Sports Poets Society

by  Keir Radnedge World Soccer - March 2020 Although he got 14 goals in 46 games for Holland , Rensenbrink will always be remembered for the one he didn’t score.  After 89 minutes against Argentina in the 1978 World Cup Final, and with the score at 1-1, Holland’s Rudi Krol lofted a long ball down field. His only thought was to clear the lines with extra-time in sight.  As the host nation’s defence hesitated, Rensenbrink accelerated in from the left and toe-poked the ball past the South American keeper. But his shot struck a post and ricocheted away. Argentina had survived and went on to win 3-1 in the extra half hour.  “In the Netherlands now people only know me from that shot against the post,” the Dutchman would later say. “That made me a national celebrity... that post will stay with me to my dying day. ”  An Amsterdammer, though one who never played for Ajax, at 21 he turned professional with DWS who, though now an amateur club in the ...

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/nicolas-portal-obituary/?fbclid=IwAR2qcMhm-yBTBIw4FWCqyAhLbbdeQ3l1pXQf7TgqE7jBL0LaO3TdZ5t7F4A#disqus_thread 40-year-old Team Ineos sports director died after suffering heart attack on Tuesday by Barry Ryan  Cyclingnews - March 4, 2020  Nicolas Portal 's eight Grand Tour victories made him one of the most successful directeurs sportifs in cycling history, but the amiable Frenchman's calm and unassuming demeanour could hardly have been further removed from the more authoritarian style once seemingly de rigueur for the role. Chris Froome, who was guided by Portal in each of his four Tour de France victories, spoke for many when he described his late confidant as "the kindest, happiest guy I knew" . The sentiment has been echoed in many of the tributes that have been paid to Portal by his former charges and teammates in the hours since it was announced that he had died after suffering a heart attack at his home in ...