Sports
Modric dethrones Ronaldo, Messi Era, wins FIFA Best Player of the Year Award
Luka Modric ended Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s decade-long domination of football’s individual awards by being crowned FIFA’s best player of the year on Monday.
The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder starred for both club and country as Madrid won a third straight Champions League, and he inspired Croatia to reach the World Cup final for the first time.
He beat Ronaldo and Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah to the prize.
Modric’s success means Ronaldo remains tied with Messi having won FIFA’s award in different guises five times each.
At 33, Croatia’s run to the final was the culmination of a brilliant career for Modric that had often been overshadowed by Ronaldo’s goalscoring in their time together in the Spanish capital, before the Portuguese left for Juventus in July.
Modric scored twice and also netted in penalty shootout wins over Denmark and Russia, but it was his playmaking ability that caught the eye in winning the Golden Ball for the best player at the World Cup.
“It was an unbelievable season, the best season in my life,” said Modric.
“I’m still not realising how good a year I had collectively, individually, and I’m very proud for everything I achieved this year and it will be remembered forever.”
For a sixth straight season, Ronaldo was the Champions League’s top scorer with 15 goals and also scored four times at the World Cup, including a hat-trick against Spain in a thrilling 3-3 draw to open Portugal’s campaign.
However, Portugal’s last 16 exit to Uruguay in Russia and Ronaldo’s failure to score in the semi-finals or final of the Champions League opened the door for Modric.
– Messi, Ronaldo no show –
Neither Ronaldo or Messi attended the glitzy ceremony in London with both in action for Juventus and Barcelona respectively on Wednesday.
For the first time in 12 years, Messi was not among the finalists with third place going to Salah for his incredible 44-goal debut season with Liverpool that carried the Reds to the Champions League final.
However, a shoulder injury suffered early on in the final robbed Salah of the chance to help Liverpool lift the trophy and also meant he was far from peak condition as he led Egypt’s World Cup bid.
Despite scoring in each of his two appearances in Russia, he bowed out with the Pharaohs bowed at the group stage with three defeats.
Salah did not go away empty-handed, however, as he picked up the Puskas award for best goal for his strike against Everton in the Merseyside derby last December.
Modric was joined by Real team-mates Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Marcelo in the FIFPro team of the year, also featuring David De Gea, Dani Alves, N’Golo Kante, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe, Messi and Ronaldo.
France’s World Cup-winning coach Didier Deschamps won the best coach of the year prize in recognition for his work in leading Les Bleus to success in Russia.
Deschamps, who became just the third man to win the World Cup as a player and coach, beat off competition from Dalic and his former France team-mate Zinedine Zidane, who won a third consecutive Champions League title with Real Madrid before resigning in June.
Thibaut Courtois won the best goalkeeper award for helping Belgium reach the World Cup semi-finals as well as the FA Cup with Chelsea before a summer move to Madrid.
Brazil’s Marta was crowned best women’s player for a record sixth time for her role in winning the Copa America to beat out Lyon duo Ada Hegerberg and Dzsenifer Marozsan.
Lyon boss Reynald Pedros did win the award for best women’s coach, though, after winning the Champions League with the French giants. (AFP).
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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