במינהלת מכחישים שהציבו אולטימטום למירי רגב: "זו בדיחה"

האם ראשי הכדורגל הישראלי הציבו אולטימטום לפיו הם דורשים לקבל החלטה על חזרה עד ליום חמישי, ולא יבטלו את העונה? לא אם שואלים את מינהלת הליגה. גורמים במינהלת הגיבו בגיחוך הערב (שלישי) לפרסומים לפיהם ראשי הקבוצות הציבו אולטימטום כזה לשרת התרבות והספורט, מירי רגב. 

"זו בדיחה. כל הנושא בכלל לא קשור לשרה אלא למשרד הבריאות", אמרו במינהלת. "אנחנו מחכים לתשובה, אולי כבר מחר, ועד שתתקבל אין סיכוי שנודיע מצדנו על ביטול הליגה". במינהלת הליגה ממשיכים להמתין בדריכות לתשובת סמנכ"ל משרד הבריאות, פרופסור איתמר גרוטו, בתקווה שיאשר חזרה לאימונים מלאים. 

Lokaumferðin í Pepsi Max-deild karla sett á 31. október

KSÍ hefur opinberað leikdaga fyrir Pepsi Max-deildina í sumar á vefsíðu sinni. Fréttamannafundur hefst klukkan 13:15 þar sem farið verður yfir leikjaplan sumarsins.

Leikjunum í 1. umferðinni verður dreift á mismunandi tímasetningar dagana 13-15. júní og þeir verða allir í beinni útsendingu á Stöð 2 Sport. Valur og KR mætast í opnunarleik laugardaginn 13. júní á Hlíðarenda.

Lokaumferðin fer fram laugardaginn 31. október en aldrei hefur verið spilað jafn lengi fram á haust í deildinni. Ástæðan er frestun á deildinni vegna kórónaveirunnar. Þetta leikjaplan gæti þó breyst ef Evrópukeppnin færist til.

1. umferðin
Valur - KR (laugardagur 13. júní - 20:00)
HK - FH (sunnudagur 14. júní - 13:30)
ÍA - KA (sunnudagur 14. júní 15:45)
Víkingur R. - Fjölnir (sunnudagur 14. júní 18:00)
Breiðablik - Grótta (sunnudagur 14. júní 20:15)
Stjarnan - Fylkir (mánudagur 15. júní 19:15)

Lokaumferðin - 31. október
Stjarnan - Breiðablik
Víkingur R. - Fylkir
ÍA - Fjölnir
HK - KA
Valur - FH
KR - Grótta

Experten om Malmö FF:s tapp: Det är så avgörande som det ser ut

Statistiken säger att Malmö FF:s målgörande har tappat fart den sista kvarten av matcherna under de två senaste säsongerna. Till skillnad från guldåren 2016-2017 då den sista kvarten var lagets starkaste. 

 - och frågan är hur avgörande den sista kvarten varit för Malmö FF i jakten på Lennart Johansson pokal? 

- Det är förmodligen så avgörande som det ser ut. Värdet i det och inte minst det mentala kan inte underskattas, säger TV4-experten Anders Andersson till FotbollDirekt.se.

Kan Malmö FF:s uteblivna guldmedaljer de senaste åren förklaras med vikande statistik i slutdelar av matcher? Och är det då en mental försämring eller handlar det helt enkelt om ork? Eller är det något helt annat?

Och hur avgörande är egentligen mål i slutskeden av matcher?

FotbollDirekt har haft lite extra fokus på Malmö FF och bett TV4:s expert Anders Andersson att titta på slutresultatet från det aktuella jobbet - som bland annat kom fram till:

• ''Under SM-guldsäsongerna 2016 och 2017 var laget som allra starkast under slutkvarten.
• Båda säsongerna gjorde laget 18 mål under den tiden och 2016 gjorde laget 31,6 procent av alla sina mål den säsongen just under matchens sista 15 minuter''.
• ''Tittar man däremot de två senaste säsongerna när laget misslyckats att ta guld, då har laget varit som vassast under första delen av andra halvlek. Laget har alltså frångått sin stryka under slutkvarten, då ett mål under slutminuterna kan avgöra en hel match''. 
• ''Kanske är det, det som mest bidragit till att MFF missat SM-guldet de två senaste säsongerna. Och faktum är också att den senaste säsongen släppte laget in 31,3 procent av målen under matchen sista 15 minuter. Den senaste säsongen var det i stället regerande svenska mästarna''. 

Anders Andersson är övertygad om vilken betydelse denna statistik har.

- Det är som sagt jätteintressant att titta på sådana här saker. Det är klart att det säger saker. Det var på tapeten 2017 och jag kommer i håg hur jag själv pratade med flera spelare i MFF då om deras styrka i slutet av matcher på den tiden, säger Andersson.

- Dessa spelare beskrev känslan som underbar. Du vet, att psykiskt känna att man är som bäst när det ska avgöras. Som att trycka på en knapp och det fungerar nästan varje gång.

- Den mentala biten i detta kan inte underskattas. Klart det är mest värdefullt att göra mål i slutet av matcher och är du ett topplag så betyder det allt som oftast att det blir avgörande.

Så mycket tryggare kan det kanske inte bli för en idrottsman, att man är bäst när det gäller?- Precis. Du vet att känna att "fy fan, när det är som jobbigast", men om man då vet att det är som jag beskriver - då får du garanterat nästan alltid ett extra lugn och en ny andning. Men det är inte lätt att psykiskt uppnå detta. 

- Sedan har jag läst om betydelsen av att lyckas göra tidiga mål i andra halvlek, det är säkert ett stort värde i det. Det är alltid farligt just efter halvtid, att komma i gång igen och hur man kanske slappnar av lite, eller inte direkt är tillräckligt påkopplad.

- Men säkert är det ändå att mål i matchens slutskede är allra viktigast. Det räcker ju med att titta på Djurgården den gångna säsongen för att förstå vilken betydelse det har. 

Hur blir ditt övergripande tänk kring vad som diffat för Malmö FF de två senaste åren?- Alltså, första året när Uwe Rösler kom in så låg ju Malmö så långt efter så det var ju ändå en framgång att komma tillbaka så starkt som man gjorde. Den inledningen förstörde ju allt.

- Det andra året så lyckades man inte riktigt kombinera allsvenskan med Europa. Och det tillsammans med att spelarna som inte var ordinarie inte kom in med lika mycket energi som de spelare som var avbytare då Malmö var som bäst, till exempel under Champions League-åren. Spelarna som då inte var ordinarie kom in med mycket mer energi och visade att de ville mycket mer. Så har det inte riktigt varit de senaste åren. Det är min uppfattning.

I FotbollDirekts genomgång så står det även klart att Djurgården var allsvenskans nummer ett när det handlade om den sista kvarten av matcher. 13 av lagets 53 mål, alltså 24,5 procent, gjorde laget mellan matchminut 76-90. 

Ett lag som har haft svårt att ha sina starkaste perioder under matchens sista kvart är AIK.

Den senaste säsongen var slutkvarten den period i matchen som AIK släppte in flest mål. Av lagets 24 insläppta mål, släpptes åtta mål, tillika 33,3 procent in under den tidsperioden.

Two Whitecaps players in quarantine after breaking protocol

Vancouver Whitecaps FC center back Jasser Khmiri and forward Yordy Reyna will be under a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine period after violating British Columbia’s physical distancing regulations.

Canadian broadcaster CBC said Reyna, 26, was working out on his own in a park in Vancouver on Tuesday, then joined a group of friends who were playing pickup soccer for a few minutes. His actions were caught on film by a television news crew that was reporting on restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.

It is unclear how Khmiri, 22, violated the order.

“Our public health authorities are doing an incredible job leading us through this pandemic and we fully support them in their work,” said Whitecaps FC sporting director Axel Schuster in a statement. “As a club and member of our community, we take the responsibility to demonstrate leadership in this area very seriously. Throughout this crisis, the club has been extremely clear in all our communication on the importance of physical distancing and proper hygiene.”

Reyna apologized in a team-issued statement.

“I am deeply sorry for my actions and apologize to the community, my teammates and coaches,” he said.

CBC said the team fined Reyna an undisclosed amount.

The Major League Soccer season was suspended in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. All teams had played only their first two games of the year.

Teams were allowed to begin training again on Wednesday, and four squads — Atlanta United, Orlando City SC, Inter Miami and Sporting Kansas City – did so with a limited number of players allowed at the facility at one time.

Schuster said the Whitecaps will work out at the University of British Columbia when they get back to work.

FFA wants to complete A-League season by end of August - Djite

Football Federation Australia wants to resume the 2019-2020 A-League season towards the end of July and complete it before the end of August, Adelaide United's director of football Bruce Djite said on Wednesday.

The A-League was brought to a halt in March because of the coronavirus outbreak with five rounds of the regular season and the championship playoffs left to play.

"My understanding is they want the season completed by the end of August," Djite told reporters in Adelaide on Wednesday.


"So mathematically, three games a week and all the rest you could knock it out in four or five weeks. Then you work back from that and say you need at least four, five weeks training, so you're looking at late June, early July.

"But there's a lot of water to go under the bridge before that ... There's still a lot of unknowns."

With the players laid off and mostly surviving on the government's JobKeeper coronavirus wage subsidy programme, Djite said the FFA would need to sit down with their union to "nut out" details on pay before any training resumed.

"The boys aren't coming back to train on JobKeeper," he said.

"Those discussions have to be had as a matter of urgency, so there's clarity from players' mindset and there's clarity for clubs in financial management of what the cost is going to be.

"Because at the moment there's no revenues and we don't know what the cost base looks like to finish off the season."

Social distancing measures have managed to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Australia to only a trickle of new cases each day and restrictions look set to be eased nationwide over the next week or two.

Some will remain, however, and one proposal being considered to complete the A-League season is gathering the teams into a central hub in Sydney and playing all the remaining matches behind closed doors there.

"As a club we are happy to do that, and the players are happy to do that, we just want to finish the season," said Djite.

"People are more comfortable now with jumping on a plane to New South Wales."

Adelaide United will need a new manager before any action resumes after Gertjan Verbeek headed back home to the Netherlands in April before resigning last week.

The club's last four managers have been Europeans but Djite said they would be looking closer to home for Verbeek's replacement.

"We want an Australian coach for next season," he said.

Alan Cawley reckons League of Ireland should restart in September and says live streaming wouldn't work

Former League of Ireland star Alan Cawley believes the league should not restart until September.

Paddy Power columnist and pundit Cawley reckons streaming games live behind-closed-doors will give critics 'more ammunition to run the league down'.

Cawley wrote: "Time is on our side when it comes to resuming the League of Ireland season.

"To me, this talk of getting football matches back as soon as possible, and having games behind closed doors, is a non-runner.

"It’s a totally different argument in England, because they’re three quarters of the way through their season – but we’re only five games in. So it’s not a case of like-for-like between us and the Premier League.

"In our case, I think the clubs would be happy to hold off until September, when everybody is in a much safer environment. "

Sligo Rovers and Finn Harps have raised concerns about the idea of games behind-closed-doors, with Premier Division clubs divided on the issue.

Mirror Sport reports today that clubs have been briefed on the possibility of using four regional hubs to host games.

The financial viability of such a plan for smaller clubs could be a major stumbling block, as well as the challenge of keeping players safe.

Cawley continued: "I miss it more than anybody. I know the FAI are trying to come up with different ideas to get things restarted – I’m not trying to pour cold water on that.

"There are just so many variables and too many question marks in restarting the season early, or behind closed doors.

"There’s talk of streaming the games live, but that won’t work either.

"I know there is a phased plan now in place but, from a practical and safety point of view, I’m just not sure how we can carry this off.

"The majority of the grounds can’t cater for live streaming. Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers, and Derry City are a few of the bigger ones pushing for it, but the smaller clubs are the complete opposite.

"I know Niall Quinn is trying to come up with new ideas, and that there’s an untapped market there. The problem is that most of the grounds won’t have the facilities to have three or four cameras.

"And if you have just one camera, in the middle of the pitch, the quality isn’t going to be great. People aren’t going to pay to watch that.

"There’s also talk that the clubs will want to be compensated if these games are streamed live, and that the compensation will have to come from FIFA or UEFA. I’m not so sure about that, either.

"It’s fine when RTE are showing one live game a week, but having a game streamed live on the other six nights? The quality just isn’t going to be good enough.

"And, by showing streams of poor quality, you’re giving people more ammunition to run the league down.

"I know the bigger clubs are pushing for this to happen, because they want to get back up and running and they probably could cater for it – but the likes of Sligo Rovers, who have better facilities than most, have said that they’re not playing behind closed doors. Finn Harps have said the same."

Cawley sees no reason to rush back while social distancing measures are still in place and hopes that matches can safely return in September.

He added: "When you get into the whole safety element of it, that’s another story. How are you going to do social distancing? How are you going to test all the players and get them onto the pitch?

"Playing a football match while maintaining social distancing, how’s that going to work? It’s just not feasible.

"The one advantage that the League Of Ireland has on every other country is that our season has only just started, we’ve only played five games.

"So I don’t see the rush in getting games back on when there’s still a major health and safety issue. We should wait until September. By that stage, the phased plan will hopefully be well and truly over, and we’ll be in a much better situation."

Ryan Gauld: “Não fui bem tratado no Sporting. Houve uma mudança de treinador e o Jorge Jesus não gostava de mim”

O “Mini Messi”, como lhe chamavam na adolescência, deu uma entrevista ao “The Guardian” e fala do Sporting, do peso das expetativas e do Farense, que ajudou a trazer de novo para a Primeira Liga

Em adolescente, na Escócia, chamavam-lhe o “Mini Messi”. Ryan Gauld habituou-se a ser promessa e foi nessa condição que veio para Portugal, para o clube que formara Figo e Ronaldo. A vontade de jogar mais e responder em campo às expetativas nele depositadas levaram-no para o Sul, para o Algarve, mas não para se juntar aos britânicos que avermelham nos bares mais do que nas praias. O menino de ouro foi para o Farense, “um clube de que poucos gostam”, segundo o “The Guardian”.

É o facto de, juntamente com os companheiros de equipa e uma conjuntura anormal, ter ajudado a trazer o histórico clube algarvio de volta à Primeira Liga que faz com que Ryan Gauld mereça o destaque de um artigo extenso num dos principais jornais ingleses. Um texto em que se questiona por que razão Gauld não saiu de Portugal em vez de ingressar num clube de segunda liga. “Senti que ainda não tinha conseguido tudo o que queria aqui,” responde o escocês a partir da sua casa, em Vilamoura. “Iria embora sem mostrar a todos o que posso fazer. Queria ficar por cá e prová-lo.”

Ryan Gauld é, aos 24 anos, uma pessoa mais madura do que quando chegou ao Sporting, em 2014. “Acho que sou visto como um jogador com talento mas que ainda não o mostrou. As pessoas têm razão em pensar assim porque havia grandes expetativas quando eu fui para o Sporting; eu estava destinado para grandes coisas. (…) Ainda sou novo para me resignar, ainda há tempo.”

Acima de tudo, o escocês sente-se confortável consigo próprio. As comparações com Messi começaram cedo, quando ele despontou no Dundee United, aos 16 anos, e nunca o incomodaram. Dois anos mais tarde, o Sporting pagou três milhões por ele e deu-lhe um contrato de seis anos com uma cláusula de 60 milhões. O início foi promissor mas rapidamente as coisas azedaram. Gauld tem a noção dos dois lados da moeda futebolística.

“Há um lado bom e um lado mau que as pessoas não veem verdadeiramente,” afirma em relação aos Leões de Alvalade. “Uma das coisas de que eu não gostei no Sporting foi a forma como fui tratado. O lado positivo é o facto de ser um clube enorme, conhecido em toda a Europa, e fazer parte disso durante alguns anos foi uma honra.”

Ao despertar a atenção de um clube da dimensão do Sporting, Gauld levantou as orelhas aos escoceses, sedentos de figuras grandes numa seleção que pouco ou nada tem mostrado nos últimos anos. “Havia muita esperança porque não acontece muitas vezes o Sporting pagar muito dinheiro por um jogador jovem. Por isso, as pessoas esperavam grandes feitos. Logo me apercebi de que a equipa B e os juniores estavam cheios de jogadores brilhantes de 17 e 18 anos. Eles já tinham esse nível de talento caseiro.”

“O mais difícil foi o facto de as pessoas na Escócia e em Inglaterra esperarem que as coisas acontecessem de imediato, que eu entrasse diretamente para a equipa. Os três jogadores do meio campo de então ganharam o Euro 2016 com Portugal: Adrien Silva, William Carvalho, João Mário,” lembra Gauld.

“A minha primeira época foi a melhor. Aos 18 anos, fazia os jogos da Taça da Liga, marcava alguns golos, saído do banco. Na altura pensei que era um grande início mas houve uma mudança de treinador nesse verão e o novo não gostava de mim,” refere o escocês, lembrando a saída de Marco Silva e a entrada de Jorge Jesus.

“Foi gradual. Passei dois anos na equipa B, depois fui emprestado e chamado de volta porque o Sporting se zangou com o clube onde eu estava. Depois fui mandado de novo para a equipa B e comecei a pensar: ‘Talvez não vá resultar por aqui’. Na pré-época seguinte, fui rapidamente posto no grupo dos que não eram pretendidos pelo treinador.”

O jornal inglês lembra que, se Gauld era comparado a Messi, em Lisboa quem reina é Ronaldo, formado no Sporting. “Sempre que um jovem chega à primeira equipa, eles não admitem mas têm esperança de que aconteça novamente,” explica o escocês. “Não se pode pôr essa pressão sobre um miúdo, tentar encontrar um novo Ronaldo não te faz muito bem.”

O Farense, prestes a regressar ao principal escalão do futebol português, beneficiou da maturidade e da ambição do jovem Ryan Gauld, que terminou a Liga Pro como melhor marcador da equipa. “Pessoal e coletivamente, esta paragem veio num mau momento. Não que seja um bom momento para quem quer que seja, mas foi frustrante,” diz, deixando no ar a ideia de que a temporada 2020/21 é a prenda mais desejada.