Iconic Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is in intensive care after suffering bleeding around his brain.
The 52-year-old is in stable condition, his former club Ajax revealed.
“Everyone at Ajax wishes Edwin a speedy recovery. We’re thinking of you,” the club added.
Van der Sar joined the Ajax board in 2012 after a sensational career between the sticks. He was named chief executive in 2016 but resigned from the position in May.
As a player, he earned 130 caps for the Netherlands and represented his country at five major tournaments. He ranks second in appearances for the men’s team after Wesley Sneijder (134).
Van der Sar won two Champions League trophies, eight domestic league titles, and various other honors through his stints with Ajax, Juventus, Fulham, and Manchester United before retiring in 2011.
“Sending all our love and strength to you, Edwin,” Manchester United tweeted.
Manchester City will bolster their defense with the addition of Josko Gvardiol as the Premier League club nears a historic agreement to sign the Croatia international, RB Leipzig director Max Eberl revealed Sunday.
“Gvardiol and his agents gave us their desire to move to Manchester City. We are in talks with City (and) for €100 million plus bonuses, Gvardiol will end up in Pep (Guardiola’s) strong hands,” Eberl said, as translated by CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs.
Gvardiol’s proposed move to the Etihad Stadium is expected to cost Manchester City more than €100 million (£86 million) when bonuses are factored in, making him the most expensive defender of all time.
The fee is projected to surpass the £80 million Manchester United paid to sign Harry Maguire from Leicester City in 2019.
Negotiations between the two clubs intensified in recent days after Manchester City reportedly reached an agreement with the center-back over a long-term contract last week.
He was a Dinamo Zagreb academy graduate before joining RB Leipzig in 2020.
Gvardiol’s stock skyrocketed during his second season in Germany and on the international stage. He was a breakout star at the 2022 World Cup, playing a central role in Croatia’s unexpected run to the semifinals in Qatar.
He’ll be the latest star to depart Leipzig this summer, following in the footsteps of midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who joined Liverpool on Sunday in a move reportedly worth €70 million.
Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior WriterJul 1, 2023, 06:00 AM ET
Close
Jeff Legwold is a senior writer who covers the Denver Broncos and the NFL at ESPN. Jeff has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years, joining ESPN in 2013. He also assists with NFL draft coverage, including his annual top 100 prospects. Jeff has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999. He has attended every scouting combine since 1987.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Few words crank up folks in and around Denver like “joker.’’
Nikola Jokic, a two-time NBA MVP and reigning NBA Finals MVP, just led the Nuggets to the franchise’s first championship and has the nickname. Of all the words Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton said during the team’s offseason program, when he dropped “joker’’ and tight end Greg Dulcich in the same sentence it may have been one of the most important nuggets of the no-pads season.
“He’s got unique skill set, and he’s got traits in the passing game,’’ Payton said of Dulcich. “We use the term joker, where we can get matchups.’’
Long before the Nuggets made Jokic the 41st pick of the NBA draft during the Taco Bell commercial, Payton has favored a role in his offense for a player with multifaceted skills.
A player who could run a variety of pass routes, stress different parts of the field and run with purpose once he had the ball in his hands. To this point, however, the players who have succeeded the most in that role through the years have been running backs.
Payton has seen the likes of Darren Sproles, Reggie Bush and, most recently, Alvin Kamara, flourish as the joker in the offense. Kamara had four 80-catch seasons for Payton, three seasons with at least 13 total touchdowns and two with at least 18 total touchdowns.
Manchester City beat Inter Milan 1-0 on Saturday to win the Champions League and become just the second English club to complete a continental treble. Here, theScore runs through the biggest talking points from Istanbul.
City achieve immortality while looking mortal
The team that won at Ataturk Olympic Stadium didn’t look anything like the one that hammered Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals, or the one that captured a fifth Premier League title in six seasons off the back of 12 consecutive wins. On Saturday, the 11 players who best represented Manchester City’s treble chargers looked more like a cheap imitation.
A usually slick, well-oiled machine, City played on empty in the first half. Rodri, City’s typically imperious midfielder, misplaced pass after pass. “I was playing shit, to be honest,” the Spaniard told BT Sport afterward. Jack Grealish also admitted he was “awful.” Kevin De Bruyne seemed out of it, and then suddenly, he was. Record Premier League scorer Erling Haaland had 12 fewer touches than his own goalkeeper and eventually went goalless for a fifth straight match. Ederson looked lost at sea, too.
PAUL ELLIS / AFP / Getty
City were playing for the 61st time this season, and it showed. But they still managed to make history, combining their Premier League and FA Cup success with Champions League glory.
Ironically, City achieved European domination without playing the kind of measured, monopolistic football that made them such heavy favorites in the first place. The team on Saturday relied less on Pep Guardiola’s calculated passing sequences and more on luck to cross the finishing line. Inter gave City all sorts of problems and had numerous opportunities to punish them. But City have dealt with their share of twisted fate. De Bruyne limped off in the 2021 Champions League final, robbing City of their most influential player in their eventual 1-0 loss to Chelsea. Last year, Thibaut Courtois produced a number of stunning saves to single-handedly prevent City from advancing to the final.
They just seemed destined to win this time around. Inter outshot City 14-7, hit the crossbar, and controlled as close of a share of possession as they could’ve hoped. Many could argue the Nerazzurri played better overall and only conceded off a broken play that allowed Rodri to shoot freely from inside the penalty area.
But the Champions League is about these moments. It’s a fleeting competition, not a 38-game marathon that forgives slip-ups. It doesn’t always pay to be the better team in Europe. The Champions League is about maximizing chances, no matter how they appear. City did that. Barely.
Stones’ evolution is revolutionary
Just as City seemed to come apart at the seams, losing every bit of the swagger that underscored their magnificent late-season run, John Stones stepped forward and dared to do more.
His on-ball elegance and confidence seemed to embolden City in the second half. Stones ran into open channels and fought tirelessly to get into a clear enough position to receive the ball. His passes into the final third were as good as any of De Bruyne’s this season, and his dribbling was quite literally perfect.
6/6 – John Stones completed all six of his attempted dribbles against Internazionale (100%); the last player to complete more than that in a UEFA Champions League final was Lionel Messi in 2015 (10 v Juventus). Total. #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/BYXf2kHZEQ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 10, 2023
That a defender by trade could evolve into such a pivotal force of nature is a testament not only to the 29-year-old’s versatility, but also to Guardiola’s man-management skills. Here’s a player who reportedly considered leaving in 2020 because of a lack of playing time. Instead of simply casting him off, Guardiola worked on a way to get him back into the team.
Coaches knew Stones had the passing range and composure to become a midfielder earlier in his career. He also played in the right-back and left-back positions. Guardiola tapped into the potential his player already had, and Stones showed his quality on the ball.
Consider the play he made as City were recovering from one of Ederson’s many blunders Saturday. After Inter’s Lautaro Martinez stung the Brazilian shot-stopper’s arm with an effort from close range, Bernardo Silva collected the rebound and spotted Stones on the right. Once he relieved his teammate of possession in such a dangerous area of the field, Stones controlled the ball and turned Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, embarking on a run along the touchline while keeping the ball in play. Stones then slipped a clever pass into Phil Foden’s feet, setting off a counterattack that resulted in a free-kick just outside of Inter’s area.
Stones released pressure when it was building up. Who knows if City would’ve survived without his poise.
Inter must face reality after dreaming big
Inter really could’ve done it. The upset was theirs for the taking. Even against Guardiola’s serial champions, bankrolled by Abu Dhabi’s royal family, the Nerazzurri showed they can hang with the best Europe has to offer.
Inter just couldn’t finish them off. Nicolo Barella fired 20 yards wide of the goal after pouncing on Ederson’s brutal giveaway down the middle. Federico Dimarco headed off the crossbar and struck Romelu Lukaku with his follow-up attempt. Lukaku missed perhaps the greatest chance of all in the 88th minute, sending his header into Ederson’s feet from point-blank range.
Mike Egerton – PA Images / PA Images / Getty
Inter never promised a bucket of goals anyway. That’s never been their game under Inzaghi, a pragmatic coach who’s made a career out of winning games with hard-fought, defensively sound performances. They kept clean sheets in five of their six Champions League knockout matches and taught city rivals AC Milan a lesson in patient, counterattacking football en route to the final.
Though Inter’s strikers had recently come up clutch, their lack of consistency told once more. Edin Dzeko, who went more than three months without a goal earlier in the campaign, failed to attempt even a single shot Saturday. Martinez, the World Cup-winning striker, entered the pitch with an average of one goal for every 334 minutes played in the Champions League. Lukaku also missed considerable time due to injury and started the majority of Inter’s Champions League games on the bench.
What do Inter do now? More importantly, what can they do? Dzeko is 37 and out of contract, Martinez is transfer bait, and Lukaku’s loan deal is set to expire. All the while, Inter have a €275-million loan to repay with a reported 10% interest and a new sponsor to sign following the collapse of their €80-million deal with cryptocurrency firm DigitalBits. The club posted €140 million in losses last season and €245.6 million the year prior. While the money from this season’s Champions League run will certainly help Inter’s cause, it won’t eradicate all of their debt.
Now that Inter’s dream is dead, they must confront reality and find a way to get back to this stage again.
