Skip to main content

Galatasaray Signs Victor Osimhen From Napoli For £64.8 Million: What It Means For The Team.

The news has caused a big buzz not just in Istanbul, but around the whole football community: Galatasaray have officially signed Nigerian star player Victor Osimhen from Napoli for a huge fee of £64. 8 million (€75 million). This isn't just a record-breaking transfer for Turkish football; it's a monumental statement of intent, a declaration that the Turkish champions are ready to ascend to the next level, both domestically and on the grand European stage. Osimhen is staying at Galatasaray permanently after a very successful loan period during the 2024-25 season. He helped the team win the Super Lig and the Turkish Cup, scoring an amazing 37 goals in 41 games across all competitions, including 26 goals in the league, marks the culmination of a protracted transfer saga. It's a move that underscores Galatasaray's ambition, their financial muscle, and their ability to convince one of the world's most coveted strikers to commit his prime years to the Süper Lig. The Crown...

Italy's poor performance resulted to its elimination from the Euro 2024 tournament.

Arrivederci agli Azzurri, campione d'Europa no more. Italy's defence of their European crown ended prematurely and timidly on the same pitch where they won their fourth World Cup. Marcello Lippi's team secured themselves of immortality in Berlin 18 years ago, whereas Luciano Spalletti's side received only ignominy. They were devastated by their setback.

Nevertheless, Switzerland triumphed magnificently. They have long been overshadowed by their neighbours, but a first success against Italy in three decades followed their elimination of France in Euro 2020. Switzerland has made the last eight European Championships in a row, after not reaching the quarterfinals since 1954. Now they are on the verge of history. Fresh off coming within a few minutes of defeating Germany, Murat Yakin's team demonstrated why they are one of the tournament's best.

They played with the togetherness that Italy lacked, as well as the clear game plan that the Azzurri required. They have the great touches to score two stunning goals. Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas scored, and both were excellent. Granit Xhaka's best season continued - he has yet to lose a match in Germany since joining Bayer Leverkusen - and, while Spalletti rested Jorginho, the Swiss captain ruled the midfield. Switzerland has more opportunities and creativity than Italy, as well as greater desire and urgency. They had more possession when it mattered, with Xhaka completing more passes in the final third than Italy in the first half, and they defended more tenaciously after that.have hitherto been synonymous with defensive resilience, but Manuel Akanji and Ricardo Rodriguez provided nerveless excellence at the back, while Yakin, a considerably less known coach than his Azzurri counterpart, delivered a tactical triumph. It was an indictment of Spalletti: Italy felt outthought and outplayed.


A team that trailed after 23 seconds in their tournament has managed to undermine itself through poor starts. They mustered two types here: totally listless in the first half, somnolent in the Berlin heat, long before they conceded, and then contrived to concede another goal 34 seconds after the break. It occurred shortly after the debut of Mattia Zaccagni, their rescuer against Croatia. Spalletti pursued a similar strategy of bringing on forwards in the hopes of a comeback. This time, it didn't work.

Instead, there was a cleansing component for the Swiss scorers. After being sent off in Switzerland's Euro 2020 quarter-final defeat to Spain, Freuler saw a goal as a step toward redemption. Vargas, who missed a penalty in that shootout, found solace in helping Switzerland advance to the final eight.

Switzerland had already hinted at an incision before striking. Breel Embolo advanced behind the Italian defence after receiving a first-time pass from Michel Aebischer. Gianluigi Donnarumma made a fantastic save to deny him.


Donnarumma, a player from the previous European Championships, was one of the best goalkeepers in this tournament. On the stroke of half-time, he produced an excellent stop by tipping the irrepressible wing-back Fabian Rieder's dangerous free kick onto the near post. He was still powerless to stop either goal. First, Freuler timed his run into the box to meet Vargas' low pass, took a touch to set himself up, and fired a half-volley past Donnarumma with a deflection off Gianluca Mancini. Then Italy stepped back and watched the influential Vargas curl a shot past Donnarumma.

Italy experienced two near-misses, but only the later could be described as anything they had truly created. Fabian Schar managed to head a Nicolo Fagioli cross against his own goal. Zaccagni threatened to pull off another amazing escape, passing to Gianluca Scamacca, who pushed a shot against the upright.


However, Italy had to pay the price for its mediocre start. Spalletti had an entirely new forward line, but his team had no shots on goal in the first half, and Yann Sommer had only one stop to make in total. Spalletti, who had already changed his starting eleven six times, made another move at halftime by summoning Zaccagni. Then there were flickers from Federico Chiesa, one of the few 2021 team survivors.

However, with Roberto Mancini in Saudi Arabia, Marco Verratti in Qatar, Lorenzo Insigne in Canada, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci retired, and Jorginho on the bench, the Wembley triumph feels dated. After failing to qualify for the last two World Cups, Euro 2024 is yet another Italian disaster. It's already a Swiss success story. With England or Slovakia up next - and Switzerland may be grateful to Niclas Fullkrug for his injury-time equaliser for Germany that sent them into this round - the Swiss may not be done yet. But Italians are. They are no longer the champions of Europe. And in Euro 2024, they never looked like it. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Liverpool great Ron Yeats died at the age of 86 from Alzheimer's disease.

Scottish defender was a vital element of Liverpool's success under Bill Shankly in the 1960s. Ron Yeats, a Liverpool legend and former long-serving captain, died at the age of 86. The club announced Yeats' death on Saturday morning, after the Scottish veteran defender revealed in January that he had Alzheimer's disease in recent years. A Reds statement read: "Liverpool FC is saddened by the death of renowned former captain Ron Yeats. "In the words of Bill Shankly, a 'colossus' in club history, the Scot died on Friday night at the age of 86, having unfortunately suffered from Alzheimer's in recent years. "Everyone at LFC is thinking about Ron's wife, Ann, as well as his family and friends, during this extremely difficult time. "Flags across club sites will be lowered to half-mast today as a mark of respect." Yeats joined Liverpool from Dundee United in 1961 and went on to make 454 appearances for the club as captain over the next deca...

Bompastor expressed excitement for Chelsea's next game against Manchester City, stating that it will be a wonderful match.

Chelsea's head coach, Sonia Bompastor, says her team is excited to play Barclays Women's Super League title rivals Manchester City this weekend. On Saturday evening, the Blues will host The Citizens at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea manager Bompastor stressed the importance of the game during the pre-match news conference, adding that her team is excited to put themselves to the test against Manchester City. "It's obviously an important game against a very good team," Bompastor explained. "There will be two fantastic teams with a nice dynamic and good outcomes, so we are looking forward to it and are really excited. "My role as a manager is to ensure that the players have the appropriate game plan for tomorrow. We practiced this morning, and I believe everything is crystal clear in each player's head. We feel prepared, even if we anticipate a difficult game. Manchester City is doing well and has excellent players, but it will be a wonderful game for eve...

Canada's confident performance led to a historic away victory over the USA.

On Saturday, two North American rivals met, and Canada defeated the United States 2-1. One team was still riding high off their fourth-place result at Copa América 2024, while the other was a blend of young talent attempting to discover their identity under an interim coach. With such a significant contrast in confidence, the visiting Canucks defeated the Stars and Stripes on their home turf for only the second time in history. Canada dominated the first half, with 11 shots to one, and the first of two blunders resulted in the opening goal. A turnover gave the ball to Jonathan David, who sent it wide to Jacob Shaffelburg. The 'Maritime Messi' blasted with his left foot into the far right corner, beyond goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. 23 - Canada defeats the United States Men's National Team on American territory for the second time, and the first since 1957. The victory stops the USMNT's 23-game home unbeaten streak against Canada, the longest against any opponent in team h...