Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Massimiliano Benassi

It seemed like a foregone conclusion. Inter had been on fire, winning their previous seven Serie A matches. 

Lecce found themselves at the other end of the table, but managed to exact revenge for their 4-1 trouncing at San Siro earlier in the season with a surprise 1-0 win over Claudio Ranieri's men. 

Serse Cosmi will have Massimiliano Benassi to thank, with the 30-year-old keeping Inter's all-star cast at bay for 90 minutes. 

Dazzled David de Gea and Suarez

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea turned in another disappointing performance as the Red Devils suffered a 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Liverpool on Saturday.

And as he watched from the stands, Luis Suarez, who is currently serving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra, came up with the secret ingredient - a doughnut, for which De Gea is known to have a craving.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

#TwitterCensored

Inside the mind of the Special One


Barcelona got one over Real Madrid once more in the Copa del Rey in midweek, much to Jose Mourinho's frustration. 

Refereeing decisions were again a point of contention for the Portuguese coach, whilst his spokesman Eladio Parames took his anger out on 'Donkey' Dani Alves....

Friday, January 27, 2012

Bayern Munich's transfer 'bomb' backfires

On Thursday, Bayern Munich revealed that they were set to announce the signing of a "bomb" striker, leaving the football world on the edge of its collective seat. A variety of names were touted as potential arrivals, only for the Bavarians' official website to announce that it was the public - Bayern's 12th man, and they were simply seeking publicity.

Sergio Ramos sees red for Real again

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has been making the headlines lately, but for all the wrong reasons it seems. Following on from accusations of a bust-up with coach Jose Mourinho in the aftermath of the defeat to Barcelona in last week's Copa del Rey last-eight clash, he became a new record holder on Wednesday night - his dismissal for a raised arm on Sergio Busquets was his 13th red card for Los Blancos, beating one-time Madrid stalwart Fernando Hierro's previous high of 12. Unwanted or not, it's still a prize fit for a bull, right?

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Wenger changes send Van Persie packing

Robin van Persie was forced to take to Facebook on Tuesday to dispel rumours of a rift between himself and Arsene Wenger after the Dutchman was visibly flabbergasted on Sunday when his boss replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - Arsenal's best player on the day - with Andrey Arshavin, whose feeble defending cost his side the game. Could the 28-year-old be at the end of his tether in north London?

Monday, January 23, 2012

Super Mario keeps Man City riding high

'Super' Mario Balotelli emerged from the bench against Tottenham Hotspur and soon left his mark on the game: winning and scoring a 95th-minute penalty. 

However, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp was left fuming as he was adamant the Italian should have been sent off for a stamp on Scott Parker's head moments earlier.




Friday, January 20, 2012

PSG drawn towards Paolo Maldini

Abramovich adds another pawn to his chessboard

There seems no stopping Andre Villas-Boas and his rebuilding plans at Chelsea, as the arrival of Gary Cahill is likely to be the first of many through the revolving door.

However, the manager's policy of squad rotation and the disposal of several experienced heads from the team has made for an uncertain state of affairs - almost as much so as David Luiz's defending.
The ruthless style exhibited by the 34-year-old gaffer sees the Brazilian stopper likely to become the sacrificial lamb, while Frank Lampard remains in the cold despite his recent goalscoring form.

But chairman Roman Abramovich has come up with a solution - treat the game as a chess board!

Enter Ashley Cole as the queen, John Terry as the king and an unhappy Lampard as a ... rook? Told you it was confusing - and that's not even taking into account the conundrum involving Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres. 

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Pepe's madness hits Mourinho where it hurts

Pepe was the villain for Jose Mourinho as his play-acting and perseverance in his attempts to injure Lionel Messi only hampered Real Madrid's chances of retaining the Copa del Rey, as they went down 2-1 to Barcelona in the quarter-final first leg.

AC Milan bring back the wrong Merkel


AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi will recognise the name of his side's latest signing, but will be relieved it is Alexander Merkel and not Angela coming to bail him and his team out.

The former Italian prime minister had economic problems in his political career, which were addressed and aided by the German chancellor.

On this occasion, however, a 19-year-old playmaker has been drafted back to the Giuseppe Meazza on a loan deal to help with a crisis on the pitch.

Merkel will act as much-needed midfield cover for injured pair Gennaro Gattuso and Alberto Aquilani, and may find himself featuring for the Scudetto holders regularly as Kevin Prince-Boateng has also picked up a knock.

Unlucky Angela, there's always the summer transfer window ...

Monday, January 16, 2012

Guardiola's jar of players bordering on empty

There must be another attacker in there somewhere... somewhere... 
Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola might have scooped up the Coach of the Year award at the 2011 Fifa Ballon d'Or Gala in Zurich last week, but the Catalan trainer has little reason for optimism at the moment.

After previous injuries to Ibrahim Afellay and David Villa, the Blaugrana also lost Pedro and Andreu Fontas due to various physical problems last week.

Additionally, Brazilian full-back Maxwell left the club for Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the week, while Seydou Keita has been included in Mali's 2012 Afcon squad.

This has left Guardiola with selection problems ahead of Sunday's away game against Betis and the 40-year-old has to dig deep to find 11 players... 

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Barbara sticks with Pato & boots Tevez

It seemed like the transfer saga that would never end. 

Will Carlos Tevez finally get his wish and swap Manchester City for AC Milan? Will Paris Saint-Germain get their trophy-signing and bring Alexandre Pato to Parc des Princes?
It appeared salvation had finally arrived on Thursday. 

Reports emerged that PSG had agreed a fee for Pato and the Italian champions had already lined up a ready-made replacement in the form of Tevez.

But then it all fell apart. Pato announced that he had no intention of leaving his 'home' in Milan, and any move Massimiliano Allegri would make for Tevez had stalled.

The powers that be stepped in. Barbara Berlusconi, AC Milan board member and the daughter of Italy's mercurial politician, put the kibosh on any deal, unwilling to lose her boyfriend to Tevez, a less aesthetically pleasing alternative.

I guess we have her to blame for an inevitable 18 further days of speculation ...