March 20 – He’s been the figurehead at Arsenal for a generation but Arsene Wenger has given the biggest hint yet that he will call it a day in the summer following mounting pressure over his position.
By Samindra Kunti
March 17 – Defending world champions Germany and Brazil will meet in a prestigious friendly next year for the first time since the 7-1 result in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals.
By Samindra Kunti
March 16 – The draw for the U20 2017 FIFA World Cup South Korea has paired arch rivals England and Argentina in the group stages. The participants in the finals today found out their group opponents as the 24 balls were drawn in a ceremony in Suwon.
March 15 – New season new team seems to be the club mantra for playing squads across Europe’s Big 5 leagues, but how successful is this policy in terms of achieving honours and stability? Research by the CIES Football Observatory suggests that changing your team every season will not win you prizes.
By Samindra Kunti
March 13 – Belgium’s oldest football club Royal Antwerp will return to the Belgian top flight after an absence of 13 years following a 5-2 aggregate win over Roeselare in the promotion play-offs.
March 7 – Two Manchester City players – Kevin de Bruyne and Nicolas Otamendi – lead the way in an analysis of Europe’s top players so far this season across six technical performance categories.
February 28 – There’s nothing like a barrage of criticism to fire up an under-performing team. No sooner had Claudio Ranieri been sacked as manager of Premier League champions Leicester City than his former players – many of whom had been accused of letting down the Italian – bounced back in style on Monday on an emotional night.
February 27 – The French FA president Noel Le Graet has opened the door for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema’s return to the French national team.
February 27 – Roma’s Francesco Totti, at 24 years and still striking, is the longest serving player in Europe’s big-5 leagues at one club. He is followed by John Terry at 18.5 years and in joint third Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon and Caen defensive midfielder Nicolas Seube on 15.5 years.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 24 – It was described as the greatest ever miracle in team sport, a triumph that defied all logic at odds of 5000 to 1. But nine months after guiding Leicester City to the most unlikely of English Premier League titles, Claudio Ranieri has been shown the door by the club’s Thai owners in what must rank as one of football’s most disgraceful sackings even by today’s standards of harsh business decisions.
By Paul Nicholson
February 24 – Spanish giants Barcelona have teamed up with Mission Hills, the world’s largest golf and leisure resort in Haikou, China, to launch the club’s first overseas FCB football academy directly managed by the club.
February 22 – FIFPro have released the list of 55 female players who received most votes for the 2016 World XI. The list includes six players from Germany’s Olympic Gold medal team, though the US has most naems on the list with nine, and France has eight players.
February 22 – Premier League Liverpool are to spend £50 million on the development of a new academy and first team training site, moving from its famed first team training ground at Melwood where the team has trained since the 1950s.
February 21 – Of the 16 teams left in the knockout rounds the Champions League, 86 of the 384 players registered (16 squads of 24 players) graduated to the first team via the academy of that club. However, 26 of those players were playing for different clubs than those that trained them.
By Samindra Kunti
February 21 – French club Monaco have made an offer to buy a majority stake in Belgian First Division B club Cercle Brugge.