Novo técnico do São Paulo, Luis Zubeldía desembarcou no Brasil na manhã deste domingo (21) para assumir o comando do Tricolor. O argentino chegou acompanhado de três auxiliares, um preparador físico e um analista de desempenho e viaja hoje para Goiânia para acompanhar o duelo contra o Altético-GO, pela terceira rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro.
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Ainda no aeroporto de Guarulhos, o profissional comentou sobre os desafios de assumir o São Paulo e treinar no futebol brasileiro.
– É um grandíssimo desafio pelo que é o São Paulo, por tudo o que vocês sabem, mas cada clube que me contratou foi um desafio importante. Colocar um acima do outro não é legal. É um desafio lindo pela dimensão e por tudo o que é o futebol brasileiro – comentou Zubeldía.
Questionado sobre como pretende utilizar James Rodríguez na equipe, um dos maiores desafios dentro do São Paulo atualmente, o comandante ressaltou que as decisões serão adotadas pensando no bem coletivo.
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– Vamos seguir falando portas adentro dos detalhes e tomaremos decisões sempre pensando para o bem de todos. O mais importante é que a equipe ganhe hoje de um rival muito duro e depois teremos uma sequência de partidas. Trataremos de ir nos adaptando rápido e conseguir resultados – explicou.
➡️ Tudo sobre o Tricolor agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! São Paulo
Vale lembrar que Zubeldía já esteve no radar do São Paulo no início da temporada. Após a saída de Dorival Júnior para a Seleção Brasileira, a diretoria tricolor iniciou conversas com o argentino.
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No entanto, em razão da demora do argentino em responder o contato, o que gerou fortes críticas do coordenador Muricy Ramalho à época, o clube optou pela contratação de Thiago Carpini, que acabou demitido na quinta-feira (18).
A estreia de Luis Zubeldía à frente do São Paulo será na próxima quinta-feira (25), contra o Barcelona de Guayaquil, fora de casa, pela terceira rodada da fase de grupos da Copa Libertadores
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Futebol NacionalJames RodríguezLuis ZubeldíaSão Paulo
USMNT icon Landon Donovan expressed disappointment over Ricardo Pepi’s limited minutes during the November 2025 window, saying the young striker has slipped in the team’s forward pecking order – now behind Folarin Balogun and Haji Wright – and that the coach’s selections make that clear. Donovan expressed particular concern about Pepi's complete absence in the USMNT's impressive victory over Uruguay.
ImagnDonovan highlights Pepi's absence against Uruguay
The former USMNT captain noted that despite the team scoring multiple goals and having a comfortable lead, head coach Mauricio Pochettino still opted not to give Pepi any playing time.
“I would say yeah,” Donovan said on his Unfiltered Soccer podcast when asked if Pepi’s lack of minutes was a concern. “I mean, this is a game where you can’t wait to get on the field if you’re watching from the bench because you’re like, there’s going to be chances, especially when they went down to 10 men. You’re like 'Get me on the field, get me on the field!'
“And yeah, I’m not in Pochettino’s head, I can’t speak for him, but [Pepi] had a chance the other night that he fluffed and should have scored.”
AdvertisementPSV striker now third in depth chart for USMNT
Donovan's assessment placed Pepi clearly third in the striker pecking order under manager Mauricio Pochettino.
“It’s pretty clear right now, although this is always changing, but like it goes, Balogun and then Haji Wright. And I think Pepi right now is third and that’s the way he views it,” Donovan said.
Competition up front
Over the last few camps, Folarin Balogun has taken over as the USMNT’s No. 9 with the AS Monaco star leading the charge going into 2026. His form has matched that as he has netted three goals in his last five caps for the USA. The same applies to Haji Wright, who has netted two goals in his last two caps while Pepi has struggled for form and fitness.
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AFPCritical four months ahead as World Cup approaches
With only one international window remaining before World Cup qualifying intensifies, the competition for striker positions continues to intensify.
أعلن نادي بيراميدز، موافقته على انضمام أحد لاعيبه إلى صفوف منتخب مصر المشارك في بطولة كأس العرب 2025 المقرر إقامته في قطر.
ويشارك منتخب مصر، في بطولة كأس العرب، التي تنطلق في الأول من ديسمبر وتستمر حتى 18 من الشهر نفسه بمشاركة 16 منتخبًا.
وقرر نادي بيرامدز الموافقة على طلب اتحاد الكرة برئاسة المهندس هاني أبوريدة بانضمام اللاعب مروان حمدي مهاجم نادي بيراميدز إلى منتخب مصر الوطني المشارك في بطولة كأس العرب للمنتخبات والمقرر إقامتها في قطر، في إطار دعم النادي للمنتخبات الوطنية المصرية.
طالع | قبل أمم إفريقيا.. إصابة أحمد الشناوي في مباراة بيراميدز وباور ديناموز
وأشار نادي بيراميدز عبر المركز الإعلامي للنادي، إلى أنه على الرغم من ارتباط نادي بيراميدز بخوض مباراتي كهرباء الإسماعيلية وبتروجيت المؤجلتان من بطولة الدوري والمحدد لهما يومي 3 و6 ديسمبر، ورغم الإصابات والغيابات العديدة التي يعاني منها الفريق، إلا أن إدارة نادي بيراميدز قررت دعم المنتخب المصري في البطولة بالنجم مروان حمدي.
وجاء قرار انضمام مروان حمدي وفقا لاختيار الكابتن حلمي طولان المدير الفني لـ منتخب مصر والرغبة الكبيرة في ضم اللاعب، وهو ما تم الاتفاق عليه بين إدارة نادي بيراميدز والكابتن أحمد حسن مدير المنتخب الوطني المشارك بكأس العرب للمنتخبات بقطر.
ومن المنتظر أن يطير اللاعب للدوحة فور عودة بعثة بيراميدز ظهر الغد للقاهرة قادمة من زامبيا.
ويلعب بيراميدز اليوم السبت ضد فريق باور ديناموز الزامبي، في إطار مواجهات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات لبطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.
Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl should be delighted with the way that his team ran out 3-0 winners against Kilmarnock with relative ease on Saturday night.
Two goals from Bojan Miovski and a strike off the bench from Mikey Moore sealed all three points for the Gers, who had drawn their previous two games to Dundee United and Falkirk in a frustrating manner.
The German head coach should be particularly pleased with Miovski’s two-goal burst because it will provide the centre-forward with some much-needed confidence after a poor start to life at Ibrox
Why Bojan Miovski has been Rangers' most frustrating player
Out of all of the club’s summer signings, the Macedonia international has been their most frustrating player because he has not delivered at the level that everyone knows he is capable of.
Unlike most of the other signings, Miovski arrived as a proven Scottish Premiership performer who is in the prime years of his career, at 26, after a return of 32 league goals in two seasons with Aberdeen.
Prior to Saturday’s game against Kilmarnock, though, the left-footed forward had only scored one goal in nine league starts for the Light Blues, per Sofascore, and has lost 68% of his physical duels in the division.
Miovski was much improved against Kilmarnock, with two goals, which makes his poor form up to that point all the more frustrating, because that is the kind of performance that he can deliver.
It’s a display that Rohl recognised too. In quotes taken from PA Media, the manager said: “We had a conversation with each other and then he made step-by-step a huge step forwards against Dundee United. He had some good chances. He’s more adaptable at the moment, not just staying on the last line, it helps in building up as well.
“I’m happy when a striker scores two goals, it’s fantastic. In general, we spoke about what I demand from him. He told also what he is thinking at the moment. And then I think, especially after the Falkirk game, we spoke about spaces, what I want to see from the centre-forward and big spaces.”
The 26-year-old marksman is not the most improved player under Rohl, though, as that title has to go to Nasser Djiga, who has stepped up in recent weeks.
Why Djiga is the most improved Rangers player under Rohl
After Rohl’s fourth match in charge, against Celtic in the League Cup, Heart & Hand content creator David Edgar described the Wolves loanee as a “rotten” signing.
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Football FanCast even suggested playing James Tavernier at centre-back at the start of November because of Djiga’s poor form for the club up to that point.
That criticism was fair after several high-profile errors, including a red card against Dundee, an inexplicable defensive mix-up against Club Brugge, and Four Lads Had A Dream claimed that he “genuinely looks lost” during the loss to Celtic in the semi-final defeat that led to Edgar dubbing him “rotten”.
It did not seem like there was any way back for the Premier League loanee, who was as ‘rotten’ as Miovski was, but his run of form since John Souttar and Derek Cornelius picked up injuries has been an impressive response to that criticism.
Because there was an argument, due to his high-profile mistakes, that Djiga was the worst performer in the club, it is only logical that his recent showings make him the most improved player in the squad.
Whilst Miovski scored two goals against Kilmarnock, the striker had not scored in his previous 11 games and is yet to show his quality consistently, and the Wolves defender has now strung several performances together.
Since John Souttar’s injury
Premiership
Nasser Djiga
Appearances
4
Sofascore rating
7.3
Clean sheets
2
Tackles won
6/8
Clearances
18
Ground duels won
14/18
Aerial duels won
7/14
Error led to shot or goal
0
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Djiga has really stepped up in the right-sided centre-back role since Souttar picked up an injury on international duty with Scotland, winning an eye-catching 14 of his 18 ground duels in four league outings.
The Burkina Faso international has shown that he can be reliable at the back for a stretch of games, with no direct errors leading to shots or goals, whilst being dominant in his defensive duels.
Rangers have kept two clean sheets in the last four league games with Djiga at the heart of the defence alongside Emmanuel Fernandez, and Rohl will be hoping that his new defensive partnership continues to shine over the festive period.
The 23-year-old loanee, in particular, needs to prove that his current form is not a flash in the pan and that he has put the mistakes that he made earlier in the season behind him to be a reliable option for the German manager moving forward.
Rangers prioritising move to sign "strong" 6ft 4 box-crasher after scouting mission
He could be Rohl’s first signing.
ByTom Cunningham 6 days ago
On current evidence, Djiga is the most improved player under Rohl, going from “rotten” to reliable, but now he needs to do it over a prolonged period of time.
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has taken the MLB by storm this year. The 28-year-old leads the league in dingers, won the 2025 Home Run Derby, and has his Seattle team firmly in the wild card race as we enter the latter part of the season.
Nicknamed "Big Dumper" for the exact reason you might think, Raleigh has become a fan favorite in baseball circles throughout the 2025 campaign—so much so, that he's now signing .
That's right, while he was in attendance at the Little League World Series ahead of his team's game against the Mets in Williamsport on Sunday, a fan thrusted a piece of their trusty throne in Raleigh's direction as he was signing autographs, and he obliged.
Here's a look at the hilarious interaction, via MLB analyst Ben Verlander on X:
A man of the people, Big Dumper is.
First pitch between Seattle and New York is set for 7 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN. We'll see if Raleigh can homer again.
Galatasaray advisor and prominent agent George Gardi has dived into the behind-the-scenes developments with regards to the transfer to Leroy Sane to the Turkish heavyweights. The 29-year-old, who left Bayern Munich as a free agent at the end of last season, signed a three-year deal with Galatasaray after the club managed to convince him of his importance in the project.
Sane settling into new club Galatasaray
The former Manchester City and Schalke star left Bayern Munich as a free agent upon the expiry of his contract over the summer and joined reigning Turkish Super Lig champions Galatasaray on a three-year deal. He is one of the highest-earning players in Turkey, pocketing a hefty €9 million annual bonus along with a net loyalty bonus of €3m.
His first few months at the club weren't as good as many expected. The German international struggled to maintain his fitness and looked rusty during games. In fact, he was even dropped from the starting XI for the Champions League encounter against Liverpool in September.
However, things have started to fall in place for Sane in recent weeks. In a recent interview with , the winger admitted that "things didn't quite go as planned on the pitch at the beginning," but after getting regular minutes under his belt and spending more time with his new team-mates on the field, he was "very happy with my performances and how I've played."
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Galatasaray advisor reveals how the Sane transfer developed
Galatasaray transfer advisor George Gardi – one of the most prominent agents in Turkey, having facilitated the arrivals of Mauro Icardi, Victor Osimhen and Mario Gomez – has shed light on the behind-the-scenes developments surrounding the Sane transfer.
"This idea came about many, many months before the transfer window opened. I knew this player was needed to take the team to the next level. He was an essential player for building the squad for the upcoming season," Gardi told .
"When I started negotiations – many months in advance – I initially began with his then-agents. Then there was a change in management, and I continued with the new agents. Of course, it was difficult. He had offers from top clubs in England and Germany. He had a huge offer from Saudi Arabia. With the Club World Cup coming up, it was a big decision for his career."
Speaking about the negotiations, Gardi further explained: "I spoke a lot with the agents and also with him personally. I told him that Galatasaray could be a place where he would become one of the leaders. That he would fit perfectly into the system and could win in a place that would give him great emotions and great satisfaction – perhaps even with a chance to win something in Europe, something the club had never achieved before. I explained to the board and the president that we had to make this transfer very early. If we waited too long, the competition would be even greater and it would be almost impossible to get him. That's why I insisted on completing the deal before the Club World Cup. He travelled with Bayern Munich on the US tour and to the Club World Cup – and it was absolutely unusual for Galatasaray and generally for the Turkish market to sign such a player so early in the transfer window. Normally, these top players only arrive in the winter. Signing such a player so early sent a strong signal to the transfer market."
How Sane was convinced to join Galatasaray
Sane spent much of the 2024–25 season in a secondary role at Bayern Munich, logging just over 2,500 minutes in all competitions. Any club hoping to convince him would have needed to guarantee a larger role. At Galatasaray, he has already played nearly half as many minutes as he did last season. And that’s after only 15 matches.
"The deciding factor was the role he would have at the club," Gardi revealed. "The team needed a player with his qualities. The discussions with the coach – who made it very clear how important he would be to the team. And of course, the love of the fans, which he wouldn't have received elsewhere. To pull off transfers of such iconic players – players from such top clubs, with such fierce competition in the market – and to bring them in at the peak of their careers, and then at the beginning of the transfer window… that's a huge success for the club, for the president, the vice president, and the coach. We worked together brilliantly as a team to bring in such an important player. And hopefully, we will pull off similar transfers again in the future."
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Sane yet to unleash his best version for Galatasaray
Although he has scored three goals and delivered as many assists so far this season, the general consensus is that the 29-year-old is yet to display his best version for the Turkish heavyweights. In recent weeks, his prominence has increased and his convincing performances for Germany during the recently-concluded international break – where he scored twice – will only further boost his morale as the season progresses.
Gardi, as such, remains unflustered about Sane's impact. "There was a certain adjustment period – to the league, to the country. But now his performance is a key factor for the team, especially in the Champions League," he claimed. "And I believe we haven't yet seen his full potential. In the coming months, he will show his full potential – and raise his level even further, although it is already extremely high."
No one’s taken more wickets at a single venue against India in India than Ajaz Patel’s 25 at the Wankhede
Sampath Bandarupalli03-Nov-20241 – It’s the first instance of India being whitewashed at home in a Test series of three or more matches. India were blanked in a Test series at home only twice before – 2-0 by South Africa in 2000 and 1-0 by England in 1980.This is also the first instance of India losing three Tests in a series at home since 1983. India had suffered three defeats (in longer series) five times between 1958 and 1980.1 – This is the first time New Zealand have won three matches in a Test series.31-1 – India’s win-loss record while chasing targets of 200 or fewer runs in Tests at home. The defeat in Mumbai was the first for India. The previous lowest target was 221 against Pakistan in 1987 in Bengaluru (then Bangalore).2 – This is also the second-lowest target they failed to chase down in a loss – the lowest is 120 against West Indies in 1997 in Bridgetown, where they were bowled out for 81.It is also the second-lowest target that New Zealand have defended successfully in Tests. The lowest is 137 against England in Wellington in 1978, which they won by 72 runs.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 – Number of defeats (in ten home Tests) for India in 2024, the joint-highest for them – it also happened in 1969.Rohit Sharma now has five Test defeats at home as captain, the second-highest for India behind MAK Pataudi’s nine, which included the four losses in 1969.
Ajaz Patel tops Ian Botham; unwanted record for Rohit Sharma
25 – Wickets for Ajaz Patel in the two Tests he has played at the Wankhede Stadium, the most by any bowler at a venue against India in India. The previous highest was 22 for Ian Botham, also at the Wankhede.8 – Bowlers with two ten-wicket match hauls at an away venue, including Ajaz at the Wankhede. Shane Warne was the last of the previous seven; he had two ten-wicket match hauls in four Tests at The Oval.1 – Ajaz and Ravindra Jadeja combined for the first instance of four five-wicket hauls by left-arm bowlers (spinners or otherwise) in a Test match.Only once before did two left-arm bowlers have ten-wicket hauls in the same Test – Iqbal Qasim and Ray Bright in the 1980 Karachi Test between Pakistan and Australia.7.1 – The point at which India lost their fifth wicket, the earliest in a Test innings in India since 1998. The previous mark was at 8.2 overs, also against New Zealand in 1999 in Mohali.13.3 – Rohit Sharma’s batting average across ten Test innings in this home season, the second-lowest for a captain in a home Test season (minimum of eight innings in the top seven). The lowest is by Nasser Hussain, who averaged 10.22 across six home Tests in 2000.2 – India batters to complete their fifties at better than a run-a-ball in both innings of a Test match: Yashasvi Jaiswal against Bangladesh in Kanpur earlier this season, and Rishabh Pant in this Test.