Tokyo: Svend Brodersen was fascinated with Japan as a child — now the German goalkeeper plays in the country and is fondly known as an “otaku”, someone obsessed with Japanese pop culture. The Hamburg-born 27-year-old also has a Japanese wife, speaks the language and is thinking of studying at a Japanese university when he retires.

Will it be a record-growing 36th La Liga title for Real Madrid, the defending champions of Spain’s top-flight? Barcelona are the leaders in the chase for the crown, having won in 2022-23, and Barca will now have a match-in-hand likely deep into May following the unexpected death of team doctor Carles Miñarro García, which caused

See which players are unavailable for Premier League matches because they are suspended by The FA, or are close to a ban, due to their accumulation of yellow cards or for receiving red cards. The FA oversees disciplinary matters in the Premier League. For more information, click here.  Who is suspended? Matheus Cunha received a

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that he will be watching on intently this evening, when Atlético Madrid and Barcelona lock horns in La Liga. The headline fixture of the weekend in Spain is of course set to play out in short order. As much will see Diego Simeone’s Atlético act as hosts,

Arne Slot was defiant after his Liverpool side ended a miserable week with defeat to Newcastle in the League Cup final on Sunday, switching the focus to the team’s Premier League charge. The painful 2-1 loss at Wembley comes four days after the Reds exited the Champions League on penalties against Paris Saint-Germain, giving a

MADRID, March 17 — Barcelona battled back from two goals down to beat Atletico Madrid 4-2 and land an important blow in the Spanish title race yesterday. Lamine Yamal struck in the 92nd minute and Ferran Torres in the 98th to help take the Catalans back top of the table after Real Madrid beat Villarreal

Manchester United teenage defender Ayden Heaven was stretchered off the King Power Stadium pitch following an ugly injury in a match at Leicester City on Sunday. MORE — Leicester City vs Manchester United updates, highlights Heaven, 18, made a strong block on Leicester’s Patson Daka at the back post early in the second half of

Mar 16, 2025, 04:54 PM ET Both the title fight and the relegation race look largely settled in the Premier League, but everywhere in between, uncertainty reigns supreme. In LaLiga, Real Madrid engineered more reason to feel aggrieved. Meanwhile in Germany, there are some unfamiliar faces looking more and more likely to be playing continental

Barcelona struck a potentially decisive blow in La Liga’s title race with a 4-2 win from two goals down against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano. Diego Simeone’s home team went ahead through Julian Alvarez in the 45th minute — with the Argentina forward banishing memories of his ‘two-touch’ penalty in Atletico’s Champions League round-of-16 exit

Bruno Fernandes (centre) helped Man Utd to a 3-0 win at Leicester (Adrian Dennis) Nottingham Forest were the big winners in the battle for a place in next season’s Champions League this weekend in the Premier League as Wolves all but secured survival. Arsenal took advantage of Liverpool’s absence from league action to close to

Liverpool manager Arne Slot consoles defender Virgil van Dijk after defeat to Newcastle in the League Cup final (HENRY NICHOLLS) Arne Slot was defiant after his Liverpool side ended a miserable week with defeat to Newcastle in the League Cup final on Sunday, switching the focus to the team’s Premier League charge. The painful 2-1

Serie A | Fiorentina 3-0 Juventus: Viola plunge Old Lady into crisis Fiorentina crushed old rivals Juventus 3-0 to stay in the hunt for a top four finish, as Robin Gosens, Rolando Mandragora and Albert Gudmundsson poured more misery on Thiago Motta now in fifth place. The Viola were in action on Thursday, beating Panathinaikos

Serie A: Extraordinary battle for Champions League, 6 teams in 6 points It is not just the Scudetto race that is wide open, because this weekend’s Serie A results mean six teams are within a six-point radius, all fighting for that fourth Champions League spot. This is panning out to be one of the most

The brass at La Liga giants Barcelona have made clear their unhappiness with the proposed date for their rescheduled clash with Osasuna. Barca’s planned league meeting with Osasuna earlier this month was of course postponed at the last minute. This came after the sudden death of Blaugrana team doctor Carles Miñarro Garcia, mere hours before