WILFRED NANCY SACKED AS CELTIC MANAGER AFTER OLD FARM DEFEAT

Celtic announced Nancy's departure after only eight games in charge on Monday afternoon.

Wilfried Nancy has been sacked as Celtic manager following a 3-1 defeat to Rangers.

Nancy was appointed as Brendan Rodgers’ permanent successor from MLS side Columbus Crew on December 3, after the 52-year-old tendered his resignation in October.

The Frenchman took over after club legend Martin O’Neill had won seven out of eight matches as interim manager.

However, following a 3-1 defeat by Old Firm rivals Rangers at Celtic Park on Saturday, Celtic announced Nancy had been removed from his role on Monday after only eight games in charge.

In the statement, the club also confirmed that Paul Tisdale has left his role as head of football operations.

Paul Tisdale has also left his role as Head of Football Operations at Celtic.

The defending Premiership champions announced the exits in a statement on the club’s website, where they said: “Celtic Football Club today announces that it has decided to terminate the contract of manager Wilfried Nancy, with immediate effect.

“The Club thanks Wilfried for his efforts and wishes him and his family well for the future.

“Wilfried’s assistants, Kwame Ampadu, Jules Gueguen, and Maxime Chalier, will also be leaving the club and they take with them our good wishes.

“The Club can also confirm that Paul Tisdale has left his position as head of football operations. We thank Paul for the contribution he has made in that role.

“A further update will be provided to supporters as soon as is practical.”

Celtic fans protested outside Parkhead following Saturday’s defeat to Rangers.

Nancy became the first Celtic manager to lose his first two games in charge, losing 2-1 to league leaders Hearts before a comprehensive defeat to Roma at Celtic Park in the Europa League.

He lost out on a chance to win some early silverware after suffering a 3-1 defeat by St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup final.

A 2-1 defeat at Dundee United handed him the unwanted title of the worst start by any Celtic manager in history.

Nancy got his first win with a 3-1 home victory over ten-man Aberdeen, with two goals coming in the final minutes, and followed that with a 4-2 win at Livingston in a game where the hosts were two goals ahead in the first ten minutes.

The upturn in form wasn’t to last, as Celtic crashed to a 2-0 defeat at Motherwell where the champions were completely outplayed.

On Saturday, Rangers bounced back from a goal down to defeat Celtic 3-1 at Parkhead to inflict Nancy’s final defeat as Celtic manager, with his departure announced only two days later.

- Calum Loudon

MIAMI STAR, LIONEL MESSI NAMED MLS, MVP, SETS GOAL-SCORING MARK

Lionel Messi was named winner of the Landon Donovan MVP Award for the 2024 MLS season Friday, beating out the Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernández, the Portland Timbers' Evander, Christian Benteke from D.C. United and his Inter Miami teammate Luis Suárez.

Messi, 37, won thanks to his 20 goals and 16 appearances in just 19 matches.

He joins Carlos Vela in 2019 (LAFC, 34 goals, 15 assists) and Sebastian Giovinco in 2015 (Toronto FC, 22 goals, 16 assists) as the only players in league history with at least 20 goals and 15 assists in a single season.

The MVP award is determined by a poll that includes players, club technical staff and selected members of the media. Messi received 38.43% of the votes averaged compared to second-place finisher Benteke (33.70%).

This was his first full season with the club, having joined in July 2023.

MLS commissioner Don Garber made the announcement Friday alongside Inter Miami Academy students and Messi's three sons in a video.

"Truly, it is an honor for me to receive this award from all of you," Messi said to the Academy players. "It's a source of pride to watch you all train. I'm very happy to be here every day. I'm very happy to be in this city, in this Club that is growing. It's a pleasure to see you grow day by day. I invite you to keep fighting and striving for your dreams."

Messi received his MVP award from his sons, Thiago, Ciro, Mateo, and the Inter Miami youth academy. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Miami captain won the award despite playing in only 55% of competitive matches of the 34-game regular season. He missed 62 days between June 1 and Sept. 14 with an ankle injury sustained during Argentina's win over Colombia in the Copa América final.

During this time, the Herons played well, winning eight of nine games without him.

The award considers a player's contributions and impact on the pitch at a minimum of 1,000 minutes played in the regular season, which is the league requirement for an MVP nomination.

Per FotMob, Messi averaged more than one goal every 90 minutes, which led the league. In 1,485 minutes, Messi averaged 2.18 goal contributions per match, which is a league record, according to MLS.

The MLS MVP trophy is yet another entry on the absurdly long list of career honors for Messi. He's an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, eight-time FIFA player of the year winner, a seven-time LaLiga MVP, past UEFA player of the year, past Champions League player of the season, World Cup golden ball winner, Club World Cup golden ball winner, and the list goes on from there.

"Unless you're living in the world of global football, it's hard to imagine the overall appeal and the massive popularity and stardom that Leo Messi has," Garber said. "I mean, he is Michael Jackson meeting Taylor Swift -- and he's playing in our league."

His numbers and impact on the pitch helped Inter Miami win the Supporters' Shield and set the single-season points record this season with 74 points. Despite its strong regular season -- earning the No. 1 seed for the postseason -- Inter Miami lost to Atlanta United in the first round of the playoffs, ending their 2024 campaign in a disappointing way.

In November, Gerardo "Tata" Martino, who had taken the coaching role in June of 2023, resigned for personal reasons. Miami named Javier Mascherano -- a former Barcelona and Argentina teammate and friend of Messi -- to replace Martino.

The MLS Cup final is on Saturday in Carson, California, where the LA Galaxy host the New York Red Bulls. The Galaxy look to win a record sixth Cup, while the Red Bulls seek their first.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

- Luis Miguel Echegaray, ESPN

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MLS CUP FINAL HIGHLIGHTS | COLUMBUS CREW VS. LAFC

 

COLUMBUS CREW BEAT LAFC 2-1 TO WIN MLS CUP FOR THIRD TIME

USA TODAY Sports 

The Columbus Crew scored first-half goals through Cucho Hernandez and Yaw Yeboah to beat holders LAFC 2-1 and win their third MLS Cup title on Saturday.

The Crew dominated possession early on and LAFC's defence succumbed when a Diego Palacios handball in the 31st minute led to a goal by MVP Hernandez, who slotted home his penalty.

The Crew doubled their lead four minutes later when Malte Amundsen made one of the best assists of the season with a long pass to Yeboah, who put the ball away to delight the rain-soaked, gold-and-black clad fans at Lower.com field.

LAFC, whose style relies on counter attacking, never got into gear in the first half and Crew keeper Patrick Schulte was not forced to make a save until close to halftime.

After the break, Carlos Vela, playing what could be his final game for LAFC, tried to capitalise on a defensive miscue but his shot went directly into the arms of Schulte.

LAFC finally responded in the 74th minute when Jesus Murillo stole the ball in the Crew's half and found an open Denis Bouanga, whose first attempt hit Schulte in the face.

The golden boot winner fired the rebound home to cut the deficit but the Crew defence held out to ensure victory on a rainy day in Central Ohio.

"Words can't describe it," said midfielder Aidan Morris.

"We've made so many sacrifices. What we do in this profession is a lot of work. It's a lot of days away from your family, it's a lot of traveling, so to have it end like this is a dream come true.

"That's what we do at this club and we'll go for it again next year."

COLOMBUS CREW HEADED TO THE MLS CUP

COLUMBUS CREW: KEI KAMARA AONGEZA MUDA COLUMBUS CREW

Forward wa Colubus Crew , Kei Kamara, amesaini mkataba mpya na timu yake ya Columbus Crew mpaka 2018...Kamara amesema amefurahi kuwa timu imempa mkataba mrefu wa kucheza first team ya Crew...Columbus Crew inacheza katika ligi kuu ya Marekani ya MLS (Major League Soccer) na Kamara ni kati ya wafungaji bora wa ligi hiyo...Kamara ambae amewahi kuchezea Middlesborough na Norwich City msimu uliopita walipata mabao 26...Bofya hapa upate habari zaidi.