লক্ষ্য আর এক পয়েন্ট। তা হলেই ২০২৬ সালের বিশ্বকাপে যোগ্যতা অর্জন করে ফেলবে আর্জেন্টিনা। শনিবার উরুগুয়েকে ১-০ গোলে হারিয়ে দেয় তারা। লিয়োনেল মেসিকে ছাড়াই আর্জেন্টিনার এই জয় দলকে বিশ্বকাপের পথে আরও এক ধাপ এগিয়ে দিল।
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থিয়াগো আলমাডার করা একমাত্র গোলে জয় পায় আর্জেন্টিনা। ৬৮ মিনিটের মাথায় গোল করেন ২৩ বছরের তরুণ ফুটবলার। শনিবারের ম্যাচে মেসি ছিলেন না। আলমাডারা তাঁর অভাব বুঝতে দিলেন না। প্রথমার্ধে গোল না পেলেও গোটা ম্যাচে বেশি আক্রমণ করেছিল আর্জেন্টিনাই। তবে বল দখলের লড়াইয়ে এগিয়ে ছিল উরুগুয়ে। কিন্তু ফুটবলে গোলটাই আসল। যেটা করেন আলমাডা।
ম্যাচের শেষ মুহূর্তে লাল কার্ড দেখেন আর্জেন্টিনার নিকোলাস গঞ্জালেস। মেসির জায়গায় তাঁকে খেলানোর কথা ছিল। তবে ম্যাচে শুরু থেকে নামানো হয়নি তাঁকে। বিপক্ষ ফুটবলারের মুখের কাছে পা তোলার জন্য লাল কার্ড দেখতে হয় গঞ্জালেসকে।
Miami (3-1-0) triumphed despite six saves from Atlanta's Brad Guzan, who played an integral role in his team's playoff upset of Messi's squad in a best-of-three series last fall in the opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs. Atlanta shocked the Supporters' Shield winners by winning the rubber match 3-2 on the road to eliminate Messi and Miami from the playoffs.
Messi's goal on Sunday came in the 20th minute of just his second regular-season appearance for Miami, which already has played eight matches because of Concacaf Champions Cup action. The World Cup winner started after being sidelined for three games due to muscle fatigue before coming off the bench on Thursday night in a 2-0 win at Cavalier FC of Jamaica.
"Well, Leo's goal, he's the best player in the history of this sport, there's nothing more to say," Miami manager Javier Mascherano said after the game. "He's a player who has the ability to score the most beautiful [goal] you can see. The goal from Fafà obviously makes us very happy for him. We came from three hard weeks because he had been out. We're very happy.
"He's come to contribute his experience in this league. But he's been humble, working as a team, knowing to use the moments when we need it. So, we are delighted with him."
Emmanuel Latte Lath scored his third goal in the 11th minute to give Atlanta (1-1-2) an early lead. But his teammates are still stuck on one goal combined as Atlanta's winless run extended to three matches after defeating Montreal in their season opener.
Both teams had plenty of chances for a second-half winner from open play, but the diminutive Picault provided an unlikely header to ultimately decide the game.
Jordi Alba got the ball out wide from a late, short corner kick and sent an outswinging ball to the back post. Picault outmuscled Ajani Fortune and sent a header bouncing back across goal, somehow wrong footing Guzan and nestling inside the far left post.
It was Picault's first goal for his sixth MLS club, having moved to Miami from Vancouver this offseason.
Miguel Almirón started the attack, opening the scoring with an excellent ball over the top to play Brooks Lennon down the right. Lennon then played an excellent cross that Latte Lath met with a powerful back-post header past Rocco Ríos Novo.
Latte Lath thought he has his second just after the quarter-hour mark, but it was ruled offside. Miami pulled level on its next foray forward.
Guzan sprawled off his line to disrupt an initial cross from the right, but Messi surprised Bartosz Slisz with some rare defensive pressure to dispossess the midfielder as Atlanta tried to play out. From there, he weaved his way past the sliding Derrick Williams, then deftly chipped the charging Guzan.
Mascherano added his appreciation for MLS as a league and the quality of its players has grown drastically during his short time as Miami coach.
"I paid a lot of attention to Inter-Miami because the reality is that, like all Argentines, we followed Inter Miami but I wasn't paying attention to other teams, which surprised me," Mascherano said. "There are many teams that have very good ideas that execute very well. I started to meet players who have a high, good level, who are in this league but who could also be in a European league. In fact, I think we have some of our players who I didn't pay so much attention to before, perhaps, because we didn't know them and now, the truth is, they have surprised me.
"It's a league that I like. I like its organization. I like that everything works. I like that I have to worry about training the team and preparing for games."
Atlanta United plays FC Cincinnati on the road Saturday. Inter Miami is idle until it hosts the Philadelphia Union on March 29.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this story.
হামজাকে খুব কাছ থেকে একনজর দেখতে সিলেট বিমানবন্দরে এসেছেন পাঁচ বন্ধু। ছবি : কালের কণ্ঠ
আর মাত্র কিছু সময়ের অপেক্ষা। ১১টা ৪০ মিনিটে সিলেট ওসমানী আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দরে পা রাখবেন হামজা চৌধুরী। বাংলাদেশের হামজাকে একনজর দেখতে সকাল ৯টার পর থেকেই বিমানবন্দরের ভিআইপি গেটের সামনে ভিড় জমাতে থাকেন ফুটবলপ্রেমীরা। সময় বাড়ার সঙ্গে সঙ্গে সমর্থকদের সংখ্যাও বাড়তে থাকে।
It is 6 November 2021 and a 1-1 draw at Brighton leaves Newcastle second bottom of the Premier League and facing the very-real prospect of a return to the Championship.
Weeks earlier, the club had been taken over by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium, who talked up the idea of Champions League football and winning trophies.
Despite the optimism among fans about entering a new era, such thoughts seemed a million miles away.
But watching on in the stands that day against the Seagulls was Eddie Howe, Newcastle's soon-to-be-appointed manager who, in just 18 months, would oversee a return to Europe and has now ended their 70-year-wait for a major trophy after Sunday's 2-1 win against Liverpool at Wembley to win the Carabao Cup.
This is the story of Howe's transformation of Newcastle.
How it all began - the making of Howe
Howe arrived at Newcastle having done a remarkable job at Bournemouth where, across two spells punctuated by a year at Burnley, he saved them from relegation out of the Football League and then took them all the way to the Premier League.
The Cherries job had been his first as a manager, having been a coach at the club following his retirement from playing at the age of 29 because of a knee injury.
There were two people who hugely influenced the type of manager he wanted to be and would ultimately become - his former Bournemouth boss Sean O'Driscoll and legendary basketball coach John Wooden.
O'Driscoll and Howe crossed paths when the former was still a player at Bournemouth and the latter was 14 and in the club's youth setup.
At that time, they were living in the same village and O'Driscoll would drive the young Howe to training.
O'Driscoll would eventually manage Howe, who became impressed with the former Republic of Ireland international's management style.
"I certainly believe Sean had a huge part in my management style," Howe said.
"I was very lucky, as a young professional, to have such a forward-thinking coach as Sean."
Image source,Getty Images
Image caption,
Eddie Howe took his first steps in management with Bournemouth in December 2008
O'Driscoll's football philosophy was based on creativity and possession, while his man-management style was not to shout and criticise players, things that can now be attributed to Howe.
Meanwhile, in his office at Bournemouth, quotes such as "make each day your masterpiece" adorned the walls.
They were from Wooden, considered one of basketball's finest teachers and the other person to have had a significant impact on Howe's thinking after he came across one of his books early into his management career.
Howe was inspired by Wooden's views on getting the best out of players, not treating them all equally but instead as individuals, with their own issues and concerns.
From this, Howe became determined to ensure he would get to know every player individually as a player and as a person and work on improving any weaknesses they had.
'Father figure' who improved players
Image source,Getty Images
Image caption,
Several Newcastle players have credited Eddie Howe with being key to improving them
Howe immediately set about imprinting his methods at Newcastle. His working day would begin at 6am and he would often not finish until late into the evening.
Players' days off were reduced while training sessions were brought forward to an earlier time and became more intense.
"Jonjo Shelvey said that when Howe first came in he would be so tired by the training that he would be in bed by 8pm," BBC Radio Newcastle's Matthew Raisbeck said.
"The players were shattered but he made them fitter, he made them better individually and he made the team better."
Newcastle United defender Dan Burn said that while training was much more intense, he found it enjoyable.
"What I find crazy about the gaffer's training is that we never seem to do the same session twice," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"He has so many sessions saved and every single day is something completely new. I really enjoy training and it's something I look forward to every day."
According to Burn, Howe quickly instilled an "us against the world" mentality and that, combined with the rapidly improving fitness, resulted in Newcastle's form improving.
Newcastle finished 11th in the Premier League, 14 points clear of the relegation zone after being cut adrift when Howe came in.
Utilising the methods of man management he learned from O'Driscoll and Wooden, Howe got to know each and every one of his players - their personalities and what makes them tick.
"First and foremost he wants to know how you are as a person rather than as just a footballer, that's what sets him above other managers I've worked under," Burn told Newcastle's official website.
Midfielder Sean Longstaff said: "I am a dad now and you can speak to him about advice and stuff.
"He pulled me in once and gave me a book that he gave to his children. It is more the part that people don't see, it is why I love him so much."
Joelinton is one of the greatest examples of Howe's ability to get the best out of player.
The Brazilian joined the club in 2019, signing for £40m from Hoffenheim. He arrived as a striker but his struggles to score led to him, for a while, being considered an expensive flop.
Howe had a different view and moved the then striker into midfield. He flourished in the position, earning praise for his combative performance and tough tackling, and has not looked back since.
"He improved me as a player, not just me but other players that were here before him," Joelinton said.
"He changed my position but in general his mentality, his passion, his desire to work every day and work hard to improve.
"He is one of the best coaches I've ever had, not just as a coach but in general as a man.
"The way he treats every player, he talks not just about football but about life, he is always here for us. He is like a father figure."
Spending big as Newcastle go from relegation battlers to Champions League
Newcastle's improvement under Howe skyrocketed and, in his first full season, he led them to a fourth-place finish and a return to the Champions League.
The backing from the club's new owners certainly helped with that rapid improvement, with Howe having spent £85m in his first transfer window in January 2022 to bolster his squad in their relegation battle.
They were not, however, what would be described as the sort of big-name players that some might have expected as in came the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier.
The club's precarious league position at that time played a part in the sort of players they were able to attract and, after safety was comfortably assured, Newcastle spent £123m on signings in the summer of 2022.
A club record £63m was spent on Swedish striker Alexander Isak from La Liga side Real Sociedad, while Sven Botman (£35m), Matt Targett (£15m) and Nick Pope (£10m) also came in.
A pre-season training camp in the Austrian Alps was to prove crucial in fostering a close bond between the players and coaching staff, one that would be evident throughout the 2022-23 season as Newcastle maintained their challenge at the top end of the table.
After victories, huge group photos would be posted on the club's social media accounts, a tradition that remains in place to this day.
Image source,Newcastle United
Image caption,
Newcastle regularly post big group photos from the dressing room after wins
"They published the first dressing room photo after the first win under Howe against Burnley," Raisbeck added.
"His explanation for why they did it was that he wanted the players and staff in the future to be able to look back and have memories of what they achieved and remember the highs of these specific games."
The 2022-23 season was not just special for Newcastle fans for securing a return to top-level European football, but for also reaching a first cup final at Wembley in almost two decades.
