Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke says he "won't necessarily accept" being told he has to stay at the club. The Belgium international was Villa's star man this season. Without his goals, Paul Lambert's side would probably have been relegated. While that has made him a hero at Villa Park, Benteke says he would have no [.
The new Arsenal winger Lukas Podolski has been extremely impressive in the opening games of this season as the Gunners have remained unbeaten in all competitions, but the German international has declared that it is far too early for him to be declared a star for the Gunners after just a few games into his first season.
Shortly after Boca Juniors lost to Corinthians in the Copa Libertadores final, 34-year-old Juan
Roman Riquelme announced his intention to leave the Argentine giants for a second time. It was aÂ
devastating blow to Boca fans made even worse when word spread that their all-mighty hero might go
to Brazil to join Flamengo.
You'd have thought by now we'd be used to it. It happens all the time. Welcome to the
machine.
In a world forever set in flux, players will come and players will go. You may well have grown
fond of them during their time, they may well have reciprocated the sentiment but to expect
anything other than a finite relationship is either futile and/or bewilderingly naive.
A young Liverpool fan desperate to meet hero Fernando Torres ended up becoming part of Chelsea's Europa League trophy presentation. Louis Kearns, aged 11, had been at the match with his dad. As Chelsea's players made their way past Louis' seat, he was desperate to get up close and personal with Torres and former Liverpool [.
Liverpool put in a tremendous against Man City at Anfield on Sunday and were very unlucky not to
gain all three points. Martin Skrtel scored Liverpool's opener with a great header from a corner,
but he turned from hero to villian when a very poor back-pass allowed Carlos Tevez in for the
equaliser.
Soccer has always had heroes and villains. It is all part of the show, particularly in the
commercialized world of today. Often a player can be viewed as a hero by one person and a villain
by another, depending on ...
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Giantkillers Oldham's FA Cup adventure ended in a 3-1 defeat at Everton. The Latics faced an uphill battle from the moment Kevin Mirallas gave the Toffees an early lead. Former Everton player Jose Baxter almost levelled, but his curled effort hit the inside of Tim Howard's post and bounced out. Goals from Leighton Baines and [.
Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel had a rough night at the hands of Lyon supporters during last night's Europa League clash. It seems the French side's fans had taken exception to the fact that everyone's favourite near-geriatric goalie was keeping former Lyon hero Hugo Lloris out of the side. But Friedel clearly enjoyed having his say [.
We're not saying that Manchester City players are on big money... but it appears Samir Nasri has hired Marouane Chamakh as his bodyguard. The former Arsenal team-mates went to watch yesterday's match between the Gunners and City at the Emirates, with Nasri out suspended. But there were ugly scenes outside the ground as angry Arsenal [.
Andre Santos' fairly dubious performances at left-back had already got many Arsenal fans wondering if he's the man for them. So, he decided to use Saturday's defeat at Manchester United to alienate any Gooners who still had some patience remaining. With the Gunners trailing, the Brazilian chose walking down the tunnel at half-time as an [.
As was the case four years ago, the USWNT have collected Olympic gold, beating Japan 2-1. And like
four years ago, your hero is Carli Lloyd. Apparently, revenge is best served in a pastry pie with
mash. Here is her second goal of the day, the silly winner. - Greg Seltzer
1. Kicking an annoying as heck fan in the hand. To be kicked by the man who made the Hand of God
a part of footballing lore could be considered a tribute.
2. His heartfelt condolences to the father of Theyab Awana, the UAE hero who died in a car
accident.
The internet is a funny old place. Not only can it transform a man desperately attempting to stop
his dog chasing deer into an overnight viral sensation, it can also encourage three 1990s football
veterans to mimic said viral. Newcastle hero Alan Shearer, ex-Southampton pretty boy Iain Dowie and
former Aston Villa, Blackburn and Leicester [.
You may have noticed that Italy 'keeper Gigi Buffon stormed down the tunnel in a furious funk
after Italy's Euro 2012 semi-final win over Germany last night, shrugging off the congratulatoryÂ
advances of his deputy, Morgan de Sanctis, and having to seriously restrain himself from belting
the Euro 2012 mascot across it's foam-rubbery face on the way.
Matt Smith's reward for grabbing a last-gasp equaliser for Oldham against Everton will be a fine. The substitute ignored a signed order from caretaker manager Tony Philliskirk that all Latics players must keep hold of the shirts after the match. The note above was placed in the Boundary Park tunnel ahead of the FA Cup [.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7_D95OAYW4 Martin Keown's words about his hero. It's always great
to hear a star speak about their heros and their inspirations. What do they look for in a player?
What drives them on and builds their personal drive...
Mix Diskerud is the latest hero for Rosenborg, pushing the club into the Europa League group stage.
With games against fellow American Terrence Boyd's Rapid Vienna, Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, and
Ukraine's FC Metalist looming, let's learn a little more about Norway's biggest club. Why Are We
Here? After making 81 appearances for Stabaek, Mix Diskerud went on loan to Belgium's Gent in 2012.
TweetMario Balotelli was reduced to tears after Italy were soundly beaten by champions Spain in the
Euro 2012 final Balotelli was the hero of the semi-final after his brace helped the Azzurri bag a
famous 2-1 win over Germany. However, the 21-year-old was powerless to stop Spain in Kiev and then
clashed with members of [.
Mix Diskerud was the hero for Rosenborg in the Europa League playoff round, advancing them past
Legia Warsaw 2-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate. Legia took the lead in the 36th minute with
Tore Reginiussen equalizing for Rosenborg in the 69th. Diskerud scored the winner on the night and
for the series in the 87th minute.
The United States shutout Mexico on Wednesday night to record their first win at Estadio Azteca.
Michael Orozco was the goal scoring hero for the USA, finishing off a sequence in front of the
Mexico goal in the 80th minute that started with a run into the box from Brek Shea. Orozco had
subbed on three minutes earlier.
Carli Lloyd talks to Michele Tafoya about proving skeptics wrong and being "quick for the instant"
in the womanhoods's soccer concluding, the second sequent Olympic terminal in which she proved to
be the hero.
When the Colorado Rapids come to CenturyLink Field for Saturday night's NBC SportsNet match they
will be trying to break their own funk. They have two wins and six losses on the road. Their big
home/away split is fairly typical for a Denver based sports team, and the Seattle Sounders will get
to take advantage of that.
Predictably, the women in stripes, but sometimes just navy blue, are unavoidable this morning in
any media, courtesy of their last-minute defeat of Canada yesterday, which, yes, was a remarkably
good game. Good for them. In case you're somehow missing it, allow me:
U.S. Women's Soccer Team Beats Canada in Olympic Extra-Time Thriller
U.
The Vancouver Whitecaps jumped all over the LA Galaxy early on in their Western Conference
showdown at BC Place, but a David Beckham-led comeback helped the Galaxy escape Canada with a
precious road point.
Beckham notched a goal and assist, including helping set up a dramatic equalizer from rookie
Jose Villarreal, in a 2-2 draw on Wednesday night.
Eric Cantona unleashed his infamous kung fu kick when Sergio Aguero's last-minute goal handed the
Premier League title to Manchester City. According to the Manchester United hero's son, having the
title cruelly snatched away was too much for Cantona to take. And a coffee table bore the brunt of
his frustration.
Everton skipper Phil Neville has urged LA Galaxy star Landon Donovan to seriously consider a
permanent switch to Goodison Park after thriving with the Toffees in two separate loan spells.
Donovan represented the blue half of Merseyside in the MLS off-seasons during 2010 and 2012 but
due to the short duration of each loan spell, he could only make a total of 17 appearances.
The US Soccer Federation released the following statement on behalf of Claudio Reyna and his
family. "It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that Jack Reyna lost his battle with cancer
today. Jack was so courageous during his two-year fight that he's become a hero and inspiration to
many. Surrounded by his entire family, Jack passed peacefully at the age of 13.
Jack Reyna, the son of former U.S. national team great and current U.S. Soccer youth technical
director Claudio Reyna, passed away Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 13.
Reyna, his wife Danielle and their family issued a statement through U.S. Soccer on Friday:
"It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that Jack Reyna lost his battle with cancer
(Thursday).
Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci escaped unharmed from an attempt to rob him at gunpoint by punching his attacker in the face. The Italy international was leaving a Ferrari dealership in Turin with his wife and baby when he was approached. A man held a gun against his head and demanded Bonucci hand over his expensive watch.
Charleston Battery 1-0 Wilmington Hammerheads The Charleston Batteries Michael Azira was the
hero Saturday night in front of 4,963 fans at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, SC., who played host
to this years USL PRO Championship match. Azira scored the loan goal of the match in the 74th
minute when Jose Cuevas fed him up the [.
By the looks of the patch upon which these gents are playing, this match was played with beer at
pregame at halftime as well as the postgame. Doesn't matter Dominique Niederhauser is hero for the
week, for the month, til someone does better.
On a night where Tim Cahill scored his first goal as a Red Bull and the team rallied from a 2-0
deficit for a 3-2 victory, it was Bill Gaudette who stole the show.
And that says a lot.
"I think the real hero tonight was probably Billy," Cahill said after the match.
Michael Parkhurst played the hero on Sunday afternoon in Aarhus, striking the second-half winner
for Nordsjaelland as they continued their ascent back into the Superligaen elite.
In case there were anymore of you out there concerned that Mario Martinez was nothing more than
myth, the Honduran hero was actually training with the Seattle Sounders on Friday and will likely
make his debut this weekend. Sounders coach Sigi Schmid Martinez could play as early as Saturday
against the Vancouver Whitecaps, but would definitely play in Sunday's Reserve League match.
Portland scores the first and only goal of the first half and then tries to absorb pressure for
the rest of the game and defend. Absorbing the pressure did not work out as Toronto FC produced two
goals and forced Portland to try and create another goal. Not only did they create they created a
beauty of a goal during the run of play and came away with the 2-2 tie.
A rather exuberant fan of Edison Cavani, evidenced by the portrait in his fan, is even more
exuberant to see his hero. Or is auditioning for a horror flick to be distributed by Tartan Asia
Extreme. One or the other. (Yes, this is in Beijing and they're predominantly South Korean
films.
Here's a little something for you to watch as you wait for today's Euro match - Hero: The
Official Documentary of the 1986 World Cup.
The 1986 World Cup finals, which were held in Mexico, is best known for Maradona's "Hand of God
Goal" against England in the quarterfinals as well as being known for the birth of the "Mexican
Wave.
For those not accustomed to having the beautiful game on their televisions, this week must have
come as a shock as soccer dominated the airwaves. ESPN made sure all the twist and turns of Euro
2012 were not missed by anyone, while Major League Soccer came back with a vengeance and some
upsets along the way.
