Bad Santa Mourinho leaves Casillas out in the cold

 

In just the latest in a long list of controversies, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho chose to drop Iker Casillas from his side to face Malaga on Saturday.

The pair have a notoriously frosty relationship, and the Portuguese boss' plan spectacularly back-fired, with los Blancos going down to a 3-2 defeat in Andalusia to leave his side a whopping 16 points behind Barcelona in La Liga.

Mourinho has been heavily linked with a departure from the Bernabeu at the end of the season, and may have sealed his own fate with his latest headline-grabbing mishap.

Tweet Follow @omomani

Il Faraone (Stephan El Shaarawy)

Tweet Follow @omomani

Ronaldo gets dream date with Sir Alex Ferguson as Real Madrid draw Manchester United

 

The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League has been made and thrown up some cracking ties, not least the pairing of Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Not only will the tie see Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho clash once again, it will also mean a return to Old Trafford for Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese, who left the Theatre of Dreams in 2009 for a mere £80 million, has already revealed how much he enjoyed his time in Manchester working with Sir Alex and now Ronaldo will get the chance to meet up with his former boss once again.

Tweet Follow @omomani

Walcott left out of Arsenal's future five

 

Arsenal made a show of announcing new contracts for five of their brightest young talents on Wednesday - but the one who everyone was waiting for was not among them.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson all put pen to paper on bumper five-year deals at Emirates Stadium, as Goal.com had exclusively revealed on Monday.

But Theo Walcott, whose current agreement is set to expire in the summer, has long been at loggerheads with the club over an extension, with his desire to play as a centre-forward proving a serious obstacle.

Tweet Follow @omomani

Animo Tito Vilanova

Tweet Follow @omomani

Christmas comes early for Sneijder & Santa

 

Christmas has come early in Wesley Sneijder's household as the midfielder has been sent on a premature festive break by Inter.

A short statement from Inter on Tuesday confirmed the following: "It was the last training session of 2012 at the Angelo Moratti centre for Philippe Coutinho and Wesley Sneijder today.

"The two players, at the behest of the club and head coach Andrea Stramaccioni, will rejoin their families for Christmas from tomorrow."
Tweet Follow @omomani

Palacio also great as a goalkeeper

Tweet Follow @omomani

Marlon Brando Caricature

 

From The Missouri Breaks

Tweet Follow @omomani

Club World Cup champions Corinthians deliver Benitez knockout blow

 

Just when it appeared Rafa Benitez might be on the verge of receiving some goodwill from Chelsea fans, Corinthians spoil the party.

The Blues romped into the Club World Cup final with a convincing 3-1 victory over Monterrey.

But Benitez and his charges came unstuck against the Brazilian outfit, who won the competition by knocking out the Stamford Bridge side with a single Paolo Guerrero goal.

Tweet Follow @omomani

Rooney and Van Persie have the Premier League at their mercy

 

Manchester United maintained their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Sunderland on Saturday, and once again, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie were on hand to fire their team to victory.

The Dutchman grabbed his 12th league goal of the season to open the scoring at Old Trafford, and strike partner Rooney was not far behind with his seventh of the campaign.

Now having disposed of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and arch-rivals Manchester City already this year, the gigantic partnership of Rooney and Van Persie has the Premier League scurrying for cover...
Tweet Follow @omomani