Vesper

2021 Copa América, Group Stage Colombia Venezuela http://www.mysports.to/sports/2021/copa-america-brazil-vs-peru-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/colombia/

Fiorentina head coach Gennaro Gattuso leaves club after 23 days https://theathletic.com/news/fiorentina-gattuso-manager-leaves/feH7TRxHtHCB Gennaro Gattuso, who was appointed as Fiorentina’s new head coach only 23 days ago, has mutually agreed to leave the club. Fiorentina had been searching for a head coach after Cesare Prandelli resigned in March and Guiseppe Iachini was appointed until the end of the season. They thought they had found a replacement in Gattuso but differences of opinion have forced a mutual departure. What has been said? A club statement said: “ACF Fiorentina and Mister Rino Gattuso, by mutual agreement, have decided not to follow up on the previous agreements and therefore not to start the next football season together. “The Company immediately set to work to identify a technical choice that will guide the Viola team towards the results that Fiorentina and the City of Florence deserve.” Why has this happened? Shortly after agreeing to work together it became clear that Gattuso and Fiorentina's executive team had a difference of opinion on transfer strategy. Gattuso is represented by the agent Jorge Mendes and reports allege Fiorentina were reluctant to sign another of his clients, Porto midfielder, Sergio Oliveira, as well as consider other names in Mendes' portfolio, Jesus Corona and Goncalo Guedes as summer recruits. 23 days after announcing Gattuso’s arrival Fiorentina are now looking for a fifth coach in two years under US owner Rocco Commisso. How did Fiorentina do last season? It was a very underwhelming season for Fiorentina, with the side finishing 13th in Serie A. Despite Dusan Vlahovic’s impressive form in front of goal, the team struggled for consistency and slumped to a mid-table finish. The club themselves released a statement last month describing the season as “a very difficult campaign”, with the 40 points they achieved “clearly far below expectations”. There was also shock during the season when Prandelli resigned after admitting a “dark cloud” had developed inside him and he was experiencing a period of “profound distress”.

yes, technically he is more skilled, a better passer, but he also doesn't have Kante's insane, unique nose for the ball (no one does) they are similar though, more alike than unalike Barella has worked on his temper, which used to be an issue Barella is world class Kante is galaxy class it is just crazy those gansta Chinese owners are busting up that Inter team Conte did not even have any huge demands, he just wanted to solidify at CMF, winger, LWB, and a 3rd striker all his targets were reasonable, the total spend would have been under £100m, and they do have surplus players to sell, so could have lowered it under 60m, 70m, for sure

Sergio Ramos leaves Real Madrid after 16 years following Florentino Perez snub Real Madrid captain is set to leave the club after 16 years. He will explain his decision in a press conference alongside Los Blancos president Florentino Perez on Thursday https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-sergio-ramos-leaves-real-24335653

Fabio Paratici puts Tottenham limit at £40m to sign Inter Milan title-winning duo https://www.teamtalk.com/news/fabio-paratici-has-tottenham-limit-sign-inter-milan-pair?utm_source=vuukle&utm_medium=talk_of_town A figure of €22m would be offered to sign Holland star De Vrij, who has been with Inter since 2018. The remaining €25m would then be spent on Croatian midfielder Brozovic, who featured against England last weekend.

If we sell both Emerson and Alonso, and we drop big quid on Hakimi, I would take a punt on Borna Sosa for a low price Almost as tall as Alonso and a great left foot, he is an assist machine Kovacic could help pull him in

€40m for a soon to be 31yo (in 93 days) fullback??? AM must think other teams are them buying from us, roflmaoooooo

Villa is making strange bids for players I do not really fancy

I have no idea why they just do not say £75m, take it our leave it that a fair price and is near the €90m (it is €87.3m atm) that £59m initial offer was insulting to both Dortmund and Sancho they were literally near paying double that in the past and COVID or no COVID, Sancho is not worth fucking HALF of what he was, that is just silly Dortmund is not stupid, they know there is an English tax

crazy that he ended up at Bayern at one point, no clue why

brutal EPL stretches in bold Chelsea’s 2021/22 fixture list in full 14/08/2021 15:00 Crystal Palace (h) 21/08/2021 15:00 Arsenal (a) 28/08/2021 15:00 Liverpool (a) 11/09/2021 15:00 Aston Villa (h) 18/09/2021 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur (a) 25/09/2021 15:00 Manchester City (h) 02/10/2021 15:00 Southampton (h) 16/10/2021 15:00 Brentford (a) 23/10/2021 15:00 Norwich City (h) 30/10/2021 15:00 Newcastle United (a) 06/11/2021 15:00 Burnley (h) 20/11/2021 15:00 Leicester City (a) 27/11/2021 15:00 Manchester United (h) 30/11/2021 19:45 Watford (a) 04/12/2021 15:00 West Ham United (a) 11/12/2021 15:00 Leeds United (h) 15/12/2021 20:00 Everton (h) 18/12/2021 15:00 Wolverhampton (a) 26/12/2021 15:00 Aston Villa (a) 28/12/2021 15:00 Brighton (h) 01/01/2022 15:00 Liverpool (h) 15/01/2022 15:00 Manchester City (a) 22/01/2022 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur (h) 08/02/2022 19:45 Brighton (a) 12/02/2022 15:00 Arsenal (h) 19/02/2022 15:00 Crystal Palace (a) 26/02/2022 15:00 Leicester City (h) 05/03/2022 15:00 Burnley (a) 12/03/2022 15:00 Newcastle United (h) 19/03/2022 15:00 Norwich City (a) 02/04/2022 15:00 Brentford (h) 09/04/2022 15:00 Southampton (a) 16/04/2022 15:00 Leeds United (a) 23/04/2022 15:00 West Ham United (h) 30/04/2022 15:00 Everton (a) 07/05/2022 15:00 Wolverhampton (h) 15/05/2022 15:00 Manchester United (a) 22/05/2022 16:00 Watford (h)

He is a a right-footer. He played zero times on the left this past season. The same his entire time at RM. Top flight Real every game was as a RB, ad then in youth Real games, twice as RW in 2016/17 (last two games of the year) and once (first game of the year) at RW in 2015/16. All other RM youth games were at RB. In 2019/20 (Dortmund), he played 3 times at LB, all 3 at the very beginning in August (twice) and September (once) 2019. They won one, drew one, lost one (a 1 3 thumping loss against Union Berlin). He played 6 other times on the left, but all but one were as basically a LW'er. He played LWB once (for half the game), and that was in arguably Dortmund's worst performance of the the year, when they were destroyed by Hoffenheim nil 4 at home. You may remember that game because Andrej Kramaric scored all 4 goals, destroying Raphaël Guerreiro (amongst others) with 2 first half goals. Guerreiro was pulled from LWB at halftime, Hakimi came on there, and Kramaric promptly scored two more goals in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half. Dortmund was just shockingly bad all game. The only other thrashings all year (other than the two listed above) were a nil 4 away pounding by Bayern, where Hakimi played RB, not wingback, and a 3 1 loss away to Barca in the CL (Hakimi played RWB). Those were literally Dortmund's worst (score-wise) defeats of the entire year, they had no other blowout losses. They did blow a 2 3 lead and lost away 3 4 to Neverkusen, giving up 2 goals in the last 10 minutes of regulation time. In 2018/19 he did play a bit at LB for Dortmund. Three times in the CL (but one was a 80th minute injury sub appearance when Diallo, a left footer, got injured). Then, quite a lot (I think this is what you were thinking of) in the Bundesliga. 14 times, but the last time was home versus Wolfsburg, when he (again) came on for an injured Diallo, and 24 minutes later broke his foot, which ended Hakimi's season. His production in the league was low at LB however, only 1 goal, and two assists, and the one goal and one of the assists were both in same game, versus a woeful (relegated that season) Hannover side The other assist was against Hertha. He did have one (his only one) great game as a LB his entire career (stats-wise). 3 assists in the CL versus Atletico Madrid in a 4 nil blowout. It was a complete Atleti CL collapse, with a patchwork banged up ageing side fielded, 3 of their 4 starting back four left after that season, and Saul was played out of position at winger, plus Partey had a nightmare game. Other than that (and a headed goal against Köln the next season, in matchday 2), Hakimi had very little goal and or assist production as a LB/LWB, certainly nothing like Alonso. If you want Alonso type LB/LWB production the available options are very limited Theo Hernández Robin Gosens Ramy Bensebaini Borna Sosa (23yo Croatian, 1.86m, 10 Bundesliga assists as a LWB/LB in only 2000 minutes, 9 in 3 months, from mid January to mid April, then had a now-recovered-from shoulder injury) best bargain buy out of all these Plus, the 18yo (19yo in 3 days) Nuno Mendes, who I can so see becoming a monster and easily reaching that level, although he is nowhere nearly as large (1.76m so they say) as 4 listed above, all of whom are over 6 feet tall, although he has tremendous leaping skills, he is extremely athletic. Alfonso Pedraza is sorta getting there as well and is 1.84m, so has good size as well. Finally, to an extent (he plays at winger a lot as well, will cost more than all but Theo above, and is very short and is somewhat poor defensively) Raphaël Guerreiro, and lastly, Angeliño, but he is also very short and did not play well in the EPL, plus got wrecked on defence. Hope that all helps.

If we sell/include as makeweight Alonso, we are fucked at LB if Chilwell cannot play, Emerson is pants for the EPL

'Love this news': Some Chelsea fans happy with reported links to left-footed La Liga player https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/transfer-news/love-this-news-some-Chelsea-fans-happy-with-reported-links-to-left-footed-la-liga-player/ A section of Chelsea fans on social media were pleased to hear the reported news involving Alfonso Pedraza of Villarreal. According to Calcio Napoli 24. The Blues remain in ‘pole position’ to sign Pedraza, who was recently crowned a Europa League winner. The 25-year-old played a major role for Unai Emery’s side last campaign, making 44 appearances across all competitions. He is primarily a left-back, but can also be deployed as a winger. Plenty of Chelsea fans welcomed the update with open arms, as they urge Thomas Tuchel to transform his squad ahead of next season.

damn I reposted it, I did not see you had put it up, lol I put in the pics though 😜

A humble, funny great - with a little dark side: The real 'N'Golinho' Kante Plus, our Euro 2020 columnist explains why Timo Werner will come good https://www.telegraph.co.uk/euro-2021/2021/06/14/humble-funny-great-little-dark-side-real-ngolinho-kante/ It was Eden Hazard and I who gave N’Golo Kante his Brazilian nickname of N’Golinho when we were all at Chelsea together and I still use it to this day. Obviously, it was a bit of fun but it showed how highly we rated N’Golo and how we appreciated some of the parts of his game that maybe other people didn’t see. Now everyone sees what an incredible player he is and, even if France do not win the Euros, N’Golinho is one of the greatest-ever players in his position. If France, who are my favourites for the tournament, do win the Euros then there will be a very strong case for N’Golo to win the Ballon d’Or having already added the Champions League to his World Cup and Premier League titles. I remember when he joined Chelsea, he was very shy, he wasn’t talking a lot. He had to move the ball a little bit quicker and always look forwards because sometimes it felt like he saw the pass forwards but he was not doing it, or at least was not taking the risk to find the little pockets where Eden, Willian or Pedro used to play. N’Golo was very much the style of player that Antonio Conte wanted in midfield, someone powerful who could run a lot, who was aggressive and who could make good recoveries. But under Antonio, he improved a lot going forwards and passing forwards, and that took him to another level. His dribbling could surprise you. He’s seen as a defensive midfielder who makes all these tackles and recoveries and it’s fantastic, but sometimes we wouldn’t see him lose the ball. He can run with the ball, break lines and dribble, and sometimes, just because it’s him, we don’t appreciate these things. So that’s maybe why we started to call him N’Golinho. He’s one of the most complete midfielders in the world, for sure. I remember N’Golo made an assist once for Eden at Bournemouth. He played a long ball over the top and Eden beat the keeper and scored. We used to train that a lot, a lot, a lot, nearly every day, and the day after when we were re-watching the game and analysing it, Antonio was so happy with him because it was exactly what he wanted. N’Golo is a quiet, shy boy, but once you get to know him you can have a lot of fun with him and he’s a very funny guy when he’s in the mood and at certain moments in training. He used to come on the back of the bus, playing games and cards or whatever it was, and have a laugh. Everybody knows he is a really good human being. One day, we met in the morning, we were playing at night, and everyone was ‘where’s N’Golo, where’s N’Golo, we’re starting the meeting’ and normally he was always on time. Eventually, he arrived and everyone started clapping and Antonio said ‘what’s happened?’ And he was telling us that he’s had a car crash and some people couldn’t believe it was him and they were taking pictures and he wanted to be polite. His car was all damaged and the wing mirror had to be taped back on, but he still stopped for photographs, even though it made him late! But N’Golo has a little dark side as well that I like, which I still see now when I watch him on television. He doesn’t lose his temper, but, If you watch, you will see that he does not mind fouling an opponent or getting a yellow card and he will not apologise or be nice to the other guy, he will just walk away. I like this and it gives a message to the opponent that N’Golo will not be too nice on the pitch. To be a really top player, you need this. If you are nice on the pitch, then they eat you alive and I smile when I see his darker side. We saw this season that N’Golo is a big-game player with his incredible performance in the Champions League final against Manchester City and I could always see, like all the best players, that he could raise his game to another level for the big games. This is the sign of a big player. I remember two games against Manchester United that we won, one was the FA Cup final. The same day of the final, I think it was Ramadan and it was so hot that day. We were having lunch and I asked N’Golo if he would eat and he said ‘no’ because he was fasting and I was worried he might not be able to run. But he had a fantastic game and I still don’t know how he managed to do that, with the heat. It makes me respect him even more because I wouldn’t be able to do that and he had an amazing final. It gives you a lot of security, insurance when you play next to N’Golo. The way he recovers, he never loses possession and his interceptions. We had a good understanding because I used to like the fact he recovered the ball and he’d release it quickly to me. He’s so, so smart and he knows how to make the most of his strengths. And when it was me and Tiemoue Bakayoko ahead of N’Golo, he was amazing as well. I could go forwards knowing that there was this superman behind me, running for all of us. It was actually incredible. Maybe I can understand that without playing with him or knowing him, it was hard for people to appreciate how much he does and how good he is, but I think more and more people are realising that once you have N’Golo on your team your percentage chance of winning games and tournaments increases a lot. If you asked all of the big players in the world now if they wanted N’Golo in their team, they would all say ‘yes’ without a question. Football was a little bit different when I played in the very good Spain and Barcelona teams, because then it was not so much about running. But, definitely, N’Golo could have played in those teams, he is that level. There is Claude Makelele and I played with a very good defensive midfielder with Spain, Marcos Senna, but there is no doubt N’Golo is one of the greatest in his position. I’m not always sure how the Ballon d’Or is decided, often my pick is wrong, but as a friend and a team-mate who competed next to him for three years I would love it if N’Golinho got this award. He will have a big, big chance if he can help France become European champions after already becoming a European champion with Chelsea. --------------- Keep passing to Timo Werner - he will come good I watch every single Chelsea game, so I’ve followed the first seasons of the club’s two big German signings, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, very closely and I am convinced next season we will start to really see the best of them. As a midfielder who likes to make assists, I have played behind strikers before who are going through a bad time or suffering with their confidence. It’s a bit of both that it can be frustrating that they miss chances, but I would also be thinking at some time Werner will score. The most important thing is that he keeps making the runs, that his timing is good, that he’s not offside and with his speed he will always get chances. Players like Werner are so valuable nowadays because players want the ball at their feet a lot and, as a midfielder, you would like this type of player to run on to your passes. I’d definitely still keep trying to find him in games because when your own team-mates start doubting you, this is the worst feeling you can have because you feel it. What I like is to talk to people always in a positive way, even if in training they miss then you say ‘well done, the next one will go in’. Even if it has to be 100 times. Football is so much about confidence and what’s in your head and especially strikers who depend so much on scoring or not scoring. If they miss, it’s when you need to support them the most. I was talking to my Monaco team-mate Kevin Volland, who was a team-mate of Havertz at Bayer Leverkusen, and he told me that Havertz would usually struggle a little bit at the start of seasons to get going, but that once he gets a clear ride and is mentally good then he’s a fantastic player. Havertz didn’t start very, very well at Chelsea and sometimes he looked off the pace. But once Thomas Tuchel put him in a false nine position, it was working better. He didn’t have to touch a lot of the ball, but he helped the team tick. He was not losing the ball, he made everyone else secure, he was creating stuff. And I think at the end of the season, he was very, very good. I saw that both Werner and Havertz scored for Germany in their last warm-up game, so, hopefully, they can have a good tournament and, definitely, I think we will see different players for Chelsea next season. --------------- We held loved ones tighter after Eriksen I want to send my best wishes and prayers to Christian Eriksen after what happened on Saturday, when football was not important. I was in the studio covering the Denmark game for the BBC and none of us could believe what we were seeing and it was so hard to find the right words. Moments like that remind you how precious life is and I think everyone was very emotional. We all held our loved ones a little tighter that night. The most important thing is that the news on Christian improved and now everybody will continue to pray that he is ok.

It would be a strange waste of Chilwell’s talent if he spends Euro 2020 on the sidelines https://theathletic.com/2650396/2021/06/15/strange-waste-chilwell-talent-euro-2020-sidelines-england/ Not many players have experienced a greater contrast of emotions in the space of two weeks than Ben Chilwell. On May 29, he enjoyed the finest moment of his professional career, starting, playing well and going the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League final. The quality of his performance, one of many for Chelsea in the latter stages of the campaign, seemed perfectly timed with a left-back berth to fight for ahead of England’s looming European Championship campaign. Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho certainly thought the place was his during the build-up, saying: “I would go with Ben Chilwell, I wouldn’t think twice. He is intelligent, he covers the space, the diagonals inside very well, he is dangerous in attack, he is good in the air, good on set pieces. Chilwell has something more.” However, on the eve of the opening game against Croatia on Sunday and just a fortnight after lifting the European Cup, Chilwell was not only told he wasn’t in the first XI but would have to handle the ignominy of being one of the three players in the final 26 left out of the match-day squad by manager Gareth Southgate. One of the other two was Harry Maguire, who is injured. Chilwell and Harry Maguire, who missed out on a place in the squad against Croatia through injury (Photo: Robin Jones/Getty Images) What made the decision all the more surprising was that the starting left-back was given to right-back Kieran Trippier, with the other left-back in the squad, Luke Shaw of Manchester United, named on the bench. Given England kept a clean sheet in securing their first-ever win in an opening game at a European Championship, one can’t see Southgate demoting Trippier any time soon. After the 1-0 triumph at Wembley, the manager was full of praise for the Atletico Madrid defender, saying: “We felt that his talking across the back line and his ability to get out and stop crosses quickly and his experience — alongside (centre-back) Tyrone Mings, who is relatively early in his international career — would be a good stabilising element. “He is a very underrated player. People are still looking at the player from a few years ago (when Trippier was at Tottenham Hotspur) and not at the one who is at Atletico Madrid and playing like a warrior in the last few seasons. He is a big part of what we’ve done over the last few years and he gave a really good performance.” How has Chilwell reacted to the snub? Positively, by all accounts. It helps that he was in a similar situation earlier this year at Chelsea, following the January arrival of Thomas Tuchel to replace Frank Lampard as head coach. Tuchel started Marcos Alonso rather than the England international in six of his first eight matches in charge. Chilwell was an unused sub on each occasion. With the new coach favouring a formation with wing-backs, a role that even Chilwell initially conceded suited Alonso more, it would have been understandable if he’d been more than a little concerned about his future at a club he only joined last August. But the 24-year-old focused on working hard and improving in training. As The Athletic explained in March, Chilwell didn’t complain to Tuchel or look to make a fuss. He acted like a professional rather than becoming a negative influence in the camp. Chilwell steadily won Tuchel over with the standard of his performances to the point he was unquestionably the first choice by the end of the domestic season, although he had the setback of being only used as a substitute in the FA Cup final defeat a month ago against Leicester City, his previous club. It is one of the few decisions he’s made since January that Tuchel is believed to have privately accepted he got wrong. Chilwell has become an integral part of Tuchel’s plans at Chelsea (Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) The early indications are that Chilwell has reacted to the England disappointment in the same way as he did to those early omissions under Tuchel. Further signs of that are the videos he posted on his Instagram account on the journey back to England’s base at St George’s Park from Wembley on Sunday, laughing and joking with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka. But that isn’t a sign he is resigned to his fate; he will still, rightfully, hope to play in this tournament. Inevitably, Southgate was very upbeat following the win over the 2018 World Cup runners-up, saying he was as happy with the manner of the performance as the result itself. Beating the second seeds in Group D is obviously a reason to be positive but he shouldn’t be blind to aspects of the game that could have been done better. England’s attack only sparked for 15 minutes in the first half and then on a few isolated occasions, including Sterling’s winner, in the second. The statistics show Croatia had the same number of shots in total (eight) and one fewer effort on target (one) as they did. One of the reasons for this lack of threat in the final third was the lack of adventure from the full-back positions. According to Sky Sports, Trippier and Kyle Walker, who was picked on the right, had just five touches (one of those was a throw-in) between them on the flanks to the left and right of the Croatia penalty area. Walker attempted just two crosses throughout the 90 minutes, neither of which found a team-mate, Trippier didn’t even try a centre into the box. Trippier’s ability to take a long throw-in is a useful asset — it worked to great effect in the move which led to Phil Foden hitting a post early on. His ability to take a set piece was also a factor in Southgate’s mind, although the one from which Trippier tried to score on Sunday was comfortably blocked by the wall. One suspects England’s other two group opponents, Scotland on Friday followed four days later by the Czech Republic — who beat the Scots 2-0 on Monday — will have even more conservative game plans and look to hit them on the counter. The need for full-backs to get forward will be greater and, ideally, Southgate’s side want a left-back who can cross with his left foot. Trippier’s natural preference to cut back onto his favoured right is going to be a hindrance as it leaves the side unbalanced. This should provide Chilwell, and Shaw for that matter, reasons to stay optimistic about playing a part in this campaign. It would be a strange waste of the former’s talents if he spends the whole of Euro 2020 watching from the sidelines.

not if we buy Mbappe off them 🤣

Arsenal's £12.9m offer to sign Albert Sambi Lokonga rejected https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/4409152/arsenals-129m-offer-to-sign-albert-sambi-lokonga-rejected-sources

best LWB options Theo Hernández Nuno Mendes Robin Gosens Ramy Bensebaini Alfonso Pedraza Vitaliy Mykolenko Borna Sosa Mathí­as Olivera Abner

ffs Anderlecht ‘abandon plan’ to sign on loan Chelsea defender Matt Miazga https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/Chelsea-fc-transfer-rumours-news/2021/6/14/22533376/anderlecht-abandon-plan-to-sign-on-loan-Chelsea-defender-matt-miazga-report

btw this is Mount's GF Chloe Wealleans-Watts

lol, we are plumbing new depths with these so-called football sites and their insane shoddy reporting on drunken yobbos gobbing nonsense on Twitter, which is then ludicrously fobbed off as 'news' ‘Welcome to Chelsea’ – These Blues fans call on club to ‘bin off Haaland’ and sign Euro 2020 star performer https://www.caughtoffside.com/2021/06/14/these-Chelsea-fans-call-for-signing-of-patrik-schick/ (Schick, ffs) laughable