Dismissed by most pundits before the game as mere cannon fodder for on-fire Barcelona, AC Milan on Wednesday produced the kind of team performance that recalled the famous victories of Chelsea lastseason and of Inter Milan in 2010 to defeat the Blaugrana 2-0 in the first-leg of its UEFA Champions League Round of 16 series. […]
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Celtic Plays Blame Game, Following Juve Loss
Neil Lennon acknowledged his team needs “a miracle” to reverse the 3-0 deficit Celtic will take to Turin for the return leg of its UEFA Champions League Round of 16series against Juventus in three weeks. While each of Juve’s three goals came down to defensive errors, Lennon was furious with Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco, […]
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Juve Wary of 'Underdog' Celtic
Celtic hosts Italian champion Juventus today at Parkhead as the UEFA Champions League returns with the Round of 16. Speaking to reporters ahead of the first-leg clash, Juve coach AntonioConte said he warned his team not to underestimate the Scottish champion, which defeated Barcelona, 2-1, at Parkhead en route to finishing second in Group G, […]
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Report: La Liga Transfer Spending Plummets
A report from ESADE that looks into transfer activity in Europe’s top soccer leagues has revealed that La Liga has seen total transfer investment drop by a whopping 62 percent during the2012-2013 season. Of the top five leagues, Spain saw the lowest investment, spending just $187 million in the summer and winter transfer markets this […]
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Berlusconi's Brother Uses Racist Slur to Describe Balotelli
Paolo Berlusconi, younger brother of AC Milan President and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, controversially described new arrival MarioBalotelli as “the family’s little n*****“ ahead of the Rossoneri’s 2-1 win against Udinese at the San Siro on Sunday. The comments were made during a political meetingin Monza near Milan and were caught on video […]
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AS Roma Fires Zeman
AS Roma fired coach Zdenek Zeman on Monday following a poor run since Serie A’s Christmas break that has seen the Giallorossi take just two points from a possible 15.Zeman’s second spell in charge of the Italian giant ended after Sunday’s 4-2 loss at home to Cagliari. Some Roma fans did not approve of the […]
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Balotelli Hits Brace in Milan Debut
Mario Balotelli scored twice on his return to the San Siro as AC Milan beat Udinese, 2-1, to move into a tie for fourth place in Serie A, alongside Inter, Balotelli’s formerclub, which lost 3-1 at relegation-threatened Siena. The former Manchester City striker was not supposed to start against Udinese, but did so anyway due […]
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Shenhua Disputes Drogba's Galatasaray Move
Didier Drogba’s move to Galatasaray has been thrown into doubt after Shanghai Shenhua released a statement insisting that the Ivory Coast international is still contracted tothe club. Galatasaray on Monday announced the signing of Drogba on an 18-month contract, but the Chinese Super League club indicated it could challenge the transfer. “The club is deeplyshocked,” […]
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Liverpool Completes Coutinho Signing
Liverpool on Tuesday announced the signing of Philippe Coutinho for $18.6 million from Inter Milan. The 20-year-old is Liverpool’s second signing of the January transferwindow after Daniel Sturridge arrived earlier in the month. “I’m feeling very happy, it’s a very important step in my career and I’m expecting to come here and play goodfootball to […]
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Report: Fight Paved the Way for Balotelli's Milan Transfer
According to the Guardian, the now infamous brawl that was caught on camera between Mario Balotelli and Roberto Mancini on Jan. 3 really was the finalstraw in their relationship. Ever since that incident, the paper reports, City had been privately shopping around the volatile 22-year-old around, while publicly denying that he was for sale so […]