Sports
Alonso wasn’t perfect, but sacking him ignores Madrid’s real problems
So, Xabi Alonso becomes the tenth permanent Real Madrid manager of Florentino Pérez’s 21-plus-year presidential reign to be sacked without even completing a year in charge.
Just when the 44-year-old Madrid playing legend seemed to have calmed the stormy waters that had threatened to overwhelm him since autumn, the biggest sin in the entire dictionary of Must Not Commit for Bernabéu managers, losing to Barcelona when a trophy is at stake, has cost him his job. Those around Alonso — who leaves with Madrid only four points off the top of LaLiga, safely in the UEFA Champions League top eight and with a nervy Copa del Rey tie at Albacete on Wednesday — will look back at the final moments of Sunday’s Supercopa final and think about Álvaro Carreras and Raúl Asencio, who each had point-blank chances to score and take the final to penalties.
Alonso, in retrospect, stands condemned, at least in the eyes of Pérez — the only person whose opinion matters when a coach’s fate is concerned — of several offenses.
First: The damage done to Alonso’s public reputation and club credibility when, on substituting Vinícius Júnior in the victorious Clásico last October, the Brazil international erupted in anger while showing disrespect for his manager. Even in victory, the player’s actions hogged the headlines because he screamed into the night air, “This is why I’m going to leave this team. This is why I’m leaving!”
Pérez wants Vinícius to renew his contract, at all costs. So although Alonso palpably repaired much of the damage with his 24-year-old star, and on Sunday helped him produce his best goal and best performance since Carlo Ancelotti left, it’s now clear that irreparable damage was done to Pérez’s view of his coach.
Second: Losing to Barcelona in a big final remains, it seems, a capital offense. Just as a reminder, it has been about five weeks since I wrote in this very space, “If the 44-year-old coach, who won all there is to win in his playing career and then made history by making Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga champions for the first time, can beat Atlético Madrid in the Supercopa semifinal and either Barcelona or Athletic Club in the final, then he’ll finally be left alone to do his job until the end of the season. But to come home without a trophy? Alonso will almost certainly be sacked.”
Third: When Madrid played anodyne, point-dropping football against Rayo Vallecano, Elche and Girona, and then lost consecutively at home to Manchester City and Celta Vigo, there was a massive manhunt mounted, by the club and by the media, to find someone to blame. Correctly or not, and I think the answer is firmly “not,” it has been the coach — rather than the president or the players — who has been found guilty.
Fourth: Alonso, it must be said, hasn’t “played the game.” Managing upward is an increasingly key skill when you’re coaching at a big club — that’s true anywhere in the world, but particularly when your direct boss is the unaccountable Pérez.
Throughout his life, either as the son of the excellent player Periko Alonso; or while coming through the ranks at Real Sociedad; playing brilliantly for Liverpool, Madrid, Bayern Munich and Spain; or making history by taking Bayer Leverkusen to their best-ever trophy season; Xabi Alonso has been the man. Venerated, respected, ultra talented, backed, fêted, desired, rewarded and awarded deity status. Don’t take my word for it, just think how he’s regarded by Spain (European and world champion), at Liverpool (hero of the greatest match in their entire history), local boy made good at Real Sociedad, José Mourinho’s lieutenant at Madrid and Pep Guardiola’s chosen linchpin while winning trophy after trophy at Bayern. He simply didn’t need to kowtow to anyone. Ever.
It’s different at Madrid and, so, when his friend and mentor, Guardiola, used a vulgar expression in support of Alonso before City won at the Bernabéu in December, it went down very badly indeed when Alonso’s postmatch response, teased out by a journalist, seemed to be sympathetic to what City’s Catalan coach was suggesting about Alonso’s relationship with Pérez.
Until very recently, Alonso, never rude, was standoffish and cool with the assembled, hard-nosed, some would say Pérez-aligned media who turned up to news conferences six times a week at the Madrid training ground. He changed his stance when he knew he was fighting for his continued employment: He began to expand on answers, share a joke, become a bit more touchy-feely, and it was working. But he played that game a little too late.
It was extremely telling when Alonso suggested to his players on Sunday in Jeddah that they form a guard of honor for Barcelona’s victorious players (as Hansi Flick’s men had done for them while they walked up to get their losers’ medals), but Kylian Mbappé usurped him and fiercely gestured to the squad that he, not Alonso, had the final word and that no way would they be forming two lines and letting the Supercopa winners feel honored. Very, very damaging imagery.
What’s a little bit shocking is that the Spanish football media, having set the table for an Alonso sacking over and over again in November and December, were utterly caught by surprise. Even playing pretty moderately, in victory against Sevilla, Real Betis and Atlético, Madrid’s players were clearly pulling for their coach, they were building results — admittedly from a low base — and they were looking very like steering Los Blancos into the extremely valuable top eight of the Champions League with two winnable matches in their sights this month. Marca’s headlines this morning included “Xabi revives the Mourinho style” and “What a miss from Carreras in the 95th minute.” No blame thrown at the coach. Their famous columnist, Alfredo Relaño, stated, “Xabi Alonso lost the final but saved his situation.” The much more hawkish, Pérez-oriented Diario AS used “Only Raphinha was better than Madrid” as their match headline, and the self-confessed ultra-Madridista columnist Tomás Roncero’s column read “Nothing to reproach you over.”
One of the biggest signs, in my opinion, as to the general mood of this singular, polemic, but highly successful, billionaire president, and something that Alonso could have paid more attention to, is the name of the stadium.
For the longest time, it’s been called the Santiago Bernabéu in honor of the man previously regarded as the greatest leader in Real Madrid’s history. More and more, and often in formal terms, it’s being called “the Bernabéu” — a change that, in my view, will preface a gradual, strategic and corporate-driven moving of Pérez toward the top of the podium of all-time presidents. This 78-year-old has, gradually but consistently, aimed at moving beyond his “Primus inter pares” (“first among equals”) status to be regarded as the all-time greatest. His costly and, so far, not wholly successful redevelopment of the stadium was supposed to be the jewel in the crown but, for a host of reasons, hasn’t hit home with the power he expected it to. I think, a couple of months away from his 79th birthday, he feels that time is flying, and he has none to waste.
He needs, desires, more league wins, more Champions Leagues, fewer sights of Barcelona lifting trophies, less whistling and jeering when Madrid play at their imperious HQ. He craves the formation of a European Super League. Right now, he’s being thwarted in too many of those desires.
Those previous nine coaches he sacked only a few months into their reigns usually, it must be pointed out, made way for more successful, more glorious periods for the club as European and domestic trophies were stacked up and the best players actively chose to move to Real Madrid. This fact is incontestable.
President Pérez, in my opinion, has blamed the wrong man, has ignored the real problems and, now that he has passed the baton to Álvaro Arbeloa, he has perpetuated the real flaws rather than cured them in sacking Alonso. But he won’t care about that opinion and, in the past, his irresistible force has defeated any apparently immovable object. This time? I’m unconvinced.
Bad luck, Xabi. You only partially contributed to this situation. But, as you always said yourself, Real Madrid is different. Real Madrid is unique. Good luck with what comes next.
Sports
Georgetown guard KJ Lewis (ankle) out for rest of season
WASHINGTON — Georgetown junior guard KJ Lewis will miss the remainder of the regular season with a left ankle injury, the team said Thursday.
Lewis, who is in his first season with the Hoyas after transferring from Arizona, injured his left ankle during Georgetown’s 76-60 loss to Marquette on Tuesday. Including Tuesday’s loss, Lewis has appeared in every Georgetown game this season and led the team by averaging 14.9 points.
The Hoyas are tied with Marquette and Xavier for last in the Big East with a 5-12 conference record. Georgetown is 13-15 overall under third-year head coach Ed Cooley.
Sports
USMNT’s Sargent joins Toronto after ‘unfortunate’ Norwich exit
Toronto FC has completed the transfer of United States international striker Josh Sargent from English Championship side Norwich City, the club announced on Friday.
ESPN had previously reported that Toronto will pay Norwich a fee of $22 million, which could rise to $27 million if certain incentives are met. The fee currently ranks in the top five that an MLS side has ever paid for an incoming transfer.
The highest-ever fee is believed to be the $26 million that LAFC paid for Son Heung-Min last summer, which the Sargent move will eclipse if all the incentives are reached.
– Sources: McKennie close to new Juventus contract
– Sources: Miami target Blackmon inks Caps deal
– USMNT’s Pulisic, AC Milan surprise fans with pre-match reveal of new kit
Sargent has signed a five-and-half-year contract that will keep him in Toronto through June of 2031.
In an interview with ESPN, Sargent said that with the arrival of his third child last December, he and his wife Kirsten were eager to get back to North America to be closer to extended family.
The team that Toronto is putting together, one that includes international teammates Djordje Mihailovic and Walker Zimmerman, also held appeal for Sargent.
“Over the last year or so, with all of my kids and everything in my family expanding, it’s kind of become more and more appealing, the thought of moving a bit closer to home.” Sargent said about joining TFC.
“Toronto reached out, I had very good talks with them. They seem to have a very good project that they have planned here. The ownership is all about it and they’re all in with it. So there were just a lot of things that sounded very attractive to me and very clear of their vision. So yeah, it was exciting.”
The move completes a bitter transfer saga that began last December when Toronto first made its approach with an offer of $18 million. When talks appeared to break down in January, Sargent sat out an FA Cup match against Walsall on Jan. 11, and following a meeting with sporting director Ben Knapper and manager Philippe Clement, Sargent was sent to train with the Canaries’ U21 side.
Sources tell ESPN that during that meeting, Knapper made comments about Sargent’s family. Sargent was seen to be visibly upset by these remarks, and he never played for Norwich again.
Sargent didn’t go into much detail about his final days with the Canaries.
“It was unfortunate how things worked out there, I think,” he said about Norwich. “But I’m happy to finally be here, happy to get started with a new chapter in my life and I’m just fully focused on trying to put that behind me and hit the ground running here.”
When asked if he had gotten the chance to say a proper goodbye, Sargent added, “I think the only thing I’m going to say is there’s two sides to every story. I think I got to say goodbye to all the people that I was close to, and understood the situation and yeah, that’s probably all I want to say about it to be honest.”
The move is the latest in a lengthy rebuild for Toronto that finally appears to be coming to fruition. Toronto claimed a domestic treble of MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield and Canadian Championship in 2017, but the last time the Reds qualified for the postseason was in the Covid-impacted season of 2020.
In addition to Mihailovic and Zimmerman, Toronto recently acquired midfielder Dániel Sallói. TFC has an experienced manager in Robin Fraser.
“I know there’s a lot of video [Fraser] is wanting to do on that side of things for sure,” Sargent said.
Sargent finishes his Norwich career with 55 goals and 15 assists in all competitions. He scored seven goals in 23 league matches this season.
His international prospects have dwindled this campaign, with his last callup to the U.S. men’s national team occurring back in September. He hasn’t scored for the U.S. since 2019.
When asked how he thinks the move will impact his international prospects, Sargent said he’s fully focused on Toronto, and didn’t discuss the potential move with U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
“I’m fully focused on trying to start well here,” he said. “That’s truly what I care about, and if you do well at the club level, it puts you in a good position to get with [the] national team. So that’s where my full focus is at the moment. And off the back of that, if I can get back with the team, have another chance, I’d be very happy, of course.”
Additionally, Toronto FC acquired St. Louis City SC’s right of first refusal (ROFR) for Sargent in exchange for $500,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) — $250,000 in 2026 GAM and $250,000 in 2027 GAM — and up to an additional $225,000 in conditional GAM if certain performance-based metrics are met.
He will be added to TFC’s roster, pending a medical and receipt of his work permit and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
Sports
Haaland, Rice, Semenyo: Who is your Premier League Player of the Year?
We’re fast approaching the business end of the 2025-26 Premier League season, and heading into March, everything is still very much to play for. The title race has coalesced into a two-team battle between leaders Arsenal and chasers Manchester City, while the push for Champions League soccer next season is neatly poised between several clubs — defending champions Liverpool are on the outside looking in, needing to close the gap to Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea.
At the bottom end of the table, Wolves‘ fate appears certain (they are 17 points adrift from safety with just 10 games left) and, to a lesser extent, Burnley‘s too (eight points back with 11 to play), but the third and final relegation spot could go to any one of Nottingham Forest, Tottenham or Leeds United from here.
Equally hard to call is the race for the Premier League’s Player of the Year, with no clear-cut, stand-out candidate yet and plenty of stars making a clear case for the prize. So, with 10 matchdays left, we asked our regular Premier League reporters to make their picks for the top award, and why they are worthy.
Tom Hamilton: Sometimes it makes sense to go for the obvious option. If Manchester City win the league, then you could argue their standout player was one of Bernardo Silva (for his guile), Nico O’Reilly (for his adaptability and temperament) or new arrivals Gianluigi Donnarumma and Antoine Semenyo. But if you want the clear and obvious choice, then it’s Haaland, the man at the top of the scoring charts.
The Norway forward is in the middle of a relatively quiet spell for his club, but his 22 league goals have helped City to where they are. The big change for Haaland this year? He’s becoming more of an all-around contributor and his work rate is through the roof, to the extent that he has also notched seven assists, second only to Bruno Fernandes and one behind his best total of eight back in the 2022-23 campaign. That’s 29 goal contributions. Not bad.
Take City’s recent 2-1 win over Newcastle: Haaland had more touches of the ball than ever before (43), he made the third-most clearances for the team (after Rodri and Marc Guéhi) and won 12 duels, the most he has managed in a top-flight game. “He’s an incredible, generous player, so today is a performance, and I’ll never forget what Erling has done for us,” manager Pep Guardiola said afterward.
So be afraid, Premier League: Haaland is evolving into a more all-around player, and his goals and assists should see him deservedly crowned player of the season.
James Olley: With everything in the league still to play for, from title to top four to relegation, it’s too early to be conclusive about this, but Arsenal are top of the table at present, and Declan Rice has been the heartbeat of a team competing impressively on four fronts.
Only Martín Zubimendi (2,360) has played more outfield Premier League minutes for the Gunners than Rice’s 2,329, and Rice ranks second in the division for chances created (defined by Opta as key passes and assists) behind Bruno Fernandes. But he is about much more than stats. Rice drives the Arsenal team forward as he has developed into a complete midfielder, affecting the game in his box-to-box role while also proving an extremely efficient set piece taker.
If Arsenal are to keep the pace, it will largely be a result of Rice maintaining the level of form and influence he has shown so far.
Sam Tighe: When there’s no “obvious” pick like during this season, it can trick you into thinking there haven’t been any outstanding candidates. But as the group outlines, we’re hardly short of incredible individual campaigns, are we?
I’ll throw my support in for James’ pick of Rice. In a Premier League landscape where physicality, mobility and tenacity reign supreme, the 27-year-old is the division’s leading light. To put it into context, among Arsenal players, only Zubimendi (293.57 km) has covered more ground than Rice (285.48 km) this term, while among all Premier League central midfielders, only Sandro Tonali (33.37 km/h) has clocked a higher max speed than Rice (33.17 km/h).
Rice is fast and relentless; if the Gunners win the title, his frenzied, all-action style will symbolize their approach to doing so. Yet he also backs up those athletic traits with finesse where required. There are very few better corner takers in the sport right now, and there’s no doubt he’s steadily getting better at picking a pass through the lines.
Beth Lindop: It might seem preposterous to nominate a Liverpool player considering how abject they have been at times this season, but in terms of pure individual excellence, Szoboszlai would be my pick.
In the summer, there was a suggestion in some quarters that the Hungary international could lose his place in the team following the arrival of the £116 million playmaker, Florian Wirtz, from Bayer Leverkusen. However, Szoboszlai has this season established himself as the first name on Arne Slot’s team sheet, with his relentless running, tactical flexibility and, of course, his eye for a spectacular strike having kept the Reds’ campaign from descending into total disaster.
With 10 goals to his name already this season, Szoboszlai is well on course to surpass his career-best goal tally. He has also deputized admirably at right back amid Liverpool’s ongoing injury crisis, while his noticeable willingness to speak more frequently to the media is reflective of a player keen to assume more responsibility within the team and position himself as a future club captain.
Liverpool’s disappointing collective form means Szoboszlai will most likely miss out on individual accolades, but he should definitely be in the conversation.
Antoine Semenyo, FW, Manchester City (formerly at Bournemouth)
Mark Ogden: This is a tough one because there really hasn’t been an outstanding candidate so far this season, but my pick right now would be Semenyo. He was outstanding for Bournemouth during the first half of the season — his 10 Premier League goals kept Andoni Iraola on the tails of the top six for a while — but his performances meant it was inevitable he would move on in January, and he had a queue of heavyweight clubs wanting to sign him before he chose Manchester City.
Even though a deal was done and his release clause was triggered, Semenyo agreed to stay at Bournemouth for two extra games in January before making his move. No fuss, no drama: just a professional attitude and the perfect sign-off with a stoppage time winner against Spurs in his final game.
His form at City has been just as impressive, and he kept them in the title race during their midseason wobble with three goals in his first five games. So for performing at his top level for two clubs and showing professionalism throughout, I’m going for Semenyo.
Rob Dawson: There were genuine concerns about whether Brentford would be able to avoid relegation this season after losing manager Thomas Frank — as well as key players Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa, Christian Nørgaard and Mark Flekken — in one summer. Goals were expected to be a particular problem after both Mbeumo and Wissa — who combined for 39 in the Premier League last season — moved on.
Frank’s replacement, Keith Andrews, deserves a lot of credit for turning this season into a push for Europe instead of a battle against the drop. But so too does Igor Thiago. His 17 league goals have cushioned the blow of losing Mbeumo and Wissa. It’s a fantastic return for a 24-year-old striker in his first full campaign in England after last season was ruined by injury.
Scoring goals in the toughest league in the world is a big ask, and Thiago has done it regularly. Unfortunately for Brentford, he has done so well that the inevitable question will be: How long can they keep him before he follows Mbeumo and Wissa out of the door?
Gab Marcotti: To me, it’s pretty simple. Aston Villa might be on the slide, but they’re still third, well ahead of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea. And this is after a summer when they didn’t really add anybody of note and lost their sporting director, Monchi, as well. A lot of that is down to Rogers: He has started every game and has usually been a difference-maker each time.
Rogers doesn’t have the greatest supporting cast — certainly not compared to the other suggestions who are sure to crop up — and I think it’s fair to say that, without him, Villa would be midtable at best. Only four players have more open play goal involvements (non-penalty goals and assists) than he does this season, and all of them play for bigger and better-resourced sides: Haaland, Fernandes, Semenyo and João Pedro.
Throw in the fact that he invented Cole Palmer‘s goal celebration — they were teammates at City, and Palmer “borrowed” it from him — and to me he’s the obvious choice.
Martín Zubimendi, MF, Arsenal
Julien Laurens: When Arsenal spent €60 million last summer to activate his release clause and recruit him from Real Sociedad, there were a lot of skeptics about his adaptation to the Premier League, his potential and even his talent, but there was also concern about his ability to take the Gunners to the next level. And yet, I think he has already proved all the doubters wrong.
It has not always been perfect, obviously — remember his mistake against Manchester United — but overall, he has been impressive. His ability to dictate the tempo of a game, his intelligence and his reading of the play have been outstanding. He has also scored five Premier League goals already, which is more than Szoboszlai, more than Rice and only three less than Rogers, who is a more advanced player, by the way. Some of his goals have also been key, such as the openers against Forest, Leeds and Sunderland, in keeping Arsenal on course for a potential first league title in over 20 years.
Zubimendi makes Rice and Jurriën Timber better, and there is still so much room for improvement from him as well. He has had such a great impact on the team that it’s worth celebrating.
-
Tech1 week agoA $10K Bounty Awaits Anyone Who Can Hack Ring Cameras to Stop Sharing Data With Amazon
-
Business1 week agoUS Top Court Blocks Trump’s Tariff Orders: Does It Mean Zero Duties For Indian Goods?
-
Fashion1 week agoICE cotton ticks higher on crude oil rally
-
Politics6 days agoPakistan carries out precision strikes on seven militant hideouts in Afghanistan
-
Tech1 week agoDonald Trump Jr.’s Private DC Club Has Mysterious Ties to an Ex-Cop With a Controversial Past
-
Business7 days agoEye-popping rise in one year: Betting on just gold and silver for long-term wealth creation? Think again! – The Times of India
-
Entertainment1 week agoThe White Lotus” creator Mike White reflects on his time on “Survivor
-
Fashion1 week agoIndia’s $28 bn reset: How 5 trade deals will reprice its T&A exports
