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RB MEDIAFootball tourists from other countries are frequently welcomed at Wembley, Old Trafford, and Anfield, but they are not as prevalent at Harborough Town’s home ground in Leicestershire.
Imagine your surprise when more than 100 Spanish sports fans showed up for the Saturday non-league team’s game against St. Ives Town.
The Spaniards were subscribers to an English football-related Spanish YouTube channel, which has since begun making travel arrangements.
RB MEDIAIlie Oleart, a native of Barcelona, founded the Spanish-language television station La Media Inglesa (LMI), which airs English football games to Spanish-speaking viewers all over the world.
The next step for LMI was to show English football, according to Mr. Oleart, who backs La Liga side Espanyol.
He stated, “Our goal was to turn a small, isolated English club into a small, isolated club with a worldwide fan base.”
Wycombe WanderersIn September, I met people at the club to learn about their history, the town, and facilities, according to Mr. Oleart.
We believed they had the right values to impart to our audience.
The partnership with LMI offered an “opportunity to grow our fanbase and our income” through a “global audience,” according to club chairman Peter Dougan, and it might lead to sponsorship deals.
He claimed that the key to success was “being in the right place at the right time.”
Mr. Oleart said his group was “very happy” with their experience despite Harborough’s 2-1 defeat to St Ives Town in their Southern League Premier Division Central encounter.
He claimed that it was undoubtedly the best trip he and I have ever taken.
Alvaro Sanz, a fan, continued, “We occupied a full stand and started cheering immediately.”
“We even taught some chants in Spanish to quite a few local fans who also came along.
SuppliedResidents of the town center watched in delight as two coachloads of Spanish supporters arrived before heading off to the stands to sing Spanish songs before kick-off.
It felt like our club, according to Mr. Oleart, not just any club anymore.
After the game, we met the players and had a drink with them in the pub, which is unheard of at a Premier League club.
“We wanted to make sure the trip allowed us to establish relationships with their fans as well.”
I’m sure there will be many great memories to create in the future, and I’m hoping to bring 200 to 300 fans with me the next time. There are many things to do to work on the alliance and make it stronger.
RB MEDIAPete Dougan, Bees chairman, stated: “It was a fantastic day and the atmosphere was fantastic.
Our fans were singing songs in English while the stadium’s fans also sang songs in Spanish. It was enjoyable.
RBC Heritage first-round leaderboard
-10 J Thomas (US), -7 R Henley (US), S Scheffler (US), -6 W Clark (US)
Other notables: -5 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), -4 J Rose (Eng), and T Fleetwood (Eng).
Justin Thomas set a course record by leading by three shots after the RBC Heritage first round.
At Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina, Thomas birdied 11 holes for a 10-under-par 61.
The 31-year-old American leads compatriots Russell Henley and world number one Scottie Scheffler in the pursuit of their first victories since taking home his second major at the US PGA Championship in 2022.
After posting a first-round score of 66, former US Open champion Wyndham Clark is one shot further back, while Matt Fitzpatrick is in a group of five under.
Justin Rose, who lost to Rory McIlroy in a play-off at the Masters, is tied for 10th after hitting 67 in his first round.
Thomas set the tone with six birdies on the front nine, before recovering from a bogey on the 10th with five birdies in six holes on the back nine.
Thomas remarked, “I feel like I didn’t do anything crazy.”
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Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure to Real Madrid is edging ever closer – meaning Liverpool need to start thinking about how they might replace him.
The 26-year-old right-back has won it all since making his Reds debut in 2016, including the Premier League and Champions League.
It’s fair to say he leaves a sizeable void at right-back.
Alexander-Arnold has made a name for himself as a playmaking right-back, with his creative numbers growing season after season.
Under Jurgen Klopp, the England international’s talents were used in a variety of ways.
He started his career as an all-action right-back working in tandem with Andy Robertson, his full-back partner on the other flank.
Since Arne Slot has taken over as manager, Alexander-Arnold has continued to do this, often as a means to fashion one-against-one opportunities for Mohamed Salah on the right wing.
Time and again, the England international has proved invaluable for Liverpool, especially in terms of playing out from the back and creating chances.
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Alexander-Arnold has faced questions about his defending throughout his career.
Conor Bradley has been Alexander-Arnold’s understudy since making the step up to the first team. The Northern Ireland international will inevitably be involved in the conversations around the replacement in the right-back spot.
Bradley has struggled to get a consistent run in the starting XI – playing just over 1,000 minutes this season. It has been tough enough for him to get game time given he is completing with Alexander-Arnold for a place, but recurring long-term injuries have also hampered him.
But Bradley – who offers a significantly different profile at full-back than Alexander-Arnold – has always shown huge promise whenever he has played.
The 21-year-old has a great appetite for defensive work and enjoys getting into physical duels, which dovetails with Slot’s desire for Liverpool players to maintain a strong counter-press.
In a small sample of about 750 league minutes last season, Bradley was averaging 7.62 progressive receptions per match – meaning that he was receiving the ball at least seven times a game in positions closer to the opposition goal.
Guela Doue (Strasbourg)
Guela Doue is 27 games into his second full season of senior football in Ligue 1, but is already making plenty of waves at Strasbourg under 40-year-old former Hull manager Liam Rosenior.
After breaking through in the 2023-24 season at Rennes, Doue has demonstrated his versatility since his switch to Strasbourg. The 22-year-old Ivory Coast international is a right-back who is well capable of playing as a wide centre-back in a three or a right wing-back.
The versatile defender has averaged 6.8 progressive carries with the ball this season in Ligue 1, standing only behind Diego Moreira at Strasbourg.
Like Alexander-Arnold, Doue likes receiving the ball deeper in his own half before progressing the ball further up the pitch with long passes forward to his winger or striker.
Anton Gaaei (Ajax)
Nicknamed the ‘Danish Beckham’ of Ajax, Anton Gaaei has progressed quickly to become the first-choice right-back this season under Francesco Farioli.
The 21-year-old, who joined Ajax after three seasons in the Danish Superliga with Viborg, has two goals and four assists in 21 Eredivisie appearances this term.
What immediately stands out about Gaaei is both the quality and variety of his crossing. He is able to generate a lot of power with his right boot to cross the ball from deeper areas or hit the byline and cut back into the box too. His trademark is a low cross hit diagonally to go past defenders to connect with onrushing team-mates.
Besides his crossing ability, Gaaei continues to improve on the defensive side of his game, which is helped by his excellent burst of pace in tracking back as well as making useful off-ball runs beyond his winger.
Entrusted with set-piece taking as well, the young Dane benefits from Ajax’s dominant style of play, which sees him generate about five crosses per match.
Martim Fernandes (Porto)
The youngest player of the three, and arguably the one with the greatest potential, is Martim Fernandes, who has impressed many since breaking into the Porto first team this season.
In 21 Liga Portugal appearances, Fernandes has five assists to his name and at just 19 years of age, is already a key creative cog in the side.
He enjoys playing on the front foot and much like Alexander-Arnold, he is an excellent crosser of the ball, adept at delivering into dangerous zones inside the opposition’s six-yard box.
No wonder he is averaging an expected assists (xA) per match figure of 0.31 in the Portuguese top flight, a hugely impressive figure considering his age.
The Porto number 52 shows promising movement while underlapping or overlapping to hit the byline to cross, and can manoeuvre in tight spaces to curl a cross into the box, much as Alexander-Arnold does.
In the Liga Portugal this term, Fernandes has averaged an impressive 3.61 crosses per match.
