Saturday's demoralizing one-nil home loss to France in the first leg of their World Cup play-off sees the Republic of Ireland facing an uphill task to reach next summer's showpiece. As French fans start booking their flights to South Africa, the Irish faithful are left praying for a miracle.

Click to continue reading...

Sir Alex keen on Bayern Munich star.

Portsmouth Vs Manchester United Tickets Still Available!

Join Our Facebook Fan Page for the Latest News/Rumours/Forums/Videos/WAGS/Funny Stuff/Features!

Manchester United are being linked with a possible January move for Bayern Munich full back Philipp Lahm.

Click to continue reading...

Let battle commence.

Join Our Facebook Fan Page for the Latest News/Rumours/Forums/Videos/WAGS/Funny Stuff/Features!

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has delayed finalising his team for Saturday's World Cup play-off first leg against France at Croke Park.

Click to continue reading...

Ireland v France
Saturday 14 November 2009 and Wednesday 18 November 2009
2010 World Cup Qualifying

The last time that the Republic of Ireland qualified for the World Cup, in 2002, they took the playoff route to book their place in Korea/Japan

This time, the route is the same, but while Ireland were in the favorite role against Iran last time around, they‘re decided underdogs this time, as Giovanni Trapattoni's side meets 1998 World Cup champions France with a ticket to South Africa on the line.

Click to continue reading...

Steven Gerrard does some shopping with a mate in Manchester city centre. He's looking at the giant, "Call us! xox" billboard we had put up for the occasion.
Tottenham's Carlo Cudicini has two fractured wrists and suspected broken pelvis after a motorcycle crash in North London.

Click to continue reading...

It doesn't take a genius to work out that Man Utd are not the team they were last year with the only loss to the team being Cristiano Ronaldo. Wayne Rooney has been given much more of free role and is playing better than he ever has but he can't do it alone. Just like Ronaldo needed Rooney in the team Rooney, needs a Ronaldo and Antonio Valencia just isn't it. Click to continue reading...

In a week's time we will know a near complete list of the nations who will be competing to lift the World Cup in South Africa. The first legs take place on November 14, with the second legs on the 18th. The African nations qualification process takes a little longer, so I'll be focusing on the Republic of Ireland Vs France, Bosnia-Herz Vs Portugal, Russia Vs Slovenia and Greece Vs Ukraine.

Click to continue reading...

Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer promoting Irish racing and Cheltenham tips for Betfair

Â

The transfer rumour mill is already kicking up plenty of transfer rumours regarding United and their rivals but just how busy can we expect Sir Alex to be?

Click to continue reading...

Everybody hates French national team manager Raymond Domenech. This is a well established fact. When he's not getting called "a man who seems intent on messing them [France] up" in the press by opposing players, he's getting booed by his countrymen and laughed at by his own players at the Paris Bercy Indoor Masters ATP tennis tournament (as you can kind of make out in the horrible quality video above).

Click to continue reading...

The World Cup is almost set in terms of the teams that will qualify and once the play-offs are completed it will be clear whether the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery will be present or missing. In the meantime, Sweden's talented forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic will certainly not be going to the World Cup after his country failed to qualify from the same group which saw eventual winners Denmark earn automatic qualification and runners-up Portugal reach the play-offs.

Click to continue reading...

Ancelotti aims to bring in 'Marquee' Signing in forthcoming transfer window.

Portsmouth vs Chelsea Tickets Still Available!

Join Our Facebook Fan Page for the Latest News/Rumours/Forums/Videos/WAGS/Funny Stuff/Features!

Chelsea back in the hunt for Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery

Chelsea have made Franck Ribery their top transfer target and hope to sign the France international when the January window opens.

Click to continue reading...

The Republic of Ireland will take on France in the World Cup play-offs which commence next weekend in what will be an intriguing clash between the shrewd Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and the much-maligned French national team coach Raymond Domenech.

Trapattoni's record speaks for itself with successful spells almost everywhere he coached yet his most notable job prior to taking over Ireland ended in miserable failure with the Azzurri.

Click to continue reading...

France's do-or-die match against Ireland is just around the corner, with the first match taking place on November 14th in Ireland and the second taking place on the 18th at the Stade de France (boo...). I don't know about you guys, but I'll be praying extra hard that France don't screw up against a tough Irish team.

Click to continue reading...

" Mmmmmmm. Where is my Rolodex? "

With Franck Ribery out, Bayern has been struggling without his creativity. They lost to Bordeaux, 0-2 in the CL and are almost out of contention to make the round of sixteen.

In the Bundesliga, Bayern are in sixth place with 19 points after five wins, four draws, and two losses.

Click to continue reading...

Según el diario italiano Tuttosport, el Bayern Munich estaría a la búsqueda de un portero consagrado para este mercado invernal.

Se habla nada más y nada menos que de Gianluigi Buffon, considerado por muchos como el mejor portero del mundo en la actualidad.

Click to continue reading...

Of the European World Cup play-offs I would argue that the Republic of Ireland's fixture against France is the pick of the ties. The Irish have shown a great battling spirit in their qualification campaign so far, drawing twice with Italy and narrowly missing out on defeating the Italians particular highlights.

Click to continue reading...

FIFA has announced its shortlist of 23 players for the Men's World Player of the Year award, and 10 players for the Women's World Player of the Year Award. National team captains and coaches will now vote (but not for players from their own country) and this final five will be revealed in early December, with the winners announced at FIFA's World Player bash in Zurich on December 21st.

Click to continue reading...

FIFA has announced its 23-man shortlist for World Player of the Year. Lets discuss who we think should win and why.

Michael Ballack
Gianluigi Buffon
Iker Casillas
Diego
Didier Drogba
Michael Essien
Samuel Eto'o
Steven Gerrard
Thierry Henry
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Andres Iniesta
Kaka
Frank Lampard
Luis Fabiano
Lionel Messi
Carles Puyol
Franck Ribery
Cristiano Ronaldo
Wayne Rooney
John Terry
Fernando Torres
David Villa
Xavi

Club-wise distribution

Chelsea 5
Manchester United 1
Liverpool 2
Valencia 1
Barcelona 6
Real Madrid 3
Sevilla 1
Inter 1
Juventus 2
Bayern Munich 1
Arsenal 0

Oh wait !

Click to continue reading...

Argentine ace and Barcelona star Lionel Messi has had quite a year. After leading Barcelona to an unprecedented treble in the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Ray he is now up for both the Ballon d'Or (European footballer of the year) and the equally prestigious FIFA World Player of the Year.

Click to continue reading...

Media criticism, internal criticism, huge injury concerns, a long winless streak, and the list goes on. All the aforementioned obstacles severely marred the opening of the current season for German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. In September, such was the state of affairs at Allianz Arena that new manager Louis van Gaal appeared to be on his way out of the Bavarian club sooner rather than later.

Click to continue reading...

While Wednesday's UEFA Champions League matches didn't have the same kind of upsets, save for one that was fairly huge. AC Milan, who had been off to a slow, struggling start to the 2009 campaign, came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 3-2 on the road against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Click to continue reading...

France are likely to be without midfield star Franck Ribery for their two World Cup play-off matches against the Republic of Ireland. Click to continue reading...

Franck Ribery could miss France's World Cup playoffs against Ireland next month because of an injury which has sidelined him for a month, France Football reported on their website Wednesday. Ribery is suffering from tendonitis in his left knee which requires "a new period of rest of approximately one month," the . 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.

Click to continue reading...

There were plenty of upsets yesterday, could we see more today? On paper Manchester United, who have struggled as of late, could be expected to slip against CSKA after a long trip to Moscow but CSKA has not been performing well either. I am not expecting a feast of football from that match and the real drama lies elsewhere in the schedule.

Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid's Kaka faces off against former club AC Milan while French champions Bordeaux take on Bayern Munich in today's marquee match-ups in UEFA Champions League group play.

Milan has struggled badly since Kaka's departure, but must now find a way to win in Madrid, while the winner of today's Bordeaux-Bayern clash will take control of a difficult Group A.

Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid's Kaka faces off against former club AC Milan while French champions Bordeaux take on Bayern Munich in today's marquee match-ups in UEFA Champions League group play.

Milan has struggled badly since Kaka's departure, but must now find a way to win in Madrid, while the winner of today's Bordeaux-Bayern clash will take control of a difficult Group A.

Click to continue reading...

The 30-man list of nominees for the 2009 Ballon d'Or has been announced. The list consisted of a Who's Who of European football. The most glaring thing is that there is no Italian player nominated in the top 30.

2009 Ballon d'Or Nominees

Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Kaka (Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Thierry Henry (Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona)
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Xavi (Barcelona)
Yaya Toure (Barcelona)
David Villa (Valencia)
Luis Fabiano (Sevilla)
Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid)
Diego (Juventus)
Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan)
Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)
Maicon (Inter Milan)
Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux)
Lionel Messi is arguably the favourite for this award this year. Click to continue reading...

I am going through the Champions League games this week and I am amazed at the stars who will be missing because of injury. The Champions League is billed as the best club tournament in the world, but this years event so far has failed to live up to the hype. Whether it is familiarity because the same sides play each other every year, or a full schedule that leaves players vulnerable to injury, the Champions League group stages this year have been a major disappointment.

Click to continue reading...

With the Ballon d'Or nominations finally releasing this weekend, the headlines have mostly been devoted to the fact that world champions Italy have no representation whatsoever. But why blame the press for paying excessive attention to an irrelevant detail? After all, the award itself is destined to be heading Lionel Messi's way, which means very little is there to be talked about in terms of debating the winner, right?

Click to continue reading...

France Football magazine has announced the following 30 nominees for their 2009 Golden Ball (Ballon D'Or) Award:
Andrei Arshavin (Russia and Arsenal)
Karim Benzema (France and OL/Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Spain and Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal and Manchester United/Real Madrid)
Diego (Brazil and Werder Bremen/Juventus)
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast and Chelsea)
Edin Dzeko (Bosnia and Wolfsburg)
Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon and Barcelona/Inter Milan)
Cesc Fabregas (Spain and Arsenal)
Fernando Torres (Spain and Liverpool)
Diego Forlan (Uruguay and Atletico Madrid)
Steven Gerrard (England and Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Wales and Manchester United)
Yoann Gourcuff (France and Bordeaux)
Thierry Henry (France and Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden and Inter Milan/Barcelona)
Andres Iniesta (Spain and Barcelona)
Julio Cesar (Brazil and Inter Milan)
Kaka' (Brazil and AC Milan/Real Madrid)
Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea)
Maicon (Brazil and Inter Milan)
Lionel Messi (Argentina and Barcelona)
Luis Fabiano (Brazil and FC Seville)
Franck Ribery (France and Bayern Munich)
Wayne Rooney (England and Manchester United)
John Terry (England and Chelsea)
Nemanja Vidic (Serbia and Manchester United)
David Villa (Spain and Valencia)
Click to continue reading...

10 Premier League players have been named in the 30 strong list for the European Player Of The Year Awards- three of which are Man United players.
Here is the list-
Arsenal- Andrey Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas
Atletico Madrid- Diego Forlan
Barcelona- Thierry Henry, Xavi, Yaya Toure, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi
Bayern Munich- Franck Ribery
Bordeaux- Yoann Gourcuff
Chelsea- John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba
Inter Milan- Samuel Eto'o, Julio Cesar and Maicon
Juventus- Diego
Liverpool- Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres
Man United- Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney
Real Madrid- Karim Benzema, Iker Casillas, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo
Sevilla- Luis Fabiano
Valencia- David Silva
Wolfsburg- Edin Dzeko
Barcelona dominates the list with six players and in all honesty. Click to continue reading...

This season's Champions League and Europa League has its usual cast of superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery but I wanted to feature a few names that I think you'll be hearing a lot more about as the January transfer window approaches.

1) Miralem Pjanic midfielder Olympique Lyonnais
The "new Juninho" (pictured above) has actually lived up to the moniker thus far.

Click to continue reading...

Apologies to Ireland, Slovenia, Ukraine and Bosnia. FIFA does not want you at the World Cup in South Africa next summer. So fervent was its determination that the rules of the competition were changed midway through it with the introduction of a seeding system in the qualifying play-offs.

Click to continue reading...

From Liverpool to City? Benayoun won't be winning over any United fans.
It's not news that Manchester City have been linked to some big January moves, but here they are:

• Yossi Benayoun linked to City, but claims he is happy at Anfield.

• Robinho is a target for Barcelona.

Click to continue reading...