Vietnam contributes 2/6 best matches in the group stage of Asian Cup 2023; Barca coach announces resignation
(Baonghean.vn) - Bayern Munich quietly introduced a new 30 million Euro player; Top 6 best matches of the 2023 Asian Cup group stage: Vietnam participated in 2 matches; Barca lost the match, coach Xavi Hernandez announced his resignation... are notable sports news in the past 24 hours.
Bayern Munich quietly introduces new 30 million Euro player
Bayern Munich has just officially announced that they have successfully recruited Sacha Boey. The new player of the Gray Tigers has French nationality and will sign a 4 and a half year contract with the number 1 club in Germany. Boey, whose main position is right-back, will receive the number 23 shirt at the new club.
Boey's previous club Galatasaray has also announced the deal. According to the Turkish team, the 23-year-old defender is worth 30 million Euros. In addition, Bayern Munich can pay Gala an additional 5 million Euros depending on Boey's performance with the German team.
According to the agreements signed by the two parties that have been revealed, Bayern need to pay an undisclosed percentage of the contract value to Galatasaray if Boey is sold in the future. In addition, Bayern will have to play two friendly matches against Galatasaray and the Turkish team will receive 50% of the profits from these two matches.
Before agreeing to spend 30 million Euros to buy Boey and giving in to many favorable terms for the Turkish partner, Bayern Munich tried to push the price down to 15 million Euros in the first offer. Because Galatasaray refused to sell, the Gray Tigers had to increase the price by another 15 million Euros (50% compared to the original offer) to buy Boey as requested by coach Tuchel.
Boey is Bayern Munich's second new signing in the winter transfer window this year. Before the former Rennes player, the German team recruited versatile player Eric Dier for 4 million Euros from Tottenham.
Coach Zidane has the opportunity to lead Liverpool
Since leaving Real Madrid in 2021, coach Zidane has not been able to find a suitable destination despite being interested by many big teams in Europe.
According to a source from the BBC (UK), coach Zidane is one of the candidates specifically targeted by Liverpool to replace coach Klopp, who will leave after the 2023/2024 season ends.
In addition to coach Zidane, Alonso, who is playing very well with Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, is also another notable face that Liverpool is interested in.
Top 6 best matches of the group stage of Asian Cup 2023: Vietnam participated in 2 matches
Vietnam teamended the group stage with the worst result in the history of the Asian Cup. Coach Troussier's team lost all 3 matches and was even eliminated early after only the first 2 matches. However, 2 out of 3 matches of the Vietnamese team were in the top 6 best matches of the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup.
In an article on its homepage, AFC described the Vietnamese team as having “terrified” the top championship candidate, Japan, in the opening match of Group D.
In this match, Takumi Minamino put Samurai Blue ahead in the 11th minute but Vietnam scored 2 goals in a row after that thanks to Nguyen Dinh Bac and Pham Tuan Hai. The Japanese team woke up at the end of the first half with 2 beautiful goals from Minamino and Keito Nakamura before sealing the 4-2 victory at the end of the second half.
Meanwhile, the “internal Southeast Asian” match between Vietnam and Indonesia was voted for thanks to the opponent’s ability to cause surprises. The shocking 1-0 victory helped Indonesia squeeze through a narrow gap to enter the Asian Cup knockout round for the first time in history.
The remaining matches include Saudi Arabia beating Oman 2-1, Iraq beating Japan 2-1, Tajikistan beating Lebanon 2-1 and Malaysia drawing South Korea 3-3.
On the AFC voting portal, the 3-3 draw between Malaysia and South Korea is leading with an overwhelming 78% of votes. The match between Vietnam and Indonesia, 0-1, is in second place with 21%.
Barca lost the match, coach Xavi Hernandez announced his resignation
Early morning of January 28 (Vietnam time), Barca lost 3-5 to Villarreal in round 22 of La Liga 2023-2024. This defeat temporarily ranked Barca 3rd on the rankings, 10 points behind the leader Real Madrid. Speaking after the match, coach Xavi Hernandez said: "If I think with my head and think about Barca, the best solution is for me to leave on June 30."
The 44-year-old coach explained: "I think this decision will help free the team's mood and the situation here. I don't make decisions based on money, my contract will never be a problem. I just make choices with my heart. I don't need anything more from Barca."
Xavi Hernandez is one of the "legends" of Spanish football and Barca. After retiring, he became the head coach of Al Sadd Club (Qatar), before accepting to lead Barca from 2021. Under the reign of Xavi Hernandez, Barca had a "revolution" of rejuvenation, winning the 2022-2023 La Liga championship. However, poor performance in the Champions League and recent poor form have caused Barca and coach Xavi Hernandez to be heavily criticized.
Barca has not officially announced the replacement for coach Xavi Hernandez. According to Spanish press, Rafael Marquez, head coach of Barca Atletic (Barca reserve) is likely to be chosen to take the "hot seat" at Nou Camp.
