22/04/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | APR 22, 2026

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Ex-Spurs star Davids condemns ‘lack of quality, lack of management’ FORMER Tottenham star Edgar Davids yesterday told AFP that the fallen London giants will find it hard to avoid relegation and condemned “a lack of quality and a lack of management”. Tottenham are on their third manager of a disastrous season and sit in the Premier League relegation zone, two points adrift of safety with five matches left. Former Netherlands international midfielder Davids said

the appointment of Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi three weeks ago was a good move, but fears for Spurs’ Premier League future. Asked how Tottenham had ended up in such a predicament, Davids said: “It’s very obvious, if you pay peanuts, you get, “It’s a lack of quality and a lack of man agement. Everything.” Davids, who played for Spurs in 2005-2006 after starring for Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona and Inter Milan, said Spurs should have strengthened an injury-hit squad in the winter transfer window. “I hope they stay up, I think it’s a very

in Hong Kong. Chelsea will play Juventus on Aug 5 to round off the mini-tournament. All the teams will hold open training sessions ahead of the matches giving Hong Kong fans an extra chance to see star players such as City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Inter’s Lautaro Martinez and Juventus’s Dusan Vlahovic. The action does not stop there for fans in the football-mad southern Chinese city, as Bayern Munich and Aston Villa have already announced they will play a friendly in Hong Kong on Aug 7.

CHELSEA GREAT Roberto Di Matteo said yesterday it was “vital” that the faltering Premier League side add experienced play ers and backed Liam Rosenior to still be in charge next season. The London club are in the midst of an alarming slump, sixth in the table after four defeats in a row and in serious danger of missing out on Champions League football. Boos greeted the full-time whistle fol lowing Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge after some sup porters staged a street protest against own ers BlueCo ahead of kickoff. Former midfielder Di Matteo, who guided Chelsea to Champions League glory as manager in 2012, said “inconsistency” was understandable given the young age of the squad. “I think the owner just said it last week. On the weekend he said that they’re proba bly going to look at changing the transfer policy a little bit,” Di Matteo said at the launch of the “Hong Kong Football Festival” featuring Manchester City, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus in August. “I think it’s vital. If you want to have a lit tle bit more consistency, if you want to be able to challenge, maybe for the Premier League, you need to have a good balance. “You need very good, young, talented players, but you also need a little bit of experience within the team.” The 55-year-old Italian, who was a main stay of the Chelsea team from 1996 to 2002, said allowances needed to be made for under-pressure Rosenior given he only replaced Enzo Maresca in January. “You take over a team that was built for a different coach, with a different system,“ he said. “It’s always hard to be able to put your print on the team during mid-season. Everybody expects you to get it going straight away. – AFP Chelsea need experience: Di Matteo Philadelphia will host five group stage games, beginning with Ivory Coast against Ecuador on June 14, along with a round of 16 tie. good thing they got in De Zerbi,” said the 53-year-old. “But it’s hard. They should have done big things in the winter period to get some players in. It was obvious.” Philly to provide free trans port for WC fans FOOTBALL FANS heading to Philadelphia for the World Cup will be able to take advantage of free trans port after all six matches in the city, Philadelphia Soccer 2026 said yester day, thanks to a partnership with travel rental platform Airbnb. The announce ment stands in stark contrast to some host cities that are raising transporta tion prices during the tournament. On Friday, New Jersey announced round trip public transit tickets to games will cost US$150 (RM600), a more than 10 fold increase. Fans in Boston, mean while, will need to pay US$95 (RM380) for a return bus trip to Gillette Stadium. While regular fares will apply for travel to the games at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field stadium, Septa (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) will provide free train rides home with the service starting at half-time and continuing for two hours after the matches end.

SIDENETTING

Man City, Inter, Chelsea and Juve to face off in Hong Kong

Perfect time for Brazil to win World Cup: Cafu BRAZIL’S two-time World Cup winner Cafu said on Monday he believes this year’s tournament is the perfect time for the five-time champions to take back the crown for the first time for 24 years. Cafu was captain when Brazil won their fifth World Cup, beating Germany 2 0 in the 2002 final in Yokohama. He was also part of the side that beat Italy on penalties to win in 1994 in Pasadena. “Twenty-four years after the last title win, I think it’s the perfect moment for Brazil,” Cafu told reporters in Madrid, where he is attending the Laureus Awards. “We’ve also brought in a serial winner of a coach, Carlo Ancelotti, who will add to the greatness of the Brazilian national team.” Cafu, who was a right-back, said Brazil already had strength in midfield and attack, so Ancelotti had focused on strengthening the defence for this year’s tournament to be held in the US, Mexico and Canada. “Because if Brazil doesn’t concede goals in a World Cup, they’re sure to score a goal per game,” Cafu said. He said he hoped Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior, a player often embroiled in controversy, would have a strong tour nament, saying: “The World Cup is the best way to overcome any kind of contro versy. “In those eight matches (if they reach the final), Vinícius Junior has the potential to show the whole world his worth and what he can do in terms of football.” Vinicius produced an assist in the 3-1 victory over Croatia in Orlando on April 1, which helped dispel doubts after the defeat against France in another friendly. Endrick, 19, also shone in the the Croatia win. “I think it’s a good time for him,“ said Cafu, who believes Real Madrid’s decision to loan the forward to French club Lyon last year had been a positive move for the teenager. “It did him a lot of good. It helped him grow, play, make his mark, and become a key player. It’s obvious that at Real Madrid, with so many stars, it’s difficult for a young player to become a key player. “He’s a young player who can contrib ute a lot to Brazil, and I’m sure Ancelotti is looking at him favourably,” added Cafu. – AFP ENGLISH and Italian football giants Manchester City, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus will square up for pre season friendlies in Hong Kong in August, the clubs announced yester day. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, currently arm-wrestling Arsenal for the Premier League title, will take on Inter Milan on Saturday, Aug 1, spearheaded by their Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland. The match will kickoff the“Hong Kong Football Festival”at the city’s futuristic 50,000-seat Kai Tak sta dium. The gleaming arena opened a year ago, featuring a roof that can be closed and air-conditioning to combat the fierce summer heat and humidity

Foxes in peril

Leicester players look dejected after the defeat to Swansea in the English Championship on April 11. – AFPPIC

Leicester fairytale turns sour as relegation to third tier looms T EN YEARS after authoring the ultimate sporting fairytale, former Premier League champions Leicester are on the brink of a humiliating relegation to the third tier. Foxes were two points from safety and the former Leicester defender has mustered only one win from his 11 matches since. But it is his players that have taken the brunt of the blame, with fans chanting “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” and engaging in an altercation with mid fielder Harry Winks after last weekend’s loss at Portsmouth.

If Gary Rowett’s side fail to beat Hull overnight, they will be condemned to League One for only the second time in their history. Languishing eight points from safety with only three games left, the Foxes appear destined to plunge into the third tier for the first time since 2008 09 following an astonishing decline over the last five years. It would be a third relegation in four seasons for Leicester, who dropped out of the Premier League in 2023 and 2025. After Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and company defied 5,000-1 odds by winning the Premier League in 2016, Leicester reached the Champions League quarterfinals the next season and won the FA Cup in 2021. But Leicester’s golden era is a distant memory as they face the unpalatable prospect of playing the likes of Bromley, Mansfield and Wycombe next sea son. Crashing out of the Premier League in limp fash ion three years ago should have been a wake-up call for Leicester’s Thai owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and much-maligned sporting director Jon Rudkin. But Leicester’s hierarchy were painfully slow to address numerous flaws on the pitch, while the club’s ruinous finances have cost them with a six point deduction this season for breaching spending rules. Vardy’s departure at the end of last season sev ered the last tie with the title-winning squad. Marti Cifuentes, hired to lead a promotion push, struggled to rebuild an unbalanced and inexperi enced squad before his sacking in January. Interim boss Andy King was unable to turn the tide and relegation fears began to mount after Leicester blew a 3-0 half-time lead in a dismal 4-3 defeat against Southampton. By the time Rowett was hired in February, the

“A lack of fight is something that’s been labelled at the team over the course of a season. I don’t know whether that’s fair but I think we’ve showed a lack of quality,” Rowett acknowledged. Boardroom blunders have been the defining influence on Leicester’s plummet towards League One. Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has struggled to fill the shoes of his father, Vichai, who was killed in a helicopter crash at the King Power stadium in 2018. Claudio Ranieri, architect of their title-winning campaign, was sacked just months after lifting the trophy, with Craig Shakespeare and then Claude Puel proving inadequate replacements. Brendan Rodgers, who masterminded the club’s FA Cup triumph and two fifth-placed finishes in the Premier League, was dismissed as relegation beck oned in 2023. Even when Enzo Maresca led Leicester to promo tion in 2024, he immediately departed for Chelsea, necessitating the unpopular and unsuccessful appointment of Steve Cooper, who previously man aged rivals Nottingham Forest. Rudkin’s recruitment has been no better, with expensive flops Patson Daka, Oliver Skipp, Jannik Vestergaard and Harry Souttar adding to a wage bill that topped £200 million (RM1.04b) in 2023 and reportedly contained no clauses to reduce salaries upon relegation. Foreshadowing Leicester’s descent, Aiyawatt said in January: “In almost 16 years, we have won five tro phies, we’ve had two relegations, three times in Europe. It’s like a movie. It’s like a super drama on Netflix . “We grew bigger and bigger and we forgot what we were before. We thought we are here and that is the most dangerous position to be in.” – AFP