Inter Milan role out Academy project in Brazil with IT.Sports
February 20 – Internazionale are expanding Inter Academy portfolio, agreeing a partnership with IT.Sports to launch a series of football schools throughout country.
Performance
Wenger weighs into VAR/offside debate with new rule proposal for Euro 2020
February 18 – Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, now FIFA’s head of global development, is pushing for the offside rule to be tweaked in time for this summer’s Euro 2020 finals in response to a spate of VAR controversies this season.
VAR makes its Moroccan club debut
February 19 – Morocco has become the first African country to use VAR in a top-flight league game.
Miserable Mourinho bemoans a break he didn’t need as Son sidelined
February 19 – Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean international forward Son Heung-min has fractured his arm and could miss the rest of the season, a crushing blow to last season’s Champions League finalists who are already without long-term injury victim Harry Kane.
VAR gamechanger as Man Utd keep Maguire in play and Chelsea double chalked off
February 18 – Another Premier League fixture, another headline-making VAR controversy, this time in favour of Manchester United after not one, but two Chelsea ‘goals’ were ruled out in Monday’s high-profile clash in the race for the top four.
Frustrated Klinsmann quits touchline role for board seat at Hertha
February 12 – In what is surely one of the shortest high-profile managerial stints on record, former German national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann has stepped down as Hertha Berlin’s interim head coach after just 10 weeks in charge citing a lack of support and trust.
Infantino says English needs to get to grips with VAR
February 10 – The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system is not being used properly in some countries according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Barca and Real Madrid crash out of Spain’s Copa del Rey
February 7 – The names of neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid will be on the Copa del Rey this season after both were sensationally knocked out of the Spanish cup at the quarterfinal stage.
English FA to bring in new heading rules for youth training but not matches
February 6 – The English Football Association is to introduce new guidelines limiting the amount of heading children will be allowed to do in training.
Player power: Messi turns heat on Abidal over criticism of not working hard
February 6 – Lionel Messi has criticised Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal over an interview in which the Frenchman criticised Barcelona players for not working hard.
VAR: Premier League says it will be improved, not scrapped
February 5 – The English Premier League has vowed to improve the standards of VAR after a plethora of baffling and inconsistent decisions throughout the season.
Parma’s Kuvelski tops young player list, Norwich’s Aarons leads English, followed by Sancho
February 4 – Parma’s Dejan Kulusevski (pictured on loan from Juventus) tops the table of most playing time for big-5 league players born in the 2000s. The young forward has played in 95% of Parma’s games and is followed in the table by another Italian club player, midfielder Sandro Tonali (Brescia).
Canada’s Sinclair creates history, smashing world scoring record
January 30 – Forget the US women superstars, it is Canada’s Christine Sinclair’s name will now be etched into the record books. On Wednesday, the Canadian striker scored twice in a 11-0 win over Saint Kitts and Nevis in Olympic qualifying to become the all-time top scorer in international football, surpassing previous record holder Abby Wambach of the United States.
Liverpool and Juve head big league efficiency rankings, Astra Giurgiu lead overall
January 29 – ‘Clinical’ is a word often used by commentators about teams that make the most of their goal chances to win games. The CIES Football Observatory have translated that basic observation into a data model that measures team efficiency.
Liverpool are the cleanest team in Europe, but Premier League refs love a bit of physical
January 21 – A ranking of teams by the number of fouls committed per game see Liverpool leading the way as the team with the least fouls per match so far this season (8.1).