Sports Burst - Is Luis Suarez The New Tom Brady?
Unwanted by their previous teams, Luis Suarez and Tom Brady enjoyed simultaneous payback on Sunday
By Tim Stannard
Atletico Madrid and the Bucs take steps towards 2021 glory with key wins to put Suarez and Brady nearer seventh heaven
Jumping ship from a team that had seemed like a home for life when reaching the tail-end of a trophy-studded career.
Eased out of the league's leading franchise due to financial constraints or a clear vision of the future.
Supporters outraged on what the front office was thinking.
Joining up with a franchise rival in the race for the annual crown.
And now one step closer to making that goal come true forcing the club on the wrong end of the move seem even more foolish.
Tom Brady and Luis Suarez are two pees in a sporting pod.
At roughly the same time on Sunday that Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers had reached the 2021 Super Bowl final with a victory over the Green Bay Packers, Luis Suarez was popping home Atletico Madrid's second in the eventual 3-1 LaLiga win over Valencia.
Tom Brady had taken a giant step towards a seventh Super Bowl ring. Luis Suarez had taken a giant step towards a seventh league title in his career.
Not that Suarez's coach will allow such talk of course, with Atletico Madrid seven points clear of Real Madrid but with a match in hand. "We look at what is coming up, how we can improve," intoned Simeone with his team enjoying the rarity of an entire week off now - and giving the creaking Suarez some down time - before the title challenge renews next Sunday against Cadiz.
The Sports Burst live show with Hope Solo will look at whether the LaLiga title is now Atletico Madrid's to lose. Head to our beIN SPORTS Facebook page and XTRA channel at 12PM ET.
Valverde set to return a year after Barca sacking
Marcelino has the chance to keep up a whirlwind start to his role as Athletic Club coach with a LaLiga match against Getafe today, just over a week after shocking Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup. A win would be very handy with Athletic jammed in mid-table - a position that Getafe also finds themselves in. Athletic vs. Getafe is live on beIN SPORTS from 2:50PM ET.
A former Athletic coach, Ernesto Valverde, might be back in work again a year after being sacked rather unceremoniously by Barcelona. Marseille are reportedly on the brink of firing Andre Villas-Boas with the team's form crashing and putting Valverde in the Velodrome hotseat.
This leaves Villas-Boas free and single and potentially able to move back to a club he once coached - Chelsea.
The trigger-happy Stamford Bridge side has sacked Frank Lampard, despite the team crushing Luton Town in the FA Cup on Sunday. Falling down to ninth place in the EPL standings after spending hundreds of millions over the summer probably has something to do with it.
However, it does look like Chelsea are set to appoint Thomas Tuchel as the new boss, with the German recently having been fired by PSG.
Ozil to start earning his fans-paid wages
Monday might even see a debut for the German midfielder with Fenerbahce in action against Kayserispor live on beIN SPORTS from 10:50AM ET.
At time of writing, the squad lists are not out, Ozil has already trained with his new team and the fans might need some extra incentive to pay the wages of the footballer through a text message campaign, which is the plan of Fenerbahce's president Ali Koc, with the team reportedly around half a billion dollars in debt.
Ozil's move from Arsenal - the club he joined when he was unwanted at Real Madrid - will now trigger the move of a midfielder also unwanted at Real Madrid to the Gunners. Martin Odegaard is expected to undergo a medical on Monday ahead of a loan move until the end of the season, where the Norwegian will join another unwanted Real Madrid midfielder, who is also on loan until the end of the season - Dani Ceballos.
Take a look back at the best action from the biggest games on Monday Night Soccer on beIN SPORTS from 9:30PM ET.