Argentina will face karma for their actions during their 4-3 penalty shoot-out triumph against the Netherlands in the World Cup quarter-finals, says former Italy international Claudio Marchisio.
La Albiceleste reached the semi-finals for the second time in three tournaments after they prevailed on penalties following a late Oranje rally that saw extra time finish with the scores level at 2-2.
The match was an extremely fractious affair and broke the World Cup record for cards handed out, with referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz brandishing 14 yellows and one red.
But the behaviour of Argentina in victory with Nicolas Otamendi taunting the defeated Dutch squad after penalties the standout from several displays of poor sportsmanship will haunt them, claims Marchisio
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Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren cannot wait for next year after a poor 2015, which will end with the club in the Premier League relegation zone.
McClaren feels 2015 has been a year to forget for the club and said he was working hard to keep them in the top flight.
I may seem calm on the surface but, believe me, underneath it I am paddling like mad, he said.
[The year] is about to end. Good. We cannot wait for next year. The first half of the season has not been good enough. We need to do something about it and we will do.”
Newcastle lost a tight game against West Brom 1-0 on Monday after Darren Fletcher s header slipped under goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who was a late replacement for the ill Rob Elliot.
Elliot reported for training on Wedn…
Louis van Gaal does not feel that Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford is too young to be selected for England at Euro 2016.
The 18-year-old has made a stunning start to his career at Old Trafford, scoring four times in three matches, including a double against Arsenal in the Premier League.
England boss Roy Hodgson revealed this week that he is not ruling out making Rashford a shock selection for his tournament squad in France.
And ahead of Sunday’s match at West Brom, Van Gaal backed Hodgson s stance by saying that age should be disregarded when assessing his youngster’s chances.
He said: I think Mr Hodgson has answered the question and you are asking again. However, it is never too early.
As I have said before: age is not importan…
January 7 is a special date in Atletico Madrid history.
It is 10 years to the day since Diego Simeone took charge of his first game as Atletico head coach, and the balance at the top of Spanish football started, imperceptibly at first, to shift.
In his first game back on January 7, 2012, Cholo s Atleti were held to a goalless draw by Malaga at La Rosaleda; his most recent match was on Thursday, a 5-0 Copa del Rey thrashing of Rayo Majadahonda that felt very much like an appropriate celebration of a remarkable decade.
While his football has not always enthralled, few can argue with Simeone s results and haul of eight trophies – almost a quarter of all the major silverware the club have ever won.
To celebrate the milestone, Stats Perform picked through…
Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero has played down recent rumours linking his former teammate Antonio Conte with a Turin return.
The Serie A giants aren t doing nearly as well this season as they used to until a couple of seasons ago, sitting seventh in the Italian top flight at the moment and out of the Champions League after the group stage. The situation has led to speculation about the job of Massimiliano Allegri being in danger, and Conte has been tipped to take over if the Allegri sacking comes to pass.
However, as he told the PA, Del Piero believes these stories have appeared only because Conte has done well at Juventus in the past, leading the Bianconeri to the Scudetto three times and the Italian Super Cup twice between 2011 and 2014.
Del Piero also b…
Jamie Vardy says representing England at Euro 2016 would be the pinnacle of his season after winning the Premier League with Leicester City.
The England international was inspirational to Leicester s title charge this season, banging in 24 goals in 35 appearances, just five years after playing non-league football for Halifax Town.
Now the Leicester striker is seen as a key part of Roy Hodgson s England squad, and while Vardy is not taking selection for granted, he said being a part of the squad to go to France would be his biggest achievement yet.
I think that would be the pinnacle of the season for me, Vardy told Sky Sports.
Representing your country at any time is a big deal, but to be in a tournament and to be a part of something big happening can on…
Switzerland will host the UEFA Women s European Championship in 2025, UEFA has announced.
The sixteen-team tournament will take place across eight venues in Switzerland, with the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Lisbon on Tuesday to decide the venue.
The Swiss proposal eventually overcame a Nordic bid from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden after three rounds of voting, with Poland and France s joint venture eliminated earlier in the proceedings.
As host nation, Switzerland have secured automatic qualification and will compete at their third consecutive tournament, having made their first appearance in 2017.
The tournament will be the first international competition to be held in Switzerland, home nation to both FIFA and UEFA, since the Euro 2008 men …
At the end of February 2022, Leeds United bosses had seen enough.
This has been the toughest decision I have had to make, said chairman Andrea Radrizzani at the time.
Leeds had taken just one point from six games, leaving them only two points above the relegation zone. A 4-0 home defeat by Tottenham was the final straw for Marcelo Bielsa, who was dismissed on February 27.
At the beginning of February 2023, Leeds United bosses had again seen enough as they parted company with Bielsa s successor Jesse Marsch.
Leeds have taken just three points from their past seven games, leaving them level on points with Everton in the final relegation spot, albeit having played a game fewer than the three teams below them.
Unlike Bielsa, who ended the club s lon…
UEFA on Friday ratified the four Ukrainian cities chosen to host the 2012 European championships with the final to take place in Kiev.
The four cities Kiev, Donetsk, Karkov and Lviv will host games with the final taking place in the capital on July 1, 2012.
Ukraine is co-hosting the competition with Poland where games will be held in four venues at Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan and Gdansk.
UEFA president Michel Platini, giving Ukraine the green light, said: Around three years ago we entrusted the organisation of the Euro to Poland and Ukraine.
This wasn t merely a whim but a strategic plan to open up our flagship competition to Eastern Europe.
We knew it was going to be a difficult undertaking, that there would have to be investment in infrastructure…
With the taking centre stage this weekend, all of the Premier League’s elite will not be seen again in top-flight action until January 16th.
While Manchester City might still be tipped as the standout contender to defend their domestic crown in 2024, both Arsenal and still find themselves scrapping it out in the title chase.
With many expecting things to go down to the wire, we have taken a glance at who the bookmakers have installed as the Premier League’s leading title candidates this year.
Manchester City
While might still find themselves tipped as a standout contender to make more Premier League history this season, it is fair to say that Pep Guardiola’s superstar squad have struggled to hit top gear with much stability.
However, although t…