In fact, God is wonderful; let's forget the predators. All other things put into consideration, what surprises me the most is the survival of the little ones (ages 4 and 1). As a parent, this is another wonder.

Roma legend Francesco Totti suffered from depression after wife of 20 years Ilary Blasi after 'had affair with personal trainer'

Roma legend Francesco Totti reportedly split with his wife of 20 years after she had an alleged affair with his personal trainer.

Totti and Ilary Blasi, a former showgirl and TV presenter, tied the knot in 2005 and their wedding was broadcasted live on TV -with over a million people tuning in.

The couple were seen as the Italian equivalent of the Beckhams and had three children together - Cristian, Chanel and Isabel.

Ilary had been by Totti's side when he played his final game in 2017 and it was a typically emotional affair at the Stadio Olimpico.

But in July it was confirmed they had separated, with a statement from Totti reading: "After 20 years together, my relationship with Ilary has unfortunately ended. All that I said and did over the last few months was to protect our children, who are and always will be the absolute priority in my life.

“I tried to overcome the crisis in our marriage, but today I realise the choice of a separation is – albeit painful – no longer avoidable.

“I will continue to be united with Ilary in raising our marvellous three children, always with great respect for my wife."

Corriere della Sera have claimed that Ilary was having an affair with Cristiano Iovino, Totti's personal trainer about 18 months ago.

Ilary allegedly made regular trips to Milan, where Iovino lives, for work. But Totti found inappropriate messages on her mobile phone that confirmed suspicions he had about her having another man.

Totti has now opened up about the break up, telling Corriere della Sera: "It's not true that I was the first to betray.

"I said I wasn't going to talk and I didn't, but I've read too many hoaxes in the last few weeks. Some of them have even made my children suffer.

"In September last year, rumours began to reach me: 'Look, Ilary has someone else'. Indeed, more than one.

"I had never done it [check his wife's phone] in 20 years, nor had she ever done it with me. But when I received warnings from different people, whom I trust, I became suspicious.

"I looked at her mobile phone. And I saw that there was a third person, who was acting as an intermediary between Ilary and another one.

"Something like: see you at the hotel."

It hit Totti hard, so hard in fact that he spiralled into depression and struggled to sleep. He credits his new partner, Noemi Bocchi, with helping him find happiness again.

"There have been rumours in the past, regarding both her and me. But they were really rumours," he continued.

"Here was the evidence. The facts. And that led to depression. I couldn't sleep anymore. I pretended nothing was wrong, but I was no longer me, I was someone else. I got out of it thanks to Naomi.

"We used to hang out as friends. Then, after the New Year, it became a story. Ilary dated other men before my story with Noemi was born."

Totti spent his entire career at boyhood club Roma, scoring 307 goals in 786 games and remaining loyal throughout despite offers from elsewhere.

He took on a role as a director at Roma but left on bad terms in 2019 and ended 30 years of association with the Giallorossi.

By: Josh Lawless
Published 20:27, 11 September 2022 BST
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sportbible.com/football/roma-francesco-totti-wife-divorce-20220911.amp.html

Compliments and happy new year 2022. God will be with us all.

1. There will be no plane crash in Nigeria in Jesus name. We have prayed against any plane crash. Let us continue to pray because God has answered our prayers.

2. God will supply our needs in Jesus name.

3. We are protected divinely in Jesus name.

Amen.

Lionel Messi is again the winner of Ballon D'or.

Football

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leaves Manchester United after failing to win a trophy in nearly three years as manager; Michael Carrick placed in temporary charge as United seek to make an interim appointment until the end of the season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been sacked as Manchester United manager after an "embarrassing" 4-1 defeat at Watford.

United have confirmed Solskjaer's assistant Michael Carrick will be placed in temporary charge, with the club looking to appoint an interim manager until the end of the season.

Solskjaer signed a new three-year deal in July but leaves after overseeing five defeats in their last seven Premier League matches - a run which sees them 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.

The Old Trafford hierarchy had ignored increasingly vociferous calls to relieve Solskjaer of his duties in the wake of a humiliating 5-0 loss to rivals Liverpool and a 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester City in early November.

But his position was discussed by United officials on Saturday evening following the crushing defeat at Vicarage Road, before the announcement of his dismissal followed on Sunday morning.

Manchester United can confirm that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his role as Manager.

Thank you for everything, Ole ❤️#MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 21, 2021
A club statement said: "Manchester United announces that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his role as manager.

"Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision. While the past few weeks have been disappointing, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past three years to rebuild the foundations for long-term success.

"Ole leaves with our sincerest thanks for his tireless efforts as manager and our very best wishes for the future. His place in the club's history will always be secure, not just for his story as a player, but as a great man and a manager who gave us many great moments. He will forever be welcome back at Old Trafford as part of the Manchester United family."

Solskjaer was booed by a number of the United fans in the away end at full time at Watford, although midfielder Bruno Fernandes appeared to try to redirect their frustration towards the players.

Goalkeeper David de Gea labelled the defeat "embarrassing" and "unacceptable".

After the game, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher described Solskjaer's position as "untenable" but described the performance of the club's players as "scandalous".

Solskjaer revealed he was 'very low' after the defeat to Watford.

Ole's journey 'at the wheel' ends without a trophy.

Former United striker Solskjaer returned to the club initially as caretaker manager after the dismissal of Jose Mourinho in December 2018 and immediately produced an upturn in United's form - including the 3-1 win at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

'Ole's at the wheel' became a trending topic as Solskjaer was appointed on a permanent basis in March 2019.

He was unable to lead United into the top four of the Premier League that season but did achieve third and second-place finishes in his two full seasons in charge.

However, Solskjaer failed to deliver silverware during his tenure, with the defeat on penalties to Villarreal in last season's Europa League final being their best effort.

How did Solskjaer compare?
The Norwegian departs Manchester United with an inferior win percentage to that of Jose Mourinho, the man he replaced. Here, we take a look at the numbers.

Saturday's defeat to Watford was Solskjaer's 168th game in charge of the club. In total, he won 91 of them, drawing 37 and losing 40.

Of Manchester United's four permanent managers since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure from the club, including David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho as well as Solskjaer, the Norwegian's overall win rate of 54 per cent puts him second.

Mourinho's win rate is the highest of the four at 58 per cent, while Moyes and Van Gaal trail on 53 per cent and 52 per cent respectively.

Overall, Solskjaer's record against the traditional big-six - Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham - was mixed, with 14 wins, 10 draws and 12 losses.

Indeed, a big-six mini-league of head-to-head meetings since Solskjaer's appointment puts Manchester United 18 points behind City and 23 behind Liverpool.

That, of course, is despite heavy investment in the squad. This summer, Manchester United brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane at considerable expense.

Their latest round of spending pushed their net spend under Solskjaer to £312m - £33m more than any other Premier League side and £196m more than City and Liverpool's combined.

Manchester United have long been lavish spenders in the transfer market but they have now invested more under Solskjaer (£441m) than they did under Mourinho (£430.8m) or Van Gaal (£309.2m).

Manchester United will now pin their hopes on a new manager to restore their former glories.

'JA Rule' is currently in Lagos, Nigeria.

Football.
Man Utd's rivals want Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side to win at Tottenham to keep Norwegian in charge, says Paul Merson.

"The damning thing is the teams competing for Europe will want Man Utd to win at Spurs so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stays,"

17:34, UK, Saturday 30 October 2021

Paul Merson says Manchester United's European rivals will be hoping they win at Tottenham to keep Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in situ at Old Trafford.

United's first assignment after Sunday's 5-0 debacle against Liverpool sees them travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - live on Saturday Night Football - in desperate need of three points to relieve the pressure on their manager.

Solskjaer has seemingly been granted a stay of execution and the opportunity to turn things around, but another abject performance and result will surely plunge his long-term future at the club into further doubt.

In his latest Sky Sports column, Merson predicts Solskjaer will get the victory he needs to keep his job but explains such a result would be welcomed by Manchester United's rivals…

'Rivals want Man Utd win so Solskjaer stays'
Everybody in and around the race for the top four and Europe - West Ham, Arsenal, Leicester - will be sweating on Manchester United winning at Tottenham.

The damning thing is they will want Manchester United to win so that Solskjaer stays.

You've only got to look at Chelsea since Thomas Tuchel has come in - they won the Champions League and now they are title favourites - see what an impact a new manager could have.

Is this true with the current situation in Manchester United?

Solskjaer called the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool his 'darkest day' as Manchester United manager; the immediate focus is now on improving and sorting out the issues; United's next match at Tottenham is live on Sky Sports on Saturday - kick-off 5.30pm.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will remain Manchester United manager for now, despite the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to remain in charge as Manchester United manager despite their heavy defeat at the hands of Liverpool.

The feeling within the club is that while the result was bitterly disappointing and painful for everyone, the immediate focus is on improving after picking up one point from their last four Premier League games.

United's next two Premier League matches are against Tottenham and Manchester City, both live on Sky Sports, and they also face Atalanta in the Champions League next week.

But despite their poor results and huge external speculation, there is no suggestion from inside the club that Solskjaer's job is under threat at this point.

Solskjaer called the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool - their heaviest home defeat in this fixture - his "darkest day" as United manager.

Solskjaer admits his United side's 5-0 defeat to Liverpool is the lowest point in his time in charge at Old Trafford.

The Norwegian was adamant that the club are close to achieving success after he was asked if he was still the right man to lead the team.

"We've come too far as a group and we're too close to give up now," he said on Sunday. "I've heard nothing else [about a potential departure]. This is the lowest I've been, but as I've said, I accept the responsibility.

"I do believe in myself, I do believe that I am getting close to what I want with the club, I think what we've done, what I've seen, the development, of course, the results lately haven't been good enough. But I've got to keep strong and I do believe in what we've been doing, the coaching staff and the players."

Solskjaer now faces the huge task of picking up his squad and staff ahead of their trip to Tottenham on Saturday Night Football.

United are seventh in the Premier League after nine games, eight points behind leaders Chelsea, while Spurs are one point and one place above them in the table.

Neville: Man Utd will stick with Ole

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher debate the future of Solskjaer following Manchester United's humbling by Liverpool
Gary Neville said he expected the club to stick with his former team-mate for at least the remainder of the season when debating Solskjaer's position with Jamie Carragher.

"If this was in the immediate post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, Ole would be under massive pressure tonight," Neville said on Sunday.

"But I think the club will hold their nerve. I don't think they have planned for a new manager this season. I think they will sit with him until the end of the season. There will be a massive outcry from fans and media that Ole should be sacked and I can understand that after that game. It was a monstrously bad day and it takes some recovery from.

"The reason the board will stay stable is because of what happened with Jose Mourinho, with Louis van Gaal. They will not bring in a hitman again to try and do a job for a couple of seasons. Jose was the best manager in the world when he came here and it didn't work out.

The Super Sunday panel debate whether Solskjaer would benefit from adding some new additions to his coaching staff
"Antonio Conte's available but I would not bring him in. I do not think he is a fit. I sacked a manager last season and it was the wrong thing to do. I should have waited until the end of the season, let it breathe, and I think that's what Manchester United will do."

Manchester United's gruelling run
It does not get much easier; United face a formidable set of fixtures over the next six weeks as they look to keep pace in the Premier League and ensure Champions League qualification, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and the Manchester derby looming domestically.

October 30: Tottenham (a) - Premier League.

November 2: Atalanta (a) - Champions League.

November 6: Man City (h) - Premier League.

November 20: Watford (a) - Premier League.

November 23: Villarreal (a) - Champions League.

November 28: Chelsea (a) - Premier League.

December 2: Arsenal (h) - Premier League.

Man Utd's damning stats - running
Critics have cited United's recent running metrics as cause for concern, with the club ranking 14th for distance covered in the Premier League this season.

However, fellow 'Big Six' rivals Tottenham and Chelsea also rank lower, and United also typically play a high line - which reduces the distance required to cover by playing in a compressed area of the pitch.

But matchday numbers shed greater light on the matter by revealing United have run 25km fewer than their opponents in the nine games so far.

Solskjaer's side have recorded lower distances in seven of those fixtures - while the two games when they outran opposition, against Wolves and Newcastle, were effectively equal in work-rate.

In term of the players, Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes cover the most distance among regular starters, but Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani also cover considerable distance - albeit from short bursts of game time, often as late substitutes.

#OleOutNow Trending After Disastrous Manchester United Performance Against Liverpool.

Manchester United have endured a disastrous first-half performance against Liverpool, with goals from Naby Keita, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah (2) leaving them 4-0 down at the break. So much so that #OleOutNow is trending on Twitter.

Salah sliced open the United defence with a pass for Keita to break the deadlock with only five minutes played, before Jota slid home a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold after some indecision at the back from Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.

Salah then got in on the act to add a third goal in the 39th minute with a close-range finish to become the first Liverpool player to score in three consecutive appearances at Old Trafford. He then got his second and the Reds' fourth goal with another strike in first-half stoppage time.

It is set to be a long afternoon for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men and #OleOutNow is currently one of the top ten highest trending topics on Twitter.

Meanwhile, #MUNLIV currently ranks first, while Ronaldo and Pogba also feature on the list after a number of terrible individual performances from United's players.

Jose Mourinho has just suffered the heaviest defeat of his managerial career. His Roma team just took a 6-1 beating in the European Conference League at the hands of Bodo/Glimt.

Erik Botheim fired the Norwegian hosts into the lead in the eighth minute before Patrick Berg doubled their advantage in the 20th. Carles Perez pulled one back for Roma eight minutes later, but it was to prove nothing more than a consolation.

Botheim struck again seven minutes into the second half before Ola Solbakken made it 4-1 in the 71st minute. Amahl Pellegrino scored a fifth seven minutes later, before Solbakken completed the rout with his second and Roma’s sixth in the 80th minute.

1 – A José Mourinho side has conceded 6+ goals in a single game for the first time ever, in what is the 1008th match of his managerial career. Shock.

The result leaves Roma second in Group C of the European Conference League, a point behind Bodo/Glimt. They’re fourth in Serie A, nine points behind league leaders Napoli.

Mourinho has enjoyed an incredible, storied coaching career that’s seen him lead the likes of Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid to great success, but is fighting to prove he still has what it takes amongst the coaching elite right now. This defeat won’t help.

We hope you have a wonderful birthday, and that the year ahead is full of many blessings. Love from Mom and Dad.

Paul Pogba’s post-match comments following Manchester United’s 4-2 defeat by Leicester City yesterday have dominated the headlines in the Sunday papers.

As reported here after the game, Pogba spoke to the cameras after the game and gave a gruelling assessment of his team’s recent form, saying:

‘To be honest, we have been having these kind of games for a long time. We have not found the problem, conceding easy goals, stupid goals.

‘We need to be more mature, play with more experience and arrogance in a good way. We need to find something, we need to change.

'Man Utd have gone backwards'

‘We have to find what’s the key of this change and this game that we lose because we deserve to lose today.’

When asked if he felt the team was making the same mistakes and not learning, Pogba replied:

‘Yeah, I think so. It’s all of us. We need to find something, we need to change something. I don’t know if it the mindset of all of us, the players, as we start. We really don’t know.

‘It’s frustrating because it’s something we don’t understand and we have to find out very fast.

‘We need to find their game. We need to find the right mentality, the right tactic.’

And it is this response to the second question, not as widely reported as the first, that seems to be damning of his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his coaching staff.

Simply put, questioning the tactic is questioning the coaches.

The comment ‘we need to find their game’ also suggests a tactical criticism – that the opposition’s way of playing is not addressed by the manager.

It may well be that Solskjaer retains the board’s support for now but a player mutiny with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba in the team could and probably would force their hand, as we discussed here a few days ago.

The fact that Pogba has questioned the coaching publicly in this manner is perhaps the biggest sign yet that such a mutiny might not be far away.

Afghanistan’s new rulers have asked to represent the country at the 76th annual UN session, posing a dilemma for the UN.

The Taliban, which captured power on August 15 following weeks of a military blitz, is challenging the credentials of the country's former UN ambassador, Ghulam Isaczai.

The Taliban wants its envoy to address the annual United Nations General Assembly’s high-level meeting of world leaders this week, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday, raising the question of who should represent Afghanistan in the intergovernmental organisation.

The Taliban, is challenging the credentials of the country’s former UN ambassador, Ghulam Isaczai, appointed by the previous government. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country last month after the Taliban retook Afghanistan 20 years after it was removed from power in a United States-led military invasion.

The request was sent on Monday via a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, ahead of this week’s UNGA meeting in New York, Stephane Dujarric.

Dujarric said his office received a communication from Isaczai on September 15, listing the names of Afghanistan’s delegation for the assembly’s 76th annual session.

Five days later, Guterres received another communication with the letterhead “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” signed by “Ameer Khan Muttaqi” as “Minister of Foreign Affairs,” requesting to participate in the UN gathering of world leaders, when Afghanistan is scheduled to give a speech on September 27.

Muttaqi said in the letter that former Afghan President Ghani had been “ousted” and that countries across the world “no longer recognise him as president”. Therefore, Isaczai no longer represents Afghanistan, Muttaqi added in the letter.

In the letter, the Taliban said it was nominating a new UN permanent representative, Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, who has been a spokesman for the Taliban during peace negotiations in Qatar.

In cases of disputes over seats at the United Nations, the UNGA’s nine-member credentials committee must meet to make a decision.

Senior US State Department officials told The Associated Press that they were aware of the Taliban’s request but they would not predict how that panel might rule.

However, one of the officials said the committee “would take some time to deliberate,” suggesting the Taliban’s envoy would not be able to speak on this occasion.

The Taliban said it was nominating a new UN permanent representative, Suhail Shaheen, who has been a spokesman for the group based in Doha.

During the Taliban’s rule between 1996 and 2001, the UN had refused to recognise its government. Instead, it gave Afghanistan’s seat to the previous government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani.

The Taliban has said it wants international recognition and financial help to rebuild the war-battered country, but the makeup of the new Taliban government poses a dilemma for the UN.

Several of the interim ministers are on the UN’s blacklist of international “terrorists and funders of terrorism”.

The Taliban has accused the US of violating the 2020 Doha Agreement, as it demanded that its leaders should be taken off the “terror” list. The agreement also paved the way for the withdrawal of the US-led foreign forces in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban.

The Taliban government expanded its interim cabinet by naming deputy ministers on Tuesday, doubling down on a hardline, all-male cabinet despite an international outcry.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES



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