FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — After 16 seasons and 16,000 rushing yards, running back Frank Gore isn’t ready to call it a career — not yet.
Gore, the New York Jets’ leading rusher in 2020, said he’s undecided on his future.
“I’m going to get some down time with the fam, get back to Miami and chill out with my kids,” he said Tuesday on a Zoom call with reporters. “Then I’ll see what’s up.
“I still have fun playing the game of football, but I haven’t made a decision yet.”
New York Jets RB Frank Gore sits down with Adam to talk about playing next year in what will be his 17th NFL season. They also discuss the future of Sam Darnold with the Jets and who might win this year’s Super Bowl.
With the Champions League group stage concluding Wednesday, let’s look back at the biggest lessons we learned from the opening phase of Europe’s marquee club competition.
Solskjaer must take blame for United’s exit
Tuesday’s defeat at RB Leipzig wasn’t what dumped Manchester United from the Champions League. Nor was it the 3-1 home loss to Paris Saint-Germain. Rather, it was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tactical blueprint – or lack thereof – for Matchday 4 at Istanbul Basaksehir.
Solskjaer’s desperation to kill off Group H’s supposed minnows encouraged him to position all of his players ahead of the halfway line during a short-corner routine when the score was 0-0, and United were caught out. Basaksehir thwarted the move, and a punt upfield found Demba Ba all alone near the center circle.
Matthew Peters / Manchester United / Getty
No one could catch the Senegalese striker. Basaksehir went on to win 2-1, collecting their only points of the group stage.
That’s not to say Solskjaer can’t also be blamed for the PSG and Leipzig losses. He failed to substitute Fred when the Brazilian seemed to be willing referee Daniele Orsato to send him off throughout PSG’s visit. Then, his decision to select three center-backs and wing-backs against Leipzig allowed the hosts to dominate the midfield.
But the oversight in Istanbul was the most inexcusable.
United should’ve strolled into the knockout rounds after three wins to open their group-stage campaign. Unfortunately, for Solskjaer, the subsequent collapse is completely on him.
Ramos might be tournament’s most important player
Sergio Ramos’ overall importance to Real Madrid’s backline grew throughout the group stage, and he played in only half of the matches.
The three games he missed were the two defeats to Shakhtar Donetsk and the 2-0 win over an imploding Inter Milan when goals came courtesy of a penalty and an own goal. Across those fixtures, Raphael Varane didn’t take charge of situations in the same way – his number of interceptions, tackles, and clearances fell significantly – and, overall, the defense lacked organization without Ramos barking instructions at his teammates.
Europa Press Sports / Europa Press / Getty
Real Madrid took seven of their 10 group-stage points in the games Ramos started.
The skipper’s absence – just as much as his presence – should be enough to convince Real Madrid to extend his contract beyond its current expiry of June 30, 2021.
“I have no doubt that he will stay and that it will continue to make history,” Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane said of Ramos in November.
Lampard faces tough task to keep squad happy
Chelsea easily progressed after being drawn into one of the weaker groups, allowing Frank Lampard to rest several members of his squad for Tuesday’s 1-1 home draw with Krasnodar.
Starts for Billy Gilmour and Tino Anjorin were among 10 changes to the side that defeated Leeds United a few days earlier, and the teenagers’ performances served as a reminder of the youth movement that occurred during Lampard’s first season in charge of the Blues.
Gilmour, 19, carried on from where he left off last season with progressive play, tenacious tackling, and a low center of gravity that makes him hard to knock off the ball. Anjorin, also 19, took some time to settle into his first professional start before he almost laid on an assist for Kai Havertz and pleased the locals with his work rate.
Catherine Ivill / Getty Images Sport / Getty
However, with the transfer ban lifted and Chelsea spending big, it’s hard to envision a way for Gilmour and Anjorin to establish themselves in the starting XI anytime soon.
Lampard’s man management will be tested in this campaign. The Blues have already been eliminated from the League Cup, so he’ll have to find enough minutes for Gilmour & Co. in the FA Cup, Premier League, and Champions League to avoid discontent in the camp.
It wasn’t too long ago that Callum Hudson-Odoi tried to force a transfer to Bayern Munich, and Gilmour and Anjorin could soon follow suit if Chelsea ruin last season’s youth progression by placing another cap on their academy.
Barcelona lack any kind of plan
Outside of hoping for some trademark Lionel Messi magic, there doesn’t appear to be a unified approach to Barcelona’s play under Ronald Koeman. It’s understandable, to a certain extent: “Give it to Messi” is about as foolproof a game plan as you could have over the last decade.
But Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to Juventus made the club’s current malaise painfully obvious.
Barca had seven shots on target in the match, and all of them came from Messi. Antoine Griezmann clipped the top of the crossbar with a glancing header, sure, but nobody was capable of making a meaningful impact.
Worse yet, none of the Argentine’s shots would be categorized as gilt-edged chances. Messi largely had to settle for efforts from the fringes of the penalty area, often with a wall of black and white shirts in his way after wriggling free of the first wave of defenders trying mercilessly to slow him down.
NurPhoto / NurPhoto / Getty
And that’s the biggest problem. He has to do it all on his own: beat multiple would-be tacklers, create space for himself, and score goals after doing the work to get into advantageous positions. Obviously, he still can, but the help simply isn’t there the way it used to be. Even Messi needs a hand every so often – as Tuesday’s loss illustrated – and Koeman doesn’t appear capable of figuring out how to generate that assistance.
Injuries have robbed him of key partners (Ansu Fati being the most glaring absence), but Barcelona’s downfall runs deeper than the starting XI. The club needs to hit the reset button.
Should Barca draw the likes of Bayern Munich or Liverpool in the last 16, they may get another painful reminder of how far they’ve fallen from the pantheon of Europe’s dominant institutions.
Torres makes quick impression at City
What an incredible few months it’s been for Ferran Torres.
Many expected the young winger to be gradually phased into the Manchester City setup, but with four goals in five Champions League group-stage appearances and a hat-trick in Spain’s 6-0 Nations League rout of Germany, his importance for club and country has skyrocketed.
PAUL ELLIS / AFP / Getty
One unexpected bonus from the start of Torres’ City stint is his versatility. At Valencia, the attacker often worked on the right wing, but an injury crisis led Pep Guardiola to rely on the 20-year-old to spearhead his attack – not a false nine, but an out-and-out center-forward – and the results were impressive. Torres was selected as the striker in each of his four starts in the competition so far, scoring three times and troubling defenders with his intelligent work off the ball.
And, worryingly for City’s rivals across Europe, Torres is already striking up an impressive understanding with one of England’s brightest talents, Phil Foden.
Haaland must be wrapped in cotton wool
Erling Haaland’s numbers are, quite frankly, ridiculous. The 20-year-old already surpassed the all-time Champions League goal tallies of Brazilian frontmen Ronaldo and Adriano by notching 16 strikes over 12 appearances in the competition.
Unsurprisingly, Borussia Dortmund are a completely different team without the ruthless Norwegian in attack. Since Haaland was sidelined until the new year with a hamstring injury, Der BVB have drawn twice and won once across all competitions, and their shot conversion rate has taken a notable hit.
Lars Baron / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Dortmund’s shot conversion:
Competition
Before Haaland’s injury
After Haaland’s injury
Champions League
16%
11%
Bundesliga
14%
6%
Dortmund must carefully control his workload when he returns to fitness because there isn’t another natural striker who can be relied upon in Lucien Favre’s squad. Marco Reus, Julian Brandt, Thorgan Hazard, and 16-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko have all cropped up in central positions during his absence, but none can begin to replicate Haaland’s physical presence or his cold-blooded finishing.
Conte, Inter can’t figure it out in Europe
For the third consecutive season, Inter Milan bowed out of the Champions League in the group stage; this year, they were the only Italian side to falter at the first hurdle, adding to the disappointment for Antonio Conte.
“It’s unbelievable that in 180 minutes against Shakhtar, in two games dominated, we didn’t manage to score,” Conte said after a goalless draw against the Ukrainian side condemned Inter to last place in the topsy-turvy Group B.
“There is a lot of regret but I honestly don’t hear that there was a lack of desire, of determination and focus,” he added. “There was a lack of goals. If you don’t score, you don’t win.”
Soccrates Images / Getty Images Sport / Getty
True as that may be, there shouldn’t have been a lack of goals – not with the talent at Conte’s disposal this season. This was, in no uncertain terms, a failure, and not an uncharacteristic one for the fiery Italian manager. He’s never been beyond the quarterfinals of the Champions League as a manager, and, incredibly, he’s won just three of the 12 games managed in the competition since being stationed on the Nerazzurri touchline.
Simple bad luck played its part, but Conte’s inability to deliver in midweek can’t be ignored.
Finishing fourth and not having to worry about any European competition for the rest of the season may actually be beneficial in the long run. Inter can now focus exclusively on their Serie A title push, but it certainly won’t feel that way right now.
Glass ceiling remains firmly in place
This isn’t so much a new development as it is an affirmation of something already widely known, but there’s an inevitability about the Champions League group stage that is sapping the tournament of intrigue. The proverbial top five leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 – continue to dominate proceedings.
LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP / Getty
This season, only one club from outside those competitions – FC Porto of Portugal – survived the group stage. There’s really no stopping that trend now, considering the financial power those leagues and countries wield compared to their peers within the UEFA pyramid. Ultimately, we want to see the continent’s elite make the latter stages of the tournament. That’s really the whole point, even if it breeds repetition.
Everyone loves an underdog run, though, and it seems they’re becoming less plausible with each passing season.
HOUSTON — A day after the end of a tumultuous season, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson offered a blunt assessment of where the organization needs improvement.
When asked what he is looking for in a new head coach, Watson said, “We just need a whole culture shift.
“We just need new energy. We just need discipline. We need structure. We need a leader so we can follow that leader as players. That’s what we need.”
Over the last 12 unprecedented months, soccer leagues across the globe shut down, opened back up, and played on despite numerous health and logistical challenges. The sport never looked – or sounded – so different. But it wasn’t only the coronavirus pandemic that made headlines in the world of soccer. Here, theScore chronicles the year’s five biggest soccer stories. Part 1 of this series – running through stories 10-6 – can be found here.
5. Players take knee to combat racism
When the Premier League resumed play in June, bringing an end to a 100-day hiatus, players and staff had something other than the pandemic on their minds. Teams decided to take a knee to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, which gained steam after the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. Protests erupted across the United States, and after a number of Bundesliga players, including English winger Jadon Sancho, made anti-racism statements, the Premier League followed suit with demonstrations at its venues. Players wore “Black Lives Matter” on the back of their shirts and kneeled in silence before kickoff.
The campaign, which carried into the 2020-21 season, had its critics, and some believed it was too political. Queens Park Rangers director of football Les Ferdinand said the gesture had become little more than a public relations stunt, claiming the movement was “diluted.” QPR players stopped taking a knee as a result.
“The message has been lost,” Ferdinand, the only Black director in English soccer, said. “It is now not dissimilar to a fancy hashtag or a nice pin badge. What are our plans with this? Will people be happy for players to take the knee for the next 10 years but see no actual progress made? Taking the knee will not bring about change in the game. Actions will.”
Later, fans of second-tier side Millwall booed players who took a knee before a match in early December. The incident overshadowed what was supposed to be a triumphant return of fans to stadiums across England. The Football Association condemned the display and offered its support to all players and staff that “wish to take a stand against discrimination in a respectful manner, which includes the taking of the knee.”
4. Liverpool end 30-year title drought
Liverpool needed just six points to clinch the Premier League title when play was suspended in March. Nothing, it appeared, could stop them. But as the coronavirus pandemic worsened, West Ham vice chairman Karren Brady called for the season to be rendered null and void, sparking a huge debate over the integrity of the 2019-20 campaign and providing an opportunity to deny Liverpool at the final hurdle.
However, the Reds cut out the white noise when they returned to the pitch in June. And when Chelsea beat second-place Manchester City toward the end of the month, Liverpool officially became champions of England, ending a title drought that had lasted three long decades.
OLI SCARFF / AFP / Getty
Jurgen Klopp’s side ultimately captured the title with seven games remaining.
Despite coronavirus restrictions and calls to celebrate privately, fans showed up in droves outside Anfield and around the city centre, lighting flares and waving flags in large groups. Police issued a dispersal order as thousands of people flooded the streets, and emergency services had to respond to a fire that broke out on a prominent balcony. A victory parade was put on hold until a later date.
3. Messi tries to leave Barcelona
Shortly after Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich, Lionel Messi informed the club’s executives via burofax he was terminating his contract. Messi admitted afterward he was frustrated by Barcelona’s lack of direction and fed up with president Josep Maria Bartomeu in particular.
Messi’s camp argued that a termination clause in the Argentine’s contract, which had been due to expire in the summer, was still valid because the season was delayed by the pandemic. His father, Jorge Messi, pleaded for Barcelona to release his son, but to no avail. Bartomeu refused the request and said any team interested in signing Messi would have to pay his €700-million release clause. Unwilling to take the matter to court and leave the club he joined as a 13-year-old in a blaze of fire, Messi agreed, albeit reluctantly, to stay.
“I would never go to war against the club of my life,” Messi said.
Amid talk of a potential divorce, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain emerged as the favorites to sign Messi. Neither side made an official bid.
Bartomeu eventually resigned as a result of the fiasco. Messi said he had told Bartomeu all year he wanted to leave. Fans called for the club to remove the president and hold elections early. An election will now take place in January.
Messi could still leave Barcelona next summer. His contract expires on June 30, and he’s allowed to speak with any interested club from January on. The story may not be over just yet.
2. Maradona dies of heart attack
The death of Diego Maradona, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, made international headlines. Argentina observed three days of national mourning, and athletes from various sports paid tribute to a man who, while flawed, inspired millions of people with his masterful dribbling ability and colorful personality. After captaining Argentina’s national team to World Cup glory in 1986 and leading Napoli to multiple titles in Italy’s Serie A, Maradona struggled with cocaine and obesity, and his health deteriorated.
Though his career was cut short due to weight and drug problems, Maradona became an idol to his people, not just for his match-winning performances but for his improbable rise from the poor outskirts of Argentina to the pinnacle of world soccer.
El Grafico / Getty Images Sport / Getty
His infamous goal against England in the 1986 World Cup – scored with, as he called it, the “Hand of God” – was everything that people liked and hated about him. He was supremely talented, capable of arcing beautiful free-kicks and gliding past multiple defenders at a time. He paid the price for his brilliance on the pitch, suffering nasty fouls that left his back in devastating pain.
After his death at the age of 60, Maradona’s coffin lay in state as tens of thousands gathered in Buenos Aires to pay their respects. Police later raided the office of Maradona’s doctor as part of an investigation into possible manslaughter. Dr. Leopoldo Luque insisted he gave Maradona the best possible care and said he cooperated with the authorities.
1. Leagues shut down due to COVID-19
At the start of March, soccer in Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the U.S. had suddenly ground to a halt. The Premier League, widely regarded as the sport’s most popular division, persisted until March 12 before Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for COVID-19, forcing his entire team into quarantine. A day later, the Premier League shut down entirely. Play didn’t resume until June.
By then, soccer had changed. Clubs faced bankruptcy. Leagues forfeited huge sums of money from broadcasters. Euro 2020 was postponed by a year, a decision taken at a “huge cost” to UEFA. In France and the Netherlands, the Ligue 1 and Eredivisie seasons ended prematurely, and later, a lucrative TV deal worth billions of euros collapsed, threatening the health of France’s top teams. Without fans in attendance, teams lost out on matchday revenue, plunging the lower tiers into crisis.
But the show went on. In May, the Bundesliga became the first of Europe’s top leagues to restart, and in August, the Champions League concluded over two whirlwind weeks in Portugal. Soccer around the world slowly resumed, and for a brief period, fans were allowed to attend matches.
Doctors later discovered that two fixtures in particular had accelerated the spread of COVID-19 in Europe. One expert described Atalanta’s match against Valencia as a “biological bomb,” claiming it set off a wave of cases in Italy. Another study linked 41 coronavirus-related deaths to Liverpool’s Champions League clash against Atletico in March.
