It was an astounding achievement. Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid lost only twice in La Liga last season and claimed an unprecedented 32 victories on their way to winning the Primera Division with a historical high of 100 points. No team had ever reached three figures before in Spain’s domestic competition, but just eight months on, Barcelona seem set not only […]
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Sympathy for the ‘devil’: In defense of Sepp Blatter
There can’t be many people whose image has sat side by side on a front page with Colonel Gaddafi, the now expired former dictator of Libya. But Sepp Blatter, the president of soccer’s governing body FIFA, is one of the few to hold this dubious honor. It was June 2011, and The Sun — a […]
Four and Counting – Messi Wins Ballon d’Or
And so we have it. What the majority of people were expecting has come to pass. His 91 goals for club and country, a total that broke Muller’s 40 year-old record, has helped Messi win the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or. In doing so he becomes the first player in the history of the game to […]
Pep Confirms his return
The ex-Blaugrana boss has confirmed that he will return to the game next term, but is yet to decide on his destination Former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola has revealed his intention to return to coaching next season. The tactician has been absent from the game since his […]
Five Spanish stories for 2013
New year, new challenges. The football will be exquisite, and there’s a good chance that more European trophies will reside in Spain come May. But what will be the key storylines in 2013? Here are five. Not necessarily the top five, but a handful that not everyone is talking about when perhaps they should be. […]
Sturridge Deal Could Shape Rodgers’ Liverpool Reign
Most newcomers receive a welcome. Daniel Sturridge’s introduction to life at Liverpool came with not one but two warnings: From Brendan Rodgers came the message that, at 23, the £12 million striker is already on his last chance at a major club; from Steven Gerrard, the advice that there would be no excuse for failure. […]
Ba can replace troubled Torres as Chelsea’s main man
The Newcastle striker was at Stamford Bridge to witness QPR’s shock win, and will surely fancy his chances of taking the Spaniard’s place as the Blues’ primary attacker Demba Ba will have been more than an interested observer as he sat in the Stamford Bridge stands on Wednesday night. Before Chelsea made their interest official, the 27-year-old’s representatives […]
A Long Wait for Another Cruyff – the End of a Saga
It is often noted that players with extraordinary technical ability do not go on to become good coaches. The game comes so naturally to these type of footballers that they struggle to convey their message when they make the transition from pitch to bench. But there is an exception to every rule and, in this […]
TKTG’s UEFA.COM Team of the Year
UEFA.com’s Team of the Year nominees have been finalized and voting is under way. We at TKTG have decided to cast our vote too by coming up with our own best XI. We first went through the list of nominees for each position, and then the opinion of each TKTG author on what formation to […]
Málaga teach Real Madrid a lesson but cannot fathom Uefa’s punishment
There is disbelief at the decision to ban the club from Europe next season because of ‘significant overdue budget balances’ Manuel Pellegrini told his players he would see them back in work on 2 January, wished them a Happy Christmas and left the Rosaleda carrying a suit and wheeling his case behind him. It wasn’t […]
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