November 1 – There are more players progressing into first team squads in Europe’s top leagues from Real Madrid and Ajax than any other clubs in Europe. Real Madrid have trained 41 players now playing at Big-5 league clubs.
By Samindra Kunti
October 31 – It has been a busy week for Belgian George Leekens (pictured) who is returning to Algeria as national team coach just days after being sacked by his club Lokeren.
October 28 – Marseille have named Andoni Zubizarreta as their new sporting director as American owner Frank McCourt starts a revamp of the club.
October 28 – He’s only been back in English football for less than half a season but the self-styled Special One has already fallen foul of the officials.
October 27 – He is hailed as the brightest and most sought-after manager of his generation but has now suffered his worst ever winless streak of six games in all competitions.
October 25 – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will once again go head to head to win the Ballon d’Or after both were named in the list of 30 nominees for the 2016 award.
October 26 – Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said at the weekend that his club would not “want to bring some 10- or 11-year-old to Munich like the English do…You could almost speak of kidnapping with them and I would have moral reservations about that.” For Bayern it seems that recruitment begins at 24.8 years old.
October 24 – In its determination to become a serious force on the world football stage, China have appointed Italy’s World Cup-winning manager Marcello Lippi to become its new national coach.
October 24 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, German head of the European Clubs Association, has accused English clubs of taking on players far too young saying he would have “moral reservations” about doing the same thing at Bayern Munich where he is chairman.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 20 – He may be regarded as one of the most sought-after and tactically astute modern-minded club coaches in world football but for all his achievements and aspirations, Pep Guardiola, perhaps for the first time, is having to swallow his fair share of disappointment to maintain his remarkable record of success.
October 18 – New football-based sport Teqball was officially launched today in Budapest. The table-based game has already signed a number of ambassadors, including Brazilian Ronaldinho, who was present at the presentation.
October 18 – Spending money on hordes of new players does not make for a winning team. The teams that are the most successful have the most continuity in their playing squads, recruiting the fewest number of new players.
By Samindra Kunti
October 12 – Brazil have moved top of the South American qualifying group for the Russia 2018 World Cup with a 2-0 win over Venezuela. Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus and Chelsea’s Willian were on target.
October 11 – It’s been on the cards for a while and now the decision has finally been made. England captain Wayne Rooney, his country’s most-capped outfield player with 117 appearances, has been dropped for tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Slovenia.
October 10 – The number of national qualified players playing in the first teams of the top league in their country is often said to dictate the health of national team. If that is true then England’s 1-0 loss to Iceland at the Euros might have actually been a good result for the country.