TechnoSports Media Group

Category: Football

  • Spurs close to agreeing on a new contract with Korean Player of the Year, Heung-min Son

    Spurs close to agreeing on a new contract with Korean Player of the Year, Heung-min Son

    Tottenham Hotspur’s Heung-min Son managed to win the Korean Player of the Year award for the fifth time in his career, becoming the first-ever man to win the award so many times. 

    The forward has been on fire this season, and has been one of, if not the best player in the Premier League this season. 

    Son has managed to score 10 goals in the Premier League this season, and is the joint-second highest scorer in the league behind Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. In 12 matchdays so far, Spurs’ number 7 has also managed to set up 4 goals. 

    His newfound partnership with Harry Kane has been one of the most outstanding revelations of the 20/21 season so far. 

    The pair have managed to share 19 goal contributions between each other and are one of the main reasons why Spurs find themselves at the top of the Premier League table for the first time in so many years. 

    Spurs’s current situation, however amazing, has a problem in the absence of Champions League football. Players of Son and Kane’s calibre demand to compete in the top tier of European competition. 

    However, it is something that almost seems guaranteed for the London whites given their performances in the league so far this season. 

    With that said, the club is currently in negotiations with Son regarding a contract extension at Spurs, which will see him extend his stay at the club by 5 to 6 years, according to Fabrizio Romano’s “Here We Go” podcast on Patreon. 

    The Korean Player of the Year recently changed his agent, and they reportedly have very good working relations with Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy. All parties are very interested and happy about signing the new deal, and it is only a matter of time before the extension is official. 

  • Petr Cech returns to football with victory

    Petr Cech returns to football with victory

    The footballing world was sent into a frenzy after Petr Cech was included in Chelsea’s 25-man squad for the 20/21 season of the Premier League. 

    The legendary shotstopper put on his iconic helmet and a Chelsea shirt as he featured for the Under-23 Chelsea team that faced off against Spurs in Premier League 2. 

    “565 days after what I thought was my last game in professional football I had the opportunity to be back on the pitch … it felt so strange for the first 20 minutes as my “match system” I used to have while plying regularly was missing but as the game went on the feeling returned ,”match system” reappeared and it was great to have that special feeling again …. Well done to my teammates for turning the game round ! It was great to get the win and 3 important points to go top of the league!” 

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CIzCRmjJ1BJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    The returning legend didn’t manage to keep a clean sheet on his return to football and let in two goals. The first of which happened to be three minutes into the game. The Champions League victor took a bit of time to find his composure in the game. 

    However, he managed to hold the fort from there on out to help the Under 23s to a 3-2 comeback against their London rivals. 

    Fans will no doubt be hoping to see Cech making a first-team appearance for Chelsea sometime this season. However, the chances of that happening look extremely slim given the trio of younger keepers in front of him. 

    Danny Drinkwater also featured in the match against Spurs U23, and was sent off the pitch for violent conduct. 

  • Chinese football to take a massive hit with wage caps introduced

    Chinese football to take a massive hit with wage caps introduced

    China is one of the favourite destinations for veteran players to see out the final days of their playing career whilst making a good amount of money as well. However, that will soon no longer be the case with the latest reports coming out of the country. 

    At the end of the ongoing season, foreign player salaries are to be capped at €3 million (£2.7m) per year, and domestic players at 5 million yuan (£572,000) per year before tax.

    With the tax fees taken away from the final figure, players who earn a massive wage will either have to settle for the capped amount or move on. Former Chelsea midfielder Oscar, Hulk and Cedric Bakambu are among the players who have prematurely joined the Chinese League in an attempt to make the most of their playing career financially. 

    While there are a few speculated reasons as to why the salary cap was introduced, one of the most logical explanations is that of the finances being impacted heavily by the coronavirus pandemic. 

    With no spectators, clubs all across the globe are under severe financial pressure, and the clubs in China are no exception. 

    The move will no doubt be met with mixed reactions from all over the world. Some would say that Chinese, and in turn, Asian football will finally grow homegrown talent with the influx of foreigners now discouraged by the financial side of things. 

    However, another argument that goes against the decision will be the decline in standards and quality of football being played in China. The monetary side of things was one of the greatest charms of coming to the country, and with that gone, the sport is pretty sure to undergo a low phase in the coming years. 

  • Erling Haaland reveals he is content at Borussia Dortmund

    Erling Haaland reveals he is content at Borussia Dortmund

    Erling Haaland managed to bag the 2020 Golden Boy Award on the back of an outstanding breakthrough campaign that saw him net 44 goals and provide 10 assists across 40 games in all competitions for RB Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund.

    The Norwegian wonderkid currently finds himself second in the Bundesliga scoring charts with 10 goals to his name, behind Robert Lewandowski, who has managed to rack up 13 so far.

    Across all competitions, the goal machine has managed to find the back of the net 17 times and set up 3 goals in 14 appearances across all competitions. This puts his goals to games ratio over 1 again, a figure that has been reserved for some of the best finishers in the sport.

    Speaking on his future at Borussia Dortmund, here is what the 20-year-old had to say:

    “Have I been close to Juventus? That’s what they say, but I’ve never said it,” said Haaland in quotes reported by Tuttosport .

    “I’ve been at Borussia Dortmund for a year here, I’m fine here and I’m happy.”

    Haaland is under contract from Borussia Dortmund till 2024. However, he has a release clause in his contract that kicks in from the summer of 2022, and clubs will be able to realistically talk to him after paying Dortmund the fees.

    Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano recently talked about the striker in his “Here We Go” podcast exclusive to Patreon members. The journalist revealed that a move for Haaland to one of the biggest clubs in Europe was certainly on the cards in the future.

    https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1338593455581368321?s=20

    However, nothing is in the works right now. It is easy to forget that Dortmund only signed Haaland in January 2020, and it has not even been a year for the youngster in Germany.

    In any case, it seems ever so likely that he will end up at one of the clubs contesting for the Champions League since it is his ambition to climb the summit of the European mountain, while also winning the Ballon d’Or in the future.

  • Gareth Bale eyeing a sensational return to Real Madrid

    Gareth Bale eyeing a sensational return to Real Madrid

    Gareth Bale is reportedly eyeing a return to Real Madrid if Zinedine Zidane is sacked by the end of the season. According to a report from AS, the future of Gareth Bale is fully dependent on what decision is taken with Zinedine Zidane.

    Gareth Bale had found himself out of favour for Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane. He was benched by Zidane in the last few games of Real Madrid in La Liga and UCL games before the loan move to Tottenham Hotspur.

    Gareth Bale started his career at Southampton and then joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2007. He started his career as a left-back. But his excellent skills and scoring ability helped him to establish himself as a right-winger. In his 203 appearances for the North London side, he has already scored 55 goals. Then he made his move to Spain in 2013 to join Real Madrid.

    The 31-year-old winger wanted to get more playtime and returned back to London. But the situation has not changed yet. Gareth Bale is not the first choice of Jose Mourinho. He has made only 9 appearances this season. 6 of them in the UEFA Europa League. He has scored only 2 goals in 9 appearances.

    On the other hand, Zinedine Zidane is also on the verge of losing his job as Real Madrid is not looking in a good shape this season and can lose his job if the situation doesn’t get better. Then there will be a chance for Gareth Bale to return to Spain.  

  • Talking Points from the Champions League R16 draw

    Talking Points from the Champions League R16 draw

    The last 16 teams of the Champions League this season were drawn against each other in fixtures that were confirmed on Monday. Here, we have a look at some of the hottest talking points from the start of the Champions League knockout stages and the fixtures that will soon be played out to a conclusion.

    The Neymar-Messi Reunion

    The standout fixture from this year’s Round of 16 has to be Barcelona facing off against French champions Paris Saint-Germain. Their last encounter in the competition was La Remontada, where Barcelona managed to come back from a four-goal deficit in the first leg of the Champions League to beat Paris 6-5 on aggregate.

    Paris have not managed to beat Barcelona in any of their previous three meetings in the Champions League, losing on aggregate in 2012-13, 2014-15 and in 2016-17.

    via Champions League’s twitter

    This will be the first time that former Barcelona star Neymar will return to Camp Nou after his world record fee transfer to Paris following La Remontada in 2017.

    Chelsea Draw the Worst Tie

    Given the current situation, a tie against Atletico Madrid would be the most difficult in the Champions League, especially considering Barcelona’s lacklustre performances in recent weeks. The Stamford Bridge Blues will have to face off against the best defensive side in Europe right now, and the favourites to win LaLiga this season in Diego Simeone’s men.

    Chelsea won their group, ahead of Sevilla, Rennes and Krasnodar but have a daunting task of beating the Rojiblancos, who managed to progress deep into the competition and have had a brilliant start to the current season in the league.

    Sevilla Pitted Against Dortmund

    The excitement in football comes from having evenly contested matches on paper being played out in real life. The Kings of the Europa League have managed to seal their progress into the knockout stages this year, and find themselves up against the black and yellow club, who finished group winners.

    The recent sacking of Lucien Favre will only spice things up for fans of both teams, as well as the neutrals, adding a flavour of unpredictability to the fixture. The match holds much more value for Dortmund, as they have a flock of young talent who need exposure to Europe.

    No Easy Passage for Real Madrid

    Zinedine Zidane’s Los Blancos will be up against high flying underdogs Atalanta for a spot in the quarter-finals. However, it will not be easy as it seems on paper, with Madrid going through an unpredictable spell of form.

    Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior challenges Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian midfielder Dodo (L) during the UEFA Champions League group B football match between Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Valdebebas on the outskirts of Madrid on October 21, 2020. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

    Furthermore, Atalanta captain Papu Gomez is rumoured to be on his way out of the club, and this could really cause a huge dent in their aspirations of making it to the last eight. In any case, the attacking output of Atalanta is something that Zidane will have to prepare well for.

    ROUND OF 16 FIXTURES

    Leipzig vs Liverpool: 16 February & 10 March
    Barcelona vs Paris: 16 February & 10 March
    Porto vs Juventus: 17 February & 9 March
    Sevilla vs Dortmund: 17 February & 9 March
    Lazio vs Bayern: 23 February & 17 March
    Atlético vs Chelsea: 23 February & 17 March
    Mönchengladbach vs Man. City: 24 February & 16 March
    Atalanta vs Real Madrid: 24 February & 16 March

  • Arsenal technical director Edu backs Mikel Arteta despite losing streak

    Arsenal technical director Edu backs Mikel Arteta despite losing streak

    Arsenal have had a shocking spell of form in recent weeks, which has extended their winless home run to four matches. Their four defeats in their own backyard is something that has not happened for over 60 years. The Gunners most recently stumbled against a relegation-threatened Burnley.

    What was even more insulting was the fact that the North London outfit lost the game following an own goal from their captain, Aubameyang. They now find themselves 15th in the Premier League.

    Despite the lack of wins, as well as goals, technical director Edu is looking towards the silver lining.

    “I can see a big, big, big and beautiful future. It’s very strange to say that in this moment, but I have to be fair – that’s the way I see the photo. And I always believed, and knew, it’d be a big challenge.

    “We have to be patient. I know asking for patience for Arsenal is very strange because everyone has said that for long, long periods.

    “But I’m here today to give to you guys the word that everything is fine internally but the results aren’t coming, but I think we’re going to change it very soon.

    “I think the club needs stability right now, we have faced so many changes. It is not about Edu, Mikel, it is about stability. Now is the time to try and be a stable club in the old sense – externally and internally, we need that.

    “Since we arrived here we have been changing, changing, changing, now is time to be stable and together at the same time.”

    “The way I see things is very simple,” he continued. “It’s normal and easy to be driven by the results. But for me, the main point is when I see something in which I can see the future, see where we go, the way we’re building things, I’m sure we’re going to be fine in the future.

    https://twitter.com/Lukita_FC/status/1338344322983464962?s=20

    “Since I arrived here I knew it would be a challenge. If you see how many changes we had in these years … I really understand when you have a massive man here like Arsene Wenger and then we change to a new coach who started quite well, and then we changed Unai Emery.

    “Then Mikel came, so Mikel started. I knew it would be challenge, it’s not easy. But again the way we’re driving, the way we’re going, is making me believe a lot in the future.”

    “I see the players, everyone believing in what we are doing, and that’s the message. Because I started to hear from the outside, by the press, ‘players have a problem, some of the players not believing in Mikel, Mikel and David not talking…’ It’s not right.

    “Nothing happened like people are saying and I don’t want that kind of thing to build externally to something which is not true internally. I want people to understand that what we are doing here, we are in the process to have a beautiful future.

    “If you see how many young players get a chance. Joe Willock got a place, Emile Smith Rowe is starting to be on the bench, Ainsley Maitland-Niles start to be in the international team and Bukayo has been unbelievable.

    “There is a lot of them and don’t forget, Kieran Tierney is young, Gabriel is young, Gabriel Martinelli is young – we have a quite interesting future in the club when you are taking about these players – we have a beautiful future.”

  • Mino Raiola issued a new statement on Paul Pogba’s future

    Mino Raiola issued a new statement on Paul Pogba’s future

    Paul Pogba’s future at Manchester United may last long until next summer as per new comments made by his agent Mino Raiola.

    A few days back, Mino Raiola confirmed that his client’s stint at Manchester United has almost ended and he will not sign any new contract. In an interview with Tuttosport, Raiola said, “I can say that it’s over for Paul Pogba at Manchester United.

    “Paul is unhappy with Man United as he is no longer able to express himself in the way that he would like and as he is expected to. Paul needs a new team, a change of air. He is under contract for the next 18 months and it will expire in the summer of 2022.”

    “However, I think that the best solution for both Pogba and Man United is that he goes in the next transfer window. If not, the Old Trafford club knows that they risk losing him on a free transfer as it is not Paul’s intention to extend his contract.”

    But after an excellent display in the Manchester Derby, Paul Pogba stated not to concentrate on anything else as he will fight with everything for Manchester United. Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also bashed Pogba’s agent for his comment before a crucial Champions League game against RB Leipzig.

    But Mino Raiola commented on this again yesterday in the ‘Golden Boy Award’ ceremony. Raiola said, “In England, they’re very sensitive when you talk about Pogba. I’ve just expressed my thoughts.” 

    “I’ve said that Paul can leave in the summer, it’s hard to do top deals in January.”

    It will be interesting to see the response from Manchester United after this comment from Raiola.

  • AIFF issue statement following bad refereeing complaints in ISL

    AIFF issue statement following bad refereeing complaints in ISL

    Poor refereeing is becoming a big issue in Indian Super League this season. Multiple teams have openly complained against the poor refereeing.

    Chennaiyin FC, before their match against North-East United FC, posted a video on social media. In the video, they showed three penalty shouts that were denied. Chennaiyin FC captioned the video as, ‘Ready to give it our all and overcome all obstacles today!’

    SC East Bengal boss Robbie Fowler, after the match against North-East United FC, demanded VAR in ISL. SC East Bengal already lodged a complaint officially to AIFF.

    Fowler stated, “We have suffered in the last three matches so after yesterday’s match (Jamshedpur FC match) we have shared our feedback with AIFF, Hopefully, it will be taken into consideration to enhance the quality of referee to maintain the spirit of the game during the remainder of the tournament.”

    “This is a process that is available to every club where they can share feedback about the officials with the federation.”

    Today AIFF finally respond to all the complaints. AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said, “To be honest, we’ve had problems with refereeing, not just this season but previously too. But the AIFF, FSDL, and PGMOL have started the process of improving referees, coaching them. It will take some time for the results to show.”
    “When PGMOL started the whole program, it took four to five years before the results started showing. We are working very closely together.”- he added.

    According to AIFF, VAR will cost 15-20 lakhs per match and 15-20 crore per season. But it will take time to install.

    Some suggest bringing foreign referees as well. In response, Kushal Das said, “It’s not easy to bring in foreign referees these days. Even if we do, that’s probably not a long-term solution. We need to have development here, referee coaching programs here. We have to look at a slightly long-term perspective and try to improve. The work has started.”

    How long can you get foreign referees? The most important aspect is to develop our own referees. Even if you get foreign referees, they can officials only certain matches. It’s financially not feasible. The process of developing (referees) has already started and in due course, the result will show.” 

    Source

  • La Liga announce Ultimate Xpert competition to be held in India via Instagram

    La Liga announce Ultimate Xpert competition to be held in India via Instagram

    In India, Facebook holds the exclusive rights to broadcast La Liga matches, with the social media platform streaming live games through the Facebook Live feature. The Spanish League and Facebook are now building on their partnership by announcing the ‘LaLiga Ultimate Xpert’ contest.

    The idea is similar to that of the pre-existing La Liga experience, however, the concept will now be featuring a brand new format and will be held throughout the current football season.

    The contest will be held on La Liga’s official page where fans can answer trivia questions and try to win exciting prizes offered by the League.

    FC Barcelona reveals their 20/21 home jersey

    Winners and runners up of the contest will be receiving various pieces of merchandise, including a La Liga club jersey and a PUMA match ball. The contest is scheduled to start around matchday 13 and will be completely held through the digital platform.

    Jose Antonio Cachaza, Managing Director, LaLiga India said “It is our constant effort to bring engaging and exciting content closer to fans, and never has it been so important for us to engage with our fans in newer ways. In a situation as difficult as the current one, fans will be able to learn about all Clubs and regions of Spain.

    “We hope that these initiatives will further expand our fan base to a much larger and diverse audience and help us spread the happiness of football”

    The first questions for the competition are set to be asked by Barcelona and La Liga legend, Carles Puyol. After the legend has inaugurated the early knockings of the competition, the questions will then be asked by La Liga representatives or players of different clubs themselves.

    A lucky draw is scheduled to be held later on in the season to determine the recipients of a trip to Spain to experience the league firsthand when travelling is favourable.