footsteps of his former Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modric

Politics

last month Thomas Frank is just what Tottenham need but will he be given time to prove it? | Jonathan Wilson

Manager is flexible but a slow starter with limited experience in Europe, and arrives as the love still lingers for former managerBrøndby appointed Thomas Frank as manager in June 2013 and did not win any of their first eight games of the 2013-14 season. Brentford appointed Frank as manager in October 2018 and lost eight of their following 10 games. So nobody should panic if Frank begins slowly at Tottenham.In reality, though, the first couple of months will be a major challenge for the Dane. These are not easy circumstances for anybody to take the Spurs job. Usually a manager takes over after a run of poor form, with fans and players ready for a change and a regression to the mean in the offing. Spurs have been on a run of poor form: one win in 12 league games over the final three months of the season, but in that time they also won the Europa League, which means everything is seen in a different light. Continue reading...

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