Robert Downey Junior's footballing twin (the similarities are incredibly
uncanny in this photo above!), Xavi Hernandez, has declared that he'd
like nothing better than to win another World Cup for Spain at Brazil 2014. After all that
delirium, you'd think the "La Furia" blokes would prefer to settle down and retire by the
sandy beaches of Mallorca.
Antonio Cassano spent the bulk of his AC Milan season "high-fiving" players
during training sessions, dancing TO "Ai Seu Te Pego" with Robinho, cracking jokes
at everyone's expense all the while recovering from his heart operation. So of course
(naturalmente), his call-up to Prandelli's Azzurri squad was highly
unexpected and had more to do with his bubbly personality than his goal average.
Joe Allen claims to have 'massive belief' in his ability and to have embraced the pressure which
accompanies a big-money move to Liverpool.
The Wales international moved to Anfield during the summer transfer window in a £15million switch
from Swansea.
He may only be 22, but Allen is now regarded as a key figure for club and country.
Fiorentina released a blistering statement tonight blaming "the arrogance" of Juventus and
Fulham for ruining the deal that they thought they had for Manchester United striker Dimitar
Berbatov.
The Manchester United striker had agreed terms with the Viola and flown out for a medical today,
but never turned up, instead flying to Munich.
Most managers in the Eredivisie, adhering to the unwritten code, would stop short of describing
a player as 'world class' or remotely anywhere near the reason being as it would be interpreted as
overhyping a talent nowhere near the finished article.
Before the start of Euro2012, many England fans were pessimistic about their chances of having a
successful tournament after being decimated by player injuries and with a new manager who had
hardly got his feet under the table. Yesterday's 3-2 win over Sweden in their Group D matchup,
certainly gave us all hope that maybe, just maybe, this tournament might be different.
Jordan Henderson believes that the criticism he endured during his first season at Liverpool
prepared him well for the scrutiny he received upon being called up for England. In fact, the
youngster is now enjoying all the criticism and scrutiny.
Henderson, 21, scored two goals for the Reds in 48 appearances across all competitions but
despite being overlooked for the Three Lions' first squad, he was called up as a replacement for
the injured Frank Lampard.
Mario Balotelli is one of the most enigmatic and reportedly difficult footballers in the Barclay's
Premier League and like many sports stars, his name is as synonymous with descriptions of arrogance
as it is with words of praise. So is ...
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Sir Alex Ferguson predicted Wigan could beat Arsenal.
They've got to get a goal, of course, but if they do they'll beat Arsenal. They are playing
really well. They should easily be in the middle of the table, rather than down at the bottom, but
at times they can't get a goal. If we had been playing any other team but Wigan the other night, we
would have been all right because it is unusual for a team to keep possession against us the way
they did.
Sir Alex Ferguson predicted Wigan could beat Arsenal.
They've got to get a goal, of course, but if they do they'll beat Arsenal. They are playing
really well. They should easily be in the middle of the table, rather than down at the bottom, but
at times they can't get a goal. If we had been playing any other team but Wigan the other night, we
would have been all right because it is unusual for a team to keep possession against us the way
they did.
With the N17 looters having dropped two points on Wearside yesterday the good guys find
themselves needing defeat avoidance at the very least to return to third place.
One would hope that the Spuds have over achieved this season on the back of a few decent
performances from their squad semi-evolved simian.
With the N17 looters having dropped two points on Wearside yesterday the Good Guys find
themselves needing defeat avoidance at the very least to return to third place.
One would hope that the Spuds have over achieved this season on the back of a few decent
performances from their squad semi-evolved simian.
Swindon boss Paolo Di Canio has been up to his tricks again, showing his unique management
philosophies during his side's defeat to Preston at the weekend. Unimpressed with the performance
of goalkeeper Wes Foderingham, the Italian manager subbed the keeper just 21 minutes into the
match. A furious Foderingham stormed off the pitch and straight [.
After conceding two goals in quick succession during the opening exchanges of their League One
game against Preston (the first stemming from a botched clearance), an irate Paolo Di Canio took
the express decision to substitute Swindon 'keeper Wes Foderingham off after just 20 short
minutes.
Less than a week after literally kicking his players up the backside and pulling off the upset
of the Capital One Cup second round with a 4-3 extra-time win over Stoke, Paolo Di Canio and
Swindon Town returned to League One player and lost 4-1 to Preston North End. Preston scored twice
in the first 10 minutes, with the first goal coming off a goalkeeper error, prompting Di Canio to
take 21-year-old goalkeeper Wes Foderingham off in just the 21st minute.
RVP has gone and the speculation as to his reasons for leaving is rife. Â In fact a lot of absolute
rubbish is being spouted  by a lot of people with rather obvious vested interests.  The photo of
Kevin Pietersen is not a mistake, it is there to hint that the team must always come before the
individual, and that arrogance can be a great destroyer of team spirit.
Speaking after the game on Saturday, Alan Pardew was quick to lavish praise on Eden Hazard and
believes that he is bringing Torres back for form and has given Chelsea an extra dimension compared
to last season. He said:
"You can see why so many top clubs were chasing Hazard and he has certainly given
Chelsea an extra dimension in the first few games of this season.
They came,they saw and they kept possession as ever, but this time they couldn't quite conquer.
Barcelona arrived in West London this evening with the sound of a Spector-esque wall of praise
ringing in their ears. They're a great side. Indeed, if it is possible to draw comparisons across
the different eras of the game, then they might just be the greatest of all time.
It's been two years since Premier League referee Mark Halsey overcame a tumor in his throat,
made it through a serious infection, beat the cancer, passed his fitness test and worked his way
back up to the Premier level. And one of the men who had a small part in helping him through his
difficult time was a football manager with a reputation for being relentless and harsh on
referees.
It doesn't matter that his father plays for Manchester United Kai Rooney wore the full Barcelona
children's kit on a date out with his mum, Coleen, in Liverpool this week. There's a saying that
"Everyone is a Barca admirer", (although admittedly, this reeks of a little arrogance!) but thanks
to his dad's own endorsement deals, Kai will probably be wearing whatever they send him.
Kenny Dalglish today reported a clean bill of health for Liverpool ahead of the FA Cup final
against Chelsea on Saturday, apart from long-term absentees Lucas Leiva and Charlie Adam
The manager told his pre-match press conference at Anfield: "We've given everybody an
opportunity to get themselves fit and I don't think we've got any injuries, apart from the
long-term ones in Lucas and Charlie Adam.
If I was asked to describe Nani in a word, then I would say 'Frustrating'. Forget about me, I
think almost every United fan would say that and I don't think I need to tell any of you why we
think so. The game against Everton itself was a perfect example of a typical Nani performance so
irritating at times that I was ready to hurl every solid object that was within my reach at the
telly.
It was nothing more than a simple finish, the product of an unglamorous move littered with
opposition mistakes but important all the same, as all goals in cup finals are. This was Shinji
Kagawa's goal in his last game, the opener for Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal finalÂ
against Bayern Munich.
So, another scintillating goal-fest in the Euros in the first Semi-Final between Spain and
Portugal. This was a real game for the purists, with attacking football at is finest, and chances
being created nearly every minute in front of a capacity crowd who could barely control their
excitement.
Nicklas Bendtner in a Danish interview was asked to name his all time favourite eleven, In a
4-3-3 he went with a offensive team. In his younger Arsenal reserve's days N.B-52 on a few
occasions played alongside Ashley Cole and rates the Left-Back very highly, Â also includes ex
Premier League wing wizard Cristiano Ronaldo.
Usmanov Continues to Prove His Arrogance Not that long ago, the Russian billionaire reared his head
to cause more division in the Arsenal camp; tricking weak minded individuals to believe he was an
innocent business tycoon, just wanting to invest some harmless millions into the club. He
unfortunately succeeded in turning quite a few supporters [.
Nicklas Bendtner has thrust himself into the spotlight recently with his now infamous underpants
stunt, and, it must be said, some impressive performances at Euro 2012. But I must admit that for a
while I'd kind of forgotten about the player, on loan at Sunderland last season and supposedly on
his way out of Arsenal.
Well, Nicklas Bendtner has walked back through the Arsenal door after his loan move to Sunderland
ended and I'm sure many Gooners would prefer it if he just strolled back out of it again.
His exit could happen too if rumours that Borussia Dortmund are set to put a £2.5m bid in for the
Dane are true, although I think that amount of money might just cover the price of his ego.
This article titled "Euro 2012: Holland were too arrogant, says Denmark's Christian Eriksen" was
written by Marcus Christenson, for guardian.co.uk on Monday 18th June 2012 12.10 UTC
The Denmark and Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen has suggested that Holland were eliminated
from the group stage of Euro 2012 because of "arrogance".
Liverpool have made the first steps towards appointing Louis van Gaal as sporting director after
meeting with him in Portugal last week.
There are, though, complications as to whether the Dutchman's methods match the way the Fenway
Sports Group are seeking to restructure the club.
Van Gaal has been spending the summer at his house near Albufeira in the Algarve and it is
understood that Ian Ayre, Liverpool's managing director, flew out to meet him last week.
Robben's a Man on a Mission (Simon Kuper, Mio Stadium)
Robben isn't really a "Dutch" footballer. He was born in Bedum in the windswept north
of the Netherlands, 60 kilometres from the German border. No great Dutch footballer had come from
the north since the Koeman brothers 25 years early, and none has ever come from Bedum.
It's official Robin van Persie has agreed terms to join Manchester United in a
deal worth £24 million coincidentally on the very same date Cesc Fabregas chose
to leave for Barcelona last year (15 August).
Despite the outcry all over the web, this piece of news is not terribly surprising he would have
likely sent his professional reputation into jeopardy if he had chosen City instead (Juventus were
much preferred, but too unstable at the moment).
A Croatian football fan has solved one of football folklore's greatest mysteries by revealed that
it was he who killed a live rooster on the pitch ahead of a Tottenham Hotspur match. The bizarre
incident happened ahead of a UEFA Cup semi-final against Hajduk Split in 1984. The Croatian side
were fined 3,000 Swiss francs [.
Watford aren't my club, but when I heard the news that Sean Dyche had been given the boot by the
Hornets' new Italian owners to make way for Gianfranco Zola, I found myself strangely furious on
Dyche's behalf. How dare they breeze into Vicarage Road and and with breathtaking arrogance treat a
club legend so shoddily - especially one who had worked so diligently and in difficult
circumstances to engineer an improbably lofty position in last season's Championship table.
Photo: Glenn Riegel, courtesy of Reading United AC
(Editor's Note: Over the next three months, PSP will give readers an unprecedented look
inside one of the nation's top minor league soccer clubs, Reading United AC, which plays in theÂ
Premier Development League, the fourth tier of American soccer, and draws its players from
colleges around the country.
It was a crazy, PAZZO, night for Juventus fans last night as they
swarmed onto the pitch and celebrated their Scudetto win at the Nereo Rocco stadium. Unfortunately
for Milan, the dream was over when they fell to a 2-4 defeat to Inter in the
derby, a match that was drama-filled right to the very end.
It's not as easy as it looks, this administration lark. In my time writing on football finance,
I have yet to experience any sympathy for an administrator, or believe that maybe senior ones are
earning their weekly wage packets-per-hour. But gone is the sense that Dave Clark and Paul
Whitehouse would have been better administrators than Paul Clark and David Whitehouse of Duff &
Phelps, because whatever their previous faults, most of this week in the legal and political
minefield which is 21st-century Rangers has not been their fault.
