KI Sung-Yong. It’s a name that will struggle to ring bells if you aren’t a fan of Scottish or Korean football. The name might even fail to register to Scottish fans who aren’t followers of Glasgow Celtic. None-the-less, it’s a name worth remembering as this 21-year-old Korean midfielder is set to have an exciting summer in South Africa.
Having signed for Celtic from FC Seoul in August 2009, the youngster only managed to move westwards after finishing the Korean season with Seoul in January. With only a handful of appearances though, …

When people describe Luca Toni, attributes like flair, pace and skill are not at the top of the list but something that Luca Toni does bring to a side, goals.
Luca Toni is an example of how a player can ply his trade in the lower regions of a successful footballing nation and rise to the very top of the game, which for him was being part of the World Cup winning side of 2006.
Playing with clubs like Fiorenzuola, Lodigiani, Modena and Treviso in his early career, Toni failed to make …

AS FAR as footballing fairytales go, the story of Chris Smalling is up there with the best.
For less than two years ago, the 20-year-old defender was plying his trade for non-league Maidstone United, making his first-team debut as a 17-year-old in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Heybridge Swifts. Twelve appearances later, he was on the way to the Premier League with Fulham; and after just five top-flight appearances, agreed a £10m move to defending champions Manchester United.
United’s manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, contacted Smalling’s mother Theresa personally to assure …

It’s time for the impossible question of the week. Who is the best forward in the Premier League? Some people might say that Fernando Torres‘ pace and clinical finishing makes him the sure fire choice for the majority. Others may claim that Wayne Rooney’s drive and determination set him apart from the rest. Several supporters may find that the craft and guile of Robin Van Persie is easy on the eye whilst biased Sunderland and Tottenham fans wouldn’t swap Darren Bent or Jermaine Defoe for anyone else.
However, there is one …

In August 2009, former England defender, Sol Campbell, reportedly turned down several offers from Premier League clubs to join lower-league Notts County. By September, he was gone. I suppose when you are hated by the fans of the club you started your career with, it seems right to end your career in the same manner. However, it does seem Campbell is not ready to end his relationship with the game; only the club.
The ex-Arsenal centre-half signed a five-year contract with the League Two outfit, who were recently taken over by Munto Finance. …

If one man could write a book on how to manage a Premier League club on a limited budget whilst coping with injuries, that man would be David Moyes.
Not a season passes by where the Everton manager isn’t forced to make the best from an injury deprived squad. Only a couple of months ago, Moyes led the team to an impressive 5th place league finish despite playing a large proportion of the campaign with only one fit striker.
The injury jinx recently struck again as Everton captain Phil Neville damaged his knee ligaments in the …

Almost 3,000 miles away from Britain, a vast city lays engulfed by the snow-capped Alborz Mountains. Home to one of football’s fiercest rivalries, Tehran is widely headlined as a city embroiled in debates over nuclear armament and terrorism. Liberal values are denounced, and alcohol is illegal. The nightclubbing section of the Lonely Planet guidebook reads as just two words; ‘Dream on.’ But beyond all of the diplomatic issues, there is something that matters much, much more to Iranian citizens. Football.
The Persian League is host to eighteen clubs, but sixteen of …

The Superclasico is known worldwide as one of the most important and fiercest derbies in football. It is the name used to describe the match hosted in Buenos Aires, Argentina between rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. The name comes from the Spanish usage of “clasico” to mean derby with the prefix “super” used to emphasise the dominance of these two teams in Argentine football.
Such is the passion and anticipation surrounding this match that The Observer newspaper put the Superclasico at the top of their “50 sporting things you must do before …

You won’t find attendances of 79,000 at this game. Nor will you find overpaid, over hyped pre-madonnas or day-tripping “fans”. You won’t find a club shop selling replica shirts for £60 and you won’t find an expensive stadium, it’s walls adorned by pictures of multi-millionaire foreign investors. If you approached this game expecting any of these things, you’d have left disgruntled and disappointed. If you, however, attended this game seeking passionate, traditional “English” football, you’d have left feeling satisfied.

The biggest difference between Manchester United and FC United of Manchester is …

In essence, the game of football is a splendidly simple prospect.
Tracing its roots back to China, England and even Greenland, the very first players of the game used pig’s bladders or skins of possums, and it was even outlawed by King Edward III in the 1300s.
In the hundreds of years since, however, the beautiful game has become increasingly tarnished by the influx of money pumped into it. Indeed, football has evolved so rapidly that its disputes have even entered the law courts as clubs become increasingly dependent on the financial …