After a nice long break from the action both the Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions will kick off their knockout rounds. We'll first look at the UEFA Cup as their Round of 32 first leg fixtures take place this week. Spanish clubs have dominated this competition in recent years but Germany, with 5 clubs, […]

After a nice long break from the action both the Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions will kick off their knockout rounds. We'll first look at the UEFA Cup as their Round of 32 first leg fixtures take place this week. Spanish clubs have dominated this competition in recent years but Germany, with 5 clubs, […]

It seems the US Soccer Federation is eager to prove some of the critics of the game in this country wrong thanks to upcoming friendlies against Spain and potential friendlies against England and Argentina. Those critics who rightfully pointed out that between 2003 and 2006 we didn't play many tough friendlies on the road have […]

I know what you all are thinking. "C'mon Michael, why are you taking another shot at Liverpool? Why are you so biased against Liverpool? Why don't you like Stevie and Carra??" Let me clear things up for once and for all. I have NOTHING against Liverpool FC, nothing. My brother is a Liverpool fan and […]

Name the gaucho in the picture and you would be right. According to press reports Giovanni Trapattoni has accepted the Republic of Ireland job. Trap's contract with Red Bull Salzburg expires end of season, the 68-year-old met with the Irish Football Association’s selection committee last night to finalize taking over the post .

Tulio De Melo will don the pink jersey of Palermo come next season, after pre-signing with both Parma and Palermo of Serie A. January transfer reports had indicated the 23-year-old Brazilian, currently with French side LeMans, was on his way to Parma instead. Parma had claimed first club status in signing the player but Palermo […]

For the past 12 months, EPL Talk has reported several times about speculation that media companies have allegedly been involved in behind-the-scenes discussions about taking over Setanta Sports. Now the news has hit the mainstream press with The Sunday Telegraph reporting that Setanta had received an unsolicited approach potentially worth almost 2 billion dollars from […]

Seeing Manchester United play in its 1950's style uniform yesterday in the Manchester derby was a beautiful site to see. It reminded me of an age of innocence where simplicity of design and focus on beauty reigned supreme instead of the shirts of present that are moving billboards. In contrast, while Manchester United impressed, […]

This Saturday (February 16, 2008), one of the hottest TV shows in the world of soccer will feature a new addition. The show is "I'm On Setanta Sports" starring the Jose Mourinho puppet. As of this Saturday, though, you can expect to see another character on screen next to The Special One. Who that new […]

With the G14 recently being disbanded, the timing of the Premier League's announcement regarding expansion of the league into overseas markets is a perfect marketing ploy. While talk of a European Super League has died down, the Premier League – if the proposal passes – would supersede the concept of the European Super League. After […]

After last week's Premier League announcement that a proposal is being examined to play 10 league matches outside of England during the 2010/2011 season, understandably there's been a lot of opposition to the idea in the press and on the blogs. On the EPL Talk message boards, EPL Talk reader Unoriginal_Name raised an excellent concern […]

The U.S. national team is now favorites to play England in an international friendly on May 28th, 2008 according to the News of the World and Sunday Mirror newspapers. The specific article is short on detail and doesn't attribute the news source to anyone, but the match could up being the stage for David Beckham's […]

Egypt defended their 2006 African Cup of Nations championship successfully today in a 1-0 victory over Cameroon, giving the Pharaohs a record 6th continental title. It was a rematch of the opening game in Group C, a 4-2 Egyptian victory. Mohamed Zidan scored twice in that game for the winners and his success against Cameroon […]

So I waited almost two weeks to finally watch a live Premier League match after a stay at a local hospital and which one did I having the privilege of watching? The twice annual tedious encounter between Chelsea and Liverpool, which usually ends up in a nil nil draw. It's a travesty to watch two […]

Episode 100 of the EPL Talk Podcast has been released. It's a 'best of' episode which includes some of the highlights of the first century of the episodes. Included in the selection of the best interviews are Alan Mullery, Simon Inglis, Steven Cohen, Gary Richards, Ronnie Whelan, Toby Charles, Rodney Marsh, Henry Winter and many […]