How many different clubs did Zlatan Ibrahimovic play for?

At the time of writing, in early June, 2023, Swedish former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has recently announced his retirement from football, at the age of 41. Bidding farewell to AC Milan fans at the San Siro Stadium for the second time, he said, ‘I say goodbye to football, but not you’, adding, ‘The first time I came here you gave me happiness, the second time you gave me love.’ Aside from the Rossoneri (Italian for ‘Red and Blacks’), for whom he signed twice, at the end of the 2010/11 season and, again, in December, 2019, Ibrahimovic played for eight other different clubs, making a total of nine in all.

Born in Malmö, Sweden, to émigré parents, on October 3, 1981, ‘Ibra’ started his senior professional career with his hometown club, Malmö Fotbollförening, better known as Malmö FF, in 1999. In 2001, he joined Dutch club Ajax, with whom he spent three seasons, winning the Eredivisie in 2001/02. Following a €16 million to Juventus in 2004, Ibrahimovic also ‘won’ Serie A two years running, in 2004/05 and 2005/06, but ‘The Old Lady’ was subsequently stripped of those titles and demoted to Serie B for involvement in the match-fixng scandal known as ‘Calciopoli’. Nevertheless, three more, legitimate, Scudetto titles followed, during a first stint in Milan, with Internazionale, whom he joined in August, 2006.

In July, 2009, Ibrahimovic signed for Barcelona for €69.5 million but, a year later, was back in Milan, on loan to Associazione Calcio (AC), who he joined permanently twelve months later, after helping them to the 2010/11 Serie A title. He subsequently won three Ligue 1 titles in as many seasons with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and, after brief stints with Manchester United and LA Galaxy, returned to AC Milan, in January, 2020, for his swansong.

Who is the highest-scoring African player in the history of the UEFA Champions League?

Didier Drogba is the highest-scoring African player in the history of the UEFA Champions League, with 44 goals in 92 appearances. He scored goals for three different clubs in the competition: Marseille, Chelsea, and Galatasaray. He won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012.

Drogba was a powerful and prolific striker who was known for his ability to score goals in big games. He was also a leader on and off the pitch, and he was a key figure in Chelsea’s success in the early 2010s.

Here are some of his most memorable Champions League moments:

  • In 2012, Drogba scored the winning goal in the UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

  • In 2010, Drogba scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final against Portsmouth.

  • In 2006, Drogba scored a hat-trick against Liverpool in the Premier League.

  • In 2005, Drogba scored the winning goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal.

  • Drogba is a true legend of African football, and he will be remembered for his incredible achievements on the pitch and his work off the pitch.

Here are some of his most impressive statistics in the Champions League:

  • He scored 10 goals in 12 appearances in the 2011-12 season, helping Chelsea win the title.

  • He scored 8 goals in 10 appearances in the 2009-10 season, helping Chelsea reach the final.

  • He scored 7 goals in 11 appearances in the 2007-08 season, helping Chelsea reach the semi-finals.

  • Drogba’s goalscoring record in the Champions League is simply incredible. He is a true legend of the competition, and he will be remembered as one of the greatest African players of all time.

Which was the fastest frame in the history of professional snooker?

The fastest frame in the history of professional snooker was recorded during a best-of-nine frames first round match between Maltese former professional Tony ‘The Tornado’ Drago and English former professional Danny ‘The Dustman’ Fowler at the Fidelity Unit Trusts International Open at Trentham Gardens, Stoke-on-Trent on August 31, 1988. In the fifth frame, Drago needed just three minutes to establish a 62-0 lead and went on to win the match 5-3.

Born in Valletta in September, 1965, Drago turned professional in 1985 and became known for his flamboyance, speed around the table and occasionally volatile temperament, hence his nickname. In his heyday, he was clocked at between 11 and 14 seconds per shot. In 1988, Drago beat Alex Higgins 10-2 and Dennis Taylor 13-5 en route to the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship, where he lost 13-4 to eventual champion Steve Davis.

Eight years later, at the Guild Hall in Preston, Drago set another record that has yet to be broken. In the fourth frame of his last-16 match against a youthful John Higgins in the 1996 UK Championships, he compiled a break of 103 in just 3 minutes and 31 seconds to set a record for the fastest century break in the history of televised professional snooker. Having led that match 4-0, Drago eventually lost 9-8, but the following year, 1997, he beat Higgins in the semi-final of the International Open at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre en route to the only and only ranking final of his career, which he lost 9-1 to Stephen Hendry.

Interestingly, until April, 2019, Danny Fowler also held a long-standing, if unwanted, record. In 1993, he lost 10-1 to Stephen Hendry in the first round of the World Snooker Championships and his points total of 119 ranked as the lowest ever recorded at The Crucible until Luo Honghao scored just 89 points in his 10-0 defeat by Shaun Murphy.

The Grand National: Is 2024 the year of the outsider?

outsider horseWith the Grand National just around the corner now and talk of the favourite potentially romping home, let’s throw caution to the wind and instead go for a ‘no hoper’ or more politely stated ,rank outsider when it comes to our horse racing betting selection. Why? Well, because if your luck is in, you win big… really big.. and if it isn’t, it’s not like you ‘expected’ to win anyway.

For a bit of inspiration it’s worth remembering that an Outsider winning the Grand National is, although not common, certainly not entirely new ground. If you need a little inspiration as to how an Outsider can claim the biggest prize in racing look no future than the history of the event.

There have been five Grand National winners over the 175 races of odds in the triple figure range, and all of those were 100-1. That’s not the biggest surprise as that has often been the biggest odds on offer in the race anyway. In chronological order these 100-1 shots were Tipperary Tim (1928), Gregalach (1929), Caughoo (1947), Foinavon (1967) and Mon Mome (2009). There have been four winners at odds of 66-1 and five at 50-1 (most recently Noble Yeats in 2022). The most comical, shall we say, win was perhaps 100-1 shot Caughoo in 1947. After the race the jockey on second placed Lough Conn accused Eddie Dempsey, who rode Caughoo to victory, of hiding near a fence in dense fog and rejoining the race at the head of the pack. It led to both a physical fight and legal action but Dempsey was soon absolved of wrongdoing. I wonder if they’ll be any punch ups at this year’s Grand National?

And so, which outsider horses have a chance of winning the 2024 Grand National? Well of course that’s the big question, and with the considerable odds in mind, other competitors, fences, ground and more, you’ll need a combination of correctly assessing value as well as having Lady Luck peering over your shoulder. So really this is a question for the individual, but if you’re looking for a big odds tips i’d go with Coko beach at 40-1. The long odds are understandable on account of last years Grand National effort, but he had lost his left hind shoe. The 8 year old impressed in February’s Grand National Trial and has been shown not to get overawed by a big field, having won the Thyestes Chase and the likes in the past. Worth a punt in my view!

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