http://www.theoffside.com League Football, Soccer News and Views from Around the World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:55:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/no-time-for-playing-in-the-snow.html http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/no-time-for-playing-in-the-snow.html#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:18:16 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/no-time-for-playing-in-the-snow.html Footballers already get millions to play a game as their career, delighting in an extended childhood. Why not go all the way and stop for playtime in the snow as well? Actually, Joel Obi’s plunge into a snowbank really just serves as further proof no game should ever be canceled due to snow. It should be [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/no-time-for-playing-in-the-snow.html/feed 0 http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/the-best-matchup-in-football.html http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/the-best-matchup-in-football.html#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:31:42 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/the-best-matchup-in-football.html At least for 2011-12. Having already played once this season to raucous applause, Palermo and Inter danced once again at the San Siro today amidst the snow. Their first meeting was nice, Palermo snatching a 4-3 victory and giving neutrals the joyous gift of 7 goals. Tonight they did one better collectively – a 4-4 draw, [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/the-best-matchup-in-football.html/feed 0 http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/vareses-true-ghost-goal.html http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/vareses-true-ghost-goal.html#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:43:13 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/vareses-true-ghost-goal.html Portions of Italy have been belted with snow over the past two days, canceling a number of matches as they dismiss the delight of a winter wonderland. The Serie B match between Livorno and Varese made it til the very end, however, with Magnus Troest (big arsed central defender) scoring a brace. This is the [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/vareses-true-ghost-goal.html/feed 0 http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/achieving-a-universally-held-dream.html http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/achieving-a-universally-held-dream.html#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:06:27 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/achieving-a-universally-held-dream.html …of punching Mark van Bommel in the face. Footballers, pundits and fans have long held the unshakable desire to take a rolled up mound of knuckles and thrash them across any piece of van Bommel’s face which may have it. Lazio’s Andre Dias fulfilled this dream in the Coppa Italia yesterday, and it only cost him [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/achieving-a-universally-held-dream.html/feed 0 http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/amauri-for-sale-free-shipping.html http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/amauri-for-sale-free-shipping.html#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:37:38 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/amauri-for-sale-free-shipping.html The latest installment of disgruntled-fans-sell-overpriced-former-star-on-ebay has launched, right smack in the middle of the January window, leaving some hope. The gentleman in question is Amauri, man of more nationalities than goals for his current club, Juventus. Fans saw fit to throw him onto ebay, where the bids got up to – now sit down – €10m. Even [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/amauri-for-sale-free-shipping.html/feed 2 http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/when-it-just-isnt-your-day.html http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/when-it-just-isnt-your-day.html#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:04:52 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/when-it-just-isnt-your-day.html Novara’s new loanee Leandro Rinaudo ambled onto the pitch Sunday for Novara for the very first time, and he did so with identity issues – his shirt read rinuado instead of rinaudo. And once the dust had settled in the 3-1 loss to Cesena, he’d both conceded a penalty (not converted) and scored an own [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/when-it-just-isnt-your-day.html/feed 0 http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/the-coppa-italia-the-free-kick.html http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/the-coppa-italia-the-free-kick.html#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:42:04 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/the-coppa-italia-the-free-kick.html [101gg] For whatever reason, the story of this week’s Coppa Italia rounds has been free kicks and their fashionably late arrivals. Three games stole the headlines with late, late drama on the back of excellent free kicks, one each the last three days. Today it was Goran Pandev’s controversial oh-no-he-didn’t/oh-yes-he-did ball which no one will remember by [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/the-coppa-italia-the-free-kick.html/feed 1 http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/zlatan-leader-of-free-men.html http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/zlatan-leader-of-free-men.html#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:55:51 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/zlatan-leader-of-free-men.html Quick – name the top ten players who shouldn’t become coaches when all is said and done. Did Zlatan fall on anyone’s list? Or maybe…did Zlatan fall on everyone’s list? To say he has a prickly personality would be to call the old Ronaldo, now new Ronaldo, a bit chunky. And yet…Zlatan the manager, coming to [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/zlatan-leader-of-free-men.html/feed 1 http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/the-ever-so-common-second-division-natl-team-call-up.html http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/the-ever-so-common-second-division-natl-team-call-up.html#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:10:06 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/the-ever-so-common-second-division-natl-team-call-up.html There are a number of ways to get called up to a historically prestigious national team, among them simply owning an Argentinean passport between the years 2008 and 2010. Not on that list is being a 29 year old defender for a minnow languishing near the bottom of Serie B. Typically, anyway, if things are [...]]]> http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/the-ever-so-common-second-division-natl-team-call-up.html/feed 0 http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/too-fast-for-boots.html http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/too-fast-for-boots.html#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:57:16 +0000 chris http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/too-fast-for-boots.html Not only is Ezequiel Lavezzi too fast for shoes, but he doesn’t even need them to continue dancing through opposing defenses, if unsuccessfully. Or maybe just learning how to continue on while one loses their personal belongings is an acquired skill of many in Napoli. (Go with that.) ]]> http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/serie-a/too-fast-for-boots.html/feed 1