Bergamo’s Coronavirus Suffering Still Haunts Atalanta; Len Doungel Finds Training Kuki Tribe Kids Rewarding and More (Football Round-Up)
Atalanta B.C. is situated in Bergamo which was one of the worst affected areas of the Covid-19 outbreak in Italy claiming more than 6,000 lives (Pic: Twitter, Goal).
Italian Club Atalanta B.C. is set to face Paris St. Germain at a mini-tournament in Lisbon on August 12.
The leading Serie A club is situated in Bergamo which was one of the worst affected areas of the Covid-19 outbreak in Italy claiming more than 6,000 lives. The hospitals were overcrowded and images of infected patients waiting outside and the morgues overflowing unable to handle the death toll still haunt the people.
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Atalanta players expressed their desire to bring back the smiles of their supporters. That desire was proven by them as they pushed that much harder to be at the top of Serie A since the matches resumed.
“We will play with Bergamo and for Bergamo, this will give us extra strength,” midfielder Remo Freuler told the Eco di Bergamo newspaper.“This region has suffered a lot, we know that very well in the squad and this gives us extra motivation when we go onto the field. It was in the case in Serie A and it will be the case in Lisbon.”
Doungel Trains Kuki Tribe Kids
Seiminlen Doungel, also known as Len Doungel, has gone back to his roots in a village in Longja, and has been training young kids aged between 8-20 from the Kuki tribe in Manipur.
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Len, an India international who scored his maiden goal for India in the FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Afghanistan in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, stated that this was an opportunity to get back to his roots and make connections with people from the Kuki tribe.
"Coming here was quite special for me. My family is also from the Kuki tribe. Much like most of the Kuki people, my father also used to get his earnings from the farm. We have sort of moved on from that way of life since I became a professional. But coming here and experiencing the simplicity with which these people lead their lives was simply amazing," Doungel said.
The 26-year old winger stayed in the village for two and a half weeks to share his knowledge of football with the local kids. "I felt a real connection to these people. Even when I am in Manipur, I mostly get to speak my language (Thadou Kuki) at home. With these people, I could speak that," he said. "The kids there were really simple and did not know much about the world of football."
Celtic, Aberdeen Matches Postponed
The Scottish Premier League announced the postponement of the next two matches of Celtic and Aberdeen over quarantine breaches by players.
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, asked for the cancellation of games after Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli participated in the match on Sunday without following the quarantine rules after his return from Spain. This was followed by Aberdeen’s cancelled trip to St Johnstone as two of the players tested positive for coronavirus.
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These matches have been postponed in light of ongoing restrictions in Aberdeen and today’s news of a breach of government public health guidance and football protocols involving the Celtic FC player, Boli Bolingoli,” the SPFL said in a statement.
“During further discussions today with the Minister and government advisers, the Joint Response Group has offered to work on a range of measures – which will involve the whole of professional football in Scotland – to underpin a commitment to raising public health awareness and reaffirm the collective responsibility of the national game,” added the statement.
Friedkin on AS Roma's buyout
Dan Friedkin, a US billionaire, said he will not pay any kind of premium to AS Roma’s minority investors who are in the process of tendering their shares in a mandatory offer that will come in effect from when the tycoon will have the control of the club.
In a statement published on Consob’s (entity responsible for regulating the Italian securities market) request, Friedkin said he is willing to offer 0.1165 euros ($0.1372) for every share from Roma’s minority investor’s holdings.
The amount corresponds to the offer made last week of buying 86.6% stake from a consortium led by US businessman James Pallotta but is almost five times lower than what the club’s shares were trading when the agreement was announced.
Last week Roma said Friedkin agreed to buy the club in a nearly 600-million euro deal that also included 413 billion euros debt.
Women's Community Shield Match
The first Women's Community Shield match to take place since 2008 will happen before the men's fixture at Wembley on August 29.
Women's Super League winners Chelsea are going to compete against the FA Cup holders Manchester City in the first game after the 2019-2020 season was called off in February.
The game will precede Liverpool and Arsenal’s match as they move towards the new men's season.
The new WSL and Championship seasons will start on September 5.
Chelsea was named 2019-20 WSL champions in June. They were one point behind the leaders, Manchester City, but still had a game in hand when the season ended prematurely due to coronavirus lockdown.
The last Women's Community Shield was won by Arsenal, who beat Everton 1-0 in 2008.
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