It was almost surreal. Signal Iduna Park, that fullest and famously atmospheric of European grounds, was reduced to a murmur on match night. You could repeatedly hear the sound of boot on ball as a crowd of 75,000 sat in near silence, a vigil only broken for a modest cheer as Jacob Bruun Larsen scored to give hosts Borussia Dortmund an early lead against Nürnberg. Dortmund wasn’t alone in the domestic season’s first Englische Woche, with supporters across all the midweek Bundesliga fixtures electing not to chant, sing, drum or support in any audible way during the first 20 minutes of their respective games, in protest at the Deutscher Fußball-Bund’s (DFB) position in the standoff between the governing body and various supporter groups. The fans’ statement, short and to the point, was reprised on banners in enclosures at both ends of the stadiums. “DFB, DFL & Co. Ihr werdet von uns hören, oder auch nicht.” You will hear from us, or not. Talks between the authorities and supporter group representatives broke down in late August, with a coalition of supporters from different clubs releasing a terse statement accusing the DFB of having no real intention to listen, despite promises of meaningful dialogue between the two sides stretching back more than 12 months. “We increasingly got the impression that as in previous decades, they were only using media-friendly words to avoid any actual action,” wrote the supporters collective led by fans from clubs including Hertha and Stuttgart. A joint statement in reply from the DFB and DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) dismissed many of the complaints, pointedly levelling the charge that “any exchange (between the two parties) must be objective and fact-based”. Last season’s protests included those at Mainz and Dortmund against Monday night fixtures – the mass throwing of tennis balls on the pitch at the former was reprised just last weekend in Switzerland as Young Boys supporters showed their displeasure with the growing importance given to eSports by clubs, while the latter produced BVB’s lowest home attendance at a Bundesliga match for 20 years against Augsburg. At a time when the Bundesliga is marketing itself extremely effectively on the international stage on the back of its widely enjoyed fan experience in the stadiums (“football as it’s meant to be” is the competition’s strap line), some of the faithful are complaining that the matchday experience for the regulars is becoming worse. The rollout of VAR, and the lack of a flow of information for the spectators inside stadiums while decisions are made, is another widely-held bugbear. The August statement from fans complained that the game was being “torn even further away from its cultural and social roots and gutted on the altar of profit and greed”. One of the other main issues is that of collective punishment, something that many Dortmund fans feel especially strongly about. It was after disturbances surrounding the February 2017 game with RB Leipzig that
how to live healthy and longevity : https://goo.gl/3L1CLn how to learn super speed? https://goo.gl/cPZGKt FIFA's Secret 19: https://goo.gl/FfPqWF Premier League Rafael Benítez said it was business as usual when asked for an update on the latest takeover talk at Newcastle United. The same applies to his ability to make life difficult for Everton and deliver a viable Premier League concern to whoever takes ownership of St James’ Park. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley looking at four bids in excess of £300m for club Read more Newcastle departed with a valuable and well-earned point as they responded impressively to Saturday’s home defeat by West Ham, their only loss in six league games. It could have been three but for Jordan Pickford’s fine late save from Christian Atsu and a poor finish from the same player when clean through on goal in the 90th minute. Not that Benítez was complaining. Everton had sought a release from the misery of Sunday’s freakish defeat in the Merseyside derby. Pickford’s intervention aside, it proved beyond them. Fatigue and a lack of finesse in attacking positions ensured the after-effects of Anfield lingered for Marco Silva’s team. “We had chances to win it at the end,” the Newcastle manager said, “but they had won four home games in a row so to get a point in this stadium with the way things are going for us was a credit to our players. The application was fantastic. They have top-class players, players with World Cup and Euros experience coming from the bench, so our players have done a great job.” Pickford received a rousing ovation from the crowd before kick-off – responding with an appreciative clenched-fist salute following his error at Liverpool – although the away section was predictably scathing in its reception for the born-and-bred Sunderland fan. The baiting intensified when the England No 1 was beaten from the first Newcastle attack of the game. Ademola Lookman, making his first league start of the season, was dispossessed in the Newcastle half. His appeals for a foul were ignored by the referee as Jacob Murphy raced down the left before delivering a precise cross low along the face of Pickford’s goal. Kurt Zouma and Yerry Mina were unable to intercept and Salomón Rondón steered a powerful finish into the roof of the net at the back post. “It was a foul, possibly two, but that is not an excuse because we had to defend that situation better,” said Silva. Everton, with André Gomes leading a composed display from central midfield, were not unduly disturbed by the setback. The left-wing partnership of Richarlison and Lucas Digne was potent and it engineered excellent chances for Gylfi Sigurdsson and the recalled Cenk Tosun before the interval. Sigurdsson was foiled by a superb block from Federico Fernández while Tosun volleyed straight at Martin Dubravka when picked out by another Digne cross. The home side had levelled at that stage and a 2-1 lead, seconds before the interval, could have change
how to live healthy and longevity : https://goo.gl/3L1CLn how to learn super speed? https://goo.gl/cPZGKt FIFA's Secret 19: https://goo.gl/FfPqWF Premier League Fulham’s progress under Claudio Ranieri is being measured in small steps. The Italian and his players departed this tight contest vaguely dissatisfied to have taken only a point having led Leicester City through much of the second half, their mood coloured by the sight of Denis Odoi wastefully scooping a shot over the crossbar in stoppage time. Yet in the cold light of day, the improvements seen here should suggest a brighter future awaits. The weight of the division still bears down on the Londoners but they are not the soft touch they were a few weeks ago. Three games into Ranieri’s tenure and some of the naivety has been drummed out of them. There were long periods while confronting a team with top-half credentials when Fulham even felt in control, their lead established against the run of play but their shape well-enforced thereafter and a threat carried on the counterattack. The frustration, of course, was that all it took was one moment of carelessness with the end almost in sight to undo a lot of their hard work. Lingard earns point for Manchester United after De Gea hands Arsenal lead Read more Leicester conjured their equaliser when the substitutes Demarai Gray and Shinji Okazaki combined slickly down the visitors’ right flank and the latter, allowed space by a disoriented Alfie Mawson, pulled the ball back to the penalty spot. There loitered James Maddison, the classiest attacking talent on the pitch, to dispatch a crisp first-time finish into the bottom corner. The hosts’ wait for a first clean sheet of the season had been extended. “At this moment, when we make mistakes, the big opponents score,” said Ranieri. “But we continue to progress. Slowly, slowly.” This had been an emotional experience for the Italian against the team with whom he claimed the only top-flight title of his managerial career to date. He had offered his tribute to the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha prior to kick-off, acknowledged the chants of the away support and saw four key members of his Premier League winning side start in Leicester’s ranks. Yet, other than a quick “hello” to familiar faces, he concentrated purely on Fulham’s latest opportunity and gained encouragement from much that he witnessed. Fulham could point to the substitute Tom Cairney fizzing a shot just wide of the post while their lead still stood or that late miss by Odoi. Leicester threatened repeatedly in the first half and Kelechi Iheanacho should have scored the game’s opening goal early on. But at the other end Kasper Schmeichel was forced into an astonishing fingertip save to deny Callum Chambers – a makeshift defensive midfielder who seems destined to bring the best out of opposing goalkeepers having tested Chelsea consistently on Sunday – as he belted a volley from Odoi’s nod back towards the far corner. Liv