CONTE OUT AT TOTTENHAM
Antonio Conte has left his position as Tottenham manager by mutual agreement, the Premier League club said Sunday.
The Italian’s assistant, Cristian Stellini, has been appointed acting head coach for the rest of the season.
The team’s announcement comes just more than a week after Conte delivered a post-match rant in which he accused the team’s players of being “selfish” and also took aim at the club’s ownership.
“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place,” Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy said in a club statement released Sunday night. “We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our Club and amazing, loyal supporters.”
Conte was in charge of Tottenham for 16 months but was unable to end its trophy drought stretching back to 2008.
His tenure ended in an undignified way, with his outburst after the 3-3 draw at Southampton making his departure almost inevitable. His contract was due to expire at the end of the season.
The 53-year-old Conte tore into his players for what he perceived to be a poor attitude, accusing them of not playing as a team and failing to deal with pressure, before saying: “Twenty years there is the (same) owner and they never won something.”
After days of speculation about his future, Tottenham confirmed his exit.
Conte leaves with Tottenham out of the Champions League and FA Cup, ensuring it will not win any silverware this season.
But the team is in fourth place in the league and in contention to qualify for the Champions League again next season.
Tottenham appointed former Chelsea manager Conte as the replacement for Nuno Espirito Santo in November 2021, with the club in eighth place. He succeeded
in guiding it to a topfour finish, one of only three Tottenham managers to have done so in the Premier League era.
Tottenham spent about $140 million since Conte’s arrival, including $73.5 million on Brazil forward Richarlison. The most recent signing was Pedro Porro, a back bought because he suits Conte’s 3-4-3 formation.
Conte has just returned to the touchline after recovering from gallbladder surgery and also has had to contend with personal trauma following the deaths of three close friends over the past five months — Tottenham fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, and former players Sinisa Mihajlovic and Gianluca Vialli.
More soccer
England and Portugal made it two wins out of two at the start of European Championship qualifying, helped by their star players continuing their recordbreaking streaks.
Harry Kane struck a record-extending 55th goal for his country to help England beat Ukraine 2-0, while
Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice in his 198th appearance for Portugal in a 6-0 win
over Luxembourg.
Slovenia was the other team with a perfect start to qualifying for Euro 2024 after two matches as it beat San Marino 2-0.
Defending champion Italy got its first win of the qualifying campaign as it beat Malta 2-0.
• England player Phil Foden was ruled out of the qualifier against Ukraine after having his appendix removed hours before kickoff.
Horse racing
Horse racing’s efforts to clean up the sport and level the playing field take another step forward today with the launch of a new anti-doping program.
It’s an attempt to centralize the drug testing of racehorses and manage the results, as well as dole out uniform penalties to horses and trainers instead of the current patchwork rules that vary from state to state.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) was created by the federal government nearly three years ago.
It has two programs: racetrack safety, which went into effect in July, and antidoping and medication control.
Tennis
Bianca Andreescu of Canada — the 2019 U.S. Open champion — beat 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin of the United States 6-4, 6-4 in the third round of the Miami Open.
Andreescu had seven aces to Kenin’s one and double-faulted only once as she won the third straight matchup between the Grand Slam champions. Andreescu converted all three of her break opportunities.
On the men’s side, Americans Tommy Paul and No. 10 Taylor Fritz advanced in straight sets. San Diego’s Fritz defeated Denis Shapovalov of Canada 6-4, 6-4. Shapovalov had seven double-faults.
Locally
San Diego State’s softball team downed Fresno State, 7-4, to claim the weekend series at SDSU Softball Stadium.
Bella Espinoza and Jillian Celis had two hits apiece, and AJ Murphy slugged a three-run homer in a four-run third to spark the SDSU (18-10, 3-3 MW) offense.
• The 18th-ranked UC San Diego women’s water polo team dropped a 14-12 nonconference decision on the road at No. 16 Loyola Marymount.
Both Annika Arroyo and
Caroline Christl recorded hat tricks for UC San Diego (9-15).
• Aubrie Nex (1,500), the team of Bree Gentry, Nex,
Madelynn Worley and
Blanca Granados (4x400 relay), Worley (400) and
Anessa Chirgwin (hammer throw) earned first-place finishes for Point Loma’s women’s track team at the PLNU Track & Field Invitational.
Hockey
The Gulls dropped their AHL meeting at Calgary 3-2. Benoit-Olivier Groulx got the Gulls on the board first, but the Wranglers scored three more times before Chase De Leo scored for San Diego early in the third period for the final tally.