Catégorie : Sport News

In this new era of parity in the NBA, the league has shifted from big threes to dynamic duos. All the teams that are among the top contenders are home to a formidable duo. For instance, the Bucks are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. With a full season under their belt as teammates, they’ve been thriving together. Their efforts have secured their team a spot in the NBA Cup Finals. However, ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins believes they are still behind two Eastern Conference Rivals in terms of duos.

Antetokounmpo and Lillard pair for the highest combined points per game of any duo in the NBA. That doesn’t matter for Perkins who believes the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the Celtics, along with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are head of the Bucks duo. Perkins took to ESPN’s First Take to share his opinion. He said,

“I’m taking two. I’m going to show respect to the champions the Celtics, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum… And then I’m taking Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson over Giannis and Dame right now.”

His reasoning for Tatum and Brown’s positioning is self-explanatory. They are the defending champions and are currently a major reason the Celtics hold the second-best record in the NBA. However, the controversial take comes with his preference with Towns and Brunson over Giannis and Dame.

Perkins states the connection between Towns and Brunson in the pick-and-roll to be a deciding factor for himself. The addition of Towns alongside Brunson has certainly bolstered the Knicks’ offense. New York has jumped to the third-best offense in the league. Additionally, Perkins believes Brunson carries more versatility in his offensive game, which sets him apart from Lillard.

Regardless, of his opinion, Perkins believes that these three duos are among the best in the league this season. He won’t disagree with any configuration of the three but if he were to choose, he’s picking the Celtics and the Knicks’ duo over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

Perkins’ previous comments on the Bucks’ stars

Perkins isn’t afraid to voice his opinion on any basketball matter. That applies to the Bucks. During the early stages of the season, Perkins didn’t hold back when addressing Milwaukee’s star duo amidst their disappointing start to the season. His words specifically targeted Antetokounmpo.

“Giannis put pressure on the organization to make a move,” Perkins said. “Before he signed the extension, he went out publicly and said some things. So they make a move out of desperation and get Dame. You give up Jrue Holiday. Then last year, you fire Adrian Griffin… Giannis, you got blood on your hands.”

At the time the Bucks were 2-6 and on the trajectory of missing the playoffs. Perkins shifted all the blame for a potential failure of a season at the hands of Giannis. However, Milwaukee has since been able to turn their season around. They are sitting at the fifth seed and hold a 14-11 record. The Bucks will look to win the NBA Cup and carry that momentum to a deep postseason run.

Chelsea quite literally cannot stop scoring — no team has netted more than Enzo Maresca’s men this term — but that isn’t stopping them from wanting more.

Holding the keys to scoring success at Stamford Bridge is one Cole Palmer — ranked the third-best attacking midfielder in the world currently by FourFourTwo — he has the most Premier League goals (11) AND the most assists (6) of anybody in his team.

Nevertheless, the Blues seem to want to try and get more out of him, and it seems they are closing in on a strategy to achieve just that.

Chelsea eye Liam Delap to add firepower to Cole Palmer-led attack

According to a report from TEAMtalk, Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap is high on Chelsea’s list, noting a lack of natural no.9 options, with just Nicolas Jackson fitting the bill.

The same reports have noted that his determination, strength and skill are attributes that have made the west London club consider the 21-year-old as a transfer target.

It suggests that Chelsea want even more from their attack, viewing Delap as a physical presence up front and someone that Palmer, already the creative king at Chelsea, can bounce off to increase his goal involvement even further.

Delap only arrived at Portman Road this summer, in a £20 million deal from Manchester City, but TEAMtalk reports that the Tractor Boys are hopeful of holding their man until at least the end of the season.

It’s easy to see why Chelsea view Delap as the perfect Palmer partner: the Ipswich forward has already six goals for the top-flight strugglers despite feeding off scraps — imagine what he might achieve with the service of his former fellow City academy product.

Crucially, Pep Guardiola’s side does hold a buyback clause on Delap, and it’s reported they haven’t ruled out activating it in the summer, but are unlikely to in January.

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, the theory works great on paper, but Delap may want to be wary about moving too soon.

He’s only six goals and a handful of appearances into his Premier League career — it’s an incredible start, but he’s got plenty of time ahead of him for a big move.

He will be the main man at Ipswich, having been loaned out and far down the pecking order at City, something which will only enhance his reputation. A turn of bad form at Chelsea, however, and we know just how many top talents they have waiting to step into the breach.

McLaren’s turnaround in fortunes has been nothing short of remarkable. Back in 2015, the team were not only struggling with massive financial issues but were also languishing at the back of the grid.

And almost a decade later, they have now won the Constructors’ Championship. Most of the credit for this sensational turnaround goes to McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who once also sold the team’s state-of-the-art headquarters for a whopping $237 million to pay the salaries of the employees.

F1 journalist Joe Pompliano revealed via his YouTube channel that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, McLaren signed a sale deed and a 20-year leaseback agreement for their Woking headquarters. As a result, McLaren continue to work in Woking but no longer own the headquarters.

That’s not the only thing Brown sold as he also sold a 15% stake of McLaren’s F1 team to MSP Sports Capital and some of the company’s historic cars to raise money.

And just four years after suffering through such struggles, Brown has helped McLaren not only gain the most number of sponsors but has also helped the team’s valuation increase to a staggering $2.65 billion.

McLaren has no space on their cars to add sponsors

Pompliano added in his video that McLaren today have over 50 sponsors, having had only a handful of them just a few years ago. He adds that the team have so many sponsors today that they “literally ran out of space for sponsors on the car”.

As a result, McLaren innovated by building digital advertising panels across the cockpits of their cars. While Brown would undoubtedly be proud of his success, he himself admitted once in an interview how “brutal” McLaren’s situation was just a few years ago.

“Things were brutal,” he said per the clip Pompliano added in his video. “Zero points at the start of the 2023 season, financial issues four or five years ago and to turn that around and be Constructors’ Champions is amazing”.

And perhaps more importantly than being champions, McLaren also posted a $38 million profit in 2023, having reported an $11 million loss the year before.

The January transfer window is nearly upon us. Football’s sporting directors and recruitment heads are hunting down their chosen targets with a fervour not seen since the last one.

Manchester United and Real Madrid are as big as they come but both have compelling reasons to strengthen their playing staff, not only for the remainder of the 2024-25 season but with the future in mind too.

The pair of football behemoths are among a clutch of clubs that have reportedly set their sights on the same player, a long-term prospect currently learning his trade in the Greek Super League with his country’s most successful club.

Who is Charalampos Kostoulas?

Olympiacos haven’t added to their 47 domestic titles since 2021-22 but lead the league ahead of AEK Athens and PAOK this season. Their youngest ever player has broken into the first team and helped fire them to the top of the table with three goals in eleven Super League appearances.

Charalampos Kostoulas has attracted the attention of Man United and Real Madrid with his performances this season, and has played and scored for Greece’s Under-21 side despite only turning 17 in May.

Reporting from Caught Offside indicates that Kostoulas is playing under the gaze not only of United and Real Madrid but also of Bayern Munich and West Ham United.

According to sources, Olympiacos are prepared to cash in on their highly rated in-demand wonderkid and could sell him ‘for around €20million’ to provide the funds they need to strengthen their own hand in the race for the title.

Striker Kostoulas would be a signing for the future for any club able to secure a deal and would be the latest addition of that type for Man United, whose youth acquisitions under INEOS look rather more impressive than some of those who’ve been brought in for the first team.

Kostoulas is a physically impressive striker who’s making waves in men’s football against more experienced defenders. He’s played five times in the Europa League, starting the last two against FCSB and Twente. He’s yet to get off the mark in Europe but it’s only a matter of time.

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim will be keen to bring in a more senior centre forward sooner rather than later if possible. Only five of United’s Premier League goals in 2024-25 have been scored by pure strikers, three by Joshua Zirkzee and two by Rasmus Hojlund.

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Kostoulas would initially be a promising backup option if Amorim can get his attacking unit firing at Old Trafford and INEOS is able to get its very young man. Who knows – beyond next season, Kostoulas might be just the player they need.

Earlier this month, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made the bold decision to bring Draymond Green off the bench and start Jonathan Kuminga. However, the rotation change hasn’t led to the success the team envisioned. They have lost both games in which the veteran forward came off the bench, prompting Gilbert Arenas to question the Warriors’ game plan.

On the Gil’s Arena podcast, the former Wizards star asked why a player as versatile and experienced as Green was coming off the bench. When the crew responded that the team prefers Kuminga’s ability as a score over the four-time NBA champion’s defensive ability, he pondered why the team wasn’t fielding both. He inquired,

“Dray can’t play the 5? I’m wondering. He can’t play at the 5?”

The three-time All-Star suggested that starting Green over Kevon Looney could be the solution for Golden State. In the Warriors recent loss to the Mavericks, Green played 29 minutes compared to 21 minutes from Looney.

In those minutes, the latter finished with a net rating of -15. On the other hand, Green’s was +4. The four-time NBA champion is evidently more impactful. Starting him at center isn’t a radical solution either as he’s pretty familiar with the position.

Green’s history playing the center position

The Warriors small-ball lineup with Green at center has been a staple in the Kerr era. It has diminished over the years but when they have played him at the 5, they have been pretty effective.

In the 740 possessions the team has played with Green at center this season, their point differential is +7.7, which is in the 81st percentile. In addition, their eFG% is an impressive 58.2%, a mark that is in the top 90th percentile of the league. With Looney as the 5, their point differential is +5.0, and their eFG% plummets to 49.9%, which is in the bottom 10th percentile.

The numbers suggest that the Warriors are a better team with Green at center. It may just be a matter of time before the Warriors decide to bring the veteran back into the starting lineup.

Manchester United might not be able to sell Marcus Rashford as easily as they would like, with a number of key factors playing an important part in the saga.

On Monday, The Guardian reported that Manchester United had put Marcus Rashford up for sale in the January transfer window, after Ruben Amorim decided to drop him entirely from the matchday squad that beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia are touted as a potential destination for Rashford by Talksport, but whether the 27-year-old is open to the move is another matter.

Manchester United might need to pay Marcus Rashford off

With Rashford reportedly targeting a return to the England squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup, it seems unlikely that the Manchester United forward would choose to move to Saudi Arabia at such a pivotal time in his career – especially with Thomas Tuchel starting as England manager on January 1.

So, with Saudi Arabia likely out of the picture, there aren’t a whole host of clubs that represent realistic options – and even fewer when considering his reported £365,000-per-week wages. Indeed, that could prove a real stumbling block in negotiations, especially when Rashford is entitled to that salary until the summer of 2028.

While the aforementioned reports have suggested that Manchester United are willing to let the academy graduate leave in a cut-price deal, around the £45m mark Transfermarkt has him valued at, the club might also have to incentivise the deal for Rashford to leave, too.

With millions of pounds owed to him by the club over the next three-and-a-half years, and similar wages unlikely elsewhere away from Old Trafford, Rashford could simply refuse to leave unless a severance package is offered. Not only could Manchester United sell him for a reduced fee, they might also have to pay him to leave, too.

A similar situation happened in the 2023 summer transfer window, when Harry Maguire reportedly refused to leave amid the offer of a much-reduced salary at West Ham. Wanting a pay-off of around £7m to leave the club, Maguire eventually ended up staying at Manchester United as they failed to come to an agreement.

There is, however, a new part-owner in Sir Jim Ratcliffe who is willing to accept some short-term pain. This became wholly apparent when he cut ties with sporting director Dan Ashworth after just 159 days, despite paying £5m for him to join from Newcastle, as he looked to get the best in class at Old Trafford.

In FourFourTwo‘s opinion, it seems unlikely that Manchester United will manage to sell Marcus Rashford in the coming transfer windows unless they accept the aforementioned costs involved could see them pocket a much lower fee overall. There’s still time for Amorim to convince Rashford to change his ways, too, highlighting the critical period it is in his career right now.

Nick Kyrgios, who has a reputation for stirring the pot, did just that while responding to a fan question. He dismissed the idea of teaming up with Jannik Sinner in doubles, writing on his Instagram Stories, “I only play with CLEAN players”. It was not well received by everyone, as a user called him out for his apparent hypocrisy.

Given that Kyrgios has been openly criticizing Sinner since his doping allegations first surfaced, his refusal to play alongside him was predictable. Still, X user @Gosia_CzBradf reminded fans that the Canberra native will be teaming up with Simona Halep at the upcoming World Tennis League in Abu Dhabi. Halep was suspended in the past for testing positive for a banned substance.

But Kyrgios was quick to respond to the user. He claimed that Halep had already faced consequences because of her actions, unlike Sinner.

“Uh she dealt with the consequences lol – unlike sinner who has been able to play the whole time,” Kyrgios commented.

There is merit in Nick’s argument. Halep was penalized for it and served a nine-month ban.

In addition, Kyrgios recently expressed his opinion that players should be allowed to use recreational drugs.

Kyrgios reveals his opinions on recreational drugs

Nick Kyrgios made several bold comments regarding drugs – banned substances and recreational – during his recent appearance on the Nothing Major Podcast.

In his chat with the panel, Kyrgios responded to a Sam Querrey question, saying, “Absolutely, absolutely (recreational drugs should be fine in tennis).”

Fans can witness the unpredictable yet entertaining Kyrgios in action soon. He is set to return from his lengthy absence during the upcoming Australian swing.

Watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca as the Spanish and Mexican sides look for ultimate glory in the final of the inaugural Intercontinental Cup, with a free live stream and the ability to watch from anywhere with a VPN.

Real Madrid and Pachuca face off in the inaugural final of the Intercontintental Cup on Wednesday, which is the new name of the tournament between the club champions from each of the six continental confederations, following FIFA’s decision to expand the Club World Cup and play it every four years.

As the winners of the Champions League, Real Madrid automatically qualified for the final of the Intercontinental Cup. Pachuca, meanwhile, had a more difficult route to face Los Blancos. First, they had to beat Botafogo in the Derby of the Americas, before facing Al Ahly – the winners of the African–Asian–Pacific Cup – in the Challenger Cup.

After drawing the game on December 14 0-0 after extra time, the Mexican side won 6-5 on penalites to book their spot in the final.

Read on for our guide on how to watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca online and on TV, wherever you are in the world.

Watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca for FREE

You can watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca totally for free in certain countries.

FIFA itself is broadcasting the game on its FIFA+ streaming platform, but geo-restrictions do apply. The US, Canada, and Australia are excluded. However, fans in the UK can watch the Real Madrid vs Pachuca free stream.

All you need to do is create an account and enjoy the action. There’s no payment option for you to input, just stick your email address in and catch Kylian Mbappe and Co. in full flight. To check if the country you’re in is eligible for the free stream, head to the FIFA+ live page to see if the game is included on your schedule.

Real Madrid vs Pachuca will go out on free-to-air television in Spain on Telecinco. And all is not lost for fans in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, with free trials on offer from host broadcasters.

If you’re travelling right now, you might fall foul of all these geo-restrictions, but you can still access your usual streams by using a VPN – more on that below.

How to watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca from anywhere

What if you’re away from home for the game, and your usual streaming service is geo-restricted? Well, there is a neat solution. A VPN – or Virtual Private Network – is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world.

Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock the streaming services you subscribe to, and it also comes with added internet security benefits.

FourFourTwo’s colleagues TechRadar are experts in this field, and they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN provider on the market.

Watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca in the UK

For TV viewers, the game will air on DAZN in the UK, so those with a subscription can sit down and catch every minute with their current plan.

DAZN also broadcasts a range of other sports throughout the year, and is available for £89.99 annually, or £16.99 a month. Football such as the National League and Women’s Champions League are broadcast on DAZN, while other sports also feature prominently.

Watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca in the US

Fans in the US can watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca on beIN Sports.

beIN Sports is available on cable TV packages, but there’s no dedicated streaming platform for the channel, so in order to watch online you’ll need a cord-cutting cable streaming service.

Sling has beIN Sports on its Sports Extra add-on, which costs $11 a month on top of the price you pay for either Sling Orange ($40 a month) or Sling Blue ($45 a month).

Alternatively, you could use Fubo, which costs $79.99, but you can get your first month for $44.99 and even before that you can take out a free trial for seven days with no commitment.

Watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca on beIN Sports. It’s also available via Fubo, which operates differently than in the US and is available from $24.99 a month.

Watch Real Madrid vs Pachuca in Australia and New Zealand

beIN Sports‘ broadcast deal also covers Australia and New Zealand. Unlike the US, there is a dedicated streaming platform for the channel, so you can watch a Real Madrid vs Pachuca live stream.

Prices start from $14.99 a month in both currencies, and you can also take advantage of a seven-day free trial.

Football administration has a long and varied history of former players in positions of power. UEFA’s strings have been pulled over the years by the likes of former Chief of Football Zvonimir Boban or disgraced former confederation president Michel Platini, and it’s no different in South America.

Brazil is the world’s most successful football nation by a lot of measures but its governing body, the Confederation of Brazilian Football or CFB, has been mired in scandal.

Ednaldo Rodrigues is the current president stomping around on thin ice. Allegations were made about ‘irregularities’ relating to his election in 2022, leading to his removal from office by the courts.

CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues has already been removed from office

Though he’s back in office thanks to a Supreme Court injunction, Rodrigues might not be there for long.

The presidency is up for election in March 2026 and it could come forward by a year as a result of Rodrigues’ legal issues. Not only that, but the 70-year-old will be facing just about the most formidable opponent Brazilian football could throw at him.

Two-time World Cup winner Ronaldo has had enough and he wants in. The former Brazil striker, who is ranked at number 9 in FourFourTwo’s list of the greatest footballers of all time, has announced his candidacy and will run against Rodrigues with plans to rebuild the prestige of the CBF and the Brazilian game.

In an interview this week, Ronaldo nominated himself as the way forward for Brazil.

“Everyone is unhappy,” he told Globo. “These administrative scandals, the injunctions, none of this is helping Brazilian football.

“We have to be vigilant, see what happens, what could happen, and be prepared for the situation.”

Rodrigues became vice-president of the CBF in 2018 after running football in the Bahia region for 17 years. He took up the interim presidency and was elected as president in a subsequently controversial vote in 2022.

Ronaldo’s popularity in Brazil and Brazilian football is beyond dispute but whether that translates into a successful election as CBF chief remains to be seen.

As well as winning the World Cup twice, Ronaldo was a Spanish champion with Real Madrid and a UEFA Cup winner with Inter Milan in the nineties.

He was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 2002 and is widely regarded one of football’s greatest of all time.

Kobe Bryant was obsessed with practicing and worked out thrice a day to get a leg up on his peers. The guard worked meticulously on his passing, shooting, and defense to ensure he was prepared for any situation during a game. However, he was also pretty efficient. The five-time NBA champion did not waste time trying things he knew would never be useful on the court. He also had no qualms about mocking coaches who tried to sell him unorthodox training methods, as Phil Handy learned firsthand.

During an appearance on Podcast P, the legendary player development coach, who spent seven years with the Lakers over two separate stints, reminisced about how he had tried to get Bryant to dribble two basketballs at once, to help improve his ball handling. However, the guard refused and asked Handy a question he did not have an answer for. He recalled,

“We were doing some ball handling, and I wanted him to do 2 ball handling. And he was like, ‘Man get out of here. I’m not doing that.’ He was like, ‘I don’t dribble with two balls in the game, what is this for?’ And he challenged me, ‘I’m not doing that.’ He was adamant. ‘We don’t play the game with two balls, I’m not dribbling with 2 basketballs.’”

Bryant shooting down Handy may suggest a lack of desire in wanting to learn a new skill or improve an existing one. However, that wasn’t the case. On the contrary, he had no issues trying to develop a niche ability. Handy explained,

“Like just imagine, you go to workout, and you go to the left block, and you’re just there for 45 minutes, and you’re just repping out a turnaround jump-shot for 45 minutes, and in a full sweat. I never trained like that.”

Bryant did not use the turnaround jumper much in his early years in the league. However, it became a staple of his offensive arsenal in the second half of his career.

He practiced it so often that he developed a muscle memory. Bryant continued to add new skills to his repertoire as the years progressed due to his otherworldly commitment to training.

Kobe Bryant’s maniacal training regime

The Lakers icon was obsessive about wanting to be a superstar right from the time he entered the league. To ensure he developed quicker than his peers and caught up to the top players in the league, he devised a training routine that may seem simple but was arduous to follow. He once explained,

“Imagine you wake up at 3 [am], train at 4, 4-6. Come home, breakfast, relax. Now you’re back at it again, 9-11. Relax, and now you’re back at it again, 2-4, and now you’re back at it again, 7-9. Look how much more training I have done, by simply starting at 4 am. So now you do that, as the years go on, the separation you have with your competitors and your peers just grows larger.”

As tenacious as Bryant was, he wasn’t delusional. He knew his body would suffer wear and tear as the years progressed. He decreased his training load with each passing year to extend his career as much as possible. His work ethic helped him clock 20 seasons before calling it a day on his incredible career in 2016 as one of the greatest players in history.