Euro-bound Poles sack head coach ahead of 2022 World Cup qualifiers
January 19 – Poland have sacked national coach Jerzy Brzeczek just five months before the European Championship and two months before the start of World Cup qualifying.
Performance
Neville quits England and GB ahead of Olympics as Beckham and Miami call
January 18 – Phil Neville has left his role as manager of the England women’s national team with immediate effect ahead of a switch to the men’s game as coach of David Beckham’s Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.
PSG head dribble rankings, Fulham lead English ahead of Man Utd, Liverpool and Man City
January 15 – Paris St-Germain top a table of big 5 league clubs with a dribble attempted every 3’58’’. In contrast Burnley reinforce the longer-ball perception of the English game, coming at the bottom of the rankings with a dribble attempt every 8’46’’.
Hoppe springs eternal: American hat-trick hero saves Schalke’s losing record blushes
January 11 – Schalke 04 have avoided great embarrassment. On Saturday, the club from Gelsenkirchen finally picked up three points after 30 Bundesliga games without a win, leaving the all-time German winless record in the hands of Tasmania Berlin.
Marine sunk by Spurs fire-power but FA Cup remains a winner in dark times
January 11 – Tottenham Hotspur and Carlos Vinicius’ 13-minute hat-trick ended Marine FC’s fairy tale run in the FA Cup in a 5-0 demolition of the non-league club, who sit 161 places below the Londoners in the English football pyramid.
Neville’s link to Beckham’s Inter Miami threatens GB role at Tokyo Olympics
January 7 – Phil Neville’s role as Great Britain’s women’s coach at the Tokyo Olympics could be in doubt after reports he is to take charge at Inter Miami, the MLS club part-owned by his former team-mate at Manchester United, David Beckham.
Getting Messi: Barca presidential hopeful expects to lose superstar
January 7 – Manchester City, who reportedly courted Lionel Messi before the Argentine decided to stay on at the Nou Camp, have once again been placed on alert after Barca presidential candidate Agusti Benedito said the club’s prized asset is ‘likely’ to leave next summer.
Bilic puts West Brom behind him as he heads for Beijing
January 6 – Less than a month after his sacking by Premier League strugglers West Bromwich Albion, Slaven Bilic must be laughing all the way to the bank after being appointed head coach of Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan on a two-year contract.
Pochettino takes reins at PSG with ‘attacking’ promise
January 4 – Just over a year after being shown the door by Tottenham Hotspur, Mauricio Pochettino is back in football as head coach at Paris St-Germain, his spiritual home.
PSG and Tuchel part company as Qatari patience wears out
December 30 – He won the league in his first two seasons with the club and led them to the Champions League final last summer.
Maguire puts in the time to top ‘most minutes’ ranking. Messi takes third spot
December 23 – Manchester United’s centre back Harry Maguire tops a ranking of players who have played the most number of minutes in 2020. Barcelona’s old timer Lionel Messi comes third.
Does Man City thrashing mean its the firing squad next for Gunners’ manager Arteta?
December 23 – He was hired as the man to finally turn things around in the post-Arsene Wenger era. Instead they are going from bad to worse.
Messi beats Pele’s record with 644th Barca goal
December 23 – Lionel Messi has cemented his place as one of the sport’s greatest ever icons by breaking Pele’s goalscoring record for a single club.
Upbeat Messi blames his early season form on Barca uncertainty
December 22 – Lionel Messi says his failed attempt to leave Barcelona in the summer has affected his form this season.
AC Milan’s Leao sets European record with goal in 6.2 seconds
December 21 – Rafael Leao scored the fastest goal in Serie A history – and across Europe’s top leagues – as AC Milan netted after just six seconds at Sassuolo on Sunday.