Door open for Real Madrid striker Benzema to return to French national team duty
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.
Performance
Totti and Terry lead one-club loyalty ranking while Lucas shows he is no leaver at Liverpool
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.
From hero to zero. Leicester’s Thai owners show ruthless streak in sacking Ranieri
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.
Barcelona launches plan for ‘giant’ academy at China’s world leading Mission Hills resort
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.
FIFPro names 55 top scoring players in voting for Women’s World XI
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.
Liverpool plan for new £50m first team training base
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.
Barca and Real top home trained players list but Arsenal have most still at the club
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.
Monaco eye stake in Belgium’s Cercle Brugge as a development club
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.
Spurs’ Dele Alli leads the way amongst Europe’s brightest talents
February 14 – Dele Alli (Spurs), Renato Sanches (Bayern Munich), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund) and Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan) top the rankings of the most experienced players in their year groups, according to a ranking drawn from the top 31 top division leagues in Europe.
Leicester’s latest loss leaves them lurching on the edge of the abyss
By Andrew Warshaw
February 13 – It surely won’t happen – or might it? This time last year Leicester City were on their way to becoming the most unlikely champions in English Premier league history, a remarkable feat that reverberated around the globe.
Inter expand academy in Japan with Tokyo site and Elite Teams programme
February 13 – Inter Milan has opened its fourth football school in Japan in Fuchu (Tokyo). It will be the first of the training centres to offer an elite youth teams programme.
Egypt and Cameroon bring a familiar look to AFCON final
By Samindra Kunti
February 3 – For the third time in history Egypt and Cameroon will meet in the final of the African Cup of Nations. In the semi-finals the two traditional powerhouses of the African game defeated Burkina Faso and Ghana respectively.
Spurs’ Winks tops debutant list but English lag far behind their European neighbours
February 2 – “You don’t win anything with kids,” is a famous comment by former Scotland and Liverpool player Alan Hansen. But Premier League clubs aren’t even trying to according to data examining the number of debutants in the professional game in the current season in Europe’s Big 5 leagues.
£20m Ighalo swaps Watford for Changchun as transfer deadline closes
February 1- Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo has become the latest high-profile export to the Chinese Super League after joining Changchun Yatai for £20 million from English Premier league club Watford.
Talent spotting. Why the full picture is important to picking the right players
Neil McGuinness works as a scout for Aspire in Qatar. Previously, he scouted many years for European elite clubs. The global scout, with Scottish roots, talks to Samindra Kunti about modern-day scouting, scouting in Britain and the rise of China in the global game.