Atlético Madrid, despite a number of issues this season, remain unbeaten in the league and still feel like one of the runners who will compete for the titleQuique Setién says he has told Atlético Madrid’s manager Diego Simeone exactly what he thinks of him but Simeone hasn’t told him back. He can guess, though: it doesn’t take a genius. “He might not like what I do, but he has the decency not to say so,” admits the chess-playing, beach football international, former manager of Equatorial Guinea (for one night only) and defender of an aesthetic footballing faith who briefly made Las Palmas the best thing in the league and is now at Real Betis, if maybe not for much longer....
Still unbeaten in Serie A after the Derby d’Italia, leaders Internazionale are rightly starting to cause a little anxiety in TurinThe stage was set for a spectacle. A full house at the Allianz Stadium and the atmosphere crackling as Juventus fans put on their usual pre-game choreography: a sea of black and white placards broken only by a green, white and red tricolore to remind everyone this is where the reigning champions reside.Well, no, actually, that wouldn’t quite do it. Ultras also prepared their own banner, in which 1970s cartoon detective Nick Carter was seen, together with sidekicks Patsy and Ten, examining a map of Europe. Italy had been blocked out in black and white stripes. Above the picture was...
It is left to Peter Stöger, sent packing from Köln last week, to restore confidence at Borussia Dortmund where there has been next to noneA week is a long time in the Bundesliga. On Monday, Peter Stöger and his assistant Manni Schmid cleared their desks and said goodbye to Köln’s players. By midday on Sunday, the Austrian was being presented by Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke as the club’s new coach, in a press conference that also confirmed the firing of Peter Bosz. That the Dutchman is on his way is no surprise. Dortmund’s only win since late September in any competition was at third-tier Magdeburg in the DfB Pokal in October and performances have been every bit as bad...
From Chelsea’s deep freeze to Robbie Fowler’s outrageous skill via a 1970s Milan v Leeds battle, we look at half-a-dozen memories from the Cup Winners’ CupWhen Gianfranco Zola came off the bench to smash home his winning goal in the 1998 final, it meant that no British team had won the Cup Winners’ Cup as many times as Chelsea. Twenty-seven years after they claimed the trophy for the first time, they doubled their tally , triumphing where Arsenal had unforgettably failed in 1995. They had a few scares on their way to the final and sailed dangerously close to the wind in their semi against Vicenza, only for Mark Hughes to wallop home a bouncing ball with time running out...
Peter Stöger’s name deserves to be cherished in the context of the club’s history, and it is sad that his tenure in Cologne fell apart like it didIn a way it ended just as it was supposed to, with honour. As Peter Stöger took his final bow in front of the Köln fans who had travelled to Schalke on Saturday, doffing his cap, he was given the warm send-off his work over the last four-and-a-half years has deserved. Teenage defender Tim Handwerker wasn’t the only player wiping tears from his eyes as they said goodbye to the coach. When the team coach arrived back at Rhein-Energie Stadion on Saturday evening, a throng of fans applauded Stöger off as he emerged....