European Super Football

The 2022 Europa Conference League Final will be the final match of the first season of Europe's newest club football tournament organised by UEFA.  It will be played on 25 May 2022 at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania between Roma and Feyenoord. Let's have a look at how both teams reached the final. Roma 1 - 0 Leicester City (Aggregate 2-1) Leicester City missed out on a place in the final after losing 1-0 at Roma. Tammy Abraham's powerful header for the home side was the difference as Leicester struggled to make a decent impact at the Stadio Olimpico. The striker's goal was enough to prevent Leicester from reaching a first European final after the first leg finished 1-1. The Roma manager was clearly emotional after the game. José Mourinho in tears after reaching the Conference final. Might not be the biggest final in his career, but man does this show how much he loves the game. Imagine not loving this man. pic.twitter.com/ZNXoAGqzOq — Xav Salazar (@XavsFutb

 Roma 1 - 0 Feyenoord José Mourinho became the first coach to win all three current men's UEFA club competitions. Let's explore how that happened. You can watch the highlights by watching the video at the bottom of the page. This is the match report from UEFA's official website. Spurred on by their supporters, Feyenoord swiftly looked to reply, forcing Rui Patrício to deal with a succession of threats – Orkun Kökçü's rifled effort the most dangerous of the bunch. In a rapid start to the second half, Mancini diverted onto his own post, before Rui Patrício sprawled to tip Tyrell Malacia's long-range effort onto the woodwork. Danger averted, Mourinho's men could take a breath. Feyenoorders, bedankt voor jullie support dit seizoen in de #UECL . Van Pristina tot Tirana, mede dankzij jullie was het een onvergetelijke reis. ❤️🤍🖤💚 #MakingMemories pic.twitter.com/pWx8boBZyw — Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord) May 26, 2022 As the stadium rocked, momentum conti

Feyenoord 0 - 4 Bayer Leverkusen  Florian Wirtz shone on his Champions League debut, netting twice as Bayer Leverkusen secured a comfortable win over Feyenoord. The German champions took an early lead five minutes in, with Wirtz calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner from 20 yards out. Xabi Alonso’s adventurous wing-backs linked up beautifully for the second goal, as Jeremie Frimpong delivered a cross that found Alex Grimaldo, who finished easily and without much pressure from the home side's defence. Frimpong, a former Celtic player, then set up 21-year-old German international Wirtz for his second goal, a well-executed volley. Champions League: 2024/2025 (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Leverkusen had effectively wrapped up the match before half-time when Edmond Tapsoba's header was deflected into the net by Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther. Despite having fewer attempts on goal than their opponents, the Bundesliga side displayed ruthless efficiency.

 Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has been announced as Liverpool's new boss. In April, Liverpool struck a deal with the Dutch club after deciding the 45-year-old Slot was the right person to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield. Klopp, who had been at the helm since October 2015, departed following Liverpool's season-ending victory over Wolves on Sunday. After the match, the 56-year-old German urged Liverpool supporters to back their new manager, leading a chant of "Arne Slot, na na na na na". Slot will officially begin his three-year tenure at Liverpool on 1 June, pending a work permit. During his time at Feyenoord, Slot guided the team to the Eredivisie title in the 2022-23 seaso n, and this year they won the Dutch Cup and finished as league runners-up. Liverpool were particularly impressed by Slot's attacking style, his personality, and his ability to develop players, which made him their top candidate. Slot, who took charge at Feyenoord in 2021, expressed his inter

It's time to have a look at another football icon.  This is a slightly altered version of an article first published here on Greater Manchester Football. (Gullit played for Sampdoria between 1993 and 1995) Ruud Gullit is a Dutch legend who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. Early career In 1978, Gullit signed professionally for HFC Haarlem. He made 91 league appearances for Haarlem and scored 32 goals. He made his debut for the club at just 16 years old, becoming at the time the youngest player in the history of the Eredivisie. In his first season at the club, they finished bottom of the Eredivisie, but bounced back the following season winning the Eerste Divisie. Gullit was named as the best player in the Eerste Divisie that season. Click here to read about more football icons In the 1981–82 season, Gullit was in fine form as Haarlem finished fourth and qualified for Europe for the only time in their history.  First two transfers The young Gullit was considered as a

The draw has been made for the last 16 of the Champions League.  🚨🏆 Thoughts on Champions League draw? pic.twitter.com/NjTTJ2uzWA — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 18, 2023 Manchester City will play Copenhagen in the last 16 of the competition.  The Danish champions Copenhagen finished above Manchester United in their group, as they reached the knockout stage for the first time since 2011. This included a 4-3 memorable victory over the Red Devils. The 14-time winners Real Madrid while RB Leipzig. Inter Milan - who finished runners-up last season will face Atletico Madrid. Bayern Munich (led by Harry Kane) will face Lazio. This is the draw in full Porto v Arsenal Napoli v Barcelona Paris St-Germain v Real Sociedad Inter Milan v Atletico Madrid PSV Eindhoven v Borussia Dortmund Lazio v Bayern Munich Copenhagen v Manchester City RB Leipzig v Real Madrid European Super Football contributor Josh gave some thoughts on the draw The luck of the draw has smiled upon the two

It's time to explore another football icon. Henrik Larsson is a Swedish professional football coach and former player, formerly an assistant manager of Barcelona.  Larsson celebrating a goal for Celtic in 2005. The start of a wonderful career. Playing as a striker, Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. In 1992, he moved to Helsingborg IF where in his first season his partnership up front with Mats Magnusson helped the club win promotion  after over 20 seasons in the lower tiers.  He moved to Feyenoord in November 1993, staying for four years before leaving in 1997. During his time in the Dutch Eredivisie, he won two KNVB Cups with Feyenoord. Trevor Stolk told us: "He should have stayed with us for much longer. Look at what he did for Celtic. He could have achieved that with us if he'd stayed longer." Larsson also broke into the Swedish national football team and helped them finish in third place at the 1994 World Cup. He was gaining a lot of fans but whe

Could this prove to be a bargain for Manchester United? The Red Devils have secured the signing of Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and the Netherlands for £36.54 million. The 23-year-old striker has committed to a five-year deal at Old Trafford, with the possibility of extending for an additional year. While Zirkzee's contract with Bologna had a release clause of €40 million (£33.6 million), United chose to pay a slightly higher amount to spread the payment over three years, aiding compliance with Profit and Sustainability Rules. Zirkzee is the first player to join the men's team since Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7% stake in the club last December. Premier League: Summer 2024 news and stories  More Manchester United news Last season, he scored 12 goals in 37 matches, helping Bologna secure an unexpected spot in this season's Champions League. Zirkzee started his career at Feyenoord before moving to Bayern Munich in 2017. He transferred to Bologna for around £7.15 millio

Liverpool 0 - 1 Nottingham Forest Callum Hudson-Odoi and an unbeaten Nottingham Forest shocked Liverpool at Anfield, putting an end to Arne Slot's flawless start as Liverpool manager. Coming off the bench, Hudson-Odoi cut in from the left and curled a perfectly placed shot into the far bottom corner, leaving Alisson with no chance. This marked Forest's first win at Anfield in any competition since 1969. Liverpool had come into the game brimming with confidence, having secured three consecutive wins without conceding a goal. And the home side certainly had the better opportunities in the first half. Luis Diaz came closest for the hosts before the break, chasing down what seemed a lost cause, cutting inside, and smashing a shot against the near post from a tight angle. Forest keeper Matz Sels made an important save to deny Alexis Mac Allister's header and had a lucky escape when he almost let Diaz’s shot slip into his own net moments later. After the break, Forest showed

The second season of UEFA's third competition is about to start Clubs qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. It is the third tier of active European club football competitions, after the Champions League and the Europa League. England's representation in the upcoming season will be West Ham. They finished 7th in the Premier League. First contested in the 2021–22 season, the competition serves as the bottom level of the Europa League, which was reduced from 48 to 32 teams in the group stage. It was eventually won by A.S. Roma after an fascinating season. UECL: Roma win Europa Conference League (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) The draw for the first qualifying round of the 2022/2023 competition. Let's have a look at who will be playing who. Bala Town (WAL) vs Sligo Rovers (IRL) A relatively short trip for both of these sides will have been welcomed.  Sligo's Rovers record in European com

 It's time for you to read about another football icon. Jaap Stam is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. A brief introduction Stam played for several European clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Lazio, Milan and Ajax. More icons The start of a fantastic career On August 15th 1992, Stam made his professional debut for FC Zwolle in a 1–1 draw against SC Heracles in the Eerste Divisie. He became a first-team regular right away and moved to Eredivisie club Cambuur Leeuwarden for the following season, but relegated in his first season which brought him back into the Eerste Divisie.  Two seasons performing well at Cambuur earned him a transfer to Eredivisie club Willem II. At Willem II, he immediately impressed at the Eredivisie level and earned a transfer to PSV Eindhoven despite only making 19 appearances. Icons: Henrik Larsson (eurosuperfootball.

 Leeds United have finally named their new manager They have agreed terms with former Watford boss Javi Gracia to replace Jesse Marsch. Marsch was sacked on 6 February but Leeds have faced several setbacks in their hunt for his replacement. The Spaniard Gracia took Watford to the FA Cup final in 2019. He then went on to manager at La Liga side Valencia and Qatari club Al Sadd. Can Garcia keep Leeds up? They are currently 19th in the Premier League and host bottom club Southampton in their next game on Saturday. The club say Gracia has been appointed on a "flexible contract" and will take charge of the side against Saints "subject to obtaining the necessary work permissions". Under-21s boss Michael Skubala has been in interim charge since Marsch's sacking despite club owner Andrea Radrizzani initially promising a quick appointment. A long drawn out process An approach for Rayo Vallecano's Andoni Iraola was blocked, while Feyenoord's Arne Slot ruled hims

 Let's explore some of the biggest talking points from across Europe over the last 24 hours. It has been another busy day. Netherlands: Ruud van Nistelrooy leaves PSV  with immediate effect PSV Eindhoven head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy has left before the final game of the season because of "a lack of support within the club", a club statement said. Van Nistelrooy won the Dutch Cup and Dutch Super Cup after taking over the role in March 2022. PSV said talks about his future were set for Sunday, but the 46-year-old subsequently resigned. They are 10 points behind leaders Feyenoord and three points ahead of third-placed Ajax. They just need to avoid defeat to AZ Alkmaar at the weekend to secure a spot in the Champions League qualification stage. Footage from his last press conference -  Ruud van Nistelrooij en Luuk de Jong reageren op grote teleurstelling - YouTube Spain: Barcelona agrees to cancel Alba's contract. It has been announced that Jordi Alba will leave Ba

The first sacking of the Premier League season has been announced. Photo credit -  Football Pictures | Flickr Bournemouth have announced the sacking of boss Scott Parker after Saturday's 9-0 defeat by Liverpool, four games into the season. The Liverpool thrashing was Bournemouth's third straight league defeat, having won their opening match. Gary O'Neil will take interim charge of the team and will be assisted by Shaun Cooper and Tommy Elphick. Parker left Fulham for Bournemouth in June 2021 and led them to promotion from the Championship as runners-up, but his managerial statistics since returning to the Premier League make unhappy reading. Did Parker deserve the sack? Footage from the game can be found in the video below.  AFC Bournemouth - YouTube   After winning their opening match 2-0 at home to Aston Villa, the Cherries conceded 16 goals in their next three league games - losing 4-0 at Manchester City and 3-0 at home to Arsenal before shipping nine goals at An

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has been announced as the new manager of Rangers. He will replace Steven Gerrard, who had left for Aston Villa in the Premier League. This is all subject to him being granted a work permit The Dutchman played for Rangers between 1998 and 2001. He won five trophies including two league titles. He went on to win more with Arsenal and Barcelona, including the Champions League with the latter. He has also coached Feyenoord to the Dutch title. The midfielder won over 100 caps, captaining the Netherlands to the 2010 World Cup final. This was his final match in a wonderful career. After leaving his country back in 2019, Van Bronckhorst spent a year in Chinese football in charge of Guangzhou R&F.  Latest reaction Gio van Bronckhorst tweeted: "I am very excited and proud to be returning to Rangers as the club’s new manager. I can’t wait to meet all of you." I am very excited and proud to be returning to Rangers as the club’s new manager. I can’t wait