Image via Wikipedia With Ireland reeling from "Le Hand of God" bookie Paddy Power have issued a whole host of special bets on the man who will forever be known as "cheating Thierry." Unfortunately for Irish fans and Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, the likelihood of justice prevailing look slim with odds of 33/1 the match gets [. Click to continue reading...

Bordeaux vs Bayern Munich:

This match features the two leaders of Group A. Both sides have 4 points from two games and will be looking to take a strangle hold on the group in their next two fixtures.

Bordeaux hope to take full advantage of their home turf and upset the German giants before they meet again in a little less than a fortnight.

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Fans of a bit of blue will be happy with the news that Argentina has now finally booked their place at South Africa 2010.
It's not just on their famous striped shirts however that the blue will be found but also coming from the mouth of Diego Maradona if his latest press conference is anything to go by. Click to continue reading...

Stuff to read while you see Argentina's World Cup chances saved by the bar (1:00)..... The Barcelona blog returneth. Six times over. (Barca Offside) Discovering the internet via Ukraine England. (Studs Up) MLS looking into the indoors. (USA Today) The phenom taking Germany by storm...Diego who? (Deutsche Welle) Six injury times you're glad you waited for the whistle. Click to continue reading...

Bayern Munich vs Juventus:

Definitely the most anticipated match of this week's Champions League play, this is a meeting that we have seen many times over the years. They do not usually live up to expectations as you can see from their previous score lines:

19.10.04 Juventus 1 Bayern 0

3.

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For those who spent Saturday and Sunday away from the television and internet, or were too busy watching the Manchester Derby, here are some lessons we have learned (or in some cases relearned) from this past weekend's Serie A action:

Gianluigi Buffon is the key for a Juve scudetto: Although he has some mileage between his numerous Serie A and international matches, and the Juventus attack is quite good, the 2-0 Juventus win over Livorno shows that Buffon still dominates matches for his team.

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Halftown
Para los que no recordamos el Mundial 86, ni veíamos el Calcio cuando sólo había dos cadenas, Maradona no es más que una letra de Calamaro. Un gordo impertinente. Un yonki endiosado. Cuando nos hablan de él, no pensamos en el gol -el genial o el tramposo- a Inglaterra, sino en ese cocainómano con mullet anunciando la Super Nintendo con la camiseta del Sevilla, o en esa celebración subidón-subidón-subidón tras un gol a Grecia en USA 94. Click to continue reading...

It's back... The biggest tournament in club football.. The ultimate prize.. The Champions League. Although we've already had the qualifying rounds, but this week is where we really get underway with the group stages. The majestic theme music, the multi screen coverage, and thankfully this season..

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Diego can shine on the big stage for Juve (photo Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters) Click to continue reading...

L'esordio in Champions League è ormai ad un passo. Inarrestabile in Serie A, con tre vittorie (cinque gol fatti ed uno subito) su altrettante gare, lo squadrone di Ciro Ferrara si prepara ad indossare i panni europei. Martedì sera, ore 20.45, stadio Olimpico: Juventus-Bordeaux.
Un match non facile, contro Gourcouff e compagni, che la Juventus dovrà affrontare senza pedine fondamentali come Diego (confermata la contrattura rimediata contro la Lazio) e Del Piero (non si è allenato per dei problemi muscolari). Click to continue reading...

Di solito è sempre stato abbastanza riservato e taciturno. Non che gli sia mai mancato il carattere, che da buon friulano ha sempre avuto, ma Dino Zoff, portiere dell'Italia campione del mondo nel 1982, ex allenatore di Lazio, Juventus, tra le principali e più importanti ("un pezzo della mia vita") esperienze vissute nella Serie A di Calcio, questa volta è uscito dai ranghi e ha parlato di molte questioni, esaltando Diego ("è più forte di Zico") compresa quella che sta a cuore a molti italiani, la convocazione in nazionale di Antonio Cassano, autore di prestazioni divine nella Serie A con la maglia blucerchiata. Click to continue reading...

The Serie A Game to Watch this week features the only matchup of two teams in the top four in the standings. Although it is only the third week of the season (sorry Sampdoria fans), both Lazio and Juventus are eyeing a possible scudetto and this match could keep one club's early momentum going.

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BRAZIL3-1ARGENTINA (6)
Originally uploaded by Brazil & Argentina El de los argentinos humillado y de vuelta a la tierra y el que venera Kaka arriba observando el partido.
Excelente portada de 10.
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E' arrivato da poco alla Juventus ma già si è integrato alla perfezione e con il suo talento e la sua grinta si è ritagliato un posto importante, da leader della squadra torinese. Impatto devastante, nella Serie A di Calcio per Diego da Ribas Cunha, per tutti Diego, fuoriclasse brasiliano prelevato dal Werder Brema in estate. Click to continue reading...

¿Quien no ha jugado en algún videojuego de fútbol un Argentina vs Brasil o viceversa? Es hasta cierto punto "de cajón" probar cuál de las dos selecciones es mejor.

Y si dudan que es un clásico y si no pues simplemente piensen en las dos figuras más grandes de nuestro fútbol y sin duda pensaran en Pelé y Maradona.

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Be it a clash in the World Cup finals or a domestic under-17 game, Argentina versus Brazil always gets the pulse racing. The two nations line up this weekend in the north of Argentina for a match which holds the key for the hosts making it to South Africa for next year's World Cup.

The two proud countries have enjoyed contrasting fortunes ahead of this clasico.

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It was a weekend of some nice goals. First, let's just say that Fabio Quagliarella ALMOST scored the goal of the season (he did however score 2 goals on the night). You can watch that video here. Diego scored his first goals in Serie A, Julio Cruz scored his first goals for Lazio, Alberto Paloschi continues to look more and more like the new Pippo Inzaghi, Giampaolo Pazzini continues to score, and Antonio Cassano worked some magic again.

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Es ist Montag, der erste Arbeitstag der Woche ist vorbei. Zeit, auf zwei Highlights des vergangenen Spieltages hinzuweisen. An erster Stelle steht ein blutjunger Mann, der nicht nur durch seinen Vornamen, sondern auch aufgrund seines äußerlichen Erscheinunsbildes an Marko Marin erinnert. Klein, schmächtig, aber ein Dribbler vor dem Herren.

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(0-1. Diego)
(1-1. De Rossi)
(1-2. Diego)
(1-3. Felipe Melo)
Ciro Ferrara voleva una prova di forza. E prova di forza è stata. La Juventus vince per tre a uno all'Olimpico contro la Roma e si lancia in vetta alla classifica, lanciando apertamente la sfida all'Inter di Mourinho e candidadosi come la rivale più importante per la vittoria finale dello scudetto nella Serie A di Calcio. Click to continue reading...

So the star of the Serie A this weekend is Diego after cara scored a double against Roma last night. Felipe Melooooo added in a third in the 66th minute to steer the team to a 3-1 victory away from home. Bom Trabalho, rapazes!

Buffon couldn't help himself from praising his teammate after the game.

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While Roma got shelled today 3-1 by Juventus, exposing its enduring weakness on the defensive end, newby keeper Julio Sergio did provide a moment of brilliance for the giallorossi.
Check out his brilliant save at the 9 second mark on the video. After that, check out Juve's Diego channeling Maradona (with a brief intermission by Roma's Daniel De Rossi with a gorgeous long range shot). Click to continue reading...

Something to read while you watch Konrad Frys score straight from kick off... Say ¡hola! to our first Spanish language Offside blog (Atlético Nacional Offside) Don't mess with Paolo Montero (Dirty Tackle) Platini plans to get tough on debt (GOAL) The American company marketing Russia's World Cup bid (Match Fit USA) Francesco's season off to a goalden start (Totti Offside) FIFA's [. Click to continue reading...

Remind us again why Diego looks like he should be on Survivor : Palmarola instead of the pitch? No matter, though he's helping Juve to sell their shirts, with his name at the back!

According to Tuttosport, the Brazilian has become a marketing phenomenon at the club.

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.Somewhat overshadowed by the Milan Derby is the game between Juventus and Roma. While it won't be as universally appreciated as the match at the San Siro it promises to be gripping and important nonetheless; not least because both teams fancy themselves to mount a serious title challenge this season. Click to continue reading...

Diego foi considerado o futebolista estrangeiro que foi mais mal rentabilizado em Portugal por 45 dos 131 leitores que participaram na votação que decorreu durante o mês de Julho. De facto, o médio criativo brasileiro viu todo o seu talento ser "castrado" pelo holandês Co Adriaanse, sendo quase obrigado a sair para o Werder Bremen por seis milhões de euros. Click to continue reading...

It seems that the wandering time, transition period after relegation to the second league and breaking legs on Italian countryside is finally over. Over the last two years, after returning to Serie A, the biggest Italian club were searching for their identity. Delusions like Claudio Ranieri or bad moves on the market cost them dearly, but they have learnt the lesson.

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Ciro Ferrara had big gaps to fill after taking over the reigns at Juventus but it seems that he has managed to build a very good team. The Old Lady have secured the services of Barcelona defender Martin Caceres and the Uruguayan defender will be club's last signing of the transfer window.

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Something to read while you watch Diego score on his Juventus debut with a double roll-over... Comparing two Lopez long bombs (KC Wizards Offside) Both of which have this beat (The Spoiler) Football vs cricket (SoccerLens) Pies emerges from legal limbo (WaatP?) ESPN building it's UK content (AP) Putting BeckhamGate in perspective (Soccer Training Info) Why you can't trust transfer rumours. Click to continue reading...

via JUVENTUS FC

So good ol' Felipe Melo decided to snub Gilberto Silva's invite for the dry winters of Turin instead. Yes, he was officially unveiled as a Juventus player yesterday after a medical check-up at the Fornaca Clinic and the Centro di Medicina dello Sport.

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The transfer period started with two early big money moves. In fact, very big money moves anywhere outside of Madrid. Diego sealed a transfer to Juventus for €24.5m, while Bayern were willing to spend €30m for Mario Gomez; further bonus payments not included.

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All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty Tackle...

Lovejoy and company take a look at the new Nike football being used in the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A next season. [ChannelBee]

Spurs are about to sign a former Arsenal captain.

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Preseason training has begun for Juventus and perhaps in an effort to do a little team bonding while they work, they played a match against themselves where everyone held hands with a teammate. In particular, Amauri and new signing Diego partnered up and seemed to have a grand time prancing around the pitch while grasping each other's warm little fingers, which could be the start of a beautiful partnership between the two both on the pitch and off.

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La Signora del calcio italiano ha iniziato ufficialmente la stagione 2009-10. Ancora alle prese con operazioni di mercato, in entrata e in uscita, s'inizia a faticare e a sudare per presentarsi alla grande ai nastri di partenza (il 23 agosto partirà il campionato di Serie A). Infatti, questa mattina, nel centro sportivo di Vinovo, i bianconeri della Juventus si sono ritrovati per sostenere le visite mediche e partire per il ritiro di Pinzolo (che durerà fino al 21 luglio), in Trentino. Click to continue reading...

Something to read while wondering if all babies can do this... This what it looks like when a TV channel dies (EPL Talk) The future of English football (SoccerLens) Looking at Looking for Eric (From a Left Wing) Canucks: Reloaded (Canada WCB) Underwear was invented for a reason sir (The Spoiler) Soccer in Myanmar (Can't Stop the Bleeding) Diegography (Juve Offside) Blowing the [. Click to continue reading...

Following a busy season, Rafael Honigstein of The Guardian and Footbo was kind enough to talk with me and address a few questions I had about the end of the season and the start to the silly season.

Which player(s) surprised you the most this season?Â

a) Misimovic.

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