At the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on the eighteenth of June 1972, West Germany lifted their first major tournament trophy since the 1954 World Cup. Two years later, at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, they lifted the World Cup. Yet it is sometimes said that the team of 1972 is more fondly remembered than the team of two years later, and it is certainly fair to say that the road to these twin victories was not without its problems.

If you' re any sort of women's soccer fan, you know about Alex Morgan.

The 22-year-old wunderkind, known as the "super sub" during the Women's World Cup last summer and in the recent CONCACAF Olympic qualifying matches, has a nose for the goal. The former Cal soccer star has also been noted for her amazing mix of strength and beauty which makes her the epitome of Pretty Tough.

Following U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo's naked lawn watering in ESPN The Magazine's body issue, Alex Morgan -- Hope's U.S national teammate and fellow recipient of an impressive number of Facebook marriage proposals during last summer's Women's World Cup -- will be one of three female athletes to pose in bodypaint for the upcoming Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

As the dust clears from the impact of the news that Fabio Capello had called it a day with/been fired by England, the Football Association have a minor headache to deal with in their search for a replacement.
Harry Redknapp has had his name on the job for some time, at least since Tottenham Hotspur's dazzling display in last year's Champions League convinced the doubters he could cut it in international football.

Novak Djokovic beat Rafal Nadal in a herculean Australian Open finals that lasted 6 hours. The same day Arsenal had to summon every fibre to overcome a two goal deficit to overcome Aston Villa and prevent a FA Cup exit.

And then there is the US Women's team that blanked Canada, 4-0, en route to winning the CONCACAF qualifiers to the London Olympics.

The African Cup of Nations' effect on Arsenal sums up the slightly oddball line-up for this year's tournament. That Alexandre Song could line out against Swansea was a huge boost (at least until his somewhat floundering performance on the day). That Marouane Chamakh could not was... well... a huge boost too.

Chris Coleman has been announced as the new manager of Wales, replacing Gary Speed who tragically died a few months ago. Coleman stated that it was such a bittersweet emotion, becoming Wales manager in such sad circumstances, but feels that he can continue much of the good work that Gary had began.

Lionel Messi won his third Ballon D'Or this week. To celebrate he will be donning a very special pair of boots for Barcelona's match against Real Betis this weekend. The customised adizero F50 boots have been produced in a celebratory gold colourway and feature the flag of Argentina, the years of Leo's Ballon d'Or successes [.

Why England's 2011 form is no cause for optimism

Saw Fabio Capello at a drinks reception the other night. He was in bullish mood. After an unbeaten 2011, some England supporters might share his infectious positivity. And maybe it was the vino — but I also began to optimistically wonder what 2012 might bring for the English team.

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has won the Philips Manager of the Year award after guiding the national side to their first major championship finals in 10 years.
The Italian was in competition with Dublin football manager Pat Gilroy, who led the capital side to their first All-Ireland title in 16 years, Brian Cody, who lifted the Liam McCarthy trophy with Kilkenny, and Leinster's Heineken Cup-winning coach Joe Schmidt.

Socrates, the great Brazilian soccer maverick, has died at age 57. Those who saw him play were moved by his style. He glided over the grass, his intelligence working the angles, carving space, inspirational and beautiful. He was unlike the other midfield maestro of his era Maradona. The Argentine was a short squat explosive; Socrates embodied elegance and poise, something special, the man with the golden heel.

Is Group C of the Euro 2012 finals Croatia, Italy, Ireland and Spain the most catholic group in international football tournament finals history? That thought occurred with the fourth team in two of next summer's groups still to be drawn out and Italy's and England's balls still to be opened. When Saturday Comes magazine asked the question of one of the 2002 World Cup finals groups – also involving Italy and Croatia, alongside Mexico and Ecuador so it wasn't an original thought (when I have one, I'll surely let you know).

The world of football is in mourning after the death of Brazilian Legend Socrates. Socrates died on Sunday after suffering septic shock due to intestinal infection. Often refered to as the man with the golden feet, Socrates will be most remembered as a memeber of the great Brazilian side of 1982 that despite their talent failed to win the world cup.

Brazilian Legend Socrates died aged 57 today. Though a Doctor of Medicine the highly intelligent midfielder was also a shock. He is survived by heavy drinker and smoker. He died after being admitted to Hospital with Gastrointestinal bleeding before dying from septic is Wife and six children.

Former Brazilian striker Ronaldo has accepted an offer to lead the Brazilian 2014 world cup organising committee. Ronaldo who holds the record of having scored the most goals in world cup finals history, will be confirmed in his new role today.

Ronaldo who recently retired after admitting that the injuries he had sustained over the course of his career had taken a toll on his fitness is regarded as one of the all time best out and out strikers in the game.

Last week, in the wake of England's heroic (cough) win against Spain at Wembley in what can only be described as the friendly international to end all friendly internationals, we took a look at a few matches from their past in which the national team had managed to pluck a result from somewhere against a decent team, but failed to capitalise upon it.

It was a process that took around six years from top to tail in total, and it came in three very distinct phases. I had been a supporter of the England national team, reasoning that, with no foreign blood in the family tree and a knowledge that we weren't all as bad as we were painted, I had to have someone to follow for international tournaments.

It was a process that took around six years from top to tail in total, and it came in three very distinct phases. I had been a supporter of the England national team, reasoning that, with no foreign blood in the family tree and a knowledge that we weren't all as bad as we were painted, I had to have someone to follow for international tournaments.

By Alan Duffy

"La la la la la la la la..... I can't hear you... La la la la la la la .... Everything is fine..... La la la la la la"

Why hasn't Sepp Blatter been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize yet? He surely is the new Gandhi?

Following on from his suggestion that female footballers should wear skimpy outfits to make the game more popular, and that gay people visiting the World Cup finals in Qatar should simply refrain from sexual activity while in the country, the champion of civil rights has now devised an answer to the problem of racism in football, something that is once again in the spotlight.

England face Sweden at Wembley tonight in what the FA would describe as another ‘vital' friendly. But look into the history of the two nations and one statistic jumps out: England cannot beat those Swedes! It was a friendly at Wembley on May 22, 1968, when we last recorded a win over them. Since then, [.

Ireland assistant boss Marco Tardelli has told Ireland's players they could be preparing for the most important games of their lives as they attempt to book a trip to the Euro 2012 finals in Poland & Ukraine next summer.
Ireland face Estonia in a two-legged play-off over the next seven days with a place at next summer's tournament at stake.

FIFA have released the dates and venues for the matches of the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, with the patience of traveling supporters set to be tested once again.
Instead of keeping group games within a couple of venues located close to one-another, as used to be the norm, fans will face trips of up to 2,000 miles in order to watch all of their nation's opening clashes.

Morocco will host both the 2013 and 2014 FIFA Club World Cups.
Iran, South Africa and the U.A.E. all withdrew their bids, leaving FIFA to bring the competition to Africa for the first time. The hosting is set to be rubber-stamped in Zurich in December.
The North African nation has a strong soccer tradition, and the national team memorably became the first African nation to win a group in the World Cup Finals, topping England, Portugal and Poland at Mexico '86, before losing to a late Lothar Matthaus goal from eventual finalists West Germany in the next round.

David Beckham's legacy is already tainted. Tainted because he will forever be remembered as the man who dated a Spice Girl as much as he would for his starring role in the final minutes of the 1999 Champions League final. Tainted because he will forever be recognised as an Armani poster-boy as much as he would for his last-gasp free-kick against Greece which helped propel England to the World Cup Finals in 2001.

David Beckham's legacy is already tainted. Tainted because he will forever be remembered as the man who dated a Spice Girl as much as he would for his starring role in the final minutes of the 1999 Champions League final. Tainted because he will forever be recognised as an Armani poster-boy as much as he would for his last-gasp free-kick against Greece which helped propel England to the World Cup Finals in 2001.

By Alan Duffy

Miguel Calero, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who currently plies his trade with Pachuca in the Mexican league, is set to retire this weekend after a long and eventful career.

The 6'3″ goalie appeared for Colombia in the 1998 World Cup Finals and won numerous club titles in his time in Mexico, despite being a less than reliable performer between the posts.

If football has changed almost over the last twenty or thirty years or so, one of the more comforting ways to reach back into the past is to delve into the all too rare BBC radio commentaries of matches from days gone by, and in particular to locate the lush, almost melodic vocal range of Peter Jones.

Joe Cole embraces life with Lille to reinvigorate his England hopes

Winger has refound his joie de vivre since moving to France, so much so he has gone back to school to learn the language Early afternoon drinking decaffeinated espresso at a cafe just off Lille's Place du Général de Gaulle, the placarded stragglers from a trade union protest against austerity measures adding to the hustle and bustle on the cobbled street, and the Englishman abroad seems at ease.

Sometimes we see a game and think that it was an epic game. But one match was so incredible, that over 40 years later it is still known as the Game of the Century. It was Italy vs. West Germany in the semifinals of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. With two European football powers clashing for one spot in the coveted World Cup finals and players from both teams who are legends, it was probably always destined to be epic.

In order to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, France needed a goal involving an uncalled handball by Thierry Henry in order to beat Ireland. On Tuesday, France qualified for Euro 2012 thanks to the penalty call depicted in the video below. Bosnia had been leading the match, 1-0, thanks to an Edin Dzeko goal in the first half, with only 13 minutes plus penalty time left to go.

Just four games into the new season isn't really time to judge the season end trophy winners, but any season that starts with players considering strike action is bound to affect initial preparations. Who would have thought that by the beginning of October we'd see Inter Milan down in 16th position with Roma and Milan mid table?

By Clemente Lisi – Harrison, NJ (Oct 10, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Ecuador comes to the New York area to play the United States on Tuesday night at Red Bull Arena four days after embarking on their two-year quest to reach the 2014 World Cup finals. Ecuador defeated Venezuela 2-0 on Friday in their opening game in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.

As focus shifted to major international matches taking place this weekend, it was a different scenario in South America as the continent began the tedious qualification process for the Brazil 2014 World Cup finals.

Both Argentina and Uruguay won convincingly with La Albiceleste beating Chile 4-1 at home while Uruguay settled for a 4-2 win over Bolivia in Montevideo.

Just hours before England's crucial Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro, traces of disquiet in the team camp are emerging. Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher has for the first time spoken out the issue surrounding the FA selecting a foreigner to coach the team.

Carragher believes it was wrong for England to have appointed a foreigner to coach the team.

Former French international and one of the games greats Zinedine Zidane is considering the option of returning to the French national team as a coach. Zidane who retired from the side after he infamously head butted Marco Materazzi during the 2006 world cup finals, made the statement when questioned by Le Parisien.

One of the most controversial games in World Cup history just increased and decreased in controversy simultaneously. That's an achievement in itself.

The 1966 World Cup final was marked by the was-it-or-wasn't-it-over-the-line debate over Geoff Hurst's third and decisive goal.

EXCLUSIVE John Motson interview: Four decades, 1700 matches... and countless sheepskin coats!

Dear old Motty's notes went flying, a table on the gantry overturned and microphone leads were ripped from their sockets. Somehow, amid the bedlam, John Motson managed to convey the drama of David Beckham's ­stoppage-time free kick against Greece, which sent England to the 2002 World Cup finals, into the nation's living rooms.

By Alan Duffy

Having apparently missed out on another footballing bad boy in the shape of El Hadji Diouf, Doncaster Rovers boss Dean Saunders has now snapped up former Spurs defender Pascal Chimbonda.

The 32-year-old Frenchman, a free agent since leaving QPR in April, was part of Les Bleus' squad at the 2006 World Cup Finals and has also had spells at Wigan, Sunderland and Blackburn.

Michael Owen scored twice last night as a Manchester United second string easily disposed of Leeds United to reach the fourth round of the Carling Cup. It was a comfortable victory for United and one which highlights the depth of the squad and the quality that is coming through the youth ranks at Old Trafford once again.

Egypt have appointed former United States coach Bob Bradley as national team manager, state news agency MENA said on Wednesday.
Bradley replaces long-standing coach Hassan Shehata who left in June after holders Egypt struggled in qualifying for the 2012 African Nations Cup finals. They have since been eliminated.