Sports
Sokratis Papastathopoulous promises to bring back old-school, hard-as-nails defending at Arsenal
Sokratis Papastathopoulous has promised to bring back some old-school, hard-as-nails defending to Arsenal.
Which will be music to the ears of the Gunners fans who have grown frustrated at their side’s flakiness at the back in recent years.
Last season, they shipped 51 goals — 24 more than Premier League champions Manchester City, 12 more than seventh-placed Burnley and four more even than Newcastle, who finished 12th.
In all competitions they conceded a whopping 76 times.
Sokratis knows that has to change if his new side are to stand any chance of a top-four finish this season.
And the former Borussia Dortmund star, who cost £17.6million, hopes the Spartan spirit he’ll bring will help them shore things up.
The 30-year-old, who is also known as Papa to his team-mates, said: “I am here to show I am first a defender and after that comes everything else.
“Of course you have to know how to play with the ball, in the last five or six years football has changed a lot.
“A lot of coaches and a lot of teams now look at only how to play, not how to defend.
“But with the new coach we work also on the situations when we don’t have the ball and this is very important.
“On the first day, the coach worked on this.
“With him, all the players work on tactics, we look a lot at videos, what was wrong, what we have to do better.
“I think and hope this year things at the back will be much better.”
Sokratis cut his teeth at AEK Athens before moving to Genoa then AC Milan.
Paolo Maldini was the defender he most looked up to in his early days in Italy, although he’d left the San Siro by the time Sokratis arrived.
Still, Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva were there to teach him well.
Sokratis added: “My first step was in Italy and Maldini was a great player.
“I played with Nesta, that was one big school for me.
“Also with Thiago Silva, great players to learn from — they were defenders who were defenders first.
“I learned a lot and now I am ready to give what I know.”
Arsenal were reluctant to sign or hand new long-term deals to players over 30 during Arsene Wenger’s time at the club but Sokratis insists he is in his prime.
He said: “Thirty is the best age for a defender, so for the next three or four years I would like to give everything for the team.
“With Borussia, with Milan, with Genoa, for 10 years now I have been outside Greece and I have experience.
“I feel very good and I’m working on the pitch and also off the pitch to help all the young guys to be very good with us.”
It was at Dortmund that Sokratis played under Jurgen Klopp and with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
He added: “Klopp was a very good coach.
“Out on the pitch his mentality is to win, off it he was very friendly with the players and I’m very happy I had two years with him.
“Auba and Mikki were very important in me joining Arsenal.
“It is like something more than friends.
“We were together in Borussia and they are both very good players.
“They were a good part of my decision to come here.”
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed the appointment of German tactician Bruno Labbadia as the new Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men’s National Team, the Super Eagles.
This development was announced by the NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, in the early hours of Tuesday, following the approval of the NFF Executive Committee based on a recommendation from its Technical and Development Sub-Committee. Labbadia’s appointment takes immediate effect.
Born on 8th February 1966 in Darmstadt, Germany, Labbadia enjoyed a distinguished playing career, earning two caps for the German national team. His club career included stints at prominent clubs such as Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Arminia Bielefeld, and Karlsruher SC. Notably, he won the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich in 1994.
Labbadia’s coaching career has seen him manage top-tier clubs such as Hertha Berlin, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen, among others. He holds a UEFA Pro License and is well-regarded for his tactical acumen.
With his appointment, Labbadia becomes the sixth German to lead the Super Eagles, following in the footsteps of Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Göller, Manfred Höner, Berti Vogts, and Gernot Rohr. Höner notably guided the Super Eagles to a runner-up finish at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr qualified Nigeria for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Labbadia’s immediate task is to prepare the Super Eagles for their upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches.
Nigeria will face Benin Republic on Saturday, 7th September in Uyo, and Rwanda on Tuesday, 10th September in Kigali. The team will also play four additional qualifying matches in October and November as they aim to secure a spot in the 2025 AFCON, scheduled to be held from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
The Super Eagles, placed in Group D, will face familiar foes Benin Republic, who recently defeated Nigeria in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The draw for the AFCON qualifiers, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, last month, also sees Nigeria taking on Libya and Rwanda, both of whom are also part of the Super Eagles’ group for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers set to be hosted in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Labbadia’s appointment comes at a crucial time as the Super Eagles look to regain their dominance on the African continent and secure qualification for both the AFCON and the World Cup.
Finidi George has stepped into a new role as the technical manager for NPFL side, Rivers United, following his resignation as coach of the Super Eagles.
During his brief tenure with the Eagles, George’s 1-1 draw against South Africa in Uyo and a 2-1 loss to Benin Republic in Abidjan cast doubts on Nigeria’s World Cup qualification, prompting calls from fans for his dismissal.
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Nevertheless, Rivers United, the 2021-22 champions, expressed optimism in a statement on Wednesday via their official handle about having the former Eagles international manage their team.
“Finidi brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our team, having had a distinguished playing career spanning over fifteen years,” the statement read.
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Dr. Okey Kpalukwu, General Manager of Rivers United FC, welcomed George, stating, “We are delighted to have Finidi George join our team. His appointment marks a new chapter in our club’s history, and we are committed to working together to achieve success.”
Expressing his gratitude to the club, an elated George remarked, “I am honored to have this opportunity, and I thank the Sports Commissioner, the General Manager, and the supporters for their confidence in me. I am committed to working hard and making the team win.”
Inter Milan were taken over by US fund Oaktree on Wednesday after the Serie A champions’ outgoing owners Suning missed a deadline to repay a debt worth hundred of millions of euros.
In a statement, Oaktree announced they had “assumed control” of Inter after the non-repayment of a “three-year loan to Inter Milan’s holding companies that matured on 21 May 2024 with a total balance due of approximately 395 million euros ($428 million)”.
Chinese conglomerate Suning have relinquished control of Inter to Oaktree three days after the team were officially crowned Italian champions for the 20th time.
Suning borrowed 275 million euros at over 12 percent interest three years ago to pay staff and players as the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the finances of clubs across Europe, putting up their controlling stake in the club as collateral.
“Oaktree is dedicated to achieving the best outcome for the long-term prosperity of Inter Milan, with an initial focus on operational and financial stability for the Club and its stakeholders,” Oaktree continued.
Inter became a powerful force at home and abroad after Suning acquired the club in 2016, with seven trophies including two Serie A titles and two European finals.
Simone Inzaghi’s team cruised to this year’s championship, winning the Scudetto with five matches remaining by beating AC Milan in a thrilling local derby.
Oaktree, which manages $192 billion in assets, said they are “committed to working closely with Inter Milan’s current management team, partners, the league and governing bodies to ensure the Club is positioned for success on and off the pitch”.
Inter ended up in the hands of Oaktree in a manner similar to the way another US fund, Elliott Management, took control of their local rivals Milan in 2018.
Elliott became Milan’s owners when Chinese businessman Li Yonghong was unable to repay a loan he had taken out when he bought the club from the late Silvio Berlusconi’s Fininvest the previous year.
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