WITH his arms outstretched, holding the Europa League aloft, Jose Mourinho took the acclaim of Manchester United’s faithful.
The date was May 24, 2017. The venue was the Friends Arena, Stockholm.
At that moment — more than any other in the turbulent 11 years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired — it really did feel like Manchester United were back.
They had faced a young Ajax team who were tipped to showcase the future with their short passing and high pressing against a man some were beginning to write off.
Mourinho out thought his opposite number Peter Bosz who, after the final whistle, would bemoan the tactics United had employed.
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They were simple. If they want to press high and pass short we’ll whack it over them onto the head of Marouane Fellaini and he’ll lay it off to Marcus Rashford and go from there.
It worked a treat, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan getting the goals in a 2-0 win.
Not long after, in a conversation with former chairman Martin Edwards, he said that the club really believed they were on to something special with Mourinho.
He had already bagged the League Cup that season in what is still probably the most exciting final the new Wembley has seen as United beat Southampton 3-2.
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Foreign coaches tend to hold a lot more store by the Community Shield, or Super Cups as they are called abroad, so Mourinho was happy to claim a treble as he got his players to hold up three fingers at the final whistle in Stockholm.
At the start of that season Mourinho was being written off as a United boss after a 1-0 away loss to Feyenoord sandwiched between defeats to Manchester City and Watford.
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Yet it had been on the eve of that Feyenoord clash late at night outside a hotel in Rotterdam that Mourinho was returning from dinner with his staff and happened across three of us in the Manchester press pack.
Asked for a chat, he came over and explained, off the record, what he was having to do to unpick the Louis van Gaalfootball to create his own brand.
His football brand that was a step up from the drudgery under Van Gaal although not always popular with the United faithful.
But they liked him, and the fact he won, he gave United standing again, an image, they felt big.
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True that first Premier League season did not go well as they came sixth.
Asked for a chat, he came over and explained, off the record, what he was having to do to unpick the Louis van Gaal football to create his own brand.
But he had worked out late in the campaign the Europa League would provide the easier route back into the Champions League and cleverly rotated his squad accordingly.
The following season he boasted it was one his greatest-ever achievements to lead United to Premier League runners-up spot behind City.
He would deny the neighbours claiming the title on derby day as the Red Devils came back from 2-0 down at the Etihad to win 3-2.
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It was Pogba’s only good game. It is often forgotten that Mourinho also led the Red Devils to an FA Cup final that season going down 1-0 to Chelsea in the final.
So it was all heading in the right direction as the season ended. Then came the summer in LA and we all realised something was not right.
In a building at their training base in UCLA he was asked an innocent question as to whether he thought he had the squad to now go a step further and challenge for the title.
He replied: “I cannot answer that question.” Eyebrows were raised.
Later in the tour he would be seen in the foyer of a stadium snarling down the phone ‘it’s s**t, s**t’. Uh-oh.
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It seems an unsuccessful pursuit of Harry Maguire was part of it but his relationship with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was fracturing.
Nobody wanted this all to unravel but the unravelling had started.
He refused to engage in the traditional on-tour relaxed interview with the English media that every United boss has done. And saw criticism and injustice which was not there.
The meltdown continued after a 3-0 home loss to Spurs he demanded ‘respect, respect respect’ from the media because he had won three titles.
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By the club’s Champions League exit to Valencia, he was questioning whether United had a ‘football heritage’ in Europe.
Later in the tour he would be seen in the foyer of a stadium snarling down the phone ‘it’s s**t, s**t’. Uh-oh.
Less than a week later, after a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool he was gone.
“How on earth did it get to that point?” I asked Woodward later. He suggested if I had had to work with Mourinho, I would have known.
Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died. He was 63.
The team said he died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital, but did not provide the cause or other details.
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His death comes as the Dodgers prepare to open the World Series on Friday night at home against the New York Yankees.
Valenzuela had left his color commentator job on the Dodgers’ Spanish-language television broadcast in September without explanation. He was reported to have been hospitalized earlier this month. His job kept him as a regular at Dodger Stadium, where he held court in the press box dining room before games and remained popular with fans who sought him out for photos and autographs.
Valenzuela was one of the most dominant players of his era and a wildly popular figure in the 1980s, although he was never elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. However, he is part of Cooperstown, which features several artifacts including a signed ball from his no-hitter in 1990.
This is a developing story.
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India’s medal prospects at the 2026 Commonwealth Games were dealt a major blow, as key disciplines such as shooting, wrestling, badminton, hockey and cricket were removed from the Games in Glasgow.
In the updated roster released by the host city, only 10 disciplines were listed to cut costs. Among the other sports disciplines axed are table tennis, squash and triathlon.
The listed events are: athletics and para athletics (track & field), swimming and para swimming, artistic gymnastics, track cycling and para track cycling, netball, weightlifting and para powerlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and para bowls, and 3×3 basketball and 3×3 wheelchair basketball.
The Commonwealth Games will return to the Scottish city for the 23rd edition, from July 23 to August 2. Glasgow last hosted the Games in 2014.
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Why have these sports disciplines been dropped?
Though not officially stated, the roster has been pruned to make the tournament budget-friendly. Only four venues “within an eight-mile corridor” will be hosting the CWG 2026 to manage the logistics—Scotstoun Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Emirates Arena (including the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome), and the Scottish Event Campus.
This edition will have nine fewer events compared to the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Apart from cost-cutting, another reason for the axing of hockey could be that the Games are being held just around two weeks ahead of the hockey World Cup from August 15 to 30 in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands.
Why is the CWG 2026 updated roster a setback for India?
The axing of disciplines like shooting, wrestling, badminton, hockey and cricket is a major blow for India’s medal prospects, as Indian athletes have won bulk of their medals in these disciplines in the past Games (cricket is an exception, but given India’s dominance in the sport, the country was expected to make the podium. Indian women’s team won the silver in 2022).
India were fourth in the medals tally four years ago in Birmingham, winning 61 medals, including 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze. Of these, 12 medals came in wrestling and six in badminton. Wrestling, in fact, has been India’s strengths, bringing 114 medals in all, including 49 gold, 39 silver, and 26 bronze.
In shooting, India has won 135 medals, which includes 63 gold, 44 silver, and 28 bronze. Shooting was not part of the roster at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, too, because of logistical reasons.
In hockey, the Indian men’s team has won three silver and two bronze, while the women have won three medals, including a gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
In badminton, India has won 31 medals—10 gold, eight silver, and 13 bronze.
MANCHESTER UNITED have contacted former Barcelona boss Xavi over potentially replacing Erik ten Hag, according to reports.
The 44-year-old has been out of work since leaving Barca at the end of last season.
Ten Hag, 54, has come under intense scrutiny so far this season.
Following the Red Devils’ 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham last month, the Dutchman’s United future appeared to be in severe doubt.
They have since drawn away matches at Porto and Aston Villa, before coming from behind to beat Brentford at Old Trafford last Saturday.
According to the Mail, United chiefs have identified Xavi as a possible Ten Hag replacement.
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They claim that contact has twice been made between United and Xavi via intermediaries in recent months.
Man Utd CEO Omar Berrada jetted out to Barcelona last Thursday for meetings as part of a four-man delegation.
Figures within United claim that several meetings have taken place in the Catalan city recently due to Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s Ineos taking part in sailings America’s Cup there.
Xavi began his managerial career with Qatari side Al-Sadd in 2019.
After winning a league title and six domestic trophies, the former midfielder was appointed Barca boss in 2021.
Amid financial turmoil off the pitch, Xavi guided the Blaugrana to a LaLiga title during the 2022-23 season, also winning the Spanish Supercup in 2023.
Following a 5-3 defeat to Villarreal in January, Xavi announced that he would be stepping down as boss at the end of the season.
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In April he had a change of heart, however, saying he would fulfil his contract, which had been set to run until 2025.
But the following month, the club legend was sacked by club president Joan Laporta.
Both have subsequently been ruled out of contention, however, with Tuchel accepting the England job and Southgate vowing that he won’t coach for 12 months.
The latter, however, is also being strongly linked with Manchester City, should Pep Guardiola leave the Etihad at the end of the season.
Nine managers Man Utd considered before keeping Erik ten Hag
ERIK TEN HAG appears to be safe as Man Utd manager, but the Dutchman edged dangerously close to the sack.
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Here are nine managers Red Devils chiefs are reported to have considered for the job and what allegedly happened with each.
Gareth Southgate
Enjoys plenty of support among Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos chiefs but made clear he wouldn’t talk to any clubs until after Euro 2024. There is yet to be any suggestion that contact was made with the England boss.
Kieran McKenna
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Talks were opened with McKenna’s representatives before the FA Cup final, but the former Man Utd coach opted to sign a new deal with Ipswich after Ten Hag’s Wembley win.
Roberto De Zerbi
Allegedly sounded out before the FA Cup final with salary expectations discussed. But Ineos chiefs concluded ex-Brighton boss was not the right fit for the project.
Thomas Frank
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Brentford boss met Man Utd representatives the day before the FA Cup final. The Dane also dined with Ratcliffe, Roy Hodgson and Frank Lampard at the launch of a new Ineos car in February.
Marco Silva
Fulham boss reportedly met Man Utd representatives face-to-face two days before the FA Cup final, around the same time as Ten Hag was conducting his press conference.
Mauricio Pochettino
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Fell out of Man Utd’s thinking in the first week of June, despite being a favourite of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Thomas Tuchel
Made a very strong impression and came across well during a Monaco meeting. Personal terms were discussed before the ex-Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss decided to step back from the process.
Ruben Amorim
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Sporting boss was discussed by the Man Utd hierarchy but did not make the final reckoning.
Roberto Martinez
Portugal manager was considered in the early stages.
The four-man crew finished sixth in the Beijing Olympics in 2022, which was the best result of all the Team GB skeleton and bobsleigh teams who endured a tough Games.
When he first joined the squad they were not funded, but bobsleigh did subsequently receive £1.5m from UK Sport before Beijing. For the Milan 2026 cycle, bobsleigh has been awarded £2.8m after a £900,000 uplift in August 2023.
To put it into context, the powerhouse Germany teams spend £2m a year on research and development alone.
“We do the best with what we have,” Lawrence said.
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“The extra UK Sport funding has allowed us to look at different R&D bits, new two-man and four-man sleds, different aero parts etc.
“That costs a lot of money, but when you’re in a sport that is won by hundredths of a second, it’s all those little bits that help.”
The season following the Beijing Games was British bobsleigh’s most successful non-Olympic year, but the start of Lawrence’s 2023-24 campaign was delayed after Hall had back surgery. On his return, the four-man team carried on where they had left off with a podium in Lillehammer.
They are currently in Norway training before the season starts in Altenberg, Germany in December. The countdown is firmly on to the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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The track in Cortina is still being constructed, which Lawrence said will pose a new challenge for the teams.
“The main thing will be who gets to grips with the track the quickest,” he explained.
But he is bullish about Team GB’s medal chances as they aim for a first bobsleigh gold since 1964.
“Obviously we want gold, but we will be looking for an Olympic medal,” said Lawrence.
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“Anything less than that and we’ll come away disappointed because we know how good we are.
“We’re competing against the same people day in and day out from the World Cup circuit so we know we can beat them. It’s just having those stars aligned.”
Ex-Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha discusses how his former team-mate Vincent Kompany will manage Bayern Munich in this season’s Champions League.
The year 2023 was a defining one for wrestling, not for any podium finish but for the large-scale protests by Indian wrestlers, primarily women, against the then Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whom they accused of sexual harassment.
It was unprecedented, both in terms of the scale and longevity. Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia were the faces of the protest, with the agitators demanding that Singh be removed from the post and charged and tried in the court of law.
In May last year, as part of the protest, the wrestlers, led by the trio, were detained by Delhi Police when they attempted to march towards the new Parliament building for women’s ‘Mahapanchayat’. Alleging mistreatment by the cops and the Union government, the wrestlers decided to immerse their medals in Ganga, as a mark of protest.
The police high-handedness came in for severe criticism from eminent sportspersons like Abhinav Bindra, Sunil Chhetri and Kapil Dev.
But, what was set to be the ultimate show of defiance, ended in a whimper as the wrestlers returned without immersing the medals in Ganga, after they were ‘convinced’ by the Khap and farmer leaders to drop the plan. Senior farmer leaders Sham Singh Malik and Naresh Tikait, reportedly, collected their medals in their turbans and sought five days’ time then from the grapplers to resolve the issue.
However, Malik has now revealed in her autobiography Witness that things were not what met the eye on that day. Excerpts published by The Hindu present Malik’s version of the chain of events. On one hand, Punia was speaking to Home Minister Amit Shah over the phone. On the other, Tikait, who, as Malik wrote, was “one of the leaders of the farm rights agitation from a year ago and whom we respected as an elder of the Jat community we belonged to”, asked them to refrain from immersing their medals in the Ganga till he talked to them.
Malik further wrote that the crowd got bigger as they waited, and her heart began to sink. “And then, suddenly, from the midst of that crowd, Tikait emerged. He unwrapped the safa on his head, walked up to each of us, took our medals and placed them in that cloth. He told us the medals were the pride of the country and he’d make things all right.
“Then he walked away from the ghat, leaving us there by ourselves.”
Malik added that the wrestlers soon realised their mistake, that what “was supposed to be a great act of defiance had turned into a complete farce”. “All of us sat in a car in a state of complete bewilderment. We were crying.”
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The wrestlers were then taken to Tikait’s house, where he addressed a press conference, claiming credit for stopping the grapplers from immersing the medals in the river, Malik wrote.
“It was his moment to shine. As for us, we had been completely dishonoured.
“Later, people would tell us that Tikait, for all his image of confronting the government, had a history of selling out movements he had been part of, and he’d done the same to us. I don’t know the truth about that, but the fact is that the mistake of actually handing over the medals was made by us.”
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