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Anderson could have been the world's best player if he didn't eat so much and love McDonald's, according to his former Manchester United team-mate Rafael.

United paid £28 million ($39m) to sign Anderson from Porto in the summer of 2007, and he went on to form part of one of the most successful squads in the club's history.

The Brazilian picked up nine trophies during his time at Old Trafford, but was never able to hold down a regular spot in the starting XI, with Rafael now revealing that he struggled to stick to a healthy diet amid persistent struggles with injury.

What's been said?

In an extract from his joint autobiography with twin brother Fabio - The Sunshine Kids - published by The Mirror, Rafael wrote: “We could be on the team coach and pass the services on the motorway and Anderson would jump up impulsively and yell 'McDonald's, McDonald's.'

“The guy was crazy, but I love him. Give him a football and he would just play with freedom and sometimes, if he got a good run of games, he could play as well as any player in the league.

“Not only that, but when he was playing well, we were playing brilliant football. He picked up a lot of big injuries and then his problems with eating the way he did started to affect him.

“It was no coincidence that his best form came when he had a lot of games because that was when he couldn't eat so much. I will say something about Anderson – if he had been a professional football player, he could have been the best in the world.

“I'm saying this with all seriousness. I don't know if he ever took anything seriously. He just loved life in such an easy and casual way.

“In some ways that was a quality. It was what made him so popular and one of the most popular players at the club.

“But he would just eat whatever was put in front of him.”

Anderson's United career

Anderson, who retired from professional football last year following a stint in Turkey with Adana Demirspor, featured in 181 games for United between 2007 and 2015, recording seven goals and 21 assists along the way.

The ex-Brazil international won four Premier League titles, one Champions League, one League Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson, but quickly fell down the squad pecking order following the Scot's departure in 2013.

Anderson was unable to secure regular minutes under both David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, and after a brief loan spell at Fiorentina, he joined Internacional on a free transfer in January 2015.

Further reading 

Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Benedict Vilakazi has questioned Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter’s starting line-up against Al Ahly.

Amakhosi lost 3-0 to Al Ahly in the Caf Champions League final in Casablanca on Saturday and Vilakazi has pointed to Baxter’s decisions for the defeat.

The ex-Bafana Bafana star thinks Happy Mashiane and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo should not have started the game and were overwhelmed by the occasion as they were coming up against more experienced Al Ahly players.

“When the game started, Chiefs looked like they really wanted to compete. There was some hope that they could push it to extra time looking at how they were playing,” said Vilakazi on iDiskiTV .

“But I had questions that you cannot have experienced players and make them sit on the bench. You want to introduce them as substitutes as if they are youngsters. You can’t do that.

"He [Baxter] played Mashiane and deployed Ngcobo on the right.

“For me that was it. It was like saying to coach Pitso, I’m giving you the trophy and the medals because these two boys are young and do not have experience.

"Also, Ngcobo was being played out of position. He is not a winger, he is an attacking midfielder so why can’t you play him in midfield and get someone else to play wide.”

While Khama Billiat recovered from injury a few weeks ago, he was surprisingly on the bench and only came on just after half-time, replacing Ngcobo.

Leonardo Castro was surprisingly left out as well and spent the entire match on the bench.

Vilakazi argues that regarding Billiat as unfit was not valid because the whole team had spent weeks without being involved in competitive action.

“He [Baxter] then introduced Khama in the second half to make him an impact player and there were questions that he was out and not fit. But the whole team spent three weeks without playing a match so everyone was unfit,” Vilakazi continued.

“When it comes to experienced players, even if you are unfit, what you do is use your experience. You might struggle to run 10 or five metres because you are not fit but you can make the ball get to certain positions instead of making so many runs.”

Lebogang Manyama was expected to start but was ruled out of the match with injury.

Further Caf Champions League final reading 

Virgil van Dijk has denied leading the Netherlands squad in a revolt against Louis van Gaal's return, labelling the story circulating in the media as "completely false".

The Netherlands are currently on the lookout for a new head coach following the resignation of Frank de Boer, who took full responsibility for the team's disappointing last-16 Euro 2020 exit at the hands of the Czech Republic.

Van Gaal has filled that post on two occasions already, and has been touted as the most likely replacement for De Boer, but The Mirror has published an article claiming that Van Dijk is one of several members of the national team rallying to try and prevent the appointment.

What's been said?

The report states that Van Dijk and Co wanted former Chelsea assistant Henk ten Cate to take over, but the Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) is instead planning to lure Van Gaal out of retirement just weeks before his 70th birthday.

The Liverpool star has taken to social media to rubbish the claims, though.

"This story is completely false," Van Dijk wrote on Twitter. "It’s never been more important for journalists to tell the truth and not just make stuff up. Shame on you Mr Mullock."

Will Van Gaal be the Netherlands' next coach?

Van Gaal has been out of work since being sacked by Manchester United in 2016, and officially announced his retirement from management and football in all forms in 2019.

The Dutchman enjoyed a hugely successful 25-year career in coaching which included successful spells at Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and he has a Champions League winners' medal, two La Liga titles and one Bundesliga crown on his illustrious CV.

Van Gaal also spent a total of four years in charge of the Netherlands across two separate stints, guiding them to a third-place finish at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

It has been reported that the former United boss will return to lead his country again once a number of tax issues are resolved following his long-term sabbatical in Portugal, however, the KNVB supervisory board has not yet given its official approval.

Van Dijk's international career

Van Dijk made his international debut back in 2015, and has since racked up 38 appearances for the Netherlands, scoring four goals.

The Liverpool centre-back captained his country in the UEFA Nations League final in 2019, which they lost to Portugal, but was unable to feature at this summer's European Championship.

Van Dijk opted to continue his recovery from knee surgery instead of joining De Boer's squad, but should be fit for the start of Liverpool's 2021-22 campaign.

Further reading 

Sally Bolo believes Pitso Mosimane is the best coach in African football after guiding Al Ahly to their second straight Caf Champions League title against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.

The Red Devils successfully retained the crown after securing a 3-0 victory over Amakoshi in the final at the Stade Mohammed V in Morocco.

Al Ahly were forced to wait until the second half to seal the title, with goals from Mohamed Sherif, Mohamed Magdi Afsha, and Amr El Solia inspiring them to a well-deserved win over their South African opponents, who were reduced to 10 men after Happy Mashiane was sent off in the 45th minute.

The former Gor Mahia official has described the South African coach as the greatest of all time in African football after his latest success, and also maintained Al Ahly were the best team and deserved to be crowned the champions.

What has been said? 

"In Al Ahly's history, Pitso [Mosimane] is a GOAT! He’s won the Champions League twice in a row, congratulations to him, he is the best in Africa,” Bolo told Goal on Sunday.

“For the tenth time, Al Ahly have won the Champions League, and it is highly merited, they deserved it.

“Mosimane is the first and only coach from Sub-Saharan Africa to lead teams to three Champions League finals and win all three, that’s Sundown and Al Ahly 

“In the three Champions League finals he has reached, he has a perfect record. So Ahly has it all: experience, great players, and a great coach. They're simply better in Africa.

“This season, Al Ahly was the better team, losing only one game by a little margin, and they were outstanding yesterday [Saturday].”

On whether the red card to Mashiane affected Chiefs’ game plan, Bolo said: “That red card was unfortunate, and it had a psychological impact on Chiefs players, but Al Ahly would have won the final regardless of the red card because they were tactically superior to Chiefs.”

Amakhosi, who were making their maiden appearance in the final, perhaps shaded the opening exchanges with Samir Nurkovic, Mashiane, and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo showing good movement in Al Ahly's half, before the red card on the stroke of half-time.

Further Caf Champions League final reading 

English coach Mark Harrison could be the next man to take charge of the Football Kenya Federation Premier League side Gor Mahia, Goal has reliably learnt.
 
Gor Mahia are in search of a man to replace Carlos Manuel Vaz Pinto, who recently parted ways with the club by mutual consent, and the former Southampton and Stoke City player, now 60, has been linked with the job.

"I am tipping him to be the next coach because the top hierarchy is in agreement that he qualifies for the coaching responsibility," a source close to the development told Goal on Sunday. 
 
"All along, we have been looking for one who is experienced, understands the terrain of African football and Harrison ticks all the boxes and that is why he is at the top of our wishlist. 

"He has been to South Africa and Zimbabwe where he managed top-tier sides and that means he would not have many problems handling our team."
 
On Friday, Goal revealed that the local heavyweights had narrowed their focus to just three countries in search of Vaz Pinto's successor: "The men already on the club's preferred list are from Serbia, Belgium and the United Kingdom. It is too early to give names or say who is likely to be our next coach, though," a source told Goal.
 
"We will undertake the recruitment process with the highest level of professionalism and, in the end, we hope to get the most qualified coach. We need a coach who will help push our ambitions both in the local domestics and in the Caf games.

"Experience is a key ingredient and that has always guided us in recruiting the previous coaches and it is not going to be different this time around. We have always selected top-notch coaches and the results have shown we have been doing a great recruitment job."

Chelsea forward Hakim Ziyech came off the bench to score thrice as they started their pre-season with a 6-1 friendly win against Peterborough United on Saturday.

The friendly at the club’s training base in Cobham saw manager Thomas Tuchel give 22 players playing time but it was the 28-year-old Morocco international who impressed after coming on as a second-half substitute.

Tammy Abraham opened the scoring for Chelsea before Christian Pulisic scored the second from a spot-kick that he had won for a 2-1 half-time lead, after Peterborough had opened the scoring through a penalty of their own.

In the second period, Tuchel altered the squad with ten players coming on and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Armando Broja, Conor Gallagher, and were Ziyech among those introduced to play the remaining 45 minutes.

It was Baba Rahman who set up Ziyech for his first goal before Broja made it 4-1 and then delivered an assist as Ziyech scored his second of the day, before he completed his hat-trick after reacting quickly to a loose ball inside Peterborough’s danger zone.

Ziyech will have more time to impress as Chelsea have friendly matches coming up against Bournemouth, Arsenal, and Tottenham before they take on Crystal Palace in their Premier League opener.

In a recent interview, Tuchel admitted the plans to have a capacity crowd joining the team and his players was a motivating factor ahead of the new season.

‘It’s always exciting to see the stadium and to see the new pitch and to feel a little bit of the atmosphere, we’re happy to come back soon and play here in front of our spectators hopefully,” Tuchel told the club’s official website.

“If this is possible, it would be the first time that it’s a full stadium. We had a great experience against Leicester and we could feel what difference it will make to our sport and to the game.

“We can’t wait to experience it again but we have a long pre-season to go and there’s quite a lot of days in between.”

Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter has lamented their defending and the decision to bring on Khama Billiat in Saturday’s 3-0 Caf Champions League final defeat by Al Ahly at Mohammed V Stadium.

Following a decent showing in the first half, where they managed to hold the Cairo giants, Chiefs collapsed in the second half by conceding three goals inside 21 minutes following Happy Mashiane's red card on the stroke of half-time.

After the interval, Baxter brought on Billiat while Njabulo Ngcobo was sacrificed. 

“Had we gone to half-time with a complete team, then we could have tweaked a few things but as it was, Happy’s red card [was a disadvantage],” Baxter told Chiefs’ media.

“It’s a cup final and you can’t play 4-4-1 and only defend. So we went with 4-3-2 and brought on Khama which was a gamble because he has not played for so long.

“Even the goals we gave away were poor goals. If we defended properly and normally, then we could have extended that time when they don’t score and increase the frustration for them.

"Then maybe we could have got a set-play or counter-attack.

“But as it is we gave away the first goal then tried to devise a way of getting people onto the field and bring us back into the game.

"So it’s a frustrating time but it was unbelievable to get to where we are in this final. Once the disappointment settles, the players will get the credit they deserve.”

Baxter also introduced Anthony Akumu, Philani Zulu and Lazarous Kambole for Njabulko Blom, Willard Katsande and Samir Nurkovic, while Leonardo Castro spent the entire match sitting on the bench.

The Englishman thinks they had a good start to the contest and managed to contain Al Ahly well.

“I thought we started the game well, I think the players approached the game the correct way,” continued Baxter.

“We tried to press a little bit higher than we have done before, we tried to get the ball quickly into our front three. They had a lot of the ball and we did quite a good job of defending our box and still be a little bit dangerous.”

After reaching the Champions League final for the first time ever, Chiefs will not be playing continental football next season after finishing eighth on the Premier Soccer League standings last term.

Had they beaten Al Ahly, they would have automatically earned a Champions League slot for next season. 

Further Caf Champions League final reading 

Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has discussed the club's interest in signing Arsenal's Hector Bellerin and Manchester United's Alex Telles.

The Nerazzurri are in the market for defensive reinforcements after seeing first-choice right-back Achraf Hakimi complete a big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month.

Marotta has now revealed that Bellerin has been identified as a possible replacement, while Telles has also emerged on Inter's radar as they seek extra cover on the opposite flank.

What's been said?

Quizzed on the possibility of a summer swoop for Bellerin, Marotta told Sky Italia: “His is a name that is mentioned by you, there’s our interest, but I won’t go any further, because he’s not our player."

The San Siro chief added on the club's reported interest in Telles: “I won’t rule out anything, but at the moment we are focusing on evaluating all the opportunities without the haste of having to close this or that operation.”

Could Bellerin & Telles both head to Italy?

Bellerin has spent the last 10 years of his career at Emirates Stadium, but it has been suggested that Arsenal could look to cash in on the 26-year-old this summer, with his current contract set to expire in 2023.

In addition to Inter, PSG and Barcelona have also been strongly linked with Bellerin, who has faced plenty of criticism for his inconsistent performances with the Gunners in recent seasons while dealing with a string of niggling injuries.

The prospect of a new challenge in Italy might appeal to the Spaniard, but bringing in Telles could prove to be a more difficult task for Inter.

The Portuguese joined United from Porto for £15 million ($21m) in 2020 and, although he played second fiddle to Luke Shaw at left-back last term, he says he is still determined to achieve great things at Old Trafford.

"It’s a pleasure to be at Manchester United coming into my second season," Telles has told the club's official website.

"Last season, we came really close to winning trophies, so we go into this next season with a lot of desire and I really want to show my work and my value here at the club."

Further reading

Singapore Premier League side Lion City Sailors have agreed a two-and-a-half year partnership with Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, the club have announced. The agreement will see a series of youth development programmes, coaching, educational and professional exchanges as well as football training camps in Germany, among others, expanding the already glowing array of options available to LCS youth team players.

With the Bishan-based club having already invested heavily in their academy, with chairman Forrest Li having poured $10m into the construction of a sprawling new training facility, the tie up with BVB is set to take youth coaching at the club to the next level.

“We are proud to solidify this partnership with LCS, one of the most exciting football clubs in the SPL,” said Benedikt Scholz, Head of International & New Business and Managing Director of BVB Football Academy. “Establishing key partners of this scale and ambition has always been a central part of our vision for BVB, enabling us to keep sharing and contributing towards the growth of youth football in Asia.”

“We are looking forward to working with LCS to bring to life our key objectives in youth development and sport education.”

With Dortmund widely recognised as one of European football’s top talent-producers, bringing through the likes of Marco Reus and Mario Gotze, while nurturing players like Shinji Kagawa, Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland into world-renowned stars, the agreement represents a great coup for the Singapore club looking to make waves in the continental game.

One very tangible benefit of the tie up will be annual training camps in Dortmund for the club’s elite development team, with an additional stint in Westphalia pencilled in for selected players from the Academy’s scholarship programme.

This wouldn’t be Dortmund’s first venture into Singapore football - they actually signed a five-year partnership with Warriors FC back in 2018, but with the club forced to cease operations just a year later, the collaboration was never able to run its course. Suresh Letchmanan, Managing Director of BVB Asia Pacific, was convinced it would be different this time round. 

“The Warriors partnership gave us an opportunity- we fulfilled our part of the agreement. We had our own staff, we had Lars (Ricken), Benedikt, Karl-Heinz Riedler, Roman Weidenfeller, we had a fair number of experts on the ground on and off the pitch. Unfortunately, it is what it is, but it doesn’t end there,” he stressed.

“We have a lot to offer to Singapore, and I don’t see why we cannot continue this relationship and build a huge pillar for Singapore football,” he continued. “LCS obviously has the right infrastructure, the right setup, and this will allow not just the players, but also the staff to work closely with the team in Dortmund.”

Speaking at the virtual press launch, 1997 UEFA Champions League winner Lars Ricken was eager to announce that trainees from LCS’ scholarship programme chosen to travel to Dortmund will be given the chance to train with and play against Dortmund’s own youth teams.

“We’ve had trainees from Southeast Asia before, and they trained with us, they played friendly matches with us and they were taught by our coaches. We hope this will happen too in our cooperation with the Sailors- we want to implement it. We want to see Sailors players here in our own environment,” he explained.

However, with the pandemic still raging, LCS Chief Executive Officer Chew Chun-Liang accepted that slight modifications might have to be made, in the short to medium term at least.

“We’re taking a measured approach,” he analysed. “The health and safety of players and staff are important, so what we plan to do over the next few months is to start with education and coaching sessions done virtually. We believe sometime next year will be a good time for our youth team to travel and attend a training camp in Dortmund.”

“We are an ambitious club with a vision of becoming one of the best in Asia,” he added. “To get there, we must learn from the best, and in BVB we have found a partner that is among the best in the world.” 

“We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with BVB.”

FAS General Secretary Yazeen Buhari was full of praise for the initiative, lauding the positive ripple effect it could have on the local football scene.

“LCS have shown a firm commitment to take the sport to the next level, while BVB continue to see value and trust in Singapore football,” he stated. “I’d like to commend what the Sailors have put in place over the last year. Such a drive will only be beneficial to us, and their efforts will surely have a knock-on effect on the rest of the football fraternity.”

Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane says his side deserved to win the Caf Champions League final against a numerically disadvantaged Kaizer Chiefs side on Saturday night. 

The 56-year-old mentor led the Egyptian football powerhouse to a 3-0 win over Amakhosi, who played the entire second-half with 10 players following Happy Mashiane's dismissal.

Mosimane explained that the Red Devils were desperate to defend the Champions League title against final debutants Chiefs at the Stade Mohammed V in Morocco.

“We really needed this trophy. I know the team from my country also wanted their first star, but we wanted it more than them,” Mosimane told reporters after the match. “The tenth one was the target. It’s good for history, it’s good for our archives. How better to do it than with three goals."

Mashiane was given a straight red card after he made a dangerous tackle on Al Ahly right-back Akram Tawfik on the stroke of half-time.

Mosimane feels that the Chiefs attacker deserved the red card as he let his emotions get the better of him in the biggest match in African club football.

“Yes, I understand that there was a red card but a red card is part of football. You should not be reckless if you play in the cup final," he continued. "You shouldn’t be emotional but this happens in football."

The Red Devils came into the final having thumped Tunisia's Esperance de Tunis 4-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals and Mosimane was pleased to see the Cairo giants continue their scoring form.

"We deserve it, we won it. We have been scoring goals. We have scored in the semi-finals. We have scored all the way. Congratulations to the team," he added. "Al Ahly deserve the tenth trophy to make history.”'

Nicknamed Jingles, Mosimane has now won three Champions League titles and only legendary Portuguese coach Manuel Jose has won more trophies with four titles, which he lifted with Al Ahly.

Jingles will now turn his attention to the Egyptian Premier League with the Red Devils currently placed second on the standings - 10 points behind leaders, Zamalek.

However, Al Ahly, who are the reigning Egyptian champions, have four matches in hand. 

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is determined to keep Danny Ings at the club, although he admits that the player's contract could pose problems for the Saints. 

Ings has just one year remaining on his current deal at St. Mary's, where he has starred since moving from Liverpool in 2018. 

That good form has not gone unnoticed, with Tottenham in particular linked with a move for the prolific forward. 

What was said? 

"We need this player, we want him to play for us," Hasenhuttl explained to BBC Radio Solent.

"But I think it's never helpful to go into the last season with one year left - this is what I think he should know."

'Not a perfect situation'

Ings recently rejected a four-year extension offer from Southampton, but his manager is adamant that he will continue to give his best for the club for as long as he remains a Saint.

"Messages like he doesn't accept our contract, he doesn't want to extend his contract, doesn't help nobody - not him, not us. I don't know who sent these messages, it's not coming from our side, definitely not," he added.

"We have no interest in blaming the player or finding that he's not feeling good here at this club, no interest in not helping perform the best he can for us. It's his position and if it's like this, it would be a pity.

"He's our player for another year, we paid a lot of money for him. When we brought him here, we invested a lot to get him to the highest level and how he is at the moment. We stuck with him with all these injuries he had, gave him the time to recover, gave him the time to perform.

"There's no reason to sell him, but it's always a risk for the player when you go into your final year without a contract. That's why it's never good for nobody, not for us, not for him, because you never know what can happen in football - injuries can happen, which nobody wants.

"People on our team are telling him what to do, we have our opinions about what we want him to do. He's our player and we'd love him to be here, but one thing is also clear - when he is not extending his contract, that it is not a perfect situation for him, it's not a perfect situation for us."

Further reading 

Kaizer Chiefs' fairytale journey in the 2020/21 Caf Champions League ended in heartbreak as the Soweto giants succumbed to a loss to Pitso Mosimane's Al Ahly in the final on Saturday.

Mosimane mastermind Al Ahly's emphatic 3-0 win over Chiefs as the South African coach became the first African coach to win the Champions League title three times.

Only Portuguese tactician Manuel Jose has won the trophy more, with four titles.

Chiefs' management made a big decision prior to the match which took place at Stade Mohammed V in Morocco as Stuart Baxter took charge of the team for the first time after the English mentor had received his South African work permit.

His two assistants, Arthur Zwane and Dillon Sheppard, had guided Amakhosi to the final following the departure of Gavin Hunt, who was dismissed by the Naturena-based club after the local coach steered the team to the Champions League semi-finals.

Happy Mashiane's red card on the stroke of half-time left Chiefs on the back foot, and Baxter had to watch on as Mohamed Sherif, Mohamed Magdi Afsha and Amr El Solia scored for Al Ahly in the second-half.

Check out how Twitter reacted to the final:

Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Stanton 'Stiga' Fredericks believes Amakhosi's run in the 2020/21 Caf Champions League could be the springboard for future success.

The 0-3 scoreline was arguably a bit harsh on the Soweto giants as all three goals came in the second half after they had been reduced to 10 men following Happy Mashiane's red card in first half added time.

It was a reckless challenge, and before that, Chiefs had made a promising start, but after Mashiane's early shower, Al Ahly turned on the style in the second half to canter to victory.

Fredericks senses however that there are positives to take going forward, despite the emphatic loss.

"[Al Ahly's] class shone through at the end of the day and the scoreline tells the story," said the former Bafana Bafana playmaker in the SuperSport TV studio after the match in Casablanca, Morocco. "I think Kaizer Chiefs were outclassed this evening, but I think they can come home and lick their wounds and come back a better team.

"This will catapult them into the [new] season," he continued. "Having played at a higher level against good competition, [they can] come back to the PSL, and have a very good season because of the experience of last season (the just completed 2020/ 21 campaign) and hopefully challenge for the title.

"The thing about football is you don't have long to lick your wounds, you're back on it again - in two weeks time they come up against Orlando Pirates, a chance to redeem themselves.”

Fredericks was referring to the upcoming exhibition match, the Carling Black Label Cup, between Chiefs and Pirates.

Amakhosi have not won silverware since 2015, when they claimed the league title under coach Stuart Baxter.

Baxter recently returned to the club after the sacking of Gavin Hunt, and having had to wait for his work permit, Saturday’s final was the first game in which he was officially back in charge of the Glamour Boys.

The experienced British coach made a big call in opting for Daniel Akpeyi between the sticks, with the Nigeria goalkeeper getting the nod ahead of Itumeleng Khune and Bruce Bvuma.

The stopper had played six matches without conceding a single goal in this season's tournament before the final, but was undone on Saturday.