Scott Parker appointed as new Club Brugge head coach

By Sports Desk December 31, 2022

Former Fulham and Bournemouth boss Scott Parker has replaced Carl Hoefkens as Club Brugge's new head coach.

Hoefkens, who was only appointed in May, defied the odds by helping Brugge finish above Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time, where Benfica await over two legs.

However, they have struggled domestically as they sit fourth in the league and were knocked out of the cup by Sint-Truidense last week, leading to Hoefkens' dismissal on Tuesday.

Parker managed Fulham between February 2019 and June 2021, before taking over the reins at Bournemouth ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

He guided them to promotion to the Premier League, but was sacked after a run of three league defeats in a row, culminating in an embarrassing 9-0 thumping by Liverpool in August.

Brugge are back in action on January 8 with a trip to Belgian First Division leaders Genk.

Related items

  • Messi hopes the 'craziness never ends' after 100th international goal and wild celebrations Messi hopes the 'craziness never ends' after 100th international goal and wild celebrations

    Lionel Messi hopes the "craziness never ends" after scoring his 100th goal and ninth hat-trick for his country amid Argentina's homecoming World Cup celebrations on Tuesday.

    La Albiceleste routed Curacao 7-0 in Santiago del Estero, with Messi's 20th-minute opener bringing up his 100th international goal, joining only Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and Ali Daei (109) in achieving that feat.

    Messi became the first world champion to score 100 international goals, and he showed no signs of stopping there with further first-half strikes for a treble, taking him to 102.

    The milestone came as Argentina rounded out their first two games back in their homeland since December's World Cup triumph with wild celebrations, initially in Buenos Aires for Thursday's 2-0 win over Panama.

    The players emulated their celebrations from Qatar after the Curacao game, hoisting the World Cup trophy again after it came down from the stadium roof and doing a lap of honour to greet the supporters.

    Messi was also presented with a plaque by Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia to acknowledge his 100th goal.

    "What a nice way to close these dates, impressive today all the people in Santiago del Estero," Messi wrote on Instagram.

    "I wish we can continue to share together many moments like these and that this craziness never ends!!!"

    Messi's achievement comes after netting 21 goals in his 14 games for Argentina, along with seven assists. That has taken him to 156 goal contributions, which is the most in international football.

    Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni added: "As for Lionel Messi, what I want is for him to be on the pitch and be happy."

    He added: "These days were different to the previous friendlies because the players were allowed to be with their people.

    "We felt that they had that desire to go out to contact the outside, although that meant that it was difficult to prepare these two games. But in the end we got them through by playing with intensity."

  • Bettinelli signs new Chelsea deal until 2026 Bettinelli signs new Chelsea deal until 2026

    Marcus Bettinelli committed his future to Chelsea after signing a new deal with the Premier League side.

    The goalkeeper put pen to paper on an extension to his existing contract, keeping him with the Blues until 2026.

    Bettinelli has mainly served as a back-up option to Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy since joining Chelsea from West London rivals Fulham in 2021.

    The 30-year-old's sole competitive appearance for the Blues came during their commanding 5-1 victory over Chesterfield in last season's FA Cup.

    Nevertheless, he is thrilled to extend his stay with Graham Potter's side.

    "It is a privilege to be at a club like Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world," he told the club's official website. "A couple of years ago when I signed, I was delighted to be here, delighted to sign.

    "To be here now and see the club going through this transition and seeing what we are developing, it is amazing to be a part of, and I am buzzing to be here for an extra couple of years."

    Chelsea return to Premier League action after the international break when they host Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

    The Blues are 10th in the table with 11 games remaining, and 11 points shy of fourth-placed Tottenham.

  • Chelsea blame Abramovich sanctions for £121m losses Chelsea blame Abramovich sanctions for £121m losses

    Chelsea put losses of £121million in their latest financial records down to sanctions on former owner Roman Abramovich by the UK government.

    The Blues posted their annual accounts, covering the 2021-22 season, showing significant losses in a period that included having to work under a special licence.

    Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, believing he had close ties with president Vladimir Putin and freezing the assets of several individuals as a result.

    That saw Chelsea forced to operate under a special licence, which restricted the club from selling tickets, accept event bookings and signing contracts with players until Todd Boehly's takeover was completed on May 30, 2022.

    In a statement on Monday, Chelsea added that these sanctions would be felt again "in the following years".

    "The results for the year have been impacted by the sanctions placed on the club's previous owner on 10 March 2022," the statement read.

    "As a result of the sanctions, the club was required to operate within the limitations of a special licence issued by the UK government. These restrictions were in place until the completion of the Club's sale on 30 May 2022.

    "During this period, the Club was restricted in a number of areas including, but not limited to, its ability to sell matchday and season tickets, sell merchandise, accept event bookings, as well as sign contracts with players and commercial sponsorship partners, which collectively resulted in extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue.

    "Furthermore, some of these limitations are also expected to have an impact on the financials in the following years due to the long-term impact from restrictions on entering into new contractual arrangements.

    "Towards the end of the sanctioned period, the club was permitted to sell certain matchday tickets, with the Premier League committing to donate all revenue from these sales to charity. The restrictions were lifted following the change in ownership, and all operations have now resumed."

    The Blues announced an overall net loss of £121.3m, though they confirmed they continue to meet the Premier League and UEFA's financial regulations.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.