Lionel Messi’s fourth Ballon d’Or success in a row was in itself groundbreaking. The Argentine eclipsed Johan Cruyff’s trio of wins (1971, 1973, 1974) and Michel Platini’s three consecutive triumphs from 1983 to 1985. His year as a whole was packed with numerous records and achievements. The 2011/12 campaign not only elevated his game to … Read more
The 2013 Ballon d’Or award was won by Cristiano Ronaldo but the ceremony itself will go down in infamy as many people believed the award should have gone to French winger Frank Ribery. Join us as we discuss how Ronaldo won the coveted prize and ponder as to whether Ribery and indeed Lionel Messi could … Read more
The 2013 FA Cup Final will forever go down in history as one of the only times the underdogs stood in the face of English football’s best and still went the distance. So often do we see a heroic run to the final, ending in defeat at the hands of Goliath. It’s usually a given, … Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2014 Ballon d’Or win was simply a runaway victory. But in reality, the award should have been hotly contested with an alternate winner named. Before the tournament, Ronaldo was the clear favourite, at odds of 1/6 against. In contrast, Germany and Bayern Munich Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was a 25/1 outsider. Yet he was … Read more
2017 FA Cup Final Score: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Date: Saturday 27th May Venue: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 89,472 Referee: Antony Taylor Teams: Arsenal David Ospina, Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker (C), Nacho Monreal, Hector Bellerin, Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck Manager: Arsene Wenger Goal Scorer/s: Sanchez 4′ and Ramsey 79′ … Read more
2018 FA Cup Final Score: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United Date: Saturday 19th May Venue: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 87,647 Referee: Michael Oliver Teams: Chelsea Thibaut Courtois, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill (C), Antonio Rudiger, Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N’Golo Kante, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Marcos Alonso, Eden Hazard, Olivier Giroud Manager: Antonio Conte Goal Scorer/s: Hazard (pen) 22′ Manchester … Read more
2019 FA Cup Final Score: Manchester City 6-0 Watford Date: Saturday 18th May Venue: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 85,854 Referee: Kevin Friend Teams: Manchester City Ederson, Kyle Walker, Vincent Kompany (C), Aymeric Laporte, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, David Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling Manager: Pep Guardiola Goal Scorers: David Silva 26, Sterling … Read more
Rivaldo is a Brazilian that, perhaps unfairly, falls short of being considered in the same echelon as Ronaldo or Ronaldinho for some. Likely due to his frenetic career, a meteoric rise, which saw him move from 3rd division Brazilian football, all the way to the dizzying heights of Barcelona, despite making his first appearance in … Read more
Kevin Keegan is the only British player to win the Ballon d’Or twice, winning in 1978 and 1979. Although HSV finished 10th in the Bundesliga, Keegan was playing some of his best football, bagging 12 goals en route to becoming the third English player to win the Ballon d’Or in 1978. One of the Ballon … Read more
When Luis Figo won the 2000 Ballon d’Or, he became only the second Portuguese player to claim the award since Benfica legend Eusébio in 1965. Throughout the calendar year, Figo played some truly incredible football, scoring goals and providing wonderful assists for not one giant European club – but two. Famously, the sides in question … Read more