Diego Maradona's first match in charge of Argentina saw few surprises. Against improving and tenacious opponents, a big win was never on the cards, but those who've doubted the wisdom of Maradona's appointment can take some encouragement from a performance in which the Albiceleste actually played like a team. Click to continue reading...

In 1994, when Diego Maradona played his last match for Argentina, you could have got very long odds on him one day becoming the manager of the national side. What about the likelihood that his first match in charge would take place against the same country he scored his first senior international goal against? Click to continue reading...

There's been an award for an Argentine player in MLS, a bucket-full of goals for Argentines in Italy, the captaincy of the national team bestowed upon Javier Mascherano in England, another goal for Fernando Cavenaghi in France, and plenty of goals in Mexico too. The headline act of the weekend, though, was in Spain: Gonzalo Higuaín continued [. Click to continue reading...

My bad for forgetting the poll last week. *insert excuse about life away from the computer here* So anyways, I came across an article on the official Liverpool website telling of how the new boss of Argentina, Diego Maradona, wishes Javier Mascherano to be his team's captain. Personally, I think it's a fabulous idea.

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The squad as expected by the Argentine press (and subsequently here) prior to Diego Maradona's first press conference as Argentina boss yesterday turned out to be not quite accurate, so here's the list as announced by the man himself in that press conference, along with a bit of opinion (my own and others') on it. Click to continue reading...

The AFA will hold their press conference in a few hours' time to allow Diego Armando Maradona to announce his first Argentina squad (read on to see who's made it), and already there's controversy surrounding the nature of the appointment (not to mention the exclusions of three key players). Maradona declared on Radio La Red [. Click to continue reading...

What will Diego Maradona's appointment as manager of Argentina mean for the fans and players of the national team? You can find out on Soccernet, where I've written a terrible first paragraph and an otherwise pretty good (I hope) article on the new technical team for the selección. You can read it here. Click to continue reading...

[Nadia]

London bridge did fall down

Rafa's Red Army finally ended Chelski's unbeaten run at the Bridge, with a strike from our Spanish midfield maestro 10 minutes into the first half, making him the 2nd Liverpool player to score against Chelski in the League, after Bruno Cheyrou in February 2004.

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On Thursday, the Argentine squad went their separate ways as they returned to club duty following Wednesday night's pathetic surrender to neighbours Chile in Santiago. Speaking at Ezeiza airport before flying back to Barcelona, Lionel Messi own up to his own mistakes frankly, whilst Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze did likewise. Click to continue reading...

In their neverending quest to find transfer funds emanating from somewhere other than the wallets of Tom Hicks or George Gillett, Liverpool has decided to tap up you, the fan, to aid in funding their next mediocre purchase. Introducing L4Men (seriously), an aftershave for, you guessed it, men - clever lot, they are. Click to continue reading...

After finally ending a run of six matches without defeat in a 2-1 win over Uruguay on Saturday, Argentina followed it up on Wednesday night by losing to trans-Andean neighbours Chile for the first time ever in a competitive match. It was a win Marcelo Bielsa's team thoroughly deserved, and followed on from Paraguay's one-goal [. Click to continue reading...

As ever, Coco Basile won't be revealing his starting XI until very shortly before kick off in Santiago, but with Juan Román Riquelme having rejoined the Boca Juniors squad to prepare for Sunday's superclásico following his suspension and with Carlos Tevez also ruled out, it's thought after the team's final training session at Ezeiza on [. Click to continue reading...

In my absence, Argentina finally returned to winning ways after six matches of forgetting what it felt like. In the Monumental, in the clásico against their ancient cross-river rivals Uruguay, Alfio Basile's side finally looked like a team again. It took seven minutes of the first half - between the fifth, when Lionel Messi opened [. Click to continue reading...

Friday is the last full day of training for Argentina's squad ahead of the World Cup qualifying clásico against Uruguay in the Monumental on Saturday. It's been a disrupted week for Alfio Basile's men but on Thursday, Juan Román Riquelme returned to training with the squad. Things aren't all quite to plan so far, though - [. Click to continue reading...

Two pieces of news regarding Argentine selecciones today, both of which took place on Sunday whilst the league action was going on. In the Brazil 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup, Argentina drew 2-2 against Ukraine in a frantic end to a highly entertaining match which saw all the goals come in the closing minutes (in spite [. Click to continue reading...

Two bits of news for Tuesday: Boca Juniors' quest to find a replacement for Martín Palermo during his long-term injury layoff has come to an end with the signing on loan (with a US$1.5 million fee should Boca wish to make the signing permanent) of former Central and River Plate striker Luciano Figueroa from Genoa. Click to continue reading...

The 2006 August transfer deadline day will always be remembered as the day West Ham United stunned the football world by signing two of the most promising young footballers that South America had to offer in the form of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.

Although most people were still surprised about Mascherano coming to England, it was the more recognised Argentine striking sensation Carlos Tevez who's pictures holding the Number 32 claret shirt with Alan Pardew left most wondering just how the Hammers had been able to pull of such an incredible coup. Click to continue reading...

Defiant Stoke stopped unbeaten Liverpool in their tracks at Anfield with a magnificent rearguard action.

Liverpool dominated throughout, had close on 70% possession, but just could not find a way past goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen and his outstanding defenders.

Stoke play to their strengths - being direct and physical - but they deserved their day in the sun. Click to continue reading...

While midfielder Steven Gerrard anticipates his next goal for Liverpool - which will be his 100th for the club, striker Robbie Keane is still waiting to open his account for the Reds. But former Arsenal and England centre-forward Alan Smith is sure Keane will become a huge hit at Anfield.

Robbie Keane joined Liverpool - the club he supported as a boy - for £20million in the summer from Tottenham, but his Anfield career has yet to ignite properly. Click to continue reading...

Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano has praised his Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in the wake of the club's 2-1 victory over Marseille last night.

Gerrard struck a first-half brace to give the Merseysiders a satisfactory start to Group D. The 28-year-old netted a penalty on the half hour after levelling Lorik Cana's opener with a majestic curling effort that beat Steve Mandanda all ends up. Click to continue reading...

Encouraged no end by Saturday's exceptional display that had Manchester United choking in their slipstream, Liverpool must feel in pretty fine fettle going into their Champions League opener with Marseille.

Rafael Benitez knows, after all, that there's so much more to come from this group of players, particularly the one bought at considerable expense from Tottenham in the summer. Click to continue reading...

I have a confession to make: I didn't feel too good before this game. We've been playing too poorly to be in any condition to face United especially without Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

I shouldn't have troubled myself because it was pride and determination rather than form that decided this game. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool made the sort of statement of intent that Rafa Benitez had been praying for on Saturday - but he insists his team can still improve.

Five successive defeats by Manchester United in the league and a succession of hard-luck stories against the Old Trafford men had meant that Benitez has never experienced league victory over Sir Alex Ferguson. Click to continue reading...

THE Road to Hell' which had flared out from the Anfield tannoy before the game was transformed into the road to redemption for Rafa Benitez and his Liverpool side.

Seven league defeats in eight games against Manchester United since Benitez took over the reins – the other one was a draw – meant the Spaniard could have been excused for looking forward to this game as eagerly as uncorking a bad bottle of Rioja. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool have today finally beaten Manchester United at Anfield today after seven years without a victory against the Premier League Champions. The Merseyside giants came into today's game unbeaten in the Premier League along with their rivals, but were desperate to secure three points after several years without a victory over Sir Alex Ferguson's men. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool certainly raised their game today with a historic 2-1 win against arch rivals Manchester United in an entertaining game. Watch the video highlights of the goals here. It was an impressive team performance from Liverpool who definitely seemed more up for the game than a Manchester United side that seemed lethargic and on the backfoot [. Click to continue reading...

It was second versus first in the Estadio Monumental on Saturday afternoon, as Argentina hosted leaders Paraguay in the South American qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. The selección didn't look particularly hot in front of their own fans, falling a goal down early on after dominating the opening exchanges before going a man down [. Click to continue reading...

LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez has defended his tactics at Aston Villa.

The Anfield side gained a creditable point from a goalless draw with Martin O'Neill's team.

But the use of striker Robbie Keane out wide on the left provoked a lot of comment.

However Benitez insists it was the right decision. Click to continue reading...

Steven Gerrard is currently sidelined and will miss out on England's crucial opening World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia, both away. Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez hopes that his talismanic captain will return for the key Premier League crunch game versus Manchester United.

Steven Gerrard recently underwent a groin operation that ruled him out of England's opening World Cup qualifying campaign. Click to continue reading...

I happen to think that the transfer deadline is  good thing. One positive is that you avoid players like Berbatov continually being linked with other clubs while still having to perform for the club they're under contract with. Another positive is you get days of complete mayhem just before the transfer deadline expires. Click to continue reading...

FERNANDO TORRES is set to miss Liverpool's meeting with Manchester United after he suffered a hamstring tear at Villa Park yesterday.

The Spanish striker, who sustained the injury after half an hour of the goalless draw with Aston Villa, will undergo a scan to assess the extent of the damage today. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will undergo a scan to determine the severity of a hamstring problem, but Reds manager Rafa Benitez has hinted that the injury will only be a short-term one.(Setanta)

The Spain international lasted only 27 minutes of Liverpool's 0-0 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday as he was substituted for David Ngog after chasing a pass from Javier Mascherano. Click to continue reading...

The Argentina squad for the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers against Paraguay in Buenos Aires, and Peru in Lima, has been almost finalised prior to the weekend's domestic action in Argentina, after which three Boca Juniors players will be added to the list. Alfio Basile has called up Getafe defender Daniel Díaz to replace Nicolás Burdisso, [. Click to continue reading...

Olympic gold medallist Javier Mascherano will almost certainly be plunged into Liverpool's tough away Barclays Premier League game at Aston Villa on Sunday.

The match has added spice after the summer of disagreement between Villa boss Martin O'Neill and Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez over the drawn-out saga of Gareth Barry's on-off move to Anfield. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool will be aiming to avoid European disaster when they face Standard Liege in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifier at Anfield.

The tie is delicately balanced following a goalless draw in Belgium two weeks ago, but the Reds rode their luck in the first leg.

Standard appeared to have a legitimate goal ruled out, while Jose Reina saved a penalty as the Belgian champions gave Liverpool an almighty scare in the first leg. Click to continue reading...