"The captain broke the news" on August 24
[Ajax goalkeepers are gone]
Ajax have lost two goalkeepers in a row at the start of the season: Paswell (last season's round of 15) suffered a hand injury in training and will not be available until after September, and Rulli (last season's round of 19) also suffered a first-round injury in the Eredivisie, undergoing shoulder surgery and is expected to recover for three months. Coupled with the fact that the old country of Sterkelenberg has just announced its retirement this summer, Ajax's most well-stocked goalkeeper position is suddenly gone.
In the last round of the Eredivisie, Ajax had no choice but to send young goalkeeper Holt to start, and in the end, the team was forced to draw 2-2 by the SBV elite when they took advantage of the game, and there were various opportunities in front, while the opponent's two shots were all on target. In tonight's Europa League play-offs, Holt will continue to start.
[Dinamo Zagreb's new boss first match]
Dinamo Zagreb announced in the middle of this week that he had fired employer coach Biscayne. Biscayne only took over in April with Dinamo Zagreb and led the team to continue to win the league title last season, but the recent exit from the Champions League qualification and the absence of the Champions League main stage were the trigger for his dismissal. Dinamo Zagreb quickly poached Rijeka coach Yakirovic, paying just €100,000 to release him, and he will go straight to lead the team to tonight's Europa League play-offs. Of course, this behavior was also complained by Rijeka's senior management, because Rijeka also needs to participate in European qualifiers.
【Maccabi Tel Aviv goalkeeper farewell battle】
According to a number of media confirmed, Tel Aviv Maccabi goalkeeper Daniel Perez is about to join Bayern Munich for a transfer fee of 5 million euros, before Neuer's return, he will compete with Ulreich for a place in Bayern, tonight's UEFA Europa League qualification will be his farewell match to his old club, Bayern will complete the official announcement after the game. Daniel Perez, 23, is an Israeli national who played well at the Under-21 Euro in June to help Israel reach the semi-finals.
[The home stadium is not up to standard, and he is forced to borrow the sworn enemy stadium]
League-vis side St. Giros will play in the Europa League play-offs tonight, but as last season, the team's home stadium, Marion Park, did not meet UEFA's requirements, so they had to borrow space elsewhere. Tonight, the pitch borrowed by St. Giros is the Lotto Park stadium in Anderlecht. Although the two teams are not absolutely saber rattling, they are also a pair of sworn enemies in the same city, and coupled with the road problems, San Giros expects only a few thousand fans to be there, and the home advantage is weakened. It is worth mentioning that St. Giros played two European games here last season, against Bundesliga teams, the results were 3-0 Union Berlin and 1-4 Bayer Leverkusen.
[Henke's offensive line is seriously unordered]
Before the UEFA Europa League qualifiers, Genke's offensive line was seriously disorganized, and the team's main winger Panterhill (1 goal and 2 assists in 7 games) needed to be suspended for 1 game because of the previous round of red, missing the first leg. Winger Thereso (1 goal and 1 assist in 4 games) and midfielder Heinen (1 goal in 2 games) are still recovering from injuries and are uncertain if they will be available. It is worth mentioning that Henke's central forward statistics are not outstanding, and Panterhill and Treso, two wide players, are the two players who participated in the team's most goals last season, the former with 18 goals and 11 assists in all competitions, and the latter with 8 goals and 24 assists.
[Mecca unification introduces former Saudi United Golden Boot]
Saudi United's Mecca Unity received an important boost this week: the team brought in former Premier League centre-forward Ighalo, who came to the Saudi league in 2021 and played for Riyadh Crescent and Riyadh Juniors, making a total of 92 appearances for both clubs, scoring 65 goals and winning the league Golden Boot, and is familiar with the Saudi league. Mecca Unity's acquisition of Ighalo is also an indirect result of the Saudi league purchase, which was "abandoned" by Riyadh Crescent this season due to the arrival of bigger foreign signings.
[Debut has to wait, Neymar can't play for the time being]
At the pre-match ceremony of the last round of Saudi United, Brazilian superstar Neymar officially appeared at the King Fahd stadium in Saudi Arabia. However, Riyadh Crescent head coach Jesus said that Neymar is still slightly injured and cannot complete training for the time being, and it will take a while to play, while he also complained that he did not know why the injured Neymar was selected for the Brazilian national team's squad in September.
According to speculation in the Saudi media, Neymar will make his Saudi debut on September 16, Riyadh Crescent home vs Riyadh Sport.
[Roberto Firmino expected to make a comeback]
Jeddah National released training photos on official social media, and the main striker Roberto Firmino resumed full training, and according to media reports, he is expected to return to the starting XI in this round of Saudi United. In the first round of the league, Jeddah National sent a luxurious trident of Mahrez + Firmino + St. Maximin, and Firmino scored a hat-trick to help the team win 3-1, becoming the fastest player to wear a cap in the history of the Saudi League. In the second round, Roberto Firmino was injured, but Jeddah Nationals also won 3-1 with overall strength.
[Supplemented Lucas Jr., São Paulo's offensive line was strengthened]
Sao Paulo reportedly added two new signings, Lucas Junior and Jristiano Ronaldo, to the Copa Sur squad, and the offensive line was strengthened. After joining São Paulo, Lucas Jr. and Ronaldo initially only signed up for the league squad, so they did not participate in São Paulo's previous elimination of San Lorenzo. Lucas Junior is even more important of the two, who has scored two goals in four games since joining Sao Paulo, and has maintained his form very well, which is a good reinforcement on the right wing of the "tricolor".