Germany made it to the final game of The Confederations Cup. The World Champions recorded an amazing 4-1 victory against the tough team of Mexico. The captain of Die Mannschaft Julian Draxler was the best player on the pitch, taking part in all the interesting situations in the match.

The Joachim Loew’s men showed they are the better team from the very beginning of the game! The young talent of Schalke 04 – Leon Goretzka took advantage of two fast-paced Germany’s counter attacks and within 2 minutes (from the 6th to the 8th minute) found the Ochoa net twice! Timo Werner missed to score the third of the match in the 18th minute, when he found himself unmarked one on one with the goalkeeper. On the other hand, Javier Hernandez missed the best chance for Mexico during the first half. In the 35th minute, he sent the ball over the bar from about 5 metres. Just 3 minutes later Herrera tried his luck from a free-kick, but his shot was saved by ter Steggen.

7 minutes after the break Werner had another clear goal-scoring opportunity, but he missed the target from a tight angle. Everything in the game was decided in the 59th minute, when Draxler made a beautiful pass in a corridor to find Jonas Hector and the left fullback had no problems make an assist to Werner, who put the ball into the net for 3-0. That was Werner’s 3rd goal for the senior team of Germany in just 5 matches!

Then, Osorio subbed Marco Fabian on for Mexico and the midfielder created some good goal-scoring chances. Firstly, he found some space in the box, but his shot went wide. In the 70th minute Layun made a good attempt towards the goal, but ter Steggen made a good save again. Rafael Marquez, who appeared for the 143rd time with the colours of Mexico, also had the chance to score, but ter Steggen parried away his header shot.

At both ends, Mexico scored a goal. Fabian scored with a beautiful strike from about 30 metres, giving ter Steggen no chance. Eventually, the substitution Amin Younes scored the 4th goal for Germany in the last minute of the game.

With the wonderful performance the Germans are now the favourites for winning the Confederations Cup. Can they beat Chile in the final?

The Spanish goal-scoring machine Diego Costa is not in Antonio Conte’s plans for the next season. The forward has two more years of his contract with Chelsea, but he may leave this summer. Even though Costa was one of the main reasons for Chelsea’s title last season he will look for a new club. However, with his 22 goals of the season (20 in the Premier League) it won’t be a difficult task for him to find a new team.

To continue with, Diego Costa has said that he would like to return to Atletico Madrid. That will be possible from 1st January 2018, because of the sanctions against the team. So, if Costa decides a move to his former team, he must move on loan in another team, in order to take part in competitive matches. For sure, he will do it, because the forward dreams of taking part in another World Cup. He has also said that he doesn’t care where he would be sent on loan, except for China.

The 28-year-old striker spent 4 years at Atletico Madrid (2010 – 2014). He has played 135 games for Los Rojiblancos and has scored 64 goals in all competitions. He was a part of the team, which won La Liga in 2014. Costa also played in the Champions League final in the same campaign, which was lost to Real Madrid. So, it will be a very logical thing if he moves back to his former team.

Diego Costa recently scored his 6th goal for the Spanish national team, which was his 6th in 16 appearances. He played in 2 games of the World Cup in 2014. However, his main priority now is a participation in the upcoming World Cup 2018 in Russia. With the form he is showing it won’t be a difficult for him to see his name in the squad, but firstly, he must find a new team!

Chelsea celebrated the title with the match against Watford last night. The Blues offered to their fans a great spectacle, winning the match 4-3 after a late drama. The legend John Terry scored his first goal of the season, which was also the first of the game.

The 36-year-old defender opened the score in the 22nd minute after a corner kick. However, the captain of the team made a mistake just 2 minutes later, which led to a equalizing goal. Etienne Capoue took advantage of the mistake and sent the ball into Begovic’s net. That was Capoue’s 7th Premier League goal of the season.

To continue with, the Spanish defender Cesar Azpilicueta managed to score for Chelsea shortly after the equalizer with a good low shot. So, the score at the half time was 2-1 in favour of Chelsea.

The Blues scored their 3rd goal of the night just 4 minutes into the second half. Nathan Ake played the ball to Michy Batshuayi and the Belgian forward had no problems to find the net from a short distance. That was his 3rd Premier League goal of the campaign.

It looked like Chelsea will have no problems to win the match, but the Walter Mazzarri’s players didn’t think so. Daryl Janmaat scored the best goal of his career just 2 minutes after Chelsea’s third goal. The Dutchman showed a great individual skills, scoring Watford’s second of the game. Then, Stefano Okaka Chuka, who went on the pitch in the 71st minute, found the net just 3 minutes after he appeared on. The Italian forward took advantage against John Terry and put the ball into the net, equalizing the score again.

Cesc Fabregas, eventually, scored the winning goal for The Blues with just 2 minutes to go. The Spanish midfielder scored his 5th Premier League goal of the season. With the victory Chelsea collected 90 points, just one match before the end of the season.

The Gunners will play Manchester United on Sunday. The match at The Emirates Stadium will be the 225th game between these two teams. The first match dates back to 13th October 1894, when in the League Division Two, Newton Heath (Man United) and Woolwich Arsenal have finished with a 3-3 draw.

Since then, Arsenal and Manchester United have always been competing. The Gunners have recorded 63 home victories against this opponent. On the other hand, The Red Devils have won 32 visits to tle Londoners. There have been 19 draws.

Jose Mourinho has announced that he would change his whole starting XI for the game against Arsenal, because he wants to give his players some rest after the 1-0 away victory against Celta Vigo in The Europa League. The Portuguese managed has also said in an interview that he has no more problems with the Gunners’ manager Arsene Wenger and they will shake hands again on Sunday.

Arsenal desperately need the three points. The Gunners are 5 points down from the Top 4 and if Arsene Wenger wants to see his team in The Champions League next campaign, he must make his players give 100% in all the league matches until the end of the season.

The last time Manchester United lost a Premier League match was on 23rd October 2016 against Chelsea. Since then The Red Devils have recorded 25 consecutive league matches without a defeat! The Jose Mourinho’s men have only lost twice away from home this campaign, having won 10 of 16 league visits. On the other hand, The Gunners have recorded 11 victories of 16 matches at The Emirates Stadium in The Premier League.

Granit Xhaka is injured and will miss the game against Man United. Marouane Fellaini of the Red Devils will be sidelined through suspension. Marcus Rashford will probably also miss the game. The young talent was substituted in the 80th minute of the game against Celta and will surely be given additional resting time.

The Spurs won their match against Crystal Palace last night, which means they have recorded 8 victories in a row in The Premier League! Tottenham Hotspur set their new record for points won in The Premiership. With the victory, they collected 74 points! The Mauricio Pochettino’s players are lying in second position and are just 4 points down from the leaders Chelsea. There are 5 games to go, so The Spurs still have a chance to win the title!

Tottenham Hotspurs have kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 8 league matches. In addition, they are among the top scoring teams in the division – with 69 goals in 33 games. On the other hand, Tottenham’s schedule is much more difficult than Chelsea’s. The Spurs will play Arsenal, West Ham United, Manchester United, Leicester City and Hull City. However, if the Mauricio Pochettino’s players keep going like that they can fight for the title until the very last round of the competition.

The match wasn’t full of goal-scoring chances. The shots on target were just 5 – 1 for Crystal Palace and 4 for Tottenham Hotspur. The best chances for goal came after shots from a long distance. Dele Alli’s shot in the 53rd minute went wide, but that moment was crucial, because Mamadou Sakho received an injury and was substituted. Then, Alli missed another good chance after a perfect cross by Kyle Walker.

Christian Eriksen became the hero for The Spurs again. The Danish player scored a magnificent goal from a long distance after a pass by Harry Kane. Eriksen found the net in the 78th minute, so Palace had a very little time to react.

With the victory, Tottenham kept their chance for the title alive! 4 points down from Chelsea and with better goal difference, The Spurs must keep on going and wait The Blues to make 2 mistakes until the end of the campaign.

The Gunners will host Manchester City on Sunday in the derby match of the 30th round in The Premier League. This will be the 190th match in the Head to Head battle between these two teams. The Arsene Wenger’s players have a big advantage, as they have won 95 games against The Citizens, while the Pep Guardiola’s players have recorded 50 wins.

To continue with, Arsenal have been through lots of difficult moments this season and I am not sure whether it’s the right time for The Gunners for a match against Manchester City. Arsenal are in a bad form. They have lost 6 of their last 9 competitive matches, including the humiliation against Bayern Munich.

On the other hand, The Citizens felt the disappointment from being knocked out of The Champions League. Even though the Pep Guardiola’s players had an advantage of 5-3 against Monaco, the French team recorded a 3-1 victory at home and eliminated The Citizens.

Manchester City have won 57 points so far, which is 7 more than Arsenal’s record. However, The Citizens have played one game more than The Gunners. The Arsene Wenger’s players haven’t lost a home match against Manchester City since 2013! Since then, Arsenal have won 3 games, while there have been 2 draws. In addition, The Gunners have only lost twice at home in The Premier League this season! Moreover, Man City have lost 2 of their last 5 away league matches.

Petr Cech has received a calf injury in Arsenal’s match against West Bromwich Albion two weeks ago. Santi Cazorla and Lucas Perez will also miss the game for The Gunners. Kevin De Bruyne is doubtful. The Belgian midfielder has a groin injury and will have to pass a late fitness test.

In conclusion, we expect an interesting match with lots of goal-scoring chances. I decided to put my money on “both to score”.

Leicester City made an astonishing performance, eliminating the League Europa winners Sevilla from The Champions League. The Foxes have recently been very impressive, recording 3 consecutive victories after the appointment of Craig Shakespeare for the manager of the team.

The Foxes won 2-0 against Sevilla at The King Power Stadium. Moreover, they totally outplayed the Spaniards! Leicester City looked the way like they won The Premier League. The captain Wes Morgan opened the score in the 27th minute, giving Leicester City the vital lead!

To continue with, Sevilla tried their best to score an away goal, but The Foxes were simply better. Shortly after the break Sergio Escudero was unlucky and hit the bar from a long distance. A couple of minutes later, Marc Albrighton doubled the score with a good shot from inside the box. This goal gave Leicester City more confidence and The Foxes started to use their most dangerous weapon – the counter attacks.

A quarter of an hour before the end of the game Sevilla put Leicester City under pressure, but Samir Nasri was sent off for his second yellow card of the night. The Frenchman did something unforgivable, hitting Jamie Vardy. However, the visitors had no choice but to attack and they were very close to equalize. In the 80th minute the referee awarded them with a penalty.

Kasper Schmeichel was again the big hero for Leicester City, saving Steven N’Zonzi’s shot from the spot. That was his second penalty save in the battle between these two clubs. After this crucial moment of the game, The Foxes could even score their third goal, but they missed a couple of chances in front of Sevilla’s goal.

In conclusion, that was one of the greatest nights in Leicester City’s history. The fans were celebrating all night long. They can’t wait to see Leicester’s next opponent in The Champions League!

Chelsea maintained their leadership in The Premier League after a 2-1 away victory in the derby against West Ham United. With the 3 points, The Blues collected 66 points after 27 rounds and are 10 points above Tottenham Hotspur and 11 up from Manchester City, but The Citizens have played one match less.

The Hammers controlled the pace of the game until the Chelsea’s first goal of the match. In the 25th minute, West Ham United’s player lost the ball in the Blues’ half and the Antonio Conte’s players organized a fast counter attack. Kante passed the ball to Eden Hazard, who made a great one-two pass with Pedro and the Belgian winger appeared to be one-on-one with the goalkeeper Darren Randolph. Eden Hazard had no problems to find the net, showing a great speed and technique.

Just 5 minutes after the start of the second half, The Blues take advantage of Winston Reid’s error in the marking, which allowed Diego Costa to score from a close range after a corner kick. That was the Spaniard’s 17th goal in The Premier League this season.

However, West Ham United didn’t gave up from trying to score until the very last minute of the game. The Slaven Bilic’s players were close to find the net in the 62nd minute, but Snodgrass’ header shot went above the goal. Eventually, Manuel Lanzini managed to score in the added time after a good pass by Andre Ayew, but that wasn’t enough for The Hammers to leave with at least a point. They are now lying in the 11th position of the standings after 27 matches.

In conclusion, if Chelsea keep going like that, The Blues will hardly miss the opportunity to win the title. The Antonio Conte’s players have only lost once in their last 21 competitive games. Moreover, there are only 11 rounds until the end of the campaign and the gap will hardly be melted by some of the rivals.

Leicester City sacked Claudio Ranieri. That’s shocking news, as the Italian manager brought a lot of glory for The Foxes. They lifted the trophy in The Premier League last campaign, and even though they weren’t persuasive enough this season, Leicester City were showing a wonderful performance in The Champions League.

The Foxes won their Group G and made it to the Round of 16 for the first time in their history. Moreover, they achieved a good result in their visit to Sevilla, scoring an away goal! I don’t think that was the right decision, because there is a very little time until the end of the season and no matter who is appointed for a manager, he is going to struggle a lot.

Such decisions are crucial for the future of the clubs, especially when is taken in such a stage of the campaign. With the dismissal of Ranieri, I think that Leicester City are bound to be eliminated of The Champions League! As regards to the relegation battle, it will be very difficult for The Foxes, who will need to adjust to a new playing style with the new head coach. In my opinion, they are going to relegate, exactly because this stupid action from the board!

This is the reality in football… In one moment you are on the top of the world, holding the title in your hands. And in the next, you are sacked because of the lack of good results on the domestic scene. The same thing happened to Jose Mourinho a season ago. “The Champion of England and FIFA Manager of the year sacked. That’s the new football, Claudio. Just keep smiling, my friend,” the Portuguese manager said about to his colleague.

There are speculations that the Leicester City players have betrayed their coach in a private conversation with the bosses after the defeat to Sevilla in The Champions League. However, at the end of the season they will realize how wrong they have been…

Manchester City smashed West Ham United 4-0 away from home! The Pep Guardiola’s players showed a top class football and had no problems to win the three points. That was Manchester City’s 8 away victory of 12 matches in The Premier League this season. If they keep going like that they will become the main contenders for the title, alongside with the leaders Chelsea.

Kevin De Bruyne opened the score after just 17 minutes. The Belgian midfielder scored his 4th goal of the season in The Premier League. 4 minutes later, Manchester City doubled their lead. This time the goal-scorer was David Silva, as the Spaniard found the net with a shot from about 3 metres.

The Citizens maintained their advance before the break, scoring their third goal of the game. The young Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus scored his first goal with Manchester City’s colours. He would have done it on his debut against Tottenham, but Jesus was then denied by the offside flag. Moreover, the Pep Guardiola’s players had the possession of the ball in 64% of the time, dominating over their opponents.

During the second half, the English international player Raheem Sterling was fouled in the box by the debutant Jose Fonte and earned a penalty for the visitors, which was converted into a goal by Yaya Toure. With the 3 points, Manchester City melted the advance of Chelsea to 10 points, but The Citizens must keep going if they want to keep their title chances alive.

The next few Premier League games will be crucial for Manchester City. However, they are obligated to win these matches (vs. Swansea City, AFC Bournemouth, Sunderland and Stoke City). On the other hand, The Citizens will hardly focus only on their performance in The Premier League, as the battle in The Champions League will soon be renewed.

Both National League sides – Lincoln City and Sutton United are through to the 4th round of The FA Cup! The Imps will play Brighton and Hove Albion at home on 28th January 2017, while The U’s are to host Leeds United a day later.

The Imps earned a precious victory against Ipswich Town at home, after recording a 2-2 draw at Portman Road. Nathan Arnold scored the only goal of the game in the very last seconds! He found himself one on one against the goalkeeper after a great pass by Adam Marriot, and Arnold had no problems to go past the keeper and put the ball into the net for one of the greatest ever victories for Lincoln City!

The 15th-positioned in The National League – Sutton United were even more impressive, turning things around against AFC Wimbledon to 3-1, after being 1-0 down until the 75th minute of the game! Tom Elliott opened the score for Wimbledon early in the game, but his teammate – the experienced defender Paul Robinson was sent off in the 15th minute. The 5th-tier side could equalize 6 seconds into the second half, but The U’s missed on an open goal! However, a quarter of hour before the end of the game, the midfielder Roarie Deacon equalized with a good shot outside the box!

Then, the midfielder assisted to Biamou, who found himself unmarked on an open goal and scored to give the lead to the 5th-tier side for the first time in the match in the 90th minute! In the stoppage time, the striker Dan Fitchett found the Wimbledon’s net for the third time in the match and sent his team into the 4th round of the competition!

That’s the 3rd time Sutton United made it to the 4th round of the competition, but they have never reached further! In comparison, Lincoln City’s record is reaching the 5th round, but that was too long ago – in 1887.

There is a new rule for The World Cup. FIFA has approved the new format of the biggest football competition in the world. There will be 48 teams in the tournament in 2026! As you remember, the first World Cup, which was held in 1930, was with 13 teams. Since then, the number of the nations to take part in the final tournament has increased to 32 in 1998.

Since 2026 there will be 48 teams, separated into 16 groups, as there will be 3 teams in each of the groups. The best two teams of each group will find a place in the knockout stage of the competition (1/32 finals). However, the teams which will reach the final match will take part in 7 matches, which remains the same as in the previous editions of the tournament. The World Cup is going to last 32 days, which again remains unchanged. That means that the total number of the matches will increase from 64 to 80.

The FIFA’s council Gianni Infantino has also thought about a penalty shootout after each of the games, no matter it is from the group or the knockout stage.

There have been a lot of discussions about whether these changes will make the tournament even more interesting, or it will reduce the class of the participants – as there will be teams, which have never qualified for the tournament before.

According to the unconfirmed information, 3 more teams from Europe will find a place in the final tournament (from 13 to 16), while there will be 9 places each for Asia and Africa. However, FIFA will decide this by May.

In conclusion, the more teams in the competition the more money for FIFA. This expansion of The World Cup will have also a positive outcome over the popularity of the game all around the world. For sure, it will be a very interesting World Cup!

The third round of the FA Cup offered us lots of interesting matches and surprises, of course. This time we must pay attention on a few teams, which are competing in very low tiers of the English football and made an impact with their great performance.

To begin with, the League Two sides Accrington Stanley (2-1 vs. Luton Town) and Wycombe Wanderers (2-1 vs. Stourbridge – a team from the 7th division) made it to the 4th round. Blackpool are also still in the competition after a 0-0 draw against the Championship side Barnsley. However, the most impressive performance by a team from the League Two was Plymouth Argyle’s! They managed to keep Liverpool’s strikers quiet at Anfield, finishing with a 0-0 draw! Plymouth Argyle are lying in 2nd position in The League Two, while Liverpool are second in The Premier League, which means that the underdogs are 67 places below the Merseysiders.

That wasn’t the lowest rated teams to keep their places in the competition. For example, Lincoln City (National League – 5th division) were able to record a 2-2 draw against Ipswich Town! Moreover, Lincoln were just 4 minutes away from the victory, but Lawrence equalized for the Championship side.

To continue with, the lowest rated team, which won a replay, is Sutton United (14th place in the standings of the 5th division)! The underdogs finished with a 0-0 draw against AFC Wimbledon at home! They started their participation in the cup in October and recorded 3 consecutive victories, to find a place in the 3rd round of the competition (2-1 vs. Forest Green Rovers; 6-3 vs. Dartford and 2-1 vs. Cheltenham Town of the League Two). So, to me this is the most heroic team – Sutton United!

At both ends, Sutton United are an amateur team. Their manager works for free! Moreover, the team is still in The FA Cup, while a few Premier League teams have left the competition – as Everton, West Ham United, Swansea City, WBA and Stoke City!

The campaign in The Champions League offers us a lot of pleasant surprises. There are a few teams, which showed us a lot of potential, even though their budgets are multiple times lower than those the biggest clubs have.

For example, Ludogorets managed to take a point from their visit to Paris Saint-Germain. The Bulgarian champions showed a brave performance, keeping a wonderful tactical discipline! The Parisians were shocked, as Ludogorets took the lead twice in the match! However, Angel di Maria managed to equalize in the added time, but that wasn’t enough for Paris Saint-Germain to win their group.

To continue with, the Bulgarian team was founded in 1945, but the club made it to the Bulgarian first division in 2011. They have won the title in Bulgaria on 5 consecutive occasions and have shown some incredible performances in the European club competitions. For instance, Ludogorets have eliminated Lazio 4-3 on aggregate in the Round of 32 in The Europa League in 2014. In addition, the Bulgarians have recorded a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in Sofia. They have also achieved a victory against Basel (1-0) in the group stage of The Champions League in 2014. So, we have to say that this team is one of the pleasant surprises – a team, which has developed a lot in the recent years!

The other team I would like to talk about is Rostov. The first time the Russian club found a place in the top flight of the Russian football was in 1992. Their biggest success is becoming the runners-up in the previous season, which gave them the chance to take part in the third qualifying round of The Champions League. After eliminating Anderlecht and smashing Ajax (in the playoffs), Rostov had an incredibly difficult task, being drawn into one of the toughest groups, alongside with Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven.

However, the Russians recorded a sensational 3-2 victory against Bayern Munich! Moreover, they also recorded 2 draws against the Dutch team – PSV, which won them the third place in the group, sending Rostov in The Europa League!

The only thing I want to see tonight is Legia Warsaw win against Sporting Lisbon. This will mean that money can’t dominion over football! Ludogorets and Rostov, both playing successfully against teams with multiple time budgets, are the proof for that!

The oldest of Zinedine Zidane’s sons – Enzo made his official debut for Real Madrid against Cultural Leonesa in a match of The Spanish Cup last night. The 21-year-old midfielder came on as a substitute for Los Blancos at the break and even managed to score his first goal with Real Madrid’s shirt. I think Zinedine Zidane, the manager of Real Madrid, can now afford include his son in the squad for a La Liga match.

Enzo Zidane joined the Real Madrid academy in 2004. The midfielder was invited by Jose Mourinho to train with the first team 7 years later. The 21-year-old player spent a few seasons, playing for Real Madrid C and Real Madrid B. He recorded 5 goals in 61 matches for the Los Blancos second team.

To continue with, another player who made a great impression was the forward Mariano Diaz. The player from the Dominican Republic bagged a hat-trick. The 23-year-old attacker has scored 55 goals for all Real Madrid’s formations. He recorded his first league match in the 2-1 victory against Celta Vigo. You should expect to see him in the squad again, because, believe me, he is a very talented player!

It will be very interesting, which nation will decide Enzo playing for in the near future, because he is a French-Spanish player. In addition, Zidane’s grandparents come from Algeria. Zinedine Zidane’s uncle has scored a goal for Algeria at a World Cup. However, Enzo has recorded a match for Spain U15 in 2009, but he played twice for France U19 in 2014.

Enzo Zidane is the oldest of Zinedine Zidane’s 4 sons. All of the Enzo’s brothers – Luca, Theo and Elyaz are at the Real Madrid’s academy. Luca, who is 18 years old is a goalkeeper. So, I hope I will see more players with Zidane’s last name, playing at the biggest football stage! Enzo has the needed skills, but he must work a lot, in order to develop them and see his name on the team sheet again!

Leicester City recorded their 4th victory in The Champions League! The Foxes won against Club Brugge 2-1 at The King Power Stadium. Christian Fuchs delivered a great ball to Okazaki, who opened the score in the fifth minute of the match. 25 minutes later Riyad Mahrez hammered the ball into the net from the penalty spot. The visitors managed to score a goal after the break, but that was not enough for them to take something from the game.

With the 3 points, The Foxes won their group in their historical first participation in The Champions League! On the other hand, their performance in The Premier League has not been that good. Claudio Ranieri’s players are lying in 14th position in the standings after 12 rounds. They have only collected 12 points, which is an extremely bad for the defending champions! 3 victories in 12 matches are just not enough for a team, which won the title last season!

To continue with, it’s obvious Leicester City struggle when playing twice a week, especially when they are concentrated on their performance in The Champions League. Now they went even more further, having qualified for the Round of 16. If they keep going like that, Claudio Ranieri’s players will be involved in the relegation battle – and who knows they may play in The Championship from the next season.

In conclusion, Leeds United are one of the brightest examples for such a situation. The Peacocks reached the semi-finals of The Champions League in 2001 and just 3 seasons later they relegated to The Championship. Moreover, Newcastle United struggled to keep their position in The Premier League 5 seasons after 2 consecutive participations in The Champions League. Now Leicester City don’t seem to be stronger than these two teams. In addition, the battle for the places in The Premiership has become even savage, so Leicester City must work a lot on improving on the domestic scene.

The Uruguayan forward Sebastian Abreu moved to another club to complete his 28th transfer in his long career. Abreu is the newest signing of the Brazilian team Bangu. The exact number of the clubs, he has played for, is 23! The number is lower than the transfers, because Sebastian Abreu has returned to the clubs he has already played for.

However, if we start to write all the clubs we are going to run out of paper, so we will mention several of the most famous teams Abreu has played for. He started his career at Defensor 21 years ago. In 1998, he signed a 6-year contract with Deportivo La Coruna, but only appeared on 15 occasions in La Liga. When he was at La Coruna, Abreu was sent on loan 7 times – and all the times to different teams! After his unsuccessful spell at La Coruna, Abreu tried his luck at Nacional (Uruguay).

The striker has also been in the squads of River Plate, Real Sociedad and Botafogo. His biggest achievements in his club career are winning the Argentine Primera Division in 2001 with San Lorenzo and in 2008 with River Plate, winning the Uruguayan Primera Division with Nacional and Campeonato Carioca with Botafogo in 2010.

To continue with, maybe the reason for the frequency of switching teams is hidden in Abreu’s unsuccessful period at Deportivo, when he was sent on loan on several occasions. But, the striker was really good on the pitch and he has scored more than 300 goals at his clubs in total. Moreover, Sebastian Abreu has found the net on 26 occasions in 70 matches for the Uruguayan national team.

He was a part of the national team from 1996 until 2012, taking part in 3 Copa America tournaments (1997, 2007 and 2011) and 2 World Cups (2002 and 2010). So, even though he is switching teams really fast, Abreu is a world class forward. I am wondering if he is going to find a new team at the end of the season.

We rarely see something like this! The Spanish veteran forward Aritz Aduriz found the net on 5 occasions in a single match from the European club tournaments. Aduriz tucked the ball away 5 times against the Belgian side Genk in Athletic Bilbao’s home match from The Europa League group stage. The forward has recently been in a good form, as he has scored 10 goals in all competitions from the beginning of the season.

The Spaniard was very close to the record for the most successful scorer in a single match in a UEFA club competition match. The record is held by Mascarenhas, who has scored 6 goals for Sporting Lisbon against APOEL Nicosia in a 16-1 victory (UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup) in 1963.

Aritz Aduriz opened the score in the 7th minute after a great assist by Raul Garcia. Just 16 minutes later, the forward doubled the score, converting a penalty into a goal. Then, the guests from Belgium managed to find Bilbao’s net in the 27th minute, to get back into the match. But, Aduriz didn’t think so and he scored his second penalty shoot just 2 minutes before the break.

Wilfried Ndidi bagged the second goal for Genk 5 minutes into the second half – 3-2! And it looked like the visitors will equalize, before Yeray found Aduriz with a great pass and the goal-scoring machine found the net for the 4th time in the match. However, Genk scored another goal in the 80th minute, keeping their chances to take a point alive. 3 minutes into the added time, Aritz Aduriz received the chance to take his 3rd penalty of the game. It was his night and he had no problems to send the ball into the net for the 5th time in the match!

In conclusion, even at the age of 35 the Spanish forward is really effective and takes almost all his chances to score goals. We will see whether he will be called for international duty again.

Memphis Depay will maybe remain just another unsuccessful transfer after the end of the Ferguson’s era. The Dutchman signed his contract with The Red Devils on 12th June 2015, but the forward couldn’t show his best at Old Trafford. He was described as one of the hottest prospects in football. Depay had just become the top goal-scorer of the Dutch Eredivisie with 22 goals. In addition, he was a part of the Dutch national team at the World Cup 2014, which won the bronze medals. That’s why Manchester United paid £25 m. for the forward.

However, Memphis Depay started in only 16 games in the last campaign. He only managed to score 2 league goals in 29 matches. The Dutchman has scored 7 goals in 55 matches for Manchester United in all competitions and has totally lost his place among the starting eleven. Moreover, Jose Mourinho is a coach, who will be impressed by a player very difficultly! The Portuguese manager has only given Depay 20 minutes of playing time this season.

So, it will be the most logical thing Memphis Depay leave The Red Devils this winter. On the other hand, Jose Mourinho knows very well that the Dutchman has the needed qualities to play for Manchester United, but the coach, himself is under pressure and Jose Mourinho hasn’t enough time to wait Depay to start scoring. The Portuguese manager needs points and he needs it now! However, Mourinho will surely give Depay another chance to play and if the Dutchman keeps with the average performance, he is going to leave. That’s because the competition for the starting line-up in Manchester United is very big and not everybody can get on with the pressure. Because you must show the best of you every single match if you are Man United player – otherwise you are just leaving the club…

Arsene Wenger has been having a wonderful start of the season with Arsenal. The French manager can be happy with his players’ form. The Gunners haven’t lost a game since the opening day of the season, when they were defeated to Liverpool 3-4 at the Emirates Stadium. Moreover, Arsenal are excellent in The Champions League. The Gunners have won 2 matches and have recorded a draw (away against PSG).

In their last match of The Champions League, Arsene Wenger’s players humiliated the Bulgarian champions Ludogorets in London. Arsenal won 6-0! Now, the Gunners are to visit Ludogorets in Bulgaria and there is a real possibility the French manager to underestimate the match.

The signs of these fears are facts. Arsene Wenger has decided that his team doesn’t need to practice at the Vasil Levski Stadium before the match. So, the Gunners will head directly to the hotel. They may only go there and see what is the condition of the grass.

And if you think the Bulgarian team is so weak that Arsenal will have no problems and will have a “walk in the park”, you are going to be confused at the end of the match! The Bulgarians are a good team, which tried to play attacking football when they visited the Emirates Stadium, unlike the other teams which prefer for defend with 10 players when playing away against Arsenal.

Do you remember the last campaign in The Champions League? Arsenal struggled until the very last round of the group stage, when Giroud’s hat-trick against Olympiakos sent Arsenal in the Round of 16. And I think, Wenger is going to underestimate this match and eventually the French manager will have serious headaches until the last match in the group.

In conclusion, The Gunners are the favourites, but you can try and bet on the Bulgarian champions – you are going to be delighted with the odds!

The European champions Portugal achieved their second victory on the road to the World Cup 2018 in Russia. Fernando Santos’ players smashed Faroe Islands 6-0 away from home. The man of the match was Porto’s forward, Andre Silva, who bagged a hat-trick. The striker tucked away his three goals in just 25 minutes. The superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scored the fourth goal in the second half, while Joao Moutinho and Joao Cancelo found the net in the 90th minute of the match. With the victory, Portugal are now second in Group B with six points – three less than the leaders Switzerland.

Surprisingly, the Faroe Islands have performed really well since the start of the qualifiers. They have recorded 4 points from their first two matches against Latvia and Hungary. In comparison, the Portuguese even conceded a 0-2 defeat to Switzerland at the start of the campaign. However, then Fernando Santos’ players won against Andorra 6-0, after 4 goals, scored by Ronaldo. The Real Madrid star started up front again, alongside with Andre Silva.

Andre Silva only needed 13 minutes to open the score in Torshavn. In the 37th minute, the forward saw his name among the international hat-trick scorers. Even though Cristiano Ronaldo only scored once in the match, he showed a really strong performance. But, what is more impressive – the performance of the young right back Joao Cancelo, who has scored a goal in every single match for the Portuguese national team he has taken part in (3 goals in 3 matches). The fullback is a Valencia player and is only 22 years old.

Portugal are going to play against Latvia at home in the next round of the qualifiers, while the Faroe Islands are to visit the other big favourite in the group Switzerland. Both matches are scheduled for 13th November 2016.

After The Villains relegated to The Championship, they still can’t find their best form. Roberto Di Matteo’s players have recorded 7 draws in 10 matches from the beginning of the season. Moreover, they are on a run of 5 consecutive league draws! Aston Villa also lost 2 Championship matches. Their only victory was against the underdogs Rotherham United at Villa Park (3-0).

To continue with, The Villains are now lying in the 17th position of the standings in The Championship and if they keep going like that, they will be closer to the relegation zone, rather than near to the top of the league. It’s interesting that Aston Villa have scored 10 and have conceded 10 goals – exactly 1 per game on average. So, there are a lot of things to be improved for them.

Aston Villa struggle when they need to keep their lead! The Villains have conceded 5 goals after the 85th minute of their matches. In the last two defeats for The Villains (including the defeat to Luton in The Capital One Cup), Roberto Di Matteo’s players were leading at one stage of the match, but eventually were beaten by 3-1. Aston Villa were also leading until the last few minutes in 3 of their last 5 matches, but let Barnsley, Nottingham Forest and Brentford equalize them with just 2 minutes to go, which goes to show that there is a psychological problem for the players.

In addition, The Villains have problems when they need to score goals. 10 goals in 10 matches are not enough for a team, which has the ambition to win a promotion. Furthermore, The Villains have failed to score in 3 games and have only bagged more than 2 goals in 1 match!

However, it’s not too late for Aston Villa to win a promotion for The Premier League, but the players must realize that they have to give 100% of their abilities to help their team win a Top 6 place. The Villains have enough classy players and if they record a few consecutive victories, they will gain the needed confidence, which can lead the team towards The Premier League.

Are Barcelona that good, or Celtic are just too weak for The Champions League? The answer is somewhere in the middle. In my opinion, the level of Celtic’s football deserves a place in the middle of The English Championship! And, what to say about Barcelona – classy as always! But, we can’t say anything about what the Spanish club is going to achieve this season, because Celtic are not the right measure.

Lionel Messi finally found his best form. The Argentinian scored a hat-trick (he has now 86 goals in The Champions League), but what was more impressive – Neymar’s vision for the game. I couldn’t believe how unselfish the Brazilian played. He provided 4 assists and scored once! This goes to show Neymar has built a lot on! Despite he is only 24 years old, he is now a complete footballer! Luis Suarez was at his usual level and managed to score twice. Iniesta also found the net with a great volley.

To continue with, that was one of the nightmare nights for Celtic in the European club competitions. The victory for Barcelona was the fifth consecutive win against Celtic at home. And just to remind you, the Spanish club beat the Scottish team 6-1 three years ago. So, there was nothing surprising in last night’s result. But, question yourself – what are Celtic doing in the group stage of The Champions League.

The Scottish club was very, extremely lucky in the preliminary rounds. They lost to Lincoln Red Imps 0-1 in the 2^nd qualifying round! However, then Celtic beat them 3-0. In the 3^rd round, the Scottish club scored late winning goal against Astana, while in the playoffs Brendon Rodgers’ players were extremely close to be eliminated by Hapoel Beer Sheva. The Israeli team beat Celtic 2-0 in the second leg and even missed a penalty. That’s how Celtic reached the group stage of the competition. And, you can see the result of their luck – humiliating nights in Europe!

The biggest favourites for returning in The Premier League -Newcastle United and Aston Villa started their participation in The Championship with defeats. The opponents of both teams showed them that it won’t be an easy task for The Magpies and The Villains to return in the most competitive division in the world.

The Magpies opened the season in The Championship on Friday with a visit to Fulham at Craven Cottage. And despite Newcastle kept their best players, they were shocked with a 1-0 defeat at the start of the competition. Matt Smith scored the only goal of the game after a great delivery by Cairney from a corner kick. But, Newcastle United must be very unhappy with the referee Simon Hooper, who didn’t see 3 penalties for handball in Fulham’s penalty area!

To continue with, The Villains were also surprised at the start of The Championship. Aston Villa lost 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday. Fernando Forestieri found himself unmarked in the 85th minute and scored after a terrible mistake in Aston Villa’s defence.

These two games came to show that life in The Championship won’t be easy for these two big English teams – Newcastle United and Aston Villa. However, they kept their world class players and will try their best to get back to where they belong – The Premier League. On the other hand, this year’s edition of The Championship will be extremely competitive, because there are also very good teams like Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City, Derby County and so on.

Newcastle United’s next game is against Huddersfield Town at St. James’ Park, while The Villains are going to play against Rotherham United at Villa Park. So, this is the most appropriate moment for both teams to return to the victories’ way!

In conclusion, we have to say that both Newcastle and Aston Villa have a lot to improve, if they want to see their names in The Premier league again! Can they show their real faces?

The new star of the Manchester United Zlatan Ibrahimovic said that Wayne Rooney will be his perfect partner in attack. “I think every great player could show his best when playing alongside with other great players. For me this is not a problem. Of course it depends on the coach, but I think Rooney is going to achieve only success in the near future. A couple of years ago I told that, for me, Wayne Rooney is the perfect partner in attack, because he never plays only for himself, but for the whole team and I am very happy that I can play with him,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic said in an interview.

“I admire what makes Rooney at United. He’s been in a top club for 12 years now and continues to play permanently at the highest level. Most of the players come and go from these teams, but he is still here! Wayne Rooney’s career is fantastic. He is one of the best forwards in football,” Zlatan added. “Not every player can achieve great success, but he was one of those who have done it. I hope I can help him win even more trophies. Rooney is an example of what should be a footballer, if he wants to achieve something significant in his career.”

Ibrahimovic said all these words in an interview in front of the official TV channel of Manchester United. The former Swedish international was a special guest, before the upcoming friendly match between Manchester United and Everton (in Rooney’s honour).

Both players already showed what they can do together on the pitch in one of the pre-season friendlies against Galatasaray. Zlatan scored a magnificent bicycle kick in the fourth minute of the game. Then, Wayne Rooney bagged another 2 goals, as Manchester United won 5-2 against the Turkish team.

At both ends, Rooney and Ibrahimovic are now experienced enough and are of the best forwards in the world. They can lead Manchester United to the glory after 3 mediocre seasons!

The central midfielder in football is not always shining with his skills on the pitch, but he must be a man, who has a perfect understanding of the game. In addition, the perfect central midfielder must be disciplined and must have a great vision.

The first important quality for the central midfielder is positioning. If he is in good position, he might help his team take the ball from the opponent and then he will be able to organize well the counter attack. Then, as I already said, the playmaker must have a good vision for the game. Before he receives the ball, the midfielder must have seen his next move on the pitch. He must have already seen where are his teammates and opponents, in order to take the right decision.

To continue with, the central midfielder must pass the ball really well. He mustn’t take any risks in front of his own goal, but must act a little more risky when being in the opponents’ half. Whether the pass will be short or long – it depends on the situation and the playing style of the team. The short passes keep the players stick together and that makes defending easier when they lose the ball, while if the players are passing long – that means they are on a bigger distance and will hardly manage to get the ball immediately after they lose it.

To be a good central midfielder in most of the time means that you will be invisible on the pitch. But, this role is maybe one of the most important in football, because the playmaker is the man who pulls the strings and takes the important decisions. The central midfielder decides what will be the tempo of the game. There are midfielders, who pass the ball on more than 100 occasions in a game on average. They are the men who touch the ball the most during the match.

So, if you don’t see a midfielder shining bright during a match, don’t think he is doing nothing. He is just a hard-worker, who dictates the game speed and he is responsible for team’s possession of the ball.

As you know, Brendon Rodgers is the new manager of Celtic. The Scottish champions began their participation in the Champions League from the second preliminary round and were lucky to be drawn against the Gibraltarian team Lincoln Red Imps. The underdogs are a semi-professional team and their biggest victory in Europe so far is a 2-0 win against the Estonian team Flora Tallinn.

The visit to Gibraltar was the official debut for Brendon Rodgers as the manager of the most successful club in Scotland. But, he felt the disappointment from the very beginning of his career at Celtic. The Scottish team was surprised by their semi-professional opponents and lost 0-1! Lee Casciaro scored the only goal of the game in the 48th minute. He took advantage of a great long pass, showed a great technique against Celtic’s defender and put the chance away with a precise shot.

It’s interesting that Casciaro scored his only international goal for Gibraltar exactly against Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow. But, to be a football player is not the main occupation of the forward. Actually, Lee Casciaro is a policeman of the Gibraltar Defence Police!

“Congratulations on our opponent, it’s a huge victory for them. We have no excuse. If you get eliminated, then we can talk about failure. But I am sure that in the second leg we will achieve the required result to get through to the next round,” Brendon Rodgers said after the game.

In fact, Celtic had really good chances to win the game, but they underestimated the Gibraltarian team. 12 minutes before the final whistle, Leigh Griffiths hit the woodwork.

“It’s incredible! We just beat Celtic 1-0!” the captain of Lincoln – Roy Chipolina said in an interview. It’s interesting that Chipolina works as a Customs officer in Gibraltar. The defender has scored twice in 3 matches for his team in the Champions league preliminary rounds this campaign.

And what about the other footballers of Lincoln, who took part in the memorable match against Celtic. The goalkeeper Raul Navas has played for Cadiz. Lee Casciaro’s brother – Ryan also was among the starting eleven. They are also colleagues, as Ryan is also a policeman. The third brother Kyle played as a winger and in real life is a shipping agent. So, Rodgers you must be ashamed!

Can Celtic qualify for the next round? Will Rodgers feel a relieve after the second leg? We will find out on 20th July, when is the second match between these two teams.

Leicester City had an incredible 2015/16 season in the Premier League, winning the title for the first time in their history. That was also the first league title for the manager Claudio Ranieri, who is now concentrating on the transfer market and is also trying to keep his best players. We have to say that the Italian manager has convinced his stars to stay in the club. But will this be enough for The Foxes? To avoid relegation – yes, but nothing more than the middle of the table.

It will be very difficult for Leicester City to repeat such a performance. Firstly, their opponents won’t underestimate the Foxes, as they did in the previous season. But, maybe the most important factor is that Leicester City are going to take part in the Champions League – something that they have never done before and they will have to play much more games, than in the previous season. Of course, Ranieri is looking for new players, who will enlarge the Foxes’ bench, but in my opinion the Foxes are going to finish in the middle of the table.

In comparison, if we take a look at the occasional champions like Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers, we can see that Leeds finished in 17th position the next season after they won the title, while Blackburn managed to finish in 7th place in season 1995/96.

So, we mustn’t expect anything extraordinary from Leicester City. Yes, they have a good team, but they have never played so many matches in just one season. Imagine, that the team makes also a good cup run. They have already scheduled 38 league matches + 6 games in the Champions League group stage + at least 2 cup matches. The Foxes will play at least 46 games this season and if they progress in some of the tournaments, this number can increase to 50 or more.

At both ends, the miracle called Leicester will always be in the history of the modern football. But, they will hardly repeat their performance from the most memorable season in the history of the club.

It’s not a secret that the professional career of a football player in about 15 years on average, for example from 20 to 35 years old. But, there are players who just deny to hang the boots. And, yes, the most of the oldest active football players are goalkeeper and it’s understandable – because they don’t have to run all match long. So, our list will be separated in 2 parts – the oldest goalkeepers and the oldest field players.

Marco Ballotta is a famous former Italian goalkeeper, who played for Lazio, Inter, Parma and so on. He made his last participation in a Serie A match on 11th May 2008 at the age of 44 in the Lazio’s 2-0 victory against Genoa. In 2005, he set a record in the Serie A for the oldest player on the field, after beating the Dino Zoff’s record from 1983. Ballotta became the oldest player to play in a Champions League game in the same season. However, after he played his last match for Lazio, Marco Ballotta decided to become a striker and joined the team of Calcara Samoggia. He played also for San Cesario and Castelvetro, before retiring from football in 2015. It’s impressive that Ballotta scored about 30 goals in his last 4 seasons as a footballer.

The second choice for the oldest goalkeeper goes to John Burridge, who retired from football in 1997 at the age of 46. During his long career, which started in 1969, he has played for 30 teams (for about 28 years)! Burridge has played for Blackpool, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Wolves, Sheffield United, Southampton and many other clubs.

And maybe the oldest goalkeeper (I found) is Dave Beasant, who is currently 57 years old. He retired from football a year ago and spent his last season at Stevenage. Beasant started his career at Edgware Town, then he played for Wimbledon, Newcastle and Chelsea. Dave even was called up for the English national team in 1989 and recorded 2 matches for The Three Lions. Now, Beasant is a goalkeeping coach at Reading.

The legendary English forward Teddy Sheringham had a very long and successful career. The Sheringham’s first professional contract was with Millwall, where he managed to score 93 goals in 220 games from 1983 until 1991. Then, the striker moved to Nottingham and Tottenham Hotspur, before making the move of his career in 1997 (being bought by Manchester United). Teddy Sheringham had 4 really successful seasons in Manchester, bagging 31 goals for The Red Devils in the Premier League. He found the net in the Champions League final in 1999 and eventually lifted the trophy. But, that wasn’t enough for Sheringham, who wanted to play more. He returned to Tottenham. Then, he was part of the teams of Portsmouth and West Ham United, before retiring in 2008 as a Colchester player. He was 44 years old when he played his latch official match.

Andy Legg is a former Welsh international football player (6 appearances for The Dragons). He has played for Swansea City, Notts County, Birmingham City and many more teams in the UK. The Legg’s last team was Llanelli (Wales). He hanged his boots in 2012. His last official match was in 2012, when he was 45 years old.

The legend of the Japanese football Kazuyoshi Miura is still a professional football player at the age of 49. He is a part of the team of Yokohama (J2 League). He is the oldest goal-scorer in a professional match in Japan. Miura scored his last goal on 19th June 2016. The forward has been a Japanese international player for 10 years (1990 – 2000). He has scored 55 goals in 89 matches for Japan. His professional career started in Santos in 1986! Now, he has been playing football for 30 years! So, Miura is the number 1 in our rank list!