Digest

SOCCER

I need more time, says Barca boss Koeman

Ronald Koeman said on Tuesday he needs more time to instill his ideas after his poor start as Barcelona coach.

The pressure is already mounting on Koeman, whose future could become more uncertain when the club's new president is voted in later this month.

Asked when his methods will deliver better performances, Koeman said: "Little by little we are going to see it. We have tried to take the team forward and to prepare them for the championship but we have important players out injured and I have a squad I have not been able to change much. I need more time to impose my ideas."

Barca is fifth in La Liga, 10 points off leader Atletico Madrid. Unsettled superstar Lionel Messi has said he will decide on his future with the Catalan club in the summer.

Mascherano to assume Argentina youth role

Former Argentina captain Javier Mascherano will take charge of the country's youth team development, the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) said on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old will be officially unveiled as the AFA's national methodology and development director in the "coming weeks", the AFA said in a tweet on Tuesday. He will be joined by assistants Pablo Blanco and Oscar Hernandez Romero, it added.

The announcement comes less than two months after Mascherano ended a glittering playing career that included spells with River Plate, Corinthians, West Ham, Liverpool, Barcelona, Hebei China Fortune and Estudiantes.

He was capped 147 times for Argentina's national team and was a key member of the Albiceleste side that reached the final of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Manning named among Hall of Fame finalists

Peyton Manning, no surprise, is among 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2021.

The star quarterback, owner of a record five NFL Most Valuable Player awards and two Super Bowl titles, was the first finalist revealed by the hall on Tuesday night.

Manning was one of the most prolific passers in NFL history. In 18 pro seasons and 265 starts out of 266 games played since being the top overall draft choice by Indianapolis in 1998, he had 14 seasons with 4,000-plus yards passing.

When he retired after leading Denver to the Super Bowl title in 2016, Manning held NFL records for career passing yards (71,940), career passing touchdowns (539) and consecutive seasons with at least 25 passing touchdowns (13).

He won 201 of those games, including playoffs, guiding the Colts to the 2006 NFL championship. He also made the Super Bowl for the 2009 and 2013 seasons, was a seven-time All-Pro, and a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 2000s.

Smith beats QB stars to Heisman Trophy

On an Alabama team stacked with stars, DeVonta Smith emerged as the best player in college football.

Smith became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy in 29 seasons Tuesday night, breaking the monopoly quarterbacks have had on college football's most prestigious award by beating out three of them.

The Crimson Tide senior is the fourth receiver to win the Heisman, joining Michigan's Desmond Howard in 1991, Notre Dame's Tim Brown in 1987 and Nebraska's Johnny Rodgers in 1972.

Quarterbacks had won 17 of the previous 20 Heisman trophies, including the last four.

Smith is the third Alabama player to win the Heisman, all since 2009.Like Tide running backs Mark Ingram ('09) and Derrick Henry (2015), Smith will play in the national championship game as a Heisman winner.

No 1 Alabama faces No 3 Ohio State on Jan 11 in the College Football Playoff title game in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Xinhua - Agencies