Month: May 2010

Fulham 1-2 Atletico Madrid Fulham FC were left heartbroken as they lost the Europa League final to a late, unfortunate goal from Diego Forlan five minutes from time, in extra…

It is easy to forget that this season’s Europa League was in its inaugural year. After picking up an undesirable yet understandable reputation as the Champions League ‘sinferior little brother,…

Arsenal legend Tony Adams has returned to management with Azerbaijan club Gabala FC. The 43 year old has been out of work since losing his managerial hot seat at Portsmouth…

Vicente Del Bosque probably had the easiest job in the world when choosing his initial strike force. Torres and Villa are two of the best on the planet, and make…

It would appear that England centre-back John Terry has suffered the same fate that befell Wayne Rooney, Ledley King and David Beckham before him, after seeing a suspected broken metatarsal…

Today sees a world first as one of the most famous faces in football management, Ian Holloway, becomes football’s only virtual manager allowing anyone to call upon his expertise, quirks…

Join celebrated football pundit, author, radio show host and DJ Andy Brassell every Monday on the Soccerlens Show. In Episode 28, Andy discusses the clubs who have been attacking their…

A belated congratulations to Chelsea for winning the Premier League, but I’ve been a bit under the weather recently so I haven’t had a chance to come up with one…

For a long time, European football fans regarded the Bundesliga as the backwater home of poor defending and psychotic goalkeepers.  It was a league that lived in the shadow of…

Internazionale manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that he will make no decisions regarding his future until after the Champions League final in Madrid. The “Special One” has reiterated a number…

On May 11, World Cup Buzz released an eBook with the title “What the World Cup means to me“. This book contains stories from 21 of the top football writers…

England coach Fabio Capello has named his 30-man provisional squad for this summer’s World Cup. There are some slightly surprising inclusions, namely that of midfield pair Scott Parker and Tom…

The real surprise of the 2009/10 season has been Fulham FC’s European form. Somehow manager Roy Hodgson has carved his way through the likes of Juventus and Wolfsburg to leave Fulham facing the biggest game in their history.

Marco van Basten has ruled out any possibility of him becoming the next AC Milan manager as speculation mounts over current boss Leonardo stepping down at the end of the…

The Scottish Premier League culminated last weekend, and it will be remembered for many things, good and bad. Saturday saw Falkirk relegated into the First Division, after they were unable…

It will be a disgrace if Jamie Carragher is called up by England this afternoon. He shouldn’t even be considered. This is the man who quit his country because he…

West Ham have just announced that they have terminated the contract of manager Gianfranco Zola with immediate effect – the future of his assistant Steve Clarke is yet to be…

Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg have appointed former England manager Steve McClaren as their new manager on a two-year deal. McClaren found himself linked with managerial posts right across Europe (including…

Congratulations then to Chelsea, who have emerged as rightful Champions, with 27 wins, 86 points, and 103 goals in the bank. For a long time this looked like the competition…

Check out Adrian Clarke & Iain Spragg in the latest episode of the award-nominated Soccerlens Podcast. Chelsea TV presenter Alison Bender joins the boys for an insightful chat on what life is…

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has confirmed that his side are within striking distance of wrapping up an £11 million deal for 21-year-old Hamburg defender Jerome Boateng. The German international…

The latest releases from Nike are the limited edition shirts for mainly Brazil, Holland and Portugal. We already know that all three of these immensely talented nations are going to…

Hello readers. I refrained from writing about the title race until it was done and dusted – and there’s plenty to talk about, from pre-season predictions to key battles where…

Last week a strange email arrived in the The Ball is Round inbox. Every day we are blessed with offers to become a millionaire by simply sending our bank details to the relative of an African prince or a long lost relative in dire need of my help to smuggle our long lost fortune outside of some 3rd world country, but this showed an easier route to making a million. According to this email, “leaked” by someone at the club, simply be an average journeyman footballer with a poor injury record and you too could soon be earning your million pounds per annum.

The Barclay’s Premier League season came to its finale yesterday and the nation held its breath yet again. This was not because of the extremely tense circumstances in which the…

Portuguese giants Benfica have clinched their first league championship in five years after defeating Rio Ave 2-1 in the Estadio da Luz on Sunday night. This is the 32nd league triumph…

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has suffered yet another injury setback ahead of the World Cup, after limping off during his side’s final game of the season against Stoke with…