SHORT TAKES
• Managing the England national team is never easy, but new coach Sam Allardyce might be an excellent pick. Unlike a few of his predecessors, Allardyce has always tailored plans to his available personnel, rather than trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. For England, which has struggled on the international stage thanks to remarkable inflexibility, a little adaptability might go a long way.
• Lazio, in Italy's Serie A, might be having the worst offseason of any big European club. The Rome-based club fell into disarray after new coach Marcelo Bielsa quit after just two days. That, and a lack of new players, sparked a boycott by the team's fans. All of this meant that, on the first day season tickets for next year were available, Lazio was reported to have managed to sell a grand total of 11.
• More than 48,000 tickets have been sold for the Chelsea vs. AC Milan match at U.S. Bank Stadium on Aug. 3. Organizers expect that number to push past 50,000 after this weekend's public open house.
