Month: November 2024

The dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Ballon d Or has finally ended, with Luka Modric taking home France Football s 2018 prize.

Starting in 2008, great rivals Messi and Ronaldo had combined to account for the honour in 10 consecutive years.

Yet Modric s role in guiding Croatia to the World Cup final and Real Madrid to Champions League glory saw him rewarded, breaking up the monopoly that began after Kaka s sole win.

Much has changed since AC Milan s Brazilian midfield star was victorious

KAKA S YEAR

Champions League triumphs have tended to heavily influence voters for this award and Kaka s role in the 2006-07 final made him the obvious candidate later that year. The midfielder played a role in both goals as Milan d…

According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Inter Milan are set to give up on their pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal. They’ve made it clear that they wanted to try and get this deal over the finish line during the January transfer window, but now that we’re over half way through the month, it doesn’t seem quite as plausible. 

Inter have been busier than most top European clubs across the last few months in terms of what they want to try and accomplish in the transfer window, and at this moment in time, it appears to be paying off as they continue to close down on Juventus in the race for the Serie A title. 

Vidal has been around the block once or twice and now that it’s clear Barcelona aren’t overly interested in featuring him on a consist…

Manchester City captain David Silva reached 200 Premier League wins quicker than any player in Premier League history this weekend.

The former Spain international came off the bench to help see out a 3-1 triumph at Everton after Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling were on target at Goodison Park.

It was Silva s 289th appearance for City, meaning he reached his double century 16 games quicker than the previous record-holder – Chelsea great John Terry who chalked up 200 wins in 305 outings.

Terry s former Chelsea colleagues Petr Cech (310 matches) and Ashley Cole (318 matches) are also in the top five, with Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs (315 matches) there as well.

Since joining City from Valencia in 2010, Silva has made a strong claim to …

Diego Maradona has stepped down as head coach of Superliga Argentina club Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata after a little over two months in charge.

The former Argentina and Napoli great oversaw eight matches at Gimnasia, which yielded three wins and five defeats.

Relegation-threatened Gimnasia remain third bottom of the table and the news that club president Gabriel Pellegrino will not stand for re-election this weekend has persuaded Maradona to walk away.

Maradona stopped working today, he s no longer Gimnasia s head coach, Pellegrino told Radio La Red.

Maradona worked in a collective scheme. He said he was here to add, not to rest. He d love to continue, but he wants unity. It just didn t happen.

Mariano Cowen and Salvador Robustelli will contest…

Newcastle United are believed to be progressing well in their talks with Atalanta over the proposed transfer of Robin Gosens, according to .

The Magpies completed the signing of striker Chris Wood from Burnley a few days ago, and having already covered the right wing-back role with the acquisition of England international Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid before that, it seems their focus has turned to the left side, which is where Gosens, who impressed representing Germany at the Euros last year, comes in.

Apparently, the only issue that now stands in the way of a deal being agreed is the hamstring injury which has kept the 27-year-old out of action since the end of September, and it remains to be seen if the Premier League side are satisfied with his current proble…

Chelsea put in an inspirational performance in their second-leg encounter against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, deservedly booking a place in the quarterfinals of UEFA s elite club competition.

A fine counterattack, the creation of summer signings Kai Havertz and Timo Werner executed by another player to have arrived to the club ahead of this season, Hakim Ziyech, in the 34th minute, and another one finished off by substitute Emerson Palmieri in the final seconds of the match, in addition to Oliver Giroud s strike in the first leg, proved more than enough to see off a very flat-looking Atletico side.

Chelsea better all the way

Though there were (short) periods when the visitors spent some time with the ball in the …

Barcelona were denied an unprecedented fifth successive Copa del Rey crown as they lost 2-1 to Valencia in Saturday s final, heaping the pressure on under-fire coach Ernesto Valverde.

Having had a realistic chance at a treble just a few weeks ago, Barca finish the season with only the league title to show for their efforts, a situation likely to increase Valverde s unpopularity among supporters.

Barca were way off their best in the first half at the Benito Villamarin and deservedly found themselves trailing 2-0 at the break, as Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo Moreno clinically punished the defending champions.

Valverde s men pushed forward desperately after the break and Lionel Messi pulled one back shortly after being denied by the post, but their dominance proved fu…

Nacho Fernandez s second-half goal ensured Real Madrid still have a chance of retaining their LaLiga title on the final day of the season as they beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0, but Atletico Madrid remain in the driving seat.

Madrid briefly looked to be going into their last match of 2020-21 at the top of the table after Nacho fortuitously put them in front while Atletico trailed, but Diego Simeone s men enjoyed a late turnaround against Osasuna to stay two points clear.

The build-up to Madrid s trip to San Mames had centred around reports Zinedine Zidane will leave at the end of the season, and for much of the game his team looked incapable of clinching the victory that could set up a triumphant conclusion for the French coach.

But with 22 minutes to go, Nacho bundle…

Virgil van Dijk versus Romelu Lukaku reminds us of the irresistible force paradox: the immovable object in Liverpool s defence meeting the unstoppable might of Chelsea s centre forward.

It makes Saturday s clash at Anfield an unmissable prospect for fans of conflict between tall men from the Low Lands.

Van Dijk was sorely missed as he sat out almost all of Liverpool s title defence season last term, when a series of shattering injury blows to the Reds backline left Jurgen Klopp severely hamstrung.

The Dutch powerhouse has recovered from knee surgery and is back at the heart of manager Klopp s defence, striving for full match fitness, while Lukaku has returned to the Premier League after two years at Inter.

Their much-anticipated tussle this weekend could…

Jordi Alba insists Barcelona s achievement of reaching a sixth consecutive Copa del Rey final is not one to be taken lightly.

Despite chasing the greater prizes of LaLiga and the Champions League, Barca have dominated Spain s domestic cup competition over recent seasons.

A 3-0 win over bitter rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday gave the Blaugrana a 4-1 aggregate triumph and the chance to lift the trophy for a fifth straight season.

Madrid might be in the midst of a similar streak when it comes to the Champions League but Spain left-back Alba feels they badly wanted to stop Barcelona s march on home soil.

We have given value to the Copa, he said, as quoted by Marca. Real Madrid wanted it; many people were focussing before the game to …