“If you don’t ask you’ll never know” was the mantra of a few Spurs fans, who also happen to play for seventh-tier English club Harborough Town, when they met former player Sandro at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Southern League Premier Central club beat Tonbridge Angels in the FA Cup to set up a tie with League One club Reading in the second round.
To compete against players of that level, why not ask a retired 35-year-old footballer with 17 caps for Brazil, what is the worst that could happen? Little did they know their request had scratched the itch of a Brazilian who played four seasons with Tottenham and was more accustomed to playing Manchester United than Hastings United.
“[It is] one more chance for me to play, to feel the game again because I miss football, it will be so good to be in the changing room again,” Sandro said on Sky Sports.
Mohamed Salah’s penalty sinks Girona to make it six wins from six for Liverpool
Goalless draw at Dinamo Zagreb takes dominant Celtic closer to playoffs
European leagues set to oppose any attempt to stage a Saudi World Cup in winter
Why are there more one-sided games in the Champions League than before?
“This happened just because I want to help them. They said we can pay you, I said I will do it for fun because you asked me, you are Spurs fans, I like you guys, you were always so nice to me.”
Harborough’s big cup game is on December 1st.
Quote
“It was crazy, I must admit.” – Brentford manager Thomas Frank on their latest five-goal thriller, against Bournemouth. The most entertaining team in Europe have scored 22 and conceded 22 in just 11 games in the Premier League, with matches full of late goals and incidents galore.
Less money and more problems for De Zerbi at Marseille
Roberto de Zerbi has had an explosive start to his stint as Marseille manager since joining them from Brighton in the summer. His latest unusual motivating tactic has been to use a projector to show his players a copy of the contract he had been offered by Manchester United. Confidentiality or legal issues be damned, as, according to L’Équipe, De Zerbi told his players: “This is where I could have been, but I put my passion before money. I came to Marseille for the passion.”
Maybe too much passion can be a problem though. After a 3-1 defeat at home to newly promoted Auxerre, the Italian told the press that he has already offered his resignation. “I have told [Mehdi] Benatia and [Pablo] Longoria that if I’m the problem ... I’m ready to step down, I’m going crazy”. He added: “I’ll leave without the money, I don’t care about all the rest.” Struggling Premier League clubs will be on alert for a fiery, tactical genius.
Word of Mouth
“I promise I won’t take any players with me in January. In the summer window we’ll see, but let’s first see if I last until summer.” – New Manchester United manager Rúben Amorim departs Sporting Lisbon for Old Trafford well aware of the fate of many Red Devils managers since Alex Ferguson retired.
“In 17 days, he didn’t train once. Today was the first training and he trained for 20 minutes. Yes, he was in the gym for a few minutes for the last two days but it’s a question for the manager from the UK [England]. I’m not involved.” – Pep Guardiola not best pleased with Lee Carsley calling up Jack Grealish to the England squad after his injury.
“If you take an inch of what the manager gave me as a player, and put that into a performance, then no matter what happens, if you win the league or you don’t, you can look at yourself after the game and think ‘I’m a champion’” – José Mourinho’s inspirational words to Shelbourne before they won the League of Ireland Premier Division trophy with victory over Derry City.
In Numbers: 57
Number of appearances by Republic of Ireland players in Europe’s three European competitions this year, by 25 different players. Three have played in the Champions League, one in the Europa League and the rest in the Conference League.
More Word of Mouth
“We have to say thank you to Caoimhín. He made two important saves. Since I am here he works so hard. I am very happy for him.” – Big praise from Liverpool’s centre back Ibrahima Konaté after another outstanding performance by Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher against Aston Villa.
“The new generation are addicted to phones. I said I was tired of seeing phones in the locker room and said no more. The players asked ‘Are you joking?’ After training, the captain said ‘You can’t do this. This can’t happen!’ Imagine!” – Carlo Ancelotti not happy with the screen usage in Real Madrid’s dressingroom.
“Festy is a bit of a different kind of player. He’s really exciting and can do things that just blow your mind with that speed” – Heimir Hallgrímsson is mind-blown by the pacy Watford wing back in advance of the Nations League games.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
