Celtic have appointed highly regarded Australian coach Ange Postecoglou as their new manager after several months in limbo.
Neil Lennon resigned from the post in February with Celtic a huge 18 points adrift of bitter rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.
His departure did nothing to prevent the Gers marching to the title, as they ended Celtic's hopes of winning nine league titles on the spin – Steven Gerrard's men doing so without losing a single match.
Numerous coaches were linked with the role, with Celtic even going as far as confirming they had held talks with former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe but were unable to reach an agreement, reportedly caused by a differing of opinion regarding backroom staff.
Celtic finally have their man in Postecoglou, who was most recently with Yokohama F. Marinos, whom he guided to the 2019 J1 League title.
A Greece-born former Australia international, Postecoglou enjoyed continental success with the Socceroos' youth teams before then also guiding the senior team to Asian Cup glory – the country's first – in 2015.
A year earlier he was Australia's coach at the 2014 World Cup and he then secured their qualification for the 2018 edition, only to resign a couple of weeks after booking their place in Russia.
Upon signing a 12-month deal, Postecoglou said: "The opportunity that has been given to me is one of the greatest honours in football and the responsibility to lead our magnificent football club into the future is one that I will cherish dearly.
"Celtic is one of THE names in world football, of that there is no doubt – a giant of a club, a proper footballing institution and so much more – real history, real substance, real authenticity and real soul. I know Celtic is a true way of life for so many people and I know the demands which come with this position – I am ready to do all I can to meet those demands.
"I will be doing everything I can to get our great club back on top and, at the same time, deliver the kind of football which our fans appreciate. We want to entertain our fans and we want to win, these are the objectives which I always set myself and which I now begin work on."
Throughout his time in football management, Postecoglou – a former defender – has been renowned for implementing progressive, attack-minded systems and drawn praise for his sides' entertaining styles of play.
Postecoglou is only the club's second non-British manager this century after Ronny Deila of Norway, who spent two years in charge up to May 2016.
Mount Pleasant, Cavalier to decide JPL final on June 11, following semi-final victories over Arnett Gardens, H'View
Mount Pleasant Football Academy and Cavalier Football Club will meet in this season’s Jamaica Premier League (JPL) final, following victories over Arnett Gardens and dethroned champions Harbour View in their respective second-leg semi-final encounters at Sabina Park on Sunday.
The St Ann-based Mount Pleasant FA, which was formed in 2016 and earned promotion to the nation’s top-flight league in 2018, got by Arnett Gardens 3-1 for a 5-3 aggregate win to secure their spot in the JPL showpiece for the first time, while 2021 champions Cavalier blanked Harbour View 2-0 for a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.
Trivante Stewart with goals in the 33rd and 40th minutes, that took his tally to 18 this season, and one Shande James (86th), got the job done for Mount Pleasant, after Deandre Cunningham gave Arnett Gardens a 15th-minute lead.
Meanwhile, Collin Anderson (12th and 57th) got both goals for Cavalier against Harbour View, to regain top spot as the league’s leading scorer with 19 goals.
After playing out an entertaining 2-2 stalemate in first-leg action last week, Mount Pleasant and Arnett Gardens wasted little time to pick up from where they left off.
While the Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore-coached Mount Pleasant dominated proceedings, it was the Paul “Tegat” Davis-conditioned Arnett Gardens that drew first blood, against the run of play.
Cunningham picked up a pass from Rushike Kelson and rifled a right-footer past Shaquan Davis in goal for Mount Pleasant.
Given the nature of the game, it was almost certain that Mount Pleasant would hit back and that they did three minutes past the half-hour mark when Stewart muscled his way past a defender to fire past Eric Edwards.
And Mount Pleasant broke the deadlock seven minutes later when Stewart with a deft first touch, created space to turn and drive a well-struck effort that gave Edwards no chance at a save.
The momentum stuck with Mount Pleasant on the resumption, and they should have extended their lead in the 71st but Devonte Campbell, who had time and space in the 18-yard box to pick a spot, failed to finish off a good team build up.
Try as they did, Arnett Gardens had no response to the quality displayed by Mount Pleasant on the day, and almost as if throwing salt in their wounds, it was a former “Junglists” James that capped the win with a tidy finish from just inside the arc.
Winning coach Whitmore lauded the character shown by his team in executing accordingly.
“We were totally in control of the game; we managed the game very well the opponents scored on us but the team showed character and guts and went on to win it. We played this Arnett Gardens team four times, so we looked at their threats and we nullified that, it is just about going into the final now to deliver a title to our owner,” Whitmore said.
His counterpart Davis admitted that they were outclassed.
“They just played a better game than us and they won. We just didn’t come out and play, they were quicker to the ball, their ball movements were better, and they won,” Davis declared.
Cavalier entered their second leg contest with a 1-0 lead over Harbour View and given the defensive nature of both teams, not many goals were expected on this occasion.
With Harbour View pressing to play catch up, Cavalier capitalized and pushed further ahead when Anderson rose above defender to head home Adrian Reid’s weighted cross.
With the scoreline unchanged at the break, Harbour View came out more purposeful after the interval and almost pulled on back, but Vino Barclett got down well to his right, to keep out Colorado Murray’s 56th-minute effort from a distance.
But Cavalier responded a minute late with a brisk counterattack that saw Shaneil Thomas playing Anderson through on goal, and the striker sporting the number nine jersey, dismissed his marker, before driving past Romario Palma in goal for Harbour View.
Harbour View tried to play their game in an attempt to overturn the deficit, but it was not to be as they found Cavaliers defenders in defiant mode.
‘The time has come to say goodbye’ – Zlatan Ibrahimovic retires aged 41
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced his retirement from football at the age of 41.
The AC Milan striker made the announcement on the San Siro pitch following his club’s final game of the Serie A season.
“I have many memories and many emotions in here,” the Sweden international said.
“The first time I arrived here you gave me happiness. The second time, love. I will be a Milan fan for life.
“The time has come to say goodbye to football, but not to you. See you around, if you’re lucky. Forza Milan and goodbye.”
A clearly emotional Ibrahimovic was serenaded by the Milan fans and then given a guard of honour by his team-mates as he left the pitch.
The former Manchester United striker has spent most of the season on the sidelines due to injury, playing just four times for Milan and scoring once in a 3-1 defeat at Udinese in March, and his departure from the club had already been announced.
In July last year he renewed his contract for another year, despite facing the prospect of a lengthy rehabilitation from knee surgery.
Shortly after helping Milan win the Serie A title he had undergone a planned procedure on his left knee to repair damage and instability caused by a previous anterior cruciate ligament injury.
As expected that meant a lengthy lay-off and Ibrahimovic did not make his first appearance of this season until the end of February.
Ibrahimovic began his career at Malmo and joined Ajax in 2001 after rejecting the overtures of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
“Arsene Wenger asked me to have a trial with Arsenal when I was 17. I turned it down. Zlatan doesn’t do auditions,” was how Ibrahimovic put it in his own inimitable style.
The prolific striker also had spells with Juventus and Inter Milan before an unhappy spell at Barcelona, where he complained about how he was used by manager Pep Guardiola.
“When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari,” Ibrahimovic said.
“If you drive a Ferrari you put premium fuel in the tank, you drive on to the motorway and you floor the accelerator.
“Guardiola filled up with diesel and went for a spin in the countryside. If that’s what he wanted, he should have bought himself a Fiat from the start.”
Ibrahimovic joined AC Milan for the first time, initially on loan, in 2010 before moving to Paris St Germain, where he scored 113 times in 122 league appearances.
He also enjoyed spells with Manchester United, with whom he won the Europa League and League Cup, and LA Galaxy before returning to the San Siro.
Sweden’s all-time top scorer with 62 goals in 122 matches, Ibrahimovic quit the national team after Euro 2016 but returned in 2021 for their unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign.
Spezia and Hellas Verona face Serie A relegation play-off after final day drama
Spezia and Hellas Verona face a relegation play-off following a dramatic final day of the Serie A season.
The two sides started the day level on points and could not be separated after both suffered defeats away from home.
Dimitris Nikolaou gave Spezia the lead against Europa League runners-up Roma after just six minutes, but Nicola Zalewski equalised just before half-time and Paulo Dybala held his nerve to convert a 90th-minute penalty.
The spot-kick was awarded after Kelvin Amian fouled Stephan El Shaarawy, with Amian sent off for a second bookable offence.
Verona were on course for the point against AC Milan which would have been enough for safety when Davide Faraoni’s 72nd-minute goal cancelled out Olivier Giroud’s penalty, but Rafael Leao scored twice in the closing minutes to give the Rossoneri a 3-1 win.
After the match, Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his retirement from football at the age of 41.
The first relegation play-off since Bologna faced Parma in 2005 will take place at a neutral venue next weekend.
At the other end of the table, Atalanta thrashed 10-man Monza 5-2 to secure a Europa League place along with Roma, with Juventus set for the Europa Conference League despite a 1-0 win at Udinese.
Champions Napoli ended the season with a 2-0 win over bottom side Sampdoria, Victor Osimhen scoring his 26th goal of the season from the penalty spot after being fouled in the area and Giovanni Simeone rifling home from distance five minutes from time.
A potentially dramatic battle in LaLiga failed to produce any real fireworks as Real Valladolid were relegated following a 0-0 home draw with Getafe.
Six teams were in danger of joining the already-relegated Espanyol and Elche in going down, but Valladolid started and ended the day in the bottom three following a disappointing stalemate.
Celta Vigo made certain of survival with a 2-1 win over champions Barcelona thanks to a brace from Gabri Veiga.
Barcelona ended the season 10 points clear of runners-up Real Madrid after Karim Benzema marked his final appearance for the capital club with the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao.
Benzema scored a 72nd-minute penalty to cancel out Oihan Sancet’s opener early in the second half.
In Belgium, Toby Alderweireld fired in a stunning last-gasp goal to help Royal Antwerp win their first league title since 1957.
The former Tottenham defender – who joined his hometown club last summer – equalised in the fourth minute of stoppage time from outside the box as Antwerp rescued a 2-2 draw against title rivals Genk.
The goal meant Antwerp edged out both Genk and Union Saint-Gilloise by just one point to win the Belgian league title for only the fifth time in their history.
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