Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a ‘valuable player at the moment! Doubts over Neymar’s return to the national squad
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti has commented that the country does not have the ‘referential footballer’ in the team! Referential means the ‘tag’ of most valuable footballer in the squad, which Neymar Jr. has mainly worn since the 2014 World Cup. “We have one of the world’s best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don’t want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said. His statement suggests that uncertainty still looms large over 33-year-old Neymar’s inclusion in the national team for the forthcoming World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May. “If Neymar is better than others, he will play in the World Cup, and that’s it. But I don’t have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw. Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland. The veteran coach added, “If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list will be made after the FIFA fixtures in March.” The 33-year-old Neymar has not fully recovered from tearing his ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. He has also been playing a critical role for Santos as the club fights relegation in the Brazilian championship. On Wednesday, despite a muscle injury, he scored a hat trick for Santos. He is expected to play again Sunday against Cruzeiro. Asked about his team’s group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it. “We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final, and for that to happen, you need to face very strong teams anyway.” Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002. Morocco were very good during the last World Cup in Qatar, and Scotland is also a solid squad. It will not be easy at all, revealed Ancelotti while speaking to Brazilian television station Sportv. Brazil will start their campaign against Morocco on 13th June.
Under-pressure ISL clubs seek urgent action from AIFF, fearing loss of their major source of income!
The Indian Super League clubs, except East Bengal, have appealed to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for an amendment to its new constitution before a new tender can be floated for the top-tier competition, which is currently undergoing considerable uncertainty. With only three days left before the expiry of the AIFF’s 15-year Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with Reliance-subsidiary FSDL on 8th December, the ISL clubs, frightened by the situation of losing their key source of income, have appealed to the AIFF seeking urgent action to find a solution. FSDL’s profits since ISL was introduced in 2014 have helped most of the clubs to make a financial gain. But now, the failed tender process initiated by the Federation has reportedly disappointed the commercial partner. They have already expressed unwillingness to accept the contractual obligations set by the Federation through the issued tender. As a aftermath, salaries have been stopped, and operations have been suspended temporarily. Despite the Union Sports Minister ‘s assurance for the league’s resumption, clubs fear that they are in an unsustainable situation and would have to take extreme steps should AIFF not inform the Supreme Court to bring out a remedy on or before 8th December. Clubs have urged AIFF to approach the Union Sports Ministry seeking support towards an interim application that could be filed by 8th December, also drawing attention to the bid-evaluation report made by Justice L.N. Rao and KPMG’s observations that pointed to “constitutional and commercial constraints” over ownership, operational control, overall costs, and promotion and relegation in the tender document for no bids. The clubs signed the letter where it has been written, ‘Should the revised tender not result in a suitable commercial partner, we respectfully request that the AIFF consider a framework under which the ISL Clubs may collectively form a consortium to own/operate the league (as majority owners), alongside the Federation and aligned commercial/broadcast/private investors. Such an approach is consistent with global best practices and reflective of the long-term commitment of the Clubs to Indian football.’ East Bengal was one of the two clubs that did not want to take responsibility to conduct the League this edition. The other club that supported East Bengal on the issue was Mohammedan Sporting. “The AIFF shall also put in all possible effort as per our AIFF Constitution to ensure ISL gets a long-term sustainable model for growth and development of Indian football,” Federation secretary M. Satyanarayan has sent the reply mail to the clubs, it is learned.
Ahead of another final, Muller shows respect to Messi
Inter Miami and Vancouver Whitecaps step into an unprecedented Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup final on Saturday, each chasing its first Philip F. Anschutz trophy in a spectacle fuelled by the renewed rivalry between Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller. Ahead of the final, Muller had respect in his words for Messi as he stated, “This is a final I wanted. The good thing is not only playing against the best player who has ever played our sport and who continues to do so, but I think when you have a match like this, more people see you.” The 36-year-old striker continued, “Perhaps they rely on him a little more than this team relies on me.” “If you play with these great players and names, then it’s a little more exciting for more people around the world. It’s a perfect situation for everyone involved,” added German legend. With ticket prices at record highs, the free global broadcast will reach more than 100 countries, while the MLS is rolling out its most ambitious production yet for a final featuring two of Europe’s stars. At 38, Messi produced the season Inter Miami had hoped for when it brought the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner to Florida, with him steering the club to its first MLS Cup final and setting an all-time assist record of 405 along the way. The Argentine captain had 29 goals and 19 assists in the regular campaign, plus six goals and seven assists in the postseason. Longtime Bayern Munich talisman Muller, who arrived in Vancouver in August, was instrumental in driving the campaign of the CONCACAF Champions Cup runner-up, delivering seven goals and three assists across seven regular-season matches. The head-to-head between the two veterans tilts the contest in favour of the German, with him winning seven of their 10 meetings, including two Bayern thrashings of Barcelona in the Champions League in 2013 and 2020, as well as Argentina’s painful defeat in the 2014 World Cup final. As Muller suggested, the match-up’s profile has lifted the entire event, driving record demand and the most ambitious broadcast MLS has ever assembled.
East Bengal trounce Punjab FC to secure final in Super Cup
East Bengal trounced Punjab FC 3-1 in the semifinal of the Super Cup to record their third final at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa, on Thursday evening. Mohammed Rashid drew first blood for the winners in the 12th minute. Then, in the 33rd minute, Bipin was adjudged to have handled the ball after Ricky Shabong tried to head the ball inside the box. The referee did not hesitate to give a spot-kick in Punjab’s favour. Spaniard Daniel Ramirez levelled the scoreline from the spot-kick in the 34th minute. Punjab tried to have possession in the midfield, but they often looked disjointed and struggled to create goalmouth, thanks to East Bengal’s compact defensive organisation. Just seconds before the referee blew the half-time whistle, Kevin Sibille’s header pulls East Bengal into the lead at the break! However, just as East Bengal took the lead off Sibille’s header, chief coach Bruzon was alleged of celebrating in the face of the officials, which saw him receive marching orders for dissent. But despite Oscar’s send-off, according to Soul Crespo the dressing-room atmosphere became elated with the 3-1 victory. East Bengal captain revealed while speaking to tournament broadcaster after the match, “We are all excited with the result. The dressing room is also elated.” East Bengal on the day had much superiority over their opposition courtesy their five foreigners. Crespo revealed, “In the new season, I feel we are stronger psychologically compared to our state of mind in the last season. We are being able to deliver with free minds.”
Injured Neymar strikes a hat-trick; desperate to get a national call-up
Despite sustaining a knee injury, Neymar Jr. struck a hat-trick, helping his childhood club Santos FC to go out of relegation from the Brazilian Premier league. The 33-year-old Brazilian World Cupper scored three goals within only 17 minutes, sending Santos FC to record a 3-0 victory and two points clear of the bottom four with one match left. Neymar is not being called up in the national preparatory camp by national coach Carlo Ancelotti since 2023 and looks desperate to get a national call-up. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said in October that Neymar remains in his plans for next year’s World Cup, but the striker must regain full fitness. The striker has scored five goals so far and provided one assist in his club team’s last three matches, guiding the club to garner seven points to be placed at 14th in the League table. Santos hosts Cruzeiro on Sunday in the last match of the campaign.
After 15 years Bengal girls on the verge of winning title! Reach the finals of the junior national football championship
After a gap of 15 years, Bengal’s girl football team are on the brink of clinching the title of junior national football championship. Bengal girls defeated Delhi by 4-2 via a tie-breaker in the semi-final at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday. The match ended goalless in the 90 minutes’ regulation time. In the tie-breaker Kusum Orao, Piu Roy, Adrija Jana and Lovely Mondol scored for Bengal. Bengal’s coach Rinku Ghosh revealed, while speaking to Parallel Sports from Anantapur after the match, “The players fought till the end. In the tie-breaker also, the players did not get nervous while scoring. Along with them, I must mention our goalkeeper, Rubina Khatun’s name who made a crucial save in the tie-breaker, helping us to reach the final.” Bengal’s junior girls last clinched the title in 2010 under the guidance of Shukla Nag. Rinku who has been the coach of Bengal’s junior girls for the third consecutive time, sounded optimistic says that this time Bengal will have the last laugh in the final also. Coach lamented that two their shots rebounded off the post. Otherwise, Bengal would have won the match within the 90 minutes’ regulation time. The girls got hardly a week to train together before leaving for Anantapur. Secondly, with only one alternative day’s gap between the matches in the championship, the young girls often were getting tired. Rinku, who worked with Adamas University and also guided West Bengal Police to win the State Games, believes Manipur is a tough side. “But I am optimistic about our girls’ mental strength. If they carry out the momentum they maintained today, then we have a fair chance of clinching the title,” added Rinku.
Union Sports Minister only listens to everybody! FSDL wants to reduce the AIFF-proposed amount
Looking forward to the resumption of the country’s premier football leagues this season, Indian football did not find any ray of hope even after a series of virtual meetings with Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday afternoon. The ISL clubs, the I-League clubs, cxountry’s a few leading broadcasters, and the FSDL, commercial partner of the AIFF, put their proposals to the Union Sports Minister accordingly since the afternoon. FSDL also had a separate meeting with the Union Sports Minister. Then, ISL and I-League club representatives had a meeting jointly in the evening with the Sports Minister, where the Joint-Secretary, Union Sports Ministry, the broadcasters, FSDL, and AIFF top brass were also present. It has been learned that no specific time frame has been given to the clubs regarding the resumption of the ISL and I-leagues this season. Union Sports Minister has only assured them of a response, which will be taken shortly, looking forward to the solution of this stalemate. It is also learned that after ISL clubs’ proposal to resume the ISL, bearing their own expenses, I-League club bosses urged the Sports Ministry to bring out a system in running the country’s premier leagues. One of the I-League club bosses revealed on condition of anonymity, “We urged for running of the Leagues systematically or make a merger of the ISL and elite I-League. If that cannot be done then a system must be there where relegation and promotion in the ISL must be applied. Promotion in the ISL has started, but that is also creating confusion. When a club is being promoted to ISL, is the respective club’s capacity to fulfil all financial terms for the ISL being monitored at all? We saw Mohammedan Sporting, that how they failed to pay salaries to their ISL footballers. We saw how they failed to clear the ISL coach’s salary. So, along with relegation, the system of promotion should be transparent.” However, FSDL in their assertion conveyed the message that Indian football does not have the financial value demanded by the AIFF in their initial tender. It meant, the company wants to pressure the AIFF to reduce the amount. One of the leading broadcasters pointed out that Indian football should have a proper structure. The broadcaster cited the example of India’s domestic cricket, which is played nearly six to eight months a year.
Convincing FSDL in Wednesday’s meeting is crucial; Will AIFF make financial gain with Union Sports Ministry’s back-up for the resumption of top league?
A section of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) executive committee members seems to be curious about Wednesday’s all-important meeting between the Union Sports Minister and FSDL. The AIFF’s former commercial partner and the organizer of the ISL seem reluctant to continue with the Federation’s existing administration, which is scheduled to continue till August-September next year. Even the company has reportedly refused to make discussions over the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) accepting the financial terms and conditions set by AIFF. Amidst the situation where ISL and the I-League are also going through a stalemate, a section of the AIFF executive committee seems to be waiting for the Union Sports Minister’s initiative to convince FSDL about continuing with the AIFF. One of the executive committee members, when asked about the issue, revealed on condition of anonymity, “FSDL is reluctant to continue. I feel they can change their decision only if the Union Sports Minister can convince them. If FSDL continues, even if preserving their terms and conditions, then AIFF will also have some money after the end of the ISL. But if FSDL sticks to its reluctance, then the top-tier League might also happen with the support of the Union sports ministry.” The section of the executive committee has a gut feeling that the Union Sports Ministry can ask Doordarshan to beam the top leagues live, and even ask the respective ISL-playing states to make the matches happen. “Following the Union Sports Ministry’s instruction, respective state governments can also offer some financial grants to the respective state football associations for the participating clubs. But what will AIFF gain even if the country’s top-tier football league is organized in this way? The central government is unlikely to offer any such amount to the AIFF!” stated another executive committee member on condition of anonymity. Significantly, the AIFF has not yet made an official announcement of the two relegated teams in the I-League last season. Both SC Bengaluru and Delhi FC appealed to the AIFF’s appeal committee, which has been pending for months at the AIFF disciplinary committee. It is learned that the Federation’s top brass has decided to introduce a new disciplinary committee, which is likely to have a fresh hearing on the relegation issue on 13th December. Additionally, complaints from a couple of state associations have been filed with AIFF for allowing Sudeva FC to participate in the Second Division I-League despite the fact that the Delhi-based team did not play in the League for the last year. The Union sports ministry will have meeting with all the ISL clubs, I-League clubs and the stakeholders in Indian football also separately in Wednesday’s meeting.
Telangana Chief Minister starts training at midnight to face Messi on 13th December!
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is known for his ability to maintain strong public relationships. One of the most entertaining personalities in South Indian politics, Revanth Reddy, is also an ardent fan of football. Even during the intense 2023 election campaign, Revanth played a game of football in the old city area despite the business. Nowadays, after becoming the Chief Minister of Telangana, Revanth, still passionate for the game, hardly gets time to enter the pitch wearing a jersey. But Reddy finally got time to prepare himself for a football match despite the business, and this will be the first time he will play after becoming the Chief Minister of Telangana. According to a state ministry source, the C has even started training seriously at midnight, around 11:30 PM, after completing a demanding schedule of official duties. The late-night regimen is in preparation for arguably the most anticipated sports event in the state’s calendar: a friendly exhibition match on 13th December against the Argentine legend Lionel Messi as part of the “G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025. It is going to be a clash of nines and tens as Revanth Reddy will wear the number nine jersey, leading the Team-RR9 against a team captained by Messi, who will don his iconic number 10. The match, set to be held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, is being informally billed as ‘RR9 vs. LM-10’. The chief minister will be playing alongside selected young students from government schools who have demonstrated exceptional football talents. The event is designed to be a lifetime inspiration for these emerging athletes. The exhibition match will serve as the culmination of the Telangana government’s two-year anniversary celebrations (1st December to 13th December), and specifically, the grand unveiling of the Telangana Rising Vision Document 2047 on 9th December.
Bibiano’s advise: They should prepare playing against teams like Iran
Sudeep Pakrashi: It was not the first time the Indian under-17 football team qualified for the finals of the under-17 Asian Cup. India already qualified for the finals of the under-Asian Cup thrice in 2018, 2020 and 2023 and every time, under the guidance of former India international Bibiano Fernandes. On Saturday, India’s under-17 national team’s qualification for the under-17 Asian Cup came for the fourth time. But the significant part was that, this was the first time India defeated Iran in the under-17 Asian Cup qualifiers, and Bibiano Fernandes says winning against a stronger team like Iran is one of his most memorable victories as coach. The chief national coach under whose guidance India secured SAFF Championship recently, revealed while speaking to Parallel Sports on Monday, “Yes, winning against a team like Iran was not easy. I convinced the boys to be careful on strengthening defensive organization and make counterattacks according to the situation. They did a great job, fought till the end. All credit should go the boys.” India will have to compete against the top-level teams like Qatar, Soudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, DPR Korea, Korea Republic, and China in the finals of under-17 Asian Cup, to be held in Saudi Araboia in May. Bibiano explains, “These boys have huge potential. They need to play preparatory matches the stronger teams like Iran. Simultaneously, the boys will also benefit if they get the opportunity to take part in a tournament like I-League.” Rajrup Sarkar, the custodian from North 24 Parganas and a student of Zinc Football Academy Rajasthan, had an excellent performance in India’s do-or-die match against Iran. Bibiano also praised a lot about the goalkeeper stating, “He dished out an exceptional performance against Iran. I should be thankful to our goalkeeping coach for having guided him properly. In our national preparatory camp, goalkeepers never train alone. They are always trained with the defenders and before Iran match, goalkeepers underwent an intense training of penalty shoot-outs.” When asked about his own desire, Bibiano Fernandes did not hide, saying, “Yes, now I desire to become a coach of the senior national team in future.”
