waroffutbol

  More than 40 players were snatched by Barcelona from their city rival, Espanyol, for their first team, but only a few eventually thrived. Barcelona and RC Espanyol have been rivals for years, but it does not stop both sides from swapping players. Blaugrana did release more of their stars to their fellow Catalan side, but not exactly the opposite. Former Danish international Martin Braithwaite was the last one to play regularly for Espanyol in the 2022/23 season. This season, however, Hans Flick’s side does the opposite by signing Espanyol’s brightest talent last season, Joan Garcia. He was La Liga’s best shot stopper last season despite only helping his team finish at the lower table. In fact, Garcia is seemingly prepared to take up the number one spot from the club’s captain, Marc Ter Stegen. The German goalie has fallen out of favour under Hans Flick since his attitude ahead of the second leg of the UCL semifinal against Inter Milan last season. Should Garcia be able to p...

  Peter Rufai, one of Africa’s best goalkeepers in history, who has just passed away recently, had a couple of intriguing stints in Europe. The former Nigerian international goalkeeper in the 1990s has reportedly departed following his illness lately. It is another piece of devastating news in football, as another footballer, Liverpool’s Diogo Jota, has just lost his life due to a car crash. Rufai was one of several former Nigerian squad members in the 1994 FIFAWorld Cup who had gone from this world . The other names were Stephen Keshi, Uche Okafor, and Wilfred Agbonavbare. During his playing years, the goalie who appeared in two FIFA World Cup editions, 1994 and 1998, had several spells in Europe. Although he was mainly named understudy, he had some notable moments worth remembering in his career at the club level, beside his performance with the Super Eagles in major international tournaments. Here are the highlights of the shot stopper who had royal blood from the Idimu tr...

  Several goalkeepers have played a key role in their team’s success in the FIFA Club World Cup or its predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup. Goalkeepers have often been overlooked in the FIFA Club World Cup or its predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup . Throughout history, only two shot stoppers have been named the man of the match in the competition. In reality, there were, as a matter of fact, more than that, especially in the Intercontinental Cup. Here are the best goalies in the tournament’s history, judging from their form during the game plus in the shootout, should their teams have won the game through that road, instead of during the normal time. Their clinical saves and penalty saves are the decisive keys to determine their importance in the match. Surprisingly, none of them are Europeans. Pato Abbondanzieri (2003 Intercontinental Cup) He was Argentina’s number one between the sticks in the mid-2000s. Pato Abbondanzieri had his best years during his stints with Bo...