Italian Football Federation issues verdict on Coach Spalletti; V-League 2023/2024 rankings

V-League 2023/2024 Rankings: LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai escapes danger

On the afternoon of June 30, V-League 2023/2024 officially ended with the matches in round 26. At Pleiku Stadium, LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai needed a victory against Hai Phong FC to stay in the league. However, after only 21 minutes of play, Hai Phong FC scored the opening goal thanks to Mpande.

After conceding the goal, LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai focused on attacking and equalized 1-1 in the 58th minute thanks to Thanh Nhan. The relentless attacking efforts of the mountain town team were rewarded in the 82nd minute when Rodrigues scored the winning goal, 2-1.

Winning 3 hard-won points at home, LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai narrowly escaped relegation to 11th place on the rankings with 32 points.

In the same match, Song Lam Nghe An surprisingly won 2-0 against The Cong Viettel to move from second to last place to 12th place on the rankings with 30 points.

Both having 30 points but losing the secondary index due to the regrettable 0-0 draw against Dong A Thanh Hoa, Hong Linh Ha Tinh ranked second to last and had to play a play-off to compete for relegation with the runner-up of the 2023/2024 National First Division, PVF-Cong An Nhan Dan.

Previously, Nam Dinh Green Steel won the championship one round early. Khanh Hoa FC was relegated, while SHB Da Nang was promoted to V-League 2024/2025. With 31 goals, striker Rafaelson of Nam Dinh Green Steel won the title of "Top scorer".

Results of the remaining matches of round 26 of V-League 2023/2024: Hanoi FC drew 3-3 with Becamex Binh Duong to finish the season in the top 3. MerryLand Quy Nhon Binh Dinh beat Cong An Hanoi FC 4-1 to win the runner-up position. Ho Chi Minh City Club surprisingly finished the season in the top 4, while The Cong Viettel ranked 5th overall.

Italian Football Federation issues verdict for coach Spalletti

Despite Italy's defeat to Switzerland in the round of 16 of EURO 2024, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) still did not fire coach Luciano Spalletti.

In a press conference on June 30, FIGC President Gabriele Gavrina said: “Spalletti still has our absolute trust. The Italian team will move forward with him. Changing the head coach and ending this project is something I never thought of.”

“The results at EURO 2024 were a huge disappointment. We all have to take responsibility for the national team’s performance and we will not abandon the plan we started with Coach Spalletti,” Mr. Gavrina emphasized.

Coach Spalletti has only been in charge of the Italian national team since August last year. After 14 matches with the blue team, this coach has won 7, drawn 4 and lost 3 matches.

Currently, the contract between coach Spalletti and the Italian team is valid until September 2026. Thus, if nothing changes, the former Napoli captain will continue to lead the blue team to the 2026 World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Head of selection committee suddenly resigns, when will the Korean team find a coach??

The search for a new head coach for the South Korean national team has hit a deadlock again. In the latest move, the head of the selection body, president Chung Hae-sung, has resigned.

On June 29, Mr. Chung Hae-sung announced that he would no longer continue to hold the position of Chairman of the Strengthening Committee under the Korea Football Association (KFA). This is an agency established right after the unforgettable 2023 Asian Cup of Korean football, when they had to fire Klinsmann and lose 10 million USD in compensation for this coach and his team.

To avoid repeating the mistake of Klinsmann’s appointment, the Korean Football Association established a special selection body called the “Strengthening Committee”. This body gathered the most prestigious coaches and football officials in the country. They listed a very long list of candidates but after nearly half a year, everything is still very chaotic.

According to Nate Sports, there have been no less than 10 meetings held but there have always been arguments and disagreements, causing the plans to fall into a deadlock.

With all the difficulties, Mr. Chung Hae-sung broke his promise to fans when he could not appoint a head coach for the national team in May as previously committed. This put him under pressure and he had to resign at the end of June.

According to Nate Sports, Chairman Chung Hae-sung decided to resign because of a conflict with senior officials of the Federation about appointing a new coach. On July 1, KFA Chairman Chung Mong-gyu will decide whether to accept Mr. Hae-sung's resignation or not.

Once his resignation is approved, Lee Im-saeng, chairman of the KFA Technology Development Committee, will replace Jeong Hae-sung to continue selecting a new coach for the Korean National Team.

Man City plans to recruit 2 stars for 100 million pounds

According to the British press, coach Pep Guardiola of the blue half of Manchester plans to use 100 million pounds to recruit two players, Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) and Dani Olmo (Red Bull Leipzig).

Kimmich has one year left on his contract with Bayern Munich. Coach Vincent Kompany hopes to extend the contract with the player. However, the Allianz Arena team is said to let the 29-year-old leave for £40 million rather than lose him for free next year.

Kimmich himself also wants to play in midfield rather than right-back - the position he has played most of his career. Man City can completely satisfy the German player's wishes. In addition to Man City, the player born in 1995 is also a target of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The other name is Dani Olmo - the player who is competing at EURO 2024 with the Spanish team. Man City approached this player last year but have not reached any agreement.

However, Man City are believed to be able to recruit Olmo. The fee for this player is expected to be around 60 million pounds, less than half of another target of the club, Bruno Guimares (currently playing for Newcastle)./.