Latest news with #Pele
The Independent
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Independent
‘Touched by God' – how the world reacted to Lionel Messi's brilliance at Club World Cup
Another football tournament arrives, and yet again it's Lionel Messi grabbing headlines. Inter Miami 's 2-1 win over Porto in the Club World Cup is the first time that an MLS team has beaten a European side in official competition, but that is a mere subplot after Messi produced yet another magic moment to remind the world that he is more than capable of deciding a game even at the age of 37. In the 54th minute of the match, with the scores at 1-1, Miami won a free-kick around 20 yards out, right on the edge of the 'D' in a central position. Trademark goalscoring territory for a man of Messi's talents – though it was still impressive how he curled the ball over the wall, on the keeper's side, crashing it into the side-netting. It marks a 68th free-kick goal of Messi's career, meaning he is second only to Pele (70) and Lyon legend Juninho Pernambucano (77) in goal scored from direct free-kicks. When the Argentinian superstar led his nation to a third World Cup in Qatar in 2022, many assumed he would not be featuring in the next edition, whether due to age or a supposed loss of form. But with the World Cup looming large as the USA warms up by hosting the Club World Cup, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner showed that he may still be one of his nation's star players come June 2026. And the world was quick to react to yet another moment of Messi magic, with former Portugal defender Jose Fonte saying that the Argentinian is 'touched by God'. Speaking on Dazn, Fonte labelled Messi as 'incredible', with Shay Given adding that 'he is a genius'. 'If you get a chance to go see this guy live - you go and see him. This is what he does,' added Given. 'You call him maestro, magician, the words run out.' 'He is affecting the game, he is controlling the game. He is controlling his team-mates, he never gives the ball away,' said former Scotland midfielder Don Hutchinson. "Lionel Messi has still got those amazing feet. At his age, 37, [he's ]still dancing through,' he added. Inter Miami teammate Fafa Picault went even further, suggest that Messi is still 'the greatest player in the world'. Social media clearly remains enchanted by the Argentinian too, with a simple Fabrizio Romano post on X regarding Messi's free-kick goals tally garnering almost 100,000 likes. Another post outlined that Messi now has 1250 goal contributions across his career, with 866 goals and 384 assists. The goal marked Messi's 50th for Miami since joining in 2023, and it takes his overall tally at club level to 754. He sits second in the all-time scorers list at the Club World Cup too, with six goals – one behind Cristiano Ronaldo – having scored his first in the old format in 2009 with Barcelona. The victory marked the first time Inter Miami have won a match in this competition, having only been formed in 2018. And a draw against Brazilian giants Palmeiras on Monday evening would be enough for both sides to advance to the round of 16 in the first edition of the new format.
Khaleej Times
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
1971 was the real resurgence of Indian cricket, not 1983, says Farokh Engineer
Farokh Engineer retired from cricket almost 50 years ago. But the legendary Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, who settled down in Manchester after marrying an Englishwoman, still talks about the game with the same vigour he displayed while playing those fearless hook shots against the world's fastest bowlers in the pre-helmet era. Engineer is hale and hearty at 87, having recently undergone a successful heart valve surgery. A Brylcreem model in his youth, he was India's first glamour boy, who also played a significant role in India's first-ever Test series on English soil in 1971. Engineer is now itching to get back to Old Trafford — home of Lancashire Cricket Club where he became one of the legends of county cricket — for the fourth match of the new-look Indian team's five-Test series against England. During an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times over Zoom, Engineer reminisced about his glory days and also opened up about his friendship with Pele and George Best. Q. Good to see you and you seem to be doing very well after the heart surgery… Yes, I am fine and alive. And now I can't wait to go to the Old Trafford for the India-England Test. Q. Lancashire holds a very special place in your heart. You won so many trophies with them… Yes, I'm now a vice president of the club, a lifelong vice president. And I'm also one of the legends of the club. They have selected only a few people as legends. You know, legend is a term that's very loosely used, but Lancashire have honoured me along with Clive Lloyd and others. So, we are not only vice presidents for life, but we are legends as well, and I am very proud of it because it's a great club and a great institution. Q. Well, you are also an Indian cricket legend. You became the darling of Indian cricket for your flamboyant style of cricket, both in front of the wicket and behind it as a keeper-batter I usually get youngsters telling me that their grandfathers used to talk about me because I'm almost 88 now. But it's always nice to know that people still remember me. Q. People who truly love cricket will never forget India's historic Test series wins in the West Indies and England in 1971. And you played a big role in the series win against England… Yes, I got important runs in that Test series. The first Test at Lord's, we should have won that match. I had a very interesting partnership with Sunil Gavaskar when we were chasing some 180-odd runs. But rains fell and we lost wickets. The third Test at The Oval, which we won, will always remain in my mind as one of the most historical moments in Indian cricket. You know people think that 1983 (World Cup triumph) was the renaissance of Indian cricket. But 1971 was the real resurgence of Indian cricket, not 1983. Of course, the 83 World Cup win was a great achievement. But if you ask me, the resurgence of Indian cricket was in 1971. Unfortunately, people have short memories, you see, people forget what's happened before. Q. Now today's youngsters who love Virat Kohli are probably not even aware of Viv Richards and Barry Richards, the South African legend who played only four Tests because of apartheid… I have not seen a better batsman than Viv Richards and Barry Richards. You know, Sachin Tendulkar was a great player. Brian Lara was fantastic, a phenomenal player. Sunil Gavaskar was a great opening batsman. But you mentioned those two names — Viv Richards and Barry Richards — they were just incredible. Yes, the world hasn't heard much about Barry because he was from South Africa and South Africa was isolated those days because of that apartheid. I played against Gordon Greenidge and Barry Richards. I mean, what a formidable opening partnership that was for Hampshire. But we had good cricketers (at Lancashire). We had Clive Lloyd with us. You know, he was my roommate for over 10 years. The standard of county cricket was very high. Do you know how we were invited? Only six cricketers were initially invited to England to play county cricket, Garry Sobers, myself, Rohan Kanhai, Mike Proctor and Barry Richards. All those were greats of the game, but you mentioned two names, Viv and Barry. Viv was absolutely phenomenal for me. I think he's the finest batsman I have ever seen or played against, because his reflexive was so quick. Barry wasn't far behind, our own Tendulkar was a great player too. But Viv was the best I have seen. Q. The purists of the game still rave about your hundred against the fearsome West Indies attack at Chennai in 1967. They still call it one of the best attacking innings in Test cricket… Yes, I almost scored a century before lunch against Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith and Garry Sobers. When they won the toss on a real green top, nobody (in the Indian team) wanted to open. We didn't have any helmets, no thigh pads, no chest pads, nothing. I mean, there was no protection at all. People now rave about today's fast bowlers, but those guys were really quick. And I hooked their bounces all over the place. I was 94 before lunch, and when (spinner) Lance Gibbs came on after lunch, I hit him out of the stadium. People joke that the ball is still travelling because they never found it. Q. Cricket is not the same sport you played back in the 1960s and 1970s. There was absolutely no money then, and now players earn millions of dollars for playing a two-month-long IPL. I remember a Test match against New Zealand. We're winning the game in four days. Those days we used to get 50 rupees per day for a Test match. If we had won the match in four days, we would have lost out on the 50 rupees for the fifth and the final day. So when we were nearing the victory target, all sorts of messages were coming from the dressing room. They wanted us to defend. And a loud cheer went on when we had two or three runs left to score the next day for 50 rupees each. Luckily, I was involved with the advertising people at Brylcreem. Denis Compton was the first person to model for Brylcreem, and he was a double International. He was a soccer international and a cricket international for England. Then there was Keith Miller, the flamboyant Australian all-rounder, fantastic legend, good-looking guy, and I was the third person. To be offered a contract by Brylcreem those days was like being on the cover page of Vogue magazine. Q. We also heard stories about your friendship with Pele and George Best... Pele became a very dear friend of mine. Gordon Banks invited him to England and we got talking that day. He was playing golf with Bobby Charlton the next day. I live just 100 yards from that golf course. And he asked me if there was a good hotel where he could stay. I just looked at my wife, and I said 'you can stay with us.' So he came and stayed over at our place. Now when we have guests at our house, I show them the bed where Pele slept. He was a wonderful man, he gave me his shirt and also signed it. And how did you become friends with Best? George came from (Northern) Ireland and I came from India. You know the Old Trafford cricket ground is only 100 yards away from the Manchester United football club. So there's a lot of connection with that and George just became friendly. He loved to eat curries, and so we just hit it off from the start. Q. Did you get to see the other side of him, his flamboyant lifestyle? We had a car crash when I was giving him a lift to the ground. There was a traffic light and George being George, put this window down and started talking to a blonde. I don't know if you knew her or not. So I took my eyes off and suddenly the car in front stopped and I hit it. When the police came, I said, 'I'm sorry'. And he was like 'you don't see many blondes in Bombay'. So we were that kind of friends. I got a lovely shirt from him, his boots as well. I've got them at home, I will never sell them. Q. Cricket may not have given you a lot of money, but it gave you you some amazing friends… When I meet my (cricket) contemporaries, we have a good laugh. I was with Viv Richards a couple of weeks ago, and we had a great time. He had come over to England for a trade show. You know even Dennis Lillee came over from Australia to play my benefit match in India. We are still close friends, even though I scored 192 against him and Jeff Thomson, not against Australia, but in a tour game in Brisbane. So, we have kept our friendship going, and I hope it keeps blossoming till the day we die.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Soccer-South American clubs show promise but European dominance continues
PHILADELPHIA, - Fluminense, Palmeiras, and Boca Juniors gave spirited performances in the opening days of the new-look Club World Cup in the United States, but Europe's 13-year dominance over South American clubs remains intact after a series of draws. Fluminense controlled proceedings against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday but were held to a goalless stalemate by the German side, thanks to a stellar display by Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. Similarly, Palmeiras dominated Porto but were also forced to settle for a 0-0 draw. Argentinian giants Boca Juniors came closest to breaking the European run, racing into a two-goal lead against Benfica before the Portuguese club rallied to secure a 2-2 draw. The results underscore the challenge South American teams face in ending Europe's unbeaten streak, which stretches back to Corinthians' victory over Chelsea in the 2012 Club World Cup final. Since then, European clubs have gone 33 matches without defeat against teams from other continents. Historically, South American sides enjoyed success in the Intercontinental Cup, a competition that pitted the winners of the Copa Libertadores against the European Cup champions and was the precursor to the Club World Cup. Memorable triumphs include Penarol's 4-0 aggregate two-leg victory over Real Madrid in 1966, Pele's Santos defeating AC Milan in 1963, Zico's Flamengo beating Liverpool 3-0 in 1981 and Sao Paulo's victories over stellar Barcelona and Milan sides in the early 1990s. HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT The rivalry sometimes led to ill-tempered clashes, such as Racing Club's games against Celtic in 1967 and both legs of Argentina's Estudiantes against Manchester United the following year. Estudiantes' second leg against Milan in 1969 ended with three of their players being arrested in the hostile environment of La Bombonera stadium, leading to many European sides refusing to play the fixture during the 1970s. Tempers calmed as the fixture became a one-off match in 1980 and the competitive level remained fierce and balanced. However, the landscape shifted dramatically following the 1995 Bosman ruling, which allowed European clubs to field unlimited EU players and bolstered their financial and competitive strength. South American clubs, meanwhile, have seen their top talent move to Europe at increasingly younger ages. Before the ruling, South American teams led European sides 20-14 in wins. However, European teams have won 16 of the last 17 finals played, reflecting a widening gap. The revamped Club World Cup, however, with 32 clubs from around the globe including 12 European and six South American, opened the door for fans to watch different levels of teams from each continent pitted against one another. "Brazilian teams, Brazilian players are always very strong technically, it's always difficult to play against them, Manchester City forward Bernardo Silva told Reuters on Tuesday. "Physically, I think the Brazilian teams will be a little better prepared than us, because they are in the middle of their season. The weather and conditions here are more similar to what they are used to. Small details could make the difference in this kind of tournament." Five more intercontinental clashes remain in the group stage, including Thursday's showdown between Copa Libertadores holders Botafogo and Champions League winners Paris St Germain. With Brazilian league leaders Flamengo preparing for Friday's clash against Chelsea with a 2-0 victory over Esperance de Tunis, South American clubs — buoyed by passionate travelling support — are hoping to reignite the intercontinental rivalry and challenge Europe's supremacy once more.
Axios
2 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Defense firms flex new weapons and contracts at Paris Air Show
The early days of this year's Paris Air Show brimmed with news, from aircraft purchases to factory floor expansions to missile unveilings. Why it matters: The show is among the world's most prestigious. It's where buyers and sellers go to cut deals — and it's where militaries go to flex hardware. Here are the latest headlines: Anduril Industries and Rheinmetall revealed a new partnership through which European variants of the Barracuda missile and Fury robo-wingman will be produced. Solid rocket motors are also on the table. Boeing officials said the company can "absolutely" handle the U.S. Air Force's F-47 and the U.S. Navy's to-be-awarded F/A-XX at the same time, should it win the latter contract. Honeywell and Near Earth Autonomy revealed they completed the first autonomous test flight of a Leonardo AW139 helicopter. It happened in May in Phoenix. General Atomics unveiled Pele, a semiautonomous 9-foot launched effect optimized for use aboard the company's MQ-9B SkyGuardian. Pele can fly for seven hours and has a 500-nautical-mile range. Portal Space Systems announced it will open a 50,000-square-foot spacecraft manufacturing facility in Bothell, Washington. It will be just 3 miles from the company's existing design-and-testing hub. Portugal agreed to buy a sixth KC-390 Millennium aircraft from Embraer. Lisbon previously said it would buy five. It can be used for cargo transport, evacuation and refueling missions. MBDA rolled out what it's calling "one-way effector" — a relatively cheap drone meant to drain enemy air defenses and coffers. The company said the weapon combines expertise in cruise missiles and remote-controlled munitions. Pratt & Whitney, a part of RTX, will supply TJ150 engines for the Small Cruise Missile, also known as Black Arrow. The arrangement kicked off in April and will run through the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Ursa Major secured a nearly $33 million contract to develop and deliver to Stratolaunch 16 upgraded Hadley H13 engines. Hadleys have powered multiple Talon-A missions at speeds greater than Mach 5. Kratos said it will open a facility in Bristow, Oklahoma, to produce its GEK (GE Aerospace-Kratos) line of turbojet engines. The plant will include three small-engine test cells; they are expected to be operational in 2027. Helsing and Saab completed three Gripen E flights with artificial intelligence, dubbed Centaur, at the controls. Flights happened in May and June.
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Miami Herald
GA-ASI Announces New PELE Small UAS for International Customers
Small, Uncrewed Launched Effect Delivers Multi-Mission Capability SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / June 16, 2025 / General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the world leader in unmanned aircraft from the iconic Predator® to the YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has unveiled a new small uncrewed launched effect with widespread multi-mission capabilities for the global aerospace and defense market. Inspired by Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of powerful natural forces in the Pacific, the Precision Exportable Launched Effect - PELE - is a small, attrition-tolerant, propeller-driven unmanned aircraft designed to extend the sensing and other capabilities of a mothership aircraft and its user service. PELE is a semi-autonomous unmanned aircraft system (UAS) with an 11-foot wingspan and 16-horsepower engine that extends user reach within challenging environments with potent effects. PELE also could be launched from the ground. The new PELE is optimized for use on the MQ-9B SkyGuardian®, the world's foremost medium-altitude, long-endurance, multi-mission uncrewed aircraft. MQ-9B is in use or being considered for use by a growing number of nations around the world. PELE can fly with an onboard electro-optical infrared sensor for full-motion video as well as other integral sensors. The aircraft also has internal stowage for its own mission payloads. "PELE brings even more versatility to growing MQ-9B fleets around the world," said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. "On one day, an air force might fly an MQ-9B with no external payloads to maximize its patrol time. Then on the next day, the same aircraft could take off and fly with several PELEs that would stand in against the adversary and take the immediate risks to preserve the larger aircraft." For example, MQ-9B might approach a contested boundary from international waters and release PELE to scout through the disputed zone to assess a hostile force's order of battle or detect and precisely geo-locate anti-air systems. PELE is 9 feet in length, has a maximum gross takeoff weight of 250 pounds, 7 hours of endurance and range of 500 nautical miles. About GA-ASI General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., is the world's foremost builder of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Logging more than 8 million flight hours, the Predator® line of UAS has flown for over 30 years and includes MQ-9A Reaper®, MQ-1C Gray Eagle® 25M, MQ-20 Avenger®, and MQ-9B SkyGuardian®/SeaGuardian®. The company is dedicated to providing long-endurance, multi-mission solutions that deliver persistent situational awareness and rapid strike. For more information, visit Avenger, EagleEye, Gray Eagle, Lynx, Predator, Reaper, SeaGuardian, and SkyGuardian are trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries. # # # Contact Information GA-ASI Media Relations asi-mediarelations@ 524-8101 SOURCE: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. press release
