The transfer market is almost at a standstill across Europe, but nowhere is the economic crisis
being felt more than in Spain where big money transfers were a common occurrence.
Not this summer where the biggest transfer has been the €14m that Barcelona paid for Jordi
Alba, one the revelations of Euro 2012.
Bologna has put a price tag of over £20million on coveted playmaker Gaston Ramirez, according to
the player's agent.
The Uruguay international has been strongly linked with a move away from Bologna this summer and is
a reported target of top European clubs including Manchester City, Liverpool and Juventus.
We are just a day away from the Champions League final and once again I have decided to take a look
at the opposition to try and discover their weakness. I have done this previously on two occasions,
The FA Cup Semi Final against Spurs and against Barcelona and I am proud to say the weaknesses I
identified were spot on!
In The Fan In You (TFIY) series, TSG explores how a fan became fanatical about their
favorite team. We're nowhere near derby time which makes this piece by Ronan Quinn not reduced to
noise in a sea of...vile.
Early roots...Newcastle vs. Sunderland
Watching Manchester United and Manchester City battle it out at the top for the first time has
given the derby games between the two a new dimension.
Hello to you from a very wet Thursday where I am. Couple of hours of heavy downpour has caused
the city to be in a standstill, especially with the morning traffic. But that's not there reason
you're here isn't it. You don't want to listen to my rambling about how the rain lead to traffic
congestion which ultimately lead to me being late for work this morning, do you?
Just last month, the Montreal Impact signed their first ever Designated Player, coming to an
agreement with the Italian ace Marco Di Vaio. Di Vaio was one of the greatest scorers in Serie A
history, scoring 142 goals in 342 matches.
Before the Italian has even stepped onto the pitch with his teammates (transfer window does not
open until June 27th), reports have the Impact in talks with another Serie A veteran.
The stage was set after 68 minutes of frustrating football with Arsenal brought to a standstill
by a Leeds Utd team that parked the bus. The moment everyone was waiting for with bated breath.
Number 12 strode in to a standing ovation - Thierry Henry had arrived home to a flood of good time
memories.
Tom Marshall in his blog FMF State of Mind highlights the possible repercussions of the drug
cartel related violence that erupted outside the Estadio Corona in Torreon which brought a match
between home team Santos Laguna and Monarcas Morelia to a standstill this weekend.
The shootout between the drug cartels and police authorities led to the players and officials
fleeing the field and as the gunfire intensified part of the crowd invaded the pitch heading
towards the exits.
Apparently the Iraqis did not play like as what suggested by some being "kids' footballers"
following the remark on the artificial surface of the Jalan Besar Stadium by their coach, Zico
prior to the match.
In fact, the visiting side looked fairly comfortable on the plastic surface with much of the
attacking play by them in the first half.
I was watching the NDP rally that ended moments ago and thought would like to add my
less-than-a-dime thought having saw a clip of the 1994 Malaysia Cup Final win over Pahang by the
Singapore team.
The Prime Minister was quoting someone who shared with that moment as a 17 year-old by saying that
"it was not about the victory then, but more for the fact it was a time when strangers come
together and stand unison before the team.
When it comes to countries nutty about sport, few are nuttier than the Australians. Australia;
where a horse race can bring the county to a standstill; where men in tight, very tight shorts
chase an odd shaped ball are often cheered on by 70,000 nutty spectators; where two types of rugby
are popular and they excel in both.
The streets of Barcelona last night ground to a standstill as Lionel Messi's epic goal drought
reached a critical level. The city has called a hosepipe ban to help to cope with the drought, but
Barcelona's transport system has also been affected by the drought. The three-time World Player of
the Year if you [.
With the New England Revolution getting the weekend off after losing to FC Dallas Thursday
night, news in Revsland has slowed to almost a standstill. It was a busy weekend overseas, though,
with Revs alum Clint Dempsey scoring a stunner against Fulham and several other US players abroad
making their marks on the scoresheet.
Oh yeah, snow, that's just what we need. It might only be a light dusting but that's all it
takes for everything to grind to a standstill. The only person who will be pleased is the
Mugsmasher who went out and bought snow tyres for his car. Or his mountain bike. One or the other.
He'll be gleeful this morning, let me tell you.
Bob Bradley has been sacked by USSF as coach of the US men's national team.
"We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five
years," said Gulati. "During his time as the head coach of our Men's National Team he led the team
to a number of accomplishments, but we felt now was the right time for us to make a change.
