Latest news with #Ceferin
The Guardian
01-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
PSG 2.0 have potential to dominate but players may still look elsewhere
As the hundreds of VIP guests at Uefa's official Champions League final dinner listened attentively, Aleksander Ceferin addressed his audience. It was the night before Paris Saint-Germain eviscerated Inter and, taking the floor before the starters were served at Munich's Paulaner am Nockherberg brewery, he elected to keep his predictions general. 'Tomorrow we play the best game a club could ever play,' he enthused. 'The one who wins tomorrow will be the best club in the world.' Ceferin's wording was no accident. The final took place against the context of Uefa's continuing tensions with Fifa and, most pertinent, the imminent rebirth of the Club World Cup. Whether PSG are the planet's most becoming football institution may depend on where your moral compass points but, about 26 hours after the Uefa president's speech, they proved beyond any doubt that their team sit above everyone. Will this title, which has come well behind the schedule laid out by their Qatari ownership when they took over in 2011, prove a mere ripple in history or could it spark an era of dominance? Has Luis Enrique's enthralling young side simply happened upon a fleeting confluence of time and place, or will they now bed in for the long haul? Those questions hung in the air as Parisian heads cleared the next morning, although realistically nobody should expect their demolition job at the Allianz Arena to be a one-off. Within hours of the full-time whistle, figures close to PSG were pointing out this has been only year one of their well-documented spring clean. They sought to draw a line under the decadence that had coloured much of the club's modern era, even if their investment in humbler individuals and future-proofed talents has hardly come cheap. This trophy crowns a project and signals the start of one. The new direction has been born out already and there is no intention of changing course, or speed, now. There are clear notes of caution. One is that PSG's Champions League campaign was saved by the playoff safety net that gives faltering big guns a second shot in the new format. Even allowing for the fact direct comparisons are wobbly given the previous home-and-away structure no longer holds, it is worth pointing out the seven points they had amassed after six games of the league phase would have brought their elimination in previous years. Their chair, Nasser al-Khelaifi, nominally wearing his European Club Association hat, made precisely this point in his own speech at Paulaner am Nockherberg. His sentiment was that it had been far from an easy ride. Even though they were dominant in the knockout phase, helped significantly by spending £60m on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's ability to add thrilling new depth to their attack in January, there had been marginal moments against Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal. Not even a cup competition set up to smooth the favourites' paths can offer any guarantees of sustained supremacy. Another caveat arrived, perversely, in the form of a well-wisher. 'The big day has finally arrived,' wrote Kylian Mbappé on Instagram after taking in his former employers' win. 'Victory and in the style of an entire club. Congratulations, PSG.' It was magnanimous indeed from a player who is embroiled in a legal battle with PSG over what he claims is almost £50m in unpaid wages. But the fact Mbappé was offering such wholesome sentiments as a Real Madrid player still presents a red flag. While his departure was seen internally as the final big heave towards breaking with past habits, the fact remains he was a star who decided there was one more rung to climb. Will Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, Vitinha or Willian Pacho feel that way one day? PSG remain tied to perceptions that their domestic league offers an insufficient workout; there is also the point that one trophy cannot pull their history and gravitas alongside those of Real Madrid or, should they knock themselves into shape, Bayern Munich and some of the leading English clubs. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The counterpoint is that the mind-boggling depth of their resources, summed up by the fact their wage bill is thought to be around double that of Inter, allows them to accelerate far beyond traditional grandees as an attractive prospect. PSG were simply too richly funded, well coached and tactically liberated for their opponents to cope with. Perhaps, in an era where appearances matter more than ever and swathes of elite football have become micromanaged to the point of tedium, it is a marriage that makes them the biggest show in town. Ceferin had hedged his bets regarding Saturday's outcome but maybe it pays to be bold in making guesses after all. A few hours before the final, another leading European football executive sat on a rooftop terrace in Munich and assessed the night's prospects. PSG would win 6-1, he said, to mirth around the table but keeping an entirely straight face. The spirit of that forecast was to be proved accurate. It may be harder to claim that PSG 2.0 are destined to ride off into the sunset, but Ceferin's carefully chosen words contained a truth that holds for now.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PSG 2.0 have potential to dominate but players may still look elsewhere
As the hundreds of VIP guests at Uefa's official Champions League final dinner listened attentively, Aleksander Ceferin addressed his audience. It was the night before Paris Saint-Germain eviscerated Inter and, taking the floor before the starters were served at Munich's Paulaner am Nockherberg brewery, he elected to keep his predictions general. 'Tomorrow we play the best game a club could ever play,' he enthused. 'The one who wins tomorrow will be the best club in the world.' Ceferin's wording was no accident. The final took place against the context of Uefa's continuing tensions with Fifa and, most pertinent, the imminent rebirth of the Club World Cup. Whether PSG are the planet's most becoming football institution may depend on where your moral compass points but, about 26 hours after the Uefa president's speech, they proved beyond any doubt that their team sit above everyone. Advertisement Related: PSG win Champions League for first time with record 5-0 final hammering of Inter Will this title, which has come well behind the schedule laid out by their Qatari ownership when they took over in 2011, prove a mere ripple in history or could it spark an era of dominance? Has Luis Enrique's enthralling young side simply happened upon a fleeting confluence of time and place, or will they now bed in for the long haul? Those questions hung in the air as Parisian heads cleared the next morning, although realistically nobody should expect their demolition job at the Allianz Arena to be a one-off. Within hours of the full-time whistle, figures close to PSG were pointing out this has been only year one of their well-documented spring clean. They sought to draw a line under the decadence that had coloured much of the club's modern era, even if their investment in humbler individuals and future-proofed talents has hardly come cheap. This trophy crowns a project and signals the start of one. The new direction has been born out already and there is no intention of changing course, or speed, now. There are clear notes of caution. One is that PSG's Champions League campaign was saved by the playoff safety net that gives faltering big guns a second shot in the new format. Even allowing for the fact direct comparisons are wobbly given the previous home-and-away structure no longer holds, it is worth pointing out the seven points they had amassed after six games of the league phase would have brought their elimination in previous years. Advertisement Their chair, Nasser al-Khelaifi, nominally wearing his European Club Association hat, made precisely this point in his own speech at Paulaner am Nockherberg. His sentiment was that it had been far from an easy ride. Even though they were dominant in the knockout phase, helped significantly by spending £60m on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's ability to add thrilling new depth to their attack in January, there had been marginal moments against Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal. Not even a cup competition set up to smooth the favourites' paths can offer any guarantees of sustained supremacy. Another caveat arrived, perversely, in the form of a well-wisher. 'The big day has finally arrived,' wrote Kylian Mbappé on Instagram after taking in his former employers' win. 'Victory and in the style of an entire club. Congratulations, PSG.' It was magnanimous indeed from a player who is embroiled in a legal battle with PSG over what he claims is almost £50m in unpaid wages. But the fact Mbappé was offering such wholesome sentiments as a Real Madrid player still presents a red flag. While his departure was seen internally as the final big heave towards breaking with past habits, the fact remains he was a star who decided there was one more rung to climb. Will Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, Vitinha or Willian Pacho feel that way one day? PSG remain tied to perceptions that their domestic league offers an insufficient workout; there is also the point that one trophy cannot pull their history and gravitas alongside those of Real Madrid or, should they knock themselves into shape, Bayern Munich and some of the leading English clubs. Related: Désiré Doué joins the global A-list to lead PSG's coronation as kings of Europe | Barney Ronay Advertisement The counterpoint is that the mind-boggling depth of their resources, summed up by the fact their wage bill is thought to be around double that of Inter, allows them to accelerate far beyond traditional grandees as an attractive prospect. PSG were simply too richly funded, well coached and tactically liberated for their opponents to cope with. Perhaps, in an era where appearances matter more than ever and swathes of elite football have become micromanaged to the point of tedium, it is a marriage that makes them the biggest show in town. Ceferin had hedged his bets regarding Saturday's outcome but maybe it pays to be bold in making guesses after all. A few hours before the final, another leading European football executive sat on a rooftop terrace in Munich and assessed the night's prospects. PSG would win 6-1, he said, to mirth around the table but keeping an entirely straight face. The spirit of that forecast was to be proved accurate. It may be harder to claim that PSG 2.0 are destined to ride off into the sunset, but Ceferin's carefully chosen words contained a truth that holds for now.
Saba Yemen
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
UEFA explains reasons for Russia's continued exclusion
Neon - (Saba): UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin expressed his regret over the exclusion of Russian youth teams from tournaments, considering that children are paying the price for political conflicts that have nothing to do with them. In comments quoted by Kicker newspaper, O Jogo, Ceferin said: "It's sad that we don't allow Russian children to play because of the restrictions. They now think we hate them or their nation. I don't hate any nation." The UEFA president confirmed that some national associations have been subjected to intense political pressure, which prompted them to reject the idea of fielding Russian teams. He added: "It's clear that there will be no change in our position regarding the Russian senior national teams until the conflict is over." In September 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee proposed allowing Russian youth teams to participate in competitions under a "neutral" status, but countries like Ukraine expressed their intention to boycott any matches against Russia, leading to the decision being rescinded. It is worth noting that FIFA and UEFA decided in February 2022 to exclude Russian national teams and clubs from all international competitions, limiting their participation to friendly matches only. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Uefa apologises to Spurs players after medal shortage at trophy ceremony
Uefa has offered its 'sincerest apologies' after a clutch of Tottenham players were left without Europa League winners' medals as Spurs claimed their first trophy in 17 years, much to the embarrassment of Aleksander Ceferin, the governing body's president. Ceferin appeared to be caught by surprise at the trophy ceremony when the medals ran out before all of Ange Postecoglou's players had received theirs following Wednesday night's 1-0 triumph over Manchester United in Bilbao. The final three Tottenham players to be congratulated by Ceferin – Cristian Romero, Son Heung-min, who lifted the trophy in front of his teammates, and Rodrigo Bentancur – were left empty handed. However, their injured teammates, James Maddison and Timo Werner, dressed in full kit, as well as Dejan Kulusevski, who was on crutches, all celebrated with medals hanging round their necks. Uefa said in a statement: 'To our great displeasure, we did not have enough medals available on stage during the trophy ceremony presentation due to an unexpected discrepancy in the player count, as more team members – including injured players – participated in the ceremony than initially anticipated. The missing medals were promptly delivered to the winning team in the dressing room, along with our sincerest apologies for the oversight.' The European governing body said the clubs had been informed that only 30 medals would be presented on stage to each club. It said 20 further medals were given to the club following the ceremony for distribution to players and staff. To further Uefa's discomfort, all eight officials received their medals. Tottenham will celebrate their Europa League success with an open-top bus parade around the streets of north London on Friday night. Plans have now been unveiled for a victory parade, which is set to begin around 5.30pm on Friday at Fore Street in Edmonton Green, travelling down the High Road past Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before it concludes in the stadium's service yard on Northumberland Park. The parade will last approximately 'between 60-90 minutes', with a staging area to be erected outside the stadium on Paxton Terrace to host the players and coaching staff for a presentation of the trophy to fans.
Malay Mail
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Uefa moves to ease tensions after Infantino's delayed arrival at Fifa Congress prompts European delegates' walkout
LAUSANNE, May 20 — Uefa yesterday moved to defuse the situation after European delegates staged a walkout at Fifa's Congress in Paraguay last week when world football chief Gianni Infantino jetted in late following meetings in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with US President Donald Trump. Fifa president Infantino's belated arrival at the global governing body's annual meeting on Thursday caused a delay of more than two hours. Uefa chief Aleksander Ceferin, along with other representatives of European football, including the president of the Norwegian FA, left the 75th Fifa Congress in protest at the delay. Yesterday, European football's governing body described the relationship between Ceferin and Infantino as 'very good... marked by open communication and mutual respect'. 'The recent episode was isolated and does not reflect our ongoing collaboration,' the Uefa statement added. The annual meeting of world football, already pushed back an hour from its original schedule, finally began more than two hours late. Infantino issued an apology for his tardiness in remarks to the congress before the delegates left. He blamed flight problems for his late arrival but stressed the importance of attending the meetings in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the hosts of the 2022 and 2034 World Cups respectively. 'As Fifa president, my responsibility is to make decisions in the best interests of the organisation... I felt I had to be there to represent football and all of you,' Infantino said of his visit to the Gulf. Uefa issued a strongly worded statement following the walkout, describing the disruption as 'deeply regrettable', accusing the Fifa chief of putting his 'private political interests' ahead of the sport. Ceferin has publicly opposed Infantino on several issues in recent years, particularly the plan — ultimately abandoned — to hold the World Cup every two years instead of every four. Recently, the Uefa president described the prospect of a 64-team World Cup in 2030 to celebrate the tournament's centenary, as a 'bad idea'. — AFP
