Category Sports News

Aberdeen vs. Celtic in the Scottish Cup final

Location: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Saturday, May 24 Kick-off: 5:00 BST

Dante Polvara made his best effort in a case for Aberdeen to beat the odds and win the Scottish Cup final on Saturday, the Dons are friendless at 6-1, a dribbler that veered off in the direction of the corner flag.

The Aberdeen man praised his team’s chances against treble-chasing Celtic, a valiant attempt to improve their last four victories over the champions. “No pressure, no expectation,” he said.

The Dons have lost those games 5-1, 5-1, 1-0 and 6-0.

The 24-year-old American said there was a chance for a free hit, “some luck from the football gods,” and “you never know what might happen.”

Since Aberdeen last did it, Rangers have defeated Celtic at least twice, along with Livingston, Ross County, St Mirren, Hibernian, Heart of Midlothian, and Kilmarnock.

This red-clad mental barrier is a strange thing. Celtic have won 79 of their final 22 games overall, as of 2018.

Most people believe they are probably aware of what will happen on Saturday, including many fatalistic Aberdeen supporters who are traveling in fantastic numbers, but not, in your opinion, with a lot of belief, in fairness to Dante and his hopes for a Celtic inferno.

Although Polvara is aiming for the heavens, days like this don’t typically feature the God of footballers underdogs. In the last 50 years, the Scottish Cup final saw two real shocks: Aberdeen beating Celtic in 1970 and Dundee United beating Rangers in 1994.

Brendan Rodgers has won 37 of the 38 domestic cup ties he has managed as Celtic manager. Some have experienced landslides, while others have had hair.

In the final two minutes, they have won both shoot-outs and conceded potentially morale-sapping equalisers in minutes 88 and 119.

With Adam Idah scoring the final kick of the Scottish Cup final last year, they almost won. In the 92nd minute, Tom Rogic scored the winner against Aberdeen in a similar way to their 2017 final victory.

The Gods have only ever impressed Celtic’s opponents in these championship games against Rodgers teams in victories over Kilmarnock in the League Cup last year. They have led for a total of 130 minutes under Rodgers, scoring 133 and giving up 29 in those cup-tied hours.

At Hampden, the Celtic manager has never lost.

How are they defeated by Jimmy Thelin’s counterpart in Aberdeen? Walter Smith once remarked before playing Juventus in the Champions League that you are reminded of this.

How do you get rid of Alessandro del Piero, the then Rangers manager? The great man responded, in complete gallows humor, “with a gun.”

Rodgers has the most players and resources, but other clubs in other countries have comparable dominance and do not match Rodgers’ standards. Even the monied ones occasionally get caught.

This season, none of the traditional Italian superpowers were successful. Bologna by Lewis Ferguson succeeded. It was their first trophy in 51 years. The first significant trophy in their 164-year history was won by Crystal Palace, which defeated the biggest guns in England.

One of Rodgers’ greatest strengths, and one of Aberdeen’s many difficulties, is his ability to identify distantness as a source of complacency. He constantly gives his players new targets to keep them on their toes.

He mentioned to them “etching their names into the concrete” of the club the day before.

Of course, many of them have already done it, but it still works as a motivating tool. It has a strong message and a long-range goal. People will be looking for a different take on the story of what they believe to be boring Parkhead dominance, outside of Celtic.

Rodgers certainly uses that, too. Everyone anticipates the resignation of the Celtic manager and his team, but they hardly ever do.

You could fill the entire Union Street area of the city with Celtic’s requirements and those that Aberdeen must fulfill in order to annoy people.

It seems like a long time since they were able to draw 2-2 in Glasgow in October.

Carnage followed that time. A dozen different Celtic goalies contributed to a 17-2 overall result. In their three games against the Dons, Daizen Maeda has five goals.

Aberdeen have the ruinous habit of giving up in clusters in recent poor form, two in seven minutes against Dundee United, three in nine minutes against Celtic, and two in six minutes against Rangers.

They are in terrible danger because of Celtic’s clustering. Rodgers’ team has scored deadly numbers in domestic games when they hit the boxers.

They score, and when an opponent is still agitated, they score once more, completing the task. They have scored twice or three times in two to ten minute bursts on 20 different occasions. One of their main victims in that regard was Aberdeen.

Fans of the Dons will be concerned about this potential early exit. Thelin’s Herculean task is to prepare his team for a difficult situation and to rebel. Resilience, focus, discipline, and ruthlessness are all qualities.

He is hoping to pull off one of the greatest cup final shocks of our time because they lack confidence, a threat to goals, defensive vulnerability, and a questionable mentality.

Ipswich forward Liam Delap is exploring his options for next season, says manager Kieran McKenna.

The 22-year-old joined the Tractor Boys from Manchester City in a deal worth up to £20m last summer but is expected to leave the club following their relegation back to the Championship after just one campaign in the Premier League.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle have all been linked with a move for the England Under-21 international, who has a £30m relegation release clause in his contract, while City also hold a buy-back option.

“Liam’s looking at his options for next year, which I think he is entitled to do and we support him with that,” said McKenna

“I think we have given him permission to do that this week. It’s a very important decision for his future. Of course there is a lot of interest – and rightly so. I think part of his week has been having some of those conversations.

“It looks more likely than not that he will move on this summer and he has interest from pretty much every club in the league, and I don’t think there are many clubs in the world who wouldn’t want to have him.

“Nothing is sorted, nothing is done or completed or even very, very, very close, so that process will take its course.”

Delap will look to add to his 12 goals in 36 Premier League appearances when Ipswich host West Ham on Sunday (16:00 BST).

However, no other Ipswich player has got close to double figures in the top flight with the club’s swift return to the second tier confirmed in April.

“We will be proud of the part that we have had in terms of Liam’s development and his contribution this season,” McKenna added.

“If he stays with us, we will be delighted, and if he moves on this summer, it will be a positive sign for the club to have developed and sold a player at that sort of level and hopefully it will be a good move for him as well.”

Manager Kieran McKenna has given Ipswich forward Liam Delap permission to talk to other clubs and explore “his options” for the upcoming season.

The 22-year-old left Manchester City last summer in a deal worth up to £20 million, but he is expected to leave the club in the wake of their relegation from the Premier League after just one season there.

The England Under-21 international, who has a £30 million relegation release clause in his contract, has attracted interest from Manchester United, Chelsea, and Newcastle, as well as a buy-back option from City.

According to McKenna, “Liam is looking at his options for the following year,” which he does and that we support.

This week, I believe we gave him permission to do that. It will be a very important choice for his future. Naturally, there is a lot of interest, and that’s on purpose. I believe some of those conversations occurred during his week.

He has interest from pretty much every club in the league, and I don’t think there are many clubs in the world who wouldn’t want him to move on this summer. “It seems more likely than not that he will move on.

“Nothing is resolved, nothing is finished, or even very close, very quickly, so that process will continue.”

When Ipswich host West Ham on Sunday at 6:00 BST, Delap will look to add to his 12 goals in 36 Premier League games.

No other Ipswich player, whose swift return to the second tier was confirmed in April, has ever achieved double figures in the top flight.

“We will be proud of the impact that Liam’s development and his contribution this season have had,” McKenna continued.

“If he stays with us, we will be delighted, and if he leaves this summer, it will be a positive sign that the club has developed and sold a player at that level, and it will hopefully be a good move for him as well,” he said.

Manager Michael Wimmer has left Motherwell to join Jahn Regensburg, who will play in Germany’s third tier next season.

The 44-year-old took charge of last Sunday’s final Scottish Premiership match of the season, a 1-1 draw at Ross County, and returned to his native Germany.

He told club officials earlier this week he would not be back at Fir Park next season because of family reasons, leaving the Lanarkshire club hunting for a new boss.

Wimmer, who has thanked Well for their “support”, replaced Stuart Kettlewell in February and won five and drew three of his 12 matches in charge.

“I want to thank the board and all the staff at the club for the way they welcomed me to Scotland and also supported me so much from when I arrived in February,” Wimmer said.

“They have done everything to support me and my family during my time here. This has been an ongoing, extremely difficult position that I have found myself in and the club have done all they could to support me during these challenging times, both whilst I was in post and while I have been back in Germany.

“I am sorry to all the Motherwell fans; the support you have shown me has been outstanding and I have loved learning about this wonderful club.

“This decision was an extremely hard one for me to make; however, I have decided to move back home as I need to put my family first and be with them and I want to thank the board for the understanding shown through these challenging times.

Wimmer previously led Austria Vienna after a spell as interim boss at Stuttgart.

Jahn Regensburg were relegated after finishing bottom of the Bundesliga’s second division this season.

Wimmer’s exit leaves four Premiership clubs seeking a new manager – Dundee, Kilmarnock, Rangers and now Motherwell.

With Heart of Midlothian having taken Derek McInnes from Kilmarnock as their new head coach, at least five of 12 top-flight clubs will start the new season under new management.

Motherwell said Wimmer had “reached out to the chairman and chief executive of the club to inform them that he would like to remain in Germany” and become Jahn Regensburg boss.

“Wimmer explained the reasons for wishing to accept the new role were predominantly due to major family issues that have recently arisen in Germany,” said the club in a statement.

“Following extensive conversations with Michael, the club very reluctantly negotiated a compensation package with SSV Jahn Regensburg.

Manager Michael Wimmer has left Motherwell to join Jahn Regensburg, who will play in Germany’s third tier next season.

The 44-year-old took charge of last Sunday’s final Scottish Premiership match of the season, a 1-1 draw at Ross County, and returned to his native Germany.

He told club officials earlier this week he would not be back at Fir Park next season because of family reasons, leaving the Lanarkshire club hunting for a new boss.

Wimmer, who has thanked Well for their “support”, replaced Stuart Kettlewell in February and won five and drew three of his 12 matches in charge.

“I want to thank the board and all the staff at the club for the way they welcomed me to Scotland and also supported me so much from when I arrived in February,” Wimmer said.

“They have done everything to support me and my family during my time here. This has been an ongoing, extremely difficult position that I have found myself in and the club have done all they could to support me during these challenging times, both whilst I was in post and while I have been back in Germany.

“I am sorry to all the Motherwell fans; the support you have shown me has been outstanding and I have loved learning about this wonderful club.

“This decision was an extremely hard one for me to make; however, I have decided to move back home as I need to put my family first and be with them and I want to thank the board for the understanding shown through these challenging times.

Wimmer previously led Austria Vienna after a spell as interim boss at Stuttgart.

Jahn Regensburg were relegated after finishing bottom of the Bundesliga’s second division this season.

Wimmer’s exit leaves four Premiership clubs seeking a new manager – Dundee, Kilmarnock, Rangers and now Motherwell.

With Heart of Midlothian having taken Derek McInnes from Kilmarnock as their new head coach, at least five of 12 top-flight clubs will start the new season under new management.

Motherwell said Wimmer had “reached out to the chairman and chief executive of the club to inform them that he would like to remain in Germany” and become Jahn Regensburg boss.

“Wimmer explained the reasons for wishing to accept the new role were predominantly due to major family issues that have recently arisen in Germany,” said the club in a statement.

“Following extensive conversations with Michael, the club very reluctantly negotiated a compensation package with SSV Jahn Regensburg.