European Super Football

Ahead of England's upcoming World Cup qualifiers, let's take a look at some of England's most memorable moments at this stage of the competition. This article was originally posted on News Ball UK. Click here to read. Italy 0 - 0 England - Qualification for France 98 is secured England only needed a point from their final match to qualify for the following summer's World Cup. Easier said than done when that final match is Italy away.  A battling and sometimes heroic display from the Three Lions earned them a 0-0 draw and qualification was secured. Not a lot of flair from the attacking players but the point was well deserved. Watch some of the highlights from the game in the video below. Germany 1 - 5 England - Even Heskey scored Germany had beaten England at the start of the end of the qualifying campaign. A disappointing end to the reign of Kevin Keegan and an awful way to say goodbye to the old Wembley Stadium. England gained their revenge though. Before this game,

 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

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

Whilst Wembley Stadium was hosting the England games during their victorious World Cup campaign, various other grounds across the country hosted matches.  Old Trafford hosted this match between Portugal and Bulgaria and it featured one of the greatest players of all time, Eusébio. Head to Greater Manchester Football to read the original story. Some wider context In the North West of England, Old Trafford and Goodison Park played host to Group 3 of the 66 World Cup. It was a group that contained some of the best players around at the time.  The group saw the two-time defending champions Brazil finish in third place behind Portugal and Hungary, be eliminated along with Bulgaria. Brazil were beaten 3–1 by Hungary in a classic encounter before falling by the same scoreline to Portugal in a controversial game.  Click here to read more from the archives The Portugal side contained Eusébio and they appearing in the finals for the first time, and made quite an impact.  They won all three of

Before Sir Alex Ferguson took over at Manchester United in 1986, they very rarely performed well in Europe. They did have the occasional great night though. Context:  United lost the first leg of the 1984 Cup Winners Cup Quarter Final 2-0. A Barcelona side, featuring the late Diego Maradona, were expected to comfortably hold out on the night. Watch: 2 minute highlights What do people say about the game? In 2014, Arthur Albiston told the Guardian: "The atmosphere inside Old Trafford that night as the most intense he has ever experienced."  Read More  One United fan was asked on Twitter about his favourite United, he replied: "A bit obvious but United versus Barca 1984, cried like a good one !!" This interesting article from the Manchester Evening News  explores the match in a different way. It contains more quotes from players involved in the game. Goalkeeper Bailey said to the local news organisation: "Graeme Hogg came in because we were missing both centre bac

We take a look at one of the most memorable matches between the two clubs. You can read the original article on Greater Manchester Football by clicking here. United had lost the first leg 2-1 and many expected the second leg to be close. Michael Carrick scored United's first on the night then Alan Smith fired home before Wayne Rooney added a third goal which came at the end of a superb move. Cristiano Ronaldo added United's fourth before half-time. This was his first goal in the Champions League proper. Ronaldo then slid home a Ryan Giggs cross before Carrick smashed home a sixth and got his second of the night.  Roma replied through Daniele De Rossi before Patrice Evra's low shot rounded off United's amazing 8-3 aggregate win. There have been some memorable European nights for Manchester United and this was one of the best.  Best social media posts and videos from the night Do you remember the match? Watch the video below. There was some incredible attacking footba

As Manchester United prepare to host Aston Villa in the Premier League, we are looking at one of the most memorable encounters between the two clubs.  This article was originally posted on Greater Manchester Football. You can read that here What happened on the night? Manchester United were 2-0 down and seemingly heading out of the FA Cup when a Dutch legend answered Man United's alarm call from the substitutes' bench. On this day 17 years ago... Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sparked a dramatic 3-2 FA Cup win for United away to Aston Villa in 2002 2-0 down, Solskjaer scored in the 77th minute before Van Nistelrooy scored two late goals to seal a remarkable comeback #mufc pic.twitter.com/US4ytm74vV — United In Focus (@UnitedInFocus) January 6, 2019 In a stunning five-minute spell, Villa's 2-0 lead was turned on its head. It was a nightmare for Villa and a wonderful evening for all associated with Manchester United. Incredible following from Manchester United This match went d

It's time to have a look at one of David Beckham's finest performances at Old Trafford.   Greater Manchester Football published this as part of their 'Magic Moments' series.  At times, the soon to be former Man United number 7 was almost playing Greece on his own. No player worked harder to make sure England qualified for the 2002 World Cup. Sven Goran Eriksson's England side were trailing the Greeks 2-1 deep into injury time and they looked destined for a potentially difficult play-off against Ukraine. David Beckham was having none of that. He had actually failed to score from five previous free kicks, secured qualification for Japan and Korea with a dramatic goal in stoppage time.  The memories Despite the match taking place over 20 years ago, it is still spoken about with fondness by a many England fans. Just have a look at the scenes behind Beckham! Captain David Beckham celebrates scoring the equaliser from a free-kick against Greece in the dying seconds

Let's take a look take a look back at a dramatic encounter between Manchester United and Liverpool from January 1999.  Read the original article here In January 1999, Manchester United pulled off the perfect smash-and-grab with two goals in the last two minutes to secure a famous FA Cup victory over their arch rivals. United, who at the time had not been beaten by the Anfield side in the competition since 1922, looked to be heading out after being caught napping by Michael Owen's second minute header. The impression at the time was that United were not going to score no matter what they did and that was reinforced after 79 minutes when Keane's shot beat James, hit the post and bounced to safety.  Ole provides fascinating insight into his famous FA Cup winner v Liverpool in 1999... Click below to watch the full feature 👇 — Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 24, 2019 Liverpool twice had opportunities to kill off the tie themselves but first Robbie Fowler fired wide afte

Looking at the tables of the English Football League in recent seasons, it's really hard to believe that Bolton Wanderers were once playing in European competition. The match itself Because Bolton were actually in a relegation battle at the time, Gary Megson selected a weakened side for the match. This was how they lined up: Bolton: Al Habsi, Andrew O'Brien, Cid, Michalik, Gardner, Alonso (Giannakopoulos 56), Nolan, Guthrie, McCann, Braaten (Teymourian 77), Davies. Bolton shocked the German giants eight minutes into the game. Ricardo Gardner's effort was deflected past the iconic Oliver Kahn to give them an unlikely lead. It was Gardner's first goal in almost five years. As expected, Bayern eventually upped their game, with Lucas Podolski, Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger terrorising the Bolton defence. 30 minutes into the game, Bayern were level as Podolski beat Al-Habsi with a driven shot. Just four minutes into the second half, Podolski scored his s