CHELSEA became the first club to win all four of UEFA’s major competitions when they beat Real Betis in Wroclaw in the Conference League final. The final scoreline was emphatic, a resounding 4-1 victory, but Betis went in at half-time 1-0 ahead after scoring in the ninth minute through Abde Ezzalzouli. Betis included a handful of players known to English audiences, notably Antony, Isco and Pablo Fornals. Isco ran the first half for the Spanish side, but after the interval, Chelsea came alive. Cole Palmer’s inventiveness created two goals in the space of six minutes, headers from Enzo Fernández (65) and Nicolas Jackson (70). Jadon Sancho added a superb third in the 83rd minute and a low drive from Moisés Caicedo (91) rounded off the scoring. Chelsea’s seventh European trophy ended what was a satisfactory campaign for the Blues, who qualified for the Champions League and ended a four-year gap between their last piece of silverware. The only English team to have won more European prizes is Liverpool.
**Passing of the witch – Juan Ramón Verón**
ONE of the most exciting players in Argentinian football in the 1960s, Juan Ramón Verón, has died in Buenos Aires, aged 81. He was a member of the Estudiantes team that won three consecutive Copa Libertadores between 1968 and 1970 and also beat Manchester United in the 1968 World Club Championship, scoring the vital goal at Old Trafford that earned his team a 1-1 draw (2-1 on aggregate). Verón was known as _La Bruja_ (the witch) and was a dynamic player who possessed great technical skills. He played over 300 games for Estudiantes and scored around 100 goals. He was capped four times by Argentina. Verón had three spells with Estudiantes and also played in Greece for Panathinaikos and in Colombia. His son, Juan Sebastián Verón, played for, among others, Boca Juniors, Lazio, Manchester United and Chelsea.
**Ancelotti junior for Glasgow?**
DAVIDE Ancelotti, the son of Brazil’s national team coach, Carlo, is the favourite for the vacant Rangers job. Ancelotti Junior has been at his father’s side at a number of clubs, including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton and Real Madrid. The 35 year-old had a very modest playing career and retired at 20, but went on to earn a Sports Science degree. If he is going to step-up and emerge out of the shadow of Dad, Davide has to move soon. Rangers have had talks with him and the hopes are that Ancelotti will be a “chip off the old block” and bring valuable experience to Ibrox. But it is something of a risk for the club and perhaps Rangers are a little apprehensive about taking on someone with no track record of being a head coach. They will have to act quickly, though, because Ancelotti apparently has a number of options, not least the opportunity to manage Spanish club Deportivo la Coruna. One trump card Parma-born Ancelotti does have up his sleeve is the possible inclusion of Real Madrid’s Luka Modric as part of the package.
**NAC Breda stadium expansion underway**
NAC BREDA won promotion a year ago to the Eredivisie and managed to stay up in their first year back in the top flight. The club has had some challenging down the years, including financial problems which led to the local authority in Breda buying their stadium. Now, Breda are looking to buy the Rat Verlegh Stadion back and also expand the arena’s capacity beyond the current 19,000. In 2024-25, they averaged 18,500-plus, the eighth highest crowds in the Eredivisie. Work started on the ground after the final home game against Willem II; the first phase includes 1,600 additional seats and a lower pitch. The initiative has been called “the siege of Verlegh” and is aimed at creating more income streams at the stadium, taking the club’s annual turnover beyond € 20 million.
**Unlikely Apertura final in Argentina**
ON June 1, Huracán and Platense meet in the Apertura play-off in Santiago del Estero. Both sides are surprise finalists; Huracán were last champions of any kind in 1973, while Platense have never won the league. While Huracán are widely considered to be the sixth most important club in Argentina, they have a history rooted in deep economic hardship. Platense are from Vicente López in the northern region of Buenos Aires. The club has strong links to horse racing and tango dancing. Huracán are managed by Frank Kudelka and beat Deportivo Riestra, Rosario Central and Independiente on their way to the final after finishing fourth in Zone A. Platense were sixth in Zone B and then disposed of Racing, River Plate and San Lorenzo.
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)