Sport

These Manchester United and City footballers could play together at Euro 2020

The Euro 2020 tournament finals are better late than never in 2021 and, from the 24 competing countries, 10 different nations are represented by footballers currently playing for either Manchester United or Manchester City.

The Manc The Manc - 6th January 2021
Wikimedia Commons

The Euro 2020 tournament finals are better late than never in 2021 and, from the 24 competing countries, 10 different nations are represented by footballers currently playing for either Manchester United or Manchester City. 

Premier League stars will have to put domestic club rivalry and local bragging rights to one side when they go on international duty. Fitness permitting, these Red Devils and Citizens players may well take to the field for their respective countries during Euro 2020 (UEFA has kept 2020 as the official name).

Spain

La Roja have won two of the last three editions of the Euros, but the current Spanish side has a very different look to it to the dominant force they were in world football between 2008 and 2013. United goalie David de Gea is obviously first-choice between the sticks.

He is joined regularly in Spain national squads these days by young City defender Eric Garcia, who has been of rumoured interest to Barcelona. Etihad holding midfielder Rodri and attacker Ferran Torres, signed from Valencia this past summer, should also see action at Euro 2020. Spain meet Poland, Slovakia and Sweden in one of the easier pools at the tournament.

Portugal

Over the last 15 years, in particular, there has been a strong Portuguese presence in the Premier League. As the reigning and defending European champions, they too are a team in transition as veteran national coach Fernando Santos has brought fresher faces through from the Euro 2016 triumph. He needs to as Portugal play world champions France and Germany in their group this time.

Star United midfielder Bruno Fernandes can look forward to playing alongside City’s Bernardo Silva in support of the great Cristiano Ronaldo. In defence, meanwhile, Ruben Dias has been a revelation since signing for Pep Guardiola from Benfica with full-back Joao Cancelo also a Portugal regular.

Netherlands

Qualifying for major international tournaments has been something the Dutch have failed to do in recent years, but they will be at Euro 2020. The spine of their side should contain two Manchester-based footballers in Donny van de Beek from United in the engine room and City defender Nathan Ake at the back.

The Clockwork Orange have a seemingly easy Euros pool on paper which pits them against Austria, Ukraine and play-off winners North Macedonia. This is why they are odds-on favourites with online football betting sites to top Group C at Euro 2020, and 10/1 chances to win the tournament.

England

Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, Scotland and Wales all have at least one footballer playing for either United or City that should be heading to the Euros, but the most obvious nation is England. Gareth Southgate has a wealth of homegrown talent and options across the two clubs, as he prepares for group games with Scotland, the Czech Republic and old rivals Croatia.

From Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling starting wide in attack to Harry Maguire and John Stones in defence, as many as eight players from United or City could pull on the Three Lions jersey for the tournament. Southgate also looks sure to include youngsters like Phil Foden, Mason Greenwood and Dean Henderson in his plans for the Euros.

Sport

British rock and mod icon Paul Weller stars in advert for new Oasis x Bohemians football kit

Danny Jones Danny Jones Bohemians FC Oasis kit collab

The music and football shirt crossovers just keep coming thick and fast – and that’s just Oasis alone, as Bohemians FC have released a new collaboration with the legendary Britpop band, looping in none other than Paul Weller for the grand unveiling.

Bohemians share a strong connection with the Gallagher brothers due to their Irish roots, as do Manchester and the ‘Emerald Isle’ in general.

This, of course, isn’t the first big marriage with a major music act they’ve done, as last season’s third-place finishers in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division famously roped in fellow Dublin giants Fontaines D.C. for a collab that sold out in an instant.

However, it doesn’t get much bigger than Oasis and with the Live ’25 reunion shows now just days away (we can hardly believe it either), Bohemians have decided to hop on the bandwagon too and steal some of that ‘band with the three stripes’ buzz for themselves.

Not to be too keen, but can we have 10 of them, please?…

Is this another instant hit? We’d say so, yeah.

Shot by Jamie Goldrick to the sound of cult favourite Definitely Maybe track, ‘Married with Children’, the Oasis x Bohemians kit reveal video was filmed at Cross Guns Snooker Hall: the oldest snooker club in Dublin City, which still remains an important community cornerstone.

As well as starring UK rock and mod culture icon, Paul Weller, perhaps the best bit about the FAI Cup shirt and this whole partnership is the charitable element behind it.

Just like with their Fontaines shirt, which helped supply medical aid across Palestine, the limited edition jersey will help generate crucial money for two key causes.

The first of which is the domestic non-profit organisation, Music Generation Ireland, the country’s national music education programme, which helps children and young people access vocal and instrumental tuition locally.

Secondly, funds will also be diverted to the Irish Community Care Manchester, located along Stockport Road in Levenshulme – further strengthening the mutual support between us Mancs and our cousins across the water.

You can get a close look at the Oasis x Bohemians kit design down below.

The special edition and highly exclusive shirt is already available, with stock already disappearing rapidly thanks to Bohs die-hards, Oasis fans and footy kit connosieurs alike.

With the Burnage boys getting their seismic comeback shows underway with two nights at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff this Friday and Saturday (4-5 July), before heading for a double bill at Croke Park in Dublin this August, the excitement across the globe is already palpable.

It’s almost like this is a big deal or something…

That being said, everything from never-before-seen exhibitions and official Adidas x Oasis merch stores are popping up here in Manchester and, indeed, all over ahead of their sell-out world tour, which is set to be nothing less than the biggest music event of the decade.

Every single teaser trailer and social media post sends fans bananas, and god knows what the scenes are going to be like when they finally head to Heaton Park for the run of five homecoming nights.

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Featured Images — Bohemians FC (press images/screenshots via YouTube)

Sport

Pep Guardiola aims not-so-subtle dig at ‘destructive’ FIFA Club World Cup

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pep Guardiola Club World Cup comments

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is the latest to voice his concerns surrounding the ongoing 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, delivering a not-so-subtle dig at the competition.

Ahead of Man City‘s round of 16 match against Al Hilal in this year’s Club World Cup, of which they won all their group stage games, the Catalan head coach has once again come out to criticise the increasingly congested fixture calendar.

His comments come after former Liverpool manager and now Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, Jürgen Klopp, labelled the current off-season summer run of matches “the worst idea ever.”

Somewhat echoing his statement – or at the very least aligning with it (albeit indirectly) – Pep Guardiola gave his two cents also, claiming that the now extended, 32-team tournament could “destroy” his squad and their fortunes in the next campaign.

Clearly, Pep is far from the biggest of fan of the recently refreshed format, even despite having won the thing on four occasions in the past – the most recent being with Manchester City back in 2023.

Reflecting on what impact he fears the Club World Cup may have on his team next season, Guardiola said: “I try not to think about it, otherwise I will be so anxious. We will rest [for as much time as] the Premier League allows us to.

“And game by game, month by month, we will see. And maybe in November, December, January, ask me, Pep. I may say: ‘So listen, we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The World Cup destroyed us.’ I don’t know, but it’s the first time in our [lives] that that’s happened [a 32-team CWC]. So we will see…”

Unpredictable weather in the United States, where the action is being hosted, has also been the subject of outrage in some cases, with Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca stating, “It’s a joke! It’s not football”, after a major storm delay mid-game pushed meant that one of their games took five hours to finish.

The 54-year-old also insisted that those who were against the tweaked concept “fought a lot” here in England, in UEFA meetings and so on, as was the case with the revision of the new layout of the Champions League, but to no avail.

Regarding Klopp, who set this latest chain of criticism, he claims that whoever wins the 2025 Club World Cup is ultimately “pointless” and will be “the worst winner of all time because they’ll have played all summer and then gone straight back into the league.”

In his eyes, the decisions are being made by people who have “never been involved” with the pressure of day-to-day life in professional football and the physical toll of multiple competitions, in particular.

As for who might win the 2025 CWC, it could very well be Man City for a second time, as the Blues are the only team remaining that has a 100% win ratio this year, having most recently thrashed Juventus 5-2 in their last game.

Nevertheless, it seems that the stance of Klopp, Guardiola, Maresca and more is pretty plain: this particular tournament will go down in the record books for the wrong reasons, and they won’t be happy until the format is revisited.

Do you agree with Pep and co. on the Club World Cup controversy?

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Featured Images — Man City (screenshot via YouTube)

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