SSN is a digest of the day's soccer/football/futbol articles with a focus on the top European leagues and the United States National Team. Below, you’ll find links to articles and video, as well as additional features and commentary. We locate the top news of the day so you can stay updated with ease.
We'll start with everyone's favorite Quasimodo look-a-like Carlos Tevez. He's not allowed to drive. He drove anyway. He could go to jail. Apparently, Tevez was banned for six months on January 16 after pleading guilty to two counts of failing to furnish information relating to incidents in which his Hummer vehicle was clocked speeding. He also admitted not having a proper UK driving licence. Really? Really? Do you have to drive? Can't you get a driver with all your gazillions? And why isn't Man City making sure he isn't acting like an idiot? Really?
Really, Carlos Tevez?
In other news, Inter Milan shat the bed nicely at White Hart Lane yesterday. The Editor took in the match with SSN Italian Expert AGT with a nice little spread of fresh local oysters, prosecco, and chicken mole. Suffice to say, AGT was appalled by the ineptitude of the Italian side. Bale was good again (although he picked up a yellow for a dive that rules him out of the San Siro return leg) but really, Inter were terribly poor. David Hytner was at White Hart Lane.
Elsewhere, Chelsea couldn't handle the Romanian laser beams and lost in Bucharest, Newcastle drew in Moscow, and Lazio won in Stuttgart. Here's a wrap of all of last night's action.
It's Friday, friends. That means it's time for The Forecast. Or not. It's not yet posted. Fine. Here are some previews instead.
Let's bounce to England. There are a few EPL matches (Liverpool vs. Tottenham, anyone?) this weekend. There are also a few FA Cup (Manchester United vs. Chelsea, anyone?) matches. Here are some links to get you up and running:
Shit ain't right in Brazil. Three incidents since the turn of the year -- one of which resulted in the death of a young fan -- have provided renewed cause for concern over fan behaviour and the stadium-going experience in Brazil.
The Joy of Six is Football Trips Gone Wrong. Leicester City's trip to La Manga in 2000 makes the cut. Enjoy.
David Lacey wants to look back at the United/Real match. He thinks Manchester United should have responded better after Nani's red card. Not only that, the reaction to going down to 10 men against Real Madrid raises questions about the true qualities of Alex Ferguson's side. Or so he says. You be the judge.
Let's start with Chelsea today. Marina Hyde has an interesting piece. Here's her catch: Rafa Benítez: the real story of Roman Abramovich's Chelsea master plan. The absolutely vital thing to remember when considering Chelsea is that there is always more to it.
Champions League. PSG advanced (more Zlatan!) and Juventus advanced (no surprise there).
Europa League. Things are starting to get interesting. Tottenham Hotspur vs. Internazionale Milan, for example. Two young managers battling it out. AVB against one of his own clubs. Spurs on a high after their defeat of Arsenal.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have to go all the way over to Bucharest. Newcastle have the pleasure of facing that dictator's plaything FC Anzhi Makhachkala. You know, the ones based in Makhachkala. Yes, that Makhachkala. Yes, the capital of the Republic of Dagestan. Guus Hiddink is their manager. Samuel Eto'o plays for them. For some reason the match will be on the artificial pitch of Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. Gross. Here's a preview for all of today's action. For some reason it includes a weird picture of Patrick Kluivert.
Sticking with Brazil, remember Bruno Fernandes? The goalkeeper who was about to move to Milan but was accused of murdering his girlfriend? Well, he now admits he knew his ex-girlfriend was murdered, dismembered and fed to his pet rottweilers. Nice.
Podcast! On today's Football Weekly Extra, James Richardson has stir-fry tofu munching Sean Ingle, Tom Lutz and Iain Macintosh in the pod to look back on all the drama of Manchester United's defeat to Real Madrid, featuring as it did a rather dodgy red card for Nani, a goalscoring-but-non-celebrating return to Old Trafford for Cristiano Ronaldo, and the latest beginning-of-the-end of Wayne Rooney's United career. Anyway, never mind the Champions League – which also saw success for PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus, about which there's plenty more in Jimbo's European paper review on Friday – Sid Lowe wants to talk to us about cornflakes and his favourite breakfast cereals. Finally, we look forward to the weekend, with those FA Cup quarter-finals including Blackburn's tussle with Millwall, and Reading v Aston Villa and Tottenham's trip to Liverpool in the Premier League, and get up to speed with Justin Bieber's love for Aston Villa.
Well, that was interesting. Call us conspiracy theorists, but we think the fix was in. There is no way that was a red card for Nani. He was looking at the ball the whole time. Not surprisingly, UEFA backs the ref's decision. The Special One said that the best team lost. Gabriele Marcotti is not so sure.
As you might expect, there were a fair amount of scribes at Old Trafford to keep tabs on things. Here are are four of our favorites, along with their headlines:
Phil McNulty: Sir Alex Ferguson's silence speaks volumes Henry Winter: Manchester United red with rage after referee wrecks Champions League dream with Nani red card against Real Richard Jolly: United rocked by Nani red Daniel Taylor: Nani's red card opens door and Real Madrid defeat Manchester United
Jonathan Wilson has some additional analysis, as if you really need it. But wait! What of Wayne Rooney? The fake-haired one was left on the bench. Does the bell toll? Mark Ogden thinks it signals the end for him at Old Trafford.
Yes, there was another match yesterday. Dortmund eased past Shakhtar 3-0. Do you want a report? Nah. Really? Fine.
Today we've got Juventus vs. Celtic. This one is pretty much over after Juve's 3-0 win in Glasgow. The other match today is PSG vs. Valencia. Now, this one is still up for grabs. PSG won the first leg down in Valencia 2-1, but Idiot Ibrahimovic got sent off and they've not been playing well of late. Can Golden Balls help?
Americans Abroad. Banging the drum of freedom in scary places like England, Denmark, Mexico, and Portugal. Herculez Gomez is doing quite well, we're told. Sticking with Americans, The Big Interview features a dude who used to be an American Abroad, but is no longer. Yes, everyone's favorite metal-loving keeper Marcus Hahnemann talks curry, cider, snowboarding and Seattle Sounders. Yes, we're listening.
The Special One and his crew are at Old Trafford this afternoon for the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie with Fergie and his boys. You won't want to miss it. Sadly, Gus Johnson is calling the match here in the States along with Super Prick Orange Spray Tan Man Warren Barton. Dick. Anyway, prepare yourself for loud outbursts of "Cristiano Ronaldo"!!
Let's get to the hype!
Sid Lowe wants us to know about Raphaël Varane – Real Madrid's teenage 'natural' tipped for greatness.
Christ. There is another game today. It's Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Dortmund down in Dortmund. Jonathan Wilson knows his Eastern Europe so we'll let him handle the preview responsibilities.
Like we said yesterday, MLS has begun. Here's a look back at what happened.
MNF. Manchester City edged Villa (who played quite well, really) thanks to a Tevez goal. Henry Winter made it up to Birmingham for the match and filed this report.
And if you're fat, you can buy a special seat at the World Cup. Just so you know.
Don't worry. They have a special seat waiting for you in Brazil.
We'll terminate today's edition with The Podcast. It's this: And here we are again. Playing Chaz to Philippe Auclair's Dave is Amy Lawrence, who joins Barry Glendenning in the pod with James Richardson to dissect the north London derby, which was a rum defeat for sorry Arsenal and another triumph for Tottenham and Gareth Bale. After getting up to speed with the rest of the action in the Premier League - including QPR's win at Southampton and Liverpool's highly impressive demolition of Wigan - we then turn our attention to the Champions League. Will Barcelona overturn their 2-0 deficit against Milan? Will Manchester United be able to out-score Real Madrid? Sid Lowe gives us his thoughts, and an intimate glimpse into his innermost sanctum. Oo and, indeed, er. Finally, we preview some absolute humdingers in the Europa League, get updates on Serie A and Ligue 1, and discuss the merits or otherwise of employing a manager who needs an interpreter.
We've got to begin in North London at White Hart Lane. Spurs capitalized on some dreadful defending by Arsenal to take the spoils in the North London Derby 2-1. Nothing really surprising here. Arsenal were woeful in front of each goal, in fact. It was actually a close match, mainly because neither side played particularly well. Henry Winter was there. John Bewin was there. Daniel Taylor was there. Here are thePlayer Ratings.
Looks like Jozy Altidore doesn't plan on stopping his fine season anytime soon. Dude knocked in another in AZ Alkmaar's loss at RKC Waalwijk. That's 24 goals for the Yank. Clint Dempsey scored 23 last year. So, that means Jozy has scored the most goals by an American in a European club season. Propers.
In yet another clásico, Real Madrid beat Barcelona. There was a clear penalty right at the death but the ref didn't have the balls to call it. Sid Lowe breaks it down like this. And here's a wrap of all the La Liga acción.
We'll finish in the United States of America. MLS kicked off this weekend but we can't find any decent summation of the action yesterday and Saturday. We know Portland and NY drew. We know the Galaxy crushed the Fire. Done.
Well, February is gone. We hardly knew you. And that means Major League Soccer is back, bitches! We got a lot of stories to check out prior to kick-off. Freddie Adu in Philly? Landon Donovan in Cambodia? Carlos Ruiz in D.C.? No Montero in Seattle? Ryan Nelson in Toronto? Yes, these are but a few of the stories that deserve some attention. Commish Don Garber claims MLS is the Seventh Best-Supported League...in the entire World. That's some heavy shit, Don. Click on that link and you'll see some previews for each conference. And here are some power rankings.
There's a rather large match looming on the horizon over in London. North London, to be precise. Yes, it's only 4.1 miles (that's 6.1302654501 kilometres) from the Emirates to White Hart Lane, and that proximity breeds some contempt, you could say. Tottenham host Arsenal in a very critical North London Derby at 11am EST on Fox Soccer Channel. Here, former players such as Ian Wright, Gary Mabbutt, Alan Smith, and Martin Chivers share some memories. Speaking of Alan Smith, he's got a nice piece on how the teams compare ahead of the big match.
And here's all you need for the weekend (and beyond) in the EPL:
Let's check in with some other top leagues. Spain. Oh, how about that? Real Madrid and Barcelona play yet again! Shocking. It's tomorrow at 10am EST on beIN Sport USA.
Italy. There are some good ones. Juventus at Napoli (this afternoon at 2:45pm EST on beIN Sport USA) and AC Milan vs. Lazio, for example.
Hats off as well to Jozy Altidore. The young American continues to kick-ass in Holland. He scored twice in Alkmaar's 3-0 win over Ajax. With said goals he has tied Clint Dempsey's record for goals scored by an American in a foreign league. One of his goals was pretty tite. Check it.
Another epic episode of El Clásico went down last night and Madrid emerged 1-3 winners in Barcelona. As you might expect, Ronaldo figured prominently with two goals for The Whites. Meanwhile, Messi (as he did in Milan) went missing. Perhaps he had a fever?
Sid Lowe was there (of course he was!) and thinks that Barca may have lost more than the Copa del Rey with this performance. Mainly, identity, supremacy, fitness, and confidence.
The best moment of the match (from a neutral's perspective) came when Di Maria completely destroyed Puyol with a little shimmy and left the Barcelona Hair Farm doing his best Dominique Dawes imitation. Di Maria's shot was saved, but Ronny calmly slotted home the rebound to make it 0-2.
Grant Wahl's been speaking with MLS players. He's been asking them questions. Questions like, "If you were starting a team from scratch and could pick one MLS player to start with, who would it be?" Surprisingly, even though he's retired, Coby Jones got the most votes. Uh. No.
Americans Abroad. Brek Shea made his debut for Stoke City at Fulham on Saturday. It was the early match on ESPN2, and, well, we were up early so watched the whole damn thing. He was decent. Not great, not terrible. He won a penalty that Jonathan Walters (twat) wasted, but that was about it. Here's a look at all the rest of the guys playing in other countries. Looks like things went quite poorly for Maurice Edu over in Turkey.
Oi! Loads to get through today. We'll begin with yesterday's fantastic edition of Monday Night Football...
Holy Moses! Gareth Bale is en fuego. He pretty much took care of West Ham on his own yesterday, leading his Spurs to a 2-3 win at Upton Park. His free kicks weren't up to their usual standards but The Hammers allowed the new Welsh Wizard plenty of time on his left foot to knock in two glorious strikes. Scott Parker reckons Bale has "deflated" Arsenal ahead of Sunday's mega-clash. Some of the SSN staffers who are Arsenal fans were certainly deflated. Jonathan Wilson says André Villas-Boas has changed Spurs' shape and the system has allowed the winger to take flight with startling results. Startling results, indeed. Here's a match report. And here's the winner:
Now that all of this round's action is complete, let's take a look at the table. As noted in the reports above, Spurs jumped above Chelsea into third. United remain comfortable at the top, while a gap has now opened between fifth and sixth after Everton's loss. QPR looked doomed, which means 'Arry will leave to ruin yet another club, and Villa have work to do to get out of trouble.
On to Spain. We're graced with two (count 'em) two columns from Sid Lowe today. The first is his usual weekend round-up, whilst the second is a closer look at the upcoming grind for Real Madrid. The Special One's boys face Barcelona away in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg at Camp Nou this evening, having drawn 1-1 in the first; on Saturday they play Barcelona again in La Liga at home and next Tuesday they travel to Manchester United in the Champions League, again having drawn 1-1 at home in the first leg. Yikes!
Honigstein? Yeah, we got him. Bayern Munich are running away with the Bundesliga but their rivalry with Borussia Dortmund remains completely compelling. The two sides clash in the German Cup morgen.
The Houston Dynamo have new jerseys. Didn't expect that jump, did you? Anyway, this writer is rather upset about it. We've done an informal poll around SSN HQ and we like them. So there.
Sticking with the USA, Tim Cahill is here. Yes, the boxing midfielder left lovely Liverpool for Harrison, New Jersey. New Jersey! Tom Dart had a chat with the former Everton star. Speaking of Everton, they've got a tricky Cup tie tonight against Oldham. Preview, please.
Governor Patterson was shocked by Cahill's move...
Granted, it's Tuesday, but we enjoy Marcotti's Monday Musings, so we're willing to back it up a bit. This week Gabby is talking Milan Derby, Beckham's PSG debut, and Mancini's mentality.
The first Cup of the campaign was delivered to Swansea City yesterday. Bradford were simply out of gas and out of ideas for this one. Propers to Laudrup and Swansea -- they've got a lot of quality in that side and they play attractive, attacking football. Andy Hunter was at Wembley. As was Phil McNulty.
An Inter fan shows his class...
We're going to break with tradition today and go straight to Paolo Bandini in Italy. The Milan Derby took place yesterday and ended 1-1. Balotelli got the expected abuse, but Paolo says the racial angles were taken only by a few in the crowd. Cassano got his fair share of abuse. Zanetti continued to turn back time (we love that guy). Mega-Mohawk Man El Shaaraway scored for Milan while Inter substitute Schelotto got his team's goal. Elsewhere in Italy, Michael Bradley's Roma won again, this time in the snow up in Bergamo.
Yank Abroad Michael Bradley enjoys the snow...
Back in England, Manchester City knocked off Chelsea at home (Hart saved a Lampard penalty and Jack Rodwell was surprisingly effective), Manchester United continued their march to the title with a win at QPR, Norwich edged Everton, Santi saved Arsenal, and a Berbatov rocket coupled with a Schwartzer penalty save gave Fulham a win at Craven Cottage. Here are some lovely links:
Jeff Carlisle wants to talk about Landon Donovan. You're right, Jeff. Donovan does still owe us something. Have at it, Jeff.
There is some Monday Night Football this evening and it's a doozy. West Ham host Tottenham. Will Gareth Bale continue to score and make weird signs with his fingers? Will Sam Allardyce chew his gum so hard he breaks his ugly jaw? Will AVB squat? Will Andy Carroll do, well, anything? Check it at 3pm EST on ESPN2.
Well, that other European competition served up some nice action yesterday. Tottenham, Newcastle, and Chelsea barely advanced. Liverpool barely did not. Holders Atlético Madrid crashed out after their win at Rubin Kazan wasn't enough. Inter Milan made the final 16 where they will face Spurs in a glamor tie of sorts. And those guys at Viktoria Plzen beat Napoli again! Here's a wrap of all the matches.
The What's in Your Wallet Cup Final is on Sunday. It's Bradford City vs. Swansea City at Wembley. Sky Sports was kind enough to provide us with this "exhaustive" preview ahead of the clash. We're confident that none of our SSN regulars hold either club terribly close to their heart, but it could be a very entertaining contest. It's available on beIN Sport USA at 11am EST.
Sticking with the League Cup, The Joy of Six is League Cup Goals, including this cracker from Savo Milosevic (remember him?).
We've got another big match at the San Siro this weekend. Right on the heels of their victory over Barcelona, Milan must face Inter in the on Sunday in the Derby della Madonnina. If you've got RAI or beIN Sport en Español you can check it at 2:45pm EST. If you don't, look for stream. You've got to think it's a great chance for Inter to claim the spoils after Milan's massive win on Wednesday. Here are FIVE BOLD PREDICTIONS and here is a preview of all the Serie A fixtures.
Raphael Honigstein is in Germany where everyone is talking about an American named Jermaine Jones. Hit it, Rafa.
There have been a lot of chumps in English football that we've hated over the years. David Bentley comes to mind. Alan Smith. Lee Bowyer. Stan Collymore. Craig Bellamy. David Dunn. John Terry. Stuart Pearce. Robbie Fowler. Wayne Rooney. Dennis Wise. Ashley Cole. Robbie Savage. The list goes on. Certainly Stephen Ireland deserves to be on that list. Here's further proof.
We'll finish with that crazy Italian, Paolo Di Canio. Here's the latest on his midnight raid of his old office.
Holy Shit! Milan defeated Barcelona at San Siro yesterday. The first goal benefitted heavily from a handball that wasn't called and was followed be an excellent finish. The second came after a lovely round of keep-y-uppy that culminated in a lovely strike from former Portsmouth star Sulley Muntari. We also think the bizarre sanitary napkin that Barca's medical staff decided to use on Carlos Puyol's forehead wound had something to do with his poor defending for both goals. All of that aside, Milan had the better of the match. For some reason, Barcelona didn't press like usual when Milan had possession. The Italian side had unexpected time on the ball and took advantage. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the game was the play of the best player in the world. For the first time in a long time, he went missing. Completely missing. It was like he wasn't even on the pitch. Most odd.
There's a napkin on my head, damnit!
It was a fun match to watch, with the exception of those God-awful Barcelona kits. The popsicles we used to get in the summer at 7-11 looked similar. As you might expect, the Spanish press is all over it.
In the night's other match, Shalke and Galatasary drew in Istanbul. Apparently, Schalke plan to contest the result because they don't think Drogba should have been allowed to play. Sour grapes aside, the Germans return to Gelsenkirchen with a priceless away goal thanks to...wait for it...Yank Abroad Jermaine Jones!And we're a but late here, but get your complete Americans Abroad on, if you wish.
Now that the Champions League is done for the moment we can focus on its little brother, the Europa League. Spurs are in France to face Lyon and some of their fans got a rough welcome. 50 versus three? Not the best odds. Apparently there were some anti-semitic aspects to the attack, so...awesome. Here's a preview of all of today's actionon the pitch.
Back to Tottenham's neighbors up in North London. Phil McNulty looks at the big decisions facing Arsenal. Because, let's face it: No team can replace top-class, in some cases world-class, players with inferior models and get away with it for long.
Let's finish with the dance party led by Balotelli and Robinho at the San Siro last night. That embarrassed looking woman is Super Mario's girlfriend, Fanny Nequesha.
Off we go with the Champions League where Bayern Munich had little trouble brushing aside an inept and grossly inferior Arsenal side at the Emirates. Gabby Marcotti reckons Bayern are the only team good enough to possibly knock Barcelona off their perch. We're not sure about that, but they are pretty damn strong. Not that Arsenal offered much resistance. Mertesacker and Cazorla in particular had nights to forget. The German press certainly loved the result.How about some reports?
In the day's other match, Porto defeated Malaga 1-0.
AC Milan play today, so...you know...
Right. So, today we've got AC Milan vs. Barcelona. Not too shabby. Here's a preview. Here's another. Barcelona's manager is still in NYC getting treatment after his recent throat cancer operation, but Andy West explains that they are in good hands regardless. And look at this: every single Eurosport dude in Europe thinks Barcelona will advance. Way to go out on a limb, guys.
As has been the rule this year in the Champions League, the other match of the day isn't so hot. It's Galatasaray vs. Schalke. Drogba will play, we think. So, that's interesting.
Fiorentina. La Viola. They've got a hell of a player in one Stevan Jovetic. He's from Montenegro, which is a beautiful country, we're told. Beaches like Croatia but cheaper and less touristy. But, we digress. Michael Cox wants to talk Jovetic Tactics.
We all know Wayne Rooney has class, right? HAH! Sorry. Hmmm. Yeah, so the fake-haired one has designed a motorcycle and thanks to his personal touch the value of the bike dropped by £15,000.
Let's finish with a discussion on The Greatest Stadium in Europe. Craven Cottage makes the list! San Siro? Bernabeu? Camp Nou? Cast your vote.
Right! So, Manchester United deservedly defeated Reading in the FA Cup yesterday. Reading made it a bit nervy with a late goal but the Red Devils held on to progress. Mark Ogden was at Old Trafford.
FIFA. Not really our favorite organization. Lots of wealthy, conniving, dishonest, sexist, racist, homophobic old men. Well, they finally got something right. There will be goal line technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. No more ghost goals. We hope.
FIFA
The Champions League is back today. On tap is Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich and Porto vs. Malaga. Similar to last week, it's one big match that everyone will be watching and one, well, not so much. Everyone wants to talk about Arsenal, especially after their limp effort against Blackburn on Saturday and Wenger's freakout press conference yesterday. Stewart Robson thinks Arsene is to blame for the empty trophy case. Henry Winter says Arsenal need a new hero like Vieira. Does anyone want to talk about Bayern? Yes, David Hytner does. Thank you, David. Here's a match preview. And Michael Cox talks tactics.
Happy Monday, y'all. We'll begin with the Fifth Official. As we all know, his/her favorite pastime is bashing the Gunners and there's plenty of material with which to work. Losing at home to Blackburn in the FA Cup after the League Cup debacle with Bradford isn't sitting pretty with Arsenal fans. Arsenal now join the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham, Norwich, QPR, Aston Villa, Sunderland, and Newcastle. All were knocked out of the FA Cup by teams from lower divisions.
Sticking with the Cup, Man City had little trouble with Leeds, Oldham scored late to draw with Everton, Chelsea ended Brentford's dreams, and Wigan walked all over Huddersfield.
The draw for the next round means that if Manchester United defeat Reading this afternoon (3pm EST on FSC) then the Reds will face Chelsea in the Quarterfinals. Call us crazy, but we're going to put it all on the line right here and now and say that the Reds will face Chelsea in the Quarterfinals.
There was one match in the Premier League this weekend. Michael Laudrup rested several starters and paid the price handsomely as Liverpool crushed Swansea City 5-0 at Anfield. It's really not a bad piece of business for Swansea, though. As embarrassing the defeat may have been, they'll be fully rested for the League Cup final against Bradford. You've got to prioritize silverware if you've got the chance to get it. Andy Hunter took in the action in Liverpool.
The Photo
Landon Donovan is in the news! That means we get to use The Photo. Enjoy. Why is he in the news? Because he says he'll return to the Galaxy next month and continue playing soccer. The news is so exciting it prompted a Monday MLS Breakdown. How exciting. Not as exciting as The Photo, though.
Back to Europe. Let's start in Spain where Messi scored again. And again. Is there really any point anymore? It's Groundhog Day all over again. The two this weekend were his 300th and 301st for Barca. Real Madrid overcame a Ramos red in the 18th minute to when and their neighbors Atletico won at Valladolid. Here's your review.
Over in Italia, the Serie A race became more intriguing thanks to one Francisco Totti. The Roman Icon's goal was enough to defeat leaders Juventus. Napoli could only draw but the gap at the top is down to four. Elsewhere, Fiorentina crushed Inter Milan, Mario is suddenly super again for AC Milan, and Siena and Lazio play tonight. Here's your review. Sticking in Italy for a moment, Napoli's Marek Hamsik was robbed at gunpoint after his side's draw in Naples. Sounds like it was pretty scary stuff.
Back in the USA, Robbie Roberts announced he's gay. The former Columbus Crew standout also announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 25. Roberts has struggled with his situation for his entire career. Hopefully he can now find some peace. Grant Wahl reports. And here's a nice piece from http://theshinguardian.com/
Ronaldinho? That cheeky bastard. The geri-curled one grabbed some water from the opposing keeper, received a long throw, and made the assist on a goal. It's all legal. And pretty genius.
We'll return to Arsenal to end our Monday. Arsenal have gone 2,830 days without a trophy. Since then, 25 departing players have won 73 medals! Oh, the humanity! Of course, some of those illustrious trophies include Frank Simek's Football League Trophy with Carlisle United, Stephen O'Donnell's League of Ireland trophy with Shamrock Rovers, and Jose Antonio Reyes' League Cup with Benfica. Here are all the stats.
That Gareth Bale. He really is something. He's the biggest thing since sliced bread. Two lovely free-kicks by the Welsh Wizard gave Spurs a win in their Europa League match at The Lane against Lyon. Liverpool were not so lucky. Their miserable week continued with a loss up in St. Petersburg. Hulk scored one and Semak got the other as the hosts won 2-0. Andy Hunter was at Petrovsky Stadium. Thankfully, there were no reports of racism.
Newcastle are still alive in Europe, but things didn't go so well for them yesterday either. They had two goals incorrectly disallowed (one wasn't even close) for offside and their match at St. James' Park against Metalist finished scoreless. Let's see. What else? Chelsea won on the road, Inter Milan won, and Victoria Plzen shocked Napoli 0-3. Here's complete review all the action.
It is Friday (yes!) so we've got The Joy of Six. Today's edition is a bit odd. It's Peculiar Reasons to Give Up Football.Who said this: "I have given up football for sex," he said. "I wouldn't sign for another club even if they gave me £10m, but it would be different if they were to offer me 15 different women from across the world. I would tell the club chairman: 'Please let me make these women happy – I will satisfy them like they have never been satisfied.' Nowadays, every time I think about football I feel like throwing up." ??
Right. Enough of that. Sid Lowe is still thinking about Wednesday's match in Madrid. Here are his thoughts.Per usual from Sid, they are interesting thoughts. Speaking of the match on Wednesday, we didn't really comment on Gus Johnson's performance. We will now. We didn't like it. It was everything we feared. Too melodramatic, too much hyperbole, too loud. When he didn't talk, we enjoyed it. Add Warren Barton to the mix and you've got a disgusting cocktail on your hands. Toss it and get a beer. Hopefully this "experiment" won't last too long. Let's just say we're looking forward to the FA Cup this weekend. Unless David Pleat is on the mic, that is...
So, the FA Cup. The storied competition. A headline: Chelsea playing catch-up; Man City face Leeds; Luton host Lions. A preview. It's primarily fifth-round matches but Chelsea do have a fourth-round replay against League One's Brentford. Lawro's got some predictions.
Eduardo Alvarez knows what's up in La Liga. He's got his Quiniela in case you want to place some bets on the matches in Spain. As we reported earlier in the week, the race for the title is over, but there is plenty to battle for in terms of European spots. Check it.
The fixture list in Serie A is far more exciting. Michael Bradley's Roma host leaders Juventus whiel Fiorentina welcome Inter Milan to Florence. Here's a preview. Can't wait until tomorrow to get your live footy fix? You can watch AC Milan vs. Parma this afternoon at 2:45pm EST on beIN Sport USA.
We'll finish on a sad note with a return to the FA Cup. In 1985, Luton and Millwall played (as they will tomorrow) and a riot ensued. It most likely prevented England from hosting Euro '88.
Well, that was quite entertaining. Real Madrid had the better run of play, but United certainly had their chances and in the end a 1-1 draw seemed pretty darn fair. There were also some glaring non-calls. Once, Phil Jones totally steamrolled some Madrid dude in the box. Then, Danny Wellbeck was obviously held when he was about to explode in on goal. No calls for either of them. Man of the Match? We'd vote for David de Gea. The Madrid native played like all of his family were in the stands watching. He was simply outstanding. There are obviously loads of reports and opinion pieces. We'll just make a list:
There actually was another Champions League match yesterday out in Ukraine. Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Dortmund drew 2-2. Uhh, we didn't watch that one but apparently there was some pretty sweet action. Like this lovely number from Douglas Costa.
Elsewhere, Tottenham and Chelsea are in action, along with a slew of other top clubs like Napoli, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Newcastle. Well, maybe Newcastle shouldn't be included in that group.
Speaking of Inter Milan, James Horncastle wants us to know about their new man: Mateo Kovacic.
Football Weekly Extra! Yes! Here: It's Valentine's Day, so James Richardson has Pedro Pinto, James Horncastle and Tom Lutz making up an extra sexy line-up of pundits and putting the 'ooh' and indeed 'ahh' into this this edition of Football Weekly Extra. We start with the fun and frolics in the Bernabéu, where Manchester United's away goal surely gives them the edge over Real Madrid ahead of the second leg in a fortnight's time. Sid Lowe gives his view, before heading off for some quality time with his laptop. (Note to Sid: this is music like it used to be). Next, we welcome Iain Macintosh to the pod for the first time as he analyses Borussia Dortmund's draw with Shakhtar Donestk, before we mop up all that business with PSG and Valencia and Celtic's chastening by Juventus. Still, at least they can concentrate on the league now. Finally, we finish off by summoning all the enthusiasm we can for a less-than-glamorous looking bunch of fixtures for the fifth round of the FA Cup. But, on this day in particular, remember that it's not looks that count.
Finally, Tim Vickery is in Brazil talking about their big tournament: Copa Libertadores.
Yesterday we posted the gross video from the Millwall/Leeds match that featured plenty of racist language aimed at Leeds' El Hadji Diouf. At least some good has happened thanks to that Sky Sport report. One of the assholes has been arrested.
Moving on to lighter fare. It's time to catch up with Phil Ball. He's still bouncing about Spain, checking out venues that are new to him. And us. This week he reports on his journey to Zaragoza and the Romareda. This time, Phil makes a big mistake: Estas provocando, cabrón! (You're provoking us, b*****d!) he informs me, purple-faced with rage. Si aplaudes otra vez, te mato! (If you applaud again, I'll kill you!) he adds, jabbing his finger at my nose.
OK, so maybe that wasn't much lighter...
Champions League! Yesterday, the darlings at Celtic tried admirably to hold their own against Juventus but ultimately failed. They went down at home 0-3 so surely their time in the big time is over for now. Ewan Murray was at Celtic Park. In the other match, Ibra saw red (idiot!) but PSG won on the road 1-2 so they look set to advance as well. Here's a look back at yesterday's action.
No, it's obviously Real Madrid vs. Manchester United. It's also Gus Johnson's maiden voyage. We are very curious to see how it plays. Sid Lowe is focusing on United's Spanish keeper De Gea and his audition at the Bernabéu. Everyone wants to talk about Ferguson & Mourinho and their upcoming battle. And their "friendship." And by everyone we mean Phil McNulty and Marina Hyde.
Paul Gascoigne is struggling again. The legend is now in rehab in Arizona, apparently. Things have not been going well. According to someone, he was downing two litres of gin and 15 cans of Stella a day, along with shooting cocaine. Here's a sad video and all the sordid info.
Well, that's going to do it for today. We're going to try to get away to see how Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Gus Johnson perform later. We hope you can, too.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
