My crazy, challenging first year at Aston Villa has ended on a high | Eni Aluko

By -

Making the statement signing of Mana Iwabuchi was a proud moment as sporting director and I am excited about 2021

Last Monday Aston Villa Women announced the signing of Mana Iwabuchi, the 27-year-old Japan international and World Cup winner. This was a statement signing for a club in our first season in the WSL, the culmination of a process I’d been working on since the summer, and the moment the deal was concluded has to go down as a highlight of my short career so far as a sporting director.

Villa’s head coach Gemma Davies and I share an admiration and respect for Japanese women’s football and its players past and present. I was fortunate to benefit from the footballing artistry of Japanese legends when playing with Aya Miyama at St Louis Athletica in the USA and Yuki Nagasato during my time at Chelsea, players who, like Mana, displayed the precision and grace that are part of the DNA of Japanese women’s football.

Continue reading...

from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/31/aston-villa-my-crazy-challenging-first-year-has-ended-on-a-high

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Newcastle’s transformation and reconnection testament to Howe’s coaching | Andy Brassell

By -
Club’s supporters’ minds will start to wander to potential trips next season after long-awaited return to Champions League The roar at kick-off, the roar that had been there in most of the previous 18 home games of this season, was maybe given a few extra decibels here. Added to renewed hope, present all season, was a touch of yes, this really is happening. Then came the moment, with fireworks being wedged into the tops of milk bottles, at the beginning of stoppage time, when Nick Pope was finally forced into some sort of movement to deny Timothy Castagne, to make sure it did happen. It came after one of the Newcastle keeper’s slowest days of the season, after what had often resembled a half-pitch, beat-the-packed-defence training exercise against a Leicester team largely too meek to threaten Geordie dreams. Continue reading... from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/may/22/newcastle-champions-league-eddie-howe
Read more

Richarlison’s first Tottenham goals punish Marseille for Mbemba’s red card

By -
There was the obligatory pre-match footage of Lucas Moura’s winner at Ajax and then the declaration on the big screen at Tottenham’s magnificent stadium, one that is built to stage these kind of Champions League nights. “We’re back.” For so long, it appeared that the grand return after a two-season absence would fall flat, even when Marseille were reduced to ten men in the 47th minute following Chancel Mbemba’s last-man foul on Son Heung-min. It was a dreadful misjudgment by the former Newcastle centre-half. Continue reading... from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/07/tottenham-marseille-champions-league-group-d-match-report
Read more

Super Eagles player, William Troost-Ekong shows off his girlfriend on IG as she turns a year older today

By -
Image
Super Eagles and FK Haugesund defender William Troost Ekong took to his Instagram account this morning to wish happy birthday to his beautiful girlfriend. " HBD to my girl. Wish I could be there".  The 22 year old half Dutch, half Nigerian is in Nigeria for the Super Eagles 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Tanzania holding in Akwa Ibom state on Saturday.
Read more