Wednesday, 22nd September, 2021b

DAILY ANALYST
Wednesday, 22nd September, 2021 Page 11
Sports
Koeman
under
pressure
Ronald Koeman said
he doesn't have the
players to implement
Barcelona's renowned
style of football as
pressure increased on his job following
Monday's 1-1 draw with
lowly Granada.
Barcelona were missing
Ousmane Dembele, Martin
Braithwaite, Pedri, Jordi Alba,
Sergio Aguero and Ansu Fati for
Monday's match, and fell behind
after just 88 seconds at Camp
Nou. They needed a header from
defender Ronald Araujo in the
final minutes to salvage a draw
against a team yet to win a game
in LaLiga this season.
Koeman's men are in seventh,
five points behind leaders
Real Madrid, with only 27,000
out of a possible 40,000 in attendance
at the match. The 1-1 draw
with Granada, who are 17th,
followed a 3-0 humbling at the
hands of Bayern Munich in the
Champions League last week.
When asked about the team's
style of play, Koeman candidly
said this wasn't the Barca team
of old.
"It depends on what we have
available," Koeman said after
the match. "How are we going to
play tiki taki [sic] if there is no
space? Look at the squad. We did
what we have to do. With a bit
more time, we would have won.
"Today's Barcelona is not the
Barca of eight years ago. We play
the Barca way, but we don't have
players to play one-on-one or
Ronald Koeman
with pace. You can't be unhappy
with the team's attitude.
"We played 4-3-3, but we
didn't have pace out wide. Neither
Coutinho nor Demir are
that player. They're not Ansu
[Fati] or [Ousmane] Dembele, so
we have to look for another way."
Amid a turbulent summer in
which the club lost Lionel Messi
to Paris Saint-Germain after
financial difficulties meant they
could not register his new contract,
Koeman's job was under
threat as president Joan Laporta
pondered alternatives.
Koeman and Laporta have
both insisted that their relationship
is fine but tensions
have spilled into the media in
recent weeks. Laporta intimated
Koeman didn't have complete
control of playing issues, which
led the coach to complain in an
interview with the Dutch media.
"Something happened that
I don't think is right," Koeman
told NOS. "[Laporta] was suggesting
that the coach doesn't have
all the power. He spoke too much
and was not wise."
Previously, Koeman has
said he was upset by Laporta's
behaviour in the summer, too,
when he created uncertainty
around his future at the club.
Koeman's contract runs until
the end of the season but sources
have told ESPN there are some
board members that are unsure
it would be wise to keep him in
place until then.—ESPN
Women’s football:
We are joking
and sleeping
– Mercy Tagoe slams GFA
Head coach of the
Ghana Women’s National
team, Mercy
Tagoe-Quarcoo, has
slammed the country’s
attitude towards women’s
football development and says
authorities are merely “joking”
and “sleeping” on the job.
Tagoe-Quarcoo was speaking
following the Black Queens’ 2-0
victory over Cameroon in the
Aisha Buhari Cup tournament in
Lagos on Monday.
The former national star
contends the country is getting
left behind because of the Ghana
Football Association’s lackadaisical
attitude towards women’s
football development in the
country.
“Coincidentally both sides
(Ghana and Cameroon) brought
fresh legs into their team, trying
to test their pulse and how best
they can fit into the team,” she
started.
“My team for instance, like
I told you the last time, South
Africa being our sisters and
girlfriends brought all their stars
Alonso to stop
taking a knee
Chelsea defender Marcos
Alonso has said he
will stop taking a knee
before matches this
season because the
anti-racism gesture is "losing a
bit of strength."
Players and staff have been
taking a knee prior to kickoff
since the Premier League returned
to action in June last year
to show their support for the
Black Lives Matter movement.
and we all know what Thembi
Kgatlana can do, and what she is
doing and what she will continue
to do,” she added.
“I respect them so much
because they have taken the
women’s football to the next level
and we all have to look at it and
emulate. We are joking, believe
you me, we do this today, tomor-
The 30-year-old said he has
decided to stand while other players
kneel and will instead point
to the "No Room For Racism"
badge on the sleeve of his kit to
highlight the issue.
"I am fully against racism and
I'm against every type of discrimination,
and I just prefer to put
my finger to the badge where it
says no to racism, like they do in
some other sports and football in
other countries," he said.
Marcos Alonso
row we do that and next time
when we are called we think we
will get there. When you sleep,
others will wake up and do it for
you to see.”
Ghana had lost 3-0 to South
Africa in their opening game
of the invitational tournament
before redeeming themselves
against the Cameroonians with
goals from Princella Adubea and
Vivian Konadu.
The team travelled to Nigeria
without key members of the
team’s foreign-based players,
including captain Elizabeth Addo,
who was reportedly left out of the
team after she criticized the Ghana
Football Association on social
media for neglecting the Queens.
Ghana will play Nigeria on
October 17, in the first leg of the
qualifiers for the 2022 Africa
Women’s Cup of Nations.—
Citifmonline.com
"I prefer to do it this way and,
of course, to say very clearly that
I am against racism and I respect
everybody."
When asked whether his
decision had changed as a result
of politics, he replied: "I don't
know, I just prefer to do it this
way. It's my way to do it, I think
it's another way.
"And maybe I think it's losing
a bit of strength the other way, so
I just prefer to do it this way and
to show I am fully supportive of
fighting against racism."
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried
Zaha became the first Premier
League player to not take a
knee in March earlier this year
after calling for tangible change
instead of being used to "tick
boxes."
Alonso also said he had not
told his teammates about his
decision but was confident that
the squad will support him in his
stance.
"We are in the changing room
and we are like a family," Alonso
added. I have a very good relationship
with everyone, I love everyone
and up to now we haven't
talked about it.
"I don't think there is a need
to, but, of course, if I have to
speak to anyone, I will say the
same thing I just told you and
I don't think there will be any
problems."
Chelsea, who are joint leaders
of the Premier League, welcome
Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge
for their third round Carabao Cup
clash on Wednesday.—ESPN