Ajax Cape Town · Midfielder · #0 · South Africa · 25 yrs
Matty Todd aims to add "energy, drive and quality" to St Johnstone after joining the Perth club from Dunfermline Athletic. The 24-year-old midfielder has agreed a two-year contract and is looking forward to life in the Scottish Premiership with newly-promoted Saints. Todd made his Dunfermline debut in August 2018.
Jesse Marsch leads a hopeful squad aiming to capture the nation’s attention after a false start last time out• World Cup newsletter | Daily podcast | Download the appCanada’s best had about as close to a day off as you get in Jesse Marsch’s world Wednesday morning. The national team have taken over the training campus of Toronto FC in the city’s northern crust and Matchday-minus-2 was a light session, jogging pace mostly, players doing some limbering, and a lot of looking.The place is pancake flat, as you’d expect from a disused airport, so looming over the whole area is Rogers Stadium, an outdoor concert venue which rose out of the runway and holds 52,000 people ...for now. Noted poet of life and football Liam Gallagher helped inaugurate it last August when he saluted fans in “those stupid fucking stands up there that were built about 30 fucking minutes ago”. Continue reading...
Gavi described what he thought when he got injured, which almost left him out of Spain's team for the World Cup. After Spain’s squad was announced by Luis de la Fuente, his place at the World Cup was confirmed despite having missed a significant amount of time at Barcelona through injury, with Gavi reflecting on the moment in a conversation shared by the Spanish Federation. Gavi said: “I went in thinking I would be out for four or five weeks, and when I came out of the anesthesia, they told me it would be four or five months. I remember even the doctor had to leave because I was about to explode.” The midfielder went through a two-year stretch in which he barely played. The injury he was referring to was a torn meniscus suffered in a training session with Barcelona last August before returning in March, but he had also torn his ACL in November 2023 with Spain. Gavi getting back to the highest level proved worth all the time he spent recovering from injuries that could have ended his career. The call-up for Spain For the midfielder, the sport has many great things, but also some tough ones: “Soccer is the best thing there is, but there are injuries that can easily end your career. I have always had that ambition in my mind and that dream that no one can beat me.” Gavi got injured during a training session last year (Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images) The player could be the clearest example of resilience through injury, because he had been expected to be called up for the Euro that Spain won in 2024 during his rise, until he got hurt, which made this call-up an anxious wait for him. Gavi said: “I didn’t want to watch the call-up because I always get nervous. I saw it there with the physios. When I heard my name, it was a huge rush of happiness. Representing Spain at the World Cup is one of the greatest things there is. Being called up to my second one is a huge pride.” Gavi’s season with Barcelona It was just the beginning for Barcelona when Gavi went down in a training session after two La Liga matches, with a future that did not look promising. Even if he was not able to play too much, it was enough to convince de la Fuente. The midfielder finished with 13 matches, with 0 goals and 1 assist.
