Feyenoord great Wim Jansen has died at the age of 75.
The Eredivisie club, where he spent 15 years as a player before taking up a variety of off-field roles, confirmed he had passed away on Tuesday. He had been suffering from dementia.
"It is with great sadness that Feyenoord has learned of the death of club icon Wim Jansen," the club said.
"Wim Jansen is one of the greatest footballers ever to play for Feyenoord. He served the club as a youth player, youth coach, assistant and head coach, technical director and advisor and was part of the most successful Feyenoord team of all time."
Jansen won four league titles with Feyenoord from 1965 to 1974 and lifted the European Cup in 1970, when they won the final 2-1 against Celtic - a team he would later manage. He also captained the side to 1974 UEFA Cup glory before winning a further league title with Ajax in 1982.
He won 65 caps for the Netherlands in a 13-year international career, and was part of the sides that reached the 1974 and 1978 World Cup finals and finished third at the 1976 European Championship. Jansen was once described by the great Johan Cruyff as "one of only four men in the world it's worth listening to when they talk about football", according to NOS.
In a varied post-playing career, Jansen would win two KNVB Beker trophies as Feyenoord boss before becoming technical director for the 1993 league title win, helping to restore the club following financial problems.
He enjoyed perhaps his best moment as a coach with Celtic in 1997-98, when they won the double of league title and Scottish League Cup.
Stopping arch-rivals Rangers from winning a 10th successive title, Jansen also secured the signing of Henrik Larsson from Feyenoord, who became one of the club's greatest modern players.
Current Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou said: "He's a massive name in Dutch football, both as a player and a manager.
"I've often said that, for all of us, we get the privilege of coming through these clubs and our ultimate ambition is to leave some sort of mark or some sort of legacy and he did that in 12 months.
"The impact he had in just one year at this football club is fantastic."
Former Arsenal and Manchester United star Robin van Persie, who began his professional career at Feyenoord and had guidance from Jansen as a youngster, wrote on Twitter: "We spoke the same language, the language of football.
"Cruyff had his own language, Wim too. He wrote it down in notebooks, which Wim only shared with, in his eyes, real enthusiasts.
"Wim, I am grateful for our hours of conversations and the many wise lessons. Rest in peace."
Daniele De Rossi staying on as Roma boss
Roma have confirmed that head coach Daniele De Rossi will remain in charge of the club for “the foreseeable future”.
De Rossi, 40, who spent 18 years as a player with the Giallorossi, was appointed in January after the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
Roma have climbed from ninth to fifth in Serie A under the 40-year-old, who initially signed a short-term deal until June.
In a statement on the club’s website, Roma owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin said: “After meeting yesterday afternoon with Daniele De Rossi, we are delighted to announce he will continue as head coach of AS Roma after this season and for the foreseeable future.
“In his short tenure as head coach, the positive impact that his leadership has brought to the entire club has told its own story.
“Daniele leads with respect and courage, while his strength and deep-rooted belief in the club are truly aligned with Roma’s values, city and unparalleled fans.
“We will continue to work together as hard as we possibly can to deliver a future that AS Roma’s fans deserve.
“We couldn’t be happier to build a long-term project with Daniele.
“Further details to follow in the coming days.”
Barcelona fined for racist behaviour of fans at Paris St Germain
Barcelona have been fined 25,000 euros (£21,400) by UEFA for racist behaviour by their fans during the Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie at Paris St Germain.
Three charges were brought against Barca following the fixture at Parc des Princes on April 10, which included acts of damage and lighting of fireworks.
UEFA’s Appeals Body announced on Thursday Barcelona will be fined for the racist behaviour of their fans and will be banned from selling tickets to their away supporters for the Spanish club’s next UEFA competition match.
That ticket ban has been suspended for a probationary period of one year, which started from the date of the present decision.
Barcelona must also pay a 2,000 euro fine for lighting fireworks and a further 5,000 euro fine for acts of damage.
After Barca won the first leg 3-2 in Paris, they lost 4-1 in the second leg at home this week to exit the Champions League 6-4 on aggregate.
Harry Kane savours Champions League ‘war’ with England team-mate Jude Bellingham
Harry Kane is ready to go into battle against Jude Bellingham for a spot in the Champions League final before the pair aim to lead England to Euro 2024 glory.
England captain Kane moved to Bayern Munich from Tottenham last year while Bellingham left Borussia Dortmund to join Real Madrid.
Both helped their respective clubs to Champions League quarter-final wins over Premier League sides on Wednesday night as Bayern beat Arsenal and Real saw off Manchester City on penalties. Bellingham scored in that shoot-out while Kane netted a first-leg spot-kick at the Emirates Stadium.
Those wins tee up a mouth-watering semi-final clash between two clubs who have won 20 European Cups between them.
Despite Arsenal and City being eliminated, meaning the first semi-final line-up since 2020 with no Premier League clubs, Kane believes there will still be plenty of English interest in how he and Bellingham fare.
“Jude has had a fantastic season, he’s a top player,” he said.
“I’m really happy for him but it will be another war against his team – but that’s the experiences that we both went abroad to try to achieve, to play in these big nights in the Champions League, to play in these big semi-finals.
“It will be one to enjoy and I’m sure there will be a lot of English fans watching both of us. We have to focus on ourselves. Of course, I’ll say hello but once we’re on the pitch, it’s business.”
Kane is still yet to win a major trophy in his career and also has the added incentive of the Champions League final taking place at Wembley on June 1, with either Dortmund or Paris St Germain awaiting the winner of Real and Bayern.
“For both of us, for sure,” Kane replied when asked if Wembley is the dream for him and Bellingham.
“With Wembley being our national stadium, it’s extra motivation there for us but there are two games ahead of us before that, which are going to be really tough so we have to focus on that.
“Real Madrid are a big club with amazing history in the Champions League so it’s going to be a really difficult game for us.
“But that’s what the semi-finals of the Champions League are all about, the biggest teams, so we enjoy this tonight and then prepare for that game in a couple of weeks.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
