Football

AP, Stockholm :A guttural roar of “Manchester, Manchester” thundered around the Friends Arena at the full-time whistle.Purely in soccer terms, Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Ajax in the Europa League final on Wednesday was a triumph of huge significance for England’s biggest club.On a wider level, it was also a moment to cheer for the team’s home city, grieving two thousand kilometers away.Manchester was plunged into tragedy on Monday when 22 people were killed by a bomb attack at an...

AFP, Seoul :Former Portugal boss Paulo Bento will coach South Korea over the next four years through the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the Korea Football Association (KFA) announced on Friday.Kim Pan-gon, a top KFA official in charge of finding a new coach, said that with “four years of patience and support” Bento will take the Taeguk Warriors to new heights.“Coach Bento fits the Korean football style as he pursues high-pressing games and tight defences denying opponents chances for counterattacks,” Kim...

Lionel Messi, Neymar and Robin van Persie make the headlines, but the World Cup’s real heroes have been goalkeepers like Tim Howard, Guillermo Ochoa and Julio Cesar who throw themselves into the line of fire. “Two words .. TIM HOWARD respect,” was the simple Twitter comment made by Belgium’s captain Vincent Kompany within minutes of his country finally beating the United States in the last 16 on Tuesday. Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku, who hit the winning goal, and Dries Mertens, both...