waroffutbol

  A number of goalkeepers at the top level have been unfortunate, as they suffered serious injuries in the crucial moments during their team’s campaign. Football today has been developing rather out of proportion, with more and more intense games, congested fixtures, and unnecessary extended tournaments. The newly-formatted continental competition in Europe, the new-ish FIFA Intercontinental Cup, and the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup have provided more challenges for the teams and players ahead. Their wellness seems to have been ignored for the sake of generating more revenues, due to the pressure from sponsors or other third parties. No wonder that the number of injured players could potentially rise in the near future. For a goalkeeper, suffering serious injuries could be a horror, not for his own but also for his team. Taking a knock and being sidelined for months is already devastating. Let alone suffering the injuries in the crucial moment during their team’s campaign. They...

  Bayer Leverkusen’s first major title was not actually a domestic trophy but a continental one. Bayer Leverkusen has reached a new important milestone in the club’s history this season by clinching their first ever Bundesliga title. However, their Cinderella story is not yet complete. They are still aiming for two more silverwares next month: the DFB Pokal and the Europa League. Their first ever title, as a matter of fact, was not a domestic one but a continental trophy, which came in the late 1980s. It was the 1988 UEFA Cup (the old version of the Europa League). At that time, Erich Ribbeck’s men snatched a victory over Espanyol on penalties in a stunning second-leg comeback. How did they win without a single famous name in the squad but a senior South Korean international? It may have seemed impossible, but 1987/88 remains their most successful European campaign to date, though that record could be broken this season as well. Xabi Alonso ’s men have the potential to replic...