Aston Villa are struggling. They’ve only scored 11 goals in 23 Premier League matches this season, frustrating supporters young and old. But six-year-old Jude Branson has decided to do something about it and penned a letter to Jose Mourinho, asking him to push Paul Lambert aside and take charge of the club.
The African Cup of Nations semifinal between host nation Equatorial Guinea and Ghana was marred by crowd violence that forced an extended stoppage of play late in the second half and put Ghana’s players and fans in danger. But Ghana still won 3-0 to advance to the final, where they will face the Ivory Coast, thanks in part to goalkeeper Brimah Razak’s good luck charm.
Razak brought his favorite Spider-Man action figure onto the pitch with him and placed it next to his goal. And with that comforting presence at his side, he kept a clean sheet to help his team reach the final.
Cambuur and Vitesse Arnhem played in the snow and it was beautiful, as all snow matches are. So grab a cup of hot chocolate, dump a buttload of marshmallows in it and enjoy these pictures…
Cristiano Ronaldo has awards, generously endowed statues, and even entire museums honoring him and now, just in case his ego needed a bit more of a boost, he also has a Canadian university course centered around him.
By losing 1-0 at home to 10-man Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund remain bottom of the Bundesliga table with an astonishing 11 losses in 19 matches this season. Their baffling tumble from second to worst has their supporters just as frustrated and angry as the players and as the boos rained down after the latest home loss, captain Mats Hummels and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller took it upon themselves to try and ease tensions between those in the stands and those on the pitch.
Since retiring from football last season and then quitting his position as ousted Barcelona director Andoni Zubizarreta’s assistant last month, Carles Puyol has apparently been very busy inventing new and dangerous ways to kiss his wife.
We’ve seen the couple’s acrobatic yoga poses before, but this is on another level. If Puyol doesn’t find a new job soon, maybe they’ll put out a death-defying new Kama Sutra. A very hairy, death-defying new Kama Sutra.
There is a rich tradition of footballers who can make beautiful music: Petr Cech is a competent drummer, Alexi Lalas once opened for Hootie and the Blowfish on tour and Andy/Andrew Cole once did whatever this is. Read more
Prevented from overpaying for one of several players he has already signed several times before, Harry Redknapp phoned QPR chairman Tony Fernandes very early the morning after the January transfer window shut and resigned. Not because he couldn’t be the star of deadline day or because are currently second from the bottom in the Premier League table, but because he needs knee surgery. This is his actual reason.
The following is a transcript of Harry’s call to Fernandes.
After getting thumped by Wolfsburg in their first game back from the winter break, Bayern Munich faced another test against Schalke when Jerome Boateng was sent off in just the 17th minute. Despite this disadvantage, Bayern still managed to score first, prompting Pep Guardiola, who decided to wear a blanket around his neck for some reason, to hug the fourth official.
Steven Gerrard, Adam Lallana, and Mamadou Sakho took part in a training session with Merseyside Blind FC as part of the club’s Seeing is Believing initiative and found out just how difficult blind football actually is.
Though each player struggled to keep the ball at their feet in the beginning, they seemed to get a better feel for it as the season went on. Gerrard’s dribble dance at the start of the video is delightful, though.
