The former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o promised his fellow countrymen that he will buy each of his teammates a £30,000 watch should they qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Last weekend after their 2-0 win over Morocco, Eto'o made good on his promise and gifted the same watch to all of his teammates.

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According to Football Italia, Samuel Eto'o has cemented his reputation as the Oprah Winfrey of footballers by giving each and every member of the Cameroon national team, which he captains, a £30,000 watch simply because they qualified for the World Cup.

Meanwhile, every other national team captain is cursing his name for making them look bad.

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Soon after the start of Saturday's 0-0 friendly between Italy and Netherlands, an Italian fan ran out onto the pitch wearing a Superman t-shirt with "Cassano in Nazionale" (Cassano in the national team) written on the front and back. Once he got his shirt message of support for the ignored Sampdoria striker seen (hooray for s-words!

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

Insane video taken Rafik Saifi of the Algerian national team as their bus is attacked by rock-throwing Egyptian fans. [Goal]

Rangers not happy with their "moronic" fans. [STV]

Even when wearing a dress that went through a broken shredder, Abbey Clancy still looks hot.

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Could Wenger do with another striking option?

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A trio of Premiership clubs are potentially lining up a bid for Milan misfit Klass-Jan Huntelaar, according to reports.

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Jose Mourinho is a little frustrated with Mario Balotelli. The young striker came on for Patrick Vieira at halftime of Sunday's 1-1 draw with Roma and after the match, Jose wasn't exactly complimentary about his performance:

"Balotelli was terrible today, close to zero. He didn't move, didn't work and did not help the team with [Dejan] Stankovic injured and [Wesley] Sneijder incredibly tired.

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Gerrard actually misses Xabi Alonso. Which is kinda cute.
Don't forget to re-acquaint yourself with this beauty.
But Liverpool still sucks.
Now some links:

• More Bulgarian craziness. [Unprofessional Foul]
  
• Police use water cannon at German riot. [SI]
  
• Carlo loves him some Didier Drogba.

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

The derby match between St. Pauli and Hansa Rostock once again brings fire and violence and police involvement, this time inflamed by St. Pauli's Deniz Naki. [101gg]

Every fan attending the Dynamo Kiev v Inter Champions League match will be given masks to protect against the terrifying dangers of swine flu.

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After disappointing performances in Sampdoria's 5-1 thrashing by Juventus and 0-0 draw with newly promoted giant tripper uppers Bari not to mention the fact that he only has one goal in 10 league matches this season Antonio Cassano was jeered by a section of his home supporters on Sunday and as you might have expected, he has severely overreacted.

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

I wonder how Rio Ferdinand picks these models for his magazine. The latest issue of #5 and more pictures of Victoria Moore at [#5 Magazine]

"I was like oh geez, Thierry Henry and myself are going to be playing as strikers together.

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

Aliaksandr Hleb's little brother Vyacheslav, who plays for Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, isn't quite as good as his older sibling.

US striker Charlie Davies is in surgery after a serious car accident and Freddy Adu becomes the first footballer to make good use of Twitter.

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Sometimes when a footballer spends many many years in a city and does well for its club, he becomes a local hero and gets reverence and perks usually reserved for a dignitary. This mostly happens when a player is older and more mature able to handle the power that comes with being placed on a pedestal.

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

New Order bassist Peter Hook tells the tale of how Davey Becks almost became a rapper (and how all other rappers almost subsequently committed suicide out of embarrassment and shame).

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Antonio Cassano will not make the national side as long Marcello Lippi is in charge of Italy.I hope i am worng, at 27 this is Cassano's last hurrah.For Lippi past is prologue and Cassano's history precedes him and he is now forever defined as the crazy one who pulls underwear over his own head.My words not necessarily the medias. Click to continue reading...

Apparently Zidane and Marco Materazzi have become the new Israel and Palestine since the Headbutt Heard Round The World at the 2006 World Cup final. The two have never kissed and made up, despite numerous attempts to bring peace between the two by surprisingly important people who must not have anything better to do with their lives.

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Bobo Vieri recently appeared on the Italian TV show noted for its managerial lap dances, Chiambretti Night, and spoke about the tons of fun he and Fat Ronaldo used to have in their days at Inter:

"When I was at Inter, Ronaldo was the player who trained less than anyone else, because he was the best footballer in the world and it is true that we went back home at between 5 and 6 in the morning.

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I think I just peed my pants while watching this. Seriously, the music alone made me feel like I was being kidnapped by a lost cannibal tribe in the rain forest.

If the idea was to create a presentation that gives its viewers night terrors and makes them hope this plan never becomes a reality for fear of getting eaten by rain forest cannibals, then congratulations, Roma.

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As the Calciopoli scandal fades from memory, Livorno are bluntly calling into question the advantage larger clubs seem to have in the wake of their 1-0 loss to Fiorentina on Saturday.

Said club president Aldo Spinelli:

"It is not possible that we have to be the sacrificial lamb in football.

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Italian on his way back to Serie A?

Portsmouth Vs Liverpool Tickets Still Available!

His move to Napoli collapsed during the summer, but Liverpool's Andrea Dossena is set for another round of talks.
The full-back was on the verge of making the transfer to the Stadio San Paolo when the club baulked at the £10m price-tag.

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The impossible continues since getting sent off against Cagliari last Sunday, Jose Mourinho has cut off his own source of lifeblood by refusing to talk to the media. In his place, Mourinho sent out Esteban Cambiasso for the press conference ahead of Wednesday's 3-1 win over Napoli a match Jose was banned from and today he had new boy Lucio fill in for him in the presser ahead of tomorrow night's match.

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

Zlatan gets punked out by a little kid. [The Spoiler]

Rio Ferdinand is opening a restaurant so now you'll have a reason to sit on the toilet and read his magazine. [Kickette]

Phil Jagielka robbed at knife-point by idiot burglars who thought he would be away.

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

The Telegraph's top 15 football websites. And we're #1. Though there were a few glaring omissions, I consider this a victory for all of us. As a collective force we can't be stopped.

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Tuesday night we witnessed the everlasting phenomenom that is Filippo Inzaghi. Score a few goals. Check! Remind everyone he's still around. Check! We've been here before haven't we?

Being a rarely casual follower of Serie A these days, it's a bit of a shock when Inzaghi pops up to decide games.

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Wenger keen on talented young Italian striker.

Mario Balotelli can't find room at Inter and Arsene Wenger offers him a chance at Arsenal. "He can become one of the greatest."
The Under-21 international has pace, power and technique in abundance, but his questionable attitude has seen him dropped by Jose Mourinho recently.

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

Even American teen shows know Cristiano Ronaldo will give you something itchy. [ONTD]

Why was a very bored Jose Mourinho, who was doing his Barca scouting for the Champions League, sitting next to his opposition's newest signing?

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

Alright, so the angry Hitler videos are totally played out, but this was still funny. Hitler as a Millwall fan and the one who planned the violence on Tuesday? Sounds about right.

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Livorno's Alessandro Diamanti really wanted a move to West Ham. I mean, really really wanted a move to West Ham. So much so that things like dignity and not acting like a child who isn't allowed to have the Jonas Brother action figure they want no longer mattered. Which leads us to his expert strategy in getting himself sold.

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Fabio Cannavaro's return to Juventus hasn't exactly been meant with overwhelming joy from the club's more hardcore divisions. Still harboring resentment for the former Juve captain over his departure in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal in 2006, ultras have called him a "false champion" and verbally harassed him at training sessions since his return.

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It all started when Marcello Lippi said he thought Juventus would win Serie A this season. That was the spark that ignited Jose Mourinho's insatiable temper and has led to begin an all-out attack on Lippi that would make your dad cry. Even though Lippi was quick to apologize and say it was just his opinion, mind you, Jose has unloaded with some daggers:

Lippi passed judgment on television the other night," slammed Mourinho.

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Football Weekly is the Guardian's superb Football podcast. It is released every Monday, in an edition that reviews the weekend's fixtures, plus a bonus edition every Thursday (Football Weekly Extra) which previews them.

The anchor is James Richardson, of Football Italia and recently deceased Setanta fame, and he is joined by various combinations of Guardian football correspondents, most often Barry Glendenning, Sean Ingle, Sid Lowe, and other peripatetic guests.

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Real Madrid players were given a two day break from preparing for the La Liga season, so Kaka did what most footballers would do with the free time go visit his former club at their training ground.

The new Galactico and card-carrying member of the Real Madrid fan club surprised his former teammates at the Milanello training facility and had a long talk with new manager Leonardo before making a curious statement to the public in reference to the club's Trofeo Berlusconi match against Juventus tonight:

"We hope to beat Juventus," he said to the fans.

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Lazio came up with a surprising 2-1 win over Inter Milan in the Supercoppa held in Beijing (no, that's not in Italy) on Saturday. Guess who didn't take the loss so well:

"Lazio have the joy of victory, while we are safe in the knowledge we have a team and a great future," the Special One told Inter Channel.

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You may remember not long ago when Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis tore into Ezequiel Lavezzi over his request for a pay raise by saying that the Argentine came well short of expectations, "doesn't help the team," "is not the new Maradona," and that if he were an actor in one of his films he would "eat him alive.

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We all knew it to be true, but to hear it directly from the mouth of someone who has benefited from the skyrocketing player valuations seems to be a significant milestone. Says Barca new boy Zlatan Ibrahimovic:

"No player is worth the money clubs pay nowadays."

Alright now we might actually get somewhere.

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