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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been named the Football Writers' Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year for the 2019-20 Premier League season.

The Reds midfielder played a central role as the Anfield club stormed their way to the Premier League title, their first English top-flight crown in 30 years.

Henderson saw off competition from Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford, among others, to win the award.

The FWA Footballer of the Year - the oldest individual award in English football, given out every year since 1948 - is given to the player considered both to have had an outstanding impact on their club's performance in the season, as well as having performed well individually throughout the campaign.

Henderson was one of five Liverpool players to receive votes, with Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane also picked by some journalists.

De Bruyne came second in the voting with Rashford third, while Alisson and Van Dijk rounded out the top five.

The FWA said 15 players in total received votes from their members, with some surprising selections from the writers who put forwards their opinion on the outstanding performer in the 2019-20 English football campaign.

Raheem Sterling, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Sergio Aguero, Adama Traore, Danny Ings, Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Jonny Evans were all picked by at least one writer.

Henderson told the FWA website : “I’d like to say how appreciative I am of the support of those who voted for me and the Football Writers’ Association in general. You only have to look at the past winners of it, a number of whom I’ve been blessed to play with here at Liverpool, like Stevie (Gerrard), Luis (Suarez) and Mo (Salah) to know how prestigious it is.

“As grateful as I am I don’t feel like I can accept this on my own. I don’t feel like anything I’ve achieved this season or in fact during my whole career has been done on my own. I owe a lot to so many different people, but none more so than my current team-mates, who have just been incredible and deserve this every bit as much as I do.

“We’ve only achieved what we’ve achieved because every single member of our squad has been brilliant. Not just in matches, not just in producing the moments that make the headlines and the back pages, but every day in training. 

“The players who’ve started the most games for us this season have been as good as they have been because of our culture and our environment at Melwood. No one individual is responsible for that – it’s a collective effort and that’s how I view accepting this honour.

“I accept it on behalf of this whole squad, because without them I’m not in a position to be receiving this honour. These lads have made me a better player – a better leader and a better person. If anything I hope those who voted for me did so partly to recognise the entire team’s contribution.

"Individual awards are nice and they are special and I will cherish this one, but an individual award without the collective achievement wouldn’t mean anywhere as much to me – if anything at all.”

Mohamed Salah remains an “incredible” asset for Liverpool regardless of what certain critics may think, says Jordan Henderson, with the Reds skipper talking up the importance of a fearsome attacking unit at Anfield.

The remarkable run of success enjoyed at Anfield in recent times has been spearheaded by a prolific trio of forwards.

Salah, along with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, has led from the front and delivered a record-setting collection of goals.

Questions have been asked of a supposed selfish streak in the Egyptian’s game and his working relationship with some of those around him – while his efforts have sparked inevitable admiring glances from afar – but Henderson considers Salah to be a priceless commodity.

The Reds skipper told the Liverpool Echo: “People may be critical at times but Mo has been outstanding. He set the bar so high, people expect that every year but look at his performances and his goals, he is incredible.

“Just look at what he has achieved so far, he has made a huge difference since he came into the club. A great guy off the pitch and a great person to have around. I can't speak highly enough of him.”

While Salah continues to star on the right for Liverpool, Mane has become just as important to the collective cause on the opposite flank.

The Senegalese has registered 80 goals through 169 appearances for the Reds, and Henderson believes there is even more to come from the 28-year-old.

He said: “An incredible player. I wouldn't like to mark him on a weekend, he is so unpredictable. He can go either way with both feet, so strong and powerful and that doesn't just happen.

“He is in the gym every day before training doing strength work to get better and improve. I just see that will to improve in Sadio, that desire to get better and take more and that is really important for this team. Yet another standout performer from us in the Premier League. He deserves all the credit he gets.”

While Salah and Mane tend to steal the headlines, Firmino is the glue that holds Liverpool’s frontline together.

Henderson acknowledges as much, saying of the Brazil international: “I love Bobby. He is one of my favourite players. He is incredible. Everything about him, I love, really.

“He's such an important player for this team and a lot of what he does goes unnoticed. He is another world-class player who has had a brilliant season and another who has made a huge impact since he came from Germany.”

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) presidential aspirant Sam Nyamweya has faulted the Ministry of Sports for the ongoing financial problems faced by football in the country.

The administrator has revealed he pleaded with the Ministry to bail out clubs from the Sports Fund kitty which would have been the best way of ensuring players do not suffer.

"I have, from early 2019, been pleading with the Government of Kenya and the Ministry of Sports through the Sports, Arts and Social development fund to consider giving grants of between KSh15 to KSh30 million for each of the 18 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) clubs to cushion them against the harsh economic times and the challenges brought about by Covid-19 pandemic, which has put restrictions to sporting activities,” Nyamweya said in a signed statement obtained by Goal.

Nyamweya says the total amount could have translated to about half a million shillings which is readily available from the Sports Fund and he believes the Ministry of Sports failed on this front.

"Lack of responsiveness from the parent Ministry of Sports has led to the current situation where any sponsorship dangled along the way of the KPL is accepted as a relief from the untold suffering experienced by the premier clubs, their Players, technical and support staff and service providers," the statement added.

The outgoing office announced BetKing as the new sponsors of the top tier league and every club will get at least KSh8 million per season.

Nyamweya has asked the clubs to cautiously accept the sponsorship despite some of the controversies associated with it.

"KPL clubs should cautiously accede to the sponsorship agreement with a rider to have it regularized once a new office is elected," Nyamweya continued.

"The sponsor BetKing should not interfere with the already running contracts which other betting companies have entered with the KPL clubs, ie the Betsafe sponsorship with Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards and Betika with Sofapaka among others."

Nyamweya has promised to streamline everything if elected to the office and try to get a broadcast sponsor as well.

"When elected president of FKF, my team and I will embark on a process of regularising the anomalies surrounding the BetKing sponsorship and looking at ways of enhancing it and getting a broadcast sponsor and other partners to enhance the grants given to the clubs," he concluded.

Nairobi City Stars have lauded the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) for signing a lucrative deal with BetKing Kenya.

The Federation entered into a partnership with the Nigerian-based betting firm worth KSh1.2billion that will see each club in the top-flight receive KSh8million annually.

City Stars, who earned promotion to the top tier as they were leading the National Super League after the 2019-20 season was ended owing to the coronavirus pandemic, have now welcomed the move with club CEO Patrick Korir saying it will go a long way to boost the clubs financially.

“We are very happy with the sponsorship, we are extremely happy with the new deal,” Korir told Goal on Friday.

“That is a good package for starters and KSh8m will go a long way in helping clubs, you cannot say it is small money, eight million compared to zero shillings, it is a huge take home for the clubs and as City Stars, we are very happy with the deal.

“We also want to encourage FKF to add another shift and maybe sell broadcast and media rights so that the clubs can take more home.”

Meanwhile, Korir has confirmed to Goal they are yet to release any player ahead of the new Kenyan Premier League (KPL) season.

There have been reports going around that the promoted club have axed five players but Korir has now said they are waiting for their coach to come up with the list of players he wants to stay and go.

“We have not released any players, in fact, most of the players’ people are claiming we have released have just run down their contracts, and as a club, we are waiting for the coach to give us the way forward,” Korir continued.

“We have not released anyone, they are all part of our squad until the coach tells us what to do, we will engage all of them and see if the contracts are extended or not, but for now, we have not released any player.”

The players whose contracts have run down include David Gateri, experienced Noah Abich, Tedian Esilaba, and Eric Ochieng.

City Stars were promoted to the top-flight alongside Bidco United.

Andy Robertson says their Premier League title triumph has made “legends” of Liverpool’s class of 2019-20, but the Scot says all of those at Anfield are determined to leave a “legacy”.

A stunning run of success has been enjoyed by the Reds, with their first English top-flight crown in 30 years adding the finishing touch to an enviable collection of silverware.

A winning habit has returned to Merseyside, with Robertson adamant that “you never get bored of winning trophies”.

There is, however, acceptance that staying on top is often more difficult than rising to it. That is the challenge now facing Liverpool, with Robertson eager to play a leading role in the establishment of a dynasty at Anfield to rival that of iconic sides from the club’s illustrious past.

The Scotland international full-back told the Reds’ official website: “You never get bored of winning trophies – never, never, never. Medals are to cherish. It’s something that, once you retire, you look back on more but it’s so important that when you get it around your neck to enjoy it.

“Moments like these don’t happen often but we hope to make it more often for this club. If we can do it, the lads are already legends, we will go on to leave a legacy at this club and that’s what we want to do.

“We know every team will improve next year, and it’s about us to be there again, being there 100 per cent again and I’m sure we will be.”

Liverpool’s hunger to remain on the trophy trail should be fed in 2020-21 by the return of supporters to competitive sport.

The Reds have landed and lifted the Premier League title this term in empty stadiums, with Robertson assuring a loyal fan base that their absence has hit everybody hard.

He added: “This hasn’t happened in 30 years for this club, and I think we would have all paid everything that we have to get the fans in. It wasn’t meant to be, but we’ve done it properly and the time will come for the fans to come – because it’s for them.

“It’s for every single one of them, it’s for all them that have been through 30 years of hurt and now we’ve produced the trophy that they’ve been waiting for, for so long. That’s what it means to all of us, that’s what has driven us forward the whole season. To get that champions sign above us is what it was for.”

Police FC have managed to tie down midfielder Johnson Odong for another two years.

The Law Enforcers are in a rebuilding process, with the club management stating they will strive to keep their best players and at the same time sign experienced ones.

The attacking midfielder, who can also play as forward, joined Police from lower division side Kibuli FC but has now agreed to open an extension that will see him stay with the ‘Cops’ until the end of 2022.

Police have confirmed the news on their social media pages: “Johnson Odong has extended his stay with us for the next two years. Thank you for your loyalty.”

Odong’s decision to extend his stay will become as good news for Police coach Abdallah Mubiru, who only three days ago managed to convince another midfielder Yousuf Sozzi to extend his stay at the club for the next two seasons.

In a recent interview, the club chairman Asan Kasingye revealed it was time they turned into big boys on the local scene and start winning trophies.

“We no longer just want to compete; we need to win trophies. We are former champions and its time to think big,” Kasingye told reporters after unveiling their first signing in former Uganda Cranes midfielder Tony Mawejje.

“Football is a big enterprise in the world that doesn’t entertain mediocrity. We need to do the right thing like other clubs.”

Kasingye added it was the right time for the team to secure sponsors because Police are a big organisation and many people want to be part of it.

The chairman also revealed the club will do what they can to retain most of their players to build a strong side ahead of the new season.

Police have already hit the transfer market, with coach Mubiru hoping to get the best from the transfers.

“We want to make sure we can also compete well with the best teams and our eyes on the transfer market are looking at all the good players available,” Mubiru told reporters.

“It is now a matter of building a strong team so that we can have at least cover for all positions, we must be ready to fight next season and make sure we win a trophy or two.”

David Silva says Pep Guardiola has improved Manchester City in every position “from the goalkeeper to the forward”.

The Spanish playmaker has been reflecting on his 10 years at the club, as he prepares to say his farewell to Manchester.

Silva will leave City at the end of the season, with just one more Premier League fixture and the Champions League still to play.

He has spent the last four seasons under Guardiola after previously playing for Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, and he has enjoyed his role under the Catalan.

Asked by DAZN Spain how Guardiola had changed his game, Silva said: “I don’t know, he changed my position, now I have more contact with the ball than when I played as a winger.

“I have found myself very comfortable, really.

“And then, he improves the team in every way, from the goalkeeper to the forward, which made the team grow.”

Since joining from Valencia in 2010, Silva has seen City transformed as a club.

Their Premier League win in 2011-12 was their first league title in 44 years, and City have added three more since then – while he has also won two FA Cups and five League Cups during his time in England.

Now, after a decade of investment, City are a team striving to win the Champions League, expected to compete with the best at home and abroad.

"When I arrived here, we were in other, smaller facilities,” Silva recalled. “It was not here in the city.

"The club has grown worldwide. We are growing because of the titles, for everything.

“When you win, people demand you win. The same happens with the Spanish national team.

“Before, you didn't win; we started to win and now they demand you win. And if you don't win, it's failure."

Silva’s final Premier League appearance for City will come on Sunday, as they welcome bottom club Norwich to the Etihad Stadium.

Less than two weeks later, Real Madrid will be the visitors as City return to the Champions League looking to cap a disappointing domestic season with a potential first European success.

New footage has emerged of Frank Lampard's altercation with Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool on Wednesday, with the Chelsea boss telling the German to "f*** off" and "sit down" as part of a first-half row.

The two sides met on Anfield on Wednesday to precede Liverpool's long-awaited trophy celebration, having secured the club's first-ever Premier League title this season.

Klopp's Reds went on to secure a 5-3 win in an absolute thriller, with five different Reds firing goals in the club's final home match of the season.

While the Reds' campaign is little more than a victory parade at this point, Lampard's Chelsea remain in a tight race for a top-four place and, more importantly, the Champions League spot that comes with it.

And Lampard's emotions boiled over during the first half of Wednesday's match after a foul was called on Matteo Kovacic, paving the way for a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick goal.

In the moments between the foul and the goal, Lampard got into an altercation with Klopp and the Liverpool bench, with the Chelsea boss repeatedly telling the Reds staff to "f*** off" during the exchange.

Lampard initially shouted, "How is that a foul? There's no foul there," before getting into a war of words with Klopp, who repeatedly told the Chelsea manager to "calm down".

The former midfielder then took aim at Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders, who, moments later, enthusiastically celebrated the Alexander-Arnold goal as Lampard looked on.

Klopp attempted to defend his assistant, telling Lampard not to tell at his No. 2, with Lampard replying: "No, no, if he's going off at me, I'll f****** say something!"

After the match, Lampard made sure to state that he has full respect for Klopp and Liverpool, but added that the manager must make sure his side does not get too "arrogant".

The two managers shook hands after the match, with Lampard also appearing on Sadio Mane's live stream of the post-match celebrations as he congratulated the Liverpool winger on the league title.

Longtime Premier League manager Sam Allardyce weighed in on the incident, stating on talkSPORT that Lampard is within his rights to call out perceived disrespect.

"I think Frank has been a lot better than I was, as a young manager I found myself a few times in front of the disciplinary committee," Allardyce said.

“But if anybody wants to say ‘don’t get too arrogant about it’, it’s Frank isn’t it? “If it’s anybody else, they’ve not done it, but Frank’s done it all.

“So if Frank’s giving them a bit of a tip, then he’s seen something he didn’t like, something he thinks is a little bit arrogant, and he’s the one man who can mention it.

“And if it is the bench at Liverpool they should take notice of it, because Frank has done the lot.”

The Indian Football Association (IFA), the football governing body in West Bengal has topped the rankings of All India Football Federation’s Performance Assessment for the 2019-20 season.

Joydeep Mukherjee, who took charge of the IFA as its General Secretary just an year ago, has done an exemplary job in uplifting the reputation of the state association.

When Mukherjee took charge, IFA was struggling on all fronts, especially financially as they were under huge debts.

After taking charge in July 2019, Mukherjee had said, "For the position, the IFA is in today, it has dug its own hole through the years. I have been given this responsibility now and I hope to have the support of everyone to be successful. If I cannot be successful, I will move away from this post myself.

"There are outstanding debts of the IFA and we will try to bring in sponsors and pay those off. But, at the same time, we have to improve the quality and quantity of football under our wing. I believe nothing is impossible."

The General Secretary indeed kept all the promises he made after getting elected to the office and has delivered within just a year. He mentioned that being part of the IFA earlier helped him identify the areas that needed immediate attention.

“This is teamwork. It is not possible for only the secretary to function. It is collective hard work where I am just a part of it. I have been associated with sports for a very long time and I was also the assistant secretary of the IFA four years back. So I knew the loopholes that existed within the organisation. So when I took charge it wasn’t very difficult to make the changes," he told Goal.

Mukherjee mentioned that without AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das’ support, IFA would not have been able to top the assessment rankings. He expressed his gratitude towards the Indian FA for awarding West Bengal with multiple national-level tournaments last season which helped the state body attract multiple sponsors.

“I am thankful to every single individual at AIFF but I have to especially thank Kushal Das for his continuous support and encouragement for Bengal football. When I took charge, we hardly had any sponsors but thanks to the multiple tournaments which were awarded to the state, we managed to attract sponsors and money and it would not have been possible without Kushal Das’ support,” said Mukherjee.

The IFA Secretary also shared the organisation’s vast range of plans for the future in which Development of youth and Women’s football is at the top of the priority list.

“We are working on youth development, promoting and organising the baby leagues and promotion of Women’s football,” Mukherjee told Goal .

“From the next season, we will segregate all our divisions on the basis of age groups. The Nursery ‘A’ and ‘B’ divisions will be U-13 and U-15 respectively. Above the nursery league is the Fifth Division ‘B’ and ‘A’ leagues which will be U-16 and U-17 respectively. Then the fourth division will be a U-18 competition followed by the third division which will be U-19 and the Second Division U-20. Our plan was to implement this from this season onwards but due to the pandemic it got postponed but from next season these rules will surely be implemented,” said the administrator.

The IFA has planned to start a residential academy for U-17 women footballers in the outskirts of Kolkata which will help to strengthen the future of West Bengal Women’s football team.

“We are also focusing on Women’s football. We are planning to start a residential academy with all facilities for U-17 footballers from Bengal. We will do an extensive scouting and the selected 30 candidates will be kept in the academy.”

Mukherjee also revealed that they are extensively working on coaches and referees education. He said, “We did most number of coaching licenses last year. We are trying to do it on a monthly basis. For that, we have appointed specialised people who make all the arrangements.

“We are also planning to conduct a free crash course of English learning for the coach’s so that they don’t face language barriers in future.”

Mukherjee is not just focusing on coaches education but also wants to improve the standards of refereeing. IFA has already started an academy for this purpose.

“IFA has already started a referee’s academy in collaboration with the Calcutta Referee’s Association (CRA) were 80 candidates had applied and 26 have been shortlisted. Out of the 26 candidates, 20 are men and six are women. When we discussed about Women’s football I made it a point that all women’s matches should have women match officials and women physiotherapists.”

The big news in Asian football this week is the start of the 2020 Chinese Super League (CSL) season on July 25, after a five month delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The competition should have originally started on February 22 earlier this year, only for the Coronavirus to throw normal life out of gear.

But the CSL is finally set to kick-off, albeit in a tightly-controlled environment with a several major changes to the format. Instead of the home-and-away system, the 16 CSL teams will be divided into two groups where they will play each other once in a round robin format. The top four teams from each group will then play a championship stage while the bottom four will play a relegation round.

All in all, CSL's 2020 season is set to be completed in 70 days at two centralised venues behind closed doors. While one group will be based in Suzhou near Shanghai, the other group will play in Dalian.

All the games in CSL this season are free to watch via mobiles.

The Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League - India's two top leagues are also set to play the 2020-21 season at centralised venues. The pandemic has eased in China which was the epicentre but India has seen record increases in the infection rate of late. As such, it could very well be the case that by November 2020 (which is when the ISL and I-League are expected to start), the All India Football Federation (AIFF) might well have to take a leaf out of CSL's books when it comes to social distancing protocols.

CSL organisers have implemented extremely strict measures to create a bio-secure bubble in which all the various stakeholders will remain till the end of the competition. What exactly are these measures?

What is the Bio-Bubble in CSL?

All the teams have been housed in a sealed-off hotel at each venue - Taimei Xiangguli Hotel in Suzhou and the Crowne Plaza in Dalian. Moreover, the players will only be allowed to go to the stadium and the training pitch apart from the hotel.

How is the safety of the Bio-Bubble maintained?

All players, staff and anybody associated with the competition were tested for the virus before entering the 'environment'. All overseas players were quarantined and tested before they were allowed to join their teams.

To be specific, everyone is required to complete one antibody and two nucleic acid tests within three weeks before arriving at the zone hotel, and only after passing these tests can they proceed.

1870 people have received Covid-19 tests in Suzhou and Dalian.

All living and match areas have been divided into Blue, Green and Purple zones.

Blue Zone

Now, the stadium, hotel and resting areas of players have all been designated as blue zones. This is the highest level of epidemic prevention CSL has implemented. The referees, core match officials, players, club staff all fall in this zone. The blue zone is strictly isolated from the outside world and is subject to complete closure until the end of the tournament. Those in the blue zone cannot interact with anybody from a different zone.

Those in the blue zones move between the stadium, hotel and training facility in special vehicles.

Importantly, staff in the hotels who have to interact with the players also fall under the blue zone and must remain in it until the end of the tournament. Anybody in the blue zone cannot visit or interact with anybody, be it close family or friends, for the duration of the tournament.

Blue zone members cannot have food from the outside or have food delivered. They must eat from the dedicated restaurants at the hotel.

It must be noted that psychological counselling has been made available to everybody in the blue zone to deal with the mental stress such circumstances can create.

All those in the blue zone will be tested continuosly for signs of infection every week. The players will be required to use Alibaba's remote conference platform DingTalk to report their whereabouts at designated times.

Green Zone

The green zone belongs to journalists and photographers mainly. The journalists also have to complete the testing protocols before entering the designated media hotel.

There are designated green zones inside the stadium for text reporters and fixed spots on the touchline for photographers who are not allowed to move around for photos. Of course, they cannot get anyway near the players or anyone in the blue zone.

Safe to say, there are no face-to-face interviews and all pre-match and post-match press conferences are conducted online.

Purple Zone

The purple zone belongs to temporary employees who have been brought in for any special tasks.

How will those in the Blue Zone be entertained for the entirety of the competition?

The players will not be able to drink alcohol or coke at the hotels. However, for their entertainment, the hotels have been turned into miniature towns with cafes, hair-dressers, libraries and even convenience stores.

There are also various indoor games set up including video-game machines, karaoke, table-tennis and more.

Quarantine protocols and current state in Dalian

Of course, there are special quarantine facilities set up in case anybody is tested positive during the duration of the tournament. It must be noted that the city of Dalian has reported several positive cases in the past few days and as such, there is a bit of apprehension among the stakeholders.

Lessons for Indian football?

The rate at which the Covid-19 cases are rising in India, it is highly likely that AIFF might have to end up imposing strict protocols in order to smoothly conduct the ISL and the I-League for the upcoming season.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to see how the CSL unfolds over the next couple of months and how these protocols hold up.

William Troost-Ekong claimed Udinese deserved to beat Juventus in Thursday’s Italian topflight encounter.

Going down to Matthijs de Ligt’s 42nd minute effort, Luca Gotti’s men bounced back to win 2-1 thanks to strikes from Ilija Nestorovski and Cote d’Ivoire international Seko Fofana.

For Maurizio Sarri's men, defeat meant they would have to wait until another day to work towards clinching their ninth successive Serie A title.

According to the Nigeria international, the Old Lady’s desire to seal the Italian topflight title at Stadio Friuli spurred them to victory.

"I am very happy because of these three heavy points and also because before the game, no one would have bet on us,” Troost-Ekong told Udinese TV.

“They came here to celebrate and that charged us before the game. Today [on Thursday] we played with personality and we deserved to win.”

The former Bursaspor and Gent man switched from the defence to the midfield against Juventus. However, the 26-year-old is unbothered, assuring that he is ready to feature wherever manager Gotti wants his input.

“Well, I played in the middle for two years but after the lockdown, the manager wanted me to move to the right,” he continued.

“Obviously, he decides how we get on the field but I think as a defensive midfielder I can be more useful to the team.”

Troost-Ekong was cautioned in the 20th minute for a clumsy challenge on Aaron Ramsey - and will miss Sunday’s outing with Cagliari on Sunday over card accumulation.

Although he disputes the caution from referee Massimiliano Irrati, the defender is optimistic that without him, Udinese will get the much needed result while hoping to be back versus Lecce on July 29.

“In my opinion it was not a serious foul to have warranted a caution, however, I have confidence in the team and I know they can do it even without me,” he added.

“On the other hand, I hope to be able to help them in the challenge against Lecce.”

With Thursday’s result, Gotti’s side moved to 15th in the Italian topflight log having garnered 39 points from 35 league outings - seven points off the drop zone.

U.S. men's national team boss Gregg Berhalter says that he believes that Gio Reyna is ready for bigger challenges as the  Borussia Dortmund star gears up for his inevitable senior international debut.

Reyna broke through in a big way with Dortmund this season, making 18 appearances for the Bundesliga giants in his first season with the senior team.

The 17-year-old, who scored a stunning goal against Werder Bremen in the DFB-Pokal, became part of an attacking trio alongside fellow teenagers Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho, as Dortmund boast one of the youngest and most dynamic attacks in the world.

Reyna became the third-youngest player ever to appear in a knockout game of the Champions League when he featured off the bench against Paris Saint-Germain while he also becoming the youngest American to record an assist in a Champions League fixture by setting up Haaland in that match.

Having become a regular with Dortmund, Reyna's rise to the USMNT has become inevitable, with the youngster expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, Claudio, who featured prominently for the USMNT and his mother, Danielle Egan, a former member of the U.S. women's national team.

Berhalter confirmed in February that Reyna was set to be called in for March friendlies, only for the coronavirus to force a half for the international game.

And the U.S. boss reiterated that he expects Reyna to be part of his plans when the national team does reconvene as he looks to give the talented youngster a chance to take yet another step forward.

“Dortmund did a great job of integrating him into the group in a calculated way to help him perform at high levels,” Berhalter told SBI Soccer. “How do we challenge him? How do we put him in a difficult environment to help him grow as a player? He’s one of those players who will keep rising to the challenge and we need to provide him with that.”

“Gio’s going to grow into a fantastic player, there’s no question about it,” Berhalter added. “Our job is to help with that growth. Does that mean him getting an opportunity, an early opportunity, to play in difficult games? That’s going to make him better, make him rise to an even higher level.”

Seko Fofana said Udinese gave everything in Thursday’s 2-1 defeat of Juventus at Stadio Friuli.

Maurizio Sarri’s men went into the Italian topflight encounter needing a win to claim the 2019-20 Italian Serie A title, however, they were shocked by the Little Zebras who were in dire need of a positive result to remain in the topflight next season.

Matthijs de Ligt put the Bianconeri on the path to glory towards the end of a tepid first half before Ilija Nestorovski's excellent diving header restored parity in the 52nd minute, with Fofana scoring the winner to keep the Old Lady’s champagne on ice.

While the Cote d’Ivoire international - who now boasts of three Serie A goals this season  - understandably dominated the headlines, he claimed that every member of Luca Gotti’s matchday squad made the difference.

Speaking to Udinese TV, the midfielder also revealed the inspiration for his team’s performance against the visitors from Turin.

"I saw Becao's header and I felt I could take the ball, I went for it and fortunately I had the strength to go all the way and score.” the 25-year-old said.

“However, I'm not the only who made a difference in this team, we've shown that we could beat anyone despite several absences in the squad but we were able to adapt.

“We gave everything and we are very happy with the result, but we played well in almost every post-lockdown game. 

“We didn't concede many goals and all the games were balanced, but often we struggled in the last few minutes and I think that's normal.”

“Everyone believed that Juventus came to celebrate today but we are not their waiters and we played with great personality,” he continued.

“I was able to make a difference in the past, but now it's different because we have to play with our heads. 

“We have a lot of pressure but we always have to be careful, we have to keep going like this and make as many points in the last three points and then celebrate.

“Finally I'm sorry that there were no fans, we could have celebrated this great victory together.”

Luca Gotti’s men travel to Cagliari on Sunday, while Juve welcome Sampdoria with victory handing them the league title. 

Former India international Steven Dias hopes to continue his journey as a coach in the Indian Super League (ISL).

The 36-year-old served as assistant coach at Jamshedpur FC in the sixth edition of the ISL and is amongst the frontrunners to join Stuart Baxter's coaching staff at Odisha FC for the upcoming season.

Dias, who has played for various clubs in the NFL (National Football League) and the I-League including the likes of Mahindra United (disbanded in 2010) and Churchill Brothers, cleared his AFC (Asian Football Confederation) 'C' License coaching course in 2014.

He won the NFL with Mahindra in 2005-06 and followed it up with an I-League victory with Churchill Brothers in 2012-13.

In the ISL, Dias has played for Delhi Dynamos (now Odisha FC) in the inaugural year of the competition after which he pursued his coaching licenses. He last played in the top flight with Mumbai FC (now defunct) in 2017 in the I-League.

"When nothing worked for me (as a player) in the ISL (2015), I realised that it was time for me to concentrate on doing my (coaching) licenses. And by doing these licenses, trust me, the kind of knowledge you get was something you never got as a player," Dias mentioned to Goal.

"I think every player should take up their coaching licenses because they can definitely stand to benefit."

Dias, along with former Air India team-mates Santosh Koli and Vijith Shetty, started the Ambitious Football Academy in 2017. After completing his AFC 'A' License in 2018, he had a stint with FC Mumbaikars and also took up a role assistant coach at U Mumba FC - a project which never saw the light of day.

He has served as an assistant to Antonio Iriondo at Jamshedpur in the ISL last season. Dias feels that experience was extremely beneficial in his coaching career.

"Honestly, I never thought I would be coaching at an ISL club so soon. I was trying for some club in the second division I-League or maybe I-League where I would get to learn something when the offer came in from Jamshedpur."

"I had a very good experience at Jamshedpur. Although we didn't do that well, I still learnt a lot of things. It was a good experience with the Spanish staff," he concluded.

I-League club Real Kashmir is close to agreeing to a deal for former FC Goa midfielder Pratesh Shirodkar, Goal has learnt. 

The 31-year-old, who won the Super Cup with the Gaurs in 2019, was training with Dempo FC since February 2020. But he is now all set to move to the Srinagar-based club. In January, he was close to joining an Indian Super League (ISL) team but the deal didn't go through.

Shirodkar graduated from the SESA Football Academy and went on to play for Sporting Goa and Mumbai City FC before signing for FC Goa in 2016. Although the midfielder has not been able to pick up regular first-team minutes lately, his new club will be hopeful of making full use of his experience as they prepare for the 2020-21 I-League season. 

He has also played for Mumbai FC in the I-League.

The upcoming season of I-League is set to be played at a single venue, in Kolkata, amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Real Kashmir has already started gearing up for the start of the season. 

"We are geared for any eventuality. You will miss your home advantage but during this kind of a pandemic, there is nothing you can do about it. Nevertheless, we have already started our preparations for the next season. We are in constant touch with David (Robertson), Mason (Robertson), and our local players.ISL (Indian Super League) is supposed to start in November. So we are expecting that I-League should start somewhere in December," club owner Sandeep Chattoo had told Goal. 

Shirodkar is a box-to-box midfielder who is known for his passing range. The 31-year-old will be looking to gain some consistent playing time at Real Kashmir.

Seko Fofana was Udinese’s hero as they secured a 2-1 comeback win over Juventus on Thursday to move clear of the Serie A relegation zone.

Maurizio Sarri’s team went into the encounter at Stadio Friuli needing a victory over the Little Zebra to clinch their ninth successive Italian topflight title.

Three minutes into the half time break, Matthijs de Ligt put Bianconeri ahead after controlling William Troost-Ekong’s headed clearance before firing past goalkeeper Juan Musso.

Nevertheless, the hosts fought back like a wounded lion to seal all points at stake. First, Ilija Nestorovski levelled scores in the 52nd minute after beating Wojciech Szczesny courtesy of an assist from Ken Sema.

With the game heading for a draw, the Cote d’Ivoire international settled the fixture after outmuscling De Ligt before firing home in the 92nd minute – to leave Juventus stunned.

Udinese's result means Atalanta, Inter Milan and Lazio still have an opportunity to overthrowing the Old Lady, who have won just one of their past five matches as they stagger towards the finish line.

Nigeria’s Troost-Ekong was in action for all duration, but he was cautioned in the 20th minute by referee Massimiliano Irrati for a reckless challenge.

Apart from his goal, 25-year-old Fofana who was playing his 30th game of the season recorded two shots, 61 touches, four dribbles, 50 passes, a passing accuracy of 94 percent with 83 percent of his duels in an outstanding midfield showing.

Manager Luca Goti praised his men for the hard-earned victory while expressing his satisfaction with the game’s outcome.

"The victory against Juventus is an important aspect for the fan and for those who are from Friuli, but I would contextualise this victory against the leaders,” he told club website.

“I am of the opinion that this team, as far as it has expressed on the field, deserves a different ranking and we have been extremely penalised by our mistakes”

Udinese have now arrested their three consecutive games without victory to move up to 15th in the Italian elite division log with 39 points from 35 league outings. They travel to the Sardegna Arena on Sunday to tackle 13th placed Cagliari who suffered a 2-1 loss to Lazio on Thursday.

Tosin Adarabioyo has taken to social media to announce the end of his loan spell at Blackburn Rovers.

The 22-year Anglo-Nigerian joined Rovers from his parent club Manchester City and went on to make 34 appearances, scoring three goals and providing one assist.

His goals all resulted in victories over Sheffield Wednesday (2-1), Charlton Athletic (2-0) and Bristol City (3-1), while his assist was in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City.

Adarabioyo played for the entire 90 minutes in all but two matches while he missed being named in the Blackburn matchday squad on 10 occasions including the final two games of the season against Reading and Luton Town.

The Manchester-born defender averaged 1.9 interceptions per game in the Championship while also averaging 0.9 tackles and 4.7 interceptions. His total duels won stood at 4.6 per game at 67%, 1.4 being ground duels at 60% and 3.2 duels in the air at 70%.

Blackburn finished the season in 11th spot, with 63 points, seven shy of the promotion play-off spot, winning 17 of their 46 games, drawing 12 and losing another 17 matches, also scoring 66 goals and conceding 63.

“After a joyful season, my time at Rovers has come to an end,” Adarabioyo wrote in an Instagram post.

“I’ve had the best experience and lessons on the pitch, in my whole career so far and I’d just like to thank the gaffer, my teammates, the backroom staff and every single fan who’s supported and helped my development this season.

“I wish you all the best in the future!”

Adarabioyo was previously on loan at West Bromwich Albion in  2018-19, playing 36 times in all competitions as the Baggies finished fourth before losing out 4-3 via penalties to Aston Villa in the second leg of the promotion play-off semi-finals after it ended 2-2 on aggregate.

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray had already admitted that Adarabioyo – who has played eight times in all competitions for the Manchester City first team since his debut in 2016, won’t be staying at Ewood Park as the Lancashire outfit could not afford to sign him permanently.

“Ultimately, we couldn’t afford him, that’s the first part of the question. This is why this loan system is really good because not in a million years could we afford Tosin Adarabioyo,” Mowbray said as per Lancashire Telegraph.

“We’ll wait and see, but I’m not thinking sat here that Tosin will be starting next season with us unless Man City do us a huge favour, of course, I’m not sure that will be the case.

“Adarabioyo, in my opinion, he’s been very good for us. He’s still a young boy learning his trade in such a crucial position. He has wonderful attributes.

“I hope he’s enjoyed it. We’d love to have him back, I think it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel leapt to the defence of Manchester United counterpart David de Gea amid mounting criticism of the Spain star.

De Gea's position as number one goalkeeper at Premier League giants United has once again been thrust into the spotlight following his inconsistent performances in 2019-20.

Calls for highly-rated English keeper Dean Henderson – on loan at Sheffield United – to be recalled have grown louder following De Gea's nightmare display against Chelsea in last week's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

De Gea failed to keep out Olivier Giroud's close-range effort before he was beaten with embarrassing ease following Mason Mount's speculative long-range effort in Chelsea's 3-1 triumph, though the long-serving keeper retained his place in Wednesday's 1-1 Premier League draw against West Ham.

As Man Utd prepare for Sunday's blockbuster final-day trip to fifth-placed Leicester, which will determine who qualifies for next season's Champions League, Schmeichel backed De Gea.

"It can be very difficult and you've got to remember, and this is with absolutely no disrespect to journalists or pundits, but you've actually never stood in that goal," Schmeichel told Sky Sports.

"You would classify things as mistakes or errors, and there are things that are glaring sometimes, but often this narrative can be created around a goalkeeper because it's the pundits' and journalists' job to educate and that's their job.

"They're telling their educated opinions about goalkeeping, things like hand positions, feet positions, technical things which sometimes is quite damaging to a goalkeeper.

"You hear comments like, 'going with the wrong hand', or other throw away things that they'll say which will make the consumer or viewer think, 'oh yeah, that's right, I see he's done it again'.

"That's sometimes quite a dangerous narrative because all of a sudden it starts building momentum and for someone like David, I really feel for him because he has been unbelievable for so many years and every goalkeeper goes through periods [of poor form].

"There is a lot of pressure also in the sense that you now have an England goalkeeper coming through and, like it or not, in this country when you have an English goalkeeper, that means so much and they really do tend to build them up.

"I genuinely hope for someone like Dean Henderson, who's had an amazing season, that he can be allowed to develop. I hope for him, he gets another season, maybe two at Sheffield United and play the way he's done and then he'll be ready.

"But for now, David de Gea is still a world-class goalkeeper. It's a lonely position and those are the margins you play in as a goalkeeper – you simply cannot make mistakes because you will be punished.

"So the difference between goalkeepers and outfielders is the little, tiny, minute details which are the difference and when they go against you, they are really glaring and they will be spotted.

"Outfielders don't have to have the same mentality and they say we're crazy, which we are because we're the only ones who dare to take the responsibility because if outfielders took that kind of responsibility, we'd have some unbelievable players everywhere."

De Gea, who joined Man Utd from Atletico Madrid in 2011, surpassed Peter Schmeichel – Kasper's father – to become the overseas player with the most appearances for the Red Devils earlier this month.

United are third in the Premier League after 37 rounds, level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea and a point clear of Leicester.