Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has declared his ambition to coach Spanish giants Real Madrid in the future.
Chelle has been in charge of Nigeria since the beginning of last year and has enjoyed a decent spell with the national team. The Franco-Malian tactician has introduced a unique style of play that has helped several players perform well and deliver solid displays.
Although he failed to guide Nigeria to a 2026 FIFA World Cup playoff spot, Chelle led the Super Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Many football legends praised the team’s performances, with some saying Nigeria played the best football at the tournament and were unlucky to lose on penalties in the semi-final.
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In a recent interview, the 48-year-old coach revealed his biggest dream is to become Real Madrid’s first African coach. He admitted that the job would be difficult to achieve, as only a few African coaches have managed top clubs in Europe.
Real Madrid are regarded as one of the biggest clubs in the world and have been led by some of the most successful managers in football history. Chelle will need time and major achievements in his career to reach that level.
For now, the Nigeria Football Federation will be keen to keep him, especially with his contract running until next year, as they look to secure his long-term future with the Super Eagles.
There are two things we have learned so far in this young 2026 season, although one might be slightly more surprising than the other.
One: Scottie Scheffler is still really good and significantly better than everyone else. Scheffler opened his season at the American Express a couple of weeks ago and won by four. He made his second start at the WM Phoenix Open last week and finished just a shot out of a playoff — despite posting an uncharacteristic 73 on Thursday, six strokes higher than his worst round over the next three days.
And two? Chris Gotterup is for real.
If you were busy preparing for your Super Bowl watch party or getting your parlays in order and skipped Sunday’s finish, here’s the gist of what you missed: We’re just four events into the PGA Tour season and Gotterup has now won half of them. He’s vaulted to No. 5 in the World Ranking and is the second-highest-ranked American behind only Scheffler.
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Back in 2024, Gotterup won the Myrtle Beach Classic for his first Tour win, although it went largely unnoticed by the greater golf audience since it was an alternate-field event and finished the same day Rory McIlroy won the Wells Fargo Championship. Gotterup then failed to crack the top 50 in his next eight events; he could have easily been a one-hit wonder.
“I definitely knew I was a work in progress, and still am,” Gotterup said Sunday, after he shot 64 in the final round and later beat Hideki Matsuyama in a playoff. “But I knew that my game was suited for out here, and I knew if I continued to work and at least had faith in what I was doing that I would be able to be in the position someday. To say I’ve won four times is pretty crazy.”
Fast forward to July 2025, and Gotterup — this time playing in the same tournament as McIlroy — outlasted the newly crowned Masters champ at the Scottish Open for career win No. 2. That made the 26-year-old former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer a good story, but there are plenty of those throughout the golf season.
Everything he’s done since then, however, has proven he’s much more than that.
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He took third at the Open Championship a week after the Scottish Open and tied for 10th a week later at the 3M Open. He also added a T10 at the Tour Championship and ended the season with a whole new slate of tournaments unlocked for 2026. Those haven’t even started — he’ll play Signature Events like Pebble, the Genesis and Bay Hill for the first time in the next month — and he’s already proven he’s worthy of a spot on the pre-tournament press conference schedules.
He wasted little time reminding 2025 was no fluke, as he opened this season by winning the Sony Open. After a top 20 at the Farmers and now a playoff win in Phoenix, he’s won three times in his last 10 starts.
Sunday’s win included birdies on five of his last six holes, and he birdied 18 again to beat Matuyama on the first extra hole.
“I’m just really enjoying being out here right now, and I’m having fun,” said Gotterup, who ranks second on Tour in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. “I feel confident in what I’m doing and feel like I have played well enough to feel confident to be able to be in those positions. So far, I’ve been able to capitalize on those, and I’m excited for the rest of the year.”
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Besides earning entry into a handful of Signature Events, Gotterup will also make his Masters debut two months from now.
After his win Sunday, Gotterup was met by CBS reporter Amanda Balionis for the obligatory winner’s interview.
“We saw it at the Scottish Open,” she started, “when the moment is biggest, when your back is against the wall, that’s when you show up. Where does that come from?”
“You know, a lot of hard work,” Gotterup said, before pausing to settle his emotions. “You make me cry every time.”
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With the run he’s on, you think he’d be used to it by now.
Olisa Ndah’s agent, Mike Makaab, has dismissed reports linking the Nigerian defender with a move to Libyan club Al Shomooa SC.
Speculation surfaced shortly after Ndah left South African giants Orlando Pirates, with claims that he was set to continue his career in Libya. However, both his agent and his father, Ndubuisi Ndah, have described the reports as false.
Makaab said there is no truth in the rumours and added that there are no immediate transfer plans for the 28-year-old defender. Ndah’s father also confirmed that his son has not agreed to any move to Libya.
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Ndah recently ended his three-and-a-half-year stay with Orlando Pirates after joining the club from Akwa United in 2021. He established himself as a key centre-back and made 81 appearances in all competitions, winning the MTN8 Cup three times.
Injuries limited his game time in the past year, and he did not feature this season, with younger defenders also pushing him down the pecking order. Pirates confirmed that the club and player agreed to terminate his contract so he could seek regular football elsewhere.
Ndah is now a free agent and is expected to explore new opportunities as he looks to revive his career.
and have flown the flag for American boxing over the past few decades but believes one active fighter can find more popularity than the talented duo. Mayweather became the face of the sport throughout the 2000s and 2010s, as he became a five-weight world champion and went on to retire with a perfect 50-0 record. […]
Vonn was airlifted by helicopter from Cortina d’Ampezzo to the Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso.
A source close to the matter confirmed on Monday that a joint team of local orthopaedic and plastic surgeons performed the procedures.
These operations were crucial for stabilising her and preventing complications related to swelling and blood flow.
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While Vonn’s personal doctor was present and assisted, Italian surgeons led the medical interventions.
U.S. delegation may give update
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee did not respond to a request for comment about the treatment for Vonn, one of the most decorated ski racers in history.
The hospital had said on Sunday that she underwent an operation to stabilise her left leg but did not mention a second procedure. She suffered the ACL injury to her left knee in late January.
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The hospital had initially said it would provide a further update on her condition at 1100 GMT on Monday but this plan was scrapped and further information was expected to come from the U.S. delegation.
A small group of reporters waited outside the hospital in Treviso, which is a short drive from Venice, but it was otherwise a regular day there with no well-wishers turning up.
Lindsey Vonn was transported to hopsital by helicopter after crashing in the women’s downhill event on Sunday (Francois-Xavier MARIT / AFP via Getty Images)
‘One in a thousand’ accident
The case has highlighted a debate in elite sport over who decides when an injured athlete is fit to compete and what message those decisions send.
International Ski Federation President Johan Eliasch said the competitor had to make up their own mind.
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“I firmly believe that this has to be decided by the individual … And in her case, she certainly knows her injuries a lot better than anybody else,” he told reporters on Monday.
“And what is also important for people to understand that the accident that she had yesterday, she was incredibly unlucky. It was a one in a thousand. She got too close to the gate, and she got stuck when she was in the air in the gate and started rotating.”
Victim of her own success, medallist says
Sebastien Amiez, a former French skier and Olympic silver medallist, said Vonn only took part in the race in Crans-Montana on January 30 where she ruptured her ACL because she had been doing so well in the World Cup.
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“Her original goal was to peak at the Olympic Games. But she won early races, led the World Cup, and as a champion she wanted everything. Yesterday, unfortunately, her luck ran out — that’s how it goes,” he said.
The U.S. ski team had inspected several facilities before selecting Treviso, some 125 km (80 miles) from Cortina, favouring it over a closer hospital in Belluno because Treviso also has a neurosurgery department, the source said.
Vonn has been inundated with messages of support from the sporting world and beyond.
“You are a great inspiration and an example of perseverance,” said tennis great Rafa Nadal. “Stay strong and get well soon!”
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to return in Saudi Arabia, a change in Barcelona’s boardroom might determine whether Marcus Rashford stays in Spain, and Zinedene Zidane may be heading back to Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to end his strike at Al-Nassr and play again for the Saudi Pro League club on Saturday. The 41-year-old Portugal forward has missed two games because he is unhappy with the way the club are run. (Sky Sports), external
England international Marcus Rashford’s Barcelona future hangs on the club’s presidential election next month. A £26m deal for the on-loan Manchester United forward, 28, is the centrepiece of Joan Laporta’s re-election bid. (Times – subscription required), external
Bournemouthare planning to offer 19-year-old French forward Eli Junior Kroupi a lucrative new contract in a bid to ward off interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Chelsea, Liverpool,Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain.(Sun), external
Bayern Munich are not looking at Atletico Madrid’s Argentina forward Julian Alvarez, boosting Arsenal‘s hopes of signing the 26-year-old. (Christian Falk), external
AC Milan are confident Fulham will exercise a £21m option-to-buy for 26-year-old Nigeria winger Samuel Chukwueze, who is on loan at the Cottagers. (Gazzetta – in Italian), external
The managerial merry-go-round might bring changes at a number of major clubs in the coming months, but Spaniard Luis Enrique says he is “so happy” at Ligue 1 PSG. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Among those looking for a big name are Real Madrid, who may make an approach for German Jurgen Klopp. France World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane is more likely to return for a third spell in the dugout though. (ESPN), external
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The Liverpoolboard will consider the future of Dutch manager Arne Slot if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League this season. (Football Insider), external
Daichi Kamada, 29, is set to leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season. The Japan midfielder’s contract expires in the summer and there are no extension talks. (Sky Sports), external
John Cross, the Mirror’s chief football writer, believes Manchester City star Phil Foden has an uphill task to land a place in the England World Cup squad for this summer, coming up against former City ace Cole Palmer.
Is it a straight shoot-out between Phil Foden and his former Manchester City team-mate Cole Palmer for a place in the England squad for this summer’s World Cup?
While it was an eventful game, there was no place for Foden to make an impact, as he wasn’t even brought on to try and kickstart the fightback, as Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush were named alongside the ever-present Erling Haaland.
When Man City needed to shake the game up, Guardiola turned to summer signing Rayan Cherki rather than the academy graduate, which should be his biggest worry ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
The lack of minutes and impact won’t help Foden’s chances of making Thomas Tuchel’s squad, not least due to the quality available in the attacking positions, especially as a number 10, with former Man City star Cole Palmer starting to show signs of his quality again.
As part of a weekly series ‘England Player Ratings’ counting down to this summer’s World Cup, The Mirror’s chief football writer John Cross gave his thoughts surrounding Foden’s position in the squad, after watching Man City’s 2-1 win over Liverpool.
“This is the bigger worry. He has been eased out by Antoine Semenyo. When City needed something extra, they brought on Rayan Cherki. That has to be a worry,” he said, giving his current form a 6/10 rating, while unable to give a match rating due to the lack of time on the pitch.
“One big name is going to miss out. Will it be Bellingham, Rogers, Foden or Palmer? They cannot all go. One who is either not playing well or just plain unlucky will not go. Foden remains in danger. It might be between Foden and Palmer,” he added, giving his chances of making the World Cup squad a 7/10.
The problem for Foden surrounds the form of those he will be competing with.
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While Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers have shown their form earlier on this season, it may be time for someone like Cole Palmer to make a run towards the squad with some late momentum.
The playmaker, who left Man City for just £40million in 2023, has begun to show his quality again, scoring a hat-trick for Chelsea in their 3-1 win over Wolves this weekend.
While injury issues have plagued him for most of the season, Cross gives Palmer a 7/10 chance of making the squad, stating: “If he stays fit and also plays and gets minutes, then he is hard to resist. Especially when you consider he was so influential – albeit as a substitute – in the last Euros. It’s a big call but it may be a straight choice between Foden and Palmer.”
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With Foden struggling for minutes with City, it may well highlight the transformative move away for Palmer if he can pip him to a spot in the World Cup by landing more opportunities on the pitch.
Marc Guehi’s England chances
While Foden may be struggling for opportunities to break into the England squad, the same cannot be said of Marc Guehi, who looks almost certain to be on the plane this summer, barring an unfortunate injury.
His performance at Anfield landed an 8/10 from Cross, who said: “He was so good at Anfield. Yes, he got booked for a pull back but he looked calm, composed and so strong. He is a Rolls Royce of a defender.
“He makes City’s defence look so much better and they saw out long spells of pressure. He will be one of the best defenders at the tournament.”
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His chances of making the England squad were rated 9/10, with every chance that he starts the World Cup alongside Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa.
Nico O’Reilly position change
Nico O’Reilly may well be down as the left-back option for England, but he once again started in midfield for Manchester City in their win over Liverpool.
The return of Rayan Ait-Nouri has pushed him out from full-back, but into the midfield role, due to his form and performances as of late.
O’Reilly has also been given a strong chance of making the final squad with a 9/10 rating, as Cross said: “He is in pole position for the left-back slot and, unless anything dramatic happens, he is nailed-on for the first game against Croatia.
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“His versatility playing midfield and left-back gives him another string to his bow.”
You can have your say and choose your England squad below…
GB’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson finish the rhythm dance in fourth position with their Spice Girls-inspired performance. The figure skating event concludes on Wednesday with the free dance.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior says he is not “bothered at all” by memes comparing him to television characters.
The 43-year-old has won seven of his first nine games in charge of the Blues but fans online have poked fun at his mannerisms.
Rosenior says he is not on social media so his teenage children have informed him of the comparisons to popular TV characters that are being made, which include Inbetweeners character Will McKenzie and David Brent from the Office.
“I’m not afraid to be myself,” said Rosenior.
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“If I wear glasses, if I sound a little bit over the top when I speak, or articulate myself in a certain way, or I don’t look like a manager, it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Former Strasbourg boss Rosenior says the memes affect his family but he is not troubled by them because he expected the reaction from the moment he took the Chelsea job.
Rosenior was a surprise appointment for the role after Enzo Maresca’s departure in January following a breakdown in his relationship with the owners.
“The reason I know is because I’ve got teenage children,” added Rosenior
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“They’re on social media. It affects them, it affects my parents and my family. But I knew walking in to this job it was going to happen. It’s normal.
“When you’re prepared for it, it makes you smile. I’m a confident person. If you’re affected by things like that, you shouldn’t be in this job.”
Since joining Chelsea, Rosenior has become just the second English manager to win his first four Premier League matches.
Last month he also guided Chelsea to the last 16 of the Champions League following a 3-2 win at Napoli.
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The Blues sit fifth in the Premier League – one point behind fourth-placed Manchester United – and host 16th-placed Leeds on Tuesday.
Trent McDuffie has developed into a star cornerback under the direction of Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
With his rookie contract set to expire after the 2026 season, should Chiefs general manager Brett Veach consider extending McDuffie’s deal in the coming months?
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Here’s a look at McDuffie’s current contract:
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Trent McDuffie 2026 salary
Sep 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) takes the field prior to a game against the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
The Chiefs have already exercised McDuffie’s fifth-year option for 2026. Next season, the star defensive back will earn a base salary of $13,632,000 with no signing proration, roster bonus, or workout bonus.
In total, his 2026 earnings are set to amount to $13,632,000, which will take up 4.6% of Kansas City’s cap space.
How much money could K.C. save in 2026 by extending Trent McDuffie?
Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
OverTheCap.com projects that the Chiefs could save $9,933,600 in cap space by extending McDuffie’s contract during the 2026 offseason.
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Should Brett Veach extend Trent McDuffie’s contract?
Dec 17, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) warms up before a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Given that the Chiefs could save nearly $10,000,000 by extending McDuffie’s contract — and that the veteran cornerback is among Kansas City’s most valuable defenders — it seems likely that general manager Brett Veach will consider giving the former Washington Husky a new deal this year.
Good news for fans of the Course Whisperer: Roger Maltbie, beloved NBC Sports/Golf Channel inside-the-ropes foot correspondent, is coming back for nine more events this year, starting this week with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Rajah played in the Pebble tourney as a PGA Tour rookie. That was in 1975.
It brings to mind this Steven Wright bit:
“How ’bout those Stones? Still doing it after all these years.”
Suitable pause.
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“Fred, Barney.”
Along with Fred and Barney, and Mick and Keith, you can add Roger to that list. Still at it, after all these years. When Roger gives you an observation or an insight, it’s a considered one.
“In my opinion,” Maltbie said in a recent phone interview, “the Tap Room at The Lodge at Pebble Beach is the best watering hole in golf.” As for gardens, he’ll take the backyard at the La Playa Hotel in residential Carmel, a couple miles from The Lodge. Maltbie and his wife, Donna, were married there in 1980.
In the fall of 2022, when it became known that NBC Sports was not renewing Maltbie’s contract for 2023, golf fans staged peaceful protests at 30 Rockefeller Center. Well, no — but there were a lot of upset people. Maltbie knows the game inside and out but never presents it as a life-and-death matter. Plus, you could hear his famous mustache ruffle the microphone speaker now and again. He worked tournaments in ’23 and ’24 and ’25, but they were nothing like prime-timer affairs. This year Maltbie will be working nine events, including some of the biggest of the year, the Players Championship among them. When Maltbie says the Players is very, very close to a major, it’s a considered opinion. His take on the Tap Room at The Lodge, the same. His views are his own and they are earned. His love of the game and life shines through all of it.
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For some years, Maltbie’s partner at the Pebble Beach pro-am was Eddie DeBartolo, the owner of the San Francisco 49ers. In the football season, DeBartolo would organize little outings, Maltbie among the invited, in which various co-conspirators would play Pebble on a Monday, watch Monday Night Football in the Tap Room, then play Cypress the next day. Maltbie was back at Cypress last year, for the Walker Cup. He was in fine form, and he knows the course well. In Maltbie’s first decade on Tour, the Cypress Point Club course was part of the three-course rotation for the Pebble Beach tournament.
Now the tournament is a so-called Signature event — 80 players, no cut, two courses, Pebble and Spyglass Hill. But there are certain constants at the AT&T. Clint Eastwood has been associated with the tournament forever. The legendary actor, director and make-my-day golfer is now 95. Jim Nantz has been covering it for decades, as a CBS Sports broadcaster. Maltbie, as a TV talent, has always been associated with Golf Channel and NBC Sports, going back to the late 1980s. This week, on the weekend, Maltbie will be roaming the fairways for Golf Channel for all four rounds. On the weekend, there will be coverage, as is customary, on Golf Channel before the hot mics get passed to Nantz and Co. “I haven’t seen Jim in forever,” Maltbie said. “Look forward to that.”
Maltbie will also be returning to Muirfield Village for Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial tournament in early June. “Haven’t been there in years,” Maltbie said. “That will be fascinating, to see what Jack has done to the course.” Maltbie won the first Memorial, in 1976. “If I was born the day I won that tournament, I’d be eligible for the senior tour pretty soon here,” Maltbie said.
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Maltbie will be working the U.S. Open at Shinnecock and the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto, where Nicklaus learned the game in the 1940s and ’50s. Some of Maltbie’s most exciting broadcasting was covering, at close range, the extreme intensity of Woods competing in U.S. Opens, most particularly at Torrey Pines in 2008. Maltbie called shots Woods played before, during and after with the fewest and most incisive words possible, and could often corral Woods for post-round interviews when Woods was still breathing fire. Woods liked Maltbie — you could tell. Maltbie was as chill as Woods was wired. Both are native Californians. Woods went to Stanford. Maltbie, under considerably less pressure, went to San Jose State.
Maltbie will also be working the Senior PGA Championship at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., right after the Masters. Woods could make his senior major debut there. He’s eligible, to say the least. “I’m hoping what everybody’s hoping,” Maltbie said — that Woods will be healthy enough to play the 72-hole walking-only tournament.
Maltbie will work two other Florida tournaments that are mainstays of the NBC Sports calendar, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship. The Players, you may have heard (per recent commentary by Brandel Chamblee), is not only a major but the best of the majors. “I can see how you could make that case,” Maltbie said. “Great field, great course, improving all the time. But would I want to win the Players over the other four majors? No.”
As player and broadcaster, the Tour was a way of life for Maltbie. If you’re at a watering hole and Maltbie is around and somebody is tinkling the keys, chances are good Roger will be listening intently. That was the case for a fortnight at the Pinecrest Inn in Pinehurst, when two U.S. Opens, one for men and one for women, were played on the No. 2 course in consecutive weeks in 2014. The piano player each night was Randy Carmichael, son of the legendary pianist and composer Hoagy Carmichael. At the Bohemian Grove, a vast private campground where Roger pitches tent now and again, Maltbie would sometimes hear Bob Weir, the late Grateful Dead member, strumming an acoustic six-string under the stars. Good times.
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When all those people were upset a few years ago, when NBC didn’t renew its deal with Roger, they were protesting a corporate effort to extinguish a singular voice that celebrates golf’s good times, whether the player is making a 2 or a 7. What Maltbie’s commentary really adds up to is this: Golf is a good time. He played in 520 PGA Tour events. He’s worked at least 400 as a broadcaster. He doesn’t know the precise number, and doesn’t particularly care. But he’s adding one more to the grand total this week. He’s working the Pebble stop, and it’s all good.
;)
