BERN, Switzerland (AP) — After two heavy losses in the Champions League and while sitting bottom of the table in Switzerland, Young Boys fired coach Patrick Rahmen on Tuesday.
The Swiss coach’s first season with the club saw Young Boys upset Galatasaray in a playoff in August to qualify for the Champions League, yet win just one of nine games so far in defense of its Swiss Super League title.
Young Boys was overmatched in its opening Champions League games, beaten 5-0 at Barcelona last week after starting with a 3-0 loss at home to Aston Villa.
Young Boys said club under-21s coach Joël Magnin will take interim charge of the team, which hosts Inter Milan on Oct. 23.
Magnin led Young Boys to the Swiss title last season as an interim coach replacing Raphaël Wicky, the former Chicago Fire coach, who was fired in March.
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Young Boys' head coach Patrick Rahmen, left, reacts during the Champions League soccer match between Barcelona and Young Boys at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Couples who look awkward on skates — and on dates — had a chance to celebrate their cute clumsiness in a Rocky and Adrian look-alike contest at Philadelphia’s RockyFest on Friday.
The evening event at the University of Pennsylvania’s 1923 Ice Rink was meant to echo the pair’s first date in “Rocky.” In the classic 1976 film, the eponymous boxer never actually dons ice skates in the scene, but instead shuffles alongside his best friend Paulie’s sister as she tries to stay upright.
The contest's winning prize was a dinner at South Philadelphia’s iconic Victor Café, where the servers also sing opera, along with a hotel stay and a $250 certificate for a Rocky-themed gift shop.
New York City firefighter Jason Carrion and his wife, Roxanne Carrion, took first place.
“I wanted to do something because we’re the biggest ‘Rocky’ fans, I think, ever. I mean, just look at us,” said Jason Carrion, dressed in a leather jacket and hat identical to Rocky's street wear in the movie.
Roxanne Carrion called the event her dream date. “I’m going ice skating, going to the ‘Rocky’ steps dressing up, and now we’re going to see ‘Rocky’ film at the movie theater. So this has been the perfect date for us,” she said.
She said the film has garnered such widespread appeal because of the “underdog” theme: "It’s an inspirational story that transcends any age or a person, doesn’t it?”
Philadelphia served as a backdrop to the popular “Rocky” franchise, something the city is celebrating nearly 50 years later with a five-day festival that grew out of the inaugural Rocky Day in 2023.
The events this week have included a mural unveiling, movie marathons, talks on the enduring appeal of the Sylvester Stallone character and a bus tour of favorite scenes.
Meanwhile, a second cast of the Rocky statue was unveiled at the top of the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art — the original was featured in “Rocky III” — and will remain there through Dec. 31.
“This statue represents everything that the Rocky films stand for: resilience, heart, and the unbreakable bond between Rocky and the people of Philadelphia,” Stallone said in a statement.
Contestants of the Rocky and Adrian look-alike stand on Penn Ice Rink during RockyFest in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
Jason and Roxanne Carrion, from New York, dress up as Rocky and Adrian for the look-alike contest during the RockyFest at Penn Ice Rink in Philadelphia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)
FILE - Sylvester Stallone, left, poses with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in front of the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Art Museum for a "Creed II" photo op, Friday, April 6, 2018, in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Michael Perez)
Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo Tassanee Vejpongsa)
