Football news

The result of yesterday's Champions League final match of the 2023/24 season, in which Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0, has changed Shakhtar Donetsk's starting position in the Champions League next season.

It should be recalled that initially the Pitmen were supposed to start their performance in the Champions League with the play-off round, but now they got a direct ticket to the main stage of the tournament.

The fact is that Real Madrid, having become Spanish champions, qualified for the main stage of the Champions League in the 2024/25 season. But, the right to play there gets the winner of the Champions League of the previous season, and this is also "Real". According to UEFA regulations, in this case, in this case, the place in the main stage of the Champions League thus freed up is occupied by the team with the highest UEFA club coefficient among all the teams that start in the Champions League from the play-off round. And this team in this case turned out to be Shakhtar, whose UEFA club coefficient now stands at 63.000.

We would like to remind you that next season the Champions League main stage will be held in a new format: instead of the usual groups, there will be one league for 36 teams, and each of them will play 8 matches in the tournament against different opponents, which will be determined by the draw.

Before the draw for the Champions League main stage, which will take place on 29 August, all participants will be divided into four baskets, with nine teams in each - according to UEFA club coefficients. "Shakhtar will be placed in the second basket. The first round of the Champions League next season will take place from 17 to 19 September, while the final, eighth round - on 29 January.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois addressed words of gratitude to his teammate and goalkeeping rival, Ukrainian Andriy Lunin, after Borussia Dortmund's 2-0 victory in the Champions League final.

"We must thank Andriy Lunin for everything," - quotes Courtois MadridZone.

Recall, on the eve of the Champions League final Lunin fell ill with the flu and for this reason did not prepare for the game. In the application for the match with Borussia, the Ukrainian was included, but remained in the reserve. Prior to that, Lunin played 8 games for Real Madrid in the Champions League, conceding a total of 10 goals. In total, this season on the account of the goalkeeper 31 matches in all tournaments (32 goals conceded).

The Ukrainian national team continues its preparations for Euro 2024 in Germany. On Saturday, the Ukrainian national team held one training session, in the evening, at the training base of the Groiter Fürth club.

Throughout the day, it rained in Herzogenaurach and the surrounding area - sometimes harder, sometimes weaker, but it was almost constant.

The national team began the evening session with a traditional warm-up, after which they worked in four-on-two squares. Then the field players were divided into three sevens with neutrals. The main task of this part of the training was to hold the ball.

Later, the groups worked in a series of games with tactical tasks and, of course, finishing. At the end of the training, there was individual work on the defensive and offensive lines.

Today's events will be a little unusual before the friendly match between Germany and Ukraine, which will take place in Nuremberg on 3 June. Due to heavy rains, the organisers of the match decided to protect the turf of the Max Morlock Stadium, so all media events will take place elsewhere. The press conference of the head coach and player of the national team of Ukraine will take place at the headquarters of Adidas in Herzogenaurach (starting at 14:30). The training session of the Blue and Yellows will start at 18:00 on the field of Eltersdorf Erlangen. The first 15 minutes will be open to the media.

Bayern Munich midfielder Jozua Kimmich has spoken about the appointment of the club's head coach Vincent Kompany.

"I have known him as a player for a long time. But I can't judge him as a coach yet. Of course, this is also important for our future. But first of all, I am interested in the club's opinion. I am glad that we have a coach now. But I can only judge after the first training session and the first few weeks," Kimmich said at the press conference.

Barcelona head coach Hans-Dieter Flick wants Atletico Madrid striker Joao Felix, who is on loan from the Catalan club, to stay with the team, journalist Luis Rojo reports on social media outlet X.

According to the source, the Blue and Gold are not going to buy the player, but will work on the terms of another loan deal. The final decision has not yet been made, but the idea has been positively received by Barcelona's owners.

Last season, João Felix played 44 matches for Barcelona and scored 10 goals.

The Champions League Final match took place. The match took place on 1 June. Here are the results.

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On Saturday, 1 June, the final Champions League match of the 2023/24 season took place at Wembley Stadium in London.

Champions League. Final

"Borussia" (Dortmund, Germany) - " Real" (Madrid, Spain) - 0:2 ( 0:0)
Goals: Carvajal (74), Vinicius Junior (83)

"Borussia": Kobel, Ruerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Matsen, Zabitzer, Jan (Malen, 81), Brandt (Aller, 81), Sancho (Baynou-Gittens, 87), Adeyemi (Royce, 72), Füllkrug.

"Real": Courtois, Carvajal, Nacho, Rüdiger, Mendy, Kroos (Modric, 85), Valverde, Kamawinga, Bellingham (Joselu, 85), Vinicius Junior (Vazquez, 90+4), Rodrigo (Militao, 90).

Thus, Real Madrid won the Champions League for the 15th time in history and remains the record holder for the number of triumphs in this tournament since its foundation as the European Champions Cup. Second in the number of trophies is Italy's AC Milan with 7 victories. Bayern Munich and Liverpool have one less title.

Ukrainian legionnaires of Kazakhstan "Ordabasy" - Artem Besedin and Yevgeniy Makarenko - became the heroes of the match of his team with "Zhetysu" in the 10th round of the championship of Kazakhstan.

Both of them in this meeting managed to distinguish themselves by scoring goals. Besedin on 21 minutes opened the scoring, and soon the second goal for "Ordabasy" held and Makarenko.

Championship of Kazakhstan. 10th round

"Ordabasy " - "Zhetysu " - 3:1 (3:1)
Goals: Besedin (21), Makarenko (32), Yakhshibayev (35) - Usenov (26)

"Juventus has applied to rejoin the European Clubs Association (ECA) after withdrawing from the Super League project, the ECA website reports.

It is reported that today, 1 June, a meeting of the ECA Executive Committee was held, which was attended by UEFA President Alexander Čeferin and the organisation's Secretary General Matthias Grafström.

At the beginning of the meeting, ECA President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who is also the President of PSG, addressed the audience and said: "I start the meeting with very important news - after several recent meetings with the management and owners, I am pleased to announce that Juventus has submitted a request to rejoin the ECA, which will be formalised shortly," the ECA website said.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis still intends to keep 23-year-old striker Kvicha Kvaratskhelia at the club, despite increased interest from PSG, journalist Fabrizio Romano reports on social network X.

According to the source, De Laurentiis intends to offer the Georgian footballer a new employment contract, which may include a release clause similar to that of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.

Earlier, the media reported that PSG had already agreed the terms of a personal contract with Kvaratskhelia. It was noted that the player could cost the French giant €100 million.

Dnipro-1 head coach Yuriy Maksimov will continue to lead his team next season. The 55-year-old specialist has activated the option to extend the agreement for another year.

At the same time, the salary arrears of Dnipro-1 to its players is 4 months. In this situation, the club's management decided that they will consider all offers in relation to their players. Dnipro will spend the 2024/25 season relying on the youth and those who will remain from the first team.

Barcelona's new head coach Hans-Dieter Flick will receive one of the highest salaries among football coaches, according to journalist Florian Plettenberg.

According to the source, Hans-Dieter Flick will have a salary in the range of €9-11 million at Barcelona. By the standards of Spanish football, this is one of the biggest salaries.

It is worth reminding that Hans-Dieter Flick replaced Javi Hernandez on the Barcelona coaching bridge. Flick's agreement with Barcelona runs until the summer of 2026.