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Fortuna has its eye on VfB talent Olivier

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Fortuna has its eye on VfB talent Olivier

It seems that Sven Mislintat may have found what he is looking for in one of his former clubs as he searches for reinforcements for Fortuna Düsseldorf. But he still has to outbid his competitors.

League in tenth place over the winter break. The 19-year-old is a trained right-back, but can also play in defensive midfield.

The position is permanently and prominently filled among the VfB professionals

Olivier has played in 17 of 19 possible games for the Bundesliga club’s second team under coach Nico Willig this season, starting in the majority of them and contributing two assists so far. This has not gone unnoticed by scouts from other teams. There seems to be particular interest in the Austrian talent in his home country, where he made his debut for the U21 team against Denmark on October 10.

According to media reports, Rapid Vienna, Sturm Graz, and Linzer ASK are all interested in Olivier, and the 1.87-meter player himself is not averse to a transfer. This is especially true given that his position at VfB is prominently and permanently filled by new signing Lorenz Assignon and Josha Vagnoman, who extended his contract until 2028 at the end of August. Leonidas Stergiou, who is also moving away, at least on loan, to gain playing experience, can also defend at right-back.

The defender is under contract with VfB until 2028

In addition to the trio from Austria, Fortuna Düsseldorf is now also vying for Olivier. Exciting: In mid-December, former Stuttgart sporting director Mislinat was presented there as the new sporting director and successor to Klaus Allofs. Following the departure of Allofs and sporting director Christian Weber, the 53-year-old must work with coach Markus Anfang, whom Mislintat is keeping on, to quickly stabilize Fortuna, which has fallen into the relegation zone of the lower house. Mislintat is considered a manager with a very good eye for talent with value development. Olivier, who joined VfB in the summer of 2022, while Mislintat was still in office, could be one such player. Now the poker game is on for the defensive specialist, who is under contract in Bad Cannstatt until 2028.

Fans dream of the title: Aston Villa equals club record that is over 100 years old

Jeffrey Gooding
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Fans dream of the title: Aston Villa equals club record that is over 100 years old

Along with Manchester City, Aston Villa is undoubtedly the team of the moment in the Premier League. With their victory at Chelsea FC, the Villans not only secured their place at the top of the table, but also equaled a club record that is over 100 years old.

Aston Villa had earned 15 of their 36 points after falling behind before their away game at Chelsea FC—a pattern that was set to continue at Stamford Bridge. “We got off to a very bad start. In every away game, we seem to have to accept falling behind at first. But in the second half, we found our rhythm, got into the game better and caused problems for our opponents,” said Ollie Watkins, who had shone as a substitute, looking back on the match.

The striker himself was largely responsible for the third-placed team’s twelfth league win with his brace, which leaves them just one point behind Manchester City (40) and three points behind leaders Arsenal (42). Although this is easier said than done, of course, Watkins hopes “that from now on we can avoid conceding the first goal and then just have a smooth game without conceding.”

Villa equals record from 1897 and 1914

Unai Emery, whom Watkins praised highly on Sky, will also be thinking about how to reduce the number of goals conceded. “When I came on in the second half, he brought on Jadon Sancho on the wing and Morgan Rogers, and I think that gave us a bit more space,” analyzed the double goalscorer. “Then he put Youri Tielemans in the number 10 position, so we had an extra player there. A tactical genius, I’d say,” said Watkins.

After the Birmingham club was in 18th place with three points at the end of matchday 5, no Premier League team has collected more points (36) since then. But that’s not all: with their eleventh (!) competitive win in a row on Saturday, the Villans finally equaled a club record that was set over 100 years ago, in both 1897 and 1914.

The leaders await at the end of the year

The fact that people are now even asking whether the club could actually win its first league title since 1981 underlines its outstanding form – and confirms the Villa fans who sang euphorically: “We’re going to win the league!”

Emery, meanwhile, was much more cautious, saying he would only talk about a possible league position “on matchday 34” – i.e., shortly before the end of the season. “I feel that we are fighting for Europe and not competing with Man City and Arsenal for the league,” explained the 54-year-old. He will not deviate from this approach even after the next game, when Aston Villa visits league leaders Arsenal – and could draw level with them (Tuesday, 9:15 p.m.).

Return after decades: Cruyff joins Ajax

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Return after decades: Cruyff joins Ajax

Jordi Cruyff, son of soccer legend Johan Cruyff, is returning to Ajax Amsterdam after a long absence. The 51-year-old will become sporting director at the Dutch club.

Ajax Amsterdam officially confirmed on Sunday evening what De Telegraaf had already reported recently. The Dutch record champions announced that Jordi Cruyff will join the traditional club in February as the new sporting director and successor to Alex Kroes. “Ajax Amsterdam and Jordi Cruyff have reached a verbal agreement on the position of sporting director,” the announcement read. Although the deal is not yet finalized, the Amsterdam club is aiming to sign a contract effective February 1, 2026, as soon as possible. His contract will initially run until June 30, 2028.

Amsterdam closely associated with the Cruyff name

The 51-year-old is not unknown for two reasons. After all, Jordi Cruyff is the son of icon Johan Cruyff, who was trained at Ajax from 1959 and ultimately played there from 1964 to 1973 (winning three European Cup titles) and again in the 1980s, followed by years as a coach.

His son Jordi was also initially trained in Amsterdam (1981 to 1988) before moving on to FC Barcelona, like his father. After decades away—most recently as a strategic advisor to the Indonesian Football Association—Cruyff is now returning. And with him, the Ajax stadium, which was renamed the Johan Cruyff Arena in 2016, some time after the death of his father Johan.

The position that Cruyff has now been assigned was also held more than two years ago, between May and September 2023, by former Bundesliga official and current Düsseldorf sporting director Sven Mislintat.

In addition to his position with the Indonesian association, Cruyff also brings with him a wealth of experience from his work as an official and coach at Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Chinese clubs Chongqing Lifan and Shenzhen FC, and FC Barcelona. He also coached the Ecuadorian national team, Germany’s opponent at the upcoming 2026 World Cup in North America, in 2020.

Schade’s perfect hat trick – and a remarkable record

Jason Maverick
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Schade’s perfect hat trick – and a remarkable record

Kevin Schade scored his second hat trick in the Premier League. The German international from Brentford FC demonstrated his versatility in the process.

Left, right, with his head: Kevin Schade shone in Brentford’s 4-1 win over Bournemouth with a perfect hat trick, scoring each of his three goals with a different part of his body.

For goal number 1, the 24-year-old first won a robust footrace with Bafodé Diakité before confidently slotting the ball into the far corner with his left foot. The second goal followed a low cross from Yegor Yarmolyuk, which Schade reacted quickly to convert with his right foot. The German international then put the icing on the cake for himself and his team by heading home a cross from Mikkel Damsgaard in stoppage time.

Only Maxi Rodriguez needed fewer goals

“I hadn’t scored for a while and now I’ve scored three in one game, similar to last season. I’m just happy about my second hat trick here at Brentford,” Schade summed up Saturday afternoon from his perspective. In fact, his last goal (in early November in a 3-1 win over Newcastle) was followed by seven competitive games without a goal, including Germany’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win in Luxembourg.

The lightning-fast striker scored his last and first hat trick for the Bees on matchday 13 of last season against Leicester (4-1). Of all the players who have scored multiple hat tricks in the Premier League, only Maxi Rodriguez (15 goals, two hat tricks) needed fewer goals for his second hat trick than Schade, who now has 19 goals in the English top flight. The two hat tricks thus account for around 32 percent of his goal tally.

Bees are “getting better with every game”

For Brentford, who will not be back in action until New Year’s Day against Tottenham (9 p.m.), the 2025 calendar year is now over. Schade’s conclusion: “It’s not so much about me. It’s more about the team, the new structure, the new coach and many new players. I think you can generally say that we are getting better from game to game.“

Although the Bees are fourth in the 2025/26 home table with only one defeat, the German still sees room for improvement in away games, ”but that’s a process. I’m glad we’ve done well so far.” Brentford had never had 26 points in the Premier League at this stage before. The only question that remained was where the hat trick ball would find a place in Schade’s home, but the 24-year-old had already thought about that: “Next to my second PlayStation,” the player of the match announced with a grin.

Eighth consecutive BBL victory: Bayern ultimately wins decisively against a courageous Trier team

Lesley Summerville
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Eighth consecutive BBL victory: Bayern ultimately wins decisively against a courageous Trier team

FC Bayern’s basketball team continues to be unrivaled in the Bundesliga. The reigning German champions led for a long time against the courageous newcomers from Trier, but struggled to decide the game. That only happened in the final minutes.

Trier’s top scorer Jordan Roland (24 PTS, 8/15) had brought his team back within striking distance before the end of the third quarter. After Bayern’s Voigtmann lost the ball, the guard cut the deficit to -9 with a fastbreak dunk. However, the hopes of the several hundred visiting fans for a comeback were quickly dashed. A 16:4 run put Munich back in front by more than 20 points – sealing the deal.

The underdogs had put up a brave fight for a long time and were able to keep up with Munich’s fast-paced offense. After Gabriel’s free throw, the home team went into the first quarter break with a 25:21 lead.

After the break, Bayern managed to build up their first double-digit lead. Eight quick points in a row from Giffey put the score at 33-23. However, time and again – even later in the game – the Moselstadt team managed to score the important points to keep the game from slipping away prematurely. Urald King converted two important three-pointers in a row in the middle of the second quarter.

Bayern physically superior

Even Bayern’s 14-point lead after the break did not take the tension out of the game, as Roland and Adekunle kept the score in single digits.

Ultimately, however, Bayern’s focused play (only 3 TOs until the break) and their versatile scoring (five players with at least ten points) proved to be superior. With a score of 39:27, the duel on the boards also went clearly to the physically stronger Munich team. The best scorer for the home team, which has now won eight BBL games in a row, was Andi Obst with 15 points.

Red Bull shake-up continues: Gianpiero Lambiase set to join rival team

Phil Laffertey
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Red Bull shake-up continues: Gianpiero Lambiase set to join rival team

Red Bull faces another high-profile departure: Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is reportedly in talks with a rival team.

Another key figure is set to leave the Red Bull Formula 1 team. According to international media reports, Gianpiero Lambiase is not expected to continue his role with the Austrian-British racing team. This marks the end of a partnership that has contributed significantly to Max Verstappen’s success and four world championship titles in the current ground effect era.

The 45-year-old Briton, who also has Italian citizenship, will therefore no longer be working as a race engineer alongside the Dutchman next year. The reason for the split is apparently Lambiase’s desire for a change in his workload.

He had asked Red Bull management to reduce his travel commitments for personal reasons. These circumstances had already affected his presence at the racetrack during the past season: he missed the Austrian and Belgian Grands Prix, where he was temporarily replaced by Simon Rennie.

Tug of war between Williams and Aston Martin

The engineer’s future has not yet been officially clarified. While The Race linked him with a move to Aston Martin, the Italian edition of Motorsport.com has information that Lambiase is in negotiations with Williams.

Before Christmas, Radiobox had already spotted Lambiase in the immediate vicinity of the Grove-based racing team. However, as no agreement has been announced yet, the race to sign him appears to be still open. The project at Williams, which aims to bring the traditional team back to the top of Formula 1, is said to be very attractive to Lambiase.

Management role at Aston Martin?

However, Aston Martin is countering with a lucrative offer. The Silverstone-based team is rumored to have offered Lambiase a position in management. Such a role would offer the advantage that he would no longer have to be on site for all races of the season, which would accommodate his desire to travel less.

At Aston Martin, Lambiase would be reunited with his long-time colleague Adrian Newey, who was recently appointed team principal of the British racing team. A reunion with Lambiase would be attractive to Newey. The star designer greatly values the engineer’s skills and would welcome a renewed collaboration after their time together in Milton Keynes ended with Newey’s departure.

Possible harbinger for the 2027 driver market

Observers also see a strategic component in Aston Martin’s courtship. The signing of Lambiase could be seen as an attempt to build a bridge to Verstappen should he consider a team change.

Although Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull’s sporting director, emphasizes that the star will remain with the team, speculation about a change of scenery for the four-time world champion continues. Especially since the Dutchman could now lose a second important figure at Red Bull with Lambiase’s departure, following Helmut Marko’s retirement.

If, on the other hand, Lambiase decides to join Williams, this is likely to be seen as a sign that the move was purely based on professional considerations and has no direct connection to Verstappen’s future.

Lando Norris: “I’m not proud just because I’m world champion”

Jeffrey Gooding
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Lando Norris: “I’m not proud just because I’m world champion”

Too soft, too honest, not aggressive enough? Lando Norris doesn’t care what others think – what matters to the Formula 1 world champion is that he won the title his way.

Lando Norris not only secured the Formula 1 world championship title in 2025, but also matured as a driver and personality this season. His path to the title was anything but straightforward, but he always remained true to himself, he emphasizes.

“Could I have driven harder at times to outmaneuver a few opponents? Sure. But is that how I want to race? No. I did exactly what was necessary to win,” the newly crowned champion explains in retrospect.

Norris also sees the self-criticism that often accompanies him as a strength. “I made mistakes, I embarrassed myself. Montreal was a low point. But I learned from that and am now a better driver than I was at the start of the season,” he says, drawing a direct comparison. Although he won the season opener in Melbourne, he then struggled with the handling of the MCL39 and fell further and further behind, especially in qualifying.

Stella recognizes Norris’s maturation process

Self-doubt returned. But McLaren team boss Andrea Stella already recognized a matured Norris: “After the 2024 season, which didn’t go as we had imagined, Lando learned important lessons. Austria was particularly bitter. And yet he realized: ‘I can keep up with Max.’“

”That was the beginning of a structured process that encompassed both personal development and professional racing,“ explains Stella. ”It was impressive to see how Lando worked on himself in a structured way, both personally and as a driver.”

“The amount of support he has sought and his ability to learn from it is something I have rarely seen to this extent,” says the team boss.

How Norris reacted to falling behind in the points standings

Nevertheless, the season was far from flawless. In Canada, Norris collided with teammate Oscar Piastri while attempting to overtake him, ruining his own race. In Zandvoort, he had to retire due to a fuel system failure, which increased his deficit to Piastri to 34 points. “I had to work harder, both in the simulator and on the track. I had to knuckle down and try to understand more things faster and in a more advanced way than ever before,“ Norris recalls of this phase of the world championship. ”I thought to myself, ‘Oh man. I’m pretty far behind a damn fast driver and I need to step it up.’ I worked with more professionals from different areas to get more out of my skills. And I think you could see that I had this series of great results, and that ultimately won me the world championship.”

What really matters to the F1 world champion

Of course, it makes him proud, but not because he is now officially world champion, but because he feels he has made the people who supported him happy.

“I feel like I was able to show my engineering crew and everyone else that their work wasn’t in vain. They don’t see their families as often as they might like to, and they put so much energy into making us successful. Seeing that makes me really happy,” Norris emphasizes.

And there’s something else that makes him proud: not bending over backwards to meet other people’s expectations. “I managed to win my way, without being someone else. I wanted to remain a fair driver and team player, and that’s what I’ve remained.”

He also always treated his rivalry with Verstappen and Piastri with respect. “I respect everyone: Max, Oscar, Lewis. I always try to be honest and authentic.” Norris intends to continue in exactly the same vein. “Not only did I win this year, I worked on becoming a better driver. And I know that I will have to improve further in 2026 if I want to defend my title.”

Like Michael Schumacher: Why George Russell is so patient

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Like Michael Schumacher: Why George Russell is so patient

George Russell feels ready for the world championship title – He cites Michael Schumacher as a role model for his patience – Controversial statements about Max Verstappen

George Russell sees himself as a Formula 1 driver who has what it takes to win the title. After a solid 2025 season with Mercedes, the Briton is looking to the future with confidence, having already successfully held his own against Lewis Hamilton in their three years together.

With roughly equal points but a higher number of wins, Russell has now definitively established himself as the team’s undisputed lead driver alongside rookie Kimi Antonelli.

In 2025, Russell was the only driver other than the three title contenders to win a Grand Prix. His consistent performance was instrumental in Mercedes clinching second place in the Constructors’ World Championship. In 24 races, he achieved 18 top-five finishes and only missed out on the points once, when he finished eleventh in Monaco. In addition, the Briton can boast a remarkable streak of 45 races without an accident-related retirement. When asked if this was his best season in the premier class, Russell replied: “It was definitely my most solid in terms of performance—the most consistent, the fewest mistakes. So yes, overall, it was.”

Verstappen as the “gold standard”

“I definitely know I can do it—I can keep up with the guys at the top,” said the Mercedes driver combatively. He has one rival in particular in his sights: “Max [Verstappen] is obviously the gold standard at the moment.”

“He’s the one I want to go head-to-head with. He’s the only driver in the field I’d want to be teammates with to see how competitive I am.”

So far, however, Russell has not really been able to threaten Verstappen, as the Dutchman has usually had the superior car at his disposal. Although the Silver Arrow was more often on par with Verstappen in 2025 than in previous years, it was mostly not enough to pose a serious challenge.

Schumacher as a role model for patience

Russell, who is preparing for his eighth Formula 1 season and his fifth with Mercedes, draws inspiration from Michael Schumacher. Schumacher managed to build a successful team at Ferrari and won the title in his fifth season at Maranello. This marked the beginning of a series of five world championships that followed the setbacks of 1996 to 1999.

“I always remember Schumacher at Ferrari, that it took five years with the team before the first championship came,” adds Russell. “People only remember the glory years, but the majority forget those four years without a title.”

This perspective also helps him put his own results into perspective. “And whether I finish second in the championship or 20th, it’s honestly almost the same thing. You don’t win, and that was also a learning process for me, coming from Williams, where I was at the back every weekend.”

“That was so frustrating, but now I’m in this position and still not fighting for the championship. It’s not really that different, if that makes sense,“ Russell explains his philosophy. ”Either you’re fighting for the championship or you’re not, and if you’re not, no one ever wants to fight for second place.“

His conclusion is therefore: ”I’m ready for it, but I know my time will come—I have to be patient.”

Verstappen raves about Antonelli’s development: “That’s really impressive.”

Jason Maverick
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Verstappen raves about Antonelli’s development: “That’s really impressive.”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli impressed with strong performances at the end of the season and received high praise from none other than Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen has expressly praised Formula 1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli after his strong performances in the second half of the season. One race in particular stuck in his mind: the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

There, the Mercedes rookie caused a stir when he made a strong comeback from 17th on the grid to finish fourth. Although he initially dropped back to fifth place due to a five-second penalty for a false start, he moved back up to third after the McLaren drivers were disqualified. After the race, there was a brief exchange with winner Max Verstappen, who gave Antonelli a thumbs up after Antonelli told him about his finishing position.

Verstappen impressed, but not surprised

When asked about this moment, the Red Bull driver admitted in retrospect: “I was obviously focused on my own race, and it was really just between me, Lando [Norris], and George [Russell] for the win, so I didn’t really pay much attention to what was happening behind me.”

But his respect was all the greater when he heard about Antonelli’s performance: “When he told me that, I just thought, ‘Wow, that’s really strong.’ And then I also saw how he managed to keep the tires alive. He had an incredible stint, even compared to George in the same car.”

Verstappen particularly emphasizes that Antonelli achieved these results on tracks that were new to him: “He really performed very well, and that on tracks he didn’t know before. In my opinion, that’s even more impressive.”

However, the fact that Antonelli can reach this level comes as no surprise to the four-time world champion: “Personally, I wasn’t too surprised that he managed it. You just have to let it happen, not overdo it or force it too much. Maybe that’s exactly what happened earlier in the season.”

A look back at the Antonelli duel in Brazil

Antonelli’s first year in Formula 1 was anything but straightforward. The Italian got off to a strong start in the 2025 season, scoring points in five of the first six races and adding a sprint pole in Miami. This was followed by a difficult phase.

In seven races, he only managed one more top result: third place in Canada. His enormous potential flashed through time and again, but unnecessary mistakes set the Italian back, including a crash in practice at the Dutch Grand Prix. However, Antonelli stabilized significantly towards the end of the season, with two podium finishes in the last three races. And so Verstappen’s conclusion is thoroughly positive: “I’m happy for him. It’s great to see, and I hope it continues.”

There are certainly parallels between Verstappen and Antonelli. Both entered Formula 1 as teenagers and impressed early on with their sheer speed, which was initially accompanied by mistakes. This explains why Verstappen repeatedly supported Antonelli in difficult moments.

On the track, the two fought an intense battle in Brazil. Verstappen put Antonelli under pressure in the final stages, but the Italian defended himself successfully. “Of course, I tried everything to get past him, to put him under pressure, but I would say I was one lap short,” said Verstappen.

But that’s exactly what he takes as an opportunity to once again emphasize the strength of his young opponent: “That’s racing. You can’t say you needed an extra lap. But that was another very strong performance from him.”

Sabalenka stands no chance against Kyrgios

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Sabalenka stands no chance against Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios wins the battle of the sexes in Dubai against Aryna Sabalenka in two sets.

Tennis eccentric Nick Kyrgios clearly won an exhibition match against Aryna Sabalenka with the historically charged title “Battle of the Sexes.” The former Wimbledon finalist, who has recently been more of an influencer than a tennis pro due to health setbacks, defeated the number one women’s tennis player in Dubai 6-3, 6-3.

Belarusian Sabalenka (27), one of the most powerful players in the world, had no real chance against the world number 671 in just over an hour. Kyrgios played the balls rather loosely into his opponent’s nine percent smaller court at times, occasionally fooling around or praising Sabalenka for her strong serves.

The second serve was prohibited in this gender comparison, as this adjustment was also intended to give the anatomically disadvantaged woman a better chance. Ultimately, Sabalenka managed a few good winning shots and breaks, but she never came close to victory.

Sabalenka: “I gave him a tough fight.”

“I gave him a tough fight. You could see that he was getting tired. Next time, I’ll know his tactics, strengths, and weaknesses,” explained four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka after the match. Kyrgios, once ranked 13th in the world, spoke of a “really tough match. I’m not surprised. She broke my serve several times. I’d like to play her again. It was a spectacle, a big step forward for tennis.”

The matchup was not least due to the fact that the two opponents are represented by the same management agency – which is another reason why the serious background of the first editions was missing. “It’s not the same,” the great Billie Jean King, now 82, recently told the BBC: “For us, it was about social change, culturally speaking, where we stood in 1973. Not so with this match.”

She knew at the time that she “had to beat” the then 55-year-old chauvinist Riggs – after he had demolished her great rival Margaret Court in the first “Battle of the Sexes” months earlier and mocked women’s tennis.

On Sunday, the show took center stage. The protagonists entered the 17,000-capacity arena in Dubai like boxers to loud music, with Sabalenka wearing a glittering silver coat to the sounds of “Eye of the Tiger.” Internet personalities and soccer legends such as Ronaldo and Kaka sat in the front row. During a timeout, Sabalenka danced the Macarena.

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