Daily Schmankerl: Neymar injured again; Bayern missed BVB’s Mateu Morey; Robben dazzles; CR7 Arena?; Tedesco to Spartak; Boateng changes agents and MORE!

Coutinho subbed on for an injured Neymar after twelve minutes

Bayern Munich’s Philippe Coutinho was not in the starting lineup for Brazil’s friendly match against Nigeria at Singapore National Stadium, but he ended up playing nearly the entire game anyway. Just twelve minutes into the first half, PSG’s will-away superstar Neymar pulled up with a serious muscular injury and limped off the pitch. As AS noted, Neymar has already missed over 40 games since he joined PSG, including critical knockout matches in the Champions League. And now he will miss a few more.

Coutinho played the rest of the match, which ended in a disappointing 1-1, the same scoreline as Brazil’s last match against Senegal. The Seleção’s is now winless in its past four games.

Arjen Robben dazzles at Rafael van der Vaart’s farewell (SportBuzzer)

Arjen Robben suited up today for “Rafa’s All Stars” in a farewell match for his Dutch compatriot Rafael van der Vaart. Robben joined several famous players, including Mark van Bommel, Robin van Persie, and Patrick Kluivert. And of course Louis van Gaal served as their coach.

Would it surprise you to hear that Robben came to play? After missing on an attempt to lob the ball past René Adler, Robben took a more direct approach and outdribbled Adler to score his first goal. He also assisted van Nistelrooy for the 3-3 and scored the 4-4 to keep his side even with the “Rafa’s HSV Stars.”

The “All Stars” came away with the win, after van der Vaart’s son Damian, just 14 years old, came on for his dad and scored the winning goal: 7-6. Kicker has some pictures from the event, which 30,000 fans took in.

Bayern missed out on BVB’s Mateu Morey (Transfermarkt)

Mateu Morey joined Borussia Dortmund this past summer on a free transfer after decided that he had no chance of earning playing time on FC Barcelona’s first team. Morey recently confirmed that he turned down offers from Bayern Munich, Juventus Turin, and clubs in England. The right-back said,

I think BVB is one of th ebest teams in Germany and I believe above all that my chances as a young player are greater here than at other clubs.

A serious shoulder injury kept Morey out of action for the beginning of the season. So far, he has logged 51 minutes with Borussia Dortmund II and has been included on the squad (but did not play) for Dortmund’s last two league games, against Werder Bremen and SC Freiburg.

Joshua Kimmich has run 86.1km this season (and you have not)

Joshua Kimmich runs and runs and runs. He has covered more distance in the Bundesliga than any other player. Let that sink in.

Jerome Boateng changes agents

Jerome Boateng has changed agents! The Bayern centerback has dropped former Bayern sporting director Christian Nerlinger and signed with LIAN SPORTS. Other clients of LIAN Sports include Luka Jovic, Ante Rebic, Alfred Finnbogason, and Cengiz Under.

THIS. IS. SPARTAK! — Domenico Tedesco, probably (Sport1)

The coaching prodigy that led Schalke to a second-place finish only to be fired next season, Domenico Tedesco, is about to sign a contract with Russian side Spartak Moscow, who hope to claim the championship in the Russian Premier League after six trophyless seasons. Tedesco supposedly touched down in Moscow this past Sunday. Schalke fired Tedesco after Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City crushed the Royal Blues 7-0.

Sporting Lisbon to rename stadium the CR7 Arena? (Tuttosport)

Sporting’s president Frederico Varandas told Tuttosport that he is open to the idea of renaming Sporting’s stadium, the Estádio José Alvalade, after the club’s greatest alumnus, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Proposals are already circulating, from the “CR7 Arena” to “Cristiano Ronaldo Stadium,” or perhaps even a fusion with the current name, the “Estádio José Alvalade CR7.”

Germany survives embarrassment against Estonia with ten men

If you missed Germany’s Euro 2020 qualifier yesterday against Estonia, well, you didn’t miss much, or at least not much that was good. Emre Can was sent off in the 14th minute with the fastest red card ever issued to a German player. The first half was simply awful. Even though Germany maintained the lion’s share of possession, they seemed listless on the pitch.

Finally, in the second half, Ilkay Gündogan, put the ball in the back of the net off an assists by Havertz (51’) and Reus (57’). Timo Werner came on in the 66th minute and added a goal of his own five minutes later (71’). Germany slouches forward, tied with the Netherlands in Group C, but in second place.

Germany will play Belarus next in November.