Benzema made his senior debut for Lyon during their triumphant 2004-05 Ligue 1 campaign. He played an increasingly significant role as they made history by winning the trophy seven times in succession.
He quickly became a world-class forward and started attracting attention from the top European clubs. Benzema made the switch from Lyon to Real Madrid in 2009 for a reported €35 million.
Since that move, he has never looked back. He has been one of the best Madrid players in the last decade. He was in Ronaldo’s shadow for the maximum part of his career but he has still scored an incredible 241 goals in 501 appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos.
Benzema said in an interview on the French club’s official YouTube channel: “Coming back to Lyon? It is often said to me. People know how attached I am to Lyon.”
“Coming back to Lyon immediately is not possible because I am in the best club in the world and I have a lot of things to do. But [I could] come back to Lyon and retire, why not?”
“Anyway, I will come back to Lyon, whether as a footballer or not. I am a Lyon lad, of course, and my brothers follow Ligue 1 closely. I like how Lyon approaches big games, you know they have what it takes to beat anybody, but then sometimes they come up against a weak team and lose. That annoys me more!”
Asked for the top three players he has played alongside, Benzema said: “The best three I’ve played with? It’s hard. There have been so many.”
“In France, I enjoyed playing with Juninho [Pernambucano] and [Sylvain] Wiltord. But in Madrid, there were a lot of good players. Cristiano Ronaldo, [Sergio] Ramos… It’s hard to choose. But I had the chance to play with very great players.”
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The Barcelona great is now the coach of Qatari club Al Sadd. After drawing curtains on his Camp Nou career, Xavi joined Al Sadd and is now coaching them.
Xavi Hernandez was the heartthrob of the Barcelona midfield. He dictated the play just like Guardiola did in his playing days. Under Guardiola’s coaching and Xavi’s control of the game, Barcelona had one of the most successful ears of their history.
Xavi was to Guardiola what Guardiola had been to Johan Cruyff. Now it seems Guardiola has passed the coaching gene to Xavi as well just like Cruyff did to him.
Xavi told Manchester City’s officials: “My concept is very similar. Guardiola also wants to be dominant, he wants to have the ball, strong possession, lots of attacking movements… It’s ultimately about being proactive within the game. It’s about skilfully attacking the opponent in a certain way. In this sense, it is not my idea.”
“I’ve learned a lot with Guardiola, from the way he is, the ambition he has, the desire and passion that he feels. He’s a football-obsessed tactician and it has been a pleasure to be around him.”
“We talk often. We’ve got a good relationship. We met up in the summer and grabbed a bite to eat, which was really nice. To be honest, I consider him the best coach in the world right now. So any knowledge he can impart to me will be more than welcome. It’s a privilege to have him around contributing ideas.”
Xavi further added: “With Guardiola as manager, I had no doubt [City would dominate]. Admittedly, the first year was tough for him because you always have to adapt to the different style and standards, even a different culture or background.”
“However, there was no question that Guardiola was going to be successful. I have said this many times before, and in many interviews: all he needed was time.”
Apparently, Xavi feels he is ready and wants to return to the Camp Nou to coach the players and guide them to greater successes.
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Apple recently released the first public betas of its iOS and iPadOS 13.4.5. Just a day before it, Apple developers received the second betas of the same.
At the first step of its public beta testing program, Apple is focusing to fix minor bugs, under-the-hood improvements, and small tweaks and changes. This software version may address a personal hotspot issue which prevents it to work for some people. Along with it, a VPN-related vulnerability is there.
The Apple users, registered for the public beta program, can download the betas of iOS or iPadOS 13.4.5 over the air. But before installing the version, they need to download a special certificate from Apple.
Through the first public beta version, Apple also brings a new feature in Apple Music. Now, users can share their favorite songs on Instagram Stories. After sharing a song, Apple Music will create an Instagram Story with the song title, album name, and animation at the back.
But this process can’t be reversed. That means, tapping on the shared Instagram Music Story will not return you to the Apple Music. Maybe this feature will be added later.
The iOS and iPadOS 13.4.5 can be the last update as Apple is shifting to work on iOS and iPadOS 14.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series was launched last year with a typical 3500mAh battery capacity and now Galaxy Club reported that Galaxy Note 20 (name not fixed) can come with a larger battery capacity.
It is reported by Galaxy Club that the Galaxy Note 20 (name not fixed) has a rated capacity of 3,880 mAh, meaning a typical capacity of around 4,000 mAh. They also mentioned that the phone will come with a model code EB-BN980ABY.
So accordingly if the normal Note 20 can feature 4000mAh battery then the Plus version of the series may even come with a larger battery than this. The later can feature a 4500mAh battery like the Galaxy S20+ or 5000mAh like the S20 Ultra.
The Galaxy Note 20 series is said to be launched in August amid COVID-19 pandemic and the details about the series are not enough. According to reports, earlier this month the 5G version of the Plus model of the series visited Geekbench and it has revealed some specifications about the device – Snapdragon 865+ SoC, Android 10, 8GB RAM, etc.
Pablo Mari used to play for Manchester City in his early days before moving to Flamengo. The 26-year-old joined Arsenal from Flamengo in January on a temporary deal until the end of the 2019-20 season.
He made his Arsenal debut in a 2-0 FA Cup win at Portsmouth on 2nd March. He also played the full 90 minutes as the Gunners overcame West Ham 1-0 in the final game of the Premier League before the coronavirus pandemic brought the season to a halt.
Mari told Sky Sports: “[Arteta] has done really well so far. I’m really happy to work with him. He has helped me with my weaknesses and improved the strengths. I hope I can work with him a lot of years.”
“I have a lot of things to learn but I think my football can be really good with the Arsenal. I hope the club and I can go at the end [of the season] with good things to do the permanent transfer. We will see what happens because at the moment with the virus it is difficult.”
“[My ambition is] To win the Premier League or try to go to the Champions League with the Arsenal. Also to go to the national team.”
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If you’re an Arsenal fan, then check this out: 1. Home Kit 2. Away Kit
After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially announced the extension of the lockdown till 3rd May, a meeting was held regarding the postponement of IPL 2020. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly along with the other board members made a decision.
According to various reports, the Sri Lanka cricket board has written to their Indian counterparts wherein they have offered to host the IPL. ESPNcricinfo quoted Shammi Silva, SLC president, as telling to Sinhala daily Lankadeepa: “Apparently it will cost the BCCI and its stakeholders more than $500 million to cancel the IPL. So perhaps they can minimise those losses by hosting the tournament in another country.”
“If they play it in Sri Lanka, it’s easy for Indian audiences to watch the games on TV. There’s precedent for this because they’ve played the IPL in South Africa before. We’re waiting for the Indian board to respond to our proposal.”
“If the Indian board does agree to play the tournament here, we’re ready to provide facilities in line with the requirements and recommendations of medical professionals. It would be a substantial source of income for Sri Lankan cricket as well.”
Sri Lanka has a very low rate of Coronavirus as compared to India. So this fact can help Sri Lanka to get the nod to host IPL 2020. On two past occasions, the IPL has been shifted out of India. The 2009 edition of the IPL was played in South Africa due to Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, the UAE hosted the first two weeks of IPL also because of the general assembly polls in India.
A senior Board official told news agency PTI on conditions of anonymity: “The BCCI will not be in a position to say anything when the world is closed.”
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The Coronavirus which originated from China’s Wuhan city has now become a pandemic. It has taken about 70,000 lives all around the world. In India, more than 14,000 people are affected and around 500 have died.
India has a huge population of around 138 crores. If this pandemic isn’t controlled in the early stages then it would be a massacre. All the sports, bollywood and famous personalities have come out to help the common people fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Indian Cricket team has come out with a video to motivate the people to wear masks. They made people aware of how one can make masks by sitting at home and also guided the public about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mygovIndia’s SethuAarogya mobile application.
The cricketers who had come for this noble cause included the likes of Indian men’s team skipper Virat Kohli, his deputy Rohit Sharma, veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh, former vice-captain Virender Sehwag, ex-skipper and current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, former captain and batting great Rahul Dravid, Indian women’s team star batter Smriti Mandhana, Indian women’s ODI captain Mithali Raj as well as T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and cricket legend & Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
The BCCI has also contributed Rs 51 crore to the Prime Ministers’ Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund.
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Luka Jovic burst onto the scene last season with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. He scored 27 goals in 2018-19. He was one of the sought after forwards in Europe. Real Madrid brought him to the Bernabeu at the beginning of this season. They see him as the long-term replacement for the ageing Benzema.
Jovic has failed to find his feet at the Bernabeu since his reported €60 million move. He has only scored 2 goals in 24 appearances before this season was halted due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
He has been linked to Borussia Dortmund as a possible makeweight in a deal to bring Erling Haaland to the Spanish capital. He has also emerged as a reported transfer target for Premier League club Arsenal.
Luka Jovic’s personal trainer Bojan Custic told Diario AS: “He [Jovic] has told me that he only wants to triumph at Real Madrid, have a great career and for the Bernabeu to chant his name. And he is sure that he is going to achieve all of that.”
“A lot of his team-mates are talking with him and trying to help him and he is absolutely fine. He is going to demonstrate his true potential, he just needs to be patient. He is in top shape and he feels healthy and well in every sense.”
“Luka trains at home for three hours every day. Every morning we have a one-hour session and in the afternoon, two hours of high-intensity training, a physically more demanding workout.”
“He has a treadmill at home, an exercise bike as well as other training equipment so we use all of that for our training sessions. We have been doing workouts that are specifically designed for footballers – thinking about the movements they make and what kind of exercise is required.
“Every 14 days we revise how his training sessions have gone and analyse his level of fitness.”
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T20 was still in its infancy in 2008 when Kolkata Knight Riders opener McCullum came to the crease, and there was little indication of what was to come when the New Zealander failed to score off his first six balls faced.
He soon got his eye in. McCullum would go on to smash 158 off 73 balls, including 13 sixes and 10 fours, as the Knight Riders cruised to a 140-run win against Royal Challengers Bangalore. It was a better start than even the IPL architects could have hoped for.
Brendon McCullum gave an interview to recollect his famous innings on the 18th April 2008. He is now the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders. The following is the conversation between the reporter and McCullum.
That mind-blowing first night of the Indian Premier League 2008 – The story never gets old. Can you take us through the memories?
McCullum: “Well, I never really got too nervous throughout my cricket career, but on that occasion, I’ll admit I was very nervous. I think none of us really knew what this tournament (the IPL) was going to be like. We all loved the idea of it, we loved the fanfare, but all the eyeballs of the cricketing world got turned towards Bangalore that night. I feel so lucky and privileged to have had the opportunity (to be a part of that spectacle) You talk about sliding doors, and moments in your careers and in lives. That night, my life changed completely in the space of those three hours or actually, even an hour-hour and a half.”
“Why was I the one who got that opportunity to be able to go and face (the) first (delivery) with Sourav Ganguly? How did I get a chance to play in the first game, have the first opportunity to bat in such a huge tournament for world cricket? How was I even able to grab that opportunity? How much luck did I have along the way? Honestly, I don’t know the answers to any of these, but what I do know is that it changed my life forever.”
“It changed my family’s life forever, and I feel very blessed and very humble and very lucky. What I did that night was something I didn’t think I was capable of achieving. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, that’s 100% sure. It was just a surreal moment in time where you just look back and say, ‘How lucky was I?’”
Do you recollect any specific reactions from your teammates or the owners on that night, which got embedded in your mind forever?
McCullum: “I was just a young kid back then, so I was so in awe of Shah Rukh Khan who was such a megastar. I was so out of my depth even just around the superstars in my cricket team, let alone the megastar who owned our cricket team! I don’t remember many reactions in detail, but what I do remember is what Sourav Ganguly said to me that night.”
“Dada said, ‘Your life is changed forever’, and I didn’t quite know what he meant at the time, but (in hindsight), I 100% agree with him. Shah Rukh, in the months which followed or the days and the weeks and the months which followed, he said. ‘you’ll always be with the Knight Riders.’“
“There were times when I was with KKR, and then I got released, but we always finished on really good terms. I was always very grateful, and thankful for the opportunity that the franchise had provided for me. So when an opportunity arose again (for the role of the head coach), I thought: ‘Well, Shah Rukh did say to me ‘You’ll always be very involved with KKR’ and this, I guess, is another opportunity.’”
“I find them (the entire KKR management) to be such great people, hopefully, we can have success for them on the field in the years to follow. We’re trying to play a style of cricket which is a great representation of the people of Bengal and also Shah Rukh, Jay (Mehta) and all those involved in the franchise. Hopefully, we will be successful, because I think we’ve got the right team for it as well.”
Currently, how are you dealing with Social Distancing and the Lockdown?
McCullum: “Well I guess we are all dealing with it in different ways, and every country has its own issues at the moment. It has definitely passed things slowly. I’m trying to enjoy the time that I’m getting at home with the family because in a funny way, we are all forced to really spend a lot of time with our loved ones which is fantastic. We probably don’t stop and take as much time to appreciate that. When we are on the other side of this pandemic and hopefully, we haven’t lost too many lives, and things are returning to normal in the schedule of all of us cricket coaches, commentators and people all around involved in the game, it’s going to get pretty intense. So I’m trying to just enjoy the break for now.”
Sachin Tendulkar recently spoke about approaching these difficult times with a session-by-session approach. What’s your take on that?
McCullum: “I agree with Sachin. I think you know we need to just try and break this down, and try and look at it in isolation every time – just small steps like in a session by session (scenario). Deal with every day, make sure your days are well planned, well structured. I think that’s the best thing from what we’ve tried to do in our family as well. Every day, write a bit of a plan of what we’re going to trying to tick off and what we’re going to try and achieve. Funnily enough, we’ve done it around meal times – breakfast together, lunch together and then dinner together. Additionally, just sort of tick off some jobs outside, whether it’s cleaning out your wardrobes or whether it’s cleaning the roof or doing all the gutters or whatever, there’s always something to be done. Just as Sachin said, play it like a Test match and break it down into sessions.”
We noticed you’ve been following KKR’s new strength and condition trainer Chris Donaldson’s workout regimes quite diligently…
McCullum: “If you’re going to do a little bit of crime, you’ve got to do some time too! That’s exactly why Chris Donaldson, our trainer, who is also the New Zealand team’s trainer and a former Olympics sprinter, has been setting up sessions for all the (KKR) players.”
“I’ve sort of figured that as a coach, I can’t ask others to do what you’re not prepared to do yourself. So whilst I can’t do them as well as the players can, I can still put in a little bit of effort. I’ve also heard that the shirts this year – all our practice shirts and coaches shirts – are going to be very, very tight, so I need to make sure I’m not too fat as we head into the season!”
Only five men have recorded higher scores than McCullum’s knock since 12 years, but none have been as important as the display which showed the IPL was a force rather than a farce.
All the latest 2019-20 kits of football teams from all over the world are now available on Tech2Sports. Superior quality kits at the lowest price guaranteed. Show your support for your favourite club and country by wearing their colours.
During this pandemic situation, the only way we can meet our lovable ones is trough video or audio calls. So, the platforms providing these services become busier than before. As we all know, Facebook messenger, WhatsApp, Google Duo are some of the popular lists.
In comparison with other platforms, WhatsApp allows a very less number of members in a group video or audio calls. Which disappoints the users some time. As per reports, WhatsApp is preparing to rectify it.
By analyzing the latest beta version of WhatsApp, it is expected that developers are preparing the platform to allow more heads both in grouped video and audio calls. In case you don’t know the present limit, it is four max.
