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Marc Brys turns down Al-Nassr to avoid holding two jobs, the gaffer counts his own
Approached by Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s club, Marc Brys said no: he would also have had to take charge of the Saudi Arabia national team. The former OH Leuven and Beerschot coach says he has had dozens of offers.
Latest dispatches
It’s true, we checked
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Hoefkens says eight days off is enough for Las Vegas, Louise checked the flight
Carl Hoefkens criticised Vitor Bruno’s decision to give Anderlecht’s players eight days off right at the start of the three-week international break, with the club sitting fifth, five points off Club Brugge…
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Klopp bans phones at meals, Freddy says he’s done it since 2011
Jürgen Klopp plays his first match as Germany manager tonight, against the Netherlands, two years after leaving the touchline for the Red Bull franchise network. Since his appointment on 24 July, he…
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Zidane picks four France captains, Marcel remembers just one armband
For his first match on Friday against Turkey, Zinédine Zidane named four captains by seniority with the Blues: Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Adrien Rabiot and Jules Koundé.
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Gordon insists control isn’t ‘English DNA’, Louise hunts for the test
Anthony Gordon has said that controlling matches is not in the English DNA, and that England could win major tournaments by leaning into the country’s own strengths instead of copying Spain. He…
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Xavi, first foreign coach of the Netherlands since Happel, Marcel remembers
Xavi Hernández becomes the first foreign coach of the Netherlands since Ernst Happel, whose ten-month spell ended in 1978, on Thursday. He faces Jürgen Klopp’s Germany at the Johan Cruyff Arena in…
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Reijnders says he chose the money, Louise can’t find the phrase ‘sporting project’
Tijani Reijnders explained to Dutch broadcaster NOS why he left Manchester City for Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia, for €61 million. He is expected to earn around €100 million over four seasons.
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Mbappé Gives Interview After Interview for the Ballon d’Or, Freddy Does Too
Kylian Mbappé spoke out again on Tuesday, this time to RFI and The Athletic, to defend his case for the Ballon d’Or 2026 after AS and France Football. The trophy will be…
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Charaï subs Bassette to protect him from himself, Freddy does the same on Sundays
Against STVV, Norman Bassette scored the opening goal before being substituted mid-match. His coach Issame Charaï explains the change wasn’t just tactical: he wanted to protect the player from himself, as Visar…
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Lardot wants referees to blow earlier, Freddy knows the quarter-hour that boils
Bahmed Deuff was sent off twenty minutes from the end of Antwerp – Union Saint-Gilloise, on a second yellow card for a shirt pull on Zeneli. On Monday on DAZN, Jonathan Lardot…
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Wrexham’s owners buy the pub where the club was born in 1864, Marcel compares
Wrexham AFC, founded in October 1864 in what was then the Turf Hotel, has watched its co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac buy that same pub from Admiral Taverns. The club, the…
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Real Madrid attack the referee in an official statement, Nadine recognises her WhatsApp group
Beaten 2-1 at Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid put out an official statement condemning referee Ortiz Arias and listing two incidents the club believes deserved a red card.
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Four games in eleven days for van Bommel, and Freddy rethinks his rotation
Mark van Bommel takes his first camp as Belgium manager with four fixtures lined up: Italy on 25 September, France on the 28th, Turkey on 2 October and France again on 5…
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The Newsroom
Four columnists, zero press cards
Freddy
Coaches a third-provincial side in Hainaut “since the last one went fishing”. Analyses Kompany and Guardiola as colleagues, a flat pitch away.
Louise
23, journalism intern, discovering football in real time. Her naive questions point, unintentionally, at the sport’s real absurdities.
Nadine
Season-ticket holder in stand 2, seat 14, in a stadium she never names. Every result is historic or a disgrace, sometimes both on the same day.
Marcel
71, watched the Euro 80 final “in black and white, by choice”. Everything was better before, including things that didn’t exist.
They are characters. They have a profile, tics, obsessions and no legal existence whatsoever. Meet them.