News

Ibrahimovic banned for three games

by David on February 6, 2012

Big blow for AC Milan’s title hopes as striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been suspended for three matches for his red card against Napoli, meaning he will miss the top-of-the-table clash with Serie A leaders Juventus.

Ibra was sent off midway through the second half of Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Napoli at the San Siro after he slapped opponent Salvatore Aronica in an off-the-ball incident.

The incident was spotted by an assistant referee, and Ibrahimovic was shown a red card. The Italian league has deemed the offence one of violent conduct, which carries an automatic three-match ban. Milan have already announced that they will appeal the decision.

What Next For Bradley?

by Philip Mboya on February 3, 2012

I bet Bob Bradley had not anticipated this when he took over as coach of the Pharaohs last year. Needless to say, it is very sad what happened in Egypt earlier this week.

A league match pitting rivals Al-Masry and Al-Ahly at Port Said turned tragic when 73 fans were killed when violence broke out after Al-Masry 3-1 win. Though rivalry between these two clubs is intense, it should not be an excuse for what happened.

Reports claim that thousands of Al-Masry fans flocked the pitch in celebration after the final whistle while others attacked Al-Ahly fans who had huddled up at the far end of the stadium.

Sack Vanderlei Luxemburgo or part ways with Ronaldinho? That was the choice Flamengo president Patricia Amorim had to make yesterday as she picked the star player over the 59 year old tactician.

It is not quite certain why Luxemburgo was sacked, however, many believe that his icy relationship with Ronaldinho was a major factor that led to his dismissal. The former Real Madrid and Brazil coach was rumoured to be on his way out of the Rio based club as early as Wednesday, however, Amorim gave him a sly vote of confidence before sacking him 24 hours later.

It’s funny how the English media mock the quality of Major League Soccer, but guess where Premier League teams turned to this month to help their sides? Yep, MLS.

First we had the Galaxy‘s Landon Donovan going back to Everton on loan and then the NYRB‘s Thierry Henry returned to Arsenal, where he promptly scored the winner in their FA Cup tie against Leeds.

The latest player to make the journey across the pond is the Red Bulls Tim Ream who Bolton bought for £2.5m. Ream will be expected the fill the shoes of England defender Gary Cahill who signed for Chelsea earlier this month.

Unusual court case got underway in London today that could have ramifications on the Premier League title race as well as the England managerial position.

The government is claiming that Spurs manager Harry Redknapp and former Portsmouth boss Milan Mandaric used offshore accounts to avoid having to pay income tax on more than £189,000 that he received from the sale of two players.

John Black QC opened the Crown’s case at Southwark Crown Court by telling jurors “both parties must have known” they were avoiding taxes.

“These payments were a bung or offshore bonus that the parties had absolutely no intention of paying taxes for,” Black said.

Ricardo Clark headed home Jermaine Jones’ corner in the 7th minute of stopping time to help the United States to a 1-0 victory over 10-man Venezuela before 22,403 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The American’s win was its third in eight matches since Jurgen Klinsmann took over from Bob Bradley as coach last year.

The U.S. had dominated play with nothing to show for it before Clark beat goalkeeper Jose Morales for his third international goal and first since September 2009. Clark entered the game as a substitute in the 86th minute.

Apparently, the best player in the world debate is fat from over judging from the recent comments made by Argentine football legend Diego Maradona. The Al Wasl coach claims that old age is starting to affect Pele’s Judgement.

Now, it is starting to get amusing watching these fromer greats tearing into each other verbally concerning the best player in the world so to end this debate once and for all (however impossible that may be), we are asking for your opinion.

Fascinating comments in the Mirror from former Chelsea boss, and new Paris Saint-Germain boss Carlo Ancelotti about Fernando Torres.

PSG is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority and have money to spend. They are in the market for a center forward and Ancelotti says that he has been offered many of Europe’s top strikers including Torres:

Brazilian World Cup winner and former AC Milan and FC Barcelona star Rivaldo could soon be playing his football in the African plains with top flight Angolan club Kabuscorp.

Rivaldo who was until last month a Sao Paulo player will become the first international star player to ever play in an African league. The 39 year old play maker has won a host of personal and collective honours since turning pro in 1991.

Speaking about it on Twitter, Rivaldo neither denied nor confirmed the allegations only maintaining that negotiations were ongoing.

Mark Hughes Named QPR Boss

by David on January 10, 2012

Well that did take long. About 48 hours after firing Neil Warnock, QPR have hired Mark Hughes as their new manager.

Hughes is reported to have Hughes has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal that’s worth nearly £10million, making him one of the best paid managers in the Premier League.

At around £3m-a-year, Hughes is just behind the likes of Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini in terms of wages.

There are also big-money bonuses written into his deal, including around £1m for keeping QPR in the Premier League this season.

Hughes told QPR.co.uk: