NANTES, France (AFP) - Nantes paid an emotional tribute to Emiliano Sala at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Wednesday (Jan 30) before their first match since their former striker's plane disappeared over the Channel last week.
The 28-year-old had been travelling from Nantes to his new club Cardiff City when the plane went missing, with pilot David Ibbotson the only other person on board.
British investigators said earlier on Wednesday it was "likely" that two seat cushions that have washed up on the French shore were from the missing aircraft.
Nantes unveiled a large photo of Sala in the centre-circle before kick-off in the Ligue 1 game against Saint-Etienne, while the Argentine's former teammates donned T-shirts with "we love you Emi" written on the back.
Supporters unfurled banners supporting Sala and flew Argentinian flags in the stands.
The tearful fans held a minute's applause and chanted his name.
All the Nantes players played in shirts featuring Sala's name instead of their own.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Former Nantes forward Yacine Bammou, who became a close friend of Sala's before leaving for Caen, was in tears in the stands, while coach Vahid Halilhodzic also struggled to contain his emotions.
Sala scored 42 league goals in 120 appearances for Nantes before signing for Cardiff in a €17 million (S$26 million) move.
He had visited his former teammates in Nantes on Jan 21 to say goodbye before flying towards Cardiff on the Piper PA-46 Malibu plane.
The official search was suspended last Thursday, but Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it would start an underwater search this weekend, working alongside a privately-funded search.
Hundreds of Nantes fans had held a vigil in the French city last week shortly after the first searches had failed to find the player.
"I did not have much hope. Now we must try to mourn and then move forward," said 69-year-old Nantes supporter Andree Guittet.
City's recent run of three defeats in five games had raised questions over whether the champions had the durability to sustain a title challenge with a Liverpool side who have had an air of
Man City end Liverpool's unbeaten run, cut lead to four
Pep Guardiola's bid to win the Champions League for the first time since 2011 will come under threat from his old friend Mauricio Pochettino when Manchester City face Tottenham in the quarter
Pochettino plans to ruin old pal Guardiola's Champions League
Another Reds` chance came from a Chris Jones corner which was met by Carlos Indja at the far post, but he steered his finish just off target. Despite their overall dominance, the hosts had still failed to break the deadlock at the interval, and it was still all to play for in the second half.
Missed chances and red card combine to ko Reds' FA Cup hopes
barnsleynewsandsport.com/2018/01/06/missed-chances-red-card-combine-ko-reds-fa-cup-hopes/
Missed chances and red card combine to ko Reds' FA Cup hopes. January 6th, 2018. Millwall 4, Barnsley 1 (FA Cup, third round) At first glance this looks like a thrashing for Barnsley at the hands of a team they defeated 3-1 on the same ground in a Championship match at the end of September.
Origi missed late chance for Liverpool at West Ham - Fussboll
Football: Guardiola predicts roller-coaster title run-in
Juventus manger Massimiliano Allegri has claimed he is 'confident' Cristiano Ronaldo will be fit to take on Ajax this week.. The attacker sat out Juve's 2-1 victory against AC Milan on
Juventus' Ronaldo a doubt to face Ajax in Champions League
global.espn.com/football/juventus/story/3810925/juventus-ronaldo-a-doubt-to-face-ajax-in-champions-league-allegri
Cristiano Ronaldo is a doubt for the Champions League quarterfinal against Ajax after being left out of the Juventus squad to face Empoli on Saturday with a muscular injury. Ronaldo pulled up with an injury half an hour into Portugal's 1-1 draw with Serbia on Monday and will miss his third Serie A game in a row after being rested for the 4-1
Cristiano Ronaldo Doubtful For Ajax Clash, Says Coach
Ikhsan is the second eldest son of Singaporean footballing legend Fandi Ahmad and South African model Wendy Jacobs. He has four siblings, one older brother, Irfan Fandi who is in the Singapore national football team, and two younger brothers, Ilhan and Iryan, and the other being his sister Iman. Early career Hércules CF
Norwegia - Liga Norwegia Divisi Satu Daftar Siaran Langsung
Newcastle United beat Blackburn Rovers 4-2 after extra time while Championship side Stoke City threw away a two-goal lead as they suffered a shock 3-2 home defeat by third-tier Shrewsbury Town in
Blackburn Rovers vs. Newcastle United - Football Match Report
Dembele back training ahead of Man United clash. 2019-04-04 17:02 a month after picking up a hamstring injury during Barca's 5-1 hammering of Lyon that booked them the quarter-final clash with
Barca's Dembele back to training ahead of Man United clash
Kepa Arrizabalaga 'should be sacked' by Chelsea after Maurizio Sarri snub. The Blues keeper caused controversy after refusing to come off in the closing minutes of the Carabao Cup final.
KEPA IS A DISGRACE, SHOULD BE SACKED! - youtube.com
Manager Maurizio Sarri says Chelsea's slow starts to the second half are becoming a "big problem", after they beat Slavia Prague to reach the Europa League semi-finals.
Chelsea beat Slavia Prague to reach Europa League semi-finals
SINGAPORE: Our Tampines Hub (OTH) will screen the Champions League showdown between football clubs Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday morning (Jun 2). The free live screening will be held
Our Tampines Hub a hotbed of passion as football fans throng
Guardiola sorry City awarded 'offside' goal LONDON • Pep Guardiola was apologetic after Manchester City were given a helping hand on their way to a 3-1 home victory over Watford, but insisted his side were deserving of the win that ensured they remained top of the Premier League table.
Pep Guardiola: I am sorry for Manchester City's 'offside
There's no doubt," Pochettino said. "There's no doubt that Hugo is one of the best and he's going to be in the goal. "It's a situation that is so painful because I think we deserved more (at Liverpool), but in that kind of situation, which happens in football, it's only to be strong and back our player.
Pochettino gives backing to under-fire Lloris | theScore.com
Milan draw another blank in Frosinone stalemate AC Milan completed four Serie A games without scoring for the first time since 1984 when they were held 0-0 at next-to-bottom Frosinone on Wednesday. The result, and another lacklustre performance, against the team with Serie A's worst defensive record heaped more pressure on Milan's beleaguered
Frosinone Extend AC Milan Goal Drought in Scoreless Draw
0 comments:
Post a Comment