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Ronald Koeman named new manager at Barcelona
Barcelona has hired Ronald Koeman as their new coach after dismissing former manager Quique Setien earlier this week.
Koeman, who was previously in charge at the Netherlands, has been signed to a two-year deal, though the deal has a one-year option in case the next Barcelona president wants to choose their own coach. A new Barca president will be elected in March.
During his playing career, Koeman became part of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team" at Barcelona, where he helped the club win four straight La Liga titles and scored the game-winning goal in the 1992 European Cup.
After he finished playing, Koeman went into coaching and returned to Barcelona as an assistant to Louis van Gaal in 1998. Since then, he has been linked to the position of Barcelona's manager.
"It was an honour to be the national coach of Netherlands," Koeman said. "For the past two-and-a half-years I have done everything I can to achieve successes with 'Oranje'. I look back with pride on what we have achieved together in that period. The Dutch national team has a bright future, I am convinced of that. Everyone knows that Barcelona is my dream club. It feels very special to me to be able to become a coach there."
Despite being a dream come true for Koeman, he walks into a difficult situation with Barcelona. Superstar Messi is reportedly unhappy with the team as they have struggled to compete in recent tournaments. If Koeman is going to right the ship, he will need to so quickly.
More must-reads:
- Gerard Pique: Barcelona need 'changes' after Bayern Munich thrashing
- Could Cristiano Ronaldo join Lionel Messi at Barcelona?
- The 'FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winners' quiz
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Journalist: Liverpool ‘waiting’ on three transfers to happen before submitting ‘fresh bid’ for 25y/o
Three Premier League dark horses to watch in 2025-26
The 2025-26 Premier League season kicks off on Friday, Aug. 15, with defending champion Liverpool hosting Bournemouth at Anfield. There are three lead candidates for the league title this season: Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. However, just behind them lie several teams capable of making a strong trophy run... and potentially even winning the league outright. Here are the Premier League's top three dark horse teams for the 2025-26 season: Chelsea Last season: 4th Key departures: attacking midfielder Joao Felix (to Al-Nassr), winger Noni Madueke (to Arsenal), forward Armando Broja (to Burnley) Key additions: forward Joao Pedro (from Brighton), winger Estevao (from Palmeiras), forward Liam Delap (from Ipswich Town) Chelsea's overloaded, overpaid squad (anyone remember £116M Mykhailo Mudryk?) made it the laughing stock of the Premier League for several seasons. That said, after a strong finish to the 2024-25 season, no one's laughing anymore. Chelsea is the defending Club World Cup champion after beating PSG 3-0 in New Jersey this summer. It hasn't just made it back to the upper echelon of European soccer; it's blown past everyone and taken the top spot. The Premier League season is long, though. While Chelsea's revamped squad will no doubt challenge for silverware, it still falls behind Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City on questions of consistency and grit. But it does have one crucial thing going for it: a new goalscorer who has already proven his bona fides. Arsenal fans will have to wait and see if new striker Viktor Gyokeres is the real deal; Chelsea fans, after watching Pedro terrorize the Club World Cup in his debut this summer, don't have to wait at all. Aston Villa Last season: 6th Key departures: forward Marcus Rashford (to Barcelona), center back Axel Disasi (loan expiry; back to Chelsea), attacking midfielder Marco Asensio (loan expiry; back to PSG) Key additions: forward Zepiqueno Redmond (from Feyenoord), forward Evann Guessand (from Nice) It's been a quiet summer for the lovable Premier League dark horse. The club has bid farewell to a few of its loanees and welcomed young, largely unknown prospects in their wake. None of Aston Villa's summer signings make much of a statement... that is, until you realize what coach Unai Emery is doing with them. Emery, in partnership with his longtime director of football Monchi, doesn't want a Chelsea-sized stable of high-value players. He'd much rather work with moldable young talents that he can train as needed and sell on for a profit in the future. This approach is something of a gamble in a competition as moneyed as the Premier League, but it's worked out well for Emery thus far. His Aston Villa has bounced back from finishing 14th in 2021-22 to finishing in 7th, 4th and 6th in the three seasons of his tenure. Tottenham Hotspur Last season: 17th Key departures: forward Son Heung-Min (to LAFC), defensive midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (to Marseille), forward Timo Werner (loan expiry; back to RB Leipzig) Key additions: winger Mohammed Kudus (from West Ham), center back Kevin Danso (from Lens), forward Mathys Tel (from Bayern Munich) It's hard to know just what's going on with Tottenham Hotspur. On one hand, things have turned around drastically from last season's nigh-unbelievable 17th-placed finish: new coach Thomas Frank has established a healthy working environment, the club has cleared out some of its older and less productive players, and key signings Kudus and Tel are already proven on the European stage. But crisis is never far away at Spurs, and that adage has proven itself to be true once again in 2025-26. Attacking midfielder James Maddison suffered an ACL tear in preseason and is expected to miss the entire year; statement signing Morgan Gibbs-White fell through after Nottingham Forest renegotiated to keep him on its roster. Both are huge losses for the North London club. As the Premier League season ticks closer, the question on everyone's mind is this: which Spurs will we get in 2025-26? The Spurs that consistently failed to compete against their Premier League peers despite their riches and quality? Or the Spurs that stormed to the Europa League trophy despite all that frustration? With Frank's steady hand on the tiller, signs point to the latter — and that firmly throws Spurs into the mix as a dark horse title contender in 2025-26.
Commanders make a surprise cut, releasing one of their own draft picks
The Washington Commanders shook things up in a big way on Monday, making a series of roster changes that brought in three new faces, sent three players packing, and placed two more on injured reserve. The Commanders are clearly in evaluation mode, trying to find the right combination of experience, depth, and upside before the regular season kicks off. Washington knows that preseason is the time to experiment, but these moves also show they’re not afraid to make tough calls when things aren’t working. Tough Day for Three Departing Players The most notable departure is Dominique Hampton, one of general manager Adam Peters’ 2024 NFL Draft picks. Selected in the fifth round, Hampton came in as a safety but was quickly asked to shift into a linebacker-hybrid role — similar to how Washington used Jeremy Chinn before he left for Las Vegas in free agency. While the plan sounded promising on paper, it never clicked on the field. Hampton only appeared in one game as a rookie, logging six special teams snaps and never seeing time on defense. In last Friday’s preseason opener against the New England Patriots, Hampton played 42 defensive snaps and 15 on special teams, recording five tackles but also committing a costly face mask penalty on an 18-yard run. That penalty moved the ball deep into Commanders territory and set up a Patriots touchdown. Joining Hampton on the release list are defensive end Viliami Fehoko Jr. and cornerback Allan George. Neither had played in a regular-season game for Washington, but both saw action in the preseason loss to New England. Fehoko’s night was short-lived after just 14 snaps due to injury, while George played 38 snaps, making one tackle and breaking up a pass. Veterans Step In to Bolster Depth To fill the openings, the Commanders signed cornerbacks Essang Bassey and Antonio Hamilton Sr., along with linebacker Duke Riley. Hamilton Sr. brings plenty of experience, having played for five NFL teams since entering the league in 2016. Most recently, he suited up for the Atlanta Falcons in 2024, giving Washington a seasoned veteran who can step in immediately. Bassey, who spent time with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers from 2020 to 2023, didn’t see the field last season but has shown flashes of potential in previous years. Riley is a familiar face for head coach Dan Quinn, who drafted him in the third round back in 2017 when he was coaching the Falcons. Riley spent two seasons in Atlanta, a short stint with the Eagles, and then the past four seasons with the Miami Dolphins. His versatility and special teams ability make him an intriguing addition to the linebacker room. Roster Spots Open on IR On top of the signings and releases, Washington placed offensive tackle Lucas Niang and cornerback Kevon Seymour on the reserve/injured list. Niang was expected to provide depth on the offensive line, while Seymour was competing for a spot in the secondary. Losing both players means the Commanders may need to continue looking at free-agent options or rely on internal development to cover those spots. If there’s one thing this round of moves shows, it’s that the Commanders are serious about fielding the best possible roster. Preseason is short, and every snap counts when evaluating talent.
Dolphins humiliated by Lions at joint practice
Joint practices have revealed some problems for the Miami Dolphins with a few weeks to go before the regular season. Tua Tagovailoa started against the Chicago Bears in Sunday's preseason game, wanting to show improvement after having a bad showing during the Dolphins' joint practice in Chicago on Friday. Tagovailoa did play better, going 5-of-6 passing for 27 yards and led the Dolphins to the Chicago 1-yard line before the offense was stopped on downs. A few days later, Tagovailoa and the offense had another poor performance at their joint practice with the Detroit Lions. Per Colton Pouncy of The Athletic, Miami couldn't score in the red zone against a motivated Lions defense during Wednesday's practice. "Dolphins offense just ran 16 or so plays in the red zone vs. the Lions and didn’t score until the final play (between the second units)," Pouncy posted on X. "Miami’s first-team offense didn’t score in the 7-8 plays vs. Detroit’s first-team defense. It was ugly. Lions’ D is having a day." Pouncy's observation of the Lions manhandling the Dolphins was universal among beat reporters covering the Lions and Dolphins, with The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner calling it the most "lopsided" practice he'd witnessed covering the NFL. Last week, Omar Kelly of the Miami Sun Sentinel said Miami folded when the Bears defense began to whip on the offense. The accusations of the Dolphins being a soft team are going to continue until they decide to fight back in joint practices or against opponents in the regular season. When healthy, the Lions have a fierce defense. So Detroit having the edge isn't a surprise, though not being able to score during 16 plays in the red zone is a concern. Miami doesn't appear to have found an identity, and that could spell doom for the season if it doesn't get it figured out before Week 1.
George Pickens has been 'incredible' with Cowboys after failed Steelers tenure
The Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly grew "fed up with" George Pickens before they traded the mercurial wide receiver to the Dallas Cowboys in May. While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, first-year Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer indicated that Pickens has been nothing but a model employee over his first several months with the organization. "From the time we got George and he came into my office, he made it clear that he wants to be coached," Schottenheimer said, Sports Illustrated's Tyler Reed shared. "He wants to be a great player. He told me to 'lean into me, be tough on me.' He’s been nothing but incredible in terms of the way he’s worked and communicated with us." Per the Cowboys' website, Pickens has been responsible for multiple highlight-reel plays during training camp. That's hardly surprising, as the 2022 second-round draft pick flashed all kinds of physical talent across his three seasons with the Steelers. That said, Pickens also developed a reputation during his Pittsburgh tenure with his emotional outbursts during games and for looking displeased over a lack of targets while on the sidelines. Additionally, he allegedly was guilty of a "litany of violations," such as showing up late for Pittsburgh's Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs last season. It's no secret that Schottenheimer and Co. hope that having No. 1 receiver CeeDee Lamb as a teammate will help keep Pickens on his best behavior through the upcoming season. On Tuesday, Schottenheimer said that "the relationship [Pickens] has with CeeDee is special." Pickens has many reasons to want to excel while with the Cowboys. He is in the final year of his rookie contract and is not expected to receive an extension before the season begins. Meanwhile, DraftKings Sportsbook had Dallas at +180 betting odds to make the playoffs this season as of Wednesday morning. Pickens will get his first real opportunity to show the Steelers made a mistake by letting him go with a prime-time matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4.
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