European Super Football

There will be some international football this summer Let's look ahead to UEFA Women's Euro 2022 The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022, will be the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national teams of Europe. It will be the second edition since the number of teams increased to 16.  𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗙 𝗔 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗗 🎟️ 🎉 Record-breaking sales 🎉 More than double #WEURO2017 🎉 Purchasers across 99 countries Don't miss out - get yours now! 👇 #WEURO2022 — UEFA Women's EURO 2022 (@WEURO2022) July 1, 2022 The final tournament will be hosted by England and was originally scheduled to take place from 7 July to 1 August 2021. England last hosted the tournament in 2005. The  Netherlands will be the defending champions, and Northern Ireland will participate in a UEFA Women's Eu

Here we go again New plans for a revamped European Super League (ESL) have been unveiled following a significant court decision.  Picture from a banner protesting the European Super League in 2021 This latest court ruling declared it illegal to prevent clubs from joining an alternative league. The proposed league features 64 men's teams and 32 women's teams, posing a direct challenge to current UEFA competitions. Manchester United, initially a key player in the original ESL concept  but later withdrew amidst heavy criticism, has confirmed their ongoing commitment to UEFA tournaments.  Despite the controversy, United's stance remains unchanged, emphasizing their dedication to working constructively with UEFA, the Premier League, and other clubs through the European Clubs Association for the betterment of European football. Previous Super News articles on the European Super League Clubs Announce New Super League Competition (greatermanchesterfootball.blogspot.com) Rememb

It's time to explore another football icon. Henrik Larsson is a Swedish professional football coach and former player, formerly an assistant manager of Barcelona.  Larsson celebrating a goal for Celtic in 2005. The start of a wonderful career. Playing as a striker, Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. In 1992, he moved to Helsingborg IF where in his first season his partnership up front with Mats Magnusson helped the club win promotion  after over 20 seasons in the lower tiers.  He moved to Feyenoord in November 1993, staying for four years before leaving in 1997. During his time in the Dutch Eredivisie, he won two KNVB Cups with Feyenoord. Trevor Stolk told us: "He should have stayed with us for much longer. Look at what he did for Celtic. He could have achieved that with us if he'd stayed longer." Larsson also broke into the Swedish national football team and helped them finish in third place at the 1994 World Cup. He was gaining a lot of fans but whe

 It seems like only yesterday that the 2021/2022 Champions League final took place. However, the draw for the preliminary round of the 2022/2023 has already happened.  Let's have a look at who will be playing who. 21 June: Preliminary round semi-finals Levadia Tallinn (Estonia) vs Víkingur Reykjavík (Iceland) La Fiorita (San Marino) vs Inter Club d'Escaldes (Andorra) 24 June: Preliminary round final La Fiorita/Inter Club d'Escaldes vs Levadia/Víkingur Further information taken from the UEFA website UEFA Champions League preliminary round draw | UEFA Champions League | UEFA.com How the draw worked The champions of Estonia, San Marino, Andorra and Iceland entered the preliminary round in accordance with their ranking in the 2022/23 access list. The two clubs with the highest club coefficients were seeded for the semi-final draw: Levadia Tallinn (EST) and La Fiorita (SMR). The first draw determined the two semi-finals; the first team drawn in each tie is considered th

 It's time to explore the life of another football icon. This time it's Paolo Cesare Maldini Paolo Maldini is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left-back and centre-back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time.  As the Milan and Italy captain for many years, he was nicknamed "Il Capitano" ("The Captain"). Maldini held the record for most appearances in Serie A, with 647, until 2020, when he was overtaken by Gianluigi Buffon. He is currently serving as technical director for Milan, as well as being co-owner of USL Championship club Miami FC. A true one-club man... Maldini spent all 25 seasons of his playing career in the Serie A with Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009. He won 26 trophies with Milan: the European Cup/UEFA Champions League five times, seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana titles, five European/UEFA Super Cu

Real Madrid 2 - 0 Eintracht Frankfurt Let's look at all the best reactions from the media and across the internet as Real Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup  How Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League How Frankfurt won the UEFA Europa League You can watch the highlights in the video below.  Footage from BT Sport This is what the BBC's post-match report said: Karim Benzema continued his Ballon d'Or pursuit with a 324th goal for European champions Real Madrid as they beat Eintracht Frankfurt to lift the Uefa Super Cup in Helsinki. Carlo Ancelotti's side, who beat Liverpool to win the Champions League in May, took the lead when David Alaba tapped into an empty net, with Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp stranded following Casemiro's header back across goal. Benzema doubled the Spanish giants' lead after the break with a first-time finish from Vinicius Jr's cross to move second on Real's all-time goalscoring list, overtaking Raul and behind only Cristiano R

 It's time to explore another football icon. This time it's Patrice Evra A brief summary He is a French football coach and former professional player. Originally a forward, he mainly played as a left-back.Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. His former manager Sir Alex Ferguson praised Evra for his leadership, also describing him as one of the best left-backs in Europe. <Click here to read about more icons> The start of Evra's career Evra was born in Senegal and arrived in Europe when he was a year old. Evra started his career with the Italian club Marsala. The following season, he joined Monza but returned to France a year later to play for Nice where he was converted into a full-back. In 2002, he joined Monaco and was part of the team that reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final.  Becoming a Manchester United legend Evra's performances for Monaco culminated in a move to English club Manchester United in January

Eintracht Frankfurt 1 - 1 Rangers (Eintracht Frankfurt win 5-4 on penalties) Rangers suffered a penalty shootout defeat in their fifth European final as Eintracht Frankfurt triumphed. Rafael Borre put home the decisive spot-kick after Aaron Ramsey was denied just moments earlier in front of the Rangers fans at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. Those same people had been euphoric when last season's Scottish champions took the lead through Joe Aribo's ice-cool second-half finish in Seville However, Borre then created some incredible scenes in a jam-packed Eintracht end 12 minutes later as he steered in a soft equaliser to send this energy-sapping contest all the way. Immediate reaction The Rangers players crumpled to their feet as the 11th-placed side in the Bundesliga prevailed in the shootout, executing five composed penalties to claim their second European trophy and a place in next season's Champions League group stages. With the Scottish Cup final in just three days

The UEFA Nations League is still a fairly new idea. It is a biennial international football competition contested by the member associations of UEFA. The last edition of the competition was won by France. You can read about it here. UEFA Nations League: Spain 1 - 2 France (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Ahead of a busy year of international football, nations are now preparing for the next edition of the competition. Here are the UEFA Nations League groups in full. We have highlighted some of the more interesting groups. Group A1: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, France. Group A2: Czech Republic, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain. Group A3: Hungary, England, Germany, Italy. England have faced all of these sides in recent times. They beat Germany in a memorable Euro 2020 last-16 match before eventually losing to Italy in the final of the same competition. More recently, they beat Hungary in a World Cup qualifier. England manager Gareth Southgate believes that the tough Nations League group is

Ahead of the start of the 2023/2024 Champions League Group Stages This article will explore some of the best matches from this stage of the competition. When did Europe's premier competition introduce a Group Stage? Since the 1997–98 season, the competition has allowed multiple entries from certain countries. It added a round-robin group stage in 1992. For a brief period between 1999 and 2002, there was a 2nd Group Stage introduced. The best Group-Stage matches  Tottenham Hotspur 2-7 Bayern Munich (2019-20) By smashing seven goals past an almost hapless Tottenham Hotspur team that had no answers to their attacking prowess at home, Bayern Munich revealed a glimpse of what was to come in the season they lifted their sixth UEFA Champions League title! For Spurs, this set the tone for what was a poor season after they came so close to European success the previous campaign. Monaco 8-3 Deportivo de La Coruña (2003-04) The 2003-04 season was a fairytale run for Monaco in the UEFA Ch

 It's time for you to read about another football icon. Jaap Stam is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. A brief introduction Stam played for several European clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Lazio, Milan and Ajax. More icons The start of a fantastic career On August 15th 1992, Stam made his professional debut for FC Zwolle in a 1–1 draw against SC Heracles in the Eerste Divisie. He became a first-team regular right away and moved to Eredivisie club Cambuur Leeuwarden for the following season, but relegated in his first season which brought him back into the Eerste Divisie.  Two seasons performing well at Cambuur earned him a transfer to Eredivisie club Willem II. At Willem II, he immediately impressed at the Eredivisie level and earned a transfer to PSV Eindhoven despite only making 19 appearances. Icons: Henrik Larsson (eurosuperfootball.

The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions.  The Cup Winners' Cup was for a long time regarded by UEFA as the second biggest European club competition, behind the European Cup (now Champions League) but ahead of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (later the UEFA Cup and now Europa League). The video below explores some of the most iconic matches and moments in the competition.  One of those iconic moments in more detail 1983 final: Aberdeen 2 - 1 Real Madrid Yes you read that correctly. Aberdeen once beat Real Madrid in the final of a European competition. It was a match and occasion that put a certain Alex Ferguson in the spotlight.  Aberdeen took the lead early in the first half with a goal by Eric Black, but Real Madrid drew level following a penalty scored by Juanito in the fifteenth minute.  It remained 1-1 so the match went into extra time. The winning goal was scored for Aberdeen by John Hew

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

 Roma 1 - 0 Feyenoord José Mourinho became the first coach to win all three current men's UEFA club competitions. Let's explore how that happened. You can watch the highlights by watching the video at the bottom of the page. This is the match report from UEFA's official website. Spurred on by their supporters, Feyenoord swiftly looked to reply, forcing Rui Patrício to deal with a succession of threats – Orkun Kökçü's rifled effort the most dangerous of the bunch. In a rapid start to the second half, Mancini diverted onto his own post, before Rui Patrício sprawled to tip Tyrell Malacia's long-range effort onto the woodwork. Danger averted, Mourinho's men could take a breath. Feyenoorders, bedankt voor jullie support dit seizoen in de #UECL . Van Pristina tot Tirana, mede dankzij jullie was het een onvergetelijke reis. ❤️🤍🖤💚 #MakingMemories pic.twitter.com/pWx8boBZyw — Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord) May 26, 2022 As the stadium rocked, momentum conti

France 1 - 2 Denmark Andreas Cornelius scored twice as Denmark came from behind to beat holders France in the Nations League. Karim Benzema opened the scoring with a stunning effort. He cut in from the right-wing before dummying his way past three defenders and slotting in. Cornelius volleyed in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's ball over the top to level. The 60th-minute substitute won the game when he ran onto a long ball before firing in. This was the first time the former Cardiff striker has scored twice in an international game. What a time to do it! Denmark look like a team that are on the rise. It will be interesting to see them progress over the next few years. Both sides had several chances in a lively opening game to group A1. In the first half, Denmark's Joakim Maehle hit the outside of the post and Benzema had a goal disallowed. In between Cornelius' two goals, France's N'Golo Kante crashed a shot off the post and Denmark's Christian Eriksen forced a save

 Let's explore the history of the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United.  It is considered to be one of the biggest rivalries in world football along with the Old Firm derby in Scotland and the Superclásico in Argentina. Gary Neville is a player that often symbolised the rivalry between the two clubs. This means more! Fans and players of both clubs have often argued that this rivalry means more than each local rivalry. People have often said hat the rivalry has been fuelled by the proximity of the two major cities that they represent, their historic economic and industrial rivalry, significant periods of domestic footballing dominance and European success, and their popularity at home and abroad, as two of the biggest-earning and widely supported football clubs in the world. Each club can also claim a level of historical supremacy. They are the most successful English teams in domestic, European and worldwide competitions. Between them they have won 39 league titles,

 It's time to explore another football icon. This time, it will be our first female player with Alex Scott. Alexandra Scott MBE is an English sports presenter, pundit, and former professional footballer. Known mainly as 'Alex Scott', she mostly played as a right-back for Arsenal. Scott made 140 appearances for the England national team and represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics. More Women's Football news can be found here Becoming an Arsenal legend At club level, Scott has had three separate spells with Arsenal, punctuated with a season at Birmingham City in 2004–05 and three years in the American Women's Professional Soccer with Boston Breakers.  Scott was a key figure in Arsenal's historic "Quadruple" season in which they won every trophy they were involved in. In fact, they are the only team in the history of English football, across the men's and women's game, to win four major competitions in the same season. This list

Can Italy retain their European Championship crown? Italy are not among the favourites in Germany.  The holders qualified after finishing second in Group C behind England, the key game being a goalless draw with Ukraine in Germany. At Euro 2024, Italy will play Albania, Spain and Croatia in one of the toughest groups of the tournament.  Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, the defensive duo that led Italy to glory in 2021 , will watch from home. Nicolò Barella and Gianluigi Donnarumma need to step up and become the key players for the team. They will have to cope without Destiny Udogie, Nicolò Zaniolo, Francesco Acerbi, and Giorgio Scalvini, who are all out injured. Iconic Euros moments: Throwback to England v Italy (2021) How did they reach Germany? They qualified for Euro 2024 after a goalless draw against Ukraine in Germany. This was a welcome relief for everyone within Italian football after they failed to reach the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The qualifying campaign for this summe

The UEFA Nations League group stage involves all 55 Uefa countries and was brought in to replace international friendlies with more meaningful games, involving promotion and relegation. The finals of the competition are considered a proper tournament, with the winner getting a sterling silver, 7.5kg, 71cm tall trophy.  Italy 1-2 Spain post match reaction Two first-half goals from Manchester City ’s Ferran Torres set Spain on course for a win at the legendary and iconic San Siro stadium. This earned then a place in the Nations League final. Italy rallied in the second-half but an 83rd minute goal from Lorenzo Pellegrini wasn't enough to extend their long unbeaten run.  It was a superb game and a great showcase for the competition. This was two international sides that were close to their best and putting on a show for the fans. It has given the Spanish side an opportunity to start a relatively new era with a trophy and provides them with a boost ahead of next year's World Cup.

This player might be Brazilian, but like his friend Ronaldo, his impact across Europe was huge.  Icons: Ronaldo (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Let's explore Rivaldo's fantastic career A brief introduction Rivaldo played mainly as an attacking midfielder. However, he was also used as a second striker and occasionally as a wide midfielder or a winger. He was renowned for his bending free kicks, bicycle kicks, feints, and powerful ball striking from a distance. Rivaldo also had the ability to both score and create goals. In 1999, he won the Ballon d'Or and was named FIFA World Player of the Year. With his huge success, he is one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or. Early career  He started his career in 1991 with Brazilian club Santa Cruz, moving on to spells at Mogi Mirim, a loan spell at Corinthians, and Palmeiras. People across the major European leagues were impressed, and it was inevitable that a move was