Sports
Liverpool chasing champion league glory
English Premier League giants Liverpool are on a mission to halt current European champions Real Madrid as they seek to make history in the UEFA Champions League.
The final game of the European season today at the 70,000 capacity NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine, offers a chance for both clubs to get the biggest prize in continental football after both teams failed to clinch any domestic title. Real finished third in La Liga and Liverpool clinched qualification for next season’s competition on the last day of the EPL after finishing fourth.
Real last season won their 12th European title and made history as the first European club to win the Champions League back-to-back in consecutive seasons. In their 16th European final, they are seeking to further extend the history on Saturday by becoming the first team to hold the title for three consecutive seasons.
But Liverpool, whose last Champions League triumph came in 2005, have won the title five times. Making their eighth appearance in the final, they were losing finalist in 2007 – to AC Milan, who they defeated in 2005 to win their fifth title. They will however, be seeking to stop Real from achieving their piece of history.
It is the second time the two sides will be meeting in the final of the competition. The first meeting in the 1981 final at the Parc des Princes ended in a 1-0 win for the English side at the expense of their Spanish opponents as Liverpool lifted their third Champions League title.
En route to the final, Zinedine Zidane’s Real finished second in Group H behind Tottenham Hotspur. In the round of 16, they got a 5-2 aggregate win over French champions Paris Saint-Germain before edging Juventus 4-3 in the quarterfinals and beating Bayern Munich 4-3 in the semi-finals.
Until their 4-2 loss to Roma in the second leg of their semi-final tie, Liverpool were unbeaten in this season’s Champions League.
Jurgen Klopp’s men finished top of Group E before beating Porto 5-0 in the round of 16. They ousted EPL champions Manchester City Liverpool 5-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinal before sending Roma packing 7-6 on aggregate in the semi-final.
While Real rely on Champions League all-time goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool are counting on their Egyptian talisman Mohamed Salah, who has been phenomenal this season for the Reds – scoring 44 in all competitions so far.
A strong attacking Liverpool forward line made up of Salah, Roberto Firminho and Sadio Mane has been responsible for the most goals in this season’s competition. The trio has scored 29 goals among them.
But Real’s strength has come from their defence led by Sergio Ramos and Ronaldo’s 15 goals in the competition.
“We have seen what Salah can do this season but he will just be one of 11 players we face against Liverpool,” Ramos said.
“Throughout my career, I have faced the best forward players in the world – many of them who are considered among the greatest ever. For me, there is never a fear – A respect, yes, but never a fear.”
He added, “We know they’re very tough opponents. They are very fast going forward and can really hurt you on the break. Firmino and Salah are such quick and direct players who are very difficult to get hold of. So we’ll try to keep them under control and ensure they don’t have one of their inspired days, because they can certainly cause you damage.
“(Liverpool are) very good technically and are full of pace, but we’ll try to hurt them with our players who have similar attributes. We know we can also cause them problems on the counter. We’ll try to take advantage of that and we also know we are a threat from set pieces.”
Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren also believes that the club’s defenders can deal with the threat posed by Ronaldo.
“He’s a fantastic player. He’s showed already over 12 to 15 seasons that every year he can score,” Lovren told CNN Sport.
“Even if he has a bad season he will score at least 30 goals. It will be quite difficult, of course, a big challenge. But I’ve been working so hard in my life to reach the final of the Champions League and I play week in, week out against the best Premier League strikers in England so I’m ready for that.
“We’ll defend like a team. In some moments I will be in situations one against one, but I also have my confidence like he has.”
He added, “Real Madrid are not without reason three times in the final in a row and we need to respect that. They have confidence, experience and they know how to play these finals. From our team, for every player it will be our first final, but we are healthy, we are young, and we are ready to fight.”
Klopp, who is seeking to end his run of loss in European finals, told BBC Sport, “It’s a game of football. Sure we have the chance to win. We are going to have to work hard for it because it is the final of the Champions League.
“But if anyone thinks it will be easy for either of the two sides then they are mistaken. It’s going to be a huge struggle for both teams. Brilliant! Bring it on!”
Sports
QNET and Man City Mark 10th Anniversary of their Partnership
Man City counts 28 trophies in the last 10 yearsQNET, an Asian direct selling giant and Manchester City, a top Football club in and outside England, are celebrating 10 years of partnership with great results.
The anniversary was part of the 26th V-Malaysia Conference (VCON) at Penang in Malaysia.
The long-standing partnership will see QNET continue as Official Direct Selling Partner for City’s men’s and women’s teams, according to Techeconomy report.
This partnership marked a significant milestone in May 2018 when City welcomed QNET as the first sleeve partner in the Women’s Super League.
Throughout the next phase of this partnership QNET will continue to provide City-led football clinics to communities around the world, as well as engaging with consumers and distributors through this relationship with City.
In a message to the leaders of QNET and the 8,000 VCON participants from over 30 countries, Ferran Soriano, the chief executive officer of Manchester City FC, said they are pleased to achieve great milestones that would not have been possible without the support and the commitment of everybody at QNET, “and every single one of you. I do remember back in 2014 when I met the leadership of QNET for the first time, and we discussed our plans, our ambitions, and we promised a lot.
“We promised that Manchester City would be a great football team, and that they would play beautiful football. Now, 10 years since then, we hold 28 trophies. I have to be honest and say that when we promised we were going to do well, we didn’t think we were going to win 28 trophies.
“We’re excited now we’re starting a new season, and guess what? We want to win again, and if we do, it would be another record. Maybe we can win the fifth Premier League in a row. Obviously, something that hasn’t happened before. I can promise that we will fight for all the trophies like you fight for all your objectives. Manchester City and QNET have the incredible power to engage people from every country, create a sense of community and empower individuals and teams to achieve their aspirations”.
He promised Manchester City’s support to the QNET brand to achieve even more successes in the coming years.
Trevor Kuna, the CEO of QNET said that the partnership with Manchester City has made positive impacts on the business.
QNET’s grass-roots business model enables ordinary people from all walks of life to start their own business with minimal overhead.
With hard work and dedication, QNET distributors, known as Independent Representatives (IRs) have the opportunity to become economically self-sufficient, raising the standard of life for their families and communities.
QNET is driven by two important philosophies: RYTHM (Raise Yourself to Help Mankind) and InService.
Meanwhile, the highlight of the QNET and Manchester City celebration was the presentation of a 10-year partnership anniversary plaque by John Kirton, senior partnership marketing manager, Manchester City Football Club to the QNET team.
Sports
Robinho To Serve A 9 Year Jail Term Over Gang Rape
Former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will reportedly serve a nine-year jail sentence for gang rape – Imposed on him by an Italian court — in Brazil, judges in Brasilia has ruled.
The 40-year-old was found guilty in Italy in 2017 and according to Globo, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (BSCJ), made the ruling on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
The former Premier League player, whose real name is Robson De Souza, was one of six men who were found guilty of a§§aulting an Albanian woman in an Italian nightclub in January 2013.
In January 2022, the Supreme Court in Rome dismissed his final appeal against the conviction, according to the report.
Robinho claims he is innocent and has been living in Brazil for the past seven years. It came after nine of the court’s 15 ministers had voted in favour of the decision to incarcerate the footballer in Brazil.
Globo also claims that the ex-footballer, who also spent time at AC Milan and Real Madrid, will now be arrested in Santos, where he currently resides.
Robinho, who was 28 and was playing for AC Milan at the time, admitted during his appeal to having ‘contact’ with the woman, but the Brazilian insisted it was consensual.
The Milan Court of Appeals found Robinho had ‘belittled’ and ‘br¥tally h¥miliated’ the victim as it upheld his original sentence in December 2020.
Intercepted phone calls between the Brazilian and those allegedly involved in the assault were used as key evidence in his initial conviction.
Sports
Former Tennis Champion, Tania Okpala Returns To Tennis After Rehabilitation
Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has revealed that former tennis champion, Tania Okpala, has resumed playing on the courts.
This development follows Soludo’s assurance that she would undergo rehabilitation after a video surfaced online showing her in distress on the streets of Awka, pleading for assistance.
In an update on his social media handle on Thursday, Soludo expressed his satisfaction with Okpala’s return, stating, “Tania Okpala is back on the courts!
“A few months ago, social media was flooded with a viral video showing Ms. Tania in a distressing state on the streets of Awka. I am pleased to report that we have successfully restored Tania to her winning ways.”
Okpala, who hails from Anambra and has a Belarusian mother, represented Nigeria in the 1990s.
Here are pictures of her in the tennis court.
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