Saturday, September 23, 2023 – 10:45 PM

Assem al-Qauli / Badul Kashwani

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino insists the medical staff at the west London outfit are not responsible for the player’s injuries that have disrupted his start to life with the struggling English Football League side.

Pochettino only had 15 ready players during last weekend’s disappointing draw at Bournemouth.
After the club’s takeover from American Todd Buhle’s conglomerate in 2021, despite spending around $1.2 billion to attract new players, the Blue Team suffers from a major disadvantage.
He missed 12 players against Bournemouth, forcing Pochettino to call up three under-19 players who had not previously featured with the first team.
Residents of the team clinic include Frenchmen Christopher Ngungu and Wesley Fobana, Reece James, Belgian Romeo Lafia, Carne Chukwu, Emeka, Trevo Saloba and Ecuadorian Moise Caicedo with an impressive contract.
Ahead of Sunday’s clash against Aston Villa, Yadim is in fourteenth place with Chelsea having won five matches.
But Pochettino did not hold the medical staff accountable. “Before we came here, we did everything to analyze the risks to create a clear picture of the serious injuries that occurred last season.”
He continued, “It has to do with the player’s file, the risks he is exposed to. Not with the people working on the medical staff.”
He added, “I think we have to respect these professional and qualified departments of the club. That’s why they work in football. Players have individual risks that need to be analyzed.”
The former Tottenham coach concluded: “There’s also unhappiness. We’ve had injuries in a season or maybe two, but with Chelsea they’re out of control.”

Players from the Swedish and Spanish national soccer teams appeared Friday with a banner bearing the phrase “Our war is a global war,” in the world champions’ first appearance since the recent “World Cup kiss” crisis.

The Swedes showed their support for Spain as the two teams went head-to-head in the Europa League, with La Roja’s women winning by three goals to two.

The match, held in Gothenburg, Sweden, was a rematch of the World Cup semi-final in which Spain won 2-1, beating England with a clean sheet to clinch the title.

In a related context, the Associated Press reported Friday that the Spanish soccer federation has decided to remove the phrase “women’s soccer” from the national team’s name, which it hopes will reflect a “change in perceptions” and its vision for the game. .

The name of the women’s national team usually includes “women’s football”, and by removing this term, the women’s and men’s national teams are officially known as the “Spain national football team”.

Most of Spain’s female players, who have been on strike since former local football federation president Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenny Hermoso, have agreed to join the national team to face Sweden and Switzerland. After reaching an agreement with the League of European Nations, the Confederation and the Spanish government.

“We have reached a series of agreements to be drawn up and signed by the Federation and the Supreme Council for Sports,” Victor Francos, head of the Supreme Sports Council of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, said on Wednesday.

He added: “Out of the 23 female players invited, two requested the opportunity to leave the training camp (…) for reasons related to personal discomfort.”

A government representative did not reveal the identity of the two players involved, but confirmed that they “will not be subject to sanctions” contrary to earlier reports.

On Monday, the new coach of the “La Roja” team, Montse Tammy, made a surprise by inviting 15 world champions and other female players to the matches between Sweden and Switzerland. Changes were made at the Football Association following an incident where Rubiales forced a kiss on the lips of national team star Hermoso during the World Cup coronation in Australia last month.