London (AFP) – Former Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs, on trial for assaulting and coercively controlling an ex-girlfriend, told a UK court Wednesday that his record of one sending off in a 24-year career showed he was not prone to violence. Taking the stand at Manchester Crown Court for the second day running, the former […]

There are always those forgotten players that somehow win soccer's biggest trophies. Superstars tend to receive most of the acclaim when teams win significant silverware in the game of soccer. After all, they score winning goals or make big defensive stops during the important matches. However, soccer is a team game. Lesser known players collect […]

When Manchester City played Liverpool on April 10, the dramatic 2-2 draw showed the class of England. City and Liverpool represent the greatest rivalry in terms of title challengers. This season alone, City and Liverpool show dominance domestically and intercontinentally. In England, the two sides are 12 and 11 points clear of third-place Chelsea. In […]

Dušan Vlahović's arrival at Juventus is the latest major move among the great talents in the soccer world. The nearly $90 million transfer sum paid by the Old Lady to Fiorentina carries considerable pressure for the 22-year-old Serbian. Part of Juventus's reasoning in acquiring the striker is his dominance in Serie A. Oftentimes, players jump […]

The fall of Jose Mourinho is the concluding act seen in his performances at a number of clubs. This season, AS Roma's 32 points through 21 games represents its worst league start in over 40 years. Most recently, Roma threw away a two-goal lead, suffering a crushing loss to Juventus, 4-3. The loss displayed the […]

Arsenal's European hopes looked bleak at the beginning of the season. Three-consecutive shutout losses in the opening-three games sank the Gunners to the bottom of the table. Of course, Mikel Arteta's squad then pulled off an 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions, ballooning the north London side to fifth in the Premier League. That run […]

The dismissal of the European Super League symbolized the rejection of the Americanization of European soccer. Essentially, closed leagues are not desirable in the European landscape. Promotion and relegation and the possibility of intercontinental competition makes European soccer special. However, European soccer has a crisis of competitiveness. Realistically, if only a fraction of clubs win […]

Southampton against Manchester City was the showpiece game of the weekend, following the home side's superb start to the season. Mike Jones was the man in charge at St Mary's and had a strange first 45 minutes. The most bizarre decision was to punish Sergio Aguero for a dive, when it was clear that Jose […]

Since the last progress report, Manchester United have played six games, winning three, drawing two and losing against Manchester City. Compared to the abysmal results at the start to the season, this would be considered progress. Certainly, the team is two points off a Champions league spot – an end of season position most United […]

While there are plenty of great soccer-related movies out there, not all of them are free to view on YouTube. If you are at the office and have time to kill, or just want to watch a good soccer flick while on the laptop at home, YouTube is a solid place to start. Listed below […]

West Ham United continued their impressive form at the weekend. Diafra Sakho has been a key factor in the Hammers success and he scored the second goal in their 2-1 win over the reigning champions Manchester City. The use of goal line technology was crucial in the awarding of the goal. Joe Hart saved the […]

  The 2014/15 season is eight games old and Southampton and West Ham proudly inhabit the top four while Manchester United continue to be just two bad games from a full-scale crisis. But even in the topsy-turvy unpredictable Premier League, there are certainties to be found. Here are five for the weekend ahead: 1. Mourinho […]

The yearly center-back crisis at Manchester United has arrived. A couple of seasons ago, in spite of having five center backs in Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Sir Alex Ferguson was forced to deploy Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick in central defense. For that reason, Manchester United has grown […]

Surely, Louis van Gaal and Alex Ferguson have many qualities in common. But their approach to soccer is also fundamentally different. The most obvious similarity is that they are both proven winners. The Dutch began his managerial career at Ajax in Amsterdam, the country’s most prestigious and traditional club, and he continued his learning curve […]

It hasn’t really gone to plan for Manchester United has it? Unwanted records are being broken and despite spending a vast sum in the summer transfer window and shipping out a number of players too, the squad still looks unbalanced. In amongst the gloom though there have been some signs of encouragement. United’s sharp-shooting attackers […]