-
Lionel Messi, Suddenly a Bad Boy
Regardless of what the Real Madrid press are writing about Lionel Messi, the truth is meaningless. His persona won’t be damaged; on the contrary; seeing the Barcelona star add a little bit of venom to his act might not be such a bad thing.
-
Biggest January Transfers – Mateo Kovačić, Mario Balotelli & Willian
The FIFA financial fair play is a meaningless attempt at stopping spending in global football. That isn’t stopping teams with and without ample streams of revenue to spend big, even outside the Premier League or the profitable Bundesliga. The three biggest moves in January were a bit surprising – Mario Balotelli to AC Milan, Willian to Anzhi Makhachkala and youngster Mateo Kovačić to Inter.
-
English Premier League 2013 January Transfer Window Signings
Not the busiest of transfer windows, but still with a few notable moves, as every January brings us – Liverpool purchasing Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea and Philippe Coutinho from Inter; Newcastle raiding the French league, Chelsea buying Demba Ba; Arsenal landing Nacho Montreal from Malaga and QPR, also very busy, signing Christopher Samba.
-
Real Madrid vs Barcelona – Post Clasico After Shocks
Things aren’t too quite between the biggest rivals in Spain after the Copa Del Rey Clasico – Lionel Messi allegedly got into some sort of clash with Alvaro Arbeloa after the match, Dani Alves claims Real Madrid fans are racists while Xavi thinks Barcelona conceded a goal that never should have been allowed while Cristiano Ronaldo gets protection from the referees.
-
Manchester United – Wayne Rooney Stars in Comeback for Once
This is Manchester United this season, and most of the time as well: A team that doesn’t need a great match or even to get more chances at home to mount yet another comeback victory and extend their lead at the top of the Premier League. The hero this time wasn’t Robin van Persie, but Wayne Rooney with a quick first half double.
-
Chelsea FC – Juan Mata Isn’t Enough With Terrible Defense
An easy match and suddenly, another disappointing result. Juan Mata continues to be the only stable thing in the Chelsea strutcture, as their defense, without the leadership of John Terry, continues to give away goals and points while Rafa Benitez is off to a worse start for the Blues than Roberto Di Matteo had through his first 12 matches.
-
Liverpool FC – Luis Suarez & Steven Gerrard Deserve Better Tactics
When you’re facing a team that utterly panics each time Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturrdige come at their defenders, it’s a wise choice to keep attacking with a few players, even if you’re naturally trying to hold on to a lead in an away match. Brendan Rodgers wasn’t too far away from his biggest win as Liverpool manager, but his conservatism blew it once again.
-
Arsenal FC – Olivier Giroud & Theo Walcott in Promising Partnership
Once again, the defense looked terrible whenever it was pressed. Not for the first time, Arsenal hardly showed up for the first half. Yet there were enough positives to take from a match which could have ended as another disaster, instead finishing with a positive note, thanks to the improving partnership of Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud.
-
FC Barcelona – Lionel Messi Brings His Lazy Performance to Clasico
Not every match can be a Lionel Messi masterpiece, and in a match against an opponent that has the ability to make life very hard for him while still gain some control in the midfield, the world’s best player didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to himself be felt.
-
Real Madrid – Cristiano Ronaldo Backed by Raphael Varane
All the focus, as in any match and especially in a Clasico, was on Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead, another Real Madrid player rose to the challenge – Raphael Varane, scoring the late equalizer and saving his team a couple of times from conceding.