The U21 European Championships came to an unspectacular end as a strong, skilful German outfit swept aside England 4-0. The young Lions without suspended first choice keeper Ian Harte, entered the match with high-hopes fresh from an impressive result against Spain and a hard-fought penalty victory over...

A precipitous fall from grace There once was a time, not too long ago, when Petr Cech was considered the best goalkeeper in the world -  the irreplaceable ingredient to Chelsea’s success. But then things went a bit pear shaped. Poor positioning. Sloppy mistakes. A growing uncertainty with high...

Gazza and his ‘dentist chair’ Several innovative celebrations popped up this past week, including Wayne Rooney pretending to give John Terry a haircut following the centreback’s winner in England’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine. (What was that about, anyway?) But getting a couple...

Club v Country Luis Felipe Scolari’s anemic tenure at Chelsea was one more piece of evidence that club football and the international game are completely different beasts.  It’s no news that some excellent footballers completely lose the plot as soon as they put on their nation’s colours (ahem,...

Der Neue Kaiser World Cup glory in Italia '90 Lothar Herbert Matthaeus, the name alone sounds intimidating. Equipped with a stocky, 5 ft 8 inch (1.74m) frame, this diminutive libero enjoyed an illustrious career that spanned over two decades. Winning 7 Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and a...