Related items

• Ancelotti to continue coaching 'until the fire dies down'

  Carlo Ancelotti has no plans to call time on his illustrious coaching career, saying he will only leave the sport when he no longer feels nervous ahead of games.

  Ancelotti is one of the most decorated coaches in European football history, with his five Champions League titles as a manager being a competition record.

  The fifth of those triumphs came with Real Madrid in June as they beat Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley Stadium, having progressed through a series of dramatic ties earlier in the tournament.

  Los Blancos overcame Manchester City on penalties in the quarter-finals despite facing 33 shots on their goal in the second leg, a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

  They then salvaged victory from the jaws of defeat in the last four as Joselu scored twice – in the 88th and 91st minutes – to stun Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu.

  Ancelotti so often appears an island of calm amid the chaos, but the Italian insists he still gets nervous ahead of big games and will do so until the day he retires.

  "A life without pressure or a little stress does not exist. Too much stress, no, but a little is fuel. The day I don't have excitement before a match is the day I have to stop," he said at the Mexico Siglo XXI event.

  "Before a match there is worry, there is a negative feeling thinking that it will not go well, that they will score a goal… When the match starts, everything stops.

  "So, you have to look for calm to handle the situations of the game. I will continue coaching until the fire I have for football dies down. 

  "Some great things have happened in my life, some difficult moments. My life has been normal. I have been lucky to have a job that is my passion. I am grateful to football for giving me that opportunity.

  "I still get nervous before a match, I feel pressure, and as long as that doesn't change I will continue here. I see myself coaching for a long time, yes."

  Ancelotti is known for involving his big-name players in his decision-making, and he says that collaborative approach has been key to his success.

  "It is very difficult to explain what a leader should be like. It is much more important to convince than to impose your opinion on them," he added.

  "A leader must have the ability to listen to those who work with you. They can always give you ideas that can help you. 

  "It is important to listen and not think that you know everything because you are the boss. You can always learn."

• Hayes: Men's game still not ready for female coach

  Emma Hayes believes men's football is still not ready for the prospect of female coaches, saying there is much work to be done to bring about true equality in the game.

  Hayes won seven Women's Super League titles during a glittering 12-year spell in charge of Chelsea before leaving to take charge of the United States in May.

  Like England coach Sarina Wiegman, Hayes has sometimes been suggested as somebody who could make the transition from the women's game to men's football, but no female coach has ever taken charge of a team in England's top four tiers on a permanent basis.

  Forest Green Rovers made Hannah Dingley caretaker manager last year while in the fourth tier, only to overlook her and go through three permanent bosses – including former Watford striker Troy Deeney – as they dropped out of the Football League.

  Speaking during an appearance on the Today programme on BBC, Hayes said barriers remain in place to prevent women succeeding in the men's game.

  "I think you need to get more owners in to ask them that question, because they're the people you have to ask that question to. I'm not the one in charge of that," Hayes said.

  Asked whether club owners are ready to appoint a female coach, Hayes said: "Of course they're not, otherwise it would have happened by now.

  "I've said this a million times over – you can find a female pilot, a female doctor, a female lawyer, a female banker, but you can't find a female coach working in the men's game, leading men. 

  "It just shows you how much work there is to be done."

  Hayes has been nominated for the Women's Coach of the Year prize at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony, which will take place on October 28.

  Wiegman, Filipa Patao, Arthur Elias, Jonatan Giraldez and Hayes' Chelsea successor Sonia Bompastor are also in the running. 

• USWNT icon Morgan announces retirement and pregnancy

  United States legend Alex Morgan has announced her retirement from professional football, also confirming she is pregnant with her second child.

  Morgan is one of the most recognisable and decorated players in the history of the USWNT, helping them win back-to-back World Cups in 2015 and 2019 as well as capturing an Olympic gold medal at London 2012.

  Her tally of 224 caps puts her ninth in the team's all-time appearance charts, while only Abby Wambach (184), Mia Hamm (158), Carli Lloyd (134) and Kristine Lilly (130) have bettered her total of 123 goals for the team.

  Since she made her international debut in March 2010, no player has been involved in more goals for the USWNT than Morgan (175, 123 goals, 52 assists).

  Her 88 goal involvements (60 goals, 28 assists) in regular-season NWSL play, meanwhile, put her third in the all-time charts, behind Sam Kerr and Lynn Williams (both 102).

  Despite featuring regularly for the USWNT earlier this year, she was left out of Emma Hayes' squad for the Paris Olympics, where they beat Brazil to win a record-extending fifth gold medal.

  Morgan, who returned to the NWSL with the San Diego Wave in 2022 following a brief spell in the Women's Super League with Tottenham, confirmed on Thursday that her second pregnancy had influenced a decision that was already on her mind.

  "I want to get to the point quickly – I'm retiring. I have so much clarity about this decision, and I am so happy to be able to tell you," Morgan said in a video posted to X. 

  "It has been a long time coming, and this decision wasn't easy, but at the beginning of 2024 I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season that I would play soccer."

  Morgan will play one final match for San Diego before hanging up her boots, versus the Carolina Courage in the NWSL on Sunday.

  In a statement released by U.S. Soccer, the 35-year-old said: "I grew up on this team, it was so much more than soccer. 

  "It was the friendships and the unwavering respect and support among each other, the relentless push for global investment in women's sports, and the pivotal moments of success both on and off the field.

  "I am so incredibly honoured to have borrowed the crest for more than 15 years. I learned so much about myself in that time and so much of that is a credit to my team-mates and our fans. 

  "I feel immense pride in where this team is headed, and I will forever be a fan of the USWNT."