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Klutch and UTA Sports are adding a slew of top European footballers to their portfolio.

UTA has acquired Roof (it stands for Representatives Of Outstanding Footballers), adding a slew of global soccer stars to its portfolio of top athletes.

Roof, which has about 150 clients across Europe’s “Big Five” leagues — English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1, and German Bundesliga — will continue to operate under its own brand name and with its existing leadership team, who will become UTA shareholders.

Co-founder and managing director Björn Bezemer will also be named head of Klutch Global Football, working with Klutch founder and co-head of UTA Sports Rich Paul and UTA COO and co-head of UTA Sports Andrew Thau, who run the agency’s sports representation business, and will oversee Roof.

“When you have an opportunity to get into the most popular sport in the world with the...

With the European Championships due to start in Germany on Friday, UTA has netted the country’s biggest soccer agency.

The Beverly Hills-based company has bought Representatives Of Outstanding Footballers (Roof), which will sit within its sports portfolio. Roof represents English Premier Leagues players such as Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk, Arsenal’s Kai Havertz, Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and recent Champions League finalist Niclas Füllkrug, who is among numerous Bundesliga stars on its books.

In total, Roof has around 150 clients across Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues and is especially strong in the Bundesliga, where it is the market leader. Around 130 are players with the other 20 coaches and managers.

The company has offices in Munich, London and Madrid, and will continue to operate under its own name and founding leadership team, who will become shareholders in UTA as they look to expand the brand further internationally.

London, Aug 28 (Ians) Manchester City narrowly escaped defeat, overcoming Sheffield United 2-1 to clinch the top spot in the Premier League.

Erling Haaland put the reigning champions ahead in the 63rd minute with a robust header, making up for his earlier penalty miss against the post, reports Xinhua.

With Pep Guardiola recuperating from a back surgery in Barcelona, deputy Juanma Lillo took the helm in the City dugout. Still, the team’s strategy remained unchanged. By the time Haaland scored, City had launched 16 shots and earned 10 corners, while Sheffield United had none.

At 85 minutes, Sheffield United’s Jaydon Bogle leveled the score with a forceful shot from City’s right flank, making it 1-1.

However, in the 89th minute, Rodri secured City’s win with a decisive left-footed strike.

In other matches, Liverpool, despite being a man down after Virgil Van Dijk’s red card, clinched a thrilling 2-1 victory against Newcastle.

Liverpool, Aug 19 (Ians) Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota scored a goal apiece as Liverpool came from behind to beat AFC Bournemouth 3-1 in their first home game of the new Premier League season at Anfield here on Saturday.

This was also Liverpool’s first win in the 2023 season after they started their campaign with a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the first round last week.

In other early matches on Saturday, Fulham were thrashed 3-0 by Brentford while Wolverhampton Wolves went down 1-4 to Brighton.

Diaz, Salah and Jota got the goals to overturn Antoine Semenyo’s third-minute opener on an eventful home match in which Alexis Mac Allister received a straight red card for a foul on Ryan Christie just before the hour.

Diaz’s second strike in as many matches in the 2023-24 season was added to by Salah, who scored the rebound after Neto had saved his penalty,...

London, May 7 (Ians) Manchester City piled on the pressure at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win at home to Leeds United on Saturday that leaves them four points clear of Arsenal, who have a difficult visit to third place Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.

Kevin de Bruyne started for City after injury, while Erling Haaland was also in the starting line-up, although Pep Guardiola rested Jack Grealish, John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Ruben Dias ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League semi final first leg away to Real Madrid.

Leeds had new coach Sam Allardyce in the dugout, but the veteran could only watch as City dominated the first half, with Ilkay Gundogan scoring two drilled shots from the edge of the Leeds area after two assists from Riyad Mahrez, a Xinhua report said.

Haaland hit the woodwork twice in the second half and Gundogan missed...

Madrid, March 14 (Ians) Real Madrid entertain Liverpool in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

The reigning title holders are clear favorites to progress against the side they beat in last season’s final after a 5-2 win in Liverpool three weeks ago, where they picked holes in a fragile Liverpool midfield and defense.

Liverpool have shown some signs of recovery since then, with a 7-0 thrashing of an in-form Manchester United, but Jurgen Klopp’s side was brought crashing back to earth again at the weekend when they lost 1-0 to Bournemouth, who had started that game bottom of the Premier League.

Real Madrid ended an indifferent run of form, which saw them lose to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and draw with Atletico Madrid and Betis, with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Espanyol on Saturday, a Xinhua report said.

Quick Links Cover Star Mbappe Leads The Way The Usual Suspects Star In Midfield Liverpool Center-Back Is Still The Defender To Beat

Team Of The Year is one of the highlights in the FIFA 23 Ultimate Team calendar as one of the most popular promotions that offer the highest-rated versions of the best players in the world. These are alongside the FIFA 23 World Cup Icons that were released earlier in the year and the normal Icon cards featuring legends of the game. Fans have had the chance to vote for the 12 best players to be included in the promotion.

World Cup Hero Lionel Messi leads the way after one of the all-time greats finally lifted the ultimate prize in football. The Argentine is rewarded with the joint highest-rated card currently available in FIFA 23 with a staggering 98 rating. Messi's card plays at right-wing and has the maximum 99 dribbling rating along with 98 shooting and 97 passing.

London, Jan 7 (Ians) Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk will be sidelined for at least a month with a hamstring problem, the club confirmed.

The Dutch defender suffered the injury in Monday’s 3-1 defeat to Brentford, and will likely miss Premier League matches against Brighton, Chelsea and Wolves, reports Xinhua news agency.

Liverpool are currently 16 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.

–Ians

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London, Jan 6 (Ians) The third round of the Fa Cup in England will allow some coaches to give minutes to fringe players against lower-league opposition. But Everton coach Frank Lampard has no such luxury, as his side dropped into the bottom three in midweek after a dreadful 4-1 home loss to Brighton.

Everton visit a consistently-improving Manchester United, and another defeat for Lampard’s men could see his tenure at Goodison Park come to an end after just under a year.

Liverpool could hand a debut to new signing Cody Gakpo when they entertain Wolverhampton Wanderers. The visitors are showing signs of recovery under Julen Lopetegui and will look to take advantage of Virgil Van Dijk’s absence with a muscle injury.

Newcastle United are riding high in the Premier League and showed their defensive talents with a 0-0 draw away to leaders Arsenal on Tuesday. Eddie Howe’s side visits League One,...

London, Dec 27 (Ians) Premier League leaders Arsenal came back from a goal down to beat West Ham 3-1 and dispel doubts that their title challenge will be badly handicapped by the loss of Gabriel Jesus through injury.

Worries about Arsenal seemed to be confirmed on Monday when Said Benrahma put West Ham ahead with a 27th-minute penalty, but Bukayo Saka levelled the score in the 53rd minute after controlling Martin Odegaard’s mis-kick and Gabriel Martinelli put Arsenal ahead in the 59th minute.

Eddie Nketiah extended the Gunners’ lead after a cushioned pass from Odegaard with 21 minutes left to play and with former coach Arsene Wenger watching from the stands, Arsenal move seven points clear, reports Xinhua.

Just like the Premier League leaders, some other clubs too did not show any impact of the month-long break in the action because of the World Cup ahead of the festival season, which...

With the World Cup in full flow FIFA 23's latest promotion is underway with World Cup Stories in Ultimate Team. The second season of this year's Ultimate Team is all about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with several promotions running including the chance to earn World Cup Swaps tokens in FIFA 23. The latest promotion which started on the 2nd December 2022 provides players with cards for stars past and present that have made their mark on the FIFA World Cup.

World Cup Stories is brand new for FIFA 23 to coincide with the 2022 World Cup. It provides a host of big upgrades for players starring in the tournament. 12 main cards have been included all of which feature players competing in this year's World Cup. Other lower-rated cards are also included in the promotion some of which are available for players to earn by completing Objectives.

Related: How To Complete The Serie A...

Doha, Nov 21 (Ians) Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal has sounded a battle cry ahead of his side’s debut in the 2022 World Cup finals later on Monday, saying he believes his team can lift the title that has always eluded them.

The Dutch were runners-up to Germany in 1974 and to Argentina in 1978. They were beaten by Andres Iniesta’s injury time goal for Spain in South Africa in 2010.

Van Gaal led the Dutch to third place in the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, with a team that included players such as Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder, but in his press conference ahead of Monday’s game against Senegal, the coach insisted his current side is better, reports Xinhua.

This Netherlands team is led by Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and also includes Fc Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt.

“Van Dijk...

Rio de Janeiro, Nov 8 (Ians) What is a seemingly innocuous World Cup opening phase for the Netherlands promises to be one of trials and tribulations for Senegal, Ecuador and hosts Qatar. While the Oranje are tipped by many to breeze through their first three fixtures, much less is expected of their Group A rivals.

Senegal have not progressed to the knockout rounds since 2002. Ecuador last did it in 2006. Qatar have never done so as they make their first World Cup appearance. The Netherlands will be determined to reassert themselves on football’s biggest stage after their absence from the 2018 tournament in Russia.

Here is a Xinhua’s breakdown of the four teams in Group A, which kicks off on November 20 when Qatar and Ecuador meet in Al Khor.

The Netherlands

Having failed to qualify for the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 World Cup, the Netherlands are back among Europe’s elite.

London, Oct 29 (Ians) Liverpool will aim to reach an unbeaten milestone at Anfield when they face Leeds United in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Reds can extend their run of successive home games without a loss to 30 with a win or draw against Jesse Marsch’s team. It would be their joint-sixth-longest such run in club history. In the 29 matches during the streak so far, Jurgen Klopp’s side have won 22 times and registered 17 clean sheets.

The last meeting between the sides was the corresponding fixture of 2021-22 – Liverpool won 6-0 to record their biggest ever victory over Leeds.

Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk were on the scoresheet that night – it was the first time both centre-backs in a Reds XI had scored in the same league game since September 1968, when Ron Yeats and Tommy Smith did so against Leicester City.

Klopp’s men had won 3-0 at...

London, Oct 24 (Ians) Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League was reduced to two points when they were held to a 1-1 draw away to Southampton.

Arsenal got off to a confident start that was rewarded when Granit Xhaka put them ahead with a low finish on Sunday evening, but after suffering in the first half, Southampton recovered after the break.

Stuart Armstrong equalised after a flowing move after 65 minutes, and although Martin Odegaard thought he had scored a late winner for the visitors, the ball had previously gone out of play, reports Xinhua.

Newcastle United claimed a 2-1 win away to Tottenham to climb up to fourth in the table.

Callum Wilson opened the scoring in the 31st minute after a Var check confirmed he hadn’t fouled Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris. Miguel Almiron doubled the lead 10 minutes later after beating Lloris at his near post.

London, Oct 3 (Ians) After playing out a 3-3 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, Virgil van Dijk feels Liverpool must rediscover the art of consistency in order to arrest their below-par start to the season.

Liverpool will be up against Rangers Fc at the Anfield in the Champions League on Tuesday.

“We’ve been doing it for four years, five years on a consistent basis and we have to get back to that consistency, all of us. And we have to stick together,” Van Dijk was quoted as saying by Liverpool.com after the game against Brighton.

“You have to get in the moment and that consistency is the most difficult part of football. You have to do that together, deal with setbacks together and keep doing the same things you want to do. It is difficult to react the right way if you are not in the best possible shape,...

Berlin, Sep 26 (Ians) World champions France lost 2-0 to Denmark, while the Netherlands and Croatia claimed victories over Belgium and Austria to secure UEFA Nations League semifinal spots.

France showed themselves to be out of shape just under two months before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where Les Bleus will meet Denmark again in Group D.

Kasper Dolberg and Andreas Skov Olsen scored two goals in the first half as hosts Denmark deserved their victory, reports Xinhua. After the defeat, France sit behind Croatia and Denmark with only five points in Group 1 of League A.

Austria were relegated to League B after their 3-1 loss to Croatia. Real Madrid’s Luka Modric put the Croatians ahead in Vienna after just six minutes. Christoph Baumgartner of Hoffenheim equalised three minutes later, but in the second half, strikes from Marko Livaja and Dejan Lovren sealed the win for Croatia.

In Group 4, Louis van Gaal...

London, Aug 28 (Ians) Jurgen Klopp called it the “perfect football afternoon” after Liverpool recorded their first win of the season with a record-equalling 9-0 Premier League victory against promoted Bournemouth.

Just pipped to the title last term, the Reds struggled in the opening weeks of this campaign as draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace were compounded by Monday’s galling loss at rivals Manchester United, reports Dpa. Klopp’s calls for a reaction were heeded in style on Saturday, when nobody inside a rocking Anfield could have predicted they would witness Liverpool matching their biggest top-flight win ever.

Luis Diaz, Harvey Elliott, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk scored in a whirlwind first half against shell-shocked Bournemouth.

Chris Mepham’s own goal set the tone for the second half, with Firmino, Fabio Carvalho and Diaz scoring as Liverpool just failed to take it to double digits.

Asked to...

Paris, Aug 13 (Ians) Karim Benzema was among the 30-man list of nominees for the 2022 Ballon d’Or award, which was announced by France Football on Friday, while seven-time winner Lionel Messi was omitted from the list for the first time since 2006.

Messi’s arch-rival, five-time winner Cristiano Ronald was included, as well as Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, French forward Kylian Mbappe, and Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.

However, another Psg star Neymar also missed out on the nomination which meant that Mbappe will be the sole player on the list coming from French Ligue 1, reports Xinhua. Messi, who won the title last year, had been nominated 15 times in a row since 2006 (except for in 2020 when the award was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic). The 35-year-old didn’t meet his own lofty standards in his first season at Psg, following his shocking move from Barcelona to the French capital last summer.

Paris, Aug 13 (Ians) Karim Benzema was among the 30-man list of nominees for the 2022 Ballon d’Or award, which was announced by France Football on Friday, while seven-time winner Lionel Messi was omitted from the list for the first time since 2006.

Messi’s arch-rival, five-time winner Cristiano Ronald was included, as well as Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, French forward Kylian Mbappe, and Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.

However, another Psg star Neymar also missed out on the nomination which meant that Mbappe will be the sole player on the list coming from French Ligue 1, reports Xinhua. Messi, who won the title last year, had been nominated 15 times in a row since 2006 (except for in 2020 when the award was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic). The 35-year-old didn’t meet his own lofty standards in his first season at Psg, following his shocking move from Barcelona to the French capital last summer.

London, May 16 (Ians) Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp has said that the team is assessing the fitness of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk ahead of the must-win Premier League match against Southampton on Tuesday. But Klopp is waiting to find out the extent of injuries to top-scorer Salah and defensive talisman Van Dijk, […]...

London, May 8 (Ians) Liverpool’s star footballer Virgil van Dijk has said that the team must channel the frustration felt after their 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur into focus for their next matches in the Premier League. Liverpool had to settle for a point from Saturday’s clash with Spurs, one which moved them above Manchester […]...

London, April 28 (Ians) Considered one of the best defenders in the world, Virgil van Dijk underlined the quality of Liverpool’s forward options by admitting he would not enjoy facing his teammates as an opponent. With the Reds’ second goal in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Villarreal, Sadio Mane became the third player to net 20 […]...

Liverpool, Dec 27 (Ians) Former champions Liverpool got some good news on Monday ahead of their upcoming clash against Leicester City as they announced the return from isolation of their four star players. Liverpool are set to play Leicester City away and on Monday announced that Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones, and Thiago Alcantara, […]...

London, Nov 27 (Ians) Goals from Diogo Jota (two), Thiago Alcantara, and Virgil van Dijk helped Liverpool put up another strong performance as they defeated Southampton 4-0 and claimed three points in a Premier League contest. The win helped Liverpool (28) move to the second spot in the table behind Chelsea (29) and ahead of […]...

Manager Jürgen Klopp is good value, but this skin-deep documentary reveals little about what lay behind the club’s rise to Premier League supremacy

Liverpool’s imperious march to the Premier League title in 2020 was interrupted – and almost derailed – by the coronavirus pandemic; the club had to endure a nervy few weeks before the decision was made to finish the season, rather than cancel it. This unexpected wobble is the main point of interest in this otherwise skin-deep, self-congratulatory description of Liverpool’s triumphant season; a super-authorised version where no one is off their guard for a second, and everything is presented in admiringly hagiographic terms.

Admittedly, it would be hard to do it any other way, the trade-off being copious access to Liverpool’s estimable and likable manager Jürgen Klopp, and briefer chats with club captain Jordan Henderson, laser-eyed centre back Virgil van Dijk and smiley Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino among others.

Altitude Films has debuted the trailer for Liverpool Football Club documentary ‘The End of the Storm’.

In a year when sport came to a standstill, fans of Liverpool Football Club finally saw their team lift the trophy that had eluded them for 30 long years. Featuring intimate access to manager Jürgen Klopp and club legend Sir Kenny Dalglish, and interviews with first-team players including Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker combined with passionate Liverpool fans from around the world.

Directed by James Erskine, the documentary is released on Digital, Blue-Ray and DVD November 30th.

Also in trailers – Theo James stars in trailer for Gavin Rothery’s ‘Archive’

The post Liverpool Football Club lift the 30 year curse in trailer for doc ‘The End of the Storm’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

With FIFA 21 set to make its debut next week, there’s much to unravel about the game before fans step onto the pitch. With traditional EA Sports norms being slightly altered because of the Covid-19 pandemic, some announcements and reveals have come with a little more flare than usual.

For example, EA traditionally celebrates its Top 100 rated players in the upcoming installment by releasing the ratings of 20 players at a time, starting at #100 and working its way down. However, this year the publisher has decided to announce the Top 1,000 players all at once to give fans from all over the globe a glimpse of how their favorite players will fare in the newest installment of the soccer series.

The Top 1,000 for FIFA 21 were decided by what EA has dubbed as the Ratings Collective, “a talent scouting network with a passion for The World’s Game. From spring speed to finishing,...

The official reveal trailer for FIFA 21 released on Thursday, a day after it was announced that 21-year-old French international and Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe would headline as the game’s newest cover athlete.

The reveal trailer allowed for fans to experience a more in-depth feel of the gameplay on top of what the teaser trailer was able to offer earlier this summer. EA also gave viewers a sneak peek of a new intelligent gameplay style that will include a new agile dribbling system, positioning personality and creative off-ball runs. The full game will reveal sometime in August, EA announced.

Career mode will feature a new way for players to manage every moment, by being able to drop in and out of games to take control of the team during key moments. A revamped growth system, enhanced opposition AI, and new ways to sign players highlight additions made to a...