European Super Football

Another day and another look at a football icon.  This time it's Edgar Davids. The Dutch midfielder won several trophies throughout an eventful career. Summary of his career After beginning his career with Ajax, winning several domestic and international titles, he subsequently played in Italy for Milan, and later enjoyed a successful spell with Juventus, before being loaned out to Barcelona in 2004. He went on to play for Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur before returning to Ajax. Having struggled with injuries for two years, Davids returned to competitive football during a brief spell with Crystal Palace before retiring at the age of 37. In 2012, he was appointed player-manager at the English League Two club Barnet. He resigned by mutual agreement as a manager in January 2014.  He was capped 74 times by the Netherlands. He also scored six goals for his country represented his country at major tournaments.  Davids is regarded as one of the greatest and most recognisable player

Jack Colback scored his first league goal since March 2019 as Forest salvaged a point in a dramatic finish at QPR The home side were poised for a win following Lyndon Dykes' header at the end of a first half. He could have made it a hat-trick after the break, but Brice Samba closed down the space to deny him one on one and Djed Spence produced a brilliant tackle as the striker prepared to shoot. Forest were eventually rewarded for their tenacity when QPR failed to clear with time running out and Colback's fierce left-foot effort found the net with the help of a deflection off Jimmy Dunne. QPR boss Mark Warburton told a local London radio station:  "Second half we had to maintain shape and stop them playing forward and I think we did that, I thought we negated their threat. "We got first contact to their set-pieces all night and in truth, against a very good Forest team, we looked comfortable." The Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper added to BBC Radio Not

Raúl González Blanco, known to most within football as Raúl, is considered one of the most important players in the history of Real Madrid. He is regarded as one of the greatest Spanish players of all time and also one of the best forwards ever. Key events in his career He started his career in the academy of the Atlético Madrid before later moving to Real Madrid's youth academy and played at its various levels. He signed professional terms in 1994. He spent 16 years of his career playing for Real Madrid and is the club's second all-time top goalscorer with 323 goals and has the most appearances in the history of the club, with 741. With Los Blancos, Raúl won six La Liga titles, three UEFA Champions League titles, scoring in two finals, four Supercopa de España titles, one UEFA Super Cup and two Intercontinental Cups.  Throughout his time in Madrid, he would have played with some of their greatest ever players. This includes the likes of Zidane, Roberto Carlos, David Beck

Now for a look at a recent match in the lower reaches of English football Avro beat bottom of the table Litherland REMYCA 2-1 thanks to a Jake Cottrell header and Michael Afuye goal. You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below.  This link also contains the original match report from Avro FC's website Litherland scored early on thanks to a nicely worked goal. They played a deadly ball through the Avro defence which saw their striker finish from a tight angle. Avro responded, piling pressure on the side who’ve only won twice this season, Joe Rathbone nearly equalised just a few minutes later when he played a one-two with Afuye but was tackled before he could get a shot off. More football news from around Europe can be found here Avro equalised when Kyle Harrop swung in one of his trademark crosses, Jake Cottrell rose above the Litherland defence and nodded home his second of the season. Avro continued to pile pressure on the Merseyside outfit, Potts trying an ove

Goals from Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi secured Liverpool's place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. This came at the expense of a resolute Preston North End side at Deepdale. You can watch Liverpool conquer the Championship side in the video below. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp named an entirely different Liverpool side to the one which thrashed Manchester United 5-0 on Sunday. Despite dominating possession for long periods of the match, it was Preston who fashioned the best opportunities in the first 45 minutes.  Klopp then brought on Conor Bradley and pushed Williams forward and the change had the desired impact on Liverpool and the performance. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's drive from the edge of the box. This was the closest the subdued they had gone before Minamino's opener. Liverpool were ultimately able to see out the tie in comfort when Origi flicked home from close range with a wonderful improvised finish after being set up by Williams as the Klopp's booked t

Ronald Koeman’s spell as manager of Barvcelona came to an abrupt end after he was sacked following a 1-0 defeat at Rayo Vallecano. This exit provides something of an unhappy conclusion for the former player. Koeman won them their first European Cup in 1992 and leaves the club in further turmoil on and off the field. FC Barcelona has relieved Ronald Koeman of his duties as first team coach — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 27, 2021 A statement on the Barcelona website reads:  “FC Barcelona has relieved Ronald Koeman of his duties as first-team coach,” an official club statement read after the 1-0 loss. The president of the club, Joan Laporta, informed him of the decision after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano.  "Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday at the Ciutat Esportiva. FC Barcelona wishes to thank him for his service to the club and wishes him all the best in his professional career.” The last match This defeat at Rayo Vallecano proved to be one too ma

West Ham United held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw in normal time before winning 5-3 on penalties to book a quarter-final spot in the Carabao Cup. After the match,West Ham coach Stuart Pearce singled out club captain Mark Noble. He is 34 and in his farewell season put in a tireless 90 minutes. Pearce said to the media: "He's been a wonderful captain of this club, and a great role model," said Pearce. "He inspires from within the dressing room. Credit to him, he's not had a lot of games this year but when he was asked to come in and lead the team tonight he was incredible." What are people saying about West Ham? One YouTube, one West Ham said: "The Manchester City dominance on this competition has been shattered, Congrats Hammers!" Another told us: "This is the best West Ham side in my lifetime and I'm 58. We play with a lot more composure than previous years and this team has the potential to be massive. I am so happy!" Even this Ch

Juventus fell to a shock Serie A defeat as Maxime Lopez's injury-time strike gave Sassuolo a memorable win. The home side have now dropped to eighth, behind Lazio on goal difference, in the table. More worryingly for Juventus fans, they are now 13 points behind leaders AC Milan. Even at this stage, that looks an amount that will be very difficult to overcome.  This is only the second time since the start of the 1996/1997 season that they have lost three of their opening 10 games. They actually lost four in 2015-16 - but still went on to win Serie A. FT | ⌛️ | Final whistle at Allianz Stadium. #JuveSassuolo #FinoAllaFine #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/MM6HDqTLEU — JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 27, 2021 What's going wrong for Juventus? Their big issue is a lack of goals. In all competitions, no Juventus player has more than three goals, Despite his issues last season, they are still missing the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo. This is a view supported by many Juventus fans. Sas

Mikel Arteta believes Eddie Nketiah has a future at the Emirates after helping his side see off Leeds United and reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. The Arsenal manager said: "I'm happy to have him, he is our player, I regard him really highly and from my side I want him to stay."  You can see how Nketiah and Arsenal progressed in the Carabao Cup by watching the video below. Leeds had initially looked the more threatening side until the first goal in an open and entertaining game against a much-changed Arsenal side. After that opening period, Arteta's outfit were comfortable after establishing their lead as the visitors became stretched looking for a way back into the game. Nketiah was one of many players that impressed. More reaction from an entertaining match One Arsenal fan was pleased with the contribution a goalscorer: "Eddie looks like hes been developing and not only in this game!" Another told us: "Any trophy would be a sign of improvement t

Let's take a look at another football icon. This time it's Walter Smith He achieved legendary status as manager of Rangers. He won 21 trophies in two spells making him the second most successful Rangers boss ever. Walter Smith as a player Smith was a defender that played more than 200 games for Dundee United. He quickly began his coaching career under Jim McLean when a pelvic injury forced him to retire early. Throughout his career, he also played for Dumbarton and had a loan spell at Dallas Tornado in the North American Soccer League. He was destined for a career in coaching and management. Becoming a legend at Ibrox When Souness left for Liverpool in April 1991, Smith was appointed interim manager.This was made permanent in May 1991, after the club clinched another league title. Six more league titles in succession followed under Smith's tenure, including a domestic treble in 1992–93. He also won the Scottish Cup and the League Cup three times each. Smith took Rangers

Wrexham picked up a comfortable win at Barnet and now sit in 11th position on 16 points An article for a local Wrexham based newspaper was very positive about their performance. They were buzzing especially about Wrexham's attacking display, When star striker Paul Mullin broke the deadlock in the 24th minute, the Reds took complete control and soon scored a second goal as Aaron Hayden nodded home Ben Tozer's long throw. Wrexham, with leading scorer Mullin running the show, were completely dominating and with more chances created before the break and early in the second half, they eventually made it 3-0 after 55 minutes when Shaun Brisley netted with a free header from Jordan Davies' corner. The Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson spoke with the club's Twitter account after the victory:"Three goals and a clean sheet away from home, we couldn't be happier than that." Aaron Hayden: Solid team performance today, "Thank you to all the 900 fans that made the jo

Let's have a look at all the best reaction from Old Trafford as Liverpool thrashed Manchester United. Before the game, nobody was anticipating what was going to happen over the 90 minutes or so. Reaction from those involved The Manchester United captain Harry Maguire spoke with the club's social media accounts after the game. Since he returned from injury, United have conceded eleven goals in three matches. They are clearly missing their summer signing from Real Madrid. Our captain spoke to #MUTV after #MUNLIV . #MUFC — Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 24, 2021 Speaking to Sky Sports, the Liverpool manage Jurgen Klopp added: "What can I say? Did I expect that? No. "The result is insane. It is special but we don't celebrate like crazy, we have respect for the opponents. We were lucky in some moments, United are not in their best moment." This was Liverpool's biggest win at Old Trafford since the 2008/2009 season. On that occasion, they 'only

Let's have a look at a time when Barcelona went to Real Madrid and scored six This was a key moment in one of the greatest campaigns in the club's history What happened then? Gonzalo Higuain had actually headed Real ahead but Thierry Henry curled an equaliser and Carles Puyol then nodded Barca in front. Lionel Messi slotted past Iker Casillas and, after Sergio Ramos replied with a glancing header, Henry clipped into an empty net and Messi rolled in another. Gerard Pique later tapped in the sixth Barcelona goal of a remarkable match. Then Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said the following after the match:  "It is not easy to win at the Bernabeu and this is one of the happiest days of my footballing life, as we have made a lot of people happy." "We have taken a very big step towards winning the title. We wanted to kill it, to kill the league here. It's a very sweet night winning at this stadium and in front of these fans. "It is not going to hurt ahead

Jude Bellingham and Mats Hummels both scored incredible goals in a 3-1 victory for Borussia Dortmund away to Arminia Bielefeld as they kept pace with those at the top of the Bundesliga They came into the game without Erling Haaland, who has been sidelined for a couple of weeks with an injury. Raphael Guerreiro, Gio Reyna, Thomas Meunier and Mo Dahoud were also among the team's absentees. Bielefeld perhaps sensed a chance to pull off a surprise result and they began well, defending compactly and going aggressively into the challenges. Despite the home side's decent start to the match, Emre Can soon put Dortmund in front. He converted from the penalty spot after Donyell Malen had been fouled, while Hummels gave his side a two-goal cushion with a sublime volley from the edge of the box on the stroke of half-time. The brilliant Bellingham Jude Bellingham got in on the act when he dribbled past three defenders before executing a sublime chip over Stefan Ortega to put his side 3-0

Life after Steve Bruce began on a positive note for Newcastle United as Callum Wilson’s  overhead kick rescued a point against Crystal Palace. The Magpies were second best for the majority of the game at Selhurst Park but earned a share of the spoils when Wilson sent an acrobatic volley past Vicente Guaita after Palace had failed to clear a corner. Benteke had previously opened the scoring 11 minutes into the second half. He powered a header into the bottom corner from Tyrick Mitchell's deep cross. This was Crystal Palace's sixth draw of the season and leaves them in 15th place, five points above Newcastle, who remain second bottom on four points and without a win this season. The Interim Newcastle boss Graeme Jones later hailed goalscorer Callum Wilson as a unique striker and said :"He is the best matchday finisher I have worked with. That is not even half a chance and it's in the back of the net, which tells you everything about him. "In training he is a good