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K-League blasts Juventus ‘deception’ over Ronaldo no-show

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South Korea’s K-League has accused Juventus of “deception” after superstar Cristiano Ronaldo sat out last week’s friendly in Seoul, enraging thousands of fans.

The Korean league said it felt “disappointed and cheated” and demanded an apology from the Italian football champions after the Portuguese forward spent Friday’s game on the bench.

A sell-out crowd of 65,000 made its displeasure known during the game against a K-League all-stars team, which was delayed for an hour after Juventus arrived late from the airport.

After a flight delay, Juventus requested a police escort and also asked for the game to be cut to two 40-minute halves — a proposal that the K-League branded “ridiculous and insulting”.

“K-League cannot help but feel disappointed and cheated by Juventus for its shamelessness,” a K-League statement said.

More than 2,000 fans plan to sue the sports agency that organised the game, one of a series of pre-season appearances by European teams keen to promote themselves in Asia.

The K-League was unhappy with Juventus’s response to an initial complaint, saying it did not contain an apology or explanation.

The football body accused Juventus of a breach of contract by not playing Ronaldo, rejecting its explanation that he was rested on medical advice.

“Ronaldo did not play even for a minute, contrary to the contract guaranteed that he will play for at least 45 minutes,” the K-League said.

“If Ronaldo was unable to play, it would be a blatant deception to include Ronaldo as a substitute on the start list,” it added.

The K-League also criticised the club’s travel arrangements, and questioned its assertion that it took nearly two hours to get through the airport.

“K-League clearly register our profound indignation and disappointment to Juventus’s irresponsible behaviour and manners, and we strongly urge Juventus to offer a sincere apology and explain the reason for Ronaldo’s no-show,” the statement said.

Fans have lashed out at Ronaldo, urging a boycott of products promoted by the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, while “doing a ‘Naldo” has become a popular term for avoiding work in the office.

The controversy was even dragged into the political arena when opposition lawmaker Na Kyung-won reportedly said: “There is one thing in common between (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un and Ronaldo. They both perceive South Korea as a pushover.”

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Nigeria End Argentina’s U20 World Cup Dream, Reach Quarter-Finals

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The Flying Eagles advance to the quarter-final of the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time in 12 years after defeating host Argentina 2-0 at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario in the early hours of Thursday, The PUNCH reports.

Second-half goals from Ibrahim Muhammad and Rilwanu Sarki secured a shock win for Ladan Bosso’s team.

They will face either Ecuador or South Korea in the quarter-final of the competition in Santiago del Estero on Sunday.

The Flying Eagles started brightly but as the first half wore on, La Albiceleste dominated play.

Striker Alejo Veliz had two scoring chances to break the deadlock as the break approached but missed those sitters.

First, his glancing header went narrowly wide in the 14th minute while his second attempt before the break was saved by Kingsley Aniagboso who was in goal for Nigeria.

In the 61st minute, The Flying Eagles broke the deadlock through Emmanuel Umeh when he flicked the ball over the top for Muhammad, who slotted home a low shot past goalkeeper Federico Gerth.

The goal saw Argentina pile the pressure in search of an equaliser and in the process they had 20 shots at goal as against Nigeria’s nine.

Javier Mascherano’s boys came agonisingly close when Luka Romero’s low drive from a distance hit the upright of the post for Daniel Bameyi to put the ball to safety.

In additional time, substitute Victor Eletu came off the bench for Ibrahim Muhammad to make an assist for Haliru Sarki to score Nigeria’s second on the night and secure a famous triumph for Nigeria for the first time in the competition since 2005.

Nigeria’s win on Thursday ended a run of 10 straight U-20 World Cup victories for Argentina. The young La Abliceleste had won all seven games when they hosted the tournament in 2001, and their first three at this edition.

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Manchester City Deserve to Win, Says Ancelotti

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Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has admitted that Manchester City deserved to win the match because they played better, as Madrid a painful 4-0 loss at Manchester City on Wednesday.

The win completed a 5-1 aggregate defeat for Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final.

Manchester City, who were beaten by Real Madrid at the same stage last season, avenged that heartbreaking defeat with a brilliant performance in front of their jubilant fans.

Only Real Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, prevented them from inflicting even more damage.

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“They played better than us and deserved to win.

“They put a lot of pressure at the beginning, it worked out well for them because they made it very difficult for us to get the ball in play and they went two goals ahead.

“From then on, it was difficult to get back into the game. We tried in the second half… but it didn’t work out,” Ancelotti told reporters.

Ancelotti admitted it was a painful night but said it was too soon to analyse what had gone wrong.

“Evaluating today, at this moment, makes no sense.

“It is a defeat that hurts, it hurts a lot. But it can happen. We reached the semi-finals of the Champions League against a strong opponent, they played better and left us without a final.

“We have to learn and for the next season, to be better,” he said.

This is coming a year after winning a LaLiga and Champions League double, and becoming the first manager to capture titles in each of Europe’s top five leagues.

Ancelotti is now facing up to finishing the campaign with just a Spanish Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup to show for their efforts.

He did, however, set another record on Wednesday, becoming the coach with the most European Cup games (191), surpassing the mark set by former Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson.

But with their rivals Barcelona crowned LaLiga champions last weekend with four-games to spare, Ancelotti was left searching for a silver lining.

“I think it was a good season. We have to show up in the few games we have ahead of us.

“I think that reaching a Champions League semi-final is a success because only four teams make it to the last four,” Ancelotti said.

NAN

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Why We Defeated Chelsea – Arsenal Manager, Arteta

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Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has hailed his side’s dominating 3-1 win over Chelsea on Tuesday night.

The Gunners won thanks to a Martin Odegaard double and Gabriel Jesus strike.

Noni Madueke scored the only goal for the visitors in the second half.

“We wanted to [push Chelsea back early on]. We knew that if we dominated them and got in the final third then they were going to have issues.

“In the first 15 minutes of the second half, we should have scored two or three goals – then the game is over,” Arteta said

The result takes Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester City, who face West Ham on Wednesday.

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