Search: 'Columbia'

When their drug money dried up, one of Columbia’s most successful clubs experience their first ever relegation, writes Carl Worswick

América de Cali, Colombia’s best supported football club with 13 league titles and four appearances in the Copa Libertadores final, have hit the bottom. They were relegated in December following a play-off defeat to a team of minnows from the second division. The Red Devils are at their lowest ebb in their 84 years of existence.

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Nick Dorrington wonders whether the return of a legendary figure will help to lift Columbian football from the doldrums

It is hard to view Colombia’s inability to qualify for the last three World Cups as anything other than a failure on behalf of the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) considering the popularity of football in South America’s second most populous nation. In the appointment of former national team coach Francisco Maturana to oversee the development of the country’s football the FCF believes it has a man capable of making the necessary changes to ensure more regular participation in future tournaments.

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Thursday 1 Emre is accused of having racially abused Ali Bangura of Watford; the Newcastle player was previously charged with insulting Everton’s black players in December. Anton Ferdinand will face trial for alleged assault over an incident at an Essex nightclub last year. Alan Knill is dismissed by Rotherham, who are without a win in 14 games.

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England always struggle with penalty shootouts but, as Ben Lyttleton explains, the more professional approach of others is leaving them ever further behind

Paul Robinson began the World Cup accused of trying to make one of his clearances hit the giant box of video screens that hung over the centre-circle of the stadium in Frankfurt. He ended the competition staring far too often at the same screens, this time at the stadium in Gelsenkirchen, as each Portugal player walked 40 yards to take a penalty in the shootout that ultimately knocked out England.

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Dan Brennan wonders whether a Columbian who spiced up Tyneside but is still looking for will ever return to England, either to play football or open a nightclub

Tino Asprilla will long be remembered by Newcastle fans, not least for a dazzling hat-trick against Barcelona in their team’s first Champions League campaign, coun­ter­pointed by one of the most spectacular fouls ever seen in these parts – an elbow-head­butt combination against Keith Curle in a match with Manchester City. In two years on Tyneside, the gun-toting, porn­star-fancying, moped-riding, poodle-loving Col­ombian also spiced things up off the pitch. But in 1998, his off-the-wall antics finally proved too much for Kenny Dalglish and he was sent back to Parma for £6.5 mil­lion – £1m less than Kevin Keegan had paid for him.

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