IFFHS STATISTICS AND NEWS OF THE WEEK 25
Picture : Napoli, winner of the Italian Cup 2020 !
IFFHS NEWS AND STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 25
RUSSIA - HISTORICAL RECORD
The restart of Russian Premier League on Jun 19 was marked by the historical record. FC Sochi crashed FC Rostov at home with 10:1 score. It’s the first ever two-digit result in RPL since its creation in 1992.
Such an exotic score became possible because FC Rostov had no other choice than to use only young players for the game. Two days prior to it, six players of the team were found positive at coronavirus team. The entire first team was immediately put under quarantine.
FC Rostov was not successful at the attempt to postpone the game. They took 8 players from U-19 team and 10 from U-16 team for Sochi trip. No one of them has previously appeared in RPL.
There were plenty of records in this extraordinary game. The goal difference (+9) matched the largest victory in RPL history (Lokomotiv Moscow – Uralan Elista, 9:0, on November 3, 2000), and the number of goals (11) equalled the highest-scoring game (Asmaral Moscow – Zenit St.Peterburg, 8:3, on August 6, 1992).
FC Rostov’s goalkeeper Denis Popov (picture) made 15 saves having topped the record achievements of Mikhail Komarov (FC Khimki, 2009) and Alexandr Dovbnya (SKA Khabarovsk, 2017) which both made 13 saves during a game.
Popov was even awarded as Man of Match; very rare award for a keeper who conceded 10 goals!
FC Rostov was in this game as young in average as 17.2 years! It’s another record of Russian league, without probably analogues in senior football worldwide!
RECORD FOR ASENSIO AND REAL MADRID !
The Spanish forward Marco Asensio (Picture) picked up a serious knee injury in pre-season back in July against Arsenal and was expected to miss the entirety of the campaign. But with the La Liga season temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Asensio will see a significant part of the 2019/20 campaign and he certainly kicked it off in style last week. Seconds after being introduced by Zinedine Zidane, the former Real Mallorca man nonchalantly volleyed the ball into the Valencia net.
Ferland Mendy's cross was bang on the money, but the Spaniard still had so much to do. Even after 330 days out of action, Asensio's left foot is still as deadly as ever. The 24-year-old has previously scored for Real Madrid on his La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, Champions League and European Super Cup debuts. He can now add his 'first match' after returning from a serious injury to that list as well, a very impressive record.
Historical Record also for Real Madrid the same day. Since the Beginning of the SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISION – LA LIGA in 1929, never a team registered 20 different Goal Scorers for the Season. With the goal of Asensio, Real Madrid is the first team in the HISTORY to register 20 Goalscorers for this season 2019/20 : Benzema (16), Sergio Ramos (6), Kroos (4), Modric, Casemiro (3), Vinicius, Rodrygo, Lucas Vasquez, Jovic, Valverde, Varane, Bale (2), Hazard, Asensio, Carvajal, Nacho, Marcelo, Isco, James Rodrigez,, Mariano (1).
NAPOLI FIRST CUP WINNER
Napoli beat Juventus 4-2 on penalties to lift the Italian Cup for the sixth time after the score was 0-0 after 90 minutes in an empty Stadio Olimpco in Rome. Paulo Dybala and Danilo both missed their spot-kicks for record 13-times Italian Cup champions Juventus with Arkadiusz Milik slotting in the winner for Napoli past veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon.
It is the first trophy for the southerners since 2014, and also a maiden coaching trophy for Gennaro Gattuso, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti in December, and claimed a crown he won as a player with AC Milan. Organisers had scrapped extra-time to minimise injuries to players as football resumes in Italy after a three-month coronavirus shutdown.
Maurizio Sarri's side, who also lost the Italian SuperCup final last December to Lazio, now turn their focus to Serie A, which resumes this weekend with the eight-time reigning champions just one point ahead of second-placed Lazio. Napoli are sixth in the league table as they target a return to the Champions League.
THREE PLAYERS TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 IN THE MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Two players from Atlanta United (picture with the MLS Winner Team 2018) were tested positive for COVID-19, the club announced following a series of mandatory club testing. Both players were not identified and they have both been asymptomatic and in isolation. However, that did not deter the team from conducting non-contact, individual Training Sessions ON June 19 and June 20 and will continue non-contact training on Monday, June 22. If negative test results for all players and staff are received on Monday, the team will resume full team training on Tuesday, June 23.
It was a similar situation in Inter Miami, where the club announced that a player tested positive for COVID-19 following the mandatory club testing during the week. The unnamed player was also asymptomatic and he is being treated by a combination of club medical staff and local infectious disease experts.
All Club mandatory testing will continue as part of the protocol ahead of the MLS IS BACK Tournament which is scheduled to kick start in July 8.
