Bayern signs Daley Blind
MUNICH, Jan 6:Bayern Munich signed veteran Dutch defender Daley Blind to cover for the injured Lucas Hernandez.Blind was a free agent after he was released by Ajax last week with six months left on his contract, and he joins German champion Bayern on a short-term deal until the end of the season after completing a medical examination in Munich. ”We’re delighted that Daley is joining our team,” Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said. “Daley is a versatile defender. … He has great international experience and leadership qualities. I’m sure he’ll help us.”
Haller in Dortmund’s training squad after cancer treatment
DORTMUND, Jan 6:Sébastien Haller was included in Borussia Dortmund’s squad Friday when the team flew to a winter training camp in Spain, in the latest step toward the Ivory Coast striker’s return to action following treatment for testicular cancer.Haller needed two operations and chemotherapy after the diagnosis emerged in July during a pre-season training camp in Switzerland. That was shortly after he had signed for Dortmund from Ajax and before he had played a game for his new team.(AP)
Bayern says Mazraoui had COVID during WC
MUNICH, Jan 6: Bayern Munich said on Friday that full-back Noussair Mazraoui tested positive for the coronavirus during Morocco’s historic run to the semifinals of the World Cup and has since been found to have swelling around his heart.Bayern left Mazraoui out of the squad that left on Friday for a winter training camp in Qatar ahead of the Bundesliga season resuming on January 20, citing the inflammation.The club said Mazraoui tested positive for COVID-19 while at the World Cup in early December and that was the reason he didn’t play in Morocco’s quarterfinal win over Portugal.His absence was widely attributed to an unspecified illness at the time.(PTI)
Djokovic to face Medvedev in wsemis
ADELAIDE, Jan 6:Novak Djokovic beat Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 at the Adelaide International on Friday to set up a semifinal with Daniil Medvedev.Medvedev, the runner-up last year to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open, defeated fellow Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-3 on Friday.“It’s never easy to play your compatriot,” Medvedev said.“I’m happy that I managed to really raise my level, especially in the end of both sets, and really happy to be through to the semis.” Medvedev is the 2021 US Open champion, but has lost twice in the finals in Australia – and in 2021 it was against Djokovic.“For sure I played well last year and I’m playing well right now,” Medvedev said, “To be honest, that’s all that matters. In order to win a slam, or be in the final, you have to be at your best for seven matches.” “I managed to do it once and I was really close last year,” he added.“And that’s what I’m going to try to do again in a few weeks in Melbourne.”(PTI)
Gianluca Vialli, former Italy striker, dies at 58
MILAN, Jan 6 :Gianluca Vialli, the former Italy striker who helped both Sampdoria and Juventus win Serie A and European trophies before becoming a player-manager at Chelsea, has died. He was 58.The Italian soccer federation confirmed Vialli’s death on Friday.Vialli announced in 2018 that he had overcome a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer but then said in December 2021 that the disease had returned.With his condition worsening. Vialli announced in mid-December that he was temporarily.Vialli had been appointed delegation chief under Azzurri head coach Roberto Mancini, his longtime friend and former teammate.Vialli and Mancini were known as the “gemelli del gol,” or “goal twins,” when they played together at Sampdoria, leading the club based in Genoa to its only Serie A title in 1991 and its only European title in 1990 with the Cup Winners’ Cup plus four Italian Cup trophies. (PTI)
Van Dijk out with injury
LIVERPOOL, Jan 6 : Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk is expected to be sidelined for at least a month because of a hamstring injury, manager Jurgen Klopp said on Friday.The Netherlands captain was taken off at halftime of Monday’s 3-1 loss at Brentford and underwent scans this week.“The diagnosis was pretty harsh and we talk about weeks, more than a month, but I hope that it goes quick,” Klopp said at a press conference ahead of Liverpool’s FA Cup match against Wolverhampton on Saturday. (PTI)
Ceferin unopposed for 3rd term as UEFA president
PARIS Jan 6:UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin will not face any challengers as he seeks a third term leading European soccer’s governing body, UEFA said on Friday.UEFA said the deadline for candidates passed on Thursday with Ceferin the only name on the ballot for the presidency at the UEFA Congress on April 5 in Lisbon.That was widely expected after UEFA said in October that Ceferin, a lawyer from Slovenia, had the backing of all of the member federations.of 4 yearsca full term. (PTI)