Page 4 - Monthly Archives: February 2016
- February 05, 2016
By Karl Matchett.
Atletico Madrid headed into the new year full of positivity, top of La Liga and in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, making a new midfield signing in Augusto Fernandez and finally adding Matias Kranevitter to their squad too after he joined from River Plate in the summer.
Since then though a hectic January and some tough fixtures have seen them slip to second in the league after defeat to Barcelona, and exit the Copa at the hands of Celta Vigo, and los Colchoneros are now four matches without a win. Heading into their weekend game at home to Eibar, Atleti need to get back to winning ways quickly but are facing the prospect of a reduced squad and some late transfer deals, which could easily hamper their bid to fight on two fronts-La Liga and the Champions League.
- February 05, 2016
At this point, Bayern Munich have won the DFB Pokal so many times that it seems almost foolish not to bet on the German heavyweights to win the tournament in 2016. The Bavarians have won this event 17 times and finished second thrice. The next most successful football club in the history of the event is Werder Bremen, with six wins and 10 finals appearances. Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, Bayern's toughest opponents in the Bundesliga, have only won the German Cup title three times.
Still, surprises do happen. Last year, Bayern Munich barely made it through the quarterfinals, having to beat Bayer Leverkusen in a penalty shootout after a scoreless 120-minute match. The German champions subsequently lost another penalty shootout to Dortmund in the semifinals, missing out on a chance to win a third consecutive title in the DFB Pokal. Wolfsburg went on to beat Dortmund in the finals and win the cup.
Bayern Munich's Semifinal - February 04, 2016
By Greg Lea.
It is fair to say that Borussia Dortmund are in title-winning form at present.
Thomas Tuchel's side have won nine of their last 11 Bundesliga encounters, scoring 30 goals in the process and conceding only 11, and have taken a total of 44 points from their 19 matches in 2015/16 just one fewer than title contenders Arsenal have gained from five games more in the Premier League, by way of comparison. The only problem for the 2011 and 2012 champions is that Bayern Munich's brilliance means there is very little chance of them lifting the Bundesliga trophy at the end of the campaign in May. Their title-winning form, in essence, will not be enough to bring BVB the title this year.
Nevertheless, there is still plenty for Dortmund fans to be positive about at the moment. Saturday's 2-0 win over Ingolstadt means they are now 10 points clear of third-placed Hertha Berlin, with a return - February 04, 2016
The January transfer window is never as eventful as the summer gap. Fewer teams dip into the market to flesh out their ranks or spend big on new stars, and fewer clubs are willing to let go of big stars. In other words, you're never going to see a Cristiano Ronaldo transfer in January, or any transfer fees that land in the top 10 or 20 of all time. Still, this year's January window was bigger than it has been in the past, with Premier League spending topping £1 billion for the first time ever. Read on to find out which clubs made the biggest signings of the month.
Pep Guardiola: Sure, he's not a player, but the deadline day announcement that Pep Guardiola is indeed on his way to Manchester City handily overshadowed everything that was going on in the - February 03, 2016
By Karl Matchett.
Transfer deadline day is usually taken up by rumours, potential big-money splash-outs and the odd surge of disappointment as a hurried late effort to bring in a new face falls though late on. What it is not usually dominated by is headlines of a managerial nature, with under-pressure bosses usually either having been replaced prior to the window or being given a few more weeks with a new signing or two to save their season.
Manchester City opted to do away with all of that this deadline day and instead confirmed their managerial change for next season: Manuel Pellegrini is out, Pep Guardiola is on his way in and their four-year chase for the current Bayern Munich boss is over.
Guardiola's approach to the game is unlike most other bosses on the planet, with his tactical versatility and
- February 03, 2016
Jorge Sampaoli is on the move, but where could he land next?
The 55-year-old Argentine manager has been the head coach of the Chile national football team since 2012, and he's orchestrated some pretty marvelous moments for the organization. Just last year, Sampaoli led Chile to their first-ever win in the Copa America, leading the soccer squad to a narrow, nail-biting victory over the Lionel Messi-led Argentina team. The championship match was an evenly matched contest if there ever was one, with the score still tied 0-0 after 120 minutes of full-time and extra time. Chile won the shootout 4-1, with Messi the only player from Argentina's side to make his penalty kick.
Add a solid round of 16 runs in the 2014 World Cup and a promising squad that included Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez, and Chile seemed to have hit a new high-water mark under Sampaoli. The manager even earned a 2015 Coach of the Year nomination from FIFA. Now, though, the coach has resigned from his job following - February 02, 2016
A year ago, by the time the fifth round of the 2014/15 FA Cup rolled around, only three heavyweight Premier League clubs had survived the eliminations. Those three teams-Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United-had managed to avoid an upset-ridden fourth round that had sent Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Southampton (among others) packing. Arsenal went on to win the tournament, beating Aston Villa in the finals for a second consecutive FA Cup trophy.
This year, things could hardly be more different. Most of the football clubs to qualify for the round of 16 in the 2015/16 FA Cup are big names from the Premier League. The fourth round of the tournament-played this past weekend, in place of regular league competition-saw Arsenal, both Manchester teams, Chelsea, Everton, and Crystal Palace all earning spots in the final 16. Furthermore, most of those soccer - February 02, 2016
Ever since Liverpool and Manchester City won decisive victories in their quarterfinal matches of the 2015/16 Football League Cup, soccer pundits have been predicting that the two Premier League clubs would end up head-to-head for the tournament's championship match. On February 28th, that battle will come to pass-though reaching the final wasn't as easy for either club as might have been expected.
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The Road to the Finals
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool squad have been inconsistent and unpredictable all season, not just in the Premier League, but in other competitions as well. In the quarterfinals of the League Cup, the Reds smashed top-flight opponents Southampton 6-1, with Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi giving standout performances to collectively score - February 01, 2016
2015 was, in many ways, a banner year for women's football. The summer's Women's World Cup was both a viral sensation and a ratings juggernaut, garnering tons of attention on Twitter and scoring viewership figures typically unprecedented for the tournament. Particularly in the United States-whose women's national team won their third Women's World Cup title in 2015-the tournament was a hit. Airing on the Fox Network, the tournament garnered a little shy of 23 million American viewers-not only making it the most-watched soccer game ever for U.S. audiences, but also delivering numbers comparable to Game 7 of the Major League Baseball World Series. Considering that baseball is generally much bigger in the United States than soccer, that stat is a remarkable one.
Women's football also got more interest in Europe last year. The Women's FA Cup-played at Wembley Stadium between Notts County and FA WSL champions Chelsea-drew an attendance of over 30,000 fans. That figure shattered - February 01, 2016
Coming into Saturday's head-to-head match between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Barca had won five games in a row against the Mattress Makers. Despite the best efforts of the Atletico squad, Barcelona won once more this weekend, earning a 2-1 advantage to solidify their frontrunner status in the 2015/16 La Liga.
Not that anyone has had reason to doubt Barca's title hopes as of late. Ever since Neymar and Luis Suarez stepped up to steer the football club through Lionel Messi's lengthy and nerve-wracking injury period, FC Barcelona have been nearly untouchable. They haven't lost a game in any competition since the beginning of October and have only had to abide a few draws. The January 30th match against Atletico Madrid was interesting because, if one team was going to be able to knock Barcelona off balance, the Mattress Makers were going to be that team.Order La Liga Jerseys
A Comeback