Is there a more reliable way of making sure a football team fails to live up to expectations than to label them the Golden Generation ?
Okay, maybe that s a little reductive as living up to expectations is of course entirely dependent on context – the Czech Republic s Golden Generation from 1996-2006 finished second and third at two out of three European Championship appearances. While not successful in the literal sense, most would agree it was a commendable achievement.
But for Belgium s plentiful crop, a lot more was expected than what they ve achieved. While perhaps less of a disappointment than England s own Golden Generation , third place at a World Cup isn t going to be much of a legacy given some of the talent the Red Devils have had.
Roberto Martinez s…
Lille winning Ligue 1 would be something huge for French football according to their former striker Eder.
Christophe Galtier s side could be crowned champions on Sunday when they host Saint-Etienne, if their result in that match betters Paris Saint-Germain s efforts against Reims.
Even if the race goes to the final weekend, a three-point lead with two games to play and the title race being in Lille s hands represents a phenomenal achievement.
PSG have won seven of the past eight top-flight titles in France, but Eder has observed a competition reborn this season – something he feels would be validated by Lille completing an unlikely march to glory.
I think it s amazing for the championship because a lot of people have been saying that the French champio…
Unai Emery has demanded Arsenal maintain the intensity they demonstrated in beating BATE as they prepare to face Premier League strugglers Southampton.
Arsenal eased into the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday, winning 3-0 at Emirates Stadium thanks to an own goal from Zakhar Volkov and efforts from Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
Arsenal have won three of their last four league outings but head into Sunday s encounter with Southampton a point behind Manchester United who host Liverpool on the same day in the race for fourth place.
Heading into the final third of the season, Emery acknowledged that his side must learn to replicate the style of play they have shown at home on a consistent basis in order to get the Gunners fans fully …
Conor Gallagher has no plans of leaving Chelsea this transfer window, labelling the upcoming season as the season to make his breakthrough after support from Thomas Tuchel.
Gallagher is yet to make a Premier League appearance for boyhood club Chelsea, though he has impressed on his last two top-flight loan spells with West Brom and Crystal Palace.
The England international managed 11 goal involvements in the 2021-22 season with Palace, a tally bettered only by Wilfried Zaha (15) for Patrick Vieira s side in the league.
With the upcoming Qatar World Cup in November, Gallagher understands the importance of regular first-team minutes in the 2022-23 season as he looks to make his mark at Stamford Bridge.
N Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Ch…
AC Milan are interested in signing Memphis Depay from Barcelona in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Barcelona are willing to sell the former Manchester United forward and are looking for €15 million as transfer fees for the Netherlands international, whom they signed only last summer on a free transfer following his departure from Lyon at the end of last season.
Milan, who won the Serie A title last season, are looking to sign a top-quality attacking player to compete in the UEFA Champions League. Milan head coach Stefano Pioli reportedly believes that the 28-year-old Dutch attacker fits his profile.
Depay made 20 starts and eight substitute appearances in La Liga for Barcelona last season, scoring 12 goals and providing two assis…
Mikel Arteta is happy to let William Saliba take his time adapting to life at Arsenal after the teenage defender s arrival in north London.
The Gunners won the race to sign Saliba in July 2019 reportedly beating rivals Tottenham to his signature but he spent the 2019-20 campaign back on loan at Saint-Etienne as part of the deal.
He featured 12 times for the Ligue 1 club before the domestic campaign was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, though a foot injury kept him out between November and January, while Arsenal did not grant him permission to feature in the Coupe de France final against Paris Saint-Germain in July.
Saliba has been absent from Arteta s matchday squads for their first two Premier League games but, ahead of potentially making his debut in the…
Arsenal legend David Seaman believes missing out on qualifying for the Champions League could be a blessing in disguise.
Despite a poor start to last season, Mikel Arteta s side looked to be heading to qualification for Europe s top competition after an impressive run that left them fourth with three games to play, four points ahead of then fifth-placed Tottenham.
However, after losing two of those final three matches, including a 3-0 thumping away at Spurs, they were pipped to fourth place by their north London rivals.
Seaman has spoken on the heartbreaking end to their season, telling Stats Perform: The worst part about it is that Tottenham took it off us.
Because it s Tottenham, and what went on last season, we were bottom of the league (at the en…
Valencia set up a Europa League semi-final against Arsenal as they made light work of Villarreal by winning 2-0 on Thursday to seal a 5-1 aggregate victory.
Holding a comfortable 3-1 advantage from the first leg, Toni Lato got things started for Valencia following a bright start, volleying home from close range after superb work from the impressive Goncalo Guedes.
Valencia continued to dominate at a wet Mestalla and Dani Parejo, who had a penalty saved in the first leg, dashed Villarreal s slim comeback hopes when his deflected free-kick found the net early in the second half.
Los Che will now face Arsenal and their former boss Unai Emery at Emirates Stadium on May 2 before welcoming the Gunners back to Spain a week later as they bid to reach their firs…
Luis Enrique was delighted with the style in which Barcelona rounded off a trophy-laden 2015 in the 3-0 Club World Cup final triumph over River Plate.
The Argentinian club began brightly in Yokohama and prevented Barca from establishing their customary rhythm, but the Spanish and European champions did not look back after Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the 36th minute.
Luis Suarez then followed up his semi-final hat-trick against Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao with a second-half brace to scoop the tournament s Golden Ball, as Barcelona irresistibly threatened to run riot on their way to a third global title.
To finish the year with a fifth title – it was a clear goal for us, Luis Enrique told a post-match news conference, having also hoisted La Liga, the C…
Neymar has tried, without success, to return to former club Barcelona in previous transfer windows.
The Brazil forward wanted to reunite with Lionel Messi.
Now, it seems Neymar is content in the French capital.
TOP STORY – NEYMAR HAPPY IN PARIS
Neymar wants to sign a new deal with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, according to Telefoot.
PSG superstar Neymar has long been linked with a return to Barcelona after leaving Camp Nou in a world-record Є222million transfer in 2017.
But Neymar – contracted until 2022 – is reportedly happy in Paris and is prepared to prolong his stay.
Neymar a fait savoir à Leonardo par l’intermédiaire de ses représentants qu’il voulait rester au PSG.
Il a lui-même sondé de…