England 2 - Czech Republic 0 (U21 International Friendly, November 18, 2008) England took the lead with a straight-forward route one goal, a long hoof ran all the way through to Frazier Campbell and the forward coolly finished. After the break Aston Villa’s Craig Gardner struck a low free-kick from distance which found its way into the bottom corner. Jamie O’Hara was then presented the chance to make it 3-nil from the spot after Campbell had been barged over, but the Spurs man saw his spot-kick saved.

Scotland 1 - Northern Ireland 3 (U21 International Friendly, November 18, 2008) Jamie Murphy gave Scotland a third minute lead, but Northern Ireland’s Josh McQuoid nipped in after 9 minutes to bring the visitors level. The Irish then took the lead as Josh McQuoid bagged his brace of the game, latching on to another long ball and racing through for a well-taken second. (First half highlights here.)

Portugal 4 - Spain 1 (U21 International Friendly, November 18, 2008) A terrible mistake by the Spanish centre-half dollied a ball into the path of Rui Fonte who put Portugal ahead. Two minutes later Daniel Parejo pulled Spain level from the penalty spot. But back came the hosts, Orlando Sa heading in a near post corner to restore the home advantage before Sa struck again just before the break with his second header of the match. Orlando Sa put the game to bed in the 56th minute with his hat-trick goal with his third header of the game.

Germany 1 - Italy 0 (U21 International Friendly, November 18, 2008) Bayern Munich’s young sensation Toni Kroos gave Germany the lead over the Azzurri firing a stunning half-volley into the top corner from 25-yards out.

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Algeria 1 - Mali 1 (International Friendly, November 18, 2008) Adama Coulibaly shot Mali ahead in Algeria after 12 minutes. In the 90th minute the hosts equaliser in bizarre circumstances, Abdeslam miscued a right wing cross and the ball hit the underside of the bar and post before going in.

Estonia 1 - Moldova 0 (International Friendly, November 18, 2008)

Friends of Zidane 5 - Friends of Ronaldo 6 (Exhibition, November 17, 2008) The goal-scorers included Joseba Etxeberria, Ariza Makukula and Caca as well as Zidane.

Vitesse 1 - AZ Alkmaar 1 (Eredivisie, November 16, 2008) AZ took the lead in the first half through Ari but Santi Kolk hit back to earn his side a draw.

***

Braga 1 - Vitoria Setubal 0 (Superliga, November 16, 2008) Cameroon’s Albert Meyong Ze scored the winner for Braga.

***

Hajduk Split 2 - NK Rijeka 0 (1. HNL, November 16, 2008)

Northampton 2 - Leeds 5 (FA Cup, November 17, 2008) Jermaine Beckford scored in the 13th minute,  volleying home David Prutton’s flick-on. Howson’s deflected drive made it two, before Ben Parker put Leeds 3-up. Jason Crowe replied for the hosts, but Leeds restored their three-goal cushion before the break when Beckford sent a curler in off the far post. Beckford secured his hat-trick (all three goals here) in the 55th minute, before Crowe netted a consolation goal.

With Diego Maradona’s first match at the helm of Argentina just hours away, the war of word off the field has picked up momentum in the last few days.

Former England defender Terry Butcher, who played in the infamous 1986 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina, was the first to make a verbal assault saying he would never forgive Maradona for his “hand of god” goal. (Watch Butcher’s press conference here.)

Maradona had his chance to respond yesterday at his press conference in front of the Scottish media. On Butcher, Maradona carefully brushed aside the matter insisting that he will “not lose sleep” over the Englishman’s bitterness pointed in his direction. Maradona then deflected questions about his own misdemeanor, arguing that Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick goal in the 1966 World Cup final clearly never crossed the line, pointing out that everyone has skeletons in their closet.

Maradona’s entertaining pre-match press conference can be seen here.

***

And keeping with Maradona, special thanks to Dave Griffiths for pointing us in the direction of the following funny clip.

Much was made yesterday of the Celtic youngster who found Fernando Gago’s lost medallion, with Maradona rewarding the kid by lifting him in the air before offering the youth his hat and gloves as a reward.

On watching the video report into the matter on the BBC, Dave pointed out the following: “I swear, not only does the kid hold the hat up like its got lice……but I THINK he says in his excitement that MADONNA is a legend!”

Dave was spot on, and the shocking faux pas can be seen here.

“I am certainly worthy of the Ballon D’Or. I think that Kaka and Ronaldinho have nothing more than me. I’m at their level and would not look bad alongside them.” - Zlatan Ibrahimovic. (Quote here.)

“The Ballon d’Or would be nice, I won’t deny it.” - Alessandro Del Piero. (Quote here.)

“Cristiano (Ronaldo) is a great player, but Messi is above everybody at the moment. He does things not just in training but during matches that no one has ever done before.” - Samuel Eto’o. (Quote here.)

“Ronaldinho is the best player in the world.” - Lionel Messi. (Quote here.)

“I am the first, the second and the third best player in the world. But there are other good candidates like Kaka, Messi and Fernando Torres.” - Cristaino Ronaldo. (Quote here.)

“I would give [the Ballon d'Or] to [Sergio] Aguero.” - Lionel Messi. (Quote here.)

“Fernando [Torres] would be my selection. He has scored a lot of goals and won the Euros with Spain. Ronaldo is also a very good player but I choose Fernando.” - Rafa Benitez. (Quote here.)

“I think it’s right that Cristiano Ronaldo wins the Ballon d’Or because he is a great player.” - Ricardo Quaresma. (Quote here.)

“Messi is the best. What he does is from another world. He is exceptional. After watching Arsenal against Manchester United, I insist Cristiano Ronaldo is one thing and Messi is another. There is no comparison. Messi deserves to win the Ballon d’Or this year.” - Thierry Henry. (Quote here.)

“[Iker Casillas] is hugely talented, is a great goalkeeper and a great person. And it would be good if a goalkeeper won it. We shall see what happens, but I hope that he wins the Ballon D’Or, he deserves it.” - David Beckham. (Quote here.)

Football has a history of players who steal.

Perhaps the most famous footballing thief in Britain remains ex-Arsenal midfielder David Hillier, who sped up the end of his career at Highbury after stealing another passenger’s bag at Gatwick Airport in 1996. And more recently Southampton’s Bradley Wright-Phillips and Nathan Dyer pulled an equally stupid stunt, getting caught on CCTV cameras thieving various items from a staff room at a Portsmouth nightclub.

And now the spotlight has fallen on Boca Juniors striker Lucas Viatri. According to Reuters, Viatri has been accused of robbing a hairdresser, allegedly stealing “a pair of scissors and hair spray along with his brother and a friend, has been accused of robbery aggravated by the possession of weapons.”

Despite continuing claims of his innocence, Viatri was held in custody for one month earlier this year during preliminary investigations into the matter and the judge has now ruled that he must face an oral trial before a panel of judges.

Yet the striker appears to have a iron-clad alibi, with his lawyer stating “he was training at the time, that’s the truth. He couldn’t be in two places at once.”

A report from Spanish TV into the incident can be seen here.

***

Outside of these allegations, 2008 has been a successful year for Lucas Viatri, who was Boca’s top-scorer during the Apertura Championship.

A video collecting Viatri’s goals during this period can be seen here.

Nike excel in marketing, and their latest offering promoting their new Mercurial Rosa boot is yet another brilliant ad to add to the already swelled collection.

The style of the ad is simple but effective, as a range of football personalities, including players, managers and television pundits are asked for their reaction to the new footwear.

Cue the funny reactions, particularly when some are clearly taken aback with the most obvious concern about the new boot - the colour.

Watch the new Nike ad here.

“My dream is Barca, but to say that isn’t new. The whole world knows that I have dreamed forever about going to Barca.” - Andrei Arshavin, July 18, 2008. (Quote here.)

“The stable situation in the club and the influence of Arsene Wenger to Arsenal to English football is huge. I think this is an advantage.” - Arshavin’s agent Dennis Lachter, July 14, 2008. (Quote here.)

“I am very optimistic about this deal. The next few days will see if he can confirm this move to Spurs. Andrei likes the way Juande Ramos is going to play at Tottenham and this is the main point of our decision.” - Arshavin’s agent, Dennis Lachter, July 31, 2008. (Quote here.)

“I don’t want to play for Zenit any more. Playing for Bayern is a dream.” - Andrei Arshavin, November 19, 2008. (Quote here.)

Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the Day: “England won a World Cup with a goal that never crossed the line. It was plain to everyone who saw it that it never went in, so I don’t think it’s fair that everyone should judge me when stuff like that went on.” - Diego Maradona.

Runner-up: “It [the diet at Old Trafford] was outrageous. Everyone ate whatever they wanted to eat and when you think about the typical English diet, you can imagine what I am talking about. Every fifteen days they would put us on what we dubbed the ’spare-tyre machine’ to measure our body fat. You would be amazed at how many top players practically broke the machine because their diet was based on beer and burgers. I arrived not being able to speak English and I got lost a little bit in the team-talks. The gaffer, as Ferguson is known in Manchester, spoke a very Scottish kind of English that might as well have been Chinese as far as I was concerned. But I wasn’t the worst – there are players in the current squad who still don’t understand him.”- Gerard Pique.

Today’s overview: With squad members dropping like flies, England’s friendly with Germany tonight is quickly turning into the friendliest friendly of all-time.

But perhaps the story of the day is delivered by the Daily Express, Matthew Dunn claiming “over 300,000 fewer people are set to watch Premier League football this season as the credit crunch begins to take its toll even on the richest league in the world… If that trend continues, it will be the second-biggest drop in crowd figures in more than 20 years.”

The latest withdrawal is Theo Walcott, with Dominic Fifield reporting that “the Arsenal winger dislocated his right shoulder in training last night. The youngster will play no part against Germany tonight and, if the injury requires surgery, will face up to 10 weeks out of the game.” Matt Hughes puts words into Arsene Wenger’s mouth, writing “the overriding emotion at Arsenal is likely to be anger… the manager will be furious that he has lost one of his most important attacking players, especially in such circumstances.”

Kevin Garside sarcastically points out that “at least the random injury rule in international week has spared [Capello] and us the monotony of the Lampard-Gerrard debate.” Kevin McCarra observes how Fabio “Capello went to some lengths in his effort to reject the notion that this match is a run-out for the also-rans.” Dominic Fifield attempts to focus minds on the issues which can be discovered from this match, including “Can Ashley Young prove an international class left winger?” and “What are his options at right-back?”

However ruining the optimistic mood is Steven Howard, who argues that no matter the result tonight “as for the Untouchables and the theory of ‘caps for the boys’, that is still the case.” A similarly negative attitude is offered by the Mirror’s Dan Silver, blubbering “if England’s top players can’t be bothered to get out of bed for this game, then why should fans be expected to get excited about it either?”

Other articles on England include Tony Cascarino’s appraisal of how Capello will have observed the youngsters in the squad, “[running] the rule over them 24 hours a day. He has been spying on them, seeing how they behave, seeing how they train, seeing how they react to being surrounded by some of the best players in the world.” On forcing Gerrard to have a medical, James Lawton salutes Don Fabio’s ability to have drawn “a line against what in the past has been a shameless contempt for the cause of England.” And Jeremy Wilson lists five things the Premier League can learn from the Bundesliga, including “Pricing Under-16s can also buy tickets for as little as €5 (£4). Adult season tickets start at €120 (£95), while the cost of a programme for Saturday’s match against Bayern Munich was €1(0.80p).”

Moving onto the proposals being mooted by UEFA surrounding new restrictions on transfers and limits on budgets and payroll, Martin Samuel lays out his warning for the FA. “That the FA is run by Lord PleasedMan, a Platini lickspittle who has not missed an opportunity to knock the domestic game of late in the vain hope that it wins England the right to stage the 2018 World Cup, does not help. Ministers beware, though. If English football is sold down the river on the off chance of securing a month-long festival a decade from now, those responsible will never be forgiven.”

Turning to the Premier League, and David Conn opens the annals of history to detail the rise of Hull City, “a debt-free Premier League club with a paid-for stadium.” And a day after news linked Alan Shearer to become the Newcastle boss, Rob Stewart writes that Shearer will not join the Toon so long as Dennis Wise remains at the club.

Yesterday we received another email from our good friend Tim Cooper and NetResult, the company employed by the Premier League to protect the intellectual property rights associated with the top flight of English football. The email (which can be read below) relates to the videos which we link to showing footage from the English Premier League.

The battle against copyright theft (and the subsequent debate on what constitutes copyright theft) has been with us for some time, and extends far beyond the world of football. One of the most high profile cases to date was the closure of the television-centred website, tv-links.co.uk. In that instance the owner of the site was taken into custody by British police, his site was shut down, only to be released 24 hours later without charge and spawning the birth of tv-links.ws, which has remained active ever since.

The conclusion we can draw from this case is that while the authorities may not like linking to copyrighted material on the internet, they had no precedent with which to stop it.

And imagine if such linking was deemed illegal. The result would be that a massive amount of online content, whether it be on YouTube, DailyMotion, The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, the BBC forums, Football365’s forum, and a lot more in between, would all be in serious trouble.

On the specifics of our situation, several points need to be stressed. At no time have we ever updated videos on the internet. We do not sit with our televisions hooked up to computers, uploading footage onto the net. In truth, we have no idea how this is done, nor do we have any interest in this process. Rather, all we do is locate already existing videos and link to them through our site.

Furthermore, all videos uploaded onto this site are traceable through to their source, with all videos labelled to their host site (whether that be YouTube, Sapo.pt or Eatlime.com, to name just a few of our sources). This creates a situation of transparency, whereby everybody can see which video hosting site are hosting the videos.

If a video comes down on YouYube, for example, it comes down on 101greatgoals.com.

With that being said, NetResult appear to be targetting the little people like ourselves, without directing their issues to those people truly responsible for this content, namely the large video hosting sites and those individuals who are actually uploading said clips. NetResult are looking to crack a nut with a bulldozer, trying to put the frighteners on people such as ourselves, while seemingly doing nothing against the big players or the root causes of this situation.

If you are based in the UK, access to highlights can be seen on the Virgin Media site. Further, the BBC now stream Match of the Day on their website for UK users only. Yet, at a time when Arsene Wenger recently acknowledged that only 10% of Arsenal’s support is home-based (with 90% overseas), and when the Premier League are themselves trying to force down people’s throats the idea of Game 39, the fact that no such site exists for foreign fans of the Premier League is simply inexcusable. At the very least, there needs to be a free, worldwide accessible site that updates Premier League clips. But we are still waiting.

(We are also waiting for a site that streams Premier League games online, NetResult and the Premier League have recently rallied against Justiv.tv, but there seems to be no intention to provide a legal service for long-suffering fans.)

By throwing their weight around without offering any practical solutions to the issue, the Premier League paint themselves as money-grabbing whores who care more about monetising their product than allowing everyday people, such as you and me, to associate with the best league in the world. Such prohibition is no-doubt the reason why if you type “Man Utd Stoke” into YouTube you will find many clips of the match for viewing.

Videos of the Premier League on the internet are not going away. In fact the opposite is true, with new clone websites of 101greatgoals sprouting up on a daily basis, and new video hosting sites offering their services to house these videos for free. The rabbit is out of the bag, and bullying tactics are unlikely to have any serious impact in returning the world back to pre-YouTube days.

Rather than stomping their feet, we would like to see the Premier League take positive steps to address this issue, much like other worldwide leagues have done. For example, the MLS have their own channel on YouTube (see here) in which they upload high quality videos within hours of the full time results. We would love to link to such a Premier League site.

So why wont the Premier League follow suit?

In today’s current atmosphere, the only logical conclusion is that the Premier League’s only focus is money.

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Our most recent letter from NetResult:

Dear Sir,

The Premier League has the exclusive right to commercially exploit all matches within The Premier League championships including, but not limited to, all moving images and other audio/video content.

We have noticed that your website http://www.101greatgoals.com is displaying, offering, distributing and facilitating The Premier League’s audio visual content (http://www.101greatgoals.com/category/goals/england/).

As you have neither sought nor obtained permission from The Premier League to use this content, your present use is an infringement of The Premier League’s rights.

Please immediately cease all such infringements on any and all of your web sites and confirm to us via email that you have done so.

Nothing in this letter is intended or shall be construed to constitute an express or implied waiver of any of The Premier League’s rights or remedies, including any rights or remedies in respect of infringement not explicitly stated, whether current or in the future, all of which are expressly reserved.

I hereby state that The Premier League is the owner of the exclusive rights referenced above and that NetResult is authorised to act on its behalf with respect to internet monitoring and compliance.

On behalf of The Premier League I hereby state that I have a good faith belief that use of the content in the manner complained of is not authorised by The Premier League, its agents, or the law.

I, Tim Cooper, as a representative of NetResult hereby digitally sign this e-mail message under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America with the additional statement under penalty of perjury that the information in the notice is accurate.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Cooper

England 2 - Czech Republic 0 (U21 International Friendly, November 18, 2008) England took the lead with a straight-forward route one goal, a long hoof ran all the way through to Frazier Campbell and the forward coolly finished. After the break Aston Villa’s Craig Gardner struck a low free-kick from distance which found its way into the bottom corner. Jamie O’Hara was then presented the chance to make it 3-nil from the spot after Campbell had been barged over, but the Spurs man saw his spot-kick saved.

Scotland 1 - Northern Ireland 3 (U21 International Friendly, November 18, 2008) Jamie Murphy gave Scotland a third minute lead, but Northern Ireland’s Josh McQuoid nipped in after 9 minutes to bring the visitors level. The Irish then took the lead as Josh McQuoid bagged his brace of the game, latching on to another long ball and racing through for a well-taken second. (First half highlights here.)

Portugal 4 - Spain 1 (U21 International Friendly, November 18, 2008) A terrible mistake by the Spanish centre-half dollied a ball into the path of Rui Fonte who put Portugal ahead. Two minutes later Daniel Parejo pulled Spain level from the penalty spot. But back came the hosts, Orlando Sa heading in a near post corner to restore the home advantage before Sa struck again just before the break with his second header of the match. Orlando Sa put the game to bed in the 56th minute with his hat-trick goal with his third header of the game.

Germany 1 - Italy 0 (U21 International Friendly, November 18, 2008) Bayern Munich’s young sensation Toni Kroos gave Germany the lead over the Azzurri firing a stunning half-volley into the top corner from 25-yards out.

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Algeria 1 - Mali 1 (International Friendly, November 18, 2008) Adama Coulibaly shot Mali ahead in Algeria after 12 minutes. In the 90th minute the hosts equaliser in bizarre circumstances, Abdeslam miscued a right wing cross and the ball hit the underside of the bar and post before going in.

Estonia 1 - Moldova 0 (International Friendly, November 18, 2008)

The following footage comes from last weekend’s Greek Super League match between Olympiakos and POAK Salonika.

We pick up the action at the end of the opening 45, with Olympiakos attacking, having a free-kick offering them the opportunity to place several bodies in the box. With players jostling for space in the area, POAK’s number five, Pablo Garcia, can be seen fully focused on Brazilian Diogo (pictured), who in turn has his eyes firmly fixed on the ball.

Without any apparent cause, Garcia decided to use the moment to thump Diogo fully in the belly, somehow managing to avoid the attention of the officials as the number 10 hit the deck on impact. Yet another act of senseless violence went undetected by the men in black.

See the incident here.

For anyone unfamiliar with Sky Sport’s Fanzone commentary service, the idea is simple. Rather than listen to the dulcet tones of Martin Tyler and Andy Gray during the live football broadcast, Sky Sports’ employs two fans, one representing the home side and one for the visitors, who offer an alternative, 100% biased, live analysis of their team as the 90 minutes unfold.

The results are usually mixed, often producing incoherent, unprofessional and sometimes very funny moments of TV.

With the days getting darker earlier as the end of 2008 begins to slowly creep up on us, Sky look to be the first broadcaster to roll out a “best of” collection, starting with the best of Fanzones.

The top 10 Fanzone moments of the season so far can be seen here.

Violence continues to spiral out of control on the world’s football terraces, with yet more horrific footage of a riot being released, this time from last weekend’s top-of-the-table match in Uruguay between Danubio and Nacional.

The trouble erupted after Danubio beat Nacional 1-nil to leapfrog their opponents at the top of the table. With the travelling Nacional fans less than happy about such a result, immediately after the final whistle hoards of supporters broke down the fencing at the tiny Jardines del Hipodromo stadium and invaded the pitch.

All hell broke loose with the Nacional fans managed to seize a Danubio flag from home fans, forcing a reprisal from the locals who also invaded the pitch as a massive fist-fight ensued. Such was the intensity of the battle that rival fans attacked each other with iron bars and used the corner flags as weapons.

Yet despite the trouble, which lasted 15 minutes, no arrests were reported.

In response, the Uruguayan Football Association have called an indefinite halt to season, with AUF president Jose Luis Corbo saying, “We have decided to cancel all top-flight action as a precaution following Sunday’s problems and previous troubles we have experienced. We think we have to calm things down.”

Footage of the riot can be seen here. (Please note, some of the images are particularly violent.)

Yesterday we brought you news of Walter Zenga’s outburst on Italian television after the Catania boss fell into a war of words during his post match interview. And Catania remain in the headlines this morning after attention has centred on their bizarre tactics employed at Torino.

While taking a free kick, three Catania players lined up in a second wall in front of Torino keeper, before dropping their shorts in an attempt to block the vision of Matteo Sereni in goal. The ploy worked to perfection, with Giuseppe Mascara converting the free-kick.

See the footage here.

“I am the first, the second and the third best player in the world. But there are other good candidates like Kaka, (Lionel) Messi and Fernando Torres. I think I did everything that is necessary to win and I want to continue doing even more. My aim is to win everything that is front of me.” - Cristiano Ronaldo.

He may be arrogant, but the Portuguese winger has good reason to be full of himself at the moment having ratcheted up 101 goals for Manchester United last weekend against Stoke. Happily YouTuber “cr7ladyproductions” proves that Cristiano Ronaldo’s fanbase is not reduced to a membership of one, compiling a complete montage of all of Ronaldo’s 101 goals scored for Manchester United.

The collection is split into three parts, and can be seen here, here and here.

Northampton 2 - Leeds 5 (FA Cup, November 17, 2008) Jermaine Beckford scored in the 13th minute,  volleying home David Prutton’s flick-on. Howson’s deflected drive made it two, before Ben Parker put Leeds 3-up. Jason Crowe replied for the hosts, but Leeds restored their three-goal cushion before the break when Beckford sent a curler in off the far post. Beckford secured his hat-trick (all three goals here) in the 55th minute, before Crowe netted a consolation goal.

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Friends of Zidane 5 - Friends of Ronaldo 6 (Exhibition, November 17, 2008) The goal-scorers included Joseba Etxeberria, Ariza Makukula and Caca as well as Zidane .

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Vitesse 1 - AZ Alkmaar 1 (Eredivisie, November 16, 2008) AZ took the lead in the first half through Ari but Santi Kolk hit back to earn his side a draw.

***

Braga 1 - Vitoria Setubal 0 (Superliga, November 16, 2008) Cameroon’s Albert Meyong Ze scored the winner for Braga.

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Hajduk Split 2 - NK Rijeka 0 (1. HNL, November 16, 2008)

Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the day: “I can honestly say, yes, Alan Shearer will manage Newcastle. Until now I would have just said that he would one day but I finally believe that he would tomorrow if the job is how he wants it, without all the silly games going on that have killed it. The fans would love Alan to take over now. Mike Ashley would solve a lot of his problems by appointing Alan and accepting that mistakes have been made. Alan could be a priceless get out of jail card. Now is the time to make the club what we all want… It is time for Alan to take the job on. Roy Keane and Gareth Southgate learnt on the job and, like Keane at Sunderland, one thing Alan has is the respect of every single player at Newcastle.” - Rob Lee.

Runner-up: “Juande Ramos said about four words to me in a year… There were times when I questioned Spurs’ motives for buying me. I have no idea whether Juande wanted me. There were always people saying it was [the former sporting director] Damien Comolli who had bought me but I’d always known it was going to be difficult getting into the team with Jermain, Berba and Keano ahead of me. They’ve all since left, which was a big disappointment for Tottenham, but it has given me more games and a licence to express myself.” - Darren Bent.

Today’s overview: The club versus country battle is a central theme in today’s papers, while attention is also given to Argentina ahead of their match against Scotland.

On England and Steven Gerrard’s withdrawal, the wedge between Fabio Capello and Rafa Benitez appears to be widening with Kevin McCarra concluding “it seemed as if Capello wanted to signal disapproval of Liverpool” by forcing the Reds’ captain to have a medical with the national side yesterday. Oliver Kay concurs, writing “tensions remain between Capello and Benitez, with both managers unhappy at the way that the other has handled the matter.” Martin Samuel sums up the affair saying “Capello thought that he was being taken for a mug and demanded his own scan as proof,” a point reiterated by Henry Winter who penned “by insisting his medical staff checked whether Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard did indeed have ‘legitimate’ injuries, Capello reminded club managers that he decides who can be excused international duty, not them.”

Taking a step backwards, Steven Howard questions all the England absentees saying “I may be open to charges of cynicism here but the whole thing has the appearance of being superbly stage managed by the players’ clubs.” Sam Wallace observes that tomorrow night’s match “is shaping up to be the biggest non-event the FA have taken part in since Steve McClaren threatened to deliver a management masterclass to American football coaches. But at least he had the decency to cancel.” Mike Norrish runs his eye over England-Germany matches of yesteryear to focus on the key men who helped shaped this fixture’s history and to discover where they are now.

From the Argentina training camp in Scotland, Ewan Murray tells the story of how Diego Maradona “made a young lad very happy, 13-year-old Adam Brown discovering a gold medallion on the Celtic Park turf which had earlier been misplaced by the Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago.” And keeping with Diego, Matt Dickinson travels to the birthplace of the Argentinean god saying “putting Maradona in charge makes more sense to the Argentinians than turning to a Swede or an Italian.”

Glenn Moore picks up on some of the tactical questions facing the Argentine defence. “Defensively Argentina have not replaced Roberto Ayala. Javier Zanetti, once a great player, is 35 and fading, Martin Demichelis is struggling at Bayern, Gabriel Heinze is short of top drawer quality, Gabriel Milito is injured, Nicolas Burdisso is out of the Internazionale team.”

In other news, Spurs’ keeper Gomes is under the spotlight with Oliver Brown writing “in the same way the sobriquet ‘calamity’ once attached to David James and ‘comedy’ to Fabien Barthez, Gomes is in grave danger of becoming a figure of fun.” The Sun get the thoughts of Erik Thorstvedt on Spurs’ keeper woes. while The Mirror report that “Harry Redknapp will step up his attempts to land Robert Green in January after another horror show by Heurelho Gomes on Saturday.”

Standing alone in the papers is an article from James Lawton, reporting on the memorial in Scotland for John Thomson, “the 22-year-old goalkeeper of Celtic who, the folklore of the game north of the border insists, would have grown into the fabulous, world-defying guardian of the net the nation has always craved.”

Former athlete Steve Cram wades into the new drug testing debate in the Guardian, insisting that “whereabouts” rule is positive and arguing that “I think it’s asking a lot for highly paid sportsmen not to take this more seriously and it would be nice to see their unions acting more responsibly instead of offering a false sense of protection of their members’ lifestyle.”

On the European front, Sid Lowe reports on the troubles at Real arguing “if Real Madrid think that sacking Bernd Schuster is the solution to all their ills, they are sadly mistaken.” Looking back at the Rome derby, Paolo Bandini notes that the victors Roma “are a long way from being out of the woods, of course, and [the] win lifts them only to 17th.” On Ligue 1, Ben Lyttleton relives the big Lyon-Bordeaux match, reporting on “the ball-boy who reacted quickest after Bordeaux defender Marc Planus smashed a clearance into the stands, by smartly giving a different ball to Kim Kallstrom to throw to Karim Benzema.”