A lot of people get excited for the international breaks. Usually I do, but this time, I want to shove a fork into my eyeballs. It’s an exciting time of the year because the 2014 World Cup qualifying matches have officially begun. Supporters branch out from clubs to their nation’s team, wearing patriotic colors and teaching the ways of the game to new fans who’ve decided to pay attention to the world’s biggest sport.

For me, it’s been the least bit exciting. I am one of the few girls that writes for Aerys that doesn’t support the USMNT. I was born in Alcorcón, a city south of Madrid in Spain. My mom is a Spanish citizen and my dad is a US Air Force Veteran but I grew up supporting the Spanish National Team at a young age while my dad ignored the beauty of football.

And with the recent success of Spanish football, millions of other people have adopted them as their team too. It has its pros and cons, I suppose. Spain has built a dynasty these past 6 years with a 2008 and 2012 Euro victory and securing their first World Cup title in 2010. They missed the mark in the 2012 Summer Olympics but are one of the favorites in the 2014 World Cup.  So needless to say, the international breaks are very important. But there’s times where this thing called the FIFA Virus will decide to show itself and make one club’s future, very rocky and unstable.

The latest culprit? Real Madrid.

Today Spain faced France, a nation rising fast with their growing talent. The match ended in a 1-1 draw with Sergio Ramos scoring a goal and France’s Olivier Giroud to tie it up just before the final whistle.

Of all the matches played in during this international break, 3 (almost 4) players were quickly injured, preventing some sort of club play.

Marcelo is out at least till the end of the year with a broken right foot after a training injury with Brazil.

Portugal lost Fabio Coentrão is out for a little bit with a groin injury during their loss against Russia.

Then today, Alvaro Arbeloa was sent off with an injury during Spain’s match against France (which will sideline the player for 3 weeks) while Karim Benzema also suffered a minor leg injury later in the match and will be out for Madrid’s match against Celta Vigo.

So as of right now, Real Madrid are sitting with NO natural full-backs. If it was only Marcelo being injured, at least we’d have Coentrão, but with him injured (and not knowing for how long he’ll be out) and slight injuries to both Sami Khedira and Gonzalo Higuaín, this is not looking good for the Madridistas.

With the next three months of Champions League action, missing Marcelo could put Real in a bit of a bind, especially the match next week against Borussia Dortmund. In the end, it all comes down to how serious Coentrão’s injury is. Without him, Jose Mourinho will have a difficult tie filling in the cracks on the backline, most likely with Raphael Varane and Raul Albiol.

It’s a tricky time for Real Madrid and it’s up to the rest of the team and coaching staff to stay strong and focused on the matches ahead. Only time will tell how fragile this club will be without key players. At least we still have Ronaldo, right?

USWNT forward Sydney Leroux reacts to her late goal against New Zealand. Photo credit: Nigel Roddis / Reuters

I’m in total Olympics mode this last week, so I hope you’ll forgive me for my Olympic-centric DKAs of late. We’re into the knockout round of both the men’s and women’s tournaments, and with some of the best teams in the world matching up, you can just tear up those predictions you made at the start.

Heading into the quarterfinals, if you’d ask me to predict the women’s semis I would have said USA, Japan, Great Britain and France. But the boat was rocked Friday, when Team GB was shut out by Canada, sending the two CONCACAF rivals into the final four to face each other with an appearance in the gold medal match on the line. France and Sweden could have gone either way, but I gave France the edge with more time to recover from blowing a 2-0 lead to the USA, whereas Sweden had just let a 2-0 lead to Canada slip away in the final group match. In the end, it proved correct as Sweden once again blew an early lead to fall 2-1 at the hands of two defenders, Wendie Renard and Laura Georges.

What else was crazy about the women’s tournament? I’ve gathered some highlights and great perspectives below. Plus, some good reads on the men’s semifinals, kicking off today.

Women’s Olympic Quarterfinals

Brazil-Japan in the quarterfinals had the potential to be as classic as Brazil-USA in the 2011 World Cup. But it wasn’t to be, as the Brazilians fell flat, getting shut out for the second straight match. Brazil certainly had their moments and opportunities but a couple of mistakes in the back, combined with their rising frustration and Marta not having her best game, got the better of them. After falling to Japan in their earliest exit from the Olympics ever, hard questions remain about Brazil’s future. Ray Curren at All White Kit writes about what we learned from this match, and what the future holds for Marta, Cristiane and the Brazilians.

Former U.S. National Team members Cat Whitehill and Kate Markgraf break down the U.S. win over New Zealand and preview the semifinals.

Doesn’t it seem as if Abby Wambach is at the height of her game right now? It feels like nothing is going to deny her the long-coveted gold, after missing the Beijing games with a broken leg. But I believe it’s more than just her will and desire that’s got Abby clicking on all cylinders right now. My latest perspective discusses Abby’s new role and how it shows that she’s the clear leader on the team right now, even when not scoring goals.

Are you following @Rapignome on Twitter?  If you love U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe, you should be. “Gnomie”, as Rapinoe affectionately calls it, is her virtual Twitter sidekick, tweeting its Rapinoe-inspired adventures during the tournament and virtually photo-bombing pics with Pinoe all over the field. It was even featured on NBC this morning, when they showed this tweet that Rapinoe retweeted and commented on by the beloved Gnomie. Reality show, anyone?

Men’s Olympic Quarterfinals

Is this finally the year for Brazil, or will Team GB capture the benefit of their home field advantage? Steve Cangialosi and Cobi Jones break down the quarterfinals in this video from NBCOlympics.com.

The Japanese men’s team may be following in the footsteps of their female counterparts, having made a terrific run through the tournament to solidify their spot in the semifinals today with a 3-0 win over Egypt. Japan has not conceded a goal yet, stunning Spain 1-0 in the first match of group play, then defeating Morocco by a goal, and ending the group stage with a scoreless draw against Honduras. But it was today’s win-or-go-home match against Egypt where they really poured it on, inciting Egypt to lose Saadeldin Saad to a red card near the end of the first half on a hard tackle just outside the penalty area. Japan will face their toughest test yet, though, when they meet Mexico in the semis next week.

Alex Morgan reps Manchester United before the USWNT played at Old Trafford. Photo via @alexmorgan13 on Twitter.

The group stage of the women’s soccer (excuse me, football) tournament wrapped up today, with Canada and New Zealand securing their places in the quarterfinals by finishing third in their groups. The U.S. shined in the first international women’s football match at famous Old Trafford in Manchester, and Great Britain stunned defending silver medalists Brazil at Wembley. More on the full day’s results below.

USA vs North Korea

The U.S Women’s National Team completed the group stage sweep this afternoon, defeating North Korea 1-0 at historic Old Trafford in Manchester. It was the first women’s soccer match at the venue since 1989, and first ever at the international level.

Abby Wambach scored the lone goal in the 25th minute, set up beautifully on a long ball from Lauren Cheney over the top and into the penalty area for Alex Morgan. Morgan corralled it, worked around two defenders, and then slipped back to Wambach, who had no trouble slotting it past the keeper for her third goal of the tournament and 141st overall.

With the win, the 2004 and 2008 gold medalists finished with 9 points, securing first place in Group G and a quarterfinal date with New Zealand this Friday. After giving up 2 goals in the first 13 minutes of their opening match against France, the U.S. has recorded a clean sheet over the last 257 minutes of play, while scoring eight goals, the most of any team in the tournament.

Great Britain vs Brazil

Great Britain stunned Brazil with a 1-0 win at Wembley Stadium in front of over 70,000 supporters to finish with a perfect 3-0 record at the top of Group E. Stephanie Houghton put the host nation up 1-0 in the second minute of the match, off a corner kick from Kelly Smith, and Great Britain held off a furious rally from the 2008 silver medalists.

Both teams had already secured their place in the quarterfinals before the match, but with the win, Great Britain will now face Canada in the knockout stage, while Brazil will face the reigning World Cup Champions, Japan.

Canada vs Sweden

Canada booked their ticket to the quarterfinals with a 2-2 draw against Sweden, storming back from down 2-0 in the opening minutes, to finish third in Group F. Melissa Tancredi scored both goals for Canada, while Marie Hammarstrom had a goal and an assist in Sweden’s goals in the 14th and 16th minutes. Canada will next face Great Britain, while Sweden will match up with France.

France vs Colombia

First-time Olympians Colombia lost 1-0 to France to end their tournament hopes with no goals and without Lady Andrade, who was suspended by FIFA for two games following her “sucker punch” on Abby Wambach in Saturday’s 3-0 loss to the U.S.A. They did, however, debut 19-year old Yoreli Rincon, who has drawn comparisons to Brazil’s Marta:

There had been suggestions back in Colombia of a conflict between the rising star and coach Ricardo Rozo, but the manager said that the 19-year-old forward just wasn’t fully fit to play in the previous two games.

With Colombia struggling to control possession, Rincon wasn’t able to pose much of a threat during the time she was on the field on Tuesday.

France’s Elodie Thomis scored in the 5th minute off a breakaway, and had a clear shot on goal after Colombia’s keeper, Sandra Sepulveda, came off her line to try to prevent the shot.

 New Zealand vs Cameroon

Another first-time Olympian, Cameroon scored their first goal in their final match of the tournament, but also allowed an own goal, falling 3-1 to New Zealand. New Zealand grabbed their first win and points of the tournament, finishing third in their group with 3 points to grab the final spot in the quarterfinals, reaching the knockout round for the first time ever.

Japan vs South Africa

Japan and South Africa played to a scoreless draw, but it wasn’t just stellar defense from South Africa that kept the World Cup Champions off the scoresheet:

The outcome left Japan second in Group F, meaning it will now play either Britain or Brazil in Cardiff on Friday. If it had won the match, it would have faced the top-ranked United States or France, another strong team, in Glasgow, also on Friday.

Japan coach Norio Sasaki used substitutes in the second half and told them to keep possession and not score, based on how the other match in Group F was going. In that match, Canada drew 2-2 with Sweden, meaning Sweden topped the group.

Japan will match up against Brazil on Friday — certainly not an easy task, but certainly preferable to drawing the U.S. at this stage.

It was a rematch of the 2006 World Cup Final. France versus Spain; only the outcome of today’s match was a redemption of sorts for the Spaniards.

The two goals of the match came from Spain’s Xabi Alonso, both in the 19′ by a beautiful header and in the 91′ off a penalty kick. The first half seemed promising for the Spanish, however their lack of a designated striker prevented them from being up an extra 2 goals. Fernando Torres came in at the second half, but couldn’t finish.

If I could describe this match up in one phrase it would be: Spain vs Benzema. Karim Benzema had no help from his teammates except Yohan Cabaye, who had a free kick but was quickly denied.

Spain advances to the semifinals of Euro, facing Portugal on Wednesday in an Iberian Derby. Big shocker there. Though there was part of me that hoped that France could somehow conquer and score a few goals. Now if you’re not too familiar with he rivalry of Portugal and Spain, let’s take you back to the 2010 World Cup.

Spain beat Portugal 1-nil, advancing to the semifinals after a ref mistakenly allowed a goal by David Villa, which was obviously offside. Since then the Portuguese have been rallying for another match up, as redemption. As long as Spain start a striker, Wednesday seems to be a very, head-to-head battle between the countries.

Our own Terry Munoz, who covered France in the Euros, gives us her perspective!

Although France lost to Spain today, I thought they played better than they had in their last game, when they faced Sweden and lost 2-0. France’s coach decided to bench Samir Nasri, and reports said that it based on his behavior after France’s lost Tuesday. Benching Nasri was a mistake, in my opinion; he’s been really good for France in this tournmanet.

They had their chances in the first half, but couldn’t score thanks to Spain’s keeper, Iker Casillas. In the first half, France was awarded a free kick and almost scored, but Casillas made a huge save. At HT, it was 1-0 Spain. France seemed to give up a little bit when they second half started, but they started connecting their passes and had a few chances to score, thanks to a few bad passes from Spain’s Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets.

Unfortunately, France gave away a penalty late in the game and Xabi Alons scored his 2nd goal of the match. I think France should be proud of themselves for making it to the QFs, although I had been hoping to see a France-Spain final. Oh well, there’s always the next Euro (which takes place in France). Congrats Spain!

Stay tuned to all your Euro 2012 coverage here on Aerys Sports!

Photo courtesy of UEFA

All France needed to do was get a draw and they would go through to the QFs. Sweden was already out, Ukraine was on the borderline and England had the same number of points as they did. In their previous matches, France had a 1-1 draw with England and beat Ukraine 2-0.

Even though Sweden was out, this wasn’t going to be an easy match for France. I was hoping France would win, because as winners of group D, they’d avoid Spain in the QFs and instead play Italy. And, even though I was rooting for France, I wanted Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score and do well.

Just like I had predicted, Sweden was not going to be an easy game for France. Early on in the game,  both teams had many chances to score. France managed to keep Sweden from scoring thanks to Hugo Lloris, the French goalkeeper. He made many Iker-esque saves that kept France in the game. If it weren’t for him, Sweden could’ve been up 2-0 by HT. Luckily for France, it was 0-0 at HT.

Once second half started, it didn’t take long for Sweden to get on the board. The first person to score was none other than the Swedish captain, Ibrahimovic, who scored what I would call a golazo. France would get more chances to score later on in the game, but weren’t able to get on the board. Sweden scored their second and final goal in extra time. This time, the goal scorer was Sebastian Larsson.

Sweden defeated France 2-0 and restored their pride, as they wouldn’t be going home with 0 points. Group D ends like this 1. England 2.France 3. Ukraine 4. Sweden.  France will to move on to the QFs and will meet Spain, which is something I was hoping to avoid. By winning this game, Sweden broke France’s 23-match undefeated streak. This was just a bad performance from France and they will need to step it up when they meet Spain.

After a disappointing 1-1 draw with England, France was looking to pick up 3 points against the Euro 2012 co-host, Ukraine. While France disappointed, Ukraine surprised everyone by beating Sweden 2-1. Both national teams had a good chance of winning this game. Of course, I was rooting for France, my Euro 2012 team (after Spain)

It got off to a pretty crazy start. Both teams came out on to the field and started playing. It had been raining a little bit before the game started, but after less than 10 minutes of play, the officials decided the field was no longer safe to play on. There was just too much thunder and lightning above the stadium.

So both teams left the field, while the officials debated on what they’d do. They’d decided to wait it out and see if the rain would clear up. Almost an hour later, the match finally resumed. And immediately, France was in control of the game. It looked like a goal was coming soon from the French, and when it finally did, it was called offside. The game was 0-0 at HT.

The 2nd half started off with both teams attacking. Finally in the 53rd minute, France scored and it counted. Jeremy Menez was the goal scorer, and Karim Benzema assisted the shot. Three minutes later Yohan Cabaye doubled the lead from France, scoring his first goal for his national team. Guess who assisted this goal? Yup, the Real Madrid player, Benzema, with his 2nd of the match.

France continued to have more chances and dominate the game, but the weren’t able to score any more goals. The game ended 2-0 in favor of France.

This shouldn’t be a  surprise to anyone, but the man of the match was Karim Benzema. France’s next and final group game will be against Sweden. Sweden, who were knocked out of the tournament by England later in the day, will have nothing to lose, which will make them a very tough team to play against. France is currently leading Group D on goal difference. If they win their group, they will play either Italy or Czech Republic in the QFs.

After eight games in four days, the first round of group matches have finally concluded. There was some drama, most notably in the first game, but it was generally a sluggish start, with all teams trying to adjust to conditions and determined not to lose.

The results of group A was of no shock to me, although Russia’s emphatic 4-1 win result against the Czechs was more impressive than I had anticipated. Greece capitalized on a sloppy and failed clearance attempt from Poland with the game ending 1-1. It looks like it will be Russia and one other to-be-determined team who will advance to the quarter finals, but it’s hard to imagine that the ‘other’ will be in the tournament for any longer than the quarter final game.
The Group of Death surprisingly was the only group that boasted two winning results. The Dutch were left dumb-founded after a 1-0 defeat to Denmark. The Netherlands looked increasingly desperate and predictable as the match wore on, with the team never looking truly in unison, and they were kept out of their rhythm by the hard working Danes. Although the Oranje did have a couple of threatening shots, including Robben’s strike that hit the side post, they have some serious issues to fix before they take on Germany Wednesday. Their backline was slow, easily exposed and way worse than what I thought. It will be severely tested by Germany’s youthful and skilful front line.

Germany downed Portugal 1-0, with both teams playing rather conservatively throughout the entire game. In the first half, the only real chance came from Pepe’s shot which hit the cross-bar and kept the match at 0-0. In the second half Germany finally found the back of the net through a late Mario Gomez header. Even though Portugal would go on to have a couple more opportunities to score, they never converted and the Germans took the 3 points. Ronaldo got off to a slow start even though Boateng gave him more space than NASA.

The only thing I will say about Group C is this: Balotelli, what are you doing? You have a breakaway in Spain’s box but you are running like you would if you were chasing your 4-year-old son in the yard! Spaint tied 1-1 with current Euro cup holders Spain, whilst Croatia beat the unlucky Irish 3-1.

Group D is wide open and surprisingly the hosts are sitting at the top of the pack with a brilliant performance against Sweden. Sheva led the Ukraine with a 2-1 victory in their opening game. I must say that this was the best game hands down so far! It was fast tempo, high energy, aggressive and well-matched. It went back and forth but in front of a passionate home crowd, the Ukraine just looked possessed out of the gate and just wanted it more. The result is a testament to their hard work. My radar is on them to see if they can duplicate another result like that.

If you would have told me two years ago that the English could even consider a draw with the French a good result, I would thought you were crazy (or French). But that’s exactly what happened when the English got a point out of a very tough French team, who are on a 21 game unbeaten run. Considering all of the mayhem going on with the England squad, the 1-1 tie is a good result for them. The Three Lions got on the board first with a Gerrard free kick that found Lescott’s face head. France controlled most of the game and Nasiri’s netted a 25 yarder not long after England’s opener, but France couldn’t find the back of the net after that. Strangely, for periods in the game it seemed as though both teams were happy with a tie and that’s all they were playing for. Some of England’s players looked lethargic but overall the team played well defensively and Oxlade-Chamberlin and Welbeck looked promising. More to come from both teams.

Good morning everybody! The future of Pep Guardiola is still unsure while Mourinho signs a 4 year extension, also we cover everything international with friendlies beginning before the Euros start. All in this morning’s DKA!

La Liga

With his departure from FC Barcelona, Pep Guardiola is open to job offers from other leagues, more-so offers from Liverpool and Chelsea. Even though Pep stated that he would take a season off to rest, his comeback could be sooner than expected.

“For the next months I have to charge my batteries,” he said. “I will rest and I will wait. I will be ready, if one club wants me, if they seduce me, I will train again.”

With a newly signed four-year contract, Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has said that the club is the perfect challenge for him and his managing career.  Staying until 2016, Mourinho is thinking long-term with Real Madrid:

“I’m delighted to stay on and plan the sporting future of Real Madrid’s first team, and we know we must obviously focus more on the short term and talk little about the distant future.”

Congratulations to FC Barcelona on winning the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on Friday after a 3-nil victory!

English Premier League

I ask you one thing footy fans. What’s more important, club or country? Just ask Johan Djourou, who was asked by his Switzerland coach to step down from Arsenal FC. Ottmar Hitzfeld has urged Djourou, who has 14 starts in the 2011-2012 campaign, to consider his future with the Gunners if he wants to be a part of the Switzerland NT. Generally, players get called up to the national team by the amount of play time they receive at their clubs. Djourou is barely getting playtime and is by far, Switzerland’s best player. But unfortunately for Djourou, he signed a contract extension, good until 2015.

International Friendlies

With Euro 2012 kicking off in 12 days, a lot of national teams are beginning their international matches in preparation for Euros & the Olympics.

Yesterday Spain beat Serbia 2-0, the US beat Scotland 5-1 (read the recap here!) and England beat Norway 1-0. But for today’s friendlies, France are looking to beat Iceland while Mexico face off against Wales in a match that was postponed.

As June begins, you can follow Aerys Soccer for al your Euro 2012 coverage!

Major League Soccer

Only one match today in MLS with Sporting KC taking on the San Jose Earthquakes at 4:30 pm from the beautiful Livestrong Sporting Park. Stay tuned to a recap post match!

La Liga

Eat your heart out Barca fans because your manager just committed blasphemy! Yes, that’s right, Pep Guardiola stated that Real Madrid boss and my personal hero, Jose Mourinho, is the best coach in the world. Excuse me while the die-hard Madridista inside me is giggling like a crazed fan-girl right now.

Zlatan Ibrahiumovic, AC Milan star, said in an interview with AS that upon his exit at FC Barcelona, he told the club he wanted to join Real Madrid. The conversation went as follows: Sandro Rosell (Barca’s president) “What club do you wish to join?” Zlatan: “Madrid.” Rosell: “Yea, that’s not going to happen.”

Former Real Madrid prospect Neymar has chosen to stay at his current club, Santos of the Brazilian league due to accusations by Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro stating that if Neymar moved to Real Madrid, that coach Jose Mourinho would force him to cut his signature fauxhawk. Yeah, because I’m sure that would happen.

English Premier League

Former Arsenal FC captain turned Barcelona superstar, Cesc Fabregas, made a bold statement about the future of his former club saying that “Arsenal can’t afford to lose Robin Van Persie.” As an Arsenal supporter, one can agree with the remarks made by Fabregas. RVP has been the hope that Arsenal and their supporters need this season, without him, who’s the future of the Gunners? Only time will tell.

Why is there so much racism in football these days? Police are currently investigating a racist tweet sent to Sunderland striker Fraizer Campbell after he tweeted his cheers for Estonia during their Euro 2012 playoff match against Ireland on Saturday. Campbell isn’t the only Premier League player being racially abused. Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge apparently was taunted by a supporter of the Blues.

Major League Soccer

The New England Revolution announced today that Jay Heaps will take over as coach for the 2012-2013 MLS season. Heaps, who formally played for the Revs after retiring in 2009 after an impressive 11-year career, was a fan favorite and one of the Revs’ best defenders in club history. Heaps will also be the second-youngest active coach currently  in MLS. A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET at Gillette Stadium with a live stream available on the Revs website.

What a way to retire. Kasey Keller, who played his last professional season with the Seattle Sounders, was named as the 2011 MLS Keeper of the Year. Keller was in goal for every Sounders match and lead the MLS in save percentage at 76%. The Rave Green Army will miss you Keller.

 UEFA Europa League

Celtic FC will face disciplinary action from UEFA officials on December 8th over “illicit chanting” in the EL win over Rennes on November 3rd.

Euro 2012

The second leg of the first round of playoffs for 2012 will finish today. For a full list of fixtures go here.

2014 World Cup Qualifying

For a list of all the matches for today you can check out the FIFA website. All World Cup Qualifiers are available to watch on Pay Per View.

International Friendlies

Some key friendly matches that will take place today are:

Spain vs Costa Rica

USA vs Slovenia

Germany vs Netherlands

France vs Belgium

Uruguay vs Italy

England vs Sweden

International

The USMNT held on to the 72nd minute before the French finally scored yesterday as the two country’s faced off in Paris. France would only notch that one goal for a 1-0 win. Other international recaps can be found here.

Robbie Keane’s brace yesterday was only half of the 4-0 trashing Ireland gave to Estonia yesterday . The win puts the Irish on the doorstep of being a part of the 2012 Euros.

Major League Soccer

MLS’ new 2012 expansion team, the Montreal Impact, announced yesterday they would keep assistant coach Mauro Biello on staff for their inaugural season in MLS. Head coach for the squad will be Jesse Marsch.

New York Red Bull starter Thierry Henry told critics of MLS what he thought recently as he defended the league and it’s standard of play. Thank you, Monsieur Henry. The MLS fans appreciate that.

So, is the expansion of MLS being held up by the inability to find a stadium deal in New York for the 20th team? According to the New York Post, MLS commissioner Don Garber seems to think so. Anyone else think maybe we need a team somewhere else before we get another in NY?

La Liga

Noticing that some of your La Liga games are happening earlier this season? That’s because officials are giving some matches earlier kick off times to compete with English Premier League viewership. The question is, can La Liga hold a candle to the EPL and what do these earlier kick offs mean for the league?

Debate was so fierce between Athletic B and Deportivo Alaves on when to reschedule a rained-out match, they had to call in the Spanish Football Federation to solve the issue.

English Premier League

Could Gareth Bale be moving to Barcelona? Rumors are circulating that the Tottenham Hot Spur player could be the perfect left full back for the Spanish giants as Eric Abidal is not resigning with them.

In a recent, interesting interview with Spanish international Xabi Alonso, the Real Madrid midfielder said he believed playing in England has been great for the Spanish National team players, including himself.

So, if Harry Redknapp leaves the Hotspurs, who could take his place? The Telegraph believes that former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti would be perfect for the job.

Serie A

News broke yesterday that former Juventus manager  Luciano Moggi would be spending the next four months in prison after he threatened Roma general manager Franco Baldini, allegedly telling Baldini to, “Watch your step, or you’ll have problems.”

Juventus are contemplating punishing their midfielder Arturo Vidal after he was kicked off the Chile World Cup qualifying squad for showing up to training 45 minutes late, supposedly still drunk from the evening before.

Inter man Diego Forlan said there is no logic reason as to why Inter Milan is so poor this season, but he is confident the Italian giants will jump back.