Category Sports News

NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings

Date: Sunday, September 28th, 2018 Kick-off: 14:00 BST

When the Dublin announcement was made, NFL broadcaster Michael McQuaid was in New Orleans to watch the Super Bowl last year.

Nothing had prepared the Irish Steelers Podcast host for that fateful February day that the NFL would be making a long-awaited return to Ireland.

He told BBC Sport, “The way it was announced at the Super Bowl, at the time it was already feverish that week, was really special.”

“It really hit home in that moment that so many people on the island of Ireland have achieved what so many people have wanted for a long time,” he said.

The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park on Sunday, making Dublin the fourth city in Europe to host a regular-season game.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, which won six Super Bowls, are one of the NFL’s most legendary franchises, sharing the same record as the New England Patriots.

The Rooney family, whose ancestors immigrated from Newry in Northern Ireland in the 1840s, still owns The Steelers, which were founded in 1933 by Art Rooney.

More than 25 000 people watched Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Bears at Croke Park, the home of Gaelic games, in 1997, as a result of the family’s efforts to maintain close ties to their Irish heritage.

The NFL now estimates that there are 350, 000 fans on the island of Ireland, and the Steelers stated that they wanted to introduce a new game there in 2023 when they were granted marketing rights there.

According to McQuaid, “This is really the encapsulation of the “American Dream.” This family made a real journey by leaving Ireland in the 1840s, crossing over to North America, and then returning almost 200 years later.

“It’s been very fortunate for me to see first-hand how much this family means to them, and they are doing so much this week on this island.

This is going to be on par with everything they’ve done over the past two to three years, and for a family that has been successful for the past two centuries, they’ve done so much.

Over the past two years, the Steelers have visited Ireland numerous times, holding watch parties and football clinics to promote the sport and increase attendance for Sunday’s game.

It will be a lot bigger than their 1997 pre-season trip. The NFL predicts that there will be “a mini Super Bowl coming to town.”

More than 30 000 foreign visitors are expected, many of whom are domestic fans who have attended the London games, many of whom are either fans of other teams or fans of domestic teams.

For those who aren’t heading to Croke Park, there will be free fan events throughout the city starting on Thursday, including Dublin Castle and Dublin City Hall, as well as a three-day tailgate party at Merrion Square.

According to NFL pundit Phoebe Schecter, “They show up just to be a part of the noise, the excitement, and knowing that the NFL is in town, and all 32 teams are represented with the different jerseys.” The Steelers are renowned for having a lot to look forward to.

If you’ve ever attended a sports or entertainment event in Dublin, you’ll know that the city truly embraces it, according to Henry Hodgson, general manager of NFL UK and Ireland.

“It’s difficult to get away from the feeling that the event is completely overtaking.” Over the coming days, we’re very excited to consider all those NFL jerseys in Temple Bar and beyond.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers are staging pub takeovers in Dublin, just like the Steelers and Vikings. The NFL claims that other teams have contacted them and that the Chiefs have publicly expressed interest in playing in Ireland.

In Dublin, The Steelers have also set up a store that will be open all year long. It sells all the team goods you would expect, as well as the small ” rally ” towels that Pittsburgh fans are known for.

They were introduced during the team’s 1976 Super Bowl victory, and former player Max Starks has been traveling Ireland this week to distribute them to locals. They are known as “Terrible Towels.” He even bumped into two Mexican Steelers fans.

The Steelers have produced a special edition with the Irish tricolour, which McQuaid described as “a historical item.” The towels are traditionally yellow.

Gavi, a midfielder for Barcelona, may have knee surgery for five months.

Before suffering a right knee injury during a training session in August, the 21-year-old featured in Barcelona’s first two matches of the season.

The Spain international’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, which he sustained in 2023, was thought to have reappeared.

Gavi underwent surgery to repair cartilage damage despite scan results showing he had avoided an ACL tear.

A medial meniscus injury was treated with an arthroscopy to save the meniscus, according to a Barcelona statement.

When Gavi made his Barcelona debut in 2021, he became the fourth youngest debutant in the city’s history.

In 155 games and with five awards, he has 10 goals.

He missed 11 months due to an ACL tear he sustained while serving abroad with Spain in November 2023.

Gavi, a midfielder for Barcelona, may have knee surgery for five months.

Before suffering a right knee injury during a training session in August, the 21-year-old featured in Barcelona’s first two matches of the season.

The Spain international’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, which he sustained in 2023, was thought to have reappeared.

Gavi underwent surgery to repair cartilage damage despite scan results showing he had avoided an ACL tear.

A medial meniscus injury was treated with an arthroscopy to save the meniscus, according to a Barcelona statement.

When Gavi made his Barcelona debut in 2021, he became the fourth youngest debutant in the city’s history.

In 155 games and with five awards, he has 10 goals.

He missed 11 months due to an ACL tear he sustained while serving abroad with Spain in November 2023.

Red Star Belgrade vs. Celtic in the Europa League

Date: Wednesday, September 24th, 2019 12:00 BST

The date was 29 May 1991. The stage was located in Bari’s picturesque southern Adriatic coast, Stadio San Nicola. The stars were provided by a famous Yugoslav club. The Red Stars .

In an attritional final against Bernard Tapie’s financially successful Marseille, Red Star Belgrade defied the odds and won the European Cup.

Both teams had won over with their way to the showpiece, but the outcome was goalless and did not live up to expectations. The 1991 European Cup’s destination was decided by the penalities.

Years later, defender Sinisa Mihajlovic remarked, “I think it was the most boring final in European Cup history.”

It was irrelevant.

Because any league matches that were drewn in Yugoslavia that year were settled by a shootout, they had a full season of practice and were able to score all five of their spot kicks.

After returning from a scouting mission to watch Rangers, Walter Smith, their assistant manager, gave Ibrox manager Graeme Souness a sharp two-word warning.

The first word, “we’re,” was too salty for printing here, but the second was. Red Star cruised past a strong Rangers side with prescience from Smith.

They appeared to be able to control everything. Robert Prosinecki, the mercurial. The tenacious Mihajlovic Darko Pancev, a prolific author. The Dragisa Binic of lightning speed

Any of the late 1980s and early 1990s contenders for European football, including AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Sampdoria, and Barcelona, were in their sights. How many European Cups would be won, it appeared, was all there was.

This team of almost entirely homegrown talent was eventually dissolved by war.

As Stojanovic reflected on the bleak times that had replaced the glory days, Stojanovic famously said, “We will never know how good we could have been.”

Yugoslavia was torn apart as a result of the civil war. Due to the country’s disqualification from the Swedish competition, Red Star’s numerous international competitors were denied the chance to compete at the European Championship at the end of the following year. infamously, Denmark outperformed them.

Miodrag Belodedici, a member of the Steaua Bucharest team that won the European Cup in 1986, claims that if the team had not been forced to split up, they would have “gone on winning for years.” He became the first man to do so after becoming the first player to do so.

In fact, Red Star only made two Uefa Cup group stage appearances since 1995, when sanctions forbid Serbian clubs from competing in European competition.

With four Champions League appearances in the past seven years, the Serbian champions have recently begun to find their feet once more.

However, as with Europa League match-day one rival Celtic, they were stunned by unfancied opponents in the play-offs for Uefa’s top competition, as Cypriots Pafos put an end to Red Star’s hopes of a third straight campaign at the top.

When they step foot inside the imposing Rajko Mitic Stadium, Brendan Rodgers will take charge of his Celtic side in one of Europe’s most intimidating arenas.

The hosts’ failure to qualify for the Champions League was largely due to the sale of a lot of the family silver in the summer, which included the sales of Andrija Maksimovic, an 18-year-old duo, to RB Leipzig and Velijko Milosavlejvic, who were both sold to Bournemouth.

However, Celtic still has a lot to worry about.

Aleksandar Katai, a veteran, has already scored 12 goals in 13 games from midfield, including 19 against them last year, helping them win an eighth consecutive Serbian title.

In an effort to win the “Eternal Derby,” Katai formed part of an attacking quartet on Saturday night when they defeated neighbours and vengeful rivals Partizan and Montenegrin star Mirko Ivanic, who has scored seven goals so far this season, and former West Ham United and Stoke City striker Marko Arnautovic.

The former Bologna head coach and Red Star great Mihajlovic promised to sign for the club before the end of his career when he arrived at the club amid a sea of emotion.

Austrian Arnautovic was teary-eyed when Mihajlovic revealed the story as it came true, and Mihajlovic passed away in 2022 from leukemia.

As Celtic prepare to kick off their Europa League campaign in a positive way by taking on a team that has, incredibly, lost just five league games in the previous five seasons, this will be a significant test for their subpar away European form.

Red Star Belgrade vs. Celtic in the Europa League

Date: Wednesday, September 24th, 2019 12:00 BST

The date was 29 May 1991. The stage was located in Bari’s picturesque southern Adriatic coast, Stadio San Nicola. The stars were provided by a famous Yugoslav club. The Red Stars .

In an attritional final against Bernard Tapie’s financially successful Marseille, Red Star Belgrade defied the odds and won the European Cup.

Both teams had won over with their way to the showpiece, but the outcome was goalless and did not live up to expectations. The 1991 European Cup’s destination was decided by the penalities.

Years later, defender Sinisa Mihajlovic remarked, “I think it was the most boring final in European Cup history.”

It was irrelevant.

Because any league matches that were drewn in Yugoslavia that year were settled by a shootout, they had a full season of practice and were able to score all five of their spot kicks.

After returning from a scouting mission to watch Rangers, Walter Smith, their assistant manager, gave Ibrox manager Graeme Souness a sharp two-word warning.

The first word, “we’re,” was too salty for printing here, but the second was. Red Star cruised past a strong Rangers side with prescience from Smith.

They appeared to be able to control everything. Robert Prosinecki, the mercurial. The tenacious Mihajlovic Darko Pancev, a prolific author. The Dragisa Binic of lightning speed

Any of the late 1980s and early 1990s contenders for European football, including AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Sampdoria, and Barcelona, were in their sights. How many European Cups would be won, it appeared, was all there was.

This team of almost entirely homegrown talent was eventually dissolved by war.

As Stojanovic reflected on the bleak times that had replaced the glory days, Stojanovic famously said, “We will never know how good we could have been.”

Yugoslavia was torn apart as a result of the civil war. Due to the country’s disqualification from the Swedish competition, Red Star’s numerous international competitors were denied the chance to compete at the European Championship at the end of the following year. infamously, Denmark outperformed them.

Miodrag Belodedici, a member of the Steaua Bucharest team that won the European Cup in 1986, claims that if the team had not been forced to split up, they would have “gone on winning for years.” He became the first man to do so after becoming the first player to do so.

In fact, Red Star only made two Uefa Cup group stage appearances since 1995, when sanctions forbid Serbian clubs from competing in European competition.

With four Champions League appearances in the past seven years, the Serbian champions have recently begun to find their feet once more.

However, as with Europa League match-day one rival Celtic, they were stunned by unfancied opponents in the play-offs for Uefa’s top competition, as Cypriots Pafos put an end to Red Star’s hopes of a third straight campaign at the top.

When they step foot inside the imposing Rajko Mitic Stadium, Brendan Rodgers will take charge of his Celtic side in one of Europe’s most intimidating arenas.

The hosts’ failure to qualify for the Champions League was largely due to the sale of a lot of the family silver in the summer, which included the sales of Andrija Maksimovic, an 18-year-old duo, to RB Leipzig and Velijko Milosavlejvic, who were both sold to Bournemouth.

However, Celtic still has a lot to worry about.

Aleksandar Katai, a veteran, has already scored 12 goals in 13 games from midfield, including 19 against them last year, helping them win an eighth consecutive Serbian title.

In an effort to win the “Eternal Derby,” Katai formed part of an attacking quartet on Saturday night when they defeated neighbours and vengeful rivals Partizan and Montenegrin star Mirko Ivanic, who has scored seven goals so far this season, and former West Ham United and Stoke City striker Marko Arnautovic.

The former Bologna head coach and Red Star great Mihajlovic promised to sign for the club before the end of his career when he arrived at the club amid a sea of emotion.

Austrian Arnautovic was teary-eyed when Mihajlovic revealed the story as it came true, and Mihajlovic passed away in 2022 from leukemia.

As Celtic prepare to kick off their Europa League campaign in a positive way by taking on a team that has, incredibly, lost just five league games in the previous five seasons, this will be a significant test for their subpar away European form.

Will the English goalkeeper now be reevaluating his decision after sealing a long-awaited summer return to Manchester City?

The 22-year-old started in the City academy before making his first-team debut at Burnley in 2023, where he featured in their relegation and was instrumental in their return to the top flight last year.

At the start of the campaign, Trafford was expected to take on Ederson for the top shirt at City. In fact, he may have been in the lead with his first three Premier League starts.

However, the script was ripped up on deadline when Pep Guardiola’s successor sold Ederson to Fenerbahce, and the appeal to bring in Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris St-Germain for £26m proved to be ineffective.

Trafford had the chance to join Newcastle earlier this summer, but he chose to switch to City instead. Just two months after Turf Moor sold him, he may now have doubts about the future.

Former City keeper Shay Given praised James Trafford as a “brilliant goalkeeper” on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Pep will have made the complete pitch that “you are coming in and the number one jersey is yours” during a World Cup year,” he said. You’ll be playing regular football, competing in the Premier League, and playing Champions League football, and you could even play for England in the World Cup in the summer.

The big man Donnarumma is parked up for the season after two weeks. I would be raging if it were me. Raging !

After agreeing to a five-year deal with Manchester City, Trafford said in July, “I always dreamed that I would be able to come back to Manchester City.” “This is where I call home,” I say.

There was misunderstanding about Trafford’s fee, with City sources reporting that it was worth £27 million plus add-ons, similar to how he may be right now.

However, according to sources from Burnley, the figure includes add-ons and a sell-on clause, making it a new record for a British goalkeeper.

If you think the Clarets, Trafford may have surpassed Jordan Pickford’s £30 million mark from 2017 when he left Sunderland for Everton, but he will struggle to remove his countryman from the top three for England.

He kept 29 clean sheets for Burnley last season and won the title of Championship Player of the Year at the PFA awards in August. He did it again.

He kept a remarkable clean sheet on his City debut against Wolves on Sunday, winning 4-1 in their Premier League opener, and despite making a mistake in the defeat by Tottenham, he was one of the few players to earn any credit after Brighton’s 4-0 victory.

He may have had an eye on joining Thomas Tuchel’s England first team with the arrival of World Cup qualifiers, but Donnarumma, the giant goalkeeper, made the transition.

With the Italian in goal, City are unbeaten in three games and Trafford has an “amazing” future, according to club insiders who said he had age on his side and had an “amazing” future at the club.

Guardiola has confirmed he will start for Wednesday’s EFL Cup third-round match against Huddersfield, giving the club plenty of first-team opportunities throughout the campaign.

Guardiola responded to Trafford with an “unbelievable” response. He’s a fantastic keeper and training is better than ever.

Newcastle’s Eddie Howe had long-standing ties to Trafford, and it is believed the player was “super excited” about joining the Magpies, but negotiations over a fee stalled.

When City sold Trafford to Burnley, they were given the option of having matching rights if another bid came in, which they activated once Newcastle and City agreed a fee. This was a sell-on clause in the contract.

Trafford made a wise decision by returning to City.

There are no guarantees that Nick Pope and his fellow Englishman, who has kept four clean sheets in five league games thus far, would have won if he had moved to St James’ Park.

After earning the Yashin award and placing ninth overall at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in France on Monday, Trafford faces a player from a different class who is officially the best goalkeeper in the world in Donnarumma.

Trafford hasn’t made his senior appearance for the Three Lions, and that task has grown even more challenging because Donnarumma has 76 caps for Italy and is currently the national team’s captain at the age of 26.

Donnarumma, who made his AC Milan debut at age 16, broke England’s hearts with his heroics in the penalty shootout at Wembley, broke the record for the youngster.

However, despite leading PSG to a treble of titles last season, including their first Champions League title, he was brutally replaced by Lille’s Lucas Chevalier in the place of his former manager Luis Enrique.

Guardiola saw a chance to sign a champion player who had already established himself as a world-class player, which reduced Trafford from serving as the team’s main man for a while and moving him to a supporting role.

On Wednesday night, Trafford travels to West Yorkshire, but he might be left wondering what might have happened if he had traveled there in the summer.