This is Jiří Kladrubský, a 22 yo left back for Sparta Praha, one time Czech NT participant and wannabe kung fu artist. His victim is Tomas Jun, forward for FK Teplice and formerly of Sparta. He also now features a pounding headache, maybe even a couple stitches, and a severe distaste for roundhouse kicks. Click to continue reading...

I have never been a fan of Nicolas Anelka so I know I am totally biased against him. Actually, that isn't totally true, when he was a teenager at Arsenal I was as impressed with him as was everybody else. It is since he left Arsenal that he has been such a disappointment. Watching Chelsea play against Manchester United on Sunday, I couldn't help but feel that Anelka looked totally out of place. Click to continue reading...

Pick up a newspaper today and the chances are the back pages are filled with talk of Robinho, Berbatov and the many other players moving to new clubs before the Premier League transfer window closed last night.

Yet for all the players grabbing the headlines and milking the spotlight, there are those that have been shown the door to make way for them in recent weeks. Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: James Milner (Newcastle United), Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Luke Young, (Middlesbrough), Nickey Shorey (Reading), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Shaun Maloney (Celtic), Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg. Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: James Milner (Newcastle United), Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Luke Young, (Middlesbrough), Nickey Shorey (Reading), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Shaun Maloney (Celtic), Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg. Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: James Milner (Newcastle United), Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Luke Young, (Middlesbrough), Nickey Shorey (Reading), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Shaun Maloney (Celtic), Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg. Click to continue reading...

The UEFA Cup first-round draw was held on Friday and there are a number of interesting new faces in the competition. One of those teams is Dutch side FC Twente, who as we've detailed in previous posts, is now coached by former England boss Steve McClaren. Twente, who were entered into the UEFA Cup after [. Click to continue reading...

Panathinaikos will return to the group stage of the UEFA Champions this coming September, after defeating Sparta Prague 3-1 on aggregate to feature in the tournament's group stage for the first time in three years. Unfortunately, the Athenian club will be the only Greek representative in the Champions League for Click to continue reading...

Summer signing Rodrigo Souza was the lone scorer in Panathinaikos' 1-0 win over Sparta Prague tonight in Athens. Leaving it late, Panathinaikos won the game as they did a fortnight ago to end Sparta Prague's Champions League run prematurely. A must-win game for the visitors was level until Souza tallied Click to continue reading...

Panathinaikos face their final qualifying test tonight at OAKA, as Czech club Sparta Prague pays a visit to the Greek capital. Holding a 2-1 aggregate lead heading into tonight's deciding leg, Panathinaikos is favourite to progress to the group stage of the Champions League. The Greek side gave a formidable performance Click to continue reading...

Uefa Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round Leg 2: Panathinaikos Athens are meeting  Sparta Prague Tuesday August 26th. Watch the highlights and LIVESTREAM here at footiedb.com Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Luke Young, (Middlesbrough), Nickey Shorey (Reading), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Moore (West. Click to continue reading...

Panathinaikos took a big step towards qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stage with a gritty 2-1 win over Sparta Prague in the Czech capital. An exchange of goals including an own goal scored by Sparta Prague gave Panathinaikos two away goals to take back to Athens. A shaky opening Click to continue reading...

Panathinaikos will meet Czech club Sparta Prague tonight for the first leg of their 3rd Qualifying round for a spot in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Both clubs overcame opposition to reach this stage of the tournament; Panathinaikos knocked out Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi, while Sparta Prague edged past Click to continue reading...

No, not this year. Not yet. In a couple years time though Villa, Pompey, City or Spurs fans will rejoice as they look forward to a couple of matches against Sparta Prague, before being outclassed by some Spaniards and crashing out in the group stages. Still, it will be a better crusade than that experienced by Everton in 2005. Click to continue reading...

The second qualifying round brought two big upsets as Rangers and Anderlecht became two of the biggest clubs to be knocked out at this stage. A 2-1 win (video highlights here) in Lithuania saw FBK Kaunas (pictured celebrating at the right) take full advantage of the 0-0 draw they earned at Ibrox to send the beaten [. Click to continue reading...

Anorthosis Famagusta - Olympiakos Vitoria de Guimarães - FC Basel Shaktar Donetsk - Dinamo Zagreb FC Schalke 04 - Atlético Madrid AaB Aalborg - FBK Kaunas Barcelona - Wisła Kraków Levski Sofia - BATE Borisov Standard Liege - Liverpool Partizan Belgrade - Fenerbahçe FC Twente - Arsenal Spartak Moscow - Dynamo Kiev Juventus - Artmedia Petralka Brann Bergen - Marseille Fiorentina - Slavia Prague Galatasaray - Steaua Bucharest Panathinaikos - Sparta Prague Matches are August 12/13 and 26/27. Click to continue reading...

Ventspils 2-1 Brann Bergen (2-2 agg)FBK Kaunas 2-1 Rangers (2-1 agg)Partizan Belgrade 2-0 Inter Baku (3-1 agg)Dynamo Kiev 2-2 Drogheda United (4-3 agg)Artmedia Petralka 4-2 Tampere United (7-3 agg)Sparta Prague 2-0 Sherif Tiraspol (3-0 agg)Modriča 1-2 AaB Aalborg (1-7 agg)Wisła Kraków 5-0 Beitar Jerusalem (6-2 agg)MTK Budapest 0-5 Fenerbahçe (0-7 agg)Basel 4-2 IFK Göteborg (5-3 agg)BATE Borisov 2-2 Anderlecht (4-3 agg)Rapid Wien 3-1 Anorthosis Famagusta (3-4 agg)Dinamo Zagreb 3-2 Domale (6-2 agg)Dinamo Tbilisi 0-0 Panathinaikos (0-3) Click to continue reading...

ASTON VILLA Notable arrivals: Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Moore (West Brom), Thomas Sorensen. Possibilities: Gareth Barry (Liverpool,. Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Moore (West Brom), Thomas Sorensen. Possibilities: Gareth Barry (Liverpool, Arsenal) So. Click to continue reading...

The 2008-09 season is fast approaching. In fact, some teams have already played their first qualifying matches in the UEFA Cup. Today, the 3rd round qualifying matches for the Champions League were announced. Here is the complete draw:

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Third qualifying round draw:

Anorthosis/Rapid Vienna v Olympiakos
Vitoria Guimaraes v IFK Gothenburg/Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk v Domzale/Dinamo Zagreb
Schalke 04 v Atletico Madrid
Aalborg/Modrica v RANGERS/Kaunas
Barcelona v Beitar Jerusalem/Wisla Krakow
Levski Sofia v Anderlecht/BATE
Standard Liege v LIVERPOOL
Inter Baku/Partizan v Fenerbahce/MTK Budapest
FC Twente v ARSENAL
Spartak Moscow v Drogheda/Dinamo Kiev
Juventus v Tampere/Artmedia
SK Brann/Ventspils v Marseille
Fiorentina v Slavia Prague
Galatasaray v Steaua Bucharest
Panathinaikos/Dinamo Tbilisi v Sheriff Tiraspol/Sparta Prague

The winners of these cup ties will enter the group stage of the Champions League.

Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom). Pending: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Moore (West Brom), Thomas Sorensen. Possibilities: Gareth Barry (Liverpool, Arsenal). Click to continue reading...

Drogheda United 1-2 Dynamo Kiev Brann Bergen 1-0 Ventspils Inter Baku 1-1 Partizan Belgrade Domale 0-3 Dinamo Zagreb Panathinaikos 3-0 Dinamo Tbilisi Rangers 0-0 FBK Kaunas Anorthosis Famagusta 3-0 Rapid Wien Anderlecht 1-2 BATE Borisov IFK Göteborg 1-1 Basel Fenerbahçe 2-0 MTK Budapest Beitar Jerusalem 2-1 Wisła Kraków AaB Aalborg 5-0 Modriča Sheriff Tiraspol 0-1 Sparta Prague Tampere United 1-3 Artmedia PetralkaSecond Leg August 5 and 6. Click to continue reading...

Friday sees Arsenal in the draw for the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League for the third year in a row. Last season Arsenal were drawn against Sparta Prague, knocking out the Czech team 5-0 on aggregate, whilst the season before it was Dinamo Zagreb who were Arsenal's opponents. This is the last year that [. Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom). Pending: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Moore (West Brom), Thomas Sorensen. Possibilities: Gareth Barry (Liverpool, Arsenal). Click to continue reading...

By: Alan
Soccer City FC

Irish champions Drogheda United have set up a dream tie with 1999 semi-finalists Dynamo Kiev in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. Drogheda United travelled to Estonia with the comfort of knowing that a draw would see them progress having beaten Levadia Talinn 2-1 in the home leg at Dalymount Park. Click to continue reading...

Notable arrivals: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom). Pending: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Brad Friedel (Blackburn). Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool). Possibilities: Gareth Barry (Liverpool, Arsenal) MON to 'Pool: ---- or get. Click to continue reading...

ASTON VILLA Notable arrivals: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom). Pending: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Possibilities: Brad Friedel (Blackburn). Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool). Possibilities: Gareth Barry (Liverpool, Arsenal) No tall tale. Click to continue reading...

ASTON VILLA Notable arrivals: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom). Pending: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA). Possibilities: Brad Friedel (Blackburn). Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool). Possibilities: Gareth Barry (Liverpool, Arsenal) Still brewing: Liverpool. Click to continue reading...

Aston Villa Notable arrivals: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea) Notable departures: Patrik Berger (Sparta Prague), Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Scott Carson (Liverpool). Possibilities: Gareth Barry (Liverpool) Still brewing: Martin O'Neill still could be looking for a keeper (have been... Click to continue reading...

All roads lead to Rome for Liverpool in next season's Champions League competition. The 2009 final will be staged at the Stadio Olimpico in Italy's capital and on two of the three previous occasions that the Eternal City has hosted European football's biggest game of the season Liverpool have emerged as winners. Click to continue reading...

With rumors spreading all around England about who will be where next season, it's easy to get forget which deals have really happened. Premiership Talk breaks down a list of all of the league's confirmed transfers:

Arsenal
IN: Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff) - £5 million
OUT: Mathieu Flamini (AC Milan) - free
Jens Lehmann (Stuttgart) - free

Aston Villa
IN: None
OUT: Luke Moore (West Brom) - £3 million
Patrick Berger (Sparta Prague) - free

Blackburn Rovers
IN: None
OUT: None

Bolton Wanderers
IN: Patrice Muamba (Birmingham) - £5 million
Johan Elmander (Toulouse) - Undisclosed
OUT: Ivan Campo (Released)
Adranik Teymourian (Fulham) - free

Chelsea FC
IN: Jose Bosingwa (Porto) - £16. Click to continue reading...

Having looked at the English press in the last few days there is no doubt that Chelsea are going to be a force to be reckoned with next season. If you believe the papers, Chelsea are looking to buy Kaka, Torres, Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Moutinho and just about every other top player you could possibly think of! Click to continue reading...

The latest transfer news involving players. I'll have a post up later on Perrin and possible managers tomorrow.

Outgoing:

It's always the same old story with Sidney Govou. He starts talking about leaving, but he always ends up staying. This year is no different.

Click to continue reading...

FC Brno defeated Sparta Prague in Gambrinus Liga action on Sunday. The defeat leaves Sparta only four points ahead of second place side Slavia Prague with two league games to play. Slavia Prague's match at Sigma Olomouc tomorrow suddenly becomes an even more crucial fixture.

FC Brno received goals from 21 year-old forward Marek Střeštík (19') and Tomáš Došek (90'). Click to continue reading...