SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2018 19 Barca kick off season English Championship: (Results) with Messi as captain Tangiers | Morocco Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce said his side’s dramatic stoppage-time win arcelona kick off a new against Wigan Athletic was testament to the “resilience” of his squad season and a new era following a turbulent off-field summer for the club when they take on Sevilla B Aston Villa 3 2 Wigan in the Spanish Supercup in Mo- rocco today with Lionel Messi Blackburn 0 0 Millwall newly installed as club captain. Bolton 2 2 Bristol City Messi has occasionally worn the armband before when An- Middlesbrough 1 0 Birmingham dres Iniesta, who replaced Xavi Norwich 3 4 West Brom as skipper in 2015, missed a Nottingham Forest 1 0 Reading game. The Argentine has also led QPR 1 2 Sheffield Utd his country, with only mixed Rotherham 1 0 Ipswich results. Sheffield Wednesday 1 1 Hull With Iniesta moving to Japan, Messi takes the job full time Stoke 1 1 Brentford starting in Tangiers after Sergi Swansea 1 0 Preston Roberto captained an inexpe- rienced Barca squad during the Playing later club’s recent tour of the United States. Derby v Leeds (1630 GMT) Messi can eclipse Iniesta in another way in the Supercup, as Scottish Premiership: both have won a club-record 32 Argentina’s forward Lionel Messi (L) and assistant coach Lionel Scaloni attend a training session of Argentina’s national Hearts 1 0 Celtic trophies with Barca and victory football team at the team’s base camp in Bronnitsy, near Moscow on Sunday would break the tie. Dundee 0 1 Aberdeen The match marks a break Livingston 0 0 Kilmarnock with tradition. Since its return ruling that helped Barcelona, ly against Boca Juniors on Motherwell 0 1 Hamilton in 1982, the competition has announcing that the normal re- Wednesday before kicking off been played over two legs with strictions on non-EU players in the defence of their Spanish each team hosting one game. Spanish games would not apply. league title at home to Alaves Today (1400GMT) This season, with Sevilla in One of Barca’s South Ameri- next Saturday evening. Rangers v St. Mirren, St. the Europa League and Barce- cans, Brazilian Philippe Coutin- KNOW WHAT Sevilla played on Thursday, lona keen to play in the lucra- ho, obtained his Portuguese beating Zalgiris Vilnius 1-0 at Johnstone v Hibernian tive International Champions passport on Friday, but the de- home in a third qualifying round Cup exhibition tournament in cision means that coach Ernesto Messi has occasional- first-leg game. French Ligue 1: the United States, the Spanish Valverde can play three recent After Sunday’s match, they ly worn the armband Nantes 1 3 Monaco football authorities switched to major signings Chilean Arturo must cross Europe to defend a single-game format. Vidal and Brazilians Malcolm before when Andres that slender lead in Lithuania Angers v Nimes, They also moved the match and Arthur together. Iniesta, who replaced next Thursday before kicking Lille v Rennes, Xavi as skipper in across this Straits of Gibraltar to Barcelona could also give a off their domestic league cam- Montpellier v Dijon, Morocco, where Spanish foot- debut to Clement Lenglet, a 2015, missed a game paign at home to Villarreal on ball is keenly followed. French defender they bought Sunday. Nice v Reims, Sevilla, who therefore lost an from Sunday’s opponent, Se- “It is more important to pro- Saint-Etienne v Guingamp (all 1800) attractive home game against villa. gress in the Europa League than one of Europe’s most glamorous The game pits Barca, who who finished a distant seventh win the Spanish Super Cup”, Friendly matches: teams, protested to no avail. won the Spanish double, against in La Liga. Joaquin Caparros, Sevilla’s di- This week the Spanish foot- the club they thrashed 5-0 in the Barcelona follow Sunday’s rector of football told the Cope Real Madrid v AC Milan, ball authorities made another final of the Copa del Rey and game with a home friend - radio station. Atletico Madrid v Inter Milan Ronaldo set to begin Juve adventure in intimate alpine friendly 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Turin. rent Ballon d’Or hold- bucolic setting. That could mean Ron- However Juve’s closest recent chal- Ronaldo signed for Set in a valley at the foot of the er Ronaldo will take aldo gets even more up close and per- lengers -- Napoli and Roma -- have • Italian Alps, Villar Perosa (popula- his first steps in black sonal with Juve fans. sold important players this summer, Juventus from Real Madrid tion: roughly 4,100) is the home of and white stripes at Established custom dictates that five and Napoli have to adapt to new coach in a shock 100 million the family estate and summer re- the town’s compact minutes after half-time fans invade the Carlo Ancelotti following talismanic euro ($117 million) deal treat of the powerful Agnellis, who, ground, named after pitch, bringing the game to a halt as fans Maurizio Sarri’s departure and subse- apart from a brief period around notoriously brutal Ita- charge after and greet their heroes. quent move to Chelsea. Juventus have signed the Second World War, have run ly centre-back Gaetano • Juventus since 1923 and es- Scirea. Superhuman? Euro ambitions Ronaldo to boost their tablished the traditional There should be more Ronaldo joined the team for training on Juventus have signed Ronaldo not to international profile and bag alpine curtain raiser. fans at the match than the Wednesday with Juventus two impor- cement their domestic dominance, after their first Champions League Members of the in- entire population of Villar tant players lighter after their return winning seven straight league titles, triumph in over two decades dustrial dynasty -- Perosa, with the 5,000 tickets from the International Champions Cup but to boost their international profile founders of Fiat car available long-since sold out in the United States. and bag their first Champions League manufacturers and and even more supporters The 33-year-old’s arrival pushed triumph in over two decades. Last season, Ronaldo often called the desperate to try and catch striker Gonzalo Higuain to rivals AC Last season, Ronaldo was his usual was• his usual dominant self “Italian Kenne- a glimpse of their new idol. Milan, and the Argentine was joined by dominant self in Europe as he smashed in Europe as he smashed 15 dys” -- have lived Such is the enthusiasm for the impressive Mattia Caldara, who has 15 goals to top the Champions League goals to top the Champions at “The Castle” in Ronaldo’s debut, that special established himself as one of Serie A’s scoring charts and fired Real Madrid to Villar Perosa since security measures have been best defenders since breaking through continental glory for the third straight League scoring charts the 19th century, drafted in the town for the at Atalanta two years ago. year. while deceased match, including a complete Caldara arrived at Juve in early July Interest in Juve and in Italian football Rome | Italy former club chair- ban on the sale of alcohol from only to be swapped last week with has spiked following Ronaldo’s arrival. man Gianni Agnel- Saturday. Leonardo Bonucci, who returned to July visits to the club museum shot uventus fans will get their first li was town mayor Ronaldo’s arrival had sparked Turin after just one unconvincing sea- up 15 percent compared to last year, Jglimpse of superstar summer sign- between 1945 and rumours that the match would son with Milan. and were nearly a third more than in ing Cristiano Ronaldo in rarified sur- 1980. be moved to the Allianz Sta- The decision to deprive themselves 2016, and the over 29,000 season tickets roundings today, when he makes his dium such was the en - of a proven Serie A goalscorer and available to fans have been sold despite debut for the Italian champions at the Up close and thusiasm from fans in particular to swap Caldara, 24, for a deeply unpopular 30 percent price foot of the Alps a week before the start personal after his signing, 31-year-old Bonucci has left some ques- bump announced before Ronaldo’s ar- of the new Serie A season. Used to impos - but the club de- tion marks over Juventus despite Ron- rival. Ronaldo, who signed for Juventus ing arenas such as cided to stick aldo’s proven prowess. ESPN have snatched the rights to from European champions Real Ma- the Camp Nou, Old with the His domestic form -- despite scoring broadcast Serie A in the US from BeIN drid in a shock 100 million euro ($117 Trafford and the tradi- 26 goals in La Liga -- was below the Sports (although the league has not said million) deal exactly a month ago, will Bernabeu, cur- tion- almost superhuman levels that had how much the network will pay) and wear the Juventus kit for the first time a l characterised his time in Spain as Ma- World Cup Golden Ball winner Luka in the club’s traditional pre-season drid finished third behind local rivals Modric is also pondering a move to join friendly between Juve’s first XI and a Atletico and a whole 17 points behind former teammate Ronaldo in Italy -- at “B” team in Villar Perosa, a small town champions Barcelona. Juve’s arch rivals Inter Milan..