Jan Oblak Oblak manned the Atletico Madrid goal like his life depended on it. The Slovenia international was the goalkeeper for the side that ended the 2015/16 campaign with the best defensive record in Europe. No doubt that Los Rojiblancos have quality throughout their backline but Oblak is one of the best young custodians in the world. David Alaba The ...

France Football have announced the list of 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or 2016 to be held on January 9, 2017. FIFA have not yet announced their plans after discontinuing their six years of partnership with FFF. It is quite possible that the FIFA World Player of the Year award will be called back from retirement. Like the previous few ...

Andres Iniesta The Barcelona stalwart is widely regarded as the greatest midfielder of his generation. The playmaker extraordinaire has split many a defences with his vision and incisive passing, having inspired Barcelona to four Champions Leagues and eight league titles as well as the Spanish national team to the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships so far. Having done ...

  Goethals started his football career as a goalkeeper for Daring Brussels, rising through the youth ranks of the Belgian outfit, he remained at the club until 1947. He then moved to Racing Club Brussels and played for two more clubs – Hannutois and Renaisienne – before hanging his playing boots. His first big managerial role came with the Belgium ...

The clock was already ticking past the five additional minutes that the match officials had allocated for the second half of the Serie A clash between AC Milan and Juventus and with the scoreline 1-0 in favour of the hosts, the defending Italian champions looked set to lose their first two games against the Milan giants this league campaign. With ...

Five successive European Cup wins For the first five years of the beginning of the European Cup in the 1955/56 season, Real Madrid were virtually unbeatable as they racked up five successive titles. With a team that comprised the likes of all-time greats like Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Francisco Gento, Los Blancos swatted aside all comers to dominate ...

The round of 16 match between the Netherlands and Portugal at the 2006 World Cup has earned notoriety for the sheer number of cards awarded by the referee for various infringements and is now referred to as the Battle of Nuremburg. The match was a stop-start affair due to the numerous times the Russian referee Valentin Valentinovich Ivanov blew his ...

During the Oceania Football Confederation’s (OFC) qualification rounds for the 2002 World Cup, the tiny Polynesian island nation American Samoa was to play a match against the mighty Australia in New South Wales. The result of the match was never in doubt considering American Samoa had never won a competitive match and Australia were the clear favourites from the Oceania ...

  Bob Paisley ’s place in the pantheon of football’s all time greatest managers is secure. The former wing-half spent almost 50 years at Liverpool in various capacities. He started his stint with the Anfield outfit as a first team player in 1939 and on to play for the club’s first team for over 15 years, featuring in more than ...

There are a fair few Dembeles going around in top level football these days and the one Dembele ( Moussa Dembele ) that Celtic managed to acquire in the last summer transfer window is enthralling Celtic Park with his splendid displays. This Dembele is of Malian descent and has represented France at the youth levels. He spent eight years at ...