There was a time when the names Diego Armando Maradona, Carlos Bilardo and the Argentine National team were synonymous with success. The magical run to the 1986 World Cup made both men house hold names in the sport, and heroes back home.
Boy, does that seem like a life time ago.

The sad sad news today is that Ronaldo may be finished. Just when it looked as if the Brazilian legend was getting it together at Milan, he jumped to meet a cross while playing against Livorno last night and completely severed the tendon in his left knee.
It’s not 100% definitely the end, but it’s 99% [...]

Now that the Africa Cup of Nations is over, you might be wondering what’s next for World Cup Blog. How will we fill the days with no more Hosny Abd Rabou hammer strikes, Salomon Kalou slaloms or Manucho magic?
Luckily for us, there’s loads more international football on the horizon. Qualification for World Cup 2010 continues [...]

Bad news for Brand Beckham, as it seems Golden Balls’ globe trotting lifestyle is slowly but surely destroying planet earth. According to climate watchdog Carbon Trust the former England captain has both “the biggest carbon footprint in the world” and “the largest carbon footprint in human history.” Ouch. The reason for Beckham’s dirty oversized [...]

The year is almost done, so here’s the final part of the World Cup Blog A-Z of 2007. Part one (A-M) can be found here, part two (N-Z) is after the jump and features everything from Hope Solo’s tantrum to Ashley Young’s bout of exhibitionism. If any big stories are missing, let me know in [...]

It’s the last day of 2007, so here’s an alphabetical look back at the last twelve months in world football. There’s so much happened that it’s impossible to cover all of it, so please remind me of anything that’s been missed out in the comments. Part one covers A to M, with part two to [...]

Like most English tabloids, The Sun is mostly full of gossip, nonsense and hastily assembled headlines. But every once in a while they do something decent, like compiling a list of 20 young players to watch in 2008 (list after the jump.) It’s a little bit Euro-centric, but there’s still plenty of talent to get [...]

Ronaldo’s career-rejuvenating move to AC Milan isn’t quite going as planned is it? Despite an encouraging end to last season the now afro-sporting striker has only played one Serie A game for Milan this season and is battling some oddly persistent thigh and calf injuries. Now rumour has it that the buck-toothed wonder could be [...]

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is pushing for his Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia to get a call up to the England squad. You read that right. Though Almunia is Spanish, he’s never been capped by his country and looks very unlikely to ever get a game. Not with the likes of Iker Casillas and Santiago Cañizares [...]

If this question hasn’t already been asked, it will be soon. We are coming to the point in Gianluigi Buffon’s career where it’s impossible not to wonder, “Is he….the greatest?”. Obviously it’s tough and complicated question but the list is short, which makes it a little bit easier. In fact, the list is two names [...]