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Former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Raphael Varane is living ‘another life’ at Como, as he agreed to remain as a club board member after a brief experience on the pitch that led him to hang up his boots once and for all.
The former centre-back joined the Serie A newcomers in the summer of 2024 but was just 23 minutes into his debut with them in the Coppa Italia when he picked up an injury that convinced him to end his playing career.
Having decided to move to the Lariani to get involved in a fascinating project, the ex-France international accepted to stay at the club in a different role following his retirement, with Como announcing in October that he would focus on ‘youth development, education and product innovation’.
Varane praises Como’s ‘different vision’: ‘It’s another life’
“Como is a special project,” Varane told The Athletic in an interview.
“It’s a different vision. It’s about ambition but also about values. It’s also a very special setting, a place where I can make a contribution and help develop the club.
“It’s just different; it’s not better or worse, it’s another life.”
The Athletic further detailed the scope of Varane’s role at Como, revealing that he will welcome young players to residential camps as part of projects that combine football with education and culture.
“I like to build projects that have a vision, a strategy to build innovative things,” Varane continued.
“It’s this innovative side that I like. We want to create something where they (young people) can really understand how to progress and give them a unique experience that will leave a mark on them as players, but also as people.
“Passing on certain values that will serve them well whatever happens.”
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Tottenham face dressing room ‘revolt’ after Ange Postecoglou sack news; huge summer ahead
Ange Postecoglou has been sacked by Tottenham following a disappointing domestic campaign Tottenham have finally relieved Ange Postecoglou from his duties. The Australian’s future at N17 was hanging in the balance for quite some time now, and the club decided to part ways on Friday following a ‘review of performances.’ Many fans and pundits thought that the North London club turned a new page when they ended their long-standing trophy drought last month by winning the Europa League. However, the club’s hierarchy is still making the same mistakes each year and they hit a new low on Friday. If the decision is based only on the Premier League results, then it might have been the right decision as the Lilywhites finished just a place above the relegation zone. But winning trophies is the only thing that matters in football… and Big Ange managed to do just that at N17 this year. The ex-Celtic boss had promised the fans earlier in the season that he always won a trophy in his second season at a club. It is fair to say that he walked the talk and delivered on that promise in spectacular fashion. The North London club exceeded all expectations and won the Europa League, ensuring Champions League qualification along with it. Huge problems ahead for Tottenham as players are unhappy with the sack news Well, it is fair to say that the decision of sacking Ange Postecoglou has not gone down well with the fans and the players. Some players have taken to social media to thank Big Ange for his contributions to the club and there is a social media revolt against Daniel Levy amongst fans. The departure of the Australian tactician has dampened the mood around N17 just two weeks after the club won the Europa League. As per The Telegraph, Tottenham players are ‘unhappy’ with the sack news and there is a possibility that the dressing room might revolt against Daniel Levy. It is also believed that some players might want to leave the club following Big Ange’s departure. The aforementioned report also suggests that the Australian kept the dressing room together when the media was scrutinising the players week in week out. Many players had publicly backed Ange Postecoglou to turn the fortunes around at the club following the Europa League success. The ex-Celtic boss was also keen to continue at the club and made it clear during the trophy parade that ‘season three’ would be better than the previous two seasons. However, Daniel Levy thought otherwise and killed off the main character before season three even began. One can only feel sorry for the new manager that will takeover the reigns at N17. It was reported earlier that Brentford boss Thomas Frank is the leading candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou. Frank will have a huge task of getting the fans and the players back on board before the start of the new season. And Daniel Levy will also hope that the decision to appoint a new manager works out well as Spurs look to start a new era at Hotspur Way.
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love’s Action Causes Teammate to Get Yanked From Drill
It appears that Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is getting better at one area, particularly when it comes to the hard count. He had success last week with his hard count when he got both Nate Hobbs and Edgerrin Cooper jumping on separate occasions. Love, who is entering his third season as the Packers’ full-time starting quarterback, continues to work on his game and polish areas where improvements can be made, and mastering the hard count seems like one of the items he is focused on in the training camp. It can also be recalled that he talked about the hard count back in the 2023 OTAs as an “emphasis that I’ve been trying to just build and keep working.” Green Bay offense takes friendly fire over Love’s hard count On Monday, Love drew another offside because of his hard count, but not at the expense of the defense. Via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic: “Love got Hobbs to jump with his hard count last week. On Monday, Love got another Packers newcomer to jump on the hard count. The only problem for Love is that it was his own left guard. Banks flinched right before defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt and was booted from the drill for Jacob Monk.” Getting familiar with Love’s cadence is a challenge for the Packers’ offensive line, as the team definitely doesn’t want to see the QBs hard counts resulting in penalties for the offense instead of seeing the same intended result for the opposing defense.
Report: Bengals draw hard line in Trey Hendrickson contract talks
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Could wheeler-dealer Yankees replace Anthony Volpe at shortstop?
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