Thierry Henry's legacy will never be the same. Like when Brett Favre started his rope-a-dope with retirement.
Both will forever be honored greats, but each will have a little negativity added to their reputations.
There were all sorts of stories on the wire yesterday regarding Le Hand. Click to continue reading...

With the final international break of the year almost upon us, Marcelo Lippi has named his squad...
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The last time Napoli won at the Olimpico in Turin against Juventus was on a cold November day in 1988. Diego Maradona and Ciro Ferrara were wearing Azzurro, as Napoli romped their way to a famous 5-3 victory that is still spoken about today in the unofficial capital of southern Italy.

Fabio Cannavaro, another of Napoli's favourite sons, wasn't yet old enough to play for the first team then.

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If you thought that Napoli's injury time brace, which handed the club a 2-2 draw at home to AC Milan, was its comeback of the week, think again. The underperforming Naples outfit has suddenly brought an end to an indifferent spell by stunning Serie A contenders Juventus 3-2 this evening, and that too away from home.

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We've seen it happen before. Many times over. Sadly, companies and their marketing teams like to take hot footballers and turn them into dorks for sales purposes. It's a wide-spread (albeit, entertaining) issue in our community.

This Gillette ad wants you to rate the "champion of the future" and you can win a razor.

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We've seen it happen before. Many times over. Sadly, companies and their marketing teams like to take hot footballers and turn them into dorks for sales purposes. It's a wide-spread (albeit, entertaining) issue in our community.

This Gillette ad wants you to rate the "champion of the future" and you can win a razor.

Click to continue reading...

Remember that fabulous Parma team that lifted the UEFA Cup in 1999?

Led then by manager Alberto Malesani the team was made up of superb talent from the back to the front. A young Gainluigi Buffon kept goal, protected by a back three of Lillian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro and Nestor Sensini.

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It is very difficult, if not downright foolish, to predict how a team will perform at a major tournament like the World Cup in the immediate aftermath of qualification. But such is the assignment with which I have been tasked.

As such, let me say that I do believe the defending world champions of Italy have the talent to win the World Cup again (and certainly as compared to other teams.

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It is probably the most famous wasp in the world, the wasp that almost cost Fabio Cannavaro his career. The Italian defender was stung last week and later treated by Juve medics however following this Cannavaro failed a drugs test.

Over the last few days Cannavaro has been cleared of any wrong doing and he has revealed more information about that sting and where it was.

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These guys may be nearer to drawing their pensions than most, but boy they still have the power to amaze.

We've done the young whippersnappers and we've done the ode to Britain the 25 and over squad, so it's time to pay homage to experienced, the wily, the cunning: the Viagra crowd.

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Fabio Cannavaro -- the frustrated one -- has been cleared of his doping allegations.
Turns outs his bee sting alibi had legs.
I also heard he slammed Italian media and said he's retire if his country wins the World Cup again.
Now the links:

• Argentina dudes asked Peru to throw game?

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Beyond the nation's borders, Italian football has certainly faded into the background in recent years. A devastating match-fixing scandal in 2006 bitterly overshadowed the country's World Cup triumph that year while the domestic league has clearly become a one-horse race ever since. Reigning champions Inter Milan have shown no signs of a slip up in the Serie A for the last three seasons and that trend continued with their strong start to the current season as well.

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by FRANCO PANIZO

If you were upset at the thought of not seeing Cristiano Ronaldo in action for a month, you may be happy to hear the superstar's latest comments.

Ronaldo expects to recover from the ankle injury he picked up in Portugal's 3-0 World Cup qualifying win against Hungary in less than a month, the amount of time he was originally expected to miss.

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by FRANCO PANIZO

If you were upset at the thought of not seeing Cristiano Ronaldo in action for a month, you may be happy to hear the superstar's latest comments.

Ronaldo expects to recover from the ankle injury he picked up in Portugal's 3-0 World Cup qualifying win against Hungary in less than a month, the amount of time he was originally expected to miss.

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The matches to watch after you realize that our dear friend Ryan Bailey has really left The Spoiler. And that World Cup Qualifier weekends are incredibly boring.

Saturday

Ukraine v England at Dnipro Stadium Screw anyone trying to rip you off by asking you to pay to watch this one.

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Republic of Ireland v Italy
Saturday 10 October 2009, Croke Park
Kick-Off: 20:00 BST

The Republic of Ireland host group leaders Italy at Croke Park on Saturday night, knowing that a win would put them within one point of their opponents with a single qualifying match remaining.

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By now you've heard the news: 2006 World Player of the Year and Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro failed a doping test in late August, testing positive for cortisone. The Italian football establishment players, coaches, officials, media came out in his defense. "The cortisone was lifesaving treatment for a bee sting!

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We actually thought this was going to be one of those Marion Jones-Rio Ferdinand moments in football. Cannavaro failed a dope test yesterday for allegedly using the drug cortisone. Alas, it turned out that even a bee couldn't resist the sweet charms of Fabio Cannavaro.

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1998
Zdenek Zemen accuses Juventus of supplying players with illegal performance enhancing drugs.
1998
Inquiry into doping at Juventus begins.
2001
Edgar Davids failed a drugs test in 2001 while playing for Juventus. He was banned for 16 months.
2001
Juventus club records reveal particularly high haematocrit levels in the blood of several players. Click to continue reading...

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by FRANCO PANIZO

Los Angeles, be prepared to say goodbye to David Beckham...again.

The Los Angeles Galaxy have given Beckham permission to work out a loan deal for the winter transfer window in January. The loan is expected to last until July to give Beckham the best possibility of making the England squad for the 2010 World Cup in June.

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by FRANCO PANIZO

Los Angeles, be prepared to say goodbye to David Beckham...again.

The Los Angeles Galaxy have given Beckham permission to work out a loan deal for the winter transfer window in January. The loan is expected to last until July to give Beckham the best possibility of making the England squad for the 2010 World Cup in June.

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Juve team-mates Nicola Legrottaglie and Fabio Cannavaro. Image via Getty.

There are some stories we've always assumed we would never write:

"Victoria Beckham laughs giddily, smiles widely during press call."

"Nemanja Vidic admits he is scared of the dark."

Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro failing a drugs test falls into this category.

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Juve team-mates Nicola Legrottaglie and Fabio Cannavaro. Image via Getty.

There are some stories we've always assumed we would never write:

"Victoria Beckham laughs giddily, smiles widely during press call."

"Nemanja Vidic admits he is scared of the dark."

Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro failing a drugs test falls into this category.

Click to continue reading...

Not only did the Juventus defender Fabio Cannavaro fail a drug test, but he's got a huge ol' alibi to go along with it.

It is believed that he tested positive after taking an anti-allergen in order to prevent an anaphylatic shock from a wasp sting - a potentially fatal reaction if left untreated.

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Erm, the thing was... what happened... was...erm... 1. Wasps The news broke yesterday evening that Juventus captain Fabio Cannavaro had tested positive for the banned substance cortisone. The club immediately defended themselves and their player, claiming that he had been injected after being stung by a wasp. Click to continue reading...

Fabio Cannavaro is back in the news after failing a drug test. I'm not a doctor, not do I play one on TV (though I could be Dr. McStinky on Grey's Anatomy), so I will let the AP story explain...

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The AP is reporting that Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has failed a doping test, which Juventus claim is a result of using cortisone to treat a bee sting. But, given the propensity for athletes to use cortisone shots regularly and legally, it's hard to believe that that's really the case. From the report:

CONI would not say when Cannavaro tested positive, but said Torri would hold a hearing with the defender and the physician involved in the case.

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L'esperienza in Serie A, alla guida del Napoli, è già finita. I deludenti risultati ottenuti, in quest'inizio di Serie A hanno convinto De Laurentiis a dare una svolta alla situazione. Roberto Donadoni è stato esonerato dal presidentissimo De Laurentiis che lo ha sostituito con Walter Mazzarri (in passato sulla panchina della Sampdoria in Serie A). Click to continue reading...

This is another segment I will do every weekend after a Champions League round. I will name the best starting line-up from this week's games.

Goalkeeper: Oleksandr Shovkovskiy (Dynamo Kiev)

Dynamo Kiev's keeper didn't get much help from his teammates but he single-handedly stopped Barca from running rampant on the score sheet.

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

Masked idiots savagely attack the referees of a match in Guatemala. [101gg]

Pepe is returning to play after his 10 match ban for freaking the hell out six months ago, but he still looks insane.

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Image copyright Getty Images

So, this is Belen Rodriguez (she of Marco Borriello sex-on-a-boat /STD drama fame), in a photo with Fabio Cannavaro.

They're at the Guli Presents 'Style. Uzbekistan' show in Milan.

Interesting.

No, we're not comfortable with it either. Yes, we're over-reacting.

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I am really curious about the Livorno players' high jersey numbers. They started with only Nico Pulzetti sporting a single digit number. It reminded me of a spring training baseball team loaded with minor leaguers trying to make the big squad.  The game featured lots of end to end action in this game, and the teams were relatively evenly matched, save for two players: Gianlugi Buffon and Mauro Camoranesi.

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Spain
It took a couple game, but Cristiano Ronaldo is now in top form. He scored inside a minute and added a second in a 5-0 win against Xerez. And Real Madrid is scoring goals in bunches (who needs defense when you're scoring five goals a game, right?).
Italy
Big injury news in Serie A, Juventus defender Fabio Cannavaro (remember when he was on top of the world? Click to continue reading...

Passata la settimana di Champions si torna a parlare della Serie A di Calcio. Oltre al pari, rimediato contro il Bordeaux, capace di rimontare il gol di Iaquinta, al termine di una prestazione non eccelsa, la Juventus deve fare i conti con l'infermeria. Ferrara, comunque, non vuole accampare scuse anche se la lista degli infortunati s'ingrossa sempre più. Click to continue reading...