Know Your Player - Steve McManaman

Steven "Steve" McManaman (born 11 February 1972) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder, winger andplaymaker for Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City. McManaman is the most decorated English footballer to have played abroad, with the UEFA website stating that "of all England's footballing exports in the modern era, none were as successful as McManaman." He is a regular pundit on BT Sport football coverage.

After nine years at Liverpool, during which time he won the FA Cup and League Cup, McManaman moved to Real Madrid in 1999. The transfer became one of the most controversial and high profile Bosman rulings of all time. He became the first English player to win the UEFA Champions League with a non-English club in 2000, and two years later became the first English player to win the Champions League twice. He also won La Liga twice before moving to Manchester City in 2003, and retiring from football in 2005. After his retirement he worked as a football pundit for Setanta Sports, ESPN and BT Sport. In 2008, he was ranked third in a Top 10 of greatest British footballers to play overseas, just behind Kevin Keegan and John Charles.

Although McManaman had a couple of quieter seasons with the advent of the Premier League, he continued to develop a reputation as one of English football's two best wingers alongside Ryan Giggs of Manchester United, with both players known to "embarrass defences with their mazy runs, which too often lack the finishing touch they deserve."

In 1993–94, McManaman showed fine form with two goals against Swindon Town and some assists including a spectacular run and assist against Tottenham Hotspur. However this form faltered following a confidence drop after an incident with Bruce Grobbelaar towards the end of a Merseyside derby, when the players exchanged blows after Grobelaar lambasted McManaman for a poor clearance which led to a goal being conceded (an incident later named as one of the top five bust ups between team mates in Premier League history).

In 1994–95, McManaman got a new million pound contract, and was given a central, freer role by new coach Roy Evans, who wanted to utilise McManaman's natural running and dribbling ability to drift all over the park. It proved a successful decision as McManaman began mesmerising defences with runs that were later to become hallmarks of the Liverpool side of the 1990s. That season he collected a League Cup winner's medal after scoring twice in his side's 2–1 win over Bolton; such was his performance that fans named it "The McManaman Final". For his second Wembley final appearance in succession he was awarded man of the match, earning the Alan Hardaker Trophy and a tribute from guest of honour, celebrated veteran winger Sir Stanley Matthews, who exclaimed after the final: "He reminds me of me when I was playing... I wish there are more dribblers like him."

By the end of 1995–96, McManaman was top of the Premier League goal assists chart with 25 assists over the season, including assists and top ratings in a match against Newcastle voted the best of the decade in the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards. By now, McManaman was ranked as one of the finest midfielders in England and had developed a strong reputation on the European stage following UEFA Euro 1996, earning praise from many at the time including Kevin Keegan, who said "there are few finer sights in world football than the sight of Steve McManaman running down the length of the pitch."

McManaman had also been noted for his versatility in his free role, switching from right to left wings, and his ability to play in central midfield, behind the front pair, or as a forward, with many notable managers including then Ajax coach Louis van Gaal, describing it as a role few could pull off the way McManaman had. McManaman was credited for making the role manager Evans gave him work, with the result being that Liverpool were playing some of the most aesthetically pleasing attacking football at the time in England.McManaman was also said to have been one of only a handful of so-called "talismanic" players along with Eric Cantona and Gianfranco Zola in the league at the time believed to have the charisma to lift supporters from their seats each time they got the ball. Managers would deploy a man-marker specifically to follow him for an entire game, with Gianfranco Zola noting that McManaman was the player the Italian national players monitored the most. Howard Wilkinson said McManaman was "virtually unstoppable" at times, while then Middlesbrough manager, Bryan Robson, was quoted as saying that "everyone in the Premiership knows that if you stop McManaman, you stop Liverpool." Roy Evans, attempting to diminish the attention on marking McManaman, stated "I would hate to think we are no more than a one-man team." German coach Berti Vogts named McManaman as one of only three Premiership players in his select European XI Team.

McManaman was once described as "England's forgotten man" but was also accused of being apathetic and having a laidback attitude and having a reputation for being a troublemaker, which began after an infamous "dentists' chair" incident before Euro96, where along with Teddy Sheringham and Gascoigne, McManaman was photographed drinking and accused of causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to a Cathay Pacific first class flight cabin. McManaman's reputation was also not aided by the fact that he was also known for being a serial prankster with Fowler, which did nothing to help new coaches' negative opinions about him, with the Spice Boys' image also making it worse, although, colleague Gareth Southgate did say McManaman and Fowler's antics though "silly", helped foster team spirit. In 2004, certain journalists even called for McManaman to be included in the Euro 2004 squad, arguing that McManaman's experience would have been worth his inclusion in the side alone, but to no avail as McManaman himself decided to retire shortly after.

Sir Tom Finney, 'one of the all-time greats for England', dies aged 91

Former Preston and England forward Sir Tom Finney has died at the age of 91.  The forward made his league debut in 1946 and remained with the Lancashire the club until his retirement in 1960.

He scored 210 goals in 473 appearances for the Lillywhites, while his record for England was equally eye-catching, netting 30 times in 76 appearances.

Preston confirmed the news in a statement on Friday night which paid tribute to the club's most famous son, who emerged as one of this country's greatest talents in the post-war era.

'Preston North End have been informed of the extremely sad news of the passing of Sir Tom Finney,' the statement read.

'Sir Tom was the greatest player to ever play for Preston North End and one of the all-time greats for England. 'The thoughts of everyone at the club, and those connected with it, are with his family at this time.

'The club will be making an official statement on Saturday 15th February 2014, but have no other comment at this time.' VIA  dailymail.co.uk

Know Your Player - Luis Suárez

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the Uruguayan national team.

In 2006, Suárez moved to the Netherlands to play for Groningen in the Eredivisie. Suárez transferred to Ajax in 2007. In 2008–09 he was named Ajax Player of the Year. The following year, he was made the club captain, became the league's top scorer with 35 goals in 33 games, and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year. He scored 49 goals in all competitions and Ajax won the KNVB Cup. In the 2010–11 season, he scored his one hundredth Ajax goal, joining a group of players including Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp in doing so.

In January 2011, Suárez transferred to Liverpool for €26.5 million (£22.8 million). During his partial season at Liverpool, Suárez helped the club move from twelfth in the league in mid-January to finish sixth at the end of the season. In February 2012 Suárez won his first trophy with Liverpool, as they won the Football League Cup. On 4 December 2013 he scored his fifth Premier League hat-trick for the club, making him the most frequent scorer of hat-tricks in Premier League history, one every 17.4 games. Suárez represented Uruguay in the 2007 U-20 World Cup. In the 2010 World Cup he played an important role in Uruguay's fourth place finish and scored three goals, including when he infamously blocked an extra time goalbound header with his hands during the quarter finals against Ghana. At the 2011 Copa América Suárez scored four goals for Uruguay as they won a record fifteenth Copa América and was named Player of the Tournament. On 23 June 2013, Suarez became Uruguay's all-time record goalscorer with 35 goals. In December 2013, Suárez was ranked by The Guardian as the ninth-best footballer in the world.

Brief history of Notts County F.C.

Notts County Football Club (often known as Notts or County or by their nickname The Magpies) is a professional football club based in Nottingham, England. Formed on 28 November 1862, Notts County are the oldest football team in the world to currently play at a professional level. 

Between 1888–89 and 2012–13 they played a total of 4,710 Football League matches – more than any other English team. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier in the English football league system. County play their home games at Meadow Lane in black and white striped shirts.

The club has had several spells in the top division of English football, most recently in 1991–92, when County played in the old First Division. Notable former managers of Notts County include Jimmy Sirrel, Howard Wilkinson, Neil Warnock, Howard Kendall and Sam Allardyce. The club has had several owners. In the 21st century, a series of financial problems has seen the club owned by a Supporters' trust, who sold the club to Munto Finance – a subsidiary of Qadbak Investments Further monetary difficulties saw the club sold, for a nominal fee, to Peter Trembling, who then sold the club to Ray Trew for £1 after the club had been served with two winding up petitions from HM Revenue and Customs due to demands for a late PAYE payment of around £500,000

Notts County's first known colours were amber and black hooped shirts, dating from the 1870s. This was followed by short spells playing in amber, then chocolate and blue halves. In 1890 the club adopted black and white striped shirts, and have played in these colours for most of the rest of their history.

Notts County view their main rivals as neighbours Nottingham Forest. However, during recent stints in the lower levels of the Football League, rivalry has increased with Nottinghamshire neighbours Mansfield Town. Other clubs sharing local rivalries with Notts County are Derby County, Leicester City, Lincoln City and Chesterfield.

Brief history of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista

In 1910 the football in Brazil was an elitist sport. The top clubs were formed by people who were part of the upper classes. Among them were Club Athletico Paulistano, São Paulo Athletic Club, & Associação Atlética das Palmeiras. Lower-class society excluded from larger clubs founded their own minnow clubs and only played "floodplain" football.

Bucking the trend, a group of five workers of the São Paulo Railway, more precisely Joaquim Ambrose and Anthony Pereira (wall painters), Rafael Perrone (shoemaker), Anselmo Correia (driver) and Carlos Silva (general laborer), residents of the neighborhood of Bom Retiro. It was August 31, 1910 when these workers were watching a match featuring an London-based club touring Brazil, Corinthians FC. After the match, while the group returned home, The men spoke of partnerships, business idea's, & general dreams of grandeur. In the mind of each one surfaced a great idea: the foundation of a club, after several exchanges in a lively argument, a common ground led those athletes the same dream. The arguments led to the conclusion that they would meet the next day to make a dream into reality.

September 1, 1910. In anticipation of heavy rains, the group agreed to meet after sundown in public sight. That night at 8:30pm, on Rua José Paulino ("Rua dos Imigrantes" (Immigrants Street)), underneath the glow of an oil lamp the five workers reunited alongside their guest and neighbors from Bom Retiro. That night the club was founded, alongside its board of directors, who elected Miguel Battaglia as the first Club President.

Corinthians played their first match on September 10, 1910, away against União da Lapa, a respected amateur club in São Paulo; and despite being defeated by 1–0, this match would mark the beginning of a successful era as an amateur club.

On September 14, Luis Fabi scored Corinthians' first goal against Estrela Polar, another amateur club in the city, and Corinthians won their first game 2–0.

With good results and an increasing number of supporters, Corinthians joined the Liga Paulista, after winning two qualifying games, and played in the São Paulo State Championship for the first time, in 1913. Just one year after joining the league, Corinthians was crowned champion for the first time (in 1914), and were again two years later. There were many fly-by-night teams popping up in São Paulo at the time, and during the first practice held by Corinthians a banner was placed by the side of the field stating "This One Will Last".

The year of 1922, the Centennial of Brazilian Independence, marks the start of Corinthians hegemony in the São Paulo State Championship. As football was almost exclusively played at Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo by that time, the two state champions were considered to be the two top clubs in Brazil. After defeating the Rio de Janeiro State Championship champion of that year, América, Corinthians joined the company of the great teams in Brazil.

The same year also marked the first of three State Championships in a row, something that happened again in 1928–1930 and 1937–1939.

Corinthians seemed destined to win State Championships in threes; after six years without being a champions, they came won three more from 1937 the 1939. The 1940s were a more difficult time; and the club would win a championship in 1941 and would only win their next in 1951.

At the beginning of the 1950s Corinthians made history in the São Paulo Championship. In 1951, the team composed of Carbone, Cláudio, Luisinho, Baltasar and Mário scored 103 goals in thirty matches of the São Paulo Championship, registering an average of 3.43 per game. Carbone was the top goalscorer of the competition with 30 goals. The club would also win the São Paulo Championships of 1952 and 1954. In this same decade, Corinthians were champions three times of the Rio-São Paulo Championship (1950, 1953 and 1954), the tournament that was becoming most important in the country with the increased participation of the greatest clubs from the two most important footballing states in the country.

In 1953, in a championship in Venezuela, Corinthians won the Small Cup of the World, a championship that many consider as a precursor of the Worldwide Championship of Clubs. On the occasion, Corinthians, substituting for Vasco da Gama, went to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital and recorded six consecutive victories against Roma (1–0 and 3–1), Barcelona (3–2 and 1–0) and Selection of Caracas (2–1 and 2–0). The club would also win the Cup of the Centenary of São Paulo, in the same year (1954).

After the triumphs in the São Paulo Championship and the Rio-São Paulo of 1954, Corinthians had a lengthy title drought. The breakthrough finally came when they won the São Paulo state championship in 1977, breaking a string of 23 years without a major title.

Under the leadership of Sócrates, Wladimir and Casagrande, Corinthians were the first Brazilian club in which players decided about concentração, a common Brazilian practice where the football players were locked up in a hotel days before a game, and discussed politics. (In the early 1980s, military dictatorship, after two decades, ended in Brazil). In 1982, before the election of government of São Paulo State, the team wore a kit with the words: DIA 15 VOTE (Vote on 15th), trying to motivate the biggest number of fans to vote.

In 1990, Corinthians won their first Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, beating their rivals, São Paulo in the final at the opponents' own stadium, Estádio do Morumbi. In the following year, Corinthians beat Flamengo and won the Supercopa do Brasil. In the 1995, the club won the Copa do Brasil for the first time, beating Grêmio in the final at the Estádio Olímpico Monumental in Porto Alegre. In the same decade, the club won the state championship in 1995, 1997 and 1999, and won the national championship again in 1998 and in 1999.

In 2000, Corinthians won the first edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, beating Vasco in the final played at the Estádio do Maracanã. To reach the final, Corinthians finished ahead of Real Madrid of Spain, Al-Nasr of Saudi Arabia and Raja Casablanca of Morocco. In the same decade, the club won the state championship in 2001 and in 2003 and the Copa do Brasil in 2002, beating Brasiliense in the final.

Between 1990 and 2005, the club also won the Ramón de Carranza Trophy in 1996, the Rio-São Paulo Tournament in 2002, the São Paulo Youth Cup in 1995, 1999, 2004, and 2005, and the Dallas Cup in 1999 and 2000.

The club's situation in early 2004 was among the most difficult in their history. Bad administration, lack of money and terrible campaigns both in the 2003 Brazilian Championship and in the 2004 São Paulo State Championship caused their millions of supporters to worry. Fortunately, some young players and a new manager Tite helped the team to improve from their terrible start. At the end of the championship, Corinthians finished in 5th place and gained entry to the Copa Sudamericana (a minor continental championship).

This situation was one of the factors which enabled Corinthians' president, Alberto Dualib, to convince the club's advisors to sign a controversial deal with an international fund of investors called Media Sports Investment. The deal granted the company a large degree of control over the club for 10 years in exchange for large financial investments in return. This has brought many quality players to the team, such as Carlos Tevez, Roger, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Alberto.

Despite the MSI investments, Corinthians experienced a slow start in the 2005 state championship, but managed to improve as it progressed, eventually managing to finish second. Their start to the Brazilian championship during 2005 was difficult, too, but after Daniel Passarella's dismissal (due to an unexpected 5–1 loss to Corinthians' rivals, São Paulo), the club finished the championship round well, and were eventually crowned Brazilian Champions for the fourth time, after a controversial annulment of eleven games due to a betting scandal.

The relationship between Corinthians' managers and the MSI president, Kia Joorabchian was not good, and after being eliminated in the Copa Libertadores, the club experienced a crisis which was responsible for the bad performances for the rest of 2006. Eventually, the partnership came to an end.

On December 2, 2007, following a 1–1 draw away to Grêmio, Corinthians were relegated to the second division.

Corinthians, who won promotion to the top division of Brazilian football for 2009 by winning the Serie B tournament, signed with three-time FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldo. In 2009, lead by Ronaldo, Corinthians won their 26th Campeonato Paulista and their third Copa do Brasil. Confirming the club's good moment, Corinthians finished the Campeonato Brasileiro 2010 in 3rd place, granting their place on the subsequent Copa Libertadores. After being eliminated from the South American tournament by the relatively less traditional Deportes Tolima, though, Corinthians saw Ronaldo retire from football. To replace him, the club signed with other 2006 national squad veteran Adriano.

 In 2011, Corinthians won their fifth national title. On July 4, after reaching the final of the 2012 Copa Libertadores undefeated, Corinthians won its first title after a two-match final against 6-time champions Boca Juniors by drawing 1-1 in Argentina and accomplishing an inaugural victory at the Estádio do Pacaembu in São Paulo winning 2-0, becoming the ninth Brazilian side to win the Copa Libertadores. After this historical title, Corinthians is considered the most valuable club in Brazil. The club won the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup for the second time after defeating English club Chelsea 1–0 on December 16, 2012

Brief history of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo

Flamengo was founded on November 17, 1895 (although the club celebrates its founding every year on November 15, which is also a Brazilian national holiday) as a rowing club by José Agostinho Pereira da Cunha, Mário Spindola, Nestor de Barros, Augusto Lopes, José Félix da Cunha Meneses and Felisberto Laport.

The group used to gather at Café Lamas, in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, and decided to form a rowing team. Rowing was the elite sport in Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century. The young men hoped that forming a rowing club, would make them popular, with the young ladies of the city's high society.

They could only afford a used boat named "Pherusa", which had to be completely rebuilt before it could be used in competition. The team debuted on October 6, 1895 when they sailed off the Caju Point, from the Maria Angu beach, heading off to Flamengo beach. However, strong winds turned over the boat and the rowers nearly drowned. They were rescued by a fishing boat named Leal ("Loyal"). Afterwards, as the Pherusa was undergoing repairs, the boat was stolen and never again found. The group then had to save up money to buy a new boat, the "Etoile", renamed "Scyra".

On the night of November 17, the group, gathered at Nestor de Barros's manor on Flamengo beach, founded the Flamengo Rowing Group ("Grupo de Regatas do Flamengo", in Portuguese) and elected its first board and president (Domingos Marques de Azevedo). The name was changed a few weeks later to "Clube de Regatas do Flamengo" ("Flamengo Rowing Club"). The founders also decided that the anniversary of the club foundation should be celebrated on November 15, so as to coincide with the Day of the Republic, a national holiday.

Flamengo only embraced football when a group of dissatisfied players from Fluminense Football Club broke away from the club following a dispute with the board. The players (Alberto Borghert, Othon de Figueiredo Baena, Píndaro de Carvalho Rodrigues, Emmanuel Augusto Nery, Ernesto Amarante, Armando de Almeida, Orlando Sampaio Matos, Gustavo Adolpho de Carvalho, Lawrence Andrews and Arnaldo Machado Guimarães) decided to join Flamengo because Borgeth, who was the team's captain, was also a rower for Flamengo. Admittance of the new members was approved on November 8, 1911. A motion against the club taking part in football tournaments was defeated, and the members assembly officially created the football team on December 24, 1911.

The new team used to train on Russel beach, and gradually gained the support of the locals, who closely watched their practice games. The first official match was played on May 3, 1912 and is, to this day, the most spectacular victory of the club, as the team defeated Mangueira 16 to 2. The first intracity rivalry, the Flamengo vs. Fluminense aka Fla-Flu was Fla-Flu (which would eventually become one of the most famous football derbies in the world) was also played in that year, on July 7, and was won by Fluminense, by 3–2.

Anti-football

"Anti-football" is a lethargic passing style of football that relies only on passing and an extremely defensive, aggressive physical, robust style of play of football where one team deploys their whole team, except the striker, behind the ball. In doing so, they try their best to stop the opposition from scoring, rather than trying to win the game themselves. It is also used to criticize the playing style of teams who have no intention to play properly and prevent the game from moving on with actions such as (but not limited to): shooting the ball forward without trying to reach any players, intentionally diving and stopping the play during several minutes or shooting the ball away when a free-kick is awarded, to win time (usually penalized with a yellow card if too flagrant).

The phrase has been in use in English since at least 2001, where Gary Armstrong and Richard Giulianotti used the phrase in their book Fear and Loathing in World Football to describe the tactics of Argentine team Estudiantes de La Plata in the 1968 Copa Intercontinental, citing usage of the phrase in a 1968 editorial in the Argentine sports magazine El Gráfico.

The phrase was used by Johan Cruyff in 2002 to criticise the tactics that helped Brazil to win the World Cup, stating: "Brazil deserved their win but they aren't a team; they play anti-football and only took advantage of the mistakes of their opponents."

In November 2004, Frank Rijkaard described Celtic's style of play as anti-football after FC Barcelona's Champions League match with the Glasgow side.

In November 2006, Arsenal's Cesc Fàbregas characterized style of play in the English Premier League as anti-football, in the week following a 1-0 defeat to West Ham United, stating: "Teams just defend, defend, and defend; they try to waste time. I call it 'anti-football,' but we have to accept this happens and break teams down."

In their run to the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, Rangers manager Walter Smith deployed an ultra-defensive method which was dubbed Watenaccio. Smith used a 4-1-4-1 variation which used centre-backs and centre-midfielders in wide positions, and resulted in Rangers conceding 2 goals on their way to the final. The tactics brought criticism from opposition players such as Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who described the tactics as "anti-football", Fiorentina manager Cesare Prandelli said that Rangers had "renounced to play" by using the tactics, and Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu described the football as "ugly".

In 2010, Johan Cruyff again used the phrase 'anti-football' but on this occasion applying it to the style of play used by his own country's national team, the Netherlands, in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final against Spain. The day after the final Cruyff attacked the Dutch team for renouncing the Netherlands' long standing commitment to playing attacking and entertaining football: "They [the Netherlands] didn't want the ball. And regrettably, sadly, they played very dirty. So much so that they should have been down to nine immediately, then they made two [such] ugly and hard tackles that even I felt the damage. This ugly, vulgar, hard, hermetic, hardly eye-catching, hardly football style, yes it served the Dutch to unsettle Spain. If with this they got satisfaction, fine, but they ended up losing. They were playing anti-football." Other commentators had already described the Dutch style of play during the tournament and particularly the final as anti-football prior to Cruyff's comments.

After being defeated 2-0, Vietnam coach Henrique Calisto used the phrase 'anti-football' referring to the tactic used against his team by surprise winner Philippines at the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup group stage in Vietnam.

What is Total Football

Total Football is the label given to an influential tactical theory of football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was pioneered by Dutch football club Ajax from 1969 to 1973, and further used by the Netherlands National Football Team in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It was invented by Rinus Michels, who was the coach of both Ajax and the Netherlands national team at the time.

In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure. In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a nominal role; anyone can successively play an attacker, a midfielder and a defender. The only player fixed in a nominal position is the goalkeeper. 

Total Football's tactical success depends largely on the adaptability of each footballer within the team, in particular the ability to quickly switch positions depending on the on-field situation. The theory requires players to be comfortable in multiple positions; hence, it places high technical and physical demands on them.

During this era Ajax played some of their finest football ever, achieving home wins (46–0–0) for two full seasons (1971–72 and 1972–73), just one defeat in the whole of the 1971–72 season, and celebrating five titles in 1972 (the Netherlands national league, KNVB Cup, European Cup, European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup).

The foundations for Total Football were laid by Jack Reynolds, who was the manager of Ajax from 1915–1925, 1928–1940, and 1945–1947. This system was further developed by the Hungarian national football team of the 1950s, the Mighty Magyars, under the experienced coach James "Jimmy" Hogan

Rinus Michels, who played under Reynolds, later went on to become manager of Ajax himself and refined the concept into what is known today as "Total Football" (Totaalvoetbal in Dutch), using it in his training for the Ajax squad and the Netherlands national team in the 1970s. It was further refined by Stefan Kovacs after Michels left for Barcelona. Dutch forward Johan Cruyff was the system's most famous exponent.

Although Cruyff was fielded as centre forward, he wandered all over the pitch, popping up wherever he could do most damage to the opposing team. This resulted in a need for a dynamic system like Total Football. Cruyff's teammates adapted themselves flexibly around his movements, regularly switching positions so that the tactical roles in the team were always filled.

Space and the creation of it were central to the concept of Total Football. Ajax defender Barry Hulshoff explained how the team that won the European Cup in 1971, 1972, and 1973 worked it to their advantage: "We discussed space the whole time. Johan Cruyff always talked about where people should run and where they should stand, and when they should not move."

The constant switching of positions that became known as Total Football only came about because of this spatial awareness. "It was about making space, coming into space, and organizing space-like architecture on the football pitch," said Hulshoff. The system developed organically and collaboratively: it was not down to coach Rinus Michels, his successor Stefan Kovacs or Cruyff alone. Cruyff summed up his (Total Football) philosophy: "Simple football is the most beautiful. But playing simple football is the hardest thing."

The 1972 European Cup final proved to be Total Football's finest hour. After Ajax's 2–0 victory over Internazionale, newspapers around Europe reported the "death of Catenaccio." The Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad declared: "The Inter system undermined. Defensive football is destroyed."

Michels was appointed for the 1974 FIFA World Cup campaign by the KNVB. Most of the 1974 team were made up of players from Ajax and Feyenoord. However, Rob Rensenbrink was an outsider, having played for clubs in neighboring Belgium, and was unfamiliar with Total Football, although he was selected and adapted well. During the tournament, the Netherlands coasted through their first and second round matches, defeating Argentina (4–0), East Germany (2–0) and Brazil (2–0) to set up a meeting with hosts West Germany.

In the 1974 final, Cruyff kicked off and the ball was passed around Oranje thirteen times before returning to Cruyff, who then went on a rush that eluded Berti Vogts and ended when he was fouled by Uli Hoeneß. The referee awarded the penalty and teammate Johan Neeskens scored from the spot kick to give the Netherlands a 1–0 lead with 80 seconds of play elapsed, and the Germans not even touching the ball. Cruyff's playmaking influence was stifled in the second half of the match by the effective marking of Berti Vogts, while Franz Beckenbauer, Uli Hoeneß, and Wolfgang Overath dominated midfield, enabling West Germany to win 2–1.

The ill-fated Austrian "Wunderteam" of the 1930s is also credited in some circles as being the first national team to play Total Football. It is no coincidence that Ernst Happel, a talented Austrian player in the 1940s and 1950s, was coach in the Netherlands in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He introduced a tougher style of play at ADO Den Haag and Feyenoord. Happel managed the Netherlands national team in the 1978 World Cup, where they again finished as runners-up. Hungary also had a big role in laying down the tactical fundaments of Total Football in the 1950s, dominating international football with the remarkable Golden Team which included legends like captain Ferenc Puskás.

The term Total Football is often misused to describe any attacking football. In its purest form, Total Football is proactive, not counter-attacking, based on positional interchange and hard pressing. FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team play a style of football known as "tiki-taka" that has its roots in Total Football. What later would become known as tiki-taka developed and evolved from the football style propagated by Johan Cruyff during his tenure as manager of Barcelona from 1988 to 1995, This developed and upgraded system has more recently been employed by the Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012-winning Spanish teams of Luis Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque, as well as by FC Barcelona under then manager Pep Guardiola. Tiki-taka differs from Total Football in that it puts greater emphasis on ball circulation and passing rather than on positional interchange of players. Clubs such as AFC Ajax and Swansea City and now Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool play a style of football that is similar to Tiki-taka, but utilises more aerial balls and some recognisable positional interchange.

Brief history of Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club /ˈlɪvərpuːl/ is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool. Liverpool F.C. is one of the most successful clubs in England and has won more European trophies than any other English team with five European Cups, three UEFA Cups and three UEFA Super Cups. The club has also won eighteen League titles, seven FA Cups and a record eight League Cups.

Liverpool was founded in 1892 and joined the Football League the following year. The club has played at Anfield since its formation. The most successful period in Liverpool's history was the 1970s and '80s when Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley led the club to eleven league titles and seven European trophies.

The club's supporters have been involved in two major tragedies. The first was the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985 in which charging Liverpool fans caused a wall to collapse, killing 39 Juventus supporters and resulting in English clubs being banned from European competitions for five years. In the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives in a crush against perimeter fencing.

Liverpool has long-standing rivalries with neighbours Everton and with Manchester United. The team changed from red shirts and white shorts to an all-red home strip in 1964. The club's anthem is "You'll Never Walk Alone".

Because of its successful history, Liverpool is often featured when football is depicted in British culture and has appeared in a number of media firsts. The club appeared in the first edition of the BBC's Match of the Day, which screened highlights of its match against Arsenal at Anfield on 22 August 1964. The first football match to be televised in colour was between Liverpool and West Ham United, broadcast live in March 1967. Liverpool fans featured in the Pink Floyd song "Fearless", in which they sang excerpts from "You'll Never Walk Alone". To mark the club's appearance in the 1988 FA Cup Final, Liverpool released a song known as the "Anfield Rap", featuring John Barnes and other members of the squad.

A documentary drama on the Hillsborough disaster, written by Jimmy McGovern, was screened in 1996. It features Christopher Eccleston as Trevor Hicks, whose story is the focus of the script. Hicks, who lost two teenage daughters in the disaster, went on to campaign for safer stadiums and helped to form the Hillsborough Families Support Group. Liverpool features in the film The 51st State (also known as Formula 51), in which ex-hitman Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle) is a keen supporter of the team and the last scene takes place at a match between Liverpool and Manchester United. The club was featured in a children's television show called Scully; the plot revolved around a young boy, Francis Scully, who tried to gain a trial match with Liverpool. The show featured prominent Liverpool players of the time such as Kenny Dalglish. Liverpool made world headlines in Australia playing Melbourne Victory in a highly publicised pre-season friendly match, in front of over 95,400 spectators from all over south east Asia.

Brief history of Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire that currently plays in theFootball League Championship. Forest have been based at the City Ground since 1898. The club is often referred to simply as Forest.

Founded in 1865, Forest were founder members of the Football Alliance in 1889 and joined the Football League in 1892. Forest won the FA Cup in 1898 and 1959, but their most successful period came under the management of Brian Clough, between 1975 and 1993, during which time they won their only league title, two consecutive European Cups, four League Cups and two Full Members Cups. Since then the club have fallen on harder times and have been outside the top-flight since 1999.

Nottingham Forest have worn red since the club’s foundation in 1865. At the meeting in the Clinton Arms which established Nottingham Forest as a football club, the committee also passed a resolution that the team colours should be ‘Garibaldi red’. This decision was made in honour of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian patriot who was the leader of theredshirts party. At this time, clubs identified themselves more by their headgear than their shirts and a dozen red caps with tassels were duly purchased, making Forest the first club to ‘officially’ wear red, a colour that has since been adopted by a significant number of others. Forest is the reason behind Arsenal's choice of red, having donated a full set of red kits following Arsenal's foundation in 1886.

The current club badge was introduced in 1974. The logo has been reported as being the brainchild of manager Brian Clough, however he did not arrive at the club until the year after.


Whilst Notts County is the closest professional football club geographically, Forest have remained at least one division higher since the 1994–95 season and the club's fiercest rivalry is with Derby County, located 14 miles away. The two clubs contest the East Midlands derby, a fixture which has taken on even greater significance since the inception of the Brian Clough Trophy in 2007. Leicester City are Forest's other East Midlands rival due to the close proximity of the two cities. During the pre-Clough era, Leicester were largely considered Forest's main rivals. This is still the case for Forest fans of Melton Mowbray, Loughborough, Rutland and yesteryear. A Football League Cup tie in September 2007 took on an extra dimension after Leicester defender Clive Clarke collapsed due to heart failure. After the match was abandoned, Leicester demonstrated sportsmanship in the replay and allowed Forest keeper Paul Smith to score at the beginning of the match. This was in acknowledgement that Forest were leading 1–0 when the original tie was abandoned. The act was met with applause from both sets of fans and praised by the press.

Forest's other regional rival is Sheffield United, based in the neighbouring county of South Yorkshire, a rivalry which has roots in the UK miners' strike 1984-85 when the miners of South Yorkshire walked out on long strikes but the Notts Miners, who insisted on holding a ballot, continued to work. The exciting 2003 Football League Championship Play-offsemi final between the two clubs, in which Sheffield United finished as 5–4 aggregate winners, also fuelled the rivalry.

Forest's fanbase includes a host of celebrity of supporters, including England international cricketer Stuart Broad, boxer Carl Froch, golfers Lee Westwood and Greg Owen, politician Kenneth Clarke, Manic Street Preachers singer James Dean Bradfield, actor Jason Statham, Brazilian football manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, actorJoe Dempsie, Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice, fashion designer Paul Smith, artist David Shrigley, comedian Matt Forde and actress Su Pollard.

Know Your Player - Pelé

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, name given as Edison on birth certificate, born 21 October 1940 – however, Pelé claims that he was born on 23 October), is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is regarded by many experts, football critics, former players, current players and football fans in general as the best player of all time. In 1999, he was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics. The same year, influential France Footballmagazine consulted their former Ballon D'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. Pelé came in first place. In 1999, Pelé was elected "Athlete of the Century" by the IOC, and was named in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people of the 20th century. In 2013 he received the FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur in recognition of his career and achievements.

According to the IFFHS, Pelé is the most successful league goal scorer in the world, with 541 league goals.[ In total Pelé scored 1281 goals in 1363 games, for which he was honoured by the Guinness World Records for the most career goals scored in football.[18] During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best paid athlete in the world.[19] In his native Brazil, he is hailed as a national hero, for his accomplishments in football, and for his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor. In 1961, President Jânio Quadros had Pelé declared a national treasure.]During his career, he became known as "The Black Pearl" (Pérola Negra), "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei).

Pelé began playing for Santos at 15 and the Brazil national football team at 16. He won three FIFA World Cups; 1958,1962 and 1970, the only player ever to do so, and is the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil. He is also the record goalscorer for Santos, and led them to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores. Pelé’s electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals made him a star around the world, and his club team Santos toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity.

Since retiring in 1977, Pelé has been a worldwide ambassador for football and has undertaken various acting roles andcommercial ventures. In 2010, he was named the Honorary President of the New York Cosmos.

In February 2012, Legends 10 began handling the Pelé brand and brought all marketing and management efforts under one roof, including all intellectual property rights, global licensing, branding, endorsements, and public appearances.

The most notable area of Pelé's life since football is his ambassadorial work. In 1992, Pelé was appointed a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment.

He was awarded Brazil's Gold Medal for outstanding services to the sport in 1995; Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed him to the position of Extraordinary Minister for Sport, and he was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. During this time he proposed legislation to reduce corruption in Brazilian football, which became known as the "Pelé law." Pelé left his position in 2001 after he was accused of involvement in a corruption scandal, although nothing was proven, and it was denied by UNICEF. In 1997, Pelé received an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire from QueenElizabeth II, at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace.

Pelé scouted for Premier League club Fulham in 2002. He was chosen to do the draw for the qualification groups for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.

Pelé has published several autobiographies, starred in documentary and semi-documentary films, and composed musical pieces, including the entire soundtrack for the film Pelé in 1977. He appeared, alongside other footballers of the 1960s and 1970s, with Michael Caine, andSylvester Stallone, in the 1981 film Escape to Victory, about an attempted escape from a World War II German POW camp.

In 2005, Pelé received a lifetime achievement award from the BBC and, in June 2006, helped inaugurate the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, alongside supermodel Claudia Schiffer. Pelé also produced an international ad campaign for drug company Pfizer to promote Viagra and raise world awareness of erectile dysfunction.

Pelé was guest of honour at the world's oldest football club, Sheffield's 150th anniversary match vInter Milan in November 2007. Inter won 5–2 in front of an appreciative crowd of nearly 19,000 atBramall Lane. As part of his visit, Pelé opened an exhibition which included the first public showing in 40 years of the original hand-written rules of football.

In 2009, he cooperated with Ubisoft on arcade football game Academy of Champions: Soccerfor the Wii and appeared in the game as a coach to its players.[124] On FIFA 14 released in 2013, Pelé features for the Ultimate team known as Legends for the Xbox One, where game-players can acquire classic players from different eras.

On 1 August 2010, Pelé was introduced as the Honorary President of a revived New York Cosmos, aiming to field a team in Major League Soccer. On 3 August 2011, it was reported that Santos were considering bringing him out of retirement for a cameo role in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, although these rumours later turned out to be false.

In 2012, Pelé was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for "significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements", his first such degree from a European university.

On 12 August, Pelé appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, following the handover section to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro.

Brief history of Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, who compete in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded in 1932, the club is the most recently formed club in the division.

They have played at the DW Stadium since 1999, sharing the stadium with rugby league club Wigan Warriors. They previously played at Springfield Park for 67 years. The club's nickname is Latics, derived from a contraction of the word "Athletic". They are the current holders of the FA Cup. They have also won the Second Division, Third Division and are two-times winners of the Football League Trophy, along with numerous regional football competitions from their time as a non-league club. The club embarked on its first European campaign during the 2013–14 season in the UEFA Europa League group stages.

One of Wigan Athletic's longest and recently forgotten rivalries was with Lancashire based club Chorley F.C., although the two clubs have not played a league game since 1971 when they were in the Northern Premier League. Since Wigan Athletic's admission to the Football League in 1978, the club has built up several rivalries, mainly with Bolton Wanderers, the club's main derby match. They also have a lesser rivalry with Preston North End. There is also a long standing issue with Wigan Rugby League which predates the club. This worsened when Latics entered the Football League in 1978 and was exacerbated in the mid-1980s when one of the then directors of the rugby club, Maurice Lindsay, made derogatory comments about the football club during a television interview. 

United's silent auction: Mata deal all done in writing so Chelsea can't move for Rooney

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Juan Mata transfer was that at no point did Manchester United and Chelsea engage in talks about the Spaniard.

There was no dialogue between club officials — not even when Chelsea entertained United at Stamford Bridge on January 19. Not once was Mata mentioned as officials dined in the directors’ box.

Instead United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward instructed the club lawyer to send a written transfer offer to Chelsea chairman and lawyer Bruce Buck last Thursday. Chelsea then replied, again in writing, with one or two changes and an agreement was reached.

Why? Because Woodward wanted to keep it strictly to the business of signing the 25-year-old, avoiding an exchange Chelsea would have wanted about Wayne Rooney.

United want to keep Rooney. Talks about a new contract have started and there is a real determination to secure the England striker’s services for the remainder of his career. Senior officials insist they will never sell to Chelsea and they hope Rooney’s excitement at the prospect of playing with Mata will make negotiations with his agent, Paul Stretford, that much easier.

It was the Rooney situation that prevented United from pursuing Mata last summer, when the club first became aware his days at Stamford Bridge might be numbered.

United knew Mata felt he had no future under Jose Mourinho and wanted to leave but at that stage Woodward was too busy rejecting a series of offers for Rooney from Chelsea.

Any approach for Mata would have been met with a demand to include Rooney in an exchange — a deal Woodward and new manager David Moyes were not prepared to entertain.

So United had to be patient, and leave it to Mata’s father and his English lawyer, Colin Pomford, to deal with Chelsea. By September 3, Chelsea had made a promise to Mata. If he remained professional but also on the sidelines under Mourinho, they would let him leave in January.

Still, however, United stayed quiet. They knew Mata wanted to come. They knew he had secured his promise. But not until Mata had something in writing did United want to act.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2546364/Uniteds-silent-auction-Mata-deal-writing-Chelsea-Rooney.html#ixzz2rZxn7Xqw

The Goal of the Century - Hand of God

Six minutes into the second half of the quarterfinal match between Argentina and England during the 1986 World Cup, Argentina’s Maradona scored one of the sport’s most notorious goals.

Both Maradona and the English goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, attempted to play a lifted ball near the goal. Maradona got there first—well, his fist did at least—and the ball went into the goal. Referee Ali Bin Nasser did not see the handball, and allowed the goal.

Four minutes later, of course, Maradona would goal simply referred to as "The Goal of the Century."

History Of Juventus shirt

Juventus have played in black and white striped shirts, with white shorts, sometimes black shorts since 1903. Originally, they played in pink shirts with a black tie, but only because they had been sent the wrong shirts. The father of one of the players made the earliest shirts, but continual washing faded the colour so much that in 1903 the club sought to replace them.

Juventus asked one of their team members, Englishman John Savage, if he had any contacts in England who could supply new shirts in a color that would better withstand the elements. He had a friend who lived in Nottingham, who being a Notts County supporter, shipped out the black and white striped shirts to Turin. Juve have worn the shirts ever since, considering the colors to be aggressive and powerful.

Juventus Football Club's official emblem has undergone different and small modifications since the 1920s. The last modification of the Old Lady's badge took place before 2004–05 season. At the present time, the emblem of the team is a black-and-white oval shield of a type used by Italian ecclesiastics. It is divided in five vertical stripes: two white stripes and three black stripes, inside which are the following elements; in its upper section, the name of the society superimposed on a white convex section, over golden curvature (gold for honour). The white silhouette of a charging bull is in the lower section of the oval shield, superimposed on a black old French shield; the charging bull is a symbol of the Comune di Torino.
Juventus F.C. badge in 2004

There is also a black silhouette of a mural crown above the black spherical triangle's base. This is a reminiscence to Augusta Tourinorum, the old city of theRoman era which the present capital of Piedmont region is its cultural heiress.

In the past, the convex section of the emblem had a blue color (another symbol of Turin) and, furthermore, its shape was concave. The old French shield and the mural crown, also in the lower section of the emblem, had a considerably greater size with respect to the present. The two Golden Stars for Sport Excellence were located above the convex and concave section of Juventus' emblem. During the 1980s, the club emblem was the silhouette of a zebra, to both sides of the equide's head, the two golden stars and, above this badge, forming an arc, the club's name.

During its history, the club has acquired a number of nicknames, la Vecchia Signora1 (the Old Lady) being the best example. The "old" part of the nickname is a pun on Juventus which means "youth" in Latin. It was derived from the age of the Juventus star players towards the middle of the 1930s. The "lady" part of the nickname is how fans of the club affectionately referred to it before the 1930s. The club is also nicknamed la Fidanzata d'Italia (the Girlfriend of Italy), because over the years it has received a high level of support from Southern Italian immigrant workers (particularly from Naples and Palermo), who arrived in Turin to work for FIAT since the 1930s. Other nicknames include; i bianconeri (the black-and-whites), le zebre (the zebras) in reference to Juventus' colors.I gobbi (the hunchbacks) is the nickname that is used to define Juventus supporters, but is also used sometimes for team's players. The most widely accepted origin of gobbi dates to the fifties, when the bianconeri team was wearing a large jersey. When players ran on the field, the jersey, which had an opening on the chest with laces, generated a bulge on the back (a sort of parachute effect), giving the impression that the players have a hunchback

Fahad Khalfan worst football miss ever

Fahad Khalfan Al Bloushi (born 23 March 1992) is a Qatari footballer who is a striker for Al-Sailiya. He has also played for theQatar national team. He became renowned for one of the greatest blunders in competitive football on November 15, 2010. In a match against Uzbekistanin the 2010 Asian Games, Khalfan intercepted a pass to the opposing goalkeeper and then dribbled to a position where he was a yard from the open goal. Instead of tapping the ball into the empty net, he tried to shoot powerfully with the outside of his left foot which caused the ball to collide with the post and rebound 16 yards into the field. A teammate attempted to salvage the bad move by making a shot on goal, which soared several meters above the crossbar. His mistake caused his team to be eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the 2010 Asian Games.

Top 10 Players in the World 2013

Best Goal Celebration ever!! Stjarnan FC

Manchester United agree club record £37m fee for Chelsea star Juan Mata

Manchester United have agreed a club record £37million fee for Chelsea's Juan Mata to ease the pain of their Capital One Cup KO.


Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho signed off on the deal following talks with club executives and Mata is expected for a medical in Manchester on Thursday.

United chief executive Ed Woodward agreed to break the club's transfer record for Mata as they attempt to salvage their season.

Seven defeats in the Barclays Premier League have left United six points off the pace in the race for fourth place - and Champions League football next season - but Mata's addition will cause a huge stir.


The Spanish playmaker, 25, trained alone in the fitness centre at Cobham on Wednesday as his team-mates prepared for Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Stamford Bridge against Stoke City.

After the Sunderland defeat at Old Trafford, Moyes refused to talk about the Mata deal.

Mourinho had given his players two days off following their 3-1 victory over United in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday.

They returned to training on Wednesday to discover that Mata was ‘90 per cent sure’ that he would be leaving Chelsea, three years after he arrived in a £23.5m deal from Valencia.

He has not played for the club since he was substituted in the 53rd minute of their 3-0 victory at Southampton on New Year’s Day.

Mata was replaced by Oscar when the score was still 0-0 and he ignored Mourinho as he walked off the field at St Mary’s. Mata then kicked a plastic chair in the technical area in frustration and team-mates had to calm him down.

After the game Mourinho claimed the door was open for any player who wanted to leave and Mata was one of them.

He believes he will be given a fresh start at United and it’s a huge statement of intent by the champions after an indifferent first season under new manager David Moyes.

Mata, who was Chelsea’s player of the year for the past two seasons, will sign a lengthy contract at United when he has completed his medical.

United believe they have signed a world class player and he is expected to make his debut for the club against Cardiff on Tuesday.


Providing Mata passes his medical, he will be free to play his first game in front of 76,000 supporters at Old Trafford.

Chelsea may decide to spend the Mata money quickly, and were vying with Liverpool to sign Basle’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah on Wednesday night. Chelsea are also keen on Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa.


While Radamel Falcao at Monaco is still on the Stamford Bridge club’s list, he has suffered a serious knee injury that could rule him out for six months.

Mata is determined to push through the move and Mourinho is understood to have accepted that he wants to leave in search of first-team football.

The midfielder has concerns about his inclusion in Spain’s World Cup squad this summer if he is not playing regularly for his club side and Moyes will give him that opportunity as he starts building a team for the future.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2544274/Every-cloud-Despite-cup-KO-United-agree-club-record-37m-fee-Chelsea-star-Mata.html#ixzz2rBk9JDNk

Moyes dodges questions on Mata transfer

David Moyes refused to answer questions on Manchester United's rumoured approach for Juan Mata following their League Cup exit on Wednesday.

The Spain international, Chelsea's player of the year for the past two seasons, has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford after falling out of favour following the return of Jose Mourinho as manager.

Media reports on Wednesday suggested a fee in the region of £35 million had been agreed between the clubs, with the Spaniard's move to be finalised swiftly.

However, Moyes was in no mood to shed any light on the situation in the aftermath of United's dramatic League Cup semi-final defeat to Sunderland - sealed in a penalty shootout.

Mata has made just 11 Premier League starts for Chelsea this term, but now has the chance to relaunch his career with the reigning champions, who are desperate to improve on their current position of seventh.

United were widely criticised for a lack of activity in the previous transfer window, when Guillermo Varela and Marouane Fellaini represented the only new arrivals at the club.

Moyes, who succeeded Alex Ferguson at the end of the 2012-13 campaign, has also come under pressure due to his side's poor league form and will hope Mata proves the catalyst for a revival in the season's remaining months.

Mata joined Chelsea from Valencia in June 2011 and has scored 33 goals in 135 appearances for the London club.


Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/moyes-dodges-mata-questions#xIyw3pcAfVEbmpOi.99

Mozambique player Dario Khan scores amazing golazo

Mozambique national football team player Dario Khan scored a brilliant 40-yard free kick golazo against the Nigeria side in a recent match

Antwerp players use women's bums for target practice [VID]