Football News: Review Of The Day 16th September 2019

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Review of the Day

Injury Round-Up

Sergio Ramos may miss out on the mid-week European Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain as the Real Madrid defender has a calf injury.

Bayern Munich left-back David Alaba is set to be out for a spell after tearing a hamstring warming up for the match against RB Leipzig.

Die Retires From International Duty

Ivory Coast midfielder Serey Die has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 34 with 50 caps under his belt. That is if you can keep caps under your belt? Might look a bit odd with 50 of them hanging around your waist I guess. Die won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations as well as going to the 2014 World Cup and said: "I thank my predecessors who welcomed me by showing me the way to go, not to mention my younger brothers with whom I have continued the mission. Thank you for the respect you have always given me, but the time has come for me to leave you. God bless you and accompany you, I believe in you and I know that Ivory Coast will cheer you at each of your matches. To all lovers of football and especially those of my beloved homeland, I thank you for your support during this story and thank you for believing in me. I pray that God bless you all. And a big thank you to the federation (FIF) and especially president Sidy Diallo." Die currently plays in Switzerland for FC Aarau.

Hellberg Chose Liberia Due To Weah

Swedish-born midfielder Seth Kanteh Hellberg has revealed that he decided to commit his international future to his mother's nation due to the legendary player (and now national president) George Weah. Hellberg has become the first player born in Sweden to represent Liberia when he made his debut in the recent internationals. Hellberg told the BBC: "I feel amazing. It was a dream come true to play for Liberia. I have been in Sweden all my life and I was raised by my mum like a Liberian. So I always feel like a Liberian. I first came to Liberia in 2008 and 2013. I feel closer to the people here than in Sweden. The name George Weah was a big influence and factor so I didn't hesitate when Liberian Football Association (LFA) executive Henry Flomo approached me in Sweden and came over to see me play for my club. Weah has done so much for Liberia on the pitch and any aspiring footballer, especially from Liberia, will want to follow his footsteps."

O'Dea Returns To Celtic

Former Celtic defender Darren O'Dea has returned to Celtic to manage their Under-18s, just 4 months after taking up the same role at Motherwell. Prior to taking over Motherwell's youth team, he was still playing for Dundee and is still just 32 years old, despite hanging up his boots.

Man Who Managed Most Clubs Passes Away

Rudi Gutendorf, the official Guinness World Record holder for coaching the most teams, has died aged 93. The German coached 55 teams in 32 countries on 5 different continents in a career that lasted 50 years until his retirement in 2003 after leaving his final job managing Samoa. His first ever management job was with Swiss side Blue Stars in the 1950s.

Neymar Focusing On PSG

Neymar Jr has admitted he did want to leave Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, but now wants to just focus on doing his best for the Parisians. Neymar said: "Everyone knows I wanted to leave. I made it very clear. I won't go into details though, because it affects others. But I'm still a PSG player and my intention is to be happy on the pitch. My mind is on PSG. I always made it clear that I don't have anything against PSG or the fans. They were personal reasons. I had my reasons and I tried my best to make it happen, but unfortunately they didn't let me. It's already happened, but this is the first and last time I want to talk about it. I'm only thinking about PSG."

Gueye Admits Surprise At PSG Move

Idrissa Gueye has admitted he was surprised by PSG's interest in him in the summer. Gueye said: "I was surprised, it made me happy, it's the culmination of the work I've been doing for years, and seeing a coach say, 'That's the player I need, him I want him', I did not expect it at all. Just to receive a call from him, to be able to interact with him, show his personality, but rub shoulders with him every day in training is even better."

Written by Tris Burke September 15 2019 23:47:43