World Cup

Alas, ’tis that time of year again when thoughts invariably turn to the ‘new’ and stock is taken of the twelve months that played out hence – and we forthright bods at Soccerlens are no different. As we yet again …

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There’s a particular line of thinking which suggests that ‘everybody likes a dust-up’ once in a while, no more so than this decuplet of scrappers, snarlers, biters, scratchers and degenerate ne’er-do-wells. Soccerlens presents: The top 10 fighting footballers (in no …

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Two years ago, Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher published ‘Carra…‘, an autobiography in which, amongst various jaunty tales of pre-meditated assault, the centre-back ‘questioned’ the work ethic of his former Anfield teammate – Senegalese forward El Hadji Diouf, who joined the …

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FIFA awarding the World Cup to Qatar in 2022 has certainly caught the imagination of the footballing public. For the first time ever the competition will make its way to the Middle East, where a vast untapped footballing community awaits …

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What did the pair serve up to despairing supporters on Saturday as they trailed Chelsea 2-0 at the break? Nothing less than the Match Attax World Championship – i.e. two teenagers sitting on chairs, turning over football cards. Every bit as exciting as it sounds. (Thanks to the Daily Mirror for this little nugget).

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FIFA’s erstwhile despot president Sepp Blatter has branded the English as ‘bad losers’ in the wake of the recent World Cup auction which saw Russia and Qatar purchase the rights to host the 2018 and 2022 tournaments respectively. Upon crashing …

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For the first time since 1989, one single club can boast the honour of employing all three players named on FIFA’s 2010 Ballon d’Or shortlist. 21 years ago, AC Milan achieved the feat when legendary triumvirate Franco Baresi, Frank Rijkaard …

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If Russia’s 2018 bid was seen as high risk in terms of delivering a FIFA World Cup of technical brilliance then the decision to stage the tournament in Qatar is staggering. This isn’t a jibe at the country but how …

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England 2018′s resolute failure to schmooze their way into FIFA’s good books earlier in the week have left relations between the two camps at an all-time low, with the English FA left to fume over a ‘complete breakdown in trust’ …

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Unless we’re watching an International friendly, the days of a football team donning the traditional 1 to 11 numbering system is long behind us. Since the Premier League switched to assigned squad numbering at the start of the 1993/94 season, …

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The fall-out from FIFA’s utterly predictable decision to chase the World Cup Gaz-ruble/Petro-dollar has begun in earnest this morning, with the English media’s reaction swathed in varying hues of frothing umbrage; be it with a flurry of archetypal thinly-veiled racism, …

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Welcome to Fergie Time, a roundup/newsletter type deal that delivers news, opinion and links directly to your screen. As the name suggests, there will be some exaggeration, nsfw moments, canceled press conferences (oh, who are we kidding) and late, late, …

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