Sports

Ange Postecoglou has promised “a team to get excited by” as he strives for success after being appointed as Tottenham head coach.

The Australian takes up the post having guided Celtic to the domestic treble north of the border, signing a four-year contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Postecoglou, 57, takes the reins after Antonio Conte’s dismissal in March and interim runs for both Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason.

Spurs finished eighth at the end of a dismal season, their worst Premier League position since 2008, and Postecoglou is ready to get started on turning those fortunes around.

A message from our new Head Coach

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

“It’s great to finally get started as manager of this great foot…

While the New York Red Bulls have accomplished their mission of reaching the playoffs, head coach Sandro Schwarz has laid down the law to his players ahead of their trip to Toronto FC.

The Red Bulls suffered a humiliating 5-1 home defeat against cross-city rivals New York City last time out, going 2-0 down within just six minutes and 55 seconds of kick-off.

They did, however, clinch a playoff place due to other results going their way, boasting a seven-point cushion over eighth-placed Toronto, who only have two games remaining.

It was different emotions last weekend, Schwarz said. We were very disappointed about the game, and on the other side we were satisfied with qualifying for the playoffs.

When we see the big picture, this was good, but it s more a…

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni is fully aware of the Azzurri threat at Euro 2012, despite the lingering effects of the Scommessopoli scandal on his compatriots.

It would be a great mistake if you think Italy is this [finished], because we don t know how they have done in their training camp, Trapattoni told RTE.

Be sure when we meet Italy, they will be another team. We can see what the group did, but don t think this is the violin.

Last week, Lazio captain Stefano Mauri was arrested by Italian authorities following his link to an international match-fixing scandal.

In addition, Zenit St. Petersburg left-back Domenico Criscito was left out of Italy s Euro 2012 squad as a result of the Scommessopoli scandal investigation.

To m…

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Fresh off their UEFA Super Cup triumph, Real Madrid will kick off their 2024/25 La Liga season with a trip to face Mallorca at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Sunday night. The reigning Spanish champions will be keen to assert their dominance again after finishing 10 points ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona last season.

Mallorca, who ended the previous campaign in 15th place and seven points clear of relegation, will face a stern test against Los Blancos as they look to improve on last year s struggles.

Mallorca

Mallorca are gearing up for their fourth consecutive season in La Liga, marking their longest stretch at this level since 2013. Despite this achievement, the Pirates endured a challenging 2023/24 campaign, finishing 15th, ju…

Precisely 20 years ago, the player many consider to be the greatest of all time made his senior debut.

At the age of 17, Lionel Messi made his first appearance in LaLiga on October 16, 2004, replacing goalscorer Deco from the bench in Barcelona s 1-0 win at Espanyol. He was, at the time, the club s youngest player to feature in an official game.

The rest, as they say, is history – 846 goals, eight Ballons d Or and 43 senior team honours later, Messi has certainly cemented his place among the all-time greats.

On the 20th anniversary of his first professional outing, we celebrate the Argentine maestro by delving into the best facts and figures of his glittering career.

20 years ago today, Messi made his official debut for Barça.

Join us as we t…

Borussia Dortmund expect to be without Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the rest of 2014 due to a hamstring injury.

The Armenia international limped out of Saturday s 1-0 defeat to Hertha Berlin with the scores goalless, having initially impressed in midfield.

Mkhitaryan s replacement, Jakub Blaszczykowski, coughed up possession for Julian Schieber s winner as the former Dortmund striker came back to haunt the club he left for the capital in July.

And Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp will be without Mkhitaryan for their final two games before the mid-season break against Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen as the Ruhr club look to arrest a dismal season which sees them currently sat in the Bundesliga s relegation play-off place.

A club statement revealed Mkhitaryan suffered a …

Russia beat Sweden 2-0 in their Euro 2008 Group D match here on Wednesday and reach the quarter-finals at the expense of their opponents.

Roman Pavlyuchenko scored in the 24th minute, for his second of the tournament, and Russian player of the year Andrei Arshavin added a second in the 50th minute to seal victory.

Russia progress to their first ever knockout stages of a major tournament since the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991 and will play Holland in the quarter-final in Basel, Switzerland, on Saturday a repeat to a certain extent of the 1988 final when present Dutch coach Marco van Basten scored in the 2-0 victory over the Soviets.

Russia are also coached by Dutchman Guus Hiddink, who took the Dutch to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals.

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Rodri believes the future is going to be everything after Spain’s youngsters helped them to Euro 2024 glory in Berlin.

Nico Williams, set up by Lamine Yamal, scored the opener for La Roja before England substitute Cole Palmer levelled in the second half.

However, Mikel Oyarzabal netted the winner with four minutes remaining to clinch a record fourth European Championships title for Spain.

It is also Spain s first major trophy in 12 years, following their trio of wins in the Euros and World Cup between 2008 and 2012, and Rodri thinks the current group has a bright future ahead.

It s unbelievable, this is a dream, Rodri told ITV. We are now the best national team at the Euros – it s crazy.

We have been humble all these years, to keep working, …

Eden Hazard has offered public support to Raheem Sterling after the Manchester City forward was allegedly racially abused at Chelsea during a Premier League game.

Sterling was berated by a section of the Stamford Bridge crowd during Chelsea s 2-0 defeat of the Premier League champions, with the club subsequently suspending four people from attending matches pending further investigations.

The Metropolitan Police also launched an investigation into whether Sterling was racially abused by spectators and Hazard has backed the England international.

The only thing I can say is I support the player. Sterling is a fantastic player, Hazard told Sky Sports.

There is an investigation, so we don t know what will happen.

Proper Chelsea fans just sing…

Wayne Rooney made a shock U-turn and signed a new five-year deal at Manchester United on this day in 2010.

It came as quite a shock when Rooney signed a new contract just two days after the United and England striker had announced his intention to quit Old Trafford when he released a statement which questioned the club’s ambition.

The then 24-year-old let rip at the club’s leadership and said he would not be agreeing new terms following meetings with chief executive David Gill.

“During those meetings in August I asked for assurances about the continued ability of the club to attract the top players in the world,” said Rooney.

“I met with David Gill last week he did not give me any of the assurances I was seeking about the future squad. I then to…