Italian football has been rocked by the news that inspirational captain Fabio Cannavaro will not be able to play in the European Championships.
Cannavaro collided with teammate Giorgio Chiellini in training and landed awkwardly on his ankle, causing substantial damage to his ligaments and ruling him out of the tournament.
Italy have called up Fiorentina s Alessandro Gamberini as a replacement and they have cover in the squad with Andrea Barzagli and Marco Materazzi, while Chiellini and Christian Panucci can play at centre back rather than full back.
Despite the adequate replacements they have and the fact that legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is likely to take over as captain, the loss of Cannavaro cannot be underestimated.
The thirty-four year old …
Luka Modric has ended Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi s 10-year domination of the Ballon d Or by claiming world football s most coveted individual prize.
Modric helped Real Madrid to their third consecutive Champions League trophy before the midfield maestro played a pivotal role in Croatia s surprise run to the World Cup final.
Ronaldo finished second, unable to add a sixth trophy to his collection, while France and Atletico Madrid s Antoine Griezmann completed a Messi-less top three.
Here, we look at how the jury voted to rank the players selected as the 30 best on the planet by France Football.
1) Luka Modric
After a decade dominated by superstar forwards, Modric strikes a blow for the little man. A delightful midfield creator who has operat…
Cristiano Ronaldo has celebrated winning yet another award for his achievements in 2016.
The 31-year-old claimed the Ballon d Or and the inaugural The Best FIFA Men s Player award after winning the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup with Real Madrid and Euro 2016 with Portugal.
Ronaldo has now been named MVP for last year by Dongqiudi, a Chinese website backed by the Suning Group, which owns Inter.
The former Manchester United star, who became the first footballer to be named European Sportsperson of the year by PAP, thanked supporters who voted for him for the Dongqiudi prize.
Thanks for the support of Chinese fans, he wrote on his official Instagram page along with a photograph of him holding the trophy.
Madrid take…
Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas believes his side can break into the top four of the Western Conference ahead of facing the Seattle Sounders this weekend.
The Rapids currently occupy sixth in the standings and have already qualified for the playoffs, but are just three points behind Real Salt Lake in fourth.
Armas’ side have won just one of their last four MLS fixtures, though, with their latest defeat coming at the hands of the LA Galaxy, despite Connor Ronan scoring the opener.
“We are looking forward to Saturday. We’re looking forward to getting right back out there on the pitch here at home in our quest for a top four finish,” Armas said.
“That’s what is on our minds right now. We’re looking forward to Seattle coming here, another…
Peru became the first side to book their place in the Copa America semi-finals after beating Paraguay on penalties in a dramatic tie that finished 3-3 following normal time and saw both teams receive red cards.
Ricardo Gareca s Peru recovered from a goal down thanks to Gianluca Lapadula s first-half double at Estadio Olimpico Pedro Ludovico, where Gustavo Gomez had given Paraguay an early lead on Friday.
Paraguay lost captain Gomez to a controversial second bookable offence just before half-time yet hit back through Junior Alonso s strike early in the second half.
Yoshimar Yotun appeared to have won the game for 2019 runners-up Peru with a deflected goal 10 minutes from time, but Andre Carrillo was also dismissed and substitute Gabriel Avalos levelled up in the f…
Coming off their thrilling 30-28 victory in Week 3, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (2-1 SU, 2-1 ATS) host the banged-up Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS) at Lambeau Field Sunday as a 6.5-point favorite.
Rodgers and the Pack have found their groove after a humiliating Week 1 loss while Big Ben and the Steelers are trending in the opposite direction and facing big-name injuries on both sides of the ball.
Here are our free picks and predictions for Pittsburgh Steelers vs Green Bay Packers for Sunday, October 3.
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After taking the year off last season, the NFL’s Pro Bowl is back in business and will take place this Sunday in the confines of Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. Matt LaFleur’s NFC squad sits as 1.5-point underdogs versus Mike Vrabel’s AFC side with a total of 62.5. But will the absences of some of the NFC’s best be enough to jump on the favorite?
Check out our NFL betting picks and predictions for the Pro Bowl on February 6.
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When it comes to Championship Sunday in the NFL playoffs, the term “underdog” is a pretty loose title.
Sure, the point spread usually sits in favor of one side, but if you’ve made it this far, you aren’t the traditional underdog we’ve been betting on all NFL season.
Case in point: the Cincinnati Bengals, who are just one win away from reaching the Super Bowl for the second straight year.
NFL odds saw the Bengals open as high as 3-point pups at Kansas City on Sunday and jumped the fence to favorites on Monday morning, only to come back around as underdogs here on Wednesday.
Where it goes before kickoff on Sunday night is anyone’s guess, but I’m grabbing the points with Cincy for my NFL Underdogs pick…
The Dallas Cowboys return to primetime just one week after a 32-point beatdown and now face the Los Angeles Chargers in our Monday Night Football odds, who are winners of two straight and come with fresh legs off of their bye.
Adding extra juice to tonight’s Week 6 odds finale is offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who landed with the Chargers this offseason after being let go from the Cowboys after last season.
What will Kellen Moore cook up for Justin Herbert and this Chargers offense? Will Mike McCarthy have an answer on his side to stick it to his old offensive coordinator?
We broke down the matchup in our Cowboys vs. Chargers predictions but keep reading for more free NFL picks for Monday Night Football below — also, be sure to check ou…
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will try to punch their ticket to the playoffs on Sunday with a win against the Carolina Panthers. The Bucs control their destiny with a victory clinching the NFC South and they couldn’t ask for a better opponent with the 2-14 Panthers having the worst record in the league entering Week 18.
NFL odds for this showdown opened with the Bucs as 5.5-point favorites before shortening to -4.5. Here are my best free NFL picks and predictions for the Buccaneers vs. Panthers on Sunday, January 7.
Buccaneers vs Panthers odds
Buccaneers vs Panthers predictions
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could have clinched the division title and a playoff berth with a win at home against the Saints last week. In…