STURM GRAZ have ended Red Bull Salzburg’s decade-long domination of the Austrian Bundesliga. Graz won 2-0 against Austria Klagenfurt, with goals from Gregory Wüthrich and Amady Camara, to clinch the title. Christian Ilzer’s team also won the Austrian Cup to secure the double. Salzburg, who won 7-1 against LASK, finished two points behind Graz, and philosophical losers. They said on their official website: “Our historic sequence – unique to Austrian football – of ten league titles in a row has therefore ended. There is no need for us look for excuses or make complaints. We will have to leave the league title out of our trophy cabinet for now as we work even harder on following our successful Salzburg Way even more determinedly – as we want to do everything we can to get the title back to Salzburg!”.
THE Europa League final takes place in Dublin tonight with German Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen taking on Italy’s Atalanta. Leverkusen remain unbeaten this season having ended their 34-game programme in the league with no defeats. They are also in the DFB Pokal final on May 25. On the road to the Europa League final, Xabi Alonso’s team beat West Ham and Roma, among others. Atalanta seem to have had a tougher path to Dublin, beating Liverpool, Marseille, Sturm Graz and Sporting Clube de Portugal. Atalanta were runners-up in the Coppa Italia and are currently in fifth spot in Serie A.
ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate has named his 33-man preliminary squad ahead of the European Championship and there are some notable exclusions. Marcus Rashford of Manchester United, who has won 60 caps, Raheem Sterling (82) and Jordan Henderson (81) are all out of favour and may no long be part of Southgate’s plans. Rashford has had a mixed season and, at 26, clearly looks like he needs a fresh challenge. Sterling, who is 29, looks uncomfortable at Chelsea, while Henderson made a poor move to Saudi Arabia before joining Ajax. At 33, he is unlikely to return to the England squad. Meanwhile, there are some interesting inclusions such as Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace, Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United and Burnley’s James Trafford. The England squad will be reduced to 26 players on June 7.
RIVER PLATE may have qualified for the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores and also the 2025 Club World Cup, but they suffered a shock defeat in the Copa Argentina at the hands of second tier side Temperley. River were beaten on penalties in the round of 16 after the tie ended 1-1 thanks to an added time equaliser by Temperley. River have started the Primera Division season well with two 3-0 victories against Belgrano and Central Córdoba. River’s home ground, the Estadio monumental, will host the Copa Libertadores final this year.
GAME OF THE PEOPLE 