#one of them is wearing a james real madrid shirt

[skylikethat]

Update: Mexicans convinced the South Korean ambassador to Mexico to come out and take a shot of tequila with them.

#mexico NT #south korea NT #world cup #germany NT #one of them is wearing a james real madrid shirt

[pitchofheart]

22 Questions

I was tagged by @jessparaguss ( thank u :) 💕 ) and I added two questions at the end since it was only 20 questions? Feel free to be tagged here if u want to do this as well :)

Nicknames: I don't have a name where you could form many nicknames out of it, but there was a short period of time in 5th or 6th grade where I was called 'blondie' because of my vibrant natural hair colour

Height: lol I'm pretty tall, so I'm about 178cm I'd guess , it's about 5'8"

last movie I saw: was a German movie in the cinema ( 'rate your date' it's called ) and it was surprisingly really good. But before, I watched Happy Deathday 2 U

Last thing I googled: how real madrid played ( I low-key wanted to know if they lost ) and the prem and buli results

Favourite Musician: that's probably the hardest question ever... I can't decide, I have to list all my favs: Rihanna, Twenty One Pilots, Eminem, G-Eazy, AJR, Bebe Rexha, Kehlani, The Black eyed peas, One Republic, Oasis, Queen, Bruno Mars, the weeknd, 30STM , Linkin Park, Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, RHCP (and probably more, especially German artists, I'll add some more if I forgot anyone now)

Song stuck in the head: currently it's:

I don't belong in this club - Why don't we & Macklemore

Needed me - Rihanna

Burn the house down - AJR

other blogs: lol I actually have one. I made @whiteheartlane in association with tottenham's new stadium and instead of the 'hart' I put 'heart'. I made it to save the URL for me at first and I planned to do a only England nt blog / Tottenham/ premier league blog but I haven't done anything like that yet 😅

Following: 171

Followers: 48

Amount of asks: basically none lol

Lucky numbers: I don't have numbers nor do I believe in it, but I guess I'll stick to the jersey numbers of my fave football players ( 4 , 6 , 9 , 10 etc. )

what are you wearing?: Socks, a black leggings and a long shirt kind of dress in camouflage pattern with white 'original' letters (I believe I got it in h&m )

Dream job: okay, I'm really being honest here.

I'd love to be a TV host or journalist for sports channels or even a correspondent. I was always interested in the lives of persons I adored, I'd love to interview so many people that inspire me. Or even take part in debates. Interview coaches and players on the fields after a crucial game. I think I'd never get tired of it. I live and breathe football and formula one, so it'd be a dream to become a Sky Sports host or something for example (just for you to know what I mean). I love to write in many languages so sign me tf up @ skysports

More real dream jobs have to be pharmacist, journalist, politician idk to be honest

Dream trip: in Europe it has to be Greece, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and England / UK

Additionally, south america would be beautiful as well as Canada maybe, or Australia, New Zealand idk

Favorite food: lasagna, noodles, fries, pizza, burgers, barbecues

instruments: lol I'm fucking untalented with instruments I'm glad if I can play a triangle right lmao

languages: I can speak German (native) , English and Latin since I learned it for 4 years in school, and a little bit of Spanish/Portuguese (basics, I learnt them from football)

favourite songs:

Never forget you - Zara Larsson & MNEK

The Bravest - Sir Rosevelt

Wavin Flag - K'naan

Locked out of heaven - Bruno Mars

Wall of Glass - Liam Gallagher

Don't look back in anger - Oasis

And many more

random facts: I share the same birthday as the formula one driver Nico Hülkenberg and he's German as well :)

Aesthetics: some tattoos are aesthetic to me

favourite sports (players): I love football and formula one. My fave drivers in F1 are Daniel Ricciardo, Niko Hülkenberg and Charles Leclerc and Michael Schumacher ( tho he doesn't drive anymore ) and his son Mick :)

Fav football players have to be Messi, Lewandowski, James Rodriguez, Leon Goretzka, Sergio Agüero , Virgil Van Dijk, Jordan Henderson, Thiago and Rafinha Alcantara, Gerard Pique, Corentin Tolisso, John stones and Kyle Walker, Eric Dier, Harry Winks and many more

best throwback songs:

shut up and drive , only girl, we found love - rihanna

heart skips a beat - olly murs

lose yourself - eminem

coming home - Dirty money ft. Skylar Grey

say my name - destiny's child

And many more xx

[rashfordxbruno]

I was tagged by @leroysanei. Thanks Barney!!!

Rules: answer these questions and tag 20 people

Nickname: Angie

Gender: Female

Star sign: Scorpio

Time: 9:09 pm

Birthday: 10th November

Favourite bands: 5SOS, twenty one pilots, Panic! At the Disco, Coldplay, Florence + The Machine

Favourite solo artists: Shawn Mendes, Tom Grennan, Ariana Grande, Ellie Goulding, Camila Cabello, Rae Morris, Dua Lipa. (for the non-English ones... definitely Mark Forster and Natalia Lafourcade) 

Song that is stuck in your head: "Something for Your M.I.N.D." by Superorganism

Last tv show: Doctor Who

Why I created this blog: To share my love for football

What do you post/reblog: Football, my fav celebrities, nostalgic stuff (like from the late 1990s-early 2000s), memes and shitposts (sometimes)

Last thing I googled: Manchester United vs Real Madrid 2012-13 UCL round of 16 (I was looking for the full match because I wanted to analyse again what happened between the two legs)

Other blogs: None

Why the URL: Marcus Rashford is fast as a lightning - my url is used as a simile. For example, "Kylian Mbappe has a pace like [Marcus] Rashford."

I follow: 509

Followers: 731 (THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!!)

Lucky number: 10 

Instruments: Flute and guitar (I used to play them when I was 7 or 8 years old) 

What are you wearing: T-shirt and shorts 

Dream job: Somewhere in the IT field, probably a web designer or a programmer

Last book I read: Guinness World Records 2018

Top 3 universes: Doctor Who, Marvel, and Avatar (no not the film by James Cameron)

I WOULD LIKE TO TAG... @reddevilscorner @almiranara @takemehomeunitedroad @zlatan--ibrahimovic @per-aspera-ad-astra1899 @uncampoverde @totallyfootball @beautiful-devils @eafay70 @jcelpereira @thiagoalcntara @oliolir @olesolskjaer @paulspogbas @lukeshaw @danimufc @carlosvrs @rnarcusrashford @realmadridx13 @la-decimoterceras

#tag game

[theworldsmosthatedakacr7]

Cristiano’s interview with France Football

I translated this from penamadridista.hu, from their translation of the original interview. If there is any mistake, I’m sorry, you know English isn’t my first language. I know this is going to raise attention (the only thing I believe), so I say it now, in the Hungarian translation they refer to Gio as Cristiano’s fiance. I have not seen the original interview so if someone read the French version, feel free to tell me if it’s a mistranslation of the middle person.

The five times Ballon d'Or winner doesn't plan to lay back and do nothing while admiring his collection of trophies. Besides already concentrating on 2018, he brings back the memories of the recipe of his success.

The date is Monday, 4th December, the location is the training center in Valdebebas. The shining sun and the light blue colour of the sky gives a special brightness to the place. The training is over. Raphael Varane who is on his way to his invidual lesson with an English teacher welcomes us, just like Karim Benzema. In the lobby, staff of Real Madrid is decorating the Christmas tree, that later gets white and purple decors, and they put packages under the tree. It's 13:10 when Cristiano Ronaldo finally arrives. He wears black shirt and black jacket that give him a prince like elegancy, he's company is his old time friend, Ricardo. The rest only takes 40 minutes in a room that gives perfect view to the training pitches. During this time the five time Ballon d'Or winner never looks at his watch, just takes a few sips from the water bottle placed on the arm of the sofa, stopping the interview only for a couple of moments. In previous years, when we asked him, when we've made interviews with him, he's never talked to us this way never had an interview like this with him but the readers shall decide themselves.

You're about to receive your 5th Ballon d'Or. Do you feel like this award became somewhat too ferial, plain for you?

Ferial? No, never. When I started my career, I didn't dream about more than to win one Ballon d'Or. With signing to Manchester, I believed my career got to a turning point and it wasn't impossible anymore to reach this aim. I felt that I got a chance to make my dreams come true, I made up my mind that it was realistic to win. As the years have passed, my opinion changed, and I knew one Ballon d'Or wasn't enough. Simply because too many has had the same recognition and I'm telling this with the utmost respect, most weren't on the same level with me. There's a huge difference between those who only one the Ballon d'Or one time and those who were able to win it twice, three or four times. I didn't want to belong to the group who only won it one time. Considering the potential I have, the talent and my hard work, I knew I'd be able to succeed again.

Which moment was this year when you said “Alright, I won the award.”?

I knew if I won the Champions League, I'd get one step closer to the 5th Ballon d'Or. In the end we won the series and I ended up as the top goal scorer of Europe most prestigious competition again. Besides, I scored twice in the final. I think, this was that moment.

5 years ago Messi was five Ballon d'Ors ahead. Did you think back then that you'd be able to achieve the same?

Funny story, isn't it? I didn't think I'd be able to catch up with him because after I won the first, he won four in a row. I'm not going to deny, I was angry and sad. I attended the award shows but never won anything. I was demotivated. I didn't want to go to just get my photo taken. And then step by step, thanks to the help of those around me, I told myself, everything has a beginning and an end. And in football, it's the end result that matters, not the beginning. I remained calm, kept on working, and won new Ballon d'Ors. Today, I won the 5th that makes me want to fight further, and stops me from thinking about my age. Who was the eldest player who won a Ballon d'Or? Cannavaro?

Stanley Matthew was 42 years old when he was given the award for being the best, in 1956...

(His eyes go wide.) 42? Did he play alone or what? But seriously, nowadays that would be unimaginable. There's no way to play football for that long. When I see 24-25 years old players getting injured frequently, I remind myself how lucky I am to be in this physical condition at 32.

When you received your first Ballon d'Or in 2008, did you hope you'd overcome Zidane, Ronaldo Nazarió, Platini, Van Basten or Cruyff?

I always believed that I'd only be able to win one. Two? Why not! Five... I'd have never believed it. As they say: Much will have more.

Are you aware what position you have in the history of Ballon d'Or?

If I think about it calm, I believe so, yes. No player has as many individual awards as me. And I'm not talking about the Ballon d'Or. All of this must mean something, right? This is not simply about the work done in the gym as people often like to think. There are many other factors. Exceptional people like Floyd Mayweather or LeBron James also didn't get where they are by mere chance. Everything has it's significance. In order to get to the top and be able to stay there you need way more talent than others.

Five Ballon d'Ors. We can say regarding this award, this is the first time that no one is ahead of you.

You know well that I respect other's opinion but right now I don't see anyone being better than me. And I've always thought this way. There is no football player who would be capable of anything that I couldn't do as well. Meanwhile, I see that I'm able to do things that others aren't capable to do. There is no more complex player than me. I play well with both of my feet, I'm fast and strong, I'm great with my head, I score goals and hand them out as well. People have a right to prefer Neymar or Messi. But I'm convinced that there is no more complex player than me. I'm sure everyone is going to say I'm an egoistical dick... But when you are on the top, it's natural to get criticized. As a journalist, I'm sure it happens with you as well.

Do you think you are the best player in the history?

Yes! I'm the best player of history, both with my greatest and worst moments. As Zidane said today during training: We have to face difficulties in order to be able to value the success later. The bad moments push us to work harder. It's normal to be angry and frustrated because you weren't able to score. If that didn't happen, it'd mean you don't even care. So yes, if I don't play well or the training doesn't go as I want, I end up angry with myself. However, when I leave the training pitch or the stadium, I also leave whatever happened behind and my life goes on in a normal rhythm.

You have some great expectations towards yourself... Isn't this too much?

One time the fitness coach of Real Madrid, Antonio Pintus said laughing that I was a real psycho. He's never met anyone like me before, someone who works as hard as I do. When I step into the gym, I don't talk to anyone, I only concentrate on the work to be done. I admit, I put more pressure on myself many times than it'd be necessary. But I'm not regretting being like this. Maybe it'd be better if I got a bit more laid back and relax but that isn't how I live my life. I have no intention to change anything 15 years into my career. I wouldn't have won so many things if I hadn't been unsatisfied all the time.

How much chance do you see for a 6th Ballon d'Or?

I couldn't tell in this moment. We're still in many competitions with Real Madrid next year and we'll go to the World Cup with Portugal. I think next year's World Cup is going to be crucial in the race for Ballon d'Or. Imagine that we win the Champions League where I'm the top scorer at the moment with Real Madrid and I have a not so good World Cup behind me. Or reversed. In 2018 there will be many deciding factors but I don't think Champions League is going to be one of those. The bar is definitely going to be raised.

Close to 33 how are you able to remain at the top?

It's all in the head. The key to everything is motivation, and the most important for that is the decision to be made. If you lack that, things get more difficult. Personally, I'm a positive man. I love football, I love extra practices at trainings. The real problem appears when we don't have enough motivation. Because this (points at his head) commands this (points at his right leg). There's no exception. If you are not alright in the head, you can't feel good in your own skin either.

A year ago, more or less at the same time you said you weren't the player as you were before. Is this true today? Is the body still at the level of the mind?

I think my body is in a better condition than it was one or two years ago. I feel fine, and I feel stronger.

What is it that really bothers you?

If I don't feel the support of the club or the fans. People have a very short memory. The other day at the airport about 5 meters from us a guy recorded us with his phone when I was with Carvajal and Ramos. And then he tells us “Hey, maybe you should wake up, you fuck everything up.” I thought to myself: “Hey, only 3 months ago we won the European and the Spanish Super Cup.” See, I don't know what to do with such horrible things. This type of amnesia bothers me a lot. Football works in cycles. When things don't go well, people should support us, the fans should stood by the players. In four years we won 3 Champions League trophy what – from that point of view – can seem to be easy but Real Madrid had to wait 12 years to win the La Decima. I know how hard I work and still sometimes things just don't work out the way I want them to. It happens that the ball bounces off the goal or the keeper stops the ball. I only ask everyone to trust us.

Could you tell me what do you do in order to keep up your physical level?

I do the same for years now. Maybe more thoughtfully than before. A couple of years ago I spent 40 minutes in the gym, now I only do 20 but with more special practices.

Do you think this work invisible to others is the secret of your success?

This is all very important but only just one part. What is even more important is talent. I can give you the book of my daily routine, the recipe of my success. I can tell you about my eating habits, how I train, everything that helped me to get where I am now. Then we'll see if you'll be able to win 5 Ballon d'Ors. I will tell you: without talent you can forget about it. Give the recipe for success to a 15 years old kid and in 10 years we'll see if they deserve the recognition. Do you get what I mean?

Carlo Ancelotti told us one time that he'd never in his life met a player before who would have an ice bath 2:30 in the middle of the night after a Champions League game. Why was that necessary?

That's a crucial part of my routine. Because of the 2-3 hours long plane trips, and the changing pressure, legs swell up. Cold water is a natural painkiller, and I enjoy it. Sometimes I also sit into hot water. These are small things that make me feel better and make the difference. I'm aware that after a cold bath, I sleep better. Do you know why after games some players have restless nights? Because they don't have a release. There's still adrenalyn in their system. I'm looking for ways that help me to come down. 95% of times I sleep perfectly at night, and the rest is also good. People aren't aware how important sleeping is. I am. The same is true about working and eating. These details make me better step by step.

Do the success by winning the Ballon d'Or help to forget about previous years?

Success is always a bonus for the mind, a psychological one. You know that you worked for something. And this pays very well. If you worked hard through the year and in the end you achieve nothing, that can be very frustrating. I feel lucky that year upon year sometimes more, sometimes less but I always win something. This gives motivation to work even more and win even more.

You have four children in your home now, does that change getting prepaired in any way?

My routine hasn't changed at all though, unquestionably, the presence of my four children has an affect on my life. Regardless, I do my job without interruption, and I spend enough time to rest. It doesn't matter whether there is one or four children. The only difference now is that my attention is divided more. I give all my generousity to my children but I pay attention to do my job professionally.

Can Cristiano, the father, the head of the family replace Cristiano, the footballer?

No. Whilst my three children who bornt recently means more responsibility, my professional life has changed nothing. As I said before, I always dreamt about having a big family and I'm doing everything I can to have that. Family is the most beautiful thing in the world. After the experiences and joy that I've had as the father of Cristiano Junior, I wanted to have more children. And so now I'm very happy. My children fill me with pride. And I'd like more kids in the future.

Are you so keen on having moments alone as well?

Being alone... I don't really have a need for that. Sometimes I am alone at home, even with so many children, I have my personal space. Fortunately, my home is big enough. (smiles) There are enough places where I can go away if I want to or need to be alone. This isn't a problem. I'm also alright when my partner (girlfriend) goes to classes or my kids go for a walk. But I don't need long hours alone.

Do you get up at night to feed the children?

I'll be honest: no. If I had to, I would, without complaining. I love my kids and I make sure they aware of this, for example every single time when I get home from training. However, I have a partner (girlfriend) and two other people who help to take care of the little ones. I need to rest during the night. And of course, it doesn't mean I don't love them, it merely means that I'm responsible for my family, I'm responsible for my job that demands a lot of me. Afterall, who is the breadwinner in the family? I try my best to give everything for my children, to ensure they have a dream life and they get everything they need. Everyone has their job in our family. Mine is to be generous with them and to educate them. The night is saint and not to be disturbed though. Next day I have to go and run and I have to do my job well.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

The same as today. I'd like to play as long as possible but I can't guarantee that I'll be mentally alright. No one knows what tomorrow holds. We shouldn't think too much about the past or wonder too much about plans for the future. We have to live the here and now because this moment is beautiful and sweet. I'm happy because I win titles because I'm healthy and my family and friends are alright. You have to draw from this and enjoy it. If I don't feel well anymore, my career might end in 5 years. This is exactly why I put effort into other projects as well. I have sponsores, hotels, gyms and a fashion company... I won't have existential problems.

Is there a chance you'll be a manager one day?

At the moment no. Honestly, I'd like to spend more time with educating myself, studying. I'm thinking about acting for example...

Acting?

Yes, I'd like to give it a shot. Year by year, they offer me the chance to participate in films but besides football I have no time for it. You know, it's almost certain, I'll struggle terribly when finally I put the boots down. Football is going to remain my passion forever. Of course, I'm also certain that I'll live my life as a happy man.

#cristiano ronaldo #cr7 #real madrid

[mitrofan-online]

Forbes made a rating of Fab 40, in which he rated the most expensive brands in the world of sports - from manufacturers of training suits to football clubs.

Brands, like the athletes who advertise them, can triumphantly return - or quickly bother the public. The brand value of a sports team is influenced by the actions of managers and players. Sporting events may or may not be popular. All this is reflected in our assessment of brands, writes Forbes. A prime example: six years ago, Puma's profit fell while its rivals Nike and Adidas reported large revenues. Puma has devised an incredible comeback plan including collaboration with singer Rihanna and sprinter Usain Bolt. Puma shares rose 74% over the past year, while Adidas shares were up 46% and Nike were up 25%. Impressive? The Puma price / earnings ratio is 46, and against its background, Nike (35) and Adidas (30) look cheap. This year, Puma first entered the Fab 40 ranking and ranks sixth in the Companies category. Her brand - that is, only one name - is estimated at $ 4 billion. Back side? Take a look at Under Armor, whose brand is worth $ 3.5 billion - 36% less than three years ago. Under Armor is losing market share to brands like Puma and New Balance. According to CNBC, the company is growing concern that consumers perceive Under Armor exclusively as a brand of “gym wear” that sells sweatshirts and shorts. Since late July, the company's shares fell from $ 24 to $ 18. In addition to Puma, this year the newcomer to the Fab 40 rating was Gatorade (the manufacturer accounts for 77% of the sports drinks market, and we decided that it can be considered a sports brand). In addition, the Kentucky derby (last place in the Fab 40 in 2013), Conor McGregor and the Los Angeles Dodgers (Fab 40 participants in 2016) returned to the ranking. MLBAM (sold the BamTech brand to Walt Disney), NESN (lost in value to Gatorade and Puma), Usain Bolt (retired) and Manchester United (replaced by New England Patriots and Barcelona clubs) left the list.

Companies

1. Nike, $ 36.8 billion Over the past two years, Nike stocks outperformed Adidas stocks by more than two to one and Under Armor stocks by more than four to one. 2. ESPN, $ 13.1 billion ESPN's operating income exceeds $ 3 billion with monthly membership fees of $ 8 — more than any other sports network. 3. Adidas, $ 11.2 billion In April, Beyoncé and Adidas announced a joint project, in which the artist will develop branded clothing and shoes for the brand. 4. Gatorade, $ 6.7 billion Gatorade holds 77% of the US sports beverage market, while Powerade’s closest competitor is only 15%. 5. Sky Sports, $ 4.4 billion In 2018-2019, the audience of the Sky Sports Premier League television channel in the UK grew by 12%. 6. Puma, $ 4 billion In the first nine months of 2019, Puma shares went up 60% to $ 79. 7. Under Armor, $ 3.5 billion Over the past two years, Under Armor operating income (revenue excluding interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) has fallen by 72% to $ 157 million. 8. UFC, $ 2.4 billion Earlier this year, the UFC and Disney signed a seven-year contract, under which the UFC receives a commission from paid broadcasts on ESPN +. 9. YES, $ 1.5 billion In September, a consortium of investors led by the owner of the New York Yankees bought YES Network from Disney for $ 3.47 billion. 10. Reebok, $ 800 million Reebok sales in 2018 fell by 3%, but the company nevertheless became profitable again.

Sport events

1. Super Bowl, $ 780 million According to Kantar Media, CBS received $ 382 million in advertising revenue during the last Super Bowl. A year earlier, NBC earned $ 408 million on the decisive game. 2. Summer Olympics, $ 375 million NBC raised $ 1.2 billion in sales of advertising in America during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games - slightly less than at the previous Summer Games in London. 3. Final round of the basketball tournament of the first division of the NCAA among men, $ 300 million According to Kantar Media, TV advertising revenue during the March Madness ranged from $ 1.3 billion to $ 1.6 billion. 4. World Cup, $ 282 million About 2.49 million people watched at least 30 minutes of broadcasts of the 2018 World Cup in Russia - an increase of 27.7% compared to the previous World Cup in Brazil. 5. National College Football Championship, $ 255 million In 2014, ESPN began annually paying $ 470 million for the right to display the Playoffs among colleges under the terms of a contract that is valid until 2025. 6. WrestleMania, $ 245 million This year, WrestleMania earned $ 16.9 million at Metlife Stadium: this result is second only to $ 17.3 million in revenue at WrestleMania three years ago. 7. UEFA Champions League, $ 168 million Revenue from the sale of broadcast rights and sponsorship contracts in the Champions League and Europa League is expected to average $ 3.52 billion for one season from 2018 to 2021. 8. Kentucky Derby, $ 155 million In 2018, Churchill Downs Hippodrome was renovated at a cost of $ 37 million, as a result of which more than 1800 seats in 32 new boxes and a tribune on the third floor were added. 9. Winter Olympics, $ 150 million The games of 2018 became the largest Olympic Winter Games on hype on social networks - official materials attracted 300 million users, and the video gained more than 1.6 billion views. 10. World Series of Major League Baseball, $ 122 million The average cost of showing a 30-second commercial during the 2018 World Series match between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers was about $ 500,000 - almost the same as in Fall Classic a year earlier.

Athletes

Zhe Ji / Getty Images

1. Roger Federer, $ 62 million Federer’s revenue of $ 86 million off the court thanks to partners like Credit Suisse, Mercedes-Benz and Rolex is nearly 60% more than any other athlete’s total earnings. 2. Tiger Woods, $ 33 million Since the beginning of his professional career in 1996, Woods has received $ 1.4 billion from sponsors. 3. Cristiano Ronaldo, $ 29 million 24 hours after the start of sales of Ronaldo's branded T-shirt with the Juventus logo, 520,000 copies worth more than $ 60 million were sold. 4. LeBron James, $ 28 million In 2018, James teamed up with Cindy Crawford, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lindsey Vonn to launch Ladder, a nutritional supplement manufacturer. 5. Lionel Messi, $ 20 million Messi signed a lifetime contract with Adidas, under which he allegedly receives more than $ 12 million annually. 6. Stephen Curry, $ 17 million In 2017, Curry founded the new company SC30 to manage his investments, brand contracts and charity projects. 7. Neymar, $ 15 million Neymar is the second most popular athlete on social networks: he has more than 200 million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 7. Phil Mickelson, $ 15 million Mickelson's sponsorship contracts for his entire career brought him about $ 700 million. 9. Virat Koli, $ 14 million In 2018, Coley won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, which is awarded to the best cricketer of the year, as well as the ODI and Best Test Player of the Year awards. 10. Conor McGregor, $ 12 million Prior to returning to UFC 229, the Irishman extended a sponsorship contract with Reebok, which brings him about $ 5 million a year.

Sports teams

Legan P. Mace / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Legan P. Mace / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images 1. Dallas Cowboys, $ 1.039 billion Cowboys earn more on sponsorship contracts and selling tickets for premium seats (lodges and club level) more than any other NFL team. 2. New York Yankees, $ 815 million Yankees revenue is $ 100 million more than any other Major League Baseball team. 3. Real Madrid, $ 725 million Earlier this year, Real Madrid signed an agreement with Adidas to extend the contract for eight years, until June 2028. Under the terms of the agreement, the team receives a record $ 113 million per year, as well as 20% of the team’s souvenir sales. 4. Los Angeles Lakers, $ 674 million The Lakers earn $ 150 million a year on contracts with local television and radio stations. 5. Golden State Warriors, $ 606 million The contract, according to which the Warriors receive $ 20 million a year for placing Rakuten logo badges on T-shirts, was the best agreement among all the NBA teams. 6. The New York Knicks, $ 563 million Over the 2017–2018 season, the Knicks earned nearly $ 60 million selling seats at the stadium — more than any other NBA club. 7. Los Angeles Dodgers, $ 554 million In 2018, the Dodgers earned $ 170 million in the sale of the right to show matches to local television channels — more than anyone else in Major League Baseball. 8. Boston Red Sox, $ 532 million In 2018, more people attended concerts at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, than at any other baseball stadium. 9. Chicago Cubs, $ 518 million In 2020, the club, together with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, will launch the Marquee Sports Network, which will receive the exclusive right to show Cubs matches. 10. New England Patriots, $ 465 million In February, the Patriots beat Los Angeles Rams with a score of 13: 3 at the Super Bowl and won the championship for the sixth time out of ten that the team made it to the NFL Championship finals. 10. Barcelona, ​​$ 465 million In 2018, Barcelona signed a sponsorship contract for placing the logo on athletic t-shirts with the Turkish electronics manufacturer Beko. The sum of the three-year contract is $ 63 million. *** When compiling the Forbes Fab 40 rating, the cost of leading sports brands was taken into account, evaluating the contribution of a name or title to the cost of an athlete, sporting event, company or team.

A source: https://thinktanks.by

#Forbes #rating #Fab 40 #brands #world of sports #football clubs #popular #Puma's #puma #nike #adidas #singer rihanna #sprinter Usain Bolt #billion #Under Armor #new balance #cnbc #gatorade #kentucky #Conor McGregor #los angeles dodgers #MLBAM #bamtech #walt disney #nesn #usain bolt #manchester united #new england patriots #barcelona clubs #beyoncé

[vdbconnor-blog]

( &&. about connor vanderbilt)

( &&. general information )

Full name: Connor Isaiah Vanderbilt

Preferred name: Connor

Current age: 20

Astrological sign: Scorpio

Label: The lothario

Gender: Cis male

Preferred pronouns: He/Him

Sexual preference: men

Romantic preference: men

Current occupation: Student

Language(s) spoken: English, Spanish, French and German

Native language:  English

Current marital status: Single

( &&. background )

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Nationality: American

Religion: Atheist

Political views: Democrat

( &&. physical appearance )

Looks like (or face claim, if applicable): Nolan Funk

Height: 6′1″ (1.83)

Weight: 76 kg.

Shoe size: 13

Figure/build: athletic

Hair colour, Dyed?: natural, brown

Hair length: short

Eye colour: green

Facial hair: No

Tattoos: None

Piercings: None

Dominant hand: Right

Describe their scent: Smells clean, but doesn’t wear a lot of cologne

( &&. legal information )

Any speeding tickets?: Yes

Do they have a criminal record?: No

Have they committed any crimes?: Drug possession

( &&. medical information )

Date/time of birth: November 19th

Diet: Mostly vegetarian + organic

Smoker? / Drinker? / Drug User?, Which?: Smokes, drinks, smokes weed and does occasional party drugs

Allergies: Penicillin

Do they get occasional checkups?: Every two months

Ever broken a bone?: No

Any physical ailments/illnesses/disabilities: Chronic migraines

( &&. personality )

Positive traits: confident, smart

Negative traits: cocky, self-centered

Guilty pleasure: karaoke, junk food, true crime tv shows

Turn ons: kisses on the neck, public settings, good kissers

Kinks/fetishes: daddy kink, rough sex

Lucky number: 7

Their motto: dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today

( &&. favourites )

Food: pizza + salad

Drink: red wine + veuve cliquot + vanilla coke + green juice

Fast food restaurant: in n out

Colour: blue

Clothing: ripped, fitted jeans

Candle scent: apple cinnamon

Clothing brand: Dolce & Gabbana

Animal: birds

Holiday: christmas + his birthday which he considers a holiday

Weather: hot so he can show skin

Season: summer

Book: to kill a mockingbird

Artist: van gogh + monet + degas

Band/group: maroon 5

Song: hands by barns courtney + lighting bolt by jake bugg + disco tits by tove lo + vibes by tove lo ft. joe janiak + what lovers do by maroon 5

Movie/film: james bond films + rebel without a cause + kingsman: the secret service

TV show: friends + suits + queer as folk + supernatural + seinfeld + bh 90210

Sport: lacrosse + soccer

Sports team: arsenal; real madrid (soccer) + LA dodgers (baseball) + new england patriots (football)

Possession: his iphone x

Number: 7 & 14

Emoji:  😏

Mythological creature: pegasus

( &&. skills )

Talents:

Special powers/abilities:

Ability to drive a car? Operate any other vehicles?:

Can they ride a bike?:

Do they play any sports?:

Anything they’re bad at?:

Do they have any combat training? Why?:

( &&. firsts )

Crush: his best friend / neighbor when they were 10

Kiss: at 11

Sexual experience: lost his virginity at 14

( &&. this or that )

Expensive or inexpensive tastes?: expensive

Hygienic or Unhygienic?: hygienic

Open-minded or close-minded?: open minded

Introvert or extrovert?: extrovert

Optimistic or pessimistic?: pessimistic

Daredevil or cautious?: daredevil

Logical or emotional?: emotional

Generous or stingy?: generous

Polite or rude?: polite when it matters

Book smart or street smart?: book smart

Dominant or submissive?: 50/50

Day or night person?: night

Cat or dog person?: dog

Closet door open or closed while sleeping?: closed

( &&. family relationships )

Father: William ‘Bill’ Vanderbilt

Describe their relationship: they don’t speak unless they have to

Mother: Vanessa Vanderbilt

Describe their relationship: her mom tries to have a relationship with him, but disapproves of most of his choices so they fight often

Siblings: an older brother and an older sister

Describe their relationship: connor is the black sheep of the family, but he loves his siblings even if they clash

( &&. other relationships ) { tbd }

Best friend:

Childhood friend:

Enemy:

Past romances:

Pets:

Heroes:

Roommate(s):

( &&. social media )

Do they have a Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Vine? Snapchat? Tinder/Grindr? Tumblr? YouTube? connor has facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, & grindr.

If so; Name on Facebook: Connor Vanderbilt

Twitter handle: @connorvdb 

Instagram user: @connorvdb

Snapchat user: @connorvdb

Name on Tinder/Grindr: Connor

( &&. musical tastes )

Party song: disco tits by tove lo

Can relate to: tove lo + barns courtney  

Makes them happy: portugal. the man + fall out boy

Makes them sad: jake bugg + james bay

Makes them dance: icona pop, maluma, j balvin, calvin harris

Loves the most: tove lo + panic! at the disco

Describes them: jake bugg

Never gets tired of: maroon 5

Would like to be played at their wedding: maroon 5 

Would like to play at their funeral: the civil wars

( &&. miscellaneous )

Do they have a fake I.D.?: yes

Are they a virgin?: no

Do they travel?: yes

One place they would like to live: tulum, mexico or amsterdam

One place they would like to visit: australia

Celebrity crush: chris evans + adam levine

What can you find in their pockets/wallet/purse: fake id, platinum card, cash and business cards

Place(s) your character can always be found: hottest bars, crowded parties, someone else’s bed

What’s your character’s morning routine?: coffee + exfoliating + shower + morning read or homework + go to class

What does your character eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner?: breakfast: coffee + a bagel or toast, or juice + salad. lunch: whatever he can get around campus. dinner: green tea

What’s your character’s bedtime routine?: watch tv + take a shower

What does your character wear to bed?: nothing or just underwear. pants bottoms + shirt if it’s cold.

What has been their greatest achievement?: getting into Princeton.

What is their idea of perfect happiness?: he’s still not sure what that is for him

On what occasions do they lie?: whenever he needs to get his way and can’t with the truth.

Do they snore? no

Do they chew their pens/pencils?: yes

Can they curl their tongue?: yes

Can they whistle?: yes

Do they believe in the supernatural?: yes

Have they ever cheated on anyone?: yes

Have they ever been cheated on?: no

Has anyone ever broken their heart?: no

Have they ever broken anyone’s heart?: yes

Are they squeamish?: no

#gogreek:task

[getlostintothewords-blog]

Forgotten Memories Part 12

“When you become super rich, what will you buy?” I asked smiling up at him.

“I’ll buy you a present first”, he said holding my hand as we walked through the park grass.

“What present?” I asked wondering all the things I would want him to buy.

“What about a teddy bear?” he suggested.

“Wearing the Portugal shirt with your number”, I suggested smiling broadly.

“Whatever you want”, he replied pecking my hand.

*End of flashback*

I am sure he didn’t mean it. I hope he didn’t mean it. He can’t have meant it. It was wrong, surely it was wrong. But I heard it. I heard him say it. He did mean it. He said it when we were younger but it has been years. He can’t have meant it.

“Cariña are you okay?” James asked me.

“Yeah, I am fine”, I said breaking from my train of thoughts.

The ceremony continued with the host addressing the remaining winners. The award for the best goalkeeper was given to Coutinho (Chelsea) and the winning defender was Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid). Once his name was called, a lot of cheers and whistles roared up in the room.

Then the host announced the winner for the best midfielder, which was awarded to the one and only James Rodriguez. Everyone on our table was on their feet, cheering, smiling, and applauding James’ accomplishment.

I took a glance towards Cristiano and he was just staring at me. Once the crowd had settled down, James was able to take his turn on giving a speech.

“Thank you so much for this award. I would like to thank my family, for standing by me and always being there for me. Especially supporting me throughout this whole process to get me to this stage in my life. I would also like to thank my beautiful, amazing, supportive best friend. She has been there in all my hardship and without her I wouldn’t have gotten this far in my life. Like she always says to me, the money can make you a good player but the passion makes you an amazing player”, he said and again everyone cheered as he descended down the steps to our table.

“Thank you for everything”, he whispered into my ear and pecked my cheek.

“Oi oi”, Marcelo shouted from the adjacent table. Making me blush a little.

“Only Marcelo”, he said smiling.

“Can you believe it. Most of the awards went to the Real Madrid team”, Carlota said smiling.

“We played well as a team and individually”, James said smiling, draping his arm over my shoulders.

“Bella, can I have another dance?” Sergio asked me.

“Nope”, James said butting in smiling.

“Why not?” Sergio asked confused.

“Because I called dibs on the next dance”, James said happily.

“James, Sergio, Alvaro, come on let’s take a group photo”, Isco said happily.

“You seem to be stealing all their hearts”, Carlota chimed in happily.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“James likes you. Sergio likes you. Even Cristiano likes”, she said watching my reaction.

“James has to like me, I’m his best friend. I’ve only just met Sergio, so I guess it’s nice that he likes me. Wouldn’t you want someone to like you, rather than hate you? I don’t think Cristiano likes me, I hardly know him”.

Pretty much what I had said was true. I hardly knew Cristiano anymore. It had been many years since we had any actual communication.

“Cristiano seems to like you. He has been watching you all evening long”, she said.

“I doubt that Carlota”, I said.

“What are you ladies talking about?” Sergio said, interrupting our conversation.

“Nothing”, she replied smiling and making her way to the bathroom.

“I know the perfect place to go on Friday”, he said.

“Where would that be?” I asked.

“Can’t tell you Bella. You will have to wait and see”, he said and made his way back to his seat.

“I have a question”, I asked James as he sat back next to me.

“Which would be?” he said.

“Would you be okay, with me going on a date?” I asked timidly.

“Of course, it’s your life” he said smiling.

“What if it was someone you knew”, I asked even more nervously.

“Who?” his smile sort of faded a little.

“Sergio Ramos”, I mumbled.

“Oh”, that was all he said. I waited a little for any sign of confirmation and when he didn’t I nudged me with a worried smile.

“If he does anything to harm or hurt you. I am going to...”, he started but I cut him off by hugging him. I really didn’t want him to finish off his sentence. I had an inkling of what he wanted to say.

“Thank you”, I said pecking his cheek.

*Wednesday afternoon*

We had finished for the day and all the children were standing outside, ready for their parents to collect them. One by one, each child rushed to their parents and waving goodbye to their teachers, until they see them tomorrow. 15 minutes had passed and most of the children had left the playground, except for a few. One of those children was Cristiano Ronaldo Junior.

“I think your papa is running a little bit late”, I said standing next to him.

“Papa always runs late when he has training”, he mentions.

“I am sure he will be on his way soon enough”, I said reassuring him.

“Ms Afonso”, Junior called out happily.

“Yes”, I replied.

“My papa is here”, he said pointing at his dad eagerly.

“Sorry for the lateness. Hi champ”, he said smiling at his son.

“Thank you for waiting for me”, he said, more to me than to both of us.

“It’s okay”, I said, picking up my bag to leave as all the other children had been collected by their parents or guardians.

“I have a present to give to you”, Cris said.

“Um thank you. But there was no need”, I said to him.

“I promised you”, he said.

“Cris I don’t know what you are on about”, I told him.

“Open it and you’ll find out”, he said.

I held a rectangular box with a bow on top of it. As I opened the gift, memories came flooding back to me.

*Flashback*

“When you become super rich, what will you buy?” I asked smiling up at him.

“I’ll buy you a present first”, he said holding my hand as we walked through the park grass.

“What present?” I asked wondering all the things I would want him to buy.

“What about a teddy bear?” he suggested.

“Wearing the Portugal shirt with your number”, I suggested smiling broadly.

*End of flashback*

#forgotten memories #cristiano ronaldo #cristiano ronaldo fanfiction #cristiano ronaldo fanfic

[sportsleague365]

Manchester United should make a move for Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, says Robbie Savage (Picture: Getty)Robbie Savage has urged Manchester United to sign Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish ahead of Daniel James and Sean Longstaff this summer. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to overhaul United’s squad after a dismal end to the season and several names are being linked as the club look to bolster their options at full-back, centre-back, in central midfield and in attack. Swansea winger James is reportedly on the cusp of a £15 million switch to Old Trafford and United are also weighing up a £25m bid for Newcastle midfielder Longstaff. However, Savage believes the Red Devils should prioritise a move for ‘the best player in the Championship’, Aston Villa’s Grealish. MORE: WORLD British climber becomes eighth to die on overcrowded Mount Everest within a weekJudge blocks ban on ‘heartbeat’ abortions in MississippiMonkey wees in window of dad who laughed at his penis‘If I were Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the first signing on my list this summer would be Jack Grealish,’ he told The Daily Mirror. ‘If the rumours are true, and Manchester United are looking at Swansea’s Daniel James and Newcastle prospect Sean Longstaff as possible signings, I would go for Grealish ahead of them. Grealish has impressed Savage (Picture: Getty)‘Even if Aston Villa win promotion on Monday, Grealish is the player I would move heaven and earth to wear the red shirt of United. As the best player in the Championship, he would cost a lot for Solskjaer to buy. ‘But Grealish glides past opponents, took on the Villa captaincy at a young age and thrived on the responsibility. ‘Jack’s the lad. He’s the one United should be looking to sign ahead of anyone else.’ Solskjaer is looking to rebuild United’s spine with young, homegrown talent this summer and Grealish, who is on the verge of promotion with Villa, would appear to fit the bill. The 23-year-old midfielder reportedly has a £60m release clause in his contract at Villa Park. Savage has told United to sign Grealish ahead of James and Longstaff (Picture: Getty)Solskjaer has insisted that he’s only interested in signing players with the right ‘work ethic’ for United. ‘We’ve tried to educate our players and our kids to be proper people. In my years, the best players have always been the best people,’ he told United’s official app earlier this month. ‘You have to have that value system – do you say that? A certain kind of attitude about you to make a Manchester United player. MORE: TV Jodie Comer doesn't get approached by men since playing Killing Eve's VillanellePiers Morgan throws his name into the mix for Prime Minister after Theresa May resignsTV show Don't tell the Bride under fire for leaving pristine waters covered in confetti‘You have got to have qualities and our fans want to see exciting players. We want to get up from our seats. You see defenders who defend, like that’s their life, that’s the most important thing. ‘When we go to press with Jesse and Marcus, in the games against Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Chelsea, when we start these games, our fans clap a striker making a tackle. ‘That’s the way it’s been and in our culture. You have to have that work ethic and we’re scouting the market trying to find the right ones.’ MORE: Chelsea set price for Real Madrid to sign Eden Hazard #RobbieSavage #ManUnited #ManU

#RobbieSavage #ManUnited #ManU

[barce-fabu-lona]

Crismes Drabble

Even if I am a Barcelona fan at heart, I have to admit, that this is a cute pairing and I really enjoyed writing it. 💖

Cristiano convinces James to stay at Real Madrid.

Cristiano rings the doorbell at 1:34am. James is wearing a pair of polkadot boxers and a loose shirt when he pads downstairs and opens the door with his eyes still heavy from sleep.

“Cristiano?” He mumbles confused when he catches sight of his teammate. “It’s so early.”

“I don’t care.” His visitor says and steps into the hallway, confident like always.

Even though it’s the middle of the night, Cristiano’s outfit, like always, is perfectly put together. He is wearing a pair of black designer jeans that make his ass look nice, a clean white button-up shirt and a light brown leather jacket above that. Real leather of course.

James feels stupid, standing next to him in only his boxers and a ratty t-shirt. He looks like he just rolled out of bed, which he actually has, thank you very much.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, shifting from one foot to the other.

“I need to talk to you.” Cristiano answers like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

James huffs but gives in. There is no need in denying Cristiano anything. He always gets what he wants, even if it’s 01:39am in the morning.

“Fine. Let me get dressed then.”

“No.” His teammate shakes his head at him. “There’s no need for that. I have to talk to you now.”

James just looks at him for a second but decides not to question him. He’s not gonna question anything tonight.

They go to the kitchen and sit across from each other on Jame’s kitchen table. Cristiano folds his hands and clears his throat like he’s about to deliver a big speech.

“James.” He starts off. “You can’t leave Real.”

James’s heart sinks in his chest. So this is what he wants to talk about.

“I don’t think that’s for you to decide.” He replies but his voice sounds a bit weak.

“I know it’s not but I’m telling you anyways. You can’t leave.”

“Why not?” James asks back, his voice already becoming a bit more aggressive. “I don’t understand why I should stay if I don’t play.”

“You do play.”

“Not as much as I want to.”

Cristiano stops and thinks. He runs one of his thumps across his chin, rubbing it softly. He always does that when he is deep in thoughts and it makes James nervous because all he can do is sit there with his heart pounding away in his chest, waiting for Cristiano to go on.

“I know this year hasn’t been your best year but James, everybody has a streak of bad luck sometimes.” He chooses his words carefully and the way he pronounces his name makes James shiver.

“It’s not just a streak of bad luck. I don’t fit in with the rest of you. I feel like I forget how to play soccer when I step onto the pitch.”

“You only think that because they want you to think that. The media and some of our fans but you and me both know that’s not true.”

James lowers his gaze and starts drawing circles onto his kitchen table.

“I’m not sure about that Cristiano.”

“Well, I am. And you know what? If you leave now, then the media gets what they wanted all along. And some other people also get what they wanted. If you leave James, then you’ll always be the player that was supposed to make it big but wasn’t able to take the pressure when it came down to business. You will always be the one that left Real because he wasn’t good enough. But you are good enough. One bad season doesn’t mean you’re a bad soccer player. You’re worth it James, you’re worth everything and if you let them knock you down this time, you will never be able to get back up. You’ll be weak.”

“I’m not weak.”

“No, you’re not and that’s exactly why you need to stay. You need to show them who you are, James. You have to fight for it.”

The Columbian looks back up, tears prickling in the back of his eyes. He wants to say something but his throat feels like it’s been sewed shut.

Cristiano gets up from his chair and rounds the table until he is looming over James, who in response slouches down even more.

“James.” He says again. “I know I don’t have a say in this but I will keep telling you: Real needs you. I need you.”

James’s breath hitches and when he locks eyes with Cristiano this time, his heart stumbles.

But only once.

Then it returns to his normal rhythm and it’s like nothing changed other then that James suddenly knows what he has to do.

“I will fight.” He hears himself say without hesitation and then again: “I will stay and I will show them.”

Cristiano smiles, looking satisfied.

“I knew you were not gonna give in.” He grins.

James gets up from his chair as well and before he knows what’s happening he is kissing Cristiano but it’s okay because Cristiano is kissing him as well.

And right there and then, in the middle of his kitchen at now 02:13am in the morning, he knows he made the right decision.

#cristiano ronaldo #james rodriguez #crismes #crismes imagine #real madrid #Real Madrid imagine #imagine #soccer imagine #please leave me some feedback :) #my work

[thefalse9]

Euro 2020 Team Previews: Group D

England:

In their first Euros outing in 1968, England finished third, of four teams. They’re still waiting to improve on that. Only Belgium and the old Yugoslavia could claim to have performed better at European Championships without winning one. England have been international football’s big underachievers since 1966, from home-soil heroes to the failed Golden Generation. The Three Lions have won one knockout game in the history of this competition. On penalties. As hosts. I'm not even kidding, look it up. Five years ago, they crashed out to Iceland; as the song goes, we’d seen it all before. What followed, though, was new: it led to a scorched earth rejuvenation of English football, led by some of the greatest minds in the game. Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Marcelo Bielsa all arrived, followed by a cast of club legends making early forays into management. Together, they’ve helped to reshape the country’s tactical make-up into something more modern. An Icelandic volcano turned English football to ash, but from the rubble, something new and exciting has risen from it. There’s hope for the class of 2021. The Three Lions’ current pride isn’t an empty collection of big names – there are still titans of elite European sides, but vitally, there’s a balance that seems to have evaded the national team for 55 years. England finally have defensive midfielders and left-footers. A good grouping of the current XI are captains of their clubs. Importantly, the country’s youth-level champions of recent years are coming of age, giving Gareth Southgate genuine selection migraines. For many, England’s talent reserves are the envy of Europe as many sitting on the bench would have started for other nations competing in Euro 2020. Since 2018, the pragmatism of Southgate’s World Cup semi-finalists has come to the fore: they are prepared to win ugly, even if a squad packed with attacking prowess suggests otherwise. If we're being honest, the 12-month postponement of Euro 2020 may have even worked in England’s favor, too, as so many young Lions have received a year’s extra education before the big tournament. Mason Mount and Phil Foden have developed into legitimate superstars, Reece James looks like one of the best fullbacks in football and this new "Golden Generation" may actually be better than the last. Could the stars align? We haven’t seen a crop quite like this for some time, and while England doesn’t quite expect to win it all, there’s plenty of serious promise.

Euro 2020 may be a bridge too far for Southgate’s squad, but their journey over the last five years shows they’re on the right track. If they can shake off the nation’s tag as perennial underachievers in football, then maybe, just maybe, this fucking thing is "coming home".

Croatia:

In the past three years, Croatia seen a generational shift occur within their national team – never an easy task for a country with so small a talent pool. The situation was hardly helped by Ivan Rakitic’s sudden international retirement last September; the midfielder following forward Mario Mandzukic and goalkeeper Danijel Subasic in saying goodbye to the national team in the aftermath of the sepia-tinged summer of 2018. Yet, still led by Luka Modric’s effortless brilliance, the perennial dark horses remain a strong outfit, albeit a little green around the edges. Some squad members have already shown great maturity in stepping up, particularly 26-year old Dinamo Zagreb keeper Dominik Livakovic, whom has between fantastic between the sticks, and 23-year-old former Everton midfielder Nikola Vlasic. Dinamo’s Mislav Orsic is still floating on air after his stunning hat-trick knocked Tottenham out of the Europa League. Most encouragingly? Manager Zlatko Dalic can also rely upon one player the wider European public has yet to meet: striker Bruno Petkovic. Similar to Olivier Giroud in many ways, the hulking Dinamo centre-forward offers Croatia an important tactical variant as a hulking in-the-box presence amidst a sea of pint-sized technicians. Yet more vital is that Modric, the quintessential captain, who is still playing at the highest level after yet another fine Real Madrid season, isn’t tired of wearing the famed checkered shirt. They'll go as far as his mastery, wizardy, incredible ability and undying passion for his national team will take them. This team is green, but by no means does that mean they're incapable of making a semi-finals appearance. Croatia’s group is extremely demanding because it contains two hosts (England and Scotland) and the reawakened Czech Republic, whose players increasingly recall previous generations. That being said, reaching the knockout stages should not be an issue. The fact that reaching the knockout stage is now the minimum expectation from the Croatian public is proof of just how far this team has come. The big names may lack their forebears’ name recognition, but the talent remains for them to go far.

Scotland:

Don’t let anyone tell you that international football is irrelevant and that representing your country doesn't matter anymore in the age of mega-contracts, "Super Leagues", "Champions Leagues" and endorsement deals. If they persist, point them in the direction of Ryan Christie’s post-match interview with Sky Sports on the night that Scotland finally ended their agonizing 23-year wait to appear at a major international tournament. For about two minutes, the Celtic star did his best to juggle obvious exhaustion, joy and sheer relief while the tears flowed down in his face in an abject display of patriotism that would make even the biggest skeptic struggle to watch without wondering who was cutting onions or who opened the window and let all this pollen into the room. This had been a long time coming. The night of their play-off in Serbia was about as ‘Scotland’ as it gets. Even though Steve Clarke’s side put in a confident, and composed performance against visibly shaken opposition; given the lead through a Christie goal that looked to be enough for victory, Serbian star and all-together disappointment Luka Jovic delivered a sucker-punch equalizer in stoppage time. Long-suffering Scotland supporters at home feared the worst. And, as it were, the Serbians pushed Scotland to the brink in extra time. But Scotland stood firm, then David Marshall secured legendary status among the Tartan Army with a superb save from Aleksandar Mitrovic's effort to settle the penalty shootout at 5-4. Back in Scotland, there was utter pandemonium. Football can’t do much to make up for a year of loss and sacrifice, but it has at least reaffirmed its status as the most important of the least important things. For one night, Christie & company gave their country the gift of a priceless distraction in a year when we needed it most. Scotland’s hard-fought win in Belgrade lengthened their unbeaten stretch under Clarke to nine games – their best run in 44 years. It hasn't been easy, however. Clarke and his management team have had to tweak their system along the way and injuries have forced some previously unheralded players to earn caps. Others have been forced out for resting on their old laurels (sorry Leigh Griffiths), while others have been handed opportunities based on merit and ability (hello, Lyndon Sykes). For all that qualification represented to Clarke, though, he’s too proud for his side to just make up the numbers this summer. They probably won't make it to the next round. They were handed a rough draw this time around and the Czech Republic is a tough out. That said, Scotland is going to fight until they can't anymore. It's what they know.

Czech Republic:

Back in England for another major tournament a quarter of a century after their incredible run to the Euro 96 Final, the Czechs travel to the UK with a buoyant mood and a settled squad. They’re unencumbered by expectation, and bring a team of promising young players and hungry internationals from Europe’s top five leagues, so another underdog showing is the hope for the nation's fans and for manager Jaroslav Silhavy.

Tomas Soucek – he of the granite forehead, man-mountain shoulders and elbows that can be thrown like boulders – and full-back Vladimir Coufal already delivered solid performances for Slavia Prague, but not even the most ardent Czech fan would have expected the level both have reached in West Ham’s excellent 2020-21 Premier League campaign, thus leading both players to capture the imagination and incite the excitement of a country who is beginning to believe this team may have what it takes Meanwhile, the Czechs’ best forward, Patrik Schick – on loan at RB Leipzig last year – has finally sorted out his future by leaving Roma for Bayer Leverkusen. The 25-year-old looks settled at his new club, and by mid-April he had scored 13 goals in 29 appearances for the German outfit. He'll be expected to lead the line, and from all appearances, looks prepared to do so, finally living up to the potential and expectations bestowed upon him at a young age. That being said, no Czech side has ever been about individuals, not even in Pavel Nedved’s era: even in a loaded team, with Karel Poborsky and Vladimir Smicer, the Czechs were more than a one-man show and played united, hard-nosed football, stoked more in pragmatism and a cohesive identity than individual moments of brilliance. Team spirit, tactical preparation, defensive organization and a well-balanced squad tend to trump all when it comes to the Czech squad. Boosted psychologically by their promotion to Nations League A, Silhavy’s troops also know what to expect in this group: they’d already beaten England in qualifying when they pipped Scotland to top spot in their Nations League division. Their football is unlikely to be beautiful, but they will be tough to beat, and with their would-be stars in top-form coming into the tournament, do not be surprised to see the Czech Republic make the knockouts as one of the best Third-Place teams.

#euro 2020 #uefa #england national team #three lions #scotland #tartan army #croatia #croatian national team #scotland national team #czech republic #czech national team

[torentialtribute]

10 Premier League signings to watch including Tanguy Ndombele and Ravel Morrison  

Tottenham & # 39; s £ 54 million record purchase, the most expensive uncapped Brit of all time, the new Fox in the box and the former Man United-villain the Blades have taken a point on … the Premier League alerts to view this season

All 20 Premier League clubs have at least one new addition this summer

Tottenham and Manchester City are between clubs to break their transfer record

Newcastle spatters £ 40m on Hoffenheim striker Joelinton

Against Anthony Hay for MailOnline

Published: 10:22 BST, July 28, 2019 | Updated: 10:22 BST, July 28, 2019

The Premier League summer transfer window close-up on 8 August, with the 2019-2020 season scheduled to start the next day.

All 20 clubs have now made signing sessions in preparation for the opening weekend.

Here, Sportsmail Highlights Some new signatures to look forward to in the coming campaign.

Tanguy Ndombele ( Tottenham )

France midfielder Ndombele became the first major purchase of Spurs since January 2018 when he arrived from Lyon for a club record rate. Costs a reported £ 53.8 million, great things are expected from the 22-year-old. He has signed a six-year contract and is aiming for trophies with the club in London while looking forward to a first full season in their new stadium and trying to build on a final appearance of the first Champions League.

Tanguy Ndombele (right) competes for the ball with fellow countryman Paul Pogba

Christian Pulisic (Chelsea)

With Chelsea awaiting the outcome of an appeal against a transfer ban, new boss Frank Lampard was able to keep his hands on the market. However, their ranks will be stimulated by the arrival of the international Pulisic from the United States, which was signed in January for £ 58 million from Borussia Dortmund before it was borrowed from the Bundesliga club. The 20-year-old winger has to inject offensive creativity while the club looks forward to the departure of Eden Hazard.

Chelsea hopes that Christian Pulisic can fill the void on the left by Eden Hazard

Rodri (Manchester City)

After securing consecutive titles, Pep Guardiola does not rest on their laurels. The £ 62.8 million intake of midfielder Rodri, 23, from Atletico Madrid is a clear declaration of intent from the champions. The sky-high Spanish international, compared to Barcelona & Sergio Busquets, thinks he will work for the & # 39; largest coach in the world & # 39; and will compete to become the long-term replacement for 34-year-old Fernandinho.

Spanish midfielder Rodri is seen as a long-term replacement for Fernandinho in Manchester City

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United)

Wan-Bissaka, the most expensive non-capped British player of all time, has enjoyed the rapid rise to join the 20 once English champions. United has invested an initial £ 45 million to keep the England Under-21 international from Crystal Palace. The right back only made his senior debut in February 2018, but British boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is enthusiastic about the player's potential when he tries to bring success back to Old Trafford.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was impressed by United during her pre-season tour of Asia and Australia

Ayoze Perez (Leicester)

The in-form Spaniard ended last season with eight Premier League goals in nine games that the 2016 champions promised to pay Newcastle £ 30 million. His arrival ended Brendan Rodgers' search for a multi-faceted attacker and offers Foxes fans the delightful prospect of joining Jamie Vardy, James Maddison and the club record signed by Youri Tielemans, whose loan change from Monaco became permanent four days after Perez & # 39; s arrival.

Ayoze Perez decided to trade Newcastle for Leicester during this summer's transfer window

Joelinton (Newcastle)

Newcastle broke their transfer record for the second time in a year to sign the Brazilian striker Joelinton from Hoffenheim for a reported £ 40 million. After the departure of attackers Joselu and Perez, new boss Steve Bruce hopes for goals from the 22-year-old. Joelinton scored 11 goals in 35 appearances last season and could be the key to the Newcastle attack.

Joelinton will Newcastle & # 39 ; s iconic No. 9 shirt after his £ 40m move from Hoffenheim

Dani Ceballos (Arsenal)

Ceballos, a highly regarded Real Madrid player , decided to join Arsenal with rival Premier League clubs, on a seasonal loan from the Bernabeu. The 22-year-old represented Spain and made 23 La Liga appearances for Real last season and said his decision was made by a desire to work with Unai Emery. Arsenal hopes that their second summer signing will give them a boost in their challenge for a top four place.

Dani Ceballos completed his seasonal move from Real Madrid to Arsenal

Ravel Morrison (Sheffield United)

Premier League new boys Sheffield United have taken a big risk by deciding to give Ravel Morrison a chance to make an impression in England. Morrison, now 26, came through Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard but was sold to West Ham in 2012 after Sir Alex Ferguson lost his patience with the midfielder. Ferguson previously told Ferdinand River that he was the best player he had seen at his age, but his off-field behavior led to his departure. Morrison showed some nice moments with the Hammers, but he spent most of his time there in Birmingham, QPR and Cardiff. It is now making or breaking for Morrison after spending time in Mexico and Sweden.

Ravel Morrison has had another chance to to show that he is a Premier League midfielder

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[theconservativebrief]

Pornhub has 80 million daily users and more pornographic videos than any other site in the history of the internet, and now it wants to be Playboy.

More specifically, what Playboy was in the ’90s. “A lifestyle brand, a fashion brand,” explains Alex Katz, co-founder of the Madrid-based creative agency Officer & Gentleman, which has been leading the brand strategy for Pornhub for the past four years.

Co-founder Javi Iñiguez jumps in: “The girls were wearing sweatshirts and purses with the Playboy bunny even though they might not have seen a Playboy magazine in their lives.”

Fair enough. Who doesn’t want the cultural clout of Hugh Hefner, literally everything else about Hugh Hefner aside?

It may be a small shock to discover that Pornhub even has a brand strategy, but it makes sense. The company has spent the past several years doing what anybody would do once they become superrich: buying their way to coolness. And, by extension, buying their way to women, whom the company has historically had a hard time appealing to.

I mean, who doesn’t see the connection between lifestyle brands and chicks?

Pornhub’s first website launched in 2007 and was acquired by the MindGeek conglomerate in 2010, at which time it merged with YouPorn, RedTube, and Xtube to become the Pornhub network. From there, it easily consolidated power to become the biggest porn distribution platform ever, but its new challenge was to become a brand that anyone would talk about out loud, and just maybe, someday, wear on a T-shirt.

Models from the ’90s-inspired Playboy fashion line launched last year by Joyrich. Joyrich

In 2014, the network held a contest asking advertising and creative professionals to submit concepts for safe-for-work, PG-13 Pornhub ads that could run in traditional media spots. The move was a reaction to a year of mainstream misses and only two hits: In 2013, Pornhub finagled a centerpiece montage (with clips handpicked by VP Corey Price) in the heart of the porn-focused Joseph Gordon-Levitt rom-com Don Jon. It also nabbed dozens of headlines in outlets from BuzzFeed to SBNation when CBS refused to air a 20-second, completely innocuous ad spot during the Super Bowl. By the time anyone bothered to point out that Super Bowl ads are only sold in 30-second increments, the scam had done its work.

Thanks to the contest, Pornhub buddied up with both Officer & Gentleman and Vendetta Studios, an LA-based viral video production house headed by Dave Lehre — an anxiety-inducing internet personality best known for one of the first viral YouTube clips, “MySpace: the movie,” and more recently for an elaborate stunt in which he fashioned himself into “the first white American K-pop star.”

For Pornhub, Lehre made a litany of viral videos, mostly ads for Pornhub’s new product releases: a VPN service, a “BaDoink” VR headset, a $1,000 robotic twerking butt, and so on.

“Make the brand accessible to the world” was the brief, Lehre says. Make it PG-13; make it live on YouTube; make it shareable. “When we came in, it was all potential. Nobody had tapped the power of Pornhub.” He pauses. “Damn, that sounds epic.”

Officer & Gentleman’s first projects were also tech-related: videos for a cryptocurrency called Titcoin and a (real) piece of wearable tech that would recharge your phone while you masturbated. It was called Wankband. At Christmastime last year, noting the success of gift cards for streaming services like Spotify and Netflix, they started selling Pornhub Premium gift cards. “We thought it would be the perfect Secret Santa present at workplaces and stuff like that,” Iñiguez says.

(Please don’t give a Pornhub Premium gift card to anyone you work with.)

So, is Pornhub … a tech company? “Depends who you ask,” Katz says, though he seems uninterested in the proposition. “But I think the brand … it’s an entertainment company. You don’t see anyone wearing Facebook shirts because they’re cool.”

Right, right. Cool, we’re doing cool here.

“[In online porn], everyone has the same product, so the only way you can differentiate yourself is by building a brand,” Katz explains. “We only want to create advertising that can go viral.” That means safe-for-work content. “[Pornhub] has enough porn; they need content that’s shareable.”

“Everything has to go viral,” Iñiguez points out. So you throw a lot of shit at the wall to see what sticks. The list of what Pornhub has not been willing to try in the past four years would probably be more expedient, but here we are.

It launched its own lube brand, then the world’s largest lube slide. (One of Lehre’s projects, of which he says, “They didn’t come to set, they just said ‘Oh, we have these 5-gallon drums of lube we can send over.’ We got this huge slide. They sent all these porn stars to hang out and slide down it. That was a magic day.”)

“[In online porn], everyone has the same product, so the only way you can differentiate yourself is by building a brand”

At one point, the company started a record label and hosted music video premieres for California rapper Mykki Blanco and Michigan metal band King 810. It hosted a porn film festival in New York, featuring soft-core entries from Miley Cyrus and James Franco. It made an “adult adult coloring book” featuring X-rated sketches from Instagram and Tumblr artists, which it then sold exclusively at the Think Tank Gallery in LA, Verso Books in Milan, and the menswear boutique Off the Hook in Montreal. It launched a line of sex toys, then commissioned Spanish electro-pop band Perlita to create a song from sex toy noises.

The high-end Italian denim company Diesel became the first fashion brand to advertise on a porn site in January 2016, kicking off a much-covered official partnership with Pornhub. Creative director Nicola Formichetti told Dazed, “We all go on websites like Pornhub, you know? So before you start jerking off maybe you can stop and look at our new pants.” For New York Fashion Week in 2017, Hood by Air sent a Pornhub-inspired line down the runway (models wore their hair stylized as if it were coated in semen, and jackets reading “HUSTLER” and “NEVER TRUST A CHURCH GIRL”).

In September that year, the New York streetwear brand Richardson announced a capsule collection featuring Pornhub-branded hoodies, hats, swimsuits, jackets, and T-shirts — one featuring porn actress, poet, and Pornhub spokesperson Asa Akira, and another featuring the flags of countries in which Pornhub is banned. Two months later, the New York outerwear brand Moose Knuckles debuted a limited-edition Pornhub bomber jacket that was sold through the Rihanna-blessed SoHo streetwear staple VFILES.

VFILES is also beloved by Pornhub’s most important woman: Kim Kardashian.

Last summer, the team stopped by the De Re Gallery in Los Angeles for “Make Me Famous,” the first exhibition by “professionally provocative” Instagram-famous twins Allie and Lexi Kaplan — just to pick up a painting of the Kim Kardashian–Ray J sex tape, which is now prominently displayed in the company’s LA office.

Pornhub loves Kim. When she was robbed at gunpoint later that year, Pornhub offered $50,000 “in exchange for information leading to [the] arrest and conviction of criminals who robbed Kim Kardashian.” The press release said that everyone at Pornhub was “deeply saddened” by the “horrible incident,” and reminded the world that Kim Kardashian’s sex tape with Ray J “remains the most viewed video on Pornhub with 110,198,725 views and counting.”

“We consider her to be a member of the Pornhub family,” Pornhub VP Corey Price tells Vox. “As such, we wanted to extend a helping hand and do all that we could to help bring the wrongdoers to justice.” Ultimately, the police didn’t need Pornhub’s help, but it’s a nice gesture. The video now has more than 143 million views!

Pornhub hosted a sci-fi art installation in LA’s De Re Gallery last summer. Maggie West/Pornhub

This June, the company sponsored an elaborate sci-fi art installation at the LA nightclub Union — handing the reins over to LA photographer and activist Maggie West (best known for her “Fluid” series, containing abstract images of blood, saliva, and semen) and New York artist Ryder Ripps (best known for creating the branding for Soylent and using the Ace Hotel’s artist residency to hire two Craigslist sex workers for a widely-reviled project called “ART WHORE”).

Then it partnered with the editorial arm of luxury fashion seller SSENSE to produce an avant-garde photo shoot and literary companion essay called “The Data of Desire,” using Pornhub analytics to figure out which sneaker brands are most fetishized in porn. (Converse, Nike, Adidas, Vans, and Yeezy, in that order.)

Then last month, Kanye West told Jimmy Kimmel he “still looks at Pornhub” and the company reached out via Twitter to offer him a lifetime subscription to Pornhub Premium. Two weeks later, he was serving as creative director for the first annual Pornhub Awards in Los Angeles, which were reportedly a disaster but came off, anyway, as a major coup.

West debuted a new music video featuring the currently incarcerated Lil Pump at the awards and brought G.O.O.D. Music signee Teyana Taylor along to perform. He dressed porn stars in the latest Yeezy collection (when he bothered to dress them at all) and arranged them onstage to accept futuristic-dildo-shaped award statues he also supposedly designed. The next day, he announced a line of Yeezy sweatshirts featuring the night’s winners, including “Nicest Tits” honoree Kendra Sunderland and “Hottest Female Ass” honoree Mia Malkova.

“Where do these [partnership] decisions come from?” Katz parrots back to me. “Well, we can’t be in mainstream spaces, so we become this outsider brand that’s doing out-there things. That’s what attracts these other brands like Richardson and Yeezy. Pornhub has an outsider quality that draws people to them.”

Here’s the rub (sorry): Per Pornhub’s own data, as of December 2017, just 26 percent of the site’s users are women.

This is not really a problem, as what Iñiguez pointed out is true: Girls didn’t have to read Playboy to buy the clothes. But it is kind of a problem, mostly because women make up a large share of the people on earth, and Pornhub has basically nowhere to go within the demographic it already serves.

So far, Pornhub has tried selling Mother’s Day–specific cardboard VR headsets, publishing site traffic insights from the day of the 2017 Women’s March, and weighing in on International Women’s Day to announce that it would change the “female-friendly” tag on its site to “popular with women.” It also pointed out that searches for Amy Schumer rose 513 percent in tandem with her Instagram post about the holiday.

“More than ever before, women are coming forward to express their desires more openly,” Price says. “And we want to provide resources to support that.”

So, this January, Pornhub debuted “F*ck Your Period.”

“There are two types of women: women who have sex on their period and women who don’t,” Katz tells me. “It’s 49 [percent] to 51,” (based on an informal Pornhub survey of its female users). With that, uh, fact in mind, Pornhub launched a campaign with the goal of explaining the health benefits of having an orgasm during your period. It made its own period calendar app and encouraged women to fill it out so that each month, they would receive a free login code for Pornhub Premium for the duration of their period. “[The goal was] to get girls to experiment with Pornhub for the first time in case they hadn’t,” Katz says. “Pornhub is a sex-friendly, female-friendly company.”

Pornhub’s cryptocurrency launch in New York. Officer & Gentleman

Yet the campaigns aimed at women are rarely the ones that blow up. In March, the site started accepting cryptocurrency as payment and had models stroll through the Financial District in Pornhub-branded ski masks, tossing plastic coins and licking the Wall Street bull’s balls. This worked: It got press.

The following month, Pornhub launched a program called “The Visionaries Director’s Club” with the aim of “[diversifying] porn production” and gave rapper Young M.A. a budget to write and produce her own pornographic short film. The company described the film in a press release, writing that it would appeal to “our progressive generation,” and adding, “While high production level lesbian content is often clearly created with the male gaze in mind, M.A’s debut film is authentic and genuine to her taste profile.”

Last month, it gave a similar budget to pansexual singer and rapper Brooke Candy, who wrote of her film, “We had the most next level crew of fine artists from all over the world and the cast of actors that I chose really had an inner beauty which they unleashed on film. It’s queer, it’s sex-positive and it’s super-hot.” This didn’t work — it got no press. But the data says that female usership of Pornhub grows every year, Price points out. So it’s fine.

As a woman who menstruates, did I know that orgasms make period cramps less painful and bleeding cycles shorter? I mean, as a woman who drinks water, did I know it keeps my organs running?

Pornhub’s brand strategy is elaborate, multifaceted, funny, and cool. It’s also as simple as a bunch of straight boys chasing what straight boys so often chase: a projection of ease and edge that makes them appealing to other boys like them, and a veneer of caring that they hope will grant them an in with women.

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Original Source -> Pornhub wants to be a lifestyle brand

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[mancitynoise]

Who lost? Who lost it? And who kept winning the Premier League?

Manchester City begin their season on Sunday by playing Chelsea in the Community Shield. Who were the last Premier League champions to retain their title?

Arsenal

Chelsea

Manchester City

Manchester United

Johanna Konta beat Serena Williams this week at the Silicon Valley Classic in California. What was notable about the game?

It went to five sets

Williams won just one game

The third set finished 14-12

The match only took 29 minutes

The 2018 European Championships – a new mini-Olympics for the continent – began on Wednesday in Glasgow. Which other city is co-hosting the event?

Belfast

Berlin

Baku

Birmingham

Why was tennis player Benoît Paire fined £12,500 this week?

He called the umpire a "bigger loser than Trump"

He was wearing socks that advertised a betting company

He smashed three racquets in a series of tantrums

He shouted “Zut alors!” at the umpire

One of them won the Champions League while at Chelsea. The other won it while at Real Madrid. In which city will their teams meet in the Championship this weekend?

Leeds

Reading

London

Middlesbrough

Speaking of Champions League winners who are now managing in the Championship. Which of these men became a European champion in the same team as Steve McManaman?

Daniel Farke

Marcelo Bielsa

Aitor Karanka

Iván Campo

Which of these statements about Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas is true?

He won Olympic medals in 2016

He was born in England

He and his wife run a wedding venue in Chepstow

He was the only Welshman on the Tour this year

Why did LeBron James return to his hometown this week?

To play in his brother’s basketball team in a work league

To play drums on John Legend’s new album (he’s also from Ohio)

To stand as Governor of Ohio

To open his own school

Why has 70-year-old Peter Davies sued Wolverhampton Wanderers?

He wants compensation for buying a shirt they are no longer using

Another fan spilt coffee on his new replica shirt and the club won't replace it

He claims he designed their badge and was never paid for it

He was struck by a ball during a pre-season game and broke his glasses

Dillian Whyte, Joseph Parker, Carlos Takam and Dereck Chisora put on a great night of boxing in London on Saturday. Which of the four of them was knocked down in the 12th round but still won his fight?

Dillian Whyte

Joseph Parker

Carlos Takam

Dereck Chisora

10 and above.

Right out of the top drawer. Nicely done. Have a super weekend

3 and above.

You gave it a go. That's what really counts

2 and above.

Oops

4 and above.

You gave it a go. That's what really counts

5 and above.

You gave it a go. That's what really counts. Have a super weekend

6 and above.

Well played. Have a super weekend

7 and above.

Well played. Have a super weekend

8 and above.

Well played. Have a super weekend

9 and above.

Well played. Have a super weekend

0 and above.

Oops

1 and above.

Oops

Continue reading...

#TheGuardian #News

[thisdaynews]

Breaking News: Love Him, Hate Him: Captain Sergio Ramos Is the Beating Heart of Real Madrid

New Post has been published on https://www.thisdaynews.net/2018/05/31/breaking-news-love-him-hate-him-captain-sergio-ramos-is-the-beating-heart-of-real-madrid/

Breaking News: Love Him, Hate Him: Captain Sergio Ramos Is the Beating Heart of Real Madrid

The man who would become one of the most beloved and most hated footballers in Europe announced himself to Real Madrid with a missile.

Sergio Ramos had come up through the ranks for his hometown club, Sevilla, in the south of Spain. When the two sides met in a league fixture in May 2005, he smacked in a free-kick from 30 metres early in the first half to push Sevilla into the lead. The ball swerved in midair like a heat-seeker.

As he wheeled away to celebrate, Dani Alves, who was playing for Sevilla at the time, climbed up on his back like a jockey. In the stands, Real Madrid’s president, Florentino Perez, looked on glumly. It was a stunning strike for a defender who had turned only 19 a few weeks earlier. Real Madrid’s players—a group that included Raul, David Beckham and the club’s current head coach, Zinedine Zidane—were among those to take note.

“We weren’t surprised because of his goal; we were surprised because of his level,” Paco Pavon, who played for Real Madrid at the time, tells B/R. “It was like a great player had suddenly appeared in La Liga and also one who was so young. From the first moment, it was obvious he was a guy that had a splendid future.”

Fast-forward 13 years, and what Pavon and his teammates discovered at that moment is what fans all over Europe have learned to expect of Ramos: the unexpected. That 19-year-old would grow into a leader who captains both Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, a defender many call the best in the world—and a player who simply demands constant watching to see what will come next, be it a crucial late goal, getting sent off or both.

They’ve come to love, or hate, a man whose attitude on and off the field can wind up opposing fans like few others, which just makes his supporters love him all the more. Like a European version of Draymond Green or Odell Beckham Jr., he has an edge that can be divisive but is part of what makes him great.

Real Madrid pursued Ramos that summer. He was close to signing for the club when he went on international duty with the Spain national team in August. He arrived at camp wearing sunglasses and a white suit, the color that is synonymous with Real Madrid, Los Blancos. In a documentary about his career, Ramos would later describe the suit as “tacky.” He wore it to stir the pot. The news corps from Spain’s television stations lapped it up, filming him on arrival. It was an audacious maneuver. A couple of weeks later, he was unveiled as a Real Madrid player.

Ramos took on Real Madrid’s No. 4 jersey, which had been vacated a couple of seasons earlier by club legend Fernando Hierro, who played in the heart of Real Madrid’s defense for 14 seasons—and who, like Ramos, captained his club and country and is from southern Spain. It was another message.

“Sergio reminds me of Fernando Hierro,” says Pavon, who partnered with Hierro in central defense. “They’re two similar personalities. They both have the same integrity. They assumed leadership in a similar way. You can see the way Sergio treats his teammates. He’s an example for them. He’s the spokesman for the team. He always puts the team before anything else. That’s why all his teammates are with him until death.”

Hierro was a strong presence in Real Madrid’s dressing room, but he flew too close to the sun and was bombed out of the club in the summer of 2003, per Steve McManaman’s memoir, El Macca. Ramos—who came close to joining Manchester United in 2015, according to the documentary, Informe Robinson – Capitan Ramos—has even greater power in Real Madrid’s dressing room. He is not shy about standing up to coaches, once, for example, deriding then-Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho because Mourinho was “never a [professional] player” during a training ground spat in January 2012, per Marca.

“Ramos has more influence in the dressing room than Hierro,” says Diego Torres, a journalist with El Pais. “[Real Madrid president] Florentino [Perez] got rid of Hierro. Florentino couldn’t get rid of Ramos, who is a footballer that is cherished and very respected by his teammates.”

Ramos uses his influence to smooth the rough edges in Real Madrid’s dressing room. He sees eye to eye with Cristiano Ronaldo, the team’s franchise player, although the pair locked horns publicly earlier this season over the lack of experience (as Ronaldo saw it) on Real Madrid’s squad.

Paul White/Associated Press

After a 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League in November 2017, Ronaldo complained that the club shouldn’t have offloaded Pepe, Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez in the offseason in favor of promoting several young Spanish players, per Marca.

Ramos disagreed that the squad was “weaker.” When Ramos was asked shortly afterward about what the future held for Ronaldo—who is locked in stalled contract renewal negotiations with the club—he was dismissive: “Is Cristiano leaving? Ask him. I don’t know about these things,” per Marca. Ramos then made peace, however, in a television interview before Christmas, citing their “great friendship.”

“Sergio has quite a good relationship with Cristiano,” Torres says. “They have passed through a complicated moment. In other seasons, they had a better relationship than now. Now they are a bit further apart. Cristiano is colder, more distant. Cristiano is [battling] with the club. He’s trying to improve his contract. He’s distanced himself a bit from the team. He hasn’t played as many games. He’s not aligned with Sergio Ramos.

“But in general they get on very well. They have a professional relationship that is very good. It’s one of the keys to the success of Real Madrid.”

Another key to Real Madrid’s domination in Europe and a five-trophy haul in 2017 is the goals Ramos gets. He scored 10 last season in 44 games, per Diario AS, a remarkable haul for a defender. He has a knack, too, for scoring clutch goals, including an injury-time equalizer against Atletico Madrid in the 2014 UEFA Champions League final. It typified his never-say-die attitude. Ramos now has a “92.48” tattoo—the time on the clock when his header flew into the net—to remind him of the moment, per El Mundo.

“Sergio has that character which is essential to be an idol in Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium. He has what people call ‘the Juanito spirit,'” says Ramon Calderon, a former Real Madrid president, referencing the club’s beloved winger Juanito, who died in a car crash in 1992 at age 37.

“Juanito was a player like Sergio, a very strong character with a lot of stamina who gives until the last gasp when playing. That’s why Sergio was able to score a goal in added time in Lisbon, because he gives everything he’s got on the pitch. That is very important in our club. It’s what our fans are always looking for. They can’t forgive a player who is wearing the white shirt if he doesn’t give 100 percent.”

Ramos’ commitment means he often steps over the line. He has collected 24 red cards in his career with Real Madrid, including a league-record 19 in La Liga, per Guardian, although curiously he has never been sent off in 151 appearances for Spain.

TF-Images/Getty Images

“The red cards aren’t a problem,” Pavon says. “It’s his way to play. He goes to the limit. A lot of times, he’s the team’s last defender. He has to make fouls. Also, he has infamy, so when there is a doubt, he gets a lot of cards that he doesn’t deserve.”

One of Ramos’ darkest moments with Real Madrid was when he missed against Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout in the 2012 UEFA Champions League semi-final, which cost his team a place in the final. The manner of the miss stung. His ball flew so far over the crossbar that it launched a thousand memes on social media, including pictures of the ball flying toward the moon past E.T. on a bike.

Ramos found redemption two months later by cheekily scoring a Panenka—a penalty kick that is lobbed gently down the middle of the goal—in a penalty shootout for Spain against Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2012 semi-final. He’s got a pair of stones.

Whenever Ramos makes gaffes—like when he tweeted “congratulations” to Spain’s female water polo team for winning gold at the World Championships in 2013, not realizing he was watching a rerun of their final match on television, almost a month after their win—he is quick to laugh at himself. This endears him to fans. He is, however, a figure of fun for many Barcelona fans in Spain. On the Catalan satirical television show Crackovia, for example, Ramos is mocked for being a philistine and for having a thick Andalucian accent.

“Possibly in Barcelona, they compare Ramos to [Barcelona central defender] Gerard Pique,” says Torres. “Pique is urbane. He’s from the city. He’s a footballer who he wants to study, to travel, to learn languages and other subjects apart form football. But why don’t they compare Ramos to Carles Puyol or Samuel Umtiti? Ramos doesn’t compare so badly in this type of comparison in terms of cultural education.

“Ramos is more rustic than an urbanite. He’s a footballer that likes the countryside. He likes bulls, horses, animals and nature. He’s a bit like Tarzan. In this way he’s very like Puyol. Puyol is a guy from the countryside, from a village, and his hair is more spectacular than Ramos. Ramos is very intelligent. He knows how to use his influence. There are many men who are intelligent and cultured, but they don’t know how to wield power. Ramos knows perfectly how the world works, how to use his power, which you don’t learn at university.”

Calderon, the team president, gave Ramos the nickname Tarzan. “He likes it,” Calderon says. “He’s always laughing when I see him. He remembers it: ‘Well, you gave me the nickname Tarzan,’ he says. Many of his teammates called him it because of his strength and his muscled body.”

Ramos owns a stud farm in Andalucia. It’s his bolthole, where he can escape with his family from the rush of life in the public eye in Madrid. One of his horses is called “Capitan Ramos,” per Informe Robinson – Capitan Ramos.

Calderon says Ramos is a quintessential guy from Andalucia, with a passion for its two great pastimes. He recalls Ramos singing flamenco “very well” during a party to celebrate the first league title win under his presidency in 2007, and he has also watched Ramos bullfighting.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

“Sergio likes bullfighting,” Calderon says. “He’s an aficionado. Of course, professional footballers are not allowed to do it because of the risk of an injury, but he has done it sometimes when he’s on [holidays].

“I’ve seen him at the small fiestas that are organized in the farms where the bulls are being bred, and he does it quite well with small bulls. He has got good style. That’s why you see Ramos when the club wins a title—the league or the Champions League—he takes a cape with the logo of Real out on the pitch and simulates fighting a bull. Fans like it. It’s fun.”

At least, his club’s fans do.

Fans from Liverpool, Real Madrid’s opponent in Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final, might not be so fond if Ramos gets to unfurl his matador’s cape.

#Beating #Captain #Heart #Real Madrid #Sergio Ramos

[investmart007]

KIEV, Ukraine | The Latest: 15-goal Ronaldo chases Champions League record

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/AltcxH

KIEV, Ukraine | The Latest: 15-goal Ronaldo chases Champions League record

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The Latest on the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid (all times local): 8:55 p.m.

Cristiano Ronaldo leads the Real Madrid attack needing to score twice to match his own single-season Champions League record.

The Madrid star has 15 goals in the competition, and got 17 in the 2013-14 title-winning season. His record year included a penalty in the last minute of extra time in the final to cap a 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid.

Ronaldo seems sure to be the Champions League top scorer for the sixth straight year, and outright top scorer in five of them.

He is five goals ahead of Liverpool forwards Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, who have 10 each. Sadio Mane, who also starts in the Liverpool attack, has nine.

It’s the same Madrid lineup as last year’s final — a 4-1 win against Juventus.

8:40 p.m.

The lineups have been announced.

Real Madrid: Keylor Navas; Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Marcelo; Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric; Francisco ‘Isco’ Alarcon, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema.

Liverpool: Loris Karius; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, James Milner; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane.

8.27 p.m.

Liverpool has arrived for its final against Real Madrid.

Aiming for its first Champions League title since the 2005 “Miracle of Istanbul,” the team arrived in a bright red bus bearing the slogan “We Are Liverpool.” Fans of the Reds thronged the streets around the Olympic Stadium.

Coach Juergen Klopp led his team out of the bus and into the stadium. Virgil van Dijk chewed gum, while Mohamed Salah was among several players wearing headphones.

Klopp admitted Thursday that Liverpool would face a difficult task against a Madrid team which “works like a clock from Switzerland.”

Klopp is aiming to end a losing streak in his last five major finals.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain arrived on crutches due to the season-ending knee injury he suffered last month. He was accompanied by club chairman Tom Werner. ___ 8:20 p.m.

Real Madrid has arrived at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev as it seeks its third consecutive Champions League title on Saturday in the final against Liverpool.

Fans lined streets as the team bus approached the stadium, with some supporters waving flares. Cristiano Ronaldo smiled for the cameras as he exited the bus wearing headphones.

The last time a team won Europe’s premier cup competition three years in a row was Bayern Munich in 1976.

Despite Real Madrid’s run of success in Europe, coach Zinedine Zidane said Thursday his team “doesn’t feel like the favorites” for the final. ___ 8:15 p.m.

Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, has been walking pitchside at the Olympic Stadium less than two hours before kickoff.

The former world heavyweight boxing champion stopped to pose for selfie photographs by several fans in white Real Madrid shirts.

Klitschko has spent much of the past two days trying to ensure Liverpool fans with tickets could get to his city. He was in talks with the mayor of Liverpool and airline authorities trying to find landing slots at Kiev’s two airports for flights from England which had been canceled.

Klitschko was first elected to office in 2014, two years after his last professional fight. ___ 7:50 p.m.

Goals, goals, goals. This season is the most prolific in the 26-year Champions League era.

A strike rate of 3.20 goals per game — 397 in 124 games so far at one goal every 28 minutes — has beaten the record of 3.04 set last season.

And the two highest-scoring teams are in the final. Liverpool has 40 goals and Real Madrid 30 — half of its total scored by Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Nobody expected us to be here but we are here, because we are Liverpool,” coach Juergen Klopp said. “It’s the most exceptional run to a final with the most goals ever. I can’t believe that its true, but it’s us.”

Liverpool has also been the more efficient team, scoring 10 more than Madrid from 19 fewer attempts, according to UEFA match statistics.

The goal glut in the competition is not just due to more mismatches.

Liverpool’s habit of conceding goals when leading games led to a 3-3 draw against group rival Sevilla, and thrilling semifinals against Roma — a 5-2 win and a 4-2 loss.

Madrid’s defense also struggled in the knockout rounds. A 3-1 home loss in the quarterfinals second leg against Juventus was followed by a 2-2 draw against a wasteful Bayern Munich side in the semifinals second leg. ___ 7:10 p.m.

Liverpool hopes European Cup history from May 1981 will repeat itself.

When Liverpool beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the final 37 years ago, it was the only time an English team beat a Spanish opponent to lift the iconic, large-handled trophy in the competition’s 63-year history.

Each England vs. Spain final since then went Spain’s way, though none involved Madrid.

Barcelona accounted for all three wins, beating Arsenal in the 2006 final, and Manchester United twice, in 2009 and two years later.

Madrid has lost all three of its European finals against British teams.

An Aberdeen team managed by Alex Ferguson beat Alfredo Di Stefano’s Madrid in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup final. In the same competition, Madrid lost the 1971 final to Chelsea. ___ 6:35 p.m.

European fans may have struggled to make it to the Champions League final in Kiev, but Liverpool and Real Madrid supporters from elsewhere in the world are making their presence felt.

Ukraine has a simpler visa process than many European Union countries, and in the city center fans are bearing flags from countries as varied as South Africa, Ecuador and Bahrain. Liverpool appears to have brought more fans from Asia and Africa, while Real has supporters from South America.

Some had long journeys, like Liverpool supporter Eric Luk, who came from Hong Kong via Kazakhstan over almost a whole day and night.

It’s not been all plain sailing. Australian fans Lachlan Garrard and Ian Dennis complained of waiting four hours to be issued a visa on arrival at one of Kiev’s airports, and everyone must contend with astronomical hotel prices.

English clubs won the last two Champions League finals played outside the European Union. Manchester United won on penalties over Chelsea in Moscow in 2008 and Liverpool staged a spectacular comeback against AC Milan in Turkey in 2005 — the famous “Miracle of Istanbul.” ___ 5:45 p.m.

Four years ago, Kiev’s central square was a battleground. Now it’s packed with fans ahead of the Champions League final.

Popularly known as Maidan, in late 2013 and early 2014 the square was the scene of protests which eventually ousted then-President Viktor Yanukovych.

Crowds camped out on the square for weeks, battled police, and more than 100 people were shot dead on the square and in surrounding streets.

On Saturday, Real Madrid and Liverpool supporters mixed with locals on the square as musical fountains played Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”

“I came here in 2014 and these buildings were all charred and there were tires everywhere after the demonstrations,” says Stefan Polotajko, a British Liverpool fan with relatives in Ukraine. “The way it’s been transformed is absolutely amazing.”

Also on the square was Lyudmyla Agafonova, who moved to Kiev with her family because of the conflict with Russia-backed separatists in her home city of Donetsk.

She says “the Real fans are more fun. Liverpool are a bit more restrained, like the English in general. We’re happy it’s all happening here.”

Her husband Serhiy adds “it’s great to have all these foreigners here,” and “Ukraine is slowly getting closer to Europe.” ___ 4:39 p.m.

Kiev police say they evacuated five stations on the city’s subway network after a hoax caller warned of bomb attacks.

Ahead of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, police checked the stations and “dangerous items were not found.”

Subway operations are now back to normal.

The police say they’re now hunting the hoax caller.

Besides the bomb scare, police have so far registered 26 crimes involving foreigners, whether as victims or perpetrators.

That includes 10 cases of theft, three of hooliganism and two of fraud. Other foreigners were fined for causing a road accident and drinking in public.

Police earlier detained two people after Liverpool fans were attacked at a restaurant on Thursday, leaving two injured. ___ 4:23 p.m.

Fans are thronging the center of Kiev after many experienced travel problems.

Flight cancellations meant more than 1,000 Liverpool supporters could not leave Britain, while soaring accommodation prices persuaded roughly the same number of Madrid fans to have their ticket money refunded rather than travel to Ukraine.

Organizer UEFA has said refunded tickets will be made available to locals but there is likely to be the unusual sight of empty seats at a Champions League final.

Those fans who did make it are largely positive about Kiev, where the beer is cheap and a festival atmosphere is apparent in the city center.

Madrid fans Fabino Mohino and Yago Saez said they spent about 750 euros ($875) apiece on flights and traveled for 20 hours through Barcelona.

“We were lucky to have a friend of a friend in the suburbs,” Mohino said, meaning they could dodge Kiev hotel prices which are as much as $2,000 a night.

“Loving it,” added Saez, who has attended six of the last seven Champions League finals. “So far, so good.”

Security is tight in Kiev, with police lining the center, which has been closed to traffic. That seems to have prevented repeats of Thursday night’s attack on Liverpool fans at a restaurant — apparently by Ukrainian hooligans — which left two injured. ___ 3:35 p.m.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp will be supported at the Champions League final by a Premier League counterpart — Huddersfield’s David Wagner.

The two coaches have been friends for more than 25 years, starting in Germany and continuing in England.

Speaking in Kiev ahead of Saturday’s final against Real Madrid, Wagner said “we have texted a few times in the last week … and I am sure his team will be on fire tonight.”

Klopp is godfather to Wagner’s daughter. Wagner was Klopp’s best man. They played for the same Mainz team in the Bundesliga in the early 1990s. They were coach (Klopp) and assistant coach (Wagner) for Borussia Dortmund from 2011-15.

Klopp was hired by Liverpool in 2015 when Wagner was appointed Huddersfield manager.

Wagner says Klopp “is able to deliver an atmosphere where everyone is relaxed but focused enough and this is why I am pretty confident they have a chance.” ___ 12:45 p.m.

There is 4.5 million euros ($5.2 million) extra prize money at stake for the winner Saturday, on top of the tens of millions Liverpool and Real Madrid have earned already from organizer UEFA this season.

The champion will earn 15.5 million euros ($18.1 million) and the runner-up gets 11 million euros ($12.8 million). That money from UEFA includes each club’s share of ticket revenue.

UEFA will distribute more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in prize money among the 32 teams that qualified for the group stage.

All 32 clubs get almost 13 million euros ($15.2 million) for entering, bonuses for wins and draws in group-stage games, fees for reaching each knockout round, and a share of their national broadcasting deal (known as “market pool” money).

Madrid is on target to pocket at least 80 million euros ($93.3 million) from UEFA. Liverpool should get at least 75 million euros ($87.5 million), including a 2 million euros ($2.3 million) bonus for advancing from the playoff round last August.

Prize money is expected to rise by around 30 percent next season when a new, three-year cycle of broadcasting and sponsorship deals kick in. ___ 11:50 a.m.

Don’t be surprised if it takes until Sunday for the Champions League title to be decided.

Real Madrid and Liverpool kick off at 9:45 p.m. local time in Kiev, that’s 1845 GMT. The game will go beyond midnight if the score is level after 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time are needed.

Three of the past six finals also needed a penalty shootout after extra time, and that would push the action close to 12:30 a.m. in the Ukrainian capital.

Madrid and Liverpool have combined to win 17 titles since the competition began in the 1955-56 season.

While Madrid is chasing a record-extending 13th win, Liverpool would go third on the all-time list by winning its sixth. AC Milan ranks second with seven European titles.

Of all the teams with at least three titles, Madrid and Liverpool boast the best record in finals.

Two-time defending champion Madrid is chasing the first hat-trick of titles since Bayern Munich won each European Cup final from 1974-76. Ajax also won three in a row from 1971-73.

It would also give Madrid four titles in five years — the best streak since the Spanish club won the first five editions through 1960. ___ 11:45 a.m.

Liverpool and Real Madrid fans are gathering in Kiev for the first Champions League final to be played in Ukraine.

The final is a rare prestige moment for a country whose recent years have been dominated by the conflict with Russia-backed separatists and severe economic problems.

But it’s one of the most logistically-challenging locations chosen by UEFA for its showpiece club final, with a shortage of hotel rooms and a lack of flight landing slots.

Fueled by Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals, Madrid is chasing a 13th European Cup title.

Liverpool has reached the final for the first time in 11 years. The Premier League club won the last of its five European titles in 2005.

By Associated Press – published on STL.News by St. Louis Media, LLC(R.A)

#Cristiano Ronaldo #Kiev #lineups have been announced #Liverpool forwards #Madrid lineup #Real Madrid attack #TodayNews #Ukraine

[walkonwalkonwithhopeinyourheart]

Match Thread: Manchester United vs Liverpool via /r/LiverpoolFC

Match Thread: Manchester United vs Liverpool

MATCH INFORMATION

Stadium: Old Trafford

When is it on?: Check Here

TV Channel: Sky Sports 1

Referee: Micheal Oliver

Notification: Please do not cause trouble in opposing fan subreddits or discord servers. Thankyou.

Other Useful Links

Pre Match Thread - Credit: /u/emre23

Gif Thread - Credit: /u/agent_couts

Navi Stream(AllDevices) - Credit /u/navixsport

Liverpool Discord - Credit /u/Flurin

Reddit Thread Stream

Match Facts - Credit: /u/thereisagoldensky

*This will be the 50th Premier League meeting between Manchester United and Liverpool - United have won 27 of the previous 49 (D9 L13).

*Liverpool have lost 11 of their last 14 visits to Old Trafford in the Premier League, winning the other three.

*Liverpool have lost more Premier League matches (27) and also the most overall league matches (67) against Manchester United than versus any other opponent.

*This clash has seen 16 red cards shown in the Premier League - only Everton v Liverpool (21) has produced more dismissals.

*Only Steven Gerrard (8) has scored more goals in this Premier League fixture than Wayne Rooney (6 - level with Robbie Fowler).

*Manchester United had just 35% possession vs Liverpool at Anfield in October, their lowest total in a Premier League match since Opta began recording this data in 2003-04.

*Jurgen Klopp has lost just one of his six meetings with Jose Mourinho (W3 D2 L1), with that defeat coming in 2013 via a 2-0 away loss for Dortmund v Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg.

*Adam Lallana has been involved in 14 Premier League goals this season (seven goals, seven assists); more than any other English player.

*Liverpool have won every game this season with Micheal Oliver as referee (4 wins)

*Juan Mata has had a hand in five goals in his last four appearances against Liverpool in the Premier League, scoring three and assisting two.

*This could be Wayne Rooney's 450th Premier League game, becoming the 21st player in Premier League history to reach this landmark.

Lineups

Position Manchester United Liverpool Formation 4-3-3 4-3-3 GK De Gea Mignolet DEF Valencia Alexander-Arnold DEF Jones Lovren DEF Marcus Rojo Klavan DEF Darmain Milner MID Carrick Henderson MID Herrera Can MID Pogba Wijnaldum FWD Martial Lallana FWD Mkhitaryan Firmino FWD Ibrahimovic Origi

Manchester United Substitutes

Romero, Blind, Smalling, Fellaini, Mata, Rashford, Rooney.

Liverpool Substitutes

Karius, Gomez, Moreno, Stewart, Ejaria, Coutinho, Sturridge.

MATCH UPDATES

Min Event -30 30 mins to Kickoff: I'm taking over the Match thread today. Mundoonly sadly took a wrong turn on his way to bed and wandered into the Siberian wilderness. So, Let the pre-match talk and banter begin. Predictions anyone? -25 25mins to kickoff: Matip has been withdrawn over FIFA eligibility issues (see other thread). Clyne has an apparent rib injury so TAA starts. Ings and Grujic are also out. Mane is at Afcon. -10 10mins to kickoff: Breaking drama as Klopp states that he went to get coffee but only tea was available. I will keep you updated on this development as it unfolds. -5 5mins to kickoff: Just a reminder to not go to other teams subreddits and be nuisance. -4 4mins to kickoff: Players walk out on to the Anfi...oh wait, the away support got me confused. But the players are on the field. -3 3mins to kickoff: I still don't know what to think about our third kit this season, but if Mundoonly was wearing it, he wouldn't be hard to miss out in that frozen tundra. 0 Kickoff: Referee Micheal Oliver blows his whistle and the game begins. Lets hope he has a good one today. 3 Corner #1 and 2: First two corners to Liverpool, Both not terrible. We seem to be getting better at them in recent weeks. 10 Slow start: Zero shots so far, few fouls. TAA looks up for it. Keepers haven't had anything to do. 12 Pen Shout: Martial goes to ground, crowd want a pen, Martial looks at the ref. Oliver ignores it. Click here for Video 13 Chance for Manc: Cross into the back post to Ibra was overhit, he tried to raise his leg, not even close. Can I even call it a chance? 18 Chance for Manc: Bad backpass by Lovren gives Ibra a sniff but Mignolet is off his line quick and snuffs it out. 19 Chance for Manc: Biggest chance of the game, Pogba is away and only needs to beat Mignolet but the shot is wide. Click here for Video 22 Freekick to Liverpool: Foul on Origi on the right flank, Freekick taken by Milner and it bounces around the box before De Gea collects. 25 Chance for Liverpool: Liverpool Pressure and Firmino almost robs Jones off the ball, but a little tangle and the ball is cleared for a corner. 26 Penalty to Liverpool!!: Handball by Pogba from the Corner. Looked like a headless chicken whilst trying to pull off a hand of god. 27 1-0 Liverpool, James Milner GOAL!: He doesn't miss from the spot, He doesn't miss them ever. Milner puts his right boot through it, De Gea dives the correct way but hasn't got the reach. Click here for Video 31 Lovren Yellow Card: Bit of milking there but still a stupid challenge. I think Lovren looks the least comfortable so far. Yellow? no. Freekick is cleared for a Corner. Click here for Video 32 Foul by Origi: Corner leads to a foul and a dangerous spot to give a free kick, right in the semi circle. However the Ref missed a clear foul on Henderson in the box. Mignolet makes a MAGNIFICENT reactive save for a corner. Corner is cleared. Phew. 37 Pogba's hair: Look, I lasted this long and I tried to hold it back but I have to say something. Wtf is up with that. 39 Liverpool Counter: Almost had Origi away, little pull back by Rojo slows him down enough to get support back and it finishes with a few passes around the box and a block shot or two. 41 Chance for Manc: Mhiky is away, 1 on 1 with Mignolet after Lovren plays him on, but Migs once again stands tall and strong! He has returned to the #1 spot fantastically and has showed he has it in him to stay there. Click here for video 43 Chance for Liverpool: Pogba like his hairstyle, is having a shocker. A freekick is whipped in by Milner and hit back into the middle, a deflection takes it up high and De Gea has to jump high to keep the ball away as Pogba is showing he is a liability on these freekicks. 45 Mourinho retreats: Jose is already running to the dressing room before injury time is called. Click here for video

Halftime

Team Score Goal Assist Manchester United 0 N/A N/A Liverpool 1 27' Milner(Pen) Pogba?

Halftime. Migs is being strong, TAA is looking good. Lovren a little daft. Pogba Hand, Milner Pen. Pogba's hair? First Match thread for me is looking mighty good so far.

Second Half

Min Event -1 Subs: Rooney comes on at halftime for Micheal Carrick 45 Kickoff: Micheal Oliver restarts the game. 48 Origi shot: Origi trying the Origi special, Left flank, bring it on right foot. Shot gets deflected goes for a corner. Foul in the box, freekick to Man U. 55 Chance for Manc: breeeeathe deep my fellow reds Arnold gets caught, Man U on the counter and Mhiky is free and 1 on 1 with Mignolet. Mignolet comes out and makes himself free but the cross is poor and its cleared for a corner. Mignolet puts his fist to it and sends the corner flying back up the pitch. 57 Chance for Manc Origi gets tackled and Mancs put the foot down and Rooney races into the box, but the cross(Shot?) is straight at Mignolet. 60 Sub Phillipe Coutinho on, Divock Origi off. 61 Chance for Liverpool Coutinho has the ball ont he left flank already, he cuts inside, planning for a worldie? Manc defense sees it and close him down, but they don't see Firmino galloping behind and Coutinho's pass gets him into space, however the angle is tight and De Gea parries it. 63 Chance for Liverpool Not really a chance. Just wanted to mentioned Arnolds pass. It was just a great switch of flank ball by Arnold that goes straight to Coutinho who has alot of space. He cuts inside but it's blocked. Great ball from the youngster. 65 Sub Juan Mata on, Anthony Martial off. 66 Chance for Liverpool Coutinho battles his way into the box, walking through a bunch of mancs. The ball deflects out to Lallana who takes a snap shot however De Gea saves. 70 Foul by Rooney: Yellow? Ref? Milner laying on the ground after a bad challenge by Wayne Rooney. Looks like he is alright. According to the commentators, Liverpool have ran 10km more than Man U as of this moment. 75 Chance for Liverpool: Pogba thinks he is a god and tries to dance between two Liverpool players. Gets tackled and they go on the counter. Can swings in a GREAT cross to Winnie on the backpost, but he couldn't keep it down. 78 Sub Sideshow Elbow on. Darmain off. 81 Foul on Coutinho Two successive fouls infact. Liverpool burning the clock down. Freekick isn't dangerous. 82 FUCKING MIGNOLET SAVE Where are the haters?. Rooney had a free ball inside the box, Offside yes, but still a great save. 84 Manc goal Ibrahimovic 1-1 Welp, Can't blame Mignolet for this I think it's a combination of poor defending and officials (offside anyone?). Zlatan Scored. I don't really want to go over the details. 87 Liverpool chance Cross to Winnie on the backpost again, but he hesitates and his shot is blocked for a corner. Mancs get the ball clear. 90 4 mins added Two yellows cards, one for Herrea for pulling a shirt, and one for Firmino for shoving out. 90+2 Liverpool Chance Come on Winnie, Make yourself a hero. He is open, just needs to belt it but instead rolls it into De Gea's hands.

Fulltime

Team Score Goal Assist Manchester United 1 Zlaten Liverpools Panic Defending Liverpool 1 27' Milner(Pen) Pogba?

Welp fulltime. We panicked at the back again sadly. Probably a fair result (offside aside), we sort of dropped off and let them have at us. But we could have won this easily too (offside). Hope my commentary was sufficient in Mundoonly's absence. Head over to the Post Match thread to air your thoughts and PLEASE don't cause trouble on other teams subreddits.

Submitted January 15, 2017 at 03:31PM by BronzeVgametheories via reddit http://ift.tt/2jnaElJ

#IFTTT #reddit #liverpoolfc #liverpool fc #lfc #ynwa