“Sancho couldn't admit he was lazy.”

“Sancho couldn't admit he was lazy.”

“Manchester United coach Benny McCarthy has explained why Jadon Sancho (24, Dortmund) refuses to apologize to manager Eric ten Haag (54),” the UK's Daily Mail reported on March 31.

Sancho scored 50 goals and provided 64 assists in 137 appearances in all competitions between 2017-2018, when he joined Dortmund from Manchester City, and the 2020-2021 season. Sancho has developed into one of the Bundesliga's best offensive resources.

He moved to Manchester United for £73 million ($126.6 billion), but his performances at United were disappointing, and he fell out of favor with the national team. The last time Sancho played for England was in October 2021.

Sancho"s struggles also led to a falling out with United manager Louis van Gaal. It all started in September of last year, when United played Arsenal in the fourth round of the 2023-2024 Premier League season.

Sancho was not named in the starting lineup for the game, which United lost 1-3. He had been a substitute in the previous three games, but was left out against Arsenal.

In his post-match press conference, Van Gaal said, “Sancho was not selected because of his performance on the training ground. At United, everyone has to reach a certain level every day. Sancho was not selected for this game,” he said, 카지노사이트 openly criticizing Sancho's training attitude.

Sancho didn't take it lying down. Apparently frustrated, he took to his personal social media and wrote: “Please don't believe everything you read! I will not allow people to say things that are completely untrue. I've been really good in training this week,” he wrote, directly challenging Ten Haag.

United were not about to let the player's 'protest' go unchallenged. “Sancho has been excluded from first-team training until his disciplinary issues are resolved,” the club announced on its official channels. Sancho then looked for a new team to leave United, and his hometown club Dortmund reached out to him.

On January 11, Dortmund officially announced the signing of Sancho on loan on the club's official website. It is a loan deal for the rest of the season, with no option for a full transfer. Sancho will wear the number 10 shirt for the rest of the season.

After a slow start to his loan spell, Sancho has been given consistent playing time. He has been a regular substitute and starter for Dortmund. On April 17 against Atletico Madrid, he put in a solid performance, breaking down the flank with a nimble dribble.

Sancho's performances have only gotten better. On May 2, Sancho started against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League semifinals at BVB Stadion Dortmund in Dortmund, Germany, and he opened up PSG's flanks with his dazzling dribbling.

After the match, Fabrizio Romano, a journalist familiar with the European soccer transfer market, wrote on his personal social media account, “Sancho made a whopping 11 dribbling breakthroughs against PSG. The most dribble breaks in the Champions League this season.”

In addition to his 11 dribble breaks, Sancho also completed 88% (51/58) of his passes, created three chances, had 11 touches in the opponent's box, and played the ball into the final third five times.

TNT Sport in the UK also highlighted the performance. “Sancho became the first player in history since Messi to record 10 or more dribble breaks in a Champions League semifinal,” they wrote on social media.

Sancho followed that up a week later with a solid performance in the second leg of the semifinal at PSG's home Parc des Princes on April 8, directly helping Dortmund reach their first Champions League final in 11 years.

In the aftermath of the game, Ten Haag was asked about Sancho's performance. “We are close to the process. We are watching his game. Not only the last game against PSG, but also other games. We've had conversations with him,” confirming that the club is actively working on Sancho's return.

The Daily Mail quoted coach Benny McCarthy on the 31st. “Sancho has not apologized to Van Gaal because if he did, he would be admitting that he was lazy and unprofessional,” he said.

“He would be admitting that he was disloyal to training and would take all the blame for being lazy,” McCarthy said. “Coach Ten Haag's character is strong and all he wants is an apology. But Sancho doesn't think he did anything wrong, and he doesn't understand why he should apologize.”

It's not that Sancho's behavior was incomprehensible, as apologizing means admitting you're wrong.

“Sometimes you have to apologize,” McCarthy said. The player can't beat the coach. I talked to him as a coach, as a mentor, and as someone who came from the streets like him, but he didn't understand.”