Champions League: The most successful countries and cities - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
This year's Champions League will obviously go to Germany and it will be the seventh time a German club will be crowned the champions of Europe. Which makes one wonder, how many Champions League trophies have gone to the other top European football nations.
Rafael of Manchester United (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
With a number of the top European leagues entering their final 10 games of the season, we find ourselves at an exciting time in the world football calendar. A strong run of form now could see two championships won, continental football secured and even the threat of relegation avoided.
Our friends at French Football Weekly met up with Joey Bartonand it didn't end with someone on the ground, begging for an ambulance. Nor did it end in a mass recital of Nietzsche's aphorisms. No, Andrew Gibney and Scott Johnson had 30 minutes with England's most outspoken player, and it's one of the most interesting, well-balanced interviews we've seen in months.
Joey Barton bad-mouths Neymar on Twitter - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Marseille midfielder Joey Barton has stooped to a new low afterlabelingBrazilian superstar Neymar as "cat piss in reality" through social networking site Twitter.
Ironically, Barton has the same initials as Justin Bieber JB.
PSG vs Marseille Coupe de France 2013 Highlights 2-0 Ibrahimovic Goals Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter
PSG vs Marseille Coupe de France 2013 Highlights 2-0 Ibrahimovic Goals Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter PSG vs Marseille 2013 ( Paris SG OM French Cup VIDEO BELOW) Final score and result:- PSG vs Marseille 2-0 ( Ibrahimovic*2) Parc des Princes, Paris- 27 February, 2013- 19.
PSG vs Marseille 2013 Highlights N'Koulou OG Ibrahimovic Goal Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter
PSG vs Marseille 2013 Highlights N'Koulou OG Ibrahimovic Goal Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter PSG vs Marseille 2013 ( Paris SG OM VIDEO BELOW) Final score and result:- PSG vs Marseille 2-0 ( N'Koulou OG, Ibrahimovic) Parc des Princes, Paris- 24 February, 2013- 20.
Adopted Frenchman Joey Barton doubts whether former England skipper David Beckham can have the same earth-shattering impact that he has had on Ligue 1. The Marseille midfielder said that if Beckham did manage to play against his side for PSG he would probably not be the "main concern" for their defence.
Over in Ligue 1 this weekend, Marseille winger Jordan Ayew (younger brother of Andre, who also plays for L'OM) managed the impressive feat of picking up two yellow cards in the space of 11 seconds against Evian Thonon Gaillard, and all this just in just over a minute after coming on as a second-half substitute!
New PSG Signing David Beckham-Photo by Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
Paris Saint-Germain have taken the football world by storm, in both a sporting and monetary sense.
In January, the French club continued their summer expenditures with the signing of David Beckham on a five-month deal likely not the last big player to join Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Javier Pastore, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Thiago Silva in the capital over the next few seasons.
Joey Barton apologizes over twitter row - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Joey Barton has apologized publicly for using offensive and untrue comments on social networking site Twitter about his former teammate Dietmar Hamann.
Joey Barton is too old to learn to control himiself now
On Monday 14th January, the twitter row started between two former Manchester City players that took shape of fun, personal insults and vicious at times.
Ligue 1 Stadiums: As seen from above - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Ligue 1 is ranked fifth in Europe behind Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A but they have managed to attract a lot of star power recently, mainly just Paris Saint-Germain though.
Currently only 26 football stadiums have a capacity of 20,000 or more in France.
Loic Remy to choose QPR over Newcastle? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Queens Park Rangers are close to completing the signature of French striker Loic Remy after hijacking the deal from Newcastle United's nose in a dramatic turn of events.
The West London club matched the £8 million asking price of Marseille and offered Remy about £70,000 a week plus bonuses, way better than had been proposed by Newcastle, making him one of the highest earners at the club.
Loic Remy on the brink of Newcastle move - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Newcastle United are looking to wrap up a deal for French striker Loic Remy after Marseille president Vincent Labrune has revealed that both the clubs have reached an agreement believed to be in the region of £8 million.
QPR looking to swoop on Loic Remy and M'Vila - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
QPR manager Harry Redknapp is looking to exploit the French market in the January transfer window and has stepped up the chase to bring French duo Loic Remy and Yann M'Vila at the London club.
Marseille forward Remy, whose career has hit a snag through injuries recently has been wanted by host of English clubs including Newcastle United.
As the calendar year 2012 comes to an end and with French football all wrapped up for another year, it's unsurprising to see that "Zlatan Ibrahimović'sParis St. Germain" are the club that have topped the French charts during 2012.
It's quite interesting to note that the three promoted sides Bastia, Reims and Troyes haven't performed very strongly in the first half of the 2012/2013 season.
Manchester United loses out to Real Madrid as the most valued football team - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
To become one of the world's most valuable football teams, clubs have to convert their victories on the pitch into money in the bank. Over the last few years, no team has done this as well as Manchester United.
Arsenal and Liverpool are set to go head-to-head in the race to sign defender Nicolas N'Koulou, according to reports. The Daily Star claims both the Gunners and Reds are showing a keen interest in the 23-year-old Marseille defender, with Newcastle United also pursuing the Cameroonian international.
The highly-talented French striker Loic Remy has been linked with Arsenal for many years but when he finally moved to the Premiership in January it was to our London rivals QPR, amid fears that he was injury prone.
Remy has since been very vocal in making it clear that he didn't want to leave Marseille (never mind to join QPR) in January, and would have preferred to show his best form at the French giants before moving to England.
He may not be the biggest name in the world of football, but Nicolas N'Koulou has attracted the interest of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham with his performances for AS Monaco and Marseille. If Arsene Wenger is thinking of signing the central defender in the summer, he will have been encouraged to do so what N'koulou said this week.
Marseille defender Nicolas N'koulou has spoken out about his reported move to Arsenal this summer, admitting that his future will not be discussed until the summer.
The Cameroonian centre-back is reported as being an £8Million transfer target for Arsene Wenger, who is actively seeking targets to strengthen his squad over the summer.
By Kirsten Schlewitz / Senior West Coast Beer and Aston Villa Correspondent
Hey everyone! I’m back to bring you the best beers to pair with the best soccer matches of the weekend. Alas, I have picked a horrible weekend to return, as there are no truly great matchups coming up in the next few days.
Manchester City climb five places on Deloitte list of top earners - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Manchester City have risen five places on the Deloitte list of football's top earning sides. City were aided by the fact they secured their first Premier League title over the 2011/2012 season which now means that half of the top ten clubs on the list are English.
It appears as if Arsenal are thinking of doing to Newcastle what a number of other Premier league teams usually do to us. Newcastle United have had great success with their scouting network in recent years, especially in France, and they were apparently on the verge of making the French international striker, Loic Remy, the latest addition at St.
How low have we already dropped? On the evening of the 26th matchday, the PSG was still in sight, three points ahead, but the OL had a rather comfortable mattress, 5 points ahead of Marseille, 6 of Nice, 7 of St-Etienne 10 of Montpellier and Rennes, and 11 of Lille.
6 weeks later the pack are there, close behind, and we can even feel Lille's breath on Lyon's neck.
You know, someone should've thought of this idea sooner: put Joey Barton and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on rival clubs in the same league, and everybody will come out a winner. Neither men has been known to hold their tongue for very long.
Joey got his in last night during a cup game in France, telling Zlatan that he has a "big fucking nose.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic of PSG and Joey Barton of Marseille-Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
This Wednesday, two of Ligue 1′s best teams will square off in the French domestic tournament, the Coupe de France, when PSG face Marseille in another installment of Le Classique. PSG have lived up to expectations after a lavish spending spree and currently sit first place in Ligue 1, eight points above third-placed Marseille.
On the heels of an impressive 15-minute debut for Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday, David Beckham has been handed a place in the starting XI in advance of his new club's match against Marseille in the Coupe de France.
Beckham's flick pass on Sunday in the 90th minute helped lead to the second goal of PSG's 2-0 Ligue 1 win over Marseille, with the two powerhouses now facing off once more in the cup competition.
Through Ryu's Lens: Beckham rises in Paris, Marseille falls
It was the grand derby, Le Classique between Paris St Germain and Marseille. PSG hoped to extend their lead in Ligue 1, and were somewhat fortunate to come away with a cool 2-0 victory.
A pub fight started after one man told another he looked like Joey Barton, a court heard. Sean Beckwith, 21, and Maxwell McStravick, 40, admitted using threatening behaviour after Beckwith had told McStravick he looked like the former Newcastle bad-boy while both drank at the Tap and Spile pub in Darlington.
Joey Barton: The enigmatic figure of English football - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Apart from his footballing skills, what sets Joey Barton apart from the rest are his antics off the field and no other footballer (bar Mario Balotelli) can divide opinions as much as the Marseille midfielder does.
Joey Barton took time out of his busy schedule of defaming people on Twitter to participate in this week's second edition of Le Classique, the derby between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain.
Much was made of the English midfield battle between David Beckham and Barton before the Coupe de la Ligue match started, but our favorite pacifist philosopher actually got on the wrong side of Zlatan Ibrahimovic instead.
The OM 2013/14 away kit is fashioned as a pair of jeans to represent the popularity and authenticity of Marseille. The jeans is a universal garment par excellence, supported by all citizens of the world regardless of age and origin. This material is fully consistent with the DNA of the popular club, trans-generational and unifying.
Before joining Chelsea, Cesar "just call me Dave" Azpilicueta played two trophy-strewn seasons with Marseille.
According to our friends at 101GG, when Dave arrived in France, OM president Jean-Claude Dassier declared him to be "the future right full back of the Spanish national team". On RMC — the French sports radio station that previously brought you overt sexism — former Marseille left-back and current radio personality Éric Di Meco disagreed, saying "if that happens, I'll eat a rat.
An Olympico, dubbed so as the Classico of the two Olympiques, Lyonnais and de Marseille, is a very special match, the second the Lyon players note in their agendas after the derby with St Etienne. And tonight more than any other. Between their ambition of a podium slot synonymous of CL next season, and, why not, of winning the title, and the OM aspirations of a revenge after their humiliation in Marseille for the first leg (1-4, possibly the best OL display this season, with Gomis walking on water), both teams tonight promise a high level and intense encounter that will smell a strong scent of Champions League.
French club Marseille is lookingat submitting a proposal to Benfica for midfielderBruno Cesar come January. Benfica's price tag on the sale of the Brazilian is $15 million euros and it is said that the French side is more inclined to borrow the player then purchase him.The 24 year old has seen his playing time diminish in his second season with the Eagles and has only started in two
