Brazilian Beauties - The Hottest Babes at the World Cup ..... so far!

Players to watch out for at the 2014 FIFA World Cup

#1 Alessio Cerci  (Italy)

Italy's Alessio Cerci is elite in a free-roaming central role.
Cerci can play as a winger or second striker. He is not exactly a No. 9, nor is he a No. 10, but playing predominantly in a forward role for Torino in Serie A, he ended this season with 13 goals and 11 assists.
Cerci is a naturally left footed player, with excellent technique and remarkable quickness, playing mainly as a winger. He can play on both wings, but prefers the right, from which he can cut inside and shoot with his preferred foot, but if Italy need a game-winning moment, then throw Cerci up front and see what he can do. He is a trump card for Italy.
Internationally, Cerci has represented Italy right through from under-16 to Italy under-21 levels. He made his senior international debut in March 2013 in a friendly match against Brazil.

Italy are in Group D with Uruguay, Costa Rica and England.


#2 James Rodriguez  (Columbia)

A strong, powerful, explosive attacking midfield player that loves to run at defenders. The 22 year-old is considered as one of the very best young talents in South America. He is a massively important player for both his club, French giants AS Monaco and his country.
In May 2013, Rodríguez joined French side AS Monaco from FC Porto for a transfer fee of €45 million, thus making it the second most expensive transfer in Portuguese football. At Porto Rodriguez won the Portuguese Golden Ball award in 2012 becoming the second Colombian after Radamel Falcao to win the award, as well as being the youngest player ever to hold the honor.
In his debut season for Monaco he helped them secure a spot in the Champions League, was named in the French Ligue 1 star XI team, as well as becoming the French Ligue 1 top assist player.
Rodriguez is an exiting player and it will be interesting to see how he does in the 2014 World Cup.

Columbia are in Group C along with Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan.


#3 Paul Pogba  (France)

Pogba is a French international footballer who plays for Italian club Juventus in Serie A. He began his career at Le Harve before joining Manchester United in 2009. Pogba made his Premier League debut against Stoke City on 31st January 2012. On 3rd July 2012 Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that Pogba had left the club, after not signing a new contract, and on the 3rd August he joined Juventus on a four-year contract.
Pogba is a French youth international and has earned caps at all levels for which he has been eligible.
Pogba was the captain of the team that won France's first ever FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2012. In that tournament held in Turkey.  He was named the best player of the tournament.
He received the 'Golden Boy' award for 2013, given to the best under-21 player in Europe.
On 22 March 2013, Pogba made his debut for the French senior team in a World Cup qualifier against Georgia.
In January 2014, he was named by The Guardian as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe.

France are in Group E with Honduras, Ecuador and Switzerland.


#4 Kevin De Bruyne  (Belgium)

The young Beligian is one of many exiting young talents in a Belgian squad, that have a fantastic set up, with a great mix of experienced players and young talent. The former Genk and Chelsea man is now plying his trade in Germany with Vfl Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg signed De Bruyne for a fee of £18 million in January 2014.
While at Stamford Bridge the West London club loaned the 22 year-old out to Werder Breman. His spell there was hugely successful and he won the 'Bundesliga Young Player of the Year 2012–13.'
He is a great player and he has been capped by Belgium at under-18, under-19, and under-21 level. He made his debut for the Belgian senior team on 11th August 2010.
De Bruyne became a regular member of Belgium's team during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, where he scored four goals as the Red Devils qualified for their first major tournament in 12 years.

Belguim are in Group H with South Korea, Russia and Algeria.


#5 Josip Drmić  (Switzerland)

Born of Croatian descent Drmić began his playing career at FC Zürich.
In July 2013, Drmić joined Bundesliga club FC Nürnberg. He finished his first season with 17 league goals, the third most by any player in the league, but his team were relegated.
Less than a month ago Drmić agreed to sign a five-year deal with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, for an undisclosed fee, despite interest from Arsenal.
On 11th September 2012, Drmić won his first cap for the Switzerland senior team in a 2–0 2014 World Cup qualifying win over Albania.

Switzerland are in Group E with Honduras, France and Ecuador.


#6 Daley Blind  (Netherlands)

Daley Blind has gone from an easy target for disgruntled Ajax fans believing he was only in the team due to his father (Danny Blind, a five-time Eredivisie winner with Ajax) to one of the most complete footballers in the Netherlands.
On 7th December 2008, Blind made his debut in the Ajax first team.
In 2013 Blind was voted 'AFC Ajax Player of the Year' for the 2012/13 season.
He is a high quality left-back who has also has become a wonderful orchestrator of play in midfield.
With Roma's Kevin Strootman set to miss the FIFA World Cup after a cruciate ligament injury, Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal may consider playing 24 year-old Blind in midfield.
Daley Blind made his debut for the Netherlands national team on 6th February 2013, in the starting left back position, against Italy in a friendly encounter at the Amsterdam Arena.

The Netherlands are in Group B with Chile, Australia and Spain.


#7 Fernandinho  (Brazil)

Fernandinho may not have the superstar reputation of Neymar or a widely recognised name like Hulk, but the Manchester City central midfielder is one of the best players in his position.
He started his career at Brazilian club Atlético Paranaense before moving to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2005, where he became one of the best foreign players to ever play in the Ukraine Premier League.
With Shakhtar, he won six Ukrainian Premier League titles, four Ukrainian Cups and the 2008–09 UEFA Cup.
He is well known for his blistering pace and ability to shoot from long distances. He is described as 'a defensive midfielder' with a box to box style of play, contributing in large part to the defense and the attack. With a powerful shot and great passing range, Fernandinho plays an important part in breaking up opposition attacks and creating goal scoring opportunities.
The five time tournament winners are hot favorites to be crowned World Champions again, but Fernandinho must start every game if Brazil are to win the tournament for the sixth time.

Brazil are in Group A with Cameroon, Croatia and Mexico.

Babe of the Month - Sexy Brazilian Lineswoman

Fernanda Colombo Uliana was born 24th April 1991 in Brazil and took twitter by storm recently after she served as the assistant referee in a Brazil Cup match last month.

The 25-year-old ran the line during Sao Paulo’s 3-0 Copa do Brasil win over CRB on the 8th May 2014.
A few days later Fernanda was then appointed for the first time to run the line of a Brazilian Serie A league match, but the female official found herself at the centre of controversy after she made a match-altering call on her Brasileiro Serie A debut.

Cruzeiro travelled to derby rivals Atletico Mineiro on 11th May, but the 'Brazilian babe' denied the visitors a last-minute equalizer at 2-1 through a questionable offside call.
In response to the decision, Cruzeiro director of football Alexandre Mattos told Globo (a Brazilian television network based in Rio de Janeiro):
"That assistant is pretty, but she's not prepared for this. The fans shout and she gets it wrong. She's pretty but you have to be good at your job. If she's pretty, she should go and pose for Playboy."

By the age of 20, she was the assistant referee FHR and acted on the decision of the Access Division Santa Catarina State Championship. Fernanda was the newest in the context of arbitration of the Santa Catarina Football Federation.

She tells how she discovered her passion for the sport, while at University she was a track athlete and her trainer approach her to ask her if she liked football and she said yes. The trainer told her about a course from the federation and she ended up taking it. From that point she became immerse in a world dominated by men.

Fernanda has just been granted FIFA official status And rather than regretting the fact that she will now have abuse hurled at her from far larger crowds, she is delighted that her career has moved on to the next level - both for herself, and for women in general.

"It's one more step towards winning people over," she told local paper Diario Catarinense.
"It's the result of all the dedication I've shown. Who wouldn't want to receive recognition in their chosen career, after all? For me it's a huge victory."

Her words should not be taken lightly: sexism is far more rife in Brazil than most in Europe would credit, as a look at any football club's website might show - they commonly feature naked models and porn stars to attract fans!

Fernando currently resides in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina. She is a personal trainer by profession. She has a Bachelor of Physical Education-UFSC with Specialization in Cardiac Rehabilitation and Special Groups.

You can follow Fernando on Facebook

All the latest transfer gossip across Europe!

With the regular season all but complete, and the World Cup just seventeen days away, you might expect Clubs to take their foot of the gas for a few weeks, but you couldn't be more wrong. The transfer rumour mill is in full swing as Clubs begin to prepare for next season.

Here is a round up of all the latest transfer gossip across Europe today!

Is your club involved?

Queens Park Rangers, Liverpool, AC Milan, Arsenal, Southampton, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Besiktas, Chelsea, Paris St-Germain, West Ham, Juventus, Valencia, Cardiff City, Sunderland, Hamburg, Roma, Hull City, Wigan, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and Panathinaikos...........are all caught up in the latest transfer news/rumours across Europe, as we speak.

Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp is poised to move for midfielder Frank Lampard and defender Rio Ferdinand, also 35, as he prepares for a return to the Premier League. Ferdinand was released by Manchester United at the end of the season, while Lampard is out of contract at Chelsea - The Sun and sportsmole.co.uk

Liverpool are set to make a £40m double swoop for Southampton duo Adam Lallana and full-back Nathaniel Clyne (right) - Daily Star and transfermarketweb.com

Liverpool have been told they must increase their offer to £25m for Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana, 26, if they want him to move to Anfield - Metro

Arsenal and Liverpool are again being linked with striker Mario Balotelli - skysports.com

Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna is poised to pen a bumper contract thought to worth in the region of £120,000 a week to join Manchester City - Daily Express

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has dropped hints he might be ready to make a move for Real Madrid and French international striker Karim Benzema - Daily Star

Manchester United Striker Danny Welbeck, 23, has spoken about his frustration at being played out of position at United and that will alert Tottenham, among others, to his potential availability - Daily Telegraph

Manchester United's Nani will move to Inter Milan on loan until the summer with an option for a permanent deal - O Jogo (Portugal)

Atletico Madrid will fight to keep Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois at the club this summer despite interest from Chelsea - Daily Mail

Turkish side Besiktas are keen on Chelsea striker Demba Ba, 29, after cooling interest in unsettled Blues forward Samuel Eto'o - Daily Mail

Chelsea have made an enquiry for Paris St-Germain striker Ezequiel Lavezzi (right).
It is understood the Argentine, 29, is keen to play in a more competitive league outside France - Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail

St-Etienne's Kurt Zouma has decided to join Chelsea but probably only in the summer. However, both sides are yet to agree terms - L'Equipe (France)

Liverpool have reportedly shown their hand in the pursuit of striker Loic Remy by offering a bid to Queens Park Rangers.
While reports have claimed that the striker has held talks with both the Reds and Arsenal, it is believed that Liverpool have made their move - footballdirectnews.com

West Ham have agreed a three-year deal with Argentine forward Mauro Zarate, 27, who has had spells in Europe with Birmingham City in 2008 and more recently with Italian giants Lazio and Inter Milan - Daily Star and skysports.com

James Milner's Manchester City future is hanging in the balance with the player undecided on his future - Manchester Evening News

Juventus are close to signing Dani Osvaldo (right) from Southampton on a permanent deal,  but Valencia are also interested  The Argentinian born striker has been on loan at the Turin club since January - Gazzetta Dello Sport (Italy) and Corriere Dello Sport (Italy)

Championship-bound Cardiff City are set to sign free agent Federico Macheda, 22, this week after the striker was released by Manchester United - Daily Mail

Sunderland are leading the chase to bring Michael Mancienne back to England. The 26-year-old former Chelsea defender wants to head home after a three-year spell in Germany with Hamburg - Daily Mirror and The Sun

Roma will turn their attention to Southampton central defender Dejan Lovren if their Moroccan international Mehdi Benatia is lured away to Manchester City - The Sun

FA Cup finalists Hull City are being linked with a £3million move for Southampton defender Jose Fonte - The Daily Echo

Hull City are reportedly preparing to begin discussions with Tottenham Hotspur over the permanent capture of midfielder Jake Livermore (right).
Despite the clubs being quite a distance apart with regards to the initial fee, it is believed that Hull are hopeful of securing Livermore's services for next season - Hull Daily Mail

Tottenham's promising midfielder Alex Pritchard is wanted on loan by Wigan boss Uwe Rosler - Daily Mirror

Leicester City have announced they have signed defender Matthew Upson on a one-year contract along with highly-rated young striker Jack Barmby, 19 from Manchester United on a two-year contract - Leicester Mercury

Nottingham Forest are reportedly tracking Panathinaikos goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino. The 20-year-old, who has been selected in the Greece squad for the World Cup, was the subject of a bid from Napoli last season - Nottingham Post

My Alternative Best & Worst Premier League Memories of the 2013/14 Season

It has been a thrilling Premier League season, full of twists and turns at the top, the middle and the bottom - with Manchester City emerging as champions in the end.
There have been brilliant goals, memorable matches, wonderful performances, as well as some more controversial moments and outbursts. As a Palace fan you may feel the following piece shows some bias towards the South-London Club! However they have been applauded by many this season for their achievements, both on and off the field.


Biggest Gripe:
Crying fans. You know who you are. Get a grip!
Secondly: Stupid kick-off times and inconsiderate scheduling, when all everybody wants is a game on a Saturday afternoon.
Thirdly: Yellow cards for players removing their shirts during a goal celebration.

Best and Worst Fans:
According to a Premier League fans' pole held by The Guardian newspaper Crystal Palace fans were considered the best away support by almost one-third of all Premier League clubs, namely Cardiff, Chelsea, Everton, Southampton, Swansea and West Ham, with Fulham fairing the worst.
The bleacherreport ranked Selhurst Park as the ground with the best atmosphere in the Premier League.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville and former Palace and England defender Gareth Southgate also praised the atmosphere at Selhurst Park.
Neville said of the Palace faithful: "They’ve been the best fans this season by a million miles. I don’t know what they’re putting in the water there. They’re mad."

Most Bizarre Goal of the Season:
On 2nd November 2013 Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic scored after 13 seconds in Stoke's 1-1 draw with Southampton.
The goalkeeper's long kick forward got carried in the wind before bouncing over Saints keeper Artur Boruc at the other end of the pitch and finding the net.

Other Premier League goal-scoring goalkeepers:

Peter Schmeichel (Aston Villa) v Everton in 2001

Brad Friedel (Blackburn) v Charlton in 2004

Paul Robinson (Tottenham) v Watford in 2007

Tim Howard (Everton) v Bolton in 2012

Best Goal of the Season: Pajtim Kasami for Fulham at Selhurst Park:
There have been some phenomenal strikes in the Premier League this season. But in terms of technique nothing betters Kasami's effort in Fulham's victory over Crystal Palace in October. Fulham trailed 1-0 in what was a huge game for them. Sprinting at full pelt, the Swiss international burst through the defence, controlled Sascha Riether's long-ball with his chest without breaking stride, and then unleashed a sumptuous right-footed volley which dipped over Julian Speroni's head from a near impossible angle. Shades of Marco Van Basten!

Special mentions also go to Jonjo Shelvey, and whilst Wayne Rooney’s goal at West Ham was truly special, the fact that goalkeeper Adrian was flapping around like a beached seal somewhat ruined it and for sheer bloody-minded Jeeeeeesus Christ-ness its Norwich City’s Norwegian Alex Tettey. His sublime long distance volley versus Sunderland, had everything - technique, pace, power and direction! An unlikely source but a screamer none the less!

Worst Penalty of the Season: Jason Puncheon
On the 11th January 2014 Jason Puncheon, the Crystal Palace midfielder became the first Premier League player to miss a penalty this season. After an atrocious spot-kick at White Hart Lane, blazing high and wide against Spurs, which included a bonus (and appropriate) face palm, it was rightly or wrongly labelled by many as the worst penalty kick of all-time!

Most Significant Own Goal of the Season: John Terry.
The beginning of the end of Chelsea's title ambitions. After thumbing Arsenal 6-0 the week before, Terry's own goal saw Chelsea lose at Selhurst Park and some of the results that followed including a home defeat to Sunderland and a home draw with Norwich saw any chance of them winning the title go up in smoke!

Quote of the Season: "They can die as soon as they want"
Hull City owner Assem Allam decides the best way to endear himself to the club's fans is to attempt to change the name that has stood for more than a century and tell the fans they can kill themselves if they don't like it. (But to his credit he appointed a good manager in Steve Bruce, supported his wise purchases of Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic in the January transfer window and can now look forward to an FA Cup final appearance against Arsenal).

"I want to congratulate again Mike Dean. I think his performance was unbelievable and I think when referees have unbelievable performances, I think it's fair that as managers we give them praise. So fantastic performance"
He hasn't won anything this year but Jose Mourinho has been quote gold. This time he lands himself in hot water by coming across all sarcastic after Sunderland inflicted a first home defeat in 78 matches for the Chelsea manager.

Worst Club Chairman:
Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan was allowed to get away with changing Cardiff City's colours from their famous blue to (lucky) red while the club were heading towards the Premier League. He then attempted to adopt his own transfer policy by signalling his intent to only sign players with the (lucky) number eight in their birthday, and he even booed his own team off the field. But what turned the tide against him was sacking manager Malky Mackay, the man who took them there and was so highly regarded by the fans, despite a poor start to the season. It was a bitter parting and it is hard to see how Tan's relationship with Cardiff's fans can recover, especially after relegation.

Best Match of the Season: Crystal Palace 3-3 Liverpool.
For the sheer drama of the late turn-around, it was one in a million. One of those matches that makes you think the Premier League really is the best most unpredictable league in the world.

Worst Match of the Season: Manchester Utd 0-0 Chelsea.
Back in August 2013 no-one knew quite how bad Manchester United were going to be under David Moyes, and so Jose Mourinho thought he was being really, really ball-achingly clever when his Chelsea side turned up at Old Trafford, opted to play no forwards and bored his way to a goalless draw.
He wasn’t.

Best Signing of the Season: Jason Puncheon.
Having arrived on loan at Crystal Palace at the start of the season, the 27 year-old winger signed a long-term deal in January, and Palace became his 11th club, in his much travelled career. He established himself as a key member of a team which surpassed all expectations. There were seven goals, all of them important, and it is testament to Puncheon's character that he excelled having had to endure the humiliation of that dreadful penalty miss against Tottenham, as Tony Pulis's side cruised to Premier League safety.

Worst Signings of the Season:
1/ Erik Lamela. A £30m signing from Roma as Spurs looked for a replacement of sorts for Gareth Bale. Ten starts in all competitions for Tottenham. One goal. Hardly any memorable moments. Disappeared over the second half of the season with a mystery back complaint. Massive problems learning the language. Hard to know how it could have gone any worse. The Argentine winger was probably the worst replacement since Alberto Aquilani tried to fill a Xabi Alonso shaped hole in Liverpool’s midfield.

2/ Second is Norwich's Ricky van Wolfswinkel. Chris Hughton splashed £8.5m on van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Lisbon as the supposed answer to his goalscoring problems - built his Norwich team around him, got one goal in return (a fortuitous opening-day goal against Everton), saw his team turn into rubbish and got himself the sack to top it all off

3/ Third is Marouane Fellaini. A £27.5m disaster (Tottenham's Roberto Soldado also deserves a mention.)

Most Controversial Moments of the Season:

1/ A manager headbutted a player.
Just take a moment to think about that. Maybe think about your manager at work and imagine if he/she did the same to someone who worked for a rival company. Pardew did just that to Hull’s David Meyler. A seven-game ban followed on top of a £100,000 club fine, during which time Newcastle were abysmal, but Pardew has managed to hang onto his job by his fingernails, but for how long?

2/ Jose Mourinho scares a ballboy:
What is it with Chelsea and ballboys? Last season it was Eden Hazard who gave a Swansea youngster the boot and this season manager Jose Mourinho decided to give a young Crystal Palace ballboy a stern lesson during the match. Unhappy with the boy taking too long to give the ball back, Mourinho warned him he could be “punched” if he continued the delaying tactic.

3/ Chris Smalling dresses as a suicide bomber:
The poor Manchester United press office. Not only have they had to deal with the David Moyes debacle, but Smalling decided to give them a bit of extra work by hosting a fancy dress party and going as a suicide bomber. The tabloids got families of terrorist attack victims to condemn the United defender and he promised to limit his fancy dress options to zombies, cowboys and Fred Flintstone in the future.

Most Deluded Fans in the Premier League:
Newcastle fans are the most deluded in the Premier League, just edging out West Ham's
Yes, Newcastle lost six matches in a row, that led to a mass walk-out at St James' Park during the win against Cardiff. Yes, their manager headbutted an opposition player. But they had secured a top-half finish way back in February. Why then do the Newcastle fans consider their Club to be a laughing stock? Anyway the Geordie fans just edge out London's East End fans as the most deluded in the Country.

Psychologist of the Season: Dr.Steve Peters
Every team will be on the hunt for their own Dr.Steve Peters. The psychologist is said to have worked wonders at Anfield this season, but the meltdown at Crystal Palace suggested that when the pressure was on Liverpool were not quite as in control as they would have liked.

Waste of a Talent: Wilfried Zaha
The £15m man who would save English football was given little chance to impress by David Moyes before being loaned to Cardiff. And no one could make them look good.

Unlikely Hero: Dwight Gayle
Two years after playing in the Conference North, a year after relegation to League One with Peterborough, and with just 88 minutes of Premier League football under his belt in 2014, Crystal Palace striker Dwight Gayle was the unlikely man to end Liverpool’s title hopes and finish the season as the Club's top goalscorer.

Worst Director of Football: Joe Kinnear
“Judge me on my signings,” said Newcastle’s newly appointed director of football last summer. They did and he was sacked in February having failed to bring in a single player on a permanent transfer.

Young Player of the Year: Séamus Coleman
There were a few candidates in here including Ross Barkley, Joel Ward, Raheem Sterling and Luke Shaw, but Coleman was quite simply superb. His seven goals this season were priceless and he was an instrumental part in what made Everton's defence one of the meanest all season (conceding only 39 goals - only Chelsea had a better record).

Worst Refereeing Decision: Andre Marriner’s error in mistakenly sending-off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain instead of Kieran Gibbs at Stamford Bridge in March, and this despite Oxlade-Chamberlain telling Marriner he was the culprit. To make matters worse Chelsea went on to win the game 6-0.

Defining Moment of the Season:
If Liverpool had won the Premier League then it would have been Philippe Coutinho’s superb winner against Manchester City following a Vincent Kompany sliced clearance.

But as they didn't then of course it is Steven Gerrard’s slip against Chelsea which allowed Demba Ba to score.

It was a moment in time which ensures that, no matter how hard you work, how much you sacrifice, how much you long for success for your team, your fans and your city, you are still susceptible to the crazy storylines which run throughout football.

Changes for Next Season:

Lifetime bans for supporters that leave the stadium while the game is in the balance. You know who you are!

My Premier League Worst XI of the 2013/14 season:

Maarten Stekelenburg (Fulham)

Matt Lowton (Aston Villa)

Fernando Amorebieta (Fulham)

Modibo Diakite (Sunderland)

Aly Cissokho (Liverpool)

Erik Lamela (Spurs)

Marouane Fellaini (Man U)

Mohamed Diame (West Ham)

Andreas Cornelius (Cardiff)

Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Norwich)

Jozy Altidore (Sunderland)

My Alternative Premier League Best XI of the 2013/14 season:

Julian Speroni (Palace)

Joel Ward (Palace)

Marin Skrtel (Liverpool)

John Terry (Chelsea)

Leighton Baines (Everton

Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)

Fernandinho (Man C)

David Silva (Man C)

Romelu Lukaku (Everton)

Sergio Aguero (Man C)

The Most Controversial Player Celebrations in Football

Celebrations and gestures made by players are part of every sport to some degree. The joy and emotion of a player is usually obvious, for example after they score a goal in football. Of course, there are players who let emotion or bad judgment take charge in these instances. Arguing with officials and other players, taunting the opposition or making rude gestures to the crowd are all occurrences observed from time to time.

The world of football is no different. For instance, recently West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka, (right) was involved in a controversy caused by one such celebration.
The French striker attracted criticism when he performed a gesture called a ‘quenelle.’ Anelka insists the ‘quenelle’ is an anti-establishment gesture and was done in support of his comedian friend, and ‘quenelle’ creator, comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala. Critics of the gesture see it as reminiscent of the Nazi salute and the FA, English football’s governing body, agreed fining Anelka £80,000 and banning him for 5 matches.

Anelka’s case raises the question of other footballers who have celebrated or made gestures deemed inappropriate during a match. There are many, but here are some of the most controversial player celebrations and gestures witnessed in professional football.


Goading Fans:

In September 2009, Manchester City hosted Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. The game was significant as it saw former Gunner, Emmanuel Adebayor (below) face off against his old club for the first time since leaving North London. Arsenal supporters were disappointed with Adebayor’s departure and by his perceived lack of respect for the club. Having booed and taunted the Togolese striker for most the match, Arsenal supporters were sent into a rage when Adebayor scored in the final 10 minutes and ran the length of the pitch before sliding to his knees to celebrate in front of them. Objects were thrown at the player and a steward was injured in the process. Adebayor was given a yellow card and given a £25,000 fine and a two-match suspended ban.

In a similar action to Adebayor, Manchester United defender Gary Neville was fined £5,000 pounds and warned about his future conduct by the Football Association a few weeks later, after ran to celebrate a late Rio Ferdinand goal in front of the Liverpool fans at Old Trafford.

The Drug User:

Unsurprisingly, any celebration which appears to suggest drug use is deemed unacceptable by footballs governing bodies. Step forward Robbie Fowler.
In April 1999, Liverpool squared off against Merseyside rivals Everton. Before the match, there were reports and accusations by some Everton supporters that Liverpool’s Fowler had a drug abuse problem. The Reds’ striker responded after scoring a goal by pretending to snort up the penalty area line as if it were a line of cocaine.
The FA fined Fowler £60,000 and banned him for 4 matches.

In the Russian League, Spartak Moscow striker Emmanuel Emenike was shown a straight red following his goal celebration against Zenit St. Petersburg. What did he do wrong? Emenike celebration involved slapping the inside of his arm, as if preparing for an imaginary heroine injection. The official deemed it ‘obscene’ and sent him off.

Northern Ireland's David Healy suffered a similar fate in an international match at the Millennium Stadium. Having put Northern Ireland 2-0 up against Wales, he celebrated by high-kicking the corner flag and then indulging in his stock celebration - slapping the muscle on one arm into the palm of his other hand. To Healy it was par for the course, but the referee Domenico Messina perceived it to be an unacceptable gesture. He gave Healy one yellow for that and another for his shaolin on the corner flag. The consequence was one of the most peculiar red cards of all time.

Genital Chomping:

Sevilla midfielder Francisco Gallardo was charged by the Spanish soccer federation's disciplinary committee after he celebrated a teammate's goal by biting the player's genitals back in November 2001.
Jose Antonio Reyes made a dazzling run from the halfway line to net Sevilla's second goal in the 55th minute of their 4-0 win over Valladolid.
After Reyes' brilliant strike, the scorer fell to the ground and was immediately besieged by a group of ecstatic teammates. Gallardo ran to join the melee and instead of hugging Reyes, was seen to bend down and take a momentary nibble at the goalscorer's genitalia.
Gallardo was fined and suspended by the Spanish Football Federation who deemed his actions as violating “sporting dignity and decorum."

Handcuff Celebration:

Players often use goal celebrations to make reference to friends, family or events. The rocking arms or thumb-sucking to rejoice in a new baby, or the kissing of the ring-finger to pay tribute to a spouse are common celebrations. Celebrations which are political or agenda-driven are frowned upon by the governing authorities. The ‘handcuff’ celebration is rare but has been used on more than one occasion. Often to show support for a friend or family member on trial or in jail, this celebration is also used to signify some sort of injustice in the player’s life. It is therefore no surprise that players like Everton’s Tim Cahill in 2008, Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka in 2010 and Salomon Kalou in 2009, as well as Ipswich’s David Norris in 2008 all celebrated goals using a little post-goal handcuffery, and were all heavily criticized as a result for their behaviour.

The Fascist Salute:

This is a celebration guaranteed to get negative attention, bans and fines. The fascist salute not only crosses the ‘no-political celebration’ line, but is also deemed by almost everyone as totally inappropriate. Perhaps the most well known advocate of this celebration was Paolo Di Canio. After 14 years away from the club he supported as a child, followed as an ultra and served as a young footballer, a 36-year-old Di Canio returned in 2004 to see out his top-level career, yet his two-year stint with Lazio was anything but a retirement break. During his time with the Serie A side, Di Canio was pictured giving the supporters the salute numerous times. After the third occasion in a year in which he had raised his right arm, palm-downwards, to the fans of his team he faced the full wrath of Fifa, with Sepp Blatter, president of world soccer's governing body Fifa, saying players making fascist salutes should be banned from the game for life.

The negative publicity that Di Canio generated for Lazio, including his intimate relationship with club's ultras and their increased influence thanks to his presence in the team, coupled with problems with some teammates and coaches, exasperated club president and majority shareholder, Claudio Lotito, with whom he already had a difficult relationship. As a result, Di Canio's contract was not renewed in the summer of 2006.

Recently, Greek player Giorgos Katidis (right) was handed a life ban from the Greek National team, banned for the season by AEK Athens and fine $82,000 for giving this salute after scoring the winning goal against Veria, in March 2013.
Katidis claims he was dedicating the game winning goal to a friend in the stands. Officials saw it differently!

The Execution:

In recent years, Mexico has developed a reputation for drug and gun violence. In light of this, one would expect soccer players in Mexico to show some restraint when it comes to incorporating anything related to these issues into their celebrations. Marco Fabian de la Mora and Alberto Medina, both players for Chivas Guadalajara, clearly did not pick up on this point. In their 5-2 win over Estudiantes UAG in October 2011, the two celebrated one of the goals with De la Mora pretending to execute Medina with a gunshot to the head. Both players were fined $3,700. De la Mora stated regret for the celebration and but both men paid double the fine, which was then donated, along with offerings from their team-mates - to an orphanage in Ciudad Juarez, a border town known for drug related violence.

The Golf Swing:

Never too far from controversy in his younger days, Craig Bellamy found himself involved in a row with Liverpool teammate John Arne Riise on a trip to Portugal back in
Bellamy made the newspapers after confronting Riise with a golf club when the left back refused to sing karaoke at the team bonding exercise.
Days later, the Wales international was on target against no lesser opposition than Barcelona in February 2007 - as was Riise - and mocked the incident by swinging an imaginary club.

The Hitler Salute:


Yes, I have already had a section related to this type of gesture. Mark Bosnich (right) however, took it to a whole new level when his team Aston Villa played Tottenham Hotspur in October 1996. In a career marked with cocaine use, cross dressing sex tapes and cancelled contracts, the Australian-born keeper made many poor choices. One of those took place at White Hart Lane. Bosnich, after considerable taunting from the Spurs’ supporters, simulated a mustache with his finger and gave the crowd a Nazi salute. As Tottenham have a significant Jewish fanbase, the action did not go over well with the crowd. Surprisingly, the punishment was very lenient in today’s terms. The FA labeled Bosnich’s actions as “an act of stupidity,” yet only censured the keeper and fined him $1,500. Given Anelka’s ‘quenelle’ punishment, one wonders what Bosnich would have received in today’s game.

The Mock Flute:

What could be worse than Nazi salutes, drug and execution simulations and the biting of a teammate’s privates? How about an act that insults fans, aggravates religious tensions, and results in death threats by the IRA?

Glasgow Rangers versus Celtic is one of the fiercest derbies you will find in football. The two Scottish teams are historically divided along political-religious lines with Republican/Catholics traditionally supporting Celtic and Loyalist/Protestants following Rangers. In January 1998, Rangers midfielder Paul Gascoigne tested these divisions by simulating playing a mock flute, a symbol of Loyalists and the Orange Order. The midfielder had done the gesture in 1995, but never at an Old Firm match. Unsurprisingly, Celtic supporters and Catholics did not take well to it. In addition to being fined $33,000 and disciplined by his club for the incident. 'Gazza' also learned from this mistake. Specifically, he learned from the local police how to check mail and look under his car for bombs left by the IRA.

Babe of the Month - Sydnee Michaels

Sydnee Michaels was born 15th June 1988 in Upland, a city in San Bernardino County, California. Sydnee is an American professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour.
As a child she trained in figure skating, was a promising young tennis player, and was also a State Champion tap dancer. Sydnee started playing golf at the age of eight, and has never looked back. Michaels played college golf at the University of California, Los Angeles and graduated with a bachelor's degree in History/Sociology. She turned professional in 2010, and joined the Futures Tour on 18th January 2011. Michaels won the last two events of the season and she finished fourth of the Futures Tour official money list in 2011, and won the 'Futures Tour Rookie of the Year' award. She plays out of Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, California. Off the course Sydnee enjoys working out, yoga, music, sports, fashion, photography, visiting friends, red wine and reading a good book.

You can follow Sydnee on Twitter and Facebook or on 

her Website 

Biggest Upsets in European Cup/Champions League History

Footballing tournaments such as the World Cup, the European Championships and the UEFA Champions League, formely the European Cup always leave open a window of opportunity for improbable results to become possible. In the case of the Champions League/European Cup, it’s a much more unpredictable tournament than you might think, despite the best teams in the world squaring off against some of Europe’s minnows. However, results in this tournament have never been particularly cut and dry. In this list, I will be looking at some of the biggest upsets seen in the tournament’s history, both in its current and previous format

Some of these matches involved teams overcoming almost insurmountable deficits to progress to the next round, while other matches were Champions League finals that involved teams having to go to the penalty shootout to decide the winner – at least once after a thrilling lead was cancelled out by the time the 90 minutes were up.


Barcelona 0-0 Steaua Bucharest (Steaua Bucharest won 2-0 on penalties, European Cup Final, 1986)

Steaua became the first Eastern European side to win the European Cup in 1986, as they produced a remarkable victory over the Spanish La Liga champions Barcelona, who enjoyed tremendous support with the final being played in Seville. It is very unlikely that you will see a Romanian side win the biggest prize in European club football again.
Steaua Bucharest defeated the odds and a much stronger Barcelona side managed by Terry Venables. The game itself was dull, with the favourites doing all the attacking and the underdogs playing for penalties from the start.
The Romanian side benefited hugely from the heroics of goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam, who followed keeping a clean sheet in the match, by going on to save all four of Barcelona's penalties to help win the cup, and a result he was known as the ‘Hero of Seville.’
Steaua, who had not previously triumphed in any European competition, went on to claim the Super Cup later that year, while they finished as runners-up to AC Milan in the European Cup in 1989.


Chelsea 4-1 Napoli (2nd leg, Champions League, round of 16, 2011/2012)

Under the brief management of Roberto Di Matteo, Chelsea’s hopes in the 2011-12 Champions League looked all but dashed against Napoli of the Serie A, after losing 3-1 to the Italian outfit in the first leg of the Round of 16. However, the second leg at Stamford Bridge would see a dramatically different outcome in favour of the Blues: Didier Drogba and John Terry opened the scoring at 2-0, though Chelsea were again in hot water when Gökhan Inler cut the deficit in half for Napoli in the 55th minute. Luckily for Chelsea, a Frank Lampard penalty and an extra time goal by Branislav Ivanović were enough to complete a dramatic comeback leading up to Chelsea’s eventual Champions League victory that season.


Barcelona 0-4 AC Milan (Champions League Final, 1994)

A final remembered not just for the surprising scoreline, but for the fantastic quality of an attacking master class by the Milanese. It was only two years earlier that Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona had won the European Cup at Wembley and defenses in La Liga and Europe continued to be terrorized by a lineup boasting players including Romario, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup and Hristo Stoichkov. Milan went into the game in Athens minus suspended defenders Franco Baresi and Bruno Costacurta, as well as long term injury Michael Van Basten, a two-time World Player of the Year.
The Catalans were heavily fancied but Fabio Capello's AC Milan had other plans: two goals from Daniele Massaro in the the first half put the Rossoneri 2-0 up, before Dejan Savićević and Marcel Desailly added two more before the hour mark. It would be enough to see Milan take home the Champions League trophy in style, by what is still the biggest margin of a defeat in a Champions League final. That same season, Milan went on to win their third consecutive Scudetto.


FC Basel 2-1 Manchester United (Champions League, group stage, 2011/2012)

FC Basel made it into the Champions League round of 16 for only the second time in their history with a stunning 2-1 home win over Manchester United.
It was a result which saw three-time European champions United crash out of the competition at the group stage for only the third time in 17 years.
Needing only a point to knock out Basel and secure their passage into the last 16 from Group C, the Red Devils were the overwhelming favourites and going into the game seemed much more likely to win.
But it all went downhill after Marco Streller put the hosts ahead on nine minutes. United captain Nemanja Vidic went off injured soon after, and the visitors were ultimately made to pay for their wasted chances going forward and vulnerability on the counter-attack, with Alexander Frei putting Basel 2-0 up and out of reach in the 84th minute. Phil Jones put United back in it at 2-1, but it was too little too late for the world football superpower, with Basel securing the most unfancied home win in their history.


Dinamo Tbilisi 3-0 Liverpool (Dinamo Tbilisi won 4-2 on agg: European Cup, first round, 1979/1980)

Teams from behind the Iron Curtain were always shrouded in mystery – in previews they were habitually referred to as "the crack Soviet outfit" or "the ruthless Red Army" but no one knew for sure how good they would turn out to be. Would Tbilisi be as nifty as Ferencvaros and Red Star Belgrade had proved when upsetting Liverpool earlier in the decade, albeit before Bob Paisley had elevated the club to a higher level with two European Cup triumphs?
No. They would turn out to be better than anything the English champions had ever encountered. Already in the first leg at Anfield, where the home side had prevailed 2-1, Dinamo had shown flashes of a technical and tactical sophistication that perplexed the hosts. In Tibilisi came the full onslaught.
Liverpool barely slept the night before the match – some 200 Dinamo fans having staged a torchlight parade around their hotel at 4am – but mostly it was Dinamo's rapid passing and jagged running that made them so sluggish. Dinamo made it 1-0 on the night after a moment that should feature permanently in the Match of the Day intro footage: David Kipiani dazzled past Alan Hansen with a piece of trickery that left the acclaimed denouncer of diabolical defending floundering like a drunk in the dark. Ray Clemence diverted the ensuing cross, but only as far as Vladimir Gutsaev, who slammed it into the net. The Georgians' second arrived in the 75th minute when Georgiy Chilaya collected the ball in his own half, slalomed past three opponents and slipped in Ramaz Shengelia, who casually lifted the ball over Clemence to make it 2-0.
Three minutes later came the third after Phil Thompson conceded a penalty and Alexandre Chivadze converted with ease.
Hansen has since said this was the best Liverpool team he ever played in. Kevin Keegan's Hamburg would avenge them in the next round, knocking out Dinamo.


Barcelona 1 Rubin Kazan 2 (Champions League, group stage, 2009/2010)

The Russians beat defending champions FC Barcelona 2-1 in the Group F game, despite Barca virtually fielding their strongest line-up—with Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta, Yaya Toure, Xavi, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves, Eric Abidal and Victor Valdes all starting for Barca.
Aleksandr Ryazantsev gave the visitors a shock lead after just two minutes, with a stunning 30-yard strike.
Ibrahimovic equalised for Barca just after half-time, and despite the hosts brutally asserting their dominance over their inferior counterparts, it was Rubin Kazan who re-took the lead, with Gokdeniz Karadeniz coolly slotting past Valdes to stun the Camp Nou crowd, and the watching world. Before the game, Rubin Kazan were 22/1 to win.


CSKA Sofia 2-0 Ajax (CSKA Sofia won 2-1 on agg: European Cup, second round, 1973/1974)

Ajax had been shocked before – not least in 1960 when they were beaten 4-3 by the Norwegian amateurs Fredrikstad – but those defeats came before they had evolved into the European powerhouse of the early 1970s. This came when they were close to the height of their powers. In 1971, '72 and '73 they had won a hat-trick of European Cups under Rinus Michels and then Istvan Kovacs. Johan Cruyff had departed for Barcelona in the summer of 1973, but this was still the team of Johan Neeskens, Arie Haan, Johnny Rep and Piet Keizer. They had not been beaten in Europe since the defeat to Arsenal in the semi-final of the Fairs Cup in 1969-70. They had won six of the previous eight Dutch Eredivise titles.
CSKA by comparison, despite their domestic success (four back-to-back titles from 1969), had never made an impact on the European scene. They'd reached the European Cup semis in 1967 but in the previous year's European Cup they had been destroyed 6-1 over two legs by the same Ajax side. They'd reached the second round in bizarre circumstances after their second leg with Panathinaikos was replayed after the game had gone to penalties. A Jan Mulder goal gave Ajax a 1-0 victory in the first leg, but that was nullified in Sofia when Dimitar Marashliev scored in the 68th minute.
Extra-time was needed. In the 116th minute, Stefan Mikhailov struck to give the Bulgarians a famous victory and effectively end Ajax's golden era. It was to be 14 years before the once-dominant club won another European title.


Chelsea 2-2 Barcelona (Champions League, quarter-final, 2011/2012)

Following the comeback against Napoli, Chelsea faced much more fearsome opponents in Barcelona in the quarterfinals. A 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge courtesy of a Didier Drogba goal was hardly a reassuring lead, and the odds against them keeping their lead at the Nou Camp were small. Furthermore, John Terry would get sent off in the 37th minute, reducing Chelsea to 10 men for the rest of the match. However, Chelsea again caused an upset after Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta put the Blaugrana up 2-0, the game seemed a forgone conclusion, with even some of the Chelsea players clearly thinking the match was beyond their reach.
Even when Ramires levelled just before halftime, still the game seemed out of Chelsea's hands. But after a missed Lionel Messi penalty and a Fernando Torres equaliser, it was the Londoners who had shocked the world and made it through to only their second ever Champions League final.


Real Madrid 1-3 Spartak Moscow (S.Moscow won 3-1 on agg: European Cup, quarter-final, 1990/91)

Spartak went into this match on the back of early round victories over Sparta Prague and Napoli.
Having ground out a 0-0 draw at Spartak Moscow, Real would have been confident of putting the Russians to the sword back in Madrid during the 1990/91 quarter-finals. That confidence would have only been bolstered once Emilio Butragueno had struck on nine minutes, considering it was Los Blancos’ 22nd goal of the tournament.
That lead didn’t last long, though, and Real were behind before half-time. The likes of Hugo Sanchez had no reply and the final word went to Dmitri Radchenko and Valeri Shmarov, who gave the Muscovites a 3-1 win and a ticket to the semis. Unfortunately Spartak lost the semi-final to Marseille, a Club who were very much in their most succesful era of all-time, and included in their team the likes of Basile Boli, Abedi Pelé, Jean-Pierre Papin and Chris Waddle.


Bayern Munich 1 Manchester United 2 (Champions League Final, 1998/1999)

As the Champions League trophy stood decked out with Bayern Munich’s ribbons and with 90 minutes on the clock, the two teams played out the conclusion to a hitherto unremarkable final.
Bayern Munich looked to have done enough to deserve to win the trophy following a first-half Mario Basler free kick which had put them in the lead. With three minutes of injury time remaining on the clock, Manchester United managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with two quick fire goals from Teddy Sheringham and "super sub" Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. The Germans were left stunned in what was to be Peter Schmeichel’s last game between the sticks for United.


AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (Liverpool won 3-2 on penalties, Champions League Final, 2005)

The "Miracle of Istanbul", the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final between AC Milan and Liverpool will forever be remembered as one of the greatest finals in world football history.
Almost every football fan knows the tale of this final—played at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul—in which Milan went 3-0 up at halftime.
At that point, it was shaping up to be one of the most one-sided finals ever, with AC Milan playing some of the most beautiful football seen in a Champions League final.
The result seemed a forgone conclusion just 60 seconds into the encounter, when captain Paolo Maldini volleyed home Andrea Pirlo's free-kick cross to put Milan 1-0 up, before a Hernan Crespo brace before halftime seemingly sealed Liverpool's fate.
Even on 54 minutes when Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a lifeline and scored to make it 3-1, the final result never seemed in doubt. But what happened next changed football history forever.
Given space on the edge of the Milan penalty area, Vladimir Smicer hit a powerful yet hopeful shot which somehow found it's way past the Italian's packed defence and in to the bottom corner past Milan goalkeeper Dida.
With the score at 3-2 and Liverpool now attacking fast and full of hope, nerves got the Milan defence as they conceded a penalty as Gennaro Gattuso fouled Gerrard in the box.
Xabi Alonso stepped up and scored the penalty, putting Liverpool back in the game at 3-3, and, far more remarkably, making AC Milan's certain Champions League win completely crumble in the space of just six minutes.
A penalty shoot-out followed and the comeback was complete with Šmicer, Dietmar Hamann and Djibril Cissé converting for the Reds to win them a fifth European title in one of the greatest comebacks ever seen in the sport.