Category Archives: Football

The brightest young talent of Real Madrid – Marco Asensio has had a real chance of becoming a Barcelona player in the summer of 2014. Then he was a part of the Mallorca squad and had his first season as a professional player already behind him.

The main reason Asensio didn’t join Barcelona was that the Catalans offered Mallorca 2.5 m. euros plus 2 m. euros as bonuses. The Vermilions wanted the whole amount at once. However, Barcelona were interested in another player – the Brazilian fullback Douglas, who costed them 5.5 m. Andoni Zubizarreta had to pick only one of these two players and decided to buy the Brazilian, which was a huge mistake.

Marco Asensio had another offer in 2014. He could have also become a player of Athletic Bilbao, but that was unrealistic when it came true that both Barcelona and Real Madrid are interested in him. In fact, Marco has always been a fan of Real Madrid and the offer from Los Blancos have always been like a dream to the young winger.

The 21-year-old winger has already become an integral part of the Real Madrid’s first team. He had a really successful first season with Los Blancos, winning everything possible with the club. Asensio scored 3 goals in La Liga last campaign. In addition, he found the net on 3 occasions in The Champions League, including a goal in the final against Juventus. Asensio also found the net on his debut for Real Madrid – in the UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla last year. He is also now a part of the Spanish national team, having made 3 appearances for La Furia Roja.

In conclusion, Barcelona should really regret about that mistake. Moreover, the Catalans recently parted with one of their best players Neymar. If they had signed Asensio, they would have now the best possible replacement of the Brazilian.

The season in The Premier League is underway as the first two round are almost in the history. The Red Devils have increased a lot their performance since the last campaign, in which they left in 6th position. The Jose Mourinho’s players recorded two victories of 2 games, but the most impressive was the result – 4-0 in both matches.

After the defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup final, the Portuguese manager has worked a lot on improving the performance of the players and it became clear after just 2 league matches. On the opening day The Red Devils smashed West Ham United 4-0 at Old Trafford. Romelu Lukaku showed that he fits the scheme very well. The striker scored the first two goals against The Hammers, giving United the needed security. Martial and Pogba were the other goal-scorers. However the goal-scorers weren’t the most important thing, but the performance itself. Manchester United looked very strong in defence. In addition, Nemanja Matic already seems to be adjusted to the team.

Last Saturday Manchester United made pretty similar performance to those from the first round in The Premier League. This time The Red Devils gave Swansea City no chance, winning with the same score – 4-0 at The Liberty Stadium. Bailly was a little bit lucky to send the ball into the net in the added time of the first half, but during the second half Man United were just uncompromising playing on counter attacks and scoring 3 goals within the last 10 minutes. Mkhitaryan provided 2 assists, while Lukaku bagged another goal for himself.

With this power in attack, Manchester United have made it clear that they will be among the main title contenders this campaign. Moreover, Romelu Lukaku will surely fight for the first place in the goal-scoring chart. We must admit that these two opponents weren’t the strongest, but in a division like Premier League it is very important to win the matches against the weaker teams if you are to fight for the title!

The Wolves are very close to sign the Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez. According to the English medias, The Foxes are asking for 35 m. euros plus bonuses for one of their key players. Riyad Mahrez is expected to travel to Rome on Wednesday for a medical test. The contract of the Algerian forward will be for 5 seasons, while his annual salary is going to be about 3 m. euros.

AS Roma are interested in the Foxes’ winger, because they already sold Mohamed Salah to Liverpool and are now looking for a deputy of the Egyptian player. There are rumours that if The Wolves couldn’t sign Mahrez, they will try to buy Juan Cuadrado of Juventus. However, Riyad Mahrez’s style looks the most similar to Mohamed Salah’s and the Algerian player will probably fit the best in the tactics of The Wolves.

The 26-year-old winger spent 4 seasons at Leicester City. Riyad Mahrez moved to Leicester on 11th January 2014. He was one of the key players, when The Foxes won the Premier League title in 2016. Riyad Mahrez scored 35 goals in 138 appearances for Leicester City in all competitions. He has already taken part in 30 matches for the Algerian national team and has scored 8 goals for his nation. He was a part of the Algerian team at the World Cup in 2014.

Mahrez scored 6 goals in 36 games for Leicester in The Premier League last season. In addition, he bagged 4 goals in The Champions League, helping the team to reach the quarterfinals of the competition.

The rumours for eventual move of Riyad Mahrez to Roma started immediately after Liverpool bought Mohamed Salah. However, now the deal looks closest than ever. There is still a chance Riyad Mahrez to stay at Leicester City, but most likely he will sign for one of the strongest teams in Italy – AS Roma.

The Spanish forward Lucas Perez has declared that he is unhappy at his current team Arsenal. The reason is that he didn’t receive a lot of playing time. The 28-year-old Spaniard has only started 2 Premier League matches last campaign. He managed to score one goal in the league. Perez added 3 goals in the local cups and a hat-trick in The Champions League.

A few months ago he had the chance to sign for a team from China, but the club didn’t let him go. The chiefs persuaded him that he will play more during the next campaign. However, now with the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette, he has even given his shirt number (9) and the Spaniard will now play with 28 number on his shirt. That made the Spaniard declare his determination to leave the Emirates as soon as possible.

Even though, Arsenal paid Deportivo La Coruna £17.1 m. to have the forward in the squad, Arsene Wenger didn’t use him a lot in the matches of the team during the last season. However, Lucas Perez proved that he is useful and managed to score a hat-trick in his only start in a Champions League game – against Basel. Perez also took part in 4 games of the FA Cup for Arsenal and scored a goal against Sutton United in the 2-0 victory.

In my opinion, Perez is a very good player, but he must receive his chance to prove his qualities. On the other hand, I don’t think that this will happen as Wenger has already signed Lacazette. Moreover, there are players like Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott, Joel Campbell in the team, which is going to limit his playing time at the Emirates Stadium. At both ends, it won’t be difficult for a player like Perez to find a new team, but it is sad that he will leave the club that way.

Alvaro Morata has recently become one of the best forwards in the European football. The 24-year-old striker is too good to sit on the bench, which is going to happen if he stays at Real Madrid.

The Spanish international forward started his professional career exactly at Real Madrid. He was a part of the Los Blancos’s second team in the period between 2010 and 2013. Meanwhile he managed to record 37 appearances and 10 goals for Real Madrid’s first team. However, it’s always difficult to find a place among the regular XI of Real Madrid, no matter how good you are. That’s why, on 19th July 2014, Juventus bought him for about 20 million euros. Morata had a very successful spell at the Italian giant. The Spanish forward scored 27 goals in 93 matches for Juve in all competitions (2 seasons). He was a key player in Juventus’ road to the Champions League final in 2015.

To continue with, Alvaro Morata returned to Real Madrid one year ago and showed he’s worth the 30 million euros Los Blancos paid to have him back in the team. The striker scored 20 goals in 43 games in all competitions for Los Blancos last campaign. He was really effective, because he was in the starting XI on only 18 occasions!

With the beginning of the summer transfer window, Morata was firstly linked with Manchester United. Jose Mourinho wanted the Spaniard to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who left the team this summer. However, The Red Devils gave up of Morata, because of the high transfer fee. Then, there were rumours that Chelsea are going to sign the 24-year-old forward.

The latest rumours send Alvaro Morata to AC Milan. The Italian club is making a good selection. They have already bought Andre Silva, Lucas Biglia, Ricardo Rodriguez and many other good players. The Red and Blacks are ready to pay 70 m. euros, which sounds like a good offer.

The England’s top ever international goal-scorer Wayne Rooney has returned to his favourite club – Everton. The forward left for Manchester United in 2004 and became the captain of The Red Devils in 2014. However, after 13 seasons at Old Trafford the England’s star returned to the club, in which he started his magnificent football career.

Rooney made his debut for The Toffees in 2002 against Tottenham Hotspur and made an assist in his first game for Everton. He scored his first professional goal in the League Cup against Wrexham. However, his star raised after his late winning goal against Arsenal in the Premier League on 19th October 2002, just 5 days before he turned 17. During his first two professional seasons, when he was at Everton, he managed to score 17 goals in 77 appearances.

The 31-year-old player recently became the top England’s goal-scorer. He has bagged 53 goals in 119 appearances for The Three Lions. Wayne Rooney also became the Manchester United’s best goal-scorer of all time. When he started his career he was used a a centre forward, but he has proven he can play as a midfielder. However, Ronald Koeman has said that he is going to use Rooney as a striker. Everton paid Manchester United about £10 m. for Wayne Rooney.

At both ends, with the departure of Romelu Lukaku there will be some problems in attack, but Wayne Rooney will boost the team’s strength as he is a real leader and he is still a very good player, who knows how to win matches!

Wayne desperately wanted to come back to the club. I have no doubts about his qualities, even though he is now 31 years old. He knows how to win titles. He has the ambition and the winning mentality, which we need. So, I am really happy that he is back. He loves Everton and will be very useful. Ronald Koeman

The Toffees have already spent about £96 m. this summer. The Dutch legend and a manager of the team – Ronald Koeman signed the best young English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, the captain and key player of Ajax – Davy Klaassen, the former player of Barcelona Sandro Ramirez, the young Nigerian forward Henry Onyekuru and the English international defender Michael Keane.

To continue with, Koeman used the last few matches of the last season to give a chance to some of his young talents. Ademola Lookman, Tom Davies, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Mason Holgate became an integral part of Everton’s first team. Lookman and Calvert-Lewin were key players in England’s triumph at the World Cup U20, the second one even scored the winning goal in the final match. Holgate reached the semi-finals of the Euro U21 with the English national team.

Moreover, the club will surely not sell its stars. Romelu Lukaku became the second-best goal-scorer of The Premier League with 25 goals last season. The 24-year-old forward has already scored over 50 league goals, so he will remain the main weapon in attack for The Toffees. Ross Barkley, James McCarthy, Morgan Schneiderlin and the experienced player Gareth Barry will pull the strings in midfield. Furthermore, the club has a lot of good defenders. Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman and Ashley Williams have proven they are quality players in defence. In addition, Jordan Pickford will fight for the starting position of a goalkeeper with the experienced Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg and the Spaniard Joel Robles.

The Ronald Koeman’s players finished in 7th position last campaign with 61 points, 8 behind the 6th-placed Manchester United. So, The Toffees qualified for The Europa League. However, the aims in front of the team will be connected with a good performance in European club competitions, but maybe the goal will be a place in The Top 4.

The main reason for the Toffees’ good performance during the last campaign was the home form (13 victories and 4 draws of 19 home matches). I think that they will be even more impressive in the next campaign. If you love the risk you can place a bet on the team to finish in Top 4 (odds of about 11.0). However, I would prefer the less risky bet (Everton in Top 6 – odds of 3.75).

Crotone dramatically survived in the Italian Serie A. The Sharks recorded a vital victory in the last round against Lazio at home. Nalini and Falcinelli scored two goals for the hosts until the 22nd minute of the match, but Ciro Immobile scored from the penalty spot to bring Lazio back in the game. However, Nalini found the net again 15 minutes after the break and secured the three points for his team.

Meanwhile, Empoli lost their visit to Palermo and appeared in the relegation zone. Nestorovski opened the score for Palermo in the 76th minute of the match. Then, Bruno Henrique doubled the score with 6 minutes to go. The only goal for the visitors was scored by Krunic in the 87th minute

That sensational final of the season sent Empoli in Serie B, while Crotone will spend at least one more season in the first division. The Sharks deservedly avoided relegation. They were in a great shape, recording 6 victories in their last 9 league matches. Moreover, they only lost once in these games (to Juventus away from home). It’s interesting that Crotone won 20 points from their last 9 games and they finished with a record of 34 points, which means they finished as one of the teams in the best form in the division.

The 3-1 victory against Lazio was the second occasion of the season for Crotone, in which the team scores more than 2 goals in a single game. The Sharks scored 34 goals in 38 games, which is less than a goal per game on average. However, who cares as they kept their place in Serie A?

Except for Empoli, Palermo and Pescara were the other two teams to be relegated, but that was obvious from a long time ago. SPAL and Hellas Verona already won promotions from the second division, but there is still to be determined which will be the third team, which will find a place in the division.

Manchester United won their last league match of the campaign – 2-0 against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. Jose Mourinho played a lot of youngsters and despite of the lack of experience The Red Devils won the three points.

The game was the senior debut for Josh Harrod, Demetri Mitchell and Angel Gomes. Moreover, there were also youngsters like the goalkeeper Joel Castro, who played his second match with Manchester United’s shirt, Scott McTominay, who also appeared for second time, and the 19-year-old defender Axel Tuanzebe (5th official game for United).

The game started brilliantly for the 21-year-old midfielder Josh Harrop, who showed a great piece of skills and sent the ball into the back of the net in the 15th minute of the match! With that goal Harrop became Manchester United’s 100th different goal-scorer in The Premier League. If you haven’t seen that goal – you must watch the replay, because this player is one of United’s hottest prospects for the future.

Just 4 minutes later Paul Pogba scored the second goal of the game, giving Manchester United a solid lead. That was Pogba’s 5th Premier League goal of the campaign.

However, Jose Mourinho saw a lot of potential in his young players, who showed a wonderful performance and won the three points. With the victory, The Red Devils finished with 18 victories of 38 matches and only 5 defeats, recording 69 points, which meant they finished in 6th position in the final standings.

It was very interesting, when the Portuguese manager attended the press conference after the match. He sat on the chair in front of the few reporters and stayed there for a few seconds. Then, he immediately left the room demonstratively. Maybe he was in a hurry, because Manchester United will play their most important match of the season on Wednesday – The Europa League final against Ajax.

Tottenham played their last match at the legendary stadium White Hart Lane yesterday against Manchester United. The Spurs won it 2-1 and maintained their brilliant performance at home this season. The Mauricio Pochettino’s players recorded 17 victories and 2 draws of 19 games at White Hart Lane in The Premier League, but their performance away from home costed them the title.

The game was marked of several milestones. Harry Kane scored his first ever goal against Manchester United. That was the English forward’s 28th goal of the season in all competitions. His goal secured the three points for The Spurs. On the other hand, Wayne Rooney’s consolation goal for The Red Devils was his 7th at The White Hart Lane Stadium, which made him the most prolific visiting goal-scorer at this venue.

To continue with, the hosts were better on the pitch and deservedly won the game. Victor Wanyama opened the score after a great header in the 6th minute. Then, The Spurs kept on going, but they couldn’t find the net again before the break. Just 3 minutes after the half time, Harry Kane doubled the score for Tottenham Hotspur. However, Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the match for Manchester United in the 71st minute, fixing the final score.

Now The Spurs will move to The Wembley Stadium, where they will spend a minimum of one year, before returning to north London. The new capacity of their stadium will be 61,599. White Hart Lane have been Spurs’ home since 1899.

With the victory against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur will finish in 2nd position in The Premier League. The last time they did it was in season 1962 – 63! So, no matter Spurs couldn’t win the title – that’s a great performance for them. However, with the team Mauricio Pochettino has built, The Spurs will surely fight for the title next season. They will again play in The Champions League. The only sad news is that they will not play at White Hart Lane.

Middlesbrough recorded a very important victory in The Premier League against the last team in the standings – Sunderland. The Boro won 1-0 and kept their chance to avoid relegation, as they are now 6 points down from the 17th-placed Hull City. In addition, Middlesbrough have a better goal difference, which can be valuable at the end of the season.

On the other hand, Sunderland left 12 points behind the 17th position with 5 games to go, which means that The Black Cats have almost been relegated. No wonders Sunderland are the last team in the standings, as the last time they won a game in the league was on 4th February (4-0 against Crystal Palace).

The Boro were on a run of 16 Premier League games without a victory. So, that was their first league win for 2017. It’s interesting that Middlesbrough are the lowest scoring team in the top 10 English divisions this campaign. The Steve Agnew’s players have only found the net on 24 occasions this campaign. However, they have performed better in defence. They have conceded 43 goals in 34 matches, keeping a clean sheet on 10 occasions.

So, nothing unusual about the final score of 1-0 in favour of Middlesbrough. The only goal of the match was scored in the 8th minute. The midfielder Adam Clayton played a long ball to Marten de Roon and the Dutchman put the ball behind Jordan Pickford to open the score. 10 minutes later Stewart Downing found himself one on one with the keeper, but his shot was saved by Pickford.
In the 34th minute Didier Ndong made a good attempt from a long distance, but Brad Guzan parried the ball away. 2 minutes after the break Wahbi Khazri tried his luck from a free-kick, but the American goalkeeper again made a good save.

At both ends, Sunderland will surely relegate to The Championship, while Middlesbrough are still in the battle. However, The Boro have a very tough schedule. They will play Manchester City, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool in the remaining 4 matches, which means that their chance is very little.

One of the most interesting matches in The Champions League quarterfinals will be between the teams of Juventus and Barcelona. This will be the 10th match in the European club competitions between these two teams. The fans still have fresh memories of the Champions League final in 2015. In that match The Catalans beat the Italian side and lifted the most prestigious European trophy.

To begin with, Barcelona made one of the greatest turnarounds in the previous round against the French champions Paris Saint-Germain. The Luis Enrique’s players lost the first leg 0-4, but managed to beat The Parisians 6-1 at home and made it to the quarterfinals! I am sure that this victory has boosted the confidence of the Spaniards and they will only improve their performance in the matches by the end of the season.

Juventus had much easier task against the Portuguese club Porto. The Italians recorded 2 victories and found a place in the next round of the competition. However, Juventus have been very impressive this season, as they have only lost once in their last 17 competitive matches. The club from Turin is again the leader in The Serie A and has already found a place in the Italian cup final game.

On the other hand, Barcelona also qualified for the domestic cup final match. The Catalans have won 9 of their last 12 Champions League matches. However, Barcelona lost twice away from home in the competition this campaign and Juventus must take advantage of it.

When playing in the knockout stage of the European club competitions, Barcelona have knocked Juve out of the tournament twice, while the club from Turin has also done it on two occasions. The last time these two teams met in the quarterfinals of The Champions League was in 2003. The first leg finished with a 1-1 draw in Turin, but Juventus managed to win the away game 2-1 and found a place in the semi-finals.

Taking a look back to the Champions League final from 2015 at Olympiastadion Berlin, we must say that Barcelona have kept their players, while 6 of the Juventus’ players, who were among the starting XI are not anymore in the squad. However, Rakitic opened the score in the 4th minute, giving Barcelona the lead, but the Italian club equalized through Alvaro Morata. Then, Suarez and Neymar scored to clinch the victory for Barcelona.

The Spurs maintained their good performance. They recorded a comfortable 2-0 away victory against the tough team of Burnley. The Clarets had a record of 9 victories 2 draws and 3 defeats at Turf Moor before the match against Tottenham Hotspur. That was the Spurs’ 4th consecutive victory in The Premier League, which boosted their chance of winning the title.

To continue with, Tottenham had the first real chance to open the score in the 31st minute, when Dele Alli missed on an open goal after a good play by Eriksen. The strengths were pretty equal and The Spurs had to wait until the 66th minute to score the first goal of the game. They took advantage of a poor clearance after a corner kick and Eric Dier put the ball into Burnley’s net. 10 minutes later Heung-Min Son doubled the score after a great assist by Dele Alli.

The leaders Chelsea lost 1-2 to Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge, which means that The Spurs have melted the difference at the top to 7 points, which is not an impossible task for them. Actually, the Tottenham Hotspur’s schedule until the end of the season isn’t that bad. There are only 2 difficult matches – against Arsenal and Man United at White Hart Lane. The Mauricio Pochettino’s players will also meet Swansea City, Watford, Bournemouth, Leicester City, West Ham United and Hull City. Reasonably, they are able to win all these games! And if they do it – they will probably win the title.

In conclusion, The Blues see to have a more difficult schedule, as they will play against Man City and Southampton at Stamford Bridge and will have to visit Manchester United and Everton. The easier matches for the Antonio Conte’s players will be against Watford, AFC Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Sunderland. For sure, the competition for the first place in the Premier League’s is still not decided.

Manchester City couldn’t win their game against Stoke City at The Etihad Stadium, finishing with a goalless draw. With the one point they recorded, the Josep Guardiola’s players are now 10 points behind the leaders Chelsea and winning the title looks like a miracle.

There were no good goal-scoring chances for Manchester City during the first half of the game. The Potters managed to create two good opportunities, but they were denied by the goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero, who started his 8th Premier League game of the campaign. Kolarov had the best chance to score for the host, making an attempt from a free-kick, but Lee Grant tipped the ball away.

After the break, The Citizens were quite more active in attack, but Stoke City were very strong in defence, making the life of Man City’s forwards very difficult. In the 54th minute, Sane organized a good counter attack, passing the ball to Aguero, who shot towards the goal, but a Stoke’s defender cleared the ball with a header. David Silva had the best chance to score for The Citizens. He made a great one-two pass with Fernandinho in the 72nd minute, but the Spaniard’s shot went just wide.

3 minutes later, the Spanish playmaker tried his luck from a distance, but he couldn’t find the target again. In the 76th minute, Otamendi’s header went above Stoke City’s goal. However, with 3 minutes to go, Sergio Aguero went past 3 defenders, but his shot found the side netting. The substitute player Iheanacho could score in the added time of the game, but he also couldn’t find the target from a close range.

To conclude with, The Citizens will now hardly reach the first place in The Premier League and they will surely concentrate on their performance in The Champions League, where they have a very difficult game against Monaco away from home.

Manchester City showed a great character, turning things around against Monaco on Tuesday! The Pep Guardiola’s players managed to win the game against the leaders in The French Ligue 1 5-3 at The Etihad Stadium, securing a good result before the second leg.

Both teams showed a wonderful performance in attack and made us spectators of attractive attacking football. The Citizens took the lead early in the game. Raheem Sterling opened the score in the 26th minute after a great dribble by Sane. However, The Monegasques managed to equalize almost immediately. Radamel Falcao sent the ball into City’s net. 1-1!

In the 40th minute of the match, the most talented player of The Monegasques – Kylian Mbappe gave his team the lead. He is compared with Thierry Henry and we have to say Mbappe’s playing style and physique is quite similar.

To continue with, the second half started with a penalty kick for Monaco, which was missed by the Colombian goal-scoring machine Radamel Falcao. Just 8 minutes later, Sergio Aguero scored after a mistake by the goalkeeper Subasic. 2-2! And it looked like Manchester City were controlling the game, but this time Falcao found the net for the second time in the game and shocked the Guardiola’s players.

However, the great team spirit of The Citizens kept them aware of winning the match. They managed to score three more goals from the 71st until the 82nd minute, securing the advantage before the second leg in Monaco. We must say John Stones managed to score his first goal in The Champions League!

At both ends, the second leg will be extremely difficult for Manchester City, because Monaco are among the strongest hosts in the major European leagues. The Monegasques have scored 46 goals in 13 matches at home in The Ligue 1, having won 11 of these matches!

It’s a real rarity to see Barcelona playing like that! The Catalans were smashed by Paris Saint-Germain and only lost 0-4 in Paris last Tuesday. Now, the Luis Enrique’s players have very low chances of reaching the quarterfinals of The Champions League.

To begin with, the last time Barcelona were humiliated like that was in 2013, when The Catalans lost to Bayern Munich twice (0-4 away and 0-3 at home) and were eliminated from the competition. Lionel Messi was invisible on the pitch against PSG, losing the ball every time he touched it. With such a performance, Barcelona will hardly win a trophy this season, maybe except the Copa Del Rey, in which they will play Deportivo Alaves in the final match.

Paris Saint-Germain looked extremely strong in attack, putting under pressure the Barcelona’s defence during the whole game. Angel di Maria, who had a birthday, opened the score in the 18th minute after a brilliant free-kick. PSG’s new signing Julian Draxler doubled the score 5 minutes before the end of the first half after a great assist by Verratti.

Everybody expected Barcelona to play better during the second half, but the things only got worse. Di Maria was unstoppable and bagged his second goal of the game in the 55th minute. With 19 minutes to go, Edison Cavani sent the ball into Barca’s net for the 4th time, securing the astonishing victory for The Parisians.

At both ends, it’s time to wonder whether is this the end of an era for Barcelona. The Catalans will surely be eliminated from the Champions League. They are also struggling in the Primera Division, where they can’t show their real face, lying in the second place and with 2 less matches to play than Real Madrid. Will this defeat affect the Barcelona’s players’ psyche? I think, yes, they will find it very difficult until the end of the campaign.

Liverpool vs. Southampton

The Saints won the first leg of the semi-finals 1-0 at The St. Mary’s Stadium. Nathan Redmond scored the only goal of the game in the 20th minute. Southampton missed lots of goal-scoring chances and now, at Anfield, Liverpool look like the favourite for reaching the final match. The Reds have lifted the trophy on 8 occasions, as the last time they did it was in 2012. They have become the runners-up on 4 occasions. On the other hand, The Saints have never won the cup!

Liverpool have only lost once at home this season – the last round’s game of The Premier League against Swansea City 2-3, while The Saints have only won 3 of 16 visits this season. However, Southampton will be glad if the game ends with a draw! The Claude Puel’s players have only won twice in the last 10 visits to Anfield. So, the history is on the Liverpool’s side. You can give it a try, betting on a home victory at 1.50, or The Reds to reach the final at 1.80.

Hull City vs. Manchester United

The Red Devils have a comfortable advance of 2-0 after the first leg. Hull City must do something extraordinary to find a place in the final, which will hardly happen! Moreover, The Tigers have lost 21 of 30 matches between these two teams. In addition, 11 Hull City players are sidelined. Ryan Mason has undergone surgery on a fractured skull, Mbokani and Elmohamady are on an international duty, Will Keane is suffering from a knee injury, while Robert Snodgrass is doubtful.

Manchester United have only conceded 7 goals in the last 10 games against Hull City, which again shows the extremely small chances for The Tigers to reach the final game. Furthermore, it’s been 17 matches since the last Red Devils’ defeat in an official game! You can place your bet on United victory at 1.50.

Arsenal showed a great team spirit against Bournemouth last night! The Gunners managed to earn a point, after being 0-3 down in the 58th minute. Arsene Wenger should be glad with the point, because his team played awfully during almost all the match.

The Cherries shocked The Gunners early in the game, as Charlie Daniels opened the score in the 16th minute. He was completely unmarked on the left flank and Arsenal’s defence should be blamed about the first goal of the match! Just 4 minutes later Granit Xhaka made a silly error and committed a penalty against the unstoppable Ryan Fraser. Callum Wilson converted it into a goal to double the score for his team!

The winger Ryan Fraser showed his pace again during the second half, when in the 58th minute he outplayed Bellerin and nutmegged Petr Cech to see his name on the score line! We must say that the Spanish defender Bellerin showed an extremely bad performance. It looked like the situation for Arsenal can only go worse, when Alexis Sanchez found the net with a diving header in the 70th minute!

Then, the substitution Lucas Perez, who came on in the 63rd minute, scored an outstanding volley just 5 minutes after the first Arsenal’s goal of the night! To continue with, in the end of the match The Gunners took advantage of the referee’s decision to send off Simon Francis. Olivier Giroud, who made two assists, equalized for Arsenal in the added time and “stole” the point for his team!

At both ends, The Cherries should be very disappointed with the final score of the game, but they must be proud of their performance! On the other hand, Arsene Wenger must change a lot if he wants to see his team back in the battle for the title, because Arsenal looked terrible, especially in defence, during the whole match!

Jose Salomon Rondon proved again, he is a great striker. The 27-year-old Venezuelan was the Man of the Match for West Bromwich Albion against Swansea City, bagging a hat-trick in the Swans’ net! In fact, all of his goals were scored with his head. Moreover, he only needed 13 minutes (from the 50th minute until the 63rd) to find the net on 3 occasions! With the 3 goals against Swansea City, the forward has now scored 7 goals this season (in 16 matches he has taken part in) – 2 less than his record for the whole last campaign. In addition, the striker has made 2 assists from the beginning of the season, so in total, he has had a crucial role in 9 of West Brom’s 23 goals this campaign!

To continue with, the Venezuelan striker is showing a good understanding with the other forwards in the team. It’s obvious, he is too good for The Baggies and there will surely be a lot of offers for him during the winter transfer window. However, if Tony Pulis manages to keep him, The Baggies will have a big chance for finding a place among the Top 6!

The forward has lifted 3 trophies in his career so far – the Copa Venezuela with Aragua in 2008, The Russian Premier League and The Super Cup with Zenit in 2015. Rondon has also scored 18 goals in 57 matches for the Venezuelan national team! He is the third best goal-scorer for his country, having scored 5 goals less than the leader – Juan Arango. So, we can expect Rondon soon to become the most legendary striker of Venezuela!

In conclusion, Rondon was linked with Barcelona a few months ago. With such a magnificent performance, he can soon find a new, stronger team to develop his career. However, I think he is flexible enough to adjust his playing style to any team – just like he did at West Bromwich Albion!

Sometimes such things happen… Have you seen a situation in football, when a player shoots towards the goal and his shot is about to find the net, but there is his teammate in an offside position and the ball unfortunately hits the player, who is behind the last defender. To me, that should be an exclusion of the offside rule. Because this is a specific situation, which prejudices the attacking team. However, the referee is obligated to give the offside, no matter whether the player, who is in an offside position is detaining the defenders and the goalkeeper.

I saw such a situation a couple of hours ago, when I watched the game between Sydney against Melbourne City. A player from the hosts took a shot. The ball went pass all the defenders and the goalkeeper, but there was his teammate behind all the people in the box. Actually, he wasn’t affecting anything, but the ball hit him and found the net. Eventually, the referee disallowed the goal and the guests opened the score a few minutes later…

To continue with, another interesting situation is when the referee blows his final whistle, when a team has just made a good goal-scoring opportunity. I have seen it a million times. Sometimes the referee decides not to allow the taking of a corner. I think this is very harmful to the attacking team. So, I think the football association need to add some new rules to prevent such things happen!

In conclusion, the last thing I want to talk about is the new rule for the red card, when the defender causes foul, when he is the last from his team. There is not an accurate criteria! I’ve seen similar situations, in which a different referee shows different card! The football association should also work on it!

There are 8 matches of the 6th round in the group stage of the Champions League tonight, and another 8 games tomorrow night when everything will be decided. Some of the groups were decided in the previous round, but there are still a lot of interesting matches to be played.

Tonight’s matches:

Group A:

Basel vs. Arsenal
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Ludogorets Razgrad

It is clear who will find a place in the Round of 16 – PSG and Arsenal. However, there is still an intrigue for the first and the third place in the group! The French team has an advantage in the battle for the 1st position, because PSG bagged 2 away goals against The Gunners. The situation is the same for the Bulgarian team Ludogorets, which managed to score an away goal against Basel and now they are hoping Arsenal beat the Swiss team, in order Ludogorets to proceed to the Europa League.

Group B:

Dynamo Kyiv vs. Besiktas
Benfica vs. Napoli

This group appeared to be the most unpredictable one! The first 3 teams in the table are separated by only 1 point! If the Turkish team wins its match in Ukraine, Besiktas will proceed to the next stage, no matter what happens in the other match! If both matches finish with a draw (or Besiktas lose) – Benfica and Napoli will find a place in the Round of 16. When betting have in mind that Benfica haven’t lost a competitive home match since February 2016!

Group C:

Barcelona vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
Manchester City vs. Celtic

Everything is decided here. Barcelona and Manchester City are through to the next stage, while Monchengladbach will continue their campaign in The Europa League, no matter what happens in the tonight’s matches.

Group D:

PSV Eindhoven vs. Rostov
Bayern Munich vs. Atletico Madrid

Can PSV save their season? The Dutch side needs the victory against the Russian team to find a place in The Europa League, otherwise Rostov will continue their European campaign in 2017. Bayern Munich remain in the 2nd place, no matter if they win against Atletico Madrid.

Tomorrow’s games:

Group E:

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Monaco
Tottenham Hotspur vs. CSKA Moscow

The Spurs lost their chance to proceed into the Round of 16, after they lost to Monaco 1-2 in the previous round. Now, they only can finish in the 3rd position if they don’t lose against CSKA Moscow at home. The other game of the group is without a meaning, because Monaco can’t be replaced from the first position.

Group F:

Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
Legia Warszawa vs. Sporting Lisbon

Real Madrid need only the victory to win the group! The 11-time Champions League winners have collected 11 points, and Dortmund have won 13 – so the game will be very interesting. For sure, the other game in the group between Legia and Sporting will also offer you a lot of interesting moments, because if the Polish team wins, they will reach the 3rd place in the group! I won’t be surprised if they do it!

Group G:

Club Brugge vs. Copenhagen
Porto vs. Leicester City

Surprisingly or not, Leicester City have still not lost a Champions League match. The English champions won 4 games and finished with a draw once, to secure the first place in the group. The situation is different for Porto, who need the victory, to find a place in the Round of 16. Otherwise, if Copenhagen win, they will qualify for the next stage.

Group H:

Olympique Lyonnais vs. Sevilla
Juventus vs. Dinamo Zagreb

The Italian giant has the easiest task – against the weakest team in The Champions League. Don’t expect any surprises here. The situation is different in the other match of the group. Lyon will need a victory with a 2-goal margin, because the French team lost 0-1 to Sevilla in the first game between these two teams.

The president of FIFA Gianni Infantino has recently talked about the new rules of the World Cup tournament. The Italian has explained about his desire to extend the number of the teams, which are going to take part in the competition.

16 teams will qualify directly for the group stage of the competition, while the other 32 will take part in a play-off match, which will decide who will proceed to the group stage. So, the final number of the teams will still be 32! However, Infantino thinks that these changes will be very helpful for the development of the game.

“The FIFA World Cup is not only a sporting event. It is something unique, something big on a social level! FIFA’s main task is to care about the development of the game. In my opinion, increasing the number of the teams, which will take part in the competition is a big step in that way! Some people said that the quality of football will suffer from this, but do you remember what happened with Italy and England in the last edition of the World Cup? They were eliminated in the group stage, on the account of Costa Rica, which team won the group and eventually reached the quarterfinals,” Gianni Infantino said in his latest press conference.

You all know how sad it is when the team you support is just one step away from qualifying for the World Cup and is eliminated in the very last moment. Increasing the number of the teams, will give these teams the chance to taste from the World Cup’s atmosphere, independently they are eliminated in just one match!

In conclusion, I think the first World Cup with the new rules will be more interesting than ever, because there may be huge sensations in the very beginning of it. We may see the big teams eliminated in the very first match of it!

The winger Serge Gnabry has recently scored a hat-trick for The Mannschaft on his debut for the German national team in the 8-0 victory against San Marino. The 21-year-old player helped his national team record their 4th consecutive victory in the qualifiers for the World Cup 2018 in Russia. The winger equalled a record, which lasted 40 years – the hat-trick, scored by Dieter Muller in 1976 for West Germany. However, when Joachim Low has called Serge to invite him to the national team, Gnabry has thought that this has been a joke.

“Germany’s coach (Joachim Low) called me and I had to think about whether this is true or not. There were many jokes on the radio and I really did not want to become a part of such,” Serge Gnabry said in an interview after his first match for the German national team.

To continue with, Serge Gnabry started his professional career at Arsenal, but he couldn’t win his place among the starting eleven. The winger only recorded 21 matches in his first 4 years in the professional football. But, he made a real furore at the Olympic games this summer, scoring 6 goals in 6 matches for Germany U23. Shortly after his great performance in Rio de Janeiro, Gnabry received an offer from Werder Bremen, where he has found the net on 4 occasions in just 9 matches. So, no wonder why Joachim Low has decided to call him in the squad.

“I wouldn’t be that good, if I hadn’t been in England. I learned everything there and my spell at Arsenal helped me a lot. That’s why I am that fast and I have become the player I am. It’s normal for a young player to keep improving,” the hat-trick hero added after his successful debut for The Mannschaft.

The teams of Chelsea U23 and Oxford United met in a match of the English Football League Trophy. But what is more special about this third match of the group stage of the tournament? The game finished with a 1-1 draw in the regular time. The 19-year-old Chelsea talent Josimar Quintero opened the score just a minute before the end of the first half. The forward Kane Hemmings equalized the score in the 4th minute of the added time. This lead to the penalty shootout, which had to decide the winner in the match.

Nothing unusual so far… However, the fans became the spectators of the new record for the most penalties in a penalty shootout in England – 34! It’s interesting that some of the players took 2 penalties, just because everybody had taken a penalty.

Eventually, Chelsea won 13-12, but the youth team of the Blues finished in the last 4th place in the group. Oxford United managed to proceed to the next stage of the competition, finishing 2nd in the group. The midfielder John Lundstram of Oxford United missed twice from the spot, but the decisive penalty was missed by Wes Thomas, who also missed his second of the game. The big hero in the game was Chelsea’s goalkeeper – Bradley Collins, who made 4 saves to help his team win the match!

The last record was held by Derby County and Carlisle United, which met in August and took 32 penalties in total, which was equal to the match between Scunthorpe vs. Worchester in the FA Cup in 2014.

In conclusion, The English Football League Trophy is the newest version of the previous Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, in which only the clubs from lower divisions used to take part. However, now the bigger clubs are allowed to play with their U23 squads. That’s very useful for the young players, because they can make a smooth transition into the men’s football, which is the most difficult thing for the footballers.

The new on-loan signing of Stoke City – Wilfried Bony helped his new teammates win the home match against his former team Swansea City 3-1, scoring two of the goals in the game. However, The Potters’ victory was deserved, because they were the better team on the pitch, hitting the woodwork on 3 occasions.

To continue with, the Ivorian striker left The Swans in January 2015 to join Manchester City. Until then, Bony had become the top scorer in The Premier League for Swansea with 25 goals (Gylfi Sigurdsson has recently scored his 27th goal to ride down the Ivorian’s achievement). The forward bagged a total of 35 goals in a season and a half in all competitions with the Swans’ colours.

However, the big competition for the starting line-up in Manchester City brought back Bony’s development as a player and he only recorded 46 matches for The Citizens (the half of which he started from the bench) before moving on loan to Stoke City this season.

The 2 goals against his former team were the first in The Premier League for him this season. Since he left The Swans, Wilfried Bony has scored 12 goals in total. But, what is more interesting – he has found Swansea City’s net the most of the times – 4 goals against his former team.

Wilfried Bony has enough time to seek for a record for scoring goals against a single team, but he will need a lot more games against Swansea, because in front of him are Nicolas Anelka (12 goals against Blackburn Rovers), Luis Suarez (12 goals against Norwich City), Michael Owen (14 goals vs. Newcastle United), Didier Drogba (15 goals vs. Arsenal) and Alan Shearer (21 goals vs. Leeds United). So, there are definitely lots of players who are a nightmare to a single team. Is Bony Swansea City’ nightmare?

The first few games of the new season for Manchester United were quite successful, as The Red Devils won the Community Shield and the first 3 matches of The Premier League. But, now Manchester United have shown they haven’t changed a lot since the end of the previous season. They only won twice in the last 5 matches (both victories were in the Europa League).

Jose Mourinho has clearly shown he is not going to rely on the most experienced United’s player Wayne Rooney, who is 4 goals away from Bobby Charlton’s goal-scoring record. It’s obvious that when the 31-year-old player is on the pitch, Manchester United look better. However, Mourinho has his own vision for the game and Rooney is no more part of his plan at Old Trafford.

The other players who are maybe not in the Special One’s plan are Morgan Schneiderlin, Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian and Bastian Schweinsteiger. The former German international player has been told before the start of the season that he is not going to play regularly, but the midfielder refused to leave. To continue with, Schneiderlin has only been among the starting line-up twice since the beginning of the season. Depay and Darmian has also played rarely since the arrival of Jose Mourinho.

The things don’t look very different from the time van Gaal was a head coach of the team. Even though The Red Devils started very well, they are now lying on 7th position of the standings after 9 rounds, which is far away from United’s ambitions. Jose Mourinho knows that he must change something, but is this the right decision?
At both ends, Jose Mourinho has proven he is among the best managers in the world and 1 unsuccessful season can’t delete the trophies he has won! So, when he says a player isn’t good enough for the team, he is probably right!

Tonight is the most interesting game of the 8th round in The Premiership. The game is between Liverpool and Manchester United and will be held at Anfield. It will be the 197th match between these two teams and will be even more interesting with the rivalry between two of the best football managers – Klopp and Mourinho. So, here are some very interesting statistical fact, prior to the big clash.

The Stats

1. This year’s edition of the clash will be the 49th game in the Premier League between these two teams at Anfield. Only one of these matches finished with a goalless draw – in September 2005.
2. Only one of the last 21 league matches between The Reds and The Red Devils ended with a draw. This happened in October 2011 at Anfield, when Steven Gerrard opened the score for The Merseysiders, before Javier Hernandez equalized later in the match.
3. Only six Liverpool players have scored a hat-trick against Man United. The only people who have done it after 1936 are Peter Beardsley (1990) and Dirk Kuyt (2011). In 2010, the Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov has become the first player of The Red Devils to score three goals in one match against The Reds for 64 years. Stan Pearson has bagged a hat-trick in 1946.
4. Daniel Sturridge made his first appearance for Liverpool against Manchester United in January 2013. If the forward plays today, he will record his game № 100 for Liverpool. In his previous 99 games Sturridge scored 55 goals.
5. Only three times in the history of the Premier League Liverpool have had more points than Manchester United after the first seven rounds of the competition, including the current season. To date, Liverpool have a total of 16 points (13 points for Man United). In 1996/97 and in 2008/09 Liverpool have collected 17 points after the first seven rounds.
6. Liverpool have finished in front of Manchester United in the standings of The Premier League on only 3 occasions since 1992. However, The Reds haven’t won the trophy since 1990.

Russia opened a new stadium in Krasnodar, which is going to be used at the World Cup in 2018. However, the Russian team recorded a defeat in their first match (friendly game) at the stadium to Costa Rica 3-4. The attendance at the match was more than 33,500 people (the stadium’s capacity is 34,291). And the defeat was the first for the new coach of the team – Stanislav Cherchesov.

Randall Azofeifa opened the score for Costa Rica after 22 minutes. He scored after a great shot from about 18 metres, but before his attempt the Russian goalkeeper made a terrible mistake passing the ball to Bryan Ruiz. Just 7 minutes later, Ruiz doubled the score after a shot from a long distance (Berezutski could have tried to intercept).

Alexander Samedov managed to score with a great diving header in the 31st minute of the match. 1-2! But, Vasili Berezutski found his own net in the stoppage time of the first half. And do you know why I am mentioning the name of the defender all the time. Because, he would have been awarded for his 100th match for the Russian national team. But because of his errors during the match (his 101st) he wasn’t given the award after the game.

To continue with, Russia put Costa Rica under pressure after the break and managed to equalize with two goals, scored by Artem Dzyuba. And it looked like the match will finish with a draw, before the clumsy challenge, made by Berezutski against Campbell inside the box in the added time of the match. The penalty kick was converted into a goal by Joel Campbel and Russia lost to Costa Rica 3-4.

In conclusion, Berezutski will have to wait people to forget his performance against Costa Rica before receiving his prestigious award. However, we mustn’t underestimate him only because of one single match. He is one of the best Russian defenders and if you remember he scored the goal against England in the stoppage time of the game at the Euro 2016.

The year was 1986 and there was a World Cup in Mexico. All the people were looking at the strong home team, which was expected to lift the trophy. That was the second time in the history Mexico to be the host country of the tournament, after the first time in 1970, when The Tri were knocked out in the quarterfinals, losing to Italy 4-1.

The expectations for Mexico were very high, because the team was the host of the competition. In addition, there was the Real Madrid’s star Hugo Sanchez in the squad. The forward said to journalists before the tournament that he feels he will score lots of goals, because he has a “supernatural” feeling in the opponents’ box.

However, Mexico were again eliminated in the quarterfinals by West Germany on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the regular and the extra time. But that’s not the most interesting thing in our story. The Mexicans won their group after two victories (against Belgium and Iraq) and a draw against Paraguay 1-1. Exactly the draw against the South American team was crucial for Hugo Sanchez, who was psychologically broken. The reason was a missed penalty.

And do you actually know why he missed the penalty? There was a commercial for cheese with the participation of Hugo Sanchez. The Paraguayan goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez said that he knew where Sanchez will shoot the ball, exactly because the goalie has watched the commercial a hundred times.

Hugo Sanchez said after the match that he will not take another penalty until the end of the competition. The forward also said that he has lost the “supernatural” feeling, we spoke about earlier. The striker was not used in the third group match against Iraq. He took part in 4 of the 5 Mexico’s matches in the competition. Sanchez only managed to score once (against Belgium in the first game).

The winners of The World Cups usually have very strong mentality and aren’t shaken after missing a penalty. Everyone has missed a penalty! That’s why the Germans have never lost penalty shootouts in the World Cup tournaments. Because of their strong mentality and that’s why they have won the World Cup on 4 occasions! So, sometimes you must kick the ball without thinking about the consequences and you mustn’t lose heart if you miss!

Huddersfield Town had a dreamed start of the season in The Championship. The Terriers recorded 7 victories in their first 10 games of the campaign. They only lost twice and finished with a draw once. But, what is more impressive – The Terriers won their matches against maybe the strongest teams in the division. They beat Newcastle at St. James’ Park (2-1), Barnsley (2-1), Wolverhampton (1-0), Leeds United (1-0) and Queens Park Rangers (2-1). Moreover, Huddersfield Town recorded a draw against Aston Villa at Villa Park.

But, don’t be surprised of Huddersfield Town’s performance in The Championship! The Terriers have very talented head coach – David Wagner, who is the former coach of Borussia Dortmund II. As a player, Wagner has been in the squads of Eintracht Frankfurt, Mainz 05 and Schalke 04. So, logically, the coach has brought in the Huddersfield Town’s squad lots of quality German players. Actually, the manager brought 13 new players from all over the world this summer!

Wagner has signed 3 former Borussia Dortmund players (Jon Stankovic, Ivan Paurevic and Chris Lowe). There are 3 more German players in the Terriers’ squad. But, it is obvious that David Wagner has done a great job, because all the players work for the team and put the club above their individuality!

So, after 10 rounds Huddersfield Town are lying in the first place with 22 points, which is really impressive for a team, which has finished in 19th place last season!

But, Huddersfield Town have a great history in the English football. The club has won the first tier of England on 3 occasions (3 consecutive seasons – between 1924 and 1926)! They have become the runners-up 3 more times. The team has also won The FA Cup in 1922 and The FA Charity Shield in the same year. So, I think we will soon see the name of Huddersfield Town among the best teams in England again!

The biggest legend of the US national football team, Landon Donovan is going to return to the professional football! The attacker has signed a contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy, which was his last team before hanging the boots in December 2014. However, now he is back at his favourite team, where he will play alongside with the English legends Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and the best Irish striker Robbie Keane.

Landon Donovan spent his best years in football exactly at the Los Angeles Galaxy, as he was a part of the team between 2005 and 2014. The forward has also played for Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, San Jose Earthquakes and Everton. But he also was very successful when playing for the US national team.

The striker became the top goal-scorer of the national team with 57 goals in 157 games! In addition, Landon Donovan was one of the key reasons for the biggest US successes at the biggest stage in football. He helped his teammates reach the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup 2002 in South Korea and Japan. Donovan also took part in 2 more World Cups, as in 2010 was the man, who qualified the team for the Round of 16, bagging 3 goals in the group stage.

Moreover, with Donovan in the squad, the USA team lifted the Gold Cup on 4 occasions and became runners-up in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2009, losing the final against Brazil 2-3.

At club teams level, the forward has become the champion of the MLS on 4 occasions and the winner of the US Open Cup once (2005). But, for sure, Landon Donovan is one of the best forwards in football, with his goal-scoring instincts, technique and great shot. So, with Donovan in the squad, the Los Angeles Galaxy have now become one of the biggest favourites for winning the MLS trophy again.

In conclusion, we can say it’s always good when such a talented player returns to the professional football. I hope we will see him again with the US national team.

He had everything a football fan can dream about. He had contracts with the biggest clubs in South America, he had lots of girls, money and glory. But the only thing he didn’t have was football skills! He is Carlos Henrique Raposo “Kaiser” and his story is the greatest football fraud story ever!

To begin with, in 1979, at the age of 16, Raposo signed his first professional contract for the Mexican team Puebla – one of the biggest teams in Mexico! Obviously, he was a little bit talented, but not enough for the first-team football. So, after 3 months, no official matches and just 2-3 friendly games, Puebla released him, because the teenager wasn’t good enough for the team.

However, “Kaiser” didn’t give up, because his dream was to be a famous football star. His family was very poor and Carlos just wanted to be a rich guy. That’s why he desperately wanted to take the easiest way to become rich – becoming a footballer!

To continue with, Carlos Raposo was maybe one of the best liars in the world. He met in a disco the Brazilian football stars – Renato Gaucho and Carlos Alberto Torres. He lied them that he is a very good striker, but can’t find a team to play for. So, Renato and Carlos Alberto spoke with Botafogo’s chiefs and Raposo rapidly found his new team.

In the very beginning of his career at Botafogo, Carlos Raposo said that he needed time to get in form. He looked very strong physically, so the coaches agreed with the conditions of the forward, as they thought Raposo would be very helpful to the team with his stamina. But then, Raposo pretended to be injured and after just several months he left the club, without playing a single minute for Botafogo.

However, he took the salaries and started to look for a new challenge in his career. But, this time he needed another lie… Raposo spoke in front of other football stars that he had become the winner of the Copa Libertadores with the Argentinian club Independiente. His words were proven with a call from Argentina and a small team photo, he took off from his pocket. When asked, why you left the club, he said that they haven’t paid him well.

Then, it was really difficult to be checked whether Raposo’s words were the truth. So, he was given a chance to sign 6-months contract with Flamengo. The coaches, then, understood they have made a big mistake, but they had nothing to do, but wait until the end of the contract and see how Raposo takes his “deserved” salary.

And after you have been part of Puebla, Botafogo and Flamengo, then it’s much easier for you to find a new club! In 1986, Gazelec Ajaccio signed the “goal-scoring machine”. And in the night he was introduced to the French fans, Raposo had to shoot towards the goal with 10 balls, but he was really clever and gave all the balls to the fans! Then, the scheme was the same – time for preparation and then injury…

Do you think he retired after this? Of course, NO! During all these years, Raposo “Kaiser” had lots of friends – footballers, coaches, journalists. One of his friends, who was a journalist wrote an article about him, and his great goal-scoring abilities. The journalist also wrote that Raposo has become the top goal-scorer in France!

After such an article, it was very easy for Carlos Raposo to find a new team. This time it was Bangu Atletico Club. He easily became the owner’s pet, because Raposo looked like the owner’s favourite player Renato Gaucho.

But, the owner’s patience came to an end after 3-4 months, in which Raposo didn’t appear on the pitch even once – he was just practicing and having muscle problems. The chairman ordered to the coach to get him on the pitch in one match, which was terrible for Bangu – 0-2 at the break. But, as I told you Raposo was very clever and after he saw that he will be uncovered, he took advantage of the situation. He heard the fans booing and instead of coming on the pitch, he went to the public and started to yell at it. As a result, a furious fan started a fight with the striker. But Raposo was very strong physically and beat the fan.

Then, asked by the owner what was he doing, Carlos Raposo said that he was defending the honour of the owner, because the fans had sworn at him! After this, the owner offered him a new 6-months contract! Raposo even recorded a match for Bangu, coming on in the 80th minute of a league game. However, that was the only match in his career, which lasted 12 years!

After his longest contract – Carlos Raposo signed also for Fluminense, Vasco da Gama, El Paso Sexshooters and America (RJ), before hanging on the boots! What a career! What a great football star! What a legend!

Now, Carlos Raposo “Kaiser” is 53 years old and he is still laughing when he is speaking about his career. Nobody hates him and everyone is enjoying the former footballer’s great stories!

Sometimes, in football, you just aren’t lucky. Shane Duffy of Blackburn Rovers, who took part in the Euro 2016 with the Republic of Ireland had a nightmare start of the season. On the opening day of The Championship, his team Blackburn lost at home to Norwich City 1-4 – not a good result when you are a defender of the team.

But, after the bad start, Duffy was glad to see his team proceed to the next round of the Capital One Cup after a 3-1 victory against Mansfield Town away from home. The League 2 side has just equalized to 1-1, when Shane Duffy scored a great header for 2-1. Rovers maintained their victory with a 3rd goal until the end of the game.

So, after the second official game of the season, it looked like everything is fine for the Irish defender. But, then his team conceded another 3 goals in the visit to Wigan Athletic. And guess who scored the third goal for Wigan. Yes, Duffy found his own net. But that’s not everything. He was even more “impressive” in the Rovers’ next league match against Cardiff City. The centre back scored 2 more own goals in just 6 minutes in the first half of the game. Moreover, he was sent off late in the game, making the task almost impossible for his team… And Blackburn, eventually lost again.

Logically, Shane Duffy was not selected for Blackburn in the fourth round against Burton Albion and the result came! Rovers finished with a 2-2 draw, which meant they recorded their first point this season.

Duffy’s record so far:

However, Shane Duffy is not that bad. He returned in the match against Crewe Alexandra in the 2nd round of the Capital One Cup and scored again the winning goal (4-3 for Rovers after extra time). So, Shane Duffy’s record after just a few weeks from the beginning of the season is: 5 matches played, 2 goals scored, 3 own goals scored, 13 goals conceded by his team, 3 yellow cards and 1 red card. Very, very impressive – for sure, when Shane Duffy is on the pitch, the match will never be boring! So, I can’t wait to see him playing again in the Championship for Blackburn Rovers and hope this time he will find the opponents’ net, unless he gets confused.

There have been 20 editions of the FIFA World Cup, 80 nations have taken part at least once in the tournament (including former countries). Since the first edition of the World Cup in 1930, the tournament has become the most prestigious football competition in the world!

The Beginning (1930):

The host nation of the first ever World Cup has been held in Uruguay. The Uruguayans have been considered as the biggest favourites of the tournament, as they have won the Olympics football tournament twice in a row (1924 in Paris and 1928 in Amsterdam). There have been 13 teams in 4 groups, the winner of each group has proceeded to the semi-finals of the competition. So, the semi-finalists of the tournament have been Uruguay, Yugoslavia, Argentina and USA. Logically the best teams of the tournament – Argentina and Uruguay have reached the final game, which has been won by the Uruguayans (the strongest team at that moment). The top goal-scorer of the first ever World Cup has become Guillermo Stabile, who has bagged at least one goal in every game he has taken part in (8 goals in 4 matches).

The Champions:

To begin with, Selecao have taken part in all the 20 World Cup tournaments so far! The most entitled nation is Brazil. Selecao has won the World Cup on 5 occasions. The first World Cup title for Brazil came in 1958 in Sweden, when the 18-year-old Pele lifted the trophy with his country! Then, the Brazilians easily became the rulers of world football. They retained the title 4 years later in the next edition in Chile. Pele, himself managed to lift the trophy on one more occasion – in 1970 (The World Cup in Mexico). After the great successes with Pele, Garrincha, Vava and many other great players, Brazil had to wait until 1994 to win the World Cup again! Selecao beat Italy on penalties in the USA, to win the fourth title in their history. The last big success for Brazil was in 2002, when there were stars like Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho in the squad. They smashed every single team on the road to the final, where they beat 2-0 Germany with 2 goals, scored by Ronaldo. Selecao have also become the runners-up twice (1950 and 1998) and have won the third place two times. Brazil have left in 4th place on two occasions.

The second best teams in World Cups are Italy (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006) and Germany (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014). Both nations have won the competition on 4 occasions. The Germans have lost 4 final matches, while the Italians have been defeated in the final twice.

Germany’s first World Cup title in 1954 is the most legendary one, because the Germans were the total underdogs against the goal-scoring machines from Hungary. The final of the competition is called “The miracle in Bern”. That’s because Hungary smashed Germany (West Germany at that time) 8-3 in the group stage and nobody believed the Germans can do something to stop Puskas, Kocsis and the other Hungarian forwards in the final game. Moreover, Hungary took the lead by 2-0 after just 8 minutes of playing time. But, Germany are famous for their team spirit and that was the first time they proved it. Just 10 minutes after Germany were 2-0 behind, they managed to equalize! In the 84th minute Rahn scored the winning goal. 3-2 for Germany!

The Italians’ most significant performance in a World Cup tournament was in 1982 (Spain). The Azzurri struggled a lot in the first group stage, finishing in 2nd position with 3 draws (against Poland, Cameroon and Peru). But, then in the second group stage of the competition, Italy showed their real face! Firstly, they beat Argentina 2-1. Then, the star of Paolo Rossi started to shine. Italy have never played in such a dramatic and unbelievable game, like this against Brazil. Zico and Socrates pulled the strings in midfield for the Brazilians, who had one of the strongest teams in the tournament. But, Paolo Rossi bagged a hat-trick and Dino Zoff saved a lot of goal-scoring chances, to secure the 3-2 victory for Italy, which meant that the Azzurri headed to the semi-finals! After such a victory, the semi-final against Poland seemed like an easy task. Rossi scored another two goals to see his team in the final. The Italians won their 3rd title after a 3-1 victory against West Germany.

Argentina and Uruguay are with 2 World Cup titles each. As we spoke about Uruguay earlier, now we will pay tribute to the Argentinians. The first time, Albiceleste won the World Cup was in 1978 (as the host nation) and the second in 1986 (in Mexico). The second World Cup title for Argentina will be remembered for Maradona’s “God’s hand”. The Argentinians won their group after victories against South Korea and Bulgaria and a draw against Italy. Then, Argentina beat Uruguay 1-0 in the Round of 16, before the legendary quarter final against England. Diego Maradona was doing whatever he wants with the ball on his feet. He was dribbling past all the English defenders. But, the Argentinian magician scored the first goal of the game with his hand, which wasn’t seen by any of the referees. Maradona scored another goal a few minutes later, after going through all the English defenders. Lineker scored a goal for England late in the game, but that wasn’t enough for The Three Lions. Then, Argentina beat Belgium 2-0 in the semi-final match and outsmarted West Germany in the final by 3-2.

We must also say a few words about the nations, which have become the World Cup champions just once. These teams are France (1998), England (1966) and Spain (2010).

France’s biggest success came in 1998, when they were the host nation. The Blues had really good players in their squad. Laurent Blanc, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and Didier Deschamps were the key reasons for France’s trophy. We must pay attention to the final match against Brazil, in which The Blues smashed their opponents 3-0, with two header goals, scored by Zinedine Zidane. However, there are still a lot of conspiracy theories about the French victory. But, we mustn’t decry them!

England’s one and only World Cup title came in 1966. The Three Lions started with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay. Then, the Englishmen beat 2-0 Mexico and France. In the quarterfinals, they recorded a very difficult 1-0 victory against Argentina with Hurst’s only goal of the match, 12 minutes before the final whistle. Bobby Charlton secured the victory against Portugal in the semi-final, with his two goals. Eusebio could score only once against The Three Lions. England’s most dramatic game of the tournament was in the final against West Germany. The Germans led early in the match, but Hurst equalized in the 18th minute. Pieters turned thing around 12 minutes before the final whistle, but Weber equalized for Germany in the 89th minute! And here is the most controversial moment in the history of the English football! The referee counted the Hurst’s goal, which is still analyzed by the specialists. The forward shot towards Germans’goal, but his shot hit the bar, and the ball thumped on the goal line. However, Hurst scored his hat-trick in the extra time, England won 4-2 and The Three Lions won their first World Cup title!

The third nation with just one World Cup trophy is Spain. La Furia Roja were the total dominants in football from 2008 until 2012, when they also won The European Championship twice. The Spaniards lost their first game to Switzerland 0-1. But, since this defeat, they have recorded 6 victories in a row, which meant that they became the World champions! It’s interesting that Spain won all their knockout matches with the score of 1-0 (vs. Portugal, Paraguay, Germany and Holland in the final).

Other successful nations:

The unluckiest nation, when it’s up to World Cups, is Holland! The Dutchmen have lost 3 finals (1974, 1978 and 2010), without having won the World Cup. They have also become the third-placed team in 2014 and the fourth best nation in 1998. The best Dutch player ever Johan Cruyff was an integral part of the team in 1974, but the forward couldn’t lift the most prestigious trophy in football.

The biggest disappointment leaves to Hungary and their classic team, which lost the final to West Germany in 1954. The Hungarians have lost another final in 1938 (to Italy). The other nations, which have reached the final match, but have never become the champions are Czechoslovakia (1934 and 1962) and Sweden in 1958 (as the host nation).

The Goal-scorers:

The nation, which have scored the most goals in World Cups is Germany with 224, but the Brazilians have scored just 3 goals less. So, no wonders about the rankings of the top goal-scorers ever. Miroslav Klose of Germany is the best goal-scorer with 16 goals. The forward took part in 4 World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014), won the trophy in 2014, lost the final in 2002 and helped his team win the third place in 2006 and 2010.

The second best scorer remains the Brazilian Ronaldo, who has scored 15. He held the first place, until the last World Cup (2014), when Klose scored twice and left the Brazilian behind him.

1. Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 16 goals;
2. Ronaldo (Brazil) – 15 goals;
3. Gerd Muller (West Germany) – 14 goals;
4. Just Fontaine (France) – 13 goals;
5. Pele (Brazil) – 12 goals;
6. Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) – 11 goals (scored in just 5 matches – 2.20 goals per game on average);
   Jurgen Klinsmann – 11 goals.

Is this insane – a football player to cost €105 m.? If we take a look back in the past, we can see Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale costed very close amount to Real Madrid, but when we talk about the Portuguese – he was a complete goal-scoring machine, who continues winning trophies for his teams and is an integral part of the team, because the building of the starting eleven starts from him!

Paul Pogba is a very, very good midfielder. But, his price is much, much higher, than he really costs! However, Jose Mourinho really doesn’t care about the price. He knows that he needs the player and he knows that Manchester United can afford to buy Pogba! Nothing else really matters for the Portuguese manager. Mourinho also knows that with the 4 complete football players he bought this summer, he will be able to win trophies. That’s why The Special One is so successful in football, because he knows what “tools” he need to win everything possible.

The former Manchester United midfielder, Paul Scholes, also thinks that the amount is too big for Paul Pogba. Scholes said that it is unduly to buy such a player for over €100 m., despite he is so talented.

To continue with, the French midfielder, who took part in the final of the Euro 2016, was Manchester United’s player 4 years ago, but didn’t sign a new contract at the end of season 2011/12 and joined Juventus with a free transfer. Since then, the Frenchman has become a world class player and was one of the key figures for the Bianconeri.

At both ends, now nobody talks about Ronaldo’s transfer and the amount Real Madrid paid to Manchester United. So, I think after a few years, no one will pay such attention to Pogba’s transfer from Juventus to The Red Devils.

It is always difficult to find a world class striker for your team, especially if you are Arsene Wenger. The French manager of Arsenal has always had problems when he must find a classy forward. Here is a list, full of examples how Wenger has failed to sign his transfer targets during the past several years.

According to the British press, Arsenal have tried to sign the Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez in 2013. Wenger has offered to the Merseysiders £40 m. But, The Reds have decided to keep their world class forward. Wenger is still wondering what would have happened if Suarez have joined The Gunners…

Then, the French manager decided to try his luck with the Argentinian goal-scoring machine Gonzalo Higuain. However, Higuain also rejected to join Arsenal in that moment. But, Arsene Wenger again tried to buy the striker, just before he joined Juventus a couple of days ago. But that’s not all! In 2015, Wenger offered €50 m. to Real Madrid for Karim Benzema. Rejected again…

This summer, Arsene Wenger was interested in signing Lyon’s forward Alexandre Lacazette and Leicester City’s striker Jamie Vardy. Guess what happened? The French manager offered £20 m. for the Englishman, but Ranieri managed to convince his best striker sign a new contract with The Foxes. Maybe Wenger is used to hear the answer “No!”. So, no wonders Lyon rejected the €35-m. offer for Lacazette.

And this is a small part of Wenger’s transfer fiasco! Now, the Frenchman signed a totally unknown Japanese player, Rob Holding of Bolton Wanderers and the mediocre midfielder Granit Xhaka for £34 m. No wonders, if Arsenal don’t win a trophy again…

In conclusion, we must say that Wenger has made really good transfers during his stay at the Emirates Stadium. Maybe his best signings are Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. Can he find other players like them?

Andriy Shevchenko

AC Milan to Chelsea; £30.8m; 2006

Sheva was one of the most clinical strikers in the modern history of football. He was unstoppable during his career at AC Milan in Serie A. The Ukrainian forward played for Chelsea 2 full seasons before was loaned out to his former club. Shevchenko only managed to score on 9 occasions in The Premier League, which led to his departure. So, the transfer amount of £30.8m is one of the biggest transfer failures!

Robbie Keane

Tottenham Hotspur to Liverpool; £20.3m, 2009

Ireland’s top goal-scorer has 2 big transfer failures in his career. In 2000, Inter Milan paid £13 m. to Coventry, but the forward couldn’t adapt with the Italian football and recorded 14 appearances for Inter, before being sold to Leeds United for a close to his price amount, but the striker wasn’t impressive again.
However, after developing as a world class forward Robbie Keane moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Liverpool in 2008. The Merseysiders paid £20.3 m. to Spurs, but Robbie Keane only spent half a season at Anfield, before returning to White Hart Lane.

Albert Luque

Deportivo La Coruna to Newcastle United; £9.5m, 2005

Most common, when a player who has become an integral part of his club, when he leaves it – he hardly adapts to the new one. That was also the Albert Luque’s case. In 2005 he left Deportivo La Coruna for Newcastle. Luque made a great impression, when he helped Deportivo reach the semi-finals of The Champions League in 2004. So, The Magpies paid £9.5 m. to La Coruna. But, the winger suffered a hamstring injury in his second match for the club. Luque only managed to score once in The Premier League, before leaving for Ajax in 2007.

Francis Jeffers

Everton to Arsenal; £8m, 2001

Franny Jeffers was determined as the most talented English striker, before Wayne Rooney’s development. The forward started his career at Everton in 1997. Jeffers bagged 18 goals in 49 league matches for The Toffees, which made Wenger pay £8 m. for the youngster in 2001. However, Jeffers couldn’t impress the French manager during his stay at the Highbury Stadium. The forward scored 4 league goals in 22 matches for The Gunners, before he left the club. That’s a very sad story, because the talented forward made his debut in the Premier League at the age of 16. He also scored on his debut for the English national team against Australia in 2003 (that game was also a debut for Wayne Rooney). But, that was the first and final cap for Jeffers…

Adrian Mutu

Parma to Chelsea in 2003 for £15.8 million

You could expect Mutu to score anytime in the match. He was such an explosive striker, which was well known by Claudio Ranieri, who signed him in 2003. Roman Abramovich paid £15.8 m. to Parma for the services of the Romanian striker. He wasn’t bad in his first season at Stamford Bridge, but after the arrival of Jose Mourinho in 2004, Mutu failed a drug test and was soon released by the club.

Denilson

Sao Paolo to Real Betis for £21.5 million in 1998.

After a magnificent performance by the winger Denilson at the World Cup 1998, Real Betis amazed the world paying £21.5 m. for the Brazilian, setting a new record for the biggest transfer amount. The winger was expected to do magical things on the pitch, but he didn’t show anything great in his first season, scoring twice in 35 matches. His team finished in 11th position. Real Betis even relegated in 2000, which is a moment to forget for Denilson. At both ends, the Brazilian spent 8 years at Betis. His only trophy with the club was Copa Del Rey in 2005, just months before leaving the club.

Andy Carroll

Newcastle United to Liverpool for £35 million in 2011.

Again, Liverpool haven’t learned from the mistake with Robbie Keane. The £35 m. deal wasn’t worth! I think Dalglish still regrets for his stupid decision. Andy Carroll only recorded 44 Premier League matches and bagged 6 goals. In my opinion, these 6 goals don’t cost £35 m. However, The Reds tried to fix the problem and eventually took £15 m. for the striker, who moved to West Ham United in 2013.

Imagine you have all these classy players in your squad! Then, you don’t have to do anything else, except collecting the trophies! Here is our fantasy line-up with the most expensive football players at each position.

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon (£41.8 m. in 2001).

The most expensive goalkeeper of all time is still Gianluigi Buffon. The Italian legend has been holding this record since 2001 when he moved to Juventus from Parma for the fee of £41.8 m. Since then, the goalkeeper has become a legend, winning the Serie A on 7 occasions, the Italian Cup twice and the World Cup with Italy in 2006. So, with Buffon in goal, we can be sure our team won’t concede lots of goals.

Defenders: David Luiz (£50 m. in 2014), Rio Ferdinand (£36.1 m. in 2002) and Thiago Silva (£32.7 m. in 2012).

Paris Saint-Germain paid £50 m. to Chelsea to sign the Brazilian defender David Luiz, who became the most expensive defender in history of football! He is now 29 and is currently one of the best defenders.

To continue with, Rio Ferdinand broke the English national club record in 2002, when Manchester United paid more than £36 m. to sign him from Leeds United. Ferdinand became the Red Devils’ legend after spending 12 seasons at Old Trafford.

Our third pick is Thiago Silva. Again, one of the richest clubs PSG paid the transfer amount of £32.7 m. to buy the strong defender Silva from Milan. He became a key player of the French club and has a good partnership in defence with David Luiz.

Midfielders: James Rodriguez (£63 m. in 2014), Kevin De Bruyne (£55 m. in 2015), Angel Di Maria (£59.7 m. in 2014) and Zinedine Zidane (£46.6 m. in 2001 – equal to £59.7 nowadays).

The Colombian star James became a sensation at the World Cup 2014 in Brazil, when he became the top goal-scorer of the tournament with 6 goals. After the competition, Real Madrid immediately signed him for the amount of £63 m.

Another colossal amount was paid by Manchester City for the Belgian international player Kevin De Bruyne. He costed The Citizens £55 m. a year ago. He is now 25 years old and was one of the key players for Man City, helping the team reach the semi-finals of The Champions League.

Angel Di Maria had the best season of his career at Real Madrid (2013/14), when he helped his team win The Champions League. Then, he reached the final of the World Cup 2014, which made Manchester United pay £59.7 m. to Real Madrid. However, Di Maria couldn’t get on with football in England and was sold to PSG just a year later.

Our midfield won’t be completed without the biggest star of the French football – Zinedine Zidane. He was one of the greatest players ever! Zidane has won everything in football! He was technically gifted and strong midfielder, who was one of the most talented players ever. Now, he is the manager of the club, where he retired as a player – Real Madrid.

Forwards: Gareth Bale (£85.1 m. in 2013), Cristiano Ronaldo (£80 m. in 2009) and Neymar (£71.5 m. in 2013).

The Welshman became the most expensive footballer ever in 2013, when Real Madrid paid £85.1 m. to Tottenham. Since then, Gareth Bale has become an essential part of Real Madrid’s first team. He helped his team win the Champions League twice. He was the leader of the Welsh national team at the Euro 2016 and led his teammates to the semi-finals of the competition.

Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the biggest superstars in the modern history of football, used to be the most expensive player, until Real Madrid broke the record for Gareth Bale in 2013. Ronaldo is at the base of his club’s recent successes. He has already scored over 350 goals in Real Madrid’s colours in just 7 seasons.

Our final pick is the Brazilian Neymar. He is only 24 years old, but has already scored 46 goals in 70 matches for Selecao! Barcelona paid £71.5 m. to Santos in 2013 to sign the most talented Brazilian player in the modern history of football.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won almost everything in football. The Real Madrid superstar is now 31 years old and has golden medals from almost all the most prestigious football tournaments, except the World Cup…

The Portuguese has won everything on club level. Until 2009 when he was at Manchester United, he had already won the Premier League title on 3 occasions, the FA Cup, the Capital One Cup, The Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Then, after moving to one of the biggest clubs in football – Real Madrid, Ronaldo kept winning trophies. He triumphed in La Liga (2012), won the Spanish Cup (twice), the Champions League on 2 more occasions, added the UEFA Super Cup to his collection and recorded a victory in the FIFA Club World Cup final.

He can also be proud of his long list of individual records in football. Ronaldo has scored a goal in every single minute of a football game. He has won the Golden shoe for the best goal-scorer in an European league on 4 occasions! The forward has won the Ballon d’Or 3 times!

But, there was something missing in his career. He hadn’t won a trophy with his national team. In the very beginning of his career, Ronaldo was a part of the glorious Portugal team with Figo, Rui Costa and Pauleta in the squad, which got to the final of the Euro 2004, but the Portuguese lost it to Greece 0-1. Since that moment, Ronaldo has never stopped dreaming about winning a major international competition.

And now, 12 years after the start of his international career, his dream came true! Portugal won the European championship 2016 in France. That was an endured, but deserved success. The fact that Ronaldo recently became the top goal-scorer of his country would have been of no meaning without the trophy!

Do you remember the World Cup 2006? Portugal was very close to the final match of the competition, but lost 0-1 to France in the semi-finals and eventually finished in 4th position. If you don’t, be sure that Cristiano Ronaldo remembers it and he will do his best to try to win the next World Cup, when he will be 33 years old – that will probably be his last chance, unless he tries again in 2022, when he will be 37!

Can Ronaldo win another trophy? I bet he can! You can also do it and even win a big amount of money in the best online bookmakers in the world. For more information about their huge bonuses you should click here.

Why I am telling you this? Because the Portuguese is now more “hungry” than ever for goals, records and trophies! In addition, he gives his teammates extra confidence only with his appearance on the pitch. And don’t forget that he still needs the trophy from the World Cup to become the player, who has won everything in the modern history of football!

To begin with, the selection of the English team was wrong! Mark Noble and Danny Drinkwater had a place in The Three Lions’ squad. However, Hodgson preferred to give Wilshere a chance, which was a total mistake. Wilshere recorded only 140 minutes of playing time during the season and his invitation for the national team was quite a surprising one.

Moreover, Adam Lallana, who showed he just can’t find the net kept finding his place among the starting eleven! Ross Barkley could have been more helpful, but you can’t know that, because you didn’t give him the chance to appear for a single minute on the pitch… And another good player – James Milner, who has proved he is reliable and can help the team was just on a trip in France. He recorded only 3 minutes of playing time. Then, why you took 23 players? Why didn’t you take just 11?

Joe Hart had nothing to do during the 360 minutes he spent on the pitch at the Euro 2016, except Russia’s late equalizer, Bale’s long-distance free-kick and Iceland’s 2 goals. Maybe, he made only 2 saves and let the opponents score easy goals. Then, why you play him again, when you have picked another 2 good goalkeepers?

When something is going wrong, you need to change the tactics and the players on the pitch. Harry Kane was awful during the whole time he was on the pitch. Why didn’t you take him off? And another question – why did he take all the free-kicks? Don’t make me ask you about the corners…

I just want to ask Roy Hodgson – why he kept his tactics with crossing the ball, when he saw that it brings nothing to his team against Iceland. And one more thing – I am sure the coach has watched a thousand of videos with Iceland playing with long throws – then why you conceded such a goal?

But, it’s not only about the work of the coach. The players, who are excellent individuals, didn’t seem to be dedicated enough. They didn’t sacrifice for the team, which is the most important thing in football.

Too many questions, but there is no answer… Maybe the next head coach of The Three Lions will find the answers and achieve something significant with England, because the truth is that the fans are sick of waiting for another title from a major international tournament. England have really talented and good players, but haven’t looked like a team for a very long time! The only thing left to be done is analysing the mistakes, because they mustn’t be repeated!

France hit the bar on three occasions, but failed to beat Switzerland in their final match of Group A of the Euro 2016. However, the goalless draw was enough for The Blues to finish in the first place in the overall standings of the group. The draw was also a good result for the Swiss, who remained second in the group and will also continue to the Round of 16. In the other match Albania achieved a historic victory against Romania with the score of 1-0 and will be hoping to qualify for the next phase as one of the best four third teams. The Romanians are going to leave the tournament.

France played a strong first half in Lille, but The Blues were much more cautious during the second half. The team of Didier Deschamps, however, again did not concede a goal, although France’s defence is considered to be the weakest link of the team. At the end of the match The Blues were lucky that the referee Damir Skomina didn’t award the Swiss with a penalty.

The head coach Didier Deschamps made some changes in the starting eleven. He played Andre-Pierre Gignac in the attack. Moussa Sissoko and Yohan Cabaye also got a chance to shine. Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, who came in as substitutes in the previous meeting, returned among the starting XI. The match in Lille was under number 50 in the career of French coach Deschamps.

Paul Pogba was the most creative player on the pitch. He hit the bar twice during the first half, but couldn’t find Switzerland’s net. It’s interesting that Pogba also showed another good “skills”. He proved that he knows how to tear off shirts, severing Mehmedi’s shirt twice.

However, the most interesting moment of the game, which described it best, was when Greizmann imploded the ball, stepping on it with his boot.

Dimitri Payet, who was left on the bench, came on the pitch after the 60th minute and made some good attempts on goal. He also hit the bar with a good volley, 15 minutes before the end of the game. Payet was compared with Michel Platiti, who scored 9 goals during the Euro 1984. We will see if Payet can take the glory at the end of the Euro 2016.

France will face the second best team in group C, so the Frenchmen will meet Poland, Northern Ireland or Germany.

Goalkeeper: Hannes Halldorsson

The 32-year-old goalkeeper of Bodo / Glimt showed an incredible performance against the favourites Portugal. He made a total of 10 saves during the first game of the group stage, conceding only one goal and helping his team record a historical 1-1 draw. Halldorsson denied Cristiano Ronaldo, as the forward of Real Madrid couldn’t find his net. The goalkeeper also saved a great header by Nani from about 3-4 metres. So, Halldorsson is our pick for the goalkeeper position.

Right Fullback: Kyle Walker

Even though England couldn’t win their first match against Russia, Walker showed a classy performance. His superb dribbling during the first half, created several goal-scoring chance, which was missed by Lallana. However, Walker was also good in defence and can’t be blamed for Russia’s late equalizer.

Centre Back: Shkodran Mustafi

The German defender was excellent in the first group game against Ukraine. He opened the score sheet early in the game. Then, he gave the Ukrainians no chance in attack, helping his teammates keep a clean sheet. Surely, he will have plenty of offers after the end of the European championship.

Centre Back: Leonardo Bonucci

To continue with, we all know what Bonucci is capable of. Even though he plays as a defender, his best skill is passing. And he proved that again after providing a great assist to Giaccherini for the opening goal against Belgium. Leonardo Bonucci also kept Belgium forwards quiet and Italy recorded their first 3 points at the Euro 2016.

Left Fullback: Tamas Kadar

Another less-known name in our squad, but Kadar of Hungary was the best left fullback after the first matches of the group stage. He was superb in defence and tireless. Kadar gave the Austrians no chance. He became even more active after Dragovic’s red card.

Central Midfielder: Luka Modric

To be honest, I didn’t expect Modric to perform well for Croatia after the long season with Real Madrid, but the Croatian midfielder was the best player for his nation against Turkey. He scored the only goal of the game with a great volley. Modric also created some of the most interesting situations in front of Turkey’s goal.

Central Midfielder: Andres Iniesta

You know when you have a player like Iniesta in your squad, that he can win a match for you with just one touch. Iniesta was performing at his usual level against the Czech Republic, when he made that terrific pass in the 86th minute and Pique found the net. So, Andres Iniesta is deservedly in our squad for his match winning delivery.

Left Winger: Dimitri Payet

It’s obvious Dimitri Payet can become the best player of the European championship. He is not afraid to take the responsibility. He made an assist for France’s first goal and then in the last minute of the game scored with a very nice shot. The 29-year-old Frenchman is tireless, skillful and has a great shot and passing abilities. He can lead France to the glory!

Right Winger: Krizstian Nemeth

The word, which can describe Nemeth’s performance in Hungary’s first match of the group stage is “discipline”. He showed solid performance and helped his teammates record a superb victory against the favourites Austria.

Attacking Midfielder: Wesley Hoolahan

Hoolahan of Norwich City proved that he deserves his place among Ireland’s starting eleven. He was at the right place at the right moment and scored Ireland’s only goal in Isaksson’s net with a brilliant shot from a half-volley. He is able to help his team achieve something significant at the Euro 2016.

Forward: Arkadiusz Milik

The forward of Ajax Amsterdam scored the only goal for Poland against Northern Ireland and brought the first victory for his nation at the European championships. He showed a great partnership with the star striker Robert Lewandowski, and both created several good goal-scoring chances.

The captain of the Irish national football team Robbie Keane can miss the European Championship finals in France through injury. He is Ireland’s top goal-scorer and his absence would affect his team’s performance a lot.

35-year-old striker received a calf injury during a training session on Saturday and won’t be available for the friendly match against Belarus in Cork.

“He felt pain in the calf on Saturday morning, so we’re just taking it on a daily basis. He won’t play in the friendly game against Belarus,” the manager Martin O’Neill said.

“He had it scanned and it’s hopefully not too serious, but enough to put him in jeopardy for a while, so we’ll see how it is. He had an injection this morning and we’ll see how it is when it settles down. Robbie is a pretty quick healer – he says that himself. He is the captain of the team, we would want him to be there and there’s not much more I can tell you,” O’Neill added.

The manager of Rep. of Ireland has more problems, because Harry Arter and James McCarthy are also doubtful.

Robbie Keane has scored 67 goals in 143 appearances for the national team since his debut in 1998. He is the player with the biggest number of goals in the European qualifiers – 23. The forward has scored 3 goals in 4 matches at World Cup tournaments. Only 20 of his goals for Ireland are in non-competitive games. In his club career, Keane has scored more than 300 goals. He is a real goal-scoring machine and the doctors will do everything to get him back on the pitch for Ireland.

Ireland are to start their participation at the Euro 2016 on 13th June against Sweden. They will also have to play against Italy and Belgium.

Keane, for sure, will be in the squad of Ireland. But, he will be more useful on the pitch. Without him, Ireland don’t seem to have a big chance for reaching the Round of 16.

However, Ireland had a great qualifying campaign, losing only 2 of 12 matches, including the playoffs. The Irish team even recorded a victory (1-0) against Germany, which directly left Scotland on 4th position in the qualifying group.

In conclusion, we can take a look at the average odds for Rep. of Ireland. The odds for Republic of Ireland not to proceed into the Round of 16 are about 1,61 (last place in the group – 2,2). Republic of Ireland – under 3 points in the group – about 1/1.

The spectators are going to see a repetition of the last year’s final in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors managed to turn things around against the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the series 4-3, although being behind by 1-3. The champions won the final match (№7) of the series at home (96-88), securing a participation in a second consecutive final game of the league against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Warriors finished the regular season with the record of 73 victories and just 9 defeats, then they were on the brink of elimination in the finals of the Western Conference, but found the strength to return, improving several records and now they will have the chance to defend their title. So far, only nine teams in the history of the NBA have managed to win the series, after being behind 1-3 in the playoffs.

Stephen Curry was simply outstanding. He showed incredible performance, scoring 36 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and making only 3 errors. Curry scored 13/24 for 40 minutes of playing time (7/12 for three points).

Klay Thompson helped his teammates to record another victory, by scoring 21 points. Thompson scored three-pointers on 6 occasions (he scored 11 three-pointers in the previous match between these two teams). Draymond Green finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

Kevin Durant was the best for the visiting team. The small forward finished with 27 points, while his teammate Russell Westbrook recorded a “double-double” with 19 points and 13 assists.

Thompson and Curry set a new record, after they finished with 30 and 32 three-pointers. So far the biggest number of three-pointers in the playoffs was 28!

The Warriors experienced a difficult first half, in which they recorded their lowest score of the season – only 42 points, and the guests went into the locker room with an advance of six points after the first 24 minutes. In the third part things went in a different direction and the problems were for Oklahoma City, who scored only 12 points against 29 for the hosts.

The Thunder were “fighting” until the very last minute of the match and eventually were losing by only 4 points – 86:90, but then Curry showed what he can do and scored another 6 points for his team, stamping the Warriors’ visa for the finals!

The finals, against Cleveland, start on Thursday, and the first two games will be held at Oracle Center in Oakland.

Welcome to the beautiful world of sports! The world, in which you can forget about all your problems. This is the newest online sports magazine – Sons of Roto. I am Jamie and I am proud to present you my articles with the best analysis and betting tips. We will also take a closer look at the best players in football, basketball, etc.

There are lots of betting strategies, but we are going to pay attention on these with less risk of losing money. Not everything in betting is luck. You should be statistically prepared. In addition, you should be good at mathematics, because a big part of the most successful strategies is combinatorics. But, if you are not – that’s not a problem, because I am here to help you.

Moreover, you can find here the most interesting news about transfers and recent results. Because, without the most recent news you won’t be able to place the winning bets! When you start reading you will find out that there are no 100% sure tips! Becoming an expert in betting on football, for instance, depends on a combination of several very important factors…

Be aware of everything! Don’t look only at the odds, because sometimes the odds are just numbers! I mean that, nowadays, there are no such things as surprises in sports, especially football! When watching a football game, for example, don’t watch only where the ball is – pay attention to the movement of the players – that’s the key of live betting!

Don’t rely on only one strategy! Be aware of the newest opportunities in sports betting. And one more thing – don’t do it only with passion, just think and be reasonable! Don’t be greedy!

When betting, don’t be in a hurry! Firstly, read all the information about the game and then make your prediction. Don’t bet on a team, just because it’s your favourite! But I will talk about this later.

I am also going to make my predictions for UEFA Euro 2016 and I hope you will join me with the analysis. We will take a look at every single possible way of betting, because every betting option has its advantages.

There are no faultless people. The bookmakers are also humans! So, take advantage of their mistakes and make your profit. So, are you with me? Join me and let’s take their money and make all the bookmakers cry!