“I haven’t missed a game since I was 13.”

Meet the new issue of the documentary series “Palych Was Here” – about the football traditions of Italy.

Yuri Semin and Sasha Aksenov met with big fans of Roma and Lazio – and also talked with a guy who has supported Lokomotiv since childhood.

“I haven’t missed a game since I was 13.” Love for Lazio or Roma comes from parents

• Francesco Cuomo has been a Lazio fan for 48 years. He owns a bar in Rome and has tattoos there. “Lazio is the first club in Rome, it was founded in 1900. Roma was formed in 1927 as a result of the merger of all the small teams. They banded together to oppose us.

I support Lazio because it’s a tradition. In Rome, it’s hard not to root for your parents’ team. I have three daughters, so I’m a fourth generation fan and the fifth is on the way. I’ve been sick since birth, but I’ve been following very closely – I don’t miss a single game – since I was 13 years old, ”Cuomo admitted.

According to Francesco, the fans of Roma and Lazio are very different – not only in the stands, but also in everyday life: “These are two completely different lifestyles. Novelists are more conspicuous, make noise, show themselves. The Lazio fans are more restrained, more closed, celebrating less violently.

It seems to Cuomo that football has begun to lose passion: “Today, many people watch football because they root for one player, not for a team. When we were kids, there was nothing for me but Lazio. Dot.

It’s the same in the stadium: when I was a teenager, it was more dangerous there, more passion. Today it is more for families: some performances, music, laser show, fireworks. It has become American.”

• Yuriy Palych and Sasha Aksyonov visited Testaccio, the district of Rome where Roma’s first stadium is located, where almost everyone supports this club.

Flavio Capparucci has been a Roma supporter for 57 years and now runs a 52 year old fan club (one of the oldest in Rome). “If I divorce my wife, I will move here,” Capparucci laughs.

Flavio just loves football and Roma: “It’s like a disease. We say that it’s better to change your wife, party, place of residence, even gender – but you can’t change the football team.

The Italian word “ultra” means that a person goes beyond ordinary pain. It’s not when I saw him and immediately beat him. This is when I saw him and was like, “Let’s go have a beer.”

• Semin and Aksyonov even found a guy in Italy who has been a fan of Loko since childhood – he knows Russian and enjoys Palych and other club legends. “It all started in 2010,” shares Stefano Conforti. – I am half Russian, I found several sites and looked at the results of the games there, the most elementary things.

I immediately liked Lokomotiv, because red and green are the colors that I really liked. After reading about such legends as Sychev, Loskov, about their achievements, I imagined myself in their place and it attracted me.

Italy – through Semin’s vivid memories: the delight of Baggio’s free kicks and a conversation with Cristiano

• In 1993, Semin first came to Italy as a coach – then Loko burned out to Juventus (0:3). “Roberto Baggio scored 2 free throws, as if he threw a hand. Before that, they had a warm-up and I watched. After it, [Baggio] set 10 balls – and 8 [times] hit one spot.

I told our people: “Please, put up a wall on impact. Take a step forward and stand on your toes. It still didn’t work out, although the trick is working if the judge doesn’t notice,” says Yuriy Palych.

• Let’s digress a bit from Italy and remember the 1994 World Cup – then Yuriy Palych drove Pavel Sadyrin’s assistant to the USA. At that tournament, Russia did not even leave the group with the Brazilians, Swedes and Cameroonians (3rd place) – according to Semin, the “Letter of Fourteen” strongly influenced.

Let us briefly recall: before the 1994 World Cup, a group of national team players demanded an increase in fees and the resignation of the head coach.

“There was the strongest team, the most talented players. If it were not for this turmoil … Many of them would not have gone. We received the first contracts, became rich, it seemed to them that everything was possible. This ruined them,” says Yuri Palych.

• And now – back to the Italians. In 2003, there was a historic defeat of Inter – Yuri Palych’s gang won 3-0. Already in the 2nd minute, Loskov shot the top corner of Toldo’s goal, and in the second half, Ashvetia and Khokhlov committed a pogrom. Thanks to this victory, Loko flew into the playoffs of the Champions League. “Look what players Inter had: Vieri, Recoba, Italian national team players,” recalls Semin.

• Fast forward to October 2019 and Semin tells how he met Cristiano Ronaldo.

“I went to the football field. Cristiano talked, I greeted him, and we exchanged a few words. Cristiano then said: “Coach, you play a lot in defense …”. And I answered: “You didn’t let us get out of defense.”

But we played with dignity, it was not for nothing that after this match Alexei [Miranchuk] was invited to play in Italy.” Then Juventus beat Loko 2:1, thanks to Paulo Dybala’s brace. As part of the Muscovites, just Miranchuk was noted.

By Lyubov Kurchavova.

The World Cup left one of the most interesting transfers of the winter in the shadows – Real bought 16-year-old Andrik from Palmeiras. The same guy who is called the future megastar. Endrik will move to Madrid in July 2024, he will be given 35 million euros, another 25 million are calculated on bonuses.

What is this unique thing for which they pay such money at 16?

***

On January 19, in the quarterfinals of Copiña, the Sao Paulo youth championship, Palmeiras and Oeste played. By the end of the warm-up, scouts from Barcelona, ​​Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Southampton, Ajax and Benfica had gathered in the stands.

They were interested in 15-year-old Endrik.

The forward was 4-5 years younger than his rivals, but he still tore apart – before the game with Oeste, he had already scored 4 goals. Even Neymar did not start so brightly at Kopinje.

But none of the European scouts expected this from Andrik. In the 13th minute of the game with Oeste, the ball hit the lawn in front of him, and the guy, without hesitation, shot with a bicicleta from outside the penalty area. Goal.

“Wow, it’s him again,” Gary Lineker tweeted. – He is 15 years old. Perhaps we are witnessing the birth of a special talent.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but Andrik did everything with his eyesight at this moment,” said the forward’s father, Douglas Souza, in an interview with ESPN. – He hit, looking at the gate. He already knew that the goalkeeper went out a little, and he understood that a goal could come out of this. Only top-class players can do this.”

Endrik did not stop and scored in the final of Copinha, where Palmeiras defeated Santos 4-0. After 6 goals in 7 matches, he was recognized as the most valuable player of the tournament.

The father posted videos of Andrik’s goals on YouTube in order to find a club for his son. Sao Paulo, Corinthians and Santos were in the race, but Palmeiras won

Douglas Souza tried to turn pro – at 15 he traveled from Brasília to São Paulo hoping to be screened, but no one signed him.

“My parents got divorced,” Andrik’s dad said in an interview with Marca. – I didn’t have a father when I needed a person who would support me in difficult moments and help with decision-making. Then I realized that in the world of football it is very important that you are surrounded by the right people and family.

Therefore, I wanted to always be close to my son, like my wife. I will always be there, because I missed it in my youth. It was very painful to grow up without a father, and I will not allow my son to experience this.”

Endrik took up football at 4, and at 6 he was already so distinguished from the rest that the coach allowed him to use only his right foot. Seeing the talent, the father took up his son’s career tightly: he posted videos of his goals on YouTube to interest the best Brazilian clubs. It worked: Sao Paulo and Corinthians were ready to pay Andrik a 150 reais (almost $30) scholarship, and Santos offered the guy a screening (but he had to travel at his own expense). There was still no ideal offer, and then Palmeiras intervened – the club was ready to rent a house for Andrik and his family near the base and find him a suitable school.

“It was the only thing I asked for,” Endrik’s father said in an interview with Lance. “We needed the opportunity to go with him.”

So the 10-year-old striker ended up in Palmeiras.

Endrik grew up in poverty – once he cried from hunger. His parents sold food at the train station after moving to Sao Paulo

In Brasilia, Andric’s family lived very poorly.

“I remember once I was sitting on the couch, and Andrik said:“ Dad, I want to eat, ”the striker’s father recalled in an interview with Lance. There was nothing in the fridge or in the cupboard. But he asked and asked and asked. I said there was nothing and started crying. Endrik also cried and replied: “Dad, I will become a football player and get us out of this.”

“It was difficult,” Andrik recalled in an interview with The Athletic. “The first word that comes to my mind is power. You had to be strong to survive and get through what I went through.”

For the first six months in São Paulo, Andrik’s parents could not find work, so they sold ready-made breakfasts at the Barra Funda metro station in order to earn at least something.

“After the move, it was very difficult,” recalled Cynthia, Andrik’s mother. – I remember that we even thought about returning home, but decided to stay for the sake of our son’s happiness. Sometimes I cried, but I did it in such a way that Andrik would not see.

“My wife moved first, and I stayed in Brasilia to play football and send her money,” Andrik’s father said. – In São Paulo, she bought instant noodles, bread… Just something to eat. I moved after six months. We had great difficulties: we got up at 4:30 in the morning, made coffee and muffins, put them in a cart, and then sold them at the subway. We had money for rice and some other things, but they were still not enough. If we had at least some money, then we went to the market and chose lower quality products in order to save money.

Upon learning of this, Palmeiras offered Andrik’s father to become a cleaner at the club base.

Sometimes Douglas Souza dined with the players of the first team and always took only soup. This surprised Gilson, the Palmeiras goalkeeper, so one day he approached Sousa to find out what was the matter. It turned out that Andrik’s father simply could not chew – he had only seven teeth. Shocked, Jailson paid for his dental treatment, and thanks to Felipe Melo, Andrik got a technical sponsor.

Palmeiras opened their doors to us and we should just thank this club,” Endrik said in an interview with Globo Esporte. They gave me everything. Their efforts were essential to our lives.”

Endrik is handed out a lot of advances, but his start is impressive. 165 goals in 169 youth matches!

When Endrik was 9, he played for the U11 team in the final of a local tournament. He was released 10 minutes before the end, Palmeiras was one goal behind. Endrik first equalized, and in stoppage time he went half the field on dribbling and scored the winner. “That’s when I thought, ‘Yes, he’s special,'” Andrik’s father admitted in an interview with The Athletic.

At 14, Endrik made his debut for Palmeiras U17, at 15 for the U20 team. In 2021, he became the first to play in the final stages of the Sao Paulo Youth Championships in three age categories in a season – U15, U17 and U20.

Andrik also scored 165 goals in 169 matches for Palmeiras youth teams.

“Endrik stood out right away,” said Joao Paulo Sampaio, Palmeiras academy coordinator. – Immediately after the transfer, he hit Santos with a bicicleta in the first game of the U11 State Championship playoffs. And in the second match, which was watched by 22,000 spectators, he scored the winner and brought us a trophy. He is ready for any challenge. Endrik is like a force of nature. Water always flows downwards, flames always burn upwards. So is he – he can’t be restrained.”

“He can reach an incredible technical level and become a major discovery since Neymar,” wrote ex-Brazil striker Walter Casagrande in a column for Globo Esporte. But for that, you need to take care of him. He needs to be protected from what will surround him.

Endrik played for the first time on October 7, 2022, coming out on 21 minutes in the Palmeiras 4-0 game against Curitiba. At 16 years, 2 months and 16 days old, he became the youngest debutant in the history of the club.

The first goals came quickly – on October 26, Endrik came on as a substitute at half-time between Palmeiras and Atlético Paranaense (3:1) and scored a double. Only one player scored in the Brazilian championship at a younger age – Toninho in 1978 (Endrik was 16 years, 3 months and 5 days, and Toninho – 15 years, 9 months and 16 days). For the next game of the championship, Andrik started and scored again, and Palmeiras defeated Fortaleza (4: 0).

“It is a pity that we will not be able to enjoy the game of Andrik in Brazil for a long time,” lamented the ex-player of Corinthians and the national team, Jose Ferreira Neto, on Rede Bandeirantes. “He will surpass Romario and Ronaldo.”

It seems that his father will not let Andrik lose his head. “It is useless to think that you are the best if you do not train, do not make efforts and do not concentrate,” Souza said about his son.

Andrik is a fan of Ronaldo, although everyone around loves Messi and Neymar

Endrik’s idol is Cristiano Ronaldo. He explained the choice by the composure of the Portuguese. “He is very calm in front of the goal,” Endrik said. I need to learn this from him. Before matches, I think about Ronaldo and Ronaldo. I try to follow them. When a match gets really hard, I’ll forgive the guys for passing to me because I have that spirit. I want to score goals. I always want more.”

“When Endrik was 15, everyone was crazy about Neymar and Messi, and he said that his idol was Cristiano because he was a robot,” Andrik’s father told Marca. – He is a professional who loves challenges. Cristiano is an example for Andrik. My son told me that he wanted to make history, just like him. Endrik is so focused on the pitch, he doesn’t let the ball go, he gives 110%… It’s a machine. When he scores one goal, he wants another. The harder the challenge, the more he likes it.”

“I know that Cristiano Ronaldo is his favorite player, but he never told me about it directly,” said Sampaio. – He looks like Romario, and also a little like Ronaldo. He is left-footed, with excellent technique and power, and he is also lucky with his genes. From the point of view of physics, this is a miracle – in his years he can accelerate to 36.5 km / h. Few people are capable of it. He is very explosive. In addition, he constantly watches cuts of the game of top football players in order to be better.

***

“I’m a hardworking player,” Andrik told The Athletic. – I’m focused on goals – I always want to score more. This is a key moment for me – I always want the unattainable. There is no moment when I don’t want anything.

I will always fight. I am persistent and I will try to do something until the last minute of the match. I never give up, I press defenders and I run more than anyone else on the field.

Before every match I have butterflies in my stomach. But after entering the field, I forget about everything and abstract. I get nervous before the games, but after the final whistle I pass out.

They wrote about the interest of European tops in Andrik for a long time. Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Liverpool, Chelsea and others were named among the contenders.

“I won’t lie: before going to bed I dream about it,” Endrik said most recently. “But then it passes, and I return my thoughts to the present. I try not to think about the future. If you focus on the present, the future will come faster.”

The fight was won by Real Madrid. The striker will move to Madrid for a lot of money (35+25 million euros and another 12 million euros in taxes) – players under 17 have not been paid that much yet.

The dream will come true in a year and a half.

And what will the new one be?

Will he return to his level?

Do you still remember Dele Alli? So, things are not going well for the once one of the most talented English footballers.

His “Besiktas” by the 15th minute of the cup match against “Sanliurfaspor” (a club from the third league) was on fire with a score of 0:2. In the 29th minute, the head coach of Besiktas Senol Gunesh could not stand it and made a double substitution – Dele was one of the two players who left the field.

The Englishman left the field under the terrible roar of the stands – the fans of the Istanbul club did not appreciate his performance.

Without Alli in Besiktas, he turned the game around. In the second half, Cenk Tosun shot with a double, Georges-Kevin Nkudu and Wout Weghorst scored another goal – as a result, they ended with a score of 4:2. Gedson Fernandes, who replaced Dele, scored an assist.

Alli himself did not pay attention to the negativity from the Besiktas fans. The next day, he posted photos from the workout on Instagram, which he captioned: “You saved my life. That’s why I will always love you.” Dele turned, apparently, to football. Or to the ball.

After Tottenham, Dele left for Everton, but quickly deflated. Turkey is bad too.

Alli, who brightly broke into the basis of Tottenham in the fall of 2015, is degrading every year. The 2019/20 season was the last decent segment of his career, when the midfielder scored 9 goals and gave 6 assists in 38 matches for the London club.

Then the Englishman finally lost his place at the start of Tottenham. In this situation, Dele decided that he needed a reboot and moved to Everton. The initiator of the transfer was the head coach of the Merseysiders Frank Lampard.

And there Alli did not live up to expectations. Until the end of the 2021/22 season, the Englishman never appeared in the starting lineup and did not make a single effective action. Lampard was so disappointed in the player that he got rid of him in the very first transfer window – after three rounds of the 2022/23 Premier League, Dele went on loan to Besiktas with an option to buy for 8 million euros.

In Turkey, the midfielder also failed. In 11 matches of the season, he scored only two goals – given the ability of Dele, not a very convincing result.

If Dele fails in Turkey, then his chances of reaching the old level are close to zero. But there is still time to correct errors, it seems.

Beware, there are too many legends

Fabricio Colocchini

The former captain of Newcastle in 2016 left to finish playing at home at San Lorenzo, where he ran for 5 years and was going to end his career at 38. But the love of football outweighed and Kolochchini played a season in Aldosivi. 24 matches and the Olympic champion in the Argentina national team announced his retirement from football in early January. At the moment, he is already working as a coach for the Venezuelan youth team.

Maxi Rodriguez

The midfielder with an amazing shot ended his career beautifully – in his last match for his native Newell’s Old Boys, he scored the winning goal, and a couple of days later announced his retirement, shortly before his 41st birthday. Rodriguez was remembered for his performances for Atletico and Liverpool, and also traveled with the Argentina national team to 3 world championships and became the silver medalist of the World Cup in Brazil.

Davy Propper

The former Dutch midfielder announced his retirement at just 30 years old. Propper was often injured at the end of the period at Brighton and the return to PSV did not bring him joy – Davy received minor injuries every month.

“It was unbearable to constantly keep myself in good shape in order to meet the requirements of a too tight football schedule. It’s incredibly difficult right now because of the bloated schedule.”

Propper played 16 matches for PSV in half a season, but by January he realized that he had had enough and hung up his boots.

Ryan Shawcross

The Manchester United graduate spent almost his entire adult career at Stoke City, where he became a legend and captain. In February 2021, Shawcross moved overseas to David Beckham’s Miami, where he played only 12 matches and announced his retirement in February. Since then, he has been an assistant coach of the Miami Farm Club. The defender has one match for the England national team – he entered the field 16 minutes before the end of the famous match against Sweden, when Ibrahimovic designed poker.

Laurent Koscielny

In mid-January, news broke out – Laurent Koscielny was stripped of the captain’s armband and expelled from Bordeaux. The defender and several other players were found to be the main culprits in the unenviable position of the Girondins. Two weeks later, Koscielny announced his retirement from football, but Bordeaux were relegated anyway and spend this season in the second division.

Scott Brown

The Celtic legend (14 years and 611 caps) moved to Aberdeen in the summer of 2021 as a player-manager. The 10-time Scottish champion was constantly on the field and managed to play 33 matches for the new team, but in March the head coach of the Dons was fired and Brown left the team after him. Since the beginning of this season, he has been the head coach of the English Fleetwood, with whom he is in 16th place in the third English division.

Andres D’Alessandro

The Olympic champion in the Argentina national team ended his career only this year. D’Alessandro made his debut for River Plate back in 1998, and in Europe he was marked by games for Wolfsburg, Portsmouth and Zaragoza. But the main club of his life was the Brazilian Internacional, to which the Argentine devoted 12 years. A year ago, D’Alessandro went to Nacional to become the champion of Uruguay, but he wanted to finish in the Internacional that became his native. On April 17, two days after his 41st birthday, Andrés started the match against Fortaleza and scored the goal that helped Internacional win. Immediately after the end of the match, the Argentine playmaker announced his retirement.

Carlos Tevez

Tevez played his last game for Boca back in May 2021, and the 38-year-old football player announced his retirement only a year later. The forward said he lost motivation after the death of his adoptive father. The footballer, famous for his violent temper, managed to become the champion of England with Manchester United and Manchester City, as well as win the Italian championship with Juventus. During his career, Tevez was the highest paid player in the world during his performances in China.

Jermain Defoe

Defoe still waited for his first league title in his career and won the Scottish Championship at 38 years old. In January 2022, the striker returned to England, where he joined Sunderland. In the third English League, Defoe appeared on the field 7 times, but he never managed to excel. The ex-forward of the England national team did not want to torture himself further and hung up his boots in March.

Musa Dembele

The bronze medalist of the 2018 World Cup, six months after his success in Russia, left Tottenham and moved to work in the Chinese Guangzhou Fuli. A classy dribbler, the Dutch champion with AZ retired in February at the age of 34.

Adebayo Akinfenwa

The FIFA legend, as the strongest man in the history of the game, finally played enough and ended his career at 40 years old. The striker traveled around the English dungeon to his heart’s content, and at the dawn of his career he even visited Lithuania. Now Akinfenwa plans to make his debut in professional wrestling.

Fabian Delph

The versatile midfielder, capable of playing at fullback, was tired of fighting injuries and ended his career at 32. Delph, who won the Premier League title twice with Manchester City, only made 11 appearances in his final season with Everton. The Leeds graduate also played for the England national team, with which he took part in the 2018 World Cup.

Daryl Yanmath

The bronze medalist of the 2014 World Cup as part of the Netherlands national team ended his career in his native Den Haag, where he managed to play only 16 matches in two years. The 33-year-old football player became the technical director of his native club, but left this position in November. Yanmat is remembered for his successful performances in the English Newcastle and Watford.

Bruno Alves

The champion of Russia in the “Zenith” and the champion of Europe in the composition of Portugal finally played enough. After adventures with the Rangers and Parma, Alves went to finish playing in the Greek Apollo from Smyrnis, where he hung up his boots at the age of 40. Since the summer he has been the technical director of the Greek AEK, where he played 18 years ago.

Marcel Schmelzer

The last time the left-back of Borussia took to the field was back in 2020. Since then, knee problems have prevented him from playing. Schmelzer endured until the end of last season, but had to admit that his days in football were numbered. The defender spent his entire career at Borussia Dortmund and won the Bundesliga with it. And with the German national team he became the bronze medalist of Euro 2012

Aleksandar Kolarov

The grey-haired defender who dared to play for Lazio and Roma hung up his boots right after the end of last season. Kolarov played only 15 matches for Inter, but is the champion of Italy. Also, the best Serbian player of 2011 won the Premier League with Manchester City. Kolarov has already said that he is going to stay in football and will study to be a sports director and a scout.

Mark Noble

The West Ham legend only had two brief absences early in his career – a month at Hull City and three months at Ipswich for experience. Noble made his debut for the Hammers in 2004 and won the Championship with the team and achieved promotion in the same season. This achievement is the only one in the career of the longtime West Ham captain, but he does not care – the fans adore him.

John Flanagan

The Liverpool graduate burst into the ranks of the Merseysiders in a bright flash in 2011. For a while, right-hander John was even the main left-back due to his versatility. However, in 2014 he suffered a knee injury that put an end to the youngster’s career at Liverpool. Flanagan was treated a lot, went to the Rangers to Steven Gerrard, but he failed to prove himself there either. A move to Danish side Køge brought new injuries and the defender, who had one cap for England, decided to hang up his boots at the age of 29.

Rodrigo Palacio

Pigtail hung up his boots at the age of 40 when he failed to help his Brescia reach Serie A, where Palacio spent the best years of his career and scored under a hundred goals. The silver medalist of the 2014 World Championship did not grieve for a long time after the end of his career and two days later he was playing basketball for a club from the Italian Serie D. And he even scored 14 points!

Goran Pandev

The author of the second oldest goal at the European Championships reached the age of 39 and decided to retire. The Macedonian was convinced of this by six months at Parma, where he scored one goal in 11 matches in Serie B. Pandev was part of the legendary Inter Mourinho, with whom he took the treble in 2010.

Jack Wilshere

Another talent whose career was ruined by injuries. Wilshere was supposed to rock on the fields of Qatar, but he has not been a top football player for a long time. The midfielder complained that he could not explain to his daughter why he had been without a club for a long time. After leaving Bournemouth, the Danish Aarhus decided to shelter the Englishman. 14 games in half a season and Wilshere decided to end football and hang up his boots at the age of just 30. Now he coaches the Arsenal U-18 team.

Nacho Montreal

Nacho Monreal suffered a knee injury back in August 2021 due to which he completely missed the 21/22 season. The player tried to return to the field, but in August of this year he decided not to take risks and ended his career at 36 years old. Montreal has won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal and has made 22 appearances for Spain. The defender’s last club was Real Sociedad.

Holger Badstuber

A talented defender of the German national team and Bayern, whose career was ruined by a cross injury in 2012. The German was out of the game for almost 2 years and all the remaining time, after the injury, struggled with its consequences. Badstuber won 6 titles of the German Bundesliga and the Champions League with Bayern, became the bronze medalist of the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. After Bayern, there were Stuttgart and Lucerne. After a season with the Swiss team, Badstuber finished at 33.

Davide Santon

Another treble winner with Inter retired. Davide was a talented but traumatic defender. Santon spent most of his career in Serie A, but at the beginning of the 2000s he also appeared in the Premier League as part of Newcastle. In recent years, he was listed at Roma, but did not enter the field in the 21/22 season. After the end of the contract with the Wolves, he thought until September and decided to end his career.

Arda Turan

The midfielder had a great period at Atletico, where he won the Spanish championship and reached the Champions League final, but turned sour on the bench of Barcelona. After a 2.5-year lease at Basaksehir, Turan did everything except play football: ran into referees, attacked journalists and singers, molested other people’s wives and asked to be shot. And he collected suspensions with suspended sentences. In 2020, Arda returned to Galatasaray, where he was already calmer. In September, the midfielder, who has exactly 100 caps for the Turkish national team, retired from football in September.

John Obi Mikel

Opornik spent 11 years at Chelsea and won everything with the Blues. After leaving the “aristocrats” camp, Mikel played out, mixing the retirement countries (China, Turkey, Kuwait) with the English Championship. Having played the season in Kuwait, the midfielder was without a club for a year and at the end of September announced that he was retiring.

Ramirez

Michel’s Chelsea partner was approached by Barcelona, ​​but the midfielder chose the money and left for China at the age of 29. Ramirez won the Champions League and the Premier League, played 51 matches for Brazil, but due to an early departure to the East, does not seem to be fully realized. The midfielder announced his retirement only this fall, although he left Palmeiras back in 2020. Thus, Ramirez played his last match of his career at 33 years old.

Kwadwo Asamoah

Kwadwo Asamoah also spent more than a year without a club. Ganetz was an important part of the all-conquering Juventus, with whom he won 6 Italian championships. The transition from Juve to Inter did not bring joy to the sidekick, as well as six months in Cagliari. After a year without football, 33-year-old Asamoah decided to put an end to it.

Franck Ribery

“The ball stops, but the feelings inside me don’t. Thank you all for this wonderful adventure. Despite all the attempts made over the past three months, the pain in my knee only intensified, and the doctors made it clear that I would not be able to continue playing, ”the nine-time German champion with Bayern announced his retirement with these words. Ribéry had a truly great time at Bayern, taking 24 trophies in 12 years. Was close to winning the Ballon d’Or and feels he was unfairly ripped off. After Bayern, Ribery played in Italy for Fiorentina and Salernitana. Frank tried to return to the field, but played only one match this season due to a knee injury. In October, the Frenchman terminated his contract with Skates and ended his career at the age of 39.

Aaron Lennon

The jet winger started at Leeds, but devoted most of his career to Tottenham – as much as 10 years. At the end of his career, Lennon developed mental health problems and even had to be treated for depression. After leaving Burnley, Lennon spent several months without the club and decided to hang up his boots in November. The midfielder traveled with England to the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

Andrea Ranocchia

An experienced defender could be useful to Monza, but managed to play only one match for her and broke his leg. Ranocchia, 34, decided not to wait for a tedious return to the field and decided to end his career, most of which he spent at Inter, where he waited for the title in 2021.

Gerard Piqué

One of the best defenders of the generation promised that he would stop playing when he could not keep up the level of Barcelona. No sooner said than done. Xavi stopped putting Pique in the squad, and his performances in rare appearances on the field did not convince. Piqué said goodbye to the Barca fans on November 5, but three days later he was still on the bench and even managed to get a red card without going on the field. The world and European champion has become a legendary football player in the camp of Barcelona and we have no doubt that he will return as its future president.

Gary Cahill

The defender immediately won the Champions League with Chelsea and became an iconic player for the Blues for seven years. With the England team, Cahill went to the European Championship and two World Cups, and in Russia he finished fourth. After leaving Chelsea, he played two seasons at Crystal Palace and helped Bournemouth get promoted to the Premier League from the Championship. The Cherries did not offer Cahill a new contract, and he, after thinking until November, retired at almost 37 years old.

Gonzalo Higuain

The good but unlucky striker got fed up with football and ended his career as his Miami side was eliminated from the MLS playoffs. Higuain scored a lot for Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus, but the ongoing stress did not allow him to prove himself in Milan and Chelsea. “In America, I finally felt like an ordinary person again.” It seems that the striker really enjoyed himself in the last two years and now he can take a break from the boring game.

Blaise Matuidi

Teammate Higuain did not enter the field for more than a year – the reason for this was poor form. Matuidi did not fit into the game concept of Phil Neville and just sat out the whole year until the end of the contract, being out of the application for the season. I can’t even believe that the once-strong midfielder of PSG and Juventus will end his career in this way. Yesterday, the world champion waited for the end of the employment contract and, with a clear conscience, announced his retirement.

History and modernity.

Tennis is a very versatile sport. And one of the foundations of its diversity is the different surfaces that are played throughout the year.

For 2022, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has officially licensed almost 300 different surfaces from different manufacturers. But these are all shades. The most important classification of surfaces is the division into grass, clay and hard.

We will talk about how they differ from each other.

The key to this conversation will be the concept of court speed. In tennis, it is understood as a combination of two factors: what percentage of the speed the ball retains after contact with the surface and at what angle it bounces off it. In order to assess the speed of the surface, the ITF performs the following procedure: the ball is launched into the court with little or no spin at a certain speed and at a certain angle, and then the rebound is evaluated.

Tennis was born on the grass, but now it is almost not played on it. She’s expensive, naughty and very fast

Grass is the oldest tennis surface, it was on it that the game called lawn tennis (tennis on the lawns) was born. And until the 1970s, grass was the main surface on which most of the professional tournaments took place. And it was replaced by the fact that other courts turned out to be easier to prepare and operate.

Now the ATP and WTA play on grass for only five weeks at the beginning of the summer. There were eight grass tournaments on the men’s tour in 2022, and seven on the women’s tour. The main one, of course, is Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world. And this is the only big grass tournament on the calendar.

Grass is considered the fastest of the modern ones. That is, the ball bounces from it faster and lower than from other courts: flying at a speed of 100 km / h after contact with grass, it retains 73 km / h of speed and, when hit at an angle of 30 degrees, bounces at an angle of 36 degrees. As a result, the ball arrives at the back line at an average height of 134 cm.

This means that tennis on grass is also fast and most of the draws take place in one or two strokes, players perform a lot of innings right through. And on the grass, hits without rotation or undercuts with reverse rotation are most effective, after which the ball seems to slip along it without any rebound at all.

And until now, the grass remains a surface that is most suitable for exits to the net – including directly from the feed. In the past, serving and walling was not a tactical choice, but a necessity – especially in the 1990s. Back then, the grass was especially soft and rough, so the ball bounced crookedly or didn’t bounce at all. For example, Patrick McEnroe said that before serving he did not hit the ball on the court because it simply did not return to his hand.

Now agronomists have selected a combination of grass varieties so that the courts are as hard and even as possible. But this has led to the fact that the coating has become a little slower – the ball bounces off it a little higher than in the 90s. But the rebound is still low, so you still need to attack on the grass – otherwise you simply won’t survive on it. In addition, running around on the back line is also hampered by the fact that it is slippery, especially in the early days of tournaments.

In general, even after the agronomic revolution of the mid-2000s, the grass court remains a living organism, and it is very difficult and expensive to prepare a good site. And since it is alive, its properties are greatly influenced by external factors. For example, if it was wet during growth, the grass will become succulent and slippery. If it’s hot outside, it will wear out faster and get faster. Therefore, at Wimbledon, for example, a whole department is responsible for preparing the courts, which includes several dozen scientists. Every day they inspect and examine the courts to make them of the highest quality and comfortable for tennis.

You can read more about their work and the work it takes to maintain grass courts here .

Clay is the slowest surface, and it is believed that tennis is the fairest on it. Because it’s all about tactics

After grass, tennis began to be played on clay.

The emergence of a new surface was the result of the expansion of the geography of tennis. In 1878, the multiple champions of Wimbledon, the brothers William and Ernest Renshaw, built a grass court in Cannes, where they were very fond of relaxing. However, they soon realized that it was too sunny in the hot south, so the grass quickly deteriorated.

It took several years to come up with a solution, but they ended up dusting the courts with powder from crushed terracotta pots. The solution turned out to be very popular, and within five years more than 100 clay courts appeared in Cannes alone.

They were ideal for the heat, but the problem arose after the rains – the terracotta powder easily absorbed moisture and dried for a very long time. However, by that time, not only private individuals, but also commercial firms were interested in clay courts, and in 1909 an English company developed a quick-drying mixture of crushed bricks and sand for tennis.

The new development spread to Italy and Spain, and then conquered the whole world. By the 1970s, clay had become the main tennis surface, and even the US Open was played on it for several years.

Now clay has lost its role. For example, in 2022, out of 68 ATP tournaments, only 31% were held on clay (21 tournaments). In the WTA, the share is even smaller: 15 clay tournaments out of 55 competitions on the calendar – 27%. Of the 13 major tournaments of the year, men play only four on clay, and women play only three.

The clay season is the end of spring and the beginning of summer, culminating in Roland Garros, which ends in the first week of June. And there are still small stretches of soil in Latin America in February and in Europe in the middle of summer.

Soil is the slowest coating. It absorbs the most ball speed – a hit delivered at 100 km/h saves only 57 km/h. In addition, the bounce angle is also the largest – if the ball flies at an angle of 30 degrees, it will bounce at 44 degrees. As a result, he will fly to the back line at a height of 170 cm.

Since the surface is slow, the serve plays a lesser role on it – more precisely, a strong serve is not as effective as a shot that will immediately score points. They need to be won in draws, and this requires special mobility (and the ability to slide on clay), patience and a good tactical arsenal.

Because of this, Andrey Rublev, for example, considers clay to be the fairest tennis surface: “But I consider clay tennis to be real tennis, because it requires endurance and physical training, tactical thinking. If you do everything right on clay, you usually win.

On grass, you can play right and still lose, because the opponent serves incredibly and in a couple of key moments he has insane tricks. On the clay it also sometimes happens, but in general the results on the clay seem to me the most fair.

And, of course, the ground is the realm of top rotation. A hit with a powerful top spin flies in a special arc and falls sharper due to rotation, so the contact angle is blunter. In addition, due to the interaction of the spinning ball with the coating particles, the rebound is more explosive. As a result, the ball flies very high and jumps out of the zone from which it is comfortable for the player to strike, flies above the shoulder.

There are three solutions to this problem:

1. Greet the ball early before it has time to take off – but this is a risk that leads to more errors.

2. On the contrary, pull deeper and wait for the ball to go down – but this is how the player gives up the initiative.

3. Trying to cope with a high ball – but it is purely physically and technically very difficult.

Rafael Nadal, who took Roland Garros 14 times, and Iga Sventek, who won two of the last three tournaments in Paris, turn the ball the hardest in rounds. This, of course, is not a coincidence.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the soil is the same living covering as grass, which is very sensitive to external conditions. For example, on dry days it becomes a little faster, and when the humidity rises, on the contrary, it becomes viscous. In 2022, at Roland Garros, Nadal and Alexander Zverev played the semi-final on a rainy day and in a closed stadium, where there was very high humidity. As a result, they spent incomplete two sets in three hours – after all, both move so well that they practically could not break through each other.

In addition, the calendar has a tournament in Madrid, which takes place on a hill. Due to the thinner air, the conditions there are a little more like a hard court – and it is probably no coincidence that this is the clay top tournament that Nadal has won the least.

 

It is also very important what the court is laid on – for example, at Roland Garros it consists of five layers, and the ground itself lies only on the very top. And under it are four more layers of different stones. Their combination creates the unique Parisian rebound that Nadal loves so much.

Naturally, the role is also played by how much soil is poured onto the court – the more, the slower it will be.

And we must not forget that the composition of this soil can be different. The most striking example: in the USA they play on green clay, the cut is based on the local amphibolite rock. Due to its physical properties, the courts turn out faster than regular reds.

Nowadays, synthetic hard drives rule in tours – it is cheap, diverse and very stressful on the joints.

Now the main tennis surface at the top level has become artificial hard, which hosts approximately 60% of all ATP and WTA tournaments, including the vast majority of major competitions. In addition, hard is the only surface on which two Grand Slams are held: the Australian Open and the US Open.

Hard consists of only two components: a hard backing and a synthetic top layer. As a substrate, asphalt or concrete is usually used, and in indoor courts are sometimes laid on a tree – parquet or a wooden frame.

The top layer is usually a mixture of acrylic and sand.

Laying the top layer on the courts of the Australian Open. Specialists, in fact, apply several thick layers of paint

The speed of the court depends on the state of these two components. The softer the pad under the court, the more ball speed it absorbs, so the surface is slower. You don’t have to look far for an illustration: both the Australian Open and the US Open are played on hard courts, but in Australia the mat is traditionally softer, so the courts there are on average not as fast as in New York.

But there are also extreme examples of softness. At some tournaments in the halls, the courts are laid on wooden beams, and voids appear under some areas – in these places the ball practically does not bounce at all.

And in the upper layer, much depends on the amount of sand in the mixture. The more it is, the more granular the coating turns out, the more friction between it and the ball, the more speed the blows lose. As the surface wears, it gets faster because there are fewer sand grains in it and there is nothing for the ball to cling to.

Before the start of big tournaments, fresh courts are always laid, and the organizers usually have a program on how to bring them up to the right speed. For example, at the US Open, they are specially worn out by washing with a high-pressure stream of water – so that they are faster.

In addition, hard, of course, is synthetic, but it also reacts to external conditions. For example, part players say they have to adapt if they play a few matches during the day and then have to play in the evening – because the heat makes the courts expand and they get faster. And if it’s cooler in the evening, they slow down.

Sometimes this is noticeable even during matches that start in the afternoon and end in the evening – for example, in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open-2021, Stefanos Tsitsipas went 0-2 in sets against Rafael Nadal, and his comeback began just after the sun went down, and Nadal’s punches became less of a problem for him.

In general, hard is very diverse – it can be phenomenally fast or extremely slow. But in general, in terms of speed, it is between ground and grass: if in a standard test the ball is launched at a speed of 100 km/h at an angle of 30 degrees, then it will bounce at a speed of 67 km/h and at an angle of 41 degrees, and it will fly to the back line at height 162 cm.

Therefore, playing on hard is something between clay and grass. In principle, the surface is suitable for all playing styles: both for fighting on the back line and for reaching the net. It is the most versatile, and since it has now become basic, the basic game of most tennis players is hard.

At the same time, this surface is not the best for the health of the players, because it is hard – unlike natural and soft ground and grass. For example, Rafael Nadal talked about the dominance of hard on the tour:

“It will be difficult to change the situation, because tournaments on this surface are probably easier to run and probably cheaper for the organizers. But at the same time, this is the most aggressive coating for the body. It hits very hard on the hips, on the knees, on the ankles, on the back.”

The thing is that tennis is constant jerking and constant braking. The researchers calculated that players go through around 500 acceleration-deceleration cycles per match. And since the surface is hard, sudden stops on it are accompanied by additional stress on the joints and muscles. Especially considering the fact that many tennis players now glide not only on soft and suitable ground, but also on hard and tenacious hard.

Previously, they also played on the carpet, but tennis on it has become boring, and even dangerous.

Until the early 2000s, there was another common covering on tours: carpet. For example, it hosted the Masters in Paris and the Kremlin Cup. And sometimes the final ATP tournament.

 

Boris Becker and Pete Sampras play on the mat of the 1996 Finals

The ITF described the coating as follows: “It is a textile coating of woven or non-woven nylon, or polymer, or rubber material.” In general, carpets were considered something like artificial grass because they were very fast.

In principle, their speed killed them. As the players became more powerful and the new racquet technology made the serves ever stronger, the matches became rather boring – everything was decided in one or two strokes, there were practically no draws, and such tennis did not particularly attract television audiences and spectators to the stands.

And since the carpet did not have the sacred status that grass has, it was easier to abandon it in favor of hard.

In addition, players complained that they get more injuries on the carpet – for example, scientists have found that knee ligaments are much easier to injure on this surface than on any other tennis courts. And there were also reports that the synthetic coating made from recycled materials was also dangerous in terms of chemical effects on the body.

As a result, top competitions on the carpet have not been held in the men’s round since 2009, and in the women’s round he lived a little longer – in 2018, Pauline Parmentier in Quebec became the last person to win the title of the main round level on this surface.

In general, tennis can be played on anything – on parquet, asphalt, tile or bare ground. But the most suitable surfaces were grass, clay and hard.

There are complaints that now all coatings are the same. This is true?

In recent years, in both rounds, there has been a process of slowing down surfaces – extremely fast courts disappear, and everyone comes to about the same speed. Many fans believe that this is killing tennis because the game becomes a repetitive pounding on the back line, without variability and interesting decisions.

There is some truth in this, the courts are indeed becoming more or less unified. However, there is still a certain spread of speeds – for example, grass can never be made as slow as the ground.

And the rebound features are still preserved. Yes, the grass has become slower as its quality has grown, but you still can’t win on clay tennis on it. Yes, incredibly fast hard is no more, but even on slow or moderately fast topspin will not be as effective as on clay.

And there is also an opinion that the courts have slowed down for specific players – primarily Nadal and Djokovic. But in fact, this is most likely not the case. It’s more likely that it’s due to the demands of TV people who don’t want to show one or two punch plays and who need long (and sometimes dramatic) exchanges.

But the most important thing is that even taking into account the standardization of the courts, the features of the surfaces are still preserved. And this is confirmed by concrete examples. For example, Nadal still has a hard time in the halls (too fast), Medvedev still has a hard time on clay (problems with rotation), and Schwentek still has a hard time on grass (her spin does not work there).

On Tuesday, Karim Benzema announced his retirement from the French national team, although hardly anyone could have predicted this a month ago. Benzema won the Ballon d’Or and traveled to Qatar with Didier Deschamps, but was injured before the start of the World Cup and dropped out of the squad.

Karim received an invitation from Emanuel Mikron to the final, but refused, gathering a lot of hatred with this decision. Insiders about the bad relationship between Benzema and Deschamps immediately began to leak into the network, and on Thursday, CNN and New York Times journalist Roman Molina confirmed this in his account.

Here are the key points:

• “Deschamps promised to call Benzema to Euro 2016 and later broke his word”

• “Benzema and Mbappe were friends in the French national team and used their influence to play some players and keep others on the bench depending on their style of football.”

• “The Benzema case is not a sporting or behavioral problem, but rather the selfishness and hypocrisy of some people. Deschamps didn’t want to return it, he was forced.”

• “The aggressive campaign against Benzema has been going on for a long time and this is done on purpose, this is done by the French Football Federation. It’s so absurd that they even asked other players not to like Benzema’s social media posts.”

• “The federation was angry at Tchuameni because he publicly supported Benzema”