Search: 'Zlatan Ibrahimovic'

Dermot Corrigan lifts the lid on the civil action launched against former Barcelona owner Joan Laporta over the money he lost while at the club

Forcing unduly spendthrift owners or executives to repay club money they’ve squandered sounds like a dream for fans of many teams. But that’s what might be about to happen at Barcelona. At a general assembly of club members on October 16, new Barça president Sandro Rosell outlined the immensity of the debt his predecessor Joan Laporta had left behind, and proposed Laporta be held responsible. Rosell abstained in the ensuing vote, but was unlikely to have been disappointed when the motion was passed. A civil action has been launched which could force Laporta to personally pay the club €48.7 million (£42.3m).

Read more…

Events on the pitch in Italy were overshadowed by a bribery scandal involving several top clubs. Matthew Barker looks back on a memorable season in Serie A

The long-term significance
The fallout from the Calciopoli bribery scandals has yet to settle, with a number of phone-tap recordings surfacing in recent months. Inter, at the centre of new (unproven) accusations, are under increasing pressure to relinquish the 2005-06 Scudetto, awarded to them after it was stripped from Juventus. The bianconeri’s title from the 2004-05 season stands in the record books as void. The original sentencing was announced on July 14, 2006, less than a week after the Azzurri lifted the World Cup in Berlin. Of the top-tier clubs involved, Juventus were sent down to Serie B with a nine-point (originally 30-point) deduction for the following season. Lazio and Fiorentina’s points deductions were increased on appeal, from seven to 11 and 12 to 15 respectively, though both original punishments had included demotion to the second division. Reggina were deducted 11 points (originally 15), while Milan were docked eight (44) and, following an appeal, allowed into the following season’s Champions League, which they then went on to win.

Read more…

Some major European countries have received help in the 2010 play-offs. Jonathan O'Brien looks at a controversial draw

Would you bother watching a World Cup that didn’t have Cristiano Ronaldo prancing around in it? What about one that didn’t feature the silky skills of Andrei Arshavin? Or Franck Ribéry? Or even – gasp – Zlatan Ibrahimovic?

Read more…

Barcelona turn up with barely a first-teamer in their ranks, Celtic show off a new away shirt, Spurs struggle in their latest kit abomination, while Al-Ahly make up the numbers. Taylor Parkes welcomes you to the Wembley Cup, summer's latest soporific pre-season tournament

The English summer: airless buses, flies in the wheelie-bin and pre-season tournaments we'll never, ever forget. It's that time of year again (this morning was so summery, a hailstorm set off all the car alarms down my street), so it's off to the Wembley Cup, a star-studded spectacular in the grand tradition of the Araldite Trophy, the Dr Pepper World Shield and the All-England Esso Bauble, or whatever the hell they were called.

Read more…

Greece did as badly at Euro 2008 as many had predicted they would four years earlier. But despite his champions' poor performance, the knives are not out for Otto Rehhagel, as Paul Pomonis explains

You can safely recognise a team in deep trouble, the moment their coach turns to the supernatural for assistance. “Boys, pray for us,” Otto Rehhagel asked the Greek press before the crucial match against Russia. Unfortunately, no amount of divine intervention could save the Greece team this summer. To the surprise of many, their defence of their 2004 European title ended in abject failure, one that brought back memories of the legendary fiasco at the USA 94 World Cup.

Read more…