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Amazing Facts about the Most Popular Football Clubs

Football, also known as soccer, is a sport that connects all the people in the world. It is considered the best sport in the world with fans across many different countries.

It is a sport that is enjoyed by people from all walks of life regarding their age, class, region, status, gender or anything in that matter. Football is a simple yet exciting game that one can enjoy even if they don’t know the rules properly. 

True football fans are much more hyped about the League tournaments than any other football tournaments.  League is where the best of bests clash by forming teams, and all the fans are passionate about it. Tournaments like the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and Serie A are where the most popular clubs compete with each other. So, let us know a bit more about these football clubs from different leagues around the globe. 

 

Real Madrid FC

Real Madrid is one of the topmost clubs that has millions of fans across the world. They earned their place at the top and all of their achievements are there to prove it to anyone who says otherwise. The club was originally founded back in Spain in 1902 with the name Madrid Football Club. Later in 1920, King Alfonso XIII bestowed the club with the title “Real”; it translates to “Royal” in English. Since then and up until the present, they have won 34 La Liga titles, which is the highest number of titles won by any club. They also brought 19 Copa del Rey trophies, 13 European Championship Cups and 2 UFEA Cups to their name. 

Real Madrid is one of the biggest names in the Football universe. With over 250 million fans, they not only have the biggest fan followers among all clubs but also is the richest among all. Famous players like Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Rodrygo are part of this club. Cristiano Ronaldo was also a part of this club until he left to join Juventus in the summer of 2018. However, the fans will never forget this legend and his legacy will continue to inspire others throughout the time.

 

FC Barcelona

Barcelona is another name dominating the world of football. They go head to head with Real Madrid, and their rivalry is one that the fans crave the most. With 250 million followers by their side, Barcelona has its place fixed as one of the richest and best football clubs of all times. Barcelona has won their share of trophies, which includes the highest amount of Copa del Rey titles (30) any club has won. Along with that, they have also won 26 La Liga titles, 5 European Cups and 4 UFEA Cup Winners’ Cup. 

The football pioneer Joan Gapmer founded the club in 1989 along with eleven other football enthusiasts. In 1902, they won their first title, Copa Macaya and lost their first Copa del Rey title where they battled against Bizcaya and lost by 2-1. However, after that, they won the Copa del Rey title 8 times by 1928 and regained all the glory. Renowned players such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Ronaldinho, Neymar have been members of this club. Luis Suarez had to leave Barcelona later on and joined Atletico Madrid later on. Messi has been one of the top goal scorers of La Liga since 2016. With 23 goals this year, Messi holds the no. 1 place for the fifth consecutive time among the Spanish La Liga top goal scorers. 

 

Manchester United

One of the top dogs in the English Premier League, Manchester United places just after Real Madrid and Barcelona in terms of popularity. Not to be confused with Manchester City, Manchester United aka the ‘Red Devils’ has over 140 million fans all over the world. On average, they sold about 1.5 million Jerseys. To date, they have won 20 First Division/Premier League, 12 FA League, 5 League Cups and 3 UFEA Cup/Champion.

The club was initially founded in 1878  with the name Newton Heath L&YR Football Club. It was named as such because the players were workers of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company. A local group of businessmen later took over the club and named it Manchester United in 1902. They won the English League title under Ernest Mangnall’s guidance in 1908. Infamous Cristiano Ronaldo was one of them from 2003 to 2009. David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimović and other star players were part of this team too. 

 

Bayern Munich

It’s hard not to talk about this club as it stands at the top of the world football rankings. Bayern Munich acquired all three major league titles, a feat accomplished by a few clubs only. They won 30 Bundesliga titles, 6 European Cup/Champions League, 1 UFEA Cup Winners’ Cup and 1 UFEA cup. They have an estimated 90 million fans around the world and they sold about 1 million Jerseys. 

Bayern Munich was founded back in 1900; however, their first national championship was in 1932. They were named the “Jew’s Club” and back in the days due to Nazism, they had to leave Germany. They got back to track with their winning of the DFB-Pokal in 1957. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Gómez, Philipp Lahm, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry, Thomas Müller and many other good players played for the Bayern Munich. 

 

Juventus

Followed by 100 million fans, Juventus is another well-known name in the world of football. Formerly known as Juve, this Italian club has earned a fair share of trophies in their name. The legendary Cristiano Ronaldo join this club after leaving Real Madrid. “Juventus” is an Italian word that means “Youth”. Natives gave the club many nicknames including “The Old Lady”, “The Girlfriend of Italy”, “The Zebras” etc. 

The club was founded on 1 November 1987. Some of its infamous players are David Trezeguet, Zinedine Zidane, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, Alvaro Morata and recently Cristiano Ronaldo. They have Italian 30 Football Championship/Serie A, 14 Coppa Italia, 2 European Cup/Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and 3 UEFA Cups in their name.

European Rowing Results – Four Irish Crews into A Finals

European Rowing Results – It was a good day for Ireland with four of the eight crews are into A Finals.

Ireland had eight crews competing at the 2021 European Rowing Championships in Varese on Day One. Four of the Irish Crews qualified for their A Finals, three crews moved to the A/B Semi-Final and one to the C/D Semi-Final.

The Women’s Pair of Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley finished second in their heat. The Irish crew beat the boats from Czech Republic and Denmark. The Romanian boat took first place in the heat. The Romanian and Irish Crews advance directly to the A Final on Sunday morning. Monika and Aileen finished with a time of 07:22.04

The Irish Men’s Double of Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne finished second in their heat. Ronan and Phil were racing against crews from Croatia, Russia, Romania, Italy and Moldova. The Russian won the heat after leading from the start. Ronan and Phil almost caught the Russian boat but the Russians held on at the end. Ronan and Phil finished with a time of 06:17.96.

Phil and Ronan went on to compete in the Repechage with crews from Moldova, Finland, Serie and Hungary. The Irish crew finished second with a time of 06:36:00 and will compete in the A/B Semi-Final on Saturday.

Lydia Heaphy won her heat in the Lightweight Women’s Single Scull Heat after an excellent performance against strong crews. Lydia beat out crews from Romania, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Italy to win the Heat. Lydia held the lead from the start and finished with a time of 07:50.15. Lydia will now race in the A Final on Sunday.

Gary O’Donovan finished second in the Lightweight Men’s Single Scull Heat. Gary finished behind the German boat and finished ahead of crews from Belgium, Slovenia and Bulgaria. Gary was second throughout the race and made a sprint at the end to catch Joachim Agne in the German boat but just missed out on taking first. Gary finished with a time of 07:07.23 and goes straight to the A Final on Sunday.

The Women’s Four of Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh won their Heat with the quickest qualifying time in the Women’s Four category. The Irish crew beat crews from Russia, Ukraine, Italy, France and Germany. Emily, Eimear, Aifric and Fiona finished with a time of 06:36.98 and they have progressed straight to the A Final on Sunday.

Daire Lynch finished fifth in the Men’s Single Scull Heat. Daire faced competitors from Norway, Great Britain, Spain, Hungary and Israel. Kjetil Borch from Norway won the heat with Britain and Spain taking second and third. Daire finished with a racing time of 08:14.87 and moved to the Men’s Single Scull Repechage later in the day.

Daire raced later in the day in the Repechage. Daire finished fourth after competing with boats from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belarus and Moldova. Daire finished with a time of 07:19.01 and will race in Saturday’s C/D Semi-Final.

The Lightweight Women’s Double of Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen finished second in their heat. They finished second behind the crew from the Netherlands and were comfortably ahead of the chasing pack. Aoife and Margaret finished with a time of 07:56:00 and progressed to the A/B Semi Final on Saturday.

The final heat of the day for Irish crews saw the current World Champions Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy compete in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls. Paul and Fintan won their heat with a dominant performance ahead of the crews from Ukraine, Spain and Estonia. Paul and Fintan finished with a time of 06:54.75 which was the quickest time across the three Lightweight Men’s Double Heats. They will now race in the A/B Semi-Final on Saturday.

Saturday Racing Times (IST)

09:37/09:44 – LW2x – Aoife Casey & Margaret Cremen – A/B Semi-Final

09:51/09:58 – LM2x – Paul O’Donovan & Fintan McCarthy – A/B Semi-Final

11:35/11:42 – M2x – Phil Doyle & Ronan Byrne – A/B Semi-Final

13:27/13:34 – M1x – Daire Lynch – C/D Semi-Final

Sunday Racing Times (IST) – confirmed so far

09:51 – LW1 Lydia Heaphy – A FINAL

10:06 – LM1x – Gary O’Donovan – A FINAL

11:21 – W2- Monika Dukarska & Aileen Crowley – A FINAL

12:21 – W4- Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh & Fiona Murtagh – A FINAL

RTÉ Coverage

RTE will be covering Saturday and Sunday of the racing and will have a highlight show on the Sunday evening.

  • Saturday – RTÉ Player
  • Sunday – RTÉ Player
  • Sunday – Highlight show and interviews RTÉ 2 at 7pm

Minella Times Now 8/1 Second Favourite From 14/1 For Grand National

Minella Times has emerged as the best-backed horse outside of the favourite for Saturday’s Grand National at Aintree.

Support for the famous Trevor Hemmings colours of previous winners Hedgehunter, Ballabriggs and Many Clouds have seen Cloth Cap at the head of the market all week and the 9-year-old looked set to start National day a hot 9/2 shot to deliver trainer Jonjo O’Neill his second winner in the race.

However, growing support for Minella Times was closing the gap at the top of the market on Friday afternoon as BoyleSports cut Rachael Blackmore’s mount into 8/1 having been out at 14/1 earlier in the week.

Former BoyleSports Irish Grand National winner Burrows Saint is another of the well-backed Irish raiders as the 9/1 third favourite, with Any Second Now a consistently supported 10/1 shot to hand Ted Walsh his second training triumph in the race following Papillon’s victory in 2000.

Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports said: “Cloth Cap has been the best backed horse in the race all week, but the Irish horses are closing in now and we anticipate they’ll be all the rage in the hours before the off. Burrows Saint, Any Second Now and Minella Times will be big losers in our book especially the latter with the Rachael Blackmore factor making many minds up.”

Grand National

9/2 Cloth Cap

8/1 Minella Times

9/1 Burrows Saint

10/1 Any Second Now

12/1 Kimberlite Candy

14/1 Discorama

18/1 Magic Of Light

18/1 Potters Corner

18/1 Farclas

20/1 bar

Specials

5/4 Minella Times to beat Cloth Cap

10/11 Winning distance over 4 lengths

EVS Winning Distance under 3 lengths

2/1 Cloth Cap, Burrows Saint, Minella Times or Any Second Now to win

6/1 Minella Times to win without Cloth Cap

15/2 Burrows Saint to win without Cloth Cap

Video – Belfast Banter lands first Grade One for trainer Peter Fahey

Belfast Banter and trainer Peter Fahey landed their second big race in just three weeks as they followed up victory at the Cheltenham Festival by winning the Betway Top Novices Hurdle.

The six year old won the McCoy Contractors County Hurdle at The Festival exactly three weeks ago and followed that up at Aintree to win Fahey and jockey Kevin Sexton their first ever Grade Ones.

Fahey chose to watch the race back in Ireland, as he did for Belfast Banter’s Cheltenham victory. Speaking from home in County Kildare, he said: “I decided to stay away and not come over as it was lucky for us at Cheltenham. It was a brilliant performance and Kevin (Sexton) gave him a great ride.

“These faster run races really suit him big time. He was wrong at the weights with a few of them but we thought we would take our chance and see how it worked out. When I saw they fancied Dan Skelton’s (Third Time Lucki) I thought he might have a chance, If you go back to his second last run against him he was only two and a half lengths ahead and that was also on level weights.

“As much as it was nice to have a Cheltenham winner, getting a Grade One is something else as it is something I’ve always wanted to do. I was half-waiting for him to stop last time at Cheltenham and today I was much more excited as you could see he was always going to get there.

“I said to Kevin before he went out to ride him with a lot of confidence and try and ride him to be placed. There was no pressure on him as if we finished in the first three we thought it would be a good result, but he travelled and jumped very well. If you look back through his form though he never runs a bad race but I suppose the good ground has helped him a good bit.

“He used to be keen but in these better races he switches off and travels better and these fast run races really suit him. We will see what the handicapper does but if he doesn’t go too mad we would like to go for the Galway Hurdle as that was our main aim. That might be gone, but if it is at the end of the day we have a Grade One winner. However, if he gets a realistic mark we would go for the Galway Hurdle. We will be having a few drinks at home to celebrate that’s for sure.”

Winning jockey Kevin Sexton said: “I didn’t think I could be more shocked than after the County Hurdle, but I am more shocked today! I fancied him and thought he’d run well, but it’s a dream actually to win my first Grade One here.

“He settled very well. They went a very quick gallop and he jumped, he travelled like he always does. Turning in I wanted to switch out because I didn’t get a run down the inner,  because I don’t like to stop him once he’s coming, and I knew they’d stop at some point but I thought they’d take me further.

“I was in front a country mile too soon, and I was literally begging him from the last to keep going, and to be fair to him, he did. He was the opposite to what he was at Cheltenham; I don’t know whether he’s making liars of us again, or whether he’s suddenly developed a will to win. I was whispering in his ear going to the start that if he never won another race after today it wouldn’t bother me, but by the way he’s going, I hope he’s going to.

“The last month has been unbelievable. I have my first ride in the National (aboard Shattered Love) tomorrow – a year ago I was at home watching myself ride in the Virtual Grand National, having never ridden in the real thing. So much has happened in the last few weeks that I can’t get my head around. It hasn’t sunk in.

“Shattered Love is a good ride; Jack Kennedy fancied her – to get a ride in it is amazing, let alone a decent ride.

“I owe so much to Peter Fahey. He gives me everything he can and as much time as he can. I have learnt so much from working for him, not just about riding horses, just dealing with horses – to be able to repay him with these wins is amazing, and to give him his first Grade One winner, as well as mine, means so much.

“I think we might aim for the Galway Hurdle. Peter wanted him to go up a few pounds in the handicap for that – I think he has done some job handicapping himself! He’s gone from being low on my list of favourite horses right to the top at the minute – what’s he done in the last few weeks is unbelievable for any horse.”

Michael Scudamore, trainer of second home Do Your Job, said: “We’re really thrilled with him and he’s just improved all year. His form at the start of the season looked solid enough and then we went to Kelso the other day and he ran a really good second there.

“Brendan (Powell) said that day that he just didn’t quite see out the 2m 2f and to be fair it was Brendan’s shout to come here. We were wondering whether to go to the handicap or this and Brendan begged me to run him in this with the handicap being a boys race (Pinsent Masons Handicap Hurdle (Conditional Jockeys’ and Amateur Riders’ Race) and he was justified.

“He’s a lovely big horse and we’ll put him away now and if he jumps his fences like he jumps his hurdles he’ll hopefully be very exciting for us.

“You only had to see him in the paddock, he’s twice the size of everything else. He’s enormous and he’s actually incredibly slick over his hurdles for a horse who is as big as he is, so if he can translate that round it’s exciting for a small yard like us.

To be here and competing is great and hopefully he can be even better next year – another summer won’t do him any harm – and we’re very excited.”

Jockey Brendan Powell added: “That was a really good run. To be honest I thought he’d out-run his price. He’s run an absolute blinder and I thought I was going to ride my first Grade One for a second! We were beaten by a better horse on the day and no excuses, but he’s a nice horse to go chasing with next year.”

Nicky Henderson, who saddled third home Dusart, said: “It’s only his second run over hurdles and he’s very lucky to be here at all as he got loose and put a stake right through the middle of his chest. I didn’t think he’d be running again this season, and maybe not running again at all, so that was good. He’ll go over fences next season.”

Jockey Nico de Boinville said: “He probably wants an extra half mile and he probably already wants a fence. To go down by only a couple of lengths in a race as good as that was a very good effort.”

 

Betway Top Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m½f

1 Belfast Banter – Peter Fahey IRE 6-11-04 Kevin Sexton 9/1

2 Do Your Job – Michael Scudamore 7-11-04 Brendan Powell 12/1

3 Dusart – Nicky Henderson 6-11-04 Nico de Boiunville 5/2 Jt Fav

10 ran

Distances: 1¼l, 1¼l, 12l

Time: 4m 3.47s

Unplaced Fav: Third Time Lucki 5/2J

 

Champions Cup Rugby Starting Teams for Quarter-Finals

We have the eight starting teams for this weekend’s Heineken Cup quarter-finals, La Rochelle v Sale, and Exeter Cheifs v Leinster are the main matches. 

La Rochelle
v
Sale Sharks
Date: Sat 10 April 2021
KO: 16:00
Venue: Stade Marcel Deflandre
LA ROCHELLE
  • 15. Brice Dulin,
  • 14. Dillyn Leyds,
  • 13. Geoffrey Doumayrou,
  • 12. Levani Botia,
  • 11. Raymond Rhule,
  • 10. Ihaia West,
  • 9. Tawera Kerr Barlow,
  • 1. Reda Wardi,
  • 2. Pierre Bourgarit,
  • 3. Uini Atonio,
  • 4. Romain Sazy (c),
  • 5. Will Skelton,
  • 6. Grégory Alldritt,
  • 7. Kevin Gourdon,
  • 8. Victor Vito.
Replacements:

  • 16. Facundo Bosch,
  • 17. Dany Priso,
  • 18. Arthur Joly,
  • 19. Thomas Lavault,
  • 20. Wiaan Liebenberg,
  • 21. Thomas Berjon,
  • 22. Jules Plisson,
  • 23. Pierre Aguillon,
SALE SHARKS
  • 15. Simon Hammersley,
  • 14. Byron McGuigan,
  • 13. Sam James,
  • 12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg,
  • 11. Marland Yarde,
  • 10. AJ MacGinty,
  • 9. Faf de Klerk,
  • 1. Bevan Rodd,
  • 2. Akker van der Merwe,
  • 3. Willgriff John,
  • 4. Jacobus Wiese,
  • 5. Josh Beaumont (c),
  • 6. Jean-Luc du Preez,
  • 7. Tom Curry,
  • 8. Dan du Preez.
Replacements:

  • 16. Curtis Langdon,
  • 17. Ross Harrison,
  • 18. Coenie Oosthuizen,
  • 19. James Phillips,
  • 20. Cameron Neild,
  • 21. Raphael Quirke,
  • 22. Robert du Preez,
  • 23. Luke James,

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

AR1: Pierre Brousset (France)

AR2: Thomas Charabas (France)

TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Broadcasters: bein SPORTS / FR2 / BT Sport / C4 / Virgin Media

Exeter Chiefs
v
Leinster Rugby
Date: Sat 10 April 2021
KO: 17:30
Venue: Sandy Park
EXETER CHIEFS
  • 15. Stuart Hogg,
  • 14. Olly Woodburn,
  • 13. Henry Slade,
  • 12. Ollie Devoto,
  • 11. Tom O’Flaherty,
  • 10. Joe Simmonds (c),
  • 9. Jack Maunder,
  • 1. Ben Moon,
  • 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie,
  • 3. Tom Francis,
  • 4. Jonny Gray,
  • 5. Jonny Hill,
  • 6. Dave Ewers,
  • 7. Jacques Vermeulen,
  • 8. Sam Simmonds.
Replacements:

  • 16. Jack Yeandle,
  • 17. Alec Hepburn,
  • 18. Harry Williams,
  • 19. Sam Skinner,
  • 20. Jannes Kirsten,
  • 21. Stu Townsend,
  • 22. Harvey Skinner,
  • 23. Ian Whitten,
LEINSTER RUGBY
  • 15. Hugo Keenan,
  • 14. Jordan Larmour,
  • 13. Rory O’Loughlin,
  • 12. Robbie Henshaw,
  • 11. James Lowe,
  • 10. Johnny Sexton (c),
  • 9. Luke McGrath,
  • 1. Cian Healy,
  • 2. Ronan Kelleher,
  • 3. Tadhg Furlong,
  • 4. Scott Fardy,
  • 5. Devin Toner,
  • 6. Rhys Ruddock,
  • 7. Josh van der Flier,
  • 8. Jack Conan.
Replacements:

  • 16. James Tracy,
  • 17. Ed Byrne,
  • 18. Andrew Porter,
  • 19. Ross Molony,
  • 20. Ryan Baird,
  • 21. Hugh O’Sullivan,
  • 22. Ross Byrne,
  • 23. Dave Kearney,

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)

AR1: Christophe Ridley (England)

AR2: Paul Dix (England)

TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)

Broadcasters: BT Sport / beIN SPORTS

Bordeaux-Begles
v
Racing 92
Date: Sun 11 April 2021
KO: 13:30
Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas
BORDEAUX-BEGLES
  • 15. Romain Buros,
  • 14. Santiago Cordero,
  • 13. Yoram Falatea-Moefana,
  • 12. Rémi Lamerat,
  • 11. Ben Lam,
  • 10. Matthieu Jalibert,
  • 9. Maxime Lucu,
  • 1. Jefferson Poirot (c),
  • 2. Clement Maynadier,
  • 3. Vadim Cobilas,
  • 4. Kane Douglas,
  • 5. Cyril Cazeaux,
  • 6. Cameron Woki,
  • 7. Guido Petti,
  • 8. Scott Higginbotham.
Replacements:

  • 16. Joseph Dweba,
  • 17. Lekso Kaulashvili,
  • 18. Ben Tameifuna,
  • 19. Thomas Jolmes,
  • 20. Alexandre Roumat,
  • 21. Yann Lesgourgues,
  • 22. Ulupano Seuteni,
  • 23. Nans Ducuing,
RACING 92
  • 15. Emiliano Boffelli,
  • 14. Louis Dupichot,
  • 13. Olivier Klemenczak,
  • 12. Kurtley Beale,
  • 11. Juan Imhoff,
  • 10. Antoine Gibert,
  • 9. Maxime Machenaud (c),
  • 1. Eddy Ben Arous,
  • 2. Camille Chat,
  • 3. Cedate Gomes Sa,
  • 4. Boris Palu,
  • 5. Donnacha Ryan,
  • 6. Wenceslas Lauret,
  • 7. Baptiste Chouzenoux,
  • 8. Jordan Joseph.
Replacements:

  • 16. Teddy Baubigny,
  • 17. Guram Gogichashvili,
  • 18. Georges Henri Colombe,
  • 19. Luke Jones,
  • 20. Ibrahim Diallo,
  • 21. Teddy Iribaren,
  • 22. Francois Trinh-Duc,
  • 23. Donovan Taofifenua,

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)

AR1: Tual Trainini (France)

AR2: Cedric Marchat (France)

TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

Broadcasters: beIN SPORTS / BT Sport

ASM Clermont Auvergne
v
Toulouse
Date: Sun 11 April 2021
KO: 16:00
Venue: Stade Marcel-Michelin
ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE
  • 15. Kotaro Matsushima,
  • 14. Damian Penaud,
  • 13. George Moala,
  • 12. Wesley Fofana,
  • 11. Alivereti Raka,
  • 10. Camille Lopez (c),
  • 9. Morgan Parra,
  • 1. Peni Ravai,
  • 2. Adrien Pélissié,
  • 3. Cristian Ojovan,
  • 4. Peceli Yato,
  • 5. Sébastien Vahaamahina,
  • 6. Judicaël Cancoriet,
  • 7. Alexandre Fischer,
  • 8. Fritz Lee.
Replacements:

  • 16. Etienne Fourcade,
  • 17. Daniel Bibi Biziwu,
  • 18. Rabah Slimani,
  • 19. Paul Jedrasiak,
  • 20. Thibaud Lanen,
  • 21. Arthur Iturria,
  • 22. Sébastien Bézy,
  • 23. Tim Nanai-Williams,
TOULOUSE
  • 15. Maxime Médard,
  • 14. Cheslin Kolbe,
  • 13. Zack Holmes,
  • 12. Pita Ahki,
  • 11. Matthis Lebel,
  • 10. Romain Ntamack,
  • 9. Antoine Dupont,
  • 1. Cyril Baille,
  • 2. Julien Marchand (c),
  • 3. Charlie Faumuina,
  • 4. Rory Arnold,
  • 5. Richie Arnold,
  • 6. Selevasio Tolofua,
  • 7. Francois Cros,
  • 8. Jerome Kaino.
Replacements:

  • 16. Peato Mauvaka,
  • 17. Clément Castets,
  • 18. Dorian Aldegheri,
  • 19. Joe Tekori,
  • 20. Thibaud Flament,
  • 21. Alban Placines,
  • 22. Baptiste Germain,
  • 23. Yoann Huget,

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

AR1: Ludovic Cayre (France)

AR2: Jonathan Dufort (France)

TMO: Tom Foley (England)

Broadcasters: FR2 / beIN SPORTS / BT Sport

Ireland u21 international Andrew Omobamidele excelling at Norwich City

The Leixlip native started his side’s last two games, including a 7-0 win over Huddersfield Town.

Despite current struggles surrounding the Ireland national team leaving fans demoralised and pessimistic, there is hope for the future.

A number of young, talented footballers have been eased into the senior squad over the past year or so. Adam Idah, Troy Parrott, Jason Knight and more recently, Gavin Bazunu, are just some examples of those who’ve donned the green jersey lately, despite their young age.

Those players aren’t the only Irish footballers demonstrating high levels of potential, though. There are several bubbling just under the senior side whose aspirations of international recognition may be a case of sooner rather than later.

One of those is Norwich City centre-back Andrew Omobamidele.

The 18-year-old has enjoyed a phenomenal rise over the past week. He started his first game in a Canaries’ shirt last Friday against Preston North End and impressed to such an extent that he was awarded man of the match. Key to his contribution was a brave double-block in the opening minutes of the match to keep the score level.

Clearly dazzled by his performance, Norwich manager Daniel Farke kept Omobamidele in the starting XI for their game against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday. Norwich went onto dominate the game and win by a massive margin, 7-0 to be exact. Because of this, Omobamidele wasn’t tested to the extent he was in the previous game. That said though, he did everything that was asked of him to a very high standard and displayed his quality on the ball, looking like a seasoned pro throughout.

His performances have (naturally) got Norwich City and Ireland supporters very excited about his potential.

There’s every chance the Leixlip native could become a Premier League regular next season. Although it’s yet to be officially confirmed, it would take a complete disaster for Norwich to not achieve promotion this season. The Canaries are top of the Championship table, 8 points ahead of their nearest rivals in Watford and 17 points ahead of the play-off places with just a handful of games remaining.

Of course, it’s not a given that Omobamidele would retain his place in the Premier League – or even for the remainder of this season. But, it also wouldn’t be a surprise.

He can take inspiration from fellow centre-back and countryman Dara O’Shea. The 22-year-old only came into the West Bromwich Albion starting XI half-way through last season and helped his side achieve promotion to the Premier League. Since the start of the season, O’Shea has established himself as a key member of both the West Brom and Ireland senior squads.

Norwich’s next fixture comes against Wayne Rooney’s Derby County tomorrow where he could come face-to-face with Jason Knight and Louise Watson – the latter was included in the Ireland u21 side with Omobamidele over the international break.

Rachael Blackmore partners Me Too Please to victory at Aintree

The concluding contest on day one of the Randox Grand National Festival, the Grade Two Goffs UK Nickel Coin Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race, saw the second Irish-trained winner of the afternoon as Me Too Please scored for trainer Arthur Moore.

The five year old travelled well throughout and, after hitting the front two furlongs from home, stayed on well to finish a length and a half in front of Elle Est Belle.

Winning trainer Moore was not present, but Blackmore said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to ride a big winner like this for Arthur. He was very good to me in my early days – when I was in college I used to go and ride out there, so I’m delighted to ride a winner for him today.

“He said she was in very good form at home and he was happy with her coming over. It looked a very hot race on paper, but he was happy with her, and we got a lovely passage through the race.

“He did tell me, ‘try not to be down the rail’, and of course I was down the rail for some of it, but when it works out, it’s great. I probably got a split a bit early in the race, which left me in front a hell of a lot longer than ideally I wanted to be, and she just showed a little bit of greenness when the rail went away, but galloped all the way to the line. It was a very good performance.

“She’s a really high quality mare. She’s improved, I think, since her bumper win at Down Royal, and took another big step up there. A very nice mare for the future. I think her hanging was immaturity, more than anything. She was always going straight in front.”

Dan Skelton, trainer of runner-up Elle Est Belle, said: “She’s brilliant. She’s run in the two Championship races and she’s placed in both so I’m very proud of her. She was last off the bridle there today and has got loads of class, so I can’t wait to go hurdling with her.”

Jockey Harry Skelton added: “She’s a good mare. I was about two lengths down on Rachael (Blackmore) with a furlong and a half to go and I just couldn’t get by her, but she’s very exciting for next season and we’re looking forward to that.”

Pam Sly, trainer of fourth-placed Evens favourite Eileendover, said: “She just didn’t pick up like she had done before, but I’ve had a job getting her fit. I gave her a month off and it’s taken me a long time to get her back to where she was, so I’m not too disappointed.

“I’ve said all along that something would come along and beat her, and when I saw how the winner Me Too Please was bred – by Champs Elysees out of an Authorized mare – I thought she might be the one.

“She’ll probably run on the Flat now – if we can get her in the stalls. We haven’t tried her yet, as I said we’d wait until after she had run here.”

 

Goffs UK Nickel Coin Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race (Grade 2) 2m 1f

1 Me Too Please – Arthur Moore IRE 5-11-00 Rachael Blackmore 14/1

2 Elle Est Belle – Dan Skelton 5-11-00 Harry Skelton 5/2

3 Miss Lamb – Jedd O’Keeffe 5-11-00 Jack Garritty 20/1

15 ran

NR: Code Name Lise (self certificate)

Distances: 1½l, 1¾l, 3l

Time: 4m 7.18s

Unplaced Fav: Eileendover Evens (4th)

Will European Domestic Leagues Turn Into Regional Leagues?

All-Ireland League, Belgian-Dutch League, Atlantic League: Will European Domestic Leagues Turn to Regional League Formats Sooner Rather Than Later?

Most sports struggle between change and tradition. Football no stranger to this conflict. It’s a sport that wants to continue to be accessible to the working people that birthed it despite it’s ever-increasing revenue and status, which is where some of the change-tradition issues stem. 

One area of the sport which is indicative of this is the embrace and resistance to statistical and tactical analytics. Football has been behind the curve of this more “academic” turn within the wider sporting landscape, with the likes of the NBA and MLB very much frontrunners. However, in the last few years, a select number of clubs have incorporated analytics into the fabric of their decision making process, namely the likes of Matthew Benham’s Brentford F.C. and FC Midtjylland beginning the movement with FSG’s Liverpool F.C. becoming the most successful example. 

Publicly, social media enabled amateur bloggers, programmers, and data analysts to experiment with football event data, developing metrics and visualisations to improve understanding. It’s early uses were for fun, namely, but, also, were applied to fantasy football teams and online sports betting and sport books for in-play, pre-game, outright bets. The other motivation was to showcase skills for potential employers too, which has resulted in a number of public bloggers getting jobs at professional clubs – Statsbomb, a company founded by Ted Knutson who was inside at Brentford and Midtjylland, are an one example who hired many public bloggers. 

Despite it’s on-field success and some fans taking an interest to it, other fans have resisted it. It is changing the language of the sport. It’s altering the fundamental cornerstones for how the game is understood and played. It is forcing fans to accept that they might not know as much as it first appeared, which is discomforting. The sport is still football, but how it’s spoken about it is different.

Regional Leagues

Another worry for fans is the change of competition formats. Talk has always surrounded how leagues might change and adapt to growing needs and demands of the footballing calendar and footballing audience. The European Cup, now known as the Champions League, has undergone numerous changes across its lifetime, varying from pure single-elimination matches to the format we know today which consists of qualification matches, a group stage, and the two-legged knockouts before the final. It is now subject to new changes which are currently being discussed at the highest level. 

The Premier League was founded in 1992, which was a considerable move to break away from the football league, which enabled the teams in the Premier League to consolidate money from TV deals within the league, as opposed to distributing it among lower division teams. This has seen considerable deals made with TV broadcasters across the world, which has seen prices rise from the £304M Sky paid in 1992 to the £9.2B national and international broadcasters paid for the 2019-2022 seasons.

Nowadays, at a domestic level, rumours of football associations of different nations holding talks about mergers have begun to spread and be confirmed. The Belgium FA and Netherlands FA have been very vocal about their possible merger, citing a study which could see the joint league generate €400M a year, which dwarfs the collective TV deals both leagues have arranged now. The pursuit of the league, then, is about the financial security of professional clubs.

All-Ireland League

The same thing is being considered for the Irish Premiership and the Danske Bank Premiership. It would be an all-Ireland football league, where teams for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland would compete in one domestic league. Twenty of the twenty-two leagues have back the proposal. Finer details need to be sorted, but they all agree that they’d like UEFA to consider the arrangement. 

The All-Ireland League would have a complex schedule. The early parts of the campaign would see teams compete against teams from their own country – Irish teams play Irish teams and Northern Irish teams play Northern Irish teams – before coming together to play against each other in the second half of the campaign. The early season results would create seedings for the late season matches. All the points from all the matches – in the individual league and the joint – would be totalled up before heading into a knockout tournament to determine the overall winner, the best team across the competition. 

Mergers could be an important solution to long-term questions of how sustainable football clubs are.

Threat of the European Super League 

UEFA are keen to improve competition within domestic leagues and ensure the economic stability of clubs. They are open to these mergers taking place in Belgium and Holland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and in other areas like Scandinavia. Whether this is largely, in part, due to the constant threat that UEFA are under by major European clubs who are always supposedly considering breaking away from these governances to create their own super league remains to be seen. However, UEFA having other competitive and healthy products enables them to worry less about this threat.

Patrick Mullins says Burrows Saint “ticks all the right boxes” for Grand National

Patrick Mullins hopes he can turn a lifelong dream into reality by becoming the first amateur rider in 31 years to win the Randox Grand National at Aintree aboard second favourite Burrows Saint, who he believes “ticks all the right boxes”.

The Grade One-winning jockey picked up the plum spare ride aboard the eight year old, who is trained by his father Willie Mullins, when regular rider Paul Townend failed to recover from a foot injury sustained in a fall at Fairyhouse on Sunday.

It will be the fourth time the 31 year old has ridden in the world’s greatest steeplechase since making his debut in it in 2011, and he believes the Susannah Ricci-owned gelding represents his best chance of winning.

Burrows Saint, who landed the Irish National in 2019, warmed up for his first start over the famous fences when chasing home stablemate Acapella Bourgeois in the Grade Three Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse in February.

He said: “It is fantastic to pick up the spin on him and obviously Paul hasn’t recovered from his fall in Fairyhouse. The weight (10st 13lb) is quite light for me but it is just enough. He is in great form at home. The lad that rides him out is very happy with him.

“I got a sit on him over at Haydock this morning and he ticks a lot of the boxes. He is the right age at eight years old. He has the right kind of weight and is progressing as he has only had nine runs over fences. I’m really excited to be sitting on him.

“It was in the back of my head (that I might get the ride). I saw the weight was doable. I was watching it from then. I was never expecting to ride a horse with a live chance in the Grand National. It doesn’t get any better than this. I did 11st 1lbs on a filly 10 days ago as I’m quite in the championship (amateur jockeys) with Jamie (Codd) so I was watching my weight anyway.

“I usually have one with lots of weight that is an outsider. Ever since I was seven or eight and I read a book on the history of the Grand National, I wanted to win it. Some people like the Gold Cup, but for me this is the race I’ve always wanted to have a crack at so it doesn’t get any better.

“To be able to do it riding one of Willie’s would be great and for Rich Ricci. We’ve been very lucky to get here. Since Marcus won it, Jamie Codd has come very close and Sam Waley-Cohen has come very close so hopefully one of us (amateur riders) will be able to crack the nut soon enough.

“I was second on a horse called Boxer Georg in the Foxhunters a few years ago. Willy Twiston-Davies beat me on Baby Run. That’s the closest I’ve come (to winning over the fences). My dad won the Foxhunters on Atha Cliath and to win one over the National fences would be a dream before I hang up my boots.”

Although the coronavirus pandemic forced last year’s race to be cancelled, Mullins believes that may have been no bad thing for Burrows Saint.

He added: “On the stats, missing the race as a seven year old last year is probably a good thing as no seven year old has won the race since 1940 so that might have been a blessing in disguise. He is a year older and he is still relatively unexposed. I think he ticks a lot of boxes.

“I think everything has gone pretty much to plan. He had a nice couple of runs over hurdles and a nice run in the Bobbyjo. I know he didn’t win but he wears a tongue strap and heavy ground wouldn’t have suited him well. When he won the Irish National it was this sort of ground so that will bring out improvement.”

Closutton handler Mullins will also be represented in the National by Burrow Saint’s last time out conqueror Acapella Bourgeois, Cabaret Queen and Class Conti.

The Cheltenham Festival-winning rider added: “I rode Acapella Bourgeois out this morning as well and he seems in great form. Danny gets on very well with him.

“Obviously he beat Burrows Saint in the Bobbyjo so where one is the other shouldn’t be far away. I suppose Burrows Saint will improve more for the better ground as Acapella  Bourgeois seems to like that heavy ground so that might swap the placings there. He is a horse that is a little bit older as he is 11. He is probably a little bit more exposed but he is in great form and he has a nice racing weight as well.

“Class Conti has to have a little squeak of getting placed. I suppose the worry with him is will he be able to lie up with the early pace. He is a safe jumper. He will like the ground. My mother Jackie rides him out at home so she will take a lot of the credit if he wins. Brian Hayes gets the spin on him. I could see him running into a place quite easily.

“Sean O’Keeffe rode a winner for us at Cheltenham and he gets a spin on Cabaret Queen. She has won the Kerry National at Listowel and she has won a couple of good handicap chases. Her form has tapered off a little bit but I think this drier ground will suit her well. I think there are worse long shots than her.”

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