DOHA: Anthony Hudson has agreed a two-year deal to guide Al Markhiya in the Qatari soccer league a week after quitting as interim head coach of the US men’s national team.
The club posted confirmation of the two-year contract on its social media platforms late Wednesday, saying Hudson’s immediate goal is to help Al Markhiya improve on the seventh-place finish it achieved in its first season after promotion to the Qatar Stars League.
PARIS: Novak Djokovic, in his words, felt “quite sluggish, quite slow” for nearly two full sets against Karen Khachanov in the French Open quarterfinals Tuesday.
Afterward, Djokovic called it his worst stretch of the tournament, a fair assessment. He dropped the opening set, something he hadn’t done at Roland Garros this year. As the second went to a tiebreaker in Court Philippe Chatrier, he knew it was vital to step up his game, bring forth his best.
PRAGUE: West Ham and Fiorentina haven’t won a European trophy for more than 50 years.
The drought will end for one of them when they play out the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday in Prague.
“This will be the biggest match that the club has had in so long, so it’s going to be an honor to be part of and hopefully we can create some history on the night for the fans to cheer about,” said West Ham captain Declan Rice, who is widely expected to leave the club after the season.
TURIN, Italy: Juventus plan to leave the Super League project still being pursued by Real Madrid and Barcelona, though the club denied Tuesday they had been threatened with a European ban by UEFA.
The three storied clubs are awaiting a ruling expected within weeks from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg into their legal challenge against what they claimed is UEFA’s monopoly control of European club competitions.
TOKYO: Andres Iniesta said goodbye to old friends as he played for his Japanese club Vissel Kobe against his former club Barcelona in a friendly at the National Stadium on Tuesday.
Barcelona won the match 2-0. Iniesta played 674 games for Barcelona from 2002-18, winning 30 trophies. He also scored the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final.
Last month, he announced he was leaving the Japanese club after his final match on July 1 in the western city of Kobe.
RIYADH: The Saudi Esports Federation and electronics firm LG have signed a memorandum of understanding to use the company’s UltraGear 25GR75FG, a top In-Plane Switching-based monitor designed for esports enthusiasts, at Gamers8: The Land of Heroes, the biggest gaming festival worldwide.
The event runs for eight weeks from July 6 and the equipment will be used throughout the esports venues at Boulevard Riyadh City.
The 24.5-inch (62-centimeter) monitor enables fluid motion and considerable visual clarity.
RIYADH: A revolution is taking place in Saudi football, on and off the pitch. As some of the world’s best players increasingly look to the possibility of playing in the Roshn Saudi League, the prospect of privatization — and the benefits it could bring — is in the air at the Kingdom’s elite clubs.
On Sunday, it was reported that Karim Benzema, who received the Ballon d’Or last October, had agreed to sign for Al-Ittihad, just days after the Jeddah giants celebrated clinching a first league title since 2009.