The second leg of the last-16 tie between Manchester United and Real Madrid marks Cristiano Ronaldo’s first return to Old Trafford since leaving for the Spanish outfit in the summer of 2009. While most players face a hostile reception when they face their old clubs, Ronaldo can expect quite the opposite. During the first leg, [...]

Germany qualified for Euro 2012 with a 100% record in their qualifying group, finishing 13 points ahead of 2nd placed Turkey. They are many people’s favorites to win the tournament with the likes of Gomez, Özil, Schweinsteiger and Lahm in their ranks and are expected to be there or thereabouts in Kiev for the final. [...]

Brendan Rodgers’ appointment as Liverpool manager has prompted some fascinating discussions about his overall playing philosophy and how it might be transferred to his new club. Swansea’s impressive passing statistics have been much quoted in this context; only Manchester City attempted and completed more than them last season. An intriguing aspect of this preference for [...]