Sports Burst – Can Bruce Almighty Save USA?
New Arena for USA, King Zlatan’s USA promise and Ronaldo’s special Tuesday treat. 5 acorns from the oak tree of sport.
By Tim Stannard
1) Bruce Arena set for second stint as US soccer top dog
At least the news wasn’t announced on Thanksgiving Day which would have had the American sports media world angrily hurling stuffing and gravy at the wall as they dragged themselves to their laptops for some particularly vitriolic posts. On Monday, Jurgen Klinsmann was fired from his various positions within US Soccer – head coach, technical director, toner changer for the photocopier – after his boss, Sunil Gulati, spent a week or so mulling over the damaging double defeat to Mexico and Costa Rica in World Cup-qualifying.
A day later and it looks almost certain that Bruce Arena is going to be the new chosen one to take America through to Russia 2018 for the rest of the CONCACAF Hex matches. Indeed, the great Thomas Rongen says it is a done deal. The current LA Galaxy coach would be taking the helm of USMNT for the second time after an eight-year stint between 1998 and 2006 where Arena eventually took the US to fourth in the world rankings.
Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT for a full roundup of what is sure to be a busy day in the world of US Soccer.
2) Ronaldo promised warm homecoming against Sporting
It’s Champions League Tuesday and seeing as it is the second-to-last round of matches – or penultimate for you Ivy League types – there is a heck of a lot to play for.
Lying squarely in that category are Real Madrid, a team that really needs a win against Sporting CP in Portugal to have any chance of winning group F. Cristiano Ronaldo is, as ever, the talk of the town with the footballer playing against his first club. And club president, Bruno de Carvalho, has revealed that a treat may be in store for the Ronaldo that could include dispensation from UEFA for the footballer to play the whole match with his top off. "We have prepared something to welcome Cristiano, but we will have to wait and see how much we can do with the UEFA rules."
3) Juve in must-win match against solid Sevilla
The stand-out match is over in Group H where Sevilla can confirm their supremacy of the table with a victory against visiting Juventus, a team that have been dominant in Serie A but looked a tad flabby in Europe with just two victories from four.
Unfortunately, the build up to the game has been marred by violent clashes between the two sets of supporters in Seville. The home side have officially condemned any part that their fans took part in the aggressions in a statement. "In this sense, the club wants to make it clear that these so-called Sevillistas do not at all represent the values of tolerance and respect of the club.”
Juventus are travelling with the injured Gonzalo Higuain and Massimiliano Allegri is expecting a tough old boot of an encounter in Andalusia. Tune into the XTRA from 7PM ET / 4PM PT for highlights of all of Tuesday’s big Champions League clashes.
4) King Zlatan promises to conquer America
It has been all too quiet on the King Zlatan front, what with the super Swede failing to take off in the Premier League and Manchester United. So perhaps that’s why He is already looking at His next step – the US of A. Whilst King Zlatan was picking up His 50th Sweden Player of the Year award the footballer said that his next goal was to go all Beatles on the States. "Playing in the USA is a huge option for me. For the football and everything else. I can see myself conquering the US as I have with Europe," said Zlatan who then went on to compare himself with Napoleon. As you do. Oh, he’s going to have his own statue, too.
5) Bathroom breakout for Man United fans
Two supporters went to great lengths to watch King Zlatan’s team play over the weekend, by sleeping overnight in an Old Trafford bathroom on Friday to hide out and catch the following the day’s Arsenal game. The pair managed to sneak away from a tour group for their daring deed. The cunning plan was foiled though by a security sweep the following day.
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The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. SB is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.