NearPost

The off-season in English football is looming large, but what can we expect in the few upcoming weeks of the English Premier League off-season? Paul Pogba to Chelsea? Gareth Bale to Manchester united? Granit Xhaka to Arsenal? IIkay Gundogan to Manchester City? The off-season is known for having surprises in terms of changes made by different clubs. It is the time where most clubs fire coaches and employ new coaches. It is the time where most teams don’t renew contracts of certain players because they have identified players that should replace them. The next upcoming three month is set to be a busy one for England’s big four teams (Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal) after a disappointing campaign in the 2015/2016 season. The announcement of Antonio Conte by Chelsea certainly looks like the beginning of change at Stamford Bridge. The Italian is known for being a huge fan of Paul Pogba, Leonardo Bonucci, and A.S Roma’s Radia Nainggolan....

                  Bayern Munich became the first team to win the Bundesliga title four times in a row after beating Ingolstadt 2-1 at Audi Sport Park. Two goals from Polish striker, Robert Lewandowski were enough to seal the league title with one game to spare after second placed Borussia Dortmund suffered a 1-0 defeat to relegation threatened Eintracht Frankfurt.  This result left the Bavarians with a staggering eight point lead at the top of the league. Bayern’s title comes four days after being knocked out of the Uefa Champions League by Spanish title contenders, Atletico de Madrid. This was the club’s 26 th Bundesliga title and Pep Guardiola’s third Bundesliga title since arriving at the Germany capital in the 2013/2014 season. Lewandowski became the first Munchen player to score 29 Bundesliga goals in a season since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1980/81 while Guardiola became the first manager to win the league titl...

Leicester’s fantastic duo of Riyad Mahrez (L) and Jamie Vardy (R) Eden Hazard second-half strike against Tottenham hotspurs in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge was enough to hand Leicester City their first ever premier league title with two matches to spare.  Leicester became the first team outside of the big four (Manchester United, Manchester city, Arsenal, and Chelsea) to win the premier league title since Blackburn Rovers in 1995. Leicester finished at position 14 out 20 during the season of (2014/2015). They averaged just 1.08 points per game in their 38 premier league matches. When the club sacked Nigel Pearson at the end of the 2014/2015 season most people were convinced the Foxes were heading in the relegation direction for the upcoming season  of  (2015/2016). The loss of former Internazionale (Inter Milan) midfielder, Esteban Cambiasso to Greek Champions Olympiakos put a stamp to people’s minds that the King Power team would be relegated t...

Tendai Ndoro celebrating a goal ( Image: BackpagePix) This is the question that Orlando Pirates fans have been asking themselves lately as the Zimbabwean international striker is fastly proving to be the solution to the goal scoring problems the club once encountered in the past. The on-form striker scored an extra-time goal and provided an assist to secure a Nedbank cup semi-final spot for the Buccaneers after a 2-0 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns at Lucas Masterpieces Moripe stadium yesterday. Arguably the most in-form striker currently in the South African league, Ndoro has scored 10 goals in his last nine games for the Sea robbers. In recent weeks, the striker has received the nickname “ fire” from the club’s supporters following his goal-scoring form which has seen him win numerous man of the match awards. The Zimbabwean striker scored a goal after 19 minutes of play in the extra-time after a superb long ball played by Thabo Qalinge. He shortly followed the goa...

Allister “Toetie” Coetzee has been named as the new Springboks coach on a four year deal replacing outgoing Heyneke Meyer who enjoyed a tough spell to his rugby career during the 2015 IRB rugby world cup in England. The 52 year old Grahamstown-born coach is no stranger to the Springboks set up having worked with Jake White as the assistant coach during the 2007 rugby world cup.  He spent six years coaching the Stormers in Super rugby, he also led Western province to two Currie cup titles in 2012 and 2014. In 2015 he served a short stint at Japanese outfits Kobelco Steelers.  Coetzee comes into the role with  a huge task of introducing new replacements for retired veterans such as Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez, and Victor Mitfield. South Africa rugby union (SARU) president, Oregan Hoskins described this appointment as an exciting time in South African rugby. “It is a watershed moment for our game with new players developing alongside a spine of...

Orlando Pirates defender, Syabonga Sangweni (34) has announced his retirement from football after receiving medical advices over his long term  injuries. The Dondotha-born defender last represented Orlando Pirates in the final of the CAF Confederations cup against Tunisian giants Etoile du Sahel. Orlando Pirates chairman Dr Irvin Khoza confirmed the news in the club's website. He praised the professionalism of Sangweni saying " He led by example rather than words". "His natural leadership qualities were self-evident. It was therefore not a surprise nor coincidence that it was under his helm as vice-captain that Orlando Pirates won its second treble. He commanded respect amongst his peers. His leadership was a quite one. He was more expressive rather than talkative," Khoza said. The veteran defender represented Bafana Bafana on 29 occasions. He played a crucial role in Bafana Bafana reaching the 2013 African cup of Nations quarter-final. Khoza said...

Carlos Brathwaite produced a batting masterclass in the last over of their innings against England at Eden Gardens to lead the Windies to their second World Twenty20 title in four years. The 27-year old batman smashed four consecutive sixes in Ben Stokes last over to secure a four wicket victory for his side with two balls left to be bowled. The Windies went into the last over needing a massive score of 19 runs from six balls,  with expert death overs bowler everyone thought England was well posed to clinch the title when Captain Eoin Morgan throw the ball to Stokes to bowl the last over. Brathwaite proved his selection to the squad ahead of Jason Holder by hitting four maximums and leaving Stokes furious on the field. Brathwaite finished the clash with match figures of 34 from 10 deliveries, while Marlon Samuels was named man of the match for his impressive score of 85 from 66 balls. Brathwaite also finished the match with the best bowling figures by a ...