Just watch this Christmas-themed compilation of the best serves, saves and spikes from the 2011 Table Tennis season, then try to tell me these guys aren't athletes. (Revised conventional wisdom for 2012: they are athletes, but their sport is dumb.) [ via Kottke.org]
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Former Germany international Dietmar Hamann has called for Hansi Flick to be replaced as the team s head coach after overseeing a pathetic group-stage exit from the World Cup.
A late double from substitute Kai Havertz helped Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2 in their final Group E game on Thursday, but Japan stunned Spain with a 2-1 win at the Khalifa International Stadium to send the four-time winners home.
Germany have now suffered group-stage eliminations from consecutive World Cups, having avoided falling at the first hurdle on each of their last 16 appearances at the tournament before 2018.
The coaches of some eliminated sides – such as Mexico s Tata Martino and Belgium s Roberto Martinez – have already announced their departures, and Hamann thinks Flick shoul…
17 Joe Willock s equaliser was Newcastle s 17th shot from inside the box against Spurs today; their most in a single Premier League game under Steve Bruce. Invited.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Spurs had Hugo Lloris to thank for keeping the score level in the 19th minute, as he produced a brilliant double save to deny Dwight Gayle.
But Newcastle did score soon after, Sean Longstaff teeing up Joelinton for an easy finish after Davinson Sanchez made a mess of a clearance.
Tottenham s response was swift.
Kane equalised from close range following a mix-up between Emil Krafth and Martin Dubravka from a Giovani Lo Celso pass.
And by the 34th minute it was 2-1 to Spurs, Kane once again finding the net as he latched on to Tanguy Ndombele s throughbal…
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez took a point at Southampton as a positive after a drab goalless draw at St Mary s on Saturday.
The Magpies failed to produce a single shot on target as their wait for a first win of the season stretched into November, though the stalemate was enough to move them off the bottom on goal difference.
Newcastle have failed to win in any of their opening 10 league games for the first time since the 1898-99 season, but Benitez expressed satisfaction with his side s performance given the situation in which they entered the game.
I think we have to consider the circumstances, going away from home at the bottom of the table, getting a clean sheet and a point, you have to consider this more positive than negative, Benitez said.
…
Bayern Munich have completed and the signing of Raphael Guerreiro on a free transfer after his contract with Borussia Dortmund expires at the end of this month.
Welcome to FC Bayern, Rapha!
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
Though Bayern and Dortmund are fierce rivals (the fiercest in German football when it comes to battling it out for the Bundesliga title), players swapping one of those clubs for the other isn t as rare an occurrence as one might expect. The stories of Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gotze, Mats Hummels, as well as Niklas Sule last year, are known to anyone following the German top flight.
Guerreiro, primarily a left-back but frequently deployed in midfield as well, joined Dortmund from Lorient in 2016 and has established himse…
Pep Guardiola and defenders. It s been an expensive exercise for Manchester City.
Still trying to fill the glaring void left by long-serving captain Vincent Kompany in 2019, and reeling after a stunning 5-2 Premier League drubbing at the hands of Leicester City, Manchester City have turned to Ruben Dias.
Benfica and Portugal centre-back Dias will cost City an initial £62million (€68m), plus £2.1m (€3.6m) in add-ons should the 23-year-old trigger various performance-related clauses.
Sunday s announcement, with Nicolas Otamendi set to move in the opposite direction, takes Guardiola s spending as City manager on defenders to in excess of £410m (€451m) since 2016.
1 For the first time in 686 games as a manager, Pep Guardiola has seen his side concede…
Luis Rubiales has been re-elected unopposed as the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
Rubiales is set to serve a four-year term, with his return to office a formality after former Spain captain and 2010 World Cup winner Iker Casillas withdrew his candidacy in June.
The 43-year-old took on RFEF s top job in May 2018 after predecessor Angel Maria Villar was sacked amid corruption charges.
He quickly became embroiled in controversy on the eve of the 2018 World Cup, sacking Julen Lopetegui after the Spain coach was announced as Real Madrid boss for the start of the 2018-19 season.
Under caretaker boss Fernando Hierro, Spain limped to a last-16 exit on penalties against hosts Russia.
Rubiales then clashed bitterly with LaLiga ch…
Luis Rubiales, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), has refuted claims of wrongdoing amid controversy surrounding the Supercopa de Espana.
Messages and phone calls between Rubiales and Barcelona stalwart Gerard Pique have been leaked to the media.
The audio recordings revealed Pique helped negotiate a €24million commission when the Supercopa was expanded to four teams and moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020.
It was a deal reportedly worth €40m to the RFEF for every tournament played in the middle-eastern state.
Spanish publication El Confidencial, which released the audio on Monday, claimed Pique s Kosmos group, a sports entertainment company founded in 2017, would benefit to the tune of €4m per tournament over the six-year agre…
Jadon Sancho s long-awaited move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United has finally been completed.
The 21-year-old England international arrives at Old Trafford having scored 50 goals and provided 57 assists in 137 appearances across all competitions for the Bundesliga side.
He became the first Englishman to reach at least 10 assists for three straight seasons in Europe s top-five leagues since former United star David Beckham, who achieved the feat between 1997-98 and 2000-01.
The €85million (£72.9million) fee makes him the fourth most expensive signing in the Red Devils history.
Here, Stats Perform looks at how the rest of the top five fared at Old Trafford.
Paul Pogba £94.5m from Juventus, August 2016
Four years after lettin…
Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman complained about a lack of respect during his team s surprise LaLiga defeat to Getafe, singling out Allan Nyom.
Koeman suffered his first loss as Barca boss on Saturday – Getafe claiming a 1-0 victory thanks to Jaime Mata s 56th-minute penalty.
It was Getafe s first league win over Spanish giants Barca since November 2011, a run of 16 games.
Koeman, who replaced Quique Setien at the start of the season, was less than impressed with the behaviour of Getafe full-ball Nyom.
I told him [Getafe coach Jose Bordalas] that his number 12 [Nyom] had shown me a lack of respect, he had said two or three very ugly things to me which I won t repeat. He insulted me, Koeman said post-game.
I told Bordalas that he needs to sp…
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Bologna will be looking to consolidate their position in the standings when they take on Verona. The match will be played at Renato Dall Ara Stadium, starting from 20:45 local time. A high attendance is expected following the hosts latest displays.
Bologna
Bologna impressed this season with their attacking football against top Serie A sides. The Red Blues are on the verge of making history, pushing for a top 4 finish. Such an achievement would see them playing Champions League football in the next season.
If the Scudetto battle seems to be already over with Inter dominating the race, the Champions League positions are still up for grabs. The Greyhounds sit 5th in the table, level on poin…