Ramos sneaks up on record cap holder Casillas

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has been a joy to watch for the Spanish national side in over a decade now. He started out as a right-back but has since converted into one of the greatest centre-backs the national side have ever seen. This means that the player has been called up more often to wear the Spanish colors and he is about to become the highest caps holder for the country. The record is currently sitting with former club mate Iker Casillas who appeared in the Spanish colors on 167 occasions. Ramos currently lies at 150 and believes that the goalkeeper is shaking because he is edging close since he is still an integral part of the national team. Ramos has admitted that the feat could be tough to reach and he is just proud of what he has already achieved so far. He is hopeful of claiming the record with time. Do you think he deserves the record? Drop your thoughts in the comment section.

The young defender does not mind the increased competition

England International Joe Gomez continues his development after joining the first team fold at his club last year. The defender sees himself as a sponge who is learning a lot from the experienced Virgil Van Dijk who joined the club in a record deal. Some questions were being raised about his future and what this meant for Gomez but he has since proved that he is still important as he has filled in for the injured Clyne in the right-back position. Van Dijk’s move might have slowed the young player’s progress as a central defender but the player sees this as an opportunity to learn from the world’s most expensive defender. He commends the experienced player’s presence and quality on the ball. That is something he hopes will rub onto himself after an impressive season which has resulted in him being called to represent his country England in the friendlies against Netherlands and Italy.

Abroad: Arsenal tie down Egypt’s Mohamed Elneny

The Gunners and Pharaohs midfielder has signed a contract extension with the club which will see him stay in North London for a “long time.” The length of the contract has not been revealed but Elneny was not shy to share his commitment and focus to the twitter world.

"Officially we will be together for a longer time, in order to reach what we started, and to put Arsenal in its deserved spot in Europe and the whole world." - Elneny

Mohamed joined Arsenal in January 2016 from FC Basel and has since made 65 appearances for the club. He has not featured regularly for the Gunners this season but still remains an integral part of the midfield. He is currently with the Egyptian squad in Switzerland for a series of friendlies in preparation for the FIFA World Cup finals in June, Russia.

The Arsenal boss believes he is being discriminated by his age

Arsene Wenger has commented about his situation at Arsenal and he feels that criticism directed at him is not fair. He believes that the negative energy towards him is discrimination and that is coming because of his age. The manager has faced calls to leave the club after 21 years in charge and is convinced that he is on the spotlight because of his age more than it is because of bad results. Rumors have been going around that the manager will finally step down this summer because of his failure to bring the Premier League to the Emirates in 14 years. Wenger, however, has accepted that he will be criticized since he is in a public job. The 68-year old is trying his best to bring success to the club. He has the experience. Do you think time is up for him?

Teammate Delaney talks about the importance of the Ivorian

Damien Delaney is lamenting on the injury woes that are keeping their star man on the sidelines. The 36-year old believes that Wilfried Zaha is the man to take Crystal Palace to safety. The Ivorian forward is currently struggling to remain fit but has dazzled the fans with some fantastic displays which have resulted in 4 goals and two assists. Delaney is quoted as having said, “Without him, we lose someone with the ability to release pressure.” Such is the dependence of a club on a young African forward who has a promising future. Palace is currently sitting on 16th position with a 2 point advantage over Southampton who are also in the relegation battle.  

Carvalhal says the Manchester United manager enjoys fights with players

Carlos Carvalhal says that the Manchester United boss enjoys fighting with people. The Swansea City boss used to work under Mourinho during his second tenure at Chelsea and the two managers will have a clash this weekend when Swansea face Manchester United. Carvalhal admits to having some similarities with the Portuguese but says Mourinho is more confrontational than him. He observed how the manager picked up fights with a lot of people and how it propels him to succeed under those circumstances. Some reports have surfaced about a possible clash between Mourinho and Pogba which has resulted in the player’s below par performances in recent weeks. I guess this explains why Pogba is not happy at the current situation and we know that Mourinho is to blame. It is just a matter of time before Mourinho picks another fight at United. Could that one be his last since he is failing to live up to the hype he created for himself when he arrived? Have your say below.

The Portuguese forward is on the track to become the all-time international goalscorer

The Portugal international recently moved close to Ferenc Puskas on the list of the highest goalscorers on the international scene. He scored two in the last minutes against Egypt last weekend before succumbing to a 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands on Monday. This means that he is 3 goals shy of Puskas’ 84 who is in second behind Iranian Ali Daei at 109. Not many expected the winger to reach these heights when he was starting out his career at United when he was more of a creative player. Cristiano Ronaldo does not look like he is stopping anytime soon with his eyes set on the FIFA World Cup tournament hosted by Russia in June this year. The odds are against his team to pull another shocker after winning the Euros in 2016. Do you think he will go on to win the World Cup and smash the goalscoring record in the process?

International Friendlies Round-Up: Ronaldo, Coutinho and Lingard amongst the goals

World Cup hosts Russia succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to a Neymar-less Brazil. Barcelona players Philippe Coutinho and Paulinho stepped up in the absence of their main man and scored one each. Miranda scored the other in the thrilling match which is a test for the teams that want to challenge in FIFA’s biggest tournament in less than 2 months.

In other news, France lost 2-3 to Colombia on the same night. The result is quite surprising considering the fact that France had an early 2 goal advantage as Giroud and Lemar both scored a goal each. Muriel scored for Colombia to make it 2-1 before the break. Falcao and Quintero’s penalty completed the comeback and downed Deschamps’ side.

Germany and Spain’s clash ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw. Rodrigo scored at the 6th minute for Spain before Muller leveled the matters on the 9th minute.

England won 1-0 against the Netherlands thanks to a Jesse Lingard goal in the 59th minute.

De Bruyne praises Messi and Ronaldo

Belgian sensation talks about the comparisons between him and the very best i.e. Messi and Ronaldo. Kevin De Bruyne could not deny the fact that he is tired of being compared to the duo because they play different roles for their respective teams. This is a bit unfair to the player who does not play as much further on the pitch as the aforementioned Barcelona and Real Madrid players. De Bruyne’s coach Pep Guardiola has suggested that the player is scaling his heights to that of Ronaldo who has consistently delivered for the biggest club in the world. What do you think about this comparison? Is it fair? Should his name be mentioned among the greatest-in-making?

Pique talks about his rocky relationship with Pep

Gerard Pique enjoyed a successful period under the management of Pep Guardiola during his early years at Barcelona. The Spanish defender won a treble in his first season with Pep and saw the birth of a new era which was dominated by the Catalans both domestically and in Europe. The defender, however, fell out of favor from Guardiola because he lost his obsession of football. The 31-year old could not understand why their coach wanted the players to be obsessed with football 24/7 even after being with the players for so many years and knowing that they already understand his concepts. The defender was eventually benched in the El Clasico (Barcelona vs Real Madrid) match that followed and he was angry. He started thinking if it was the end of his playing career and these thoughts crushed him.

The player returned to scene in a big match against Chelsea in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League only to be replaced on the 20th minute after suffering an injury. Barcelona was eliminated and Guardiola announced his departure shortly after that. What he cannot process to this day is how things would have turned out if he had stayed at Barcelona. Pique was given a wakeup call by that experience and has not looked back. He has proved to be reliable whenever he is called upon since then and does not look like he will be replaced anytime soon. Do you think Pique’s attitude was justified? Tell us why in the comments below?

Are we seeing a wave of many teams starting to take Women’s football as seriously as they should?

This report might come off as a surprise to many that Manchester United, one of the biggest football clubs, had not registered a Women’s team up to this point after scraping it altogether in 2005. However, that is out of the way now as the club have decided to register to join the Women’s League 2 in the upcoming season. This decision has probably resulted from continuous criticism from respected people in the footballing world with Former United player and current Lioness’ boss Phil Neville stating that he would have a conversation with them about it. Manchester United chairman Ed Woodward has said that “The Women’s side should be built with the same image as the male’s team.” If their application is successful, the women’s side will be based at the Cliff training ground in Salford. Besides this decision being long overdue, what are your thoughts?

The French forward acknowledges the possibility of a move

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has given a deadline about his future. He talked about how is ambitious and wants to focus on winning major trophies as one of his goals. The player has been linked to a move to Manchester United before and has stated that he wants his future to be resolved before he goes for the World Cup in June. Griezmann does not want any distractions during the tournament that comes with being asked whether or not he is staying in Spain. The 27 year old dreams of being a Ballon d’Or winner but only when it is accompanied by winning trophies like the UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup, Euros among others. That is all we have heard from the striker about his future now we want to hear from you about what you think will happen. Is Griezmann going to stay if Atletico offer him the rumored bumper contract? Will he go to Manchester United who seem to already have a good strike force? Where else could he go? Drop your comments below.

The player’s agent challenges the decision to omit Super Mario

Mino Raiola is one of the biggest player agents in world football. He represents players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Mkhitaryan and the controversial forward Mario Balotelli. Balotelli has had a history of causing havoc in the team’s that he has represented before with his temper issues and arrogance. This led to a clash between him and his old national team coach Ventura which ended up in him being dropped out of the squad. Ventura has since left the post but the problem seems to persist. The player has once again been omitted from the Italy squad that will play against England and Argentina although he has been in fine form having scored 21 goals in 33 matches this season. His agent Raiola is angry at this decision and wants to understand why he has been snubbed ahead of other strikers who have less production than Balotelli. Raiola calls for a different management at national level which supports players that are the best. Caretaker boss Di Biagio has disappointed many by this decision. Do you think he was justified and that Italy don’t need the polarizing vibes brought by the talented forward? Have your say in the comment section.

Chelsea Ladies knocks out Liverpool

The team cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win against Liverpool Ladies on Sunday. Drew Spence provided the spark in the game as she crossed for Jonna Andersson to tap home in the 21st minute. The captain Katie Chapman (pictured above) made it 2-0 right before the break when she headed home at the 45th minute. More coverage should be provided for women’s football because it is as entertaining as the men’s where teams score goals galore in a match. The second half of the match was the same as Chelsea continued to dominate and Alex Greenwood could not help but bring down Gemma Davison who was in a dangerous position. Liverpool Ladies conceded the third goal from the resulting penalty kick that was taken by Maren Mjelde on 58 minutes. Both teams made their 4 substitutes before the end of the game but none were ready to be an impact player and change the course of the game for Liverpool. What a shame. Next up, Chelsea Ladies will be at home and will host either Sunderland or Manchester City in the semi-final once a winner between the two has been confirmed on the 25th of March.   

Xavi shares some of his footballing genius

Xavi Hernandez has shared his secrets in football after being called a ‘Master of Football’ by fellow legend Diego Maradona. The 38 year old Al Sadd midfielder plans to retire at the end of this season after a stellar career predominantly played at Barcelona and the Spanish national team where he won all trophies that can be won by a player i.e. FIFA World Cup, Club World Cup, Euros, UEFA Champions Leagues, Domestic Leagues and Cups. He has lifted them all. His secret is using his strengths. He claims to be just a student of the Cruyff’s school and that he has found a way to compensate for his weakness in lacking speed. He was taught to use his brain and look 360 degrees every time he is on the ball so that he is aware of the options around him. He gave an example of Mbappe saying that the young forward can put the ball forward, run, and pass the player because he has the legs for it but Xavi’s strength was to find the next option and make a quick pass before the opponents close down the spaces. His brain was his mantra and his basic football made him one of the greats admired by many. Do you think that football is really that easy and that keeping it simple can make someone a ‘Master of Football’? Could it be that the Spaniard does not want to tell us his secrets on how to be a great player? Drop your comments below.

Unsettled Pogba wants to play with Neymar

Paul Pogba has shown that he is an individual that admires a lot of things in different players that play in his position. He looks at players like Iniesta, Yaya Toure, Kevin De Bruyne and Luka Modric for inspiration to improve his game. He also had time to mention a player who is also world class but does not play in his position or even for Manchester United. The unhappy player who has been benched by Mourinho in recent matches has admitted to being a big fan of Neymar and appreciates the fact that the player is always happy on the pitch. It is clear that the player is not enjoying his current form and situation which was also backed by his French national team coach Didier Deschamps. Pogba went on to say that he would like to play with Neymar someday. Could it be that the player is hinting at a move to Real Madrid where he could be a long-term replacement for Modric and be joined by Neymar if Florentino Perez bids the rumored €400 million? Surely, he is saying something when he is talking about playing with a player from another club.   

Ronaldo once again won the Portuguese player of the year award

In the wake of Real Madrid’s 6-2 win where Ronaldo scored 4 goals, the Portuguese forward has since been awarded the best Portuguese player again. He did not fail to mention the players who he owes much for the award after a record season with Madrid where he won 5 trophies in 2017 including his fifth Ballon d’Or and the second FIFA award. He was voted the best player by fans, coaches, and a jury that is led by former Portugal number 7, Luis Figo. This should probably the smallest accolade that he has won considering the caliber of the player and what he has achieved as an individual at club level. Nonetheless, it is something to add to his Resume and he could not make his agent Jorge Mendez anymore proud. Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva and Sporting goalkeeper, Rui Patricio came second and third respectively.

Former Borussia Dortmund boss opens up about the reasons behind leaving the club

Former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has publicly stated that he is no longer the man-in-charge thanks to the bomb attack that his team experienced during his time. Before the attacks, Tuchel had successfully managed to transition his team from Klopp’s old foe and tactics as he brought fresh players like Dembele and Pulisic who made his team’s attack very threatening. He won the DFB-Pokal in 2016/17 which was his only trophy before leaving the club at the end of the season. He admits that some of his former players are still traumatized by the bomb attack which happened so close to his team bus. This definitely had an effect on the team’s performances thereafter. There was also a major discrepancy claimed by Aki (Borrusia Dortmund Chairman) and Tuchel says that the essence of this discrepancy was that Tuchel was on the bus and the Chairman was not. This led to a fall out which resulted in Tuchel leaving. He is a talented manager and should be given a platform to express his abilities. Who do you think should hire Tuchel in the summer?