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RB Leipzig axe Werner despite Champions League qualification
Munich, Germany: Bundesliga club RB Leipzig have sacked coach Ole Werner after just one season in charge, despite leading them to a third-placed finish and Champions League football next season. ipltable.lol
"We have spent the past few days carrying out a thorough final review of the recent season," the club's sporting director Marcel Schafer said in a statement on Wednesday.
"On Tuesday evening, we decided that a change of head coach was needed."
He added: "We believe the challenges ahead require new ideas and a different approach."
The identity of Werner's successor has not been disclosed, although German media are pointing to Argentine Martin Demichelis, who took over on the Mallorca bench in March but was unable to prevent the club's relegation to Spain's second division.
Werner was the third coach in the space of 14 months at RB Leipzig, who missed European competition last season for the first time since their promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016.
Towards the end of the 2024/25 campaign, the club dismissed Marco Rose with Zsolt Loew serving as interim coach before Werner was appointed.
Gulf Champions League draw set for August 24
Doha, Qatar: The Gulf Football Federation (GFF) has announced that the draw for the 2026-27 Gulf Champions League will be held on August 24.
The qualifying rounds for the third edition of the tournament are scheduled to begin on October 13 and will continue until April 30, 2027, with the participation of 12 clubs representing the member national federations.
The GFF confirmed that the draw ceremony will be conducted via video conference.
According to the competition regulations, the 12 participating teams will be divided into three groups of four. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will qualify for the quarter-finals, which will be played on a home-and-away basis.
The third edition is expected to feature the largest participation in the tournament’s history since its inception, following the decision to increase the number of clubs from eight to 12. The move reflects the competition’s growth and the expansion of participation among member federations, helping raise the standard of competition and strengthen its standing in the region.
The participating clubs are Al Duhail (Qatar), Al Ettifaq and Neom (Saudi Arabia), Al Nasr and Ajman (UAE), Erbil and Al Zawraa (Iraq), Al Shabab (Oman), Al Riffa (Bahrain), Kazma (Kuwait), and Shaab Hadramout (Yemen).
The early announcement of the draw is intended to give clubs and national federations sufficient time to complete their technical and organisational preparations ahead of the competition, enhancing team readiness and the overall quality of the tournament.
Qatar's Al Rayyan won the second edition of the tournament last year after defeating Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia 3-0 in the final.
الشمال يختتم معسكره الخارجي
اختتم الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الشمال معسكره الإعدادي الخارجي في هولندا بنجاح، والذي استمر من 18 يوليو حتى 6 أغسطس بمدينة ميرلو، وذلك استعداداً لخوض منافسات الموسم الكروي الجديد. ومن المتوقع أن يمنح الجهاز الفني اللاعبين راحة سلبية لمدة يومين قبل استئناف التدريبات وهي آخر محطة قبل انطلاق الدوري.
هذا وشهد المعسكر تنفيذ برنامج تدريبي مكثف بقيادة المدرب الإسباني ديفيد براتس، لرفع مستويات اللياقة البدنية والجاهزية الفنية للاعبين. خاض الفريق خلال هذه الفترة 4 مباريات ودية متدرجة المستوى، حيث خسر أمام الوصل الإماراتي بنتيجة (1 - 8)، ثم تعادل سلبيا مع الخليج السعودي، ثم مباراة تجريبية مع لوميل البلجيكي للوقوف على مستوى المجموعة، بعدها فاز على أوفي كريت اليوناني بنتيجة (3 - 2).