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The National
5 hours ago
- Sport
- The National
Man City's first game in Atlanta should be the stuff of legend, yet barely warrants a historical footnote now
Monday morning may be a time for doing things differently for football fans following the Club World Cup from the Gulf. That will be the moment when Al Ain, 2024 AFC Champions League winners, take on Manchester City, 2023 Uefa Champions League winners, in a Club World Cup Group G fixture in Atlanta. City won their first group game, while Al Ain slipped to a heavy defeat by Italian giants Juventus. If the consensus is that you should win your second game in the group stages of summer tournament football, then everything will be to play for in Georgia, in a game that kicks off at 5am UAE time. For those looking to be guided by history, the precedents for City appearing in Atlanta and playing Al Ain provided a mixed bag. Many people may remember the first time these two sides met, in a post-season friendly 11 years ago, when newly crowned English champions City beat Al Ain 3-0 before a capacity crowd at the recently opened Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. The National 's match report from May 2014 noted that the two sides 'put on a show. City were serenaded as much as their Garden City counterparts, each flick or piece of skill celebrated irrespective of the performer'. It was genuinely a joyous post-season match, capped by City's club captain Vincent Kompany, who did not feature in the game, doing a ceremonial lift of the Premier League trophy for delighted fans only days after securing the title in England. Goalkeeper Joe Hart raised the League Cup aloft for good measure. The first time City played in Atlanta, their destination on Monday, the side were also champions of England, having won the title on the final day of the 1967-68 season, but the match didn't pan out in quite the same way. This was the City team that the late sportswriter James Lawton once described as capable of playing the beautiful game with 'heartbreaking ambition'. Yes, they really were that good, but in the summer of 1968 – a period of disruption, protest and change in the US – City were humbled by the Atlanta Chiefs, the champions-elect of the North American Soccer League. The contest was billed in local media as the Chiefs playing their 'first international match against the number one team in England and one of the best teams in the world' when it was announced in the spring. City went on to play a handful of other matches on their North American tour. Any suggestion that the Atlanta side might give City a decent game was described as an 'impossible dream' in the build-up to the match. As is often the case in football, the sporting script writers had other ideas. City went a goal up early on, but Atlanta were on level terms by half time. The home side scored two more goals in the second half, before Francis Lee stole a late consolation for City. The match finished 3-2 to the Chiefs and Jesse Outlar's column for The Atlanta Constitution the following day mentioned how 'excited boosters mobbed the Chiefs' after the final whistle and declared that the big crowd at the game 'couldn't have cheered louder if the Braves had won the seventh game of the World Series'. The Chiefs won the inaugural NASL title later that year, but went out of business in 1981, although soccer thrives in the city in the modern day and Atlanta United won the MLS Cup in 2018. For those looking to be guided by history, the precedents for City appearing in Atlanta and playing Al Ain provided a mixed bag Sixties City's Atlanta story should have ended there, but the club's mercurial management duo of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison delivered another twist in this tale, requesting and securing a rematch before they flew back to the UK in the middle of June, such was the upset and shock caused by the result of the first game. On the day of the game, The Atlanta Journal, the city's afternoon newspaper at the time before it merged with The Atlanta Constitution to become The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ran an open letter to American football fans penned by a Manchester Evening News journalist. The letter's headline was blunt and direct. 'Manchester City will massacre Chiefs', even, it said, in the absence of four of the team's top players due to international commitments or non-availability for the overseas trip. City lost the rematch 2-1. Star striker Lee made a passing post-match reference to the Manchester side being unable to cope with the summer heat, but was also gracious in defeat, conceding that 'Atlanta played well, really well'. Grainy black-and-white television footage of the game exists on YouTube, although it provides a stark reminder of how difficult the game is to follow when it is stripped of colour and multiple camera angles. Within a few years, guides to that era would only refer fleetingly to City's 'disastrous" overseas tour of 1968, without going into any further detail. City returned to Atlanta in 2010 for the pre-season International Soccer Challenge as part of a longer US tour, where they played out a score draw with Mexico's Club America, although the Manchester club won the game on penalties. History may not be the best guide to what may happen this month, although we can say with certainty there will be no rematch in Atlanta this year, whatever the result on Monday. One might also add that the summer of 1968 really was a different time.
Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Juventus thump Al Ain in Club World Cup
JuventusPortuguese forward Francisco Conceicao celebrated with Randal Kolo Muani as they thrashed Al Ain in Washington. Photo: AFP Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao both bagged braces as Juventus hammered Al Ain 5-0 on Wednesday in their Club World Cup opener following a trip to the White House. The Italian giants, who sent a delegation to visit US President Donald Trump earlier in the day, cruised to the top of Group G above Manchester City, who beat Wydad AC. Some Juventus players and staff were asked by Trump, whom they presented with a club shirt, whether they thought a woman would be able to make their first team. Trump appeared to be making a point against transgender athletes. Juve general manager Damien Comolli replied that the club had a "very good women's team". The Juventus players stayed silent but were far more comfortable speaking on the pitch as they dismantled UAE's Al Ain at Audi Field in front of 18,000 fans. Kolo Muani, who extended his loan from Paris Saint-Germain to play in the tournament in the United States, opened the scoring after 11 minutes with a header from Alberto Costa's cross. Juventus doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Conceicao, on loan from Porto, skipped away from one defender in the box before firing home with the help of a deflection. Turkish forward Kenan Yildiz netted the third after 31 minutes, carving out some space on the edge of the box and drilling in at the near post. French striker Kolo Muani grabbed his second with a deft finish in first-half stoppage time to pile on the misery for Al Ain. Kouame Autonne had a goal disallowed for offside for the UAE side before Conceicao struck again, benefitting from another slight deflection. Kolo Muani might have completed his hat-trick when sent through but goalkeeper Rui Patricio shut him down well, and Douglas Luiz blasted narrowly off-target late on. Juventus, who finished fourth in Serie A, are hoping to make up for a trophyless season with success in the United States this summer. Frustrated Madrid Federico Valverde missed a stoppage-time penalty as Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal in the Club World Cup on Wednesday. A large contingent of Real fans in a crowd of 62,415 at the Hard Rock Stadium were left frustrated after new manager Xabi Alonso's first game in charged ended with the points shared. For the Saudi club, with Italian Simone Inzaghi also making his debut on the bench, it was an impressive performance where they caused Real's defence plenty of problems before securing a hugely encouraging surprise result. Al-Hilal started off in effervescent fashion and went close in the 19th minute when Salem Aldawsari volleyed back in to the box and Marcos Leonardo's effort flew just wide. Renan Lodi had the ball in the net for the Saudi side but the effort was ruled out for offside from another dangerous break Aldawsari showed his pace but dragged his shot just wide. Real gradually gained more control over the game and Rodrygo went close in the 31st minute when he cut in from the right and his left-foot effort zipped just over the bar. But Real's quality was starting to shine through and they grabbed the lead in the 34th minute. Gonzalo, starting in place of the absent Kylian Mbappe, started the break from deep and a clever exchange of passes concluded with Rodrygo drilling a low ball into the box where Gonzalo, who had continued his run, provided a delicate finish. It was a classic counter-attacking goal but it did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the Saudi side who continued to press forward with energy. Four minutes before the break, they drew level when Raul Asencio was ruled to have pulled down Marcos Leonardo and Portugal international Ruben Neves calmly tucked away the penalty. The dangerous Aldawsari, who scored the winner for Saudi Arabia in their upset win over Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar, threatened again just before the break. But Real came out strongly after the interval with Arda Guler introduced at the break rattling the bar with a volley from a Vinicius Jr. cross. Moments later, Gonzalo brought a fine save out of Yassine Bounou with a firm header from a Vinicius crosss and then Valverde flashed a shot wide from 25 yards out.
Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Pep Guardiola hails new City signings
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola hailed the impact of the new signings who came straight into the team for the 2-0 win over Wydad Casablanca in their opening match at the Club World Cup on Wednesday. Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and France attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki both started the game on a hot afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia after joining in the run-up to the tournament from AC Milan and Lyon respectively. "He is a really, really good player. You feel it, you smell it. The pace, in the final third, with the ball, when he will get a little bit more rhythm, he will be top," Guardiola said of Reijnders, 26, who played the whole game in sapping conditions. Brought in to help fill the huge void left by Kevin De Bruyne's departure, the 21-year-old Cherki lasted an hour before being substituted as City eased to victory in the Group G contest thanks to first-half goals by Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku. "Of course Kevin is difficult to replace, we know that, for the quality that he has," Guardiola said. "There is no doubt about that but at the same time the club decided on Rayan because he has incredible skills close to the box, incredible vision, many things. "This was just the first game, in really tough conditions, and I am really pleased he is here."There was an experimental look to the City line-up against the Moroccan side, with young Brazilian defender Vitor Reis starting for just the third time since signing in January while Nathan Ake made a first appearance for his club since late February. The five most-used outfield players for City over the course of the last campaign — Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan — were all on the bench at kick-off. New signing Rayan Ait-Nouri was an unused substitute, but Guardiola suggested that he will change almost his entire team for the next game, against Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday. "We had new players, players playing in different positions. Vitor Reis played a really good game, Nathan Ake was three, four or five months without playing, so many players we needed to give them minutes," Guardiola said. "The next game 10 new players (are) going to be there and we will try to win the next one." City will be without Rico Lewis due to suspension for the clash with Al Ain after he was sent off late on against Wydad. If that was a source of frustration for the coach, Foden's performance was encouraging as the England star scored the first goal and made the second. "Obviously last season wasn't the best for me so I put it in my head to start the season strong and I am happy today that I managed to score and get an assist and help the team win," said Foden. "Last season was a bit rough for all of us but it is about trying to go again this season, with the new signings to help us, and trying to win trophies again."
Los Angeles Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Juventus players befuddled by visit with Trump at White House: ‘I just want to play football, man'
Members of the Italian soccer team Juventus visited with President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon. Exactly why the gathering took place remains largely a mystery. Six of the team's players (Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Manuel Locatelli, Federico Gatti, Teun Koopmeiners and Dusan Vlahovic), their coach Igor Tudor, a handful of team executives and FIFA president Gianni Infantino stopped by hours before Juventus' FIFA Club World Cup game against United Arab Emirates' Al Ain that night at Audi Field. Trump was presented with a Juventus jersey and one for next year's World Cup, which the United States will be co-host with Canada and Mexico. But as Trump took questions from the media for about 15 minutes during the event, very little soccer was discussed. Instead, the players stood behind him patiently — fidgeting now and then, their faces mainly expressionless — as Trump answered questions that mostly related to the potential of U.S. involvement in Israel's war against Iran. Later that night, speaking to a different group of reporters after his team's 5-0 victory over Al Ain, Weah called the White House experience 'a bit weird' and implied he and the other players weren't given the option of declining the visit. 'They told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go,' said Weah, a U.S. men's national team member whose father George is a past winner of the prestigious France Football Ballon d'Or award and was the president of Liberia from 2018-2024. 'So [I] showed up.' FIFA declined to comment. The White House and Juventus did not respond to requests for comment from The Times. While Weah said he thought his first White House visit 'was a cool experience,' he added that 'I'm not one for the politics, so it wasn't that exciting.' 'When [Trump] started talking about all the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of like, I just want to play football, man,' Weah said. Fellow USMNT player McKennie had made critical comments about Trump during the Black Lives Matter movement in June 2020. 'I don't think that Trump is the right one for the job as the president,' McKennie said at the time. 'I think he's ignorant. I don't support him a bit. I don't think he's a man to stand by his word. In my eyes, you can call him racist.' Still, during his introductory comments, Trump briefly singled out Weah and McKennie as 'my American players' when he mentioned that night's game. 'Good luck,' he said while shaking both of their hands in what had the potential to be an awkward moment. 'I hope you guys are the two best players on the field.' That's not to say, however, that there weren't any awkward moments. Because there were — none more so than when Trump brought up 'men playing in women's sports,' then looked over his right shoulder and asked: 'Could a woman make your team, fellas? Tell me. You think?' When no players answered, Trump said, 'You're being nice,' then turned to face the other direction and asked the same question. 'We have a very good women's team,' Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied. Trump asked, 'But they should be playing with women, right?' When he got no response, Trump smiled and turned back toward the reporters. 'See, they're very diplomatic,' he said. Trump made a couple of other attempts to involve the soccer contingent in the discussion. At one point, the president used the word 'stealth' when discussing U.S. military planes, then turned around and remarked, 'You guys want to be stealthy tonight. You can be stealthy — you'll never lose, right?' The players did not seem to respond. For the final question of the session, a reporter favorably compared Trump's border policy to that of former President Biden and asked, 'What do you attribute that success to?' Trump looked behind him and stated, 'See, that's what I call a good question, fellas.' Once again, the players did not appear to respond.
Qatar Tribune
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Juventus beats Al Ain, leapfrogs Manchester City in group standings
Agencies: Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao both bagged braces as Juventus hammered Al Ain 5-0 on Wednesday in their Club World Cup opener in Washington. Muani, who extended his loan from Paris Saint-Germain to play in the tournament in the US, opened the scoring after 11 minutes with a towering header from Alberto Costa's cross. Igor Tudor's Juventus doubled the lead 10 minutes later when Conceicao, on loan from Porto, skipped away from one defender in the box before firing home with the help of a deflection. Turkish forward Kenan Yildiz netted the third after 31 minutes, carving out some space on the edge of the box and drilling in at the near post. French striker Kolo Muani grabbed his second with a deft finish in first-half stoppage time to pile on the misery for Al Ain. Kouame Autonne had a goal disallowed for offside for the UAE side before Conceicao struck again, benefitting from another slight deflection. Muani might have completed his hat-trick when sent through but goalkeeper Rui Patricio shut him down well, and Douglas Luiz blasted narrowly off-target late on. Juventus, which finished fourth in Serie A, us hoping to make up for a trophyless season with success in the United States this summer. (dpa)
