Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Some are looking at the Stars

Galliani slaps down a red-faced Ibrahimovic

For all of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's genius on the pitch, a moment of madness always seems to be around the corner. Sunday's goalless draw with Napoli saw the Swede slap Salvatore Aronica, gaining not only a red card for his antics, but also a three-match ban in the process, which will rule him out of the pivotal league encounter against Juventus later in February. It's an incident AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani is understandably furious with, as the striker prepares to occupy a place in the stands for the title decider.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Arsenal's past, present and future combine in front of goal

Arsenal routed Blackburn 7-1 on Saturday afternoon, a game in which Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry all netted. Consequently, it felt very much like Gunners fans were watching their team's line of succession blurring in front of their eyes ...

Terry stripped of his precious England armband for the second time

John Terry's misdemeanors have cost him the one thing that he desires most, the England captaincy, as he is due to stand trial for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand earlier in the season. The Chelsea defender will be sure to do all in his power to regain his precious armband, though .

A great nation weeps in football's darkest hour

Atrocious scenes rocked Egypt this week as a group of 'fans' invaded the pitch in the wake of Wednesday's clash between Al Masry and Al Ahly. Over 70 people died in the ensuing maul. It was an unfitting episode for such an illustrious country that was once the hub of civilisation: the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Ptolemies and the mighty Pharaohs all stood on this ancient land. 

Capello takes matters into his own hands to resolve his Terry England dilemma

The news that John Terry will stand trial for allegedly racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand after Euro 2012 has sent England into a state of confusion, with question marks hovering above the Chelsea and England captain's participation in the tournament. However, this is not the first time Terry has complicated affairs for coach Fabio Capello, so it's possible the 65-year-old, known for his disciplinarian ways, may be forced to settle matters with a back-to-basics approach ..

Deadline day and it's all quiet on the western front

While the end of a transfer window usually heralds a scramble for new players, it became apparent there neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona would make that critical signing to give their club the upper hand in the title race, Arsene Wenger (slightly less surprisingly) would not bring in the enforcements Arsenal needed, and Inter's shock defeat to Lecce did not prompt them to dip into the market. Instead, the deadline day fanatics had to make do with a few questionable loan deals ...