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Stoke City see themselves on a path to the Champions League
After beating Manchester City last weekend, there’s a newfound belief in the Potters’ dressing room.
Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Stoke City, Champions League contenders. You could be forgiven if you need a moment to stop laughing after reading that, but according to Stoke forward Bojan Krkic, that's honestly where the Potters see themselves heading, especially after their huge win over Manchester City last weekend:
[Beating Manchester City] was really special. Maybe sometimes these experiences are better because you didn’t expect before the game you are going to win 2-0 against Man City and play amazingly. When these things happen it makes you so proud of everyone.
Imagine if we play Champions League football at the Britannia Stadium in five years. It can happen.
-Source: Guardian
Bojan and his teammates are, at least, realistic about the fact that they’re probably not making it this year, but on paper they do appear to be heading in the right direction. And hey, with how crazy the Premier League has been, maybe Stoke can put in a real challenge for fourth place this season if they can keep earning huge upsets like that 2-0 win over City.
The whole interview is well worth a read, touching on the various trials and disappointments that Bojan’s career has suffered, from being the next big La Masia star, to never making the grade at Barcelona, and everything that took him to finally finding success at Stoke. It’s quite a story, and will almost certainly make you root for him once you’ve read it.
Goal of the day
This crazy, wide-angle strike from Jonathan Dos Santos for Villarreal came out of nowhere. (r/soccer)
In the news
Tragedy has struck as Honduran player Fabian Arnold Peralta Sosa was shot and killed at a mall in his home country. He was 26. (La Prensa)
David Moyes won’t be putting his name forward for the Swansea City managerial opening. (Guardian)
Ryan Giggs might be willing to leave his assistant’s job at Manchester United to take over the Welsh team, though. (Manchester Evening News)
Real Madrid’s attempt to have a court suspend their Copa del Rey ban was rejected. (BBC)
Suspended UEFA president Michel Platini had his own appeal to have his ban lifted rejected, and he will be unable to attend the Euro 2016 draw this weekend.
Juventus might be in trouble for their purchase of Marco Motta in 2010 over issues relating to agents, and could be docked points over it. (Football Italia)
Cristiano Ronaldo really wants to play for Carlo Ancelotti again before his career is over. (ESPN FC)
You should be reading
FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein sat down with ESPN and talked about his candidacy, the World Cup, reforming FIFA, and more. (ESPN FC)
Jonathan Wilson went through the whole Euro 2016 field and ranked them from first to worst. (Guardian)
Matt Gault looks at Marcelo Bielsa’s tumultuous spell at Olympique Marseille and how that 12 months showed the manager’s obsessions and wildly unpredictable nature (These Football Times)
What happened in Thursday’s matches
Napoli became the only team in either the Champions League or Europa League this season to win all six group matches, and set the Europa League group stage scoring record as well. (The Siren’s Song)
Read up on the rest of the Europa League action as the group stage came to a close. (UEFA)
What to watch on Friday
There are a handful of mid-table matches in La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and the Championship, but nothing that’s a must-watch for any real reason unless you’re a fan of the teams involved.
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